AN: Yeesh, could I have waited any longer to do this? Probably, but I got off my lazy butt and wrote this chapter. I think I've made you wait long enough. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 666Satan (O-Parts Hunter).
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Ch 9
Naruto and Jio held their breath as they witnessed Sasuke pierce through Gaara's dome of sand. Naruto was amazed that Sasuke was able to do such a thing, but at the same time, he worried for his life. If that had not killed Gaara, then Sasuke would more than likely be the one to die. In the stands, Kankuro and Temari were both in shock. How could this have happened? Through out this entire exam, they had witnessed many impossible feats from the Konoha nins. This one, however, topped the list.
"No way!" Kankuro exclaimed. "Gaara's absolute defense has been..."
"It's can't be..." Temari managed to choke out.
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In the Hokage's balcony, he too was surprised by Sasuke's attack.
"That's Kakashi's..."
Orochimaru could barely hide his enthusiasm. The Uchiha prodigy was more powerful than he could have hoped. When the time came, that precious body would become his.
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Back in the audience, Jio and Naruto were still waiting for any sign that Gaara was dead...or alive.
"Chidori," Gai began "or as it's also known, the Lighting Edge (Raikiri)."
"Lighting Edge?" questioned Sakura.
"The Lightning Edge is a nickname earned when Kakashi cut a bolt of lighting with that technique."
Each of the genin looked at Gai with varying expressions. Sakura looked a little astonished yet confused at the same time. Ino out right didn't believe a word Gai had said and Choji was amazed at the revelation.
"It's true name is Chidori," Gai continued "It is known for it's stabbing speed that pushes the limits of the human body and the huge amount of chakra that is focused in one arm. That arm then becomes the blade of a swords that cuts anything. But...what a truly ridiculous technique it is.."
"Like you should talk." Kakashi then looked at Gai's young prodigy. "Right Lee-kun?"
Sakura turned her attention back to the battle ground. "Well, it's beyond my level of understanding but what an amazing technique!"
Lee looked down at the battle as well. A frown formed on his face.
'I can understand...I wouldn't run with that speed straight into my opponent in that manner. Actually, I can't do it. A straight forward attack makes it easy for the opponent to counter and I don't have the "eye" to see that counter. I'm jealous of your lineage...Sasuke-kun. That one time we fought in the past, I told you this: "Even if you can see it, if your body can't move there's nothing you can do." That was my sense of superiority. But now...' Lee clutched his crutch tighter. 'But now you have the same body speed that I had but you also have the Sharingan!'
Shikamaru looked over at Naruto and Jio. They were both still very tense and Jio's right hand twitched ever so often. Like he was getting ready to attack.
'What's going on? Why are Naruto and Jio so worked up over Gaara? Sure he's a psychopath, but there seems to be more to it than that. What could it be?'
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"I've got you." Sasuke said with finality in his voice.
Inside, Gaara began to notice something was wrong.
"What's this warm stuff? Mother what did..."
He felt something warm dripping from his shoulder. Gaara, put two and two together. He was bleeding.
"UWAAAAA! Blood...my blood!"
Gaara had taken a wound. It was something his siblings could not believe. What kind of ninjas were these leaf genin? At that moment Sasuke tried to pull out his arm, but he couldn't budge it from the sand dome He once again used Chidori with the hope that his arm would be freed. It worked. As he pulled his arm out, something else was pulled out with it.
Temari and Kankuro looked at the arm with shock and fear. Everyone else was confused by this turn of events. Jio and Naruto almost jumped down into the field, but resisted the urge to do so. They needed to analyze the situation before they acted.
"What's that?" Gai questioned.
"Nii-san, has he..." Naruto whispered.
"I don't know. It's possible he's only partially transformed, but if he has, then we have no choice but to engage him."
In the contestants balcony, Temari and Kankuro were starting to panic.
"Did he transform into his complete form?!" Kankuro asked his sister.
"I don't know! It looks like he's been wounded. This has never..." she didn't finish her statement.
Kankuro new very well what his sister was saying. This never happened before. This wasn't suppose to happen now. Their plans, could very well be ruined.
'I'm getting chills just from the memories...the first time I saw it I wasn't able to eat for a while...since it looks...'
Down in the battle field, Sasuke looked at the hole in the dome. His eyes widened at what he saw through that hole. A yellowish eye was staring straight at him. Suddenly, the dome began to crack. Jio turned to Naruto.
"Give me Zero-Shiki."
"Huh?" Naruto asked confused.
"My boomerang. I think I'm going to need it."
Naruto nodded and handed over the weapon. Jio strapped it to his back and then pulled out a scroll. He opened it part way and something poofed out of it. Jio caught it and then handed it to Naruto.
"What's this?" Naruto asked as he examined the necklace he was given.
"An O-part." Jio answered.
"Huh?"
"See that medallion?" Naruto nodded as he put it on. "Well that medallion is actually made from a wolf's bone. However, the bone is special since it's actually an O-part."
"What's it's effect?" Naruto questioned.
"Fast movements. If things get ugly and you feel like you can't handle it, use that to escape from the battle. I don't know what going to happen next, but you can never be too careful."
"Can't I have an O-part that has a better effect?"
"I'm afraid you'd actually need to work with the O-part for a certain amount of time before you can..."
"Come on Jio! I know I can do it! Have a little more faith in me!"
Just as Jio was about to say no again, the sand dome fell. The brothers stopped their talk and focused on Gaara. Kakashi had been listening to what they were saying, and honestly, he had no clue what half of that meant. All he knew was that Jio was giving Naruto some sort of special weapons. He made it a point to find out what they were after the exam.
Gaara clutched his shoulder in pain. He couldn't believe he had been wounded. Is this what pain felt like? Sasuke looked confused. He had seen something in the dome and he was sure it had not been Gaara. The...creature he had seen did not posses eyes like Gaara's. Suddenly, feathers began to fall from the sky. Naruto felt himself start to get sleepy. Jio quickly slapped Naruto's head in an effort to keep him awake.
"It's Genjutsu." he declared.
Naruto, Jio, Kakashi, Gai, and Sakura quickly used Kai to deflect the Genjutsu. Before they knew it, there was an explosion from the Hokage's balcony. Then Sand and Sound ninja began to pour into the stadium. The leaf ninja all looked alarmed at the turn of events.
"Jio we're out of time! Please give me a better weapon to fight with!"
Jio clenched his fists, but relented. Things had taken a turn for the worst. He should at least make sure Naruto was well armed.
"Fine." Jio took out the scroll again and another weapon poofed out. This time it was a ring.
"Quite giving me jewelry!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Just shut up and take it! This ring has a wind effect. It can be very deadly if used properly, but since you don't have the practice to do it, the most you'll probably be able to do is create a small tornado. Don't loose it, I'm just borrowing it from a friend."
Naruto slipped on the ring and nodded. A crash was heard from outside the stadium and another from the Hokages balcony. They turned in time to see the ANBU heading towards the Hokage, but just as they had reached the balcony, something bursted past them and onto the roof of the central watchtower. Other ninja jumped passed the ANBU and landed on four separate corners of the roof.
'What are they doing?' Jio pondered.
Jio got his answer when a purple wall appeared. The ANBU found themselves unable to go any further.
"He's the one who used the Genjutsu?"
Jio turned towards a Konoha nin who was looking over a body.
"Seems like it.." answered another.
"This is bad." Kakashi stated.
"Nine traitors." Gai said.
Jio mently cursed at the events. He wished he knew where Jiraiya was. He'd be able to help bring down that purple barrier the enemy nin set up. He looked down at the stadium to see that Temari, Kankuro and Baki had joined Gaara. He could hear them arguing about whether or not to proceed with the plan since Gaara was no longer able to do his part.
'So they were planning on using Gaara in his transformed form, but he got excited and wanted to do his own thing.'
He didn't know if they were lucky or unlucky since even though Gaara would not be used in the invasion, he was still a threat in his current state. He noticed then that Temari and Kankuro took their leave as Baki prepared to fight Genma and Sasuke. However, Sasuke soon took flight after the Sand Siblings.
'This is not good.' Jio thought. Why did everything seem to be going wrong?
"Kakashi, look within the barrier." Gai said.
"OROCHIMARU!" Kakashi exclaimed.
Sakura and Naruto looked alarmed. That snake freak had been causing trouble since the beginning of the exam! Sakura quickly looked for Sasuke in the battle field, but realized he was gone. Two sound nin attacked her at that precise moment, but Kakashi was able to defeat them.
"Sakura, stay like that for a bit. I'll even the odds a little."
"Allow me to help." Jio said. He turned to Naruto. "Tell Shikamaru to stop pretending and protect this area for a bit."
Naruto looked over at Shikamaru. The lazy nin rolled over and said something about this whole situation being very troublesome. However, he at least seemed willing to help. Jio jumped down towards Genma and Baki as Naruto and Shikamaru engaged the enemy nin. Kakashi was surprised that Naruto was able to take on what were, most likely, Jonin and Chunin ninja. He was also surprised that Naruto knew Kai. Who had been teaching him all this?
Using his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Naruto help Kakashi and Gai hold down a perimeter around the Konoha civilians. Shikamaru assisted him by holding down some of the enemy nin and then letting go at the last second so that Naruto could use his army of clones to beat them down. Naruto briefly glanced at the field to see Jio biting his thumb.
'Is he going to summon?' Naruto wondered
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Down in the field, Jio looked at Genma and Baki.
"Get out of the way. Both of you."
Genma looked skeptically at the Konoha/Rock nin as did Baki. When they didn't make a motion to move, he bit his thumb and began going through the summoning seals.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." he finished as he slammed his hand onto the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Genma and Baki got the point and decided to put some distance between them and Jio. From the amount of chakra Jio used, it seemed he was summoning something big. Soon enough the stadium shook with the howls of wolves. The howls seemed to have paralyzed everyone and for a few moments all was quite. That only lasted until seven white wolfs, roughly the size of a bear that stood on it's hind legs, began to attack the Sound and Sand nin. The biggest wolf, who was probably the alpha, calmly walked towards Naruto and the other nins with Jio on his head. This wolf was not only huge, it also had a vertical black mark that went over his eye and a feather like necklace attached to his ear. Jio jumped off the wolfs head and joined Naruto and Shikamaru in their efforts to get rid of the rest of the enemy nins.
"Sakura-san," Jio said. Sakura immediately looked at him. "Please wake up Ino-san and Choji-san."
"W-why?"
"I know that we are in a dangerous situation and they might not be prepared to handle this, but I need someone to take care of a mission for me."
"Are you sure?" Kakashi said. "They don't even have any weaponry on them."
Jio didn't answer and rammed his kunai into one of the Sound nins head and then used Kage Bunshin to attack another with the same method. Then without batting an eye, he removed their shuriken holders and their weapons pouch.
"It shouldn't be a problem now."
"Are you still sure? I'm not even too certain they have enough battle experience for what you might want them to do." Kakashi stated.
"Don't worry. What I want them to do won't be too difficult."
"If you're sure..."
Jio nodded to Sakura and she proceeded to undo the Genjutsu on Ino and Choji. The two genin were groggy at first, but were wide awake the minute they saw their surroundings.
"W-what's going on?" Ino asked in fear. Choji didn't look any better.
"Ino-san, Choji-san and Shikamaru listen carefully. I have a mission for you." The three genin looked at Jio. "I need you three to go to the Academy and protect the students and civilians that will be evacuating there."
"B-but, we don't have any weapons and we're not even strong enough too fight some of these ninja!" Ino exclaimed.
"You won't be fighting alone." Jio whistled and the two wolves stopped what they were doing to gather by Jio's area. "Kazu and Kaze will accompany you to the academy and help defend the civilians. All you have to do is help keep everyone calm and direct them towards a safe location. Should some ninja get past them, you still have the Chunin instructors who will help defend the civilians. Remember you are also Leaf Ninja and you are capable of fighting with the best of them."
He handed them the ninja gear he confiscated. The two genin reluctantly geared up. Jio looked at Shikamaru.
"You're in charge of this mission. I know you're more than capable of handling this."
"Teh, this is troublesome, but I guess I'll help out."
Jio smirked but said nothing. Ino and Choji jumped on Kazu while Shikamaru jumped on Kaze.
"Well then kids, lets get going!" Kazu said as he leaped over the stadium wall.
"You can talk!" Ino exclaimed while Choji and Shikamaru merely raised an eyebrow at the phenomenon.
"Tayl." Jio called. Another wolf walked towards Jio. "Find Sensei and tell him that Orochimaru has attacked."
The wolf nodded and took off towards one of the village gates. Jio called the remaining wolfs to him.
"Most of the enemy nin have been eliminated with your help. Now I need the rest of you to go about the village and eliminated any others you may find. Help the civilians when ever needed." All the wolves took off in different direction except the alpha wolf. Jio then looked at the Alpha with a questioning gaze.
"I'll get rid of that summon. I haven't had a taste of snake in a long time." It looked like the wolf was grinning.
"So that was the crash we heard. Well then Zero, I leave it to you."
Zero jumped over the wall and towards, what he considered, a waiting meal. Kakashi coughed to get everyone's attention.
"Now that that is taken care of," Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sakura. "I will be sending you two on an A class mission."
Sakura looked shocked while Naruto remained calm and waited for Kakashi to continue. Kakashi was a little surprised that Naruto did not jump up and down in happiness, but decided not to let it bother him.
"Sasuke has gone in pursuit of the Sand shinobi. Your mission is to track him down and stop him. Then take him to a safe location."
Kakashi then looked over at Jio who had just finished off another Sound nin. Jio looked back at him when he felt someone's gaze.
"I hope you don't mind going as their team leader." Kakashi said in his usual laid back tone.
"Of course not."
Kakashi nodded and quickly took down another nin before cutting his thumb. ' Kuchiyose no Jutsu!'
A little dog appeared and greeted the shinobi.
"Pakkun here will assist you in tracking down Sasuke."
"Right!" Naruto, Sakura and Jio said.
Naruto was about to turn and go towards the exit, when a blur went towards him. Naruto realized it too late and knew he couldn't counter fast enough. Lucky for him, Gai had his back. He punched the Sound nin right through the wall. The three ninja and dog nodded towards each other and proceeded to jump through the wall. Before Jio could go however, he was stopped by the silver haired Jonin.
"What's you're name? You never got the chance to tell me."
"It's Jio." he looked back at Kakashi. "Uzumaki Jio."
He then jumped out with out another look back. If he had looked, he would have seen a wide eyed shinobi who, thanks to Gai, was able to stand stupefied without getting decapitated by enemy nin. Unbeknownst to them, another Konoha genin heard what was going on, and pursued Naruto and his companions.
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AN: Okay then, next chapter, Naruto takes on Gaara! Until next time, please review and no flames. Thanks!
