Here's chapter 11, now my longest chapter.
I made a minor correction to chapter 8. I mentioned in one sentence only Naruto could sympathize with Sora being an orphan but I meant to say both Jinchuriki could.
Also, I've opened a poll on whether or not Fu will have the chakra cloak or the chakra mode Naruto has.
Sakura had finally calmed down and the three teens stood in front of Yamato. It was obvious neither of the original Team Kakashi members liked Sai, but it didn't seem to bother the boy at all. Yamato sighed as he looked at the three with his arms crossed.
"Sai… I'll have to ask you to try not to provoke your teammates." Yamato said sternly.
"Sorry." Sai replied while still wearing his fake smile.
"Alright, as you know, I've been chosen to replace Kakashi on this mission and work with your team afterwards. My name is Yamato, now, introduce yourselves."
"Naruto Uzumaki." he said impassively.
"I'm Sakura Haruno." she said while glaring at Sai.
"My name is Sai." he said cheerfully.
"Alright, now I'll explain our mission." Yamato began. "The four of us will proceed to the Tenchi Bridge in Kusa, there we will intercept and capture the Akatsuki spy. This is our chance to find out more about Orochimaru and Sasuke. We can gain a valuable source of information which may lead to formulating a plan to assassinate Orochimaru and bring Sasuke back. So keep focused. We will assemble at the front gates in one hour. Gather your equipment and get ready."
The team then separated. Naruto wanted to go back to the Senju compound and check the armory, he always kept enough equipment in scrolls or seals on his body. Sakura did need to gather equipment however.
"Sakura…" Naruto said, getting the pink haired girl's attention. "Be careful of Sai."
"Huh, why? I mean, he's vulgar, but, why should I be worried about him?"
"If I'm right, he's a member of ROOT."
"ROOT?" Naruto crossed his arms and began to explain.
"They're a defunct branch of ANBU who were headed by a man named Danzo Shimura. Danzo believes all ninja should be emotionless tools and trained members of ROOT to be that way. They only took orders from him instead of the Hokage unless he ordered otherwise. Danzo's a war hawk, he's against the peaceful ways of Grandma Tsunade and the previous Hokage."
"So you think he's up to something?"
"Maybe, maybe not, still, better to be safe than sorry, right?" Naruto asked.
Sakura stood before Tsunade in her office. She had wanted to tell her how her first meeting with the new members of the team went.
"Sounds like he has quite an antagonistic streak in him." Tsunade noted about Sai. "Well, I'm afraid you guys will just have to bear with it for now."
"I know that, but…" She began, wanting to ask about what Naruto told her before she was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Enter." Tsunade said and Danzo opened the door and walked into the room. "Danzo… what do you want?"
'Danzo?' Sakura thought, remembering what Naruto had told her.
"You have assigned an elite ANBU to the team I trust, Princess Tsunade?" Danzo asked.
"I chose the person who stood out the most since the Third was in office." Tsunade replied.
"Excellent, but I hope he hasn't taken the Third's teachings to heart… that old man was always afraid of getting into disputes and making decisions." Danzo said and Tsunade glared at him but said nothing. "Like how your grandfather taught the Third, hmm? Anyway, I'm satisfied. I can rest easier now. Goodbye." The man said before he turned and left the room.
"That was Sai's superior, Danzo?" Sakura asked with a slight glare where the man had stood.
"Yeah. How do you know who he is?" Sakura turned to her mentor.
"Naruto… he told me about Danzo and ROOT. He seems to think they're up to something."
Tsunade closed her eyes in thought as she heard that. "…It seems he's gotten sharper under Jiraiya."
"You think he's right?"
"Most likely… but nothing to do about it unless he makes a move. Anyway, it's time for you to go."
"Right."
As Team Yamato made their way to the Land of Grass, Naruto and Sakura made little attempt to hide that they dislike Sai. They had stopped at a hotel with a hot spring, which they were all enjoying at the moment. Since they were just relaxing that day, Naruto created 150 clones and had them all work on completing the Rasengan, though he didn't tell his teammates.
As they relaxed, Naruto looked off in thought, thinking about Fu, all the recent developments, the mission and Sasuke. He hoped he could bring Sasuke back, but knew he would never come back willingly. Not unless Itachi died anyway. Even then, there was no telling how much he'd changed. What he didn't notice, but Yamato did, was that he was looking in the direction of the women's side of the hot springs.
"I'm done for now. But before I go, there's something I'd like to tell you, Naruto." Yamato began, getting the blonde's attention. "When Master Jiraiya was young, he came very close to dying once… six broken ribs, both arms were broken and several internal organs were ruptured. The cause was Tsunade's super human strength. What he did was what I believe you're thinking of doing right now. How do you think Sakura would react?"
"Huh?" Naruto replied before realizing where he had been looking. "Oh, you thought I was thinking of peeking? I'm not Pervy Sage, you know. I just had a lot on my mind. Besides, even if I was a pervert, I know what would happen if I did that. Sakura would beat me half to death and when we got back to Konoha, Fu would finish the job."
"I see, that's good to hear." Yamato replied before he went inside.
Fu and Team Asuma sat in a tea house in the Land of Fire, waiting for their orders. They had been traveling non-stop through the trees and were taking a short break.
"So, Fu, how's life in Konoha been?" Asuma asked.
"Good so far… I was afraid I'd be treated like I was back in Taki but I had nothing to worry about and Naruto and I just bought an amazing place to live." Fu answered with a smile.
"Wait, you bought a house together?" Ino asked.
"Well, more than a house, the Senju clan compound." Fu replied, shocking the rest of the team.
"What?" Ino asked. "Lady Tsunade sold you her clan's compound? Why?"
"Apparently, Naruto's her last living relative."
"Naruto's related to Lady Hokage?" Choji asked.
"Yeah, her grandmother was Mito Uzumaki. Naruto is the last survivor of her grandmother's clan."
"Wait, the Uzumaki are a clan?" Choji asked.
"They didn't teach that in the academy?" Fu asked. She thought they would given the relationship between Konoha and Uzushio.
"Afraid not. The Uzumaki clan led the village Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools, which was destroyed during a war years ago out of fear of their abilities. They were distant relatives of the Senju clan and were renowned for their sealing jutsu and longevity. Their village was such close allies with ours that we wear the symbol of Uzushio and the Uzumaki clan, the red spiral, to symbolize it. I'm sure you've noticed it before." Asuma explained.
"Wow, I never imagined he was a member of a clan, let alone one so powerful." Ino said.
"Far as I know, as Fu said, Naruto's the last survivor, so it's not surprising you never heard of them… wait, was Kushina his mother?" Asuma asked.
"Yeah, did you know her?" Fu asked.
"Not really. I know she was one of the most powerful kunoichi of our village since Tsunade, but I didn't work with her that often."
"Anyway, once the compound's cleaned and repaired, we're going to throw a house warming party. Any of you going to be there?"
"Sure thing." Ino replied.
"Same here." Choji said.
"If senseis are invited, you can count me in." Asuma said.
"How'd you afford to buy a clan compound?" Ino asked.
"Well, we've made a lot of money bounty hunting. Naruto made even more gambling and Tsunade gave Naruto a family discount… we also had to promise she could live there once she retires."
"Hey, you know, I'm sure Naruto told you about us but we don't know all that much about you." Asuma said.
"Oh, you're right, sorry about that." Fu said sheepishly. "My name's Fu, as you already know. I like my friends, gambling, though I'm not a gambling fool like Lady Tsunade, nature… and Naruto managed to get me hooked on ramen. My hobbies are practicing kenjutsu and training in general, reading and gardening. My dreams are… well … I'd really like to start a family someday… I also want to show my old village what they missed out on and become strong enough to protect all those precious to me. My dislikes are people who treat me like a monster, people who judge others unfairly and perverts. I also hate when Ero-sensei… Jiraiya… spends my money on himself… though he learned not to do that soon after he started."
The three present members of Team Asuma re-introduced themselves in a similar fashion before their orders arrived.
The next morning, Sakura woke up from a good night sleep. After they got out of the hot springs, the four had spent the rest of the day relaxing and had a large meal before going to bed. As Sakura looked out of the open shoji door of her room saw Sai sitting by himself with something she couldn't see. After she got dressed, the pink haired girl decided to see what he was doing.
"Hey, drawing a picture?" she asked as she approached the boy.
"What is it?" Sai asked as she looked over his shoulder.
"I'm surprised you can make something like this. Not something one would expect considering your personality."
"Is that so?" Sai said, donning his fake smile.
"Yeah. So, what's it called?"
"Called?"
"You haven't decided on a name yet?"
"No, that's not it. I've drawn hundreds, maybe thousands so far, none of them have titles."
"Oh… but don't pictures normally have names? Like, portraits have a persons name, other pictures have the situation at the time and others are named for the artists feelings."
"… To be more precise, even if I try to name them, I just can't do it." Sai said and Sakura looked at him curiously. "They don't put me in mind of anything… I don't feel anything." Sakura looked pensive as she recalled what Naruto had told her about Sai and ROOT and her meeting with Sai's superior when she went to see Tsunade.
"That's what I thought." Naruto noted as he walked towards them. "… Interesting drawing." He wasn't actually that interested in the drawing, though he admitted it was good. What he was more interested in was that someone who was completely emotionless likely wouldn't be able to come up with it, even if he couldn't form attachments to it.
"Hm… go on ahead… I just have to clean up here." Sai said.
"I'll give you a hand." Sakura said as she picked up a nearby book. "This isn't printed… did you draw this picture book? Could you show it to me on the way?"
"I can't, it's incomplete… and I don't let other people touch it because it's my brothers." Sai replied and Naruto raised a brow. If he kept that thing around and valued it enough to keep it from others, maybe Danzo hadn't completed his training and his emotions weren't completely suppressed after all.
Asuma, Fu, Ino and Choji walked through the town in the Land of Hot Water where they were supposed to meet the Daimyo. As they walked through the town, Ino had seen several stores with sales or items she just had to have. As she had told Fu, shopping was her main hobby.
"So where are we supposed to meet this guy?" Ino asked.
"It's supposed to be not too far from here." Asuma replied.
"You know, we'd probably have been there already if you hadn't taken us into those stores…" Fu sighed.
"What? Did you see the price on that kimono? Besides, don't act like you didn't buy anything yourself."
"I never said I didn't." Fu replied.
"Good thing we pulled them out when we did, huh Choji?" Asuma said quietly to the Akimichi.
"Tell me about it…" Choji grumbled. Any non-essentials came out of their pay. There had been several C-rank missions where Ino had blown most of their pay shopping. Fu wasn't so bad with that… in fact, she only bought anything due to Ino's insistence. Still, what Ino bought alone was more than enough to put a considerable dent in their pay.
"We can hear you, you know?" Ino said slightly menacingly.
"Oh, would you look at that, we're here." Asuma said, gesturing to a large building.
"Don't think I'll forget about this." the blonde said as they walked to the building. As they reached the building, they approached a guard in front of the gates.
"I'm guessing you're the ninja we requested." the guard said as they approached. "About time you showed up. Lord Takahiro's beginning to grow impatient. Come on, let's get going already."
"Geez. Would it have killed him to be polite?" Ino asked with a frown as they followed him. He led them through the building and soon they found themselves in the presence of the Daimyo. He was a middle aged man with brown hair and a mustache, wearing the customary clothing of a Daimyo.
"My lord. The ninja from Konoha have arrived." Their guard escorting them said as they approached.
"Ah, they're here at last." Takahiro said as he turned towards the ninja. "You're Asuma Sarutobi, if I'm not mistaken. You have quite the reputation. I assume you're the leader of this team, then?" The Daimyo said with a smile.
"Thank you, Lord Takahiro." Asuma said. "As you expect, I'm the captain of this team. This is Fu, a special jonin of Konoha, along with my students, chunin Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." the three bowed slightly to their charge.
"My lord, if you and the shinobi are ready, we are prepared to leave immediately." one of the servants said.
"Ah, well, you heard him. I would like to return as soon as possible, so if you're ready, we will leave at once." Takahiro said. "Do you need any time to gather supplies?"
"That's fine, my lord. My thanks for the consideration." Asuma said and the Daimyo nodded and walked to his throne.
"Now this is more like it. Usually, nobles are such pricks, huh Choji?" Ino asked her fellow chunin who discretely nodded.
"Really? This is my first time guarding a noble." Fu said.
"You never got a mission like this back at Taki?" Choji asked and Fu shook her head.
"Well yeah. Nobles, for the most part, tend to be arrogant jerks or spoiled brats, though Daimyo's tend to be better. I remember once, we were assigned to guard this noble from the Land of Fangs. The bastard kept trying to pay me to become his servant. Oh, how I wanted to…" Ino said, the last part menacingly.
"That's enough. Let's not talk about that while the Daimyo might hear. Ino, Fu, I expect you two to scout for enemies using your insects and sensing abilities." Asuma said and his subordinates nodded. While not really a sensor as she hadn't honed the ability, Ino was a natural at sensing chakra like most of her clan and had she not been focusing on medical jutsu and her clan's techniques, she could be a sensor type ninja and likely would become one in the future.
Hours later, Team Asuma and their charges were walking down a forest path, the Daimyo carried by his servants in a black, gilded planquin. The ninja stood around their charges and his guards, Asuma ahead, Fu and Ino at the center with Choji at the rear. So far, they hadn't encountered any problems aside from a bandit attack that was easily taken care of. Fu had secured an area with a half of a kilometer radius with her insects to warn of approaching attack.
The green haired girl found she liked Team Asuma. She was glad Ino had gotten over her fan girl tendencies. She liked the girl's outspokenness and found she had a lot of knowledge on gardening from working in her families flower shop. She also found the blond was quite perceptive. Choji was kind and polite and she found Asuma to be a good sensei despite how laid back he seemed, especially when he told her what Ino, Choji and Shikamaru used to be like. Though it could be partially attributed to growing up, the fact that he managed to motivate them to become the ninja they were today said a lot.
"You used to have to motivate Choji by offering him food or insulting him?" Fu asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah, you should have seen him at the Chunin Exams. During the prelims for the third stage, we were randomly matched up, he actually yelled 'safe again' once when he got passed over." Ino said with a laugh at the memory and Fu smirked. "He used to be such a chicken."
"I'm right here you know?" Choji said, slightly mortified at the memory.
"You know I don't mean anything by it." Ino said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, you've grown up a lot since then."
"Mind if I ask what's the story behind the Ino-Shika-Cho trio I heard about from Ero-sensei?" Fu asked.
"That's ok. Our clans have worked with each other to protect each other and the village. Every generation has always had an trio made of the Akimichi, Yamanaka and Nara clan heirs."
"Then you must have known each other before you entered the academy." Fu said.
"Yeah, our families are close and all our fathers made up the last trio from our clans so they're old friends. But we didn't know we were going to be on the same team or why till much later." Choji said while he munched on potato chips.
"Whenever a team from their three clans become chunin, it's become customary for a member of my clan to give them a set of earrings that have been in their families for generations to symbolize their unity. They eventually give them back to the clan to be passed on to the next generation. " Asuma said.
"The name Ino-Shika-Cho comes from the syllables of our names, obviously." Ino said.
"But I heard you weren't the first." Fu replied.
"That's right, our clans' heirs always have names with these syllables, and so, they always form Ino-Shika-Cho." Choji explained and Fu nodded.
"… Have you noticed?" Fu asked.
"…Yeah. We're being watched" Ino said. The Yamanaka clan was skilled in sensing chakra, though few were skilled enough to really be sensors. The two girls, along with Asuma, had sensed they were being watched. Choji, who had no such abilities, tensed slightly at their conversation, preparing for an attack.
"Can you tell how many there are?" Asuma asked.
"No. They're too far away." Ino said.
"I'll have my insects track them."
"Good. Unless we get the opportunity to do something, it's probably best if we wait till they make a move."
"I can summon a Chameleon to help." Fu said. She had already told them what they could do when she told them how she got them.
"That could be useful. Save it until we're sure we're not being watched." Asuma said.
Quite a distance away, a group of six ex-Ame ninja, though they all still wore their forehead protectors sat together.
"Huh, looks like they hired ninja from your old village." a jonin level kunoichi, Kiku said. She wore a blue, long sleeved shirt that showed her midriff and matching pants and had brown hair and grey eyes.
"They would probably send elite ninja to guard a Daimyo. Well, whoever it is, they're unlucky." a chunin, Oboro said.
"I'm curious who they sent… should be interesting." the leader of the group, a man with a black and white body suit and unkempt, shoulder length dark green hair, Aoi Rokusho said with a smirk.
He could still hardly believe how things turned out. He had betrayed that bleeding heart village he was born in and joined Ame. With the power of the Raijin no Ken, he quickly rose through the ranks of his new home to jonin and was even beginning to earn the attention of Hanzo of the Salamander himself. Then, he appeared. That megalomaniac who called himself Pain. A civil war began and, much to the shock of almost everyone on their side, Pain single-handedly killed the legendary leader of Ame. After that, he began to slaughter all those with ties to the man. While Aoi wasn't truly loyal to anyone, he had thrown in his lot with Hanzo and, fearing Pain wouldn't spare him, decided to find all the allies he could and get out of dodge.
They had fled the country and eventually heard word from fellow escapees from the remnants of the old Amegakure that the man who thought himself to be a god was hunting down all those survivors from Hanzo's faction. He and his group had been on the run, never staying in one place for long periods of time since.
Soon, Team Asuma and their charges passed by the gates of a town. It was an average town, nothing particularly noteworthy about it. The sun was setting and, though the ninja were fine, the servants were all tired, especially those tasked with carrying the Daimyo's palanquin.
"Asuma, do you think we should stop at this town for the night?" Takahiro asked. "I'm sure you shinobi are good to continue but my servants need the rest."
"Well… I guess it won't hurt to stop here for the night." Asuma said. The faces of the Daimyo's guards and servants showed the man had been right. This kind of walk was hard on non-shinobi.
Minutes later, they had found the highest quality inn in town and entered the lobby. The receptionist noticed them as Takahiro entered.
"Welcome to… oh, greetings my lord. Are you going to give us the honor of having a Daimyo stay here tonight?" the host said with a bow.
"Yes, and please, there's no need to act in such a manner." Takahiro said. "I'll cover the expenses of my servants and guards."
"Thank you, my lord." the receptionist said.
"You can say that again." Ino said happily. "You heard him guys, everything's on him."
"Let's try not to take advantage of his hospitality." Fu said.
Ino sighed as she looked to her teammate. The team sat at the cafeteria of the hotel. The food loving Akimichi was eating with his usual enthusiasm, having already finished off ten plates of food while the no one else had finished their first. "Geez Choji, do you always have to eat like this?"
"You should already know the answer to that Ino." Asuma sighed. "At least he doesn't let it interfere with his duties anymore."
"It's not my fault you guys don't appreciate food. At least you're not always dieting anymore." Choji said to Ino.
"You shinobi of Konoha lack discipline. Gorging yourself like this." one of the Daimyo's guards sneered. "Though you do have strong ninja, you lack the killer instinct of Iwa or Suna. I'm surprised you've stayed on top this long."
"You're one to talk." Fu replied. "You're Daimyo must not have a lot of faith in you considering he hired us to help."
"He insisted on hiring additional aid, we don't need your assistance." he said with a glare
"Stop being so critical, Akira." another guard admonished as he joined them. " I apologize for my partner, he has a grudge against Konoha and ninja in general. I'm Atsushi."
"Nice to meet you. Glad to see someone appreciates the help." Ino said.
"Good to see some of you are getting along." Takahiro said as he joined them, having heard the whole affair.
"Hm. We don't need their help. Look, one's not even taking this seriously. Look at the fat one stuffing himself." Akira said. This caused the Konoha ninja to freeze, including Fu who had been told by Naruto how Choji reacted to the subject.
"There's no reason to be rude to our guards. Although, I have to say it can't be good to eat all that. Is it really such a good idea to allow your ninja to get so… large?"
The other leaf ninja looked worriedly to the Akimichi, who had his eyes hidden by shadows, covering an almost murderous glare. He composed himself before looking to the Daimyo. While normally, he'd wail on anyone who said that, there was a VIP present.
"It doesn't affect my performance, milord. In fact, my clan has techniques that function by quickly burning calories, so I have to eat like this, not that I don't want to." Choji said. 'Keep up like that and the lands of Honey and Fire will be at war!'
"I see, how interesting." The Daimyo said as the rest of the other leaf ninja breathed sighs of relief. "If I may ask, what are the odds of being attacked while we stay here?"
"Pretty slim, but we're not going to let our guard down." Asuma replied. "It'd be better to ambush us. Here, we can set up traps and defenses. If they attacked now, we'd have the advantage, while the opposite is true if they wait. Anyway, we should turn in soon. Tomorrow's the last leg of our journey. We should all get some sleep. I'll take first watch."
That night, Ino decided to have a walk around the hotel. Asuma was guarding the Daimyo at the moment with the help of a chameleon Fu summoned. A ten foot tall brown chameleon named Katsu which sat on the roof above the Daimyo's room, using it's camouflage abilities to hide himself and used his stereoscopic eyes to watch over the surrounding area. As she walked, she saw Fu leaning against a wall, looking up at the sky.
"Fu? What are you doing out here? Stargazing?" Ino asked as she approached the green haired girl.
"Huh? Oh, hey, Ino. I was just thinking." Fu replied.
"About what?"
"Everything that's happened recently and Naruto's mission."
"You worried about him?" Ino asked as she leaned against the wall beside Fu.
"A little. It is Orochimaru they're dealing with. But I'm really thinking about what will happen if they meet Sasuke. He thinks of him like a brother… and I know Sakura really loves him… you should have seen how she reacted when the Akatsuki member we fought on our last mission implied he had information on Orochimaru." Fu said, looking to the stars. "She was determined to get the information, no matter how big the difference between their skills was."
"Yeah… I'm not surprised to hear that." Ino replied. Fu turned to her.
"Do you still feel that way? Naruto told me you used to compete with Sakura for his attention."
"… I don't know… I still care about him a lot but… I'm not really sure if I really loved him… why do you ask?"
"I was curious… I kind of understand why Naruto wants to bring him back so badly. Sasuke was the first friend he had." Fu said. "But still, I'm not sure I would do the same thing. He betrayed everyone and willingly left the village, all for power. He even tried to kill Naruto." Though she supported Naruto's decision, if she was in his shoes, she'd probably either kill him or forget about him unless he became a threat to Konoha.
Ino looked to Fu. She had heard Naruto was injured badly during his fight with Sasuke but never knew how badly. Naruto had never described the battle to anyone. She didn't know Sasuke had tried to kill the blond, or maybe she had just refused to believe he would. "I heard Sasuke hurt him during the retrieval mission… do you know how badly?" Ino asked.
"Sasuke used Chidori on him… twice." Fu replied, looking to the ground as she imagined how painful that must have been, not just the attack but the fact that it was done by someone he considered a brother.
"What?" Ino asked, a look of horror on her face as she remembered the technique. None of the other members of the Konoha 11 knew that detail. "How did he…? His tenant, right?"
"Yeah… if it wasn't for that…" Fu said sadly.
"I can't believe it… Sasuke couldn't have known about that and he still… how could he do that to a friend?"
"Why did you like him in the first place?"
"He wasn't always like that… I liked him at first because he was cool and handsome… I didn't know much about the massacre then. When I found out, I wanted to help him… but then he started to change… he became darker and darker over time… I still want to help him, but…" Ino trailed off. Being a Yamanaka, she knew a lot about the mind and psychology, though not as much as others. As much as she wished it otherwise, she knew the situation with Sasuke was unlikely to have a happy ending. "… Can I ask what drew you to Naruto? You told us how you got together but… why do you like him?"
"Well… I admired him for a while before we met. Ever since he saved my old village."
"Wait, what?" Ino asked, her eyes wide.
"You didn't hear about it? Naruto and his team escorted the leader of Taki, Shibuki, back home. Soon after they arrived, before they entered the village, a rogue jonin from our village led a group missing-nin and captured all of the civilians and children. He was trying to steal a powerful village treasure and held them hostage in exchange for it. Long story short, Naruto and Sasuke defeated him, with Naruto doing the most damage and he's the one who gave the finishing blow. He also inspired Shibuki to fight. Before that, he was timid, almost cowardly. But thanks to him, Shibuki became a strong leader."
"Wow… I never heard about that. Guess I shouldn't be surprised." Ino said, thinking about what happened with Gaara and how he changed thanks to her fellow blond.
"Yeah… and, well, you know how we met… he wanted to spend time with me because he saw I was alone and didn't want to leave me like that. When I first met him, I wasn't sure I could trust him… I'd been betrayed so many times before that. I decided to give him a chance because he probably didn't know about my tenant. When I found out he was the same as me… I was glad I had someone I could relate to, but sad too, knowing that it was because he had the same kind of life as me. While we were traveling together, he showed himself to be kind, but I already knew that, loyal, determined…"
"You've really fallen for him, haven't you?" Ino asked.
"Yeah… I don't want to think about where I would be if I hadn't met him. If I was left back in Taki." Fu said.
"Is there anything you miss about your old village?"
"The scenery…" Fu shrugged. "I miss Shibuki… that's about it."
"Didn't you have any friends? I mean, Naruto had a bad life, but…"
"No… everyone knew about my tenant and almost everyone hated me… anyone who didn't hate me didn't care enough to bother helping or approaching me except Shibuki and he couldn't do much and was busy most of the time. But that's all in the past. I have Naruto and Ero-sensei, and no one in Konoha seems to care. Though some of the council see us weapons."
"How do you know that?" Fu furrowed her brow as she thought of what Tsunade said to her.
"It's part of the reason I was sent here instead of with Naruto's team. They didn't want to risk both of us on a mission that could be an Akatsuki trap and don't us to working together." Ino glared slightly at hearing that.
"Yeah, well it doesn't matter what they think."
"I know… Naruto already had that conversation with me. As long as I have him and my friends, it doesn't matter what people say." Fu replied with a smile.
"Exactly, and you can consider me one of your friends too." Ino said with a smile.
"Really?"
"Yeah." Ino replied. "So… you and Naruto have been close for a long time now…"
"Yeah… and?" Fu replied, slightly nervous as Ino smirked.
"And, he's gotten hot over the last three years. So, how was he?"
"Wha-, what? W- we haven't-! How could you ask me something like that?" Fu yelled back with wide eyes and a deep blush. Ino didn't seriously mean it, she was just teasing her. But Fu didn't know that.
"Really? You answered quickly and seem pretty flustered, you hiding something?" Ino grinned. It was fun to tease the green haired girl. She chuckled at Fu's continued protests.
The next day, the group had reached the Land of Honey. They were only a days journey from the Daimyo's home. The chameleon was traveling by the side of the palanquin, remaining hidden with his camouflage ability. They were approaching a bridge over a river.
"Captain Asuma… up ahead, six ninja… four have chunin level chakra, the other two have jonin level reserves." Fu said. As expected, the other ninja didn't visibly react to her tip off. The guards knew not to interfere in a battle of ninja.
"Alright… let's see what were up against. Ino, Choji, you two stay behind and protect the Daimyo." Asuma said. Minutes later, an umbrella flew into the air from the other side of the bridge and spun around, before unleashing a hail of poison senbon towards the group, Asuma clapped his hands together as his team got ready to battle as the Daimyo's group and the hidden summon backed away.
'Wind Style: Violent Wind Palm!' Asuma unleashed a powerful wave of wind which deflected the senbon. Immediately, they found themselves surrounded with clones of three of the chunin, which rose out of the ground as the umbrella fell back down to earth and its owner appeared at the center of the bridge and caught it.
"Well, well… Asuma Sarutobi… what an unexpected surprise. I should have guessed they'd send someone of your caliber." Aoi said with an arrogant smirk.
"Aoi Rokusho." Fu said with a glare.
"Who's this guy?" Ino asked.
"He was an instructor at our village academy until he betrayed us and stole the Raijin no Ken, the weapon of the Second Hokage… so, you threw in your lot with Ame huh?" Asuma said as he drew his trench knives. His students' eyes widened, then narrowed at hearing the man was a traitor from their village.
"Ah, I thought after that I'd be more well known in Konoha… oh well. How about you let me do my job and I'll be on my way." Aoi said.
"Sorry, but this is only my second mission as a ninja of Konoha, it be a shame to fail a mission when I just joined the village, wouldn't it?" Fu said sarcastically. "But, turning in your body and recovering that sword? Now that's a good way to start my career."
"Heh, kids… always thinking they can take on anything… oh well… although I obviously can't offer you my life or my sword, we can offer you a trip to the afterlife." Aoi said and they all sensed something. From the right, a water dragon was speeding towards them. The ninja were forced to scatter, Fu jumping forward toward Aoi, Choji and Ino to the back to protect the Daimyo and Asuma to the side. The jonin brought his blades together to block a downward slash from the Kiku's katana.
"As my student would say, lucky, I'll be famous for taking down a member of the Twelve Ninja Guardians." the kunoichi said with a smirk.
"Well, you got what you wanted." Aoi said as he drew the Raijin no Ken. He activated the legendary weapon, causing a yellow blade which crackled with lightning to emanate from the hilt. "It's a shame, you abandoned your home only to join such a weak village."
"I didn't abandon anything." Fu said with narrowed eyes as she summoned Okibi no Yaiba.
"Then you were thrown away… now I know this'll be easy." Fu snarled as she channeled chakra into her blade, surrounding it with flame before charging forward. Aoi slashed his blade, which produced a humming sound as it sailed through the air. Despite seemingly being made of lightning, the blade produced the normal clang of metal meeting metal when it collided with Fu's sword. The chakra coursing through her sword partially defended her against the Raijin's powers, but the blades yellow lightning still found its way through the blade. "Hm… you've got an interesting sword there… maybe I should start a collection after I take it." Aoi said as they
Fu barely heard his comment about her sword. She barely noticed her hands going numb from the Raijin's power. Hearing his taunt brought back memories and feelings from her home village. Their mistreatment, how they threw her away to protect themselves and, worst still, how they considered simply allowing Akatsuki to take her.
Her guard weakened by the electricity coursing through her extremities, Aoi managed to push her back. Fu jumped back and quickly stopped channeling raw chakra through her sword, flowing lightning through it instead to counter the famed sword's powers. Aoi charged forward and locked blades with the green haired girl, blue and yellow lightning arced from the two swords as their bearers tried to overpower each other.
"Take that back." Fu said quietly, her eyes hidden by shadow.
"What?"
"Take back what you said."
"Oh, about your village throwing you away? Considering your reaction, it seems I hit the nail on the head. Sorry if the truth hurts. Don't worry, you won't have to deal with it much longer, soon you'll all be out of your misery."
Aoi's eyes widened as she pushed him back before punching him in the face hard enough to send him back a few feet. The man glared at her with blood trailing down from his nose as Fu stared at him with eyes full of anger.
"You'll pay for that, you bitch."
Choji and Ino were having trouble. They had quickly found that the clones surrounding them, haze clones to be precise, were not real like shadow clones, but there were water clones mixed in. Choji used his Partial Expansion Jutsu and swept his arm across several of the clones. Many of them, be they haze or water clones to keep up the illusion, jumped out of the way, but ten of them were caught, three of which turned into water clones. Ino jumped back as a hand holding a kunai reached out of the ground from behind her and attempted to cut a leg tendon.
"Choji! The real ones are underground!" Ino yelled and Choji used his Expansion Jutsu and gathered so much chakra into his hands that it became visible before slamming his palms into the ground. The attack devastated the ground and the two ex-Ame chunin jumped out of the ground and away from the leaf ninja as a black mist entered the sky and began to form a small cloud above the Daimyo's palanquin.
"What the hell?" one of the chunin, Mubi said. "Oh well, they're too late anyway."
The cloud dispersed and oil began to rain down on the Daimyo's palanquin, only a wave of water to come out of no where and wash it way.
"What?" Oboro asked in shock before there was a powerful impact on a nearby tree, shattering it and several behind it. Their fourth teammate, who had hidden himself to take out the Daimyo if that plan failed, had been sent flying by the invisible force that washed away the oil. Katsu shifted into view in a tree above the Daimyo. "Damn, it's a summon." Oboro cursed before he was suddenly literally and figuratively stabbed in the back. "What?" he asked, gurgling on blood at the end. His last sight was his teammate, Mubi holding the kunai that killed him.
"What… the girl must be a Yamanaka…" Kagari said. Aoi had told them about some of Konoha's clans and their abilities, with them being one to watch out for. Choji charged at the tree he was hidden in and knocked it down with a single punch. He then skipped back to Ino's body as Ino in Mubi's body charged forward with a kunai.
Kagari drew his own kunai and the two clashed.
Asuma clashed with Kiku in an impressive display of skill. The woman had the wind nature too and channeled wind through her sword to counter his trench knives. After a few moments passed, Asuma jumped back and made the bird hand sign before he placed his hands in front of his mouth, one above and one below.
'Wind Style: Dust Cloud Jutsu!' Asuma breathed out a powerful stream of wind infused with dust particles. The rain jonin dodged to the side and the attack destroyed half the branches of a tree caught in it's path. Kiku made hand signs of her own as she dodged.
"Water Clone Jutsu!" ten water clones arose from the nearby water before charging Asuma. Asuma met the clones and destroyed three with a single slash of his trench knives. He quickly cut the rest down, only being at one tenth the original's strength, they were no match He threw the trench knife on his left hand through the last clone before he looked around and realized the rain ninja was gone.
Another water dragon charged at him, but this time, instead of dodging, he stood his ground and got into the stance taught to him at the Fire Temple. his left hand making a half-ram and then extending their right hand down with his palm parallel to the ground and a calm, angelic spiritual statue appeared behind him.
"Raigo: Thousand Hand Strike!" countless fists struck out from the spirit and pummeled the dragon into oblivion. Its final punch went to the kunoichi but when struck she dissolved into water. To his shock, she came out of the water with an upward slash of her sword and he narrowly dodged, gaining a scratch across his vest. As he jumped back, he made sure she was now in between him and the thrown trench knife.
"Looks like this is the end!" The kunoichi yelled as she charged forward.
"You're right about one thing." Asuma replied as he made a hand sign, causing his blade to levitate and fly through the air. It impaled the kunoichi from behind through her stomach. She looked down with wide eyes before Asuma quickly slashed her throat.
Aoi dodged a dragon of fire before he charged forward with a slash which Fu easily blocked, once more channeling lightning through her blade to counter the Raijin's powers. It seemed Aoi only got to jonin by relying on the blade. His skill met the bare minimum requirements for his rank. Fu retaliated and the two exchanged blows which soon left the arrogant jonin on the defensive. He sported several minor wounds where as Fu was perfectly fine. The kunoichi had calmed down a bit now, with the Raijin's powers ineffective against her, the battle was largely one sided.
"Damn it! Just die already!" Aoi yelled as he brought his blade down on her.
"Well… since you asked nicely." Fu replied snarkily as she raised her blade in defense, blocking the fairly powerful slash. She then kicked him in the chest, sending the missing-nin flying back as Fu swept her hand through the air.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Needles!" dozens of needles made of pure lightning flew from her hand. Aoi recovered and brought the Raijin no Ken up, swiping it through the air and leaving a trail of energy which blocked the needles before he grabbed his umbrella and threw it into the air.
"Enough! Take this, Ninja Art: Senbon Shower!" Senbon once more rained down towards his target, but the green haired teen countered with Water Style: Water Wall, once the senbon stopped, she jumped into the air as Aoi attempted to electrocute the water and made the tiger hand sign.
'Water Style: Liquid Bullet!' Fu spat several high speed balls of water at the missing-nin. Aoi dodged and sliced through the water bullets and clashed blades with Fu again.
After ducking underneath a slash from Aoi, Fu slashed upwards. Aoi jumped back to dodge and Fu lunged forward. They continued to exchange blows, Aoi on the defensive, until once until Fu raised her hand and a swarm of insects emerged from her sleeve. Aoi jumped back as Fu stabbed her sword into the ground and ran through hand signs.
Aoi suddenly found himself constricted by the bark of a tree, Fu running forward to finish him. Realizing the kunoichi had cast an illusion, he shocked himself with the Raijin to break it. Aoi smirked as he stabbed his blade forward, certain Fu wouldn't be able to dodge. His eyes widened as he his sword passed through her and she dispersed into insects. The real Fu emerged from the ground in with an upward slash of her blade. The Ame jonin was powerless to stop the girl from cutting him deeply across his stomach and chest. Blood arched into the air. He jumped back and clutched at his wound as he struggled to remain standing as he coughed up more of his blood.
"This… this can't be… I'm Aoi Rokusho… wielder of the Raijin no Ken… I can't be defeated by some no name little girl…" Aoi said.
"Didn't you say this would be easy? That I was just a weakling thrown away by my village?" Fu asked. "You rely too much on that sword, I doubt you'd have lasted this long without it."
"I… I won't die here!" Aoi roared before charging forward, desperate to survive the encounter and Fu met his attacks, choosing to go on the defensive. Soon, Aoi's attacks grew weak from blood loss. Fu locked blades with him one final time and pushed her blade upward, disarming the Ame ninja. Fu stabbed the now unarmed Aoi through the chest, finishing off the traitorous ninja as the Raijin no Ken sailed through the air. Aoi's eyes widened before the life left them and Fu let him fall to the ground.
Fu resealed her blade and picked up the Raijin no Ken. "I wonder if I'll be allowed to keep this…" Fu thought out loud as she activated the blade. Not only was the blade extremely valuable, both monetarily and in combat, Aoi had a bounty of 15 million on his head. Even if she had to return the sword, the compensation would be substantial, though she would prefer to keep it. After making sure the others were fine and discovering they were just finishing their battles, Fu sealed the body and blade into separate scrolls before she rejoined her team. Choji had the unconscious Mubi slung over his shoulder.
"You guys alright?" Fu asked.
"We got lucky with our opponents and your chameleon helped." Choji said.
"I didn't have much trouble." Asuma said.
"Think that's the last of them?" Ino asked.
"Possibly. Luckily, we have someone who just happens to know everything, don't we?" Asuma replied as he turned to the unconscious Mubi.
Night had fallen and Team Yamato had almost reached their destination. They walked into a small clearing and Yamato decided this was a suitable location for their base.
"Alright, this should do." Yamato said before making hand signs. "Wood Style: Four Pillar House Technique!" A large, two story wooden house sprang from the ground. The rest of the team shielded their eyes as wood fragments shot into the air before they looked to the house to see Yamato sitting on the roof. "We'll camp here for the night."
"I wouldn't call this camping…" Sakura said as she looked at the structure. Yamato then placed seal tags on the building to prevent them from being detected and the group headed inside. They all stayed in a large room that took up most of the second floor.
"Everyone, come here for a bit. And Sakura, there's something I'd like you to tell me."
"What is it?"
"It's about Sasori of the Akatsuki. What I got from Sasori's file from Suna was good but tell me about his personality and characteristics because you're the only one here who's ever seen the real Sasori." Yamato explained.
"So you're planning to impersonate Sasori?" Naruto asked.
"Right, that's the best way to approach the spy, even though he may see through it."
"Being a spy if risky, so he'll probably be on guard." Sai noted.
"Just in case this is an Akatsuki trap, I'll go in alone. You will be on standby and await my instructions." Yamato said.
"Given that there was an Akatsuki spy in Suna, Yura and that he said it when he was going to die, I don't think he was lying." Sakura said.
"The spy is likely extremely skilled." Sai said.
"Hey, Naruto, can you use that perception technique to look out?" Sakura asked.
"Of course, I'll keep an eye on everything." Naruto replied.
After this, Yamato explained that this was purely a capture mission and that they were going to be separated into two teams, Naruto and Sai and Yamato and Sakura and their strategy of they failed to restrain him.
The next day, they sparred in a clearing. Naruto and Sai were facing Yamato, Sai hiding while Naruto engaged the jonin in taijutsu. Yamato was on the defensive as Naruto had a large advantage in both strength and speed. Naruto threw a punch to Yamto's face which he blocked but Naruto followed up with a kick to the stomach. As Yamato went through the air, he sensed something behind him and saw Sai coming down with his tanto in a downward slash. Yamato quickly drew a kunai and blocked with it before jumping out of the way of an axe kick from Naruto. Yamato threw the kunai which Sai deflected as he and Naruto charged forward before and Yamato ran through hand signs. Several wood tendrils burst from the ground and captured the teens, both of which burst into smoke.
'They were both shadow clones?' Yamato thought before a pair of hands burst from the ground, holding him in place. At this moment, an ink serpent made his way to the jonin and wrapped around him. Naruto rose out of the ground with a smirk.
"That was pretty good." Yamato complimented as Sakura walked into the clearing.
"Couldn't you have pulled him underground?" Sai asked as he walked out.
"I could, but he has the Wood Style, which means he has the earth and water affinities, he probably could have broken out." Naruto replied.
"That's right. Good call, Naruto." Yamato said.
"Thanks, but I have to ask, how do you have the First Hokage's bloodline?" Naruto asked.
"… I was the only survivor of one of Orochimaru's experiments. He merged the genetic material of the First into children… I was the only success."
"Oh, sorry."
"It's alright. You didn't know and you had nothing to do with it." Yamato said. There was a brief silence after this before Naruto turned to Sai.
"Hey, Sai, you said you have a brother right?" Naruto asked.
"That's correct." Sai replied.
"Then do you have understand how Sakura and I feel at all? With Sasuke not being here?" Naruto asked. He wanted to see if Sai was truly emotionless.
"Not quite." Sai said. "I don't have what you call emotions… though I do understand what it's like as far as him not being here, because my brother's already dead." he replied with his smile.
'He…' Sakura thought as she recalled what Naruto had told her as she watched Sai say something like that without losing his smile.
"If that's true, then why do you make those drawings? And why do you still carry around that book you were drawing for your brother?" Naruto asked.
"… I… don't know. When I draw, I don't really feel anything… and I don't know why I keep my brothers book around." Sai replied.
"I may not be an artist, but I know that things like that are meant to express the feelings of the artist, even if it's not enough for you to feel any attachment to what you draw, if you were really completely emotionless, you wouldn't be able to. Nothing would inspire you to draw anything and you probably wouldn't even bother trying. That book probably wouldn't matter to you enough to keep it around either. Can I ask you why you started drawing?"
"My brother encouraged me to…" Sai replied, thinking about it. Sai's superiors had always been disapproving of his drawing. He began to recall his brother of sorts, Shin. "… Since I answered your question, let me ask you something in return. Sasuke abandoned the village, tried to kill you and seriously injured you. Why do you still think of him as a comrade? Why do you and Sakura wish to bring him back so badly?"
"It's because he's like a brother to me. As long as there's still a chance, I'll do anything to save him."
"And what about you, Sakura?"
"I… I care about him… I want him back more than anything." Sakura answered somewhat sadly.
"Alright, that's enough talking. It's time to set out." Yamato said.
They traveled for the rest of the day and arrived at the Tenchi bridge the next morning. The three teens hid in their positions, downwind of the bridge as Yamato approached the meeting place, having used his wood element to create a duplicate of Sasori's Hiruko puppet. Waiting on the center of the bridge was a man hidden in a hooded cloak.
"It's been a long time, Lord Sasori." the hooded man said. He then removed his hood to reveal himself to be Kabuto Yakushi. When they saw this, Sakura's eyes widened as Naruto's narrowed. "It's been five years."
"Were you followed?" Yamato asked, imitating Sasori perfectly.
"No, it's safe."
"How are you?"
"When your jutsu was lifted and I remembered who I really was, it was disorientating. I still feel somewhat heavy-headed."
From their hiding place, hidden behind some bushes downwind of the exchange, Naruto, Sakura and Sai watched over the pair. Naruto's eyes widened and his head jerked to the forest behind on the other side of the bridge as he sensed a powerful, dark chakra appear.
"Damn it! I knew it, I had a bad feeling about all this from the moment I saw Kabuto." he almost growled.
"What is it? You sense something?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah. He must have been hiding underground."
"How many are there?" Sakura asked with a furrowed brow.
"Just one… but this chakra… it's Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru? Are you sure?" Sakura asked with wide eyes. He nodded and her eyes narrowed. Sai said nothing as he listened and watched the exchange between Yamato and the spy.
Back on the bridge, Yamato had no idea of the danger, there was no way for the teens to contact him, all they could do was watch and wait for someone to make a move.
"I have some questions for you." the disguised jonin said.
"There's not much time, it was risky sneaking away from Orochimaru like this."
"Tell me about the location of your base."
"We have many bases, to keep from being discovered we move weekly. There are, of course, bases in other countries besides the sound." Kabuto explained. "Orochimaru's spies enter those countries and guide us. Our current base is hidden on a small island in the middle of a lake to the north. We will move from there in three days. Sasuke Uchiha is also there." as soon as he finished, both Kabuto and Yamato sensed something. Kabuto threw a kunai, only to find the source of the sound to be a rabbit which promptly jumped back into the bush. "Just a rabbit?… by the way, regarding the orders you gave me…" now Yamato knew he may be in trouble. "After transferring to a new body, Orochimaru used a barrier jutsu to protect his former vessel, I was unable to retrieve a cell sample from it."
"I see." Yamato replied.
"I can't afford to be here any longer. Give me the item if you please." Kabuto said before extending his hand out to receive whatever the item was, the light reflecting off his glasses and obscuring his eyes but his expression seemed slightly worried. He was rightfully so, considering what Orochimaru was capable of. "I will be killed if I'm seen with you."
"Right." Yamato said 'It has to be now!' He thought as he discretely drew one of his kunai. He was just about to charge Kabuto, when possibly the worst possible scenario occurred. A sinister voice was heard from out of nowhere.
"You seem to be having an interesting conversation." Suddenly, Orochimaru appeared behind Kabuto, a snake coiled around him and medic-nin. "Mind if I join in?"
Yamato cursed his luck as Kabuto escaped by jumping out of his cloak, which was left in the grip of the snake which quickly slithered towards them only to be killed by Yamato's kunai.
"Thank you, Lord Sasori, I wouldn't have been able to escape if you hadn't drawn your kunai." Kabuto said as he readied himself to fight for his life.
'That bought me some time…' Yamato assessed the situation. 'But what do I do now that Orochimaru is here?'
"Ah, Sasori…" Orochimaru drawled. "Seeing you like that takes me back."
"So you tailed Kabuto…" Yamato said, trying to buy more time to think.
"Why the harsh tone? I only wanted to thank you." Orochimaru replied with a grin. "To develop new jutsu, I would have needed hundreds of bodies to experiment on, but thanks to him, I could use the same ones countless times. Helpful, considering how hard it is to get test subjects."
As Yamato continues to think of how to best handle the situation, capture Kabuto and escape from Orochimaru, Kabuto activated his medical scalpels and raised his hand to attack. Much to the surprise of the Konoha ninja, he turned on 'Sasori' and cut the head of the false Hiruko, exposing a shocked Yamato. Yamato jumped into the air to evade further attack. Seeing movement, he looked to the Sannin and saw him raise his hand.
"Multiple Striking Shadow Snakes!" Around a dozen snakes emerged from Orochimaru's sleeve and shot towards the jonin. In seconds, Yamato was ensnared by the serpents,
"A Wood Style Replacement… you couldn't be…" Orochimaru said as his snakes returned to his sleeve.
"Lord Orochimaru… is that Sasori's real body?" Kabuto asked.
"No… Kabuto, even though you were his subordinate you didn't know what he looked like?"
"He's very secretive… always hiding in one of his puppets."
"What's going on here?" Yamato asked while he held onto his arm which had been nicked by Kabuto. "Kabuto, as an Akatsuki spy, you should have been controlled by their jutsu."
"Hm, Lord Orochimaru dispelled that jutsu long ago." Kabuto replied.
"So, you faked being controlled and switched sides at the last second… I guess you fell prey to Orochimaru's jutsu instead of Sasori's."
"Not at all." Kabuto replied with a smile. "The only thing I've fallen prey to is Lord Orochimaru's way of thinking. I'm acting of my own free will. Who are you anyway? The purpose of this operation was to kill Sasori, but it looks like we've made a mistake."
"Patience, Kabuto. First, why don't you call out your three little helpers." Orochimaru said.
Seeing no alternative, Yamato called out his allies with a wave of his hand and Naruto, Sakura and Sai sprang from the forest, each landing in front of him in a crouch.
"… You again…" Kabuto said with a slightly cruel smile while Orochimaru chuckled.
"The Kyuubi child is here too… why am I not surprised? I've heard about the progress you've made under Jiraiya. Let's have a little fun, shall we? I want to see who's stronger, you or Sasuke." Orochimaru said with a sadistic smirk.
"Orochimaru…" Naruto growled.
"We're taking Sasuke back." Sakura said with a scowl.
"My, my. How confident you've become, Sakura. I remember the last time I saw you; you were completely hopeless, fawning over Sasuke and being protected by your teammates. I hear you've become Tsunade's apprentice, I look forward to seeing the three of you meet after so long… it should be an interesting test for Sasuke." Orochimaru said.
"Naruto, I wonder, have you really gotten any stronger, or is it just the Kyuubi?" Kabuto asked with a smirk.
"Funny, didn't think you'd say something like that after what happened last time, but if you really want to find out, it'll cost your life." Naruto replied before firing a Beast Wave Palm with a swipe of his hand. Kabuto's eyes widened while Orochimaru continued to smirk. Kabuto jumped back to avoid the attack which collided with the bridge where he'd been standing, kicking up a cloud of debris. Both the rouge ninja were shocked when the blade came out of the cloud and Kabuto ducked while Orochimaru leaned back to dodge. Kabuto's eyes widened when Naruto suddenly appeared out of the dust cloud in front of him with a Rasengan in his right hand.
Kabuto cried out in pain as the orb of chakra slammed into his chest and sent him spinning through the air towards Orochimaru. The snake Sannin side stepped the man who continued along his path and collided with a ground in an explosion of dirt and debris and smirked as Naruto charged him. The blond summoned three shuriken to his hand and infused them with wind chakra before throwing them. As the shuriken flew through the air, wind extended from their blades, extending the weapons range and cutting power. As Orochimaru effortlessly weaved around the projectiles, Naruto's eyes widened as he sensed Kabuto Body Flicker behind his comrades.
"Captain Yamato, behind you!" the blond yelled as he stopped his charge. The jonin's eyes widened and turned his head to see Kabuto behind him. He jumped back to join Sakura and Sai, who had been watching for an opening but was nicked across his chest by a chakra scalpel. The jonin raised his hand and a wooden branch extended from his palm, Kabuto jumped back and dodged the tendril. While this happened, Orochimaru saw Naruto was distracted and launched his Kusanagi from his mouth. The blade flew through the air towards the blond, only for Naruto to summon his Hisho Taichi and deflected it. The Kusanagi was imbedded into the ground and a moment later, it turned into a snake and slithered back to Orochimaru and to his hand before returning to its sword form.
"How?" Sakura asked, they could see Kabuto lying beneath a broken tree.
"I replaced myself with a corpse I altered to look like me; I even reanimated it to complete the illusion." Kabuto said with a sadistic smirk of his own. "So, Lord Orochimaru, who is this guy? How is it he can use that jutsu? Is he an experiment of yours?"
"That's correct. I coveted the First's Wood Style techniques and his ability to bend the Biju to his will, so after I obtained his genes from his remains, I spliced his genetic traits into 60 different children, but their bodies didn't like the foreign DNA to say the least, they died, one after the other. I thought they all had succumbed but I see one survived." Orochimaru replied.
"I see… then this is a chance to get your hands on some long overdue research sample, isn't it." Kabuto replied and Orochimaru chuckled.
"Right you are, but first, I'm want to see just how much this boy has grown." Orochimaru replied. "Well boy, you and the girl want to know more about Sasuke, don't you? Why don't you force it out of me?"
"Gladly." Naruto replied. He threw his blade into the air and made three shadow clones which charged at Kabuto while he caught the blade and went for Orochimaru. Their swords collided and Orochimaru was slightly surprised his Kusanagi couldn't cut through the blue blade.
"What an interesting sword you have." Orochimaru said as they pushed against each others blade, neither gaining any ground. "That craftsmanship… the Village of Artisans?"
"Good eye, though I shouldn't be surprised." Naruto replied before the two disengaged and began to exchange blows.
"Sai, help Naruto! We'll handle Kabuto." Yamato ordered and the pale teen nodded and ran forward, summoning a bird of ink and jumping into the air.
"Still relying shadow clones? How disappointing." Kabuto taunted before as he blocked some taijutsu attacks from the clones, only for his eyes to widen as they exploded, sending him flying to the other side of the bridge while Yamato and Sakura ran towards the downed medic-nin. Yamato create a Wood Clone as they went to watch Naruto's battle.
Naruto and Orochimaru continued to exchange blows before the Sannin skipped back and unleashed several snakes from his sleeve which wrapped around and bit Naruto, only for the blond to burst into smoke. Suddenly, the Sannin was cut in half by a wind blade from behind, only for him to melt away into mud. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he looked to a tree branch where the Sannin stood. They were now on the opposite side of the bridge from Sakura, Yamato and Kabuto.
"I must say, Jiraiya taught you well." Orochimaru said. "But do you honestly think you can defeat me boy?"
"Maybe." Not really to be honest. He knew Jiraiya was still stronger than him and according to the Toad Sage, he could force a stalemate with the man. Still, if he won, it wouldn't be the first time someone defeated a superior opponent. "I don't know, the Akatsuki must see me as a bigger threat than you for some reason." Naruto replied and the Sannin narrowed his eyes.
"It seems I'll have to show you to respect your betters." Orochimaru replied. Naruto smirked at having successfully gotten a rise out of the Sannin.
Kabuto stood, already almost fully healed as Yamato and Sakura reached him. He had a sense of déjà vu as Sakura jumped into the air and came down in an axe kick which shattered the ground where he had been a moment ago. The rouge medic jumped into the air as a mass of branches exploded out of the ground. He quickly jumped off one of the braches and leaped from one to another as they continued to grow before sliding down one, reactivating his chakra scalpels along the way.
He and Sakura engaged each other in taijutsu, each only needed a single hit to cause serious damage. Kabuto ducked under a punch from the pink haired girl and swept her feet out from under her before catch her across the shin with his scalpel, once again he was forced to jump back as wooden tendrils attempted to ensnare him.
"Sakura, you alright?" Yamato asked.
"He got my leg tendon, I'll have it healed in a minute." Sakura replied as she placed her hand, glowing with green chakra, to the damaged area.
"Tsunade taught you medical jutsu and her inhuman strength, I see." Kabuto said with a sadistic smirk, the sunlight reflecting off his glasses and hiding his eyes. "But is this the best you can do? How disappointing. But then, you've always been the useless baggage, weighing down the team, haven't you?"
"Shut up!"
"What's wrong? I'm just stating facts. Back when we took the exam, you couldn't do anything. You just sat back and let your teammates do all the fighting, expecting Sasuke to be your knight in shining armor. You really needed a wake up call. You finally got it when Sasuke left, and this is all you've learned? You know, this is probably part of the reason Sasuke left." Kabuto replied. Sakura had healed her leg and glared at the grey haired man.
"Sakura, I want you to get back." Yamato said, fearing the girl would let her anger get the better of her.
"I'm fine, Captain Yamato. I won't let him get to me." Sakura replied.
"Heh, let's make this quick. I'm curious about the Wood Style myself. I look forward to seeing what we can do with such a test subject."
Orochimaru gracefully leapt from tree to tree, dodging Wind Style: Air Bullets launched by Naruto clones in the air. Finally, he jumped to the ground where he leaned back to dodge Naruto who came out of the ground in an upward slash. Orochimaru raised his Kusanagi in defense and blocked a powerful downward slash from the blond. While he was fighting, Naruto was using his perception technique to watch his teammates and their fight, having a few escape plans in mind for when they caught Kabuto. He also noted Sai wasn't doing anything. He was just watching, along with Yamato's clone. Naruto knew he was lucky. It seemed the Sannin wasn't at full strength, even better, he was holding back, obviously finding the battle amusing.
Naruto skipped back as his clones shot more Air Bullets, which Orochimaru dodged. Naruto used the dust kicked up by the attack as a smokescreen and impaled the Sannin, only for him to turn out to be another Earth Style: Shadow Clone. Sensing through his jutsu where Orochimaru was he turned to where the Snake Sannin hid dozens of yard away.
'Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!' Orochimaru unleashed a powerful gust of wind at the blond. Naruto raised his sword and prepared to counter the approaching windstorm.
"Wind Style: Wind Cutting Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he slashed the air just as the squall Orochimaru produced reached him. The Snake Sannin was shocked as his wind jutsu was cut through, it then reformed into a whirlwind that quickly traveled back to him. The attack devastated the forest, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Naruto sensed Orochimaru sink into the ground to avoid the attack and jumped as the Sannin visibly tore through the earth towards him. The moment after he jumped, the ground erupted beneath the blond and he quickly inhaled and breathed out a stream of wind and propelled himself into a nearby tree as the Kusanagi's blade extended from the resulting dust cloud. Naruto managed to avoid the blade as he flew to and landed on the branch of a tree. The dust cleared to show Orochimaru standing there with a smirk. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he sensed another clone of Orochimaru attack his shadow clones and dispel them. Fortunately, those weren't all the clones the blond had hidden.
A shadow clone attacked the Snake Sannin from behind, throwing a few wind enhanced kunai which the Sannin weaved around and summoning a wind blade as it closed the distance. The clones detonated when it reached the Snake Sannin and the man was seemingly caught in the explosion, but Naruto sensed him replace himself with another Earth Style: Shadow Clone. Orochimaru burst from the ground and impaled the blond, only for him to turn into another shadow clone. Orochimaru smirked as he searched for the blond.
The Snake Sannin's smirk fell and his eyes narrowed as he felt himself fall under a genjutsu. "Genjutsu? Really? My, you have improved; even I thought that was impossible for a Jinchuriki." Orochimaru said before shattering the genjutsu, only to sense something was still off. 'Double False Surroundings.' Orochimaru immediately realized before he was cut in half, the illusion fell to reveal Naruto had thrown another wind blade with a slash of his sword. As Orochimaru's upper body sailed through the air, snakes erupted from the two halves of his body and began to pull him back together.
Naruto's eyes widened as he saw this and he quickly decided that he'd have none of that. He lunged forward and impaled the Sannin through the heart moments before he could finish pulling himself back together. The Sannin's eyes widened and he grabbed the sword by the hilt. Naruto looked up at the Sannin's shocked face only to see it twist into a sinister smirk. Two hands reached out of Orochimaru's mouth and stretched it open revealing an unharmed Orochimaru.
Naruto quickly let go of his sword, its hilt still in the clutches of the now lifeless shell Orochimaru left behind and jumped away before Orochimaru could retaliate. As he flew backwards through the air, he swept his hand and launched a few Beast Wave Palms at the Sannin. The Sannin freed himself from the mouth of his shed body, his lower body now resembling a serpent's tail and snaked his way around the blades of wind as he quickly closed the distance between himself and Naruto, but just as he reached the blond, he summoned Hisho Taichi back to his hand. Orochimaru was caught off guard and stabbed him through his neck.
Naruto could sense Orochimaru had replaced himself again before the clone he'd just run through even began to fall apart and jumped back, but he wasn't fast enough. The Snake Sannin burst from the ground and punched him in the jaw, sending him spinning through the air, blood flying from his mouth. The Sannin stood, his lower body returning to normal as he watched the blond flip in the air land in a crouch. Orochimaru smirked as he made the bird hand sign. Naruto's instincts told him to get off the ground and he jumped into the air, barely avoiding being impaled by stone spikes which suddenly sprang from the ground. He landed on a branch and leapt from tree to tree as more spikes of stone tore down them down and pursued the blond.
Naruto resealed Hisho Taichi and summoned the Kiba blades. He jumped to out of the tree and turned around in the air, now facing the Sannin and the approaching spikes. Lightning coursed around his blades as he landed and impaled them into the ground when he landed, unleashing a wave of lightning that tore through the ground, disrupting Orochimaru's attack as it traveled to the Snake Sannin.
'That's… the Kiba blades? My, he certainly has picked up some interesting things.' Orochimaru thought, his smirk not wavering as the lightning grew closer. He ran through hand signs and used Wind Style: Great Breakthrough again to counter the attack.
Naruto was hit by the gust of wind and sent flying back, colliding with a tree hard enough to shatter the bark. He landed on his feet and his eyes widened as Orochimaru appeared before him, his Kusanagi ready to impale him. Naruto parried the legendary blade with the Kiba swords in a cross guard and barely managed to avoid certain death. He leapt back and got into a stance before once again engaging the serpentine man in a kenjutsu match. This time; he had the upper hand with two swords. He parried a downward slash with both blades and kicked Orochimaru in the stomach. The Sannin staggered backwards, giving the blond an opening and Naruto lunged forward and cross slashed him across the torso, only for him to melt away into mud once again. His head jerked around as he felt Orochimaru appear on the branch of a tree a few dozen yards behind him. The Sannin had stabbed his sword into the branch and made the ram hand sign.
'Wind Style: Pressure Damage!' Orochimaru fired a highly compressed ball of wind at the blond. He barely had time to dodge, jumping back as the ball hit the ground where he stood only a moment ago. The ball of wind erupted into a massive wind maelstrom that tore the nearby trees from the ground and sent Naruto flying into another tree, only to burst into smoke on impact.
Orochimaru scanned the area, searching for the Jinchuriki for a moment before vines grew out of the branch of the tree, wrapping around him. Realizing he was under another genjutsu, he quickly dispelled it and jumped out of the tree, avoiding a powerful mass of lightning from behind which destroyed the tree he had been standing on moments ago, leaving nothing but a charred, jagged stump. Naruto was more skilled with the Kiba blades themselves than their previous wielder, but far less skilled than Raiga had been with their lightning powers, fortunately, he had the advantage of having far more chakra to channel into them, allowing for more powerful attacks.
Orochimaru turned around just as Naruto lunged out of his hiding spot. He brought both swords down in an overhead slash and locked blades with the traitorous Sannin. "I must admit, you've improved far more than I expected." Orochimaru chuckled as they pushed against each other. "How intriguing, and all this without using the Kyuubi's power. I can't tell who's stronger, you or Sasuke. Perhaps I should kill you here after all. Sasuke will be disappointed but at this rate, you may become too much of a threat."
"Sorry, but I'm not going to die. Not until I become Hokage." Naruto replied with a smirk of his own.
"Some things never change, I see." Orochimaru commented before they pushed off each other. They two stood several feet apart, facing each other. "I wonder, how is it you knew about this meeting? The only way Sasori would have told you is if he died. Such a shame, I looked forward to analyzing his puppet body. Tell me, was it you that killed him?"
"No, but I took out his partner." Naruto answered.
"Interesting." The Sannin said with his sadistic smirk before the two began to exchange blows again. Naruto jumped into the air, channeling a large amount of chakra into his swords and brought them down on the Sannin. The blades were surrounded in a powerful mass of lightning. Orochimaru jumped back to avoid the attack, which collided with the ground in an explosion of dust and arcs of lightning. Inside the dust cloud, Naruto channeled a massive amount of chakra into the twin swords and held them above his head in an x formation. The dust was blown away and revealed the blonde's form consumed by lightning.
"Ninja Art: Lightning Devastation!" The blond unleashed a massive wave of lightning at the Sannin which devastated the area, leaving a path of destruction and the burnt, broken remains of trees in its path.
Near the end of the trail of destruction, Orochimaru lay flat on the ground with a smirk, unharmed by the attack. He opened his mouth and released a torrent of countless snakes. As they approached, Naruto resealed the Kiba blades and summoned two shadow clones.
'Toad Oil Bullet!' The first clone spit out a huge mass of oil.
'Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!' the second clone breathed out a powerful stream of fire whilc the real Naruto pulled his fist back before making a punching motion.
"Wind Style: Whirlwind Fist!" A giant whirlwind was unleashed from his fist. The attacks combined to form a raging inferno which incinerated the snakes and Orochimaru was caught in the flames. The conflagration was clearly visible from where Kabuto, Sakura and Yamato were fighting and they briefly stopped at the sight of the flames.
Naruto stood on a branch of a tree at the edge of the scar the attack left in the earth. There were still lingering flames in various spots on the ground and several trees were burning. At the center of the charred earth was Orochimaru, lying face down. His lower body incinerated and the rest of his body badly burnt. Naruto couldn't feel the Snake Sannin with his wind sensing but wasn't taking any chances. That could mean the Sannin was just underground and he doubted the Sannin was truly dead.
His suspicions were confirmed as countless snakes burst from the ground and quickly shot towards the blond, copies of the Kusanagi emerged from their mouths as they closed in from all sides. Naruto jumped high into the air as the snakes moved closer and summoned a kunai with an explosive note. He threw it and ran through hand signs, using the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique to multiply the weapon, creating a hail of explosive kunai. The kunai cut through the serpents and any who avoided being killed died when the kunai detonated. As soon as he landed, Orochimaru burst from the ground and he barely managed to avoid being impaled by the Kusanagi. He was forced to dodge several strikes from the legendary blade. He began channeling the Kyuubi's power to enhance his speed, though he still gained a few cuts across his arms and one on his shoulder dodging the blade. After barely avoiding a slash across the chest, he channeled as much chakra as he could into his legs and jumped back.
Orochimaru opened his mouth and his tongue shot out and wrapped around Naruto's neck. Orochimaru smirked as the blond grabbed his tongue and struggled until a visible aura of red chakra covered the blond and his hands turned to claws, his canines grew into fangs and his eyes turned red with slit pupils. The Sannin winced as the malevolent chakra burned his tongue and Naruto used his now enhanced strength to unwrap the Sannin's tongue from his neck and used it to swing him across the clearing and through a tree. He then pulled him in and delivered a devastating blow to the man's face, sending him flying back through another tree with greater force, the Sannin lay in a sitting position at the base of a tree after the attack, the Kusanagi laying on the ground. Naruto created a Rasengan three times the size of a normal one and used his enhanced speed to charge forward and slammed it into the Sannin's chest before he could recover.
"Giant Rasengan!" The orb of chakra tore into his chest and released a wave of power on contact, tearing up the ground and blowing away nearby trees before driving the Sannin through the ground deeper into the forest and away from the blond.
Hidden by the trees, the Sannin lay in extreme pain, his body broken before he once again used his Body Shedding Technique. As entertaining as he was finding the fight, he knew he would have to end it soon. That technique required a lot of chakra and the body he was in was beginning to reject him. It was time to stop playing around.
Naruto looked in the direction Orochimaru had disappeared in and suddenly dodged to the side as the Kusanagi went flying towards him from behind. He managed to avoid the blade it but it continued on its path and returned to its master. Orochimaru then walked back into the clearing and chuckled.
Naruto's eyes narrowed before he knelt down, placing his right hand to the ground. He closed his eyes and called on the Kyuubi's power. The demonic chakra skyrocketed as he summoned his Four Tailed Cloak. Orochimaru smirked as he saw this.
"Really… this boy… amuses me to no end…"
Kabuto jumped out of the way of another earth shattering punch from Sakura. Suddenly, the ground tore open underneath him and he jumped back to avoid falling into the crevice. Kabuto then charged towards the jonin and avoided several branches before jumping on one and running across it, all the way back to the jonin. He slashed Yamato across the chest with his medical scalpel only for the jonin to turn into a wooden puppet once again.
The three suddenly halted their battle as they all sensed the demonic chakra of the Kyuubi.
"Well, it seems he's grown as a Jinchuriki, too. I wonder, who's in control now, him or the demon?" Kabuto said with a smirk.
"Naruto…" Sakura said worriedly as she looked in the direction of the ominous chakra.
"Don't worry, Sakura. Naruto's stronger than that." Yamato replied as he recalled what he had been told. He knew how far their control went and his wood clone informed him of how far Naruto had gone. He knew he had control at his current level.
"Hm, think so? Well, I must admit I'm curious to see the battle. The power of a Jinchuriki against Lord Orochimaru… it's truly a battle between monsters, isn't it? Let's finish up here."
"Gladly." Sakura growled before she charged again, the two once more engaged in a taijutsu battle. After ducking under another attack, Kabuto sliced upwards and lengthened his scalpel. Sakura jumped back, but was cut across her chest. She gasped as her right lung was sliced through and she landed back with Yamato.
"Sakura!" Yamato yelled. Kabuto's eyes narrowed as he saw green chakra glow on her chest. Kabuto watched as Sakura healed herself and when she was just about finished, the rouge medic spoke again.
"Hm, really, Tsunade must be so disappointed. After nearly three years of training under one of the Sannin, here you are letting everyone down again." Kabuto said with a smirk and Sakura glared at him again. "There's that look again… if only looks could kill… shame you don't have what it takes to back it up."
"Captain Yamato…" Sakura said quietly before she said something to him and he nodded.
The pink haired girl stood up again. She jumped into the air and once again came down in an axe kick. Kabuto jumped back and once again, wood tendrils erupted from the ground. This time, rather than catch him, they were meant to obscure his view. After weaving his way through them, his eyes widened as six kunai flew towards him. He deflected them but winced as he was hit by 10 senbon which had been in their shadow. His eyes narrowed as he removed the senbon before Sakura came at him again. He could tell they were poisoned and knew he needed to end this quickly. Once again, he began dodging the girl's attacks. After another exchange, he caught her across her left arm, near the shoulder.
"How pathetic. I think it's about time I-" Kabuto's eyes widened as his entire body seized briefly, his vision began to blur slightly and his heart began beating erratically. 'Damn…. The poison's already taking effect?' he thought. His senses dulled, he knew he needed to get away.
Sakura charged forward and threw another punch at Kabuto, her attack tore apart the ground and hid her from view on impact. Kabuto's eyes narrowed as more wooden tendril burst from the ground behind him. He jumped into the air to dodge. Sakura came down, prepared to deliver her 'Cherry Blossom Impact', he touched the ground, he jumped back only for his eyes to widen as she fazed through the ground and he realized he missed something that, were it not for the poison dulling his senses and the wood attack, he'd have noticed in a heartbeat. The Sakura in the air was just a clone.
"Who's useless now?" Sakura yelled as she charged forward, between the distraction and the poison, she was now too close for him to dodge.
'No!' Kabuto screamed in his head, his eyes wide in terror as her right fist collided with his chest, sending him flying through a tree and into the ground. He opened his eyes only for them to widen as Sakura was charging forward again. He was powerless to do anything as she punched him in the stomach. He cried out in pain and coughing up a massive amount of blood as he was driven into the ground before his body went limp and he seemed to lose consciousness.
Sakura looked at the criminal before she turned to Yamato with a smile.
"We won… mission accomplished."
"Yes. Great job, Sakura. Now, we need to-" he was cut off when an enormous surge of demonic chakra caught both of their attentions. As they turned towards its source, they failed to notice the wounds on the downed medic rapidly healing. Knowing he would be unable to dodge the last attack, he had concentrated his chakra into his chest and used his Yin Healing Wound Destruction technique. Now, he needed to wait for an opportunity to escape.
Orochimaru jumped through the trees again, this time dodging a claw made of bubbling, red chakra that weaved around the trees in pursuit of the Snake Sannin. Orochimaru continued to avoid the dangerous attacks when he sensed the Naruto above him. The blond came down with enough power to demolish the area. Orochimaru jumped out of the dust cloud, missing an arm. He landed on a branch and quickly shed his body and emerged in his more serpentine form and began slithering rapidly through the forest. A chakra claw reached out of the dust cloud and he snaked around the trees to in pursuit. Orochimaru's eyes widened as another claw tore out of the ground before him. The chakra claw slammed into him and drove him through a tree, only for his body to melt into mud again.
Naruto's senses warned him of danger and he ducked as the elongated blade of the Kusanagi sailed over his head. The blade continued on its path and cut through several trees, causing them to fall on the blond. Naruto roared as the trees collapsed on top of him, unleashing a spherical wave of destructive force which blew away the trees and Orochimaru.
Naruto searched for the Sannin, unable to keep his Wind Dragons Vigilance up while using this much of the Kyuubi's chakra at the moment. Orochimaru, unharmed by the last attack, erupted from the ground and once again punched him in the face. This time, the blond wasn't sent flying and the snake Sannin didn't give him time to recover, quickly delivering several punishing blows to the stomach, chest and face before finally delivering a right hook strong enough to send him flying towards a tree. He then raised his hand and summoned several snakes from his sleeve to restrain the blond. Naruto flipped in the air and landed on the tree feet first before slicing through the snakes with a chakra claw and lunging at the Snake Sannin again, aiming to take his head off. Orohchimaru leaned back, narrowly avoiding the attack but was struck across the chest anyway when the chakra claw separated from the blonde's arm, sending him through another tree and into the ground. Naruto charged forward and a snake burst out of the cloud created by Orochimaru's impact. This one wrapped around Naruto's neck thought he grabbed its head before it could bite him and the Sannin returned the favor from earlier, whipping him around the battlefield and into a tree before he could remove it. After the impact, Naruto tore off the snake and glared at the Sannin.
"Well, Naruto, while this has been entertaining, I'm afraid all good things must come to an end."
"Your right about that." Naruto replied and Orochimaru's eyes narrowed as the chakra cloaks tails wrapped around the blond, encasing him in a sphere of black chakra.
"What's this?" Orochimaru thought out loud before the sphere burst open revealing Naruto in his version 2 cloak, the release of power forming a small crater around him. The chakra cloak had become solid and his face became a black mask of chakra with glowing circles for eyes. "Well now, how interesting." 'This chakra… it's entirely different than before.'
"Glad you're amused." Naruto replied.
"My, my… you're still in control?" Orochimaru smirked before Naruto charged. He tore Orochimaru apart with a single slash of his claw, only for him to melt into mud again.
'At this rate… I might actually die.' Orochimaru thought, rather than fear he felt excitement at the thought of facing such an opponent. Orochimaru appeared in a tree above the Jinchuriki and summoned a dozen snakes from his sleeve, Naruto turned to him just as the snakes reached him and wrapped around his body. The Sannin's eyes narrowed when the snakes melted on contact.
Naruto launched another chakra claw at the Sanke Sannin who slithered through the forest, dodging it. Unlike before, this time instead of weaving its way around the trees, the claw simply demolished every tree in its path. The Snake Sannin was considering using his final trump card but decided against it.
Naruto's launched his other claw at Orochimaru. It tore into the ground directly in front of him and Naruto used it to pull himself to the Snake Sannin. As he flew through the air, he released several more chakra arms from his back. The Sannin sunk into the ground and vanished as the arms approached. Naruto landed and whipped his head around trying to locate the Sannin before slamming his hand into the ground, creating an explosion and forcing Orochimaru out of the ground. As Orochimaru flew through the air, his eyes widened as a massive chakra claw burst from the cloud of debris created by the explosion and slammed into him, sending him flying, crashing into the ground with enough force to create a fairly large crater. Within the cloud, Orochimaru fired several spiraling balls of compressed wind, but Naruto bat aside the attacks with one of his tails. He then threw back his head and pointed the tails in front of his open mouth.
Orochimaru, part of his face mask torn away by the force of the last attack, watched as orbs of black and blue chakra gathered in the air before condensing into a small sphere in front of his mouth.
'What's he planning to do with that?' Orochimaru thought as he watched and placed his hand on the destroyed part of his mask repairing it. His eyes narrowed as the blond swallowed the sphere. His body dug into the ground, weighed down by the dense chakra as his body expanded. 'I see… if I'm hit by such a dense chakra… even I'll die.' The Sannin thought as he removed his hand from his face, his mask now complete again. Orochimaru was now glad he hadn't used his trump card, the Eight Braches Technique. He couldn't separate from it quickly and he wouldn't have been able to dodge such an attack. Using it here would have been a fatal mistake.
Orochimaru bit both his thumbs and placed his hands on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Triple Rashomon!" Orochimaru summoned three large demonic gates to shield him from the attack. Naruto opened his mouth and launched the Four Tailed Biju Ball from his mouth at the gates.
"Sakura! Get down!" Yamato yelled as he ran through hand signs. 'Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu!' Yamato created a shelter for them. A moment later, the Biju Ball collided with the demonic gates and they were consumed in a huge explosion. Kabuto, who had healed himself while they were distracted, took shelter from the resulting shockwave behind a tree as he took a food pill and a plasma pill. He extracted as much of the poison as he could before he sunk into the ground.
As the dust cleared, Naruto stared at the broken form of Orochimaru, his head buried in the ground and his arms and legs contorted in unnatural positions. The gates had been completely destroyed in the blast. His eyes narrowed, he couldn't tell if the Sannin was actually dead. Suddenly, he sensed something beneath him. The Kusanagi came out of the ground, stabbed him in the chest and drove him through the air. Orochimaru's head followed the blade out of the ground, the sword sticking out of his mouth as the blade and his neck continued to extend. Naruto was driven was sent through the air and was driven into the ground near the bridge by the legendary sword.
'My, my… even the Kusanagi couldn't penetrate his chakra…' Orochimaru thought.
Sakura's eyes widened as she saw what Naruto had become. Yamato's wood clone could communicate with him and he'd already been briefed so he already knew. Naruto grabbed the Kusanagi, ripped it out of his chakra cloak and tossed it aside away from Sakura and Yamato.
"Naruto…" Sakura said. Naruto then decided to release the chakra cloak before it did anymore damage to him. The shroud vanished, leaving him in a fading version one cloak. He fell on one knee, breathing heavily and Sakura was horrified to see a little over a quarter of his skin had been burned off and she quickly ran over to help him. "Naruto, are you…?"
"I'll be fine, Sakura. Did you catch Kabuto?"
"No." Yamato said as Sakura began to heal him. "He got away while we were distracted."
"Sorry."
"Not your fault, you had to go that far to fight someone like Orochimaru."
"Naruto… how can you control that power?" Sakura asked, remembering what Chiyo had said, that the Biju's powers were uncontrollable as she began to heal him as best she could.
"I have to admit I was surprised, too." Yamato said. "Hearing about it was one thing… I never imagined the version 2 cloak was so powerful, though it looks like it carries considerable risks."
Kabuto watched from his hiding spot in a tree on the other side of the other side of the bridge. 'So, he did have control of himself after all… to have come so far from the loudmouth brat he was almost three years ago…' Kabuto thought to himself before he left to meet his master.
Sai and the Yamato clone watched as Orochimaru's head lowered to the ground, not bothering to retract his neck to his broken body, and once again regurgitated a copy of himself. This time, however, he fell flat to the ground and lay there. Orochimaru was in a great deal of pain after that fight. His shedding technique took a lot of chakra to use. Using it three times a day wasn't that much of a problem for the Snake Sannin, but five times was pushing it. On top of that, despite what it may seem, the technique couldn't heal all forms of damage completely. Poison, be it normal poison or the chakra of the Biju, couldn't be completely removed from his system. Despite the fact that he seemed perfectly fine, he was suffering from he traces of the Kyuubi's chakra left in his system. Of course, thanks to his enhanced regenerative powers, it was nothing that wouldn't heal in a few hours.
'To think he has that level of control… it's a shame I can't continue this fight, but this body is beginning to reject me… soon it will be time….' Orochimaru thought and he began to chuckle. 'Yes… patience… soon, Sasuke's power will be mine…'
Sai, seeing his chance, approached Orochimaru as the Sannin stood up.
"Greetings. I'm a messenger of Lord Danzo. I have something to talk to you about." Sai said with his fake smile.
"Danzo? That senile old fool's still alive? What business might you have with me?"
"I have a message for you from Lord Danzo, but-"
"Before that, keep in mind that you should choose your words carefully when speaking to me… or you'll die." Orochimaru said.
"I will speak exactly as I was instructed too. If you don't like what I have to say, please, do as you see fit." Sai replied without flinching.
Orochimaru smirked before he suddenly fired his Kusanagi out of his mouth, impaling the pale teen, who melted into ink seconds later.
"Really, kids today have no manners." Orochimaru said as the sword once again turned into a snake and slithered back to him and up his body. "When speaking to your superiors, it's polite to show your true face." the real Sai climbed out of the ground.
Sakura was almost finished healing Naruto. The girl was seriously disappointed in herself. Though she and Yamato had managed to defeat Kabuto, they had let him escape, and now, this was all she could do. She was determined to improve herself so she would never be so useless again.
"Captain Yamato, where's Sai?" Sakura asked.
"He was watching my fight with Orochimaru. He never did anything to help, but I guess he could have been waiting for an opening." Naruto said as he took a food pill.
"… Sai is currently conversing with Orochimaru, according to my clone. Although, it can't tell what they're talking about from the distance they're at."
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"He approached Orochimaru and began talking with him. So far, neither side has shown any hostilities."
Sai looked at Orochimaru impassively as the legendary rouge ninja considered what he had told him.
"What you've said… why should I trust it?" Orochimaru asked.
Sai responded by reaching into his backpack, only to suddenly be brought down by Kabuto, who attacked him from behind and pinned him to the ground with a kunai to his neck. As he hit the ground, the contents of his backpack spilled out before him.
"What is this?" Kabuto inquired.
"Relax Kabuto. This boy will be our subordinate from now on." Orochimaru said with a smirk.
"… Can we trust him?" Kabuto replied.
"Please look inside that envelope… it's for you from Lord Danzo." Sai said, gesturing towards an envelope that fell from his backpack. Orochimaru walked forward and picked up the envelope. His eye widened slightly when he viewed it's contents.
"This is…"
"What is it?" Kabuto asked.
"Kabuto… please release that boy. He will be coming with us." Orochimaru said. As the three headed off, the wood clone who was watching narrowed his eyes. Unbeknownst to Sai, he had forgotten to pick up his picture book.
Sakura had finished healing them as best she could. Naruto's skin was restored and most of the damage done to her and Yamato by Kabuto had been healed. "Sai just ran off with Orochimaru and Kabuto. Kabuto attacked him, but after opening an envelope given to him by Sai, he ordered Kabuto to release him and they left." the jonin reported.
"What?" Naruto asked before his eyes narrowed.. "So, he was on a separate mission from Danzo, then. That old geezer is on Konoha's council, there's no telling what information he could give Orochimaru."
"My thoughts exactly. My clone is tailing them and I have a tracker of sorts on Sai. Naruto, how well can you fight after that?"
"I'd say I'm at around 60%, but I won't be able to go version 2 again for a while. I'm lucky I didn't use it for long or I'd be a lot worse off." Naruto replied and Yamato nodded. "I should be close to full strength by the time we catch up."
"Then we should go immediately, we should have fully healed by the time we catch up to them. But then again, they'll probably be back at full strength too. Let's check out the area where they talked and then head out."
Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sai traveled through the trees towards the hidden base. Orochimaru and Kabuto were traveling at a much slower pace than normal.
"My, my, Kabuto, it would seem those two mice did a number on you." Orochimaru smirked.
"I underestimated them. The girl poisoned me and left me helpless before her super strength. I was fortunate they were trying to capture me or I'd be dead. I extracted most of the poison, but we'll need to stop before I can make an antidote." Kabuto replied. "What about you? The Kyuubi's chakra acts like a corrosive poison."
"I left behind most of its chakra when I shed my body, but I had to do so far more than I expected. I may have played too much. He actually forced me to shed my body before using the Kyuubi's power."
"Really? Who do you think is stronger? Him or Sasuke?" Kabuto asked, surprised the blond had improved that much.
"… I'm not entirely sure. At any rate, Kabuto…"
"I know, we're being tailed. But are we simply being tailed or is it…" he said looking back at Sai. "What should we do?"
"Either way, I'm afraid we'll have a corpse on our hands." Orochimaru answered with a wicked smile.
A while later, The Yamato clone continued to pursue the Orochimaru, Sai and Kabuto when he saw something that made him stop and his eyes widen. What seemed to be Sai's lifeless body hung by it's neck from a tree branch.
Sakura, Yamato and Naruto had decided to take a break. They could recover the rest of their strength and plan on what to do when they caught up to them or follow them back to their base. As they sat, Sakura decided to look at Sai's picture book, which they had found when they checked out the area where he had been negotiating with Orochimaru.
Orochimaru, Kabuto and the real Sai had arrived at a river. Kabuto had altered a corpse to look like him and left it behind as a distraction. The medic nin was cleaning his medical tools in the river after fixing a cure for what was left of the poison while Sai washed his face and Orochimaru sat on a rock waiting for Kabuto to finish.
"Kabuto… save that for when we get back." Orochimaru said to his right hand man.
"I can't… if I don't wash the blood off right away, the blades will go bad in no time at all." Kabuto replied. "But, to change the subject, would you be able to provide me with an unmarred male corpse when we get back?"
"You still have some left, don't you?" Orochimaru asked and Kabuto pulled out and unraveled a scroll in which he kept all the corpses he used for such things sealed. One seal was empty.
"I do, but our little diversion has left me without a 15-16 year old male corpse. It bugs me to no end when this scroll doesn't maintain it's proper order…"
Orochimaru stared at Kabuto for a few moments. "Kabuto… is your blood type A by any chance?"
"No, it's actually AB."
"Really?" Orochimaru asked, a little surprised.
Sai finished washing his face while they were talking. As Sai went to put away the piece of cloth he used to dry his face, his eye widened slightly as he realized his picture book was missing. He rummaged through his backpack for a moment trying to find it. Orochimaru noticed this.
"Is something wrong… Sai, was it?" Orochimaru asked.
"… No… it's nothing." Sai replied. As he said this, he couldn't help but think back to his conversation about the book and his drawings with Naruto. If he was truly emotionless, truly unattached to everything, why did it matter to him that the book was gone?
I hope you liked the chapter.
I don't know why, but personally, something just felt off with this chapter no matter how many times I went over or rewrote it, maybe you guys can point it out.
Please read and review.
