Naruto: The Leaves Have Shadows
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Uzumaki temple- 2 weeks until release
Naruto and Kayin stood facing each in one of the larger training halls. This particular hall happened to be equipped with gravity enhancement as well as randomized chakra mines, and chakra sapping areas. Furthermore it had an artificial lake and a rocky area. The Uzumaki tended to be a bit extreme in their training and the hyper active blond was no exception.
Staring at each other the two warriors became aware of each other's auras as well as the tiny details on each other's persons. Kayin noted that Naruto's chakra inhibiter seal was active and functioning well. Not that it really gave him any advantage in terms of charka amount though, Naruto's reserves were immense. However with 60% of his regular chakra unavailable until release it was possible to finish the battle quickly. Just as he was about to attack he noticed another seal surrounding the chakra inhibiter on his chest that caused him slight worry.
"So I see you've managed to finish that seal huh Naruto?" he asked seeking to gather information. Smirking slightly Naruto simply inclined his head and proceeded to fly through hand seals.
"Come find out! Fuin: Gravity seal kai!" In a burst of power the seals on his legs, arms and torso vanished leaving Naruto unencumbered. 'Fuck, I didn't expect him to release them so early!' Kayin thought in alarm. Bringing up his arms to block the sudden strike he allowed Naruto's force to crash into him, then he pivoted away and countered with a sweep which was promptly jumped over. Still on the ground he placed a seal marker.
"Futon: Vacuum bullets!" As the spheres of concussive air bore down on Kayin he rolled out the way and threw a kunai towards Naruto and activated the seal on the base. Immediately a barrier of sorts appeared intercepting and drawing in Naruto's jutsu. 'Father's technique," he thought in a panic. Upon landing Naruto created a shadow clone to attack while he stood back for a moment to observe. After a quick exchange of punches Naruto's clone was dispelled by a particularly fierce shot to the ribs. As the smoke filled the immediate area Naruto struck.
In retrospect, it was like time and space shifted, one second there was empty space, then next Naruto was at his back aiming a punch at his shoulder blade. There was no last second dodge, he was just too fast. 'Is that sage charka I feel? Hmm, perhaps that is a function of that other seal? But he is not showing any signs of sage mode though, curious.'
The force of the blow sent Kayin flying towards a trip wire that sent explosive kunai towards the dreadlocked warrior. Swiftly replacing himself with a broken kunai he began to weave seals for a rather potent genjutsu. Seeing this Naruto again dashed at him only to be stopped by the second part of an earlier attack. The vacuum bullets from earlier shot up from the seal placed earlier.
"Taijuu Kage Bushin no jutsu!" Naruto called out as no less than 30 clones popped out in front of him taking the blows meant for him. From the smoke caused by the clones dispelling a massive fuma shuriken streaked out towards Kayin who swiftly jumped up before noticing that there was a second shuriken hidden in the shadow of the first. As the shuriken passed his foe Naruto detonated it sending shards of metal into Kayin blood spurting out of multiple wounds. Somewhere a dark haired, dark eyed Uchiha smirked.
"Ha didn't see that one coming huh?" Naruto taunted only to be shocked as his downed opponent burst into smoke. 'A shadow clone!' A sudden spike of negative intent warned Naruto as Kayin emerged from the lake firing multiple balls of water. Spinning while summoning his chakra blades he slashed through the attacks with the sharpness of wind. 'Kurama, are you almost done amassing senjutsu yet?' he thought to his partner.
"Yeah kit, I'm almost there. Although I find it shameful to have to use such a technique for a simple sparring match," Kurama said.
'Well, I'm simply getting them ready for the type of enemy they will face. The more intense the training the better chance we have of surviving, 'he thought, to which the fox simply grumbled. Continuing his advance Naruto threw a wind chakra enhanced blade at Kayin and activated his nine tail cloak, sending an arm of charka towards his opponent forcing him to jump onto a nearby rock.
Narrowing his eyes Kayin noticed a strange sensation in the air. 'I see so that's how the seal works. He is passively drawing in nature energy and converting it to regular chakra, ingenious actually. Not only that, he is also using his partner to gather senjutsu while he is moving. I didn't notice it until he activated that cloak. This could get bad real fast.' Dodging another set of chakra arms Kayin acted quickly flying through hand seals before placing his hand on the ground.
"Ninpo: Barrier of the gracious deity!" Suddenly a barrier in the shape of a massive elephant sprang up around him. When the barrier was fully formed he placed his hands in a prayer position and went complexly still, his breathing becoming calm and serene. The air shifted around him as his beard became white and thick. His locks became as white as snow while his eyes shifted to a rainbow. His muscles bugled a bit as power radiated from his being. The training room then chose this time to increase the gravity. Naruto, not one to remain idle formed and threw a rasenshuriken laced with Kyubi chakra at the barrier only to have it explode harmlessly leaving him speechless. 'Man his barriers are tough,' he mentally applauded his opponent.
"Ok Naruto all done. You should be able to enter sage mode after you access my chakra again." Giving a metal salute Naruto tapped into the nature energy Kurama amassed just a few moments before and entered an enhanced sage mode. At that moment Kayin's barrier dropped and the warrior burst forward towards Naruto. Both warriors met each other in a fierce exchange of blows causing shockwaves throughout the training room.
Land of Spring- 3 weeks until the Hyuga showdown
To say that the Daimyo of this country was irritated would be an understatement. Recently, bands of missing ninjas seeking to escape the new allied police force have descended upon her country. Her defense force, at first, dealt with the problem swiftly and effectively. But then reports of a strange white haired woman slaughtering her soldiers and citizens began streaming in. Recently two of her jounin came stumbling in to the hospital, chakra armor torn and not functioning. For all the blood caked their wounds were relatively minor; their squad mates were not so lucky as evidenced by their heads brought back via storage scrolls. The last straw was a report from a couple who reported that their young child was murdered by the same woman with a message for her personally. It read: "If you wish for the bloodshed to continue then do nothing, if not then surrender your country to the Order of the Red Sun. You have 1 week to decide."
Sighing as she rubbed her forehead Koyuki Kazahana made a decision. "Contact the Leaf village. I want Naruto Uzumaki here immediately! "
Uzumaki Temple: Training Room
Aiming a kick at Kayin, Naruto decided to try out a function of his new Taijutsu style, toned down of course. Using the wind he was already generating to boost his speed from time to time he rotated it around his hands, elbows and feet giving it a sharp and grinding feel to it. At the same time he pushed his nature infused charka outwards in a subtle manner effectively linking him with air itself, further enhancing his reach and sensory abilities.
"I hope you are ready Kayin, this style of mine can get a bit rough. I call it the Kaze Ken," Naruto taunted. Smirking Kayin stretched out his own senses and deeply connected with his elemental affinities. While it is true he preferred to use the art of Funjutsu in battle he has a fair repertoire of ninjutsu and genjutsu to fall back on. As such he prepared to activate the genjutsu he prepared, designed to kick in at the right time. Due to Naruto's connection with Kurama he didn't expect it to last but it should do for his purposes.
"Oh I would be more concerned with myself if I were you." Slowly circling around Naruto until his back was to the large body of water he then launched himself at the blond hair warrior. Throwing a punch followed up by a knife hand his energy sought to pierce Naruto who simply dodged then countered. Back and forth they went, a right cross blocked and used as an opportunity to try and land an uppercut that was deftly dodged. Ducking under a backhand Kayin's eyes narrowed as the residual energy destroyed a tree behind him. As they traded hits sage energy clashed with every blow further adding to the potential damage inflicted.
Landing a kick to Naruto's gut Kayin flipped backwards and activated his technique in order to assess the effects of that last exchange. 'Senpo: Genjutsu: Despair.' Locking eyes with Naruto he sent a pulse of chakra in to the air aimed at his forehead. Within seconds a bead of sweat formed on Naruto's face as the genjutsu took hold. The current battlefield disappeared only to be replaced by a very familiar site: The 4th Great Ninja war.
The sounds of battle raged as the scent of death filled the air. Shinobi of all different villages fought side by side, died side by side. He was no longer the powerful leaf Shinobi, taking on the world. He was dying again, Kurama trapped in that damn statue as all his friends, his comrades lay dying.
"Hurts don't it? Knowing you can't save anyone, right Naruto? After all you couldn't save Neji. In the end you couldn't save anyone," a voice came to him. "You should just close your eyes and rest Naruto. You are no longer needed in this world, just rest."
"No. I can still fight, I can still save them!" he called out, but his voice sounded weak to his own ears. Slowly his eyes closed as the feeling of his heart slowing became unbearable. The knowing that he failed-
"That's enough Kit! Snap out of it!" Kurama's rough voice came effectively snapping Naruto out of this downward spiral. In the real world Kayin looked at his hands, chest and feet with a great deal of worry.
'It's just as I thought, he swirls a mixture of wind chakra, raw chakra and nature energy around his limbs effectively making his attacks that much more lethal. In addition he also uses that same mixture as a shield of sorts. I'd best finish this now while I have the chance, 'he thought.
"Suiton: Dragon's claw!" Water surged around him forming the shape of a dragon as he dashed towards Naruto. As he extended his fist, the water took the shape of a dragon's claw intent on smashing Naruto to bits. Just as he was about to make contact a seal located near Naruto main chakra coil activated, sending a huge amount of raw charka from his body in the form of a dome creating a rather large crater. Unable to stop in time Kayin was thrown backwards his jutsu dissipating as the massive amount chakra buffeted him, if not for sage mode he would have been knocked out or worse.
"What power," he said as he pulled himself up from the ground. Naruto for his part looked drained as he shook off the effects of Kayin's jutsu. "Hey Naruto, let's call it a draw ok? I can still go but I don't think we should over do it."
"Yeah, you're right. I didn't realize how much chakra my fail safe would take to activate. I haven't been this empty since my rasenshuriken training. That was one hell of a genjutsu," Naruto said with a smile.
"Thank you I developed it a little over a year ago. Its one of my techniques I use for tactical assessments. I'm curious though. What was that jutsu just now?"
"Oh that. It's a proximity seal. Since I'm so bad at genjutsu I designed it so that if an enemy is attacking while I'm incapacitated and Kurama here can't break me out in time, to send out a pulse of pure chakra from my tenketsu. I modeled it after a Hyuga jutsu. It repels and wakes me up from any genjutsu S rank and lower. The only issue is it takes about 25% of my reserves in order for it to be really effective."
"I see… a heavy price for protection. Well Naruto let's get some grub, I for one am starving," he said while cracking his back.
"Oh yeah, ramen here I come!" Naruto exclaimed in excitement his energy seemingly restored.
Land of Snow- 2 weeks until The Hyuga showdown
"Where is Naruto Uzumaki? I specifically requested him for this mission," Koyuki Kazahana said somewhat testily. Sasuke, Hinata, Shino, Darui, Omoi, Karui looked at each other wondering who would step up and take care of a rapidly deteriorating situation. The lazy jounin Darui subtly nudged the Hyuga forward to deal with this.
Swallowing a sigh of irritation Hinata stepped forward fully. "Our apologies Lady Koyuki, but Naruto is away on a very important mission and is unavailable. However this joint task force is more than capable of handling any mission," she responded smoothly. The Daiymo folded her hands and narrowed her eyes clearly displeased. After a moment she sighed wearily.
"We shall see. The situation is dire. Since your summons we have had reports of an escalation. No less than 10 families have been slaughtered, while the children have been kidnapped. This Order of the Red Sun is a plague on this land and I want them gone! Your mission is apprehend or eliminate any operatives. I ask that you be discrete when possible. My citizens are upset enough already, no need to add to the unrest."
"As you command my lady," Hinata answered for the group. Dispersing, the group of ninja went on their way to establish a base camp and review the new information given. As agreed to earlier they would split up into two groups, Leaf ninja with Leaf ninja and Cloud Ninja with Cloud ninja, and then meet back at the safe house. Some would say an unnecessary precaution, but in this world deception is a key to survival. As they left the office the tension between Sasuke and the Cloud ninja was palatable.
Walking and grumbling Karui was livid. "I can't believe we have to work with him again. Imagine, taking the Raikage's arm and then waltzing in here like nothing ever happened. I swear if I get the chance I will end him," she finished deathly serious. Sighing Darui shook his head.
"Drop it Karui, we are here to do a job and if it means working with the Uchiha then so be it, even though it's a drag." As they walked through to capital city a sense of sadness and unease was easily discernible. It was as if the peace and joy of the country had been sucked away by some invisible force. However as the citizens watched carefully the two sets of ninjas walking through, a small sense of hope began to take root.
Meanwhile, quite literally in the shadows a dark presence watched as the two groups left the office building a parted ways. 'Hmm if the Uzumaki will not come to me I will simply shadow his lover and his best friend until I find him,' Kentaro thought. Sharingan activated he assessed the shinobi's resting chakra levels and relaxed movements. It was obvious they were skilled and extremely powerful. Moving from shadow to shadow he was careful to keep his chakra output at a bare minimum as well as try and stay out of the Byakugan's range he continued to simply observe them. It wouldn't do after all to tip his hand so early. However when the tall trench coat wearing ninja suddenly stiffened he knew his cover was blown.
Narrowing his eyes he spotted a small group of bugs acting as a rear guard of sorts. Quickly forming a hand seal he further melted into the shadows and retreated to a way point he set up just in case of detection. Upon arriving at his temporary base in the hills he activated his radio.
"Lady Yuki the ninja have arrived. As you suspected the Hyuga is among them, additionally the Uchiha is on the team." he reported.
"I see. What is your assessment so far?"
"Hmm, I would say they are strong and capable. The Uchiha, Hyuga and the dark skinned jonin will defiantly be a problem to deal with. The other sword wearing chunins look to be reasonably skilled as well. However the one who troubles me is the bug wielder. It was he who forced me to call off my surveillance. I suspect he is a sword wielder as well. As expected both teams formations are top notch, leaving very little room for an attack."
"Yes, I figured as much. Based on our Intel they Hyuga and the Aburmane were on the same team and the cloud ninja are close as well. Is that all Kentaro?" Yuki asked.
"There is one other thing. I cannot confirm it, but it looks as though there is a bit of tension between Sasuke and the cloud ninja. The female in particularly seemed rather upset at his presence. Perhaps one of your mind puppet jutsu could be of use?" he suggested.
"Yes perhaps. Lady Rei will be on site shortly. I want you and her to prepare the area. I will lead them there when it's time."
"Understood." With that he went to prepare for the upcoming battle. It would not be easy but it must be done. After all if it was one thing his father taught him via lesson scrolls it was to understand which way the wind blows, and right now it is blowing towards a new era. He will survive it, he must.
Upon separating the leaf squad proceeded to gather information. It was here Sasuke's extensive network of spies paid off. Within 30 minutes they had a lead. Apparently the government ran a program that monitored all children with the intention of finding those with abnormally high chakra levels and an affinity for machinery. In recent years the program has grown significantly, due to in large part of a certain chemical placed in the water supply. From what they could gather the Land of snow was gearing up militarily. Whether their intentions were good or not remains to be seen.
Their next breakthrough came in the form Shino's mind. From the data collected a pattern emerged. To Shino it was obvious that someone in the facility where the tests took place or general access to medical records was involved. However that was not all. Said person also must either be a long time employee or someone who just recently moved to the area. The logic being, a high ranking, long serving official, more than likely a doctor, would have near complete access with relative freedom. If the person recently moved to the area and had general access then it was possible to slip through the cracks in security.
Currently the three leaf ninja were surveilling the most likely target, Sasuke and Hinata making shadow clones while Shino planted a female bug on the other two targets to keep tabs on them. Said target's name was Hiro Masuki, a well-respected doctor and former teacher. They decided to make a move when he went to a local pub after his shift. Under a transformation jutsu Hinata approached the doctor and began to chat him up while Sasuke and Shino listened in.
As she approached him the perfume she wore laced with special pheromones she developed just these types of mission took effect on the males in the area. Heads turned to see a lovely brown haired, shapely woman with a fan covering her face. In her elegant blue and white kimono she looked like royalty. The scent wafted to Hiro's nose as she took a seat next to him at the bar.
"Excuse me, may I have some sake?" she asked in a sultry voice after getting the attention of the bartender. Hiro couldn't believe his luck. Of all the seats available she sat next to him. Glancing over to her he a feeling of curiosity mixed with desire welled up within him. Hinata, noticing the look, locked eyes, dropped the fan and smiled then looked away.
Not a particularly handsome or smooth man, Hiro felt strangely emboldened by Hinata's shy behavior.
"My dear if you would allow it, I would love to keep you company for a while," he said with a small smile. To his delight she smiled and laughed so delicately it reminded him of flowers and spring rain.
"I would love that. My name is Hitomi Urumeshi, pleasure to meet you."
Inside the bar Sasuke and Shino under a transformation watched as Hinata's scent genjutsu took effect. Sasuke had to admit, he never expected the shy woman to perform so skillfully. Eventually Hiro's senses were dulled enough and his courage stoked enough that Hinata was invited back to his apartment. Upon entering Hinata's sharp eyes detected multiple places hidden documents could be located. Within 10 minutes Hiro was out like a light enabling her to rifle through his belongings.
Meanwhile Shino and Sasuke were staked out on a nearby roof hidden from the sentries. The night was cool conjuring images of the formerly snow filled land. The topic of discussion was their mysterious stalker.
"Shino, what's your take on our mystery friend?"
"He or she is…interesting. My kikaichu began to act strangely once they entered the area near him. They reported a feeling of endless darkness," he answered stoically.
"Darkness huh, I wonder if it is a bloodline of sorts. "
"Perhaps, however it reminds me of a new technique Shikamaru found in his clan's archives. He now can literally blend with the shadows. Think of it like an advanced yin yang manipulation combined with a barrier genjutsu hybrid." Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at that. He knew his comrade was skilled but for him to place that much thought into a technique… something must have happened in his time away from the leaf.
Suddenly Hinata's voice came through over the radio. "It's done. Target eliminated. I've identified 3 possible locations for a base of operations. I'm coming to you now."
"Copy that," Shino answered. Just then a massive amount of killer intent caused Sasuke and Shino to jump away just before fireball burst against the ground lighting up the night sky. Activating his sharingan Sasuke scanned the area to just barely avoid being impaled by a sword. 'What the hell?" he thought. Parrying the blow with his hastily drawn sword he reversed the grip to strike back only to meet nothing but air.
Dropping to the floor he avoided 3 kunai aimed at his blind side only to roll away as another sword strike sought to take him out. Hearing Shino's bugs swarm to his position he felt relieved that his teammate was in a position to counter attack. In fact he witnessed Shino replace himself` with an insect clone and try and grab his opponent, only to have him substitute with a piece of concrete from the roof complete with an exploding tag. As the explosion ripped apart the bug clone the populace stirred. In Hiro's apartment Hinata activated her eyes at the sounds of battle. 'There is only one assailant but he is extremely skilled. I must hurry.'
Engaging Shino he fired multiple fireballs with shuriken embedded in an attempt to discourage the bug wielder from using his primary weapons. In an instant the attacker parried Sasuke who using his rinnegan switched places with a kunai Shino threw. Careful to avoid the younger Uchiha eyes he pushed him back, then did a backflip and dropped a seal tag near Sasuke's feet. A second later it detonated causing a section of the roof to cave in separating the two leaf ninjas.
Each leaf ninja used whatever means available to save the civilians from harm. For Shino his bugs ate through the slabs of concrete before they could hit.
"Thank you Shinobi-san," a civilian said in an oddly monotone voice to Shino. As more and more civilians began to invade his personal space Shino felt something akin to danger.
"Please back away and get to a safe place now. This area is dangerous," he ordered to no avail. His insects began to vibrate madly as they sensed a foreign chakra emanating from the people. Looking closer he found their eyes glassy and devoid of emotion.
"Oh we will ninja, when you die!" one yelled abruptly switching from a passive state to an almost berserker rage. Quite suddenly he found himself under attack from multiple angles by people moving much faster than one would expect from civilians, a green aura surrounding each of them. 'I do believe they have accessed the 8 gates somehow. How…unexpected,' he thought as he scrambled to defend himself.
Sasuke simply used a small version of his chibaku tensensi to pull the concrete together. Unfortunately this was a distraction. The attacker zeroed in on Sasuke seemingly coming from the shadows beneath him and impaling him before he could form his susanoo. The last thing he saw was a pair of sharingan then the world went blank.
A/N:
And done.. Wow this was a pain too write, but I feel it moves the story well enough. Don't you love cliffhangers? Till next time. Read, follow and review.