Disclaimer: Naruto is NOT mine! I do not own any recognizable piece of the Naruto franchise aside from some iTunes episodes. I am making no money in this venture, just valuable experience in writing.
Key:
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
'Biju thoughts/talking'
Jutsu Name
"Just like in the movies or comics," Naruto said as he and Team 7 looked down at the Daimyo's place. It looked more like a manufacturing factory than the palace of a ruling family. "I told you…"
"Yes Naruto, we get it. You were right," Sakura hissed. "You don't have to keep reminding us. So shut up."
Sasuke and Kakashi both wore exasperated expressions at the antics of their two louder teammates. Team 7 had followed the clues that Naruto's scout clones left behind to the palace, and had been watching the palace for several hours. They knew that Doto had taken Yukie or Koyuki to the palace, again thanks to Naruto's clones but they had no clue where the power-hungry Daimyo had taken Yukie once inside.
"So what do we do now sensei?" Sakura asked.
"We need to find out where Doto is holding Koyuki," Kakashi said. "Once we find Koyuki we will handle Doto and the others. Naruto, I need you to get inside the palace and find out where Koyuki is behind held and then report back to us. Once you have found Koyuki, create a distraction for us to get inside and then meet up with us."
"Roger sensei," Naruto said. He pulled some clothes out of his pack and ducked behind a tree to change. When he returned, Naruto was wearing black ANBU pants, black sandals and a black hoodie with dark gray arm and shin guards. "What do you think?" Naruto asked.
"Very…black," Sasuke said, somewhat shocked at Naruto's outfit. Sure Naruto had changed his clothes before the Chunin Exams, but it was still a shock to see Naruto in all black.
Sakura looked away from Naruto without saying anything. The all-black of Naruto's outfit made his blue eyes stand out even more than usual, drawing in anyone's gaze.
"And the finishing touch," Naruto said, pulling up a facemask that covered the lower half of his face just like Kakashi.
"Very nice," Kakashi said. "Now get moving. The longer we wait, the less chance we have of finding Koyuki and getting out of here."
Naruto nodded and vanished into the night. Sasuke and Sakura both shook their heads at the stealth skills that Naruto possessed, it was still slightly amazing to them that their teammate who was so loud and wore such bright colors could be so good at stealth and hiding. Sasuke had talked with Naruto before the blonde had left on his trip with Jiraiya for tips on stealth, and the Uchiha's abilities in stealth had risen quite a bit using Naruto's tips.
Naruto quickly made his way to the base of the palace, sticking to the growing shadows of the mountain, trees and the palace itself. It had been very, very easy, as Naruto didn't run into any patrols of ninja or soldiers around the palace. At the base of the palace, Naruto found his entry point, a sewer drainage hatch.
"Well this is easy," Naruto muttered as he drew one of his specialty kunai that Jiraiya had gotten him. They were from a blacksmith in the Land of Iron, a friend of Jiraiya, and were made of chakra-conducting metal and bathed in a non-reflective coating. It had cost Jiraiya quite a bit to have the dozen kunai made as true chakra-conducting metal was very rare and the non-reflective coating was a creation of Jiraiya's blacksmith friend, so getting him to part with the kunai wasn't easy. Now, most metals could have chakra channel through it but it depended on the purity of the metal and the type of metal, not as well as others.
Naruto's kunai easily cut through the simple padlock that locked the grate in place and Naruto slipped inside. A Shadow Clone appeared next to Naruto. "Stay here and keep this route open," he ordered. The clone nodded and slid into the shadows, becoming invisible to anyone outside the grate. The original Naruto turned back to the depths of the tunnel, his nose and stomach rebelling at the stench.
"The things I do for my village," Naruto said as he waded his way through the sewage. He could have walked along the sides of the pipes or even on top of the water but one of the first things that Jiraiya taught him about infiltration was that less is more. The more chakra one uses, the greater the chance of being found out. Naruto also tightened the restrictor seal he wore to 75%, leaving him with only 25% of his normal chakra capacity. He still had roughly ¾ of a jonin's chakra capacity, so he wasn't truly limited on chakra but Naruto had to be careful. Just using a single Shadow Clone used up about a quarter of Naruto's chakra though it was replenishing quickly.
Naruto sloughed his way through the sewage pipe for what felt like hours until he reached a maintenance ladder. He slowly began climbing out of the sludge and up the ladder. As he got nearer to the top of the ladder, Naruto heard muted voices from above him. He slowed his climb as the voices got louder and louder.
"Why hasn't Lord Doto just killed the bitch already?" a deep voice asked. "We don't need her anymore, don't we?"
"I don't know," a second voice answered. "But it isn't our job to question Lord Doto, just to follow his orders."
"Then I better get a chance for some alone time with the Princess then," the first man said. Naruto's eyes turned icy cold at the man's insinuation. He quickly found out where the voices were coming from, above him. It was a large bathroom/locker room. Reaching out with his fledging sensing abilities, Naruto felt the presence of four people in the bathroom above him. Naruto quietly pushed open the grate and slipped into the locker room unseen. He heard a shower end in the other part of the room and quickly used the Transparent Escape Jutsu to hide in the corner of the locker room.
A tall man with short black hair came out of the bathroom with a thick towel wrapped around his waist. Naruto watched patiently as the man approached his locker at the opposite end of the room from Naruto.
"Hey Kato, how much longer until we are supposed to be on duty?"
"30 minutes Takahashi," Kato answered. "So you better get your ass out here, the captain hates it when someone turns up late."
"I'm coming, I'm coming," the second voice said. This man was shorter and stockier than Kato with graying long hair tied back in a ponytail and a thin brown mustache.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at Takahashi; he recognized the man's voice as the one who had made the crude comments about Koyuki. Naruto watched the two men dress and followed them out of the locker room, sticking to the shadows even with his Transparent Escape Jutsu active. The two guards made their way down several flights of stairs and then down a dimly lit corridor that ended on a ledge that looked over a large divide. Several bridges crossed the ravine at different levels and Naruto could see cells lining the walls of the ravine.
Seven levels below where Naruto was hiding, the blonde spotted two guards standing outside a cell. Naruto crawled down four levels to get a better view of the cell, and saw that Koyuki occupied the cell. Kato and Takahashi took up positions outside the cell, and Takahashi turned to look into the cell. Naruto couldn't hear what Takahashi said to Koyuki but the face of Takahashi told Naruto that the conversation wasn't very polite.
Naruto retreated into a shadowy ledge that looked over the prison cells, and paused to think over his two mission objectives: to rescue Koyuki and to recover the blueprints of the Land of Snow's chakra armor. Naruto was still thinking over what he should do first. On the surface, it would be most likely easiest to find the blueprints first then get Koyuki but Naruto knew that Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura were waiting for his signal to infiltrate the palace. The distraction was already set, several dozen explosive tags were affixed to the drainage pipes and heating ducts throughout the bowels of the palace.
But Naruto was sure that it would become much more difficult to get the blueprints after rescuing Koyuki. Doto's guards would be scrambling all over the palace once they discovered the princess was missing and finding the blueprints would be almost impossible.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto whispered. A single clone appeared next to Naruto without the customary puff of smoke. Jiraiya had Naruto work on his signature jutsu so much that he could now summon clones without any smoke. "Go find the blueprints and make sure they are secure before dispelling yourself."
The clone nodded before fading back into the shadows of the ledge. Naruto turned back to the prison below and saw that Kato and Takahashi were still standing guard outside Koyuki's cell. Time crept on, the second and minutes slowly ticking by as Naruto waited. He wanted to give his clone as much time as he could to find the blueprints. But after an hour of waiting, Naruto decided he had waited long enough.
Naruto took a deep breath and readied himself for the stunt that he was about to pull. He was sure that Sakura would smack him for this but she wouldn't find out if he pulled it off. Pulling the spring-loaded grappling hook from his pouch, Naruto threaded the wire through the hook and started twirling it. With a soft grunt, Naruto released the hook and watched as it flew through the air and landed on the walkway two stories above him.
"What was that noise?" Naruto heard Kato ask.
"Relax, someone probably just dropped something," Takahashi answered.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the wire taunt, feeling it catch as securely as possible. He wound the cord around his hand, trusting that his gloves would provide enough protection for his hands.
"Here it goes," Naruto whispered. He took a running start and leapt from his hiding spot. The free fall was both exhilarating and terrifying for Naruto. He dropped at least two stories or levels before crossing beneath the walkway he was secured too. But both Kato and Takahashi seemed oblivious to his approach as they were squabbling to themselves about something that Naruto didn't hear over the rushing wind. As Naruto approached the opposite wall he stuck his feet out to both brace himself and to stick to the wall. He knew he would have to time things absolutely perfectly or he would bounce off and most likely be seen or heard.
Naruto grit his teeth to keep from crying out in pain as his legs slammed into the wall. For one heart wrenching second, Naruto though that his chakra wouldn't hold and he would be sent flying back across the chasm but his feet stuck to the wall like glue. After making sure his footing was secure, Naruto sent a small charge of chakra through his wire and hook. The hook jumped slightly and closed up, and with a quick tug Naruto was quietly reeling the tool back in. Once it had been stowed away, Naruto began the disorienting climb down the wall toward the cell holding Koyuki.
Naruto laid himself flat on the catwalk above Koyuki's cell and crawled to the edge of the catwalk. He could just make out the shadows of the two guards standing in front of Koyuki's cell. Putting a kunai in his mouth, Naruto gripped the edge of the catwalk and in one fluid motion Naruto pulled himself over the edge of the catwalk.
"What the!" the two guards gasped as Naruto landed in front of them. But before either guard could make another sound, a kunai appeared in their throats, silencing them forever.
"Time to go Princess," Naruto said walking in front of the cell. "Rescue party is here."
"You!" Koyuki cried. "What are…how did you get here?"
"I snuck in, I am a shinobi after all," Naruto said. "Now, it's time to go."
"Where is the rest of your group?" Koyuki asked.
"Waiting to cover our escape, and the distraction," Naruto answered. "Oh that reminds me, the distraction. But first things first."
Naruto retrieved his kunai from the guards' throats, and after wiping them clean, he channeled some chakra into the blades causing them to glow a dark blue. With two swift swings, the bars of the cell door were cut and Naruto caught them before the door could hit the ground.
"And for the finishing touch," Naruto said making a single hand sign. Almost instantly, the prison was rocked by a series of loud explosions.
"What was that?" Koyuki screamed.
"The signal and our distraction, now come on," Naruto said, grabbing Koyuki's arm and pulling her from the cell.
"What about the handcuffs? Can you do anything about them?" Koyuki asked, yanking her hands out of Naruto's grip and holding them up.
"Right," Naruto said. He pulled a thin needle from his equipment pouch and quickly unlocked the cuffs.
"Finally," Koyuki said, rubbing her wrists. "Now, what's your plan?"
"A thank you would be appreciated," Naruto said under his breath. "This way."
Naruto led Koyuki up several flights of stairs; toward the corridor that Naruto had used to make his infiltration into the prison.
"Naruto?"
Naruto came to a sudden stop at the sound of a new voice, Koyuki nearly running into the young shinobi's back. At the end of the hallway were the other Konoha ninja, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi.
"Well done Naruto," Kakashi said. "Princess Koyuki, we should keep moving. Are you able to move?"
"Obviously," Koyuki snorted. "Follow me." Koyuki pushed her way past the Konoha ninja and set off down the hallway. Team 7 followed the actress/Princess, keeping their senses sharp as Koyuki led the group through the bowels of the palace. As the group made their way through the palace's dungeons and lower levels, Naruto couldn't help but feel as if they were being led around in circles.
"Here it is," Koyuki whispered coming to a sudden halt.
"Here is what?" Sakura asked.
"The secret passage that only the Daimyo and his family know," Koyuki said. "Our secret escape tunnels. This way."
The bad feeling in Naruto's stomach spiked as Team 7 followed Koyuki into the passageway.
"Ah Koyuki, and guests," the cold voice of Doto echoed through the large chamber that Koyuki had led the Konoha ninja into.
Team 7 froze as several large spotlights lit up and illuminated the room. It was the throne room, and Doto was standing on a tall pillar, staring down at the ninja.
"I wondered when you would return," Doto said with a dark chuckle. "It seems that your acting was top notch as usual Koyuki, you've done well in bringing these pests here."
"I've done as you asked Doto, now you'll keep your end of our bargain," Koyuki said. "I will renounce all claim to the throne and you will leave me alone forever."
"Of course dear niece," Doto said. "You have upheld your promise, once you leave here you shall not be troubled by me or my men again. However there is one final condition to our deal that you need to fulfill before you will be truly free of your past."
"And what is that?" Koyuki asked.
"You see I have found where my foolish brother, your father, hid away our country's treasure and I have found out that my brother locked it away using a very frustrating lock. It requires a special component that only you can provide Koyuki."
"And what's that?" Koyuki asked.
"Your blood," Doto said with a wide grin. "The locking mechanism requires the blood of the royal family, your blood dear niece. So you'll be coming with me." Doto reached out his arm, and suddenly a thin cable shot from his sleeve and wrapped around Koyuki's waist. There was a ripping sound and two black wings tore free of Doto's robes. The tyrant raised his other arm to the ceiling. A black beam shot from the gauntlet and blew a large hole in the ceiling.
"Come along Koyuki, we have a date with destiny," Doto said. "Nadare, I will leave these Konoha rats to you and your men." With a shout, Doto leapt into the air, the cable quickly retracting and pulling Koyuki with it.
"Time to die Kakashi," Nadare sneered.
"Not this time Nadare," Kakashi said. "Now Naruto!"
"Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Naruto said. A heavy mist quickly filled the room, greatly aided by the snow that had fallen into the throne room when Doto had blown a hole in the ceiling.
"After them!" Nadare roared as the mist cleared rapidly, showing that the throne room was empty aside from the Snow ninja.
"Nicely done Naruto," Kakashi said as Team 7 raced through the wintry forest.
"Thanks sensei," Naruto said.
"Where is Doto taking Koyuki?" Sakura asked. "With that flying armor, he could be anywhere by now."
"Summoning Jutsu!" Kakashi said, slamming a bloody palm to the ground. In a large puff of smoke, nine dogs appeared in a pack. "We need to find Koyuki, here is a sample. Hurry."
The nine dogs leaned forward and each took a deep whiff of the scrap of fabric that Kakashi had held out. "Scatter!" The dogs were gone in an instant. "Let's keep moving," Kakashi ordered. "Doto was heading in this direction before we lost sight of him. He would take the most direct route to his objective, he'll think that Nadare will have stopped us, or that we can't catch up in time."
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all smirked as they followed Kakashi back into the trees. Team 7 had been running for five minutes when they heard a loud bark coming from their 2 o'clock. The Konoha ninja easily changed directions toward their new heading.
"Kakashi!"
The Konoha ninja froze as several Snow ninja landed in front of them. It was Nadare Roga and his two comrades. All three of the Snow ninja wore chakra armor that had wings, which explained how they caught up with Team 7 so quickly.
"Did you really think you could escape us so easily Kakashi?" Nadare taunted. "With our armor, we are invincible and with Lord Doto leading us, we will show the world the power of the Snow!"
Kakashi just stared at the man. "We need to keep moving, so don't get bogged down," he said. "There is only three of them, so whoever gets free will continue on to rescue Koyuki."
"Right," Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all said.
"Scatter!"
The four Konoha shinobi leapt apart, each in a different direction.
"After those brats, I will handle Kakashi," Nadare roared.
"Found you!"
Naruto dove sideways, avoiding the large metal gauntlet that blew apart the branch he had just been standing on. Naruto turned and saw that the heavily built Snow ninja was glaring down at him.
"I hoped I would run into you brat," Mizore snarled. "I owe you for what you did earlier, making a fool out of us. I am so going to enjoy this, runt."
Naruto drew two kunai and waited for his opponent to make the first move, and he didn't have to wait long. With a roar, Mizore surged forward with his gauntleted hand outstretched ready to grab Naruto. Naruto dove under the blow, landing on a lower branch and spun around. He hurled a kunai at Mizore but the chakra shield of Mizore's armor blocked it.
"You don't learn do you brat?" Mizore laughed. "You can't get through my shield with those pathetic attempts. You might as well keep running like the rat you are. That will be the only way you'll survive."
Mizore came speeding around a tree, using his gauntlet like a pivot. "But you won't get away from me brat!" Mizore shouted. He raised his arm and shot his gauntlet at Naruto, which took the blonde by surprise. The spilt second hesitation was all it took for the gauntlet to smash through Naruto's defense and grab Naruto's jacket.
"Got you!" Mizore cried joyfully. With a hard tug, Mizore retracted his gauntlet, dragging Naruto with it. "Die!" In Mizore's other hand, a thin kunai slid out of his armor.
Naruto's eyes widened as Mizore slammed his kunai deep into Naruto's abdomen all the way to its hilt. "Gutted like the fish you are," Mizore laughed.
"Not quite," Naruto's calm voice whispered. Mizore's eyes were locked on the smug blue eyes of Naruto's clone before it vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted, slamming the tightly swirling ball of chakra into Mizore's back. The man's armor instantly activated its shield to deflect the attack. Sparks flew through the air as the two chakras fought against one another. But the contained typhoon that was the Rasengan would not so easily be defeated.
Mizore screamed in shock as he was propelled through the air and trees. In the small part of his mind that wasn't overwhelmed by pain, Mizore was wondering how his shield had failed. With a loud crash, Mizore's journey came to an abrupt stop when he slammed into a large tree trunk. Dimly, he heard the crunch of snow underfoot behind him.
"How?" Mizore asked, his voice watery as he felt a stabbing pain in his chest. His armor had broken and a piece of his chest plate had pierced his chest between his ribs.
"Relying on that armor made you overconfident and arrogant," Naruto said. "You yourself said you were invincible, and left yourself open to counter attacks. Now where is Doto taking Koyuki?"
"Like I would ever tell you anything," Mizore sneered, blood trickling from his mouth.
Naruto sighed. He had an idea on how to interrogate the man but he didn't want to use it. The method was one that Naruto wasn't sure he could control but what choice did he have.
'Hey fox, you there?' Naruto asked.
'Of course I am meatbag, where else would I be?' the Kyubi responded. 'What do you want?'
'I was wondering if you wanted to help me put the fear of Kami into this asshole?' Naruto asked.
'Why would I help you?'
'Well I just thought you would want to show your power,' Naruto said. 'And I am giving you a chance to do so, so what do you say?'
The fox was silent for several moments. 'Fine, I will agree to your request,' the fox said. 'What do you need from me?'
'Just some of your chakra.'
'Very well.'
Mizore was frantically looking around for an escape route, as the blonde brat seemed to have zoned out. But just as he was about to make a break for it, a wave of immense cold and fear washed over him. Turning back to the blonde runt in front of him, Mizore froze. Instead of a young boy trying to play the intimidating ninja, something out of a nightmare now stood in his place.
Naruto's eyes were now a blood red with black slit pupils rather than their normal sky blue. His birthmarks had darkened and his canines had lengthened, adding to the feral and wild look. Covering Naruto was a shroud of dark orange chakra that seemed to suck the very air from Mizore's lungs.
"What are you?" Mizore whispered.
"Your worst nightmare," Naruto growled. "Now are you going to tell me where Doto has taken Koyuki or will I have to convince you?"
Mizore swallowed even though his throat was bone dry. "I am not telling you anything," he said, trying to sneer. "I'd rather die than betray my comrades."
Naruto blinked. "I can respect that," he said. "But unfortunately that's the wrong answer." Naruto crouched down in front of Mizore and showed the frightened man his clawed hand. "You asked what I was, well when I said your worst nightmare I wasn't lying but it also wasn't the whole truth. You see I have this special chakra inside me. I wasn't born with it but I've had it all my life. Now this second chakra is quite volatile and dangerous, even to me but to someone who has never experienced its effects, well lets just say it is not pleasant."
The chakra shroud grew thicker around Naruto's claws, so thick that Mizore could barely see Naruto's fingers within it.
"What are you doing?" Mizore asked as Naruto's hand drew closer to his face.
"Giving you a chance to make the right decision," Naruto chuckled. "You really don't want this chakra in your body, trust me. Now, I'll ask you for the last time, where is Doto taking Koyuki? Or do you want your innards to end up like this branch?" Naruto picked up a twig and let his chakra flow through it.
Mizore's eyes were glued to the branch as it caught fire but it wasn't a bursting into flame type of fire, no the branch slowly began to glow a low red, much like the embers of a fire pit. The red spread up and down the branch, eating away at the wood leaving only ash in Naruto's hand.
"Now, imagine what my chakra will do to your skin, muscle and bones if that is what it did to a tree branch?" Naruto growled. "So are you going to answer my question or not?"
Mizore's eyes were glued on Naruto's clawed hand that was inching toward his face. He could feel his skin begin to turn warm as the claws neared him. Looking back at Naruto, Mizore saw no hesitation in the boy's eyes, only cruel amusement and resolve.
"He's taking her to the Rainbow Glacier," Mizore said.
"Where is that?"
"West of here, about 20 miles," Mizore answered.
"Thank you," Naruto said standing up and turning away.
"Ah!" Mizore screamed as Naruto whirled around and raked his clawed hand across Mizore's face, leaving four large gashes that cut through Mizore's left eye, nose and lips.
"Don't worry, you'll live," Naruto said walking away from the screaming Mizore. "I think."
The blonde walked off through the forest, ignoring the increasing cries of pain from Mizore.
'What the hell fox, why did you make me do that?' Naruto demanded of the fox spirit inside him.
'Quit your whining brat, you wanted to scare that human,' the fox snarled. 'And I did not do anything that you didn't want too.'
'And besides, that man was an enemy of Konoha, he deserved to die,' a voice whispered. 'All enemies of Konoha deserve to die.'
'I suppose that's true,' Naruto thought as he leapt off into the trees toward the Rainbow Glaciers.
As Naruto approached the cliffs that overlooked the glacier, he felt a chill run up and down his spine. He didn't know what but something had happened, and it wasn't good for the Konoha shinobi.
And his feelings rang true as he reached the summit of the cliff. Looking down at the valley, Naruto saw a sight that nearly froze the very blood flowing through his veins. Sakura was lying in a heap at the base of a massive pillar, frantically trying to stem the blood pouring from a wound on her left leg. The wound was serious judging from the pool of blood growing beneath Sakura. Somewhat numbly, Naruto noticed that Koyuki was also injured but not as seriously as Sakura. The Princess was holding her right arm close to her chest, though Naruto could see that it was bleeding steadily. Doto was standing over by a small altar, a broad grin tinged with madness on his face. He was holding a knife above his head, and there was blood dripping from it and down onto the altar.
Naruto's vision began to flicker red as the Kyubi's chakra started leaking from the seal, reacting to Naruto's fluctuating emotions. The chakra surrounded Naruto in a shroud that slowly grew a tail. With a feral roar, Naruto launched himself off the top of the cliff and freefell down toward Doto, Sakura and Koyuki. With a booming crash that echoed all around the area, Naruto landed on all fours.
"Naruto," Sakura gasped as she recognized the appearance and chakra of her teammate.
"Are you all right Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, his voice raspy and deep.
"I'll be fine Naruto," Sakura said. "Just stop Doto."
Naruto turned back to the power-crazed Daimyo who was looking at Naruto with confusion and annoyance. "You are dead Doto!" Naruto snarled. "I am going to kill you for what you've done to this country and Sakura-chan."
Naruto shot forward in an orange and black blur, missing Sakura's blush. Koyuki trembled in fright as the cold and angry chakra emanating from Naruto washed over her. She had never felt anything like it before, it felt like she had just been doused with ice water and then put outside into the middle of a storm, its winds cutting into her wet and cold skin. Doto merely laughed as Naruto raced toward him on all fours.
"Pathetic brat," he scoffed. "I don't know how you managed to escape Nadare but that braggart is nothing compared to me. I am the most powerful shinobi this land has ever seen!" Doto raised a hand and a ball of black chakra appeared. "Black Dragon Bomb!" The black ball of chakra sped at Naruto with the speed of a bullet.
"Rasengan!" Naruto roared, the signature ninjutsu of his father appearing in his hand in an instant. He thrust the jutsu forward, slamming it into the Black Dragon Bomb. The plateau was silent for a spilt second as the two jutsus battled one another before…
BOOM!
"Naruto!" Sakura cried out as her teammate was enveloped in the explosion. She frantically looked for any sign of the blonde boy as the smoke cleared.
"Sakura, are you all right?" Sasuke asked, appearing next to her.
"Sasuke-kun, do you see Naruto?" she asked. Sasuke quickly activated his Sharingan and scanned the area.
"He's fine Sakura," Sasuke announced just as the smoke finished clearing, reveling Naruto kneeling at the bottom of a large crater, the Kyubi's chakra still surrounding him. "What's going on?"
"I got here a few minutes after Doto and Koyuki did," Sakura explained. "He was going to kill Koyuki in order to have enough royal blood to open the seal, as he put it. I was able to stop him from killing Koyuki obviously but he was stronger than I thought. I'm pretty sure my leg is broken and probably at least a rib or two."
Sasuke's eyes shrank to slits as he turned toward the despot who had beaten his teammate. "I'm going to help Naruto, do you need anything?" he asked, his voice thick with anger.
"If you have any medical supplies, I'm running low on painkillers and bandages," Sakura said, her voice tight with pain. She had used up all of her painkillers to numb her broken leg. Sasuke wordlessly handed over his medical supplies. "Good luck and be careful."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted before leaping down into the crater next to Naruto. "You ok Naruto?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Naruto growled. "How is Sakura-chan?"
"She'll be fine," Sasuke answered. "So focus on our opponent instead of her. What happened with that last attack? How could something stop your jutsu?"
"I don't know," Naruto admitted. "Doto's jutsu was really strong, strong enough to cause my Rasengan to explode. But it doesn't matter, I am going to kill that bastard!"
"Naruto!" Sasuke snapped. "You need to calm down! You are no use to anyone if you let the fox control you."
Naruto growled deep in his throat, it sounded a lot like a bear's growl.
"Naruto!"
THAWCK!
Naruto's head rocked back as Sasuke's fist left a stinging ring of red on his cheek. The shock of Sasuke punching him caused the Kyubi's hold over Naruto to flicker and die away.
"Good, now that you are you, we can deal with this asshole," Sasuke said.
Naruto rubbed his stinging cheek. "Thanks Sasuke," he muttered as his eyes turned back to their normal blue.
"You're welcome," Sasuke said. "Now are you ready to fight for real?"
"Let's do this," Naruto said. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A crowd of clones appeared around Naruto and Sasuke, and as one the clones charged Doto who was watching with an amused smile.
"Come then you brats," Doto laughed. "Come to your deaths. Black Dragon Blizzard!" A massive dragon of ice rose from around Doto, its yellow eyes glaring down at the group of clones and Naruto and Sasuke. With a roar, the dragon dove down to the ground, its mouth wide open. Sakura and Koyuki had to each raise an arm to shield their eyes from the debris flying through the air. Naruto winced as his clones were all destroyed in one fell swoop but their sacrifice hadn't been in vein. Naruto and Sasuke had spilt up as soon as Doto had announced his attack.
"A futile gesture, splitting up," Doto laughed. "Twin Black Dragon Blizzard!" Two huge black ice dragons rose in front of Doto and took off after Naruto and Sasuke.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto shouted, sending an overcharged wind jutsu at the dragon's head. Naruto's jutsu slammed into the dragon's head, disrupting Doto's jutsu just enough for Naruto to leap clear. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto spotted Sasuke dodge the other dragon and begin sprinting toward Doto. "Transparent Escape Jutsu," Naruto whispered. The blonde quickly vanished from sight as his jutsu took effect.
The sound of chirping birds filled Sasuke's ears as he activated his strongest jutsu, the Chidori. The Uchiha heir knew that Naruto's Rasengan was stronger than his Chidori but the Chidori had major advantage over the Rasengan, it was meant to pierce anything. Which is exactly what Sasuke needed. With a burst of speed, Sasuke approached the despot who was just laughing at him. Something that sent Sasuke's blood pounding through his body, how dare this braggart mock an Uchiha? Sasuke's Sharingan spun wildly as he zigzagged his way closer and closer to Doto.
Doto watched the black haired boy run toward him with intrigue and amusement. The jutsu in the boy's hand was something that caught Doto's interest. He had never seen anything like it. 'This boy is an Uchiha,' Doto realized, noticing the red gleam in Sasuke's eyes. "You are an Uchiha, are you not boy?" Doto asked.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke answered. "Why do you care?"
"It is not everyday that I get to kill an Uchiha," Doto said with a broad smile. "Come boy, come meet your death! Black Dragon Blizzard!"
Another dragon of black ice swirled into existence around Doto and roared. Sasuke's charge faltered for a spilt second as he dodged the jutsu. He righted his course but so did the dragon.
"Tch," Sasuke grunted as the dragon circled around Doto and dove down at Sasuke. "Chidori!" Sasuke shouted, slamming the assassination jutsu into the dragon's head. The lightning jutsu pierced easily through the ice dragon's head, causing the jutsu to fall apart. But that left Sasuke open as Doto appeared right in front of Sasuke.
"Time to die!" Doto shouted as the tall man punched Sasuke in the stomach, folding the young teen over.
"Gah!" Sasuke gasped, spittle flying from his mouth as he fought to keep the contents of his stomach in his stomach.
"You are years too young to even think of challenging me boy," Doto snarled. Gripping the back of Sasuke's collar, Doto lifted Sasuke off the ground and at eye level. "I must wonder how far the Uchiha clan has fallen for it to be wiped out by just a single ninja and in one night. But now, seeing you boy, I can now see that the Uchiha were weak, nothing more than charlatans and thieves."
Sasuke's eyes flashed as he struggled madly in Doto's grip.
"Oh, does that anger you boy? Well, do not fret, soon you won't be worrying about anything," Doto laughed. "Soon you will be reunited with your fallen clan, you should be praising me for giving you this mercy." A thin blade sprang into Doto's hand, its blade shining brightly even in the weak sunlight breaking through the clouds.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"
The chakra shield of Doto's armor burst into existence around the ruler as a volley of Vacuum Bullets slammed into the shield. The attack didn't penetrate the shield but the attack accomplished what Naruto wanted it too. The shield shoved Sasuke away from Doto violently, sending the Uchiha tumbling head over heels. Doto whirled around just as Naruto landed, a Rasengan swirling in his hand.
"Rasengan!" Naruto roared, slamming the contained typhoon into the chakra shield.
Doto laughed as the Rasengan ground at his shield. "It is pointless boy, my armor is leagues better than any of my subordinates. It is impenetrable," he boasted. "You should just give up."
"Sorry, giving up is not in my nature," Naruto growled as he sent more and more chakra into the Rasengan, he could feel his fingers begin to prickle and burn from all the chakra he was forcing through them.
Doto's laugh slowly died away when he noticed that the boy's jutsu had not died away, in fact it seemed to be growing stronger. He also began to feel a warmth in his chest. It was coming from the chakra battery gem that powered his armor. Doto's eyes widened as with an ear splitting crack, the gem broke and the shield shattered.
"Take this!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his weakening Rasengan into the man's chest.
"No!" Doto screamed as the weakened jutsu slammed into his chest plate, quickly eating away at the metal plating and then threw him backward, spinning wildly. Over the rushing winds, Doto heard the chirping of birds coming from behind him. 'What is that?' he wondered before he heard the last word of his life.
"Chidori!"
Sasuke's jutsu sliced through the back of Doto's armor with ease and ended the despot's life with a single blow. Sasuke watched as Doto's lifeless body slid from his arm and to the ground. He shook the blood from his arm and looked up at the approaching Naruto.
"It's over," Naruto said.
"No, it is just beginning," Sasuke answered, glancing over at the young woman who apparently was the only hope for the Land of Snow, who also was the same woman who had disavowed her claim to the throne in an effort to run away from her past and responsibilities.
A/N: Well, there you have it. The newest installment of Naruto: Hidden Potential, hope you all liked it. Sorry that its been such a long time since updating this story but work has picked up in the last month, and my love of Naruto has been hindered over the past year due to its unsatisfactory ending, and the controversy and confusing messages that have come out since Nov. 2014. Well, anyway let me know what you all thought of this chapter, what you'd like to see for it to get better, etc. Til next time,
SlyNinjaKnight