NARUTO
Melody of the Wanderers
The Death and Rebirth
"Where is the little hole… that these pests are… crawling out from?" Haido snarled, blood still pouring profusely from his mouth, even though his teeth were gritted shut.
The wound he had and was continually inflicted with thanks to the kunai still buried deep in the side of his neck was intended to kill him, and by all accounts, it should have, but for reasons unknown, he was still standing. Forget that, he was still breathing, in spite of it blocking off his air passage. However, even with blood pouring out of three different holes and his head nearing asphyxiation thanks to the lack of oxygen he should be having, the man was still staggering around, hands clamped around the injury.
The bishop spat to the side as he glared at the newly arrived Naruto, the spiky haired blonde proving to be more troublesome then he could have asked for.
"You're all just worthless trash…"
"Here it comes… the insults," Naruto sighed, lowering his arm from his pointing. "You know, people like you really piss me off. Utopia? Peace? Salvation? A world without war? All of that preaching, all of those promises, and then you pull off this crap!" The blonde gestured down at Kahiko and the ferret he was clutching in his arms. In spite of his caring embrace, the old man still couldn't get any life out of him. "You may be the first one I've ever met to have taken your ambitions this far. Well it all ends here for you, you creep!"
Haido chuckled loudly at Naruto's statement, straightening up as he felt life and energy begin flowing back into him. Though the three conscious members of the audience were incredibly surprised that he had managed to last this long, what were a few more minutes of life going to change? He should keel over eventually.
A pool of blood about a meter in diameter lay at the man's feet. How could they be wrong?
"It appears I'll need to deal with this problem before I can move on to the mines," Haido replied.
With his free hand, he grabbed the ring at the handle-end of the kunai, and with a careless pull, yanked it clean out of his neck. Naruto blinked in surprise when he tossed the blade away, and watched as the stone of Gelel in his hand suddenly began to glow a bright green. Moments later, the two holes in the man's neck closed up and the blood that had been drained from his body got sucked back in through the closing wounds. Within mere seconds, the injuries he had sustained were gone, leaving him in his former, untouched state, with an ever-present smirk on his face.
"By the end of today, the entire world will have fallen to its knees before me!" Haido exclaimed, clenching his Gelel fist and raising it to his chest. "Starting with you."
The stone then started to glow even brighter, engulfing its wielder in a warm aura. As it did, Haido's robes and cape began to flutter on a violent wind. Bit by bit it was ripped away, leaving him in a pair of black spandex pants and his boots, along with his bishop's hat. What Naruto expected to see was the body of an old man beneath the clothes that were torn away. However, he got an incredibly big shock when he saw the man's body covered in what looked to be dark cartilage plating, his muscles accentuated by these elements, as if his skin was made of leather. In addition to these sudden changes taking place, the stone continued to reveal more of the man's bewitching physical features, his hat being ripped apart as his hair grew out and his face morphing into a more sinister one. It grayed just like the rest of his body, fangs grew from his now canine like teeth, and his eyes became red and animalistic.
Seconds later, his transformation completed itself when the four red orbs he had used before to access the lower mines reappeared, and hovered suspended around his back.
"Ahh… that's better," Haido grinned, sighing in satisfaction at having his real form unveiled to the world for the first time in years. Lowering his Gelel arm to his side, he clenched his fists tightly so that his knuckles cracked and his brow furrowed further into its glare, which remained locked onto the blonde and his cohorts. "Now… about that stab to my neck…"
"Dude… that is messed up," Naruto exclaimed, glancing down at Temujin who was looking up at his former mentor with equal astonishment. "Hey, did you know that he could do that or that he looked like a burnt steak under those robes?"
"N-No…" the wounded knight coughed.
"Hmph, great," Naruto looked upon his new opponent with a tight scowl. "Now I've got a few more wondrous things I have to find out."
"N-Naruto," Kahiko spoke up, turning towards the boy with a desperate expression on his face. The Genin also glanced over at elderly man, seeing the look of uncertainty and fear etched across his face. "You must find a way to stop him, before he becomes too powerful."
"Right," Naruto nodded, sounding confident. Despite this though, he was unable to hide his wandering thoughts from himself. "But how do I stop him… that's the question?"
"Go ahead… attack me!" Haido taunted, raising his arms out and offering a free hit to the young shinobi, who in turn took a solid stance and prepared for combat. "Let's see what you can do, boy!"
"Alright then…" Naruto replied, reaching back into his pouch and grabbing a few shuriken between his fingers.
If this was how it began, than Naruto was going to probe his opponent for weaknesses before going all out.
With a sharp yell, the blonde tossed a swift barrage at the man, the shuriken cutting through the air in multiple directions as they made their way towards their target.
In response to the opening attack, just as the shuriken were within reach, the four orbs hovering over Haido's back suddenly morphed and stretched. The devices seemingly liquefied and arced around the man's body, shielding the front of him and solidifying just in time to block the onslaught of shuriken, which bounced off of the barrier as if it were made of steel. The shield then suddenly twisted and morphed again, forming into an almost spiral mass hovering around its master, before flinging itself at Naruto at high speed, like an elastic band of goop.
Naruto reacted quickly, grabbing both Temujin and Kahiko and leaping out of the way just in time to avoid the tendril as it slammed into the ground, cracking the stone surface. The blonde took both bystanders to the edge of the chamber and after setting them down beside one of the support beams, immediately turned back to the bishop, who was still standing right where he was with his arms folded and a smug look on his face. The black strips he had used to attack returned to their host, and reformed into red orbs again.
"That's cheating! He's totally copying Gaara," Naruto stated, reaching back into his pouch and fumbling for another weapon.
"With the power of Gelel, I can manipulate matter and transform it into whatever I want," Haido stated, cracking his neck to the side. "I doubt you'll even be able to touch me! No opponent of mine has!"
"First time for everything!" Naruto replied, throwing his arm out and tossing four kunai at the man. The knives shot through the air faster then the shuriken and along a straight and noble path.
But then, like before, the projectiles were once again blocked by the black material, which formed a thin shield in front of its host to protect him. However, the knives were just the mules carrying the payload, and as they were spinning through the air, unraveled the paper bombs wrapped around the handles. Haido was caught off guard when the tags detonated around him, engulfing him in flames and hot blasts of smoke.
"Argh! What the…?" the man cursed, feeling his flesh scolded and seeing his material shield in front of him crack under the shockwaves. "You damn brat!"
As the cloud of smoke blanketed the man, Naruto made his move. The boy sprinted into the cloud and leapt at the grey fiend standing in the middle.
The blonde jabbed out hard, only for his attack to unexpectedly be blocked by a green energy barrier in place of the damaged matter strips that had defended the bishop beforehand. Haido glared at the ninja, who glared back with equal ferocity through the transparent wall of energy, before the blonde kicked off and leapt over the cult leader. Performing an acrobatic flip in his jump, Naruto landed behind his opponent at a reasonable distance and charged at him from behind, aiming to take him out from a blind spot.
However, upon throwing his punch, the jinchuriki was once again stopped by the barrier. His attack rebounded as if he were hitting rubber, causing no damage to the target whatsoever. Again and again Naruto attempted to get at his target, only for his attacks to recoil continuously. The only affect this had on Haido was annoyance, as well as amusement after several more futile attempts made by the youngster.
After running laps around the man for a minute or so, trying to land a hit and failing miserably, Naruto started to get ticked off.
"Ha! Had enough!"
The Genin growled and leapt away from Haido, skidding to a stop several meters behind the bishop and crouching low to the ground, attempting to assess the situation from a safe distance. In the meantime, Haido remained where he was, waiting patiently for the boy's next assault.
"Those shields are preventing me from landing a hit! Is he that concerned that he can't fight me directly?" Naruto furrowed his brow. "I'm going to have to be smart about this, and try and coax him into close quarters. Maybe then I'll have a chance."
"So… you want the Stone of Gelel, yet you're too much of a coward to win it in a fair fight, Haido?" Naruto smirked, rising to his feet. It wasn't his style to mock opponents into battle… well… not to this extent, but if Neji and Sasuke could irritate people to the point that they couldn't fight at their fullest against either of them, then who says Naruto couldn't.
Take it as inspiration from years of receiving abuse.
Remarkably, this statement got him some attention and Haido glared over his shoulder at the loudmouthed youngster.
"What was that?"
Naruto grinned and gestured for the man to "bring it", gesturing at the bewildered fiend.
"You're a war lord aren't yah?" the jinchuriki grinned. "How long has it been then, since you've faced a lowly warrior without hiding behind your ill-gotten powers?"
Haido furrowed his brow at the boy, seeing him smirk back arrogantly. After a few moments of trading killing intent, the bishop grinned and spun around, unfolding his arms.
"Hmph. What a lame attempt to taunt me into direct combat!" Haido snickered. "But if you wish for me to exercise more physical force, then I'll be happy to oblige." The man added to this by lacing his fingers together and stretching his hands with his palms facing forward. The sound of bones and muscles popping echoed throughout the chamber. "Don't disappoint me, brat!"
Naruto smirked. "Come on!"
Haido suddenly flickered out of sight and reappeared in front of Naruto, his agility doubling somewhat from before. The blonde blinked in surprise at the man's shocking speed, and ducked just in time to avoid his jab. Quickly responding, Naruto slipped under his initial attack and slammed his own fist into the man's face, the blow rocking the bishop's body and causing him to stagger back.
Receiving the hit, the leader gritted his teeth and glared down at the sneering blonde through a bloody nose, having not expected such an immediate counter from him. Nevertheless, this did not deter him and immediately after taking the hit Haido responded with a hook across Naruto's face, the blow sending the boy flying across the room and into another support pillar, burying him inside the stone and behind a cloud of dust and debris.
When the dust cleared, it revealed Naruto sprawled out in a small crater against the wall, shaking off the hit with a bleeding nose, a bruised face and a black eye. The jinchuriki smirked at the man, whom he saw marching towards him with a grin plastered on his face.
"That sure got the blood flowing," Naruto chuckled, spitting out blood before pulling himself out of the wall. Ignoring the dust and granite on his clothes, he began approaching his opponent as well. "Could you throw me another? Sorry about that, I just wanted to see how hard you could actually hit."
Haido frowned and stopped in his tracks.
Naruto nodded, taking this momentary relapse as his chance. Using strength and speed he had been practicing with for months, he also flickered out of sight and appeared directly behind his opponent, kunai drawn. The boy lunged, his expression showing the extreme effort he was exerting with his intent.
However, just as his attack was inches away from his target, he was once again thrown off when the energy shield shot up again, and his attack rebounded, kunai flying out of his hand and landing some distance away.
After crashing and rolling, Naruto hopped back to his feet in a crouched position, and glared at the mad bishop who was now grinning over his shoulder at the frustrated jinchuriki behind him.
"Stupid, fucking shield!" Naruto cursed. "I've got to get past it!"
Haido laughed and spun around, throwing his Gelel arm up with the stone he was bearing flashing a bright green. "Disappear into oblivion!" The invisible blast to follow rippled outwards with an enormous amount of power backing it up. It tore its way across the ground straight towards its target, who responded immediately to the threat.
Grabbing the tail of his trench coat, Naruto brought it in front of him and covered the whole of his body where he was kneeling. The attack struck his makeshift, fabric shield, and though the force kicked like a mule against him, the brunt of the attack was effectively blocked thanks to the density of the nano threading. The only damage it sustained was a few gashes along the coat.
Feeling the attack dissipate, Naruto unfurled himself and in that same instant threw a kunai at his target. Remarkably, the swift projectile got passed the energy barrier thanks to the stone renewing itself after unleashing its last blast. With a cable tied to the ring of the flying knife, the weapon caught itself around Haido's Gelel arm as he was withdrawing it, causing the villain to blink in surprise.
"Got yah!" Naruto exclaimed, pulling his bayonet out of its scabbard and slicing the metal wire he had attached to the kunai. He then pulled out what looked like an explosive note from his trench coat pocket. "You're not the only one with tricks up his sleeve!" He wrapped the note around his end of the cable, and a high voltage charge of electricity shot down the wire from where he had attached the stun tag.
The electricity reached Haido in no less then a nanosecond, the man getting the shock of his life as he was electrocuted into submission. He yelled out in agony, his body being engulfed in blue lightning and was deep-fried from the inside-out, before collapsing to his knees as soon as the currents subsided.
Naruto got up and rushed the man while he was down, interlocking his fingers and sending a hammer blow upwards and across the man's face.
The hit connected, and Naruto spent the next minute laying it into the man, landing various punches and kicks with the full force of his body behind it. Every blow staggered Haido back further and further, till he was pressed up against the back wall of the room.
"The electricity upset his control over his Stone of Gelel, meaning it's working harder to recharge and heal him at the same time. This means he can't produce any shields or retaliate effectively," Naruto grinned as he sent punches and hooks across the man's face when he slumped against the stone barrier behind him. Seeing blood fly from the madman's mouth, the blonde smirked. "Finally, I'm getting somewhere…"
Temujin and Kahiko watched on in astonishment as Naruto laid it into the man-beast, determined to bring him down. With every swing, Haido fell lower and lower, unable to maintain his stance or hold himself up.
"W-Where… does he get all of his strength from?" Temujin stammered.
"You… (oof) worthless… little (gah)… dammit!" Haido was unable to finish his insult as he was thrown up against the support pillar again, and had his stomach caved in by a series of punches from the jinchuriki, who cranked back his right fist at the end of the swift combination, and hooked it across his target's face. The series of blows brought Haido back down to his knees, with the bishop bleeding profusely from his face. "W-When I… get my… hands on y-you…"
"What's the problem? You can take it, can't you big guy?" Naruto grinned as he watched Haido heave on the ground and gasp for breath. Though it wasn't his style to kick guys when they were down, this man has been asking for it for a long time. When he saw the leader look back up, the Genin continued. "Of course you can. And because you can take it, this is the perfect opportunity for me to completely cut loose, and show you just how powerful I really am!"
Seeing Haido grit his teeth, Naruto sent a knee up into his chin and threw him back up against the pillar behind him.
"Damn… you… GAH!" Naruto grabbed him by the head and slammed it against the pillar behind it.
Cranking his fist back, the blonde began laying it into the man with reckless abandon. He yelled with each hit, emphasizing the effort he was putting behind his fist.
Though he wasn't as skilled or as fast as other shinobi like Neji, Lee or Sasuke, Naruto was certainly strong enough and durable enough to give and receive hits. A single hit from him would rattle an opponent to the core. So after months of getting his speed up to scratch, every hit Naruto was actually landing on his current opponent was running him down fast and hard.
Upon finishing his combination of punches, and after dealing a great deal of damage to the pillar as a result of Haido's beating, which was now crumbling to the point of collapse, Naruto stepped back and smirked.
He watched the man bleed it out.
"Had enough?"
"No…"
Naruto prepared for another punch.
Unexpectedly, Haido found a renewed wave of vigor and with a primal roar the older warrior threw both his hands up and took Naruto swiftly by the neck. Throttling the young shinobi, he held the jinchuriki several feet above the ground, with the blonde fighting back against the stranglehold by throwing a few kicks into Haido's mid-section. The man grunted the blows away and with an enraged yell he threw Naruto straight into the stone floor, putting his full bodyweight on top of the boy as he drove him into the rock hard surface.
The impact punched a crater into the ground that spread out over several feet.
"ENOUGH! I'm going to kill you now, you miserable little punk!" Haido bellowed. His bruised, bleeding and disfigured face slowly started to reshape into what it had been before; the Stone of Gelel lodged in his hand finally getting to work at fixing its host up at an accelerated rate.
Naruto gagged through his blocked off windpipe, and he thumped at the man's wrists with his palms, trying to remove the hands clamping around his neck. But tried as he did, his opponent had a grip like a vice.
"Naruto!" Kahiko shouted, witnessing the tides turning.
Temujin attempted to get to his feet, body shaking as he tried to find energy to get back up. Unfortunately, the proximity Haido's stone had to his had nullified his own power. As a result, he was having trouble finding that spark to get jumpstarted. His body was too weak.
But Temujin wasn't going to just keel over uselessly.
If Naruto was fighting for his life, then there was no sense in waiting on the sidelines anymore. He had made a vow to bring peace any way he could.
If there was any starting line for that, then this was it.
"Well? Come on! Throw me a clever retort!" Haido exclaimed, glaring the boy right in the eyes as he continued to struggle. He cackled maniacally when he heard Naruto's choked response, prompting him to strangle the boy harder against the cracked floor. "The Stone of Gelel's power is flowing through my body! Your strength is nothing compared to mine! You're finished!"
"…gargh…ave…to…" Naruto coughed out.
Haido raised an eyebrow and leaned in further, seeing Naruto glare back up at him.
"What did you say?"
He loosened his grip so he could hear his victim.
"I've… got… one… too…" Naruto chuckled through his suppressed vocal cords and grinned at the fiend holding him down. Pulling his right hand out of his pocket directly beneath Haido's torso, the Genin unveiled the Stone of Gelel he had in his possession, which he had taken from Ranke's gravesite.
There was a flash of light and a loud hum, and Haido was unexpectedly rocketed into the air by a blast of energy from the gem in Naruto's hand. The man yelled out in shock and agony as he was thrust skyward, seconds before being slammed full-on into the ceiling. He imprinted the stone surface, which crumbled away moments later when the stream of wind stopped.
The Genin who had launched the man into the roof above had just seconds to get up and jump out of the way when the ceiling caved in on top of the plummeting Haido. The bishop was buried under a ton of rubble immediately after his up-and-down trip had ended.
Following his hasty retreat Naruto stood back up and rubbed his aching throat, catching his breath while briefly glancing down at the glowing stone in his grip. Panting, he shook his head and slipped it back into his pocket.
"What a stupid way to fight," the blonde murmured and cracked his neck, looking back up at the pile of rubble in front of him. "I should have just kept hitting him."
In a way he was right.
But fights could change hands either way.
Just when he was beginning to think his enemy had finally rolled over for good, there was an abrupt, violent rumble and a second later the pile of rubble and stones several meters in front of the blonde exploded into the air. The burst of debris was brief and when the dust cleared moments later it revealed a staggered Haido covered in wounds.
His arms were visibly mangled, as well as his right leg, and the entire front of his body had become charred from the friction and proximity of the energy blast that had flung him skywards. The monster of a warrior grinned madly as he glared in Naruto's direction, with the jinchuriki looking at him in astonishment. Temujin and Kahiko were doing the same.
"Well… that certainly stings a bit," Haido chuckled ecstatically, his body unexpectedly becoming flooded by a green aura, which seemed to seep in from the walls around him. His flesh wounds quickly began to heal themselves along with his broken limbs, which snapped back into place.
The huge burn mark across his chest and torso also healed, sinking away as the cells accelerated the skin's recovery.
"My wounds…. THEY'RE HEALING! HAHAHA! SO MUCH POWER!"
Straightening up and stretching out under the sickly glow, the fanatic leader then grinned over at Naruto excitedly.
"How exhilarating! I hope you're planning to take me on seriously this time, you brat!"
"How the hell is he healing so quickly?" Naruto murmured, watching the aura fade from around Haido.
It was phenomenal. Not even he could heal that quickly, and he was a God-damn energy machine. It didn't make any sense. Even with Temujin's one stone in his chest, it took the teen a full day and night to heal from injuries that were less serious then the ones Haido had sustained. So how was his broken body healing so rapidly?
"Unless…"
A second of careful thought later and the blonde then turned his head up towards the ceiling. His fears were confirmed as soon as he traced the source of the mysterious green glow.
"No way… that's…"
The result from sending Haido into the ceiling had caused a whole section of it to collapse, leaving a gaping hole at the very top of the room, and revealing another, larger chamber beyond the area they were currently in. When Kahiko and Temujin eventually turned their attention to the hole above them as well, they saw a series of stalactites hanging beyond the threshold. Shining a brilliant green and adding radiance to the dank catacombs, it was a sight that all three witnesses present were all too familiar with and was something that had Naruto curse his luck.
"That's…"
"The Vein of Gelel," Temujin spoke up in an incredulous tone of voice. "It's not below us… it's around us! We're in the very heart of the mines!"
Naruto gritted his teeth and glared back at Haido, who straightened himself up and readied himself for another round.
"Now, let's continue where we left off." Haido's grin widened. "The Stone of Gelel will continually make me stronger every time I'm defeated, and will heal every injury I have sustained. This means you can't win, boy. I won't let you beat me a second time."
Naruto furrowed his brow and clenched his fists tightly. "I'll just have to try even harder then."
Haido scoffed. "By all means, try…"
The blonde crouched and charged, throwing a cluster of shuriken. The grey man grinned when he saw the barrage and batted them aside with his arm, the weapons bouncing off of him before he charged in kind. His body flickered just as Naruto's did and they met in the center. Both combatants threw a focused jab straight at their opponent's face, only for their fists to collide and generate a small shockwave from the force outputted.
The bishop grinned, despite his blocked attack, and thrust his forehead down at Naruto's face, slamming it dead center between the eyes. The blow staggered the blonde who stumbled back, only to have his collar grabbed and a hook sent across his face before he was lifted off of his feet again by his opponent's free arm.
However, not letting Haido take advantage of his smaller stature this time, the spiky haired shinobi quickly recovered and sprung back with a counter. Throwing his legs up, he wrapped them around the man's arm, and with a twist, toppled the man.
Haido fell flat over thanks to Naruto's hold over him and when he hit the ground, it split. He tried pulling his left arm free of the boy, but the blonde bit and held. With a yell, the ninja attempted to rip the man's arm out of its socket, but before he could even get to that stage the bishop held his Gelel hand out and in a flash of light, sent Naruto hurling through the air, taking the full force of the attack in the chest.
The quick spin and flight was followed up by a hard landing. After which Naruto rolled onto all fours with use of his momentum, and glared angrily over at his opponent, to see him back on his feet.
Haido laughed out loud and threw his Gelel arm forward, his stone flashing again, indicating another attack. The Genin acted quickly at the incoming blast and leapt out of the way, with the ground exploding where the invisible energy wave struck.
Haido continued his pursuit of his target, firing one blast after another, trying to hit him as the boy ran a full ring around him, before the jinchuriki skidded to a stop at the edge of the chamber. Making his mark and taking swift aim the leader fired a charged shot, which curved through the air and visibly broke the sound barrier.
The Genin responded instantaneously.
Back on his own two feet, Naruto held his hand up and threw it straight down at his feet, pellets detonating around him and clouding his body from view. The blast cut through the cloud of smoke and parted it, with the shinobi no longer in sight when the attack struck the wall.
"What?" Haido looked around, attempting to find the boy.
However, just as he was beginning his search, the ground at his feet unexpectedly split open, and a Naruto Shadow Clone sprang up from underneath and slammed his fist straight into the man's chin in a swift uppercut. The blow knocked Haido into the air, blood spraying upwards from a broken jaw.
Following up the surprise attack, more Shadow Clones burst up from under ground, grabbing their floating opponent by the arms and legs and slamming him into the floor, pinning him.
As soon as he was down, the real Naruto dropped down from the ceiling and, bayonet in hand, attempted to drive it into the man's head. However, while he was in mid-descent, Haido kicked back into action.
With a roar of anger, he unleashed a green wave of energy from his whole body, which formed a protective dome around him as it expanded, and blasted all five Narutos in all directions. The clones dispelled, while the real one was sent flying to the other side of the chamber, where he slammed into one of the walls.
Shaken from the shockwave and impact, Naruto dropped to the floor on all fours and coughed up blood. At the same time, he felt several of his bones give way from the stress already exerted on his body.
"Shit… not good!" the blonde growled, glaring up.
His injuries and lapse in time was clearly evident to all audiences.
As a result of his sluggishness, Naruto had glanced up just in time to see Haido leap back to his feet and flicker out of sight, before reappearing right in front of the jinchuriki and punching him in the face. Naruto was thrown up against the wall from the blow, before being grabbed by the throat and held up against it. Haido grinned.
"Enough playing around. It's time to end this little game," Haido stated, his fingers enclosing some more around Naruto's neck and beginning to suffocate him like before. "After I've killed you, I'm going to kill everyone else…"
"Screw… you…" Naruto gasped, before a punch slammed into his gut, cutting him off.
The cult leader followed up with a few more, slamming hits into the boy's stomach and drawing more blood from his lips, which splattered across his face. It was after a couple more, well placed hits did Naruto get fed up with being a punching bag, and he slammed his hand into his adversary's face.
Growling in frustration, Haido shoved it away, only to find a piece of paper blocking his eyes.
As soon as he had slapped the paper bomb over his opponent's eyes and it ignited, Naruto formed a quick hand seal and pressed his right palm against the forearm of the man holding him up.
"Jihatsu Ryuushi Nenshou!" (Spontaneous Particle Combustion)
In the blink of an eye, Haido's arm up to his shoulder exploded in a cloud of steam, the shreds of its remains flying everywhere. The man wailed in agony at having his limb taken off and stumbled back, clutching his stump of a left arm. Naruto took this chance to drop back down to the ground and dive right between his opponent's legs.
A split second later, the paper bomb slapped over the man's eyes exploded. The blast engulfed the target completely and nearly brought down the entire section of the room on top of Haido.
The young jinchuriki managed to clear the area just in time, back-flipping away and skidding to halt right in front of Temujin and Kahiko. They all looked up to see the cloud of black smoke fill the area, and rubble from the damaged ceiling above collapse on top of whatever was left of the insane warlord.
Naruto panted and dropped to the ground, clutching his side where his broken ribs were. He grinned triumphantly.
"This time… I got you good!" the blonde glanced over at Temujin, who was still gawking at the explosion. "I doubt even he can get up after that one."
"Heh… is that the best you can do?"
Naruto, Temujin and Kahiko's eyes widened, and all three of them looked over at the smoke clearing up. They watched as the silhouette of Haido marched out of the cloud, clearing it in time to reveal his left arm begin to reassemble from particles out of the air, and his scorched, heavily disfigured face reform back into what it was.
The leader laughed out loud as he felt his arm grow back and stretched it out, the green glow of the mines feeding him more and more power. With his energy restored and his new limb tested, he then glared at his opponents now gaping at him from the sidelines.
"That's… not possible," Naruto stammered.
"He's tapping further into the mines' power," Kahiko said, grabbing Naruto by the sleeve and tugging at it to get his attention. "As long as he has that stone in his hand, he can't be beaten!"
"That's right! And while I'm enjoying this little dance of ours, I unfortunately have a schedule to keep. The world can't hand itself over on its own, after all!" Haido shouted, raising his right hand and pointing the stone at the three of them. "Let me deliver you to your utopia!"
A loud hum followed by a flash of light occurred, and large beam of energy was sent hurling at the three individuals. Naruto raised his bayonet to block the incoming attack, whereas Temujin rose to his feet, preparing to meet the blast head to head. However, just as they were ready to take it, a shadow jumped in their way and took the full force of the attack. A blast of wind and another flash filled the room as the blast detonated, Naruto, Temujin and Kahiko shielding their eyes.
When the light faded and the three of them looked back, they saw to their astonishment the three armored drones that had accompanied Haido down into the chambers standing in the way of the attack. Their arms and legs were spread out, ensuring that the whole attack was taken in the back, and they stared down at the three people that they had managed to save.
Haido was bewildered.
"What's this?"
Naruto and Temujin looked over the armors, seeing smoke rising off of their shoulders from taking the attacks meant for them. While they stared, the two teens could swear that they saw the spirits of people rising from the hulking, stoic warriors that had saved their lives.
Not just people… children… three children from the three armored soldiers.
Temujin watched on intently with tears forming in his eyes. The spirits of the children smiled at him and waved, moments before fading away with the smoke lifting into the air.
"M-My friends…" the young knight sniffed. "W-What… have I done…?" he wept, running the back of his hand over his eyes to clear his vision. At that moment, the now soulless suits of armor collapsed to the ground, spent from their final effort.
Their weapons also fell to the ground, clanging loudly on impact.
"Temujin's friends… those children," Naruto blinked; also feeling incredibly overwhelmed at what he had just seen. "They're the boys and girls locked away inside of those spheres on those ships. Their life energy was used to create these soldiers. They sacrificed themselves and everything they had for this dream of theirs… sacrificed more then I can ever imagine." Naruto's fists clenched and he glared angrily over at the man responsible for this whole thing.
The bishop was standing over at the other end of the room with a smug smile on his face.
"You bastard!"
"Foolish children. I told them not to interfere. But…I guess they're at that age," Haido exclaimed, shrugging his shoulders and raising his Gelel arm again. "Well… no matter; I'll take care of you myself then!"
"Temujin!" Naruto shouted at the knight who was back on his feet. "Let's get this guy. I can't fight him by myself anymore."
"B-But… what are you going to do?" the teen asked, staggering over to his comrade. "His stone's power negates mine if I get too close… and he keeps getting stronger every time you beat him…"
"I know that! All we have to do is take out that stone on his hand!" the Genin stated, glaring at the bishop to see Haido raise his right hand up towards the ceiling. Once again, green energy began flowing down from the mines around them through the hole in the roof, which engulfed the wielder of the stone and began charging his next attack. "He intends to kill all three of us in one move! If you can stall him, I'll take him out!"
"Right," Temujin nodded, reaching down and picking up the sword dropped by the soldier that had defended him.
"Let's go!" Naruto shouted, holding up his bayonet. The boy pumped chakra right through the blade, which extended to the length of katana thanks to the reach of his wind element.
Dropping into a stance, the blonde broke into a run, charging at his target with Temujin close behind.
"Let's put an end to this!" Haido roared, finished gathering the amount of energy he needed and lowering his arm to level with the two boys rushing him. "Time for you to join your ancestors!" There was a blast of wind and a green mass of energy suddenly gushed out of his stone in the form of a colossal wall of liquid wind, which charged its targets down.
The radius of the blast engulfed the entire area in front of Naruto and Temujin, and seemingly disintegrated them when it swallowed the pair up. However, Naruto was once again looking up in surprise when he saw Temujin leap in front of him, and take the full brunt of the attack.
Holding his sword up in defense, with his own wind energy cutting straight through the waves hammering away at them, the white knight took point.
With a primal yell, the armored teen sprinted straight through the attack and dispelled it, despite the amount of energy Haido put behind his final blast.
The leader grinned as he watched both Temujin and Naruto close the distance on him to about twenty meters from the previous forty, and in an unexpected move, once again summoned the matter from the red orbs hovering over his back.
Two black tendrils shot out from behind the cult leader and arced through the air towards his targets along straight lines, aiming to spear the both of them.
While Temujin blocked the first with his sword and destroyed it, the second one streaked passed him and struck Naruto in the shoulder, knocking the boy off balance and causing him to stagger.
The white knight looked back when he heard the shout of pain from his companion.
"NARUTO?"
"I'm fine!" the Genin shouted back above the pain, nearly losing his bayonet from the collision of his shoulder and the spear; ultimately slowing down to a stumble in his run. "Just get him!"
Although Naruto dropped back thanks to the clear hit and was left kneeling on the floor, Temujin nodded in understanding and rushed on. Taking his sword up in a two handed grip, the white knight roared and lunged at Haido, and began lashing viciously out at his target with wide swings of his sword.
The bishop gritted his teeth in frustration and backed away, avoiding the attacks from the weapon as best he could.
His apprentice was strong, almost as strong as Naruto, and was versed enough to get in close with incredible speed. It completely caught the man off guard.
Then, after several near misses made by his strikes, Temujin landed a clean one in the end, which carved a nice gash across his target's chest and almost split him open. Blood gushed out at the depth the weapon made into its foe, but ultimately missed the vital organs.
Temujin grinned at the success of his hit and while Haido was stumbling back in shock, the boy moved in again with his sword held back, and prepared to drive it across in one, final blow.
"Your friends are the most important things anyone can have!"
"…and sacrificing your friends isn't a way to accomplish anything!"
Naruto's voice echoed through Temujin's head as he drew back to deliver his last swing.
"It's just like you said, Naruto!" the teen thought, gritting his teeth and, with his full strength put behind his sword, struck up at his former mentor from the left with the intention of ending the monster's life once and for all.
"Sacrificing your friends, the most important people in the world to you, is no way to accomplish your dreams!"
With a loud holler, Temujin followed through and struck.
Haido however, unable to dodge in time, sacrificed his right arm to take the blow. The massive claymore wielded by the white knight struck the crystal on his palm and, instead of cleaving his body in two, shattered the stone.
In spite of the heavy hit, it didn't completely destroy the rock, leaving small pieces still attached to the glove.
The leader became enraged at the loss of his primary weapon, and after seeing his Gelel crystal destroyed, sent a punch across Temujin's face.
"ENOUGH!" the man roared, sending his former apprentice flying off to the side of the chamber so that he could focus on the other child rushing at him. "I don't need the stone's power to kill you! I'LL CRUSH YOU WITH MY OWN, BARE HANDS!"
Using whatever power he still had from the shards of the stone in his glove, Haido launched another series of tendrils at the recovered Naruto, who had resumed his attack on the cult leader. The strips of matter shot through the air in the form of elongated spears from their host, systematically running their target down.
Using his wind sheathed bayonet, Naruto sliced out at the incoming strips one after the other, slicing them to pieces and effectively warding off the assault. He zigzagged left and right to avoid the backlash, all the while cutting away more attacks before leaping through the air and diving down at Haido.
The angered man roared and sent another barrage of tendrils up at his agile target as the boy descended upon him, only to have those strips swiftly chopped to pieces as well. Within mere seconds, the Genin was within range and ready to finish his attack with a clean decapitation.
But then, at the last millisecond, Naruto figured a simple decapitation was too good for the likes of him.
So, when Haido aimed to grab the boy in midflight before his opponent could reach him, Naruto unexpectedly disappeared in a puff of white smoke. The Shadow Clone ended its existence before it even made it to the spotlight.
Shocked, Haido averted his attention downwards just in time to see the real Naruto flicker into view directly inside his defensive circle, right in front of him.
In Naruto's right hand, a tiny blue Rasengan the size of a marble hovered above his palm, shining brightly.
The jinchuriki smirked, cranking it back and slamming it straight into his opponent's chest.
"TAIKYOKU RASENGAN!"
The moment the small orb of wind made contact, the leader was immediately engulfed in a hurricane of raging winds and cyclonic forces. Without the slightest signs of holding back, Naruto grounded his most deadly attack into the man's pectoral, directly over his heart.
Haido grinned down at the boy as Naruto drove home, the jinchuriki struggling to hold his attack in place.
"Stupid boy! That's not going to work on me!"
Naruto gritted his teeth and pushed forward some more, feeling the chakra begin to expand at a dangerous rate and engulf his own hand. Haido felt it soon enough as well, and his smugness dropped.
"WHAT? No! NOOOOOO!"
The tiny Rasengan in Naruto's palm exploded in size, funneling into a tornado horizontal to the ground and engulfing Haido completely. The center of the attack began drilling straight through into the target's body, cracking bones and splitting muscles. It continued to do so, before it ultimately began cutting away at his entire body, starting from the surface of the impact point and then around it.
The high winds and the velocity of the rotating mass of energy ripped the body to pieces, disintegrating it.
Naruto let out a tremendous yell as he unleashed the full fury of the attack, which not only destroyed Haido, but also ripped up the ground, the ceiling and the support pillars around him. The remnants of Haido's Crystal of Gelel, which were barely wedged onto his hand to begin with, were all but lost in the raging hell storm.
That hell storm quickly turned into a plasma zone that turned his whole body into dust.
Seconds later, the Genin holding onto the technique quickly released it and staggered back when the attack's shockwave blasted outwards, and the winds died down.
Stumbling backwards several paces and falling to his knees, Naruto dropped the bayonet in his left hand and clutched his right hand.
Looking down at his palm, he saw that the entire surface of his hand was burnt. This indicated to him that he had held onto the attack for too long when the high speed, rotation and density of his Rasengan had transformed into plasma, resulting in his hand becoming partially roasted.
Panting for breath and trembling from the insane amount of stress made to his body, the young Genin could only smile and look up. From where he had collapsed, he was able to make out the definitive results of his newly formed Rasengan.
"Dammit if it's powerful enough to toast my own hand. I might actually be able to make something out of it…" Naruto thought, before letting out a laugh as he saw the entire wall and floor surface before him just collapse on itself, revealing the Mines of Gelel beyond the barriers of the room around them.
Naruto was able to get an even bigger picture of how immense the heart of the mines was. A massive stalactite stood as the center directly over the chamber they were in, dropping down from a beautiful, crystalline formation of Gelel rock high above, fanned out into a flower. Though he wasn't a geologist, unable to even tell the difference between the values of minerals, the Genin estimated the amount of Gelel stone above him to be enough to share between all of the Five Shinobi Nations and then some.
However, with it being the core of the mines and it being suspended so high above made Naruto wonder how anyone could possibly get to it. Even though his main intention was to destroy it, he still had to think of a way of how he could go about it.
But then he remembered Temujin was still with him.
Picking himself up off of the ground with his hand smoldering, Naruto staggered his way over to Temujin, who had also managed to pull himself back to his feet from the blow he received.
Although not as damaged as they looked, Naruto was completely drained whereas his foreign counterpart was already getting steam back into his system following his flash bout with Haido.
When they both confronted each other in the center of the destroyed room, instead of sharing looks of hostility or killing intent with one other, they both just simply glared, as if all trust in their few seconds of partnership had all gone away.
That was until Naruto smirked and held his good hand out to the battered knight, intent on making good instead of slitting his throat.
The taller teen looked at the hand extended towards him suspiciously for a moment. But then, after a few seconds of contemplation, grasped it firmly and shook hands with his new comrade, with smiles framing both their faces.
"If you ever need to get some sense smacked back into yah, drop me a line sometime," Naruto grinned.
"I'll be sure to reference you in my curriculum vitae once I begin searching for a new occupation," Temujin replied. They relinquished each other's arms and looked around the room. All of the chamber's splendor and glamour had vanished with the fight, leaving only cracked paintings, damaged support pillars and a ruined floor. "My journey is over… Master Haido is gone… and now I'm alone again."
"That's not necessarily true," Naruto smiled, giving him the thumbs up. "Gaara and the others should be helping your friends out of those things in that giant tower on the surface. If all goes well, they should be fine…"
"R-Really?"
"Yup!" the Genin nodded firmly.
Relieved at this news, Temujin then turned his attention to Kahiko. Walking over to the elderly man he helped him up, taking the man's arm over his shoulder so that he could stand.
"I hope you can forgive me for all that I have done to you," Temujin murmured, stepping back as the elder stretched out. The teen then turned his attention to Nerugui, who was lying motionless on the floor at his feet. The knight swooped down and gathered the little ferret up in his arms, and after straightening up caressed the animal. "I wish there was a way for me to atone for my misdeeds."
"That's quite alright lad," Kahiko stated, looking up at the boy with a small smile. "We were all pawns in this… nothing a small act of redemption can fix…"
Temujin frowned as he looked upon the ferret, holding its head up a little. Despite his efforts to bring the once proud, energetic animal around, he could not wake the mammal from his deep slumber.
"Maybe this can help," Naruto spoke up from the sidelines, pulling his Stone of Gelel out of his pocket and showing it to the pair. "It may have been a relic used for the worst of intentions, but I believe it can still do us some good."
Temujin and Kahiko looked at the crystal in surprise, before the white knight smiled up at Naruto. "It's worth a shot."
Taking that as the word go, Naruto approached.
However, miracles came hand in hand with life at the most unexpected of moments.
Before the young Genin could perform any form of 'ritual' or 'resurrection' with the gem in his hand, and just as he was raising it above Nerugui's head, the little ferret decided all on its own that it was tired of being dead.
Its eyes flew open and with a cheerful chirp, it hopped out of Temujin's grasp and clambered up onto his shoulder. Purring happily, the mammal nuzzled the boy's cheek affectionately. The young knight jumped in surprise at the sudden revival of the little animal, and looked at him with wide eyes.
Naruto blinked, and analyzed the stone he was holding.
"Damn. That was fast…"
"I… don't think your stone was responsible for this," Temujin smiled softly and gently petted the critter on the head. "There's something about this little guy that I just can't fathom."
Naruto chuckled and looked over at Kahiko, expecting to see a similar look of joy on his face. However, when the young Genin turned to face him, he became a little bit perplexed when he saw that the elder was quite close to genuinely crying his eyes out.
The old man stood to the side beside Temujin, watching his favorite little companion cuddle up to the teen. "Nerugui…" Kahiko moaned, before face-falling and looking at the ground, slumped over. "Such a betrayal…"
Naruto saw that the old man was upset, and placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
After Nerugui's startling recovery and determining that Haido was definitely dead and buried, Temujin then focused on the other matter at hand. All three of them were here for a reason, and that reason just happened to be hanging on the walls all around them.
The chamber was crumbling away bit by bit, so it was best to salvage what they could now before the issue of the stone's continued existence sunk in. Hence, the blonde knight turned his attention towards the control panel that had sprouted up at the other side of the room.
Walking up to it and picking his sword up off of the ground along the way, Temujin planted himself in front of the marble pillar, with Nerugui sitting comfortably on his shoulders as witness. Naruto and Kahiko approached the panel as well, the elder relieved that it hadn't been damaged or destroyed in the battle. The results would have been catastrophic for all of them if it had been.
Since it was still here, they had a chance to set things right.
"Hey old man…" Temujin spoke up, glancing over his shoulder at the elder standing behind him. "Back in that cave, you mentioned that only the royal family could completely control the stones and the mines, and that they had the choice of whether or not to completely destroy the stone's source, correct?"
Kahiko responded to the question with an immediate nod. "It is within their right, as they were the first to discover the stone beneath the earth and unlock its secrets."
"Then…" Satisfied with that answer, the white knight turned back to the panel and raised his hand towards it. "It is understandable that I should be the one to end it all and rid this world of the Stone of Gelel."
"It's what's best for the world, lad," Kahiko stated.
Temujin furrowed his brow and brought his palm down upon the surface of the mine's controls.
However, just as his hand came to hover inches from it, ready to follow through with his intentions, he stopped. Naruto noticed his hesitance in his movements and walked around to see what was happening. When the jinchuriki looked upon the knight's face, Naruto saw that his companion's expression was filled with deep doubt and reluctance. Temujin refused to make contact with the panel, with his slightly trembling arm indicating that some form of inner conflict was preventing him from going through with his statement.
"What's up?" Naruto asked.
"Nothing… it's just that… my whole life, I've been training and working incredibly hard, searching for these very mines, for this very stone, in order to acquire its vast powers to bring peace to the world and create a utopia," Temujin frowned, not in frustration or anger, but in confusion.
"But… the goals that I have been striving towards, they were all for Lord Haido… who really only wanted the stone's power for himself. That means… all that hard work… everything I have done in my life for that dream, was all for a lie."
"It wasn't all for a lie," Naruto interrupted, earning him Temujin's attention. The blonde stepped up and gestured towards the control panel. "You had a good dream… no… not good… a great dream, and you worked incredibly hard to try and accomplish it even if it was for some big, fat façade. You had your heart set on the right path."
"But… it's like you said! It was all just…"
"The only problem is that you went about accomplishing your dream the wrong way," Naruto explained. "Your heart may have been set on the right path, but it wasn't set in the right place to begin with. You started down a road to something noble, except that along the way, it caused a lot of harm to others. That's the main problem. If you want to achieve your dream of creating a utopia, you have to create it through your own strength and in order to accomplish that, you have to do it the right way and make the right choices."
"…" Temujin blinked, lowering his hand and turning towards the jinchuriki, who continued to speak.
"You're still torn between choosing to follow the path set to you by Haido and the path of continuing on a different route towards your goal, mainly because the former seems like an easier solution," Naruto said, looking up at the hole in the ceiling towards the stones hanging high above them. "But think about what has happened and what you have done to get here. Kahiko said the stone brought about great hardships to those who used its power unjustly and selfishly, but at the same time it gave life to the lands and healed the sick. It's really all set in concrete as to what you can accomplish with such power."
"But how will I know if I will be able to accomplish my dreams without the stone?" Temujin asked, voicing his concern and fear of his coming decision. "I'm just one person! How can I do this on my own? How will I know what is the right choice?"
Naruto chuckled and looked over at him. "You don't have to carry this dream on your own. Don't forget, you still have your friends…"
This statement made Temujin stop and think for a moment. The time of silence that passed gave him plenty to contemplate on what Naruto had said. In addition to this, while the boy's gaze fell to the ground, the Genin beside him stepped up to him and nudged him in the shoulder, a grin plastered on the jinchuriki's face.
"Look, I'm not saying this to convince you to destroy the stones," Naruto stated, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm saying this to convince you not to give up on yourself or your dreams. After all, a dream can be something magnificent and something beautiful. Though it may be hard at times going about making that dream a reality, you will always have your friends to help you along. They are there to support you, just like you are there to support them when they are in need." The blonde raised his hand and patted him on the pauldron. "This dream is your dream now, and it is your life. You do what you think is right."
Kahiko frowned and tugged on Naruto's sleeve, now that the other teen's attention was again firmly fixated on a distant horizon. "Naruto, you're supposed to convince him to destroy the mines, not give him the choice to succumb to its power," the elder whispered. The Genin smirked and folded his arms.
"Well… unlike other peoples' hearts, I know that Temujin's' isn't weak," the young ninja stated in a hushed voice. "He's much stronger than anyone I've ever fought before, and has a strong heart. That fact alone gives me more then enough confidence in him to know that he will make the right choice."
Temujin stared at the panel laid before him for a minute and more, his mind a rage with thoughts and images. During the time of silence that passed in which he mulled over the information in his head, he composited everything he had learned and was taught into believing, into an answer that he believed would be beneficial for the world, and would allow him to continue on with his journey.
A minute later, things became clear to him, and he looked up with a resolute look on his face.
The young knight closed his eyes and placed his hand on the tablet.
The control panel lit up and hummed into life…
Sometime later…
On a cliff side overlooking the valleys…
Naruto and Tayuya watched on from afar, alongside Temujin, Kahiko, Kamira, Gaara and Kankuro as the landscapes above the mine began imploding and expanding simultaneously. Huge slabs and plates of earth shifted and moved with the trembling mountain ranges, emphasized by the loud rumblings of the Stone of Gelel erupting far below the surface. Despite the earthquake like levels generated by the titanic plates of moving stones, the audience was able to brace themselves enough to watch another astonishing event take place right before their very eyes.
As if the creator himself was scooping up soil from the continent's surface, the ninja and their companions watched as an enormous, mountain sized chunk of stone and mineral began floating up into the air. It split the earth as it escaped its confines, the mass-less, colossal structure crumbling away as it began to float higher and higher into the sky.
With the chunks of earth that fell away, the floating monument revealed its secrets beneath its mask to be the Vein of Gelel itself. The entire source of the stone that had caused so many hardships in the past literally ripped its way towards the surface and at Temujin's will, began to float skywards without any signs of stopping.
Naruto and the others watched on in awe as it drifted higher up into the clouds and further beyond, parting the white masses of gas enough to show the group where it was going. It kept on ascending till it became but a spec in the sky. Within minutes though, the Mountain of Gelel disappeared up into space, where it would then float away into the oblivion, never to be seen or heard from again.
Naruto chuckled and placed his hands on his hips after witnessing the Gelel Vein's departure, before grinning at Tayuya standing beside him.
"Boy. You don't see that everyday, huh?" the blonde exclaimed.
"Only if you're high, shithead," Tayuya grinned back. "But for something like this; surround sound and charming company, dammit, the world is a much better place now that this whole utopia crap is over!"
"Oh, I wouldn't say it's over?" Naruto laughed, earning a puzzled look from his traveling companion. The Genin then looked over at the knight who still had his gaze averted towards the heavens with a smile stretched across his normally stoic face. "Right, Temujin?"
"Not by a long a shot," Temujin stated and glanced over at his friend. "I have you to thank for that."
"Don't mention it," Naruto thumped the teen in the shoulder.
The Genin then turned so that his back was facing the grand chasm left behind in the wake of the Gelel Vein's exodus from the earth. He did so at the very moment that he completely missed another amazing occurrence. The outer walls of the kilometer wide crater caved in from left to right, giving way to other matter as the huge canyon suddenly begin to fill with oceans of water from underground rivers held back by the previous cave formations. Waves crashed against the mountain ranges amidst the huge gap in the ground, till it was completely filled up, leaving small islands of canyon bobbing on the newly formed surface of the lake.
Ignoring the awed murmurs made by the other onlookers, Naruto decided to focus attention on the patients they had picked up; the groups of kids that Gaara and the others had rescued from the tower, which was now beached at the bottom of the cliff against some slabs of earth further down the cliff.
All of the children that they had rescued were covered in blankets, and even though they looked a whole lot better then when they first looked when released from their prisons, they were all still unconscious. Naruto, Tayuya and Temujin soon had their eyes set on them, with relieved smiles on their faces.
"They'll be out for a bit," Temujin stated, looking over at the two shinobi beside him. Gaara and Kankuro also joined the conversing trio, and after assuming watchful stances at their sides, began surveying the children carefully. Kahiko meanwhile, remained overlooking the valley alongside Kamira, with Nerugui standing in between them. All of them were captivated by the newly created surroundings.
"But once they awake, we will restart our journey together," Temujin said, giving Naruto a thoughtful gaze. "That is, if they choose to…"
"They'll want to, don't worry," the jinchuriki grinned back confidently.
"I don't think they'll like our countries too much. It's dangerous over here, what with the ongoing stand-off between the five great shinobi nations, the cultural shifts, power in villages constantly changing hands, and big-ass mountains made up of eradiated green rocks flying randomly up into space, which by the way, will probably come back down somewhere in the next fucking decade or so," Tayuya commented.
"Language, Tay-chan," her companion replied, trying to nudge common courtesy back into her, as befitting the mood in the atmosphere. Kankuro couldn't help but chuckle, whereas Gaara spared the cursing girl a subtly raised eye-brow of curiosity in regards to her shockingly free use of speech.
"Riiiight! Manners. Of course, Naruto-sama. No swearing," the redhead graciously replied in an exaggerated tone, rolling her eyes in response. She couldn't help but smile nonetheless. "Still, we're all gonna fucking die by giant, fucking green meteorite." Naruto let out a laugh, whereas Temujin shook his head at her neatly composited 'prophecy'.
"Good joke," Naruto chuckled. "Really lightens the mood."
"But it's true. Did you see that thing?" Tayuya asked incredulously, pointing skywards. "It was bigger then your village's Monument Mountain!"
"If it happens, it happens," Naruto murmured.
Before they could carry on anymore, there was a tug on Naruto's pant legging, which drew his attention to ground floor. Tail floating happily behind her and her big eyes staring up at him, the Genin saw Luka stride out of the shadows and into the space between him and Tayuya. The small fox took a moment to nibble on the side of the jinchuriki's sandal, before hopping over to her other playmate and being swept up in the redhead's arms.
"I was wondering where you disappeared to, Luka," Tayuya exclaimed, patting the fox on the head, earning a happy 'yip' from her. "Don't run off like that again."
Naruto was also delighted to see Luka alive and well, and while Temujin, the two shinobi, Kahiko and Kamira became reacquainted with the furry red animal, Kankuro and Gaara stood off to the side with puzzled looks on their faces.
"When did Naruto get a pet fox?" Kankuro asked.
"I'm not sure…" Gaara blinked with his expression stoic and voice monotone as usual.
It was a sign that all was right with the world.
TO BE CONTINUED…