Chapter 9: An Old Rival, A New Enemy

It was mid-afternoon when Naruto, Henry, Sasuke and their groups made it back to the capital and explained the situation to Hinata, Clare, Elaine and the others.

"She just waved that staff of hers," Kiba said, "And that thing appeared out of nowhere, what a mess."

"That monster took everything we had and spat it right back at us," Sasuke said, "My Chidori barely scratched it."

"And my Rasengan didn't do a damn thing," Naruto said, "Believe it. Henry was the one who really deserves to be called a hero."

"Cutting the head off of a monster is easy," Henry said, "When it's just one to contend with. If that Francine had summoned more, we may not be here having the same discussion."

"Francine?" Elaine asked, "Are you sure that's her name? Are you absolutely positive!?"

"It could have been an alias," Shino said. He then described the woman they faced earlier.

"It's here alright," Elaine said, her voice heavy with concern, "Francine, there's a name I hoped I would never hear again."

"Who's this Francine?" Hinata asked, "And how do you know her?"

"Her full name is Francine Kyler," said Elaine, "We were roommates at magic school. Like me, Francine had no family and had no knowledge of her family lineage. But where as Miss Clare paid for my studies, Francine won a scholarship in a lottery, but not before spending nearly her whole life working as a dishwasher in several inns.

"The two of us became rivals during the first day of school. Both of us kept pushing ourselves to outdo the other and be the best we could be. Over time Francine and I became friends, but we were never close. She kept to her self a lot during her free time. When she wasn't studying, Francine was by herself working on various 'secret projects,' as she called them. I was naturally curious as to what Francine was up to, but as the weeks and months passed, the curriculum became more and more demanding, so I didn't pester her about her after hours activities.

"Then about a month before graduation I finally learned what Francine was doing on her own. The school staff caught Francine practicing forbidden magic, as well as partaking in unethical and inhumane experiments. Naturally she was expelled, and that was the last anyone has seen or heard of Francine Kyler, until now."

"Well It's obvious that your former roommate had turned to evil," Shino said.

"Well duh!!" Naruto said, "we both were there!"

"I can only imagine how you're feeling, Elaine," Henry said, "Knowing that your friend has joined the dark side, it must be horrible."

"Actually," Elaine said in a casual tone, "I'm not that much surprised that Francine turned out this way. Like i said, we were never close friends, and I always got the feeling that there was something wrong with her; she always struck me as somewhat unstable. She was quick to study, but always wanted more; more knowledge, more power. Eventually she got so far ahead of the curriculum, the instructors had to take action. I tried to warn her, that patience and moderation were essential; she wouldn't listen to me. But what eludes me is how she got involved with Manos."

"Who cares?" Naruto asked, "She's a crazy witch that needs to be stopped before anyone else gets hurt."

"And you think you're gonna do it?" Kiba asked, "You couldn't even kill that monster she summoned."

"Err…um…" Naruto said, "I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I'll think of something."

"Well you better think of something soon," said Henry just after he was delivered a message by one of the palace servants, "Another two villages were just attacked."

The next couple of days were full of bad news and more bad news. One village after another was attacked by the insidious Francine and her diabolical Marauders, and our heroes were powerless to stop her. By the time word had reached Naruto and the others, it was too late for them to do anything except look for survivors among the ruined villages.

"This is getting out of hand," Henry said as he, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Elaine saw the devastation of the latest attack. Neji and Tenten were searching for survivors among the destroyed buildings, while Sakura helped heal those wounded.

"Things have been out of hand for a while now, Henry," said Sasuke, "It seems that Manos is going to get what he wants. It won't be long before everyone in Andalasia is afraid of these Marauders. By the time Manos and his horde arrive, the people of this kingdom will be too afraid to fight."

"That'll be the day!" Chouji exclaimed, "We've put too much effort in getting the people of Andalasia ready to fight. I'm not gonna let some dumb bimbo scare my troops into submission! Hell no!"

"Well this dumb bimbo as you call her," Shikamaru said, "She's done a pretty good job so far. What we need, is to devise a way of tracking the movements of the Marauders, and, arrive at their targets before they get there."

"And how do you suggest we do that, Shikamaru?" Henry asked, "There's no way we can predict where Francine and her minions will attack next. And how can we manage to cover every potential target?"

"Didn't the 4th Hokage have a special technique?" Sasuke asked, "One that allowed him to teleport anywhere he wished?"

"That's right!" Sakura said, "The 'Flying Thunder God Jutsu.' That technique was what made the 4th Hokage so frightening to his enemies. Unfortunately, the 4th Hokage took the secret of his Jutsu to the grave."

It was then that Naruto had one of his rare but brilliant ideas. "We beat them at their own game."

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"Magic," Naruto said, "Francine can use it, so why don't we use magic to track her movements?"

"Of course!" Elaine exclaimed, "Of course! I've several books on scrying back home!"

"Mind cluing us in?" Chouji asked, "For those who don't know jack about magic."

"Scrying is just one of many means of locating an object or a person," Elaine explained, "Basically all you need is a map and a scrying tool, and we've just what we need back at the palace."

"That's good," Sasuke said, "But how are we going to catch up with Francine and her minions once we find them?"

"Leave that to me as well," Elaine said confidently, "I'll take care of everything."

A short time later Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke stood with Henry in the Royal Library, while Elaine pondered over a large, highly detailed, three-dimensional map of Andalasia. Elaine had on her right hand a glove with a large red gem set into the palm. She was walking around the map with her gloved hand extended.

"Okay," Sakura said, "I understand that she's using that glove thingy to locate Francine, and that she's using a picture of Francine from an old yearbook as a reference. But when we do find her, and that's a when, not an if, how are we going to catch up with them before they destroy another village?"

"When you mentioned that your 4th Hokage could teleport," Elaine said as she continued to move around the map, "It got me thinking. Any competent magic user is more than capable of teleporting him or herself. But how do you go about teleporting a large group of a dozen or so?

"The answer is simple; a teleportation scroll can do the job. All that is needed is a few feet of parchment and a bottle of ink. Once you write down the necessary spell, you're ready to go. But once you use the scroll, you have to make another one."

"We figured that," Sasuke said, "So now what?"

"Now," Henry said, "We wait."

"For what?" Naruto asked.

"Scrying isn't an exact art," Henry said, "Sometimes it takes a while to find what it is that you're looking for. But we may not have to wait for long, Elaine knows what she's doing."

"So, Henry," Sakura said, deciding to make conversation while they waited, "What was it that attracted you and Elaine together?"

"You shouldn't ask such things in public," Sasuke said, "Especially when Elaine could hear you."

"It's alright," Henry said, "Elaine is in what she calls 'her zone.' You could fire a cannon off in here and you wouldn't break her concentration. That's one thing I love about Elaine, once she starts something, be it a spell or a game, she always sees it through to the end."

"That's sweet," Sakura said.

"Whish someone had that kind of concentration," Sasuke said.

"Huh?" Naruto asked as he looked up from his cup of instant ramen, "You say something, Sasuke?"

"Never mind, Naruto," an annoyed Sasuke said, "Just go back to your little ramen filled world."

"It's a miracle that Lady Tsunade promoted him to Chûnin without taking the exam over again," Sakura said, "But enough about Naruto. Please continue, Henry."

"Well," Henry said, "Elaine and I both like classical opera, and ballroom dancing. It was my sister who taught us both how to dance. Let's see, what else?"

"If it's too personal," Sasuke said.

"Not all," Henry said, "But there are so many things, I just don't know what's the most I love about her. Let's see, um, I love that she loves magic. I could never even dream of achieving even a fifth of what Elaine is capable of doing."

"She's that powerful?" Sasuke asked.

"Elaine was top of her graduating class at magic school," Henry said, "Some say that she has the potential to become the most powerful magic user in the kingdom. But Elaine doesn't care about having power for the sake of power. She practices her art because it makes her happy. I guess growing up an orphan, one makes due with what they can, and Elaine can work wonders."

"If you think she's good," Naruto said, "Wait until you see what I can do, believe it."

"I think I've got something!!" Elaine said as her hand hovered the western part of the map, "I think…yes!! I've found you, you bitch!!"

"You've found Francine!" Sakura said.

"Yes" Elaine said, "I know exactly where she and her minions are going to next."

"Perfect," Sasuke said, "We'll get everybody together, and you can teleport us there."

"Um…err…" said a distressed looking Elaine.

"Is something wrong, Elaine?" Sakura asked.

"There might be a little problem with that," Elaine said, "You see, in my eagerness to locate Francine, I kind of forgotten to prepare a teleportation scroll, and since it takes over an hour to prepare one, I sincerely doubt that we'll find one already made in time."

"You got to be kidding me!!" Naruto exclaimed. He then glared at Henry, "You said that she knew what she was doing!!"

"Don't go blaming Elaine for this!!" Henry shouted, "It's not her fault! Well, it kind of is, but that's beside the point!"

"Shouting won't get us anywhere," Sasuke said as he looked at where Elaine located Francine on the map, "If I'm reading this right, Francine and her minions will reach their target in less than half and hour. By the time we can get someone out there from the capital, it'll be too late."

"Wait a minute!" Sakura said, "I think Hinata, Shino and Kiba are in that area. They went to establish a supply depot. In fact," she got a closer look at the map, "The village they're in is the same one Francine and her Marauders are heading for."

"Is there any way we can get a message to Hinata in time?" Naruto asked.

"Absolutely," Elaine said, "I can send a telepathic message to her in the blink of an eye. The best part is that it'll be you talking, Naruto, she'll hear your words in her mind. The only drawback is that the message will have to be short, no more than 25 words."

"Why only 25 words?" Sakura asked.

"It's too complicated to explain right now," Elaine said, "You ready, Naruto?"

"Just give me a second," Naruto said, "I need to think about this."

"In that case why bother," Sasuke muttered.

"I'm serious!" Naruto exclaimed, "How can I pack such an important message into only 25 words?"

"It doesn't have to be complete sentences," Sakura said, "Just tell Hinata only what's important."

"Only what's important," Naruto repeated, "Okay, I think I've got it."

…Meanwhile…

As Shino talked with the village councilpersons about establishing a supply depot in their town, Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata were looking around the village marketplace, discussing what available buildings and properties could be converted to supply storage. Suddenly, Hinata stiffened, as if she was just shocked by a large jolt of static electricity. But what stunned her was the fact that she was hearing Naruto's voice within her mind, and that he was clearly speaking to her as if he was right there with her.

Hinata-Chan. Will explain later. Francine and Marauders coming your way. Hold them off as long as can. Will come with help soon. Love, Naruto.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered.

"You say something, Hinata?" Kiba asked.

"Huh, oh!" Hinata said, "We need to get ready! Francine and her Marauders are heading for this village as we speak!"

"What!?" Kiba asked.

"How could you know this?" Shino asked.

"I think Naruto warned me," Hinata said, "I can't fully explain it, but we need to get the people of this village out of harms way right now!"

"How are we gonna hide so many people?" Kiba asked, "And do we even know how much time we have?"

"Leave that to me," Shino said, "I've got an idea."

Fifteen minutes later, a dozen men on horseback, and one woman, rode into the village. The stopped in the middle of the town, apparently surprised at the lack of activity in the village. There wasn't a villager in sight.

"This is unexpected," Francine said as she and her Marauders dismounted, "I could have sworn that there would be at least 200 'sheep' for us to slaughter in this flyspeck of a village."

"Is it possible that the infidels knew that we were coming?" one of the Marauders asked.

"Highly unlikely," Francine answered, "Only a skilled magic user could track us. Unless… of course! That little whore! She must have scryed our movements!!"

"Mistress?" another of the Marauders asked.

"There's no time to waste," Francine said, "We must return to Lord Manos at once." As she and the Marauders began mounting their horses, Francine paused, "Wait, we're already here, we might as well destroy this village."

"Excellent!!" exclaimed one of the Marauders. But before he and the other brigands could begin their rampage of destruction, the wind blew something into Francine's face.

It looked to be a piece of scrap paper. She read what was on it, 'See you in hell, suckers!'

"You all will be in hell long before I get there, infidel swine!" Francine cursed as she tossed the paper into the wind. Yet if Francine had taken the time to look at the opposite side of the paper, she would have sent he hastily inked kanji symbol for 'explosive.'

The piece of paper drifted over to one of the marauders and got caught in his armor. As the brigand removed the paper from his armor, the paper exploded, killing the brigand and the one next to him.

"A trap!!" exclaimed Francine.

"Now!!" shouted Kiba as he appeared on one side of the street. On the opposite side of the street was Akamaru, already transformed into his beast-human clone of Kiba. "Fang Overfang!!" shouted Kiba. He and the transformed Akamaru launched themselves into the air and begin spinning. The twin whirlwinds slammed into the Marauder ranks, killing two more apiece.

Their numbers reduced in half, the remaining Marauders tried to fight back against the furious assaults from the twin Kibas. But they failed to notice Shino launching a swarm of destruction bugs at the bandits. The remaining Marauders were overwhelmed and destroyed in less than 60 seconds.

"Infidels!!" exclaimed Francine, "You'll suffer dearly for your transgressions!!"

"I beg to differ!!" Hinata shouted as she emerged from around the street corner, "It is you whom shall pay for your crimes!"

"You stupid little girl!!" Francine spat, "I shall personally deliver your pathetic soul to Lord Manos. But first, I shall contend with your friends!" She raised her staff and chanted in a language that Hinata couldn't understand. Above Francine appeared two rifts, and from these rifts emerged two horrible creatures.

The first summoned monster was a 15ft tall praying mantis, it's two front legs gleaming in the sunlight like freshly sharpened axes. The second monster was a 12ft tall crab with four razor sharp pincer claws.

"Just when I thought today was going to be a good day," Kiba said as the two monsters approached him, Shino and Akamaru, who and resumed his four-legged form.

"The day may yet turn out to be a good one," Shino said as he set his sunglass-covered eyes on the giant mantis, "You take the crab, I'll handle this monstrosity."

"It's never easy for us, is it Akamaru?" Kiba asked as the giant crab lumbered towards him, "Oh well, immortality is overrated." He made his hand signs, "Ninja Art: Beast Human Transformation Jutsu!!"

He and Akamaru then jumped into the air and merged into a huge two-headed dog. They charged at the crab and bit into one of the monster's clawed limbs. The creature's armored shell was too tough to bite through, but Kiba and Akamaru weren't letting go. Together, they ripped the limb from the crab beast.

Shino meanwhile had recalled his destruction bugs, "When confronting a large, dangerous force," he said as he pulled out from his shoulder bag a scroll, "Sometimes the best course of action is to face the challenge with equal force." He opened the scroll, revealing several feet of ninja script. Holding the scroll open with his left hand, he bit his right thumb and smeared the ninja script with blood.

"Summing Jutsu!!"

The scroll produced a huge burst of smoke, and from that emerged a huge rhino beetle. "Attack!!" Shino commanded the beetle, which charged at the giant mantis. He then sent forth a fresh wave of destruction bugs at the monstrous mantis in a flanking maneuver.

"So it's just you and me now," Hinata said to Francine. She knew that Shino, Kiba and Akamaru could handle their own fights.

"You think you can defeat me!?" Francine spat, "One of Manos' chosen?! You're more pathetic than you realize, little girl!!"

"The only one here who's pathetic is you," Hinata said as she walked closer to Francine, "You've committed three fatal mistakes. The first was attacking helpless innocent people, thinking that you could do whatever you want to them."

"I can do whatever I want!" Francine snapped, "To whomever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want! And there's nothing you can do to stop me!!"

"That's mistake number 2!" Hinata said as she kept moving closer, "Underestimating a Shinobi."

"Is that so," Francine taunted, "Well then, what's mistake number three?"

"Your third and final mistake," Hinata said as she stopped within ten paces of Francine, "Was to allow yourself to fall within range of the signature finishing technique of the Huyga Clan!"

"What!?" Francine exclaimed.

Hinata activated her Byakugan, and in her minds eye, she saw that Francine was inside the trigram seal.

"Gentle Fist Style! 8 Trigrams: 64 Palms!!" Hinata then rushed at Francine. She channeled a huge amount of Chakra into her fingertips, which she pressed at two of Francine's now visible Chakra nodes.

"Two Palms!!"

Hinata then slightly shifted position and tapped another two nodes.

"Four Palms!!"

She shifted positions again and tapped four nodes.

"Eight Palms!!"

She shifted to behind Francine and tapped eight nodes.

"Sixteen Palms!!"

She shifted to in front of Francine and tapped sixteen nodes.

"Thirty-two Palms!!"

She kept her position and tapped thirty-two nodes.

"Sixty-four Palms!!"

Hinata then grabbed Francine by the shoulders, "And for good measure!" and delivered a devastating skull bash. This turned out to be a somewhat bad idea, for Hinata was equally jolted by her head bashing into Francine's as the mad sorceress was.

"You bitch!!" Francine snapped as she stumbled about, "I'll turn you into a cockroach! So I can squash you!!" She aimed her staff at Hinata, but only a few feeble sparks came out of the end.

"What!?" Francine exclaimed as she tried to cast her curse again, yet only producing a few spurts of minute magic, "What did you do to me!?"

"I used my Kekkei Genkai," Hinata said while trying to maintain her balance. The skull bashing was affecting her vision so that there appeared to be three Francines', "My Byakugan allows me to see your Chakra network, which I blocked. You see, I believe that a mage channels energy the same way a Shinobi channels Chakra, so if you were to block that energy network in a magic user, he or she will be unable to use magic for a certain amount of time. But don't worry, it'll wear off with twenty-four hours, but you won't be around to see it."

"Wait!" Francine exclaimed as Hinata pulled out a kuni knife, "You can't kill me!"

"Try and stop me!" Hinata said with grim determination, "I usually detest killing, but for you I'll make an exception!! You are the most despicable excuse for a human being! You deserve to die!" She then slashed at Francine, aiming at her neck, but wound up cutting the sorceress' arm instead.

"You're an even bigger fool that I thought!!" Francine snapped, not caring that her arm was bleeding, "You think that spells and curses are my only weapon! Well you're wrong!!" she reached into her robes and pulled out a small black crystal. She threw it at Hinata, which produced a bright flash in front of her face.

Blinded by the flash, Hinata stumbled about, accidentally dropping her knife. "My eyes!! I can't see!!"

"Hinata!!" exclaimed Shino. But there wasn't anything he could do to help his teammate, as the giant mantis was still fighting his summoned beetle. Kiba and Akamaru had shifted back to their normal forms and were still fighting the giant crab.

"What was it you said about me?" Francine taunted as she picked up the knife, "That I was a despicable excuse for a human being, and that I deserved death? Well think again, little girl! It is you who shall die!!" She then lunged at Hinata, the madwoman's eyes wide with anticipation of the kill to come.

Yet the kill did not come, for Hinata had grabbed hold of Francine's arms before the knife got too close.

"What!?" Francine exclaimed, "What is this!?"

"Just because I can't see!" Hinata said, "Doesn't mean that I can't sense you! Besides," She twisted Francine's arms, forcing the sorceress to drop the knife, "I heard you coming a mile away." Hinata then let go of one arm and punched Francine in the face. She jumped back several paces, while Francine fell to the ground.

Just then Kiba and Akamaru finished destroying the crab monster, while Shino recalled his destruction bugs from the slain giant mantis, his summoned beetle disappearing now that its job was accomplished. Both monsters were dissolving into puddles of green goo, which soon evaporated and were gone.

"You've got a lot to answer for, lady!" Kiba said.

"I'm sure that Naruto and the others will wish to question this woman when they get here," said Shino.

"You are so naive!" Francine snapped. She pulled out a parchment scroll and red it's contents very quickly. Before Kiba and Shino could act, Francine was gone in a purple flash.

"Sht!!" Kiba exclaimed, "She got away!"

"That may be," Shino said, "But at least she did not escape victorious." He then disabled the Genjutsu that he set up to conceal the villagers from the Marauders.

An hour later Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Henry and two-dozen guardsmen arrived at the village, expecting a bloodbath. They were surprised to find the village nearly intact and only twelve dead bodies, all of them slain Marauders.

The villagers were still congratulating Shino, Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata for saving them. Hinata, who's vision had cleared a while ago, fist noticed that Naruto and his group were there.

"Naruto-kun!!" Hinata exclaimed happily. She ran over to Naruto and embraced him.

"Hinata-chan," said a slightly confused Naruto, "What happened here?"

"It's a long story," Kiba said, "But let's say that Francine won't be so eager to attack Andalasia any more."

..Meanwhile…

Far to the west, the dark horde of Manos had swelled to over 120,000. There were more than just soldiers in the increasing camp; there were supply managers, cooks, thousands of slaves, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of pack animals. All in all it was a logistical nightmare, yet the tasks set by Manos were being carried out. It wouldn't be long before this monster was ready to move towards its intended victim.

Within the central tent, Manos sat in meditation, surrounded by the glowing crystals that housed the captured souls of innocent young women. He chuckled to himself, "So, these Shinobi are more audacious than I gave them credit for."

Just then several purple armored soldiers escorted a frazzled looking Francine into the tent. "Lord Manos," Francine said as she prostrated herself in front of her master, "I am unworthy to look upon thee."

"That you are," Manos said, "Most unworthy. You know that I have little tolerance for failure."

"Please, master!" Francine said, "It wasn't my fault! The Shinobi…"

"I know about the Shinobi who deprived you of your powers, Francine," Manos interrupted, "That girl possesses a powerful bloodline ability. If I had the time, I'd eagerly capture her soul and take control of her body. But other matters must come first. I will give you one more chance, Francine."

"You will!?" Francine asked hopefully as she rose into a kneeling position, "Thank you, Lord Manos!!"

"Do not thank me yet," Manos said, "What you should be thankful for is my generosity. I shall replenish the ranks of your Marauders, so that you can complete your mission. I want the entire kingdom of Andalasia to be on its knees in terror by the time my forces arrive at the border. Just to be safe, I'll inform my contact in Andalasia that the time for him to act is near. I'm sure he will do his best to help you. We shall be ready to move before too long, so time is against you, Francine, now go."

"I will not fail you, Lord Manos," Francine said as she bowed.

"See that you don't," Manos said, "Or I shall add your soul to my collection!"

"I will not fail you, Lord Manos," Francine repeated, but in a much more meeker tone. She bowed again and exited the tent.

"She's barely worth collecting," Manos said to himself, "Her soul is already tarnish beyond restoration; it'd be a blight among my treasures." He looked among his collected souls, then set his gaze on a crystal ball in the middle of the tent, one that displayed Clare.

"But you, Clare Rachuba, are a rare gem indeed. Soon you shall be mine."

The end of chapter 9.

Naruto: Yes! Victory!!

Sasuke: Don't celebrate just yet, Naruto. We still have to save the rest of the kingdom.

Sakura: And don't forget, there are still plenty of enemies within the kingdom.

Naruto: Huh? What are you talking about, Sakura?

Sakura: You'll find out next time, Naruto.

Naruto: But I want to know now!

Sasuke: Oh just go eat another bowl of ramen, it'll help pass the time.

Naruto: Ooh, ramen! Yummy!

Shino: Next chapter; True Colors: A Traitor Revealed

Kiba: Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie.

Naruto: And ramen, don't forget the ramen.