Chapter 2- The Serpent Rears
Tsunade grumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "What was so important that I had to come here at three in the morning Jiraiya?"
The white haired sanin just looked at her, "You... haven't noticed the madly giggling Uchiha behind the observation window?"
The Fifth frowned, "Of course I see him. What I want to know is why I've been pulled out of bed to be told that a crazy person is acting insane."
It was at this point that Inoichi stepped in, "Sasuke is psychopathic not psychotic."
The Godaime glared at the jonin, "I'm still half asleep and psychiatric medicine has never been my strong point. Please say that in a less complicated way."
The jonin sighed, "Ok. As a psychopath Sasuke in incapable of feeling guilt which can make it hard to function normally with others. On the other hand, someone who suffers from a psychosis doesn't even know what the real world is. One generally does not lead to the other."
Tsunade nodded and covered a yawn, "So basically Sasuke should not be acting like this?"
The Yamanaka shook his head, "No, definitely not."
The Fifth sighed, "Then what's caused this change in his mental stability?"
"It looks like the curse seal is breaking down, and that's causing this shift into psychosis." the jonin said.
Jiraiya chose this moment to speak, "You'd think the curse seal breaking down would be a good thing but in this case it's not. It isn't dissolving so much as losing its ability to function properly."
"Unfortunate. Is there anything that can be done?" the Godaime asked.
The white-haired sanin nodded, "Possibly. You know we picked up Sasuke when he tried to leave town."
Tsunade quirked and eyebrow, "No Jiraiya, you forgot to mention that. Next time I ask why I've been summoned at three in the morning maybe you could start with, 'the last scion of a bloodline clan tried to skip town last night,' instead of, 'the last scion of a bloodline clan is acting crazier than usual.' Which one do you think I'd be more willing to give up my bed for."
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, "Hehe oops sorry Tsu. Um anyway, apparently he was contacted by Orochimaru a few days ago, and he was promised a second more powerful level to his seal would be unlocked if he would leave Konoha and join him. We're not sure, but we think that this next level might re-stabilize the seal."
"I'm not sure I like where your going with this." the Fifth said.
The white-haired sanin didn't try to deny his old teammate's concern, "No, I imagine you won't. I think we should send Naruto in disguised as Sasuke to find out how to upgrade the seal."
The Godaime closed her eyes in thought before glancing over at her friend, "You do realize what you're asking me to do don't you? You're asking me to chose between one of my most promising new ninja and a child who has already proven to be insane. I may think Naruto's a bit of a brat, but he still has a lot of potential that I'm not sure I'm willing to throw into Oro's path."
"He does have a lot of potential," Jiraiya said, "and I don't really like this idea either. Goodness knows I'd rather keep my godson out of danger, but I don't see that we have much of a choice. Sasuke's only had this curse seal for six months and it's already causing him to have mental breakdowns. Who knows how much longer it will be before it turns him into a vegetable. I certainly don't want to stick my neck out for Sasuke, and I don't want Naruto to have to either; but he is the last semi-loyal Uchiha, or at least the last controllable one. If we let him die we lose the Sharingan forever, and like it or not, the Sharingan has been a good tool for our village. I think that makes the risk worth it. No matter how slim the chances are that this will work."
Tsunade looked at Sasuke for a little longer then turned to Inoichi, "Go find Naruto. Tell him to come to my office as soon as possible." Inoichi saluted and vanished in a shushin. And the Hokage looked back at the mad boy in the cell, "I guess I get to draw some blood."
An hour later the Fifth was looking out over Konoha and wondering if she had made the right choice when there was a knock on her door and Naruto entered, "You wanted to see me Hokage-sama?"
The Godaime turned around, "Yes, come in and sit down Naruto." after he had complied she continued, "I have a mission for you that you're probably not going to like." Tsunade took out the vile of Sasuke's blood and placed it on her desk, "I need you to transform into Sasuke, infiltrate Orochimaru's organization, find an upgrade for the curse seal and bring it back here."
"I have to become him?" the boy asked in distaste.
The Fifth nodded, "I'm afraid so. I know it really isn't a pleasant assignment but you're the only one that can do it."
The Uzumaki nodded, "If it will help Konoha, but you know Danzo's gonna ask why I was called in here. What should I tell him?"
"The truth." the Godaime said immediately, "Once he gives you his orders come back here and tell me what they are and I'll decide whether you should pretend to fail them or not. It would be nice to know what that old windbag would do with an opportunity like this."
Naruto nodded, "And when do you want me to leave?"
"In the morning." Tsunade said as she pulled out a map, "There's a group of sound ninja waiting to meet Sasuke at this location. You will leave to meet with them after a final briefing with me."
The boy saluted, "Hai Hokage-sama. I had better go get ready then." with that he hurried from the room.
Early the next day both Naruto and Tsunade were back in her office, "What did Danzo want you to do?" she asked.
"He wanted me to go all the way to sound village and assassinate Orochimaru. He's sending root's alpha squad to assist." the boy said.
The blond Hokage put her mouth into her hands in thought then nodded, "I will allow you to try carrying out that mission, but if you get in over your head retreat. I don't want to lose you just yet."
The Uzumaki smiled, "Hai Hokage-sama. Is there anything else you want me to know?"
"Just this," the Fifth said, "I will be sending a squad of genin after you to retrieve 'Sasuke'. I doubt they'll be a problem, especially since they'll have orders not to risk their lives for a civilian traitor, but I need it to look like I'm doing something for Orochimaru's sake. Don't engage them if you can help it, but be aware that they will be there. Here's the blood, and you may start your mission when ready.
The boy nodded took the vile and exited.
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Naruto met up with root's team alpha outside the village, "The Hokage is going to have a team of genin try and catch Sasuke and bring him home. Stay out of their sight if you can help it."
"Hai Uzumaki-sama." the four root ANBU said. Naruto nodded and pulled out the vile. With a sigh he tilted his head back and let the smallest drop of blood touch his tongue while he surged his chakra. In a poof of smoke Uzumaki Naruto vanished and in his place was the cold form of Uchiha Sasuke.
"Uzumaki-sama," one of the ANBU said and continued when he turned towards him, "You don't have the curse seal."
Sasuke blinked and made a clone then staggered slightly, whoa Sasuke had a lot of chakra, but not enough for that technique. The clone looked at the shoulder where the seal should be the lets itself disperse. The now black-haired boy took in the clones memories and frowned, "That's unexpected. I'll have to make sure no one tries to look at it. Let's go." He took off with his entourage of hidden root behind him, but even as he ran he felt that there was something wrong.
During his other transformations, he had always still kept his same mind and emotions, or at least he thought he had. But now as he ran in Sasuke's body he could feel his emotions deadening. All except for one all consuming need, revenge. He really didn't like the way this felt, and just hoped he wouldn't end up with the psychotic tendencies Sasuke was apparently experiencing thanks to the seal. He already couldn't wait for this mission to be over.
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It didn't take long for Sasuke to reach the clearing where his Sound escort waited. There were four of them, and none of them were what he'd call normal, "I'm here. Now what?"
The one with six arms held a bottle up in one hand, "Now we give you one of these pills, you take a nap and when you wake up we're all in Oto and your stronger." He tossed the bottle to the fake Uchiha, "Now eat up."
Sasuke looked down at the pills distrustfully, "How do I know these aren't poison?"
It was the girl who spoke next, "Cause Orochimaru-sama would kill us if we let anything happen to you. Now eat a freakin pill before I shove it down your throat."
"Now that wasn't very lady like Tyuya. You should really try to be better." the fat one said.
"Shut up!" She whirled on him and shouted. Then she whirled back to the false Uchiha, "Now eat the pill like a good boy."
Sasuke was still unsure but he figured he didn't have all that much to lose so he tapped a pill out of the bottle and chewed it up. Then he put the bottle in his pocket. At first it didn't seem like anything was happening, but then he grunted and staggered before collapsing to his knees.
"Oh oops, I forgot to mention," the two headed one said, "These pills are really hard on the body so your going to sleep for awhile ok? But don't worry you'll be sealed in this big barrel that will keep you nice and safe."
Sasuke felt his vision start to haze and cursed, That pill must have had a sedative...in...it. His world faded to black.
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Tsunade glanced up as Shikamaru entered her office, "Good your here. We've had a situation develop, Sasuke has left the village to join with Orochimaru. By himself he's not all that much of a threat, but I worry about what might happen if that snake get's his hands on him. I want you to gather a team and pursue Sasuke to bring him home if you can, but don't risk your life or the life of any of your teams to do it. I'd rather have you alive than him."
"Hai Hokage-sama." the chunin said, then left to gather his team.
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Naruto woke up coughing. There was smoke all around him and wooden walls were keeping the smoke from escaping. In desperation the blond started pounding against the walls hoping one of them would give so that he could breath pure air. Finally the walls around him collapsed and he gasped in as much pure air as his lungs could take.
The Uzumaki let his breathing slow and as he did his attention was drawn to the sound of battle behind him he turned and saw Choji and Lee fighting that Kimmimaru kid that had met with Mizuki, they didn't look like they were doing too well. He hoped they'd follow the Hokage's orders and retreat before it got to be life threatening.
"Sasuke!" Choji shouted. Naruto jerked in surprise. Oh right, he was playing the Uchiha brat right now. Oops, that sedative must have done a really number on him. He glanced up to see Choji running toward him, and remembered his own orders from Tsunade-sama. Fighting Choji would be a bad idea on it's own since he would probably have the best chance of outing him as an imposter, but with the Hokage's standing order to not fight allies he was even more convinced that it was time to leave here and continue on toward Sound. So, with a creepy giggle that he hoped seemed like Sasuke, he took off.
It couldn't have been more than ten minutes later that Naruto came to the valley of the end and lept across the chasm between the Shodai's head and Madara's. He was half-way through his jump when he heard something big coming at him from behind. Without his conscious permission his hands shot above his head and sent a burst of wind towards the sky. The Sasuke imposter was shocked when, instead of air, fire flew from his hands with the force of a flame thrower. His body's momentum immediately changed so that he was heading towards the river at the bottom of the canyon. He was so shocked by what had happened that he only managed to whisper, "cool." Before he hit the water. The cold river forced him out of his shock and he came to the surface gasping for breath. As he pulled himself out he saw a massive fist start to shrink and retract back over the Shodai's head.
He was shaking the water off of himself when he felt the air around him cool as the sun was blotted out. He looked up in surprise and nearly cursed as he saw a much larger than normal Choji falling towards him. He turned and sprinted to get out from underneath the enormous Akamichi, and barely made it in time to miss being instantly crushed, but he wasn't fast enough to get away from the tidal wave of misplaced water. He once again pulled himself from the water and, for the third time in less than an hour he gasped for air. But he didn't let himself sit there for too long Choji was no doubt readying another attack.
Naruto jumped to his feet, his body tense in expectation of an attack. But he felt himself unconsciously relaxing when he saw Choji just standing on top of the water in front of Madara's statue, "Choji." Sasuke's brooding voice said as Naruto noted that he was standing very near the Shodai's massive stone feet, "You shouldn't have followed me."
The Akamichi shook his head, "There's no way I was going to just let you defect! You my not be a ninja anymore but you're still a citizen of Konoha and my mission is to bring you back!"
The false Sasuke snorted, "Really? You think you can force me to come back? On your own?" Naruto saw Choji wince and couldn't help but feel a little guilty. The blond liked plump boy he had always treated Naruto fairly, but Sasuke was a jerk, sooo… "You'll never be strong enough to match me."
The Akamichi;s eyes hardened, "Think again. You've been out of the ninja corps for almost seven months. I've been in them and getting stronger. I will bring you back even if it means I have to hurt you first!"
Choji rushed at Sasuke with his fist raised for a punch and expanding even as he ran. The false Sasuke waited for just the right moment and then forced a ton of chakra into his feet and rocketed into the air and over the plumper boy. When his feet once again hit the water he took off running. At the Base of Madara's statue he once again forced Chakra through his feet and let himself soar twenty feet into the air. With a half flip his feet landed on the wall and he kept running upward. At the top he paused long enough to look back and see where Choji was and with wide eyes he dropped to the ground as a very large foot passed over his head. The foot started to fall. The blond rolled out of the way and gulped as the stone around the foot shattered from the force of the blow.
He rolled back to his feet and prepared to run into the forest at the border of the land of rice when he caught a flash of Kabuto, watching from one of the trees. Naruto froze. A large fist to his side sent him careening back over the edge of the statue. With a gasp of pain Naruto pulled out a kunai with ninja wire attached, he threw the kunai to near the top of the statue. The wire went taunt and he used his momentum to send him flying back toward the top of the statue. He came at Choji from behind and gave him a flying kick. The Akamichi's eyes widened as the kick sent him falling through the air.
The blond landed and winced as his injured side screamed at him for its abuse. He looked down at Choji falling into the water and felt ashamed. He should leave now, but he had a feeling Sasuke would stay and destroy his opponent both physically and emotionally. Which meant, since Kabuto was watching, he should stay and destroy his plump friend, but how he wished he didn't need to.
Naruto put his focus back on the fight as Choji arrived back on top of the head, "You think one hit is going to hurt me? I'm an Akamichi it will take more than that to beat me!"
"I just think it's sad that you can't give pain as well as you take it." the fake Sasuke said in a board tone, "Are you just going to talk about how strong you've gotten or are you actually going to do something to prove it? Because so far I haven't been all that impressed."
Choji gave an enraged shout and charged at Sasuke, but the imposter ducked down and sent the Akamichi over his shoulder and turned to see him sliding over the edge.
Naruto had to fight back the urge to move forward and catch his friend but he knew that it would take more than a tumble into water to destroy his friend, so he let him fall. A large hand shot up over the edge and grabbed onto the imposter. The blond barely had time to gasp before the hand was around him and pulling him over as well.
As he fell, the Uzumaki struggled to escape the hold but his friends grasp on him was too tight. He hit the water with a terrific splash and started to struggle more desperately. He only had a few minutes before he fell unconscious due to lack of oxygen.
His time was almost up the corners of his eyes were beginning to grey, and his lungs were screaming for air. Finally in a last ditch effort he pulled as much chakra into his hands as he could and then pushed it out as massive bursts of flame onto the hand holding him. The hand released. He pushed water into his feet and ran up until he got to air. The imposter fell to knees gasping.
"You keep calling me weak, but I'm not. And if you can't see that by now then you're blind." Choji gasped out, also tired from the rigorous fight.
The false Sasuke shrugged, "Maybe there's hope for you yet, but for now you're still pathetic." The Uzumaki took a breath and cut off the chakra to his feet. He dropped into the river like a stone. On top of the water Choji looked around for his opponent and moved to keep from getting caught. But Naruto was faster and a hand on the plumper boy's ankle sent the Akamichi falling face first into the river.
Once both boys were under the water the blond grabbed Choji from behind and forced all the oxygen from his lungs with a crushing squeeze. The Akamichi's mouth involuntarily opened as the air was forced out and water rushed in. With what was left of his concentration, the plumper boy expanded his body into the shape of a ball. Naruto was forced to let go. Choji swam to the surface as quickly as he could.
The surface of the river broke as Choji rose out of it and made his way to the shore before choking out the water he'd been forced to swallow. The false Sasuke came and stood imperiously over him, "Do you still think you're strong enough to stop me?"
The Akamichi gulped in a breath of air then gasped, "I need to win. Everyone is counting on me to bring you home."
The temporary brunet crouched down in front of Choji, "You are such a child. Are you seriously so unsure of yourself that you need to impress everyone else to feel confidant?" the imposter snorted, "You deserve to lose today."
Naruto reached over and started to squeeze the pressure point on his friends neck, but he let up at the last moment and whispered, "I'm sorry." Then he knocked the other boy out and collapsed back with a groan. Those hits had hurt.
Less than a minute latter a shadow fell over Naruto and he looked up into the face of Kabuto. "Impressive," the silver haired spy said, "but now is not the time to relax. The rest of the Konoha team will no doubt be here soon and we need to be long gone by the time they arrive."
The Uzumaki allowed himself a sigh. Then, with a pain filled groan, he pulled himself up and forced his tired, aching body to follow after Kabuto.
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It took a day to reach the underground cave that was supposedly hidden Sound, and thankfully, in spite of being forced to keep moving, the injuries he'd gotten from his battle with Choji were mostly healed and the pain was now minimal.
Kabuto paused in front of a plain wooden door, and Naruto could hear the rasping, pain filled breathing coming from the other side of the door even before it was pushed open. He ignored the creaking hinges as his eyes came to rest on a sickly bed ridden Orochimaru, 'Well', the imposter thought, 'my job just got way, way easier.'
The serpentine ninja looked up and rasped, "So you finally made it. Good." As Orochimaru finished speaking his body collapsed to the side and a purple mist rose out of it and shot towards Naruto. The false Sasuke shuddered as the mist hovered around his throat. But after a moment it moved away from him and towards a suddenly horrified Kabuto.
The silver-haired spy stepped back with his hands raised in front of him to ineffectively ward off the intangible mist, "No, no please master. I've always been faithful and useful please!" The mist shot into Kabuto's chest, he closed his eyes and screamed. But the scream quickly died away and the silver-haired ninja's eyes opened to reveal Orochimaru's serpentine, yellow eyes.
Naruto shuddered again, "That's definitely going to be making a reappearance in my nightmares. Thanks for the memory."
The new Orochimaru brushed an invisible piece of lint off of his shoulder, "If you had had the curse seal like you were supposed to, you wouldn't have a new unpleasant memory and I would still have my best subordinate."
Naruto blanched he was so glad seals didn't come along with his blood transformation, "On second thought, the memory's not so bad."
The serpent smirked, "Indeed. Now tell me Sasuke-kun how is it you don't have my seal. Surely my old idiot of a teammate hasn't managed to break it. Yet here you are, Uchiha Sasuke, without a seal the even I don't know how to break."
'Oh cra-' the imposter didn't get any further in his thought because Orochimaru shot forward with a shout of, "Imposter!"
Naruto had been trained for over a year by some of the best sensei in Konoha, he'd repeatedly been in high stress situations and had managed to keep a cool head. But when the ninja that had once been Kabuto came rocketing towards him with the intent to kill, all the blond could do was shriek, duck, cover his head with his arms, and wait for the killing blow.
A few moments of silence passed before Naruto manged to work up the courage to look up. When he did, he saw Orochimaru's frozen fist just inches away from obliterating his skull. He let out a gasp and fell on his rear as he hastily scooted back. It was only when he was out of immediate danger that he saw the shadow pooled around the snakes feet in a way that looked very much like Shika's kage mane jutsu.
The blond was brought out of his observation by the sound of Orochimaru's voice, "I see you brought allies imposter. Wise. But now that it's clear I'm no threat would you show me who you really are? I'd love to see the actual face of the one who deceived me."
Naruto thought through the pro's and con's of showing who he really was and in the end decided that no matter what happened next he would be better off as himself. So, with a shrug he put his hands in the ram sign and focused the chakra he'd need to release the jutsu. His eyes were blinded by the puff of smoke and he could feel his own chakra rushing up to the level it should be at. As the smoke cleared he gave a relieved sigh. It was good to have enough chakra to pop of a couple thousand kage bushin again.
When Orochimaru saw the blond before him he quirked an eyebrow, "The Kyuubi jinchuuriki, how interesting." a malicious smile oozed over his face, "what a wonderful test subject you'll make."
The blond thought he was going to be sick. But then it got worse. The snake defied the shadow holding him and quickly twisted his neck unnaturally far to the right. From the shadows behind Orochimaru there was the sound of a neck snapping and then a body falling lifelessly to the floor. The jutsu shattered and the snake turned his head back towards Naruto as if it was no issue to turn ones head 120 degrees, "No that that nuisance is out of the way perhaps I can get down to the business of capturing you." He took a step forward but his movement was arrested as the other three root of alpha squad came to stand in a line with Naruto, "Ah, the rest of you team, and root too." Orochimaru got into a fighting stance, "I suppose now I'll have to keep one of you alive to warn Danzo of just how much he'll regret betraying me."
Then the sanin shot forward and Naruto and one of the root operatives rushed to meet him. The other two stayed back, the blond one quickly flipped through hand signs and then slumped to the floor while the other, the only female in the group, stood protectively over him.
The three running ninja met in the middle. Orochimaru jumped over their heads and once in the air threw a brach of kunai at the still blond. All of which struck true. Naruto whipped around to come at the snake from behind, but paused long enough to visually check that the blond root was still alive. From so far away all he could tell was that the downed root was breathing.
The sanin went after the other root that had stayed back with a straight forward push but at the last instant he blurred out of existence and reappeared behind the same root member. That purple-haired root member quickly turned around and redirected Orochimaru's attack, but she didn't have time to fully deflect it and the snake's fist still grazed the side of her face with enough force to knock the mask askew. The sanin quirked a brow as, for a moment, he was able to see what seemed to be a white sightless eye beneath the off kilter mask.
Orochimaru was forced to ignore his discovery for the moment and duck and Naruto came at him with a round house kick from behind, then the snake dropped and rolled as the female Hyuuga sent a jyuuken strike straight down towards his heart. The sanin flipped trough hand signs as he rolled and as he came back into a standing position he released a vicious whirlwind that knocked the three other fighters away and gave Orochimaru a moment to breath.
The air stilled and the silence became deafening as both sides waited for the other to make a move. Finally the last standing male of Alpha squad rushed forward with his allies right behind him. He yanked off the gloves that completely covered his hands as he ran. When he got to Orochimaru he aimed a punch at the snakes face. The sanin blocked, and a black sore started to spread from the place where the root male had touched.
Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed in anger. He lashed out with his leg and tripped the male root. Then sent a vicious kick into his side that caused even an emotionless root to curl in slightly in pain. The snake followed the kick to the side with a cruel kick to the head that sent the male root into unconsciousness.
The snake looked up to see his last two enemies keeping their distance and let out a cruel laugh, "Is it me you are keeping your distance from or the plague that your teammate infested me with? Or do you just think that soon I will be dead and therefore fighting me is not worth your effort. Well, you're wrong." The sanin's mouth opened to sickeningly unnatural proportions and another Orochimaru slipped and and quickly jumped away from the lifeless shell that was being devoured by the black scourge.
Naruto gulped not only had this creep easily taken out three root from alpha squad, but apparently, fatal blows weren't so fatal for him. The blond kinda wished he could retreat, now, but Danzo would either kill him or torture him for failing so he might as well die here. The blond sent a brace of wind sharpened shuriken towards Orochimaru. The snake dodged through them with and only got a few minor cuts. The sanin rushed at the Hyuuga and quickly engaged her in a taijutsu match. That she was losing.
The blond wanted to intervene, but the two fighters were moving at speeds so far above what he was capable of. He was afraid if he tried to help he'd end up hurting his teammate instead. Two minutes later Orochimaru stood clutching his side with one hand and holding an unconscious Hyuuga off the ground with the other. With a careless flick of his arm the snake sent the woman bouncing across the floor.
The sanin focused his serpentine eyes on Naruto, and suddenly, the urge to run became overwhelming.
The blond took one step back and froze. He didn't like the Orochimaru's eyes lite up when he did that. Like this was some twisted game of predator and prey with him as the panicking prey. If he couldn't run without making this whole thing even more enjoyable for the monster in front of him then he'd have to fight and hope for a miracle. With a gulp Naruto quickly created a thousand clones and sent them forward.
Orochimaru moved with an unnatural and deadly grace as he wove through the wave of blonds killing clone after clone. Naruto watched from the sidelines as he sorted through his quickly dieing clones memories trying to find a weakness. He thought he had something and rushed into the fray... only to trip and land face first on the floor. As he turned over he saw Orochimaru's annoyed face above him as the sanin's elongated neck slowly retracted back to it's normal length, "You must be quite lucky, tripping just moments before I place the curse seal on you. Well or you're just very clumsy. I hope not though. You won't make a very good weapon if you can't keep on your feet."
Naruto was confused. There were still nearly 300 clones behind him and the ones that died showed Orochimaru's face as that of their killer, "Wha... but, how are you here when your out there killing all my clones?"
The snake let out a malicious chuckle, "You of all people should know that. You are after all uncommonly good with clones."
The blond gulped. He was screwed. Not only did he have to face a sanin alone, but he had to face a sanin that could make clones and he had no idea how to tell the real from the fake. He let his hand move towards the very special compartments on his belt. The ones that held the DNA he could use to transform. Orochimaru was clearly above his level, so he needed to even the odds. Naruto grabbed one of the many tiny pills Sakura had worked DNA into and popped it into his mouth. He channeled his chakra and as it rose higher and higher he mourned the price he would have to pay to use this most hated transformation. Then his world went black.
Orochimaru saw his newest experiment take a pill but assumed it was just a soldier pill as he rushed forward to finish the fight, but before he got there the boy burst into smoke and when the smoke cleared the snake froze in astonishment. Before him where the Kyuubi jinchuuriki had been was a large, tentacled blob of... something. The sanins shock left him vulnerable and one of the jello like tentacles managed to hit him upside the head with surprising force. Orochimaru went flying.
The snake quickly sent a cutting wind jutsu at the... thing, and several tentacles fell to the assault. The creature screamed in pain and suddenly the tentacles that were madly whipping about were covered in cutting wind chakra, and slicing everything they came in contact with. The sanin was very careful to keep his distance and he pulled out a fire jutsu.
Five minutes later Orochimaru felt like screaming in frustration. Wind jutsu's no longer work thanks to the wind chakra now completely surrounding the thing. Fire turned into a missive ball of flame that sent the creature squealing, but really didn't do all that much. Earth just got shredded by the wind, and water; water just made the thing grow bigger!
Fed up with this unstoppable creature Orochimaru pulled out his strongest lightning jutsu and sent it rocketing towards the thing. As the lighting struck it, the creature roared in pain and it looked like the thing would finally be defeated. But then trees started sprouting from the creature pulling all the lightning away from it and into the ground.
The Thing was fed up with this tiny creature that was attacking it and trying to cause pain so it, in it's little brain, decided that the pain bringer must go. The Thing laboriously moved forward, it's tentacles whipping about even more fiercely than before, and a large wave of newly grown trees rushing before it.
Orochimaru looked at the oncoming wave of trees in horror and quickly decided that this room, spacious though it was, was no where near large enough to safely face a creature of this size and strength. He turned to rush out one of his secret doors. But the moment his back was turned the trees rushed forward even faster and enveloped him in their wooden grasp.
The snake tried to struggle free stretching his body in every weird way it was capable of, and even tried shedding again, but nothing worked. It wasn't very long before the sanin started to feel so very tired, but he didn't understand why, even with all the chakra he'd used he should still be full of energy. He let his eyes tiredly droop towards the branch around his chest and his eyes widened when they laid eyes on it. The branch was glowing with purple chakra, his chakra!
He needed to get out of this trap before he was drained dry, even he couldn't survive a complete chakra drain. Trying to transfer bodies after such a recent transfer could kill him but staying in this twisted creatures tree would definitely make him die. Orochimaru disengaged his soul from this latest body. But the soul would not release, in panic the snake tried again, but his soul held fast. The sanin cursed, thanks to his immortality jutsu his soul was more tied to his chakra than normal. That must be making it impossible for him to pull away. As long as his chakra was held it would be impossible for him to escape.
As the last of his chakra drained away, Orochimaru looked at the Thing that had finally conquered him. He had hoped to be able to face a prettier sight when he died, or to not die at all. Tsunade, her face would have been a nice last face to see... the snake's eyes drooped, as his body went limp, as death finally claimed the villain.
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Naruto woke up with a groan. He hated becoming The Thing. His mind always went right out the window and he was left hoping that The Thing would be able to stay alive. Perversely, it seemed like the thing was better at staying alive than he was as he'd never lost a fight when he'd used it.
The blond sat up with a hand on his aching head and looked around, then his jaw dropped. The room he was in was a disaster. The walls were cut to bits there were trees growing out of everything. Suddenly Naruto paled and shot to his feet, his teammate's! He knew that a least one of them was alive before he became the thing!
He made twenty clones and staggered. He must have used a ton of chakra as The Thing. He sent his clones out to look for his allies as he looked to. Five minutes later all four of them had been found and dragged into another room, one that didn't look like a strong breeze would send it tumbling down. Thankfully three of the root were still breathing. He looked them over and did the best he could to give them first aid and then he sealed away the body of the Nara that had saved his life. After that he sent a clone with a message back to Danzo asking for a team with a good medic on it to come get them. Then he let his eyes slide shut as he gave into his exhaustion.
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Naruto didn't know how much time had passed when the Hyuuga root poked him awake and shoved a plate of... some sort of food into his hands. He looked around to see that the other two root were awake as well. One of them tossed him a scroll that, they said, held Orochimaru's body in it. They spent a half hour eating and getting onto the same page.
Then Naruto set his food aside with a smile, "Well, since we're all too injured to make it back home and it will take two days for my clone to get back to Konoha and another two for the retrieval squad to get back to us; I'd like to use this time to talk to you about Danzo..."