-Chapter 1 "Prelude to a Catastrophe, The Stone's Secret Weapon"
Two figures stood in the trees. Both facing the other, not saying anything. Naruto looked at him, and the other shinobi looked back. Their clothes were tattered and bloody from fighting. Naruto still had blood running from the corners of his mouth and his ears. His left arm and leg were both numb and useless. He had used too much of the Nine-tail's chakra. Naruto knew he wouldn't last much longer under the stress he was putting on his body.
The other ninja moved. His hands struggling to come together to form hand-seals. He formed a series of ten hand seals, ending with the seal of the Tiger. He was going to use a fire technique.
"Katon! Reiryuu Kibakudan no Jutsu!" he cried. His wrists then came together, palms pointed outward. Naruto could barely make out the formation of two spheres, one inside the other. The inside of ice-blue colored chakra, and the outside, a formation of fire, breathed from the ninja's mouth, then rolled and maintained in a sphere. Whatever this technique was, he was going to make a direct attack.
Naruto held out his right arm and formed blue chakra into a spinning sphere. "Rasengan!"
The shinobi leaped from the branch he stood with a fierce cry. Naruto, leapt as well; both flying together in a inevitable clash...
5 Days Earlier
The air in Kohona was tense. Relations between the Fire and Earth countries had broken down. The relative peace that had beheld the lands was now shattered by advances by Hidden Stone shinobis into several of the smaller countries surrounding the Earth Country. Hidden Leaf units had been repositioned towards the outskirts of Fire to watch for further signs of aggression.
Tsunade sat in her office looking out the window, viewing the village of which she ruled. Godaime Hokage, Legendary Sennin and the greatest medical ninja known to date, she was now contemplating her next move. Earth of course had its excuses for its actions. It made claims of ancestral rights of the lands they had invaded. An obvious ploy to prevent interference from other countries, but for the most part, it was working. The Hidden Village of Grass was the biggest casualty. Though Grass was allied with Leaf village, the Stone invasion was so swift and decisive that Leafs never had the chance to come to assistance.
Not much information had been gained from the attacks other than speculation that Tsuchikage himself took part in the Grass's defeat. The little information that did come to her came in the form of a Grass mercenary who escaped the carnage. He told of many Grass jounins being paid handsomely to betray their country. Invasion and conquest then became a relatively easy task.
The other piece of knowledge was more striking though. Although the mercenary stated that he never actually saw the Tsuchikage take part in the conquest, he did notice a sword-wielding shinobi who single-handedly killed several dozens of chuunins and some jounins who had remained loyal to the Grass. This was not so significant as how this shinobi was described to her. The one defining feature of this ninja, was that he had the tail of a lizard. In all her years of knowledge, she had never run across or even heard rumors of such a ninja.
"The tail of a lizard," she spoke to herself. "What in the heavens could this mean?"
Uzamaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi strode side-by-side through the trees near the outer regions of Fire Country. They continued until they emerged from the forest into a large clearing. Ahead of them was a large encampment of Leaf ninjas, set up to prevent Stone infiltration. The pair entered the camp.
"General, you have arrived." An ANBU captain approached. "The outer perimeter has been set, and patrols are making their rounds."
"Who's leading the patrols?" Kakashi asked.
"Hyuuga Neji headed West with a four man team, and Uchiha Sasuke went East."
"Good. With their eyes, nothing should be able to enter through this sector." Kakashi turned to Naruto. "I'm going to take a look around. Susuke should already have our tent set up, so you can put our stuff in there."
"Sure." Kakashi gave Naruto his pack and headed towards the middle of the camp. Naruto looked ahead of him. Before them, about a kilometer away was a wide river that separated the Fire Country and former Grass Country. He had heard the rumors as well. Powerful shinobi crushing the Grass in a matter of two days. He smiled at these thoughts as he walked over to the gray tent marked with his, Sasuke's, and Kakashi's names. He never fully grew out of wanting to prove his strength.
A pair of arms wrapped around him tight. Naruto looked behind him to see Hyuuga Hinata smiling and looking up at him.
"Neji's almost back from his patrol, so I'm taking the next unit out. But I just wanted to see you before I left." Naruto smiled as he bent over to kiss her. For the past five years, their relationship had grown, to where Naruto wanted to propose marriage. The Sound War that erupted after the death of Oruchimaru however, kept him occupied with missions. Even after the war's swift end, there was a ongoing power struggle between nations that kept most of Kohona's elite shinobi busy.
When this Stone business is over, maybe...
"The Hyuuga's team is back." A nearby shinobi called out. Naruto and Hinata looked westward to see the team come in at a high rate of speed. Something definitely was not right. In his arms, Neji held the limp body of a comrade, while two others trailed behind him.
"This isn't good," Kakashi remarked coming up behind Naruto. Those in the camp watched as Neji hurried in. Once he arrived, he lay down the shinobi he was carrying, who had a face paler than one would think humanly possible.
"Everyone step back," a medical ninja came through the crowd and immediately began examining the man. "There aren't any physical wounds," the medic said after removing the flak jacket. "And he appears to be alive."
"He's alive." Neji said. "During our patrol, we took a small break. He went to go to the bathroom, but it took him forever. Finally, we went out to look for him. We found him lying next to a tree, completely unconscious. After I checked his pulse, we headed back as fast as we could."
The medical ninja listened as he held his hand over the unconscious ninja's body, releasing an aura of green chakra pass from his palm into the body. As his hand passed over the ninja's head, he sat up with a jolt, screaming in horror. His arms flailed wildly in search of something to hold on to.
Neji grabbed him. "Calm down." He yelled, but to no avail. Finally, the medic tapped him with his hand on the back of his neck. The screaming stopped, and the ninja went limp again.
"Take him to the medical tent," the medical ninja ordered. Neji picked up his comrade and followed the medic.
Kakashi turned to Hinata. "Your patrol is not going for the time being. I am going to see things for myself. Naruto, I need you to accompany me."
"Okay." Naruto responded, before turning back to Hinata. "I'll be back later." After giving her a kiss goodbye, he and Kakashi sped off westward.
In the shadows of the forest, a dark figure crouched over a radio set, switching switches till he acquired the right frequency. "I'm in," he spoke as he rubbed his eyes.
"You're late in reporting." A voice from the radio responded. "What's the hold-up?"
"I ran into a patrol, but my presence hasn't been discovered. I had to use it on a Leaf."
"You fool, are you trying to get caught? This entire mission depends on your performance!"
"It was necessary. Don't talk to me about the mission. I know what I'm doing, and I can assure you, I have not been discovered."
"Don't disappoint me."
The figure snarled before turning off the radio. His tail twitched in agitation.
The moon lit the surrounding countryside as the encampment settled down for the night. Naruto and Kakashi had just returned from their scouting mission. Kakashi did not find anything. Whoever it was had been extra careful in disguising both his trail and his scent. Leaving Naruto to get some food, he went to the medical tent to get an analysis on the ninja who had been attacked earlier. As he approached the tent, Neji emerged from inside.
"How's the patient?"
"He's resting now, but he should be up soon." Neji responded.
"Tell me about it."
"We weren't able to get much out of him. He said something about a shadow in the woods. A shadow with eyes."
"Eyes?"
"Yes. He called them the 'eyes of death'. He said that when he looked into those eyes, images began to swirl around him. He saw his own body being ripped to shreds. It was as if his worst nightmares were coming alive before his eyes. After that, he doesn't remember anything."
"Genjutsu?"
"Probably. I used my Byakugan after we found him, but there was nobody around. Whatever he saw, it got away in a hurry." Kakashi remained silent after hearing this, contemplating what he should do.
After thinking, the copy ninja spoke. "Tomorrow, take another team on a patrol. I'm going to trail behind you with another team. If you see anything, contact me right away with your radio. Whatever it is, we're going to run it down and find out for ourselves who this is."
"Understood."
A group of Stone ninjas sat around a fire pit, eating their dinners and talking amongst themselves. Suddenly, one of them stood up in a flash.
"Who is it?" He shouted at an approaching figure. No answer came, but they soon figured who it was. As he came into the light of the fire, they saw his tail. "Kyoufu, you're late again. What's your excuse this time?"
The ninja removed his hood. The fire glowed in his deep-orange, slit-pupiled eyes. He muttered under his breath, then spoke aloud. "The Leafs have stepped up their patrols. I had to be more cautious coming back."
"You wouldn't have been late if you hadn't pulled that stunt earlier. Once the Leafs..."
"Shut up!" Kyoufu's eyes narrowed in on the Stone ninja, like a predator ready for the kill. "I'm warning you, do not undermine my authority here, trash. If you do, you will regret it for sure. Am I understood?" The Stone cowered away, now very afraid.
"Ye...yes, sir."
"Good. Now get me my supper. I'm hungry." The Stone hurried away, then came back with a plate of food. Kyoufu ate quickly, then left the deathly silent circle of Stones. Entering his tent, Kyoufu began removing his gear. The double-edged sword slung around his back he placed with extra care next to his sleeping bag.
"Mind if I come in?"
Kyoufu turned around. "Raikou-sensei."
"Hello, Kyoufu. I trust the Stones are treating you well."
The corner of his mouth smirked. "A band of fools if you ask me."
"That may be true, but it is the only way. Until Tsuchikage says so, we have to continue with the orders." The two sat down as Raikou poured some sake for his pupil.
Kyoufu sighed. "I wish there was some other way, any other way. Tsuchikage is crazy to invade the Leafs at a time like this. Their power is too strong to be taken as easily as the Grass." The pupil looked up at his master. "And, ... it's been getting worse."
"I was promised the medicine would work."
"Only a little. But when I used my Ryuugan on the Leaf shinobi, the pain returned." Kyoufu rubbed a spot over his right lung where the pain had began hours earlier.
"Hmm," Raikou sipped his drink. "Kyoufu, I know you are strong. Far stronger than I ever imagined you would become. But until we find out what's wrong with you, do not use it." Kyoufu looked up at him. "It's far too dangerous in your condition."
Kyoufu finished his drink. "Yes, sir."
Master and student continued on in discussion until Raikou left Kyoufu to get some rest. Tomorrow was another mission and the tailed-nin needed to regain his strength. Raikou walked alone towards his own tent when a Stone jounin stopped him.
"He wants to speak to you," the jounin said bluntly before turning towards his right. "This way." Raikou remained silent. At this time of night? What does he want now? They walked until they approached a much larger and well guarded tent. Raikou entered and before him, behind a dark curtain, sat Tsuchikage. He looked like a mere shadow from where Raikou stood. Quickly and humbly, he bowed before the kage and sat down.
Tsuchikage spoke first. "I have heard an unpleasant report that your student has been going out of his way recently. I must say that I am displeased with these actions."
"I apologize for Kyoufu's actions earlier. It will not happen again." Raikou bowed again to display his earnestness.
"For his own sake, I hope you are correct. He is one of the strongest shinobi I have under my command, and I have taken great pains to see that our secret weapon remains a secret until the time is right." The kage never even seemed to move an inch while talking. This unnerved Raikou at what his master was really thinking under that wide-brimmed kage hat. "Now, go."
"Yes, my lord." Raikou bowed one last time before exiting out into the night.
Chapter End
"Reiryuu Kibakudan no Jutsu" - "Sacred Dragon Exploding Bomb Technique"
"Ryuugan" - "Dragon Eye"