Puppeteer vs Puppeteer [Hayabusa](Akatsuki Training Quest)

Hayabusa
had arrived at this place, Whirlpool country, and looked up at the gates. It
looked as though civilization wasn’t so big here. There was one gate attendant,
and it looked as though the art of war didn’t cross their minds, for their
gates could be infiltrated by mere children. He jumped into a tree and put his
tag up into it, in what could have been a hold squirrel hole. He looked back
down and jumped, landing on both of his feet.

He
walked up to prepare to walk into the village as he grabbed out his passport,
preparing to give it to the lone gate attendant, who seemed not to be at
attention at all. The man seemed to have just let Hayabusa through, but
Hayabusa insisted on letting him see his passport. When Hayabusa came up and
attempted to give him the passport, he looked at Hayabusa like he was crazy.
Was it so unsecure here that they let anybody in?

The
man took it, wrote a few things down, and send it on a hawk, back to wherever
the village leader’s quarters were. He gave Hayabusa back the passport and sent
him on his way. Hayabusa shook his head and walked on, towards the library to
see if there was anything that might be of some type of interest.

As
he made it to the library, like in Oto, there seemed to be absolutely nobody
here in the library. Hayabusa was disgusted at the fact that nobody appreciated
the knowledge that had been provided by the people whom had come before them.

“Hey…”
Hayabusa said, walking up to the librarian. “Is there any type of… interesting
historic fact about this village… a book on it perhaps?” Hayabusa asked him.

“Shit…
how the hell should I know?” the man asked. “All I know is that there is a cave
up on the mountains that used to belong to one of the most fearsome teams ever…
the ones that started the war… the um… Akyo? No… Tsuki? No not that either… The
Katerama?”

“Akatsuki?”
Hayabusa asked.

“Yes…
that’s the one. Other than that, you traveled he for nothing…” he said. “Then
again…” he said as Hayabusa began to
walk away, but stopped when he heard him. “There is a full moon tonight. People
have vanished up there in that cave during the Full Moon. If that interests you
then…” he said. Hayabusa smirked.

“Now
that’s the information that I would like to hear…” he said. Hayabusa turned
waving. “Thanks…” he said as he walked out and looked up toward this mountain.
He looked around. It was going to be getting pretty dark soon, so Hayabusa
figured that perhaps he should get a move on.

He
began walking through the loose forest of few trees, that were very bountiful.
That could have been because there was a nice amount of water here. Granted the
village doesn’t care enough to make trees grow and plant more, these ones seem
to be very well on their own. It took him perhaps an hour to casually walk up
the mountain. But once he made it to the top he had realized that he had been
standing on a cliff side, looking down into a river. There seemed to have been
a cave entrance there. Hayabusa sat and just waited for night fall, but after
another hour, the reflection of the water showed the reflection of the full
moon in the sky, before the sun had officially went down. Hayabusa had jumped
down and used his chakra to float on top of the water. He walked slowly to the
cave that seemed to have been extremely dark.

He
walked in, looking around. He noticed that there had been nothing but battle
scuffs on the cavern walls. He could not help but think this was nothing but a
fraud, and these were left here during current times. Hayabusa shook his head,
as he waited for about 20 minutes, patiently sitting on the floor. He sucked
his teeth and pushed himself off of the ground.

“The
only reason people vanished was because they died of boredom…” Hayabusa said to
himself as he began to walk towards the entrance of the cave. As he did so,
right before he stepped out, the cave’s entrance had a boulder lift from the
bottom up. He knocked on it… it was solid. It was stone actually from the cave
itself, therefore this was no joke. Hayabusa had performed his seal to perform
Kai, in order to distinguish would could possibly be a Genjutsu. He looked at
the wall, and it was still there.

“Either
this is some hell of a Genjutsu, or I am in trouble…” Hayabusa said. Then he
realized he had Hiraishin. However, he realized that maybe something was going
to happen. He would stick around and sit what was going to happen. Then, his
ears perked up as he heard some type of quick movement. He turned, almost
activating his Sharingan in the process… but it was dark, and therefore if he
couldn’t see what was in here, hopefully, they can’t see him.

Then,
as he thought this, the cave lit up as if there were candles on the wall, and
it was enough to illuminate almost the whole cavern. Hayabusa could see, not
too far in front of him, for figures. One extremely tall and with what looks to
be a very big blade, two about average size, and another that’s figure was
short and stumpy. Hayabusa had raised his eyebrow.

“Who’s
there?” Hayabusa asked. The four began stepping to him, all in different
directions as if to attack him after surround him. The candle light had shouwed
the bottom of all of their cloaks. They were the infamous notorious red clouded
cloaks worn by that of the Akatsuki. ‘This can’t be…’ Hayabusa thought to
himself. ‘This has to be some type of joke…’ “Imposters, are we?” Hayabusa
asked. “I find that… offensive… for imposters of such… treachery to attempt to
imitate an organization such as the Akatsuki…” he said to them.

“Imposter,
hmmm. You don’t know what you’re dealing with boy. Can I have this one? I just
wanna… blow him into a million pieces. Hmmmm…” he began.

“Deidara…
if he is going to die here, at least it should be by whom he chooses.”

“Heh
heh heh… you… ‘artists’… you annoy the hell out of me. Well kid… luck of the
draw. Pick a death. Shredded, tortured, demolished, or strategically…” the
taller man said. Hayabusa crouched low in a battle position, activating his
Sharingan at Mangekyou level. “Oh… both eyes. Your kin, Itachi?” he asked.
Itachi? How could this be? Hayabusa widened his eyes as the one average sized
men, whom didn’t say anything, turned. He began walking away.

“Grandfather!”
Hayabusa yelled.

“HA!
Hey Itachi… Granddaddy Itachi!” Kisame said, mocking him. Following him, as if
he as well eliminated himself as a candidate. The two stood before him.

“Come
on Master Sasori! Let me have him!” Deidara began.

“Sasori…”
Hayabusa said at first. “I choose Sasori.” He said.

“FUCK
THAT!” Deidara yelled. He began to run towards Hayabusa, before being grabbed
from behind and pulled him back, assuming it was his grandfather.

“Ok
boy… you’re curious as to what is going on here. For a child of your generation
to know of us… that is truly remarkable. So the four of us… we are spirits of
past Akatsuki members, with the ability to live on through a seal in this cave
during the Full Moon. If you can beat me, we grant you power… through blood and
spirit you will have what it takes to be a true Akatsuki member. But, so far…
nobody has beaten me. Why you chose me, I will never know…” he said. He stepped
into the light. Hayabusa looked on at this being that didn’t match the chakra
figure he seen. Hayabusa smirked. He had did his research on Sasori, therefore
he knew quite a bit about him. So, he knew what he was in was a puppet.
Hayabusa had planned to impress the Master Puppeteer with his own knowledge and
skills. Hayabusa reverted his Mangekyou to Fully Awakened.

“You
let down your Mangekyou? Is that not going to be your weapon? Fine… no matter…”
Sasori said, as something slithered from under him. Hayabusa could see the
little bit of light in the cavern gleam off of it, implying it was some type of
reflective material, like steel or metal. It was created like a tail. Hayabusa
had already began analyzing it, just in case he had to get rid of it as a
nuisance.

“Shall
we get started?” he asked, as he looked at Hayabusa with his evil non moving
eyes. Hayabusa stood, ready for defending and evading. He was going to make
sure the he had an open opportunity to remove this tail, or immobilize it, for
it seemed to be the prime method of attack for this puppet.

Usually,
great battle tactics are to keep the eye on the opponent, which in most cases
is to stare down the opponent and attempt to read his eyes and where his
intentions would lie. However, this was not his opponent. His opponent was
rising, like a snake, in the air, ready to drop down on its prey like a viper.
Hayabusa knew the only way to fight a snake was to dance with it… move like it.

The
moment is lifted and struck down fast at Hayabusa, Hayabusa jumped to the side
and began to twist his body, molding his body like a boneless body. It
stretched, as he now extended like a snake. When the second strike was made,
Hayabusa did not move his feet at all, but his legs moved to the side, beyond
the physical limits of any human body, and he began to rotate.

“Ah…
this looks all too familiar…” Sasori said as he watched Hayabusa in the air. He
continued to attempt to strike Hayabusa, but Hayabusa began moving in a counter
clockwise fashion, making sure the he did not get struck by the tip, which had
poison in it. It was like two snakes, dancing clockwise in the air, and
Hayabusa’s body began to twist with the tail.

Eventually,
Hayabusa had wrapped his body around the tail to the point that it became
immobilized. Hayabusa smirked as he looked at the dripping tip. Hayabusa turned
to look at Sasori. The puppet’s mouth began to open.

“Shit…”
Hayabusa knew he would be finished if this poison entered his body. Hayabusa
looked at the tip of the tail and make sure that it would not be usable. He
lifted his arm, wrapped around it about ten times and squeezed his hand onto
the tip, making sure it went halfway through his hand, as he yelled in pain.

“What
are you… suicidal?” Sasori asked, as he stopped his process of shooting the weapons
from his mouth. But, just then, from the yelling mouth of Hayabusa, a hand full
of slime came out. As quick as the last few times, Hayabusa’s upper body came
shooting out of the mouth, and his legs popped out without even trying this
time. He landed on the floor, flopping himself up with a slumped over upper
body, before looking up at Sasori. His eyes looking demonic, yellow, and snake
like.

“Orochimaru?”
Sasori began. “”How is that…” just then Hayabusa shook his head. ‘GET OUT!!’ he
yelled in his head. ‘Come… come on. Let me live!’ a snake like raspy voice
said. Hayabusa grasped his fists and after a moment, his yellow eyes became his
normal Fully Awakened Sharingan. Hayabusa looked at Sasori, then at the tail he
had immobilized. He looked back at Sasori.

“Surely…
you don’t think I am Orochimaru…” he began. He walked up to him slowly. “And
surely you don’t think you are going to beat me with just that mouth of yours…”
he said. Sasori looked at him, blankly.

“Heh
heh heh… you are very wise, and knowledgable. I’m curious as to how you have
come to be so smart at your generation. Hmph… no matter. You are right.”

“I
know… I have beaten level one… bring the… ‘true’ you out.” Hayabusa said.

“Hmm…
too smart for your own good. No matter. You are the first to make it this far
with me. And so you shall be honored for this... but only as long as somebody
else takes the spot light…” he said. Sasori, or what he had appeared to be at
the moment, slumped low. It looked as though the thin layer of chakra that had
lay within the outer shell of Sasori’s Hiruko puppet had disappeared. Hayabusa
had smirked. He could see that the puppet had begun to fall apart from the top.
There before him, he could see a figure of a very young red headed child, at
perhaps the age of 20.

“Wow…”
Hayabusa said. “You were that young… that is impossible. You couldn’t have died
with such youth. How did you do it?” Hayabusa asked.

“Hmmm…
I’m sorry but I feel as though you will never find out… because you won’t beat
me…” he said with a softer voice than the raspy one he had heard at first.

“Hmph…
my knowledge… versus your ignorance, Lord Sasori…” Hayabusa said as he began to
take out a scroll. Hayabusa watched as the Sasori smirked, he took out a scroll
as well, and it was marked with a ‘3’. He didn’t bite his finger, but he still
used the summoning hand seals and slammed it to the scroll, which had been
slammed on the ground and it began to develop the sealing signs of ‘inkage’ on
the ground before him. There in a puff of smoke was summoned a very familir,
long haired, dirty clothed begin. Hayabusa raise his eye brows.

“The
third Kazekage…” Hayabusa said.

“Wow…
you are very well knowledgable. It is so upsetting that I must rid this world
of such a mentally talented young man. Never the less…” Sasori said as the
Kazekage puppet came to attention, looking at Hayabusa, slumped over the arm of
Sasori. “Just how much do you know?” he asked him.

“I
know enough to be able to counter your Iron Sand techniques…” Hayabusa said to
him. Sasori had no expression on his face, which was weird to Hayabusa. But he
did show some type of shock as he tilted his head.

“Oh
yea? And how would you possible know that?” Sasori said, as Hayabusa bit his
finger, drawing blood, and smirking.

“Because…
I beat it once already…” Hayabusa said as he smirked. He slammed his hand to
the scroll, and, within the puff of smoke that had come forth, Hayabusa could
see the cloak of a floating figure. The cloak was not a dirty black cloth, like
that of Sasori’s Third Kazekage puppet, but it had a cloak that had a design
all too familiar. The trade mark of none other than Nythyia… his cousin.
Hayabusa smirked as he activate the puppet of Nythyia and it looked up in the
same fashion as the Kazekage did him. It rotated, hovering above the ground and
spiraling around Hayabusa and slumping over his shoulder as well. It was
slightly weird, his dead cousin being on his shoulder, but he kept a content
face. His love for him had to be contained… Nythyia was now his tool.

“Hmph…
a puppet master as well… no matter. Your materialize puppets cannot stand
against this!” he said as he thrusted his hand forward and the Kazekage had
shoot forward towards Hayabusa. Hayabusa thrust his hands forward as well,
throwing Nythyia toward the Kazekage. The Kazkage had lifted his arms and the
sand in which he possessed came shooting at Nythyia. Nythyia was hit by it, but
continued to hover through. The puppet’s arm turned into wood, as it came
piercing through the Kazekage. “WHAT!?!?” Sasori exclaimed.

“Like
I said… I beat your puppet once before.”

“You…
you possess my puppet scroll? Wow… very talented…” he said, as Hayabusa
commanded his puppet to pull out Nythyia’s signature weapon, and slashed
horizontally, taking of the Kage’s head and cut off chakra circulation
immediately. “My ignorance had been best, boy… by your knowledge. I guess I was
wrong about you. I suppose you will be the one to witness… your question about
my youth shall be answered he said as he dropped his hands and the rest of the
puppet fell. Hayabusa pulled back Nythyia and he let it spiral around his body,
slumping over his shoulder once more.

“Oh…
already?” Hayabusa said, smirking as he felt a sense in pride at what he had
just ‘earned’ by quickly defeating the great Sasori in a puppet battle. But, obviously that is not the best Sasori
can do, for he still had tricks up his sleeve.

“Your
name… you never gave me your name…” Sasori said to him.

“Uchiha
Lydeck Hayabusa…” he said to Sasori. Sasori smirked.

“Young
Hayabusa… you will be embed into my mind. I will no longer underestimate you.
Here… if you defeat me… I will gift upon you more power… and knowledge as to
the whereabouts of some precious items that you can finally pass on to whomever
you would like… you will become one of the greatest puppeteers the world has
ever known. I will not say that I doubt that you will defeat me… I have
underestimated you too many times before. But, only one time have I had to use
this… and last time it was against two people… you will have been my greatest
opponent. If not… you still will have been one of the greatest… among the top.
Also if you beat me…” he looked behind him a bit. “I will not hear the end of
it. I won’t be able to forget you if I tried…” he said. “Now… shall we?” he
said as he gripped the collar of his cloak and looked at Hayabusa…

He threw
the cloak in the air, revealing what could have been skin, but it was not. He
could see a body that was not live, but dead skin, much like Nythyia’s and the
Third Kazekage’s. Hayabusa widened his eyes. Sasori had made himself a puppet,
as that was what kept him young and… ‘healthy’ during his life time and during
his death. His body had blades running down the side of his arm., three on each
arm. He seemed to have had a blade that came out of his back like a long thin
tail made of metal. Hayabusa could not believe his eyes, but he had no choice
but to. He wouldn’t put it past a Master Puppeteer of the Missing Nin and
Akatsuki area to do so.

“Hmmm…
so you made your body a puppet?” Hayabusa said. He tried to keep his composure
but the idea had begun to overwhelm him. He looked at Sasori, then looked at
his Nythyia puppet, and then back at Sasori. Frantically, things were running
in his head. ‘Ok… something new. What… what can I do other fighters or
puppeteers haven’t done.’ He thought. He then thought that many people who
analyzed puppet masters realize that the best place to attack is the puppet
master itself. Hayabusa had planned to change that somehow… ‘Become one with
the puppet…’ he thought to himself. He looked at Nythyia.

“You
ready?” he asked him, even though it couldn’t respond. Hayabusa lifted his arms
and the puppet of Nythyia mounted into its active hovering mode, spiraling off
of Hayabusa’s should. Hayabusa looked onward to his opponent. “We have to get
rid of those weapons… fast…” he said, lowly. Hayabusa had jumped to the side,
putting some distance between him and Nythyia. He ran at Sasori, and Sasori
seemed to have kept his eye of Hayabusa. Hayabusa was going to make quick work
of this, as he pulled out a kunai. It came to the point where Nythyia had been
around him and approached from the back with a chakra katana. Hayabusa exerted
more chakra into the puppet and made the puppet put it in the chakra katana,
making sure is sliced at the hinges of the puppet’s blades on the left arm, as
he took them clean off.

Sasori
turned and readied to fight the puppet, but Hayabusa approached his back as he
moved the puppet of Nythyia back away from Sasori. Hayabusa had too kus kunai
and grabbed Sasori’s ‘tail’ and pulled, extending it far enough for Hayabusa to
jam the kunai into the connection in which I was controlled from, immobilizing
that. Sasori turned, slashing horizontally to cut of Hayabusa’s head. He jumped
back, evading, and noticed Sasori cut the chakra strings that connected
Hayabusa’s tips and Nythyia.

“Shit…”
Hayabusa said. He had been cornered, as Sasori came, slashing with a barrage of
attacks. Hayabusa had done nothing but evade. He had began to tire.

“Heh…
I don’t tire… I am a puppet. You should give sooner or later…” he said.
Hayabusa began palming the body of Sasori every chance he got. “And I don’t
feel petty Taijutsu or Melee attacks such as that… you’ve met your match,
Uchiha Lydeck Hayabusa.” He said. He had corner Hayabusa to the back of the
cavern, against the wall. Sasori began to chuckle. “I believe this is checkmate…”
Sasori said as he looked down upon Hayabusa, who had crouched low, looking
scared for his life. Sasori had lifted his blade and slashed down, stopping an
inch away from Hayabusa’s skin. Hayabusa’s facial expression changed, as he
smirked and stood up.

“Exactly…”
Hayabusa said, as he flung his hand to the side and Sasori when flying to the
right, ramming into the wall. Hayabusa flung in the opposite direction, and
Sasori slammed into the other side. Hayabusa lifted his hand and the body of
Sasori floated in the air.

“What’s…
happening…” Sasori said. Hayabusa smirked.

“Like
you said, Lord Sasori… I respect you and your skills, admire you even. However,
you are still nothing but a puppet.” He said, as he began to manipulate Sasori’s
body, using the bladed arm to move towards Sasori’s ‘heart’. “I believe THIS is
checkmate…” he said. He could see Sasori move to struggle to break free of
Hayabusa’s hold. Sasori just stopped, and the other three had come in closer
directly below Sasori.

“Enough…”
the deep voice of Uchiha Itachi said. Hayabusa released his hold and Sasori
came floating to the floor. Sasori picked up Nythyia and walked it over to
Hayabusa, handing the body to him. Hayabusa slumped the body over his shoulder
and looked at Sasori. Sasori reached his arm behind him and took out Hayabusa’s
kunai, handing that to him as well. Hayabusa grabbed it and put it back into
his pocket.

“Uchiha
Lydeck Hayabusa… you are truly a Master of Puppets… possibly even greater than
I. I admire your skill… and your knowledge is something that gives you the
upper hand. Don’t let it be your down fall though…” he said. He held out his
hand, and Hayabusa grasped it to shake it. Once he did, the hand vanished. He
looked up and he was there, by himself. None of the others were there either.
Hayabusa looked around.

“Damn…”
Hayabusa felt, with that hand shake, power beyond belief. Also, in his hand,
was left a paper. Hayabusa opened it and there, he read of information about
puppets of Sasori, his parents, and the true third Kazekage puppet. Hayabusa
smirked. He put it in his pocket. Perhaps he was going to share this with his
true village, of Suna, if he was ever going to be a Village Ninja once again.
He looked up and began to walk, holding the puppet around his arm. The cave
entrance had opened up once again, and there, he walked out into the water for
another traveling night. On to Oto…
[4000 Words]