Chapter 10: In Which He Dies . . . Again
"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy."
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
o0O0o
Kiba jumped to the next branch and landed heavily on his feet. Raiden's scent was still heavy in his nose, a mixture of the oil Genkei had always reeked of and the scent Kiba had barely caught from the man just once—like cold rain on green leaves. From his left side, Akamaru whined at his master's volatile mood, but Kiba ignored his partner and instead leaped to Shikamaru's side.
"That shirt you gave me," Kiba began in a low growl, "I've smelled that scent before."
"Yeah," murmured Shikamaru quietly.
He sounded distracted, and Kiba snarled at his squad leader.
"He's dead," he growled.
Naruto had been dead for four years. There was no way Raiden could have the same scent as someone Konoha had already buried. Shikamaru didn't even look at Kiba as he continued to run through the canopy of Hi no Kuni's forest.
"Uzumaki Naruto survived." Shikamaru spoke as if he were merely giving a mission report. "Neji identified his chakra coils."
"He could be a clone," snapped Kiba. "A henge!"
"You said you had smelled him before." Shikamaru finally turned to glance sideways at the angry ninja running beside him. "He's Naruto."
Kiba's jaw dropped then shut again just as suddenly as he ground his teeth together. He wanted to shout out denials, to say Shikamaru's genius brain had finally exploded from sheer volume. But Raiden did have Naruto's scent. His grin was wide and genuine, like how Naruto always showed off all his teeth when he was happiest. He had laughed when he heard he was going to be staying with Uchiha-teme and Sakura—laughed like a crazy man. But if he really was Naruto— The only thing Naruto had ever gone crazy over were his friends.
"How?" Kiba gaped.
Shikamaru faced forward once again.
"We'll have to ask him once we help him kill Orochimaru."
Kiba let a growl slip from the back of his throat. He hated Orochimaru. Most of the people in Konoha actually hated Orochimaru, but if Orochimaru was the reason Naruto had become Raiden and stayed away from his friends Kiba would rip the damn snake's head off himself.
Taking a deep breath, Kiba breathed in the smells of the forest and, past that, the scent that reminded him of rainstorms and a boy who vowed to die for his friends if it came to that.
"He's heading north," Kiba called over his shoulder as he adjusted his path.
o0O0o
"Show me again," Tsunade commanded.
The small, dark-haired girl in front of her trembled nervously, but she obediently put her hands together and concentrated very, very hard.
"Henge!" the girl shouted.
Suddenly, in place of a timid ten-year-old girl, a tall blond man stood in front of Tsunade's desk. His hair was longer than she remembered, and his shoulders were stockier. But his face was the same, if not a little thinner. And Naruto would never wear the anxious look that the girl had placed on his face, a mixture of apprehension of punishment and fear of disappointing. But it was Naruto.
Then, Naruto's face grimaced and suddenly disappeared into a cloud of smoke. The burned out chakra faded away to reveal the dark-haired girl again, puffing slightly, with her hands still clasped together. It was obvious she had been trained, but she still had a ways to go before she reached the level either of her childhood friends were at. The girl glanced up at Godaime Hokage nervously, and Tsunade gave her an encouraging smile.
"Thank you very much, Mei," she said. "Shizune will take you outside now."
The girl known as Raiden's youngest student nodded a bit reluctantly before she finally turned to Shizune. Tsuande's apprentice cradled her pet Ton-Ton in one arm as she held out a hand to Mei. The young girl took Shizune's hand with an encouraging smile from Sakura, who had brought Mei to see Tsunade which the most incredible news possible or impossible. When Sakura had asked Mei to transform into a Henge of what her sensei truly looked like, the face of Uzumaki Naruto had been the last thing Tsunade had expected. Once the door was closed behind Mei and Shizune, Tsunade fixed her eyes on Sakura.
"How is this possible?" she demanded.
Sakura shook her head almost violently.
"I don't know," the young woman pleaded. "I should've— Shikamaru had a theory that Raiden was really Naruto, but I didn't believe him. I didn't want to believe him."
Tsunade glowered at nothing in particular. That explained why Shikamaru had been so adamant about sending a team to follow after Raiden to ensure he succeed in his mission. Tsunade had been disinclined to approve the request, but Shikamaru had the support of both Kakashi and Neji, two ninja who were skilled enough to be ranked ANBU if they so choose. Finally, Shikamaru had admitted that he had information that would help Raiden. He wouldn't reveal what his information was, but Tsunade knew enough of how her top strategist thought to know that his "information" was likely a detailed knowledge of either Raiden's attacks or mode of operation, complete with three different methods of counteraction. She had let them go. Only to find out now that the information Shikamaru had kept secret was the fact that Raiden was, in truth, someone Konoha had thought dead for the past four years.
Tsunade was going to kill him when that damn strategist got back, preferably with Naruto in tow so that she could punch him straight into the Hokage Monument.
"Why did he refuse to tell us who he was?"
Tsunade could tell that some of her anger was seeping through the demand she made of her young apprentice, but she ignored the guilt over Sakura's nervousness in favor of getting some damn answers.
"Shikamaru thought something might be threatening him," Sakura blurted. "Could Orochimaru have—"
"Perhaps." Tsunade frowned.
It was possible that Orochimaru had gotten to Naruto while he was in hiding. Was that what that stint as Raiden had been? Or had Naruto simply been going after vengeance for Jiraiya, following in the footsteps of his former teammate? Tsunade didn't want to believe it, but she knew how much Naruto had cared for Jiraiya. And four years was plenty of time for a person to change. Perhaps Naruto had used the opportunity of his death—which was obviously faked, Tsunade thought angrily—to escape from a council and a Hokage who wouldn't let him take the action he thought necessary.
"I'm not sure it was Orochimaru who kept him away," murmured Tsunade.
"Why?"
"Naruto wouldn't run away from an opponent." Tsunade almost rolled her eyes. Hell, the boy hadn't run away from her when he was twelve.
"I'm pretty sure you can still beat me into the ground."
Raiden had said that, hadn't he? Cocky brat, to tease a Hokage like that. How could she have failed to see how much of Naruto shone through Raiden's mask?
"Why would he leave us?"
Sakura's quiet question sounded as pained as she ever had been over Sasuke's betrayal. Tsunade knew without even studying Sakura's body language or posture that she was more concerned with why Naruto would abandon her than any betrayal of the village his leaving could involve. But Sakura's vision was skewed by what she had already lived through.
"How many of the Akatsuki has Raiden killed?" Tsunade prompted the young woman.
Sakura looked up in surprise at the question, but it brought her back to a soldier's mindset.
"Rumors say Raiden killed Pein in Amegakure just before the civil war broke out," she reported in a clipped voice that was not quite devoid of curiosity. "And he told us that he defeated that shark guy. Kisame?"
"And to be close enough to kill Pein, he had to have dealt with Pein's partner," Tsunade finished, remembering the final report that Fukasaku had given on behalf of Jiraiya.
That made at least three Akatsuki members that Raiden had faced and defeated—probably killed—on his own. Despite the picture Tsunade had kept in her head of Naruto, complete with his bright smile and indomitable attitude, she couldn't deny the freedom Naruto's death would have afforded him. Perhaps he had merely found a sneakier way to act without Konoha's knowledge or approval.
But if Tsunade brought him back now and revealed him as Uzumaki Naruto instead of Raiden, the missing nin hired to kill Orochimaru, then everyone would know how he had deceived the village during Akatsuki's invasion. That alone could be enough to convince the council that he was a traitor. If they decided he couldn't be trusted, they could decree that Naruto be turned into a weapon for the village, used only for the power he carried.
At worst, they could suggest the Kyuubi no Youki be removed from Naruto and implanted into an infant, creating a new jinchuuriki. Danzo had suggested something like that just before Naruto's funeral four years ago. Tsunade had managed to avoid it by saying that Yondaime's seal had been soul-deep. Naruto's death had forever bound Kyuubi's soul to his in death as it had been in life.
"Shishou?" Sakura broke into Tsunade's thoughts.
"Sakura." Tsunade folded her hands on top of her desk and leaned forward intently. "I need you to get Naruto's old comrades together. We might have to send more than just Shikamaru's team after Naruto."
"Why?" Sakura demanded.
"He said he was going to leave once he had completed his task of killing Orochimaru," Tsunade reminded the girl. "But his place is here, isn't it?"
It was probably best if she didn't inform Sakura of the potential that Naruto could be seen as a traitor. Sakura had already had to deal with one traitor in her life, and Sasuke's reintroduction into the forces of Konoha hadn't been an easy transition by any means.
"All right." Sakura bowed briefly at her master.
"And keep this quiet," Tsunade commanded.
She didn't give a reason, but Tsunade was confident that Sakura could be discreet about this. Seeing the girl's slightly uncertainty, Tsunade flashed her a confident smile.
"Don't worry," she said. "Raiden still has to come back for his students, doesn't he?"
Sakura bit her bottom lip hard and shook her head nervously.
"Before we came here," she admitted slowly. "Mei-chan said the two boys, Kaito and Mako, left to follow their sensei. They went to help Naruto."
o0O0o
"I don't like this," Kaito announced as he and Mako stood on the edge of the raging river.
"Shut up," Mako snapped back at his friend.
They had been running for hours, and being in Ame no Kuni for so long had apparently done nothing for their leg muscles. They weren't used to traveling by leaping from tree branch to tree branch. Mako could remember seeing the ninja of Konoha do it when he was younger, but he had been too young to start learning anything back then. His only experience acting like a Konoha ninja had been the trip from Ame to Konoha with Naruto-sensei and the others.
But at least they were here now. It had been hard to follow sensei when the two boys were a little unsure of where the man was going. They ended up just going north towards Ta no Kuni until Mako had thought to use an Earth jutsu for tracking. He could just barely distinguish the tremors that came from human footsteps from the various animals running across the ground. As a result, Mako pushed Kaito to go faster, afraid he would lose sensei if the man got any farther ahead of them. Except now they stood at the edge of a wide river, and all Mako could feel beneath his feet was the pounding of the waterfall that raged above him and Kaito.
"We have to go across," Mako announced, hoping that his confidence was as catchy as Naruto-sensei's was.
He stepped onto the water, carefully balancing as he got a feel for standing on a moving surface. Naruto-sensei had already taught him water-walking—said it was a chakra control exercise and be glad I didn't take you to a hot spring, kozou—but Mako had never tried to walk on water that was still churning from its fifty-meter drop. It felt kind of like trying to balance on snow, which Mako had only done once when it snowed for the first time in years in Hafuko. He jogged a little further out into the middle of the river then turned over his shoulder and beckoned Kaito to join him. With a roll of his eyes, the darker boy hurried after Mako with his arms tucked into his sides to make him faster.
"Can you still tell where he went?" Kaito demanded over the roar of the waterfall.
"Yeah, across the river."
It was the only place sensei could have gone, especially since the river divided Ta no Kuni and Hi no Kuni. Kaito grunted briefly.
"Not what I meant," he muttered as the two landed on the opposite bank of the river.
Mako ignored him and glanced around them, as if he would find an arrow or some other obvious clue as to which way Naruto-sensei had gone. The forest was denser and darker on this side of the river. Mako speared the ground with his chakra, feeling for any unusual or human-like movements. But the ground felt as thick as mud, only more solid. He grit his teeth together and frowned, wondering how real ninja found their targets. Was he supposed to ask a passing bird or something?
"We shouldn't have come."
Mako looked at Kaito to find his friend chewing the inside of his lip anxiously. Mako ground his molars together and wondered if there was a good way to kick himself without Kaito seeing it. He should know better than to act like he didn't know what he was doing. Even if Naruto-sensei ever got worried, he never let his kids know. Mako should have just smiled and assured Kaito that everything was going to be fine and they were going to save the day and become big, fat heroes.
"We're going to help sensei," Mako declared in his firmest voice and turned his back on Kaito to indicate the end of the conversation.
"Who says sensei needs our help?" muttered a low voice from behind him.
Mako chose to ignore that comment. He turned to the west and started walking, basing his steps mostly on where there was space within the thick underbrush to plant his feet. They should probably get to climbing trees again, just so they could go faster—
Suddenly, Mako's foot caught on something unseen on the forest floor. He lunged forward, spinning his arms wildly about his head to catch his balance. Just as quickly, he stood back up and spun around to make sure no one was behind him. But only Kaito stood there, with his arms folded across his thin chest and his eyes frowning incredulously at Mako. Mako shot a glare back. It was perfectly legitimate to trip when navigating through such tough territory, and Kaito should know that. Mako ignored Kaito's scoff and crept forward to see what had caused him to stumble.
Mako pushed aside a particularly thick bush and saw a foot attached to an unmoving leg. Eyes widening, Mako shifted his gaze up to uncover an entire body. It was a young man with a hitai-ate around his head like a bandanna. The symbol etched on the metal band was a single note for Oto. Mako looked down at the man's chest and grimaced. A deep indentation in the man's chest circled and tightened to a hole that led straight through the body cavity of a very, very dead man. Mako had never seen what Naruto-sensei's jutsu could do to a human, but sensei had demonstrated it once on a metal building. It was just more blood than Mako had anticipated.
Mako glanced beyond the body and saw fresh footprints that didn't fit the dead man's shoes.
"Come on. This way," he commanded with a wave of his hand. "Sensei was already here."
"No, really?" Kaito's response was snidely sarcastic. "I couldn't tell."
Mako shot him another annoyed glare. Kaito was never this snippy when they took trips with Naruto-sensei. Although maybe that was the reason in and of itself. They were going to help sensei, and that was that. If Kaito refused to believe that Naruto-sensei needed their help, then he should have stayed home.
Mako turned his head to look at Kaito.
"You ready?" he demanded.
Kaito's right hand suddenly dropped from its place rubbing the skin on the boy's left shoulder.
"Ready," Kaito replied without looking at Mako.
Little seedlings of worry sprouted up in Mako's stomach as he watched his friend take the lead away from him. He had forgotten about hebi-teme's mark on Kaito. It was usually moot point anyway, since sensei could take care of it easily. But they hadn't found sensei yet. Mako took a steadying breath and followed Kaito determinedly. Kaito was strong; Naruto-sensei even said so. They would find sensei together, and everything would be okay.
Pushing aside some of the more difficult shrubbery, Mako resolved to ask Naruto-sensei how he managed to be so convincing when he assured his students that everything would be all right. Mako really needed to learn that trick, if only to use it on himself.
o0O0o
Kakashi didn't really believe in ghosts, in premonitions, or in Fate, but he still felt a chill run down his spine as the team sent to provide back up for Raiden crossed the Mogami River, just below the statues of Senju Hirashima and Uchiha Madara. It had been raining the last time he pass through here eight years ago, and he hadn't bothered to come back. Perhaps rain would be more appropriate now instead of the sun that seemed to shine in the most inappropriate times where Naruto was concerned.
Kiba led the five-man team through the thick jungles of Ta no Kuni with a purpose born of knowing his target and determination to see him. Kakashi had to wonder if Kiba or Sasuke would be the more offended party when they finally did catch up with Naruto. Soon, the team stood in front of a cavern etched into a mountain covered in dense vegetation. Akamaru nosed at the ground at the mouth of the cave with his master close beside him. Neji and Shikamaru stood a ways back, ready in case something went wrong, while Kakashi planted himself next to Sasuke. He still thought it was a good idea to have Sasuke on this mission. Naruto reacted more to Sasuke than anyone else. And, thought Kakashi with a wry smile, vice versa.
"The scent goes in here," Kiba called back from the mouth of the cave.
Shikamaru glanced back at Sasuke.
"Do you know this place?" he demanded, completely professional.
Sasuke glanced at the rock formations around him. Kakashi saw the ice-cold mask settle over the face of his former student. If this place was affecting Sasuke, he would never let it show.
"Yes," Sasuke finally answered. "Kabuto took me here."
"Charming." Neji scanned the area with his Byagakun active and a frown creasing his already furrowed brow.
"Let's— What is it?"
Kiba had suddenly bent low to the ground just inside the cave, sniffing at the rocks and dirt. Snapping his head around, he pinned Shikamaru with a harsh gaze.
"Those kids are here, too," he informed the appointed commander. "Mako and Kaito."
Kakashi thought of the young boy who had been cursed with a power he desperately wanted to be rid of and frowned.
"Raiden's kids?" Sasuke snapped. "Why are they here?"
"Did he take 'em with?" Kiba asked instead of trying to answer Sasuke's question.
Kakashi shook his head without responding. He couldn't imagine Naruto putting anyone in danger in that way, much less the children he had all but adopted.
"He left Konoha as soon as he got back," Sasuke hissed back. "He said he would be going alone."
"It doesn't matter," Shikamaru interjected firmly, cutting off any beginnings of an argument. "We'll have to deal with it when we get to him."
Kiba snorted his final opinion on Sasuke's cluelessness and headed into the cave, followed closely by the other members of his team. When they reached a division in the cave, with one tunnel branching off of another, Shikamaru paused and waited for Kiba's direction.
"Not good," muttered Kiba.
"Which way?" Sasuke snapped impatiently.
"The scent divides here." Kiba looked back at Shikamaru, catching Kakashi's eye as he did. "One goes that way and one continues down here."
He gestured with one hand toward each of the two tunnels that led deeper into the underground cavern.
"A clone?" suggested Neji.
"It's not a kage bunshin," Kiba responded immediately. "A kage bunshin doesn't have a scent."
"Then he divided his clothes to throw you off."
Kakashi wasn't that surprised at Sasuke's conclusion, given that the boy had once done the same thing to avoid getting caught by the Konoha team that had been chasing him. Kakashi decided then and there that he hated irony.
"It's not like that!"
The only thing that prevented Kiba from making the mistake of turning his back on an unknown tunnel as he spun to face Sasuke was the fact that Akamaru remained where he was to guard his master's flank.
"I can smell his blood both ways," Kiba declared. "It's like he split himself in half."
"Which way do the kids' scents lead?" Kakashi asked before Sasuke could retort and before the idea of Naruto's body sliced cleanly in two could cement itself in Kakashi's mind.
Kiba nodded down the tunnel to his right.
"That way."
"And down the other tunnel?" prompted the Copy-nin.
"Bunch a'guys I don't recognize," Kiba muttered. "Smells like the kinda place snakes would like."
Shikamaru frowned as he glanced down both dark tunnels then turned to Kakashi.
"We can't assume that either one is his real body," Shikamaru said quietly. "If he only has one. We need to follow both."
Neji was already digging the short-range radios from the bag slung over his shoulder. Kiba and Sasuke took theirs without protesting while Shikamaru kept his eyes on Kakashi.
"Kiba, Akamaru, and I will go down this tunnel and try to catch up with Raiden," he announced with a nod toward the tunnel to Kiba's left. "You three try to catch up with the kids. More than likely he'll be there as well."
"Right," Neji agreed with a nod.
Shikamaru took his own radio and slipped it to rest around his neck then grabbed a second and held it out to Kakashi. Kakashi stepped forward to receive the radio. It would prove problematic if Orochimaru picked up on their presence and found a way to negate the method of communication, but for now it was their best way of staying in contact with each other. As Kakashi's hand closed around the small radio, Shikamaru leaned closer to the man's face.
"Make sure Sasuke knows what's going on before you try to convince Naruto," Shikamaru whispered. "Sasuke may be willing to talk to Naruto, but he hates Raiden."
Kakashi nodded silently. As much as he knew Sasuke could help with this mission, his main concern when the team had discovered Sasuke at the gates of Konoha had been that his student was about to leave the village again. The Council was still quite against the last Uchiha. If Sasuke had gone on a mission without the express permission of the Hokage or the Council, it would be grounds to consider him a traitor again. Kakashi wouldn't let all the work and the loyalty Naruto had shown Sasuke to go completely to waste.
Kakashi turned away from Shikamaru, hooking the radio's wire around his neck as he inserted the tiny earpiece into the ear that wasn't already blocked by his crooked hitai-ate.
"Let's go, then," he announced casually to Neji and Sasuke.
"Contact us if you find anything," Shikamaru ordered one final time.
"Try not to get into too much trouble, Uchiha," Kiba tossed over his shoulder.
Sasuke only sneered at the Inuzuka and stomped down the tunnel. Kakashi gave one last nod to Shikamaru, technically his commanding officer, and followed both Sasuke and Neji deeper into the dark.
o0O0o
Neji followed Sasuke hurriedly down the dark tunnel, keeping his eyes peeled as wide as he could while his bloodline worked to identify any trace of chakra at the edges of his enhanced vision. Neji had no doubt that Sasuke also had his Sharingan activated and searching within the tunnel. But Neji could see no hostile figures within the range of his sight. Perhaps Sasuke could see something else, chakra embedded in the walls or traces of jutsu left behind, but of course, that would require Sasuke to communicate with his team members.
"Neji, take the rear," Kakashi suddenly commanded.
Neji slowed to allow Kakashi to pass him without comment. Despite his rank as ANBU, Neji still had enough tradition ingrained into him to look up to Kakashi as both an older figure and a teacher. Not to mention all the man had already done in the war against Akatsuki. Neji cast his gaze around the tunnel they had just come down to make sure they weren't being followed. At the same time, he pad very close attention to what Kakashi said to Sasuke.
"You were asked on this mission for a reason, Sasuke," Kakashi said in the tone of a teacher who wouldn't be denied his lecture.
"I came because if Raiden doesn't kill Orochimaru, I'm going to do it myself," Sasuke hissed back.
"And if Orochimaru kills Raiden instead?" Kakashi pressed.
The question sent a tremor through Neji's heart. He owed Naruto much, and he was well aware of it. Naruto had a way of forcing people to look at their own faults and then emulate Naruto himself in working to change. When one saw how hard Naruto worked to better himself, it was hard to produce an excuse why one wouldn't work just as hard.
"Good riddance," was Sasuke's only response.
"You shouldn't speak so quickly," Kakashi replied calmly. "Haven't you seen Raiden?"
Neji saw Sasuke shoot the older man a hot glare, as if reminding Kakashi of the length of time Sasuke himself had spent with Raiden since Konoha had hired the nuke-nin. Neji suspected that Sasuke, of all the Konoha ninja, had actually spent the most time with Raiden between having the man live in his house and the trip to Kumo that had recently taken place. Despite it all, Sasuke still couldn't see who Raiden truly was. He bit back a scoff. And Neji thought he had been blind.
"During Naruto's funeral four years ago," Kakashi began again, "what did you see?"
"I saw nothing," spat Sasuke.
Very blind, indeed.
"You saw Naruto."
Neji blinked. That was more blunt than he suspected Kakashi had been leading up to. Sasuke suddenly stopped walking and spun to pin Kakashi with red and black eyes.
"I saw a coward who didn't even dare stick around when he was discovered," Sasuke growled through gritted teeth. "Does that sound like Naruto?"
"Something made him leave Konoha," Kakashi said firmly, now stopped in the middle of the tunnel as well. "He was under some kind of threat."
"That dobe would never run away to save his own skin," scoffed Sasuke. "He's too stupid to have an ounce of self-preservation in him."
Neji noted that even though Sasuke denied ever having seen Naruto outright, he persisted in referring to his friend as if he were still alive.
"Part of his nindo was not to run away from a fight," Kakashi agreed. "But the most important thing for him was protecting those who were precious to him, wasn't it?"
Neji's eyes bypassed Sasuke reaction as he caught a glimpse of two figures ahead of him. He easily identified them as children due to their size, but he had never seen the two students Naruto had taken on for a basis of comparison. But then, he saw a far more familiar figure rushing down the tunnel, directly for the children in between the new figure and Neji.
Kakashi apparently saw the tension that shot through Neji's body and pinned Neji with a demanding look.
"What do you see?" he asked.
"Raiden's kids," answered Neji.
Kakashi and Sasuke took off together deeper into the tunnel before Neji could explain the final figure he had seen. Neji followed quickly, eager to catch up to Naruto. A quick glance behind him proved that no one else was following them, either from Oto or their comrades from Konoha.
The three ninja came upon the children first. Neji recognized them easily now that he could see them with his own eyes. The older one, Mako, was light-haired; his eyes reflected the dim light in the tunnel and almost seemed to glow. The other—Kaito, Neji remembered from Sakura's words—was far more cautious, turning his back to his friend's side and his chest to the approaching Konoha ninja as if he were readying himself for an attack.
"Fancy meeting you here, Kaito-kun." Kakashi's tone suggested his face was scrunched up into a crinkled eye and creased mask that meant he was smiling. "Where's your sensei?"
Neji glanced up into the deepness of the tunnel and found no need to answer Kakashi's question. Raiden, with his red and white mask covering his face and a deep red coat covering his usual black clothes, blasted around a corner in the tunnel and slid to a stop a few paces away from the small party that now included his students, his comrades, and his former teacher.
Raiden tore his mask from his face, revealing the familiar rounded face with gray eyes and the shiruken tattoo on his left cheek. But his eyes were narrowed and angry, in a way Neji had never seen from Naruto without Uchiha Sasuke being involved.
"What are you doing here?" Raiden all but growled at the two boys.
Kaito shrank backwards right away, as if he had it in mind to run away from his sensei's wrath. But instead, Kaito did something far simpler and pointed directly at Mako.
"It was his idea," blurted the boy.
All the blood drained from Mako's face as Raiden transferred his gaze to the light-haired boy. Neji saw the boy swallow and wondered if Naruto had changed so much in the four years of his absence that he would be a danger to his own students.
"You are dead, kozou." Raiden jerked forward with one hand extended to Mako.
Then, three things happened at the same time. Kakashi took a step forward with one hand reaching out towards Raiden at the same time that Raiden's eyes widened and the man's body jerked. Meanwhile, Neji activated his doujutsu once again, worried by both men's actions. His eyes caught sight of five figures descending from, of all places, the ceiling of the tunnel. Neji grit his teeth to keep himself from swearing. With the experience he had with looking everywhere for possible attacks, he should have known better than to ignore what was overhead just because it was rock instead of trees. As one, the six Oto attackers let loose a hail of kunai.
Neji spun into Kaiten, careful to angle the solid sphere of chakra so that none of the kunai deflected from him would not hit his allies. From beside him, he heard someone let out a pained grunt. Neji did not even move his head in order to take in his friend's appearance. Kakashi and Sasuke were already engaged with two Oto shinobi. Kakashi had a kunai out, but Sasuke hadn't drawn his kodachi yet. Neji suspected his opponent knew enough to try to prevent Sasuke from reaching his main weapon.
Naruto had pulled Kaito into his stomach and curled his body around the boy as he stood with his face to Mako, who was sandwiched in between his sensei and the wall of the tunnel. Suddenly Neji realized that the pained grunt hadn't come from Kaito landing into his sensei's gut, but the five kunai buried into Raiden's back. The worst was embedded in his right shoulder blade up to the hilt. With one hand cradling Kaito's head and the other still gripping the boy's shoulder, Raiden opened his mouth, only to dribble blood on the top of his student's head.
"Sensei!" Mako cried in distress.
Neji heard the whizz of air behind him and turned to bat another kunai away before it could reach his once-dead friend. A shift of his feet turned his back to Naruto and his students while his palms faced two more Oto shinobi. He could hear Kakashi and Sasuke still fighting to his left, and his enhanced eyesight saw Naruto push the young, dark-haired boy into the tunnel wall next to Mako. Naruto turned his injured back to his students so they were sheltered between Naruto and Neji and Naruto faced the remaining Oto shinobi, a man at least a meter taller than the brown-haired man.
"Come to think it of it, what are you doing here, Konoha?" Raiden's voice demanded quietly.
"Did you really think we would let a comrade face his battles alone, Naruto?" Neji demanded back.
Neji heard a rustling of cloth and clink of metal. He didn't need to look to know Naruto had withdrawn a weapon from the pouch on his right thigh.
"You and your stupid eyes," grumbled a voice that was more like Naruto's than Neji had heard for four years.
"If you were aiming for the element of surprise, I believe you lost it."
Neji easily slipped under a lunge from one of the Oto ninja and tapped his fingers harshly across the points along the man's arm. It was enough to drive the man back as his comrade tried to take advantage of Neji's outstretched hands.
"Hey, you're talking to Konoha's Number One Most Surprising Ninja!" Naruto's voice created a picture of the same grin he always used to wear in Neji's mind. "Wait for it."
But a pained grunt at Neji's back quickly dispelled the happy thought of seeing Naruto's grin again.
"Naruto-sensei!" one of the boys called worriedly.
Neji knocked the second Oto-nin across the chest, blocking sixty-four of his tenketsu at once. Even before the man fully collapsed, Neji turned around and saw the giant Oto-nin's hand come crashing down directly on Raiden's head. Raiden staggered under the blow and fell to one knee.
"Naruto!" Neji cried.
o0O0o
It hadn't actually taken that much effort for Sakura to get the Rookies together. No one was quite sure where it started—the nickname for the generation of shinobi who had all reached the age of twenty or twenty-one, most of whom were jounin already. Sakura had once suspected her own sensei of perpetuating the name, but Kakashi would never admit to it even if he also refused to deny it. But it made no difference; the name stuck.
Rather than invite all her friends out to eat, as they had done frequently before at either Ichiraku's or the BBQ place, Sakura thought it wise to keep them in Sasuke's house where they wouldn't be in danger of being easily overheard. It was a bit of a squeeze to get seven shinobi all seated and comfortable on the tatami floor of Sasuke's living area, but soon they were all present.
Hinata kept to one wall of the room, sitting perfectly in seiza like none of the others. Shino, in his ever-present glasses and large hooded coat, sat beside her with his hands still tucked into his pockets. On Hinata's other side sat Ino. Sakura knew her friend had begged her father to let her leave her usual duties at the T&I department to someone else as she visited her friend. Chouji sat next to Ino, his legs crossed under him. With his familial armor and his large frame, he looked more like a samurai than a ninja; but Sakura had seen him in battle, and Chouji was fierce in his defense of his friends or his home. Tenten and Lee were sitting on either side of Sakura near the low table in the kitchen. Sai, the last of the guests, sat just behind Tenten's shoulder, near the wall of the kitchen.
Sakura twisted her fingers together and wondered nervously how to begin. She had considered having Mei perform the same trick she had in Tsunade's office, changing into the true form of the girl's sensei when no one was around. But Mei was already nervous, and Sakura didn't think the small girl would be able to perform in front of so many strangers. Mei was hiding out in her room instead. As Sakura gathered her courage, Lee was the first one to speak.
"Sakura-san, is something wrong?" he asked gently.
His question carried over the murmurings in the room, cutting them off abruptly. Sakura straightened her back stiffly at the sudden attention on her and turned decidedly toward Lee. At least he had some background about the situation, having been included in the conversation on the hospital rooftop.
"Lee, do you remember Shikamaru's theory about Raiden?" she asked. When Lee nodded hesitantly, she continued: "It's true."
"No!" shouted Lee immediately. "It cannot be."
The others seemed to find Lee's reaction more curious than Sakura's apparent nervousness.
"What theory?" Ino was the first to jump on the topic.
Lee turned wide eyes, marred by a small frown, onto the room in general as he answered.
"Shikamaru was of the opinion that Raiden was truly Uzumaki Naruto in disguise."
Even though Sakura expected the disbelieving reaction, seeing Ino's eyes widen, hearing Hinata's soft gasp, and watching Chouji's mouth drop several centimeters still pained her.
"Uzumaki Naruto died four years ago," Shino interjected in his usual cold manner. "How do I know?"
"We all know that, Shino!" snapped Tenten. "We saw his body buried."
Sakura was surprised at the vehemence in Tenten's voice. But she also remembered not believing—not wanting to believe—Shikamaru was right.
"Mei, the girl he took in—" she explained hurriedly when Hinata shot her a confused glance. "She showed me what her sensei really looked like. It was Naruto."
"How . . ?" Tenten breathed.
Sakura shook her head, unsure of how to convey the certainty that had slowly been settling in ever since Mei had first said, "Naruto-sensei."
"I don't know. But he always called me Sakura-chan." Sakura frowned as her thoughts came more clearly, remembering the way a dark-haired Genkei had walked beside her proudly in a border town near Ame. "I thought he was just teasing me, but I think he really meant it now. He could always get under Sasuke's skin, even when he wasn't really trying."
"This is crazy," Ino blurted suddenly. "Sakura, you're going nuts."
Sakura flinched back from the accusation, and from her best friend, no less. Chouji sent a sympathetic look toward Sakura briefly before he faced his former teammate.
"Shikamaru's been acting weird since he got back from the mission to Ame."
"Chouji!" Ino glared at Chouji as if he had betrayed her.
"And Raiden eats ramen just like Naruto," Chouji pressed gently. "Remember, Ino?"
Ino just shook her head.
"You're crazy, too." But her tone suggested more awe than disbelief.
"Sakura-san," Hinata called quietly. "Is it p-p-possible that Raiden could be N-Naruto-kun?"
Hinata was soft-spoken, but Sakura grimaced to hear her stutter again. The Hyuuga heir usually made sure to speak slowly enough to regulate her breathing and be conscious of her words so that she could speak clearly. But Sakura saw the hope shining in Hinata's eyes and knew that Hinata wanted this to be true as much as Sakura knew it to be. Only Sakura didn't have all the information yet. And with Raiden out of the village and Sasuke and Shikamaru's team following after him as Tsunade had said, Sakura had no real way to confirm what she believed.
"I don't know," Sakura admitted. "I haven't seen him with my own eyes, but Mei has. She didn't even know his name until she saw my genin team photo. She said she recognized his smile."
For some reason, that had made Sakura happy—to hear from Mei that she had known sensei as soon as she had seen Sakura's old photo. Sakura had shown her one more photo, this one of her and Naruto and Kakashi when she and Naruto were sixteen. Mei had nodded and pointed at Naruto immediately.
"Only sensei smiles like that," the girl had said. "With his eyes all scrunched up."
"But how . . ." gaped Tenten, her eyes searching the rest of the room before finally landing on Sakura. "How is he not dead?"
Sakura couldn't answer her. She had felt Naruto bleeding beneath her hands. She had seen his burial like everyone else. But she had also seen the small piece of a seal that Shikamaru had produced. She wished Kakashi were here as well to shed some light on that particular subject.
"Orochimaru has the ability to call bodies back from the dead," Shino said suddenly into the pensive silence that had descended on the room.
"No!"
Sakura slammed her fist down on the floor and glared at Shino. Distantly, she heard the wooden floor beneath the mats crack under her hand.
"He's not a puppet!" she shouted at the calm Aburame.
"I don't think so either." Sai's voice interjected for the first time into the room.
Sakura spun around abruptly to look at Sai. He was still socially awkward, but Sakura suspected it had less to do with a lack of knowledge and more to do with Sai's way of being funny. Now, however, the dark boy looked solemn.
"Orochimaru always uses the dead bodies he calls as weapons to do his fighting," Sai explained, "because he knows his opponent won't want to fight their old allies. If . . . if Naruto was being used by Orochimaru all along, why would he try so hard to hide his identity?"
No one answered his question, not even Shino, who had raised the point in the first place.
"Then why would he pretend to die?" inquired Tenten.
"Naruto would do anything for the sake of his bonds," Sai stated firmly, and no one argued that he was wrong. "If he thought it would be better for his friends if he were dead, then he would die."
Sakura glared furiously at Sai. She couldn't blame him, though, for saying what she already knew was true. Naruto would die to protect those precious to him. If he was under the very mistaken impression that it would be better, but still—
"How could it be better?" she demanded of Sai.
Instead of growing defensive, Sai turned a saddened look onto the young woman.
"You never heard, Sakura," he murmured. "When Sasuke first came back, the shinobi were divided. Some thought Sasuke would corrupt Naruto's heart, and some thought Naruto would be a danger to Sasuke."
Sakura heard a loud snort from the other side of the room. She suspected Ino—the girl really could sound like a pig when she was most offended—but Sakura kept her attention on Sai.
"It was members of ROOT who were most vocal," Sai continued. "I don't know what Danzo told them, but every conversation they started seemed to sow discontent."
"Did Naruto know?" Lee asked, leaning around Sakura to look at Sai.
One look at Sai's face gave an answer. The young man, usually calm and placid even when insulting, rolled his eyes at Lee in an obvious call of 'of course, idiot.'
"Why didn't he say anything?" Chouji demanded.
"N-Naruto-kun would never want his f-f-friends to be s-s-sad for him," Hinata all but whispered in response.
Sakura sank lower to the floor, her shoulders slumping.
"Baka," she whispered.
A brief pain shot through her heart as she wished that Naruto were actually present so that she could smack him over the head herself.
"Why would ROOT wish to sow discord within their own village?" protested Ino in a demanding voice.
Sakura wondered if her friend realized she was moving slowly into interrogation mode. Sai slowly shook his head.
"I do not know."
Ino stood, and Sakura had no delusions that her friend had not just slipped into her role as a part of the T&I department.
"Sai, tell us everything about Danzo," commanded Ino.
Sai lowered his head to gaze at the tatami mats.
"I can't."
"Sai!" Sakura growled threateningly.
She raised a fist toward Sai, but he didn't cower properly before her famous temper. Sai only looked at Sakura and shook his head slightly.
"No, Sakura, you don't understand." His voice was almost pleading. "I can't."
Sakura watched in a kind of horrified fascination as Sai opened his mouth wide and put out his tongue. At first, she suspected that Sai had bitten through his own tongue at some point and was left with a horribly discolored mark on the back of his tongue. But then she realized that the mark was purposefully designed.
"A seal?" Tenten's eyebrows rose dramatically.
Sai slipped his tongue back into his mouth, a blank look overtaking his features.
"Danzo took precautions when he indoctrinated me into ROOT," he reported coldly. "The seal prevents me from speaking his secrets."
Sakura nearly cried out loud. Danzo was ruining everything. If Sakura ever discovered that his careless words and encouraging of rumors caused Naruto to hide himself away from Konoha, she would personally bash the man's ruined face in.
"You cannot speak," Shino spoke again, quietly, "but can you act?"
Sai looked up with a puzzled frown that looked genuinely confused.
"You wish me to play the game of charades?" he wondered.
Sakura glared at Shino and sincerely hoped the Aburame had something more practical in mind than party games.
"No," Shino corrected him. "You act, we will follow."
Sakura was so surprised that Shino had failed to include a self-answered question in his comment that she almost didn't see Hinata sit up even straighter as if hardening her resolve or Chouji plant his meaty fists on his knees as the corners of his mouth set in a downward curve, the closest the large, jovial young man would get to a frown among his friends.
"We will help Naruto," declared Shino, echoing the sentiment that permeated the room.
o0O0o
"Which way?" Shikamaru demanded of Kiba.
He watched as Kiba closed his eyes. A frown crossed the Inuzuka's visage as he concentrated, and Shikamaru bit back a command to hurry up. They would get nowhere if Shikamaru insisted on adding to the pressure Kiba was already putting himself under. Kiba's eyes snapped open as Akamaru whined.
"I know," he growled. "It doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't?"
Kiba didn't even glance at Shikamaru, instead choosing to point his nose down the tunnel.
"The trail stops here," Kiba muttered in frustration. "It's like his scent just disappeared."
Shikamaru had the space of about two-point-five seconds to ponder that mystery before he felt it: a flash of chakra from somewhere over his head that preceded a sudden, heavy drop behind him. Shikamaru didn't move when he felt a sharp kunai at his throat as the figure behind him straightened, standing close against Shikamaru's back. Akamaru let out a short bark and started growling, while Kiba spun around to face Shikamaru and his new attacker. From the corner of his eye, Shikamaru could just barely see the quarry he and his team had been chasing.
"I told you to stay out of my way, Nara," the white and red mask growled threateningly.
Shikamaru remained calm and commanded his heart to slow down after the sudden appearance. Part of his brain was still calculating how large he could stretch his practically-nonexistent shadow in the underground cavern, but the majority knew who was behind him and wasn't worried.
"You really do suck at lying, Naruto," Shikamaru commented calmly.
"I told you, I'm not your ghost," snapped Raiden.
"Bullshit," growled Kiba. "I can smell you."
Shikamaru felt the grip holding the kunai at his throat tighten. He briefly considered the possibility that Naruto might be so desperate to keep his secret that he would do something impossible. But Naruto would never harm his friends. Even while he was Genkei or Raiden, whatever his disguise, Naruto fought alongside his friends. He had never once threatened them or Konoha.
"Show your face, ya damn coward!" Kiba suddenly shouted.
Raiden's kunai jerked, nicking the thin skin of Shikamaru's neck.
"Don't tell me you're going crazy, too, dog-breath." Raiden's voice was coldly calm.
"Bastard," snarled Kiba. "Since when does Uzumaki Naruto run away from his friends?"
Raiden jerked his kunai away from Shikamaru's neck and stepped back. Shikamaru quickly used his newfound freedom to turn around and face his opponent just as Raiden hooked his fingers under the chin of his mask and pushed it up to reveal the young-looking face he had been wearing since camping on the border of Ame no Kuni. Except now the face looked much less friendly than Shikamaru remembered Genkei ever being on their return to Konoha.
"Idiots," snapped Genkei. "Go back to Konoha. I'm doing this alone."
"You don't have to, Naruto," Shikamaru urged. "Let us help you with Orochimaru. We can figure out everything else from there."
The kunai with a trace of Shikamaru's blood on it shook and lowered slowly. Shikamaru decided to give one more push.
"You don't really want to leave your students behind," he told the fake face.
Raiden balled his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white around the kunai handle.
"Everyone," he muttered in a low voice. "Everyone, everyone brings them up."
He fell silent immediately, his gray eyes staring at Shikamaru with a faraway look that made Shikamaru think he wasn't really seeing the three ninja at all. Then, Kiba stepped forward.
"Naruto," he called, his ire faded into something that was almost pleading. "Let us help."
Raiden stared at Kiba for a moment then his shoulders slumped down dramatically.
"Idiots," he murmured. "You're both stupid damn idiots."
Shikamaru scoffed. That sounded much more like Naruto. Beside him, Kiba grinned.
"Hey, drop the stupid face, hothead," the Inuzuka commanded.
Raiden's eyes darted from Shikamaru to Kiba. Then, he raised the kunai in his right hand and slid it over his thumb, as if he were preparing to perform a Summoning Technique. But then he swiped his bloody thumb over the black tattoo under his eye.
Shikamaru watched attentively as Raiden's brown hair lengthened and lightened to blond. His eyes changed to bright blue as his face became a little rounder. The shiruken tattoo faded, replaced with three marks on either cheek. Uzumaki Naruto smiled nervously at his friends, but Shikamaru could only remember the photos he had seen of Yondaime Hokage. Suddenly, Kiba surged forward and slung his arm around Naruto.
"You idiot!" Kiba all but shouted. "How the hell did you do that? Why'd you stay away?"
Watching Naruto closely, Shikamaru saw the exact moment Naruto's face froze into a mask of uncertainty when Kiba demanded an explanation. Shikamaru stepped forward deliberately.
"We'll hear about that after the mission," he announced. His eyes bore into Naruto with all the promise of holding his friend to that expectation.
Naruto shrugged Kiba's arm off his shoulder and nodded reluctantly at Shikamaru. The kunai slipped back into Naruto's pouch as a solemn look overtook the young man's features.
"I'm still killing orochi-teme," he announced.
The strange nickname sounded much more usual coming from Naruto's mouth than it had from Raiden's.
"What do you want to do?" Shikamaru asked him.
Naruto looked at him in shock for a moment before he closed his eyes and bowed his head, remaining motionless. Shikamaru recognized the gesture from the time in the forest before the Oto genin had stumbled upon the retrieval team first assigned to approach Raiden. Kiba had described it as "balancing." Suddenly, Naruto's head spun over his shoulder, and he stared at the stone wall of Orochimaru's underground fortress.
"Crap!" he shouted abruptly. "They're getting attacked!"
"Who?"
Shikamaru was about to echo Kiba's demand when the short-range radio in his ear crackled to life.
"Shikamaru, we found Naruto," came Kakashi's calm voice. Shikamaru heard a clang of metal meeting and a pained grunt from the radio before Kakashi continued: "And the enemy."
"What's your position?" Shikamaru demanded through the radio.
"They're fifteen meters that direction," Naruto spoke over Kakashi's reply, pointing at an angle into the cavern wall at his right side.
"How do you know?" Kiba frowned.
Akamaru trotted to the wall where Naruto's finger directed and started sniffing as if the ninken would be able to find his comrades through solid stone. Naruto dropped his hand and glanced at Kiba.
"I can sense them," Naruto explained hurriedly. "I learned senjutsu from the toads."
Shikamaru noted the reference to Naruto's summoned animals and filed it away for future reference, like most of the pieces of information his brain tended to store. Suddenly, Naruto frowned back at the wall he had indicated.
"My kids are with them." His voice was bland while the expression he turned on Shikamaru was completely flummoxed. "What the hell are my kids doing with them?"
"I smelt them outside the cave," Kiba answered for his squad leader. "They didn't come with you?"
Once glance at Naruto's concerned face told Shikamaru that his friend had no idea of his students' presence. With half of his team already under attack along with the kids, the situation could get ugly very quickly. And Kakashi had said that his team had found Naruto when Naruto was clearly standing in front of Shikamaru. The strategist chalked it up as another thing Naruto would have to explain at a less chaotic time: his method of splitting himself in two perfect copies.
"We'll be there in five minutes, Kakashi," Shikamaru announced into his radio.
"Less."
Shikamaru's head snapped toward Naruto as he turned down the radio's volume. Kiba frowned, puzzled, at his friend, and Akamaru raised his head curiously.
"What?" Kiba's voice was sharp, a mixture of eagerness and suspicion.
Naruto tilted his head at the same angle Shikamaru recognized from Raiden intimidating his opponents. But now the crooked face was a familiar one, topped with a wide grin that could only come from Naruto.
"How good can you track underground, dog-breath?" the smiling man challenged.
Kiba's answering grin was the epitome of a cocky genin brat once again.
"Try me."
o0O0o
Sasuke summoned another shiruken from the seals on his forearms and flung the star-shaped weapon at his opponent. The shiruken caught the Oto ninja across the face and sliced a long cut from nose across his cheek, exposing the bone just below his eye. Sasuke barely glanced at his handiwork as he struggled to rein in his thoughts.
"Haven't you seen Raiden?"
It was a stupid question. Of course Sasuke had seen Raiden. He had seen the young man far too many times for his own liking. Ever since he had first met the man in Hafuko, it seemed like Sasuke's eyes were constantly drawn to Raiden.
And then the man had to tell his stupid life story around a campfire in the woods. Really? An old man who hadn't survived Orochimaru's attack on his village? A brother who had been lost to darkness? The more Sasuke listened, the more Raiden's story sounded exactly like Naruto's.
The young Oto-nin fell back only to be replaced with an androgynous figure, the kind Orochimaru seemed to like keeping around. Sasuke bent down and swept his leg across the floor of the tunnel, forcing his enemy to leap above his kick. With the space afforded him, Sasuke reached behind his back and withdrew his kodachi. He sliced across the figure's stomach a little more vigorously than necessary, cutting through layers of skin to expose the viscera beneath.
"Hey, Uchiha. I win this time."
Idiot. He was as much of an idiot as Naruto ever was. Did he think everything would go back to the way it had been? He'd just renew his rivalry as if no time had passed, and suddenly Sasuke found himself covered in confetti. Confetti! And Sasuke couldn't even retaliate against his prank-loving, immature, idiot teammate because Raiden wasn't Naruto.
He might have shared bodies, maybe even the experiences and memories that Naruto had had, but Raiden's personality was something completely different from Naruto's. From what Sasuke remembered—through all his encounters with the dobe—Naruto couldn't lie to save his life and he would never act as coldly as Raiden did around his friends. Sasuke grimaced as he brought his kodachi down on the Oto-nin's shoulder. The slice cut down to the bone and almost severed the girly-man's arm from his shoulder. Combined with the wound that already stretched across the man's stomach, Sasuke hoped it would be enough for the enemy to bleed out. And swiftly.
"Naruto-sensei!"
Sasuke heard the boy's desperate cry and turned around, almost expecting to see Naruto's bright countenance there in the darkness of Orochimaru's lair. Instead, he saw the unmasked Raiden fall to one knee as Neji ran forward and struck out at the giant Oto-nin's arm that kept Raiden pinned to the ground. Mako suddenly jumped out from behind his sensei's protective form and jabbed a kunai into the man's leg. The Oto shinobi's only response was to grunt in pain and kick at the boy at his feet.
The motion seemed to galvanize Raiden into moving, urging the man to his feet as he raised his hands above his head. Pushing the hand that determined to shove him down off of him, he seemed as indomitable as ever.
No, dammit. Sasuke turned his attention back to his opponents. The one with the cut across his face had recovered and had decided to press in on Sasuke while the dark Uchiha was distracted. Sasuke deflected a spinning shiruken with his kodachi and ground his teeth together in determination. Even if Raiden was Naruto—and a sensei, and when had Naruto become a sensei—Raiden wasn't Naruto.
He wasn't the same boy who had dragged him, half-dead after defeating Itachi, back to Konoha and defended him to anyone who dared demand Sasuke's blood in Naruto's presence. This wasn't the same boy that had sat bouncing on Sasuke's bed while Sasuke had bore inked seals on his temples to keep his kekkei genkei in check and happily declared his intention to take his whole team to Ichiraku's once Sasuke was feeling better—the same boy who had argued with a frog, saying he couldn't leave Konoha while people were giving Sasuke a hard time, and who had admonished him not to ruin all Sakura-chan's hard work and responded to his angry threats with a simple, "Back atcha, teme."
Only because his Sharingan was activated did Sasuke see the shiruken in his enemy's hand, about to be launched toward Kakashi. Sasuke's eyes quickly took in his former sensei beside him. His hitai-ate was pushed up to rest on his brow, revealing a set of mismatched eyes that stared at the Oto-nin fighting Kakashi. Sasuke brought his kodachi down on the man's outstretched arm, effectively cutting it off from the rest of the man's body. As the Oto-nin clutched the severed stump of his arm, Sasuke channeled his Lightning chakra through his blade in a familiar motion and cut through the man's chest. The man fell to the ground, dead before his body could fully collapse.
"Doton: Domu."
Sasuke heard a deep voice at his back name the jutsu that would turn his skin into an impenetrable defense. He glanced over his shoulder to see the giant man standing over Raiden, his skin discolored to a dark gray.
Then, Neji blinked, his intense eyes widening until they looked ridiculous.
"Number One Most Surprising Ninja, indeed," Neji scoffed softly.
Suddenly, the wall of the tunnel opposite of Raiden and his kids began to crack and crumble. For one brief moment, all forms of battle stopped as both the Konoha shinobi and the Oto-nin stared at the earthen wall to see what would erupt. Then, the wall of the tunnel burst in a spiral, and an outstretched hand cradled a swirl of blue chakra that Sasuke recognized easily, having seen that jutsu up close enough times. The figure behind the swirl of chakra had his face hidden by a familiar red and white mask but topped by bright yellow hair that Sasuke hadn't seen since the day the village buried his best friend. Raiden emerged from the flying debris and stretched out his right arm and shoved the swirling ball of blue chakra directly into the Oto-nin that Neji had been fighting.
"Back-up's here!" crowed Kiba as he shook the remaining dirt off himself.
Akamaru rushed out of a second hole beside Raiden, all four feet planted firmly on the cavern floor after his joint Gatsuuga with Kiba had punched a hole right through the wall of the tunnel. Shikamaru burst from the hole that Raiden had punched in the wall and launched one of his chakra knives at Kakashi's opponent, neatly slicing through the shinobi's skin while Kakashi took the opportunity of distraction to threat his Lightning-encased fingers through the man's heart.
With two more members of the attack party down, some of the chaos of the battle subsided, and Sasuke took a closer look at the new arrivals. Kiba, Akamaru, and Shikamaru looked very little damaged, and even Raiden stood straight and tall. Especially when compared to the unmasked Raiden that still knelt in front of the discolored Oto-nin. The bleeding nuke-nin now slumped against the wall of the cavern, and the giant Oto-nin shot out one arm to grasp Kaito's arm and pull the boy hard.
"Kaito!" The masked Raiden darted forward, and Sasuke swallowed back a stupid urge to snap at the dobe for being so hotheaded.
Naruto never knew how to stop and think before a fight.
"Now, Raiden-sama," crooned a smooth voice from the darkness. "You know I would never harm one of your precious students."
o0O0o
Naruto clenched his fists so tightly that he felt his nails dig into the flesh of his palms. The sharp pricking only served to remind him that his students liked him best when his eyes were blue, not red.
Plus, he really didn't need to give Noboru any more reasons to be curious about him.
Kaito was still struggling in the grasp of the ninja who looked more like a golem. Naruto could see the inky marks of the seal leaking out from the barrier he had put around it himself. Naruto thrust his arm between Mako's body and Noboru's stance beside the Oto-nin. He didn't know how calm he could remain if both his boys were in Noboru's hands.
Noboru watched the kage tensei clone that was still slumped on its knees, bleeding from a deep head wound as well as his nose and making a general mess of the front of his dark shirt. Orochimaru's lackey seemed to relish, if not in the boy's panic then in the pain that crossed Genkei's face at seeing his student valiantly attempting to fight both himself and his enemies. Noboru shifted his gaze from the clone to Naruto, and Naruto became very aware that the only thing hiding his real face was a ceramic mask.
"Interesting. You seem to change appearances every time I see you again, Raiden-sama," noted Noboru curiously. "Do you have so many masks, or have you just forgotten what you look like?"
His tone sounded as if he were asking an old comrade about recent developments in his fighting style. Naruto could feel Mako tense behind him, his muscles pulled tight with the indecision of staying safe behind his sensei or jumping out to defend Naruto.
"Problem?" Kakashi murmured from somewhere behind Naruto's left shoulder.
"Morishima Noboru," Naruto muttered back, loud enough for the entire group to hear. "He took Kabuto's place. And he likes poisons."
"Shoulda brought a med-nin," Kiba growled low in his throat.
Naruto's thoughts flashed to Sakura back in Konoha. He had told Mako to go to Sakura if there were any problems, and instead the boy had been his usual hothead self and ran off to follow Naruto. Naruto refused to consider how familiar that particular situation felt for him. Maybe this was his come-uppance for being such a brat to ero-sennin. But then, Kaito let out a pained cry as his eyes twisted tightly shut, and Naruto forgot about being a brat and chose to be a sensei instead.
"Kaito!" he called commandingly.
Kaito peeled his eyes open again, reveling a fevered glaze covering his normally black gaze. But he looked at Naruto's masked face instead of the clone that retained Genkei's looks. The boy's breath started coming in longer gasps rather than the hyperventilating pants he had been so desperately taking in.
"You're stronger than him, Kaito," Naruto said firmly. "You know it."
Kaito nodded; or maybe Naruto was mistaking the slump of Kaito's head for a nod. Naruto felt rather than saw Neji shift his feet so that he formed a barrier against Noboru.
"Let the child go," Neji ordered calmly, his hands rising in front of him.
Noboru smiled widely as if delighted to be ordered about.
"That wouldn't benefit me very much, would it?" Noboru proposed.
He stretched out one hand toward Kaito, and Naruto saw the gleam of a silver needle threaded between his fingers.
"Noboru!"
Naruto didn't even blink when his clone took up the shouting. It might be a good thing, actually, if Noboru couldn't tell which one of him was real. Through the eyeholes of his mask, Naruto glanced at Neji. He supposed it would be too much to hope that Neji had neglected to recognize his chakra coils. Shikamaru and Kiba obviously already knew who he was, so Naruto supposed Kakashi was in on the secret as well. And Sasuke—
Naruto's hand clenched when Noboru halted his movements just enough to poise the needle just above Kaito's neck. No time to think about Sasuke now.
"What do you want?" the clone demanded, fixing Noboru's attention on him instead of Naruto.
"To learn," replied Noboru as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Isn't knowledge a power unto itself? And I dearly wish to know how you have accomplished the very thing Orochimaru-sama wants to badly, Raiden-sama. You can keep from dying."
Naruto saw Sasuke flinch then hold his muscles even tighter than he had been. This conversation was not going well. He needed to give one of the others an opportunity to grab Kaito, or get an opening at Noboru himself.
"Oh, not completely," Naruto answered for his clone.
Really, Kage Tensei no Jutsu was just a trick, just a technique with strengths and weaknesses like any other. If Orochimaru really understood what it cost to the person using it, he'd call it a fool's jutsu. He wasn't interested in something that would cost him too much to use. And as for Noboru, Naruto was pretty sure he just wanted to dissect one of his kage tensei clones to see what it was made of.
"That's interesting," murmured Noboru.
Naruto heard Akamaru growl softly from Noboru's side. Or maybe that was Kiba.
"So, you mean to say that if I drove this needle through your heart, you would die here and now?" Noboru held up the silver needle delicately.
A wild, half-baked idea formed in Naruto's mind, and he grinned cheekily.
"Why don't you try it?" he taunted.
Normally, Noboru wasn't the type to succumb to childish taunts, much as he liked to hear his own voice, but he was curious. Noboru flicked his wrist and sent the needle in his hand flying.
Naruto was surprised when the needle drove into his kage tensei clone, hitting the brown-haired man deep in the neck. Kiba was the first to move, leaping forward indignantly with Akamaru at his side. Naruto saw Noboru raise his hand with another needle in his fingers and jumped to grab Kiba's arm.
"Wait!"
Naruto jerked the Inuzuka backwards, but he wasn't in time to stop Akamaru. Naruto kept his hand on Kiba's arm as the giant white dog let out a pained whimper and sunk to the ground.
"Akamaru!" cried Kiba.
Neji jumped forward and grasped Kiba's other arm just in time to keep the wolf-like ninja from surging forward with his teeth bared at Noboru. Orochimaru's lackey smiled at his opponents.
"Wise of you, Raiden-sama," the man noted. "Do you know what this particular poison does?"
"How much have you learned from your sister?" Naruto hissed in Kiba's ear.
They'd need a vet if Akamaru was poisoned with one of Noboru's special concoctions. Kiba didn't get a chance to reply.
"I actually designed this poison with you in mind, Raiden-sama." Noboru turned his attention back to the clone, who had one hand slapped over his neck where the needle had stabbed him.
Discreetly, Naruto turned his head in an attempt to see behind him. His mask didn't help, but the remnants of his sage mode meant he could still pinpoint everyone's chakra. Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Kakashi were all standing together behind the first line of defense that Naruto, Kiba, and Neji posed. Naruto felt a little relieved that all the geniuses were together in one place.
"You should start feeling the effects by now," Noboru announced.
Naruto turned his attention to the kage tensei clone, worried now despite knowing the effects wouldn't long much longer once the clone dispelled.
"The temperature of your blood should be rising," continued Noboru. "Soon, you'll feel feverish, until your entire body is consumed with flames without my having to touch you."
Kiba was focused on Akamaru now when Naruto's clone suddenly started clutching its stomach instead of its neck. Naruto didn't have the time to wonder what was wrong before he found out in the worst of ways. The clone's eyes widened, and the body suddenly disappeared in a plume of smoke.
The feeling of flames suddenly licked Naruto's body, starting from his head and working its way through his veins. He felt the giant's hand crash down on his head, even though the man hadn't moved from his position. Light-headed and feverish, Naruto fell to his knees and saw Noboru's surprised look through the hazy film that covered his eyes. It was getting hard to breathe.
"That's interesting," Noboru murmured curiously.
Naruto opened his mouth to spit out some retort; Noboru was almost as bad as Kabuto, only on the same level because Noboru never saw his experiments as human, including Kaito. But Naruto's body didn't want to obey his commands. The dark of the underground tunnel slowly closed in on Naruto's vision, and he felt himself pitch forward on his knees. He didn't even feel his body hit the ground.
A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little late. I promise I got it out as soon as possible. And with the way I have ended it, you might just be entitled to hit me if I am as late with the next chapter.
But, it's here. It might go through some revisions before the next chapter comes out, so be forewarned. I was trying to come up with something witty about posting on Super Bowl Sunday, but a football fan I am not (some of the commercials I liked, but not many). Plus, knowing my luck, I'm probably rooting for the wrong team and I have no wish to be ransacked by the opposition's fans.
'Til next time.
Fia
Doton: Domu – a B-ranked Earth jutsu utilized by Akatsuki member Kakuzu. After forming the needed Snake handseal, Kakuzu will harden his body using the Earth Element. This provides greater defense against attack and will also strengthen his arm to increase his striking ability.