AN: I'm under that lovely collegiate time crunch of finals. I'll try to make it up to you all soon, but this chapter is unfortunately going to be not only the last one you get for a couple weeks, but a fairly poor chapter as well. And as you noticed, I did switch the pairing, again. Honestly, the pairing isn't that important to the central plot as it is to various subplots I have planned, and it isn't likely to come into play for a long time to come yet. Don't be too surprised if it bounces a couple more times.
While this chapter does not resolve much of the tension of the previous chapter so much as set it up for the resolution, it does carry a whole bunch of hints all its own. I try very hard to make everything in here have a point, so see what you can guess at.
Chapter 21:
Naruto slowly fell to the ground, his orange uniform stained crimson. Blood rapidly poured from the wound, a demented waterfall descending from a cavern outlined in yellow-white stones. The bones of Naruto's ribs shifted painfully as he hit the ground, his skull bouncing off of the packed dirt.
The scene was hellacious. And it fit perfectly with the chaos that broke loose in the following moments.
The Tsuchikage bellowed an order, and a flock of ANBU responded, sweeping the castle, and pursuing the would-be assassin. At that same order, the slaves began to move, constructing a defensive perimeter. The slave masters oversaw their work. However, not even a ninja can be at all places at once, and a slave with any real skill can easily escape in such chaos.
It was this chaos that proved a blessing for one ninja in particular. Her heart screamed for her to help the fallen boy, and she rapidly limped in his direction, intent on helping the boy.
1
The ninja world possessed very few Shogunate edicts. The Shogun, for the most part, turned a blind eye to them, and they left him alone. For, before even the ninja wars, there had been great battles between the ninja and samurai. These wars had been of a ferocity that was never to be matched, as entire cities were thrown to the infernals of war.
No, this was a time no one wished to revisit.
And it was because of this that the Shogun remained largely apart from their society. Yet, as the reigning legal power of the land, he passed a few decrees, in an attempt to maintain the peace. One of these, was that no trained warrior, ninja or samurai, was to be enthralled in slavery.
The Tsuchikage, and the Hokage, knew this law quite well. As Hogakure didn't practice slavery, it was of no consequence for them. However, Iwagakure did. And they were stringent about this law, above all others.
Thus, why Tsunade and Sakura were surprised when their desperate efforts to staunch Naruto's rapid blood loss were joined in by a trained medic-nin. With the markings of a slave.
Her presence did not escape the eyes of the Tsuchikage either. Eyes widened for a moment, they hardened, and he turned to the one ninja who had remained with him.
"Sarasa, I need you to go find that slave's keeper. You will soon have a new toy, if I am not mistaken."
The Nibi no Neko's container face lit up with glee, as she bouncily limped off towards the slave masters, who stood, overseeing a seething mass of slaves.
It took her little time to find the man. In fact, he did the work for her. A strangled scream caught the attention of the vast majority of the ninja present. A slaver stood over the girl, his gauntlet-covered hand clenched. Seals on the gauntlet glowed a blood-red, as did the markings around the medic-nin-slave's neck.
Hell broke through another layer of reality.
1
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade screamed, as she pulled Naruto's shirt back further. The seal had taken a glancing blow from the Chidori. Tsunade was no expert on seals, and only Jiraiya had the knowledge necessary to be able to work with the Kyuubi's seal, but she knew that Naruto should have started healing already. And he hadn't.
That meant that something was drastically wrong. And Jiraiya needed to get to work on it. Now.
Two white-haired figures came running to the gathering around Naruto. One of them was Jiraiya, who was already pulling out a thin brush, mentally running over all the possible problems with the seal he could think of.
The other was a member of the elite, feared rankings of S-classed ninja. A former ANBU captain, and world-renowned ninja. And his fist, like that of his former protégé, screamed like a thousand birds.
It was aimed directly for the slave master.
And was deflected into the ground by a blur of green, who locked himself onto his long-time rival's arms, dug in his heels, and pushed back as hard as he could.
"Yosh! Control yourself, my rival!"
Like hell! Kakashi's roar was all but audible.
1
Jiraiya, Tsunade and the Tsuchikage temporarily ignored the ranting of the blood-lusted ninja, as Asuma and Kurenai arrived to aide Gai in containing him.
Sarasa smirked as her chains wrapped around the slave-master. Noting the nod of the Tsuchikage, she grinned, hoisting the slaver into the air, and limped towards the castle proper.
Jiraiya dipped the brush into Naruto's chest, covering it with his blood. Sakura watched, horrified, as the Seal Master set to work.
Sakura would have no time to rant at the pervert, however, as the slave-medic-nin's face began to pale.
Jiraiya frowned as he saw the girl fall over, but did nothing else. A part of his mind was hard at work, processing whatever the hell had Kakashi so furious. His student's star pupil wouldn't be so worked up without reason.
As he prepared to make the final stroke of the brush, reconnecting the final seal, a series of thought barraged Jiraiya's mind. He stopped for a moment, dipped the brush back into Naruto's chest, and let his hand move. The image in his mind was clear, and potent, and he knew exactly what the results would be. This was the only chance they would ever have to reinforce Kyuubi's cage. Might as well make use of it.
He let go of his arm, and let the image do the work.
His conscious mind, meanwhile, reeled with shock from the other thought. And suddenly, he understood Kakashi's fury completely.
Hell, he'd have done the same.
1
Tsunade's frown deepened the deeper the diagnostic jutsu pierced into the slave. Until, finally, she snarled, and withdrew the jutsu. "Sakura, deal with her. You should be able to." The Godaime Hokage stood up, and stalked over to the Tsuchikage.
"Hokage-sama, where were we?"
The blond's hand landed on the shoulder of the Tsuchikage, and pulled him close. "That slave over there, was once one of my medic-nins. Give me one good reason not to obliterate you right now."
"Because you cannot afford a second war."
1
Jiraiya sighed, as he dipped the brush one last time. There was nothing more he could achieve in the time constraints, as he closed up the broken edge of the seal. Immediately, Kyuubi's chakra flooded Naruto's body, he wound in his chest bubbling, as injuries healed at a speed the human body was not meant to accommodate.
Kakashi growled, as Jiraiya stood up. "Cool it." The older ninja said, as he walked past. "She'll be alright." Pausing for a moment, he leaned in to whisper in Kakashi's ear.
"Besides, this will never make the book if you keep this up."
The furious jounin paused for a moment, perversion crawling through his mind. Job done, Jiraiya walked away. Kakashi didn't notice.
The slaver was gone, but that wasn't important. He'd kill the bastard later. Right now, he had to be the suave, skillful master ninja.
Taking stock of the situation, Kakashi came to a pair of conclusions. One, that this was not the kind of position that suave, skillful master ninjas end up in. Two, that Kurenai was going to pay for freezing him in place, his nose itched from Asuma's cigarette smoke.
Oh yeah, and his former pupil had, with a jutsu that Kakashi taught him, shoved a fist through the chest of his a ninja who was once his teammate. Again.
The realization that she knew that jutsu, and in fact had been there when he first used it, stopped Kakashi cold.
"Shit."
Sakura's sentiments were just about the same, as across the field, one medic treated another, hoping that she could save the slave's life, while Tsunade struggled to save her future.