Chapter 2
"THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!"
…...
Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi stared death in the face as the armed assassins grinned at them. Not even the mere two miles that stood between then and Kirigakure were enough to cheer them up.
"Kushimaru Kuriarare, Jinpachi Munashi and Mangetsu Hozuki. Three of the Seven Swordsmen. You guys really do want us dead, huh?" Kakashi asked the trio as he pulled his mask up, revealing the single, three-tomoed Wheel Eye.
"I kind of feel flattered. Three of them just for the two of us." Naruto commented, pulling his own mask off, revealing two double-tomoed Sharingan.
"Well, what can we say, the Copy Ninja fo the Leaf and the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox both occupy relatively high spots in our bingo books. Besides, an alliance with Konoha..." Mangetsu responded, gripping Hiramekarei, which was strapped to his back.
Mangetsu had shoulder-length, light-coloured hair and pointed, shark-like teeth He wore an outfit which consisted of a dark, sleeveless shirt, light-coloured pants and striped leg-warmers typical of his village. He carried a water bottle attached to a belt around his waist and wore bandages around his neck and the standard Kirigakure forehead protector.
"...is something we do not desire. We don't need weak comrades, and Yagura-sama doesn't either!" Jinpachi finished the sentence. Shibuki certainly looked threatening in his arms.
Jinpachi had long, brown hair, a long beard which he wore in strands adorned with beads and dark lips. The top of his head was wrapped in bandages, and he had an eye-patch covering his left eye, sprouting from under his Kirigakure forehead protector. His right eye was violet and he wore an extremely loose, long-sleeved pin-striped shirt and black pants, accentuated by the presence of striped leg-warmers matching his shirt.
"You are very loyal. To a dead person, that is." Kakashi provoked. Kushimaru did not appreciate the gesture.
"Shut the fuck up, cyclops! Jinpachi, let's go! I want to crucify these two half-fucks on a tree!"
Kushimaru was very thin and tall in stature, which gave him an overall gangling appearance. He had long, shaggy, straw-coloured blond hair and due to his service within the ANBU, his face was concealed by a white, porcelain mask, with a green-coloured triangle on its lower half, slits for eye-holes and Kirigakure's symbol etched into the top. His attire consisted of a sleeveless black shirt, matching pants, complete with a waist-guard, and Kirigakure's striped wrist and leg-guards.
The messy-haired blond man dashed at them, Jinpachi close behind as murderous glares formed in their faces. Naruto noticed that Mangetsu hadn't moved a muscle.
Suddenly, metal whistled in the air as the sword-sized needle Nuibari passed right by Naruto's face.
Time slowed down as his Sharingan told his arms to react.
He rose his right hand, gripping the sword, which had ninja wire tied to it, and a smile came to his face.
"You're not very smart, are you?" He taunted as he fueled Raiton Chakra through the metal, effectively dealing a sharp pain into Kushimaru's right arm, numbing it and making it jerk.
"Now, Jinpachi!" The messy-haired man squealed.
Naruto glanced at his left side to see the bearded killer swinging Shibuki, ready for the kill.
"Doton: Doryuheki!" Kakashi cried as a wall of earth rose between the two, just in time to break into pieces as Shibuki promptly exploded onto it.
However, as the wall was decimated, Naruto was nowhere to be seen.
"Phew..." He sighed in relief as he dropped down from a tree and onto his father's side. Had he been one second late, he'd be splattered all over the clearing.
"Don't underestimate them. They're part of the Seven's Best Generation for a reason." His father told him, receiving a prompt nod in response. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
"Let's be honest with ourselves, we'll never get anywhere if we face those two as a team. We have to drive them apart and face them individually." He muttered, already planning on what to do.
"Won't be too hard to do that, but what then? Maybe I can hold my own against Jinpachi, but what about you? Sure, you have some skills, but still, I doubt you can fully take someone like Kushimaru alone." Kakashi replied as Naruto shrugged.
"Don't worry, I've got an ace in the hole that just might work. The real problem is Mangetsu. After these battles, he'll definitely be able to just kill us both. Besides, I doubt he'll just stay there watching."
Kakashi shook his head.
"Mangetsu isn't here to fight. We're both known as avid Raiton users, which is the Hozuki Clan's main weakness. He's here only to observe and see everything goes well. If it doesn't, it's his job to retrie the swords, go back and report. The leader of the Seven Swordsman can not risk grave injury or even death. We don't have to worry about him as long as we make it clear that any and all threats will be responded to with a hand-full of electricity."
Naruto looked at him, uncertainty in his eyes. But yet again, his father was the specialist, so he just went along and nodded.
"Alright, let's do this."
Both made a wild dash forward, preparing themselves for what could very well be the hardest confront so far.
Naruto seemed stoic and unmoved, but inside, his soul was rebelling. What the fuck am I doing? I'm officially just a Genin! This is fucking suicide! His mind shouted at him as he performed a few hand-seals.
However, as he came out of the bushes where he and his father had been hiding in, his two eyes perceived a few lines of chakra on the floor.
Oh fuck!
He quickly stopped his hand-seals. Summoning the Ninken would just make things worse at the moment.
He focused on landing on top of the strings, and not on the ground, instinctively. Apparently, he had done well. The wires were razor-sharp, and if they were to be pulled, forcing one wire over another, they'd most likely cut off the feet of whoever stood in between.
He ran across the ninja wire, heading to Kushimaru, who was standing a few meters away. Naruto couldn't tell, due to the man's mask, but he could bet he was grinning.
"YOU'RE MINE!"
Jinpachi came out of nowhere yet again, Shibuki swinging wildly, ready to kill.
However, the blond's time was not up yet, as a hasty Kakashi threw himself onto the fight, tackling Jinpachi away, making Shibuki fly and explode against a nearby tree.
"Raiton: Raiju Hashiri no jutsu (Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Running Technique)!" Naruto proclaimed the technique's name as he ran forward, electricity shooting from his hand to form a white and blue wolf on the ground.
The wolf howled and galloped forth, heading with menacing speed towards Kushimaru, who gave off a shuckle.
The creature made of electricity leaped for its meal, missing the ninja by a mere inch as he side-stepped. Kushimaru managed to tilt Nuibari over the wolf, leaving string over its "body".
The wolf charged again, receiving the same treatment: a dodge and a few inches of string over it. This went on and on until it was basically in a coccoon, time when Kushimaru decided he had had enough fun, and simply roughly pulled Nuibari, slicing the non-living creature into electric pieces, chuckling more as he did so.
By then, Naruto was already close enough to continue the onslaught. His right palm was crackling with lightning, and Kushimaru knew he wouldn't be fast enough to defend himself.
The blond slammed his right palm into his enemy's gut, twisting it to the side as he discharged the shock into his opponent's organism.
Kushimaru went sliding away, still standing as the electricity enveloped his body, making him groan in outbursts of pain.
"Fighting Style: Zeus!" Naruto proclaimed the name of his personal Taijutsu, as Kushimaru coughed out blood, which dripped from the bottom of his mask.
"Don't underestimate me! I'm a ninja from the Leaf, and an ANBU Assassin! Killing fucks like you is my job!"
"HAHAHAHA! THAT IS SO FUCKING CUTE!" Kushimaru laughed before dissipating into water. Fuck, Mizu Bunshin?
He felt something behind him as Kushimaru formed from a puddle of water grabbing him in a sleeper hold.
"Kid, you have no idea how many ANBU we've already killed, do you? Hell, I killed five myself only this morning! Face it, you're just a stupid, scared brat who thought he was a ninja, and now, you're going to die for it!" The man told him, making him grit his teeth.
"FUCK YOU!" He answered before Kushimaru snapped his neck with a sick sound.
The Swordsman was about to celebrate when Naruto exploded into a small storm of lightning, sending him flying away.
Fuck! Raiton: Kage Bunshin?
He immediately got up and turned around to dodge a wild haymaker. However, he was too slow to avoid the spinning back left-hand that slapped his mask away, making way for Naruto's right shin to be planted straight on the killer's face.
Kushimaru simply swayed his body back, avoiding the kick and going as far as to have his head a mere 2 inches from the ground.
He quickly rose up, throwing a punch that caught Naruto un-guarded, striking him in the left jaw, sending him tumbling through the ground.
Naruto managed to hop to his feet, but immediately felt a foot planted on his gut, sending him flying into a tree, making him cough out blood. What blinding speed!
"This is what I meant. The difference is too big, kid. Just go home! Oh wait, you can't!"
Kushimaru pulled Nuibari, and suddenly, Naruto was tied to the tree he had crashed against. His body was, quite literally, crucified, even though it was just tied, not pierced.
He couldn't move as his enemy neared, his ugly face smiling like a mad man as he readied Nuibari for the killing strike.
"You should never have come here."
BOOOM.
"What the?" Kushimaru turned to the side to see Jinpachi being blown away by his own sword, which Kakashi was wielding.
He turned again to finish the job before aiding his comrade, but now, he was the one that couldn't move.
He had made the mistake of looking into Naruto's red eyes.
Genjutsu: Sharingan!
Naruto took several deep breaths out of relief, as he saw Kushimaru absolutely frozen mere inches away from him.
However, his relief did not last long. His two eyes quickly sent sharp needles of pain, and he was forced to deactivate the Wheel Eye if he wanted to conserve his consciousness.
I have to put everything I've got into this one.
He managed to release his two arms, and immediately fell into a strange stance. His left hand was forming the half-Ram hand-seal and pointing towards the sky, while his right hand was forming a pistol, as if he was playing with children.
He pushed his right index finger against Kushimaru's forehead, as if signalling his death, as electricity crackled in the atmosphere.
"Raiton: Hiraishin! (Lightning Release: Lightning Rod)"
Lightning struck from the heavens, hitting his left hand and quickly trailing his body, following his right arm and crashing into Kushimaru's convulsing body.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He squealed in pain as 3 million volts had their way with him, effectively destroying his nervous system and causing internal damage.
Finally, the circuit was broken as Naruto lowered his left hand back down, taking a single glance at the smoke that came from Kushimaru's burnt hair and quite literally shocked face.
He pushed him with his right hand, making him fall backwards and release him from the prison he was in.
Naruto fell to his knees and hands, taking deep breaths. Ever since his seal was reinforced the prodigious chakra reserves he had had dwindled, and using so many Raiton jutsu in a quick succession, followed by Sharingan and finally his most powerful jutsu was just a bit above his normal training day.
He glanced to the side to see that Jinpachi had a hand covered in lightning impaling his heart, Shibuki already on the ground.
The blond took hold of Kushimaru's body, readying himself. He knew that the swordsman wasn't really dead. His sneak attack had merely managed to take him down. Still, he would never fight before with a fried nervous system.
He threw Kushimaru away, together with Nuibari, having them land by Mangetsu, who was still standing, speechless.
Jinpachi soon followed, Shibuki being thrown after him.
"Let that be a warning. You don't fuck with the Leaf." Kakashi spoke, receiving no response from Mangetsu, who simply picked up his two teammates, sealing their swords and disappearing with a Shunshin.
Naruto glanced at his father.
"That was not supposed to happen." He said, falling forward, unconscious.
…...
Several Hours Later
"So this is the boy who finished off Kushimaru Kuriarare of the Seven? Wow, major props, kid!" A voice came to him as he rapidly blinded him. Light temporarily blinded him as he sat up from whatever it was that he was lying on, rubbing his eyes.
As vision came back to him, he spotted three people he had never seen in his life in a room that vaguely reminded him of the Hokage's Office.
The first, the one who had spoken to him was a middle aged man with blue hair which was styled in a moused-up manner. His left eye was blue and his right eye was covered by a black eye-patch. He wore a talisman in each ear with kanjii written on them twice on each side. He also wore the standard striped, grey suit, with a green haori that had white trimmings that stop halfway down, over them.
The second was a young man who had short, tufty blue hair, and dark eyes. He also had pointed, shark-like teeth like most members of the Seven Swordsmen. He wore square, black-rimmed glasses connected to ear protectors, a blue pin-striped shirt and camouflage pattern pants. Also, he wore his forehead protector on the front of a holster which he used to carry a strange, large sword which reminded Naruto of Hiramekarei. He also had shuriken holsters strapped onto each of his legs.
The third and last was what Naruto could very well describe as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
She was a slender woman in her thirties who had green eyes, and ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs were short, with one covering her right eye, and two are long, crossing each other on her bust, just below her chin.
She wore a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that fell just below the knees. It seemed to be closed at the front with a zip, and was kept open on the front-right side from the waist down. The dress only covered up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her breasts. Underneath, she wore a mesh armour that covered slightly more of her upper body than her dress. She also wore shorts in the same colour as her skirt and, underneath those, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. Around her waist, she wore a belt with a pouch attached to the back on the left along with high-heeled sandals and shin-guards reaching up over her knees, dark blue polish on her fingers and toes, and dark blue lipstick.
Naruto just stared in awe at the woman. She was what his picky heart called a godess.
However, he did manage to keep his composure, as he saw the blue hat that she wore signalled she was the Mizukage. Mei Terumi.
Naruto quickly went down to his knees, bowing his head deeply, not caring for the fact that his father was standing like nothing important was happening.
"It's a pleasure to meet the Fifth Mizukage. My services and honor are upon you." He declared, as it had been taught for him to do whenever meeting an allied Kage.
She blushed and giggled.
"My, my! The Leaf sure knows how to raise fine men. Handsome, powerful and gentle! I definitely have to travel there more often. Please rise, Naruto. The pleasure is all mine." She spoke to him in a voice that he found to be music to his ears.
She gave him his hand, which he promptly kissed before standing up, trying to make it seem as if every inch in his body didn't hurt. It was not like being the intermediary between lightning and another human being was to have no consequence.
"I'd like you to meet my bodyguards, Ao and Chojuro." She introduced them as Naruto shook hands with the veteran and the Seven Swordsmen Apprentice.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." He spoke.
"Pleasure's mine, kid. Good to know we've got such fine people covering our backs. It was about time Kirigakure made some friends." Ao replied.
"It's a pleasure to m-meet you t-too, Naruto-san." Chojuro followed. He seemed rather unconfident, if his constant trembling and stuttering were anything to go by.
"Please don't let Chojuro's shyness illude you, Naruto-kun. He is much more than he seems. He's expected to replace Mangetsu Hozuki as soon as he's dead."
"Yeah, it's a damn shame that you guys didn't get your hands on him too. That'd make a hat-trick!" Ao commented with a frustrated frown on his face. Naruto eyed him curiously.
"Unfortunately Kushimaru Kuriarare is not dead either. My lightning bolt wasn't enough to finish him off. Nothing to worry about, though. His nervous system is fried, I doubt he can even eat by himself from now on." Naruto confessed, making Mei grin with delight.
"All of that done by a fourteen year old boy. Either Kushimaru's skills have dwindled with age or you're something fantastic. I'm betting on the second one."
Naruto bowed his head in shame.
"Again, that was not quite the case. Kushimaru gave me a tough fight, and almost killed me. He died because of his arrogance. I managed to paralyze him with Doujutsu before delivering the final blow. It was more a matter of wits and surprise than of strength." He responded. Mei giggled at this.
"Wow! Gentle and modest! I definitely have to get me a Konohagakure man!" She declared.
"Aren't you past marriable age?" Ao asked her. She gave him a deadly glare.
"Shut up or I'll kill you." Was her reply. Fantastically, she managed to keep a sweet smile on, which only served to hype up Ao's fear.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Kakashi sweat-dropped. Apparently, things were just as nutty and ridiculous as they were back home.
"Well, things happened, but now we're here, what will you have us do, Mizukage-sama?" Kakashi asked, hoping to get on with it.
"Please, walk with me."
…...
Kirigakure was a pretty village, but it wasn't explored to its fullest.
As it had been built with defense in mind, Kirigakure was a series of rings, each over another with stairs and bridges connecting them. They had a lot of small vegetation, parks and training grounds, like Konoha. But most of it was either wrecked or trashed. There was a lot of work to be done.
As they walked, Mei Terumi layed out the details. It was simple enough. Kushimaru and Jinpachi, the monster duo, were out of the picture. Mangetsu Hozuki would probably hide out until the two Raiton freaks were gone, so he was out of the picture as well.
Fuguki Suikazan was dead, and Jinin Akebino was surrounded and marked for death not far away from Iwagakure, so they had nothing to fear from him.
Momochi Zabuza had allied himself with Ameyuri Ringo, and those would be their targets. Both were a couple of the most dangerous, and so, Kakashi and Naruto could not go alone. Mei herself would go, both to check the skills of Kirigakure's new allies and to ensure the mission would go smoothly. Naruto suspected she was simply trying to get away from all of the paperwork for a bit.
"So, as you can see, everything's planned out. All we need is your strength." Mei spoke. The smile on her face said "nothing to worry about", but both Naruto and Kakashi knew that inside, she was actually thinking "let's hope so".
A drunken ninja was passing by and muttered something that did not please them. Ao quickly turned around, gripping his sword.
"I'm sorry, fine sir, would you mind repeating what you said? Muttering is not something you should be doing in the presence of an honorable lady." He spoke, making the man laugh.
"Lady my ass. She's just a bitch who thinks she's a Kage. Hiring those Leaf shits made me lose all respect for her. We don't need weak allies." He said, turning around. His vest indicated he was at least Chuunin. Naruto stepped forward.
"If you think you're so weak, you wouldn't mind checking for yourself, would you? I certainly wouldn't mind beating some sense into a disrespecting punk." The blond spoke, electricity crackling around him. The man looked at him like he was insane, before pulling out a kunai.
"Fine with me, you fucking idiot. I'm going to gut you like a pig!"
Naruto shrugged and got into a flamingo stance (standing on one outstretched leg with another completely bent, pointing at the enemy.)
Metal began to grow out of the middle of his leg's length, forming...saws?
"You're welcome to try."
…...
CHAPTER 2 END
NEXT CHAPTER: "NARUTO'S STRANGE KEKKEI GENKAI"
DON'T MISS IT!
Also, if anyone has doubts about the saws, just google image Giriko. You'll get it.