Part 11
Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Neji, and Xela raced after Akamaru as he followed Kiba's scent. They were already in the forest area and had started only 25 minutes ago.
"They moved pretty fast for kidnappers," said Naruto. "Is it this far?"
"Probably farther," said Xela. "Just keep going."
"Right," said Naruto. "Neji, can you see anything ahead?"
"Only trees," said Neji, his Kekei Genkai activated.
"Let's keep moving," said Kakashi.
Suddenly, they were attacked by ninja in black. The black clad ninja threw so many shuriken that it might as well have been rain from a storm. Before the shuriken even reached the Leaf Village shinobi, however, they were being knocked out of the air, like something was hitting each individual shuriken.
"What the?" said Naruto as he saw the feat.
"Secret Jutsu," said Xela. "Chakra Barrage, unleash."
Suddenly, the black clad ninja were being hit by invisible forces, as if some invisible group was constantly punching them, hard. One minute had barely passed before all of them were on the ground, out cold.
"What was that?" asked Naruto.
"A Kekei Genkai from my dad's side of the family," Xela said. "Basically, it allows me to take chakra and to have it swirl around me in multiple streams, which strike anything in their path. I trained myself to actually have them hit particular targets, like those shuriken. It also acts as a barrier technique."
"Neji?" asked Sakura as she looked at him. "What's wrong?"
"That technique…it revealed something," said Neji, the Byakugan still activated. "Xela, can you use that secret jutsu again?"
"Sure," said Xela as he used it again, hitting a few twigs and branches in the trees. "What is it?"
"It's clearing away certain illusions that I couldn't see through with my Byakugan. I can see the castle. It's actually thirty feet from here, southwest from where we're standing."
"Xela, can you use that jutsu while moving?" asked Kakashi.
"Yeah," said Xela.
"Let's get going, then."
They followed Neji as he led them to the castle. Once they were there, they stared in awe. It was huge, about 8 miles wide and 10 miles high from the ground up. It was white, had a huge courtyard, and was quiet.
"It's too quiet," said Xela.
"They're probably waiting for us," said Sakura.
"What's wrong with Akamaru?" asked Naruto.
The dog was sniffing left and right, whining worriedly.
"I'm going to guess that Kiba's scent has been hidden," said Xela. "Neji, can you see into the castle?"
"No," he said. "Something's keeping it from being seen through by my Byakugan. It might be a jutsu."
"We'll just have to be careful, then," said Sakura.
"Let's go," said Kakshi. "Proceed with caution and keep your guard up."
"Right," said the rest of them.
As they ran in, traps of every kind were triggered. Pieces of the ground rose up like lids and began to shoot out kunai, shuriken, arrows, spikes, cannon balls, and other kinds of ammunition; blades came out of nowhere and began chopping at the road; poles rose out of the ground and shot cables at each other, blocking the path, and became electrically charged; huge statues came to life and went on the offense, wielding different weapons; fierce creatures were let loose from hidden cages; soldiers came out, armed with a wide assortment of weapons, and attacked; black-masked ninja came out, unleashing different jutsu. All in all, that place had, to say the least, heavy security.
"Whatever happened to just sirens and guard dogs?" asked Xela as he made the hand signs for Ram, Dragon, Snake, and Tiger. "Ninja Art: Youth Rejuvenation!"
His body began to become younger and younger until he looked like a thirteen-year-old, the lab coat now covering his feet and the rest of his body. The sleeves were too big for him, 5 inches of the sleeves now past the tips of his fingers. 4 inches of the bottom of the coat lay on the ground. Because the lab coat was buttoned up, it covered his legs. His gray hair was now crimson with streaks of silver, as short as Naruto's hair. He had a slash scar down the right side of his face, going from his right eyebrow down over his right eye to the middle of his cheek. His eyes, which had previously been dark gray, were now two different colors. The left eye was electric blue and the right eye was sea green. On his cheeks were six thin whisker-like marks, three per cheek.
"Whoa," said Naruto. "You can change your body's age?"
"Tsunade isn't the only one who can change her looks and keep it like that," he said with a younger voice.
Xela took off the lab coat, revealing a brown, tattered hooded cloak that extended to his ankles, a straight guardless katana, and ANBU Black Ops clothing. He had a lower-face mask just like Kakashi's, one that stopped below the eyes. On his head was a Konoha ninja headband.
"I thought you said you were from the Hidden Underground Sea Village?" said Sakura.
"Doesn't mean I was born and raised there," said Xela. "Let's rock this joint."
"Let's go!" shouted Naruto.
All of them charged towards the castle, attacking people, statues, and animals along the way. Kakashi unleashed the Water Dragon Jutsu from nearby fountains as he used the Sharingan in his left eye. Sakura used explosive tags connected to kunai and shuriken, as well as smashing the statues with immense strength.
"What the?!" exclaimed Naruto as he saw Sakura use her super-human strength. "When did you learn how to do that?!"
"It's something Tsunade-sama taught me, along with medical ninjutsu. I was hoping I could keep it a secret until I finish my training."
"Crap," said Xela, crushing the top half of a giant statue. "She's like a mini-Tsunade. She's practically a -"
He was kicked into the air by the legs of the statue he smashed in half, now 12 feet in the air. Four regular-sized statues of warriors, each with a battle axe, jumped towards him and ready to cut him down to size.
"Xela!" cried out Naruto.
As if Naruto's voice triggered it, something about Xela changed. He opened his eyes, which were now bright yellow with black slits for pupils. His hair started to stand up a little. He pulled down his face mask, revealing elongated canine teeth and thicker whisker-like marks. He made a single hand sign, took a deep breath, and released a roar so powerful that it shattered the four incoming statues and created a crater on the ground below him. Once he finished the roar, he took his sword and actually flew straight at a grouping of statues and ninja like a bullet, barely even a blur to the naked eye. He appeared on the other side of them in a split second. He then sheathed his sword, stopping at the part of the sword two inches away from the part connected to the handle. As soon as he fully sheathed the sword, the statues crumbled and the ninja bled from cut-off arms.
"What is he?" asked Neji as he used the Byakugan to see into Xela's chakra tunnel system. From what he could see, Xela's whole body was filled with yellow chakra. He saw it take the shape of a humanoid creature's head.
"This is the power of my inner demon," said Xela. "This is the power…of the Nine Tailed Demonic Warrior."
"Nine Tailed…Demonic Warrior?" asked Naruto.
I see said the voice of the Nine Tailed Fox in Naruto's head. Sealed inside of that man is my old rival.
His demon is your rival? responded Naruto.
To be continued…