Disclaimer: Nope, I see no rights to Naruto here.
As usual, Dragon strikes back!
AN: As most of the people that review my story know, I like reviews, I like interacting with the people that review. Even reviews that are critical are great and I've had good conversations with people that have issues with my writing. Still, there are limits. If you're going to flame me for my "cliche, hack pitiful writing skills" maybe you can grow a pair and do it from your own account rather then a guest one. I would absolutely love to see how much better then me you are. To the rest of you, please do continue to tell me what you think.
"So we get a plan," I said. "Any suggestions?"
"Blow up the building," Kincaid said without looking up. "That works good for vampires. Then soak what's left in gasoline. Set it on fire. Then blow it all up again."
"For future reference, I was sort of hoping for a suggestion that didn't sound like it came from that Bolshevik Muppet with all the dynamite."
― Jim Butcher, Blood Rites
Temari surveyed the mess in her living room with a frown. Why she let Ino talk her into hosting "meetings" of her fellow kunoichi she wasn't sure. She did know that Ino was going to help her clean up the mess or she was going to shove her fan down the girl's throat. With that in mind, Temari began the hunt for her fellow blonde. I keep forgetting how useful it is to have Naruto around, she thought as she searched. Those clones of his are great for stuff like this.
Thinking about Naruto brought a scowl to her face. He'd been gone two weeks already and he hadn't bothered to send her a message. The Hokage had gotten a message two days ago - a frantic toad had materialized right next to her during one of Tsunade's lectures. Whatever the scroll said, it hadn't been good. Tsunade had immediately turned the lecture over to Shizune and stormed from the room.
After her class, Temari had summoned Gamakichi to try to get more information but even the bribe of a huge bag of candy hadn't gotten him to talk. She supposed that was when she let Ino talk her into having the kunoichi over. With Naruto gone, it sucked to be alone.
Temari eventually found Ino sitting in the garden on a bench talking to Sakura. She stopped and wondered if getting Ino to help was worth dealing with Sakura. She'd said she would help the girl but there really wasn't anything she could do. Her problems all centered around her husband, but the girl just seemed blind to that truth. Thank You Kami for Naruto. He has his problems and he is going to PAY for leaving on a month-long mission and just leaving me a note, but I could have been married to that jackass Uchiha.
She'd just decided to make Sakura help clean up when the girl burst into tears. Watching Ino try to console the girl, Temari turned around and went back to the house. On second thought, I think I'll just clean up on my own. Damn you for leaving me to deal with this shit, Naruto.
Prone in the snow, Naruto grimly surveyed the black stone fortress in front of him through a pair of binoculars. There was no doubt about it. He could sense several Hiraishin seals within - this was where the client and his team were. His rage simmered below the surface and he could feel the Kyubi trying to influence him as he reviewed the mission so far.
He'd known he was chickening out when after packing his supplies, he'd left a note telling Temari he was on an extended mission. He only stopped briefly on his way out to order Reynard to defend Temari at all costs. In his defense, he really didn't know how to break the news, but he suspected she was going to make him pay for it later anyway. With that thought pleasantly sitting in his head, he wasn't in the best of moods when he and his team arrived to find the actress they were supposed to escort had disappeared. It had taken Naruto and Team Gai most of an hour and several hundred shadow clones to find the woman sitting in a bar, refusing to leave.
Having had enough, Naruto simply ordered Neji to knock the woman out and they'd loaded her on the ship bound for the Land of Snow. After she'd woken up, Naruto and his team discovered, to their horror, that despite being a great actress, the woman was a completely frigid bitch. When she couldn't cry for the camera without fake tears, Naruto had actually looked at her and seen that the woman was bottling all her emotions away but he didn't know why. After trying to talk to her about it, a complete and utter failure, he'd taken a great deal of amusement in assigning Lee to attend to the woman's needs. It was a sorely needed bright spot for Naruto, Neji and Tenten as they watched Lee drive the woman nuts with his over-enthusiasm.
That amusement died when the Snow Nin attacked while the crew was filming on an iceberg found on the way to the Land of Snow. He and the team had managed to drive them off with apparent ease but the revelation that their client wasn't just an actress, but the exiled Princess had not filled him with joy.
Naruto knew he should have terminated the contract right there and then, but memories of Wave had convinced him that if he could free a country once, he could do so again. Despite the newly revealed Koyuki Kazahana's desire to depart, the group pressed on.
Now understanding some of the woman's pain, Naruto began trying to break through Koyuki's shell and had made some limited progress before things went to hell. A giant machine riding on metal tracks had nearly crushed Naruto and the princess before he could get her out-of-the-way.
He regrouped with his team just in time to watch a small army of loyal Snow Samurai cut down by some sort of kunai launching machines. Then some sort of airship flew over and a giant claw grabbed the princess out of Naruto's grasp, knocking him over the side of a cliff.
It was a completely pissed Naruto that clawed his way back to the top of the cliff ten minutes later to find the area deserted except for the bodies of the slain Samurai. Mentally berating himself for his mistakes, Naruto created some shadow clones to bury the bodies while he began to meditate to track the hiraishin seals he'd planted on his teammates. Finding the seals active, Naruto wrote out his current situation and his plan of retrieving his team and summoned a messenger toad to deliver it to the Hokage.
Unwilling to flash into a potentially bad situation, Naruto began to follow the seal's trace on foot after finishing the burial for the dead samurai. Several days passed before he reached the small ridge he was observing the fortress from. That brought him to his present time and location as he considered his options for freeing his team and the princess from captivity.
A small noise behind him caused him to roll and hurl a kunai but it was casually snatched from the air by the masked man responsible for the noise.
"Maa, maa, Naruto." Kakashi said handing the kunai back. "These things are dangerous you know."
Naruto narrowed his eyes,
"Kakashi-sensei, why are you here?" Considering the amount of time since he reported in compared to the travel time, Naruto drew the fairly obvious conclusion. "Baa-Chan had you following me, didn't she?"
Laying down next to Naruto to observe the fortress himself, Kakashi decided he might as well come clean.
"Yes, the Hokage had me shadow you because the mission skirted the edge of Iwa's territory." Kakashi eyed the way the boy tensed. "No, she didn't send me because she didn't believe you could do the mission, Naruto. After the Gobi Jinchuriki's attack, she simply didn't want to take a chance Iwa might try something else to finish the job."
"His name was Han, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto nearly snarled at the man. Seeing the apology in the scarecrow's eyes, Naruto relaxed. "Alright, I can see that but why didn't you keep my team from being captured?"
Kakashi sighed.
"There wasn't enough time for me to intervene. Not effectively, anyway. Those Snow nin in that armor captured your team almost as soon as you got knocked over that cliff. I went to assist you and when I saw that you were climbing back up, I moved to help them and they were already gone."
Naruto chewed on Kakashi's answer for a few minutes as he considered his options. Glancing over at his old sensei, he wondered if the man would help him or just observe.
"Kakashi-sensei, I'm going in there and getting my team out. Are you going to help me or are you going to just watch me do it?"
Kakashi gave him an eye-smile.
"I wouldn't want to be lower than trash now would I?"
Chuckling at the small joke, the two Leaf shinobi began to plan as the sun set over the field of ice around them.
Temari was rather bored. After yet another day of being stuck in a classroom learning human anatomy, all she really wanted to do was go home, soak in the onsen, and go to bed. Sadly, with Naruto out of the village, she was stuck in the council room representing the Namikaze clan in yet another completely mind numbing council session. It might have been different if anything important came up, but today's session was just a listing of civilian complaints and concerns so far.
Each Clan on the council represented a certain district within the village but with the Uchiha and Namikaze clans both only having recently taken their seats, they hadn't been assigned a district yet. She'd actually felt a moment of commiseration meeting the eyes of an extremely bored Sasuke from across the table but both teens quickly looked away once they realized it.
As Choza sat himself after finishing his duty to his district, Temari tensed as she prepared to flee the room as soon as the Hokage dismissed the council. Seeing the woman watching her carefully, Temari began to get the feeling that something was wrong.
Tsunade mentally cursed when she noticed Temari cautiously watching her. She wished she could have told the girl the news privately - she had wanted to wait for more information but time had run out. She shifted the papers on her desk and called the room to order.
"There are two related pieces of business for the council today. First, I have received word from Naruto that his mission to the Land of Snow is no longer a C-rank. He believes it is now A to possibly S-rank." Tsunade watched Temari flinch from the news and her heart went out to the younger kunoichi.
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama." Shikaku Nara spoke from his place at the table. "What reasons did Naruto give for the sudden change in rank?"
Tsunade briefed the council on what she knew, starting from the real identity of the client and finishing with the suspected capture of Team Gai. There was a low buzz in the room as several members of the council began to quietly converse. All of it ceased when Temari spoke from where she had her head in her hands.
"So, his mission is shot to hell. His team is captured and he is on his own. Tell me, Hokage-sama," She said lifting her face to meet Tsunade's eyes. "What exactly is my husband planning to do?"
Very aware of the attention on her, Tsunade nervously tapped her nails as she opened the scroll Naruto sent.
"I suspect he was rather angry when he wrote this." She said. "Apparently he plans on tracking his team with the hiraishin seals he placed on them and rescuing them and the client. He says that if it comes down to it, he'll let the Snow nin meet the Kyubi."
The council room was completely silent so the sound of Temari's nails gouging lines through the tabletop was heard by everyone in the room. Even Tsunade flinched when Temari's spoke with an icy calm.
"Hokage-sama, you said you had two related items. We've heard about my husband's actions, what was the second item?"
Tsunade shook her head - she suspected that Temari's control over her temper wasn't going to last through this next item. Still, it was a council issue and needed to be brought up. She suspected she was going to need a lot of sake later. Picking up another scroll, Tsunade cleared her throat.
"We have received word from Iwagakure regarding the attack by the Gobi Jinchuriki. They state that they deeply regret one of their nuke-nin would attack a Konohagakure shinobi. The scroll also states that they have an offer in the interest of fostering better relations between our villages." Tsunade glanced up from the scroll to see everyone watching her and began to get nervous when she saw Temari mentally putting the pieces together. Smart girl, I suspect she knows whats coming next but is waiting for confirmation . "They cite the Uzumaki clan practice of polygamy and offer Kurotsuchi, granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage, as a bride for Naruto. The information they sent on her indicates that she is the holder of the Lava release bloodline and is a jonin level kunoichi."
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama." Inoichi interrupted. "What Uzumaki clan practice are they speaking of?"
Tsunade sighed and lowered the scroll.
"In Uzushiogakure the Uzumaki clan practiced a special form of polygamy. A man could have three wives but only if the previous wife/wives agreed because the new wife would marry not only the man but also the previous wives. It worked well for the Uzumaki until the destruction of Uzushiogakure because of the Uzumaki Clan's great love of family."
Temari did not miss the speculative glances many members of the council sent her way. She knew that the new information would cause many to consider ways they might gain access to her new Clan's wealth and status and she decided to end those plans before they could truly begin.
"I do not agree with this proposal, Hokage-sama." She said as calmly as possible. "From your description, the wife has to agree, and I will not."
Exchanging glances with Homura and Danzo, Koharu spoke from her place at the Elder's table.
"Forgive me Temari-san, you may have the right to refuse, but why would you not welcome a powerful bloodline to Konohagakure?"
Taking a brief calming breath, Temari replied.
"I'm concerned that none of you seem to be suspicious of this." Eying the council warily, she pressed on. "Iwagakure loathes the very name Namikaze, and now, in a gesture of 'friendship and goodwill' they offer the the Tsuchikage's granddaughter to the son of the man that almost single-handedly cost them the Third Shinobi War? I don't think so."
"Much the same could be said about you." Hiashi Hyuga said when Temari paused. "You yourself were sent as a show of faith. Why should this be different?"
"The circumstances are completely different, Hyuga-san." Temari retorted. "My marriage was to cement an alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha. An alliance mostly focused against the threat of Iwagakure." Temari absently stroked her stomach as she continued. "Even carrying an Uzumaki-Namikaze heir like I am, if I were to assassinate my husband and flee to Sunagakure, I would not be welcome. There is a very high probability that my own brother would kill me and send my head back as an apology." Temari shuddered at the thought of dying in Gaara's sand. "Can you say the same for this Kurotsuchi?"
Silence settle over the council room as the experienced shinobi began considering Temari's words. Her argument was solid and well thought out for being such a quick response. They showed that her actions were not those of a jealous girl, but of a wife protecting her husband. Uncharacteristicly, it was Shibi Aburame that broke the silence.
"It is a pity. Temari-san's arguments are quite logical but she missed several things that also make this offer untenable. Naruto is not the only target possible in the Namikaze manor, Temari-san herself is quite likely. Her assassination would create disruptions in, if not complete dissolution, of the alliance with Sunagakure. There are several other logical ways Iwagakure could use this against Konohagakure."
"If the Namikaze clan is not agreeable, then perhaps the Uchiha clan may perform this service for the village." Sasuke spoke with a small smirk at Temari. "The opportunity to gain a powerful bloodline shouldn't be given up so easily. If we were to send a response stating that while regretfully the Namikaze clan is unavailable, but that the Uchiha clan was, I have no doubt they would accept."
"Excuse me Uchiha-san," Choza stated. "You are already married, and your clan has no tradition of polygamy. I believe that would disqualify you from consideration."
Sasuke gave the council a razor-sharp smile and turned to face his wife.
"Sakura Uchiha, I Sasuke Uchiha, Head of Clan Uchiha hereby declare you unfit to be Uchiha. Your inability to continue the Uchiha line makes you unsuitable and I cast you out." Leaning in closer to the trembling girl, he sneered as he whispered in her ear. "You were always and will always be worthless, and now, everyone will know it."
"Sasuke-kun? Why?" Sakura managed to stutter before she ran from the room in tears. Quickly whispering to her father, Ino rose and chased after the sobbing girl. Temari glared at Sasuke from across the room. She wasn't fond of Sakura but no one deserved what the Uchiha just did.
Sasuke seemingly ignored the looks he was getting as he settled back into his seat. Looking up, he spoke.
"It seems that I am no longer married, Akimichi-san. I trust that takes care of your concern?"
"What gives you the right to do that to Sakura?" Kiba shouted from his seat behind his mother. He hadn't ever really liked the girl, but he was an Inuzuka and he simply couldn't believe someone would do something like that to a member of their own pack.
"Quiet, mutt." Sasuke snapped back. "I am well within my rights as Head of my Clan to do so. Her current inability to bear heirs under Uchiha clan law requires her removal for a more suitable replacement."
Temari butted in.
"If she is unable to bear heirs, and your Clan law requires she be able to, why would you marry her in the first place?" Everyone in the room knew why he had - to take the Uchiha council position -but Temari wondered what sort of excuse he would come up with.
"I was unaware when I married her, and was only recently informed that Hokage-sama placed a seal on my former wife that prevents conception." Sasuke glared at Temari's stomach. "Konoha needs more Uchiha now, not whenever Hokage-sama feels the time is right."
Tsunade interjected.
"Uchiha, I informed you that the seal would remain in place until Sakura was physically capable of carrying a child to term. It's a medical fact that any pregnancy she had would have complications, not simply a matter of 'the time is right'!"
"And yet, you never told me about the seal, did you Hokage-sama?" Sasuke sneered back.
Danzo raised his hands to cut off outbursts from several people in the room - including Tsunade.
"It is done. There is no point in continuing this. Now, Uchiha-san suggested we send an agreement for the Uchiha clan to enter this marriage instead of the Namikaze clan. I suggest we focus on that."
Tsunade mentally cursed when the slippery old man took control of the room. Her only real response was to get ahead of hm, and direct the course herself.
"Very well, Danzo. I assume you are seconding the motion?" At his nod of agreement, Tsunade began the council vote.
"Namikaze?"
"Namikaze votes no, Hokage-sama."
"Sarutobi?" Seeing the spot empty, Tsunade remembered that Asuma was out on a mission. "Sarutobi abstains via absence. Yamanaka?" Continuing down the line, Tsunade felt her heart sink when she realized with only the Inuzuka, Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Temari voting against it, the measure would pass.
"So be it. The council has decided to accept the Uchiha proposal. A message will be drafted for Iwagakure with the terms. If there is no other business, the council is dismissed." Tsunade stood and exited the room. She was going to need sake.
Temari waited for the rest to file out of the room and stood with a groan. Council meetings sucked in general, even without events like today, but pregnant it was even worse. She had aches in odd places and now all she really wanted to do was go home and relax, maybe soak in the onsen for awhile. As she exited the room, she was ambushed by Ino and she knew she could kiss relaxing goodbye.
"What do you want Flower-girl?" She asked a bit more harshly then she really intended.
"You gotta help me, Temari." Ino blurted out. "I can't find Sakura and I'm really worried about what she might do."
Temari sighed and dragged her hand across her face - yes, so much for relaxing.
"All right." She said grudgingly. "I suppose we shouldn't leave her alone, but where did you lose her at?"
Ino shuffled her feet nervously.
"I never actually caught up to her after she left the council chamber. I've looked around but no one has seen her."
"Fantastic." Temari hissed through clenched teeth. Catching sight of Hinata standing with her father as the man conversed with Tsume Inuzuka, Temari grabbed Ino's hand and pulled her along. "Hinata, we need your help."
"Me?" the confused girl asked. Shooting a glance at her father, she straightened her shoulders. "How may I assist you Temari-san, Ino-san?"
"Flower-girl can't find Sakura. We need you to help us find her."
Hinata shot her father another nervous glance but relaxed some when he signaled her with his fingers. Bowing to the girls in front of her, Hinata smiled.
"The Hyuga clan would be honored to assist the Namikaze and Yamanaka Clans in this endeavor. Shall we depart?"
Temari stopped Hinata when the trio exited the building.
"Hinata, what was that?"
Hinata tapped her fingers together as she responded.
"Father has told me that I need to act 'in a manner befitting the Hyuga heir'."
Ino cut in.
"Oh, that's ok, we just thought you might have been pulling a Neji on us."
Hinata blushed and had a small smile.
"Yes, Neji-niisan can be a bit formal. I was trying to act like him."
Temari and Ino both rolled their eyes causing Hinata's blush to deepen.
"Alright," Temari said. "Now that's out-of-the-way, let's go find Pinky so I can go home."
Ino sneered at her friend as they set off.
"Pregnancy making you a bit testy, Fan-Girl?"
Resisting the urge to wipe the smirk off Ino's face, Temari raised her head haughtily.
"You'll go through this sort of thing as well, you know. When you do, don't come whining to me."
The cheerful banter died when Hinata lead the trio into a park and they found Sakura passed out on a bench surrounded by sake bottles. Toeing one of the bottles, Temari's mouth twisted with distaste.
"Well, I suppose it could be worse, but what do we do with her?"
Ino sighed and grabbed her unconscious friend under her arms.
"Alright girls, grab on. Let's carry her back to her parent's house." The girls were lost in their own thoughts as they carried Sakura but they weren't expecting the reaction they got after Ino knocked on the Haruno's door.
"Hi, Haruno-san." Ino said as Sakura's mother cracked the door open. "We found Sakura in the park and after what happened this afternoon, we thought we'd bring her here."
"Ino-san, Hyuga-san, Namikaze-san." She said, sneering the last name. "I don't have a daughter named Sakura. I had one, but she was cast out of the Uchiha clan and so she is dead to us." Having said her piece, she slammed the door closed in the girl's faces.
"I was afraid of this." Ino sighed. "Ever since we were little, Sakura's parents wanted her to marry into a shinobi clan. I guess they figured that having a clan for in-laws would boost their business."
"And now that Uchiha-teme kicked her out," Temari finished for her. "They don't want anything to do with her. Fucking civilians."
Ino and Hinata stared at Temari - it was rare for the woman to swear but they were both in agreement with her.
"So, what are we going to do?" Ino asked the others. "Dad says she can't stay with us. I asked him before I went after her in the council chamber. He said that the political situation wouldn't allow it."
Hinata was next to speak.
"She can't come with me. My father would never allow it."
"Damn it." Temari cursed. "I suppose she can come with me. I think we all know that Naruto won't give a damn about any political consequences to providing refuge for a banished Uchiha. Especially this one."
Ino's eyes widened.
"Are you sure about that Temari?"
"Yes." Temari sighed. "My husband would never forgive me if I just left her but you," She said pointing at Ino," Are coming with and staying with her until she wakes up. I'm in no mood to deal with her when that happens."
Ino nodded as she ran a concerned gaze over her friend. Temari's right, this is going to be unpleasant when she wakes up. Smoothing Sakura's hair as the trio dragged her towards the Namikaze compound, Ino worried. You better not try anything stupid, Forehead. You're gonna get through this.
Naruto crouched waiting for the sentry to draw closer. As the man passed him, he slapped his hand over the sentry's mouth and drove a kunai through the back of his neck. Dragging the body into the small room he'd been waiting in, Naruto stripped off the sentry's mask and examined his face.
Using his personal Henge jutsu, Naruto transformed himself into an exact duplicate of the deceased sentry. Checking to ensure no one had noticed the brief scuffle, Naruto stepped back into the hall and began following the man's rounds.
Unsure of exactly where Team Gai and Koyuki were being held, the best plan Naruto and Kakashi had been able to devise was a simple infiltration. When either shinobi located the targets, they were to free the prisoners and radio the other for back-up. Kakashi had expressed some concern at separating but had quieted when Naruto reminded him of his ability to hide from even ANBU if he needed to. He'd then made a small joke about the Snow nin not having Iruka-Sensei to track him down and the two had shared a much needed laugh.
As he patrolled through the halls, Naruto made sure to dispose of the single Snow nin he encountered. It was risky, but he figured that once he freed the team, the fewer enemies they had to deal with on the way out, the better. The only real problem he was having was with Kyubi. The Fox seemed to delight in Naruto killing and he made a mental note to discuss that with Jiraiya the next time he saw his godfather.
Raised voices from nearby got his attention and he grinned when he recognized the sound of Lee's voice echoing though hall. It seemed that the guard had gotten annoyed with Lee giving Koyuki one of his youth speeches inherited from Gai, and when Naruto poked his head around the corner, the guard was fully occupied.
Neji and Tenten sat near the back of the cell with looks that seemed to combine amusement and annoyance, as the guard yelled at Lee to shut up. Of course, this just encouraged Lee to further increase the volume and vigor of his speech and Naruto's smile mirrored Neji and Tenten's. Carefully searching for cameras or other guards, Naruto's smile turned vicious when he didn't find any.
Casually walking around the corner, his hand on the handle of his kodachi, Naruto calmly approached the guard yelling at Lee. Seeing another guard approach caused Lee to quiet as the three captive Leaf nin examined the new arrival. The guard previously occupied with Lee turned to greet his fellow Snow nin and died when Naruto whipped his kodachi through the man's throat. Wiping the blade down, Naruto keyed the mic for his tactical radio.
"Scarecrow, Fox. Team Gai located and hostile eliminated. Beginning extraction."
"Fox, Scarecrow copies. Clearing road."
Grinning at Team Gai, Naruto dropped his Henge and searched the dead guard for keys.
"Naruto, we thought you were dead!" Tenten exclaimed.
"Bah, I won't die till after I become Hokage, Tenten." Naruto retorted as he opened their cell.
Lee stood, somehow projecting fire from his eyes.
"Yosh! Your Fires of Youth burn brightly, my Eternal Rival! It is good to see you Naruto!"
Wincing and sharing a commiserating look with the saner members of Team Gai, Naruto moved across the hall and opened Koyuki's cell.
Koyuki stared at him as he undid her restraints.
"Why? Why would you come for me?"
Undoing the last shackle, Naruto smiled and extended his hand to help her to her feet.
"Because you needed someone to. Come on, Princess, let's get you your kingdom back."
Koyuki stared at his hand. She wanted with all her heart to believe but she didn't know if she could. She began to sink into her memories, the death of her father, exile from her home. The pain and lonesomeness she hid behind her work as an actress, the death of Sandayu and his loyal samurai. She felt herself drowning and instinctively reached for the light in the dark. She took Naruto's hand.
Unaware of Koyuki's thoughts, Naruto pulled her behind him to where Team Gai was reclaiming their equipment.
"Alright guys." He said, drawing their attention. "Kakashi-sensei is going to create a distraction, and we are going to get the Princess out of here."
"Why is Kakashi here?" Neji asked.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Baa-Chan was worried about Iwa making a move since we were near their borders so she sent him to keep an eye on me."
"So, how are we doing this?" Tenten asked as she checked over her gear.
Naruto unsealed a large stack of explosive tags and tossed them to her.
"I don't think Koyuki-Hime here needs this fortress Tenten, so while we escape, I want you to plant those wherever they'll do the most damage."
Tenten stared at the explosive tags in her hands with stars in her eyes.
"Say, Naruto," She said sweetly. "Where did you get all of these?"
"Oh, I-" He was cut off when Neji slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Naruto," Neji hissed into his ear. "While I find it to be a great asset that you can create your own explosive tags, Tenten can't know."
Lee whispered in his other ear. "Yosh, Tenten's Flames of Youth burn very bright when she has explosive tags."
Neji rolled his eyes.
"What he means to say is that Tenten goes somewhat... insane with the tags. The last time Gai-sensei let her use them, she destroyed an entire training field."
Naruto glared at the two and moved Neji's hand from his mouth.
"That would have been great to know before I gave her an entire stack of my own tags." He hissed back at them.
"Oh?" Tenten said from behind Naruto. "Your own tags huh? What do they do?"
All three boys paled - of course she listened in on the conversation.
"Ehhheh," Naruto chuckled nervously. "Well, I sort of modified the level 5 demolition tags to have a bit more kick."
Lee and Neji involuntarily backed up several steps and stared at him.
"Naruto," Neji said in a subdued tone. "Aren't level 5 tags designed to breach fortress walls in siege warfare?"
Trying to ignore the truly disturbing grin Tenten was using as she stared at the tags in her hands, Naruto answered.
"Yeah, but the design is really sloppy. I just sort of tightened it up and increased the yield."
Neji stared at the madman in front of him. He'd increased the power of a level 5 explosive tag, and then given Tenten an entire stack of them? Madness, simply madness.
"Er, exactly how much did you increase the yield?" Neji wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know, and Lee looked like he didn't really want to know either but he simply had to ask.
Naruto tilted his head back as he thought.
"Two, maybe three times? Can't be more then five though I'm sure of that."
Neji felt ill.
A small tremor followed by the sound of an explosion brought the team back to the matter at hand.
"Alright team," Naruto said. "That had to be Kakashi-sensei, so let's get moving. Lee, take point. Tenten and I will stay next to the princess. Neji, take the rear and keep an eye out. Kakashi-sensei told me that some of these guys are wearing some sort of armor like the guys that ambushed us in the glacier. Supposedly it will block chakra so its a good thing Lee and Tenten don't really use it. Neji, if we do run into anyone with the armor, remember that any point not covered by the armor is a weakness. If you have to, take out their arms and legs and let Tenten or Lee finish them. Everyone clear?"
The members of Team Gai dropped into their assigned positions with sharp nods and even Koyuki managed a brief nod. The team began to ghost through the fortress corridors without too much trouble. Lee had to drop several sentries and Tenten wouldn't stop giggling as she placed explosive tags on several load-bearing structures they passed by.
Their streak of luck ended when they entered a large barracks room the same time two Snow nin in chakra armor entered the other side. The two parties eyed each other briefly before sinister smirks appeared on the Snow nin's faces.
"Well, well." The pink haired woman said to her companion. "It seems like the children have come to play, Mizore."
Mizore smashed his fist into the palm of what appeared to be a metal arm.
"Right you are, Fubuki, right you are. Hopefully they provide more entertainment this time."
Naruto sized them up and passed orders quickly.
"Tenten, Lee, take the woman. Neji, guard Koyuki-Hime. If you see an opening, take it but your priority is to keep her safe." Sliding forward towards Mizore, he drew his kodachi. "Careful - these guys are wearing that armor we were talking about."
Naruto quickly lost track of anything but his own battle. His opponent was fast and strong, boosted by the chakra armor no doubt, but still dangerous. Several minutes of furious blow and counter-blow resulted in Naruto and Mizore locked in a stalemate. Naruto was marginally faster but Mizore was considerably stronger, especially boosted by the chakra armor. Several times Naruto was almost killed by odd attacks from the man's metal arm. All Naruto had to show for his effort was several scratches across the center of Mizore's armor.
Parrying yet another strike from the man's metallic arm, Naruto was forced to duck and roll forward to avoid the cables it launched. He cursed when released that even with Ero-Sennin's training, he didn't quite have the speed he needed to overcome his physical limitations. Stupid freaking short arms. Fine, if he couldn't win in a straight up fight, it was time to draw from his bag of tricks.
Waiting for the man to launch his arm at him again, Naruto finally got his chance. As the arm arced in towards him, Naruto dodged forward and pretended to trip. Rolling forwards towards the man, Naruto released his hold on his kodachi and allowed Mizore to grab him with his normal hand.
"That was a mistake." Naruto coldly told Mizore as he formed rasengan in both hands and swept them forward into the man's arm.
The two jutsu ground through Mizore's arm and when they collided, the side effect wasn't what Naruto was expecting. He'd expected an explosion, and had angled his palms to try to deflect most of it away from his body. What he got was a small explosion and a condensed beam of chakra that ripped up through Mizore's shoulder and cut through the walls. Holy hell, he thought. That looked an awful lot like a bijudama.
Mizore dropped towards Naruto, his body in shock after losing his arm. As he fell, the last thing he saw was Naruto drawing a strange three-pronged kunai and driving it towards his throat.
Naruto kicked Mizore's body off and pulled his hiraishin kunai from its resting place in Mizore's throat. Wiping the blade off on the dead man's tunic, Naruto took time to check his surroundings. Neji and Koyuki were still safe - several bodies near Neji showed that he had been busy. Tenten and Lee were still fighting the pink-haired woman. She was using her armor to fly around and keep Lee out of range while deflecting the weapons Tenten was hurling at her. Watching Tenten unseal a small battleaxe and throw it, Naruto was struck with a sudden thought. Exactly how many freaking pointy things does she even have in those scrolls of hers?
Deciding to get the answer to that later, Naruto moved to reclaim his kodachi and considered ways to deal with this last pest. She wasn't paying attention to him but her flightpath was too erratic for him to hit with thrown weapons. He'd use Kunai Kage Bunshin, but her chakra armor would absorb or deflect all the clone weapons, same with his small ninjutsu library. Searching the room for inspiration, Naruto's eyes fell on the corpse of Mizore. Hmm, I wonder if I can overload that armor. It has to have a limit to what it can stop right?
Forming the largest rasengan he could in both hands, Naruto carefully studied Fubuki's movements. There, she always dips left after she dodges up. I've got you now. Preparing to slam his rasengan together, Naruto belatedly realized he needed to warn his team.
"Lee, Tenten, get down! Now! Rasengan beam!" Once again, the colliding rasengan created a beam of chakra but this time the beam was almost as thick as Naruto's waist. He could only stare in awe when the beam ripped straight through Fubuki and her armor before smashing through the wall.
Naruto dropped to one knee panting. It took a hell of a lot more chakra to do that then a regular rasengan but he could already see some uses for it.
"Scarecrow, Fox." he said keying his mic after catching his breath. "Two chakra armored hostiles down, you pick up the third?"
A brief crackle of static and Kakashi responded.
"Fox, Scarecrow. Affirmative, third armor terminated. Gave me a bit of trouble. You?"
Naruto gave his team a weary smile.
"Bit of trouble, nothing we couldn't handle. Continue with plan?"
"Affirmative, rendezvous at start point. Scarecrow clear."
Accepting a hand from Neji, Naruto pulled himself to his feet.
"Good news guys, Kakashi-sensei got that third guy with the armor so hopefully we won't have too much trouble the rest of the way out." Naruto extended his hand to Koyuki with a warm smile. "Come on Princess, let's get you out of here. Same positions guys. Let's go."
The corridors were empty as the team passed through and Naruto felt increasingly uneasy. He just knew he shouldn't have said that getting out would be easy and he suspected he probably cursed himself to another fight. The only member of the group that seemed immune to the tension was Tenten but it was hard to tell since she was still constantly giggling as she slapped explosive tags onto things.
"So, Naruto." Neji called from his rearguard position. "How long have you been able to create giant beams of chakra?"
Naruto cursed under his breath when he felt even Tenten's attention swing towards him for his answer.
"Just now, actually." He said with a nervous chuckle. "When I was fighting the guy with the metal arm I accidentally slammed two rasengan together and it kinda shot chakra out."
"Yosh, your Flames of Youth burn bright indeed." Lee called back, putting his two ryo in.
Neji rolled his eyes. One does not simply accidentally create an A-class attack jutsu then turn around and use it a second time immediately after. Madness!
Further conversation ended when Neji called out a warning and Naruto grabbed Koyuki to pull her out of the way of a vicious Ice jutsu shaped like a black dragon that tore through where she had been walking.
Naruto and his team formed a diamond formation around Koyuki facing towards where the jutsu originated. They tensed when a tall man wearing a black chakra armor version calmly strode out of the shadows. Koyuki tensed when she saw him and grabbed Naruto's hand.
"It's my uncle." She whispered to Naruto. "He killed my father and tried to kill me."
Naruto smiled at her and gently pried her hands off of his.
"Sorry Koyuki-Hime, I need my hands to fight. Don't worry, I promise he won't touch you."
"Ahh, how touching. The little Leaf shinobi promises to save the princess." Doto called out. "It's to bad that you'll have to break your promise. This new prototype chakra armor is much stronger than that worn by those fools you defeated. Soon I will have the treasure my brother hid - and with it, I will create an army using chakra armor, and we will crush the Gokage villages and I will rule this world!"
Tuning out the monologue, Naruto signaled his team their orders. With Doto using chakra armor, Neji was severely limited, but he could take her and rendezvous with Kakashi just fine. Lee and Tenten he ordered to attack. As the man finally reached the end of his 'rule the world' spiel, Neji slipped away using the remaining three's attacks as a distraction.
Naruto quickly realized that they were severely outclassed. He figured that Doto was probably at least a strong as a normal jonin without the armor. That would be bad enough, but doable with three talented Nin like Lee, Tenten and himself. Enhanced by his armor, Doto was probably pushing S-class which was bad news. Gritting his teeth, Naruto realized he was going to have to use Kyubi's power for this fight.
Signaling Lee and Tenten to regroup, he hastily explained.
"Guys, we can't beat him like this. I'm going to have to use Kyubi." Glancing at Doto, Naruto was struck by the man's arrogance. He was standing just standing there with a mocking smile as the teens hurriedly conversed. He was apparently going to just let them come up with a plan to attack him. Looking back at his friends, he saw the concern etched on their faces. "Go on guys," He said, giving them a foxy grin. "I'll be fine, I promise."
Lee placed a hand on Tenten's shoulder, "Come Tenten, we know that Naruto always keeps his promises. We must leave him to his fight."
Tenten blinked - apparently Lee was learning to copy Gai's ability to become completely serious if the situation required it. Useful but frustrating since she knew he would be ranting about youth in no time. Stepping forward she gave Naruto a brief hug.
"You better be alright. I still need you to teach me how to make explosive tags!"
Naruto watched his friends leave and turned back to Doto. Dropping back into a battle stance, he drew his kodachi and began working to unlock some of Kyubi's power.
"So, they left you behind. How foolish," Doto mocked, secure in his victory. "Don't worry little boy, they'll be following you shortly - along with my niece."
Naruto once again blessed the arrogance of the man. The armor might boost his abilities to be comparable to a S-class shinobi, but he sure didn't have the mindset. Any true S-class would have instantly assumed anyone left behind as a rearguard would have some sort of trump card and prepared for it. It was obvious from the man's face and stance that he didn't view Naruto as a threat at all. Naruto aimed to correct that.
Drawing on the Kyubi's power, Naruto felt his teeth lengthen as his nails formed claws. Channeling only enough for the initial transformation, Naruto didn't have any tails waving behind him, but Doto's laughter paused when he saw Naruto's blood-red eyes.
Doto realized he may have made a mistake when he felt the power emanating from the black and orange clad boy in front of him. Something about the boy seemed familiar and he suddenly remembered a passage from the most recent Iwa bingo book regarding... the Kyubi Jinchuriki? His eyes widened in shock causing him to barely dodge a slash from Naruto's kodachi. If this truly was the Kyubi jinchuriki, and he believed it was, he was in serious trouble.
Naruto drew a grim satisfaction at the dawning panic in Doto's eyes and he continued to press hard against the man's defenses.
"What was that?" He growled. "I thought you were going to kill me?" His momentary inattention cost him and Doto caught him with a solid punch that slammed him against a nearby wall.
Regaining his footing, he saw Doto forming seals, and two black dragons made of ice roared towards him as Doto finished his jutsu. Channeling Kyubi's chakra through his kodachi, causing it to glow an ominous red, Naruto slashed through the incoming jutsu and rammed his kodachi through Doto's shoulder, pinning him to the wall.
"Your ambitions end here." He snarled forming a Kyubi enhanced rasengan with is free hand. "All the pain, all the suffering you've caused, I'll make you feel it tenfold!" Naruto drove his rasengan against the center of Doto's chakra armor, slowly grinding it through his chest.
Realizing that he was being influenced by Kyubi, Naruto stepped back and allowed his rasengan to dissipate. Allowing Kyubi's power to fade away, Naruto nearly dropped from the built up fatigue. Drawing his kodachi out of Doto's shoulder, Naruto swiftly beheaded the man then cleaned and sheathed his blade. Leaning against the wall, he slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor and keyed his radio.
"Scarecrow, Fox. Come get me, sensei."
"Copy Fox, We're coming."
Without the Kyubi's power, he was beginning to feel the ache from some of Doto's blows. He grimaced as he gently touched his ribs - probably broke a couple. Great, more hospital time. Naruto smiled when he saw Team Gai along with Koyuki and Kakashi. Friends were good.
Dozing off as they carefully cared him, Naruto only woke when Tenten poked him and told him to detonate the explosive tags. She hadn't done all the work in setting them to miss out on the explosion. Deciding to do it so she would leave him alone and he could go back to sleep, Naruto detonated the activated tags in the fortress.
Kakashi, Koyuki and Team Gai all stared as the fortress seemed to lift in the air in a flash of flame then slam back to earth. Ducking under cover with the snoozing Naruto, they waited for the debris to stop flying and poked their heads up cautiously. Several chunks remained but it was one of the most though destruction jobs Kakashi had ever seen and he sweat-dropped when Tenten told him Naruto had plenty more of those tags with a giggle.
Lifting Naruto and heading towards the nearest town, Kakashi wondered if he should warn the Hokage that Naruto could apparently destroy most of the village without much effort. Nah, he thought flipping open his favorite book. To much work.
Two weeks later, Naruto lead Team Gai to the gates of Konoha as the sun began to set.
"Alright guys, meet at the Hokage's office tomorrow at 0900 for mission debrief. Until then, dismissed." Saluting, Team Gai left and headed for their respective homes. Approaching his own home, Naruto noticed the place seemed to feel a bit different and he began to worry.
Opening the door, he saw Temari sitting at the table with a haggard expression. She brightened up when she saw him, but he wondered why she still seemed so worn out. Sitting across from her at the table, he reached out and gently clasped her hands.
"Temari-chan, what's wrong?"
Temari sighed.
"We have a guest. A rather permanent guest as far as I can tell."
"Oh?" Naruto replied. "Why is a guest leaving you look this drained?"
"It's Sakura. She was forced from the Uchiha clan and her parents disowned her." Temari began to babble, the emotions of the past weeks catching up to her. "I brought her here cause I knew you would want me to help her but all she's done is cry for the last two weeks and even with Ino we have to watch her cause she's tried to commit suicide." Stopping to catch her breath, Temari felt herself being pulled into a hug.
"Shh, it's alright Temari-chan." Stroking her hair to calm her, Naruto felt bad for Temari. Life never seemed to give her a break. "I'll watch over Sakura-chan so you and Ino can get some sleep but first, I need you to tell me everything that happened while I was gone."
"Kincaid! Bolshevik Muppet!"
― Jim Butcher, Blood Rites
AN
Finally done. Argh this chapter drove me nuts. It was originally supposed to be two chapters, Snow then Temari, with Naruto at the end of the second chapter asking her what the hell happened while he was gone. Dragon convinced me to do it as one chapter but it was a tad more difficult than I thought it was gonna be. Speaking of Dragon, he has managed to get all the way through Chapter 5 edited so go back and check them out if you want. See you guys in the reviews and in the next chapter. o7