A/N: And here you go, another chapter for Cinders…and a few days from my birthday. With any luck, it'll be worth the read.

So do please read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!

[The Painted World]

Naruto trudged through the streets of the city, keeping track of how far he was from the temple. If he explored too far from the temple and got lost, he'd likely run into even tougher mobs of zombies along the way back. Still, the first priority he needed out of the way was to explore as much of the area as possible within twelve hours before returning to the temple.

During his time stuck in the city, he'd become familiar with other weapons he found, which included things from big and heavy knives to different kinds of bludgeoning weapons. There were even a few large, but well-balanced axes he found to be versatile. As much as he liked the variety however, every weapon he'd picked up so far was pretty crappy.

His latest acquisition was a weird-looking weapon he'd stolen from a zombie in heavy plate armor. The best way to describe it was as a multi-tool: it had a spear at the top, fitted above an axe with a hammer head. This mish-mash of weapons was mounted on a long, heavy pole that had a leather wrap along the length of its shaft, ending in a spiked pommel to counterbalance it. It was a very versatile weapon, with every part being viable in a fight, and it helped that it had better reach. The problem however, was that being a polearm, he needed a lot of room to take full advantage of this weapon, except if he were using the spear head. That, and while it was usable in one hand, it was best to use it two-handed to take full advantage of its versatility―which meant that he had to choose between this and his longsword to get the best out of it. Just please, please, PLEASE don't break on me again!

As far as ammo was concerned, he could always restock on his supply of kunai, shuriken, and arrows simply by scavenging bodies. With any luck, the arrows he fired at his victims would stay intact long enough for it to be reused. Still, he needed to conserve his ammunition in the event that he ran into another tough monster like that zombified giant he'd encountered a while ago. Everything done so far was in preparation for exploring even deeper into the city.

According to the stranger, Naruto's only means of escape meant finding the master of this world, and defeating them in battle. Sounded simple enough, but he still needed to actually find his target in the first place; plus, there was always the chance that the hunter was also the hunted. I swear, if I find the asshole that did this to me…!

Naruto lost his train of thought as he heard something in the distance. He tensed, tightening the grip on his polearm as he registered the sound as a gallop that got louder. Hazarding a glance to his left, he spotted a stone bridge with zombies shuffling toward him with various weapons in hand. They'd barely made it partway across the bridge when something appeared behind them, trampling the zombies underfoot before coming to a sudden stop halfway toward him.

Naruto had a better look at his new adversary: a tall horse with a heavily-muscled body built for both power and speed, whinnying as it reared on its hind legs. Its lips were gone, exposing a set of broken teeth that looked as though they were pressed into chewing on meat. An ethereal blue flame blazed in place of its mane and tail, as well as on its hooves; it even looked like it was breathing those flames. The carriage it pulled had spiked hubs, the driver and occupants were nowhere to be seen.

The two of them stood off against each other from opposite ends on the stone bridge, daring each other to make the first move.

[Konohagakure, shortly after Naruto's abduction]

Team Kurenai and Team Uchiha ran through the park, immediately finding the gazebo that Konohamaru had mentioned in his account. The painting of the abandoned city on its easel was all that was left of Yakumo. Hinata and Hanabi immediately moved in, Byakugan active and scanning for other threats, supported by both Kira and Shino. Taka stood by with her sword at hand, ready to assist if needed, with Kaori ready to set targets ablaze as support. Finally, Kurenai prepared a genjutsu to capture Yakumo.

"We're clear!" Hanabi announced, Byakugan helping her to further examine the area, "Strange, nobody's here. So why is that painting the only thing with a significant chakra signature around here?"

"That's a fire-and-forget genjutsu," Kurenai explained, studying the painting, "Once cast, it pretty much generates its own steady supply of chakra. That means it'll keep up the jutsu until it either stops generating chakra, or Yakumo dispels it herself. This one'll probably last a week, so we may have some time."

"Akamaru and I have her scent," Kira added, "We gotta find her before the trail goes cold."

Kurenai nodded, taking control of the situation. "Then let's split up; Kira, take Shino, Hanabi, and Taka to find Yakumo. Hinata, Kaori, and I will stay here; we'll try to find a way to break that jutsu he's stuck in."

Everybody nodded, but Kaori glared daggers at Kurenai―ever since the Hokage briefed them on what had happened, the Uchiha had been giving her more of a blizzard than a cold shoulder. Shaking herself back to the real world, Kurenai regarded the teams. "Then let's get to work. Time's running out; there's no telling if Naruto will still be alive by the time we save him."

With everyone else out of earshot, Kaori turned her attention to Kurenai. "So what's the plan?" she asked.

"We're going to have to find Naruto," began Kurenai, "We at least need to know that he's still alive. To do that, we have no other choice but to enter the painting."

"And how can we do that?"

"This looks like the kind of genjutsu that responds to touch," Kurenai explained, studying the artwork, "Which means that once we touch the painting, we will be transported to the world within. I can't promise what we'll find inside."

Kurenai turned her attention to Hinata, red eyes holding her gently in place. "Hinata, stay out here, we need someone to keep an eye on the painting. We don't want anyone else touching it and getting trapped too. And on top of that, I don't know what will happen if the painting is destroyed while we're in there."

"A-ano, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata inquired, "What about the person that freed Yakumo?"

"The Hokage has already sent someone to deal with the problem," Kaori answered, "Whoever did this, they won't get far; much less live to escape."

"I'll keep watch then," Hinata replied, her eyes downcast.

Kurenai reached under her chin, bringing the Hyūga heiress's pearlescent eyes to meet her reddish-browns. "Hinata-chan, I promise we'll bring him back."

"Thank you, sensei."

Satisfied with her answer, Kurenai turned to find Kaori still staring icily at her. "You ready to come with me?" she asked, ignoring it.

"Whatever it takes to bring Naruto-kun back," the Uchiha girl answered tersely, pushing up her glasses.

Without preamble, both Kaori and Kurenai touched the painting. The world around them became engulfed in blinding light. As it died down, they found themselves in the city depicted in the painting. In addition to the primeval state of their surroundings, Kurenai could feel that this world was as dead as it looked. There was nobody around, as if the entire city were evacuated with extreme prejudice. She could even see signs of looting here and there, in the form of shop walls and windows being broken down, the shelves themselves completely devoid of any valuables.

The two of them strolled down the boulevard, keeping an eye out for signs of Naruto. They didn't have to wait long before finding the first few bodies. Many of the corpses were charred, while others had deep cut marks…the most prominent of the bodies was the remains of a samurai with a serrated sword. His body looked as though he'd been hit with several explosive tags, blowing up his knees and his head. "I'll have a look," said Kaori, moving towards the corpses, "I need to see if Naruto did this."

As her erstwhile partner went to work on the investigation, Kurenai looked at Kaori curiously. There was no shortage of stories about the Uchiha pariah during her more active days, but she hadn't paid them much heed. What she did know however, was that Kaori was the second youngest Uchiha prodigy to have graced the ranks of ANBU, eventually earning the title of "Konoha no Moeru Majo" for her Katon affinity. She specialized as an assassin and saboteur, using her Katon mastery to reduce victims and evidence into smouldering piles of ash, giving her the dubious title of "Densetsu no Hōkaheki." However, she was also an adept spy, often disguising herself as a prostitute to seduce the intel out of her victims until it was time to barbecue them. According to Anko, she was equally effective at enhanced interrogation whenever the situation called for a more direct approach.

Kurenai hadn't heard of how she trained Naruto, but she supposed that she was a harsh, but effective mentor to the Kyūbi boy. He'd made a marked improvement over the course of three years from the class dunce, to contender for Rookie of the Year―only failing the finals twice due to sabotage. Though what she saw in the boy, she would never understand; true, he had gotten better, but there were times when he just fooled around with his pranks.

"Yep, that's definitely Naruto-kun's work," Kaori finally noted, still examining the carnage, "In addition to the traces of Katon chakra on some of the bodies, there are arrows lodged in quite a few heads. Plus, there's also evidence of sharp-force trauma from a short, heavy blade in some of them―from a machete, no doubt. And I also found some of them with big holes in their faces consistent with getting hit with a pommel, as though the sword's hilt were being used like a hammer. The timeline's not consistent though; he's been here like an hour, but all this damage looks like he did this, a couple weeks -maybe a month- ago."

"How do you know this wasn't done before he got here?" Kurenai queried.

Kaori said nothing, instead turning on her heel to fling a kunai in her direction. The heavy dagger sailed over Kurenai's shoulder, hitting something behind her with a wet squelch. She turned to find herself watching as a hooded person was knocked back by the force of the kunai.

Studying the body further, she noted that the corpse was dressed shabbily: torn pants and shirt, and any identifying facial features barring the mouth hidden under the leather hood. The pale, rotting skin was dried, and its bony body looked as though it had starved to death, then was mummified alive, its mouth forever frozen in an agonized howl. Near its chest, Kurenai could make out a bundle of nerves clumped over its rib cage. The corpse gripped onto a large, curved knife, with what looked like throwing daggers in the offhand.

"Just instinct," Kaori replied tersely, reaching for the creature's hood, "Now we'll see just what we're dealing with."

As she pulled off the leather hood, both Kurenai and Kaori had a look. The one word that immediately came to mind about the assassin's facial features was 'skeletal.' The creature's eyes were sunken and hollow, its nose had long disintegrated with the passage of time; everything about it seemed to fit the image of a starved mummy, even the pronounced cheekbones. With the kunai embedded deep in its head, there was no way it was getting back up anytime soon.

"Well now we know what to expect," Kaori mused, brushing past Kurenai, "We need to move fast; once we regroup with Naruto, we're gonna find a way to get us all out."

That was it, Kurenai needed to take care of this matter immediately before it became an issue later on. "Care to tell me what the hell your problem is?" she asked, grabbing onto Kaori's shoulder.

Kaori paused momentarily, refusing to acknowledge Kurenai. "You really don't want that."

"No, you need to speak with me, here and now!" Kurenai nearly shouted, "I need to know what's the matter so you won't blow up on me later. So, out with it!"

"What's there to say? You're a crappy teacher," she growled, turning to face Kurenai with pure, icy hatred in her eyes, "You abandoned your student! She needed your help!"

"Her powers were too strong!" Kurenai shot back, "We needed a way to keep it under control!"

Kaori knocking away Kurenai's hand, her anger too much to contain in her voice. "What? By locking her away, out of sight and out of mind? Bullshit! That's negligence and you know it! How you're still a sensei is beyond me!"

"And what would you have done?" Kurenai countered.

"I'm not the genjutsu expert, so I can't help you there," Kaori admitted, "But you were supposed to mentor the girl, not tutor her! Mentoring requires investment in your student, which means that you need to be devoted to them, to have faith in them! I had to build Naruto into the shinobi he is today from the ground up; and let me tell you, he wasn't an easy student to teach. But after three years of faith and investment, he went from dead-last to a contender for rookie of the year. What'd you do with Yakumo? You just sealed her away without so much as a visit to make sure she's okay! This whole situation's all your fault!"

Kurenai stared wide-eyed in shock, before feeling pain in her heart as Kaori turned to leave. It wasn't so much the Uchiha's words as it was the truth behind them that hit her hard. "C'mon, we've got a lot of ground to cover," she said, more calmly this time, "You still have a chance to make this right with Yakumo. But if Naruto has to die for your failures as a mentor, it's all on you."

[Abandoned Warehouse]

In the hour or so since she'd abducted her target, Yakumo watched the blond boy's adventures through canvases that practically painted themselves. She'd tried multiple times to have the boy killed with a variety of powerful monsters, but he'd always found a way to win. So far, he'd defeated a plethora of enemies. One of them was a big, bald, bearded man with a centipede's body for a trunk; he ended up chopped in half and left for dead in a burning barn. Next was a pair of headless monsters wielding massive blades and power over wind and fire, done in with their own swords. He'd also confronted a tall, thin, insectoid creature with a long, sharp tail and covered in thick plates of natural armor; it was blown to bits with an exploding arrow. His current opponent was a massive, flaming horse that dragged around a large carriage while rearing on its hind legs.

Yakumo waited to see the results of the fight; after a few minutes, an image began to paint itself on the blank canvas, eliciting a sigh of frustration and a facepalm. The venue of the battle had changed from the bridge to a gladiatorial amphitheater empty of spectators. Her target stood over the broken remains of the horse, carriage totally destroyed. Half of his polearm lay on the ground, axe-head dug into the horse's neck. He'd suffered his fair share of battle damage, but he still found the strength to savor his momentary victory.

Although she found his determination to escape his predicament admirable, she still had a job to do. Why her benefactor had chosen this specific boy's death in particular was beyond her. "How goes my request, painter?" asked a smooth, almost condescending baritone from behind her.

Speak of the devil, she thought to herself. Yakumo sighed, turning to regard the visitor confidently approaching her with hands in his pockets. He was a tall man, dressed in finely-tailored clothing. His matte black leather jacket absorbed light and was loose enough to enable silent movement. To better protect himself, he wore hard leather armor strapped to his torso and legs; it was primitive, but light and durable enough to shrug off shuriken and the odd arrow with little trouble. He also wore a top hat, and a white mask with a goatee that was forever locked into a hideous rictus grin. Overall, he would have given the impression of a high-class dandy, were it not for the insanely large crossbow hanging from his back, and the large bolts for it held in his boots.

"Not too well, Chesutā-san," answered Yakumo, as she showed him the newest painting, "He just keeps surviving everything I throw at him; his will to live is just that impressive. My biggest concern is that it'll eventually come to drastic measures. Though it would help if you'd just tell me why you want him dead in the first place."

"It's no concern of yours, my dear," drawled Chesutā, "All you need to know is that he must die for you to enjoy your freedom."

The man named 'Chesutā' was a very curious sort. One day, he'd broken Yakumo free from the Kurama house, wasting no time in asking something of her. From what she could tell, this man was an aristocrat. It wasn't the request she had a problem with, so much that she was being kept in the dark. "So that's it? I kill him and I'll be free?"

"If you must know, his death would be doing this bloody village a service," Chesutā added, his voice taking on a more sinister tone, "And once he's dead, there will be nobody to trouble you."

Not once did she question her benefactor's intention to free her, though she did wonder why he did it. Whatever he wanted her to do was very likely going to end in her death, whether she succeeded or not. Still, she had a contingency or two ready to punish him.

Whatever else she had to say found itself lodged in her throat. Yakumo felt a prickling sensation run up her spine. It was a feeling she'd come to associate with someone entering a Painted World. She placed a hand on the blank canvas, channeling her chakra into it as she focused on the source of the intrusion. As the painting drew itself, she made out two feminine forms walking down the streets of her abandoned city; one of them was a bespectacled woman she didn't know, but she could recognize that mess of long, curled hair anywhere. So, you've come Kurenai-sensei, she mused to herself, Looks I can have my revenge and pay off my debt in one go! I've just gotta push them all in the right direction, and we're all set.

"Is something the matter, my dear?" asked Chesutā.

"Nothing," Yakumo answered quickly, "Just that things are looking up now."

The wicked noble's voice took on a hint of predatory curiosity. "Oh? Then do tell, my dear, how your luck has changed for the better."

"Uzumaki Naruto will die, that's all I'm going to say."

Chesutā stared wordlessly at her for a moment. Yakumo could feel a wicked grin under his mask, as she awaited his response. "Very well then, just make sure he dies and we shall be even."

As he turned to leave, Yakumo pulled out a blank canvas from under her seat. She needed to be quick if she wanted to get her targets into the same area. However, with the addition of a new target, she needed to get serious if she wanted to kill three birds with one stone. Luckily, it just so happened that this factory produced painting canvases by the hundreds, and that there was still a surplus. The Kurama heiress still had many scenes to paint, and an even bigger story to tell.

[The Destroyed Temple, Painted World]

Nightfall had come sooner than Naruto expected, but at least he felt safe, knowing that he would not have to deal with yet another rush of zombies. He could feel exhaustion hitting him in full force as he set foot back at the temple. The battle against the giant horse was difficult; it faded in and out of the battlefield, trying to trample him under its hooves, or grind him to death with the carriage's spiked hubcaps. And on top of that, he had to deal with the unseen occupants of the carriage taking potshots at him with exploding arrows. His axe-spear-hammer weapon broke in half when he'd used the axe to cut into the horse's neck.

As he carefully navigated ledge around the hole to the stairwell of the belltower, Naruto arrived at the small shrine at the opposite end. In place of the altar, a Firelink Sword was planted in the ground, this time in the remains of a dying bonfire. His hostess squatted near the flame, warming her hands. He silently sat next to her, taking in the warmth and the feeling of safety he felt from the bonfire.

Since he'd uncovered the mystery behind the altar, Naruto had been using the bonfire to keep warm while he thought and prepared to explore the city further in hopes of finding his captor. But as he ventured deeper, he'd been forced to run a gauntlet against zombie hordes and tough monsters that just kept pushing him to his limits. For some reason however, the monsters just refused to come in this direction…at worst, they sometimes waited for him outside the temple before attacking.

The mystery just kept getting deeper every time he came to the Firelink Sword itself. When he last found one in the shrine with Kaori-sensei, he only had a feeling of safety from it; this one seemed to invigorate him. On top of that, wounds he'd suffered the day before would be healed every time he came back to rest, as if the sword gave the bonfire an ability to heal all wounds. He would still remember the damage he'd sustained from the fight, but there was not even a scar on his body.

"Rest up," said the woman in white, pulling out a small bottle from her robes, "You're gonna need all your strength for the task ahead. The mistress of this world's just waiting for the right time to attack you herself. When that happens, I doubt you'll be safe even at the bonfire."

The hostess lifted her veil slightly as she took a swig from the bottle.

"Well, you mind telling me more?" Naruto asked, eyeing her suspiciously, "It's hard to trust you when you won't even tell me about yourself, dattebayo."

"I can't say much, barring the fact that the mistress just can't afford kill me," explained the hostess, earning Naruto's rapt attention, "I'm tied closely to this world, and thus her soul—if I die, then she dies with me. So I'd like to think that she'd value her life over any inconvenience I'd cause her. The main reason I'm helping you is because doing so would be doing her a big favor in the long run."

"What kind of favor?" Naruto inquired.

"The mistress has been locked in this slump for way too long," continued the hostess, taking another sip, "The main reason this world looks the way it does is because she's locked something away in her mind, something she needs to face if she wants to get out into a better world. The problem is, that as long as her dark side rules, she'll continue to blame other people for the bad things that happen to her, without even considering that she may have done them to herself."

"What'd she do to get this world in her head?"

The woman in white opened her mouth to say something, only to suddenly change tact. "I'm sensing arrivals in the city," she finally said, as though trying to get her bearings, "Two. Whoever it is, they're walking around like they're looking for something."

Someone had come for him. The very thought alone had lifted Naruto's spirits, and yet he had an odd feeling that they had just gotten themselves stuck in the same situation. Still, he couldn't help but ask. "Are they okay?"

"They're fine for now, but I have no idea how long they'll last out there," explained the hostess, "Reality in this world is completely different from the real world. Anything could do them in if they're not careful."

"Where are they now?" Naruto asked, grabbing his bow and longsword.

"They're exploring the park as we speak."

[City Park, the Painted World]

The park would have been more welcoming if it weren't for the dead silence that pervaded the entire area. Barren trees towered over dying patches of grass; signs that whatever happened to the city had no mercy for this place. Scattered about the area were charred corpses that looked like they were strung up before they were ignited―as though they were all sacrificed to some evil god. The only thing still remotely beautiful about this place were the flowers that bloomed in the face of such death and destruction.

Kaori and Kurenai trekked through the park, taking care to avoid the odd zombie, often killing them quickly and quietly to avoid attracting the whole district. The zombies themselves were weak, but when they attacked, they did so with speed, ferocity, and most often in large numbers. Sometimes, they were even supported by larger, more intelligent zombies that still knew how to fight, sneak around, even use jutsu. The more dangerous ones however, were smart enough to act as commanders, directing the swarm more effectively and efficiently while taking full advantage of zombie crossbowmen. Either way, it was not a good experience to go through, especially not after the last time they were spotted by one zombie, only to deal with the rest of the swarm.

Both of them had their weapons on hand to deal with massive swarms of zombies. Kaori had her now-infamous cane, ready to transition smoothly from deadly thrusts to rending cuts instantaneously, her flame and Katon mastery at the ready in the offhand. Kurenai had a pouch of kunai at the ready, while her vast arsenal of genjutsu was found to be effective on the living dead.

In the few days they'd spent in the Painted World, they'd found their survival skills put to the test. Kaori had been given the task of checking for traps whenever suspicious-looking chests were found, while Kurenai used her genjutsu to keep zombie kills quiet so as not to alert another swarm. Whenever a horde did come, their skills complemented each other: Kurenai's genjutsu was used to immobilize targets for Kaori to incinerate, or left them easy pickings for stealth kills.

"Where to now?" asked Kurenai.

"We should probably check out that building over in the distance," explained Kaori, indicating the structure with the belltower, "If I know Naruto well, he'd probably take up shelter inside, and fortify it with a few surprises before trying to find a way out of here."

Kurenai was curious. Something about the way Kaori emphasized 'surprises' pulled up a question in her mind. "Surprises?"

"Yeah," answered the Uchiha heiress, "You remember all those pranks he'd been pulling during his time at the academy?" Kurenai nodded silently, before allowing her to continue. "I actually let him pull them. However, I had a few conditions: if he ever got caught, I'd punish him seriously. But, if his prank went off without a hitch and he impressed me, I'd give him a day off to learn a new jutsu. So we can expect some pretty dangerous traps up ahead—which means we'd need Naruto to navigate them safely."

Kurenai couldn't believe what she'd heard. Still, she could hear the undertone of sadness beneath her pride. "You worried about Naruto?

"Yeah," Kaori admitted, "I've had three years of time and effort with him as his mentor, so of course I'd be worried about him. I want him to live long enough to see where that potential of his takes him. It's selfish, I know; but what they don't tell you when mentoring is that you gradually build a bond with your apprentice for better or for worse. In the end, you can't help but share in their failures and successes—I suppose that's a kind of love in itself."

"You were lucky; I've wondered what it would've been like if I'd done more for Yakumo," Kurenai mused, catching Kaori's attention as tears began to well up in her eyes, "How much better off she could've been if I were a better mentor to her."

"I wasn't exactly being fair earlier," Kaori admitted, "You…were new to being a mentor; I just didn't expect for you to fuck it up that badly. I guess I expected better of you."

Kurenai heaved a heavy sigh. "I once watched Maito Gai training Rock Lee as a child," she finally said, tears of sadness rolling down her cheeks, "I dismissed his efforts as wasted, on a child that was unable to use chakra; now that boy is part of a genin team that's doing very well. Looking at your relationship with Naruto, and Gai and Lee, I understand that my lack of faith has led to my failure as a teacher. And I fear that I might fail my own team now."

"Well don't dwell on the coulda, woulda, shoulda," advised the Katon mistress, "If you're seriously sorry about what you did to Yakumo, then you can start by making amends with her; whether or not she forgives you, at least you'll be able to move on from there. After that, I'd say that you make sure you don't do it again. Have more faith in your students and until they prove otherwise, trust that they can do the job when the time comes. "

Kurenai nodded in agreement as the two of them came to a stop. Their gazes fell upon three lanky figures dangling helplessly from trees. All three of them wore form-fitting, segmented black armor that hugged their gaunt frames, and the masked helmets they wore extended into a pointed beak, giving the impression of crows. One of them wore a tattered, hooded white cloak that fluttered in the wind. All three of them seemed to have suffered battle damage, ranging from arrows embedded in their armor, to a sword or two that was jammed into the chinks of the armor.

"Looks like they're warning us," Kurenai mused.

Kaori huffed in exasperation. "Let's just move on, these things are creeping me out."

As the Uchiha and Yūhi walked past the the trees, they heard the sound of something falling to the floor. Both turned their heads, watching as the corpses picked themselves back up, reaching for their weapons. The cloaked one reached off to the side, pulling out a sword with one hand, and very large knives in the other. His partners each brandished a large pair of five-bladed claws mounted on the back of their fists.

The cloaked crow let out a resounding 'caw!' charging after Kaori. His compatriots followed closely behind, bearing down on Kurenai immediately. He thrust his sword, slashing with his knives in the offhand as she dodged the first strike. Kaori responded by ducking under the knife-swipe and jamming her cane into the crow's abdomen. Her target attempted to dodge at the last minute, taking only a glancing hit before he kicked her in the head, following through by taking a leap backwards and flinging the knives at Kaori. As soon as she recovered, Kaori hopped backwards, avoiding the knives as they streaked towards her in a wide spread.

Kurenai on the other hand had a harder time with her own opponents. The crows she fought were very nimble, managing to stay on the offense without letting her off the defense. There was a method to their madness as they swung their fist-claws at her, keeping her stuck dodging their punches; one wrong move, and she'd be rent to pieces. After seconds of evading their attacks nonstop, Kurenai tripped on her own legs. The claw-crows ran their claws through her head and her chest, causing Kurenai burst in a puff of smoke. As the smokescreen cleared, revealing that the crows had their claws stuck in a thick log.

"Just our luck!" Kaori shouted as she dodged thrusts from the long sword, her Sharingan flaring as she countered, "We finally get some tougher opponents that are smart enough to not let us use our jutsu."

"They're not even giving me a chance to breathe," Kurenai grumbled pulling out a kunai, "How rude!"

Kaori ducked under another swipe from the crow's knives before hitting the switch on her cane to turn it into the chain whip as she held it in the reverse grip. The cloaked crow hopped to the side as Kaori swung the blade, the spring-loaded chain immediately catching the tall creature in the abdomen, biting deep into armor before tearing into flesh with its bladed segments. As it recoiled from the first real hit it'd taken, Kaori thrust her free arm at the crow. Her flame detonated, engulfing and knocking back her opponent in a gout of superheated chakra, only for the crow to rebound as it roared in anger, without taking much damage.

"Oh, you've gotta be kiddin-" Kaori was cut off as the crow swiped at her with its knives, forcing her back. She was put back on the defensive as her corvine opponent continued with a flurry of thrusts.

As the claw-crows broke themselves free from the log, Kurenai tried to lead her targets away from her so that she could fight them one at a time. The two crows leaped in, attempting to catch her with a sudden movement. Kurenai ducked under their swings, before jamming a kunai into each of their knees. Undeterred by the attack on their knees, the claw-crows continued to swing away, their claws about to impale her in the openings she'd left until something pierced their hands. Kurenai had found it hard to see until she was able to see that the crows were clutching their wrists, screaming in pain; she noted that there were arrows with Raiton chakra arcing around the shaft going through their palms.

Kurenai looked around, wondering who her savior was, finding Uzumaki Naruto behind loading another arrow. He'd changed, strapping a few more plates of armor to his outfit, but this was still Uzumaki Naruto. "Hurry up!" he shouted, taking a few more shots at the claw-crows, "We've gotta save Kaori-sensei!"

"She's over there," shouted Kurenai, nodding at the opposite direction towards Kaori and her own opponent. Both fighters were unable to gain ground as the cloaked crow refused to give the Uchiha heiress any breathing room. He attacked too close for her to strike with her whip, and too fast for her to use Katon, intent on wearing her down slowly by keeping her on the defensive.

"I got this," he said firmly, drawing his bow and taking aim. He took his time, leading his shot before releasing the bowstring. The arrow streaked through the air, piercing through leather and flesh before finally ending up in the crow's kneecap. The cloaked crow cawed in pain, dropping its knives as it recoiled from the shot. A part of the spring-loaded chain found an exposed section of the creature's neck, the bladed segments biting down and shearing its head off like a bandsaw on wood.

As the decapitated corpse slumped to the ground still bleeding, Kaori turned her attention to Naruto. "Really? In the knee?"

"We'll talk later!" he almost shouted desperately, "Right now, we need to move!"

The claw-crows recovered, pulling out the kunai jammed in their knees before issuing forth an enraged cawing. As they charged their targets, Kaori and Kurenai followed Naruto, watching as he vaulted over and slid under obstacles fluidly. Whatever it was he was planning to do, they had no choice but to trust that he knew what he was doing. "Get ready to duck!" he shouted.

Kaori and Kurenai looked to each other momentarily. As they focused on running, Kaori noted that Naruto had his eyes towards the right. The Uchiha heiress caught him in the middle of a pounce mid-stride.

"Now!" Naruto shouted. In one bound, he rolled under a log, grabbing onto a ring attached to a wire and pulling hard as Kurenai and Kaori did the same. Turning around to see what it was that Naruto had planned for their pursuers, the two kunoichi spotted a thin rope tightening in the path ahead of them, just in front of the crows. As the crows tripped it, a large, thick log smashed into them from the side, sweeping them off their feet and into a pile of leaves that collapsed beneath their weight. The claw-crows gave one final, agonized 'caw' before everything went silent.

"What'd you put down there?" Kaori asked as she climbed out of hiding

"I took a lot of used arrow and spear heads, then attached them to some thick branches," explained Naruto, "I wanted to make sure they stay dead."

Kurenai shivered in disgust. "A swinging log, then a punji pit. Such a barbaric way to die."

"You two come here to rescue me?" he asked, cutting straight to the point and ignoring her comment.

"That's why we're here," she confirmed.

"Now more people are trapped in here with me," sighed the blond genin, turning to leave, "Well, nothing we can do about it. Follow me, I'll take you to my hiding place."

[Somewhere in Otogakure]

Orochimaru sat in his laboratory, fidgeting with a vial held in his thumb and index finger, filled with a clear, deep red liquid. He'd found it in some ruins a long time ago near the borderlands between Tsuchi no Kuni and Hi no Kuni. The ruins themselves were the remains of a city, filled with an archaeological treasure trove just waiting to be examined. As evidenced by the clock tower, the people that lived there enjoyed a high level of technology, much of it being steam-powered; heaters, bikes, all sorts of things made use of pressurized steam. To that end, he'd sent a team of his archaeologists to explore the city further, in hopes of finding more interesting things.

There were also a number of curious weapons to be sure, all of which had a different form, but what truly caught his attention were those metal tubes with complicated mechanisms. Everything was furnished with wood to enable a better grip, judging by some of the samples that were in good condition. He'd even found traces of black powder inside the tubes, with blood and solidified mercury of all things. The best guess he could come up with for these complicated -and expensive- devices was that they were weapons of some sort that fired crystallized mercury for ammunition. Still though, solid mercury? A tad excessive isn't it? thought Orochimaru, Not to mention expensive. How did they even get solid mercury in the first place? Ah well, best leave these things for the engineers and chemists to figure out. Why the blood though?

However, everything was trumped by the discovery of the red liquid he'd found. A deeper study under that microscope confirmed that it was blood, with some sort of abnormality in it—possibly some kind of disease. He'd yet to see the full effects of it, but it appeared that anybody that took in this blood saw a marked improvement in their physical capabilities; some got stronger, others became smarter, but everyone saw at least a marked improvement in speed and reflexes. The caveat to this was that they often went insane and became paranoid, going so far as to murder then drink their victim's blood. And it seemed that they favoured the blood of victims who had not been infused with the tainted blood.

From experiments done on the blood, Orochimaru was able to create the Curse Mark. None of the initial subjects survived the earlier experiments, but over time he was able to perfect the jutsu. He only needed to see what it was like for the victims that continued to grow with the mark, but at least he knew he had several bodies at the ready.

"What is thine intent, Our beast of a servant?" asked a dulcet, feminine voice.

The speaker was a woman in an iron mask, currently occupying his previous throne in a corner. She had pale, almost translucent skin that gave the impression of a freshly-deceased corpse, stretched over a lithe, graceful body that didn't look a day over thirty. Her long, snowy white hair flowed from a hole in the back of the mask, reaching just below her rib cage. There were no flaws on her body, to the point where it looked like she'd not done a day's work; which made the butterfly kimono she wore all the more fitting. Add to the fact that she often referred to herself in the plural, and it was clear that she was born into nobility, if not royalty.

He found her in a small castle deep within the city, sitting on a throne surrounded by multiple well-made statues. It took her a while to learn the language of the land, but she'd proven to be a quick study; at the very least, she was able to give Orochimaru her name. It was likely a corruption of her proper name to be sure, but at least he had a name attached to this masked woman that constantly looked down on him.

"I'm just thinking of this blood's potential, Anarisu," Orochimaru answered, placing the vial in a rack, "And it's all thanks to you."

"We are honored with thine praise," replied Anarisu, "If only thou hath the humility to kneel before Us."

"If you must know, my dearest queen, I'm still planning to attack my home village," said Orochimaru, remembering the protocol he was to follow when speaking to the woman, "I wish to destroy that wretched hellhole so that I can move on freely."

Anarisu leaned on her arm as she regarded Orochimaru with an aura of amusement. Somehow, it felt much more worrying than whenever she chuckled. "Then you'd best beware, my uncouth servant," she finally said, "Thou knowest not what happened to the poor little girl that survived your experiment on Our blood."

He knew who she was talking about, but Orochimaru was not concerned in the slightest. He let out a triumphant 'hmph!'. "I'm not concerned," he said, "I doubt she's even strong enough to oppose me."

"Be that as it may, I saw such potential in her with Our tainted blood," she retorted, "Thou mayst detest the normal human lifespan, but the truth of the matter is that this ephemeral life is what makes humans strong. Knowing that they could die at any given moment, they strive to make the best of their lives; becoming stronger, faster, even wiser. In a sense, We suppose it is a beautiful thing, the brief moment of a human's life. And just as humans will only strive to get stronger until their demise, so too will she one day become strong enough to best thee…my servant."

Orochimaru waved his hand dismissively, leaving the room. "Say what you will. I doubt she'll have become strong enough to take me on."

As the door closed, Anarisu chuckled lightly. "But has she…?"

A/N: I know, another very talk-y chapter with too few action scenes from yours truly. But seriously, it needed to get done before I could free Naruto from the Painted World.

And it seems that Orochimaru has discovered a certain city we all know and love. Makes you wonder, who will come out around the corner doesn't it?

Anyway, I give credit to UnitedOsprey1991 for helping along, even a little bit. Also, a ton of credit goes to NorthSouthGorem for beta-ing this chapter. And props to Soleneus for being a great sounding board for ideas. So give them all a butcher's, will ya guv?

And do please review, would you kindly?

Vocabulary

Densetsu no Hōkaheki—Kaori's other title means "Legendary Pyromaniac" or potentially "Legendary Arsonist."

Cameos/References

Naruto's weapon—he beat up a hollowfied Lawbringer from "For Honor" for his poleaxe.

Chesutā—pretty much Marvelous Chester, reincarnated and more evil. 'Chesutā' is the Japanese way of saying his name

The monsters Naruto's beaten—while in the Painted World, Naruto's effectively going through the bosses of "Devil May Cry 3" mixed in with the sort of suspense and action you'd see in "Resident Evil 4." His first mentioned win in this chapter was against Geryon the Time Steed. He's also beaten Bitores Mendez, Agni and Rudra, and El Verdugo (Salazar's executioner).

The crows—Corvian knights.

The masked woman Anarisu—bet you'll never guess…