Disclaimer: I own nothing about Naruto.
A/N: I'm shifting more of the Japanese terms into English. Bear with me. It should make the story easier to read. I went back and forth on whether to make this chapter incredibly long or just a little short. In the end, I decided that posting a short chapter sooner would be preferable to posting a bloated chapter later.
Tell me what you think of everything in the reviews. Cheers.
Chapter 10
"The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," Kushina gloated in a spray of blood.
'The Red Death hasn't been seen in over a dozen years,' a woman in a Leaf ANBU mask thought. 'Is this her or some sort of ghost?'
A hand touched the auburn-haired woman's shoulder. "Thank you for assisting us, but we'll need that mask back when the invasion is over," Kakashi whispered. "Foreign-nin shouldn't have them," he smiled behind his cloth mask.
The woman nodded before a body-flicker put her next to the famed Red Death of the Leaf. She let out breath of steam that melted flesh from bones that got her an appreciative nod from the red-haired woman. "I don't know anyone in Leaf who has that kekkei genkai, but you appear to be on our side," Kushina stated. "As long as you're here, keep it that way," she smiled jovially, her face covered in blood.
Mei Terumi shuddered involuntarily at one of the scourges of the Third Great Ninja War. She wasn't afraid of the woman in red, but she could see that the woman in red wasn't afraid of anything and that wasn't something to disregard.
There was a rumble from inside the village and the three saw a massive sand-monster being tackled by an equally enormous nine-tailed fox. Kakashi and Mei gasped involuntarily, but Kushina turned back to the incoming ninja from the Sound village saying coldly over her shoulder, "That isn't the kyuubi. Hold the line."
—The Arena in the Leaf Village—
"We're not going to fight Orochimaru," Naruto explained to Shino and Hinata. "He's a legendary missing-nin. Jiraiya and hopefully the Hokage will be fighting Orochimaru. We just have to get Sasuke back. Wake Shikamaru up if he isn't already and come up with a team that has the best chance of success."
Hinata and Shino started looking for Shikamaru, but Shikamaru stood up and said, "I heard you. This is troublesome."
"There isn't anybody else. We go and we might be able to get Sasuke. You and Shino decide who's coming with me," Naruto said. "And hurry."
"Hinata, can you see them?" Shikamaru asked the girl.
"No," Hinata replied with her head down. "The family members who I'm sure could see are already away."
"That's fine. Find Kiba and Akamaru. Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, and I will go. Shino, the stadium is obviously your problem unless someone else shows up," Shikamaru said thoughtfully. Shino nodded.
Hinata found Kiba and Akamaru while Shino woke the pair, quickly filling them in on the plan. "We can smell him," Kiba explained. "Follow us."
Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru leapt away from the stadium following the scent the snake-nin had left behind. Hinata and Shino started waking ninja, unsure when or how the sleeping genjutsu covering the stadium would wear off.
"…the hell is going on?" Sakura asked groggily.
—The forest a few miles outside of the Leaf Village—
"Kukukukuku. Sensei, you and Jiraiya both fighting me seems unfair. I should bring reinforcements," the snake-nin hissed as he made hand signs.
Jiraiya had summoned two toads to sit on his shoulders and looked more like a toad. Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, the God of Shinobi, was wearing his metal gauntlets and metal war helmet.
Three caskets lifted from the ground, but only two opened, revealing the first two Hokages. The third sank before it had a chance to open and both Sarutobi and Jiraiya thanked their lucky stars that the third coffin didn't open.
"Well, Sarutobi, this is a fine pickle you're in, isn't it?" the Second Hokage asked.
"This is that damned Edo Tensei, isn't it?" the First asked.
"It isn't mine, brother," the Second said.
"It's my student," the Third interrupted, "Orochimaru," pointing at the dark-haired snake-sannin.
Orochimaru put kunai with seal tags into the two resurrected Hokages' heads. "I hate to interrupt, but you're going to fight now," Orochimaru said as the two Hokage ran at Sarutobi and Jiraiya.
'I already have my prize. It doesn't matter if Jiraiya or Sarutobi-sensei survives as long as they are distracted,' the snake-nin thought.
"Sealing Technique: Dead Demon Consuming Seal." Hiruzen Sarutobi enacted the sealing jutsu. "Jiraiya, don't let Orochimaru escape."
'Shit,' Orochimaru thought. 'Is it time to abandon my plan? No. I just avoid Sarutobi until the seal consumes him then kill Jiraiya.'
Jiraiya launched himself at Orochimaru, forcing the snake-nin to set down Sasuke. Orochimaru and Jiraiya traded blows, but neither gained ground. Orochimaru tried fire jutsus to create space to escape, but Jiraiya countered with water jutsus, staying close. Orochimaru vomited forth a sword, slashing at Jiraiya, but Jiraiya dodged and turned his hair into a hardened steel shell. Jiraiya remained on the defensive, but Orochimaru didn't have any space or time to escape.
A wild-haired monster appeared above Hiruzen Sarutobi, its elongated tongue licking the wakizashi in one hand, while the other held prayer beads. Hiruzen's soul shifted out of his body, behind him into the entangling prayer beads of the shinigami as the First Hokage attacked. Hiruzen grabbed the First Hokage and a tendril shot out of his abdomen where a whirlpool-shaped seal had already formed, sucking the First Hokage in. The Second Hokage attacked from behind, seeing a breach in the Third's defenses, but the Third grappled the Second while the tendril sucked the Second into the seal as well.
Orochimaru could see the shinigami behind Hiruzen, but he used Jiraiya as a shield. Orochimaru stabbed at the Third, trying to kill him before the Third could complete the sealing jutsu. Hiruzen latched on to Orochimaru's sword arm, holding the sword where it had found purchase in his lung. The shinigami pulled Orochimaru's soul out of the body it inhabited, starting with his arm, but Orochimaru was not about to be sealed.
Orochimaru kicked the sword deeper into Hiruzen's chest as a portion of his soul, shaped like his arm ripped from his body and fell into the whirlpool-shaped seal. Hiruzen coughed up blood as the seal consumed his own soul as well, before it could leave his dying body.
Jiraiya continued attacking, but with only one arm, Orochimaru didn't have the advantage he had earlier enjoyed in a fight against the toad-sage. Orochimaru was no longer on the offensive and Jiraiya was forcing him to evade and defend rather than make his way to Sasuke's unconscious form.
"You are impressive, Jiraiya, but can you protect four genin and defeat me?" the snake-nin taunted.
Jiraiya sensed the approaching genin as well, but he also recognized one of the chakra signatures. "Can you defeat the kyuubi if I break open the seal?" Jiraiya bluffed.
"It doesn't matter. You don't have the stomach for it," Orochimaru hissed.
'If only Tsunade were here,' Jiraiya thought. 'But I can't stop him with a genin team around. They must be here to get Sasuke, to help fight Orochimaru, or both. None of them are ready for this.'
"You're right. So let's see if you can get away with the Uchiha before you piss off the jinchuuriki," Jiraiya responded.
"Let's," Orochimaru said calmly, pulling his sword from Hiruzen's fallen form.
Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru saw the battle between Jiraiya and Orochimaru raging, but skirted around the two, following Sasuke's scent. The three found Sasuke unconscious nearby, but the grey-haired genin from the first day of the exam was standing over him.
"Hey! Orochimaru is attacking the village and he tried to kidnap Sasuke. We're here to get Sasuke back," Naruto said.
"Yes. I see that. Lord Orochimaru isn't going to be pleased if he loses his prize, so I'm afraid you're going to fail," Kabuto said coldly before charging his hand with medical jutsu and rushing at Kiba. Kiba tried to dodge, but Kabuto struck him in the back, severing his spine cleanly, leaving an openly bleeding gash. Kiba fell to the ground, unable to move his legs.
Shikamaru tried to capture Kabuto in his clan's shadow possession jutsu, but Kabuto kept well away from shadows and moved much faster than any of the genin had expected. Naruto body-flickered next to him, landing a deep, cutting blow with wind chakra into Kabuto's chest, but no blood flowed beneath Kabuto's cleanly cut shirt. Kabuto responded by chopping Naruto in the back, just as he had Kiba.
Shikamaru knew that he couldn't beat Kabuto and was on the verge of surrendering, but Kabuto cut his spine as well before he could get the words out. Kabuto picked up Sasuke and shouted, "Lord Orochimaru! I have Sasuke Uchiha and I've disabled the genin. We should leave now!"
Jiraiya looked over to the three bleeding genin as Orochimaru and Kabuto retreated through the woods. "DAMN YOU!" he screamed at the receding snake-nin. He looked down at the bleeding genin and pulled gauze from a pouch. "You three will have to stay still while I make back-boards," he said to the crippled genin as he applied gauze to their open wounds.
Naruto retreated inward to try to avoid boredom. 'It probably won't be productive, but I'm stuck until I heal anyway,' he thought.
"I CAN HELP YOU, IF ONLY YOU'D REMOVE THIS SEAL," the fox enticed.
'I know, Kurama. I know. It's what would happen after that that concerns me,' Naruto replied.
"YOU COULD RETRIEVE YOUR PRECIOUS SASUKE AND DESTROY OROCHIMARU," the fox continued.
'We've failed. No amount of rampaging or killing is going to change that, Kurama,' Naruto explained, trying to remain calm. 'We've failed and now Sasuke is gone and two of my friends are crippled.'
"DON'T THINK THAT I CARE ABOUT YOU," the fox grumbled. "OR YOUR STUPID FRIENDS."
'Why is it that I heal faster than normal people?' Naruto diverted.
"IT'S BECAUSE OF MY CHAKRA, DUMBASS."
'What does that even mean?' Naruto replied.
"MY YIN CHAKRA WAS SEALED AWAY, LONG AGO, LEAVING ONLY YANG CHAKRA. THIS SEAL LEAKS MY CHAKRA INTO YOUR SYSTEM. ANOTHER REASON TO BREAK THE SEAL: YOU COULD HAVE ALL OF MY CHAKRA AT ONCE."
'I don't think it works like that,' Naruto noted shakily.
"Pervy-sensei! Can chakra heal?" Naruto asked aloud.
"Only highly skilled medical ninja should mess with chakra healing, Naruto. Why do you ask?" Jiraiya responded.
"You're going to think I'm crazy," Naruto muttered.
"Try me," Jiraiya prodded.
"There's a nine-tailed fox in my head who said that his chakra would heal me if I broke the seal imprisoning him," Naruto said seriously.
"Don't touch that seal," Jiraiya said gravely, stopping his work immediately. "Don't even think about it."
"The fox is real? I'm not imagining it?" Naruto exclaimed.
"We'll talk later, Naruto. Shut up about it. Practice sitting still, since you still haven't mastered it," Jiraiya punned.
'Kurama, please give me chakra,' Naruto said to the fox in his head.
"WHY?" the fox asked.
'Because I asked nicely and I've never been anything but kind to you. And I need it right now,' Naruto explained.
"I HATE YOU," the fox said as it released a large wave of chakra. Naruto's body flooded with the red yang chakra of the kyuubi and his already fast natural healing went into overdrive, mending his spine as he sat still. Jiraiya flinched, but didn't move as he stared at Naruto. In less than a minute, Naruto's back was healed. The red chakra had forced Naruto's features into a more bestial look. His eyes were red and feral, his whisker marks deepened, and his fingers looked more like claws than fingers.
Slowly, the feral look receded and Naruto sat up, unscathed. Shikamaru watched quietly, while Kiba had already passed out. "I feel much better now," Naruto commented. "Could I just transfer some of that chakra to heal them so we can go after the old snake-bastard?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "It would poison their chakra networks and it might kill them," he explained. "I already told you that you shouldn't mess with chakra healing unless you are a highly skilled medical-nin. If you aren't hurt, then help me build back-boards to limit the damage to their," he pointed to Shikamaru and Kiba, "spines. With any luck, the hospital will be able to repair the damage."
"I'm awake," Shikamaru mentioned.
"I figured as much," the sannin responded. "You three are going to stay here. Naruto, you'll have to signal for help. As soon as we've got your friends stabilized, I'm going after Orochimaru. Hurry up." Jiraiya turned again to making backboards, but spoke harshly to the genin, "Tell no one about the fox. No one."
—Atop the walls surrounding the Leaf Village—
"They are withdrawing," Kushina noted. "The Sand didn't fully commit to the attack and it looks like neither did the Sound."
"Whatever happened out here, something happened in the arena as well. A sleeping genjutsu made sure that we couldn't react quickly. While we responded to the attacks from outside, the Shukaku was rampaging back in the arena," Kakashi reasoned.
"It seems that the kyuubi took care of it though," Mei added. 'If the Leaf controls the kyuubi then they should have released it earlier.'
"That wasn't the kyuubi. That was a giant toad transformed into the kyuubi. Lord Jiraiya must have handled the arena problem," Kushina said. "Which reminds me, who are you and why are you here?" she glared at Mei.
"I am a member of the Leaf's ANBU and I was helping to keep the village secure," she smiled, handing the mask to Kushina. She turned to Kakashi saying, "My debt is repaid, Kakashi Hatake," before she bowed and left the two Leaf ninjas.
Kushina looked askew at Kakashi saying, "Strange that the Third hasn't arrived yet."