Naruto: Blades, Bows, and Souls
REVIEW RESPONSE:
eniox27: ...Whaaaat?
Dragon Man 180: The reason's simple really: mass combat is only good to a certain point. While Naruto's clones were attacking in pairs, they each had an attack plan, a non-grouped clone joining in could have upset that plan.
Kid Coheed: I couldn't agree more on the Kakashi thing, he just seems too insistent on everybody learning on their own rather than actually teaching. Thanks, i try to keep true to each of their combat abilities. Shika prefers to keep out of reach and strategize, Hinata's a skirmisher who relies more on speed than strength, Naruto's a tank, and Yugao's the commander and weapon mistress.
SmileFoxGin: You know, I'm getting F***ING tired of 'authors' who haven't posted a single story nitpicking and insulting everyone else's work. If you think you can do so much better than do it. Otherwise shut up or stop logging on.
Kyo no Kitsune: Oh, where to begin. A) First coming up with unique ninjutsu is part of Naruto fanfiction, hell its half the fun. I think my reasons for creating the technique were valid. B) If you don't like my OCs or fights then don't read. C) I think your numbers are off as well, Hatake is specialist in ninjutsu so I'm using him as an example, with your number of nonspecialists being far too low. Even those specializing in other fields would have special moves. D) Shikai is Chuunin because Bankai is Jounin, and while we've only seen seated officers have Shikai, if its anything like the 'Only commanders have Bankai rule.' then several unseated ones probably have Shikai as well.
Again i say, if you don't like, no one is forcing you to read.
Elemental Flash: Thanks for the support. No on the Quincy spirit or Fullbring (though Fullbring will make an appearance.) As for the Hollow/Zanpakutō merger, well let's just say i'm leaving that up as a surprise.
Dark Soul Slayer: Afraid not, clones can't activate Zanpakutō, their blades simply lack the spirits, being nothing more than copies.
Lielz van Doo: Overkill? No what is this strange word of which you speak?
pyre29: Thank you for the honest support. Yes the harem progression is going to be slow. I doubt it will develop past just the single relationship for at least a few more arcs.
To everyone else who read and reviewed thanks for your time and support.
"Normal Speech"
'Normal Thought'
"Zanpakutō Speech"
"Demon/Large Summon Speech"
'Demon/Large Summon Thought'
Jutsu, Kidō/Gintō Incantation, Kidō /Gintō Spell Name, Skill Name, Zanpakutō Ability
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Bleach, or anything else for that matter except for any original ideas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 21 Spring's Warmth
Naruto's first thoughts upon awakening were that his arms were sore and he was cold. Slowly, his awareness began to return and he began to realize the causes of these two irritations. His arms were sore because he was being suspended by them, both joined together by a pair of manacles connected to a chain that hung him from the ceiling like a side of beef. He was cold because his kimono-jacket had been removed, leaving him in his skin-tight tunic shirt and pants. That was not good. Most of his equipment was stored inside the pockets sown into his jacket's inner lining. A few twitches and he could practically feel how light his hakama was, meaning the few weapons he carried in them were gone as well. He couldn't even feel the familiar weight of his Zanpakutō anymore.
"This…is bad." he muttered to himself.
"Ah, so our young guest is finally awake." a familiarly condescending spoke up from nearby.
Naruto's eyes snapped open. He briefly noticed that he was indeed suspended from the ceiling by his arms, locked in what had to be a dungeon of some shape or form. And there, standing in front of the bars that separated his cell from the rest of the complex, was Dotō, grinning smugly at him while he held his Zanpakutō in his hands. Hands, Naruto noticed, that were covered in what appeared to be some kind of weird metal and leather gloves. They were made from the same material as the armor he'd seen the Yuki shinobi sporting and even had the same blue and white Ying-Yang symbol across the back of each palm. Naruto didn't even bother thinking about it; all he saw was the bastard holding his weapon, a literal piece of himself.
"Teme!" snarled the blonde shinobi as he surged his chakra, planning to use it to rip the manacles and chains from the roof before using them to strangle the smug bastard standing in front of him. Only, instead of feeling a rush of chakra through his veins, he was instead hit with what had to be at least a thousand volts of electricity. The sudden surge of pain completely broke his concentration, causing the gathering chakra to dissipate. He bit back a scream as his body thrashed wildly while every nerve in his body started screaming in agony as the electricity surged through him.
And Dotō simply stood there, watching it with an amused smirk on his face.
"Ah, good to see my newest toy is working properly." stated the man with a grin as he gestured toward Naruto's chest. Resting there, seemingly bolted to his stomach through his shirt, was a metal octagon, with a circular face plate in its center shaped like a red and blue Ying-Yang symbol. "It doesn't have a proper name yet, but it's quite the useful little thing when you want to keep a shinobi prisoner. You can think of it as a sort of chakra magnet, it pulls the chakra circulating through your body into itself, rendering you no stronger than a normal human, and whenever you try and draw out your chakra it pulls some in as well before releasing back into your body in the form of a slight electric shock. The shock not only releases the energy, preventing an overload, but also breaks the target's concentration and prevents them from using any of the chakra they managed to gather." explained the tyrant arrogantly, seemingly taking pride in his torture device.
Naruto merely glared at him as he tried to even his breathing out after the massive electric shock he'd just been put through.
"But you have some interesting toys too." continued Dotō, completely ignoring Naruto's glare as he held up his sword. "I can still feel the chakra roiling through this weapon even through the chakra suppressors installed in these gloves. It's truly astounding, these Zanpakutō of the Kurosaki clan."
Naruto's eyes widened at the mention of his clan name.
Dotō grinned even wider. "Don't be so surprised. Before my little…promotion, I was Minister of War and Shinobi Affairs in my brother's court. That meant I had to keep an eye on all the goings on in the shinobi villages. The destruction of Uzushiogakure may have occurred before my time, but the rumors of a number of survivors joining Konoha were still floating around when I took office. Your clan holds quite the amazing little ability, creating such magnificent weapons out of nothing. It's such a shame that they were wiped out. Still, the loss of Uzu and Konoha is the gain of Yuki, I'm sure your DNA will make the next generation all the stronger."
Naruto's eyes widened, realizing exactly what the bastard in front of him was talking about, before narrowing in rage. "Fuck you!" snarled out the blonde as he tried to lunge at the man, despite the chains binding him.
Dotō merely laughed. "I'm afraid I don't bend that way my boy. Don't worry though, once I've secured the Hexagonal Crystal from your friends I'll be sure to send some of my kunoichi down to keep you…company. Who knows, you might even enjoy yourself?" With that the egotistical warlord turned and began to leave, laughing as he did so. As he departed he threw one last jibe over his shoulder. "Oh, and do keep an eye on my dear niece. The two of you will be spending a great deal of time here together from now on." With his final barb thrown, the warlord of Snow departed, leaving the blonde shinobi alone with his neighbor.
Koyuki, who was occupying the cell directly opposite of Naruto's, didn't even look up from her position sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared vacantly out in front of her.
"You know, your uncle's a real piece of work." stated Naruto snarkily.
Koyuki tilted her head toward Naruto, who was squirming and shifting against his chains, obviously attempting something. "What was your first clue?" she stated in a dead tone.
Naruto snorted at that. "By the way," he continued, shifting himself and rolling his shoulders, trying to work the stiffness and twitching that still pervaded his body after his electric shock, "what the hell were you and Sandayu arguing about before you got snagged? 'Bringing spring' and 'no such thing as spring.' What does that mean?" he asked curiously.
Koyuki actually seemed to look through him for a moment, her eyes staring blankly at his form while her mind was a thousand miles away. "Snow is a land locked in eternal winter." she began softly. "To us spring is nothing more than a distant dream, one that we can always hope for but will probably never come. For my father and many others, spring became a symbol. A symbol of warmth and contentment, of a better future." she laughed, it was a hollow, sad sound. "A symbol of dreams coming true." she croaked, her voice almost breaking before it hardened again. "But in the end its no more than a fairy tale, this land has no spring. My father died, I fled the Land of Snow, and I stopped believing. I just kept running and running, doing whatever I could to survive. I lied to so many people that it became second nature to me, that's the reason I'm such a great actress. Lying on stage and pretending to be someone else is probably the only thing I'm really cut out for in this world."
Naruto simply stared at her for a moment as she sat there, wallowing in her memories. "Well then simply change it." he stated offhandedly, cracking the last bit of stiffness out of his neck.
"Huh?" Focus returned to Koyuki's eyes as she stared at the blonde.
"If you hate lying so much, then stop. It's as simple as that." stated Naruto easily as he began to feel his chakra again. "If you just give up and accept things as they are nothing is ever going to change. The only way the world is going to get better is if you're willing to make it that way yourself. All giving up ever does is take away all your dreams and hopes. That's why I never give up!" finished the blonde shinobi vehemently, finally grasping hold of his chakra. Rather than yanking it out by the metaphoric fistful, like he usually did, he instead pinched off and began to draw out the tiniest amount he could.
A small burst of electricity surged from the device attached to his chest as he drew it out, but, due to the relatively small amount of chakra he'd grabbed, the shock was much less intense this time. It still hurt like hell, but it was weak enough that he could brace through it without losing control of the chakra he'd managed to gather. Focusing it into his tongue the blonde pressed it against the side of his mouth, causing a small seal to appear. He had to thank Yūgao for helping him put it there, it was simply impossible to place a storage seal inside your mouth on your own and his clones weren't good enough yet to accomplish it. Biting the tip of his tongue deep enough to draw blood he pressed the, now slightly bloody, tip against the seal, making sure to breathe out as he did. The first few times he'd activated the seal in practice he'd forgotten that part and had either spat out or nearly swallowed and/or choked on the sealed item while he was coughing out a lung.
As a miniature puff of white smoke exited his mouth with his breath, he caught the small silver tube of his Gintō between his teeth as it appeared. Pulling himself up so his mouth was level with his hands he managed to place the small tube in proper grip. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out another miniscule dollop of chakra, again forcing himself to endure the painful electric shock that followed. While Gintō didn't need chakra to be used, they did require a miniscule amount to activate. Usually it was pulled directly from the chakra circulating in the keirakukei (meridian/life-force/chakra system), but with Dotō's freaky chakra magnet pulling all the chakra out of his system, Naruto was forced to apply it directly. Channeling the chakra into the Gintō's metal shell the blonde popped the top.
Now for the tricky part, if he messed this up he'd likely lose a few fingers. Tilting his body he splashed the water upward, trying to hit the chain without letting the water touch his body. He succeeded, the majority of the Gintō's glowing contents hitting the chain while the rest spattered against the floor or wall, none hitting his body. Before the water could drizzle down he started his incantation.
"Soul of battle, bear your fangs and show your fury – Wärmen! (Warming) (1)."
The water coating the chain quickly started glowing brighter and brighter as he incanted the Gintō's activation phrase, until, with the declaration of the name, it erupted in a burst of light. As the light flared, gravity seemed to reassert itself on Naruto's body, causing him to fall to the ground, a length of chain following after him, the tip looking like someone had dunked the end in acid.
Naruto landed on his feet as the chain collapsed. A broad grin on his features as he pulled his arms apart, allowing the now slack chain to flow through the slots in the manacles and pool at his feet. He slowly began rolling up the sleeve on one of his arms until it revealed a spot on his forearm just below his elbow. Gathering another drop of chakra, and wincing in pain as the device once again made its presence known, he applied it to the spot, allowing another storage seal to appear. He really needed to spend more time with his dad's sealing scrolls, Naruto decided, fūinjutsu could be pretty damn awesome. Biting his thumb, he pressed the bloody digit against the seal, causing a small burst of smoke to explode from it. The smoke quickly dissipated, revealing a small bandoleer filled with a dozen Gintō tubes. Naruto quickly repeated the process with his other arm, this time revealing another bandoleer filled with a half-dozen Seele Schneiders.
Grinning to himself, the blonde quickly strapped both around his upper arms. Armed again, his focused turned to the machine that was preventing him from actively using his chakra. Pulling out another Gintō from his bandoleer, the blonde pulled another drip of chakra from his coils, again focusing through the sudden surge of pain as he fed it to the Gintō, before popping it open and pouring it onto the faceplate of the device covering his stomach, again being careful not to let a single drop touch him.
"Soul of battle, bear your fangs and show your fury – Wärmen! (Warming) (1)." as the incantation ended, the electric blue liquid now covering the magnet's front started glowing brighter before flaring once again and fading. As the light faded the machine was revealed again, only now it looked like someone had dunked it into an acid bath, the entire front portion having seemingly been vaporized by the Gintō's power. With a few final, pitiful sparks, the remainder of it fell to the ground, leaving behind a few puncture marks in the blonde's shirt and several narrow wounds on his stomach, wounds that were already quickly healing as Naruto felt his chakra return to normal.
Grinning to himself, Naruto drew a Seele Schneider from his other bandoleer. With a flip of the wrist and a moment's concentration, the Seele was fully extended and a foot-long blade of vibrating, bright blue light had formed from its tip. Dashing forward, Naruto slashed through the bars of his cells, causing them to fall apart and opening a doorway that he happily stepped through. A wide, triumphant grin appeared on his face as he turned toward Koyuki. "So princess, want to see if we can change this story's ending?" he offered as he approached her cell's door.
Koyuki simply stared at him in shock for a moment, before a small smile appeared on her lips as she stood up.
~~~ XXXXX ~~~
The walls of Dotō's fortress, built over the burned down remains of Kazehana Castle, shook as another explosion rattled the castle's walls.
"Looks like we picked a good time to escape." muttered Naruto as he ran forward, slightly ahead of Koyuki. The remaining rebels had seemingly chosen the moment they'd left the dungeons to launch an attack on the tyrant's base of operations.
A trio of snow shinobi, all dressed like the ones who had attacked the rebels from the train, suddenly caught sight of the two escapees as they rounded another corner. All three quickly drew kunai before charging forward.
Naruto cursed under his breath as he noticed them and quickly moved to stand in front of Koyuki. Direct Kidō or Gintō attacks didn't work against chakra armor, and neither did his bow. That meant that, without his sword, he was stuck with mostly his taijutsu. Still, he a few tricks left up his sleeve. With a fluid motion he gathered the chakra into his hand, forming his bow before pulling it back, knocking the Seele he still had drawn like an arrow before drawing back and letting it fly at the onrushing nin. The Seele Schneider's silver frame was completely covered in pale blue energy as it flew, appearing as nothing more than a lance of onrushing chakra.
The trio of Yuki-nin didn't even bother trying to dodge, apparently convinced of their armor's superiority against chakra-based attacks. That arrogance cost the lead one his life. The chakra powered projectile met the Yuki-nin's barrier right in front of the leading nin's face. The two connected with a flare of light that filled the hallway and nearly blinded all involved before, with a sound similar to shattering glass, the two seemed to collapse into each other, resulting in a small explosion of smoke and light. The leading-nin's body emerged from the smoke moments later, falling forward and completely missing its head.
The two remaining Yuki-nin had momentarily stopped due to the flare of light and explosion, but quickly regained themselves before charging again, intent on closing the distance before their target could launch another attack.
Naruto himself was more than a little shocked by the reaction his Seele had caused with the barrier, but was forced to shake it off. 'Questions later, right now my ass is still in the fire.' thought the blonde. Realizing that he didn't have time to draw or activate another Seele, Naruto swiftly dissolved his bow and rushed forward, intent on keeping his remaining opponents from getting close enough to attack Koyuki.
Right before he should have met the first of the onrushing Yuki-nin, this one a woman if the bulges on her chest were any indication, Naruto vanished in a blur using Shunpo. He reappeared moments later behind the second Yuki-nin, his body seemingly caught in midair. "Hakuda: Kazaguruma! (White Strikes: Windmill) (2)." He swiftly brought his now glowing foot out and connected it to the side of the Yuki shinobi's neck, snapping it and sending the man's body flying toward his companion.
The Yuki kunoichi managed to avoid the flying body of her partner, ignoring it as it impacted against the wall with a sickening crunch, and launched her kunai at Naruto, before starting a set of handseals.
Naruto easily dodged to the side, avoiding the kunai, but it delayed him enough for his opponent to finish her jutsu.
"Suiton: Teppōdama! (Water Release: Gunshot) (3)." called the kunoichi, launching a basketball-sized bullet of water from behind her facemask.
The bullet impacted with Naruto's body, sending him hurtling back into the wall. When the Yuki kunoichi rushed in to finish him, the body exploded in a puff of smoke, revealing the headless body of her partner instead, replaced via a quick Kawarimi (Substitution) from Naruto.
Before the kunoichi could fully turn around to face where the body had formerly been, Naruto had already closed the distance, one glowing hand thrusting into the woman's side in an open palm thrust. "Hakuda: Tesshō! (White Strikes: Iron Palm) (4)." The blonde's palm sank several inches into the woman's side, just below her ribs, before blood exploded from her lips and she was launched in the opposite direction, slamming into a wall with another sickening crunch, several organs and bones either ruptured, broken or severely damaged from both the strike and the impact with the wall.
Naruto let out a small breath of relief. 'Thank Kami these guys are weaklings. If we met one of those other nin from before then I don't think there's much I can do with just Hakuda.' thought the blonde tiredly, he really needed to get his sword back. "Come on, we should keep moving." he voiced aloud to his companion.
Koyuki merely nodded her head, still a little surprised by the level of combat she was being forced to watch, it was certainly different from the choreographed work they did in the movies.
As they continued to run, they were soon met by another, larger group of nin, this one containing a half-dozen of the uniformed nin led by a man whose clothing looked closer to the ones worn by the trio Team Yūgao had originally faced on the iceberg. 'This is not good.' thought Naruto as the group spotted them. He doubted he could beat six attackers at once with the handicaps he was dealing with, let alone messing with one of higher-ranked ninja, if the uniform difference meant what he thought it did. He began to move closer to Koyuki, hoping he could grab her and they could make a run for it before they could react.
He needn't have bothered. Before the group could fully respond to his appearance, a white-cloaked shadow descended on them with a katana raised. In an instant the leader fell to the ground as a large gash opened across his chest, spraying arterial blood as he fell limp to the floor. Seconds later four of the uniformed nin fell to the ground from various cuts and slashes, all of them instantly fatal. Before the final two could recover fully from seeing half their squad cut down in a matter of seconds, two new shadows attacked them from behind while their attention was on the first shadow. One struck one of the remaining nin with a palm thrust from a blue, glowing hand, connecting directly behind where their hearts should be. The nin fell down to the ground seconds later. The other died as the last shadow simply jammed a kunai into the back of his neck.
"Good to see you're safe Naruto, though we will be having words about disappearing like that without orders later." stated the first shadow as she lowered her hood, revealing Yūgao's face. The other two shadows lowered their own hoods revealing Hinata and Shikamaru
Naruto himself gave a relief-fueled laugh. "Man, am I glad to see you guys!" called out the jubilant blonde as he approached his team. "What the hell is going on? Did you guys stage this just to break us out?"
"The rebels have been readying this attack for months." stated Shikamaru dourly, "Koyuki's arrival was supposed to be a signal for it to commence, a final troublesome rallying point to boost morale. Her kidnapping just forced them to push it ahead of schedule."
"W-We volunteered to enter and find you two." finished Hinata, who was pleased beyond measure to find her crush safe and alive.
Before the happy reunion could continue, a frowning Koyuki marched right up to Yūgao and stared the older kunoichi in the eye. "My necklace." she stated before extending her open hand out, the demand obvious.
Yūgao sighed slightly to herself as she reached into her cloak, pulling the Hexagonal Crystal from one of her flak jacket's pockets. "You do know that me taking this is probably the only reason Dotō didn't kill you immediately after capturing you." Yūgao offered drolly as she tossed it to the princess, who caught it easily in one hand.
"I am aware of that." responded Koyuki coolly as she placed the necklace around her neck again. "Now come on, let's go." she stated impatiently as she turned and started walking. Surprisingly, she was heading deeper into the castle rather than trying to escape.
"Uh, you do know the exit's that way?" offered Shikamaru blandly, hiking his finger in the opposite direction.
"I know, but I'm tired of running away!" responded Koyuki hotly, her eyes focused ahead of her. "It's time we finish this, and I know just where my uncle is going to be. The bastard gloated about building his throne room on the spot where he cut down my father."
The four shinobi blinked in surprise as they watched her march off. That was a strange thing coming from the runaway princess. Yūgao turned to Naruto with a slight smirk on her face, knowing where this had probably come from. "Looks like you managed to light a fire under her, didn't you Naruto?" she asked the blonde teen.
Naruto blushed a little, but there was a smug grin on his face as he raced after Koyuki.
~~~ XXXXX ~~~
The doors to Dotō's throne room burst open with a loud explosion as the four Konoha shinobi rushed in, followed closely by Koyuki. The room itself was fairly bare, with the only adornment being the large throne sitting atop a raised stone dais with a short flight of stairs leading to it. And sitting atop that throne, looking incredibly smug, was Dotō himself, Naruto's Zanpakutō resting against one side of the throne like some kind of trophy.
"So good of you to come," stated the man as he smiled down at the gathered shinobi as Koyuki made her way to the front. "Koyuki."
There was something off in the man's tone, something that made all the leaf shinobi edgy. It sounded like Dotō was expecting them to come. Their suspicions were confirmed when Koyuki suddenly rushed forward towards her uncle. Yūgao moved to stop her moments later, only for Nadare, Mizore, and Fubuki to suddenly appear between them and the two Kazehanas.
"You know you really shouldn't be surprised. I'm an actress after all, lying and playing parts is what I do." she stated absently as she walked up the steps toward her uncle, her voice cold and devoid of any real emotion.
"And what a masterful performance it was my dear." offered Dotō snidely, a smirk on his features as he rose to greet his niece.
As she reached the top of the steps, Koyuki tossed a glance behind her shoulder, her eyes focusing on Naruto who was glaring up at her. "For what it's worth, thanks." she offered sadly before she turned and approached her uncle. Only, when she was mere steps away, the crystal fell from her hand as she suddenly reached into her coat, pulling a small knife that she rapidly plunged into the surprised man's robes, shocking everyone in the room.
"I told you already, I'm an actress." snarled Koyuki as she tried to drive the blade deeper into her uncle's side, only to gasp in surprise when the blade refused to sink past the first inch or so.
"You wretched whelp!" snarled Dotō, one of his arms shooting out to backhand the girl, sending the younger Kazehana flying from the surprisingly powerful blow. "You honestly thought that pathetic little toy would be enough to kill me!?" roared the furious tyrant. He grabbed the edge of his robes, pulling them off in a single fluid movement, revealing a black chest plate that looked like several large, black scales layered over each other, the edges colored a deep blue, with the same blue and white Ying Yang symbol as the chakra armor they'd seen before resting over where the heart should be and a device similar to Fubuki's wings resting in the center of his back. A pair of black bracers covered each of his wrists while black armored greaves covered most of his legs and lower body, the top portion covered by a pale green skirt that covered most of his pelvis and stretched down to cover some of his legs.
"That's…" whispered Yūgao, her eyes widening with realization.
"Chakra armor?" finished Dotō smugly, the former rage gone as he reverted back to smug satisfaction as he picked up the Hexagonal Crystal from where Koyuki had dropped it. "Yes, our latest prototype. Did you fools really think I'd simply hand out my weapons without keeping the best for myself?" he started laughing as he reached out and picked up a still wobbly Koyuki from where he'd knocked her to the floor. "Now my dear, let's go, to the end of the rainbow." he finished with a sarcastic laugh, quoting the end of Yukie's latest picture.
"Koyuki!" screamed Naruto, disappearing in a Shunpo to the throne and grabbing his sword. Using the throne like a springboard, the blonde swordsman launched himself at Dotō, his sword flying from its scabbard as he brought it out and around in a powerful slash aimed at the tyrant's chest.
In response, Dotō merely raised one of his arms negligently in the direction of the incoming attack. The second the blade of Naruto's sword came within inches of the armor, a chakra barrier flared to life and released a massive pulse of energy towards Naruto, sending his skirting back across the ground.
"Didn't I tell you boy? This armor is the latest creation of Snow's research. That relic can't do a thing to me now." stated Dotō smugly. "But I do believe that's enough games for now." raising his hand, Dotō snapped his fingers and explosions suddenly filled the chamber, the walls detonating as the castle started crumbling around them. "This old place no longer suits my needs, so I'll let it serve as your tomb." stated Dotō as a cable shot from his raised arm, before it pulled the man up and out of the collapsing building and toward the roof. His minions followed after and the Konoha shinobi scattered.
Save Naruto who disappeared upward in another Shunpo, following right on Dotō's heels.
~~~ XXXXX ~~~
As the castle collapsed around them, Hinata and Shikamaru dived out, landing in the branches of the pine forest that stretched beneath Dotō's mountainside fortress. The two Genin barely had a moment to catch their breath and recover from their harsh landing when a dozen kunai started raining down on them from the sky; several armed with the same ice bombs that had been used against Hinata before.
Leaping away to dodge the incoming projectiles and rising ice spires, Shikamaru let out a low groan. "This is too troublesome." muttered the Nara, before he looked toward his teammate. "Where are they?"
Hinata's eyes pulsed as her Byakugan came alive, the veins surrounding them now extremely distinct. "One is airborne, north 42 degrees, a second one is coming in fast, south southeast 61 degrees." stated the dark haired Hyūga.
Shikamaru nodded before leaping to the side. "Keep the muscle-head busy; I'll deal with the troublesome flyer."
Hinata nodded, turning on her heels to race toward the Mizore who was rapidly approaching on his snowboard.
~~~ Shikamaru vs. Fubuki ~~~
Shikamaru threw himself forward, launching a brace of kunai at the flying kunoichi who didn't even bother dodging, letting the projectiles clang helplessly against her barrier.
"Useless." laughed Fubuki arrogantly as she dived down toward Shikamaru, who continued to throw kunai after kunai as he ran and Fubuki chased him. As she closed in her hands darted through a set of seals. "Hyōfū: Tsubame Fubuki! (Ice Style: Swallow Snow Storm) (5)." Instantly the ice covering several of the lower branches of the trees she'd been flying by surged out, forming a dozen miniature swallows that started flying directly toward Shikamaru.
The young Nara continued to run for several more moments before skidding to a sudden stop, his hands already forming seals of his own. "Doton: Doroku Gaeshi! (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return) (6)." shouted Shikamaru as he brought his foot down, stomping the earth mere moments before the swallows were upon him. As his foot connected, the frozen ground sprang up like a tatami mat, blocking the razor-winged projectiles. As Fubuki flew overhead, a frown quickly forming on her face as she reached for some more kunai, Shikamaru's hands darted together to form an Ox seal before he reached out and grabbed his shield.
"Doton: Ōishi Shuriken! (Earth Release: Great Stone Shuriken) (7)" With a grunt and a heave, Shikamaru lifted the large block of stone off the ground and threw it at the turning Fubuki. The large square mat of stone, spinning like a giant shuriken, slammed into her shield with enough force to send the kunoichi flying backwards even as her shield managed to block it and reduce most of it to rubble, though several shards managed to slip through the overworked barrier and cover her face and arms with several small but painful cuts.
"You annoying rodent!" screamed Fubuki as she regained her bearings and started flying after the retreating Shikamaru as he raced back the way they came, once more throwing kunai at her as he ran. "Didn't I tell you before!? It's useless!"
"No, not really." muttered Shikamaru as his hands formed a seal. "Boom." he stated lazily.
"Huh?" shouted Koyuki as she heard hissing from all around her. Turning her head she saw several kunai, seemingly deflected by her barrier on her first pass through, lodged into the trunks of the surrounding trees, ignited exploding notes wrapped around their handles. 'Those throws, they were meant to see how his kunai flew when they were deflected by my barrier and then to set this up. He was setting a trap for me all along.' she realized before futilely trying to make a break for it.
KABOOM
It wasn't the explosion that did her in, though the combined explosions of a dozen exploding tags certainly rattled her; rather it was the dozens of trees suddenly falling on top of her that finished Fubuki off. She screamed as she vainly tried to regain her bearings and weave through the falling foliage, before one of the falling trunks connected squarely with her back, smashing her wing brace as it sent her tumbling to the ground beneath its weight. The combined impact and weight was too much for her armor's stabilizer, ending the already crushed kunoichi's existence in a final explosion.
"What a troublesome woman." muttered Shikamaru from the safety zone outside the reach of his explosives. It had taken a bit of work to get a good idea of how fast his opponent could fly with those wings of hers so he could find the right distance he needed to have her from his blast zone before he set it off. Luckily his Doton techniques had distracted her long enough to give him a good lead or he might have had to set off the blast while he was still in the danger zone.
Now that would have been troublesome.
~~~ Hinata vs. Mizore ~~~
Hinata's dashed forward, her body leaning forward with her hands drawn back behind her all to gain more speed, as she dashed at the onrushing Yuki-nin. Mizore had a wide grin on his face, one arm drawn back to smash the slip of a girl charging toward him when she got close.
The distance between the two rapidly closed until, when they were mere feet away, Mizore launched his punch. Instead of smashing the girl's skull like he intended, Hinata leapt forward, using her superior reflexes and agility to actually use the outstretched limb like a springboard to launch herself over the other nin in a spinning leap. When she was directly over him, Hinata launched her palm down, scoring a painful palmstrike to the top of the older shinobi's head while at the same time using it as a balance to alter her fall behind him into a more controlled descent.
Mizore nearly fell off his snowboard, the blow to his head rattling his brain and making it hard for him to stay balanced on his rapidly moving snowboard. He barely managed to bring his arm up to block the roundhouse kick Hinata launched from directly behind him. Still, he managed to block the strike, but the momentum and strength behind the blow, combined with his own loss of balance, sent him flying off his board and into the snow even as his snowboard continued onward without him.
Hinata landed on the ground in a crouch while Mizore quickly managed to push himself out of the snowbank he'd fallen into. Roaring in rage, the larger nin launched himself forward, bringing his metallic arm to bear as he tried to smash the little kunoichi into the ground.
But Hinata was far faster, her speed and flexibility had been increasing rapidly since she'd started training with Yūgao-sensei, and compared to her Mizore, who specialized in power and relied on his snowboard for speed, looked like he was moving in slow motion. She twisted herself around, slipping by the man's prosthetic arm. To her Byakugan, the mechanical prosthetic looked like a mass of wires and tubes all pulsing slowly with chakra fed directly into it by the man's chakra network. Her hands lashed out in a blur, striking at the three of the largest concentrations of chakra in it over the course of a few seconds.
Mizore roared in pain as smoke started to billow from his metallic arm, the entire thing becoming completely irresponsive. "You little bitch!" screamed the man as he swung the now useless prosthetic at Hinata, who dodged with an agile backflip.
Landing in a low crouch several feet away she fell into a loose stance and gave a quiet proclamation. "You are within range of my divinations." she intoned quietly as eight triagram circles appeared in her mind's eye around her and her target, setting up the boundaries that she needed to memorize for this technique to work correctly.
With that she launched herself forward, bringing her hands out in two strikes to the man's chest. "Ni Shō! (Two Palms)" Mizore jerked backward from the blows. Grunting in pain, he tried to swing at her, but the Hyūga girl ducked under the strike and closed the distance.
Two more followed closely after. "Yon Shō! (Four Palms)" Mizore jerked and tried to counter again, moving far slower and clumsier this time, and once again Hinata dodged out of the way, easily sidestepping the fumbling punch before closing in again.
Four more followed, her hands starting to blur in a show of speed. "Hachi Shō! (Eight Palms)" Mizore grunted in pain, barely managing to remain on his feet let alone try and counter the attack
As eight more palms strikes followed in a rapid flurry, she finished with a declaration of "Hakke Juroku Shō! (Eight Triagrams Sixteen Palms) (8)." slamming the final palm directly into the center of the man's chest
As the final strike landed Mizore fell backward, blood exploding from his lips as his internal organs failed him. He was dead before he hit the ground.
Hinata was panting lightly as she slowly let her stance fall. She was pleased that she was able to perform her newest Jūken technique correctly; it was the most basic version of one of her clan's most prized techniques. Her father had actually been proud of her when she managed to use it correctly in her last training session with him before they'd left for this mission. Her father, the constantly cold and distant Hiashi, had started to warm up to his wallflower daughter, beginning to see the potential she had. While she never spoke of her efforts to create her own version of the Jūken to him, the man seemed to know and, while not effectively supportive, did not decry or attempt to halt her efforts. If anything, the man seemed to see it as a test, a way to see if the small bits of promise he was seeing in his eldest child were really indicators of a hidden talent or just the hopeful imaginings of her teacher.
Still it was just another step forward; she had a long way to go until she felt ready to view herself as worthy of her dreams, until she was capable of changing her clan.
Until she felt strong enough to tell Naruto how she felt.
~~~ XXXXX ~~~
Meanwhile, Yūgao had her own matters to settle. Instead of heading down into the forests, she'd followed her target up onto the mountainside. A part of her wanted to follow her two students and ensure their safety, but Rōga was the far greater threat. Both of his Chūnin lackeys barely deserved the title, relying far too heavily on their armor, and Dotō, while his new armor was an unknown variable, still had only mediocre shinobi training.
No, it was best she eliminate the largest threat to her team and client first before she moved on to help her students handle the lesser threats.
Standing across from her on a narrow ledge, Nadare was smirking viciously. "Time to finish this Uzuki. Let's hope you give me a better fight than your coward of a commander." taunted the blue-haired nin.
"If memory serves Rōga, you were the one who ran away during our last encounter." responded Yūgao calmly before she burst forward, her body practically disappearing in a blur as she moved.
Nadare, however, was already going through a series of handseals. "Hyōfū: Rōga Nadare no Jutsu! (Ice Style: Wolf Fang Avalanche Technique) (9)." called out the Yuki jounin as he brought his hands together into the final seal when Yūgao had covered nearly half the distance between them.
Instantly the ice and snow covering the mountainside above them exploded outward, morphing into dozens of giant wolf-like constructs with glowing red eyes. The ice wolves barred their fangs, howling and barking as they charged toward Yūgao.
The purple-haired jounin didn't stop in her charge, instead using her momentum to leap into the air above the first charging wolf. In twin puffs of smoke, her twin war fans appeared in her hands. "Katon: Hōō Senpū! (Fire Release: Phoenix Whirlwind) (10)." called out Yūgao as she fell toward the ground, bringing her fans out in a circular, sweeping gesture that caused the air around her to ignite in a whirlwind of flames. The surrounding ice wolves were instantly felled as the flames melted their bodies back into water, canceling the jutsu.
Nadare scowled as he watched his fiercest jutsu being melted away. His hands quickly started forming the seals for his jutsu again…
Only for Yūgao to explode out of the flaming tempest like some sort of divine being, her katana drawn and completely wreathed in furious red and gold flames. "Higiri! (Fire Slash) (11)." her voice echoed over the roaring flames of her technique.
Nadare's eyes widened in fear and shock as he brought his hands together again. "Hyōfū: Rōga Nadare no Jutsu! (Ice Style: Wolf Fang Avalanche Technique) (9)." screamed the panicking nin. A half-dozen more ice wolves erupted out of the surrounding ice and barreled toward Yūgao, intent on intercepting her before she could reach their creator.
Yūgao didn't even slow in her charge, instead her sword flickered out, moving faster than the eye could see, as three of the ice wolves attempted to pounce on her. Instantly all three exploded in a blast of steam and boiling water, their body completely vaporized as the seemingly invisible sword blade sliced through them. The remaining three attempted to charge her head on, only for her to meet the first with another blindingly fast slash of her sword. The sword cut through the ice wolf's body instantly, and the blast of heat released by the swinging of her blade was so immense the two wolves directly behind the first quickly dissolved into water as well.
All six wolves had fallen in as many seconds.
Nadare eyes widened further, staring at the scene in complete and utter disbelief. "Imposs…" he started, only for Yūgao to cross the remaining distance before he could finish the thought.
Yūgao's sword lashed out once more, the flames still burning viciously. Nadare quickly pumped extra chakra into the barrier, trying to push the devastating technique back. His barrier met the burning sword in a massive flash of light. The heat coming off the burning blade was enough to cause Nadare's face and exposed skin to instantly start to redden and burn and his hair to smolder. He pumped even more of his chakra into the barrier, trying with everything he could to keep the burning blade away from him. But it wasn't enough. In a small explosion, the central control unit of his armor exploded in a small burst of smoke and his barrier shattered. Still the barrier had slowed down the attack enough for Nadare to leap away and dodge the remainder of the blow. Yūgao's flame-covered sword instead hit the snow-covered ground, causing a massive burst of stream as all the snow in a twenty-foot radius around the impact site instantly vaporized.
Nadare let out a small sigh of relief as he landed outside the steam cloud, only for it tinstantlyo turn into a gurgle of pain and blood. Looking down he saw a, now flameless, sword blade exiting his stomach.
"A shinobi should never be too reliant on a single tool Rōga." stated Yūgao coldly from behind him, her sword still sticking out of the man's stomach. "You rely so heavily on that armor of yours to keep you safe, you forget that it only protects you from chakra and projectiles, not a good, solid length of sharpened steel." With a single fluid motion Yūgao removed her sword from his stomach before swinging it outward in a quick flash before resheathing it across her back.
Nadare Rōga's body fell to the cold snow in front of her, his head landing several inches away, eyes still wide and unbelieving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Rainbow Glacier Shrine)
Circling a large frozen lake that took up most of a frozen plateau, the Rainbow Glaciers were an imposing sight. The six massive glaciers themselves were towering monuments, each made of ice so old and solid that no flame could hope to melt them in a hundred years.
And sitting at their center, on an artificial island on the frozen lake's surface, sat a small wood and stone shrine, shaped like a large cauldron with dozens of frozen-over tubes connected to its base. The shrine itself was a fairly new addition to these ancient monoliths, created at the end of a massive project that Sōsetsu Kazehana had begun centering around the towering glaciers. The truth of the project was lost to everyone, buried with the fallen Daimyo when his brother led his coup de ta.
But Dotō knew, he knew exactly what was hidden beneath these icy plains. The secret his brother had taken such great lengths to hide from him and all the others. The thing he promised would truly bring spring to their frozen homeland. Oh what a weapon it must be; a tool that, in the proper hands, would make Snow stand above all the other nations. That was the only true spring there could be.
And it was all his. He'd brought the girl, his brother's sniveling little brat, to bear witness to his greatest victory. She'd die soon enough, but why not let her see exactly what the future would bring so she could take word to her father. His dear brother deserved to know that his greatest creation would still change Snow, only under his rule instead.
A victorious smirk wide across his lips, Dotō placed the Hexagonal Crystal in the small divot at the shrines center. With a slight twist, the crystal sank completely into its niche and the entire shrine began to glow, sending small veins of light stretching across the frozen lake and toward the surrounding glaciers. From what little he could find of his brother's notes, the glaciers served as the main power source for his final creation, the unique properties of their ice allowing them to act as massive mirrors to catch the sunlight and convert it into energy to power the machine. The sheer amount of energy all six could gather at once was unbelievable, and it served only to whet Dotō's appetite for the true treasure hidden beneath it all.
His elation sank to anxiousness, then into frustration as no great weapon of mass destruction made itself known. Instead the ice and snow surrounding the glaciers began to steam and hiss, heat rising off of them like a...a massive furnace. Beneath his feet the ice and snow began to crack, ice that had been frozen for centuries starting to give way to the rapidly warming waters beneath it. "What...what is going on?" whispered the stunned tyrant.
Then Koyuki, who'd been watching silently behind him, started to laugh. It started out as a few soft, sad chuckles, then developed into a full and heavy belly laugh, the girl's shoulders shaking and tears leaking from her eyes as she sat where Dotō had tossed her when he'd landed.
"What's so funny girl?" growled Dotō.
"D-Don't you get it?" asked the laughing girl, "This, this is my father's legacy, a way to truly bring spring to Snow." the girl started laughing even harder, clearly suffering from some sort of emotional breakdown. "Can't you see? The ice is already melting. He literally found a way to create spring."
Dotō's eyes widened in shock and realization. It couldn't be. All those years of work, all that effort, all the time he'd spent working to uncover his brother's final creation. Just to find an oversized heat generator?
Roaring in frustration and rage, Dotō grabbed Koyuki by the throat, lifting her off the ground with one hand. He'd end his brother's miserable line for this humiliation! Drawing back the other he prepared to crush the girl in a single blow.
"Let her go!"
Only for something to impact his barrier seconds later. A silver projectile, seemingly encased in a shell of pure chakra, was attempting to break through his barrier. He felt his barrier strain against the attack, and heard a few small cracks as the control unit for his armor's barrier system began to strain, but it was enough. The projectile's chakra was finally overwhelmed, causing the shell to fade away and the narrow silver projectile left inside fell to the side.
Throwing the girl aside and turning his rage-fueled vision toward the source of the projectile he saw him, the blonde-haired Kurosaki brat standing atop one of the remaining mounds of still melting ice, a white and blue bow held in one hand. The boy suddenly released the weapon and started charging him.
"Naruto!"
He barely heard the girl call out the brat's name. His plans, his dreams, were now in tatters and the fool boy had presented himself as a target to relieve his frustrations upon. Bringing his hands together he started forming seals for his own personal jutsu.
"Hyōfū: Kokuryū Bōfūsetsu! (Ice Style: Black Dragon Blizzard) (12)" roared Dotō, bringing back one of his fists. Instantly ice and snow, dyed black by his chakra, began gathering around his fist before he launched it forward, firing the attack toward his target. Ice and snow continued to gather around the projectile as it flew forward, quickly turning it into a large, black dragon's head, maw and eyes aglow with red light as it barreled toward its target.
~~~ XXXXX ~~~
Naruto was feeling more than a little tired. It had taken over two dozen Shunpos, several fired one after another, and a lot of tree jumping just to keep up with the bastard who'd kidnapped Koyuki. Sure his bloodline made it nearly impossible for him to run out of chakra but the strain of using so much still tired him out.
Still, he'd arrived just in time to watch as the entire thing light up with chakra before it started feeling like he'd stepped into a sauna. While he was trying to puzzle out what was happening, Dotō had apparently lost it and grabbed Koyuki by the throat, his intentions obvious. Knowing he couldn't close the distance in time, Naruto brought out his bow and pulled out another Seele before launching it at the tyrant, hoping to at least get him away from Koyuki. His Seele hadn't broken through the barrier like before, but it had definitely distracted the old bastard.
Deactivating his bow and letting his now free arm drop back to his side he charged forward, ready to take the fight straight to the psycho. It was time to end this.
"Hyōfū: Kokuryū Bōfūsetsu! (Ice Style: Black Dragon Blizzard) (12)."
Naruto leapt to the side. He managed to avoid the main attack, but the explosive shockwave created by the impact still caught him in the side and sent him skidding. He managed to regain his balance, drawing his sword as he continued to charge. Focusing more chakra into his blade, causing it to glow blue, he slashed toward Dotō even as he continued to charge. "Zanjutsu: Hanasaku Kiri! (Cutting Technique: Flower Blossom Slash) (13)." launching a large crescent-shaped blade of chakra at the tyrant, which quickly shattered into dozens of smaller blades.
Dotō didn't even try to dodge, merely bringing both arms in front of him, forming a cross block. As the dozens of small chakra blades flew towards him, his barrier suddenly surged to life, deflecting or completely vaporizing the chakra constructs as the came toward him. As the last of the blades vanished, the tyrant spun, blocking the sword strike Naruto had launched from behind with his bracers and sending Naruto stumbling backwards as his barrier pulsed outward.
As the blonde reeled from the sudden pulse of chakra, Dotō charged forward, his armor enhancing more than simply his chakra as he drew back a fist and slammed it into Naruto's face. The blow sent him hurtling backward several feet before he crashed into the surface of the lake, breaking through the already weakened ice and down into the waters below.
As he started to sink, the last things he heard was Dotō starting to laugh and Koyuki screaming his name
'No, I'm not going to lose like this!' snarled Naruto as he fought to remain conscious, the blow mixed with his exhaustion making it hard to think straight. 'I'm not going to let that bastard get away with what he's done. I'm going to kick his ass!'
"Well said child." a deep, echoing voice seemed to echo around him.
Opening his eyes, Naruto noticed the now familiar loss of color in his surroundings before his eyes locked on the figure towering before him. It was a massive dragon, easily twenty stories tall, seemingly made of steel and leather rather than flesh and bone. It's hide was seemingly made of a dark and burnt grey metal, riveted and pieced together to seemingly form a complex array of scales and vents; making the spirit look more like a suit of armor than a living creature. Short metal spikes emerged from the creature's back, starting at the base of the skull and moving downward to cover its spine to the tip of its long, powerful tail. It held four powerful limbs, each tipped with a set of claws that looked more like massive swords, and a set of black leather wings, supported by a network of blackened steel similar to the creature's scales, rose from its back. It's long, reptilian head was capped with a pair of large, slightly curved metal horns, and another smaller pair beneath the first covering either side of its head. However, it was the massive spirits eyes, pure pools of burning red flames, that caught Naruto's attention.
"Rage fuels many flames, but justice burns through all wickedness." rumbled the massive sword-spirit as it stared down at its host. "At its heart, fire is a weapon of purity. As old dead growth must be burned away so that new life can take its place, so too must the wicked be cleansed in fire so the just may rise. That is the true heart of flame, and it rests in your heart as well child. Know now that I fight with you, I am..."
~~~ XXXXX ~~~
Back up top, Dotō was laughing, taking great and immense joy in finally removing one of the annoying thorns that had been digging into his side. Finishing, he turned his attention to Koyuki, who was staring wide-eyed and disbelieving at the spot where the boy had fallen through. 'Perhaps I should throw her in as well once I snap her neck, let them be together in the end.' thought Dotō viciously as he started walking toward his niece, intent on finishing what he'd started before they'd been interrupted…
"Hai Warui Moyasu, Jigokugizō! (Burn the Wicked to Ash, Hell Forge)"
The sudden shout instantly shifted the daimyo's attention back toward the opening in the water. There, exploding out of the water and trailed by a torrent of whirling flames, was the boy. As the brat landed on the ice in front of the hole he'd managed to smash him into, Dotō caught sight of the strange new weapon the boy was wielding
It looked like a single piece of metal armor that covered the entirety of his right arm and was made of some dark, burnt grey metal. The shoulder was topped with a rippling scale-like design, seemingly joined together by a single piece. The forearm and upper arm were both completely encased in armor, the backs of both sections covered in what appeared to be vents, while the top of the elbow was covered in a double-ended nozzle of some kind. The hand and fingers were plated, allowing the fingers to move freely, and each digit ended in a thick, draconic claw. (AN: See profile form image).
"Round two teme, let's finish this." Naruto growled as he brought his newest Zanpakutō to bear.
"Insolent whelp." snarled Dotō as his hands once again flashed through the seals for his jutsu. "Hyōfū: Kokuryū Bōfūsetsu! (Ice Style: Black Dragon Blizzard) (12)." roared out the tyrant as he launched another black ice dragon at the boy.
Naruto brought up his own arm, spreading the palm open and revealing a small, nozzle-like opening in the center of the palm. "Honōhebi! (Blaze Serpent) (14)." screamed the blonde as fire exploded from his palm, rapidly expanding and forming a dragon-like mass that met Dotō's attack halfway between the two. The two attacks seemed to war with one another for several seconds before the flame dragon finally melted through its counterpart. However, it lost most of its consistency doing so, leaving only a large wave of flames still hurtling toward Dotō.
The tyrant once again raised both arms in a cross block, activating and enhancing his barrier to weather the storm of fire. However, when the flames cleared he saw his opponent charging straight toward him. Snarling in rage, Dotō brought his hands together and formed the seals for his strongest attack. "Hyōfū: Sōryū Bōfūsetsu! (Ice Style: Twin Dragon Blizzard) (16)." he screamed, launching a black ice dragon to either side. The two serpents quickly began to spin around their creator forming a massive tornado of black ice.
Naruto merely continued to charge straight toward it. Bringing back his fist, fire began to explode from the vent covering his elbow, launching him forward. "Kazanken! (Volcano Fist) (17)." screamed the blonde as he was literally rocketed forward, his entire arm engulfed in flames from the other vents and glowing red hot.
The burning fist met the swirling ice with an audible explosion of steam. Still, after a moment's delay, the constant pressure from the elbow-nozzle, now acting as a jet booster, pushed Naruto forward, breaking through the barrier and sending him rocketing right toward its center where a shocked Dotō stood watching.
"I-Impossible!" screamed the panicking Daimyo as he once again brought both arms to bear in hopes of blocking the incoming attack.
"Mōkaryūsei! (Blaze Meteor) (18)." roared Naruto as the flames coating his metallic fist grew even larger before he slammed it into Dotō.
The corrupt daimyo's barrier tried to thwart the attack as the man pushed everything he could into his barrier in a last-ditch attempt to save himself. Maybe if he was a better shinobi rather than someone simply relying on a weapon and some halfway training he could have done it or at least used the delay to dodge. Instead his armor's control unit gave way in a small explosion. Dotō's eyes didn't even have time to widen as his barrier shattered, before Naruto's flaming fist impacted his still crossed arms and the world exploded into flames.
Seconds later Dotō's blackened, smoldering corpse flew out of the blast zone, still smoking. The smoke cleared moments later revealing a still-standing Naruto, his metallic armor still poised from the last punch.
Standing back up, he turned to grin at Koyuki. "I win." he stated with a broad grin on his lips as he started to approach her where she was standing on the rapidly melting lake's edge.
Koyuki simply stared at him as he approached, unable to really say anything.
Then Naruto's grin grew even wider, "Will you look at that." he stated gesturing out past the edge they were standing on. The entirety of the surrounding snow had already melted and bits of bright green grass were starting to show themselves. "Looks like it's going to be a beautiful spring, huh princess?" offered the blonde teen with a grin as he plopped down on the ground.
Koyuki couldn't hold it in any longer, she started laughing again. She laughed long and hard, she laughed until she was crying; happier than she'd ever been in a long time.
Yes it did indeed look like a beautiful spring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ~~~~~~~~~~
Jutsu Identification
(1) Wärmen (Warming) - Lower-level Gintō. A weaker version of the more advanced Gintō Heizen (Heating) that uses only a single Gintō tube. When actiated, anything touched by the waters of the Gintō is purged, causing damage similar to a powerful acid or other corrosive. Less powerful than the destructive forced created by Heizen (Heating) it still very useful since it can be used to cover smaller areas.
(2)Hakuda: Kazaguruma (White Strikes: Windmill) – C-ranked Hakuda taijutsu technique. A technique where one throws their body up into the air, making a shearing movement with the legs to get one leg in front of the other without holding on to the ground. The move can either be done backwards or sideways. When the move is done with one leg high over the head to deliver a devastating kick to an opponent sending them flying away with tremendous force.
(3)Suiton: Teppōdama(Water Release: Gunshot) – C-ranked offensive Suiton ninjutsu. The user concentrates chakra into their mouth before kneading it and converting it into water, which can then be fired in multiple shots, depending on the amount of chakra the user put into it. Unlike many Suiton jutsu this requires no nearby water sources, a rare advantage for Suiton wielders.
(4) Hakuda: Tesshō (White Strikes: Iron Palm) – C-ranked Hakuda taijutsu technique. A palm thrust enhanced with chakra to increase the penetrating power of the impact. It is similar to the Ikkotsu (Single Bone) technique in many ways, but sacrifices a portion of the attacks power for greater speed. While external damage caused by this technique is minimal, it is capable of causing extensive internal damage, often rupturing and/or damaging organs and bones from the force of the impact.
(5) Hyōfū: Tsubame Fubuki (Ice Style: Swallow Snow Storm) – B-ranked offensive Hyōton ninjutsu. This technique creates a cluster of ice blade in the shape of miniature swallows out of preexisting ice, which the user then directs at an opponent. These needles can change direction in midair and will maim the opponent with their sharp wings.
(6) Doton: Doroku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return) – C-ranked defensive Doton ninjutsu. After striking the ground with their hands or feet, the user creates a large wall of earth in front of them that can be used to block incoming attacks.
(7) Doton: Ōishi Shuriken (Earth Release: Great Stone Shuriken) – C-ranked offensive Doton ninjutsu. A technique often used in combination with the Doroku Gaeshi (Earth Shore Return) or similar techniques. The user grabs onto a large piece of stone or rock, surging their chakra through it to augment its weight and control before throwing it at an opposing adversary.
(8) Hakke Juroku Shō (Eight Triagrams Sixteen Palms) – C-ranked Jūken taijutsu technique. The least variant of the Hyūga Clan's legendary Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms) technique. While the Hachishō Danmaku (Eight Palm Barrage) teaches the basic idea of the technique, this technique is the actual first step to learning the full version. Forming the image of eight triagram circles in their mind's eye to create an area of control for the technique, the user moves forward and begins a rapid series of strikes at a combination of the target's tenketsu, striking first with a two-strike combination, then another two- strike, then a four- strike combination, then finishing with an eight-strike combination to create sixteen strikes in a total of four combinations.
(9) Hyōfū: Rōga Nadare no Jutsu (Ice Style: Wolf Fang Avalanche Technique) – A-ranked offensive Hyōton ninjutsu. The user channels their chakra into nearby snow and ice, transforming it into a massive pack of giant wolves which pursue and attack the target(s) of this technique. If used on a mountainside or similar surface this technique also causes an avalanche directed at their opponent, greatly increasing the wolves' speed and offensive might.
(10) Katon: Hōō Senpū (Fire Release: Phoenix Whirlwind) – B-ranked offensive/defensive Katon technique. A skill of the Hiiro Hōō (Scarlet Phoenix) style of tessenjutsu (lit: Iron Fan Techniques, the martial arts of wielding a tessen or war fan). The wielder uses Katon chakra to rapidly heat the winds produced by their tessen, which are themselves augmented by chakra sent through the tessen itself all while whirling the fans around their bodies, creating a whirlwind of flames that surrounds them. The flames not only burn anything in reach but also protect the user and block an opponent's line of sight to them for several moments after the technique ends.
(11) Higiri (Fire Slash) – A-ranked offensive Katon/kenjutsu technique. One of Yūgao three original techniques that combine her training with elemental techniques and her mastery over weapons, particularly her katana sword. They were originally inspired by Yūgao seeing her former Anbu commander, Kakashi Hatake; perform his legendary Raikiri (Lightning Cutter) technique, said to be one of the strongest elemental ninjutsu in existence. Yūgao was amazed at the combined power and simplicity of the technique and was inspired to create her own technique eventually culminating into the three sister jutsu: Higiri, Raigiri (Lightning Slash), and Suigiri (Water Slash). The Higiri in its simplest form is merely channeling a massive amount of fire chakra across the length of her blade and constantly circulating it around and through the sword. The heat of the flames produced also superheats the sword to a near melting point, requiring a high-end sword otherwise the sword will melt and become useless after or even during the technique. The combined heat of both the constantly renewed flames and the superheated metal of the sword is intense enough that Yūgao has been known to cut through metal as easily as paper with a single strike and simply swinging it releases burst of heat strong enough to ignite wood. Unlike its sister techniques, which are one-strike techniques, the Higiri can be maintained continuously. However, the technique is both highly draining and physically hazardous if used for too long due to the intense heat produced by the blade. Yūgao has stated that the longest she can control this technique is thirty seconds without risking losing her sword arm to the flames.
(12) Hyōfū: Kokuryū Bōfūsetsu (Ice Style: Black Dragon Blizzard) – B-ranked offensive Hyōton ninjutsu. The user gathers a portion of ice and snow around their fist, dying it black with their chakra, before launching it forward. The attack will gather more ice as it moves, eventually creating a large, dragon-like projectile that will strike a target with powerful destructive force.
(13) Zanjutsu: Hanasaku Kiri (Cutting Technique: Flower Blossom Slash) – C-ranked offensive kenjutsu technique. An advanced form of the Hizangeki (Flying Slash) technique. This technique is first formed in a manner similar to its base technique, though much larger. After launching the chakra blade, it then shatters into dozens of smaller blades that fly in the same general direction of the original attack. While is each individual blade is quite weak, no stronger than a normal Hizangeki, the sheer number and spread of the attacking blades makes this technique difficult to block or dodge completely.
(14) Honōhebi (Blaze Serpent) – Ability of Jigokugizō's Shikai state. The small hollow in the center of Jigokugizō's palm releases a massive burst of flame, which condenses after being fired into a draconic mass that flies toward the target.
(15) Hyōfū: Sōryū Bōfūsetsu (Ice Style: Twin Dragon Blizzard) – A-ranked offensive/defensive Hyōton ninjutsu. An advanced form of the Kokuryū Bōfūsetsu (Black Dragon Blizzard) technique that creates two ice dragons which then begin to circle the user at intense speeds, creating a massive whirlwind of ice and snow that not only damages any opponent that gets near, but acts as a protective barrier for the user at its center.
(16) Kazanken (Volcano Fist) – Ability of Jigokugizō's Shikai state. The small nozzle on the back of Jigokugizō's elbow releases a large, directed gout of fire. Rather than attack this augments the user's speed and power, acting as a jet booster. The remainder of the arms is also wreathed in flames from the vents, augmenting the attack with a great deal of explosive force.
(17) Mōkaryūsei (Blaze Meteor) – Ability of Jigokugizō's Shikai state. After covering itself in flames, Jigokugizō's wielder then concentrates them into the arms first, greatly enhancing the power of a single blow and causing a fiery explosion on impact.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ~~~~~~~~~~
END CHAPTER 21
Thus ends the Snow Arc. A brief epilogue next chapter followed by a return to Konoha
Sorry for the delay, but this one fought me all the way, still I mostly like how it came out.
READ AND REVIEW