R E S I S T A N C E

S E P A R A T I O N from R E A L I T Y

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

The man to the right of the Kage shouted his jutsu as Sasuke closed in on them with his chidori blade. The water hit him hard right in the chest, and as I fell in the air I watched the man weave more hand signs. As quickly as possible I collided with Sasuke, grabbed his collar, and tossed him back to where Jugo stood, allowing myself to fall in the line of attack instead. A stream of lightning merged with the water, but I only smirked as I made hand signs of my own right before it hit me.

Taking the brunt of the attack, gravity pulled my body down to the floor as his jutsu died. I landed gracefully and tossed my drenched black cloak away, jumping back to Sasuke's side as cracks splintering down the side of my face and arms.

"You okay?"

I looked over at Jugo to my right.

"Mud armor," I smiled proudly, patting my left arm for effect. "Perfect for dealing with lightning style."

"Looks like the intel was right, Boss," the previous attacker stated. "This guy seems to possess a lightning chakra nature, plus a fire chakra nature. He's bound to use it at some point."

"Why do they know so much about you, Sasuke?" I whispered, glancing at him. He didn't respond.

"Yes," the enemy started again, but this time it was the blonde man to the left. "And the girl seems to possess an earth chakra nature since she withstood your attack. Darui, keep water style ready at all times."

So that's his name.

Sasuke watched them carefully, glaring as he continued streaming his chidori through his sword.

"They're from the Hidden Cloud," Jugo informed us. "The huge one in the middle is their Raikage. They won't let us pass easily."

"I'll stop him," the left cloud ninja spoke. "Lightning Illusion: Flash Pillar!"

Why do these guys yell their attacks? What ever happened to strategy?

"Is he trying to blind us?!" Jugo yelled as an incredible, blinding light illuminated the room.

I lifted my arm in front of my face, shielding my eyes as best as I could when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Sasuke's hand.

The light disappeared instantly as he squeezed, hard, and I snapped my head towards him with a questioning glance.

"No!" Jugo suddenly exclaimed.

"Jugo, don't waiver. This is a genjutsu," Sasuke stated calmly. I then realized why his grip was increasingly strong; he was keeping me from seeing the illusion. I smirked and returned my attention to the enemy, but in the exchange my senses were completely forgotten.

"You may have seen through the genjutsu, but it's too late!"

Both the Raikage and the man known as Darui rushed forward, wielding their weapons over our heads before I could notice. Suigetsu suddenly made an appearance then, blocked the Raikage's attack from the front with perfect timing while Jugo lifted his shield arm to block Darui's attack from the back. In the same moment, Sasuke wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled us away from the cluster of shinobi just as Suigetsu's sword cracked under the Raikage's pressure, splitting it in two. Jugo and Suigetsu both jumped back at that moment, panting as they slid over to us across the stone floor.

"Damnit! My Executioner's Blade!"

"It'd already gotten cracked against the eight tails," Jugo added. "It couldn't be helped."