NARUTO
Nox Noctis Ingredior
Meet the Enemy
The next morning…
The sun rose up over the mountains, the orange haze and clouds' drifting over the sky was like the eye of Kami itself was opening to the waking world. The singing of birds and the warm, welcoming arms of the rays of sunshine was the perfect cup of coffee for the people living in the surrounding lands.
Everyone was up and about once more, packing up their tents and sleeping bags, and getting ready to move out. A lot of the Genin, especially Sasuke, Shino, Shikamaru and Kiba didn't really need to prepare themselves for the journey since they had slept mostly in their present attire, and along with Kakashi and Asuma, helped pack up the camping gear and turning them over to their designated backpacks. It took just that much longer for the girls to get ready, fixing up their hair, adjusting their uniforms correctly, the usual for a more comfortable journey. The boys didn't care much for appearances and just got ready the old-fashion way; unkempt and untidy.
In the end, the only tent that was left set up was Naruto's tent, where Sakura and Hinata had spent the night, along with their extra company. Anko, who was not much of a morning person herself, had taken the liberty of spending the extra half-an-hour given to brush her teeth, have a cup of coffee, slip into her ninja outfit, and in her semi-conscious state, get dressed. Everyone was careful not to tread on the still sleeping girl Naruto had picked up as they entered and exited the tent.
Once everything was packed, the group gathered around the last tent standing, where they watched Sakura and Hinata try to gently wake the girl on the futon and under the sheets up. They didn't crowd around as much, so instead took up a mere scattered audience forming a semi-circle around the epicenter of focus. Kakashi and Kurenai stood by the Jiao, watching over the client, and at the same time overlooking the commotion that was focused on the girl snuggled up in the sheets of Team 7's tent.
Naruto managed to get past to the front, and knelt down beside Sakura, Hinata and the girl they have, up to this point, unsuccessfully have tried to wake up. The blonde haired Genin looked up at Hinata.
"How is she?"
"She seems to be doing alright," Hinata replied in her usual, soft spoken voice. "Her wounds have recovered remarkably fast, and she seems to be responding well to her new conditions."
"I'm guessing it's the first time she's slept on a real futon in a long-long time," Sakura continued, smiling up at her male teammate. "You must have some really good mattresses Naruto…"
Naruto smiled and shrugged. "I just get what I think feels the best…"
"So Naruto!" Kiba exclaimed from where he stood, arms folded over his chest and Akamaru perched happily on top of his owner's head. "What else was so special about this girl that you decided to save her?"
The recipient of this question glanced up at Kiba with a more hardened expression then usual, and replied in earnest. "Firstly, I would have saved her even without that viable reason… it was the right thing to do, and I couldn't just leave her in there…" He looked back down at the girl and placed his knuckles gently against her cheek, and rubbed it soothingly, causing the girl to stir. "Secondly, this girl possesses a legendary doejutsu…"
"Really?" Shikamaru asked.
"Which one is it, Naruto-kun?" Ino asked, this new topic also catching the attention of Sasuke, Kakashi and those others who were more into the waiting and watching than the anticipation of a special technique.
"Is it a Sharingan or a Byakugan?" Shikamaru asked, letting out a sigh. "Just what we need… what a bother…"
"No…" Naruto said, glaring up at the group seriously. "She possesses the Rinnegan…"
There was a moment of silence that carpeted over the surrounding group, as everyone attempted to process this new information. When it eventually settled over everyone, Kakashi was on his feet, and the Jonin standing around were in reasonable shock, including Anko.
"What?!" Kakashi said loudly.
"A Rinnegan barer?" Asuma added. "That's impossible…"
Kiba snickered. "You sure you weren't hallucinating or something Naruto? Maybe you were just dizzy from all the carrying you did with the Jiao…"
"It was no hallucination…" Naruto said, looking round at his two teammates to see them staring at him in shock. He gave them a look of pure honesty and seriousness, and they knew immediately from just looking into his eyes that he was telling the truth. Sakura and Hinata nodded their heads at him and they looked down at the girl as she began to wake.
Everyone present held there breath and even edged in closer, leaning in anticipation for the girl's eyes to open. They did, fluttering open to meet the morning rays of sunlight, and give off their shiny glow. The tint of purple, surrounded by the black ripples made a Choji, Shikamaru and Hinata back off slightly at the sight of them, and awed the rest of the group. Kurenai and Anko blinked in surprise when they saw the rings in the eyes, and its distinctive, definite features. Though her eyes were half-lidded, everyone could see them, and Naruto smiled when he saw the girl look in his direction.
He grinned at her and gently ran his hand over her cheek. "Hey… morning sleepy-head…"
The girl blinked when she recognized the hazy outline of the boy who had carried her out of the stocks. She knew who he was immediately, and in response, smiled. She then slowly glanced around to her other side, and immediately when she saw the numerous other, unrecognizable faces looking at her. Her response to this sight was also highly instinctive.
The reaction was instant. The young girl let out a gasp of surprise and, scurrying out of her sheets, immediately leapt at the boy she knew saved her and hugged him to her, burying her face and hiding herself from view. It shocked Naruto and everyone else, and the blonde couldn't help but grin nervously at what had just happened.
The girl holding onto him for dear life scooted around him, while still hugging him tightly, and moved as best out of sight of the other strangers standing around. Naruto didn't know exactly how to respond to this, but eventually came to his senses of what was happening, and opted upon them. However, because she was literally behind him, he couldn't do anything but try to get her back around him.
Ino smiled and, getting on her hands and knees, crawled over to get a better look at her. "Aww… she really is adorable!"
"She's also really shy," Kiba exclaimed, glancing round at Hinata Hyuuga. "Kind of reminds me of somebody…"
Hinata developed a tick mark and she glared at Kiba. "Watch it, Kiba-kun," she growled in a surprisingly threatening voice, making Shikamaru, Kiba and everyone else look at her and blink, even Sasuke, who had recognized Hinata as the quiet, sensitive type of person from the academy days. "Don't push your luck…"
"Yikes," Kurenai thought, glancing round at Anko who was smiling proudly at herself. "Perhaps hanging out with Anko and strong friends has given her some back-bone. I bet Hiashi Hyuuga would be proud of her…"
"She sure is a cute little-one," Asuma exclaimed, stepping forward and crouching in front of Naruto, Ino and the girl hiding behind the young male who saved her. "What's your name, missy?" the Jonin asked the girl.
She peered around from Naruto, up at the smiling bunch of people. Blinking curiously, she glanced up at her protector and savior, who smiled down at her kindly.
"Go on… what's your name?" he asked.
The girl smiled at him, blushing under his kind gaze and sparkling eyes. Her own Rinnegan eyes glimmered under Naruto's. "M-My name is… H-Haru…"
"Haru?" Naruto said with a smile.
"That's a lovely name," Sakura said, peering into the tent and smiling at the group. "Little Haru."
"I'm Naruto," the blonde introduced himself, thumbing himself in the chest in emphasis, before directing the young girl's attention to the rest of the gang. "This is Ino… the girl next to me, and Sakura standing in front of you. The big guy is Asuma…"
The girl looked from person to person to who Naruto gestured towards. Their names burning into her mind, Haru continued to follow the boy's directive hand-gestures, and came to memorize each and every person standing around the tent.
"That one wearing the grey, fur jumper is Kiba, and that's his dog, Akamaru. And next to him, the orange haired guy, that's Choji," Naruto said with a smile, before turning to the others. "The one with the pineapple shaped hair-style is Shikamaru, the purple haired girl is Hinata, and the two smile-less ones are Shino, the guy with the glasses, and Sasuke…" Shino's sunnies flashed at this remark, whereas Sasuke just grunted and looked away disinterested. "The silver-haired guy there is Kakashi, the red-eyed woman is Kurenai and the other lady over there, my sensei, is Anko!"
"Yo!" the woman exclaimed with a grin. Haru ducked further behind Naruto at the sight of the woman, which made her sweat-drop in surprise. She looked over at Kurenai. "Am I really that terrifying?"
"What? No, no, no… no-no-no…" her friend exclaimed nervously. The look on Anko's face, however, told the raven haired woman to either 'spill it' or 'I'll make you'. The young Jonin shrugged. "Well… maybe a little…"
"Uh-huh! Sure! Whatever," Anko said with a groan, glancing round to her right aimlessly. "That's what I get for being so nice…"
"Says you!" Naruto called over. "You sent a Cobra once every two weeks to me and shoved it into my mail-box, and set it to grow to the size of a building and attack me the moment I went to collect my bills!"
"But Sheila misses you so much," Anko called back. "I'll arrange another play date for you two; it'll be good for your relationships with my summons!"
"Hey… w-what… no!"
Kiba could help but burst out laughing, along with Choji, whereas Sakura, Hinata and Ino fell into a fit of giggles. Another set of giggles joined them and Naruto looked down at the little Rinnegan girl still hiding behind him. She smiled up at the blonde and smiled at him lovingly.
"Naruto-kun is funny!" she exclaimed, earning a surprised blink then a small smile from the boy. He ruffled her hair, earning a smile and a light blush from the girl before Naruto turned his attention towards the others.
"We'd better get going now… we're a bit behind schedule…" Naruto said, rising to his feet, bringing the little girl with him. He smiled as she perched on his back, and she smiled back at him in kind, everyone following the young man's lead and getting ready to head off. "I'll help with the final preparations…" With that in mind, Naruto slapped his hands together into an all too familiar hand-sign, and with a grin, puffs of smoke shot up outside the tent. "Shadow Clone Jutsu…"
Naruto's physical copies then went about, collecting everybody's bags and handing each of them to their respective recipients, before moving to, and packing away the remaining collapsible tent. Once it was packed, and everyone was carrying their weight, under Anko's instructions, formed into their convoy once again, this time with the three girls and a Naruto clone to carry the Jiao, while the rest of them formed a protective circle around their charge-of-charge. Within minutes, the group set off once more, in perfect formation.
Some time later…
"Ah, stupid mosquitoes!" Anko grumbled, slapping the side of her neck, before looking at the mashed remains in her hand of the once, rather large bug that had dried to drink her blood. She winced at the sight and wiped the excess blood and bug entrails on her jacket. "Why do they find me so appetizing?"
"Oh, maybe it's because you keep eating dango like it was a prescribed medicine," Kurenai exclaimed cheekily, giving her friend a grin. Anko glared at her.
"Well, excuse me miss 'I know my insect biology so well', but why aren't you being eaten alive by these little mongrels?!" the woman growled, slapping her neck again as another mosquito decided to have a go at her.
Kurenai shrugged, before thumbing over at Shino. "Ask Kakashi's student over there, he should know a thing or two about bugs. He is, after all, from the Aburame family…"
"Well shades? How do I get them to stop pestering me?"
Shino's eyes flashed at her remark about his sunglasses, and for a fact that he hadn't heard that nickname in a while. The boy simply lowered his head and, with an emotionless expression, shrugged. "Say please…"
Anko shot him a look. "Say that again…"
It took all of those around the convoy with a sense of humor to not burst out laughing, these being Naruto, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, Choji and even Asuma. The real Naruto, who was carrying his little passenger on his back, had to bite his bottom lip to stop laughing, while the girl just looked curiously down at the boy at his strange expression. Kiba literally had to stick his hand into his mouth, Choji pretended to choke on a mouthful of Kettle chips, Sakura and Ino just giggled lightly to vent out combustion, and Asuma pretended to cough on his cigarette.
"Mosquitoes, in this case, are usually attracted to the sugar in the blood. They can smell it wafting off of your body," Shino explained, not at all worrying about the threatening glare Anko was giving him from the head of the convoy. "I recommend some deodorant, or, unless it is purely a medical concern, consult your personal doctor…"
"Can't you tell them to buzz off?" Anko grumbled, swatting at another one that landed on his lower arm.
"I would, but they've got issues when you swat their brothers and sisters," Shino stated.
"ALRIGHT! THAT'S IT!" Anko growled, pulling out a dozen or so senbon needles and beginning to throw them at individual insects one after another, managed to cap a few while the rest of the needles thrown flew off into the forest surrounding the path they were following. The convoy had to stop for a bit while Anko furiously lashed out at the attacking insects. It was a pretty amusing sight from the group's point of view as Anko danced around, attacking millimeter sized insects one after another.
Ino leaned over to whisper to Sakura holding the other end of the Jiao up. "Should we try and calm her down?"
"I wouldn't recommend it. Better not risk your life for something so tedious," Sakura replied.
"Does your sensei always act like this," Shikamaru also asked, having leaned into the conversation at the awkward sight in front of them.
"Well… yes and no. She's usually more sadistic then this…" the pink haired Genin replied.
"Mmm… this is getting kind of interesting," Choji exclaimed, at the same time continuing to gorge on his packet of Kettles. He smiled over at Sasuke, who was accompanying him around the back, where they could get a full view of the commotion at the head of the convoy. "Who do you think will win…mmm? Mosquitoes… or the crazy Jonin?"
Sasuke glanced at him strangely, raising an eyebrow.
After Anko calmed down, the group kept on moving. It was after a few more minutes the convoy was in motion did everyone else begin to feel the sting of mosquitoes. The deeper they went down this trek, the more mosquitoes showed up, and soon, almost everyone was slapping at their bare skin vigorously, in an almost rhythmic fashion to rid themselves of the flying parasites. Naruto had to blow them off of him, since his hands were preoccupied with securing the girl on his shoulders. Although, Haru was fairing much better, as she was able to wave the swarms of pests away. She cutely groaned and murmured as she swatted the mosquitoes away. Naruto's clone, however, faired even less against he insects. Everyone was getting eaten alive…
"Hey! Are we getting closer to a swamp, or a lake, or something?" Ino asked, slapping the back of her neck.
"These guys are beginning to be a real bother!" Shikamaru grumbled, waving his hand ahead of him lazily. "How troublesome…"
"Seriously, Shino… do something about these friends of yours, would you?" Kiba asked, waving away a cloud of mosquitoes that suddenly flew in front of him, Akamaru taking a snap at them, which parted funnily around his muzzle.
"Fine…" Shino mumbled. Slapping his hands together, he formed a series of hand signs. Then, as if he had just performed a Wind Release Jutsu, the cloud of mosquitoes dispersed outwards from Shino's center, and soon the air was clear, and the group was safe from further onslaughts. Everyone sighed in relief, especially those who had been bitten worst.
"Bout time," Choji groaned.
"Yeah…" Sakura said, scratching at one of the many red marks on her upper arms.
"Don't scratch your wounds," Hinata stated. "T-They'll become infected if you d-do that…" The purple haired girl cautioned all of them, rubbing some special lotion she had designed over her skin. "T-The wounds are quite serious. Apply this lotion to them, they will disinfect them…"
The girl walked over to her friends and gave them each some, to which they gratefully accepted. Naruto was relieved when Hinata came up to him, and with a big blush on her face, applied the lotion on his face and exposed skin, to which she then gave it to little Haru. Everyone paused for a moment as Hinata moved from person to person, giving them the lotion, although those who were reluctant to receive it were Sasuke, Kakashi and Choji. When she went up to Anko, everyone got quite a shock when she turned around, and with a glare etched on her face, showed them her puffy face and swollen skin.
"Please… it… burns!" Anko groaned, shoulders and body slumped forward, and tears welling in her eyes. Hinata smiled, and carefully applied it. However, the moment her cream soaked fingertips made contact with Anko's skin, the purple haired woman let out a howl, and clutched the side of her face in agony. "AAAARRRGGGHHH!!! IT BURNS!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Hinata exclaimed. "Here, let me put some more on you, sensei!"
"NO! KEEP THAT STUFF AWAY FROM ME!" Anko cried! "What the heck is that? ACID!"
And yet, another commotion shot up in front of the convoy between Anko and another typical issue, to which everyone watched with odd expressions to see how it will unfold and resolve. Kakashi, getting bored easily, pulled out his book and started reading, while Choji shared popcorn with Kiba and Shino, who surprisingly, also took some. Sasuke just raised an eyebrow with his hands in his pockets, with Naruto standing beside him with Haru perking up more on his shoulders to get a better look.
With some help from Asuma and Kurenai, Anko was eventually calmed down, and once again, the group was on the move. No complaints were heard from inside the Jiao from the priestess as of now, and the group could walk on without a fuss from bugs, birds or any other fauna of the forest.
Speaking of which, as they journeyed on down the path, the forest began to break up, and soon, beyond the tree lines, hills of fields could be seen, along with cliff mountains, and amazingly enough, bamboo forests. The Genin teams looked around, awing at their developing new surroundings, whereas the Jonin just scanned the area. Eventually, the path came winding past a really big lake, stretching for a mile or so, before ending at a wall of cliffs and trees, with a huge waterfall careering down into the lake, filling it up. The Genin and their Jonin teachers paused for a brief moment, admiring and analyzing the sight.
Upon closer inspection, the Jonin saw that rivers branched out from the lake, small streams flowing into the surrounding forests and fields. Kurenai made note of this and pointed it out.
"Look… rivers… adjacent to the route we've been traveling," Kurenai said.
"Well that explains the mosquitoes," Asuma stated, placing his fists on his hips. "But it still doesn't explain why those mosquitoes were so aggressive…"
"I can't explain it either," Shino murmured, looking back down the path they had previously walked down. "Streams that small can't host that many mosquitoes, especially in a forest like this. Atmospheric temperature isn't right for them, and certainly lack of food doesn't explain it either…"
Naruto looked towards the lake. "Do they usually travel far from lakes like this?"
"Rarely," Shino stated. "Mosquitoes need a stable environment, the best is still water, to breed and lay their eggs. Shallow water is also most preferable…"
"Well, there you have it!" Ino exclaimed, waving a hand towards the lake. The Genin had set down the large Jiao, so they were able to scout the area with their eyes, and of course to rest their shoulders from the journey, "The wide expanses of water, the shallow shores and the still surface of the lake! It's the perfect nest area for parasites!"
"Not to mention there were so many of them," Sakura groaned, rubbing the back of her neck.
"It's like a plague of them has decided to appear or something," Sasuke added, folding his arms. "Guess we were the perfect targets for the biters…"
It was at these words that something clicked in Naruto's head, and upon the shock of this realization lowered Haru off of his shoulders and put him in the care of Sakura and Hinata. The two girls looked up at Naruto as his attention glanced around at the surrounding tree lines.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"Is something the matter?" Hinata continued.
"We're being watched… stay on guard…" the blonde whispered, getting to his feet and flicking his right-hand wrist, the hidden blade appearing instantaneously with a flash of silver.
"Never mind them now," Anko said, turning back to the group. "We don't have much further to go. Just one more mile, and we've reached the village. We can discuss our bug problems once we've settled into a nice hotel." The woman turned, grumbling to herself as she walked on, the rest of the pack readying the convoy to depart. "I'm sick and tired of resting out on open gravel…"
"Wait!" Naruto called out, causing his sensei to pause and turn around. Everyone else directed their attention towards the young male, who was now standing outside of the group's safety circle and scanning the whole area around him
"What is it, Naruto?" Asuma asked, unaware of the scanning look Kakashi was also giving the area. It clicked with the silver-haired Jonin of Naruto's mood, and he too picked up something in the air.
"What's that smell?" the Jonin thought, glancing around towards the lake. "This scent is rather familiar… but…" His head spun around towards the tree line, along with Naruto's eyes. Unhindered and focused, the pair glared up into the treetops, their direction of eyes also catching the attention of Anko, Kurenai and Asuma, the three of them becoming more aware of their surroundings. "Of course, it makes sense…"
"Mosquitoes amass near water for sure, but the ones that attacked us were much more aggressive than normal ones because they were being commanded by their element," Naruto thought. He flicked his right wrist again, his blade disappearing and being replaced by three shuriken stars. "Someone with a strong water nature can definitely have an influence over the creatures that depend on it. With that level of skill… and that scent…"
Anko grinned, glancing up into the tree behind the Jiao and the convoy. The large tree stood directly beside the lake, and was the perfect vantage point for an attack.
"You can come on out!"
Naruto took action immediately, and threw the cluster of shuriken he held into the tree behind the Genin. They shot out of sight in a blink of an eye into the leaves, slicing into the branches, and causing the figure hiding within the tree to make himself known. A shadow leapt out of the trees to avoid damage from the shuriken, and performing a flip over the convoy below, landed beside the lake with a clang of metal and a thud.
In front of the large group of ninjas, a large zangetsu sword (about the size of Cloud's Buster Sword), impaled itself into the ground tip first, and on top of the handle, sitting expertly upon the pommel was a short figure. About a foot or so higher than Sasuke, the figure wore blue, baggy pants with a camouflage pattern, with metal leg guards, and black sandals. Above that, she wore a utility belt, covered by a blue jacket wrapped around her waist. Above her waist, she wore but a blue tank-top, giving a perfect view of her slender upper-body and mid-drift. The young woman also had red, spiky hair, tied up by a headband, symbolizing the Village Hidden in the Mist, with a gash across its surface. The woman also had blood-red, beautiful eyes, but the right had a black eye-patch covering it.
The figure smirked at the traveling group, flicking her wrist as she watched the Jonin and Genin size her up, and look her over.
"Well, well, well… what do we have here," the young swordswoman sneered. "Here I was, on my way to the market to pick up some groceries, and I run into a bunch of kids and a sizable carriage occupied by a passenger of royalty… hmm…"
Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Anko sneered, immediately recognizing the young, teenage girl blocking their way. Naruto was also glaring, while the rest of the Genin, accept Sasuke and Shino, were looking at the young warrior with doubtful and curious expressions, unaware of the danger that had just arrived on the scene. Haru, who was standing beside Sakura, hid behind the pink-haired kunoichi at the sight of the new figure.
"He-he… if I capture the priestess, her village and Konohagakure will pay a lot to get her back…"
"Who the hell is this, bitch?" Ino asked.
"Another troublesome bother…" Shikamaru groaned. "First mosquitoes, now girls… what's next?"
"If it isn't Ryoko Takahashi, rouge ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist," Anko exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "You know… you're quite young for a missing Nin…"
The young girl chuckled and glared at the lot of them. "So… you know my name… I am honored," she said, before checking out each of the four Jonin standing in front of her. "And it truly is an honor to be recognized by four of the greatest ninja of Konohagakure. Anko Mitarashi, the Snake User of Konoha and one of its best interrogators. Kakashi Hatake…" she looked towards the silver-haired Jonin, "The Copy Ninja, and wielder of the Sharingan eye! Asuma Sarutobi, former member of Twelve Guardian Ninja. And Kurenai Yuhi, Konoha's best Genjutsu specialist…"
"You've been studying up on us," Kakashi said, pulling his hands out of his pockets and stepping forward from the defensive formation the four Jonin had taken up on sight of this new foe. "That means you've been watching us for quite some time…"
"A great ninja will always carefully study up his or her opponents before moving in on there targets…" the ninja Ryoko exclaimed, before leering at the group. "Odds are, I can wipe the floor with all of you, and your little brats, right here and now…"
"Brats?" Sakura growled, eye twitching.
"She's just a kid herself," Choji said. "Why is she calling us kids when she's not even eighteen years old?"
"I'd say she's about… sixteen or something," Kiba said, before a lecherous grin appear on his lips. "But she is quite attractive… look at that body!" Akamaru groaned at this statement and shook his head, while Hinata, Ino and Sakura turned their glares on the drooling boy.
"One problem though," Kurenai stated towards the red-haired swordswoman, "You've lost your element of surprise, which means you're going to have a hell of a hard time bringing down four Jonin."
"It was pretty stupid of you making your presence known before attacking us," Asuma also added. "It seems that the tables have turned in our favor…"
"I'll take her out," Kakashi said, stepping forward and reaching up to his headband. "If info on this one is correct, she should be a piece of cake to defeat…"
Ryoko smirked at the silver haired Jonin as he stepped forward further, the other Jonin behind him taking cautious stances.
"Don't do anything reckless, Kakashi," Asuma warned. "She may be a kid, but she looks strong…"
"You don't need to worry about anything, Asuma," Kakashi replied, slipping his head-band up to cover his forehead completely, and revealing his scarred eye. When he opened it, he revealed his blazing red Sharingan, the tomos circling the pupil spinning in preparation. "I'm pretty confident in my abilities to defeat this opponent." Sasuke and most of the Genin behind the four Jonin spotted the silver-haired Jonin's secret device when he glanced behind him and winked at the groups watching. "There's no need for concern, guys…"
"W-What's that?" Sakura asked.
"I-Is that… the Sharingan?" Hinata spoke up, blinking in surprise.
"It can't be…" Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, and looked back at his sensei to see if he wasn't dreaming. "I thought the Uchiha clan was the only clan that possessed the Sharingan… how did Kakashi-sensei…"
Just as Kakashi was readying himself for a fight, a blonde blur shot in front of the Jonin, and when the cloud of dust dissipated, it revealed the spiky haired Naruto standing there, face-to-face with the red-head swordswoman. Everyone in the vicinity blinked in surprise at the blonde's appearance, even Ryoko, as the two of them exchanged glares.
"I'll fight her…" Naruto stated.
TO BE CONTINUED…