This story goes out to my friend Kyoki no Kage…You're awesome bro! I hope everyone enjoys this story...
Chapter One: The Return of Uzumaki Naruto!
Outside of Konohagakure: 5:24 PM
A couple of miles outside of Konohagakure, a black hole opened up, two people coming out. As soon as the shorter one came out, the black hole closed, as if it was never there.
The taller male shivered, and said, "You know I hate that thing Naruto, right?" he asked. The man was very tall, with long white hair, tied in a ponytail. He wore his hitai-ate around his forehead, and it had two horns at the top of it, and had the kanji for 'oil' on it. He had on a chain-mail shirt, under a red vest, and green shirt and pants, and a pair of geta.
"Perv, you complain every time I use the Garganta...Just do what I do, go with the flow Jiraiya…" he said to the newly named Jiraiya. "Besides, I hate walking when I can just snap my finger, and there opens a Garganta. I'm so glad the fox gave me the ability to use it. The cons didn't even matter." he said. Naruto changed from his orange jumpsuit, to something more suited for a student of a Sannin. He now wore a navy blue jacket that had long oversized sleeves, with fur lined around the collar of the jacket, over a thin gray shirt. He also wore the Godaime's necklace around his neck, shining brightly. If one saw him with his jacket off, they would see his left arm bandaged up for some odd reason. He wore a pair of black pants, with a pair of geta as well. His usually untamed blond hair only grew longer, now tied up in a loose ponytail like his sensei. He also had the right side of his head bandaged, a lot of strands of his blond hair sticking from the cracks in the bandages.
"Naruto, just don't use it with me anymore. It feels creepy.." he said, and they began walking to their home village. "Naruto, I almost forgot...You were promoted from the Chuunin Exams, so you will have more duties now that you moved up in rank. They're gonna make you lead missions now, so don't screw up kid." he told the blond boy.
Naruto nodded, and they decided to run to their village. They both arrived in Konoha several minutes later. Naruto started to feel nostalgic. "Ahh….Konoha. I'm back!" he said loudly, causing Jiraiya to chuckle.
"No matter how serious you got, you still have that knuckle-head deep down somewhere…" he said, this time clearly laughing. He got shoved lightly. "Come on kid, open the damn thing again, so we can get to the Hokage's office. I'm sure she's dying to see her favorite gaki again…"
Naruto grinned, "I know you liked the technique deep down perv." he said, as he focused the Kyuubi's chakra in his bandaged arm, and snapped his finger and said, "Kuchiyose: Garganta. (1)" The same black hole opened in front of Naruto, and the blond looked at the man, and said, "You know the drill old man, go in. Can't have you lost in another realm after all. Who would teach me more about sealing if you got lost?" he asked joking, and got a slap upside the head. "Ow…" he said dryly, as his sensei walked ahead of him into the black hole, and Naruto followed. They didn't notice that some of the ninja in their village saw the two, and began to spread the news that the most unpredictable ninja has returned to his people...
The black hole appeared in the back of the Hokage's office, and as soon as Tsunade felt the chakra appear in the room, she prepared for a fight. As soon as the hole opened, two males appeared, and as soon as she realized whose chakra it belonged to, she jumped out of her chair, and leapt towards the shorter one. "Gaki!" she shouted, as she grabbed Naruto in a bone-crushing hug.
"Baa-chan, you're crushing me...I missed you too, but lemme go already!" he mumbled out.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya laughed loudly. "Told ya Naruto she missed you a lot! Lucky brat…" he said.
She looked him over, and said, "You actually look like a Chuunin should brat. I'm proud. Now tell me what you learned over the three years you were gone, and why you have the right side of your head bandaged." she ordered, as she sat down in her chair, and the two males sat down in front of her.
Jiraiya spoke first. "Well Hime, over the three years, the kid learned a lot. The first year, he learned basic Fuuinjutsu and I also taught him more about summoning, like how you can summon more than just animals. He was so amazed by the simple feat, that he dove right into summoning, but thats another topic. He also learned many Katon jutsu, since it was his main alignment because of the Kyuubi, and Suiton, since it was his actual element. He also learned the secret of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (2), which he used to learn more about summoning different things. The second year, we went traveling around the Elemental Nations, to teach him different techniques that other countries had to offer. Nothing too major, basic techniques. He also began learning harder Fuuinjutsu and Taijutsu styles. At first, he wanted to learn Kenjutsu, but he decided to go into sealing and other things. And the final year, he learned how to control the majority of the Kyuubi's chakra from a wandering Jinchuuriki, the Six-tails to be exact. After he learned how to control his power, I informed him of his parentage." he said, as Tsunade's eyes widened.
"He knows?" she asked, as she looked Naruto in the eye. "Naruto, I-" was all she said, as he interrupted with a small smile on his face.
"I know Baa-chan, and I'm not angry with you or Jii-jii.I understand why you didn't tell me. I would have told everyone that talked shit to me, and that could have put me in more danger than I needed. But, now that I'm a Chuunin, I can become the Head of the Uzumaki Clan, in honor of my mother, Kushina Uzumaki, second Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune…" he said.
Tsunade nodded with tears of happiness in her eyes. He didn't hate her of her sensei after all. "That's right gaki, now tell me what you have your head bandaged for.."
Naruto smirked, and took off his jacket as well. "First, you have to understand Baa-chan. While I was learning about sealing, I had an interesting meeting with the fox…" he said, as Tsunade was about to speak up, he held his hand in the air. "I'm not finished, listen to me. Like I said, I had an interesting meeting with it. I met it in my mindscape, and made with the beast." he said, and unwrapped the bandages on his arm. "In exchange for it being able to see directly what I see, it gave me the ability to use it's chakra as much as I want, but in my left arm mainly. So, I had an idea. When I use the Kyuubi's chakra, I can do amazing things with it, so I decided to put an insane amount of seals on my arm, in order to allow me to summon things, like the Garganta for example. I can do so much more with the arm, but that's for later conversation." He showed her the seals on his arm, and she was shocked at the layers of seals on his arm. She looked to his sensei, and he simply nodded, and said, "I checked them, and checked them again Hime. There's nothing wrong with any of the seals."
She let out a breath. Naruto rewrapped his arm, and put back on his jacket. Then, he unwrapped his bandages on his head, and showed her something that both shocked and scared her a bit. Where his normal blue eye should have been, a blood red slitted eye was in it's place. "Naruto! Is it permanent?" she asked frantically.
Naruto sighed. "Yeah it is Baa-chan. Like I told the pervert, the price was well worth it. It can still see through the bandages, but no one can see through them. When I take the bandages off, I can use genjutsu, but otherwise I can't. It also gives it the the ability to protect me from Genjutsu as well, so it's a win win." he concluded, and wrapped the right side of his head back again.
She sighed deeply. "If you say so Naruto, I'm just glad you're back. We'll have a council meeting discussing your request to restart the Uzumaki Clan in Konoha. But enough about that. I'm going to have to evaluate you to see if you're truly ready to be a Chuunin, and if you impress me and the other evaluators, maybe you could be promoted to Jounin." she said, shocking both Naruto and Jiraiya.
"Jounin!" both master and pupil said/asked.
She nodded with a smile on her face. "Yes Jounin. We're in need of more Jounin, and Konoha would be a fool not to see if a Sannin's pupil wouldn't be Jounin level in three years. Sakura was promoted to Chuunin already, and Neji Jounin. Shikamaru was promoted to Chuunin also. He's too lazy to take the position to be a Jounin, but we both know you'd be jumping at the chance." she told the two of them.
Naruto and Jiraiya looked at each other, and back at Tsunade. "Hell yeah I/he would!"
Naruto had a huge grin on his face, and asked, "When do I get evaluated?"
Tsunade was about to answer, but her door was busted down, as most of the Rookie 9 plus Team Gai and the Konohamaru Corps. busted in the room.
Tsunade's apprentice asked her, "Is it true Sensei? Is Naruto really back?" The blond Hokage grinned, and said, "Of course he is Sakura, in fact, he's right in front of me…"
Everyone looked to the two people in front of her, and their eyes widened. "Is that really you Naruto?" his friend Kiba asked, eyes widened at the sight of his close friend.
"Yep Kiba! In the flesh!" he said, grin wider than before. He stood up, and hugged both Sakura and Hinata. "Ohayo you two!"
Sakura grinned, "Same old Naruto!" However, Hinata's eyes widened to epic proportions, and fainted with the hugest smile ever.
Naruto laughed loudly, "Same old Hinata!" he let go of the two, and picked up Hinata, and put her on the Hokage's couch. He looked at the rest of the people in the room. "So...How have you all been while I was gone?"
Shouts of random things filled the room, and soon, Tsunade had to interrupt the chatter. "Sorry you all, but Naruto here has an evaluation to undergo to see if he's right for the position of Chuunin, and maybe even Jounin." she said, causing many looks of shock to fill the room. She continued her speech. "Naruto, in three hours, you will be evaluated by me, and two others to see how you have grown. To see if you are, I have decided to make you have a two on two spar. You may pick one person to be with you, but I'm going to tell you right now who you'll be fighting against. Your opponents will be Kakashi and Neji…" she announced, causing Neji to grin in anticipation.
"Looks like I get my rematch, eh Naruto?" he asked, positively ecstatic at the thought of facing his rival once more.
Naruto broke out in a massive smirk this time. "That it seems Neji, and since I'm facing you and Kakashi-sensei, I have no choice but to pick Lee to partner up with me!" he announced.
Lee exploded in happiness. "YOSH! Naruto-kun, your Flames of Youth are most admirable! I will be honored to fight beside you!"
Tsunade smiled. "Well, Naruto, Neji, and Lee, be ready in three hours…" she said, as she ushered the ninja out of the room, leaving only her and her teammate. "So, how do you think he will do Jiraiya?" she asked.
The white haired man smiled widely, "He'll shock you more than you can imagine…" he said…
Three Hours Later: Konohagakure no Sato, 8:07 PM
Everyone was gathered at Training Ground 7, to see Naruto's evaluation. The ones that were helping Tsunade evaluate him were Danzo and Shibi Aburame.
Ino asked Sakura and Shino, "Do you think he can become a Jounin?"
Shino said, "I do not know Ino-san. Naruto-san has been training under Jiraiya-sama for three years, there's no telling what he's learned."
She looked at Sakura, and she told Ino, "Of course Naruto's gonna be a Jounin! Him and Sasuke were always strong…" she said, a vacant look in her eyes at the memories of Team 7, but shook it off.
Tsunade looked at Naruto and Lee, and Kakashi and Neji. Kakashi looked at his pupil, and said, "My my, you've grown Naruto-kun…"
Naruto grinned, "Thanks Kaka-sensei! But no more talk, or you might lose!" He took off his jacket, and threw it to Jiraiya, "Hold this for me…."
Tsunade shouted enough for everyone to hear, "Are you four ready to begin the fight?" Neither team said anything, so she assumed they had no objections, so she said, "Well, begin!"
Both teams jumped back, and Kakashi started the fight off. He did a few handsigns, and said, "Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu! (3)" blowing a slipstream of flames from his mouth, causing both Naruto and Lee to dodge. Lee rushed to Neji, and shouted, "Konoha Senpū! (4)" spinning in a circle, and attempted to kick the Hyuuga boy, but he side-stepped, and attempted to palm strike Lee.
"Yosh Neji-kun, but you're going to have to try harder than that to hit me!" he said.
Neji smirked, "You took the words right out of my mouth…"
Naruto rushed over to cover Lee's back, and did handsigns with his right hand, and shouted, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (5)!" He spat out two fireballs at Neji, and shouted, "Move Lee!", to get his teammate out of the way.
One the Sidelines…..
Danzo's visible eye widened, "One-handed seals? Interesting…" Tsunade and Shibi nodded in agreement. "I wonder when he learned to do that?"
Sakura's eyes widened as well, 'I thought only Haku could do those...Naruto, how strong are you?' she thought.
Asuma Sarutobi grinned, 'Looks like the gaki grew up….'
Back to the Fight
Kakashi was shocked at seeing the one-handed seals. 'Interesting…', and he countered one of Naruto's fireballs with a cry of, "Suiton: Hahonryu (6)!" and blew out an angry river of water out of his mouth, putting out the fireball,and Neji muttered, "Kaiten (7)!" and deflected the other, sending it flying away from the training grounds. Lee found his opening after Neji stopped spinning, and with a cry of Konoha Senpū, he knocked Neji into a tree…
Kakashi helped his teammate from the tree, and gave him a plasma pill, to stop the bleeding.
"I'm impressed Naruto…..Jiraiya taught you well over the years...But you're not stronger than me!" he shouted playfully, and said, "Neji, watch this, one of the strongest techniques I know…." He prepared the handsigns..
Naruto and Lee gathered together. Both Lee and Naruto felt the surge of chakra from Kakashi from across from them, so he said, "Lee get behind me, and as soon as I give the signal, I want you to take out Kakashi, and I will take care of Neji…"
"You got it Naruto-kun, I won't fail!"
Kakashi took a deep breath, and shouted, "Raiton: Rairyuendan! (8)", as he breathed out a 40 foot crackling yellow dragon…
The dragon let out a mighty roar, and flew towards the duo. Both of them saw the dragon, and looked at each other. Lee said seriously for once, "Naruto-kun, I hope you have something to stop that mighty beast, or we're done for…"
Naruto looked at his partner, and said with a smile, "But of course I have a technique, now watch…" he unraveled the bandages on his arm, and the seals started to glow bright red, as the blond shouted and slammed his hand on the ground, "Shouheki Bijutsu #23: Teikokujidai no Tenseifuku! (9), causing huge spikes of rock to shoot up from the earth, protecting Lee and Naruto from the giant dragon let loose one more roar, as it tried to break through the defense made by the boy.
On the Sidelines….
Kiba's eyes widened to epic size, as he shouted, "Oh my God…...That's insane!"
Ino, Sakura, and Choji couldn't even speak, due to their amazement at the two techniques used. Hinata smiled softly, 'Naruto-kun, you've grown so much….'
Shino and Shikamaru watched and kept quiet, them too in absolute awe of their fellow ninja's skills.
"What do you think you two? Jounin or not?" Tsunade asked Danzo and Shibi.
The tall glasses-wearing man said, "I believe he is ready to be a Jounin. He protected his teammate, and covered his weakness when it was needed of him."
Danzo thought about it, "Uzumaki is indeed Jounin material. His knowledge of such techniques and his ability to think in mid-battle is most valuable of a Jounin."
Back to the Fight…
Naruto looked back at his teammate, and shouted over the roar of the dragon, "Now Lee! End it!"
Lee gave a quick thumbs up, "Got it Naruto-kun!" The green clad boy gathered his energy, and opened the first gate, causing chakra to surge from the boy. He raced towards his target, and engaged in a heavy Taijutsu match with the Copy-Nin…While Kakashi was fighting Lee, his concentration broke, causing the dragon to disperse in the air.
Naruto sighed. He shouted to Neji, "Here I come Neji! Prepare yourself!" He used Shunshin to reach the Hyuuga quickly, and pushed chakra to his fist, and said grinning, "Hadouken! (10) Neji dodged the crackling fist, and axe-kicked Naruto, sending him skidding back.
Naruto shouted for Neji to hear, "No more Ninjutsu, only Taijutsu, agreed?"
Neji smiled, "You read my mind Naruto…" They both disappeared, and met fists crashing into each other, though they didn't have any effect on the boys. They both vanished again, only to meet throwing kicks at each other, with both blocking each other. Neji looked away for a split second at Kakashi and Lee, and got a fist in the gut, that knocked the wind from him.
"You know better than to look away Neji…" he said, as he ran to his opponent, to end the fight, but Neji grinned, "I've got you now Naruto... Hakke Hasangeki! (11), and his palm crashed into the running Naruto, sending him flying, but he didn't stop. He sprinted to Naruto's flying form, and shouted, this is the end Naruto!" he shouted, and prepared to use the technique once more.
Naruto was ready for it though. "I hope this works, or I'm done for…" he said, as he turned his body in the air, and forced an eighth of his chakra in his palm, and shouted, "It's over Neji, Hakke Atsugai! (12)"
Neji's palm met with Naruto's, as he shouted, "Hakke Hasangeki!"
As their palms collided, a loud 'boom' sound was created from the chakra put in their attacks.
On the Sidelines…
Everyone was shocked at the amount of techniques being thrown around. The Konohamaru Corps. had stars in their eyes. Konohamaru, Naruto's 'pupil' was going crazy on the sidelines.
"Go Naruto-nisan! WHOO!" he shouted, along with Udon and Moegi. 'I have got to get Naruto-nisan teach me those jutsu! I'll be the strongest student in the Academy!' they each thought.
Sakura couldn't even blink, afraid she would miss her teammate in action. Many of the Rookie 9 were the same way.
Tsunade looked around for her favorite person in the entire Elemental Nations. She also was looking for Kakashi and Lee, and she saw them. They were on the verge of passing out, but neither would give up in their Taijutsu match. She found Naruto and Neji, bleeding all over the place, still fighting each other. Naruto jumped back, and quickly tried to axe-kick Neji, but he ducked under his foot, and attempted an axe-kick of his own. His, however, hit his mark.
Naruto fell to the ground, and picked himself up. He spat out a mouthful of blood. He stood up, laughing. "See Neji, this is how our first match should have been, don't ya agree?"
Neji laughed too. "I agree Naruto! Would've shocked the entire village if we would've fought it out like this! Unfortunately, I'm almost out of chakra, and I can see that you are too, so let's finish this, ok?" he asked.
Naruto nodded his head, "One more attack!" he shouted, as both Neji and Naruto ran at a fast speed, and shouted, "Hakke Hasangeki/Hakke Atsugai!"
Their attacks both connected, causing both to fly back, and land on their backs. They both stumbled to their feet, and looked at each other. Naruto said, "I'm glad I got my rematch against you Neji….."
"Likewise Naruto. Damn, my body feels like crap." he said.
"Mine too, damn it!" he muttered, as the both of them fell face first into the ground. "Oi, Neji, you still awake over there?" Naruto asked, face in the dirt.
Neji sighed, there was no way he could get himself up. "Yes Naruto, I'm awake. I refuse to lose to you again…It's beneath the Hyuuga…" he joked.
Naruto wanted to laugh, but his lungs hurt. "Well, Uzumaki don't give up either, so you're going to be up for a long time!"
They would have continued, but Tsunade finally walked to the both of them, and with Jiraiya's help, they got the two boys, and Shunshined to the hospital. Shibi and Danzo got Kakashi and Lee, and took them as well.
Everyone used Shunshin to get to the hospital, to see how the four were faring.
Konohagakure Hospital: 11:45 PM
Naruto woke up, with everyone around him and Neji. He looked over at Neji, who looked like he wanted out of the hospital, and Naruto felt the same way. Naruto knew Neji could read lips, so he mouthed, 'Any way to get out of here?'
Neji activated his Byakugan, and looked around. He shook his head, and mouthed back, 'Not at all, Hokage-sama is outside of the door, and Jiraiya-sama is watching outside of the window….'
Naruto groaned. He sat up, and said to Sakura, "Sakura-chan, go tell Baa-chan I want out of here! I can't take it here anymore!" he shouted in frustration.
As soon as he began ranting, said Hokage walked in, and threw the clipboard at Naruto. It hit him on the forehead, which caused him to lay down again. "Calm down brat! As a Jounin, you're gonna have to be more mature!" she shouted.
Naruto caught the good news of him being a Jounin, but he kept antagonizing the Hokage. "Mature? I guess you'd know all about that, eh Baa-chan?"
Neji closed his eyes, and said a quick prayer for his friend and rival. He was treading dangerous waters…
"What did you just say brat?" she said, face red in anger. Naruto tried to unwrap his arm, and use a Garganta, but he looked over, and saw Shizune holding his free arm.
"Hi Naruto-kun…" she said.
Naruto grinned. "Ohayo Shizune-neechan! Can you please let go of my arm?" he asked.
The woman shook her head no. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but I was told to keep you here until Hokage-sama allowed you to go." she said. Everyone besides Neji laughed at the blond's troubles.
Naruto scowled, and looked towards Tsunade's direction. She smirked, "Ha brat! Shouldn't have been so reckless! You should be lucky that you both just had minor chakra exhaustion. At least you'll be out by the morning...And I have some good news for you too brat. While you were passed out, Jiraiya went to the council on your behalf, and argued your case. The Uzumaki Clan is now a major clan in Konoha!"
Everyone's eyes widened in comedic shock, and Naruto promptly fainted.
Outside of Konoha Hospital: 9:00 AM
Naruto stood outside the hospital, grinning like a madman. He finally was a Jounin, now there was only one more step left: Hokage, but that could wait, he had nothing but time.
Neji walked out moments later. "How you feeling Naruto, being a Clan Head? You know there's going to be a lot of paperwork now, right?"
Naruto snorted, and motioned for Neji to come close. He whispered, "That's no problem for me...I have the secret to paperwork. You remember the technique I used during the Chuunin Exams?" he asked.
Neji thought about it, and he choked on air. It was so simple! Naruto nodded sagely, and whispered once more, "Don't tell a soul this secret…" Neji nodded, and remembered the secret for when he was in a position of power.
Naruto thought about something. "Eh Neji. Where could I buy a nice sized house? Starting a new clan, I can't stay living in an apartment." he said.
Neji thought, and remembered a spot. "There's one near the Sarutobi Clan Compound...Ask Hokage-sama about buying it if you like it." he advised.
Naruto grinned, and created two Kage Bunshin, and told them, "One of you go ask Tsunade-baa-chan about buying the compound near the Sarutobi Clan Compound, and the other go check it out. Dispel yourselves once you complete your tasks."
They both nodded, and used Shunshin to go to their assigned places. The original looked at Neji, "So...What do you do as a Jounin?"
Neji said nothing, just grinned, and used Shunshin to go back to the Hyuuga Compound.
"I wonder what that was about…" he said to himself. Naruto shrugged it off, and used a Garganta to get to the Hokage Tower. Naruto arrived in Tsunade's office, and she groaned.
"Didn't I just see you a few minutes ago brat? What now?" she asked.
Naruto smiled, "That was a clone. I wanna know what do I do now that I'm a Jounin? There's no way I'm taking a team yet. And I'm buying the Compound near the Sarutobi Compound. So, I'm going to need access to both of my Clan's accounts." he told the blond woman.
She nodded, and looked in her Books, and scribbled numbers on a piece of paper, and handed it to Naruto. "Those are the the account numbers to both clan's banks. And you can buy the Compound if you want to also." she told the boy, and she continued talking. "About your new duties. Now that you're a Jounin, you will eventually have to be a sensei, but you can gain experience as a Jounin first." she said.
Naruto let out a breath of relief, and made two more clones. He instructed, "Ok, here's the account information for our bank accounts. One of you go get enough money to buy the account, and the other go buy things for the house, once you buy the things I need, burn the paper, and dispel yourselves, got it?"
They both shouted, "Yes Boss!" and disappeared. Naruto was about to leave the room, but both him and Tsunade heard the call of a nin-bird, which was tapping on the window. Tsunade let it in, and read the message written on the scroll. As soon as she read the message, her eyes widened, and she dropped the scroll. Naruto, curious, read it.
His eyes widened as well, and he whispered, "Gaara…." He turned serious. "Baa-chan, I'm going to rescue him!" he said angrily.
She wanted to bang her head against the desk, but chose not to. "You're just lucky that this is perfect to gain leadership experience. "I'll allow you to pick three people to go with you on this mission, and you'll get back-up in two days max." she told him.
Naruto thought for a minute, and said, "I choose Hinata, Sakura, and Shino."
She was actually surprised at his choice of teammates, but said nothing about his choice. "Ok, retrieve them ASAP, and Jiraiya, and back-up will be there when they can…Dismissed!" she roared, and he quickly used a Shunshin to get to the main gates. He made three Kage Bunshin, and told them their missions. He himself already had everything he would need for a mission.
In less than 30 minutes, their team was there at the gates. Naruto looked over the three of them, and said, "There is no time to fool around. Less than 10 hours ago, the Kazekage was abducted by the Akatsuki. Tsunade-Baa-chan has assigned me as team leader for this mission, since I have been in contact with them before, and because I know Gaara the most. As soon as we reach Suna, we will split into two groups. The two teams will be Shino and Sakura, and Hinata and I. I don't have to explain the reasons, as you should already understand. We can't afford to fail this mission you guys…" Naruto didn't wear the jacket this time, so he could use his more powerful techniques with ease. He allowed more chakra to enter his bandaged arm, and he snapped his finger, causing the Garganta to open.
"Naruto, what the hell is that thing?" Sakura asked scared. Hinata and Shino wanted to know as well. Shino had a slight idea how he did it, after watching him and Lee fight, but decided against saying anything.
Naruto shook his head. "No time to answer those questions, the only thing you need to know for now, is that you never go in last, that is my job. If you go in last, then you're lost forever...Now go in!" he ordered. They did as he told them, and walked in slowly, and as soon as Naruto walked in, the hole closed swiftly.
Sunagakure: 12 PM
Suddenly, the hole reopened, and spat out the three shinobi that came with Naruto, the blond landing on his feet. "This is where we split up for now. I want everyone to be on the same frequency, so change your earpieces to my frequency now." he told them. Sakura and Shino, I want you two to find Temari and Kankuro, and tell them that we are going ahead, and to send either one to assist us, and have the other to help you. Good luck you two", he told them, as Naruto opened another Garganta, and Hinata leapt in first, and Naruto right behind him.
Less than 5 minutes later, they appeared in a desert. 'Can you hear me Shino?' Naruto asked on his earpiece. He heard his voice, 'Hai Naruto-san. We have some bad news though. As soon as we entered the hospital, we found the Kazekage's brother in critical condition. His sister has left the village to assist you as soon as I told her your instructions. Right now, Sakura-san is helping the hospital find a cure to his poison. Naruto-san, you and Hinata-san be careful. They told us who did this to him. It was Sasori of the Red Sand, and the Mad Bomber, Diedara of the Rock…' the boy said.
Hinata spoke this time,'We understand Shino-kun. Please just save him, and get to the bottom of this. It should have been impossible for them to just abduct Gaara-san like that. He was no pushover, so it could be a set up…' Shino said nothing, and did as Hinata wanted.
Naruto grimaced. This wouldn't be easy. He looked at his partner, and said, "Hinata-chan, we're going to have to pull out all of the stops for us to win against two S-rank ninja. I'll cover your back, and you will attack, got it?" he asked.
She said nothing, but nodded. They raced through the desert, in hopes of at least spotting the two nuke-nin.
They soon got their wish, as they saw a hunchbacked man, dragging Gaara though the sand, and a tall blond male talking to the shorter one. The shorter one looked older than the taller one, and had cornrolls going to the back of his head. The taller one had long blond hair. They both wore a black cloak with red clouds. Suddenly, they felt someone watching them, so they turned around, and saw Hinata and Naruto preparing for a fight.
Naruto said through his earpiece, 'Found them Sakura, they have Gaara. I don't know if he's ok, but we'll get him back! From this point forward, I'm cutting off the link!' he said, and before he could get a response, he cut the frequency, as did Hinata.
"Are you sure that was a smart idea Naruto-kun?" she asked quietly.
Naruto nodded. He then spoke to the taller man, "Give back the Kazekage, Akatsuki!"
The taller one looked at Naruto and laughed, "Sasori, could that be the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki? He looks-" as he got a few kunai and shuriken thrown, courtesy of Hinata. "Don't talk about Naruto-kun in that manner," she growled out.
Hinata jumped back to her partner's side, and activated her Byakugan.
"I was wondering when you were going to use it…" Naruto said, but then he did one-handed handsigns, and said, "Well Hinata-chan, let's get this party started, Katon: Hotaru no Hinotama! (13)" and blew out about fifteen small fireballs, which flew to the two ninja.
Diedara dodged them, though Sasori wasn't so lucky. The small fireballs hit their target, and exploded.
BOOM!
When the smoke from the explosion cleared, there wasn't the hunchback anymore In fact, there was a mess of broken puppet pieces on the ground. In its place, was a teenage looking boy, with sandy red hair. He wore a blank expression, and still had on the black cloak with red clouds. "I never thought a newly made Jounin would be able to do that with only one attack, but never the less. You still won't win…" he said in a monotone.
The Hyuuga heiress only smiled softly, "I'm assuming you have a spy in Konoha, if you knew about Naruto-kun's promotion, but that doesn't matter right now. We came for the Kazekage, and that's what we'll get." she said.
Diedara was slowly getting agitated, so he reached inside of his cloak, and pulled out some clay, and molded it in his hand. Soon, he made a few small clay birds, and forced them to fly towards the duo. "Take this fools!" he shouted, and as soon as the birds were near them, he screamed, "Katsu!"
BOOM!
They didn't hear what the blond said over the explosion, but the seals on Naruto's arm glowed a bright red, and he muttered, "Shouheki Bijutsu #1: Ōkinaishi no Kabe. (14)" When the smoke cleared, both Hinata and Naruto were safe, behind a big stone wall.
Naruto's partner almost had a heart attack. "Naruto-kun, you can't keep surprising me like this…..I thought we were done for.." she said.
The blond grinned, and said, "I told you I'll cover us, and you do the majority of the attacking...He allowed the wall to crumble, and he looked towards the two across from them, and spoke loud enough for the nuke-nin to hear. "I hope that's not all you two can do…"
That made both Diedara and Sasori quite irritated. Sasori showed some emotion, as he grinned. "Uzumaki, I was going to save this for later, but you've irked me for the second and final time. Let me show you exactly why I am wanted dead by Suna…" he pulled out a scroll from his sleeve, and threw it in the air, and a cloud of smoke appeared over it, and when it went away, Sasori had his hands out in front of him, and chakra strings attached to all ten of his fingers. What caused both Naruto and Hinata to groan in frustration, was that it seemed as if the man had control of over a hundred puppets! "With these, I took control over a fortress….You've lost." he said with Diedara grinning madly.
"My my Sasori-sempai…" he said.
Sasori didn't even look at him. "You finally can say you saw true art Diedara...Be proud of yourself." he taunted.
Naruto was looking over the one hundred puppets, and said to Hinata, "I think we have a good chance at beating them!" She looked at the boy with a crazed expression.
"What? What's wrong with you Naruto-kun? We need beat them, or we're dead!"
Naruto scoffed. "Fine, but I wanna make a bet. If I can beat more puppets, you have to teach me how to use the Kaiten, and if you win, I'll teach you how to make that wall I just created. Deal?" he asked, holding out his hand, which she shook without hesitation. "Deal!"
"Oi puppet boy! Come on already! I need to win this bet!" Naruto shouted, as they both ran straight into the mass of puppets, smashing anything that came close.
"Kaiten!" was shouted by Hinata, sending a gang of puppets flying. "Naruto-kun, I got five!"
Naruto grinned, as he was surrounded by puppets. He did a few handsigns, and shouted, Senko no Mai: Hadouken!"(15) And the boy started moving lightning fast, and punched wildly, fists crackling with chakra. Every time he punched a puppet, he created a huge, gaping hole somewhere on them, disabling them permanently. "That's number 7!" he shouted, as he punched one more puppet in the face, ending it's existence. "Never mind, that makes eight!"
Sasori looked at his partner with distaste. "Damn it, do something Diedara! I don't want to be forced to use my trump card yet!"
Diedara shouted, "Already on it oh great Sasori-sama! This is true art Sasori!" What he created couldn't be described as anything but amazing. It was a gigantic falcon made of clay. As soon as he made it, Naruto and Hinata doubled their effort in destroying the puppets.
Diedara grinned insanely, and forced the falcon to rush the two Jounin. "It's over ypu too!" he said with glee.
Naruto screamed frantically, "Hinata-chan, cover me! I have to summon something to save us!"
She said nothing, but did as was asked to save their asses. She jumped in front of Naruto, and said plainly, "Hakke: Sanbyaku Rokujuu Ichishiki!" (16) Her hands blurred, and she began smashing everything in her path.
Meanwhile, Naruto flared his chakra wildly. He began a chant, "Oh mighty God, grant me the strength to overcome my enemies and defend all that is precious to me, Bakuodo #72: Kami Chikaraniyottetenjō no Kyūin!" (17) he roared, as a huge whirlpool appeared in front of Hinata and Naruto, and sucked in the entire bird, and disappeared in thin air.
Hinata looked at Naruto in awe and respect, and saw the blond breathing heavily. "Come on HInata-cha, let's finish this, before I have to use its chakra…"She knew exactly what he meant. "How much chakra do you have left Naruto?"
Naruto thought about it, as he smashed a puppet to pieces. "About 35%…."
Diedara was livid now. He began creating a huge amount of clay explosions. "You bastards destroyed my art, DIE!" he shouted, as he made his creations fly towards the two. "KATSU!" he roared, as they exploded, the shockwave sending the two Konoha nin backwards.
When they got up, both Naruto and Hinata were heavily bleeding, Hinata's limbs were bleeding, and Naruto's face bruised and bleeding. "Is that all you got assholes? It ain't enough to put us down!" Naruto shouted, growing more and more angry by the second, but when Hinata put her hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes, he slowly calmed down. He muttered a quick 'thank you' and they looked at their two opponents.
Sasori said nothing, but doubled his efforts to kill the two Jounin.
Naruto said, "Eh, Hinata-chan, do you happen to know any Futon jutsu?"
The girl thought about it, "Only one, but it should do the trick. Let me prepare to use it Naruto-kun." she said, as she grinned for once, and prepared the handsigns. Suddenly, her chakra flared, and she shouted, "Futon: Shippuu no Hageshii!" (18) and blew out a torrent of wind upwards, as Naruto shook his head with a grin. "Only we would get this pumped up in a life or death situation. Well you emotionless bastard, here I go. Let's get this party started! Katon: Hikyuu no Amaterasu!" (19) He held his hands high above his head, and slowly, a ball of flames started forming, and when it was done, it was about half of the size of Gamabunta. "Ha! You bastard, how do you like this!" He screamed, as the flames were getting fed by the wind made by Hinata, causing the small balls of fire to turn into basket-ball sized meteors, shooting down.
Sasori smirked, "Impressive, but not good enough." he said, as three puppets formed a triangle, by standing on each other, and a black hole started forming in the hole of the triangle, sucking the balls of flames inside of them. "Sanbou Kyuukai." (20) he muttered. However, they couldn't get them all, as a lot of the puppets were incinerated by the flames. Naruto and Hinata blew wind and fire at the three puppets, and while they were distracted, they were destroyed by the two attacks.
"This bastard…." he muttered. "Sasori, you're good, very good. It's time to pull out my trump card. Be lucky. Hinata-chan! I need you to destroy the rest of the puppets!" he said, as he gathered the remainder of his chakra, and jumped forwards, and began spinning at a dangerous speed, "Saikooshitsubusu!" (21) When he was spinning, his body had a purple tint to it. His spinning body crashed into Diedara, while he was still making clay beasts. Meanwhile, Hinata was still using the Jyuuken to obliterate the puppets. About 20 surrounded her, and she grinned, and they rushed her, only to meet her head on. She palm-struck three, and caught one by the leg, and threw it backwards, and elbowed four. She jumped on ones head, and pulled out a kunai, and started slashing down the puppets. She pulled out a explosive tag, and jumped far back, and threw it, destroying the last puppets.
'Oi, Fox, lend me your chakra! This is about to get messy…' he said to the Kyuubi, and felt a chakra surge in response. Naruto started laughing, and formed a handsign with his sealed arm. "Time to end this Sasori, Bakuodo #45: Gokkoukakuchuu!" (22) he shouted, as five lights struck the puppet master, holding him in place.
'What is this technique? I've never seen such jutsu…' he thought to himself, Diedara thinking the same thing.
"Hinata move! Hijutsu: Teikoku Sekai Kakumei!" (23), causing metal spikes to rise out of the ground, attempting to skewer Sasori, but Diedara saved him in the last minute. "Whew! If I wasn't there to save ya, you'd be dead as a rock Sasori-sempai." he said.
A gust of wind was headed his way. He dodged it, and looked at Naruto and Hinata, both looking for the attacker as well.
"Looks like we made it in time, huh Chiyo-baa-sama?" a feminine voice asked.
The old woman smirked. "That we did Temari-chan, that we did."
Chapter End
Jutsu List
Kuchiyose: Garganta - Summoning: Black Cavity
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone Jutsu
Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu - Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique
Konoha Senpū - Leaf Whirlwind
Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu - Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique
Suiton: Hahonryu - Water Release: Rapid Crusher
Kaiten - Heavenly Spin
Raiton: Rairyuendan - Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Missile
Shouheki Bijutsu #23: Teikokujidai no Tenseifuku - Barrier Arts #23: Heavenly Subjugation of the Imperial Age
Hadouken - Surge Fist
Hakke Hasangeki - Eight Trigrams Destructive Mountain FIst
Hakke Atsugai - Eight Trigrams Pressure Damage
Katon: Hotaru no Hinotama - Fire Release: Firefly Fireball
Shouheki Bijutsu #1: Ōkinaishi no Kabe - Barrier Arts #1: Great Stone Wall
Senko no Mai: Hadouken - Flash Dance, Surge Fist
Hakke: Sanbyaku Rokujuu Ichishiki - Eight Trigrams Three Hundred Sixty-One Palms
Bakuodo #72: Kami Chikaraniyottetenjō no Kyūin - Way of Binding #72: Heavenly Suction by the Might of God
Futon: Shippuu no Hageshii - Wind Release: Furious Hurricane Technique
Katon: Hikyuu no Amaterasu - Fire Release: Flaming Globe of Illuminating Heaven
Sanbou Kyuukai - Buddha's Three Treasures Vacuum Destruction
Saikooshitsubusu - Psycho Crusher
Bakuodo #45: Gokkoukakuchuu - Way of Binding #45: Five Light Prism
Hijutsu: Teikoku Sekai Kakumei - Hidden Technique: Imperial World Revolution