Chapter 14: Operation Fire From Heaven
Rabbit Island
Paradise; Grand Line
Inside the container was looks to be a creature. It's appearance was foxlike, with nine long swiping tails. It has red-orange fur with black fur around its eyes that stretches to its ears, red irises with black slits for pupils and the upper-body structure of a human, complete with opposable thumbs on its clawed hands.
While creature looks terrifying, Nojiko has a feeling he was a prisoner here, capture for Orochimaru's twisted experiments. What else could he be? Not thinking that long for a moment, Nojiko begin checked the container and found a lock. Touching it, it suddenly open and a steam of smoke came out. The moment the smoke came out, the fox man came out of it, falling on his knees, gasping for breath.
"Hey," she asked, slowly, yet carefully approaching downed prisoner. "Are you all right?"
"Where am I?" the fox man asked for the first time after taking a deep breath.
"You're on Rabbit Island." she told him.
"Rabbit Island?" the fox repeated, looking confused.
"You were a prisoner here?" she explained him. "I found you in that container and I guess you were kidnapped to be experimented on."
"Experimented on?" the fox repeated, before he thought for a moment quickly reacted "Yes...I remember. I remember everything."
"You do?" Nojiko asked.
"Nojiko who's that you're talking to?"
Nojiko turns and saw that Tenten finally recovers from eating the devil fruit she found.
"You're a marine?" the fox man asked when he noticed Tenten's uniform.
"Yes I 'am," Tenten says.
"Good, I'm also a marine as well," says the Fox man.
"You are?" Nojiko asked in surprise.
"Yes." fox says. "Warrant Officer Kurama of the Marines."
"What are you doing here Warrant Officer?!" Tenten reacted. "How did you ended up here as a prisoner Orochimaru?"
"I was sends here by Vice Admiral Jiraiya on a special mission," said Kurama. "To investigate if Orochimaru is behind the kidnappings."
"So Orochimaru really is behind the kidnappings." said Nojiko.
"Yes," said Kurama. "But I found something even more worse. And I need to get in contact to Vice Admiral Jiraiya as quickly as possible."
0o0o0
Shikamaru, Chōji', Kiba, and Shino jump out of the way before the Pacifista's beam blasts touches them. Although they manage to get out of the way, they were still injured by the blast waves of the Pacifista's attack sends them flying.
"That guy's beam attacks reminded me of Admiral Kizaru's attack." says Kiba.
"I don't get it," says Chōji, looked confused. "How is this guy has powers similar to Admiral Kizaru's?"
"I don't think this guy has devil fruit power similar to Admiral Kizaru's devil fruit Chōji," says Shino. "I estimated that it would take a genius to artificially copied the destructive attacks of the Pika Pika no Mi."
"On top of that," Kiba added. "This guy is super strong and super tough. Just what kind of monster this guy is made of?"
"We need to be focusing on beating this guy first," says Shikamaru. "Chōji…get ready to do your thing."
"Ok Shikamaru," Chōji replied.
"Your thing?" Kiba repeated, looking confused.
"Human Bullet Cannon!" Chōji yelled.
In an instant, Chōji's whole body transformed into a human-sized ball, tucking in his limbs and uses energy to propel themselves into a powerful roll. Estimated the serious force of the rotation, this attack look like it will cause those that come into contact with it to be pulverized.
"Shadow Clutch!" Shikamaru shouted.
In a moment, Shikamaru materializes their shadow and increases its power, becoming like steel. Linking to Chōji's shadow, Shikamaru now control the powerful force of Chōji's rotation. He then turns his attention at the Pacifista and shouted "Human Bullet Yo-Yo!"
Shikamaru directed Chōji's rotation at the Pacifista. The attack forces the Pacifista slamming him into the wall of the cave. However, Shikamaru kept on and on, using destructive rotation to repeated smashes the Pacifista.
"That's it! Keep on going!" Kiba shouted in encouragement. "Don't stop until that bastard is not standing on his feet!"
Through his Shadow Clutch, Shikamaru continue to uses Chōji's Human Bullet Cannon to smashed the Pacifista repeatedly. Yet, it was without warning, just as Chōji's Human Bullet Cannon was about to strike once more, the Pacifista counterattack.
It brutally punch Chōji's Human Bullet Cannon form, stopping the attack and render him into his normal form.
"Chōji'!" Shikamaru cried out in anxiety.
The Pacifista aimed both his hands directly at Chōji. It looks like he was ready to fire another beam attack. Then without warning, his hands exploded, creating smoke from it.
"Hey...what just happened?" Kiba says, looking confused.
The smoke clears and the Pacifista's destroyed hands revealed to be a technological wrecked hands. However, everyone noticed something from within the damaged cyborg hand, and looking closer, it was discovered to be a swarm of bugs.
Seeing that, Shikamaru turn to Shino and asked "I take you're responsible right?"
"You could say that." says Shino.
Uh guys," Kiba says, raising his voice. "It look like this guy is not done yet."
Everyone turns and was surprise to see the Pacifista who looks like he is still determined to fight, despite his destroyed hands. They seems to be on the verge of both annoyance and exhaustion of how persisted this Pacifista is—when unexpected help came.
"Electro Fist!"
It was without warning, someone attacked the Pacifista with electrical fist. The attack was so powerful and serious, and sends the Pacifista back, crashing into the wall. All the boys were surprise of this newcomer—who revealed to be a very tall, red-orange, foxlike man with nine tails.
"Who is that?" Kiba cried out.
"That's Warrant Officer Kurama of the Marines," Shikamaru says, who look shock.
"You know him Shikamaru?" repeated Chōji.
"What he's doing here?" Shino asked, who looked confused.
"He was sends here on mission by Vice Admiral Jiraiya," Tenten says, who appeared behind them, alongside Nojiko and Akamaru. "To investigate whatever Orochimaru was behind the kidnappings until he was capture, imprison, and experimented on."
Facing Kurama, Shikamaru asked "So you and Vice Admiral Jiraiya know Orochimaru is at again?"
"We suspected it when we heard about the kidnappings," Kurama explained. "I made mistake of investigating too deep and ended up capture, tortured, and experimented on. It's a good thing this girl Nojiko found me and free. I need get in contact to Vice Admiral Jiraiya and informed him of what I discovered."
"First we need to get to Naruto," says Nojiko. "He could be in serious trouble—"
"Naruto?" Kurama interrupted with a surprise look. "Do you say Naruto? Naruto D. Namikaze?"
0o0o0
It was all Naruto could do to keep replacing the clones that were being destroyed to prevent Kabuto from reaching him. He was almost in a panic now. Nothing his clones tried worked, and even though they weren't quite as fast as he was, he knew the difference wouldn't be enough.
"What joke!" Kabuto mocked Naruto as he easily destroyed all his clones. "I knew you were just an upstart that is wasting my time. Guess you're going wish you stay in the East Blue Sea—the Grand Line is no place for weaklings like you!"
Ignoring Kabuto's mockery, every scenario he ran in his mind ended the same way. Even with his clones for interference Kabuto's attack would hit first should he fight directly. Especially as the man would go straight for the real Naruto.
But maybe he could use Tekkai. He was nearly certain he could withstand a blow from the dagger, which would then give him the opportunity to counterattack. He was about to go with that plan a thought stopped him.
No, that would almost certainly fail too. He couldn't move when using his Tekkai, and Kabuto was just too fast. He'd be able to dance back after the strike before Naruto would get in a counter. But there was a solution, he'd just been letting his fear blind him to some of the options.
Kabuto's strike would hit first, he was certain of the fact. But that was the key to everything. With all the clones he'd lost fighting Kabuto, he was getting a lot of information on his opponent's fighting style. So he had a pretty good idea of how this exchange he had planned would go. At least he hoped so.
Charging Kabuto personally, he saw the man accept his challenge and head straight for him. He used his clones the best he could to slow and distract the man. Meanwhile he twisted his own body, which caused the downward diagonal slash that was aimed at his neck to miss by a couple of inches, burying itself in Naruto's shoulder left shoulder instead.
But the whole time Kabuto had been swinging, Naruto's own right arm hand had already been in motion. Only a moment after blade cut into his shoulder, Naruto sent a Shigan into and right through Kabuto's wrist. Kabuto dropped the dagger involuntarily and Naruto quickly kicked it away.
Kabuto leaped back and was already ripping his shirt with his left hand and wrapping it around the wound to staunch the bleeding. Naruto was having one his clones rip his own shirt to do the same to his wound. But Naruto was very pleased with the success of his plan.
Kabuto's strike had hit first, as he'd known it would. But that hadn't meant it would be the only attack to land. And Kabuto had lost his weapon hand and his weapon. Naruto meanwhile had a shoulder wound on the side of his off hand.
"Very trickery," Kabuto sneered after his bandages his injury. "However…"
It was without warning Kabuto vanishes from plain sight. The next moment, Kabuto appeared in front of Naruto and shouted Shigan "Oren"
Using Soru Speed, Kabuto uses his other uninjured hand and stabs Naruto with his finger multiple times. Naruto fell to his knees, blood coming from his chest and blood.
"You're going need more than just tricks under your sleeves." Kabuto concluded.
"You—you can uses Soru and Shigan?" Naruto reacted with a pure shock.
"Of course I can." Kabuto sneered. "I can even uses the other four powers of Rokushiki. I'm a Rokushiki Master, unlike you."
"I was holding back mostly for a moment to see how far you progress," he told Naruto. "Guess you're too early for the big leagues. You should have stay in the East Blue Sea...too bad you're going to die before you learns your lesson."
Naruto watches helplessly as Kabuto prepared another Shigan and knew it was going to be the final blow that will end his life. But before he was about kill Naruto someone shouted "Shadow Possession!"
However, as fast Shikamaru's powers is, Kabuto has enough time to stop his attack and uses Soru to get out of the way of the shadow that trying to linked to his. Naruto looked and was surprise to see his friends arrived.
"This is a shocking," Kabuto says as he watches the arrival of Naruto's friends. He then sees Kurama and says "Now I see the picture…seems like Kurama steps in and took care of the Pacifista…it's the only you all survived."
"It's over Kabuto!" Kurama snarls. "Surrender!"
"I don't think so," Kabuto says. "And even if you tells your boss or other marine superiors, it's already too late—Operation Fire From Heaven has begun."
"Operation what?" Nojiko repeated in confusion.
It was without warning a huge explosion was heard, shaking the whole cave. It was also follow by another explosion, shaking the cave even more violently.
"What the hell is that?" Kiba cried out.
"This cave is equipped with high-level explosions," Kabuto told the group. "I activated the switch before my fight with Naruto. None of you are all getting out of here alive. But for me, I'll be on my way home."
"You're not going anywhere Kabuto!" Shikamaru shouted. He attempted to uses Shadow Possession to tries to catch Kabuto's shadow yet Kabuto uses Soru to evade the attack, vanishing from sight."
"We got to get out of here now!"Kurama shouted. "This place is falling apart."
Not wasting time, everyone begun rushing to the nearest exist. Kiba begins helping a injury Naruto on his feet. They almost got lost until they finally found their way out of the cave. In a few minutes they reaches the ship and sails into the seas before save was engulfed by a final immense explosion of fire.
0o0o0
"How is Naruto?" Nojiko asked.
"Although medics are not might specialty," Tenten says when she left Naruto's cabin. "I managed to treat is wounds to keep his injuries in getting worse. He'll be fine before we head back to base to get him a proper medical doctor."
"We barely got of there," says Kiba. "The crazy bastard rigged the whole to exploded."
"Not to mention Kabuto got away," Shikamaru says disappointedly.
"What's matter is we survived," says Kurama. "And what's matter is getting in contact with Vice Admiral Jiraiya. He needs to be informed of what Orochimaru is up too."
"You mean like Operation Fire From Heaven?" Shino questioned the fox marine."
"I'm sorry, but who are you again," Kiba interrupted, looked annoyed.
"Like I says," fox says. "My name is Warrant Officer Kurama of the Marines. And I need to get in contact with Vice Admiral Jiraiya to informed him of Operation Fire From Heaven. This is serious!"
"How serious?" Chōji asked.
"Serious enough to be a threat to the whole world," Kurama told them. "After Orochimaru disappeared when he lost his title as Shichibukai, Vice Admiral Jiraiya discovered that Orochimaru had stolen several blueprints from the world government's most brilliant scientist Dr. Vegapunk."
"Vegapunk?" Nojiko asked with a confused look. "Who's that?"
"I heard about him," says Shino. "He is a leading scientist in the employment of the Marines. His work includes discovering the secrets and uses of seastone, the secrets of how Devil Fruit powers work, the co-discovery of the Lineage Factor and its applications, and various other scientific achievements that are said to be at least 500 years ahead of current technology."
"That's the one," says Kurama. "Vegapunk's blueprints that Orochimaru stolen were ideas of creating super weapons capable of mass destruction."
"So that Pacifista came from one of Vegapunk's blueprints?" Shikamaru confirmed.
"Right," says Kurama. "However, Orochimaru stolen something worse than the Pacifista blueprint. The drawing of a energized, orbital, satellite-based laser beam weapon."
"A What?" Kiba reacted with confusion.
"A super weapon capable of destroying major cities and counties across the world," Kurama explained more simply. "A weapon called the Hammer of Dawn."
"You're joking?" Tenten reacted with disbelief.
"Do I look like I'm joking," Kurama snapped at her. "Before I was capture I learn the truth of Operation Fire From heaven. Orochimaru had been busy creating over a dozen Hammer of Dawn satellite weapon, each capable of firing beam weapon hundred times greater than the beam weapon that Pacifista you fought. He's planning to sends them to space, to be positioned in the world's orbit and uses them against the World Government. If we don't act soon—the whole world will be destroyed."