Well, will you look at that, I can get out a chapter in less than a month. Who woulda thought? So yeah, i'm having fun writing again. And consequently, you guys get another chapter in less than a week.
Okay, question time. As I said last time: feel free to skip this.
Tsukoblue: The thing is, canon Naruto isn't focused on actual ninja. And by your logic, all the other summons are useless, too, since they should be sneaking about and cuttin' throats. If Naruto was focused on an actual ninja, then i'm sure Summoning wouldn't be a thing in the first place. But it's not, so my story isn't either. Just food for thought.
The Amazing Grayson: Wolves and foxes are unoriginal, and I made up an idea a long time ago where Naruto has a Summoning Jutsu that allows him to summon five wolves, each with one element. They all had their fur highlighted by the color of their nature chakra. I thought it was pretty dope at the time, but that was years ago. Maybe that could be a secondary/lesser summon? Idk. I wouldn't have a problem with a feline, but something about it feels wrong—the same goes for bears or wolverines. Hawks and Falcons...I don't know; they don't really match up to Dragon's. I'm totally biased here, I know, but thanks for the suggestion, anyway.
Amouren: I was thinking a western style like the ones in Game of Thrones. I've never really felt that the Chinese dragons were all that cool.
narujeff: As i've mentioned above, I don't really want to do them since they're unoriginal. I've read TONS of fics with both—and for some reason fox's don't feel right to me. Weird, right? Maybe the people writing them had just written them weirdly. I faintly remember reading a fic with Fox summons that I really liked, but again, that was years ago. I might do the secondary summons with the elemental wolves, but meh...that's still in the air. And maybe a cheeky Kurama summon in the future...hehe.
Enjoy!
Ghosts of the Past
Chapter 8: The Fastest Man in the World
A part of me feared to return back to the fray. I was afraid to get attached to people again. I was afraid to trust. To hide my fear I hid behind a sarcastic and bold mask. Itachi understood this—he was the same way, but with a mask of apathy. Yet we found a bond of brotherhood between us in a very short amount of time. We came to trust each other and to see each other's strength's, even if we couldn't see it ourselves. I found myself trusting, and the Ghosts came out to play again.
The Ghosts that reminded me of what I used to and could've had.
— Naruto —
He pushed aside a low-hanging branch, walking across the little treeless space in front of the cabin. He had decided. He would team up with Itachi and hear out his plan.
"Alright, we have a partnership," Naruto said, standing on the steps as Itachi stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Itachi nodded, motioning for him to come inside. He shook his head. "I want to figure a way to stop these damn eyes from sucking me dry of chakra." He took a step back down onto the grass. Itachi raised an eyebrow. "You're a Jinchuuriki, having active Sharingan isn't going to affect you very much." Itachi closed the door anyway. "Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion that you will be able to deactivate them." So he wouldn't have to be like Kakashi?
"How would that work?" Itachi joined him at the bottom of the steps. "I was going to explain this inside, but you had to be impatient. Anyway, your Uzumaki blood and Bijuu are slowly converting the eyes into your own. See, despite Kakashi having the eye in his head, and his chakra flowing through it, there's still traces of old Uchiha chakra in there—which keeps the eyes active. This keeps them effective despite the same chakra not flowing through it. Even though Kakashi still supplies the eye with the needed chakra, it isn't anomaly correct for his chakra to activate it. Theoretically, If Kakashi were somehow able to deactivate it, he wouldn't be able to reactivate them because the nerves used wouldn't even react to his chakra. However, for you, your chakra is slowly taking over the job of that previous chakra's, changing the anatomy of the eyes to fit your own."
"So, all we have to do is wait and then you should be able to use them freely."
Itachi finished with a nod—totally understanding it—and Naruto stared at him, his face devoid of comprehension. "Huh?" Itachi's hand twitched, and Naruto thought it funny that he almost face palmed. "The eyes are yours now, and you can deactivate them because science." Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah. I got that part, but what was all of that other nonsense about?" He did facepalm this time. "Don't worry about it." He muttered.
Naruto let the subject go with a shrug, "Alrighty." Itachi walked to the center of the tiny clearing. Naruto followed, fishing around for something in his pocket. He was still shirtless, and the burn on his skin had turned to a numb, pulsing pain. Itachi turned, and Naruto held out a piece of paper. It had a seal on it, and Itachi took it in his hands to get a closer look. Naruto watched the perplexed look on his face. Oh, so he couldn't understand it. Or, he just couldn't make out the whole thing—which meant he didn't know a lot about Fuinjutsu. Well, he guessed Itachi wasn't perfect after all.
"That's the blueprint to the Hirashin." Naruto filled in. Itachi's delicate eyebrows shot up, and he looked at Naruto like he had just popped out of a pie and slapped him in the face. "You can use it?" Naruto nodded, allowing some smugness to come into his smirk. Itachi humphed and turned the sheet over. "Why did you hand this to me? And why was it in your pocket?"
"I wanted you to know about it. We are partners, after all. Also—well, before all the shit with Orochimaru went down, I had used it to copy a fresh seal onto a tag, so I just kept it in my pocket. Luckily it wasn't destroyed." He was happy the Kyuubi had paid attention to where he put it because he couldn't fathom losing the original blueprint to some hot chakra. He also would've been rather embarrassed to be naked and unconscious if his pants had burnt off. Yeah, he would have to thank the Kyuubi later—as much as that irked him. He also couldn't fathom letting anyone but himself get enough time to figure it out; Orochimaru probably would have found the blueprint eventually. His dad would rise from the grave and strangle him if that happened.
Naruto took it back, "I need sealing tags and ink." Itachi nodded in agreement. "I'll get them when I head into town for supplies. That Jutsu will be very useful. Have you used it before?" Naruto nodded, folding the paper in on itself. "Once, and that was pure luck. But if I use my special training trick then i'm sure i'll figure it out again in no time at all."
"Training trick?" Naruto grinned mischievously and chuckled like he was planning something diabolical. He formed the clone seal.
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"
The clearing filled with puffs of smoke, and they faded away to reveal clones. They stood with sly grins, leaned on trees with cocky smirks, and playfully smiled as they sat on branches. Itachi rose an impressed eyebrow, "I see." He turned away from the clones and looked at Naruto, who looked ready to pass out. "But maybe you should've held back a little—you still are low on chakra, after all." Naruto panted, waving a dismissive hand. "No, no," he dry heaved. "I'm totally full." He blanched and collapsed into the grass, wheezing and sweating.
As Naruto gaped like a fish, Itachi turned back to the clones. "So you use them to collect experience, splitting the time to minuscule amounts." Naruto wearily held up a thumbs-up, too tired to do anything else. Itachi hummed in interest. "Very clever," he said, walking to a group of clones. He pointed at three of them. "You, you, and you—All of you will go to town and get supplies." By the tone of his voice, the clones seemed to understand that they couldn't refuse. So, they all jumped to salute, jogging off at a rapid pace, but Itachi yelled after them. "Towns that way!" He pointed in the opposite direction, and the clones returned with sheepish grins and flustered cheeks. "All of you Henge into a different person. I don't want Naruto's description to be readily available to strangers so close to us." He handed one a list as they passed.
A chorus of "Right, Boss!" sounded out from the trio.
Naruto sat up, finally getting some grasp on his breath. "They listen to you more than me." He grumbled, scowling at the clones as they disappeared into the brush. Itachi brushed off his comment, walking over and holding out his hand. Naruto stared at it. "What, want a high-five?" He snorted. "Last I checked, pushing around a bunch of clones isn't a thing to celebrate about." Itachi narrowed his eyes at him critically, and Naruto met his eyes with a wry grin.
"The blueprint, please," Itachi said, urging him with a wave of his hand. Naruto muttered protests as he gave it over. Itachi went to another group. "You five will memorize this seal. And when those three come back, you'll use the ink, paper, and brush to make as many seals as possible." He ordered. They all obeyed, gathering around the one that Itachi handed the blueprint to.
"What about kunai?" Naruto asked, standing, holding out his arms for balance. The world was spinning. He took a step, wobbled, then slapped himself in the face. His eyes crossed, then uncrossed, and he smiled as he walked up to Itachi. "I have plenty," Itachi said. "No, I mean, my dad used special—and cool—kunai." Naruto scrunched his face. "Did I ever tell you that the Yondaime was my dad?" Itachi shook his head, then lifted his shoulders. "I kinda guessed. You did have one of his scrolls, and you might as well be his clone. So i'm only slightly surprised." Naruto pouted. "Can't surprise you with anything, can I?"
"You surprised me with you actually knowing how to use one of the world's most complicated sealing formula. It's not every day that a sixteen-year-old understands a space-time seal." Naruto crossed his arms in smug pride. "But i've never seen someone with burns stand in the sun without a shirt." Naruto deflated.
Itachi pointed. "Go stand over there in the shade. I'll give out some more instructions." Naruto sulked over to the tree like he was being punished, plopping down and pouting out a lip. He placed his chin in his hands and watched. Itachi would give out some order, and the clones would salute and run off to do some task. As he watched, his eyes drooped. He jolted awake a few times, but he finally closed his eyes, sleeping peacefully in the grass.
— Clone Naruto —
— Nearby Town —
Clone Naruto turned a trinket of wood over in his hand, and the old crone who ran the shop talked to him in a gravelly voice that he promptly had decided to ignore long ago. "Oh, really?" He let interest slip into his voice when he heard the matter-of-fact tone of the ladies words as she explained to him something or another. She nodded her head, and Clone Naruto thought that her wrinkly neck might snap just from the simple motion. Easy up there, speedy. He smirked. "Well, I thank you for letting me look at your wares." He placed the trinket back down and walked off, the woman clearly angry that she had just spent the last ten minutes yapping in his ear and not selling anything.
He was Henged as a middle-aged man, and he had made himself look as dull and nondescript as possible. He made his way back to the town center. They had agreed to all meet back there after a few hours. The paper bag of ink jars and brushes was tucked underneath his arm, and he made his gait feeble and shy. No one remembered a shy guy.
He stood in the square with crossed arms, turning around every once in a while in search of his brother clones. He finally spotted one, and he made a scowl at his Henge. His fellow clone had thought it would be funny to transform into a woman. Which was fine, but he had decided to give her giant tits, and the damn things jiggled and bounced every time she swayed her hips.
So much for being nondescript.
The Henged clone herself was fascinated with the size, tripping over her feet because she was staring too long. "Holy shit these are heavy." Boobie Clone complained as she got closer, and Clone Naruto uncrossed his arms. "But so worth it." She added with a perverted grin, grabbing the mounds in her hands. Clone Naruto shook his head, fighting a blush. "You just had to make a show of things, didn't you?" Boobie Clone shrugged, and it created waves. This time blushing, Clone Naruto snatched the paper bag from Boobie Clone and put the contents in his bag, which was on the ground at his feet. Crouched, he saw another paper bag drop next to his.
He looked up at his other brother clone. He had Henged as a kid, and had also taken his tactic of plain, but he openly stared at Boobie Clone. "Did you find everything?" He asked as he loaded the contents of the kids bag into his own. Kid Clone blinked, coming back to himself. "Eh? Oh, yeah, sure." He blankly stared again. Boobie Clone grinned, then shook her chest. "Stoooooop!" Clone Naruto stuffed the full paper bag into Kid Clone's hands and put a finger under Boobie Clones nose. "This isn't the time. We need to get back so the others can practice with these seals." He kept his voice stern, and Boobie Clone rolled her eyes. "Pfffft. Relax, we have plenty of time."
Before Clone Naruto could yell more, another voice spoke. It was sonorous, vicious, and sent shivers down his spine. "I never thought I'd find clone's in this place—especially Jinchuuriki clones." Simultaneously, all of them turned toward the newcomer, each head on a creaky swivel.
It was Kisame.
He grinned at them with his sharp teeth. His Akatsuki cloak hung loosely on his body and the bandaged sword on his back peaked over his shoulder. The clones stood frozen. "Well?" He said, impatient. They all slowly glanced at each other, and telepathically agreed to say nothing. "Speak up! Who are you!" He set his shark eyes on each of them, and then he looked at Boobie Clone. His grin seemed to get wider.
Boobie Clone covered her ginormous tits—which didn't work at all—and spat in Kisame's face. "Pervert!" Kisame growled, grabbing the handle of his giant wrapped sword. He swung it up over his shoulder and down at them like a hammer. "Scatter!" They all bounced away, and the sword came crashing down. Clone Naruto stopped on a roof of a house next to the street, turning around to look at Kisame and the huge crater his sword had made. Kisame hoisted Samehada onto his shoulder.
Clone Naruto grinned at him. "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers, ya' know? The Boss wouldn't like that."
"Oh, and who would this 'boss' be?" His smile was sadistic.
Clone Naruto put a hand on his chin, acting as if he was contemplating answering. He smiled.
"How 'bout this: You lick my ass, and i'll think about it, 'kay?"
Kisame's face went red in anger—which looked weird on his blue complexion—and shot off the ground, twisting in the air with that giant monster blade. Clone Naruto rolled on his shoulder to his left; and behind him, shingles and wood flew into the air in splinters. He came from his roll at a dead sprint, tauntingly laughing as he hopped to another roof.
He dove to the left at the peak of the roof, narrowly avoiding the arc of Samehada as it slashed for his head. He flipped into a handstand and held onto the peak, spun his body, then slammed it chest first onto the other face of the roof. "Oof!" He slid on his belly down the opposite side as Samehada split the peak, sending more dust and splinters in the air. He stood, dusting himself off as Kisame pulled his 'sword' from the roof. The damn thing might as well be considered a bludgeon. The bandages had torn, and vicious scales gleamed from the tears.
Kisame chuckled, and Clone Naruto frowned. "You're quick, aren't you!?" He leveled the shark skin monster at him. "But if you get even a bit more of your chakra stolen, then you're done for." He was right. Despite his deft dodging, Samehada had been sucking him dry.
They're probably far enough now. Clone Naruto shrugged, smiling unabashedly. "I guess it was my time anyway." He made his voice dramatic, trying to make it seem tragic. Kisame's smile fell.
He punched himself in the face.
— Naruto —
The memories of his clones brief encounter with Kisame startled him from his nap. He shot up into a sitting position; his imprint outlined in the grass. His eyes quickly darted to Itachi—who was lounging in the shade of another tree with a few clones. He was teaching them about something, pointing at a diagram of the human body painted in a unrolled scroll. Naruto pushed his hands into the grass and sprung to his feet, jogging over to Itachi. Itachi noticed him and stopped his lesson. "I can't believe you have no experience with learning the human body. Last I checked, they gave you at least a small overview of the whole thing before you became a genin." Naruto stepped over a clone, getting into the half circle they created around Itachi. The cross-legged clones looked up at him with annoyed expressions. One of them was even taking notes. Traitors.
"I slept a little in the Academy," Naruto said. Itachi lifted an eyebrow, and several of the clones snorted. He glared, "Fine, a lot." He grumbled, but then he yelled, "but that doesn't matter! My clones just saw Kisame!" Itachi's shoulders jolted at his declaration. "Did he confront them?" He asked, rolling up the scroll in his hand and handing it off to one of the sitting clones in a hurry. "Yeah, he somehow knew that they were clones of a Jinchuuriki." Itachi looked ready to curse, but Naruto could tell that he stopped himself.
"He must be looking for me." Itachi paced out of the half ring of clones, Naruto following behind. They stopped simultaneously, Naruto almost on his heels. Itachi had a contemplative look and tense shoulders. So the shark freak is even more of a danger than I thought. He's got Itachi all shaken up. "He wasn't able to discover our location."
"Hm, but he also now know's there's a Jinchuuriki here. And i'm betting he wants to fight you. He has many...predatory instincts. He's not one to let prey go."
Naruto grinned, clenching his fists together. "Then let's fight 'em!" He was excited and a little nervous. Besides, you didn't just let the Tailless Tailed Beast hunt you.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Itachi held out a hand to halt his hype. "You still have very little chakra and your body is weak." Naruto chuffed, "I'm as fresh a newborn baby." Itachi lifted a hand, and Naruto watched it in confusion. "What are you—" Itachi slapped him on his burnt back. Naruto screamed, scrunching up his back as he hopped around on one leg. He collapsed to the ground, crying in a high pitch squeal. He tried to rub his back, but the pain was at the center, so he couldn't reach it. "My point exactly," Itachi said, folding his arms. Naruto pouted and sniffled on the ground, groaning. "You're so unfair!" Itachi smiled in slight amusement. His smile was small—merely a tiny curve—and Naruto felt that Itachi hadn't shown his teeth his whole life. He glared at him from the blades of grass.
Itachi turned to survey the area around them. "Your clones have made progress," he said, "but you have a long way to be back at full strength."
Naruto stood, hunched and holding his lower back. "At least let me help if you start to lose, "Naruto grumbled, glaring at him from underneath his yellow bangs. Itachi looked contemplative. "I don't know..." Just then, the clones sent to town burst through the trees, panting and sticky with sweat. Naruto turned and motioned his head to tell them to come over. "Kisame is—"
"—I know." The clone clapped his mouth shut and looked downhearted, knowing what that meant. "Thank you for your help," Naruto said as he took the paper bag from the other clone. The two looked at each other and then simultaneously popped into smoke. Naruto shook his heads at the memories they gave him. His clones were so much like him that it was scary. He started to rummage through the bag. Itachi took the bag from his wandering hands. "What makes you think you can help in your condition?" Naruto grinned slyly, again reaching into the bag. This time, he pulled out the paper tags and ink. "I'm the fastest man on earth." Naruto's smile nearly split his foxy cheeks. "If he can't touch me, then he can't hurt me. "
He hurled his body around to face the clones memorizing the original blueprint. "Oi! Fuck outta here!" The clones looked up at him, and he waved a dismissive hand. They passed glances but then poofed away. Naruto turned back to him, his head pounding from the memories of hours of memorizing. He was grinning cheekily. "Well?"
Itachi rolled his eyes as Naruto called up more clones. The smoke faded away, and Itachi nodded his head.
"I guess I can't stop you." Naruto whooped.
"But you have to wear a disguise."
— Itachi —
— Night —
Itachi walked into the restaurant, eye quickly finding the large blue man in the corner booth. He walked around tables, listening to the conversation that Kisame was having with a tiny little waitress. "What do you mean you don't have shrimp?" Kisame's voice was alto, and his face was close to severe. The little brown headed waitress was shaking, stuttering. "W-we are s-so far from the sea, s-sir, and shipments this far inland are v-v-very expensive." She seemed particularly frightened of the large scaly sword propped up in the seat next to Kisame. He had his hand on the skull pommel at the end of the handle, his finger thumping against it rhythmically.
"You're going to make the poor girl faint, Kisame." Itachi slid into the other side of the booth. Kisame snorted and grinned at him while the waitress looked completely surprised by his arrival. Itachi moved his elbow's onto the table, clasping his hands together. "You don't have to get us anything," he said, leaning forward and glancing at Kisame from the corner of his eye. "We won't be long. Just a simple chat." The waitress bowed, blushing and fumbling away; jolting a chair when she almost accidently tripped over it.
Kisame looked annoyed that he couldn't torture her anymore, but he yelled at her. "Bring some sake!" By the way she jumped—tipping the contents of her tray—she had heard him. Kisame's sharp white teeth grinned at him. "Where were you?" He gave him a once over. "And what happened to your cloak?" Itachi placed his clasped hands over his mouth. He made his face serious. "I had a few things come up along the way." He lifted a shoulder, closing his eyes. "Unimportant things." Kisame laughed, then leaned in. "There's a Jinchuuriki here!" He whispered in excitement; his gilled cheeks crinkled like a happy child's
Itachi acted slightly surprised, lifting an eyebrow. "Do you know which one?" He asked, leaning back as the waitress brought two sake bottle and shot glasses, giving each one. She scurried away quickly, tears in her eyes because Kisame had growled at her. "I think its the Kyuubi brat." Itachi sighed. Kisame laughed, "We should hurry up and go get him before he bolts out of the Land of Fire!" Itachi shook his head, "That's a waste of time." Kisame smashed his hand onto the table, making the bottles careen. "I won't let him get away, Itachi." His eyes changed into that of a predator's. "He isn't someone to let roam freely."
Itachi stood, and Kisame copied him, but his hand was on Samehada's handle. "You think he's dangerous?" Kisame laughed sarcastically. "Kami, no. I just don't want the little shit to disappear again. It'll be a pain to find him again, especially since Zetsu has a hard time finding him in the first place." Itachi lifted his head skeptically. He had a hard time believing that. The two stared, and Itachi picked up the sake bottle at his waist. He turned it in his hand, looking at his reflection in the porcelain. "I guess its come to this, then." In his image, the Sharingan activated in the black of his eyes.
In an instant, he tossed away the bottle, put his left hand on the corner of the table and flipped it on its side against the wall. His other hand flashed forward, and the gleam of a kunai caught the corner of his eye. The kunai passed by Kisame's neck by a centimeter and stuck into the booth wall. Itachi's chest almost touched Kisame's, and the two stared into each other's eyes. Kisame was faster than he looked. Itachi pumped more chakra into his eyes, and the pattern of his Mangekyou reflected back from Kisame's. Kisame looked at Itachi's mouth the moment he saw the pattern.
Kisame grinned, laughing in a disbelieving shock. "What are you doing, Itachi? Trying to use Tsukuyomi on me?" Itachi could hear his grip tighten on Samehada's handle. "Are you betraying the Akatsuki?" His voice darkened, and his chuckle deepened "You know what happen's when people leave the Akatsuki." He stated. After a moment of silence, Itachi nodded. Kisame's grin lengthened, and he swung Samehada from the waist in an upward diagonal slash. Itachi had been anticipating this. He burst into a murder of crows when the sword connected, and the swing went through the flock harmlessly. They flew to the door of the restaurant, passing over people's heads.
The place had been flung into chaos, and people screamed, hid behind chairs, tables, and the bar.
Itachi reformed at the door, his hands at his sides. Kisame sneered, stomping across the restaurant, swinging his massive sword to move chairs and tables. The furniture turned to splinters under the force, and they peppered down onto the heads of the people. Itachi backed out the door, and when Kisame reached the door, he swung. The wall and doors were shredded, and dust collected at the front of the restaurant. Itachi kept his pace going backward. Kisame burst from the cloud, swinging Samehada. Itachi slid out the way, dipping around all of the wild return swings.
He turned his shoulder away as Samehada cut downward and smashed into the ground. Kisame didn't let it stay there long because he swung it to the side with a yell. Itachi jumped out of the range of the wide arc, setting some distance between them. Kisame held the giant scaly sword in one hand, and his other stayed at his side. "What caused you to leave?" He asked, and in answer, Itachi pulled his sleeve up; revealing his hand and the shuriken between each finger. He pounced into action, swinging his arm, throwing the stars at a blurring speed. His fingers wove in hand seals.
"Shuriken Kage Bunshin No Jutsu(Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"
The shuriken multiplied into thousands, and Kisame moved his sword in front of himself in a crude shield. Seeing this, Itachi shot his other hand forward, flinging kunai in a fanning arc. The kunai split the air as they bulleted toward the mass of shuriken. They caught up easily and the collided with some of the shurikens. The shuriken's paths curved, and the others hit Samehada, pinging off the scales. More kunai hit the curving shuriken when they were on either side of Kisame. They ricocheted and shot straight for him. The kunai bounced off and stuck into the buildings on either side.
Kisame jumped into the air, and Itachi blurred through more hand seals.
"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu(Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)!"
A volley of fireballs shot from Itachi's mouth, which he held the tiger seal up to. The fireballs shot and curved unpredictably, and Kisame was sitting uselessly in the sky.
"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu(Water Syle: Water Bullet Technique)!"
A torrent of water spread out and rained down from Kisame's mouth. The Phoenix flowers were snuffed when the two techniques hit, and the water bullet continued to fall toward Itachi. Itachi pushed off the ground as the water crashed into the earth and flooded a portion of the ground, creating mud. Itachi landed on the dirt, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. His head turned, and in slow motion the pupils of his Mangekyou expanded when he saw the sharp grin of Kisame and the scales of Samehada.
Samehada hit like a hammer on an anvil, bending his side in and shredding through cloak, clothing, and flesh. The cracks of bones echoed in his ears, and Itachi was sent barreling through the air. He crashed into a building, splintering wood like veins. Itachi slid down the side of the wall and sat leaned up against it. His back had created a deep hole in the wall filled with bent and cracked wood.
Kisame laughed, walking toward him; his hulking sword held easily in one hand. Itachi coughed, blood dripping from his lips and onto his chin. He had a few broken ribs. He tried to move but winced at the motion. Scratch that. A lot of ribs. He also felt a sharp pain in his lower back. Kisame's face was sadistic as he loomed over him. "I thought you were smarter than this." Samehada came down over his head, and Kisame chuckled.
A scream pierced the air.
"Rasengan!"
— Kisame —
A powerful attack hit him in the gut. Pain veined through his body as the attack swirled around and destroyed his insides. Chakra swirled visibly in the air. He flew back and dug a trench in the dirt with his body. He cursed, feeling Samehada give him chakra to heal the wound. The tissue, muscles, and organs knitted back together, and he felt the pain fade just a bit. "I had it under control." Itachi's voice said from some distance away from where he should be. Another person snorted in Itachi's place. "I thought i'd finish it for you." Kisame could hear the dismissive shrug in his voice.
Kisame stood, holding his stomach. Blood caked his hand, wrist, and stomach, but the wound wasn't fatal anymore. Itachi stood in the middle of the street to his left, completely unharmed and relaxed. Another person in a black half-face mask and cloak stood where Itachi should have been, right in front of him. The road was mud and water free, the kunai and shuriken weren't all scattered about, and the cracks in the side of the building were gone. Genjutsu, He thought with a growl. To them, he had just been flailing around and swinging madly at nothing.
"That's why I didn't want you coming out so early." Itachi nodded his head toward his red, newly scarred stomach. The other person tilted his head, his windswept, blonde hair shifting with the motion. Kisame recognized him then. "You're the Kyuubi brat," He said, swooping down to pick up Samehada. It growled at him, hungry for some chakra after his gift of healing. You'll get plenty.
Last he remembered, the kid had blue eyes, but now he had Sharingan.
"You betrayed the Akatsuki for some brat?" He glared at Itachi from the corner of his eye. Itachi said nothing, only walking up the street to stand next to the Jinchuuriki. His eyes followed him the entire time. The Kyuubi brat snorted, and the fabric of his mask tightened with the taunt of his smile. "I heard you forget cookies at the meetings." Kisame sneered as the brat laughed. "I've never heard of a more boring get together!"
"Quiet!" He slammed Samehada against the ground, smashing it into rocks.
The Jinchuuriki just kept smiling.
We'll see who's smiling after I chop your legs off! He put Samehada into a two handed grip, sliding his feet to widen his stance. He was done playing. The Jinchuuriki only pulled out a scroll, broke it open, and then unraveled it. The seal on the inside was pointed at Kisame, and he squinted to read it. It was a storage seal but slightly modified. By what?
A puff of smoke popped in front of it, and dozens of kunai shot from the cloud at him. Kisame tensed but then realized that they weren't headed for him. The kunai pierced the ground all around him, scattered all over the street. He looked to his left and right, and the kunai only stayed there harmlessly. Yet he stayed weary. There was no telling what this was. He had a sneaking suspicion crawling to the front of his mind. Something about this sounded familiar.
The thump of the scroll hitting the ground turned his attention back to his opponents. The Kyuubi brat removed his cloak and let it pile onto the ground. Kisame noticed that he had a faint red glow around him. Bijuu chakra. He wore a blue high-collared shirt with no sleeves and open sides, and his arms and hands were all wrapped up in bandages from fingertips to shoulder. From what Kisame could tell, his whole torso was wrapped. He wore grey ninja pants wrapped with tape at the shins and knees; his sandals were blue.
If Samehada hadn't gotten a taste of his chakra and he hadn't met him three years ago—he wouldn't recognize him. Especially with the half mask and Sharingan eyes.
What was his name again? He had heard it once or twice...
Naruto. That was his name.
The brat Naruto formed the clone seal, and two copies appeared. Samehada growled to him. Chakra in the air? What's he planning? Kisame started to go through hand seals. He wouldn't let him do whatever he wanted to do. The brat threw a kunai.
"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha(Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave)—"
Suddenly, Naruto disappeared. Kisame inhaled, remembering just what the technique was. But he was too late.
Kunai's slipped in his side's, and Naruto appeared above him, holding another chakra ball. The ball of chakra spun the air itself with its power, and Naruto aimed it straight for his head.
Kisame roared.
— Naruto —
He twisted his body, shoving his Rasengan forward, yelling at the top of his lungs. Two clones stood on both sides of the shocked Kisame, stabbing him with kunai. Kisame roared. Naruto's wind barrier was broken, and he teleported away, his attack unfinished. He had to pump more chakra than necessary because Samehada was absorbing his chakra. He leaped to one of the kunai to Kisame's left, and he saw Samehada complete its attack at him by spinning and destroying the clones. Kisame bellowed, running at him with both kunai still stuck from his sides. The roar of a Great Fireball and the heat turned Kisame away, and he moved in a blur—using his sword to cut the flame in half. The two split fires scarred the dirt with soot and hit the walls of a house, setting it alight.
Naruto hurled a kunai and flicked his wrist for another one to slip from his sleeve. When the kunai reached above Kisame's head, Naruto jumped, appearing next to him in the air. He did a full acrobatic spin, stabbing his kunai down at Kisame's throat. Kisame moved his body at an angle, making the kunai stab his trapezius; right between neck and shoulder. The wind was sliced through again by the hulking Samehada, and Naruto teleported down to a kunai at the ground, pumping more chakra into the wind.
Samehada ate chakra like a starved beast.
Naruto changed his chakra in the air into wind and guided it. Samehada sucked up most of it, but some was enough. The wind blades converged on Kisame, and dozens of wounds split his skin. Blood droplets flew into the air, and Naruto twirled around another kunai and stabbed it into Kisame's foot. He then teleported to the kunai on Itachi. This happened before Kisame could even finish the swing that had tried to get him for stabbing his shoulder.
Dust gathered at his feet as he crouched, panting from using up so much chakra so quickly. With his reserves so low, he had to rely on the Kyuubi—which the Bijuu wasn't letting him live down. "More?" It grumbled, and Naruto groaned. Now's not the time! The Kyuubi scoffed, and hot chakra flooded his chakra pipes. Naruto stood as Kisame stumbled, blood falling from his wounds in thick streams. He panted and stabilized himself. "You...you know the Hiraishin." He chuckled. "Should've known the second I spotted the seals." The wounds were healing, though.
"We have to attack together," Itachi said under his breath. Naruto agreed. He readied himself, but Kisame's roar froze him.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu(Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu)!"
Water droplets formed in the air, growing bigger and bigger while more and more materialized from the particles in the air. The large globs of water started to turn around in a circle, lengthening like a bubble through a large ring. The blobs connected and the turning became violent. A vortex formed as more and more water conjured. The vortex barrelled forward, tearing up dirt and rocks from the ground—turning the water a light brown—and burrowing a trench in the ground.
Naruto gaped, and Itachi reached over and grabbed a handful of the back of his shirt.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu(Summoning Jutsu)!"
A cloud of smoke consumed his vision and Naruto lurched, almost falling on his butt, but Itachi kept him up. A powerful gust of wind pushed away the cloud and the ground—consequently the vortex, too—was getting farther and farther away. The giant crow took them above the vortex and rooftops, and he could see the end of the town from here; which is to say that the town wasn't very big, so they weren't that high.
The loud crashing of the vortex hitting the buildings caused him to wince. The water tore through the wood easily, and it took the planks and shattered window glass with it. Broken furniture spun too, being shredded to bits and flung around and around. The giant water vortex tore through house after house, cutting a straight line through the village. All the people. Naruto clenched his fists. Stupid! You should've led him out of the town! He berated himself harshly, his teeth grinding against each other.
The crow flapped its giant wings, blowing gusts that messed up his hair and clothes every beat. "Look, Naruto." Itachi was pointing a distance away, and Naruto looked. He saw a large mass of people walking up a hill to another crowd. He felt his anger leave him. "Thank Kami," He breathed easy. The vortex faded away, and the destruction had even reached the outside of the village to a small copse. The trench was filled with water, and debris floated in it.
"Thank you, Kuhia-san." Itachi thanked the crow. It screeched, "Anything for you, Itachi-sama." Flapping its giant wings, it started to circle around. "What now? He can heal fatal wounds, so we're kinda outta options with that. And, ya' know, that's kinda the only way to beat someone for good." Itachi nodded. "We have to separate him from Samehada." Kuhia squawked, "Look, Itachi-sama!" The two looked over the crows head and spotted Kisame on a rooftop. He was talking to some half black half white creature.
"Zetsu..." Naruto turned his head up to Itachi, and then back down to Kisame. "What is it?" They looked like they were arguing, and Kisame's face was livid. "I'm not sure," Itachi responded, leaning back away from looking. Kisame spat, and the thing—man?—melded into the roof like it was a part of it. Kisame looked up at them, and with a sneer he turned around and jumped the opposite way. "He's running! We gotta get 'em!" Naruto tapped the crows head, urging him to chase after. "No, we'll let him go." Naruto scoffed, turning around to look at him. "He knows who I am!" Itachi was watching Kisame's dot in the distance. "So does Zetsu. It won't matter if we kill him now or later. Besides, we need to come up with a strategy to beat him." Naruto grumbled, admitting he was right.
He sat on Kuhia's feathers, finally feeling his exhaustion after his high of adrenaline died. Naruto saw Itachi turn toward the cabin.
"Let's go home."
Woo! That was a long one!
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