Well, here we are again. I got some reviews commenting on how this story focuses on fights. I'd just like to say I don't think I do, I just haven't gotten that far into the story yet. Later on, the periods of time between fights will get longer and longer.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"All right, I think we lost them." Jiraiya said with a sigh as he peered down through the dense foliage of the tree he and his students were hiding in. They'd been chased deep into the forest beyond that town of thieves and outlaws the Sannin had so foolishly ventured into. Eventually, they managed to put enough distance between themselves and their pursuers that they were out of their line of sight. To their good fortune, they'd found of fork in the road and, away from the eyes of the thugs on their tails, took to the trees and bolted away from the path.
If the trio's luck held, the thugs would believe that they'd simply taken the wrong path and return to their boss in failure.
"Yeah, no thanks to you Pervy Sage." Naruto commented, crossing his arms as he glared at the man from his place on a branch across from him, the unconscious kunoichi now bound by her wrists, ankles and shins beside him. Needless to say, she wasn't going anywhere.
"Somehow, 'I told you so' doesn't quite cut it." Fuu said, her brow furrowed as she stared at her sensei from a lower branch, resting her palm on the trunk of the tree as she leaned against it.
"All right, all right." Jiraiya commented, raising his hands in defeat. "I get it, my mistake. So, who is the girl anyway?"
Turning to their unconscious captive, Naruto answered, "Beats the heck out of me. She just attacked us out of nowhere. At first, we thought she was one of Orochimaru's goons, but now I'm not so sure. Either way, she attacked us, and she's probably from this country so she might know something."
Jiraiya leaned back and gave a smug grin. "Well, looks like our little sojourn to that den of debauchery wasn't a complete waste of time after all. We might just have found exactly what we needed. I knew everything would turn out all right in the end."
Fuu scoffed, her orange eyes looking to the side. "Yeah, I'm sure this exactly what you had in mind, Ero-sensei."
Jiraiya froze, his eyes widening almost comically as his face turned into a mask of shock. "WHAT!?" He promptly vanished, reappearing at Naruto's side so quickly one would think he must have used a body flicker and bonking his student over the head, causing him to let out a yelp and grip his slightly sore noggin. "Damn it, brat! Look what you did!" He yelled, pointing at the mint haired kunoichi. "It's bad enough that you don't show me an ounce respect, now you've got her in on it too!"
"He's got nothing to do with it." Fuu stated with her eyes closed, drawing their attention before looking at her sensei. "Ero-sensei, over the past few days, I've seen you spy on every hot spring and public bathhouse you could find, get beaten up by a horde of women you peeped on, try to mooch off your own students and walk into an obvious den of thieves, fall for an obvious trap and get us chased halfway to the border. While I still look up to you and trust you as my sensei, you've lost a lot of my respect. And since that name suits you so well, that's what I'll call you from now on."
Upon hearing Fuu's reasoning, Jiraiya froze into stone.
No, really. He literally froze into stone. His body turned ash gray and hardened like granite while his mouth was hanging wide open in shock along with his eyes. Small cracks formed along his body as thunder rumbled in the distance.
Which was really strange because there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
Naruto poked at his sensei's cheeks, rolling his eyes at the man. "Don't be such a drama queen, you old perv. You had to know this was going to happen eventually."
"Let's just leave him for now," Fuu said, stepping away from the tree trunk. "We can find some place to hide out while Ero-sensei recovers."
A groan escaped from the masked kunoichi as she slowly returned to the waking world. Her brown eyes fluttered open as her vision began to return to her, hazy at first before slowly clearing up. She was lying on her back, staring up at a wooden ceiling.
How strange… she could have sworn she was outside last she knew… Yes, slowly but surely it was all coming back to her. She remembered looking through the forests for any sign of Orochimaru's followers… then she saw two shinobi she didn't recognize and guessed that, if they were there, then they must be that snake's subordinates. So she'd attacked and then…
With a gasp, she sat up, and suddenly realized that her arms and legs were tightly bound with rope. Try as she might, she couldn't move her limbs. She'd been captured.
'Damn it… did I screw up again?' She asked herself in despair, hopelessness showing in her brown pools.
"Well, well, looks like our pal woke up." Her eyes widened as a man's voice reached her ears. She twisted her body to look in the direction of the voice and saw Jiraiya, Naruto and Fuu watching her, the blond sitting cross legged against a wall, Fuu leaning with her back pressed against the wall across from him and Jiraiya standing before the entrance, his head tilted to the side and his hand on his hip as he regarded the girl.
She sent a hostile glare at her captors and made no further sound. If they were servants of Orochimaru, she wasn't going to give them anything, no matter what they did to her.
"All right, who the hell are you and why'd you attack us out of nowhere? Are you a shinobi of Oto?" Naruto asked, frowning back at the girl, who remained silent. He hadn't really expected her to answer anyway.
"All right, all right, settle down. Let me handle this one." Jiraiya said stepping towards her.
Fuu turned her head to look at her fellow Jinchuriki and pointed at the Sannin. "You really think we can trust him to handle this?"
Naruto cupped his chin, his ocean blue orbs looking to the ceiling as he replied, "I know what you mean…"
"Hey!" Jiraiya whirled on his students, his expression twisted in slight anger. "What's with that skepticism? You two know I'm one of the top spymasters in the world! How can you think I'd have any trouble here?"
"It's not that." Naruto replied with a shrug. "It's just that she's a girl and she can't really fight back so…"
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and blinked as his mind tried to work out what his student meant as the orange haired girl's eyes widened in shock and fear, darting from the blond to the Sannin. Suddenly, the answer came to him and, with a furious twist of his features, he shot over and bonked his student upside the head "What the hell!? Of all the things you could have… you think that's all I ever think about!?"
"Yeah, because you've proven how much of a stand up, chivalrous guy you are when it comes to women, Ero-sensei." Fuu stated, giving him a blank stare.
Jiraiya looked back and forth between his students, his eyes pure white orbs as his mind struggled to comprehend this picture that had formed in their minds. "Ok, first of all, yeah, I'm a pervert and proud of it, but I would never force myself on a lady!"
"Didn't say you would, we know you're not that bad, but you might take advantage of the situation and cop a feel or something." Naruto said lightly as the green haired Jinchuriki nodded.
"I wouldn't do that unless they gave their consent!" Jiraiya shot back, desperate to defend his honor.
"In other words, unless they were one of those floozies you pick up at taverns." Fuu deadpanned, but Jiraiya ignored her.
"And second of all, I have standards you know! I don't peek on minors!"
Naruto opened his mouth, about to mention how the man had fallen for his sexy jutsu, but then clamped it shut almost audibly. He'd realized he shouldn't mention that technique in the presence of females.
"All right, fine. Not like we have much experience with getting people to talk anyway, unless…" The blond stated, his eyes turning towards Fuu, who shook her head negatively, showing she had no experience in interrogation either.
"Not like I'd let you anyway." Jiraiya replied, turning back to the girl. "One of Orochimaru's goons won't be easy to crack." The orange haired girl gasped at this. Jiraiya crossed his arms and closed his eyes and he continued his explanation. "That old snake's got a way of getting people's loyalty, much as I hate to say it. He's got mad charisma, couple that with the fear he inspires and-"
"Wait." The girl spoke up for the first time, causing all eyes to turn on her. She averted her gaze for a moment, uncertain of whether or not she was making the right choice but, given that she was currently at their mercy and none of her clan knew where she was, meaning that there was no hope of rescue, she realized she didn't have many options. Tentatively, she raised her brown eyes back to them and asked, "You're not… ninja of Oto?"
Jiraiya arched a snowy eyebrow at this question. "Isn't that obvious? Of course not."
"Then the only reason you'd be sneaking around in this country is… because you're looking for Orochimaru." She said, her hesitant words sounded like a cross between a statement and a question.
"Yeah…" Jiraiya said, tilting his head to the side as he scrutinized the girl. He didn't see any signs of deception.
"In that case I apologize." The girl said, tilting her torso forward and looking down at the wooden surface before her. "Most of the shinobi in this country follow Orochimaru. When I saw you, I thought you were his servants."
"So you're an enemy of Orochimaru?" Fuu questioned, eyeing the girl suspiciously. She nodded in response after a moment's consideration.
"I guess you could say that…" She answered. "Really, if I had a choice I'd have nothing to do with him. Orochimaru… took someone dear to me. I was hoping to save him, so I searched for his base. It was easy enough for me to find out where it is, and on my way I saw you and…"
Now Jiraiya frowned. Based on what his students had told him, this girl didn't have that much experience or skill as a shinobi, so how had she managed to find Orochimaru's base 'easily' as she put it.
Naruto picked up on it too, his brow furrowing as he asked, "You found Oto? Can't imagine that snake made it easy, how'd you pull that off?"
The orange haired girl winced. Well, might as well tell the whole story. Not much sense in keeping things to herself now, it could very well get her killed. "It's because… some of my clan joined him, and they're always looking for others of us to 'see the light'." She said, grounding out those last three words.
"A clan… didn't all the clans of this country fall to ruin after the last war you fought in?" Jiraiya asked, scratching his head as he ran through all the different clans of the Land of Rice Fields he knew of.
"That's right." The girl answered, her tone becoming a bit woeful as she remembered what she'd heard of those days and the hardships her clan faced. "After that hopeless war our daimyo demanded we fight, most of the clans of this country were decimated. Many chose to leave and start anew elsewhere, becoming missing nin or joining ninja villages, while others turned to common thievery. But some of us struggled on, praying for a day when our clans could be restored. That was until one day… an emissary from Oto appeared and offered the promise of the first full scale ninja village of this land." Her eyes gained a pained look. "My cousin Arashi was seen as the hope of our clan. He was chosen as our representative, and set out for Oto but…"
"No word from him or any of those that followed, right?" Jiraiya questioned. The look on her face, coupled with her silence was all the answer they needed.
"And you decided to try to save him by yourself?" Fuu questioned skeptically. She wasn't entirely sure she believed her.
Naruto shot her a look at that, surprised at her response. Then again, while he wasn't as naïve as he once was, he still believed that anyone he met was a potential friend until proven otherwise. On top of that, he felt for this girl. Her situation with her cousin sounded a lot like his and Sakura's with Sasuke.
He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could the girl cried out, "I have to save Arashi! I have to!"
Her vision once more blurred, this time due to the tears that welled up in her eyes as memories of all the times her cousin had been there for her, and how she'd never been able to do anything for him, came into her mind. She didn't want to show such emotion in front of her captors but… not just the sorrow from her loss, but her failure was at the forefront of her mind, and she just couldn't fight it off. If she'd been defeated by these two, who seemed to be about her age, how was she ever going to save Arashi?
Her brown orbs clenched tightly as she felt warm liquid flow down her face and soak into her mask. "I've never… been very strong. No matter how hard I tried, I was nothing but a burden during training, but no matter how many times I faltered, Arashi was always there to save me!" She choked out a sob as she poured her heart out, feeling a small pang of shame that she was doing so to total strangers, showing once again that she was as weak as she'd always been. "Everyone in my clan has already given up hope. I want… I want to save Arashi, just as he would do for me! Even… even if it is hopeless! Even if I'm weak, I had to try and now…"
Naruto stared at the girl sympathetically, before turning to his fellow Jinchuriki. "Fuu." He began, but was surprised by what he saw. Her eyes had hardened as she looked at the masked kunoichi. There wasn't any hint that she felt the least bit bad for her. In fact, she seemed, if anything, disgusted by her story.
She turned to the blond, her expression fading into a questioning look. "Yeah?"
"What do you think?" He asked, wondering what was going through the girl's head.
"I don't really see why we should help her," Fu said, crossing her arms over her chest as Naruto gaped at her. Sasame was also looking quite shocked. "Still, if she does know where Orochimaru's base is, she may at least prove useful to take along with us."
He stood up, walking over to the door and looking at her over his shoulder. "Hey, can you come outside with me for a sec?"
The mint haired girl gave him a confused look but nodded before following him as he opened the door and walked outside and down the path, neither noticing the Sannin peering at them through the . Once they were a fair distance away, Naruto turned to face the white clad girl.
"Fuu, what's the matter with you?" Naruto asked, taking a step towards her, pointing back to the shrine they'd hidden in. "How can you not want to lend her a hand after she poured her heart out to us? And in case you've forgotten, she's not the only one who's had someone she cares about fall into that snake's clutches!"
"I haven't forgotten." Fuu replied, her brow furrowing. "I know, you're planning to try to break into Oto to rescue Sasuke while we're here."
"Then what the hell was that back there!? Are you just going to leave her to get herself killed!? And what about me, are you going to turn around and leave me to save Sasuke on my own!?"
"How can you say that!?" Fuu shot back, her face twisting at the thought that he didn't trust her. "Of course I plan to help you! You think after everything we've been through I'd let you try and do something like that by yourself!?"
It wasn't that she wouldn't do the same thing Sasame was trying to do if she was in her shoes. As she'd told Naruto, if she had someone she cared for deeply, and they were taken away she'd do everything she could to save them, and if no one would help her she'd do it herself, but how was she supposed to trust this girl?
As they say, talk is cheap, actions speak louder. Naruto had already proven what kind of person he was when he saved Taki, so she was more willing to put her trust in him, combine that with how he'd tried to get her to open up, and she'd eventually caved and decided to let him in, and she had been glad she made that choice the moment she did.
When she found out he was also a Jinchuriki and knew he'd endured the same treatment as her, that he could understand and sympathize with her, their bond had strengthened and she knew he'd never betray her, and just the same she'd never turn on him. Even with how short of a time they'd known each other, she felt certain that she'd follow him to hell and back if he needed it.
She'd opened up to Jiraiya almost immediately, but there were several reasons for that. Naruto trusted him, and he obviously knew the blond was a Jinchuriki but still treated him like a normal human and shared a bond with him. In addition, regardless of why, the man had helped save her from Akatsuki.
But this masked kunoichi… all she really knew about her was that she'd attacked them from out of nowhere. Aside from that, all she'd given them were words. How could they know she wasn't lying just to lure them into a trap? Wouldn't be the first time someone had tricked her by acting sincere and compassionate.
Naruto calmed a little at that, but was still a little angry with her. "Then how's this any different?"
"Naruto, I like you and who you are, a lot, but you're way too quick to trust people." Fuu replied, placing a hand on her hip and jerking her head back at the shrine. "All we have to go on is this girl's word that her story is true, and in case you haven't forgotten, she tried to kill us just a few hours ago!"
"I thought you were going to try trusting people more. Didn't you agree that you won't get anywhere if you go around thinking everyone's going to turn on you?"
Truthfully, Naruto didn't entirely trust Sasame either, but he at least was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Besides, if she did try anything, he was sure they could handle it.
"I did." She closed her eyes and nodded. "I was going to and will trust my comrades, but that girl isn't our comrade. She's not from my old village or my new one. She's a stranger from a hostile country who, again, attacked us. And either way, if she is telling the truth, she can still turn on us. She's doing this for her family. For someone she cares for. Who's to say she won't turn on us if they dangle Arashi's life in front of her?" She questioned heatedly. "If it came down to that, who would she choose; us or him?"
Naruto's eyes widened at that, recalling something his sensei had once done to prove a point.
"Sakura, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies."
He wondered briefly what Sakura would do if actually put in that situation before shaking his head, deciding that didn't matter. "Well if I was in a bind and you were in that situation, would you turn on her?"
Fuu seemed surprised by the question and after a pause, she answered, "I'd do everything I could to make sure it didn't come to that."
"Then why not trust her to do the same?"
"Sorry, did you hit your head while I wasn't looking? Because I don't know her and she's not a comrade." Fuu repeated. "Even if you've got something in common." That irritated look returned. "Besides, what help could she give us besides showing us the way? You heard her story and saw how she fought before, she's pathetic."
That was another reason she didn't like the orange haired girl and didn't want to work with her. From her story she'd been coddled all her life. This was probably the first time she'd ever needed to stand on her own two feet. One thing she couldn't stand was weak willed, over-reliant people. Civilians depending on shinobi she could understand, as they were usually as self reliant as they could be without the abilities of a ninja. Some would even stand up to shinobi, despite the fact that most would stand no chance if they came to blows, or just against incredible odds for what they believed in despite being physically weak compared to those versed in chakra, and she usually had a lot of respect for those people, but for a shinobi, who fought for their own lives, to protect the lives of the people they cared about and for the well being of their village, there was no excuse.
Her sensei, while he hadn't driven her away, was cold to her and obviously felt nothing but distaste towards her and she learned very quickly that, while it wasn't wrong to rely on others when you need it or when you can trust them, she'd need to be independent to get anywhere. Shibuki had occasionally stopped by to teach her water jutsu and give her pointers, and her sensei had given her the bare minimum of basic training he was required to give but aside from that, she'd become as strong as she was now entirely on her own. Her mastery of their village's trademark Water Slicing Blade and fairly unique skill in dual wielding them, her insect techniques and skill with the Scale Powder, taijutsu skill, her skill in sealing, while limited to creating basic storage seals which she used to take all her important possessions with her when she left Taki and what little control she had over the Nanabi's abilities, allowing her to use its wind powers in her Tailed Forms(though she couldn't enter said forms voluntarily yet) were all gained entirely through her own hard work.
People like the masked kunoichi, who depended entirely on others to fight for them and be their knights in shining armor, disgusted her. Not just for personal reasons, but because they held their teams back and became burdens, needlessly putting themselves and the people they relied on and cared about at risk. And if the person they relied on was wicked, they did everything they told them no matter their personal views or morals and often they'd be quick to shirk responsibility for what they'd done and try to place the blame on whoever they followed when brought down instead of owning up to their mistakes, if they cared at all.
Naruto seemed affronted to hear that, glaring at his fellow Jinchuriki. "How can you say that?"
Fuu met his glare and held her ground. "Easy, because it's true. This is probably the first time she's ever done anything for herself. I wouldn't be surprised if she backed down at the minute she realizes she's in over her head, or worse, hands us over to the enemy to save herself and Arashi." She scoffed in disgust. "I can't stand overly dependent people like that."
Idly thinking that the mint haired kunoichi probably wouldn't have liked Sakura as she was before Sasuke's defection, Naruto pressed, "You can't know that! You never know what you're capable of until you find yourself pressed against the wall! And it's never too late to change!"
She turned her head away, closing her eyes. "Thinking someone like that can change is just wishful thinking. You can say you're going to do something all you want, but it doesn't always mean you can. It sounds to me like she can't do anything by herself."
"And that's why you rely on other people, because you can't shoulder it by yourself! So why not work together? If she does turn on us, we can deal with it then. Why not give her the benefit of the doubt?" Naruto pressed.
"That's reckless, Naruto."
"Fuu, she cried in front of us! How can you-"
"Because I've seen fake tears before!" Fuu interrupted with a shout, causing him to stop mid-sentence. Her orange orbs fell to the ground, her face taking on a pained expression. After a few moments, she said a single word. "Eight."
"What?"
Raising her head to look at him, she continued, "That's how many times some of my so-called comrades pretended to get close to me, three of those times they cried in front of me, making me think they really felt bad for me, that they cared about me, before they stabbed me in the back and laughed about how I could have ever thought anyone would care about me." Naruto was visibly shocked to head that, his eyes wide and his mouth dropped. She looked away and to the clouds, her expression wistful. "But… there were four times that they really meant everything they said, that they actually did care. That's part of why I was still willing to take a chance when you came into my life." She said, briefly reminiscing about those people, all of whom, aside from Shibuki, who had betrayed her, being dead at this point. Turning her eyes back to Naruto, she finished, "Naruto, I've gotten where I am now almost entirely on my own, most of the people I should have been able to trust, my teammates, my sensei, wouldn't give me the time of day if they didn't have to. So forgive me if I'm not so quick to take the word of someone I know almost nothing about and who's always relied on others because she couldn't cut it."
"Fuu…" Naruto began, taking a step towards her with a concerned expression before Jiraiya suddenly appeared at his side. Both Jinchuriki turned to their sensei, clearly surprised. "Pervy Sage?"
"Yo." The sage said, raising his hand. "Sorry, couldn't help but listen in on your little discussion." He looked to the blond Uzumaki before saying, "You know, she raises a valid point, but…" he then turned to the mint haired kunoichi, "Let's give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, you've got me here." He pointed his thumb at himself with a confident grin while closing his eyes. "Unless Orochimaru himself shows up, I can easily take down anything they throw at me, and if the old snake himself shows up, I'll handle him." He then shrugged. "Besides, you've already proved you can easily subdue her. What harm could she do?"
Fuu seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding. "Great, then let's head back and give our guest the good news." He said before turning around.
The Kyuubi Jinchuriki followed before he heard Fuu call out to him. "Naruto."
He tuned his head to look at her. "Yeah, Fuu?"
The Nanabi Jinchuriki looked away, her expression troubled, before finally she said, "Sorry."
Naruto blinked before turning to face her, giving her a small smile as he replied, "It's alright, and I'm sorry too. I get where you're coming from, but like I said you can't always think everyone's going to betray you. You'll never get anywhere if you don't learn to give people the benefit of the doubt."
"You're right." She conceded. "Oh, and Naruto…?"
"Uh huh."
"I can understand why what I said made you think I didn't want to try to break into Oto, meaning I wouldn't help you rescue you're friend; Sasuke, but…" Suddenly, the air around them seemed to drop to subzero temperatures as Fuu's gaze became glacial, her eyes seeming to turn into frozen, slanted chips of ice. Even though the sun hovered in the sky above them, all the warmth and light it gave off vanished, leaving nothing but a darkness that swept over the entire area and a cold that chilled him to his very soul, instilling into him a sense of true terror unlike anything he'd felt since he was caught in-between the combined killing intent of his sensei, Kakashi and Zabuza for the first time. "If you ever suggest that I'd abandon you like that again-" She pointed her thumb at the cylinder on her back, "I'll shove this thing so far up your ass you'll cough it back up, got it?"
Naruto, shrinking back from the girl and trembling slightly, did his best to keep his fear in the face of her suppressed feminine fury hidden, though his face twitched slightly, his reflexes fighting him and attempting to twist his expression to show exactly how scared he was at the moment. But, he barely held managed to give her a friendly, if shaky smile while giving her a thumbs up and saying, "Right, it won't happen again."
And just like that, the darkness receded; warmth flooded the land and Fuu's mouth widened into a bright smile. "Great! Now that we've got that cleared up, I'm sure Ero-sensei's waiting for us. Let's go, we're wasting daylight!"
And with that, the green haired Jinchuriki walked past him and back to the shrine, the blond stared in mild surprise about how, for a brief moment, she had returned to her cheerful self after that. Naruto sighed as the tension left his body before looking after her, muttering 'girls' before catching up to her.
Once back at the shrine, they gave the orange haired girl the good news and untied her. She stood, rubbing where she'd been bound in an attempt to ward off the lingering soreness, before lifting her mask up, revealing it doubled as a hat. Her long hair cascaded down to her back, just barely reaching her legs with two long, chest length bangs framing her face, with one additional small tuff that obscured the center of her forehead and nearly reached her eyes.
"My name's Sasame Fuma. Thank you for agreeing to help me find my cousin."
"No problem." Naruto said, punching his open palm. "You're not the only one who's had that snake take someone important to them. Now we've got two people to save."
Once everything was settled, Sasame told them what she knew of Oto. While she knew little about the village itself, besides the fact that it was ruled over by Orochimaru, she did know a vague location of the base: hidden beneath the earth deep in a forest where a thick mist often hung in the air. But that would be more than enough. Between Jiraiya's skills, Naruto's shadow clones and stealth capabilities and Fuu's insects, locating Oto with what intel she provided would be cake walk.
Now all they needed to worry about were the traps no doubt prevalent throughout it, its defenders and of course, the possibility of encountering the snake summoner of the Sannin himself.
By the time everything was said and done, the skies had turned a deep orange from the setting sun, and so they decided to set out in the morning. Being caught on the rogue Sannin's home turf in the dark of the night, while it would aid their efforts to remain hidden, was deemed too great a risk. So the three Konoha ninja and the Fuma Clan kunoichi turned in for the night.
The blond lay sprawled out on his futon, submerged in deep, dreamless slumber as the pale moonlight shined through the window. Soon, he began to stir, mumbling slightly and tossing and turning as he fought to remain asleep.
Soon enough, the problem keeping him awake became clear when a faint rumble could be heard, his stomach crying out for a midnight snack.
He continued to try to ignore his stomach for a few more minutes before finally cracking one sleepy, blue orb open. He sat up, rubbing his tired eyes before stretching and letting out a yawn.
He quickly raided their food supplies, taking a trio of onigiri to sate his stomach. Deciding he'd like to eat outside, he walked to entrance of the shrine, but was surprised to see someone standing outside through the cracks in the window. Seeing orange hair, he realized it was Sasame and shrugged.
The Fuma clan kunoichi turned when she heard the door open behind her and saw that it was the blond Konoha genin.
"Naruto?" She asked, a little surprised to see him.
"Hey." He said, raising a hand in greeting before holding up the package of rice balls. "I felt like a midnight snack. Want one?"
Sasame took one, and the two teens ate together in silence, enjoying the moonlight as the sounds of crickets chirping and occasionally the hooting of owls filled the air.
"You know, I was surprised." Sasame spoke up, causing Naruto to turn his head and give her a curious look. "Your friend, Fuu, she's a lot different from you and your sensei, isn't she?" She looked out to the forest as she continued, "I could tell from the way you act you two are good friends, but she seems kind of… harsh, don't you think?"
Naruto waved his hand at that, smiling as he replied, "Oh, don't worry about that. She's great once you get to know her. It's just…" His expression fell, shifting into a somber look that caused her to blink and raise a single orange brow. "Well… you see… when she was young… something terrible happened. It wasn't her fault, but everyone needed someone to blame and so… well, just about everyone was against her."
Sasame looked taken aback to hear that. "What? Everyone? You mean she… didn't she have anyone she could depend on?"
Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head. "Not really… and a lot of the people she thought she could turned on her, so it's not easy for her to believe in people. I only met her recently, and it took a lot to win her over." He looked at her once again. "But once she knows she can trust someone, her real self comes out. I can say without a doubt she's one of my best friends. Just wait, I'm sure she'll warm up to you sooner or later."
Sasame's expression became troubled. She's always been able to count on Arashi, and even without him most of her clan had been there for her. She couldn't imagine being alone like Fuu had. The green haired girl had said some rather discouraging things to her, barely trying to hide the opinion she'd given Naruto, and thinking about it, she could kind of understand why.
At first, as she silently contemplated what the blond told her, she thought it might have just been jealousy, but thinking about what the white clad kunoichi said, she realized it was contempt; contempt for relying entirely on someone else and being unable to stand up for herself. After all, if she could be strong and independent when she had little if any support, why couldn't someone with people willing to help them every step of the way?
She wasn't really trying to be cruel. To be honest, a lot of what she'd said had been things that Sasame had thought about herself and tried to ignore. That by relying on others to protect her, rather than being able to protect herself, she not only put them in danger, if push came to shove and they relied on her, as Arashi did now, she wouldn't be able to help because she'd relied on her protector all her life. While teamwork and reliance were important to shinobi, so too was individual ability and those who relied entirely on others to protect and stand up for them became burdens.
Like she knew she'd been until now.
That, combined with her mistrust; which was justified if what he said was true, was why the girl was so cold towards her.
But these self-depreciating thoughts would get her nowhere. She vowed to herself to change. This time… it'd be her who would save Arashi, and she would never allow herself to be helpless again. After this was over, she'd protect him as much as he protected her. She blushed briefly as she recalled the smile he gave her as he left before her face hardened as she steeled her resolve.
Something occurred to her as she thought of her cousin's predicament. Orochimaru was from Konoha. Naruto might know something about him.
Turning and giving him a serious look, Sasame began, "Naruto."
"Hm?"
"What do you know… about Orochimaru?"
Naruto twitched almost imperceptibly at the question, giving her a surprised look. Seeing her solemn expression, he averted his blue eyes away and to the ground.
He'd wondered about Orochimaru, since he was one of his chief enemies, and had asked the perverted sensei, being his former teammate, to tell him what he knew. It had taken some prodding, but the old man eventually told him what he knew. It wasn't a pretty tale, but then again, he knew what the man was planning to do to Sasuke, so what he'd heard, while it had appalled him, hadn't surprised him in the least, beyond the fact that he'd gotten away with it.
Learning of Orochimaru's history had intensified his distaste for the man, and made him believe more than ever that he needed to go down.
But… at the very least, he knew Sasuke was for the most part safe, for now, since Orochimaru couldn't take over his body for the next few years. He doubted that the traitorous Sannin would do anything truly horrible to Sasuke's body, since he wanted to take it for himself. Arashi wasn't so lucky. While he hoped to save the guy, he sounded like a good man, willing to put himself in danger for his clan, the knowledge he had painted a pretty grim picture about his potential fate.
He didn't think it'd be a good idea to tell Sasame when she was already as worried as she was. "Look, Sasame, I don't think you really want me to answer that."
He turned back to her and saw that his answer had just worried her more. "Why? Is it really that bad?" Naruto refused to answer, having nothing to say that would make her feel any better. "Just tell me. Please, I need to know." She practically begged.
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"Because…" She began, looking uncertain. "I need to know which side of my clan was right and… because I can't stand not knowing anything. I've been worrying over this for months now, anything's better than this."
Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Trust me, it's not, but I guess you're not going to back down until I tell you, huh?" He asked, seeing her shake her head, he gave a short laugh. "I wouldn't either. All right, but I have to warn you, it's not anything you really want to hear." She nodded, and seeing she was waiting for him to continue, he sighed once again.
"Well, you should probably know Orochimaru was originally one of the Sannin, along with my sensei, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, so I'm not going to bother with that part. Around the time the Fourth Hokage was chosen, people started disappearing. Adults and shinobi, old people, children and even infants. After the Fourth was chosen, the culprit got sloppy and they managed to track him down. You can probably guess where this is going."
Sasame's expression had grown fearful at the mention of kidnappings, wondering what those people had been for, and none of her assumptions were good. "What… what did he do to them?"
"… He was… experimenting on them." He heard her gasp, but continued. "Only a handful of people survived. He's obsessed with power, he'll do anything to get stronger and to create more forbidden techniques. He was caught red handed, but managed to escape. He later joined an organization called Akatsuki, but he betrayed them too. Around that time, he formed Otogakure and made a deal with Suna to attack us. Really though, at some point, he killed the Kazekage, impersonated him and took control of Suna, using them to strengthen his forces and then discarding them once they were no longer useful to him. He also managed to find a way to become immortal… by using a kinjutsu that lets him take over other people's bodies and use them as his own." Turning to her, he saw the absolutely horrified look on her face. "That's what he wants my friend Sasuke for. When he sent his elite forces to bring him to Oto… one of them was this guy on death's door. He would have given anything for Orochimaru, and he repaid him by using him, and then tricking him into going on what he knew was a suicide mission in his condition." He said, unaware it was actually Kabuto who had manipulated Kimimaro.
"Tha… that…" She choked out, her voice shaking, her hands raised above her chest as if to shield herself and ward off the chill that radiated from her core. "He's… he's a monster."
Naruto nodded. "Yeah… needless to say, he's not known for keeping his promises." The Jinchuriki clenched his fist, his hand trembling with rage as his eyes hardened. "That bastard tricks people into believing in him, makes them think he cares about them and will help them fulfill their dreams or save their people, but it's all just a trick. He twists them into becoming his puppets and then leeches off of them before throwing them away. He doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself."
"Then… we really were right. He told us he would restore our clan but… someone like that would never keep his promise… he's just using us and…" her breath hitched. The man was a mad scientist. Could that mean… Arashi was…
Her eyes clenched shut. She couldn't bear to think about it. This… this must be why Naruto hadn't wanted her to know.
Feeling a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder, she turned to see Naruto giving her a reassuring look. "Don't worry, we'll find Arashi, just you wait and see."
"Thank you, Naruto. And… thanks for telling me. You might have been right. I may have been better off not knowing… but… at least now I know he can't be trusted. I have to free my clan from his clutches."
Just two hours after the sun rose, the group of four stepped outside of the abandoned shrine after preparing themselves and eating a large breakfast. Naruto, standing at the top of the stairs stared at into the golden rays of the new day before his eyes turned to the forest, looking into the direction where they knew Otogakure laid as he wondered what the day had in store for them.
He punched his open palm, his face a mask of determination. He'd never thought the opportunity to save his wayward friend might come so soon. Orochimaru, Kabuto, it didn't matter who got in his way. If they were in that base, they weren't leaving without Sasuke and Arashi.
"All right you guys." Jiraiya said, standing in front of the group and half turning to face them. "I shouldn't have to say this, but be on your guard. We can't just go waltzing into his backyard. If this really is Oto, this is going to be the most difficult job you've ever had. But rest assured, no matter what lies ahead of us, we're not going to let that snake have his way again. Our job is to find all the information about Oto we can and rescue Sasuke and Arashi. Get ready to put everything you've got into this. Now, let's move out."
So off they went, leaping into the trees and leaping from branch to branch as they made their way to Oto. It took about half an hour before the forest Sasame had talked about was in sight. Along the way, Fuu's eyes darted to a tree, where she spied a small spider with a long string of its web floating in the wind. After gazing at it for a moment, she continued as if she'd seen nothing at all.
The four stood on a rocky outcropping, staring into the woods. It was one of the rare days that the mist was clear. Similar to the Forest of Death in Konoha, the trees that made up the woods were enormous, unlike the one they'd just emerged from.
"We're close." Sasame said, looking into the forest that, according to her information, Otogakure lied in. "This is as far as I can take us."
"Don't worry. Like I said, this is more than enough." Jiraiya commented, crossing his arms as he stared into the forest. "With what you've told us, finding Oto should be a cinch."
Suddenly, a wave of kunai burst from the darkness of the forest, flying towards the group.
"Quick, move!" Jiraiya shouted as the group leapt into the air. The moment they did, what appeared to be spider threads burst from the tree line, ensnaring the three Konoha ninja.
"What the-!?" "What's-!?" "Damn it!" Naruto, Fuu and Jiraiya cried respectively before they were reeled in, more kunai following and skewering them as they were pulled into the forest, causing Sasame to scream in shock.
She was joined on her spot on the ridge by a man who smirked in satisfaction as he watched the three figured fall to the forest floor far below them. He had thick eyebrows and his hair matched his obsidian eyes. He wore blue jeans and a brown, short sleeved high color with a red line that ran down from the side of his collar to the bottom and black gloves. Strapped to his right arm by a white cord was a large pincer like weapon.
"Heh, those three weren't that tough." He commented.
A moment later, another man joined them, hanging upside down from a single spider thread by his abnormally long arms and legs. He was bald and, like his comrade, he had thick eyebrows and a scar on his right eye. He wore a green, sleeveless shirt and dark blue pants with bandages around his left arm and shins. He also had a container with a net strapped to his back which contained his spiders.
"You can say that again. Either way, whoever they were they obviously came here in search of Lord Orochimaru. I'm sure he'll reward us for bringing them down." He said, causing Sasame to look to him. He turned his head to the orange haired girl. "Well, what a surprise. This is the last place one would have expected for a reunion, eh Sasame?"
"Jigumo, Kamikiri." Sasame breathed as her gaze swept from the spider user to the brown clad one, two of the five members of their clan who had joined Oto.
"What were you thinking?" Kamikiri asked harshly, crossing his arms and tilting his head. "Leading them to Lord Orochimaru. He's the only one who can restore the power of the Fuma clan and raise us to greater heights than we've ever known. How can you betray us like this?"
Sasame seemed intimidated for a moment before she shook it off, glaring up at her cousin. "I came here to find Arashi, and they were helping me. Please, take me to him, we need to get out of here."
"What are you talking about?" Jigumo asked as he flipped off of his thread and landed, standing hunched over. "You know we can't do that. Lord Orochimaru's our last hope, or have you been swayed by that traitor Hanzaki's words?"
"He's not a traitor!" Sasame denied, clenching her hands. "He was right this whole time! Orochimaru's just using us! Please, abandon him while you still can!"
"Well, if that's how you feel, then don't bother returning to the village!" Kamikiri shot back. "Go find those traitors, while Lord Orochimaru gives us-!"
"What!?" Sasame cut him off. "What's he given you!? Has he done anything besides feed you pretty words to prove that he's actually going to fulfill his promise!? You've served him since he made his village, has he actually even started following up on any of his promises!?" Seeing Kamikiri scoff, she continued, "That's because he never will! He's just going to keep using you until you've got nothing left to give him and then he'll throw you away!"
"You need to be patient." Kamikiri replied, crossing his arms as he looked down at her. "It's true, he hasn't yet done much for us, but we've only been serving him a few months. Once we prove our worth to him, he'll have no choice but to reward us as we deserve. Now go home, while you still can!"
"Not until you see the truth, and where's Arashi!?"
"…" The two share a look before turning back to their orange haired cousin. "Arashi's receiving special training from Lord Orochimaru right now, and can't be disturbed."
Sasame's eyes widened at that, remembering what Naruto had told her about what Orochimaru had done in the past. Worry blossomed in her heart as her expression became one of concern. "What kind of special training?"
"The first step towards restoring our clan's power." Kamikiri answered. "Now-"
The older pair of Fuma ninja's eyes widened as both sensed danger behind them. They leapt away just as Naruto and Fuu attacked them from behind. Twisting their bodies around in mid air and looking down at the grinning teens, their faces twisted in frustration.
"What!?" Kamikiri said in shock.
"But how?" Jigumo questioned, his good eye looking to where the shinobi had fallen earlier, only to see a trio of logs riddled with kunai. "Substitution?"
Kamikiri turned his head to look at Jigumo, ready to give him orders, only for a smirking Jiraiya to suddenly appear right in front of him. He didn't even have time to raise his arms to block as the Sannin spun around and slammed his foot into his ribs. He let out a hack as the air was forced from his lungs and the blow sent him flying into Jigumo. Both soared through the air, passing through the tree line and crashing into the ground with enough force to dig a small trench into the earth.
Kamikiri coughed as he got up on his hands and knees, Jigumo laying on his side as he glared in the direction of the Konoha ninja.
"Damn, they're better than we gave them credit for… huh?" He and his partner froze as the sound of clicking reached their ears. Both turned their heads and saw the forest alive with a writhing reddish-black mass, hundreds upon hundreds of beetles covered the ground, not a blade of grass could be seen through them. "What?"
"But how?"
"Simple." Naruto commented as he, Fuu, Jiraiya and Sasame looked down on them from a tree. "We knew you guys were coming."
"It was easy for me to notice those spiders of yours, though it's a bit disappointed we were found out so fast." Fuu stated, her eyes on Jigumo.
"So, looks like you two are done for. Why don't you just give up and…" Jiraiya began, before he was interrupted.
"Born but to be born. Breathing but to live. One sunrise and one sunset." A deep, gravelly voice echoed throughout the forest, causing the group to frown, their eyes searching for the source of the voice. Sasame's brown orbs widened, however, as she recognized the voice. "Kagero's life, like a mayfly, lasts only one day. But pitying one so ephemeral is in itself pitiable. Know that I am at my greatest in the dark of the earth. Ninja Art: Antlion Jutsu!"
Suddenly, the earth gave way to a massive pit opened up, sucking everything in. The Fuma clan ninja bolted off in opposite directions, leaping through the trees to avoid the insects, which took to the air in pursuit. Kamikiri threw a kunai with an explosive tag, detonating within the swarm and killing many of the insects, while Jigumo sent out a massive amount of spiders from the container on his back, which fell over the mass of insects despite their attempts to dodge, his pets making a banquet of Fuu's insects.
As the Konoha ninja jumped away to escape the growing pit, which quickly consumed the tree they had been in a moment earlier, Fuu's face twisted as she saw her insects being taken out. She could use her chakra to accelerate their life cycle, so it's not like she could ever run out, but she still didn't like seeing them get taken out that easily.
"Watch out!" Sasame cried as she looked into the center of the pit beneath them. "This is one of Kagero's jutsu. She's one of the most powerful jonin of our clan!"
Fuu quickly made hand signs before they could fall back to the earth and wind up in the Fuma kunoichi's sink hole. 'Water Style: Wild Water Wave!'
The mint haired kunoichi spit out a powerful deluge of water which flowed into the pit, following the slanted earth and pouring into the core. Sensing she would be drowned if she continued, the earth user burst from her jutsu… and the trio was briefly shocked into a stupor by her appearance.
And not in a good way.
Rather than a girl, what appeared to be a rather grotesque looking man with short brown hair and large buck teeth escaped from the now water logged sinkhole. She(?) had wide arms and wore a simple, gray cloak with a red collar, a brown, short sleeved shirt and with matching pants.
Shaking off his bewilderment, Naruto made a cross shaped hand sign, creating three shadow clones, two of which summoned and threw kunai at the earth user. Kagero deflected the attacks, but found that they were merely a distraction as the last clone grabbed Naruto by his left arm, whipped him around and threw him at her. He clawed out his hand, a spiraling orb of chakra forming in his palm.
"Rasengan!" Naruto called out as he slammed his hand into the hunchbacked shinobi's stomach, causing her to cry out as the orb drilled into her before it exploded, releasing out a small wave of blue light and wisps of chakra and sending her flying, crashing into the earth with enough force to create a small crater, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
The group landed, Naruto grinning as he pumped his fist and having taken out the most powerful enemy from the start before turning to Sasame, his face scrunching up like a fox's.
"Uh, Sasame?" He began, causing the girl to blink at him. He pointed to the downed Fuma ninja. "No offence, but do you need to get your eyes checked?" He said with an incredulous tone, wondering how that guy he just blew away could be a girl.
Sasame blinked again as the other two Konoha shinobi looked at her oddly too. She looked between them before realization dawned on her and she gave a sheepish smile. "Oh, yeah. That's not her real self. She uses a jutsu to create a fake body around her like a cocoon while she stores up chakra for her strongest techniques."
"Oh, I see." Naruto nodded, turning to look at the injured kunoichi, who raised herself on her elbows, glaring up at them with one eye clenched in pain, his expression hardening. "So she's not really down for the count yet then. Fine, we'll just take her down again if she picks herself back up, and those other guys with her."
The other Fuma shinobi landed on either side of Kagero in a crouch. "Kagero, are you ok?" Jigumo questioned, getting a nod in response before he turned his gaze to the orange haired kunoichi. "Sasame, how could you give them our secrets!? Have you really betrayed us!?"
"… I know that you want to believe in Orochimaru and what he promised us, but I'm telling you I know the truth. He's just using us, like he does everyone." She gave the trio a determined look. "And if you won't listen, then I'm just going to have to make you before I save Arashi."
"Tch." Kamikiri scoffed at that, standing straight and brandishing his scissor like blade. "If you're this determined, then for the good of the clan you can fall with them." With that, he bolted forward.
Naruto summoned a kunai in a reverse grip and launched himself at the brown clad shinobi, their blades crashing against each others. The two combatants locked blades against each other, the kunai grinding across the flat, outer surface of the scissor blade and sending sparks through the air as both tried to push the other back.
"You guys are some real pieces of work." Naruto growled as he locked eyes with his opponent. "You'd kill your own cousin because she doesn't agree with you?"
"It's a small price to pay for the glory of the Fuma Clan!" Kamikiri roared as he jumped back and raised his blade high, bringing it down on top of the blond.
Naruto jumped back, letting the weapon crash into and shatter the ground before launching himself at his adversary again, engaging in a fast paced exchange of blows. Naruto leapt over a strike from him and flipped in the air, bringing his foot down in an axe kick, which Kamikiri leapt back to dodge.
The impact of Naruto's foot sent cracks through the ground. As Kamikiri moved to continue his attack, Naruto threw his kunai, which the Fuma ducked under, before summoning another and launching himself forward again.
Fuu leapt into the air and made a single hand sign, her cheeks puffing out as she turned her chakra to water. 'Water Style: Liquid Bullets!'
The green haired kunoichi spat out a trio of fist sized balls of water at the Jigumo, which the spider user dodged by using his unnaturally long, powerful legs to bound across the trees, each orb of water his the ground with all the force of a canon ball, sending up a cloud of dirt with each strike.
Jigumo landed on a tree, sticking to it with all four of his limbs, and prepared to counter, his spiders gathering in the net at the end of their container, when suddenly, four shuriken burst from the dust cloud at his left. Jigumo drew a kunai and twisted his body to the side, avoiding two and deflecting the remaining pair.
As he quickly scanned the cloud for his attacker, sending out some of his spiders as he expected them to emerge from it, Sasame, a kunai in her right hand, appeared behind him. With the way he'd positioned himself, he was left unable to defend himself as Sasame brought her foot down on him, knocking him out of the tree and to sending him falling ground, landing on his spider container with a grunt.
Sasame stuck to the tree with chakra and launched herself at her older clan mate, who flipped to his feet to avoid her attack and easily blocked her following slash with his own kunai.
"How can you betray our clan like this?" Jigumo snarled.
"I've told you, I'm not betraying our clan. I've seen Orochimaru for what he really is, and if you won't listen, then I'll have to make you."
She could just stand by and watch, but she wasn't going to do that. She remembered what Fuu had said about her, the same things she was afraid of admitting about herself, and was determined to prove her wrong, because that and fighting for her clan was the only way she could prove it to herself.
"Heh, you're a far cry from the little wall flower of yesteryear." Jigumo commented before his senses warned him of danger. He ducked just in time to avoid a sweeping slash of Fuu's water sword, but he was unprepared when the mint haired kunoichi continued her motion, using the momentum to unleash a powerful kick that struck the spider user right in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him an sending him into a tree, the bark splintering on impact.
"That's…" Jigumo commented, remembering the technique from the having fought in the war. "Hidden Waterfall Style: Water Slicing Blade! So, you're from Taki are you?"
"What of it?" Fuu replied, not allowing her lingering ill feelings about her exile to weigh on her in the middle of a battle. "Where I'm from shouldn't bother you, you've got bigger things to worry about." With that, she charged forward.
Jiraiya watched the teens face off with the misguided Fuma clan shinobi, a smirk on his face. He was ready to step in the moment they needed it, but beyond that he would just sit back and let them handle it. After all, one of the things his students truly needed was experience, that was part of the reason he'd requested that Tsunade send them missions in the first place.
Kamikiri stabbed at Naruto, who snaked around the blow and swept his arm, slashing at the scissor wielding shinobi. Kamikiri leaned back but got a small cut on his cheek before leaping back, slamming his weapon into the ground the moment his feet touched the ground to create a smokescreen.
Under the cover of the smoke, Kamikiri opened his scissor blade, using it like a sword to cut down a nearby tree. Naruto leapt back as the tree collapsed on top of him, his eyes widening when Kamikiri burst from the falling foliage, his weapon pulled back and ready to strike.
Naruto leaned back, bringing his foot up and setting it on a collision course with the flat end of Kamikiri's blade, knocking it out of the way, before landing on his hands and flipping away.
The blond channeled wind chakra into his blade, giving it a blue glow, before throwing the weapon. Kamikiri raising his weapon to defend, just as the genin wanted. Naruto smirked as he watched what followed.
Kamikiri bat the weapon aside but, much to his shock the enhanced kunai not only damaged his weapon, the wind surrounding it cut through its cord, causing it to sail off of his arm and through the air.
His eyes widening in disbelief as he watched his weapon fly away from him, he turned his head and saw Naruto had launched himself at him, already too close for him to block or dodge.
The Kyuubi Jinchuriki buried his right elbow into the man's gut, causing him to bend over and let out a hacking cry of pain.
But Naruto wasn't done, pulling back his arm and following up with his left fist, hammering the same spot he'd struck a moment before. He leapt up and slammed his knee into Kamikiri's chest before twisting his body as he fell through the air, planting his hand on the ground, and kicking the man, sending him up above the trees.
Spinning in the air and landing on his feet, Naruto shot up after the man, grabbing him by his shoulder and flipping over, the pair spinning in a circle as Naruto built up momentum and chakra, before he tossed him to the ground. The Fuma ninja slammed into the earth with enough force to create a small crater, just large enough for him to fit in. His eyes closed, he let out a pained groan and didn't move as Naruto landed on a nearby tree.
As the Uzumaki finished up his fight, Jigumo was finding himself on the defensive as Sasame and Fuu's combined assault pushed him back. While the pair's teamwork wasn't great, they worked together well enough not to trip each other up.
Finally, Sasame jumped back as Fuu engaged Jigumo with her water sword, throwing kunai at the man, who dodged to the side.
Fuu grinned as she saw an opening and dropped her water sword, the liquid blade breaking apart into droplets and dispersing back into the air as it fell, before making three hand signs.
"Say goodnight! Water Style: Water Whip!" Fuu threw out her arm, a whip of water forming in her palm and shooting out towards the Fuma shinobi.
Jigumo's good eye widened as the whip wrapped around his arms and torso, leaving him helpless. Fuu spun on her heel, yanking Jigumo through the air and sending him crashing face first into a tree, before spinning around again and pulling the whip over her shoulder, dragging him through the air and high above the treetops before sending him on a collision course with the ground right beside Kamikiri, the impact leaving him in a similar state to his scissor wielding cousin.
Sasame breathed a sigh of relief that the battle was over, fighting her clansmen was not something she'd enjoyed, but she needed to make them see reason, and they were so consumed by the desire to see their clan prosper by any means that just trying to talk to them was useless.
Fuu smirked as she looked at their handiwork. The trio had been taken down with little difficulty. She then looked to Sasame, a little surprised the girl had fought alongside them. She'd expected her to back down and let them handle her family members, at best giving some information on their abilities. She showed a lot more determination than she'd expected, and she thought that she may have been wrong about her. At the very least, she'd proven they could trust her, for now.
When the orange haired girl looked to her, Fuu gave her a nod of acknowledgement. This battle had been fairly easy, so she'd yet to see just how strong her resolve was and was not yet willing to fully trust her, but she'd won some respect from the mint haired girl here.
Jiraiya jumped down, from his perch, ready to help tie up the trio and get some answers from them. Least he could do after letting the kids do the heavy lifting, even if it was for their own good.
However, their victory was short lived when Kagero had struggled to her feet and walked over, now standing beside her defeated comrades.
Seeing this, Jiraiya frowned. "All right, Kagero was it? Look, I don't know what kind of jutsu you've got up your sleeve, but why don't you just surrender? You're friends are down, and I doubt you think you can take us all on alone. Just quit while you're ahead."
"Please, Mistress Kagero." Sasame stated, walking in front of the group. "Please, just listen to what I have to say."
Kagero closed her eyes for a moment before turning her onyx orbs on Sasame and answering. "… I can't do that. Lord Orochimaru has promised us that the Fuma Clan will spread its wings once more. I'll give anything for that to happen… even if I must sacrifice everything and use the jutsu I can only perform but once in a life time."
"Mistress Kagero, don't! You know what the risks of that jutsu are!" Sasame pleaded.
Their eyes darting from one Fuma kunoichi to the other, the two Jinchuriki made one last attempt to make her stop.
"Listen to her!" Fuu yelled.
"Are you really going to sacrifice yourself for someone like Orochimaru!?" Naruto questioned.
'It is time.' Kagero thought, closing her eyes once again. 'The Antlion appears from beneath the earth and spreads its wings in the sunlight for only a brief moment. And with its birth, the Kagero you know dies.'
With that, Kagero bent forward, her entire body tensing and releasing a creaking sound before finally, it seemed to harden, every inch of the fake body turning light brown and brittle before its back split open, sending shards of the material everywhere. Fuu caught a piece, holding it between her fingers and examining the texture. Sasame had been right; it really was like an insect's cocoon.
From the opening at the shell's back, a visible torrent of chakra flowed forth, obscuring everything within it as a hazy figure emerged, the shell loosening and falling to the ground once the person rose to their true height, and the chakra fading. However, the person who emerged from the cocoon was still cloaked from head to toe in solid chakra.
The chakra enveloping her began to unravel, taking the form of four, insect like wings, and revealing the real Kagero.
Surprisingly enough, the girl was quite young. She looked to be in her mid teens, not much older than the pair of Jinchuriki. She had pale green hair of a lighter shade than Fuu's which flared out slightly at the back and parted at the center of her forehead, splitting into a pair of bangs that framed her face. She had a creamy complexion and had pupil-less, amethyst eyes and was quite on the slender side, having no visible development of her chest and a narrow waist with thin hips. She wore a backless, white dress that was held only on her left shoulder, fastened to a metal collar around her neck.
With a flap of her wings, Kagero flew into the air and hovered in the skies above the Konoha ninja, making rapid hand signs as she prepared her sacrificial jutsu. "Kagero's Ninja Art: Ephemeral!"
Her wings shifted before bursting forth as four lances of chakra moving right for the Konoha ninja and Sasame. They moved to brace themselves as the chakra crashed into the ground before them, creating a massive, blue explosion.
Kagero watched, closing her eyes as the blast consumed them, her chakra wings now frayed but still useable with her jutsu expended. 'Forgive me, Sasame.'
The last things she wanted to do was harm the girl. She seemed to truly believe she was doing what was best for the Fuma Clan, and if she truly thought Orochimaru was as dangerous as she said, she couldn't fault her for it, nor could she fault Hanzaki's group. But Orochimaru was the only one who could restore the Fuma clan to power. If this was what was needed for the clan to rise again, than, though it would weigh heavily on her heart, so be it.
However, her eyes widened when she the light died down revealing… nothing?
How could there be nothing? Her jutsu would kill anything caught within its range, but it wouldn't destroy the bodies. No… had they escaped?
As if to confirm her fears, she heard Naruto speak up from the trees. "Man, that was a close one. Thanks for the head's up, Sasame."
Turning her head, she saw the four emerge from behind the nearby trees … and they were perfectly fine.
Naruto grinned at the orange haired girl. Sasame hadn't explained much about the technique, but had warned them that, if they ran into who she feared they would, they'd need a way to block or evade a powerful attack. For that reason, Naruto had created a group of shadow clones with orders to intervene if things got hairy and, if they needed it, transform into them and substitute themselves with them. It had worked like a charm, getting them out of the way seconds before the impact.
The blond Jinchuriki's expression turned solemn as his eyes turned to the other Fuma kunoichi. This girl had just sacrificed her life, or at the very least shaved several years off of it, for the sake of that jutsu. And for what? For some false promise Orochimaru had made her and her clan. That man truly made him sick.
Kagero's eyes turned despondent as she realized she had failed, a bead of sweat rolling down her face as her body began to give out on her.
"Mistress Kagero… why?" Sasame asked in a slightly dejected tone.
"… I believed him… I thought it was for the good of the clan… I wanted to believe…"
She closed her eyes, summoning the last of her strength, and her entire body glowed with blue light. Her body was enveloped in a mass of energy and she dived her for fallen teammates, her light encompassing them before all three simply vanished.
Naruto stepped forward, looking at the spot where they'd been just moments before. Behind him, Sasame's expression became troubled as she worried over the fate of her fellow Fuma kunoichi.
The Kyuubi Jinchuriki's fist clenched as he thought of Orochimaru. How many more people had he deceived like this? How many lives was he going to ruin before he was satisfied? He grit his teeth in anger as he thought of all the atrocities this man was responsible for. 'One day, whether it's today or some time in the future.' He thought as his fist trembled with rage. 'I'm going to take you down if no one else gets to you first. You and the Akatsuki!'
Fuu gave him a concerned look, guessing what was on his mind, and stepped closer to him.
Naruto was shocked out of his thoughts by a warm, comforting weight on his arm. Turning, he saw Fuu's tan hand was the source and turned his head to see her giving him a reassuring smile.
He gave her a grin in response, remembering what Fuu said the day before and knowing that he'd always be able to count on her being there for him, before all four turned to the forest where Orochimaru's base lied.
At that moment, Kagero and her teammates reappeared at the entrance to Orochimaru's underground lair, collapsing the moment she did. Only seconds later, exposure to the technique refreshing them, did Kamikiri and Jigumo begin to stir.
"Where… are we?" Jigumo questioned as he sorted out his memories, recalling the recent fight. His eyes widened before his head jerked in the other's direction and he saw the downed Kagero, as did Kamikiri.
"You fool… why would you sacrifice yourself for us?" Kamikiri questioned.
He got no response. Her skin tone had paled, becoming corpse-like as he her eyes dulled, no life was visible in her half lidded amethyst orbs. Kagero clung to life, but only just and both the male Fuma clan members knew she didn't have long.
Picking her up and propping her up on their shoulders, they took her into the base. Deep into it, through the candle-lit corridors and evading all the carefully laid traps, until they made it to the throne room.
They laid the kunoichi on the ground in front of them and kneeled down on one knee in reverence. Sitting on the throne before the trio, framed in shadow was none other than Orochimaru, leaning back with his hands resting on its arms. Beside him was his right hand man, Kabuto.
"Please, my lord." Jigumo pleaded.
"Our fallen comrade doesn't have long to live. Only you with your mastery of medical ninjutsu can possibly save her." Kamikiri continued, his eyes not leaving Kagero.
"…" Orochimaru didn't seem even slightly moved as his amber pools regarded the trio, a darkness shining in those cloaked, snake like eyes. "I want you both to bow your heads, put your hands to your hearts and contemplate. Contemplate the many ways in which you have failed me."
That wasn't what they were expecting to hear. Both Fuma clansmen raised their heads, now looking directly to their master in shock. "But my lord, we've risked our lives in your cause. Every order you've given us, we've obeyed. You promised you'd restore the Fuma clan!" Kamikiri said.
"You must acknowledge our service to you!" Jigumo insisted.
"There is only one way left… for the two of you to atone for your failures." Was the Sannin's heartless reply.
Kamikiri and Jigumo's eyes widened in horror and both turned to each other, sharing a look. Could Sasame have been right?
It didn't matter now. They'd made their bed. They nodded, agreeing that they wouldn't just die quietly without a fight.
On the off chance he might still fulfill his promise, as the pair drew their kunai, they gave one last apology.
"Lord Orochimaru!" Kamikiri said, holding his kunai into a reverse grip, his face twisting with his resolve.
"Forgive our betrayal!" Jigumo finished for him. And with that, both launched themselves at the Sannin, knowing it was hopeless but refusing to just roll over and die.
It was over in a second. One moment, both were on their way to engage the Sannin, the next, their bodies had been slashed open, blood flying from the massive gashes across their chests and painting the walls crimson as they gasped in shock and agony, giving their final, dying breaths before they even landed.
As the two bodies thudded as they fell atop Kagero's unconscious form, Orochimaru's malicious laughter echoed throughout the hall.
So ends another chapter, I hope you liked it.
Also, I hope no one thought Naruto and Fuu's fears over Jiraiya's conduct with Sasame was too harsh, because Naruto and Sakura thought the same thing in canon.