Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto
"Hey, Kenta, you heard the rumors that've been going around about the rebels?" Saki asked eagerly, propping her booted feet up on the table and leaning back in her chair. The young woman wrapped her hands behind her head, casually running them through her close-cropped black hair. "They've been getting pretty interesting lately." The woman glanced down at her shirt, and casually picked a piece of lint off the black fabric, then brushed off her pants, which were the same color. "Not that the rumors are boring the rest of the time, but these were even more interesting than usual."
"There are always rumors about the rebels." Kenta glowering at the annoying woman he was stuck on guard duty with "And get your feet off the table, people eat there. It's unsanitary to put your dirty shoes on top of it."
"But if I don't have my feet on our table there's nowhere else to put them." Saki smirked at her companion. "I mean, this crappy little guard tower is just four half-walls, a roof, two chairs, and the table. I suppose you could always go get me another chair for my feet if it really bothers you that much."
"Or you could just sit down like a normal person." Kenta glanced at the woman speculatively, and then added. "Or if you must always prop your feet up like that, you could at least start wearing a dress instead of always having pants on."
"Pervert." Saki snorted in a mixture of disgust and amusement. "Anyway, I have to prop my feet up; ever since my knees got a little melted a couple months back they get sore as hell if I don't keep them up; it's why I'm stuck in a dumb guard tower in a worthless outpost with an old washout like you instead of actually being somewhere useful doing real ninja work."
"I'm only forty, and lots of perfectly respectable ninjas are still genin; the chunin exam is only for the best of the best." Kenta grumbled.
"I managed it, and I'm half your age." Saki shot back. "Hell, if not for stupid my stupid melty knees I would've made special jonin, and been on my way to full jonin by now. Kind of hard to be a taijutsu specialist when standing on my feet for more than two minutes causes crippling pain, though, more's the pity. 'course, even half-crippled I can still kick your …" Saki grimaced, and amended her earlier statement. "Well, I could beat the crap out of you; kicking would be a bad idea." The woman stretched her arms out and let out an exaggerated yawn. "So, back to my original question, have you heard the rumors that some jinchuriki kid has joined up with the rebels?
"They're stupid." Kenta grunted. "The Six Tails hasn't been seen for a long time, no reason he'd show up now." I hate being stuck in this tower with Saki the stuck up bitch for an entire shift, thinks she's so much better than me just because she had a bit of rank and prestige before she got tossed out here. She should know by now that nobody gives a shit that she used to be a good ninja, she's a crap one now, and crappy ninjas like us get tossed out in worthless little guard posts like this. Plus, she just will not shut up, no matter what I say or do! It almost makes me wish something would happen just so I wouldn't have to deal with her any more.
"Jeez, you're an idiot." Saki declared waspishly. "The jinchuriki they've got isn't Utakata, it's some kid that was from Konoha and ran off here on his own to try and steal Yagura-sama's knowledge; the Nine Tails jinchuriki. That's three times as many tails as Yagura-sama's got; could be bad news. I mean, more tails means that the beast is stronger and nastier and more badass, and nine's a lot more than three; the Nine Tails is supposed to be the strongest out of all the Tailed Beasts, right? I heard the jinchuriki kid's taken out, like, a dozen patrols a night for the last three nights; and that he can be in a dozen different places at the same time."
"So he can use a clone jutsu, big deal." Kenta grumbled.
"No, not like a clone jutsu, but like actual copies of the kid running all over the place." Saki corrected. "Clones can't get too far away from the person who made them, but he's been seen at the same time in two different places on the opposite side of Water Country from each other. Plus he's got all kinds of crazy skills and jutsus, and he can use every single type of chakra nature manipulation and he's got a bunch of different Kekkei Genkai; simply put his skills are just plain nuts. I heard Yagura-sama is planning to pull the patrols and sentries back to Kirigakure in order build up a force to wipe out the jinchuriki kid and the rest of the rebels." Saki frowned and scratched the back of her head with a single finger. "Hmm … what was that kid's name again anyway? Sumiko told me what it was earlier today when her patrol checked in…" Saki searched her memory for the name. "Nagato somethingorother…"
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, remember it!" The voice of a young man announced from the roof of the guard tower. Before either of the guards could react a bright orange blur shot into the tower with a shout of, "Dynamic Entry: Naruto Style!" and slammed a kick into Kenta's face, knocking the man staggering. Before Kenta could recover from the blow Naruto threw a kunai that caught the 40-year-old genin in the throat, and Kenta slowly collapsed to the ground gasping for breath.
"Lemme make a wild guess here." Saki said casually, not even bothering to rise from her chair or remove her feet from their position atop the table. "You're Naruto Uzumaki, right?" The boy nodded in response. "Alright, I give up." Noting the boy's surprise at how quickly she surrendered, the Kiri ninja explained, "You're not close enough for mt to try sucker-punching you, and you probably listened in on my talk with washout there long enough to know that I can't exactly fight a mobile battle. Well, I could, but it would hurt a hell of a lot and I really don't feel like going through all that pain and bother right now to avenge Mr. Dropout the Dumbass. I mean, Kenta was an asshole, I would rather thank you for finally getting rid of him for me than try to pick a nasty, painful fight with you over it. Besides, I'm not dumb enough to want trouble with a jinchuriki; I've seen what Yagura can do when he's pissed off, and you're supposed to be three times worse than he is." Saki shook her head. "No thanks."
"Alright, but if I'm gonna let you live then you have to take a message back to that Turtle bastard for me." Naruto decided. The only reason we're hitting these isolated little outposts is to spread the word that I'm around and planning to kick Yagura's ass, so having her go back to Kirigakure and spread the word makes sense.
"Messages are good." Saki declared. "I have to be alive to carry back a message, and as a general rule I like being alive, even if the crappy no-good knees do make life a lot less fun than it used to be."
"Alright, well when you get back to Kirigakure and see Yagura, you tell him that I'm Naruto Uzumaki, jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox, and I'm gonna stop him from hurting any more innocent people! You tell him I'm coming for him, and I'm gonna kick his sorry ass!"
"Yeah, sure thing kid." Saki agreed readily. I'll have to spice it up a bit, what he actually said sounds a little corny; maybe if I make the whole thing a little more dramatic I'll get a pay raise, and finally have enough money to get my damn knees fixed. His message delivered, Naruto turned about and bolted out of the tour, disappearing into Kiri's perpetual fog within seconds. Saki looked up the long road which wound its way to Kirigakure itself; it was just under a two hour walk from Saki's outpost to the ninja city. "Walking all the way back to Kirigakure with my busted knees … it beats dying, but this is still gonna suck." Saki grumbled.
"One patrol and three guard outposts destroyed." Mei frowned down at the reports on last night's raids against Yagura's forces, and then looked over at Ao and the Konoha shinobi. "That is a quite a bit worse than the damage for the last three nights before this; Yagura must be starting to pull his people back in preparation an offensive against us. I have already informed my agents within Kirigakure to begin the next phase of the plan; I imagine that right now Yagura is being given the information that will guide him into the area I have chosen for our engagement. By this time Naruto-kun's reputation should be quite well established among the enemy; I assume you have continued to follow Hatake-san's suggestion that you spare the occasional ninja to spread tales of Naruto Uzumaki, challenger to the Mizukage and champion of Kiri's murdered innocents, correct?"
"Yeah, that's what I've been doing, Terumi-san." Naruto confirmed. It's a good thing the Hokage decided to go along with the deal Gai-sensei worked out for us, 'cause I really think we're gonna kick ass and free your country from that Yagura bastard." Even if they've gotta be all secret and covert about it, Gai-sensei and Kakashi-san and Kurenai-san are being a big help with all of thus. Kinda sucks that I'm not allowed to wear my Konoha headband while I'm doing all of this though. Naruto reached up and readjusted the slashed Kiri headband Mei had loaned him; even after wearing it for several days the new headband just did not feel right. I mean, I get that I couldn't openly fight as a Konoha ninja when Konoha's supposed to not be involved in this civil war, but it still sucks that I don't get to wear my real headband. I worked really hard to earn that thing!
Mei turned a radiant smile on the boy. "Naruto-kun, I've told you before that it is perfectly alright to call me Mei."
Naruto quickly ducked his head so the beautiful woman would not notice he was blushing, and muttered something vaguely incomprehensible. Kurenai-san told me she's being nice like that to try and get me to do stuff for her or tell her things I shouldn't, but I'm still kinda embarrassed by how she's always acting with me. Good thing TenTen-chan's not here to see this…
"Kurenai-san, Kakashi, and I are continuing to go out as well, using the transformation jutsu to imitate Naruto." Gai cut in, saving the boy from having to come up with some sort of response the Mei's flirtatious behavior. "It has done quite a bit to enhance Naruto's reputation; he is seen in several different places at once; such a deception would be foiled quite quickly if we tried to carry it out for a long time, but for the moment there are some rather impressive rumors about just how many different skills Naruto possesses."
Any further discussion of Naruto's role in the ongoing struggle with Yagura was cut off when Ao suddenly stiffened in his seat, then turned to face his commander. "Terumi-sama, I just spotted Zabuza Momochi and three other ninjas ten kilometers away from our camp. I believe he is attempting to locate us." The man's visible eye flicked the Konoha ninjas, and he gave the slightest of flinches.
"That eyepatch…" Gai looked at the patch in question, a focused expression of deep thought on his face. "It is not covering a missing eye, is it?"
"The Hyuuga clan lost one of the main family members several years ago during a mission near Water Country." Kakashi said conversationally. "They never recovered the body, and as I recall it caused quite a stir. After all, the Hyuuga and Konoha are very protective of the Byakugan; the thought that someone might have managed to steal a Byakugan off the corpse of a dead main branch member was quite distressing." Kakashi shrugged. "I'm not sure why I'm mentioning this though, I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with anything we were wondering about how Ao-san can see things that are ten kilometers away from him even though he's surrounded by rather solid walls on all sides. After all, there is a window right there." Kakashi pointed out the room's sole window, which was nowhere near Ao's current line of sight. With a shrug, Kakashi added. "Then again, if anyone did manage to get a Byakugan and implant it in their body it would be a little hypocritical of me to make a big deal out of it…" The eccentric jonin tapped the headband covering his sharingan eye.
"So, what's the big deal with this Zabuza guy?" Naruto demanded, deciding to change the subject since he was a little confused about what was going on in the room. If Kakashi-san think that Ao's got a Byakugan why doesn't he just say so, instead of being all weird and cryptic about it? Nothing wrong with just taking, the honest direct approach instead of always having to be so damn mysterious.
"Zabuza Momochi was once a the member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, until he attempted to assassinate Yagura two years ago." Mei explained. "Zabuza was impatient; he was too eager to take direct action against Yagura right away rather than waiting until the circumstances were in his favor. It created a split within the rebellion; Zabuza and his followers favored taking immediate action against Yagura, while I felt that attempting to launch a coup against Yagura with our current strength would be suicide. In the end, even though Ao used his talents to help Zabuza get past Yagura's guards and penetrate his defenses, it was futile to attempt to kill Yagura in a one-on-one fight. Zabuza simply does not have the strength to win that battle, and Yagura is far too wary to be caught off guard even by an assassin of Zabuza's skill. After his coup failed, Zabuza left along with a few his most devoted followers; some of them have drifted back to the rebellion over the years, while others have lost their ideals and simply become hired thugs or criminals."
"Terumi-sama." Ao spoke up. "Send me to speak with Zabuza; he will be more inclined to trust me than any other emissary since I once fought by his side, even if I have come to realize that your course of action was the correct one now."
"Do it." Mei confirmed. "Bring him back to the camp if he is looking for us; the only reason he would return to Water Country is to make another attack on the Mizukage, and if we can integrate him into our plans we would gain an advantage." Mei's gaze shifted to the Konoha contingent. "Gai-san, Kakashi-san, Kurenai-san, I must ask you to leave; it will make our discussion with Zabuza less complicated if you are not present. Naruto-kun, you may remain; he will be expecting to meet you in any case, and it would be awkward to explain your absence from such a significant meeting."
"As you wish, Terumi-sama." Ao, shot out the door, moving at full speed to rendezvous with the former rebels. With his Byakugan to guide him Ao was able to move into position to intercept Zabuza and his companions, the Demon Brothers and a rather effeminate-looking young man Ao did not recognize. "Zabuza-san." Ao called out to catch the former Swordsman's attention.
"Ao?" Zabuza halted, regarding the Byakugan user neutrally. "Huh, didn't think you would still be alive. Guess you've been with Terumi and her bunch ever since Yagura got away from me. Well, I want to talk to her, so get you might as well take me there. Didn't know where exactly you guys were, but I figured it was somewhere around here and I'd eventually run into some of the rebels, or get a chance to kill some of Yagura's tools." With a shrug, Zabuza declared. "Either one would've worked."
"Looks like you haven't changed much, have you Zabuza-san?" Ao regarded his former comrade. "You're still as bloodthirsty and dangerously competent as ever, right? Follow me then; Terumi-sama wants to see you as well."
"Oh, it's Terumi-sama now, is it?" Zabuza asked stressing the honorific. "I never got a -sama when you were working for me." The Demon of the Mist gave a disinterested shrug. "Well, let's get on with this."
Ao led Zabuza and his companions back to the rebel camp; much like when he brought back the Konoha ninjas earlier in the week, the return of the infamous rebel brought the camp's usual activities to a halt as everyone paused to gawk at the man and Ao paused to yell at the gawkers. The group quickly made their way to Mei's headquarters, and Zabuza slouched down into one of the open chairs, while the effeminate young man stood at his right hand and the Demon Brothers stood behind him. "It's been a while, Mei-san." The former member of the Seven Swordsman said, looking over the rebel leader. "You remember Gozu and Meizu, the Demon Brothers, and the boy is Haku; you'll like the kid, he's got a Kekkei Genkai."
"Zabuza-san." Mei answered with a smile. With a wave of her hand, the elegant woman indicated Naruto. "I'm sure you've already heard the rumors I have so carefully cultivated, so allow me to introduce Naruto Uzumaki, jinchuriki to the Nine Tailed Fox, and a key element of my plan to remove Yagura from power."
"Hiya, how's it hanging?" Naruto said offering the man a casual wave of his hand. I don't really know much about what's going on with this guy, so I'll just act like I understand everything that's going on and nod a lot without actually saying anything.
Zabuza looked the boy over critically, and gave a disinterested shrug. "Kid doesn't look all that dangerous." The Demon of the Mist announced. "Then again, Yagura doesn't look all that scary when he's not pulling out all his nasty jinchuriki tricks."
"Every shinobi knows that outward appearances can be deceptive." Mei agreed. "So, why have you returned, Zabuzu-san? I thought you left Water Country for good after your coup against Yagura failed so spectacularly."
"Yagura just got lucky, the fight easily could have gone the other way." Zabuza scoffed. "I was always planning to come back once I had some time to rebuild my forces and got a bit more funding to make sure things went right."
"Yagura got lucky?" Mei smiled. "Is that why thirty seconds after you went into his office Yagura smashed you through a window and out into the streets of Kirigakure, and then you went running away like a beaten dog?"
"It was a lucky shot, if I'd been half a second faster it would've missed." Zabuza growled, glaring down at the floor. "But who gives a shit about the past? I heard you finally got the guts to make a move against Yagura yourself instead of playing the waiting game like you've been doing for the last couple years. I was in the area, and the guy I was working for was kind of an asshole, so I decided I might as well drop the contract and see what you were up to; having an excuse to kill Gato didn't hurt, he was an annoying little prick even if he did pay pretty well."
"I see you have not changed much, Zabuza-san." Mei declared, her smile still in place. "Well, since you came all this way I suppose I could find a place for you within our ranks; you did come here to fight, correct?"
"I might be willing to." Zabuza conceded with a shrug. "Of course, I expect you'll find an appropriate way to reward me for my efforts; you need my skills and you need my reputation back up your little army, and you know it."
His assassination skills would be a boon to our current plans, and the fact that he has returned from exile to join our ranks will persuade some whose loyalty to Yagura might already be wavering. "Yagura disbanded the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist after all the trouble you and Kisame caused him; Hikaru and Nobu were both killed, and the rest have scattered. The Seven Swordsmen will need to be rebuilt once Yagura is gone and order has been restored to Kiri; they will also need a new leader."
"So, if I fight for you I get to be top dog of the new Seven Swordsmen? Kisame won't like that."
"Kisame's exile was one of the only issues I agreed with Yagura on. The man is a monster, and he will have no place in the new Kiri I plan to build once the long nightmare of Yagura's madness finally comes to an end. Once the Swordsmen have been rebuilt I intend to send them after Kisame to recover Samehada and put an end to him; he's too dangerous to be allowed to roam freely, even as a rogue ninja."
"I don't mind getting rid of Kisame, but you're gonna take all the fun out of Kiri by the time you're done, aren't you?" Zabuza declared disdainfully. "That's what always bugged me about you; sure, Yagura's gone way too far with the crazy killing, but you'll make the next generation of Kiri ninja a bunch of weaklings if you have your way. The shinobi world is a bloody place, and our ninja need to be prepared to deal with that."
"They will be prepared." Mei declared confidently. After shooting a quick glance at Ao, the woman continued. "You are not the first person to say that Yagura's bloodthirsty methods help to toughen the shinobi of Kirigakure. I do not agree; bloodshed and murder do not make people strong, they just waste lives that could be put to better uses. Naruto-kun has defeated many of Yagura's servants despite being trained in the 'weak' methods of Konoha." With a tight smile, Mei fixed Haku with a direct look and asked. "Tell me, Zabuza-san, how did you train Haku? Have you drenched his hands in blood, the way Yagura did with you, or did you choose a different path?"
Zabuza remained silent, but his refusal to answer and the sullen glare he fixed Mei with gave away the truth; she was right. Zabuza finally broke his silence with an annoyed growl. "Let's stop wasting time rehashing old arguments and start talking about how we're going to take Yagura down. What's the plan and who am I supposed to kill?"
"So … this is it, isn't it?" Naruto asked, a rare bit of uncertainty and fear creeping into the boy's voice as he stared into the fog-shrouded bamboo forests that would soon become a battleground. "Yagura's guys are supposed to be showing up any time now, and then we'll be in a big, nasty battle."
"Yes, we will." Gai replied, his face concealed behind the mask of Kiri hunter ninja and his distinctive green spandex replaced with a nondescript black outfit; Kakashi stood nearby in similar identity-concealing attire. Instead of being able to see it Naruto just had to imagine the bright smile on Gai's face when his sensei assured him. "Do not worry Naruto, Kakashi and I will make sure nothing happens to you!"
"Yeah, I know." Naruto said, a note of gratitude in his voice. The boy took a deep breath, and a moment later he was back to his normal, confident self. "I still can't believe Terumi-san wants me to stay out of the fight though; I mean, I wanted to take Yagura down and I know I've helped do that by pretending to be her secret weapon, but it kinda sucks that I won't actually get to do anything. Yeah, I'll be sending in a bunch of shadow clones to cause more chaos and confusion, but I really wanted to be the one to take out Yagura."
"You can't beat Yagura." Kakashi pointed out. "Even if she didn't manage to capture you Yugito still kicked your ass, and she's a lot less dangerous than Yagura is. He would also be fighting to kill instead of trying to take you alive; that makes a big difference."
"I've gotten a lot stronger since then!" Naruto whined. "I mean, I know how to use wind chakra now, and I've got a bunch of new jutsu, and you've taught all kinds of new stuff Gai-sensei! I know I'm not a jonin, but I'm strong enough to win this fight! I mean, you and Kakashi-san and Terumi-san and everyone else are gonna be fighting too, it's not like I'd be trying to take the bastard on all by myself!"
"Yes, you have grown much stronger over the past several months, my brilliant young student." Gai agreed. "But you will have years of hard work ahead of you before you can even think to challenge someone like Yagura on an even footing."
"But – but Gai-sensei, I made a promise!" Naruto looked at the impassive mask covering the face of his jonin-sensei imploringly. "You always said that if you give a promise and you really, really mean it then you've gotta keep it, no matter what!"
Gai was silent for a moment, and then with a note of resignation in his voice said. "Naruto, before the battle starts there is a new jutsu I would like to teach you."
"Really?" Naruto asked, brightening up considerably. "Awesome! You don't teach me a lot of ninjutsu or genjutsu, so I bet it's gonna be something really awesome, right? I'll bet I can totally kick that bastard's ass with this! So, so if I manage to learn the jutsu then will you guys let me beat up Yagura!"
Gai went through the jutsu's hand seals with slow, exaggerated care, and then announced. "Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Jutsu." I hate to do this to Naruto, but Kakashi, Kurenai, and I all agreed that if it looked like Naruto might try to engage Yagura despite my orders to the contrary it would be better to remove him from the battlefield. His fires of youthful passion are strong indeed, but sometimes his passion blinds him to the reality of his limitations.
"Huh?" Naruto blinked in surprise as he felt the genjutsu taking hold and his surroundings began to shift and blur until suddenly he was back in Konoha at one of the training grounds he and TenTen often worked at. "Aw man, that was a dirty trick, Gai-sensei. Now I'm never gonna get to fight that Yagura bastard!"
"I will take care of him." Gai declared, picking up his enscrolled student. The jonin looked back at Kakashi and added. "I should be back in a few minutes, do not let the battle start without me. If I cannot defeat more enemies than you, my eternal rival, then I will do one hundred thousand push ups!" Gai paused, and then amended. "Well, the quality of opponents should matter too; genin will be worth one point, chunin are worth two, and jonin will be worth four. I know we promised to let Mei take him down herself if possible, but if either of is the one to defeat Yagura he will be worth twenty points."
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say Gai." Kakashi agreed disinterestedly, lamenting the fact that openly reading Makeout Paradise would carry the risk of giving away his identity. Gai gave Kakashi a thumbs-up, no doubt smiling brilliantly behind his face-concealing mask, and then picked up his student and rushed off into the woods towards a large hill in the back of the rebel lines.
"Naruto had to be removed from the frontlines." Gai informed Kurenai upon his arrival at his fellow jonin's position further back in the bamboo forest, though the fact that Gai had the boy in question strapped across his back made it rather obvious Naruto was not going to be participating in the fight. "His fires of youthful passion are normally one of the things that make him a truly brilliant ninja, but if he were to participate in the coming battle he would seek out Yagura." Gai sank down into one of the nearby chairs. "I have a great deal of faith in Naruto, but he would not win a battle against the Mizukage."
"I'll watch over him." Kurenai assured the boy's sensei. "I'll be working on the genjutsu of the Nine Tailed Fox; none of the Kiri ninjas have seen it before so they need my help. We should be a safe distance away from the main battlefield, so Naruto should not be at risk if he's with me."
"I thought the same thing, which is why I brought him to you." Gai declared.
"I see." Kurenai looked the boy over. "Nice genjutsu work Gai-san, I've never seen you use one before." Not the best I've ever seen, or even above average for a jonin, but still reasonably proficient, and I can hardly criticize Gai-san for trapping the boy in a harmless illusion rather than beating him into unconsciousness. Genjutsu is by far the best way to subdue an opponent without doing serious harm to them.
Gai nodded, and Kurenai suspected that if face were not still covered by the borrowed mask she would have seen a brilliant smile on the man's face. "Very well, Kurenai-san, I entrust my beloved student to you! Your fires of youthful passion will no doubt enable you to protect him in the face any threat! Keep him safe from our most unyouthful opponents, and do not remove the genjutsu unless you feel it is vital to the success of our mission. Now, I must ensure that my eternal rival has not taken advantage of my absence to gain an unfair lead in our contest to defeat as many of Yagura's minions as possible!" With a sudden burst of speed, Gai shot off into the forest once more, heading back to his eternal rival; promising himself that Kakashi would not be able to shift the balance of their ongoing contest of ninja might this day.
Kurenai watched the jonin depart with a bemused look. Why is it that so many of the full jonin are so eccentric? Kakashi-san has his obsession with Jiraiya-sama's books, I wouldn't be surprised in Asuma Sarutobi smokes in his sleep and Gai is – well, there are no words that can really describe him. Shaking herself from her musings, Kurenai quickly tossed a plain brown robe over Naruto's distinctive blond hair and orange outfit; explaining the supposed jinchuriki hero of Kiri was behind the frontlines and trapped in a genjutsu would be problematic, so it was better to just bypass the problem entirely by concealing his identity.
"Captain." One of the Kiri ninjas placed under Kurenai's nominal command called out to her. "The outer scouts just sent the signal that Yagura's forces have been spotted. It's time to begin."
"Right." Kurenai gave a sharp nod, and quickly made her way to the three rebel genjutsu specialists. "Now, this is going to be a huge genjutsu, so the three of you will channel your chakra into the jutsu itself, while I handle the shaping and management of the illusion we'll be using. Understood?" The three Kiri rogues nodded. "Good, then let's begin." Kurenai's hands snapped through a long set of seals while her assistants channeled their chakra to her; by the time the jonin was finally prepared to use the jutsu Yagura's forces could easily be seen moving through the bamboo towards the rebel position. "Grand Illusion: Mass Hallucination."
Slowly a perfect replica of the Nine Tailed Fox rose up from the bamboo forest, and Kurenai gave an involuntary flinch as her mind shot back twelve years to the night the Fox attacked Konoha. The effect on Yagura's forces was immediate; from her position on the high ground overlooking the battlefield Kurenai saw the loyalist advance suddenly grind to a halt as terrified ninjas scattered in the face of the Fox's fury. One group of loyalists briefly rallied, only to fall apart when two cloaked figures Kurenai suspected were her fellow Konoha jonin rushed in and quickly dispatched the loyalist leader who had managed to briefly calm his panicked troops. A sudden burst of fog and the appearance of several large mirrors of ice identified other islands of organized resistance being crushed by the rebel forces. "It looks like this plan just might work; I wonder Yagura will show himself."
The answer to Kurenai's question came moments later when a soft but powerful voice carried across the battlefield. "Suiton: Exploding Water Shock Wave." Moments later Kurenai saw a gigantic tidal wave begin to sweep across the bamboo forests, and could vaguely make out a single figure standing on the crest of the wave.
"Yagura." Kurenai declared, here eyes fixed on the Three Tails jinchuriki.
Naruto went through the motions of trying to break the genjutsu once more, but he still had no luck with the task. "Man, Gai-sensei's not a genjutsu master like Kurenai-san, I've never even seen him use genjutsu before, but he's still way too good for me. Dammit, I'd do anything just to break this stupid genjutsu and get into the fight! I bet I'm gonna miss the whole thing just sitting here stuck in a genjutsu, and that's gonna suck so much!" Naruto let out a frustrated growl, and forgot all the advice he had gotten breaking genjutsu as he just tried to smash the illusion with brute force. "Maybe if I can just get more chakra I'll break this stupid thing! There's gotta be some way to do it!"
Naruto continued to struggle against the genjutsu, but he simply did not have the skill to break the illusion surrounding him. The boy's frustration continued to mount and gradually transformed into anger, and then rage. "Dammit! I can't believe they left me stuck in this stupid genjutsu when I oughta be out there, fighting Yagura with the rest of them! I know I'm just a genin and they're jonin, but I can still help! Stupid genjutsu! Why won't you break!" Naruto slammed a fist into the illusionary ground he stood upon. "Even if they all outrank me Gai-sensei and Kakashi-san and Kurenai-san are still my comrades, and I won't let this dumb illusion stop me from helping them!"
Naruto blinked in surprise when he felt a sudden, odd disturbance in his chakra, almost like how it felt when Kurenai-san or somebody else broke a genjutsu's hold over him. The illusion of the training field shattered, and Naruto suddenly found himself standing in the middle of a nasty looking sewer dominated by the gigantic gate standing in front of him; Naruto tried to get a good look at what was beyond the gate, but it was too dark to see anything. "Wait – what the hell? Is this part of the genjutsu too?"
"Hey, kid." A voice called out from within the cage. "Why don't you come a little closer and let me get a good look at you."
Naruto frowned at the cage; he still was not sure what was going on here, but his instincts told him that the huge locked gates were there for a reason. "Why don't you come a little closer and let me get a look at you instead." Naruto suggested.
A booming, malice-filled chuckle drifted out from behind the bars. "Didn't think you'd fall for that, but it was worth trying. I'd really like to rip your pathetic little body apart, but this damned seal won't let me." The air around quivered with the sound of a massive paw taking a single step forward, and suddenly within the blackness of the cage Naruto saw a pair of bright red eyes burning malevolently. Another thudding footstep reverberated through the area, and Naruto saw the vague outlines of a massive fox head, teeth bared in a horrifying expression halfway between a smile and a snarl.
Shit! That thing's teeth are bigger than me! Naruto gave a sharp jerk of his head as he recovered from his initial shock at the beast's size; the Fox was so massive he could not even see most of its body, still hidden within the dark depths of the cage. The nine tails flailing about behind the beast were easy enough to spot though, and from there it was not difficult to figure out the rest. "You – you're the Nine Tailed Fox, aren't you? What kind of weird genjutsu did Gai-sensei stick me in?"
"This is no genjutsu, boy." The Fox growled. "Breaking a genjutsu is child's play for a being of my power and magnificence. All I had to do was disturb your chakra network slightly, just like anybody else would when breaking a genjutsu placed on another person."
"Oh – well why didn't you ever do that any other time I was caught in genjutsu!" Naruto demanded.
"Why should I go out of my way to help you, brat?" The Fox snarled. "If you're too pathetic to take care of yourself I'm not going to waste my time babysitting you. I might be stuck in your body, but eventually you're going to die, and then I'll be free to re-manifest myself after a while. When you die I'll die too, but to a being as ancient and powerful as I am death is just an inconvenience. I've got no reason to help you, though if you take this damned seal off I might do something to repay you for the favor."
"Yeah, well if you're so freaking powerful why the hell are you still stuck in my body?" Naruto shot back. "You know, I've had to put up with a lot of crap because of you! If I had a way to get rid of you without killing myself I'd probably do it, but I don't so it looks like I can't get rid of you! So, as long as you're taking up space in my body, I think you oughta find some way to make up for it!" Fixing the Fox with a glare, Naruto shouted. "You owe me rent, you stupid Fox! You can start by giving me you chakra and dispelling any genjutsu that affect me from now on; if you don't I'll come into that cage and kick your furry ass!"
The Fox remained silent for a moment and then let out a deep, menacing sound. At first Naruto thought the sound the Fox growling at him, but the boy soon realized that it was actually chuckling, and soon the Fox slipped into full-out laughter. "You stupid little brat." The Fox declared once it finally stopped laughing at him. "You have no idea how easily I could crush you if the Fourth's seal wasn't protecting you. Still, you've got guts and I respect that,, and I suppose if I let you go on being so pathetic people might start to think I'm as weak as you are. Alright, you want my chakra, here it is; in fact, I'll even let you have some more any time you ask nicely enough. Just remember, you're nothing without my help, you worthless little whelp." A tide of dark reddish-orange chakra began to flow out from under the gate.
"Hey, I was kicking ass before I even knew you were here, you stupid old Fox." Naruto shot back moments before the chakra enveloped him. Whoa! This is way more than I used in that fight with Yugito! Now I'm definitely gonna kick Yagura's ass!
Yagura's water attacks had transformed the battlefield, changing a large portion of it from a bamboo forest to a massive lake. In many ways this alteratuib had weakened Yagura's forces further; the confusion within his already scattered and disorganized units had only become worse after the sudden change in terrain. Had it been another villages forces fighting the battle many of the ninja would have drowned, but Kiri shinobi were trained to master water walking much sooner than ninja from other villages. Even then, the unexpected tidal wave inflicted a modest number of casualties on both sides.
The losses Yagura's attack inflicted on his own men did not bother the Mizukage; anyone weak enough to die from such a simple attack was worthless as a tool anyway. It was the first and oldest rule of the shinobi world; the strong survive, and the weak perish. If a few weaklings had to be sacrificed to achieve victory then that was a price he was more than willing to pay. Yagura would protect his nation and the people of Kiri, no matter how high the cost might be.
Yagura could not recall the exact details of when he had grown so hard-hearted, or what had caused the sudden change in his outlook. Once he had been a kind ruler, gentle even by the standards of most shinobi. Perhaps the change had come after the Kaguya clan's attack; maybe seeing the blood-crazed clan try to butcher his people had convinced Yagura that he had been too soft before, that his enemies had mistaken his kindness for weakness. It made sense, but for some reason Yagura could never quite persuade himself that the attack was the real reason everything had changed.
Yagua certainly did not match the image anybody would have expected of the infamous blood-soaked tyrant of Bloodmist Village. He was short and slender, and his face looked far too smooth and youthful for his thirty-five years; more than one ignorant visitor had mistaken the Mizukage for a young genin. His simple black and green outfit hardly matched what most would expect a Kage to wear, and the hooked staff he wielded with deadly grace looked far too large for a person of his size and build to use. Zabuza was not the first ninja to judge Yagura by his appearance and think him weak and easily beaten, but every ninja who made that mistake inevitably regretted it.
The beautiful woman who strode confidently across the newly formed lake towards Yagura was not one of the people who had ever made that mistake. "Yagura." Mei called out. "You must listen to me; you are under the control of a genjutsu. You have to fight it, Yagura! I know you can break free!"
"Genjutsu?" Yagura scoffed. "You really expect me to believe that, Mei? I am a jinchuriki, genjutsu has no effect on me. The Three Tailed Turtle would instantly break any genjutsu within moments of somebody trying to place one upon me, even if I couldn't resist it on my own. If you were going to make up a lie to put me off guard, you could have at least come up with something remotely plausible."
"It is not a lie!" Mei insisted. "It is the truth! You are being controlled by someone else!"
"I think not." Yagura declared calmly. "Genjutsu has no effect upon me; you should have realized how pointless trying to frighten me with a mere illusion of the Nine Tailed Fox would be. I will not be fooled by your lies as your followers have been."
"I have not told anyone else what happened to you." Mei said quietly. "If they knew you were being controlled they would try to save you instead of fighting you. We tried to find a way to break the genjutsu – we tried so hard, but – but we can't; every effort, every attempt we've made to free you has failed, Yagura-sama." Mei's eyes hardened in resolve. "So be it then. I had to make one last effort to save you, to free you from this compulsion placed upon you, but – even if I cannot free you, I will not find a way to stop you. I will not let your madness continue any more; I cannot let hundreds of innocents die every year in the fading hope that one day I can find a way to spare your life and restore you to your senses. For the good of the people of Kiri, you must die Yagura-sama."
"You really believe your own lies, don't you Mei?" Yagura declared calmly. "The good of Kiri will be served on this day, for today I will finally put an end to the bloodline curse that has plagued our nation for so long. For so many years our people have lived in fear of those who wield the power of Kekkei Genkai; the Kaguya clan's rebellion killed so many, and now your own revolt has killed more. I respected you once, Mei, but now it is clear to me that Kekkei Genkai can drive even a good person to madness. Today, I will save Kiri, and destroy the bloodline curse once and for all!"
"Yoton: Lava Bullet Jutsu." Mei took a deep breath and spat several globs of lava at the Mizukage. I suppose I should have expected he would turn the battlefield into a lake; with several feet of water between me and the ground I cannot use many Earth jutsu, which would give me an advantage against a water user like Yagura. Still, my lava attacks mix fire and earth, so they should be more than a match for his water jutsu.
Yagura only needed a single hand seal to activate his own jutsu. "Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu" A huge mass of water rose from the lake and shaped itself into the form of a dragon, and with contemptuous ease batted the lava bullets aside. Mei unleashed a blast acidic mist with her Boil Kekkei Genkail the acid mist disrupted the water dragon and continued towards Yagura himself.
Mei was not about to give the Mizukage a chance to avoid her acid mist; the rebel leader quickly produced another jutsu. "Yoton: Demonic Melting Jutsu." Mei unleashed a wave of lava from her mouth, aiming it in a wide arc above Yagura so that the lava would come down on him from above while also striking behind and to each side of the Mizukage. Now he cannot try to jump over my acid mist or the lava will get him, and unless he is even faster than I remember him being the only way he can direction he can move in to dodge my lava attack would bring him straight into my acid mist.
When the lava struck the water it unleashed a wave of steam, and Mei lost sight of the Mizukage. The woman quickly leapt back from the area until she was clear of the sudden fogbank her attack had created, watching carefully for any sign of the Mizukage. It looked like my attack was a direct hit, but until I see his body with my own eyes I will not believe that Yagura is dead.
Mei's caution proved to be most prudent when the fog slowly cleared to reveal that a large turtle shell occupied the space where Yagura had been when her attack hit. After a few moments, the shell slowly folded in upon itself to reveal that Yagura had taken on an animalistic appearance and was covered in a cloak of chakra so thick it was solid black; three spiked chakra tails thrashed in the water behind the jinchuriki. Yagura's features were almost completely obscured by the cloak of thick black chakra, and all Mei could see of his face was the unnatural white glow emanating from his mouth and eyes.
"Mei." The Mizukage spoke, his normally gentle voice granted an unnatural timbre by the partial transformation. "You have no idea how long I've been looking forward to this moment. With your death and the end of your mad rebellion I will finally restore peace and prosperity to Kiri, and put an end to the bloodline curse once and for all."
Kurenai grimaced down at the battlefield; Yagura's forces were still in a state of chaos, and the efforts of Kakashi, Gai, and Zabuza ensured that any time the chain of command began to reestablish itself chaos returned to Yagura's ranks after the three lauched a precise and overwhelming attack on whatever commander had taken charge of the situaiton. However, while Yagura's forces were still disorganized and uncoordinated, their raw numbers were still more than enough to overwhelm the rebels if they managed to restore order to their ranks. The longer the fight between Mei and Yagura dragged out, the more time his army would have to recover from their initial shock, counter the genjutsu, and launch a devastating counter-attack.
Any further consideration of the tactical situation came to an abrupt end when Kurenai heard a string a foul curses burst out of the woods on the genjutsu team's flank. "Ow! Dammit! This really fucking hurts! Why the hell did I decide that it was a good idea to climb up this big damn hill when I've got a pair of busted knees? There were plenty of ninja who didn't get their knees melted off by a freaking lava blast, but no, I had to up and go on this little adventure in climbing up a steep incline instead of sending someone else. I swear, I'd switch sides, except then the rebels would probably make me climb back down this damn hill all over again!"
"Himura-san, take over the genjutsu." Kurenai ordered one of her subordinates. "By now you should know enough about what the Nine Tailed Fox looks like to be able to keep the illusion in working order for a while, and it sounds like we've got trouble to deal with." Kurenai left the three other genjutsu users behind, and rushed into the woods, looking for the cursing intruder. Judging from what she was saying she's one of Yagura's loyalists. One ninja is no threat to the four of us, but if I don't stop her she might distract the others from the genjutsu, and if the Fox illusion falls apart Yagura's forces will rally and the entire battle will be lost.
Kurenai came to a halt when she found the intruder, a woman in a simple black outfit with very short black hair and the unmarred headband of one of Yagura's loyal servants. The woman was limping slightly, and a mixture of pain and anger twisted her face. She doesn't even see me, this should be easy. Kurenai's hands flashed through a series of seals before the jonin announced. "Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death."
Kurenai's confident smile soon faded, replaced with confusion when the genjutsu seemed to have absolutely no effect on the woman. The intruder looked around and quickly located the Konoha jonin, then smirked. "So, guess you finally noticed me cursing up a storm, rebel. Nice try with the genjutsu, but it turns out that having my knees get so damaged not even a medical ninja could put them back together has a bit of an unexpected side benefit..."
"Of course." Kurenai hissed. "Physical pain is one of the best ways to disrupt a genjutsu."
"Yup." The loyalist agreed. "Should've thought about that sooner; I pretty much gave up on my ninja career once I got half-crippled. However, it turns out nobody can make a genjutsu stick to me, no matter how hard they try; I'm just in too much damn pain all the time for any illusions to work." The woman shrugged. "Looks like I've got a future as a ninja after all; even if I can barely stand to move, the fact that I can ignore even the highest-level genjutsu makes me a big asset. Plus, you genjutsu types are usually helpless against anyone who isn't affected by all your tricks, so even at my current level I should be able to take you down."
Kurenai's fingers dived into her pouch of ninja tools, and she sent several shuriken flying at the woman. I'm not sure what her skills are, but with all the time she's spent complaining about her knees I bet if I can force her to move around a lot she'll be out of the fight pretty quickly. Not being able to use genjutsu on her is a problem, though.
The intruder drew out a kunai, and batted the weapons aside with contemptuous ease. "Before I lost my knees I was one hell of a kunoichi, you know." The woman said conversationally. "I'd probably have made jonin by now, but when they're handing out promotions everyone just seems to skip over the chick with the creaky legs that can't stand up for five minutes without wanting to pass out." With a shrug the woman added. "By the way, I never introduced myself, did I?" Casually pointing her kunai at her own chest, the woman said. "My name's Saki Kato, who the hell are you?"
Kurenai shifted position and unleashed another barrage of shuriken, testing the woman's movements and reaction time. She's probably exaggerating when she talks about just how hindered she is by her injuries, she wouldn't still be an active-duty ninja or out on the battlefield if she was completely incapable of performing the basic tasks expected of any kunoichi. Once I have a good idea what her capabilities are I'll be able to work out the best way to beat her.
"So," Saki continued, not even interrupting her conversation as she once more deflected Kurenai's thrown weapons with ease. "Guess you're not the talkative type, are you? Not even gonna give me your name?" When Kurenai did not answer after a few moments, Saki continued talking. "Anyway, all this crap started when I have a run with the jinchuriki you guys have on your side. Where the hell is he anyway?" When Kurenai ignored the question in favor of launching another set of shuriken at the loyalist, Saki continued her stream of conversation while deflecting the thrown weapons with casual ease. "Anyway, I decided to embellish my encounter with him a bit, because it really wasn't all that exciting. Then, next thing I know I'm some kind of war hero since I survived a run-in with the Nine Tails, and then I end up getting dragged along with the field army instead of being left of garrison duty like I was supposed to be. Now, at first I thought this was a complete disaster, but then when you guys pulled your genjutsu trick and it didn't work on me, I realized that if I could take the lot of you out then I'd clench my position as a valuable asset to Kiri. Then maybe Yagura'll decide it's worth looking around for a medic who's good enough to fix my damn knees up properly, and I can finally get back to having a decent ninja career."
Kurenai began performing the hand seals for another genjutsu, and Saki scoffed. "I already told you, genjutsu won't work on–" Saki's cut her own statement off when Kurenai suddenly stopped performing seals and rushed forward in a charge, catching the other woman off guard. Shit, she's as fast as I was in my prime! Before Saki's damaged legs could even begin shifting to a defensive position, Kurenai closed in on her and slammed a side kick right into the woman's right knee. "Fuck!" Saki shrieked, dropping to the ground and clutching her knee, her eyes involuntarily tearing up from the pain.
"Let me give you two pieces of advice." Kurenai said calmly. "First, never underestimate an opponent; I might be a genjutsu specialist, but I'm also quite skilled with taijutsu and when I need to I can move very fast, as you no doubt just noticed. Second, in the future you probably shouldn't give long, rambling speeches about how much you're knees hurt and how vulnerable they are, because then someone might just decide to hit you there."
"I'll keep those things in mind." Saki groaned. "Hey, you rebels got a policy on surrendering? I mean, I'm pretty sure I've lost the fight by this point, and I'm really not all that keen on the whole concept of dying."
Before Kurenai could answer the woman's question her carefully honed instincts began screaming of danger, and massive wave of malevolent chakra swept through the area. That chakra – it feels exactly like when the Fox attacked Konoha twelve years ago, and it came from right where I left Naruto! Kurenai watched in horror as the orange-clad boy, cloaked in the chakra of the Nine Tailed Fox, burst out from the bamboo forest, rushing with impossible speed towards the lake where Yagura and Mei were locked in battle. He's moving so fast, I don't think I could catch up with him in time, and I've still got to secure this prisoner. Besides, I don't know how long the others can keep the genjutsu up without me, and if the genjutsu fails we'll lose the battle for sure. Kakashi, Gai, I hope you can take care of Naruto, because there's nothing I can do.
"Yagura! Where the hell are you, you bastard!" Naruto shouted, barreling through the bamboo forest and out onto the newly-formed lake that dominated the battlefield. Ninja on both sides halted their engagements to stare in shock at the boy, clad in a bubbling cloak of orange chakra, with three fully-formed tails lashing behind it. "Yagura!" The boy roared once more, searching madly for his target.
It was a struggle for Naruto to think of anything beyond his burning hatred for his fellow jinchuriki. That bastard murdered thousands of innocent people for no reason at all! It's guys like Yagura that make people hate all jinchuriki; if people like him weren't around the rest of us wouldn't have it so bad! I'll make him pay for everything he's done! For all the innocent lives, all the suffering, everything! Naruto's rage found a physical expression as the boy spotted a nearby group of Yagura's shinobi and the jinchuriki lashed out at them, extending arms of pure chakra to claw at the ninja. Naruto's speed and unexpected range of his attack caught the squad of chunin off guard, and before they could even try to dodge the attack Nartuo's chakra claws ripped the life from them.
Then the jinchuriki saw what he knew must be his quarry, and with a sudden leap Naruto veritably flew across the battlefield, sailing over another squad of loyalists engaged in battle with a pair of cloaked and masked figures. Had the boy been in his right mind, he would have recognized the two men as Gai and Kakashi. The two jonin watched the boy's flight in horrified fascination, and then quickly dispatched their opponents before rushing after the wayward jinchuriki.
Naruto landed dozens of meters away from his target, but sheer momentum caused the chakra-cloaked boy to slide along the surface of the water until he came to a halt at Mei's side. The woman instinctively recoiled from the boy's demonic chakra aura, staring in shock at the virtually unrecognizable jinchuriki. The subtle, whisker-like markings on his face had become thick black lines, his canines had elongated into vicious fangs, and his eyes had become blood red with slit, bestial pupils. "N – Naruto-kun?" Mei asked uncertainly.
"Yagura!" The boy shouted, causing the very air around him to ripple with unleashed chakra. Mei quickly jumped clear of the boy; she wasn't sure how much control he had over himself in his current state, but years of carefully honed ninja instincts were screaming at her to get away from his malevolent chakra aura.
"Ah, you must be the famous Naruto Uzumaki." Yagura said conversationally, his own, thick black chakra cloak still in place. "I was wondering when you would finally show yourself. I must confess, I am – disappointed. I expected the boy who would dare to challenge me would have enough control to not be almost completely taken over when controlling a mere pittance of his beast's power. You haven't even managed to move past the initial cloak version yet, and you're barely more than a wild beast."
"Yagura!" The Fox jinchuriki roared once more, too far gone to care about the more experienced demon host's words. "I'm going to kill you! You'll pay for what you've done!"
"Many have said that, and none of them beat me." Yagura shot back. The Mizukage lifted a hand and confidently beckoned the boy to come towards him. "Well, Uzumaki, let's see if you're any better than the others were."
A/N: And it is time for the big fight everybody has been anticipating since the start of this arc: Naruto vs. Yagura. Without giving away too much, I think that the finish I've got in mind for this battle should be quite nice.