I think Katsuyu (Tsunade's slug) is the most adorable thing ever xD
In Episode 163, when Tsunade goes "Here take Katsuyu, she'll be useful"
and she holds the mini slug out to Naruto, I think Katsuyu is so adorable xD
Do NOT ask why because I don't know.
PLEASE READ THIS: I know that all of the Pains are just really called "Pain"
But because I am writing this and they all look similar, I'm going to use their "Path Names"
to clear away confusion ( I was getting confused writing it! lol )
I have a list at the very bottom with all of the Path Names and Real Names.
10,000+ views? O / / / O
Whoa...
-Anii
Chapter 21: THREE! Cause you know we've been here before FOUR! Won everytime but who's keeping score?
― Bring 'em Down by Lostprophets
Sakura's grief surged forth at an alarming rate. Kakashi was dead; how many of her other friends where lying in pools of their own blood? Who was next? She had let Itachi down. Sakura's hands cupped rocky debris from the destruction of the village and let the small pieces of rubble trickle out of her palms. I failed, Itachi. I couldn't save Konoha. If only...If only Naruto were here. He could...he...
Sakura bit her lip hard as the familiar name threatened to pass over her lips. She had relied on him so many times. How many more times could they all push everything onto one young boy's shoulders?
Grief hacked away her restraint. Her body crumpled as a plea slipped from her mouth, "Please hurry." She straightened her body, sucking in a large gulp of air before letting the scream tear from her throat, "Naruto!"
With that scream, Sakura set all of her grief, frustration, fear, and anger free. Tears broke free and streamed down her face. Katsuyu, the blue and white slug companion of Tsunade, tried to console her, whispering kind words. However, they fell on deaf ears.
"Sakura, Sakura, look." Katsuyu cooed.
Sakura scrubbed away her tears and gazed into the center of the large crater. Six figures in Akatsuki robes all stood clustered together. Sakura made out the familiar jacket of her Master, Tsunade. Beside Tsunade stood a figure Sakura recognized almost immediately. Her breath caught in her throat as she choked out the name, "N-naruto?"
"See, there's hope." Katsuyu insisted.
"I can't see from up here." Sakura murmured with sudden calmness.
It was as if all emotion had washed away from her, freeing her body of the heavy bonds of despair and allowing Sakura to feel as light as a feather.
"Oh don't worry- Ack! Sakura!? What are you doing?! Katsuyu cried as Sakura swung herself over the large, sharp rocks blocking her view.
Sakura held up her hand to the slug, "Could you produce one of your miniature selves? You know something about those guys, right?"
"I do." Katsuyu answered, already morphing a smaller version of herself out of her the mass of her slug body.
As soon as the new little Katsuyu was tucked away in Sakura's clothing, Sakura took off running, her arms and legs pumping to carry her to where the action was.
"I won't be a bystander!" She whispered furiously to herself.
Sakura slid behind pieces of buildings, keeping an eye on the collection of people below. She would be of no use if she jumped in now. She wanted to be a surprise element, even if it only resulted in her death and a mere scratch on Pain's ugly face. She watched as a member of the orange-haired gang launched towards Tsunade with inhuman speed. A strangled cry rose in Sakura's throat and died before escaping as Naruto shattered the orange-haired man's body, which seemed to be made of metal. Sakura momentarily tore her eyes from the fighting to leap down a rocky ledge and climb over a jagged rock to get a better view.
A giant orange toad was carrying Tsunade away just as one of the orange-haired Akatsuki members threw up her hand and slammed it against the ground, letters in specific patterns spreading out on the ground from her palm. A cloud of smoke revealed the arrival of the summoned object even before the enormous rhino made a mad dash for Naruto.
The being skidded to a halt, its thick feet sending up a dust cloud that blocked Sakura's view momentarily. The giant toad landed near where the hospital had stood and Katsuyu whispered to Sakura, "Lady Tsunade has used all her chakra; she can't even maintain her youthful look any longer."
Sakura bit back her fear for her Master and turned to see that the smoke had finally dissipated. She could now clearly see the large rhino's horn clutched in Naruto's hands as if the rhino weren't at least 200 times Naruto's size. Naruto tossed the creature over his shoulder, sending it flying high into the sky.
The same female Akatsuki member slapped the ground with two summons, one from each hand. A large dog-like creature emerged from her left summons while a ox-like beast sprouted from the girl's right summons. Two small toads sprang from Naruto's shoulder and let out an atrocious noise that stunned the two new beasts. Naruto blew right by the summoned animals and towards the real threats- the orange-haired Akatsuki members.
As Naruto sped between the enormous ox and dog, he let loose two clones, who produced large spheres of blue light in each of their palms. As Naruto continued on, towards the Akatsuki members, the two clones fell back and used the giant Rasengan to blast the two summoned beasties high into the air.
As the real Naruto neared the cluster of freaks, one orange-haired man separated from the group and lunged at Naruto.
Katsuyu whispered to Sakura, "That Pain before Naruto absorbs all Ninjutsu attacks."
"Pain?" Sakura asked, confusion fogging up her mind. "That one is Pain?"
"Together, they are called the Six Paths of Pain." Katsuyu explained, "The one Naruto is fighting right now is the Preta Path."
Even from where she was positioned, Sakura's sharp eyes caught every movement Preta made. She could even see Preta's strange eyes follow Naruto, who swiped his hand left as a distraction while he brought up his other fist to strike. Still, Preta managed to avoid.
Katsuyu answered Sakura's unspoken question, "All of the Pains are visually linked. Naruto has to get out of the sight of all of them in order for a blind attack to be successful."
Above Naruto's fight, three giant toads battled with the summoned animals: the forgotten rhino, the mutated dog, and the unusual ox/bison. The red toad angrily shouted at the dog as he bashed the summoned animal repeatedly. A purpleish toad spun around a spiked metal rod before swatting at the rhino. A blue-green toad unmercifully smashed his fists into the ox/bison.
At once, all three toads lashed out, striking the animals hard with various weapons, and two of the summoned beasts, the rhino and ox, puffed into smoke. The dog, however, was squished under the red toad's butt as the colorful toads crashed back down onto the ground.
While watching the toads, Sakura had missed a part of the fight, only catching a glimpse of the Preta Path flying away from Naruto's fist. "H-how-?"
"Naruto used Nature Energy." Katsuyu answered, obviously impressed.
Sakura had no idea what that meant but she glued her eyes to the battle once more, determined to miss nothing else. Two clones poofed into existance beside Naruto. Sakura caught Jiraiya's name coming from one of the Pains' lips, which seemed to light a fire in Naruto.
Again, Katsuyu came to Sakura's rescue, "That Pain, the Deva Path, is claiming he is a student of Jiraiya and that Naruto and he are 'sibling disciples.' I don't know which one, but Jiraya was killed by the Pains."
"Jiraiya….is dead?" Sakura's numb body didn't register the emotional blow but she knew, if she survived this, that would be another deep wound to her heart.
Naruto launched the Wind Style Rasen Shuriken at one of the Pains, the summoner. Katsuyu informed Sakura that that particular pain was called the Animal Path; it seemed a very fitting name for her.
Two Pains fled and escaped the path of the strange "Shuriken". Animal remained glued to the spot, almost as if she were frightened. However, another Pain staid with her, grabbed a fistful of her Akatsuki collar and yanked her aside.
As the long-haired Pain flung Animal out of harm's way, Naruto's jutsu expanded, seeming to slice him in half. "Ah! The Human Path sacrificed himself for the Animal Path!"
Animal wasted no time, she bounced back up and began summoning again. This time a bird-like beast came flying out to attack Naruto.
As the deformed bird darted towards Naruto, Sakura's body tingled to launch into battle and break the disgusting creature's beak but a nagging voice in the back of her head told her to wait. Although her body was itching to fight, Sakura listened to the voice and continued to watch the battle intently. The bird's sharp beak sliced into the Earth where Naruto had stood making Sakura smirk sinisterly.
Naruto raced up the bird's long neck and leapt off of its back as the Rasen Shuriken lit up and morphed into a ball. Shocks of light lashed out from the newly formed ball before exploding and disappearing, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.
"Katsuyu?" Sakura asked, her eyes glued to the battle. "You're with Naruto correct?"
"Yes. I am."
"Have you already told him about me?"
"No. I didn't want to distract him." Katsuyu answered sheepishly.
"Good. Don't tell him, please."
"But-" The little slug began.
A loud howl cut her off. The dog beast squirming under the red toad wasn't happy and so finally, the toad slid his blade through him. However, the summoned beast split in to two and slithered away from the toad, making him crash down onto his butt. Now, two dog beasts threatened the toads, one of which snarled and bit into the arm of the blue-green toad.
Sakura cursed softly and switched her attention back to Naruto onlt to find that she wasn't the only one distracted by the toads. Naruto snapped back into reality and narrowly avoided being snatched up in the summoned bird's beak. Instead of gobbling up Naruto, the bird got a mouthful of hard, sharp rocks.
In mid-air, Animal lunged at Naruto, metal striking against metal in a flurry of movements as they drifted back towards the ground below.
"Naruto is slowing down." Katsuyu informed.
"H-he is?" Sakura's muscles tensed as she readied herself to jump in at any moment to smash one of those Pain idiots into the ground.
Suddenly, one of the little toads launched herself into the sky and covered the battle area with sand dust. A loud crash followed and when the dust cleared, Naruto and the Animal Path were nowhere to be seen and what stood in their place was the large red toad. Sakura gasped softly and her eyes scanned every inch of the nearby area; she couldn't find Naruto.
"Sakura, keep your eyes on the Chief." Katsuyu encouraged.
"You mean the red one?" Sakura pointed a finger in the direction of the red toad.
"Yes, yes! Look! Look!" Katsuyu was practically bouncing (Anii Note: Can slugs bounce? o_o I don't think so but...Katsuyu's special xD).
The cheeks of the toad puffed out and white smoke leaked out from between his lips mouth. The purple and blue-green toads now had to battle four demon dogs and with the loss of their friend, they weren't doing so hot. Sakura moved the tiniest bit, ready to knock her chakra engulfed fits right in to one of those damn dogs' eyes.
That is, until all of a sudden the beasties just puffed into smoke. Sakura stepped back, just as shocked as the cool colored toads. (Anii Note: Purple and blue-green are the "cool colored toads "lol.) The red toad bent down, his enormous tongue spilling out. Naruto tumbled from the beast's mouth along with the body of the female, Animal.
"Naruto's not in Sage Mode anymore!" Katsuyu cried, clearly distressed.
Deva launched himself at Naruto, who, in turn, removed the humongous scroll from his back. The red toad stabbed his knife down in an attempt to catch Deva but he missed and Deva ran up the creature's arm before leaping off of his head.
The toad swiped at Deva while he remained in the air but still the freak managed to dodge and came hurling towards Naruto. A small old green toad caught the large scroll Naruto tossed at him just as Deva moved in for another attack. Blocking each others' attacks simply with their legs and arms, Naruto and Deva locked into battle as the red toad leapt backwards, kicking up dust and gravel as he landed.
The green toad unraveled the scroll and produced another Naruto. Sakura watched the battle with a mixture of confusion and awe. Even Katsuyu's intel didn't stave off the confusion that racked Sakura's brain. The Pain attempted to stab Naruto with a cylindrical piece of metal but Naruto, eyes shut tight, shattered the weapon into tiny shards.
"Naruto is in Sage Mode again!" Katsuyu cheered.
A solid kick sent Deva flying until he skidded to a halt. From his hand, Naruto produced another white, spinning Rasen Shuriken, which he launched at Deva, who was sprawled out on the ground. However, a Pain positioned himself between the weapon and Deva. Sakura's eyes widened, "I-isn't that Preta?"
Preta, his palms facing the Shuriken, sent up a shield-like object around himself, which sucked up the Shuriken easily.
"D-didn't Naruto already get rid of him?" Sakura asked the little slug.
"Look over there." Katsuyu turned her little head towards the right and Sakura's eyes followed.
She hadn't realized that another Pain had set up some type of creepy chamber. "That Pain can resurrect the dead." Katsuyu murmmered, "He is the Naraka Path."
"Is that why, when they split up, he was the farthest away?" Sakura questioned, something about this fight finally clicking simply in her brain.
"Yes. He is the key Pain." Katsuyu replied.
The chamber was in the shape of a face. Its mouth hung wide open with purple flames rippling up in a circle around the chamber. Strange purple ringed eyes glared out from the chamber's "skull"; they were the same eyes that each Pain member possessed. Sakura shivered and Katsuyu called Sakura's name, bringing her attention, once again, back to Naruto. There was just too much going on in this fight for only two sets of eyes.
Red smoke billowed up around Naruto. Another Rasen Shuriken sliced through the air at the Akatsuki members. Preta stepped forward to gobble up Naruto's attack, waiting with a smirk.
"Why would he do that?" Sakura wondered aloud.
However, the Shuriken disappeared and Naruto's body came flying out of the smoke the transformation produced. Naruto's arms locked around Preta's waist and they both went crashing to the ground as the real Rasen Shuriken flew towards the Pain behind, which happened to be Deva.
Sakura smiled, watching excitedly as the Shuriken came within inches of Deva. But, suddenly, the Shuriken evaporated before even touching its target. Eh? Sakura's joy faltered.
From the sky, another Naruto dropped down, two Rasengan spinning wildly in his palms. This Naruto plunged the Rasengan into Naraka, the Pain who could conjure up the strange "gate" that allowed him to rejuvenate the dead. A miniature crater circled the now dead Naraka with Naruto perched on his back.
Deva stood, one Naruto pinning down Preta in front of Deva while the other Naruto still remained on the back of the dead Naraka behind Deva. The latter Naruto launched himsef at Deva while the other Naruto aimed his fist at Preta's throat. However, Deva placed both of his hands out, palms towards the two Narutos and managed to send them both flying with a powerful and invisible force.
The clone Naruto transformed into a cloud of dust as his body met the Earth and the real Naruto crashed only mere inches from the two tiny toads. Sakura covered her mouth to hold in the cry of surprise and she silently willed Naruto to move or speak, anything to prove that he was alive. Sakura let out a sigh of relief as Naruto shifted up onto his elbows. However, he moment of joy was short-lived and her jaw clenched as Preta climbed to his feet.
Katsuyu shifted on Sakura's shoulder. "The Core Pain's, or Deva's, power has returned. I have no doubt he used the same jutsu to blow up the village. The more power he uses, the longer the interval before he can use the next jutsu."
The three gigantic toads encircled Preta and Deva, swiping at them repeatedly. However, the remaining Pains dodged each attack and the "Core Pain", as Katsuyu called him, used the same invisible jutsu to knock all three toads aside; their enormous bodies crashed far away against the outer ring of the crater that was now Konoha and even further beyond.
I have a huge issue with how the makers of Naruto portray women. I'm not a big feminist or anything but I'm known as a very "strong-willed" girl so I don't take kindly to the stereotype that all women are weak or that they can't handle themselves and need to be saved.
Please Note: I used the "Path" Names for the Pains. However their "real" names are here:
Deva Path - Yahiko
Preta Path - Gakido
Human Path - Ningendo
Asura Path (which is the metal man) - Shurado
Naraka Path - Jigokudo
Animal Path - Chikushodo
Hope that helped -Anii