24/11/2012 - 19 Reviews, 30 Favorites, 50 Followers
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own a flamethrower, but that's a whooole 'nother story.
AN: Update ALL the things!
Chapter 8: Mechanics
xXX
(Konoha)
"You... your chakra..."
Before he had even fully processed what the Hyuuga was saying, Jiraya launched himself into action. He had no idea whether the Byakugan would be able to see that the Kyuubi was absent from Naruto's seal, but he was damn well not going to take the risk. They had enough problems on their plate.
"Hyuga Ko, switch out with Riichi!" He barked. "Riichi, take Tobio with you!"
The jonin did as he commanded. Jiraya turned to the small mob of Konoha shinobi who were watching the scene play out. This wasn't something he wanted seen by prying eyes.
"What are you waiting for? You have your orders, move out!" He commanded.
With obvious reluctance, the assembled ninja did so. Jiraya waited until he was positive that they were out of range, then turned back to Ko.
"Well, what is it you see?" He demanded.
Ko looked up at him. "His chakra... It's like nothing I've ever seen before."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I'm a jinchuriki, it's to be expected."
Ko caught him with a piercing look, "Are you really, Naruto? Because I used to be assigned to guard the heiress, and I you entered the range of my Byakugan many times. And your chakra never looked like it does now."
"Just tell me what you can see, jounin Ko." Jiraya said sharply.
Ko nodded, "His chakra is flowing differently. It looks like someone has taken his chakra coils and beaten them out of shape with a hammer. But the chakra itself... it's odd. It's moving really, really quickly. Your system looks like it's repairing itself, albeit extremely slowly. Right now though, I'd say you can use maybe... an E-rank technique, at best."
He turned to Jiraya, "I don't think that's the main issue here, though. There are a couple of points around the stone circumference where organic material was positioned right on the border. The bits that are outside are weird... Their chakra looks like its been attacked by an infectious chakra of some sort. You understand what I'm talking about, right?"
Jiraya inclined his head, "It has the ability to convert other types of chakra to it's own nature, correct? It's how the Kishimo chakra works, exposure to even a tiny amount sets off a process that will convert your own chakra to Kishimo chakra."
"Precisely. Except that this chakra petrifies you. It doesn't matter how much of it there is initially, it works via the contamination and conversion of the host's chakra. That's probably how it was able to expand over such a large region, and we're lucky that it seemed to run out of steam." Ko turned to the blonde genin. "But there was something familiar with this chakra. It was a lot like the chakra of a bijuu. The chakra that used to permeate your system, Naruto."
Jiraya sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped."
The Sannin raised his hands into a seal, and a shadow clone appeared next to him. "Go over there with my clone, it will explain everything. What you're about to hear is above S-rank, do you hear me? I'll be over once I work out what's happened to Naruto's chakra."
Ko nodded, and moved to the other side of the square.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "You know, the whole above S-rank thing doesn't really have as much of an impact without a village to back it up."
Jiraya rubbed his forehead, "I know that, but it's the meaning behind the words that matters. Now, I'm going to give you the chakra paper test."
"We already know my nature, Ero-Sennin. It's wind, remember?" The former-jinchuriki shook his head slightly.
"Naruto, by all accounts the Kyuubi's chakra was ripped out of your system. It's not like Akatsuki's extraction of jinchuriki, either, because it was probably entering your system at the same time. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there isn't really a precedent to this situation." Jiraya said, frustration clear in his voice.
The Toad Sage reached into his vest and pulled out a slip of chakra paper, handing it to Naruto. Immediately, it ripped in half.
"Well, your chakra is still wind natured, at least." Jiraya stated.
Naruto looked at him with confused eyes. "Ero-Sannin, I... I didn't channel any chakra."
"Are you sure?" Jiraya asked. "Here, try it again."
The Toad Sage handed Naruto another piece of chakra paper, to the same effect.
Jiraya whistled. "Okay. This time, try channelling chakra as you touch it."
The blonde genin nodded once more, and closed his eyes, obviously concentrating. The instant his hand touched the paper, there was a loud tearing noise and the paper became a cloud of shredded confetti.
Jiraya scratched his head. "I've never seen chakra paper do something like this before. It's like your wind affinity has become hyperactive or something. Hmm... Actually, this has potential. You've always had trouble with chakra control, correct?"
"You trained me for two and a half years, you tell me." Naruto responded.
"If you use it constantly... I wonder." Jiraya muttered to himself. "Naruto!"
The blonde genin snapped to attention at Jiraya's bark. "Yes?"
"I've got a mission for you. Right now you can only use a tiny amount of chakra, less than a lot of academy students. We're going to take advantage of that. As your chakra coils repair, I want you to do as many chakra-control exercises as humanly possible, day and night." Jiraya smiled slightly. "If what I suspect is correct, then this wind chakra of yours could become quite useful indeed."
xXx
(The Land of Hot Water)
"Where are we going, un?"
"Just trust me." Tobi replied smoothly.
Deidara crossed his one remaining good arm. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where we're going."
The explosive-user gestured towards the campsite, where Hidan was once again lying in a circle of his own blood. "It's bad enough that you've recruited him again. But now you expect me to go into that teleportation thing of yours without an explanation?"
Tobi ground his teeth, "We're going to a healer, to get that arm of yours reattached. Unless, of course, you want to wait for however long it is until Kakuzu shows up. Assuming that Pain hasn't killed him yet."
Deidara looked down at his detached arm, which he was carrying in his good one. "...Fine."
Tobi placed his arm on Deidara's arm and activated his Sharingan. Two minutes later, and the two materialized in the Land of Mountains, at the Reikikage's front doorstep. The freezing, snowy air was an unpleasant contrast to the warm weather of the Land of Hot Water, but both shinobi ignored it.
The Reikikage himself strode out of his hut, waving his arms about. "Tobi! Kiri has a question for you!"
Deidara looked at Tobi, "He's referring to himself in the third person, un. Something you'd like to get off your chest?"
"Just get inside." Tobi growled. He was getting very sick at the irreverence and disrespect his subordinates were treating him with.
Tobi and Deidara walked in through the front door, both ignoring Kiri's excited ramblings.
"Hey Tobi, who do you think would win in a fight between a shark and a tentacle?" Kiri asked happily.
Tobi turned to him. "Deidara has lost his arm, I need you to reattach it."
Kiri took the arm from Deidara. "Spoiler alert, they both die! But the tentacle survives in a new form!"
Deidara turned to Tobi, a look of incredulity on his face. "This is the guy you expect to heal me? He's insane!"
"He's good at what he does. Now shut up and lie down." Tobi gave Deidara a push, sending him tumbling uncomfortably onto the wooden bench.
Kiri was silent for a couple of minutes, examining the stump and the severed arm. On a couple of occasions, he tried to press the arm into the stump, like a child trying to jam two puzzle pieces together. The Reikikage began blowing on the stump, then ran tendrils of medical chakra over the exposed flesh.
Finally, he turned to the two Akatsuki members. "Kiri doesn't think that reattaching this would be a good idea."
"What? Why not?" Deidara demanded.
"Because this arm is filled with an extremely unpleasant poison. It is extremely difficult to remove, and if even the slightest hint remained then you would die. Painfully. "Answered Kiri, voice unnaturally serious. Then his face broke into a grin. "And then Tobi's club wouldn't have many members left, would it?"
Deidara stared at him, "Tobi's... club."
Tobi shook his head. "Ignore him, we're done here. Don't tell anyone about this, understood?"
Deidara smirked. "What, that you stole your idiot act from some hermit medic up in the mountain? Honestly, I don't really care."
Deidara hoisted himself to his feet, and strode out of the hut. As he did so, he grabbed his arm back from Kiri.
Tobi grabbed Deidara's shoulder, significantly more forcefully than was necessary. "I'm serious."
The two dematerialized, leaving a waving Kiri once more alone on the plateau.
The Reikikage giggled. "Have fun with Mr Snake, you two!"
xXx
(The Land of Sound)
Kimimaro fell to his knees, panting heavily, as the Cursed Seal receded into his flesh.
Turned out he'd needed it after all. When the trash that ran the place had realized that they didn't stand a chance, they'd decided to activate the base's self-destruct mechanism. The base had turned out to be a research lab for highly dangerous experiments on humans, and the fools who staffed it had released every single experiment, who had immediately gone on a rampage.
It had been a long exhausting battle, but it was what had come after that had been the most worrying.
Kabuto's traitorous lackeys had obviously installed some sort of new defense between the time of his death and the time of his resurrection. As he had pulled his blade from the last of the monstrosities he had been forced to battle, he'd noticed an ominous purple haze permeating the air around him.
Naturally, he'd got out of the base as quickly as he could, but the damage had already been done. He could feel the poison from the gas searing his lungs, a burning pain that was growing stronger with every passing minute.
Perhaps a medic could save him, but he wasn't going to take that chance. There was no time for rest or recovery. Lord Orochimaru's murderers were out there and it was his duty to bring their lives to a close, even at the cost of his own.
Pulling himself to his feet, Kimimaro set off in the direction of the Northern Hideout, heedless of the ever-growing pain in his chest.
xXx
(Konoha)
"Asuma, sir!"
Asuma looked around from his post at Konoha's gate to see a man dressed in civilian clothes running towards him. Asuma recognized the man immediately, he was one of the non-shinobi that Jiraya had assigned to reading through any mail that arrived. Despite the sending tower (and all the birds within it) being converted to stone, messenger birds from other villages and towns were still arriving.
Ginkoku, that was his name.
"You need to read this! Now!" Ginkoku yelled at him.
It was then that Asuma noticed the violet scrolls that the man was carrying. Scrolls that, if he remembered correctly, were supposed to be delivered to the Hokage directly and took precedence over all else.
Asuma rushed over to the man, taking the scrolls from him. There were five, although only one was unsealed.
Ginkoku started rambling. "We opened this one, and then I grabbed all the other ones of the same colour! The sigil looks legitimate sir! I think it's from one of our shinobi!"
Quickly, Asuma opened the scroll, and scanned its contents. His eyes widened, and he moved onto the next one. Within the space of a minute, he had read all five.
They were indeed from Konoha shinobi. Three of them were stationed near Kumo, two near Iwa. And all bore a similar message.
"Iwagakure has been crushed in a landslide."
"All life in Kumogakure has been wiped out."
"Few Iwa shinobi survived"
"Kumogakure has been destroyed."
"Iwagakure has been destroyed."
The papers fell from Asuma's hands. Konohagakure. Kumogakure. Iwagakure. Three of the Big Five, gone.
One of the two academy students, Tomaru, ran over. "Asuma-sensei? What's wrong?"
"Heh...Heheh."
Asuma began laughing, softly at first, then louder. He looked up at Tomaru and Ginkoku with wide, slightly-crazed eyes.
"We're not the only ones. It's not just the end of Konoha! It's the end of the entire damn shinobi world!"
xXx
I'm back! Now that semester break is upon me, I actually have time to write. Hell, I even wrote a new chapter for Rasengan VS Death Note. I hadn't touched that one in years!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget, I've only written about the fate of three of the energy fragments. I have interesting plans for the last one.
Oddly, I much prefer writing the villains to the Konoha crew.
Much as I hate to do the whole cliched 'Naruto gets a new power' thing, I felt it had to be done in the interests of balance. He's going to need it to avoid being instantly curb-stomped by this story's rogues' gallery. After all, the only thing more boring than an Invincible Hero is an Invincible Villain. According to TV Tropes, anyway. You should go read that site.
Alternately, Read and Review!
