Naruto: The Leaves Have Shadows
Chapter 7
Disclaimer: Yeah, still don't own Naruto
Hidden Cloud village
Just outside the village the sounds of swords could be heard clashing. Various chunin and ANBU stood guard having recovered from the explosion from earlier. To their chagrin the explosion, set off in the middle of the marketplace, served as a beautiful distraction allowing a small strike team to kidnap the Raikage's son. As they attempted to pursue they came across a barrier of sorts. Only Bee and a few ANBU were swift enough to pursue.
Spinning like a tornado Bee's swords came from seemingly all angles forcing the man backwards and to the side, sharingan spinning wildly. Seeing an opening he shifted to the right and pushed his sword left in a downward strike stopping Bee's swing for the barest of instants. Surging his chakra he activated a a kunai trap on the ground sending them barreling towards his head forcing Bee to duck swiftly. Following up with a knee to the face the enemy backed away when it apparently had no effect. 'So the tales of his durability are true after all,' he thought while formulating a plan.
Flashing through hand seals he struck "Katon: great fire ball jutsu!" while the fireball sailed towards Bee he quickly created an earth clone that palmed a flash bomb. Bee was quick to counter by dodging then dashing at his foe, lightning chakra flaring from his sword. As he drew closer his opponent set off the flash bomb illuminating the area. As it died down Bee attempted to swing backwards seeking to decapitate his foe, but he couldn't move. "Shadow possession jutsu complete," he intoned in the same calm voice this time on a rock a bit away. Unbidden memories of the Nara clan restraining the Jubi came to mind.
'How in the world did he come by such a jutsu?" Bee asked himself. Just then the whisper of shuriken convinced him to act.
"It's over Jinchuriki. You have failed," he stated as another copy of him moved in for the kill. Sprinting at a furious pace Kentaro barely had enough time to stop and dive to the side as Bee transformed in to his version 2, a powerful red aura, black eyes and 8 tails springing forth from his body. Craters formed on the ground from the jinchuriki's tail strikes forcing the ninja to dodge frantically. Instinct took over causing Kentaro to duck as one of Bee's tail emerged from the ground aiming a sword at his head.
Quickly forming hand seals Kentaro countered "Sution: assassin's grip." From the atmosphere a small dart of liquid formed and shot at his opponent striking him and piercing his chakra cloak ripping through his skin. Grunting in pain Bee continued to lash out with his sword wielding tentacles finally striking the wily man only for him to burst into smoke reveling him to be a clone. As the real Kentaro observed coldly he thought, 'Now'.
All Bee heard were the words, "Restrain and Cut", then his body seized up and the connection to his longtime friend, Gyuki or more commonly known as the 8 tails. Never had Bee felt more alone. For years now Gyuki had been a companion and a trusted comrade and now he couldn't even feel his presence. Immediately his chakra cloak dropped leaving him vulnerable, but not helpless. Summoning his own chakra he just managed to overwhelm the foreign chakra in his system allowing him to shift slightly as a blade entered his back just missing his heart yet puncturing his lung. Sharply moving his elbow back coated with Lightning chakra Bee gained space even as the burning pain racked his body. Bounding away he turned he raced towards Samehada seeking the regain some chakra stored in the great sword only for it to disappear in front of his eyes. 'Genjutsu,' he realized as he sought to break it quickly.
As reality was restored the whistling sound of kunai forced him to duck and roll toward the sword, his breath coming in gasps, As he opponent closed in an icy feeling spread throughout his being only to be replaced by relief as he heard "Fang Over Fang!", then strong arms grabbed him and his sword and pulled him away from the danger. A split second later a very familiar cry of "Rasengan!" rang through the area.
"Yeah, my main man Naruto to the rescue, stealing the show! Yeah!," then he passed out from pain, chakra exhaustion and blood loss. At the same time Kentaro was not pleased, as through his communication seal he was informed that an unknown ninja had crippled his squad and retrieved the Raikage's son. Honestly to be beaten by bugs of all things. Looking at his two new opponents he estimated his chances.
'Hmm, so this is nine tails Jinchuriki? It was his chakra I felt briefly as he circumvented my barrier. And this other one and his dog jutsu are incredibly fast. Over half my chakra is exhausted and my backup is gone. It may be best to sound a tactical retreat,' he analyzed. Hastily bringing his arms up to defend his self from the cloaked blonde his mind thought franticly while his Sharingan spun rapidly. Ducking and weaving in and out of Naruto's punches and kicks he scowled as the blonde called out to his teammate warning him about his bloodline.
"An Uchiha huh? Or are those eyes stolen?" Naruto asked. Kentaro ignored the blood pounding in his ears as he traded blows with him, narrowly escaping and dispelling a clone that appeared brandishing an odd looking kunai. His clan was a sore subject with him. Having been sent away at 15 by his father, a well-known Nara, he only heard about the slaughter in passing.
"That is no concern of yours," he stoically answered shifting his weight to the side avoiding Kiba's strike. His danger sense flared as a shadow clone appeared near the dropped kunai in a flash dispelled itself right away. Almost immediately a heavy sensation bore down upon him. Replacing his self with a rock he looked on him horror as the rock was crushed, 'Gravity tags! This is no ordinary foe,' he thought. Summoning his chakra he created shadow tentacles and tossed a few kunai towards the leaf ninja and detonated them. Slipping underground he then cast a slight genjutsu masking his presence while he practically swam below the surface of the earth beating a quick retreat.
As the smoke cleared Naruto, Kiba and a passed out Bee were left alone in the clearing. As the sounds of the approaching cloud ANBU, chunin and Allied police found their ears both Naruto and Kiba had similar thoughts: 'I get the feeling this will get worse long before it gets better.'
"Uzumaki-san," a voice on his left snapped Naruto out of his thoughts, "Thank you for the assist"
"No problem," he told the ANBU who had already stared to treat Bee. "Just make sure Octo-pops is healed up," he said cheekily. The ANBU gave a nod and took Bee away.
Turning to Kiba Naruto placed his hand on his shoulder prompting Kiba to touch Akumaru and grimace. "Man I hate this part," he sighed just as they disappeared only to reappear at Shino's side.
In his typical stoic fashion Shino addressed his teammates. "Naruto, Kiba. You have returned. Why? Your part of the mission was successful no doubt."
"You know it Shino. We totally kicked his ass. He had to run off, sharingan or no sharingan," Kiba boasted causing Shino to raise his eyebrow in question. Naruto then intervened.
"I'll fill you in a bit later. We should get back to Kiri. We have a lazy bum to pick up." Grabbing both their shoulders he allowed Kiba to touch his dog and they all vanished, only a light flicker in the air betraying the movement.
With Kakashi
As soon as their shadow clones dispersed Kakashi, Ay, and Darui dropped the transformation and took off running towards the rendezvous site. A few moments later Cee's clone dispersed giving them new information.
"Heads up guys, they are coming by air," he spoke then paused a bit before continuing. "It's a Griffin, a big one too," he finished causing Ay to swear. Not bothering to reply they simply picked up the pace but it wasn't long before Cee picked 3 chakra signals closing in rapidly.
"Here they come!" he managed before extremely large fireballs rained down on them causing them to scatter. As the rocky land became marred by smoldering craters Ay began to get increasing upset.
"Darui! You are up! Cee, give us a barrier,' he ordered as they came to a halt. Immediately Cee whipped through hand seals erecting a barrier, while Darui created a shadow clone. Grabbing the clone Ay launched him as high as he could. As both the original and the copy weaved seal Kakashi popped a solider pill and tossed one to Ay.
Twin shouts of Sution: Hydra's torment and Gale style: Black Lightning hunting rang throughout the area. Pouring every ounce of chakra he had the clone created several water Hydras out the clouds in the sky sending them racing towards the boss griffin while the original sent panthers of black lightning towards is foes. The effect was a net of destruction and fury that ended up clipping the wings of the beast sending it into a spiral towards the earth.
As they recovered dangerously close the ground one figure leaped off the griffin. As he touched the floor a purple aura sprang up around and he sprinted towards the group intending great harm.
"Kakashi and Darui you handle him, Ill crush the girl. Cee, provide support but focus mostly on Darui's squad." The lazy Jonin looked shocked at being named the de facto commander but rolled with it.
The other figure hopped off bit more sedately taking the time to whisper in her summons ear. Revving up his Lightning armor the Raikage wasted no time, lunging at her so fast the air sung with electricity. Barely ducking and rolling to the side in time she brought up a kunai and sought to strike back decisively. Her summons flew high into the air and started to prepare fire bombs again. The battle had started.
Avoiding a punch that would have caved her face in Lady Rei sliced at Ay's chest grunting with the effort to penetrate his armor. Moving her hand to the side he stepped into her guard and attempted to grab her throat.
"Iron Claw! You are dead, you little bitch!" Dropping and spinning Rei lashed out seeking to slice his ankle tendons. However Ay heard the wind chakra on the blade and jumped backwards only to sprint towards her at insane speeds.
'Futon: vacuum slice!' came her reply in the form of a razor sharp line of wind. Using his ridiculous speed Ay dodged and closed the gap within a blink of an eye…right into a senbon wielding clone reaching up from the earth. Grimacing slightly Ay bulldozed his way towards the real Rei dispelling the clone in the process.
"Tell me where my son is before I rip you apart!" The woman warrior made no reply but simply summoned a pair gloves with claws for fingers.
"Now that would be foolish, don't you think?" she replied even as she rushed him. Exchanging a series of punches, swipes and kicks neither fighter gained the upper hand. It was a true battle of opposites, speed and power verses agility and cunning. Lightning nature verses wind nature. Little by little Ay began to tire as the small wounds he received earlier began to throb. To make matters worse his chakra began to dwindle at an alarming rate. 'What the fuck did this bitch do to me?' he thought.
Seeking to end it quickly he weaved hand seals for a jutsu, "Raiton: Illumination!" His lighting armor flared to dramatic heights as lightning crackled in the sky creating a blinding effect. In the instant Lady Rei shielded her eyes Ay struck with a massive blow to her chest forcing the air from her lungs and driving her into a nearby boulder.
Dodging lightning bolts Kronos, the boss griffin, zeroed in on the enemy and fired a few massive fireballs at the speedy Raikage forcing him to zig zag granting Rei those precious seconds to recover. She used that time to formulate a plan right after she shook off a genjutsu launched by Cee. First she threw poison gas bombs near the Raikage then substituted with a bag left on Kronos's back high above the battle field.
"Good bye you ignorant lout, Fuin: Tri sealing barrier Wind imprisonment!" Almost immediately a triangle shaped sealing jutsu array appeared at the Raikage's feet. A barrier seemingly made of wind appeared around Ay cutting short his lightning armor.
"Boss!" Darui shouted seeing his leaders predicament while fending off Kenpachi.
"I'll seek to undue the barrier. Darui and Kakashi just buy me some time," Cee said as he used his sensory ability to gain information about the barrier. Meanwhile Ay found his chakra being drained and his vision blurring due to the poison in Rei's senbon and the gas that struck him earlier. Each time Ay flared his armor wind bore down on him in a compressed wave from all angles while the drain on his chakra increased. Ignoring the fireballs being doused by Darui's water jutsu Cee went to work on breaking the barrier.
"Cee, I've been poisoned so you must hurry."
"Understood Ay-sama," he answered. At the same time the battle between Kakashi and Kenpachi began heating up.
'His regeneration rate is incredible. It reminds me of Naruto when he taps into the nine tails,' Kakashi thought. Ducking and advancing with a kunai laced with lightning chakra Kakashi pressed his foe with super-fast strikes. Seeking to penetrate Kenpachi's defense he lashed out with another kunai, aiming it Kenpachi's eyes. As he dodged it he missed Kakashi's fingers moving slightly causing it to detonate sending shrapnel towards the side of his head. A spilt second before the pieces hit a familiar purple aura surrounded his body and repelled the shards of kunai.
'I see. His chakra reacts in a similar way to a jinchuriki.' Noticing Cee and Ay's situation he created a mud clone and sprinted over to them leaving his clone to deal with Kenpachi.
Flashback: Hidden Leaf Village 1 month ago
"One more miso ramen please Old man!" Naruto enthusiastically ordered at his favorite haunt.
"Coming right up Naruto boy," the chef replied. As he waited for the next bowl a familiar presence entered the ramen stand.
"Yo," the silver haired jounin greeted.
"Kakashi sensei, what's up? I didn't know you were back from your mission already."
"Yeah, Guy and I just returned from the Hidden rain. Nagato really did a number on them in regards to turning them against the larger nations. I fear it will take some time for them to truly embrace the new Shinobi world," Kakashi said.
Naruto considered that for a moment. "The hatred of the world is almost like a living being. It constantly feeds on the pain of those caught in its cross hairs, always seeking to grow and consume. But I truly believe that the changes after the last war will go a long way in healing and forging bonds. My dad, Pervy sage and Nagato entrusted me and by extension us to see this through. We will succeed." The heartfelt and surprisingly deep comment caused Kakashi smile via his eyes at his student.
"Right you are Naruto. Either we will rise above the previous restraints of the past or perish. I for one am a bit too stubborn to do so, and I know you are." Lapsing into a comfortable silence for a time Kakashi and Naruto ate in peace. Eventually Kakashi broached the subject that had him seek Naruto's company specifically.
"Naruto, I have to take another mission soon and I could use your help."
"Sure Kakashi-sensei. What do you need?"
Growing grim the war veteran formulated his request. "I can't get into details here but I need a way for shadow clones to last longer than one hit. The chakra signatures need to be an exact match to the original as well."
Naruto thought for a moment. "It won't be easy but I can do it. A seal ninjutsu hybrid is your best bet. As a matter of fact I think what you described I've been working on by accident. Give me a second," Naruto said. He then produced a scroll and unsealed the contents revealing a mass of notes and sketches of sealing diagrams causing Kakashi to smirk as he was reminded of his teacher.
"Here it is. This is a chakra siphon seal. Basically it will enable you to power a barrier or seal from long distance. I suppose I could modify it to be used on a clone." Seeing Kakashi nod in comprehension Naruto continued, "This is an elemental converter seal. I find elemental clones are tougher and use less chakra than shadow clones but can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu as well as a shadow clone so I came up with this. Basically the seal allows you to use the same amount of energy for a shadow clone but convert it to an elemental clone with the benefits of a shadow clone and elemental clone. However it does take a lot of chakra to activate. It makes up for it with this feature, an ambient energy siphon, or simply put it can take energy from nature," he finished smiling.
"But Naruto for those who can't usenature energy that would be useless," the masked ninja protested.
Waving him off the cheerful young man explained, "No way. It's more of a passive siphon. See nature energy is usually thought of as external, but in truth nature energy already exists in all things. That is the reason why I can sense people and animals in sage mode. I am sensing the spirit and physical energies of living beings. In fact I've gotten to the point where I can sense, well "see', my environment when in sage mode. It's kind of cool actually," he finished with a cheeky grin. "Bottom line you won't be manipulating nature energy, but the seal will absorb it and convert it thereby keeping the jutsu going automatically. You can also feed chakra into it reinforcing the clone against hits."
"I see. Well Naruto you certainly have progressed as a ninja. What made you pursue this type of seal? " Kakashi asked.
Naruto thought for a moment before answering his tardy teacher. "Well honestly I want another way to enter sage mode besides the two I have already. It's just way too easy for an enemy to find and dispel my clones when gathering energy. Plus I'm limited in the amount of clones I can use both for gathering and combat," he paused and his shoulders sunk in as dejected look came over his face, "But I can't seem to gather enough to enter sage mode with this seal. It's so frustrating sensei," he finished with a sigh.
Laughing Kakashi tried to cheer him up, "Keep at it Naruto. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Oh by the way I have another request for you. There have been an unusual amount of our comrades encountering barriers in missions lately. Not just any run of the mill barriers either, I'm talking about B to A+ ranked easily. I would feel a lot safer if I had a few of your barrier busters on me during my next mission. Call it a hunch if you will," the veteran requested with a double eye smile.
"Sure thing, no problem Sensei. I have just the thing. This seal drains the bypasses defense mechanisms short circuiting the relays and drains the chakra making it go bye- bye. Give me a few days and I'll whip up some more dattebayo!," the prankster stated finishing with a thumbs up and a smile.
"Thank you Naruto, I get the feeling this will come in handy sooner rather than later."
End Flashback
When he got into range he pulled out one of Naruto's tags and threw it at the barrier. As soon as contact was made the barrier began to flicker rapidly until finally it was no more. Dropping to his knees in a moment of fatigue Ay grunted his thanks as Cee began to heal him. Battle hardened instincts forced Kakashi to turn and deflect a kunai aimed at this head. Kenpachi renewed his attack with a vengeance.
"I do hope you remember that I'm your opponent. I would hate to kill you because of any inattention," Kenpachi drawled as his purple aura began to thicken. At the same time his eyes took on an almost black hue.
Taking advantage of his partner's aerial support Kenpachi was a demon on the field of battle. As fireballs and poison senbon rained down on the field Kenapchi weaved in and out striking with malicious intentions seeking to sever limbs, crack bones and pierce bodies with every attack. Slowly but surely the Raikage's group began being pushed back.
Now running low on chakra Darui just managed to block a fire chakra enhanced kunai with his sword grimacing as his arms started to shake with the effort. 'How is this guy still going? How much strength does he have?' Pushing him backwards he created space for Kakashi enter the fray with a series of smooth moves with his blade aimed at Kenpachi's face. At the same time a cry of Ninpo: Fanged Pursuit jutsu rang throughout the battlefield. Within a split second ninja hound attached onto Kenpachi's limbs as Kakashi charged lightning chakra into a kunai and thrust it deep with Kenpachi's chest, only a slight shift to the left saved him from an instant death.
"I won't miss next time! Finish it Darui" the masked ninja yelled. In the next few seconds time seemed to slow as Darui blurred towards Kenpachi, as Rei sent a fire enhanced blade of wind to intercept him. Just as Darui reached him Kenpachi's aura burst forth in a violent manner detaching Kakashi's ninken and blowing Darui and Kakashi backwards and causing Rei summon to dispel. A split second later Lady Rei's jutsu hit the ground forcing Kenpachi back a few steps, pieces of rock impacting his aura only to break apart and dissolve.
"Normally I loathe allowing myself to be brought to a level where I have to use my masters' gift. I prefer to remain…sentient in order to enjoy the battle, but you all have given me no choice in the matter. Ninpo: Demonic Elemental possession!" Lady Rei's eyes narrowed as Kenpachi's skin turned black and red and his hands morphed into claws. His eyes became a sun like yellow and his teeth became shark like. His muscles bulged then shrunk becoming dangerously lean. To top off his transformation his hair grew to past his shoulders thick and wild.
'So he accessed his gift. I have to be a bit careful here. When going into that state he essentially relinquishes his will completely to his chosen elements,' she thought. She further winced as a bloodcurdling scream came from his mouth as he rushed the Raikage seeking to take him out as he recovered.
A bit slow to react Ay could only watch in horror as Cee sought to intercept Kenpachi. He never stood a chance. Sweeping aside Cee's hand Kenpachi simply buried his fist through his skull, his bones and skull splashing the Raikage.
"Cee! No!" Darui shouted from the floor.
"Worry about yourself!" Lady Rei exclaimed as she descended thrusting her poison claws towards his chest forcing him to roll away. Swiftly turning Rei blocked a shuriken from Kakashi then fired poison senbon from a device in her gauntlet. Leaping back she began a short series of hand seals.
"Ninpo: corrosion!" Breathing out a fast moving black cloud she hoped to catch them in an acidic field, meanwhile Kenpachi had seriously wounded the Raikage landing a blow to his chest collapsing his lung. As the cloud approached Kakashi started to mold what little chakra he had left for a wind style jutsu determined to protect Darui who seemed to be in a daze.
'This is bad. Those two blasts seriously wounded my hand. His chakra somehow disrupted my chakra control. I'm not going make it in time. I'm sorry I won't be seeing you take that hat Naruto. Forgive me sensei seems I was late again,' he thought as the cloud threated to devour them both. Suddenly a a great gust of wind swept through the area blowing the cloud back towards its caster who threw a scroll which activated in the form of an explosion destroying the attack.
Just as Kenpachi went to strike Ay a cool calm voice called out, "Shadow possession jutsu complete. Somebody finish him off quick, his chakra is immense, and this is getting to be a drag."
"Shannaro!" a female cried then suddenly appeared striking Kenpachi dead on in the chest sending him flying past his partner into a nearby boulder. Looking fierce as ever Sakura, Shikamaru and Naruto's eyes promised murder.
Getting up seemingly unharmed Kenpachi merely looked on impassively then spoke but what came out his mouth was no longer Kenpachi.
"Lady Rei we are done here. My siblings and I have collected enough today. A pity you were unable to complete the mission, but you will not be punished, this time. It simply couldn't be helped."
Bowing her head she answered meekly, "Yes Master. I await your command." Sensing what was to happen Naruto acted quickly and threw a three pronged kunai at them while his 9 tailed cloak burst forth. He then disappeared only to reappear, golden fist twice its normal size, directly in front of Kenpachi.
"Oh no you don't! Odama Rasengan!" he shouted as he sought to demolish his foe, at the same time a white hot flame rose up in the form of a barrier intercepting his attack. The resulting shockwave of the clash blew every one back a few feet and ripped the ground up as they battled for dominance. Forming a hand of golden chakra he used that to form yet another rasengan to attack from another angle with little success. Eventually Naruto flashed back to a Sakura before the flames devoured him. "He's tough," he admitted grudgingly.
"Interesting, you possess the offspring's of the filthy monk, the so called sage of 6 paths. YOU will be the first I seek to personally devour once we Arrive. I do believe a bit of vengeance is more than due," he finished evilly as both he and lady began to fade away. As one the ninja tensed, ready for any attack. When a few moments went by they began the slow process of being healed while taking the time to mourn the dead. The first casualties of a war had occurred. Kami help them all.
A/N: Hey guys. Thought that would a good place to end it. Let me know what you guys think. Next up Naruto's adventure in the blood temple and we check in on Hinata and her new sensei. Also what is Tsunade's fate? As always read, favorite and review. Peace