Saria: (is jumping around from sheer joy) School is out! School is out!
Tori: (joins Saria) School is out!
Zas: Now you have the entire summer!
SA: (pulls out a whip) And don't you dare think that I'm going to let you get off of writing the story! You had a whole week to write this since school ended, and you're still celebrating after almost 7 days? Someone has got to crack the whip!
Saria: Awww! How long until school starts?
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Naruto struggled to break out of Orochimaru's grip, desperate to try to assist the Hokage as she saw him make a wall of earth as the Nidaime sent an enormous water jutsu at him. Behind her, Orochimaru's grip remained strong as he snorted slightly at the display.
"Let me go!" Naruto yelled as she twisted slightly in the snake's grip and kicked her foot out, slightly grazing his side. Orochimaru showed no reaction aside from a tightening of his grip.
Lowering his head, the snake man grabbed Naruto's collar with his mouth and pulled it down, revealing the suppressed curse seal.
'This damned seal is powered by her will… Maybe if I can change the direction of her will, even temporarily, it will disengage.' Orochimaru smirked wickedly, an idea forming in his mind.
"To bad Sandaime suppressed this seal, you could have easily been able to save him right now with its power. You wouldn't be in this situation right now."
"If you hadn't bitten me, then I wouldn't be here right now!" Naruto angrily shouted back, as she twisted around again, trying to break the snake's grip. It had occurred to her that this man was the Grass nin from before, mainly since he knew about the seal, and his voice matched the one that told Kabuto to get her back to her team.
"Now now, no need to get so excited. Just watching the battle that you're precious Sandaime is in, battling for his life, unassisted at his age, should give excitement enough. Soon he'll be dead, and my goals will be met!" Smirking once again, the snake man cackled, the very sound of it grinding on the girl's nerves.
'Have to stay calm and defeat this guy, or wait for Mariko to arrive. Either way, if I let myself slip, I might accidentally hurt someone that's on our side! But what to do?' Naruto's thoughts raced as she thought of her various techniques, quickly throwing out things like Academy level bunshins and henges. Summoning the swamp would only make things more difficult. She didn't want to summon a frog, but foxes might work and the hair technique would make him let go, and…
Naruto's thoughts came to a grinding halt as Orochimaru's hand wandered too far south.
"HENTAI NO BAKA!" she screamed as she promptly twisted in his grip at an almost inhuman angle and slugged the guy across the face, unknowingly forcing him to release her. But she was as angry as hell!
"No one and I mean NO ONE gropes ME and gets away with it! Much less a snake bastard!" Naruto screamed as she launched herself at Orochimaru, plan thrown to the wind as they so often were in real battles, or at least around Naruto.
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The fight with the invading ninjas was starting to boil down with the invaders losing badly. Kakashi and Gai, as well as Genma, the acting referee were too much for the Sand and Sound shinobi. Even if Kakashi was essentially carrying Mariko.
"KAKASHI! WOOT WOOT! YOU'RE SO AWESOME!" Mariko cheered from the ninjas back where she was literally watching his back and deflecting kunai as they came. All of them were surprised though when a squad of ANBU, one of them holding a Bingo Book turned to a certain page, chose that moment to land amongst them. The one with the Bingo Book ran straight up to Kakashi and started to study Mariko who was still perched on Kakashi's back.
"This could be her!" he shouted to the rest of his squad.
"Yeah, just like the ten other women that you thought the exact same thing about!" another shouted as he reached forward and took away the Bingo Book.
"Those were all honest mistakes, anyone could have made them!"
"Two of those women were Sand nin, one was a waitress at your favorite restaurant, one was my sister, one was your fiancé, and one was an old woman. The last four just had similar hairstyles."
"… And your point is?" asked the first.
"… You're hopeless." The ANBU then looked down at the book, and compared Mariko's features to the ones in the book. Looking up, he asked, "Are you Mariko Suka, previously known as the Wolf Demon Nin?"
Mariko nodded a bit numbly, already getting a feeling that she wouldn't like where this was going.
"There's a shield separating us from our Hokage, and a girl is in there with him. She was making hand signs to bring a wolf nin to her."
"NARUTO IS STUCK INSIDE A SHIELD!" Mariko automatically screamed, causing several people to wince.
"And Orochimaru is in there also. We think he is trying to kill them!" The first ANBU looked around at the people staring at him. "Well it's true! He did grab her neck as we left!"
"WHAT? HOLD ON NARUTO! I'M COMING!" Mariko immediately launched herself up towards the roof.
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Naruto and Orochimaru were fighting again, or rather Naruto was fighting and Orochimaru was merely dodging. Running at him, Naruto had begun the fight with a side kick which she followed up with a roundhouse kick, both were dodged.
Angrily, she jumped back and began the hand seals for Katon Karyuudan no Jutsu, but stopped one seal short as Orochimaru began his dodge, straight into the vector that she had anticipated. Without hesitation, she launched a series of shuriken and kunai that had razor sharp wires attached to them. Inwardly she cheered when Orochimaru got trapped by the wires, and with a hard yank on the wires, she watched as the snake was amputated and cut to ribbons, only for him to poof out of existence and a log to be the one cut instead.
"Kawarimi?" Naruto immediately tried to pinpoint Orochimaru's location, but couldn't find him. Jumping into the air, she inverted herself and spun to get a good look around and see if she could find him.
A loud "BAM!" sounded at that time; and a portion of the purple shield became a lot darker as more energy was poured into the portion. Naruto couldn't help but smile even as she turned her attention back to the fight. She had seen a slight outline that looked like a tornado, and she knew that it was going to get bigger and more powerful. It was that tornado that had made Mariko infamous, because although in regular one-on-one combat she was sort of weak, in a large scale attack she could be considered a truly devastating force. This attack was one that she had gotten from her ancestor Koga, and had been what earned her the title of Wolf Demon Nin.
"Isn't that ridiculous?" a voice sounded behind Naruto. "Does that person really think that they can break through that shield?" The person cackled again, and Naruto felt her nerves reaching their absolute end. "Your Hokage is starting to get desperate, and you're no match for me yet, Naruto-chan. Why don't you just submit?" The –chan suffix was greatly exaggerated, Naruto's nerves snapped.
"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU RETARDED, BLOOD SUCKING, BASTARD SNAKE!" Naruto screeched as she flipped herself over and snap kicked at Orochimaru's groin area.
Orochimaru on the other hand, who had been greatly enjoying himself, took in the movement with shock, barely raising a defense in time to save himself the pain. The girl's speed had greatly increased. 'Her will is bending!' he thought, as a back handed punch to the face sent him backwards.
Naruto was seeing red, and the target was Orochimaru. After he had just barely managed to stop her kick, she had followed up with a back handed punch, catching him on the cheek, and throwing him back slightly. Not even waiting for him to land, she launched herself after him, punching and kicking, slowly working her chakra to her limbs to reinforce the blows. She didn't notice when her chakra began to turn purple-black in color, only kept her barrage up.
The change in her chakra was noticed by Sandaime though, who turned to see the young girl who held so much promise, and to see the cursed seal on her neck move downwards, and then nine tail-like tattoos in black seemed to cover her body.
"Oh no…" he whispered, even as he jumped through the summoned wooded area, and then summoned Enma to his aid. "Don't lose control for just a little longer, Naruto. The shield is almost down."
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Kakashi and the ANBU had arrived in time to see Mariko launch her attack against the shield, and were now watching as she shaved the chakra that the shield makers used away, bit by bit. The shield on the other side was already a much lighter shade of purple; the weakest spot looked almost translucent in color. The ones that formed the shield were gasping and looked extremely weak and tired, one of them already forced to sit down. Mariko's attack just kept getting bigger though. They'd be through soon.
"I see why you like her, Kakashi-san," one of the ANBU said.
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Naruto was starting to realize that something was seriously wrong, she felt as though she had just received a power boost form Kyuubi, but something felt wrong about this power. Kyuubi's powers did feel funny, but they didn't make her feel pain in her movements, at worst they made her go numb.
Her speed had drastically improved, and Orochimaru looked like he was starting to hurt, but she wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. She was snapped out of her revere then when she heard a pained grunt, and it was coming from the Sandaime! Orochimaru could wait, Sandaime was much more important to her.
But, when she turned to go and assist Sandaime, it was to her great displeasure when a very large monkey scooped her up and jumped away.
"NO!" Naruto screamed, as she watched the Hokage make two kage bunshin and begin a set of hand seals. "DAMN MONKEY! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO HELP HIM!"
"You can't, not anymore," was the reply from the monkey. "You let your inner emotions run rampant and the suppressor seal that Sarutobi put on you was deactivated and the cursed seal activated in turn. Besides, this jutsu will end his life."
"What? Then let me go! I have to stop him before it is too late!"
"It is too late! Besides, I would never let you do that. Sarutobi is an honorable man, and he would never forgive himself, me, or you if you were to sacrifice yourself for him when he's already made a decision."
"I understand, but I want to be there, in case something goes wrong," Naruto whispered to Enma, the marks of the seal fading.
"What could go wrong?" Enma asked as he set the girl on her feet again.
"THAT!" Naruto yelled, as they both saw a glowing sword rise off the ground a jerkily turn toward the Sandaime.
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"Just a bit longer," one of the ANBU murmured as another one of the four shield makers fell. With the exception of where Mariko was attacking the shield, the rest of it was almost transparent now, and they could all see what was happening.
"Just hold on for another minute," Kakashi called to Mariko.
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Naruto didn't know if she could have been in a worse or more painful situation if she had tried. Right now, she was holding onto the blade of a glowing sword that was burning her hands from how cold it was, not to mention cutting them open, but also, right in front of her, dying right before her eyes, was the first person to care about her and what happened to her. It only made matters even more horrible to also acknowledge that she couldn't save him now, and would never get the opportunity to thank him for all he had done or her.
Tears were flowing freely down her face as she watched him struggle to pull Orochimaru's soul out, and rid the world of his ungainly presence. Tears continued to flow when she saw him turn his head slightly toward her, and smile that heartwarming smile of a grandfather which had warmed her heart since her early childhood. She knew that this would most likely be the last time she saw him smile, or do anything, and she fought to give him a smile in return, but all she could manage was to look at him with a brave look, all the while wishing she were braver.
She wished that she could have added her power to his though, for in the end, Sandaime, the Professor, the Hokage, the man believed to be the most powerful Kage of the five great nations, couldn't finish the task. Her tears had stopped when he fell, his smile still in place as a very familiar looking seal appeared on the great man's stomach, an exact twin to her own.
In her hands, the icy blade stopped yanking against her hold, before her Orochimaru was screaming in pain for the world to hear, but inside Naruto's head, one of her most precious people had just faded from the world forever. She would never see him again. She had already known that if she had married, she wanted him to act as her father and walk her down the aisle; now that would never happen. Her first child would have had him as a godfather; that also wouldn't happen. Nothing more would EVER happen.
"Orochimaru," she said in a soft voice, her hands tightening around the hilt of the sword that was still in her hands, and behind her she heard Enma disappear. "Today, you made several of my hopes and dreams die, they shall accompany this great man to heaven." At this remark, she gestured toward the still warm body of the Sandaime. "However, as long as I have any say in this, YOU WON'T LEAVE HERE ALIVE!" With that, Naruto charged at the now practically invalid snake sannin with his sword hefted, prepared to strike when a sharp pain rocketed through her nerves, slowly pulling her to unconsciousness. Before she lost herself though, she made a swipe with the blade, and from the scream that pierced the onrushing darkness, she must have hit something.
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The shield finally collapsed, and of the four that had originally held it, only two were conscious anymore. Both people rushed to the center of where the shield used to be, grabbed something that was lying there, and took off, barely evading the ANBU.
"Good job, Mariko, the shield is down and we have at least two prisoners," Kakashi said with an eye smile as he turned to his girlfriend. "Mariko?"
"Lok at all te pwetty colurs!" Mariko replied, looking extremely dizzy. "Ketty!" she cried, latching onto Kakashi
"I think I better take her to my house for some rest," Kakashi told the ANBU, as he hefted Mariko up and disappeared.
Down in the stadium, a sand shield released itself and Gaara immerged. Going to the roof, he saw the ANBU still gathered there, but also that Konoha was still standing.
"Is it over?" he asked one of the men, who nodded numbly.
"You won?" Gaara asked again, and again another nod.
"Good," Gaara said as he walked to where he saw Naruto. She was unconscious, but still clutching a sword in a death grip, and beside her was a blackened hand and a human leg.
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Saria: Sorry this took so long! I was playing Endless Online. Wouldn't you know it though, I leave the computer for a few minutes, come back and my little sis is on, and has just given away my Twin Blade, kimono, and swift armor!
SA: What does this teach us about such things?
Zas: That if you're the oldest and you work on something for months, that a younger sibling can get away with destroying it because they're younger?
Tori: NO!
Saria, SA, and Zas: (look at each other) That sure seems to be the lesson learned here!