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Chapter 8

'Bankai!' - thought

"Bankai!'' - speech

"Bankai!" - Zanpakuto/demon speech

=CE=

Part 3

Village near Tazuna's house

Land of Waves

Ichigo didn't think. He acted, pushing all his considerable power behind a single action. The world around him was almost frozen, moving so slow that it gave the impression that time itself had stopped. He could feel the strain on his muscles, which screamed in protest at each step as he was getting closer and closer to Anko. His right hand was on Zangetsu's hilt, slowly pulling out the blade.

Ichigo's eyes were focused on the wakizashi, which was crawling towards the neck of the woman who he was in love with. Under different circumstances, that realization would have stunned him frozen, yet he kept moving, using every last bit of Chakra he could get his hands on to push himself faster and faster. His katana was out, moving into an attack position when he was halfway to Anko. Yet, it wasn't fast enough. The blade posed to tear out her throat was two thirds through the strike.

Ichigo screamed when he comprehended what was going to happen. Even when he threw everything he had into moving faster, it simply wasn't going to be enough. He was going to watch Anko die.

All he wanted at that moment was to save her. He would gladly lay down his life if it meant that she would live.

The wakizashi was almost touching her delicate skin.

Ichigo felt his right eye burning, his vision blurring, becoming crimson.

Then the weapon and the hand holding it vanished in a wave of crimson energy, which brushed over the nape of Anko's neck, leaving a thin line of broken skin. Then Ichigo was next to her, swinging down Zangetsu with an infuriated cry on his lips. The katana cut through the top of the head of the ronin trying to kill Anko, bisected his neck and suck into the collarbone and armor after cutting through the chest plate of the man.

Time sped up, just in time for Miratashi's hands to close over the wound in her abdomen. She fell to her knees with a shocked expression on her face.

In the same time, Ichigo became a whirlwind of destruction, his blade moving faster than the eye could follow. Any crazed ronin who dared came close to him ended chopped into pieces before he could properly swing at the enraged Uchiha. Meanwhile, Naruto's crimson form was busy snarling and ripping apart any bandit or mercenary who had the misfortune of getting in his way.

=CE=

Tazuna's House

Wand of Waves

Guy and his team reached the destination first. Protocol called for both units to move in together, but given the short briefing they got, the Jonin had decided that they couldn't afford to waste any time. So he and his team went in as fast as they could, leaving Kurenai and her more inexperienced pupils behind.

Apparently it was the correct decision.

For once Guy was serious as he examined the devastation in front of the two story house where Ichigo's team and their client should have been. Instead the Konoha Shinobi found still burning forest, mangled corpses and a melting dome of ice. A few of the bodies were barely recognizable as Konoha ANBU, giving more credit to the information he got about traitors from that organization going after the Uchiha and his genin. A few of the corpses were either too charred or mangled to recognize.

On most certainly wasn't. The Demon from the Mist was sitting on the ground, leaning on his sword. Zabuza was cradling the blood soaked form of a girl, staring at her with dead eyes.

"What happened here?!" To Guy's surprise, it was his usually un-youthful Hyuga student, who exclaimed.

"Jonin fought and died here." He declared in a solemn voice. "The flames of their youth blazed brightly." He waved at the devastation.

The reason he was more serious than his students had ever seen him was simple. He remembered the sinister Chakra they were all feeling coming from not too far away. It was Kuybi's.

The wast thing Guy wanted to do was lead his genin against the never sufficiently cursed fox, even if the beast wasn't truly free. Because if it was they would be dead already.

"Follow me. If I said to run, you head straight to Konoha and don't stop or slow down for anything." He ordered curtly, before dashing away from the battlefield.

=CE=

Soon enough they found Team Seven. The scene reminded him some of the worst battle he saw in the last war. Bodies and pieces of bodies were everywhere. Naruto was on a rampage, tearing apart what suspiciously looked like samurai, while Ichigo was making a most youthful last stand over the bodies of his wounded teammates.

Team Seven and Miratashi needed immediate medical attention. However, Naruto was an obstacle. Guy was unaware if the boy could tell friend from foe while he was engulfed by the Demon Fox's Chakra.

At that moment Ichigo noticed them and waved. "GUY! They need medical attention! I'll deal with Naruto!" The Uchiha shouted.

"You heard him. Get your medical supplies out. Move!" Guy ordered and flashed forward. When he was next to Ichigo, the Uchiha gave him a curt nod and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. The few ronin which were between them fell to the ground with kunai sticking from weak points in their armor.

Guy looked around and when he saw no more immediate threats he turned his attention to the wounded Konoha Shinobi. They were in a bad way.

=CE=

All Ichigo wanted at that moment was to hold Anko, to help her somehow. To help his little brother who lied in the dirt like a broken toy. However, he knew that he couldn't tend to both of them, much less Sakura. Not at the same time. Not while madmen were trying to kill them all.

When he saw Guy and his team appearing on the far side of the battlefield, he felt that his fellow Shinobi were godsend. In that moment he decided what he had to do. It was unlikely that they could treat his team's wounds while Naruto was rampaging. He had to deal with his possessed student and trust the Konoha shinobi.

Not because he liked it or found it acceptable. Ichigo simply didn't have a choice if he wanted his family to live.

"GUY! They need medical attention! I'll deal with Naruto!" The Uchiha shouted.

He saw in precise detail how the other Jonin snapped and order and moved. Guy was fast, he had to give him that. While in mid air, he threw kunai at the ronin below him, virtually gutting the most present threats for Anko and the rest of Team Seven. The moment Guy landed, Ichigo gave him a small nod of gratitude. He concentrated Chakra around his left hand and flickered in Naruto's direction.

Ichigo appeared next to his student, who had both his hands shoved in the torso of hapless ronin. The very sight would have disgusted the Uchiha, before that man's buddies cut down the people he cared about. Now he felt only hatred towards the mercenaries.

Naruto snarled at the new presence, but Ichigo didn't let him enough time to react. He grabbed him and flickered away, until they were some distance withing the surrounding forest. He felt his hand burning despite the protective coating of Chakra surrounding it. It was only thanks to his altered Sharingan that he could see Naruto's attempts to gut him and either parry them with Zangetsu or barely evade them all the while he was keeping a hold on the genin.

When he decided that they were at a somewhat safe distance, Ichigo let go and jumped back, just in time to avoid being gutted by clawed fingers covered with bubbling Chakra. The Uchiha's left hand was deep red, already blistering. He flexed his fingers and winced. They barely moved and the skin of the arm broke because of the motion. He would need immediate attention for the hand once Naruto was subdued.

The blonde menace snarled at him and charged, his clawed fingers sweeping as if they were a predator's paws. Ichigo blocked one hand with the flat of his blade and dodged the other. He concentrated Chakra on hid Dojutsu, staring into Naruto's eyes. His right eye burned again. This time he could actually see a crimson beam flow from it and strike Naruto in the chest.

The following explosion threw them apart.

Ichigo managed to flip through the air and land on his feet thanks to the slowed perception of the world he was granted by his Sharingan. His genin wasn't so lucky. Naruto slammed into a tree, hard, before falling to the ground. For a moment the cloak of sinister Chakra surrounding the blonde appeared to be thinner, but then it flared again and the boy jumped on all fours. Naruto gave an inhuman roar and charged.

Ichigo substituted with a nearby branch, which promptly got turned into kindling. He had to end this. Soon. His Chakra reserves were tanking.

When Naruto turned around, Ichigo stood his ground, concentrating on his Sharingan. Naruto snarled, his hands sweeping through the air in a wild manner, yet he slowed down.

"Naruto! Snap out of it! Everyone's alive!" Ichigo hoped that he didn't lie to the boy. For both their sakes.

The blonde tilted his head to the left, studying him through silted eyes. For a moment the crimson cloak wavered, but then it flared to a new height. Naruto roared with fury and pain as his skin started burning under the strain.

"Damn you, Fox! Leave him alone!" Ichigo shouted.

They charged each other blade and claws slashing and meeting with a dull clang. Ichigo was thrown back by the force of a blow he parried only to see in slow motion how Naruto jumped at him. A single tail of Chakra was forming behind the boy.

The Uchiha glared in frustration, pulling as much Chakra as he could from his nearly drained reserves. His body was engulfed by a pale light which had darker undertones. The power flowed over his katana which in turn glowed as if lit by moonlight. Acting on instinct, Ichigo slashed in Naruto's direction, while channeling as much power as he could through his blade. A crescent of pale energy formed on the edge of the katana and flew out as he completed the slash. It caught Naruto in midair and threw him back. The boy screamed as he was engulfed by a blinding light.

Ichigo shook his head to clean up his vision and stared. There was a long and deep gash in the soil in front of him, which smoked at the edges. Thanks to his Sharingan he could see Naruto, who was thrown deeper in the forest. The genin was smoking too and had a long bleeding wound in his chest. The blood was bubbling as Kuybi's Chakra was trying to heal him.

At least the crimson cloak was finally receding. Ichigo took a step towards his student, when he felt his strength deserting him. The world became blurred and he felt himself falling. Suddenly his body was engulfed in agony as the adrenaline started leaving his system so he could feel all the abuse he put his body through.

He gasped in pain and then there was only blessed darkness.

=CE=

Guy sighed with relief when he felt the Fox's Chakra waning and slowly disappearing. That prompted the last remnants of the mercenaries to break and run, leaving him to concentrate his full attention on his wounded comrades.

They were in a bad way. Miratashi, who needed a surgery, preferably soon, was the best of the lot. Sasuke had a collapsed lung and a bad internal bleeding, yet he was better than their last teammate. Sakura had broken ribs, punctured lung and unless he was very much mistaken her liver was slashed too.

She was bleeding out internally and there wasn't much they could do besides dose her with as many blood replenishing pills as safely possible and then some. If she made it long enough for Kurenai to arrive, the Kunochi might be able to help her. The Genjutsu mistress had the necessary fine control to try using medical ninjutsu to keep the wounded Shinobi alive long enough so they could be brought back home.

If they made it until she arrived. Unless he was mistaken, Kurenai was about two hours behind his team.

Guy stared at the blood soaked bandage he was pressing at the side of the pink haired girl. The wait was going to feel like eternity. And where were Ichigo and Naruto?

He looked over his team. When Miratashi and Sasuke were stabilized, he was going to sent Neji to check on them. For now he needed those eyes to help stabilize the wounded.