Chapter Twenty One
Heyo, back again kiddos. Sorry for the wait, but it is here! Enjoy! ;) I'll try to update quicker, but I hit serious writer's block with this chapter.
Alright so something I'd like to get out of the way here. Most of my reviews are absolutely amazing and I love you. However; some of them I'd just like to say, if you don't like how my plot goes, don't read it. For the record I want to let it be known that a lot of training is implied and I would hope you could fill smaller things in on your own. Although if you dislike things, I still encourage you to continue reading. There are some seriously cool fights and things planned for the future. I always hope to please and hope you enjoy reading. Many things that couldn't happen in canon can be simply explained by the fact that this is an AU Fanfiction. It's meant to deviate from canon. Anyway, sorry for the rambling please continue to read and enjoy this story. And I strongly encourage you to review and tell me your thoughts. Even the bad ones. But please take into consideration some of these things before you just go jotting down some crap. I'm all for criticism and pointing out things that are wrong but think before you write. Love you guys, even those of you who don't like me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does. If I did, I'd be drinking good alcohol right now.
"Mom!?" Came the flabbergasted voices of Naruto and Sasuke. The two figures slowly stepped out of the coffins before they looked at each other.
"Kushina?"
"Mikoto?"
The two reanimations looked away from each other and stared at their children.
"Naruto….."
"My little Sasuke…"
The redhead burst into a wide grin at her son. "Honey...you're all grown up. Look at you, I never thought I'd get to see you again."
"Sasuke dear...how you've grown."
The youngest of the Uchiha brothers stared on in shock at his mother. "Mother…" His eyes turned hateful and he shifted his gaze to the Snake Sannin. "How dare you! I'll kill you!"
"Mom….I've wanted so bad to meet you...I know so much about you, but I never got to hear your voice." Naruto said as he smiled sadly at his mother.
Orochimaru launched forward and shoved control talismans in the necks of both women. He quickly interrupted the conversation. "How touching. But you can catch up while you kill each other."
Kushina stiffened before she launched forward at her son, a kunai in hand. "Naruto! Here I come be ready." The blond quickly drew a tri-prong and countered the strike. The man was a storm of emotions. He had finally got to see his mother, but he had to fight her. She kicked him in the stomach, and jumped away. Biting her thumb she swiped it over her forearm causing a seal to appear. In a puff of smoke, a black katana appeared. The hilt landed in her grip, and she looked sadly at her son. "Naruto….please be careful, I'm being forced to get serious."
"It's fine mom, I'm your son, I'll deal." He said gaining a serious look. He quickly took his fighting stance. The two launched forward and began another clash.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was in a predicament. He thought he was skilled with a sword, but it turned out he was nothing in comparison to his mother. He quickly brought his weapon to bare as the Uchiha matriarch brought a forceful slice down at his shoulder. The two locked blades, and their Sharingan eyes locked on each other.
"Mother….why did Itachi kill the clan?" Sasuke asked.
Mikoto was slightly taken aback by the question, but answered in kind. "My little Sasuke….." She said, swinging her sword around as the male jumped over the blade. "That is something I cannot tell you. Only Itachi can tell you why he slaughtered the clan. But I can tell you this my son." Sasuke was forced to leap away a she shot a massive fireball toward him. "Itachi loves you, unconditionally. My Sharingan had already read your mind when we locked eyes, and a saw everything. I don't know why Itachi chose the path he took, but one day….you should ask him my son." She finished launching another massive blast of fire toward him. The male Uchiha quickly countered with a fireball of his own. "Now focus! Things are about to get serious!"
"Right!" The raven haired man said, as he launched back into the battle with his mother.
"You fight a lot like your father, and you got his hair. Looks like you got my face and my verbal tic though. Sorry about that y'know!"
"Mother, I'm extremely happy I got your face, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Naruto replied as he was forced to dodge the sword that had attempted to pierce his back. As it turned out, his mother's chakra chains could wield her sword as if they were her hands.
"You've grown into a fine young man Naruto."
"Thank you mom."
"Naruto…." She said, dodging the impact of a Rasengan that was intended for her chest. "You need to stop holding back."
"I'm not holding back mother." He replied as he flickered away from her. He quickly palmed a new set of kunai and let them fly at the person who had brought him to this world.
"You and I both know you're lying! Y'know!" She said angrily as she swung her sword down at him. The blond was crouched low before her and quickly brought his tri-prong up, and locked Kushina's blade with his own. He quickly kicked her feet out from underneath her and flipped backwards. "I know you want to talk to me and ask me things Naruto...but I don't belong in this world...it's wrong for me to be alive again. You need to get serious."
"I am!" He yelled frustration evident on his face. He saw a distance away was the Snake Sannin watching intently as they battled. The blond dodged a swing of her sword, and came up with a swipe of his kunai. The blade removed his mother's arm, and he leapt away as it slowly began to reform. Naruto was mad. He could usually control his emotions, but as of now seeing his mother used as a weapon had him fumeing. He threw a kunai that impacted the ground behind his mother. Quickly he appeared behind her, Rasengan charged in his hand. The jutsu rammed into the lower back of the reanimation, causing catastrophic damage.
As Kushina's lower torso slowly began to reform, Naruto formed three shadow clones. The clones quickly surrounded the woman in a triangular formation. He quickly ran through hand seals while the clones did the same. He looked sadly at his mother before he spoke. "Mother...I wish we could have had more time together. I love you, thank you for being my mom. You've been the driving force for my entire shinobi career." As he spoke tears began to fall from his face, his emotions taking hold. He closed his eyes momentarily, and that was when Kakashi arrived on scene.
"I love you too, Naruto." Said Kushina as she prepared to meet Minato once again.
This was the sight Kakashi was greeted with as he landed behind his student. He watched as the blond close his eyes, before he finished the hand seals to seal away his mother. "Fuinjutsu: Three Pillar Sealing Technique." Said the blond, as his clones turned into three solid pillars of chakra that closed in on his mother before glowing brightly. Naruto walked forward, and pulled his scroll from his back. "Goodbye Mother." He said as he laid a smaller scroll down beside her. The chakra slowly flowed like a small stream across the ground forming a large sealing array on the scroll. The blond then sealed it away inside his larger one before quickly sealing the sword she had left behind away as well. After which he rolled up the large scroll, and replaced it on his back.
"Naruto...was that?"
"Yes….that was my mother."
"I'm sorry kiddo."
"It's alright Sensei."
"You're a fine man now Sasuke. I'm very proud of you."
"Thank you mother." The Uchiha replied as he sent lightning through his sword that was currently buried in her abdomen. The lightning ripped down the blade an blew a massive hole through her chest.
"That's still not going to be enough Sasuke." She said with worry.
"It's alright, I don't have to do it on my own." He replied feeling his blond teammate land beside him. Quickly they were forced to dodge as the deceased mother swung her sword where their heads had been seconds ago. "I have friends, and people who care for me. I'll do alright on my own." She fired off a fireball at the boys, and they quickly countered with their own combo. Sasuke's fireball slammed into his mother's, but with Naruto's wind amplification, it quickly overpowered the jutsu.
"I'm happy to hear that Sasuke." She said to the boy as she charged at them once again.
"Sasuke! Can you hold her down?" The blond yelled, a plan quickly forming in his head.
"Yeah I can! Keep her busy for a second!" The raven haired man yelled in response. The blond quickly leapt forward, catching the blade of Mikoto's weapon in the prong of his kunai. He grabbed her, slammed a Rasengan into her chest, and tossed her away. As she landed he leapt back to the once brooding man's side.
"You must be Kushina's boy right? You're the spitting image of her and Minato." She said addressing the newcomer.
"Heh that's me, Uzumaki Naruto, at your service."
"Please, look after my son Naruto."
"You can count on me. He's my best friend after all." The blond said, his smile bright as ever. "Now Sasuke!"
"Lightning Style: Lightning Chain Prison!" Suddenly chains of lightning shot out from the ground, stabbing through the wrists and ankles of his mother, before wrapping around her and pinning her in place.
Naruto ran up to her quickly, yanking his scroll from his back. He unfurled it to a blank section, and in seconds had a formula drawn out. "Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Soul Binding Technique."
After seeing Naruto remove his mother from the battlefield Orochimaru immediately made the decision to flee. The blond and the Uchiha were problematic enough on their own, but including Kakashi and the wood user, it was overkill.
Unfortunately when Orochimaru moved to leave the large underground room, he was stopped by a large purple barrier. "Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Six Point Barricade." Said the blond ninja as he appeared not far from the Sannin. "You're not going anywhere Snake."
"You'll pay for ripping our mothers from their peaceful rest." The Uchiha said, as he came into existence behind the pale man, running him through with his blade.
With the Sannin impaled, Naruto made his move. He quickly appeared before the man, and began drawing out seals while Sasuke began to electrocute the wannabe immortal. As the blond finished the formula, he was interrupted when the Kusanagi shot from the man's mouth. The blond was barely able to dodge a fatal wound, instead having the sword run through his thigh.
With the blond out of the way momentarily, the Sannin continued his counterstrike. His serpents burst from the ground behind the Uchiha, and bound him as Orochimaru walked off the blade, while he retracted his own. Another group of snakes also appeared, grabbing the Uzumaki boy and held him down. "I'm actually mad now. I haven't felt anger this strong in a long time. I'll be taking your body now, Sasuke." He said with a sickening predatory smile.
As the man was only inches from the Uchiha's face, a sound filled the room. The chirping of birds broke through the air as Kakashi's lightning blade ripped through the snakes the held Sasuke hostage.
"Sasuke!" The masked nin yelled, as he plunged his hand through Orochimaru's torso.
"Right!" The raven responded throwing his sword in a wide arc. Ninja wire reeled out from its handle, and with a hard pull Sasuke changed it's trajectory. The sword flew wide, swinging around and taking out the snakes holding the seal master down. Naruto quickly leapt from the ground, still favoring his wounded leg. Three clones burst to life, and all slapped their palms onto the Sannin's body. A Fuinjutsu formula quickly formed over the Sannin, which caused the man great alarm.
He pushed Kakashi's hand from his torso, and quickly leapt away. The faked traitor, and his Sensei quickly rushed to engage the man, while the blond hung back. The masked man ducked under a swing from the Sannin's sword, and as soon as it passed over him, the Uchiha used him as a springboard to launch into the air above the man. "Fire Style: Searing Migraine!" He yelled as he blasted the snake with a massive onslaught of flames.
"Water Style: Water Wall: Enclosure!" The Sannin yelled, as four walls of water formed around him, and one took the position overhead. This cube of water negated the fire jutsu, and left the snake man unharmed.
"Fuinjutsu: Reverse Summoning!" Came the soft yell of Naruto, and he suddenly appeared behind the oldest in the room. His buried a kunai in each of the man's shoulders and used them as a handhold to wretch the man to the ground. Using the headhunter jutsu, four clones hands burst from the ground below the man, each grabbing onto his body and holding him in place. Not even a second later, Naruto had his scroll rolled open beside the man, and quickly executed his formula. "Uzumaki Forbidden Fuinjutsu: Body Repossession of Izanagi." The spiritual form of the god of life came to existence behind the blond jounin. The astral form grabbed hold of the Sannin, and with a pained scream, the snake was pulled away from the realm of the living, with no body to be left behind. His soul would forever wander the earth.
"Naruto what did you just do?" Asked Kakashi.
"Well if one has enough chakra, they can use this sealing technique without dying." He said panting heavily. "But the strain put on the users body is immense. And effectively removes them….from the….battlefie-..." He trailed off as he collapsed from bodily exhaustion. Kakashi quickly caught the boy, and laid him gently to the ground. "Sensei we need to remove Sasuke's curse mark. Orochimaru...can be brought back with it. When I remove it...it'll bring him out, you'll need to kill him again. And seal his body away with this formula." He said as he slowly drew a new sealing formula out on the scroll.
The blond handed the scroll to Kakashi, and motioned for Sasuke to come to him. "Sasuke sit down."
The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, before sitting cross legged next to Naruto. The jounin slowly pushed himself from the ground and stood over his friend. "I've spent a lot of my time since coming back studying Anko's seal. I developed this to remove it. I'm using you as a test subject because your too stubborn to die from this."
"Wait wha-..." Sasuke moved to question his friend but was interrupted when Naruto placed his palm over the seal and made hand signs with his opposite hand.
"Fuinjutsu: Curse Seal Purge and Removal!" Sasuke screamed out in pain as the blond's seal did it's work. It purged the chakra from the mark, and forced Orochimaru out. As soon as the snake man was out, Kakashi slammed his chidori into his chest. He grabbed hold of the formula Naruto had made, and activated it with a hand seal. Streams of kanji and unrecognizable characters wrapped around Orochimaru. As they fully enveloped him, he screamed in agony as they ripped away his chakra and life force. Once he had been drained, the seals slowly retracted back into the scroll, and they carried the body with them.
With this, Naruto finally collapsed once again, but this time he was forced into unconsciousness. "Well, Sasuke are you alright?"
The Uchiha winced and stood slowly. "Yeah, I'll live, can we go back now?"
"Sure thing." Kakashi said with an eye smile.
"So that's it, he's dead?" Asked the blond Hokage
"Yes ma'am. As far as we know, everyone with the curse mark is dead, and Naruto is currently in the process of removing Anko's. The only bad news we have to report from the operation, is that Kabuto was not located during any of the fighting, he is still at large." The masked jounin reported.
"Alright good, I'll keep hunter teams out looking for him. Sasuke."
"Yes Ma'am?"
"Welcome back from your mission, all of this will be reported to the village tomorrow, and your status as a missing nin will be removed." She said folding her hands and resting her chin upon them.
"Thank you Ma'am. I'd like permission to go after the rogue ninja Uchiha Itachi."
"No, not yet. Your strength is to be evaluated. You shall be tested against Kakashi, and/or Naruto. There we will determine if your are capable of taking the mission you request."
"I assure you ma'am I am of the utmost capabili-.." Sasuke started but was interrupted by the blond woman.
"I don't care, this will happen. I've no doubt you're capable, but the rest of the jounin command structure needs to see your skills before you leap into the fray." She countered. The Uchiha moved to counter with his own argument, but was stopped when the door to the office opened.
"Jeez S'ke you act like you don't want to fight me."
"Naruto."
"Just go along with it. It won't take long you stubborn fool."
"Fine."
"Alright." The Hokage cut in. "The test will be at training ground seven. Be there at sunrise."
"Yes Ma'am."
"Sasuke, head home, rest and prepare yourself. Kakashi, Naruto, stay here. I'm not done with you yet." As she finished, the Uchiha excused himself from the room, and the two remaining shinobi stood before their leader.
"Kakashi, Naruto. You two will be leading a special team to hunt down Akatsuki members. Uchiha Itachi will be handled by Naruto and Sasuke, assuming the Uchiha proves strong enough. Kakashi, you, Yamato, and Gai will escort the two of them on their way to find Uchiha Itachi."
"Understood Ma'am. Anything else?
"Nothing more for you Naruto, you may go. Kakashi, begin collection of intel we have on every possible member of the organization, and set up a briefing packet. Also get a readout of all of Itachi's known abilities put into a packet for Naruto."
"Yes Ma'am will do."
"Ready Sasuke?"
"Of course I am, idiot."
"Don't underestimate me Sasuke. I'm leagues above what I was when you left."
"So am I."
"Shut up both of you. Now, begin!" Yelled the blond Hokage. Almost instantly after she finished, the grounds were littered with tri-prong kunai. Sasuke's Sharingan flashed to life, and he focused in on Naruto. The blond was behind him in seconds, his body flicker almost blowing Sasuke's expectations out of the water.
A kunai swung down for the Uchiha's shoulder, and was barely stopped by his quick reflexes with his sword. Lightning instantly surrounded the black haired man's body, before blasting out from around him like an urchin. The lightning spikes forced Naruto to substitute away, one of his clones he had hidden immediately taking the full force of the attack. "That's new."
"I call it Lightning Style: Porcupine Technique. It's useful." The sole loyal Uchiha said.
"That it is." Replied the blond. The Uchiha quickly appeared behind the blond in motion of a sword swing. Naruto barely caught it with his kunai. "Your flicker is better than it was, but it's still yet to surpass mine. But you've made tons of progress, I'm impressed. Keep it up." The blond commented as they engaged in a battle with their blades. Naruto dual wielded his kunai to combat Sasuke's sword.
"I'll beat your flicker someday."
"Sure ya will." The blond laughed. "Now show me that's not all you've got with your lightning. I expect more than a glorified pin cushion defense." As he finished he flickered a distance away and fired off a wind jutsu. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Style: Phoenix Inferno Takeover!" A massive bird made of fire blasted from Sasuke's mouth. It opened its huge beak and swallowed the wind jutsu, using it as fuel to enhance the technique even farther.
Naruto's eyes widened slightly, he definitely hadn't expected that. "Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!" He proceeded to blast a massive stream of water into the air, causing it to come crashing down atop the phoenix. "Now that was impressive." He commented.
"I developed it to solely deal with you damn wind users." The Uchiha said with a confident smirk.
"Maybe it's time I get serious then." The blond replied.
"No! The match is over. I've seen enough. You two will tear this place apart if I let you continue. That fire jutsu you developed is easily an A-rank jutsu. That's gonna be enough for me to call it. Uchiha Sasuke, I now promote you to jounin." The blond Hokage finished as she made her way in between the ninja.
"Thank you Ma'am." He said giving her a slight bow.
"You're welcome. Now, both of you have my full permission to begin your hunt of the Akatsuki members. Get some rest for a few days, you begin next week. Grab Kakashi, Gai, and Yamato, and head out when your ready."
Naruto spent the next week hanging out with Rikka, and working with his new team in analysing the abilities of the known Akatsuki members. The only ones they had confirmed were Itachi, and Kisame. Along with Hidan and Kakuzu, but the latter two were already dead. They studied and strategized, and before they knew it there was only a day left.
Naruto sat in his kitchen, eating and looking over one of the reported sightings of Itachi. He moved to take another bite, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. He stood, and quickly made his way over. Opening it, he greeted his favorite person. "Hey Rikka."
"Naruto. How are you?"
"I'm good, and you?"
"Oh not so bad. Are you busy? Could I come in maybe?"
"Nah, just looking over some stuff. Sure make yourself at home." She walked in as he stood aside. He closed the door, and sat with her at his table. "So what brings you here? I thought you had a mission today?"
"It was canceled, the client managed to solve the problem before we even left. I heard you have a mission yourself."
"Damnit, Gai must have been blabbing again huh? Yeah we do, but it's a high priority one." He replied.
"Is….it another S-rank?"
"Yeah it is, I'm sorry I can't really talk about it."
She looked down at the ground, but her facial expression was still monotone along with her voice. "Naruto….you've been on a lot of those lately haven't you?" She questioned without ever looking up.
"Yeah I suppose I have." He said with a laugh. "The village says jump, I say how high."
"Naruto…" She said, and trailed off as she stood from her chair. She motioned him to follow her as she walked out to his balcony.
"What is it Rikka?"
Turning around to face him, she showed a rare look of emotion on her face. "Please...please be careful. I….care a lot about you, and I can't lose you like we lost Ryuko…"
The tall blond leaned down slightly, and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Rikka, I'm strong. I won't go down easy."
She gave him the rarest glimpse of how she looked when she was angry, and even raised her voice. "That's not it! I don't want you to get hurt!"
"Alright. I'll be as careful as possible, I promise."
"That's better." She said blankly.
He started to turn around as if to lead them back into the house, but he was stopped when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him lightly. He managed to hear her faintly whisper, "please come back safe." He smiled at her words, and offered to cook dinner. They ate happily, sharing comments about the latest events around the village. After a while, he walked her home, and left to prepare for the start of his team's mission the next morning.
Okay, first off, shorter chapter, and it's late. I'm sorry, I struggled to figure out how I wanted to write this chapter. It's probably a little more bland and dry than you're used to, and for that I apologize. I'm already excited to write the next chapter however; so I think that will go well. Please bare with me as I fight the writer's block. Hope this was at least an interesting read today. I'll try to write and edit the next one ASAP. Until then, please be patient. Sincerely yours, Darling in the Fox.
P.S. Rikka has been drawn! Someone who was awesome to work with me so well despite the English to German language barrier drew rikka for me go check her out at haruleiiinx33/art/Hinazuki-Rikka-oc-for-darlinginthefox-800946393 please give this wonderful artist support!
Fuinjutsu: Three Pillar Sealing Technique- developed by Uzumaki Naruto, the user forms three shadow clones that surround the target in a triangular formation. Using the shadow clone's chakra as a base, the clones are converted into pillars of chakra that slowly close in and seal away the target.
Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Soul Binding Technique- developed by early Uzumaki, this technique essentially rips the soul from the body, and puts it in a contract with the sealer. The soul can Rest In Peace if the user wishes, but can also be forced to remain dormant for eternity.
Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Six Point Barricade- developed by the Uzumaki clan, this was originally designed for use by six members combining their chakra from six different points to form a barrier. Uzumaki Naruto would later adapt it for use with shadow clones in place of the other members.
Uzumaki Forbidden Fuinjutsu: Body Repossession of Izanagi- a highly complicated and dangerous seal hidden in the many notes possessed by Uzumaki Kushina. Found later by Naruto. This seal calls upon the god of life, Izanagi, to repo the body of the target. Instead of the soul being ripped from the body, as the soul binding technique would, this rips the body from the soul. Commonly killing the user from chakra and physical exhaustion. To survive the use, one must possess massive chakra reserves, but also be of peak physical strength.
Please leave a review if you ever need me to explain any of my original techniques better.