Chapter 12
Bell test and Forced Union: Team 7's Resolve
I own Nothing
"Now, let's get started." Kakashi announced, pull out two bells from his kunai pouch. Before Kakashi could continue he noticed the odd stares he was getting from his students.
He just sighed at their confused expression and murmured out, "okay, listen up cause this is probably going to be the only time I will explain this to you three." he stated, looking all three in the eyes before he continued, "These are bells, your goal is to take this bells away from me before this timer…" he stopped, pulling out a bell from his back pocket and set it for 30 minutes before placing it in the middle of the battlefield, "...rings in 30 minutes. Come at me with the intent to kill, because I am going to defend this bell with my life. Once the timer rings and if I still have the bells in my possession you lose and I will send your sorry butts back to the Academy, so any questions?"
Seeing no one's hand raised, he loops the bells around his belt hoop and produced a kunai from his pouch. "Good, now then, let's begin." He then chucks the hunk of sharpened metal at Naruto, who, on instinct, deflected it with Samehada.
Before Naruto could get up, he was rushed by Kakashi, catching Naruto in the gut with his outstretched combat sandal, sending the blonde skidding across the unforgiving ground. While Naruto was dealing with their aggressive teacher, Sasuke and Sakura saw this as a perfect opportunity to go and hide, giving them the element of surprise needed to take down this Elite Jounin.
"Oww! What the hell was-" Naruto grunted before taking a kick to his jaw, probably knocking a few teeth loose.
"I said that I am going to defend these bells with my life, and what better way to defend something than to defeat whatever is threatening it." Kakashi said with a eye smirk which was lost on Naruto. All Naruto could feel was the growing pain in his jaw and an odd feeling coming from Kakashi sensei. It wasn't hatred, well, not pure hatred if you want to get technical, he did feel a disdain deep down in Kakashi but it felt fabricated, It was on odd feeling to be sure. But Naruto couldn't really dwell on those thoughts for very long, seeing as Kakashi was raising his foot up to curb stomp his head in.
"Fine" Naruto hissed, rolling to his feet as quickly as he could, dodging Kakashi's stomp and produced both Samehada and his cane sword, "you want a fight, you got one."
He then crossed his fingers, manufacturing a single clone, who he then tossed his cane sword to.
The clone then produced his own copy of the cane sword, giving him two swords to defend himself with.
"What are you planning, kid?" Samehada questioned, trying to read her meister's thoughts.
'It's a form of fighting I used to do before I got you. Tag Team Swordplay. I would have one sword while the clone created another, giving me and him two different direction of attack.' Naruto answered, allowing his clone to fall into formation behind him.
"Ready buddy?" Naruto questioned himself.
"Ready as I'll ever be." His clone retorted, gearing up for their first assault on the patiently waiting Kakashi.
"Perfect, he is taking the bait." Kakashi thought as he brought his kunai to the ready and took a moderate stance, nothing major but it showed he was ready for anything Naruto threw at him.
Both Naruto's leaned forward and charged the front man with Samehada on his shoulder while the other was behind him, his two swords drawn at the ready. Once the reached Kakashi, Naruto used his built up momentum to help swing Samehada in a wide arc above him, sending Samehada crashing down towards Kakashi. But, the swords girth and Naruto's lack of training proved to be detrimental to Naruto's overall attack plan. Even with the build up to his swing it took him far more time to bring it down, giving Kakashi plenty of time to move and get ready to strike.
"Is that all you've got?" Kakashi questioned rearing back his kunai to deliver a "death" blow to Naruto, only to be stopped by the clone, which used his boss as a springboard to catch Kakashi off guard. He jumped into the air, spreading his arms and swords as he came in with a graceful spin, first cutting through Kakashi's outstretched kunai, and then used his second spin around to cut through Kakashi's sleeve; only barely cutting him in the process.
"Nice acrobatics." Kakashi murmured, sliding backwards so as to not get his head taken off by Naruto's third spin. "But that's not good enough." Kakashi belittled, pulling out two kunai's and chucked it towards the still descending clone. The speeding blades catch the clone straight in his chest…..but, it didn't explode, it didn't puff, it just dropped to the ground lifelessly.
"What the?" Kakashi questioned, shocked and confused at what just happened.
"Ow! You piece of shit that was my stomach!" The clone yelled, popping up from its supposed death blow, picking up its swords and then pulled out the dry as a bone kunai's. As he dropped the pieces of metal onto the ground, the clone soon fell back into position behind the main one, waiting for his master's command.
"H-How is that possible?" Kakashi questioned, looking to the two Naruto's for an answer. In all his years of fighting he has never seen a clone take such a hit and not puff out of existence, even the Second Hokage couldn't make a solid clone good enough to stay solid after a hit like that.
"I'm full of surprises Kakashi-sensei" That was the only explanation Kakashi was given before Naruto charged once again, his clone at his back in the same formation but this time both Naruto's started to zig-zag between the two, confusing Kakashi's cyclops vision.
"Good thinking Kid, confuse the cyclops" Samehada congratulated.
'Cyclops? You mean Kakashi-sensei has only one eye!?' Naruto thought, only to get an annoyed sigh from his sword.
Naruto soon grew close, entering Samehada's strike range, and decided to use a slash instead an overhead cut. He gripped her handle with his hands and spun the opposite direction; again using more torque to hopefully get a strong enough swing. Kakashi, being the hardened veteran he was, saw this swing coming a mile away and jumped, using some chakra to clear the slash.
"Now!" Naruto yelled, getting his clones attention that, yet again used his back for his own personal ramp, getting enough air to be level with Kakashi. Once at the right altitude, Naruto's clone decided to use this opportunity to use one of his famed, self made sword techniques. "De~yuaruheddo hebi (Dual head Serpent)"
he said, using his trajectory and a bit of a pulse from his Kyuubi reserves to cut through his enemy with tremendous speed. With a blink of an eye the young buck zoomed past the Cyclops's defenses and slashed him with the front faced blade causing him to scream in pain, "I'm not done yet" he says, landing onto the ground only to appear in front of his flustered opponent to deliver a swift kick sending him high into the air. "Final blow" he landed, kicking off once again and uses his amazing speed to pass Kakashi and uses his right blade to crack him in the stomach sending him crashing into the ground with a gash sliced into his vest, immobilizing the threat.
"Nice hit", Naruto said with a smirk, giving his descending clone a thumbs up. But his celebration was short lived when he felt his clones raspy breath and quivering form.
"Yeah…..I guess…...it was." He whizzed, dropping his blades that impair the ground before he fell forward, crashing against the ground before dispelling.
'Hmmmm, I guess that technique is too strenuous for a clone.' Naruto thought, feeling his clone's memories of the experience. The De~yuaruheddo Hebi, a dangerously ambitious technique Naruto created when he was 11 and has been using the last 2 years to try and perfected it, with little result. No matter how much he tries, it takes to much strength for him to use in his human form, maybe if he used his 3rd tail transformation or the Youkai cloak. But his weak human muscles rip the second the attack is over; sure, the chakra heals him in less than 5 minutes but in the heat of battle he wouldn't be given 5 minutes to rest up.
"Are you okay down their Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, starting to walk towards the hole he created with his new sensei. Once he took his first few steps towards the dint in the ground he felt something moving beneath his feet. He quickly rolled the opposite direction, escaping Kakashi's extending hand, reaching to grab Naruto's ankle and pull him under.
"Ha! Not bad Kakashi-sensei, but you gotta be quicker than that to get….." Naruto trailed off once he felt a growing chakra distortion behind him. He turned just in time to roll out of the way of a roaring fireball aimed at his person. He looked up and felt the presence of his most hated adversary.
"Hey! Watch where you're aiming that thing Sasuke!" Naruto barked, feeling the brooding king scurry back into the dark forest that surrounded him, a smart strategy, but not Naruto's style. "Coward"
"Hey, you gotta admit, it's more effective than what you're doing." Samehada voiced, getting an odd look from Naruto.
'What's wrong with my way? It gets shit done, right?' Naruto asked, turning his attention back onto his surroundings, hoping to find Kakashi only to come up short.
"Well, that depends on what you define as, "Getting shit done"" Samehada retorted, seeing her meisters send out a wave of chakra to try and flush out the Cyclops's hiding spot.
'Ah come on! I took on both Mizuki and Kisame, I deserve a little credit for that, right?' he asked, coming up dry once again. He tightened his grip on Samehada as the constant failures to try and find his sensei was graining on his nerves.
"First off, don't talk about Kisame like he was some sort of accomplishment on your resume, he was not just my partner, he was my friend!" Samehada spoke harshly, hissing at Naruto's degrading of her deceased friend, "I can say stuff like that, not you! Got it!"
'Y-Yes ma'am, I-I didn't-" Naruto tried to apologize but was cut off by Samehada's 'humph'.
"Yeah, that's right, you better be sorry…...but, I can't help but think this is kinda, sorta, maybe my fault. All those times I said you beat Kisame, I guess it was more damaging to your growth as a ninja than I thought."
'What do you mean?' Naruto questioned, sensing a hint of guilt and regret.
"Well, you didn't "technically" beat Kisame, more like finished him off." Samehada spoke begrudgingly, sighing at what she was about to say, she promised Kisame she would never speak of this to anyone, whether he was dead or alive. "Kisame was dying"
"What!" Naruto yelled out loud, which was greeted by Kakashi's unexpected ground appearance. Apparently, while Naruto was distracted with his weapon he was too oblivious to notice Kakashi's approaching form under the dirt. As he continued to bicker and ponder on his swords every word his senses weren't focused enough to hear the distinct tunneling noise his sensei was making just below his feet.
"Oh shi-" Before Naruto could finish his curse he was cut short by Kakashi's fist crashing into Naruto's jaw, sending him sky bound, only to be caught by the ankle by his sensei. Once his teacher had a good enough grip on Naruto's ankle he tossed him towards the ground with tremendous force, causing the blind bastard to crash into the dirt, creating a trail behind his body.
'Damn it!' Naruto yelled, flipping out of the rut that he had created with his body as he pulled Samehada out and summoned another clone. "Okay, this time we need to keep on him, no rest, no mercy, don't let up!" Naruto ordered, giving the clone the two swords his other clone dropped. Just as he gave the orders, Kakashi stood up and began to dust himself off like this was nothing more than a cake walk.
"Hmmmm, rather interesting attack. But I think I can push him even more" Kakashi thought, gathering more data in his head for later affairs.
"No, no Naruto, you should do that attack one more time. It was pretty effective." He mocked, giving Naruto his trademark eye smile, "if I didn't substitute in time I would have gotten a bruised knee."
"Up yours Kakashi-sensei." Naruto hissed, pointing his giant fish scale blade at his teacher, 'he is trying to goat me to attack, but why? And why is he only focusing on me?' Naruto thought, trying to put together the pieces Kakashi has been leaving.
"Come on kid; let's see what you can do." Kakashi thought, folding his arms across his slightly dirty vest as he waits for Naruto to make the first move.
Naruto just tightened his grip and took off towards Kakashi, taking Kakashi's challenge head on with no fear, no regrets, no turning back.
As he and his doppelganger took off towards Kakashi he didn't notice the eyes on him.
Sasuke, who has moved out of the darkness and was now hiding behind a bush was now watching Naruto's attempts at taking on a Elite Jounin and continued to watch the blonde haired fool fail time and time again. Naruto continued to strike, using the same pattern over and over again with slight variations here and there, but it all ended the same. Naruto flat on his ass with Kakashi looking down on him smugly, goating the boy to stand and take another beating.
He looked on with a mix of hatred and slight shock.
"That Dobe….he must be thick headed or a glutton for punishment." Sasuke thought, perplexed at the thoughts that continued to run through his head, "he is persistent, I'll give him that much."
Next to take a gander at Naruto's fight was none other than Sakura who starred on in wonder and at the same time terror. "Naruto-kun please…..just stay down. You're not strong enough, you're not." As Sakura watched on, she actually felt a genuine feeling of worry for the poor blind bastard, most of the time her feelings towards him besides annoyance was faked but, watching him take hit after hit was rather discouraging and very hard to watch.
"C-Come on, is that all ya got?" Naruto asked, picking himself off the ground for the 5th time, wiping away a little stream of blood coming from the corner of his mouth. He shakily got to his feet before pulling Samehada to his shoulder once more, ready to take another swing. As he raised the heavy sword back to her standard fighting position, he could help but feel the rage and as wrath begin to rise. There are only so many times you can be smacked down before he starts to see red.
"Kid! Just give it up, you can't take him down on your own." Samehada barked, getting rather tired of watching her meister being smacked around.
'N-No! I got this, I just need to…..find another angle to go at. Yeah, that's all.' He thought drearily, the sweat accumulating quickly on his forehead as he started to breathe heavier. 'Keep it together Naruto, keep your head, I can't…..keep this up, I'm getting really mad!' Naruto snarled, taking his stance one more time and charged the cocky scarecrow with a newly revived vigor and determination.
Naruto, now in range, decides to fake Kakashi out. He quickly dug Samehada into the dirt at a complete 90 degree angle and used it to spin his body with his built up momentum. He pulls out his cane sword and waited until he came close enough to Kakashi's jugular before extending his arm and blade. At this moment, Naruto wasn't thinking this man was his sensei nor was he thinking that this was a simple test, all he could see was red. In fact, that's what was covering him, only slightly but Kakashi could spot a light red aura around his body. Naruto's canines began to elongate as does his fingernails, scratching shallow dents into his cane sword's wooden handle.
Kakashi ducked just in time to take the blade slash to his headband that covered his Sharingan eye. A deep gash was etched through the high metal carbon of his headband. If he was a few seconds too late, he would have lost his throat.
Naruto soon releases Samehada's handle and spins in mid-air, catching Kakashi's lowered face with a double spin kick to his jaw, actually making the Elite Jounin stumble back.
"Okay, I might have been pushing him a little too far." Kakashi thought, gripping his jaw and rolled it around a bit. Naruto, Pulling Samehada from the ground, started after the staggered Jounin, ready to end this fight.
"Kid!" Samehada yelled, trying to break through Naruto's mental block, his red rage wasn't allowing anyone's voice to breakthrough; weather it was his sensei or his own thoughts. Naruto has noticed this, it's becoming more and more harder to control his Youkai the faster his birthday approaches.
Naruto started his assault, pulling Samehada from her hole and pushed some Youkai chakra into his arms, allowing him to swing faster and stronger, taking Kakashi by surprise. He was nicked several times; some scratching into his arm while other's ripped through his jacket like it was nothing. He had to do something; he couldn't just allow himself to be shredded just because he accidentally pushed the Kyuubi incarnate too far.
"That's it." Samehada thought, taking action into her own hands as she kicked on one of her secret techniques, absorption. She released her spikes, penetrating Naruto's hands, making the hypnotized pre-teen howl out in pain. Soon enough, the spikes began to work their magic, sucking out the Youkai that surrounded Naruto at that moment, dropping his strength and speed back to normal, but that also meant it left him open.
Kakashi, taking this opportunity, caught the Kyuubi incarnate in his face and then another, and another, and one more for good measure, sending Naruto to the ground, exhausted and drained.
'W-What the hell happened?' Naruto questioned, feeling his renewed vigor dwindle quickly, dropping faster than Naruto has ever felt. His body seemed to slowly begin to swell with pain; all the bruises and bumps that he has been given this match have finally started to show. His bones felt like toothpicks under some substantial pressure, ready to crack at any second. Not wanting to take another round with Kakashi, he picked up his swords and lunged back into the foliage, hoping to take a few seconds for himself before he went at it again.
As he caught his breath he decided to look over at the timer that has been ticking away in the middle of the field, 'Okay, I got 15 minutes to get one of those stupid bells, I gotta think of a better strategy.'
"Why don't you use an army of those durable Naruto clones? They seem pretty sturdy. He can't take them all out." Samehada commented, trying to help her meister with his little exam.
'That won't work; I can only create three of those without feeling its effects.' Naruto retorted.
"Effects?" She questioned.
'Yeah, those clones are created from a pool of pure Bijuu chakra, giving them durability like a normal human. They only dispel with a direct death blow like in the heart, head, or throat.' Naruto explained, remembering the day he decided to create an even more solid clone than the Shadow Clone.
"Really? Is that the same one you used last night?" Samehada asked.
'Yes, it's a whole lot easier to use one of those things to try and fool my sister.' Naruto agreed, 'but, with every change I do to the Shadow Clone, there's always a catch'
"Like what?"
'I must keep the Shadow Clones my lesser, if I give them the same amount of chakra and stamina as I, I must find a way to weaken it as well. I had to drop their intelligence enough to where they wouldn't question my orders….much' Naruto explained, remembering how much he had to research, how many sleepless night he stayed up, trying to evolve something that was already perfect. 'This means they are not the sharpest tools in the toolbox if you know what I'm saying.'
"Wow kid, you keep surprising me." Samehada congratulated, making Naruto wonder if that was a compliment or a rather poor insult, "So, what's the plan?"
'I don't know, no matter how strong I am, I can't take him down.' Naruto pondered, deciding it would be best to try and calm his nerves with a bit of meditation. Nothing extensive and Kurama's scroll did tell him it would be wise to meditate after using any form of Youkai, whether it is pure or impure. It changes the person's body in a matter of seconds, boosting strength and stamina 10% each time you use it, 15% if you use the pure. He needs a moment to catch his breath if he wants to get his body and mind back in commission.
He plopped down on a rotting tree stump, slaps Samehada on his back and crosses his legs, allowing his mind to wonder and rest. As he allowed his mind and body its deserved rest, he started to think telepathically with Samehada, remembering he needed to discuss something with the scaly mistress.
'Samehada, do you have a minute?' Naruto asked respectfully, knowing he needed to make sure he doesn't lose his opportunity to get some answers just because he was a little bit rude.
"Yeah kid, what's up?" Samehada asked, copping a squat in her mental paradise.
'You said that I didn't beat Kisame, just finished him off. What do you mean by that?' Naruto questioned, rolling his shoulders to release the built up stress in his shoulder muscles.
Naruto heard her audible sigh before she began, "I knew this day would come" she stated dryly, scratching her back scales with her sharp talons, "there are many things we must discuss, but we don't have time right now. So, I'll just give you the rundown, okay?"
'Understood', Naruto answered.
"Well, first off I have to start by telling you Kisame was not the most…..stable person to be around" she started, giving Naruto a nervous giggle as her mind drifted towards past events of her and Kisame's adventures. "He was a brute, he fought anyone that looked at him cross and he showed no mercy. Something I find very attractive in a partner…..I-I mean as meister and weapon. Yeah, that's what I meant" she stuttered out, her blue features taking on a more red tint while her sword form started to pulse and heat up.
'Awww, did Sam have a little-OW!' Naruto yelled, feeling one of Samehada's spikes slither through some of the holes he created in the bandages during his battle to stab into his back, shutting him up.
"Anyway! His fighting spirit has gotten he and I in a lot of sticky situations, one of them caused him his life." Samehada sighed, feeling dread at what was coming up, "the Akatsuki needed some money, so, a few weeks ago, Kisame and I were asked by our leader to go after a rogue military group on the border of Suna, and they had a massive bounty on them. So, we agreed and headed straight for Suna, forgetting to even ask Itachi for backup."
She looked up into the vast emptiness of her Paradise, such an empty existence, walking around in a black abyss with no light in sight. Kisame mad this place whole, he had no problem in visiting her every night just to see how she was, this abyss was their home, oh how she missed Kisame.
"When we arrived we were ambushed by three puppeteers, we made quick work of them but….it ended with a cost. Kisame was hit with several poisoned tipped darts, at least 50. Once he pulled them out, they began to eat away at his skin and soon enough it reached his internal organs. I was able to heal him in time, but the damage was already done. I patched up his outer appearance but the organs where to damaged, they were running on fumes. We were able to finish our bounty and get the money but Kisame was slowly deteriorating, at one point he could barely get out of bed. So, he and Itachi put together a plan. They were going to give me to you and Kisame would use his last few weeks to help you learn my ways, but after he had to take down the horde of ANBU's that were ready to end you and the fatal wound he was dealt, he couldn't last any longer. And no amount of my healing saliva could save him from the inevitable, I failed my meister, I failed my friend." her voice caught in her thought towards the end, the weight of the situation had just hit her, her friend, her ally, was gone.
A small tear rolled down her scaly face and she brought her knees to her chest, this was the first time she had ever cried over a dead meister. She didn't care about the fat bastard before Kisame; he was nothing more than a traitorous pig who couldn't keep his hands to himself….but Kisame, Kisame was a different story entirely. Sure, he still tried to cop a feel now and again but one quick prick with her scales he would quickly refrain from his perverted acts. But, unlike Fuguki, being a pervert wasn't Kisame's only character trait, he was kind, a bit paranoid, battle hungry, respectful to a degree, and he was always polite…..well, in private. He couldn't show his sweet side to his boss, no one would take him seriously. She soon smiled, remembering that he was even a good hugger. I know, who would picture Kisame, the proclaimed no tailed Jinchuuriki as a hugger? But he was and Samehada had the memories to prove it. But, her happy thoughts were soon turned back to the dark depression they once were.
As she continued to think and push herself further into her own misery, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders and the back of her head touch a slightly solid chest. She opened her tear stained eyes and looked back, wondering who would dare touch the great and powerful Samehada! She locked eyes with the culprit only to see the culprit didn't have eyes.
"Kid?" she asked, surprised to see her meister in training hugging her.
'Yep." he said with a smile, tightening his grip ever so slightly, giving Samehada a firm but caring hug.
"W-W-What the hell are you doing?! I told you, no tou-" she was yelling, only to feel Naruto release her and fade from her domain. She looked around for any trace of Naruto but came up with nothing, "What the?" she questioned, scanning the area one more time and found the same result.
'Out here Sam.' Naruto spoke telepathically, reassuring her that Naruto was out of her din.
"K-Kid, how did you get in here?" She asked, confused at how he wa able to get passage if she didn't allow it.
'Our bound doesn't work one way Sam, we are both connected remember?' Naruto spoke sagely, opening his eyes to the world once he felt his muscles relax and his bruises fade. Being the Kyuubi incarnate has its advantages.
'Okay, now that I have had my rest, I need to think of a way to take down Kakashi-sensei.' Naruto thought, ignoring Samehada's yells about how he wasn't able to touch her. He really didn't care, it was worth it. He was able to comfort a friend and get her attention off of the depressing truth of her master's passing. To him it was a win, win situation.
"So, where not even going to discuss how the hell you got in here or why you broke my number 1 rule?" Samehada asked bitterly, hating the warmth she felt from his hug.
'Nope, now pipe down. I must think of a way to beat this guy.' Naruto playfully shushed, trying to get the feel of Kakashi's current location.
"Why don't you get some backup?" Samehada inquired, cooling off from his blatant disregard of her number one rule.
'Back up? From who?' Naruto asked, totally forgetting there are two other people taking this exam with him.
"You know those other two shrimps that are hiding around. If they're smart they already know they can't take Kakashi down, and besides, that cocky Uchiha would rather die than be sent back to the Academy, so he's gotta help." She explained, locking onto two different chakra signatures in the forest. One was high but very weak the other was medium and was pretty strong for a shrimp.
'Never!' Naruto hissed, 'I will never work with Sasuke-teme!'
"Come on, do you really want to go back to the Academy?" Samehada sighed, questioning her meister's childish logic.
'N-No, but-' Naruto tried to defend but was cut off by his sassy weapon.
"No buts! You want to pass and I don't want a meister who is still in school. That would be so embarrassing. So, suck it up, put your pride aside, and go ask those two gaki's for help." Samehada demanded, her years of experience and feminine authority backing up her stern words.
'Why the hell do I have to go ask him, he should be begging for MY help!' Naruto growled, crossing his arms and dawned on a rather pathetic, childlike pout.
"Because I fucking said so! Now, are you going to listen to me or am I going to have to stab you so hard your grandchildren will have scars?" Samehada yelled like a drill sergeant demeaning maggots.
'Fine, fine, fine. Damn, you gotta be so freakin' bossy don't ya?' Naruto asked, jumping from his spot on the stump and started his trek towards the first chakra signature he could sense. 'Oh great, why did he have to be the first person',
He took off towards the direction, ducking and weaving through branches and fallen trees like it was an everyday thing. As he rounded the bend of the forest he came across his first teammate, the king bastard himself, Sasuke Uchiha. He was crouched down behind a bush, a kunai in one hand and three shurikens resting in the gaps of his fingers in the other hand. Naruto stood there, analyzing the lone Uchiha, trying to get a read on the stranger he was now placed in a team with.
Naruto could feel everything that radiated off the Uchiha, his pride, his determination, his hatred for his kin, Naruto has never felt such hatred, at least not in a child. Sasuke's eyes, if Naruto was able to see them, would look dull and lifeless, like he has no purpose but his soul speaks differently. His outer appearance shrugs off anything the world throws his way and yet his core tells the tale of the driven pre-teen who will stop at nothing until his brother pays for his crimes at whatever the cost.
Those lifeless coals he called eyes were now locked on Kakashi or rather, what the one eyed scarecrow had wrapped around his belt loop. Naruto noticed Sasuke's heart rate spike the minute he saw his target get closer to his range of accurate fire. For the past 15 minutes Sasuke has been biding his time, waiting for either Naruto or Kakashi to give him an opening to take. He would just cut one off with his kunai and leave Sakura and Naruto to get their own damn bell, 'What have they ever done for me?' was Sasuke's mentality as he was readying his kunai.
"You know, that's not going to work." Naruto spoke, spooking the transfixed Uchiha who released a slight *fuck* from his lips. "I've already tried."
"Dobe?" Sasuke asked, turning to meet the reflective surface of his teammate's headband instead of his eyes, "what the hell are you doing? You just blew my chance!"
"No I didn't, I just saved you from a whole can of whoop ass." Naruto responded smugly, flashing a toothy grin at the snarling Sasuke. "But, looking back on past experience, I think I'm going to regret it. Besides, It would have been a nice change of pace to watch you get your ass kicked around the training ground."
"Ha, funny. But I don't think you would be "watching" anything anytime soon." Sasuke replied with venom. "Why the hell are you over here anyway? I'm surprised you're not out their beating Kakashi's fists with your face."
"I'm here because I…" He trailed off, tightening his grip on the tree behind him, digging his extending nails through the rough bark. "Need…...your…..help"
"I'm sorry what? I couldn't hear you", Sasuke said with a smirk, rising from his squatted position next to his bush and walked towards Naruto, his hand behind his ear ever so smugly. "I think you need to speak up."
"I NEED YOUR HELP, BAKA!" Naruto yelled, decking Sasuke right in his chin, dropping the proclaimed Student of the Year with one swift uppercut.
"Doing just a great job at getting him on your side", Samehada said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable that left her metaphorical mouth.
'I thought so' He spoke with the same amount of sarcasm as his sentient sword.
Sasuke, now recovering from the cheap shot delivered by the Kyuubi himself, got to his feet quickly with one hand firmly gripping his jaw. Sasuke's dull eyes were filled with rage and disdain while he used his free arm to wipe away a stream of blood that seemed to accumulate around his jaw. Apparently, Naruto hit Sasuke at the perfect moment to smash the smartasses bottom jaw with his tongue and sandwich it between his top and bottom row of teeth causing several shallow gashes to cut into his tongue.
"You….bastard!" Sasuke gurgled out, opening his mouth only to spit his blood out onto the forest floor, inches from Naruto's shoes.
"What? You're the one who asked me to speak up. I express a lot with my hands." he said with a smile, making Sasuke's already bubbling blood reach its crescendo.
"Well you can forget me helping you're dumb ass." Sasuke hissed, feeling the remaining teaspoon of blood pool into the front of his mouth, allowing him to quickly spit it out on the ground. "Why would I want to help a failure like you anyway?"
"You will need my help if you expect to pass this exam." Naruto spoke calmly, stopping the retreating Uchiha in his tracts.
"I don't need your help to get those bells." He retorted firmly.
"Really? Cause last time I checked I beat your sorry ass the last time we fought which was about a day or two ago, right?" Naruto asked Sasuke, bringing up one of the most embarrassing moments in the proud Uchiha's life. "So, what makes you think you will do any better than me?"
"Because I'm not stupid enough to do the same trick over and over again expecting a different result", Sasuke voiced bitterly. "I am going for a more stealthy approach."
"And you think that will work any better?" Naruto asked skeptically, "he is an Elite Jounin with years of experience; I don't think chucking a kunai at him from a bush will get you what you want."
"Besides" Naruto interjected once again, "If I fail you fail, do you want to go back to the Academy? The great Sasuke Uchiha, a failure. That's actually got a nice ring to it." He smirked, feeling Sasuke's heart rate skyrocket and his hateful aura became more pungent.
"If it means I have to work with the likes of you, I would rather fail a hundred times!" He barked.
"Really? You would rather all three of us fail just because you don't like me? That's really petty of you, ."
"I don't care what you think. There is…" But Sasuke's words stopped as soon as something seemed to pop into his little vengeful mind. "You know what? You got yourself a deal Naruto. I will help you."
"Really?" Naruto asked skeptically, feeling Sasuke's heart rate start to stabilize, showing he is calming down. "What's the catch?"
"You and me. One on one for the whole village to see." Sasuke commanded, pointing a determined finger at the blind swordsman.
"That's all? Nothing else?" Naruto asked, trying to feel if the Uchiha had something else up his sleeve. 'Maybe I misjudged that duck butted sociopath.' he thought.
"Yeah, for now." Sasuke spoke firmly, turning full circle to meet Naruto's gaze, or the direction Naruto's face was facing.
"Okay, no problem. When and where?" Naruto asked, happy he was finally able to persuade one of his teammates into teaming up.
"Whenever I see fit, it could be in one hour, one day, one week, maybe even one year. But, whenever I announce it you must drop everything and fight me. Understood?" Sasuke spoke, his words holding a more forceful tone like he was saying it more like an order than a suggestion.
"Fine, I got no problem with that." Naruto spoke; kicking off the tree he has been leaning against and started walking towards the other direction, heading towards the second chakra source.
"Okay, so what's the plan Dobe? Or are you just winging it?" Sasuke asked, reverting back to his usual asshole self.
'Nope, I didn't miss judge a damn thing.' Naruto thought with a twitch of his eyebrow, "We're going to go get Sakura and then make up a plan when we are all regrouped."
"Sakura…that weakling? Why do we need her? She will just get in our way." Sasuke said coldly, remembering the waste of space barely had any skills. Hell, he would even admit that Naruto was more useful than that smear of pink and failure.
"Hey! Shut the hell up!" Naruto yelled back at Sasuke, stomping his foot down as he "glared" at the rude Uchiha. "She might not be strong but that is not the only measure of a ninja. Besides, she is our teammate and we don't turn our backs on a teammate."
"*Humph* you weaklings loved to defend each other, don't you?" He asked, taking the lead and leaved Naruto to have to catch up. "Why are you defending her anyway? I thought she annoyed you?"
Naruto was about to retort but came up with nothing. He didn't know why he defended her? She was annoying and she seemed to be trying to delude herself into believing he was her soulmate even though it doesn't take eyes to know she has her true eyes set on Sasuke. He continued to ponder on that thought until he came up with a clear answer.
"You don't have to like your teammate to defend them. They are your teammates, and on a battlefield they are closer to you than family. At least that's what Pervy Sage told me" He said strategically, catching up on Sasuke and was now walking right next to the brooding king. "They will have your back if you have theirs and I don't want to be left hanging because I decided to be a prick." he then turned his head towards Sasuke, driving home the point he was talking about him.
"I don't need a team, I just need a strong Sensei and to be left alone." Sasuke mumbled as he slides his hands into his pockets while he and the blind Kyuubi took a turn, ending their walk. Once they took the turn they arrived at their destination. They found the so called "weakling" perched on a branch above them. She was perched up on the branch like a Gargoyle is placed on the edge of a Victorian building. She was squatting on it with her hands extended out to grip the branch under her, giving her a frog look.
"Naruto-kun! Sasuke…..-san" She yelled gleefully until she spotted Sasuke. Her bubbly aura darkened a bit with a tinge of pain and hurt.
"*Humph*" was Sasuke's only response as he turned from her view and stared out towards the battlefield where Kakashi was standing, reading his smut with a satisfied smirk apparent through his mask.
"Hey Sakura, get down here. We need to talk." Naruto commanded kindly, trying to be cordial even though she does give him the chills every time she called him "Naruto-kun".
She quickly jumped down and rushed to Naruto's side, "talk about what? Our Wedding plans?"
"W-w-wedding plans?" Naruto asked fearfully, having a image of him being dragged by his ankles into a church with Sakura doing the dragging in a paper white wedding dress.
"Of course silly." she said with a cute smile and a small, hardly noticeable blush, but Naruto could feel it, he can always feel it. This type of forced interactions always gave Sakura an aura of uncomfortability and pure embarrassment. She hated it, how could anyone actually enjoy fanning over someone you barely even knew, it was unbearable. "We are going to have to get caterers, you need to pick your best man and also a tuxes, and-"
"N-No Sakura, this doesn't have to do with…..marriage." he gulped nervously, that image once again appearing in his mind.
"Look, can we move this along? We only got 9 minutes left." Sasuke interrupted, taking both Sakura's and Naruto's attention off of one another and onto the battlefield.
"For once we agree on something Teme, we need to discuss strategy." Naruto nodded, grabbing both Sasuke's and Sakura's wrists and pulled them to the edge of the canopy.
"Strategy for what, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked, looking to their snickering sensei.
"Are you that dense or were your test scores just a fluke?" Sasuke asked, annoyed at the Kunoichi's idiotic question.
"W-What?" Sakura asked pitifully, pretending to have misheard her love.
"Nothing! Sasuke-teme said nothing" Naruto yelled quickly, cutting off Sasuke's next hurtful comment. "We are discussing our strategy on how we are going to get those bells from Kakashi-sensei." Naruto explained to the pink haired kunoichi who quickly nodded in understanding.
"We need a distraction." Naruto spoke, stroking his non-existent beard as he began to ponder.
"Don't look at me, Uchiha's don't do distraction." Sasuke proudly stated, sticking his nose up at the idea.
"I-I'll do it, Naruto-kun." Sakura stated timidly, trying to be helpful but her voice betrayed her unwillingness.
"No, no, I need you for another part of my master plan." Naruto said with a smirk, giving Sakura a appreciative pat on the back.
"Master plan? Not five minutes ago you said you didn't even have a damn plan." Sasuke hissed lowly, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Will you just shut it for five seconds and let me explain. I don't see you coming up with any bright idea or is that another thing Uchiha's 'don't do'" Naruto barked back, his sarcasm peeking through towards the end.
Once the surprisingly talkative Uchiha shut his mouth, Naruto began to feel in his teammates on his plan he had just thought up about three minutes ago. It was a risky and rather gutsy plan, both of his teammates voiced that fact rather clearly, but seeing as they were running out of time they needed to risk it.
"Alright Sasuke, I want you to circle around the forest and wait for me to give you the signal." Naruto ordered, getting a *humph* from Sasuke as he got up and went to his post. "And Sakura, I want you to go set our little surprises for Kakashi-sensei, I'll give you three of my clones to help out." he said, crossing his fingers while three normal clones popped into existence.
"Hai Naruto-kun, we're on it." She said with a half smile which screamed uncertainty. "I hope this works." was the final words Sakura left for Naruto to ponder on as she takes Naruto's three doppelgangers with her to complete her portion of the plan.
"Yeah, same here." he sighed, crossing his fingers together one more time, this time adding some pure Youkai to make them durable. They appeared behind him as they did their own hand seals, morphing their appearance to take the images of both Sakura and Sasuke.
"Alright guys, let's put on a good show." Naruto stated firmly, cracking his knuckles.
"Whatever Dobe."
"Let's do this, Naruto-kun."
Middle of the Training Ground: 5 minutes left
"Oh, time's almost up. Oh well, I thought these three would be better than these." Kakashi thought as he started to assess his report he was going to have to give to the Hokage about how Naruto failed. He just sighed, thinking it was too "troublesome" to think about and he was going to just wing it when he got there.
Just as those thoughts popped into his head he noticed a few blurring blobs zip past his field of vision. He sighed once again and slides his book mark into the nook of the book and slammed it shut, "I was just getting to the good part too" he thought as he turned to see his three students standing tall and confident.
"Ah, look who decided to come back for more." Kakashi eye smiled in Naruto's direction, "and it looks like he's got some back-up with him."
"*Humph* Dobe, I think he's talking to you." Sasuke commented, folding his arms against his chest as he shot his teacher a steady glare.
"Shut it Teme, I know who he's referring too." Naruto "glared" back at his teammate before he turned back to his sensei.
"Hmmm, guys, I don't think this is a wise course of action." Sakura spoke somewhat timidly, looking nervously towards her teacher. "W-W-We should have tried a stealth attack; we would have caught him with the element of supir-"
"Oh will you shut up Sakura, I got this." Sasuke barked, charging Kakashi with a roaring battle cry. He went for a wide left only for it to be caught easily from Kakashi. Once Sasuke noticed his arm was locked in his teacher's grip he went for another hit to his ribs.
"Come on Sasuke, is this all you've got?" Kakashi questioned smugly, stopping his second attack with no problem, now having the Uchiha's arms locked in his vice like grip.
"Up ours!" Sasuke hissed, ducking just in time to allow Sakura's thrown kunai's a clear shot at Kakashi's unprotected gut. Taken a bit by surprise, Kakashi let go of Sasuke's wrist and slide to the right, narrowly avoiding being punctured. He looked towards his pink haired student to notice two things, one that her demeanor seemed to change, once she first came out she was wide eyed and fearful but now her glaring eyes were transfixed on him as she pulls two more projectiles from her pouch. The second discovery was that the blonde knucklehead of Konoha had vanished into thin air. Kakashi started to look around, trying to find the strongest sticker of the group, he couldn't let Naruto get through his defenses again or he will surely get shredded by that weapon of his. That and add on the other two's interference and his hands will be rather full.
He spotted a quickly approaching mop of blonde hair accelerating towards his position with his massive buster blade on his shoulder.
Naruto took a massive swing towards Kakashi-sensei, nearly slicing his gut open, but was thwarted by Kakashi's quick thinking and quicker reflexes. He jutted his butt backwards, giving his gut and Naruto's sword some much needed space. But Kakashi's quick thinking was put to the test mere seconds after his near-disemboweling. Sakura, being quick to the draw, decided it wouldn't be too keen to allow the hardened veteran to catch his breath, so she throw a flurry of kunais and shurikens at the reeling Cyclops.
Spotting the hail of metal and pointy things, Kakashi back flipped backwards, dodge the flurry while also escaping another one of Naruto's strong swings. He skidded to a stop just to notice Sasuke speeding towards him with two kunai's in his grasp, on facing upward while the other was flipped. "Why aren't they using any jutsu's? The Academy report said Sasuke at least knew a few fire style techniques. So why are they just using close or long range tools?" Kakashi thought, skillfully ducking and swaying through swing after swing the angered Uchiha began to deliver. Then Kakashi noticed something, each attack seemed to be perfectly choreographed, each waiting for the other in perfect sync like clockwork. And something else seemed rather obvious, he was being herded towards the edge of the battlefield and into the forest that surrounds it.
"You sneaky little brats, what are you up too?" he thought with a smirk, decoding their feeble attempts to trick him rather quickly. But, instead of moving or ducking out of the path his students were trying to goat him into; he decided he wanted to see where this was going. They have already passed in his eyes; they have learned that they couldn't take him down solely on their own so they used teamwork, a valuable thing to remember as a ninja. So, now he was just wasting time, running out the clock as he watched his students try their best at getting the bell from him.
Kakashi, ducking under one more upward slash, was finally pushed to the edge of the forest just as Naruto planned it. The moment Kakashi's foot hit the edge of the shrubbery; his sandel tripped a silver, very thin cord that was set up courtesy of Miss. Sakura Haruno. Kakashi felt the tug on his boot just a little too late to notice it was a trip wire. He turned to hear many objects begin to fall into place, setting up the kudagra Sakura and Naruto's clones have set up for him.
"What the hell?" Kakashi asked, shocked at the scene that was beginning to unfold. Sakura, the supposed "weakling" of the group was able to find a fallen tree trunk, somehow secure it in a pulley system to left it high enough to get the leverage and angle she needed to actually hit Kakashi, and she did all of this in a matter of 3 minutes.
'Damn, that's pretty damn impressive for a weakling.' Naruto thought with a smirk, watching as Sakura's creation started its swing. The massive piece of lumber came barreling towards Kakashi's position, using its weight and arc to pick up a massive amount of speed before it reached its target. Kakashi was now frozen in time as he watched the log speed towards him and by the look of its arc it was going to nail him right in the chest, crushing his ribcage and punctures his lungs. Once the log was nearly a foot from his position the highly trained ninja snapped from his catatonic state just in time to substitute him with a long, allowing the long and the boy behind him to take the hit for him.
"Oh shit!" Kakashi gasped, looking back towards the trap only to see Sasuke fly back, a compressed chest, wooden shards embedded into his flesh, and his two other students stare up in shock and horror.
"Good god!" Naruto yelled, watching the unmoving corpse plop down on the ground nearly three feet in front of him, lifeless and limp, just like a puppet without a puppeteer.
"Sasuke-kun!" the distraught Sakura screams, tears streaming down her eyes as she watches her true love die by her own hands.
Kakashi rushes over to Sasuke's corpse whispering a constant streams of "no's" as he checked his vitals or something that would give him a sign that Sasuke would be okay. "Oh god, I just killed a kid! Shit, shit, shit!" he mentally yelled, his one good eye almost popping out of his head as he continued to scan the boy's body for any sign of life or anything that would…."Hold on" Kakashi thought suddenly, focusing in on one little detail that seemed to have slipped his mind. There's no blood!
He started to search the body for any form of oozing or drips of blood but found the clone to be as dry as a bone; nothing was coming from this supposedly demolished Uchiha. Once he noticed the lack of gore for a body that has been bashed with a massive log he noticed a shift in Sasuke's supposedly mangled face. His natural pale complexion begins to darken as three distinct lines begin to grow on his face, a pair on each side if you want to be specific. Just as the face cleared up to reveal an exact replica of Naruto, the now deemed clone exploded into a puff of massive smoke, more smoke than a usual clone should have, all according to plan.
'Show time' Naruto thought with a smirk, dispelling the Sakura clone as well to give him a perfect shroud of secrecy for what he is about to do.
"Now Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, alerting the eager Uchiha that his time was now. All he had to do was keep Kakashi in the large bloom of smoke, he didn't have to doe accurate or process, just as long as he could keep his sensei squared off in the smoke it was fine.
"I don't know what you are doing Dobe, but for your sake it better be good." Sasuke thought as he ran through a few hand signs before landing on his final one and yelled, "Katon: Hosenka no jutsu (Fire release: Phoenix fire jutsu)" Sasuke yelled, firing off a volley of fireballs, much smaller than a traditional fireball jutsu but it worked perfectly for what he and Naruto where aiming for.
'Perfect' Naruto thought, preparing himself for his big role to play in this plan. He took a traditional horse stance, a strong lower and middle base, keeping him steady and strong for what he was about to do.
"Kid, what are you doing?" Samehada questioned, feeling Naruto's demonic chakra start to rise.
"Something so stupid that…. just might work." He murmured through his teeth as he begins to mold the imperfect red Youkai that is pooled in his chakra coils. Once he believes he has gathered enough to create one of his few secret technique, he eases the blood red chakra from his body. 'Okay, this is going to sting.' he thought, fearful of the pain that will ensue. As if on cue a red aura visible appeared over Naruto, wiping around like a roaring fire.
'Yep, that hurt!' He thought as the red aura began to burn just as he had anticipated. 'Let's see, my first level Youkai armor is holding up quite well and it should have the speed I'm looking for.' He thought with a smirk, feeling the absolute power and weightlessness this form entailed. This form was perfected by Naruto who was given this information by Kurama's trusty scrolls he left with him on the night of his passing. It listed several things Naruto could accomplish seeing as he was the second human to ever be a Bijuu reborn, who was the second one? That's a story for another time.
You see, the Youkai cloak works differently for him than a normal Jinchuuriki. A Jinchuuriki's Youkai is filtered through a complex area of seals and precautions to make sure they are not taken over by the Bijuu's power, while Naruto is, technically a living Bijuu/human hybrid. Bijuu's bodies are made up of 100% chakra making the beings made out of "pure" chakra, the stuff that is pooled inside Naruto. But, when a human calls upon the chakra, they are given a more tainted version called Youkai, which is another thing Naruto possesses, seeing as he is, again, part human and part Bijuu, giving him an abundance of both.75% of his Chakra that rests in his chakra coils is Youkai or strongly affected by Youkai, while the remaining 25% is pooled into another position of his body that holds the "pure" chakra all Bijuu's are made from.
Then, once he hit's his 16th birthday, that number will shift, his pure chakra will begin to purify the tainted Youkai until they are evenly distributed 50/50, and on his 21st, he shall gain the 100% pure chakra, causing him to choose a path to be a Bijuu or human.
"My time to shine", Naruto smirked, allowing the Youkai to settle around his body so it would `look more like a strong red outline across his body. He takes off towards the smoked area just in time as his own cover begins to dissipate. He rushes into the cloud and notices the small dimples that have been carved into the ground by Sasuke's constant barrage of Phoenix fireballs. He soon finds his sensei that was jumping, ducking, and weaving through the balls of fire, testing his own abilities while humoring his students once again.
'Cocky bastard' Naruto thought, kicking his Youkai enhanced speed to the second degree, completely zipping past the distracted Kakashi, while also snatching something rather important to the Cyclops.
"*Ding*" the timer buzzed, drawing everyone's attention to the middle of the battlefield where the timer resigned. Sasuke stopped his barrage of fireballs, Sakura's eyes unglued from the smoking battleground, and Kakashi stopped his fancy dodges and jumps.
Smirking, Kakashi walked to the center of the battlefield to collect the timer, which he proceeds to slip back into his pouch pocket and say, "well, well, well. Looks like I have three failures on my hands now. Oh well, better luck next 4 yea-"
"Not so fast sensei!" Naruto yells from the other side of the battlefield, he then raises two silver bells high above his head in victory, "I don't think I'm going anywhere."
Thank you all for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it. I have made this one longer than my other chapters because I wanted to get through the bell test and also show some more action. Please PM me if you have any questions and please Review.