Naruto and Sasuke: Switched
Key:
Normal = narrative
"Normal in quotation marks" = normal speech
Italics = thoughts
Underlined Italics = simultaneous thought
"Italics with italicized quotation marks" = reading/writing
"Italics in regular quotation marks" = people talking in a combination transformation/people talking in visions being watched by other people. (It makes sense in context)
*Italics inside regular asterisks* = actions such as panting, coughing, or wheezing
*Bold italics in regular asterisks* = Onomatopoeias such as *BOOM* to represent explosions
Bold italics = Used for when a bijū is talking to its jinchuriki through telepathy
'Bold italics in regular apostrophes' = when a bijū thinks to itself
"Bold in bold quotation marks" = Bijū talking to their jinchūriki in their mindscapes
"Underlined in quotation marks" = simultaneous speech
Since no one really cared to name the reference, it was a quote from "Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance." The quote was from the beginning of the movie, when Mari's provisional unit had its arm damaged by the Third Angel. Naruto said it in the previous chapter, after Gaara slammed him into the wall. I added that mainly because I thought it would be cool. The only way I own Evangelion is a DVD copy of 1.11 and 2.22 that a friend got me.
Chapter 20: Battles Between Demons and Gods
"My snake said that the teachers and students are still inside. They've held themselves up in the room where the first test was held. It doesn't seem like any hostiles have gotten here yet. Before we go in, I need a run down of your skills," Anko said to the three genin assembled before her. They were hidden in the alley between two buildings near the Academy. "Uchiha, you go first."
"I'm the generalist on my team. I have decent taijutsu, I know several fire jutsu, I can cast genjutsu when I make eye contact with my Sharingan, and I've been taught how to wield a bow and arrow."
"Good. Now you Pink," the snake user said as she pointed to Sakura.
"I have exceptional chakra control, and I can break genjutsu; though I've been studying Strong Fist taijutsu under Guy-sensei."
"You Blonde?"
"I'm a sensor-type; my taijutsu is about average, and I specialize in my clan's Mind Transfer techniques," Ino said, fidgeting slightly under the special-jōnin's stare.
"Okay. We're going to set up an ambush. Should any enemy forces come by here, Uchiha, I want you to bring them down from tree cover with your bow. Pink, you stay with me and we'll provide a frontal assault. However, we need to keep one alive. That's where you come in Blonde. You're going to mind swap with him, then redirect any further enemy troops should they come."
Each of them nodded and took up a position in the trees.
"Where are you?!" Naruto screamed as he landed in the area he'd thrown Gaara into. His answer came in the form of two giant hands coming out of the ground and wrapping themselves around his body. Out from the ground came Gaara's grinning Shukaku face. The Sand boy curled his tail around the blond's head before throwing him through an apartment complex.
Gaara jumped into the air to follow after him, but was soon knocked off course by a fast moving, red object. After landing on a rooftop, he saw that the object was a green-haired girl that looked at least a year or two older than he was. She was surrounded by a Version One chakra cloak similar to Naruto's, except hers took on the form of what he could only assume was a beetle. On her back, the chakra had taken the form of a strange horn-like protrusion, and at the base of the shroud was a single tail and two fluttering wings.
"Perfect, another one just like me. By killing you both, I will live forever!" Gaara said as Naruto appeared out of the wreckage he'd been sent through.
The Uzumaki looked between Gaara, and the now apparent third jinchūriki. He noticed that the girl's orange eyes were blank, as if she wasn't fully aware of her actions. Upon further looking, he noticed a black seal pattern starting on her forehead that extended down her cheeks and over her body. Wrapped around her right arm was a Waterfall forehead protector.
Brat, from the feel of that chakra, I can tell that is the jinchūriki of my sister, the Nanabi, Kyūbi stated.
LET ME OUT! I WANT TO KILL BOTH OF THEM! ESPECIALLY THAT HIGH-AND-MIGHTY FOX BASTARD! Shukaku raved inside his hosts mind, causing Gaara to drop to his knees in apparent pain. The Nanabi jinchūriki used that moment to smack Gaara back towards the stadium, though she ended up following after him because of a strike from Naruto. The blond proceeded to follow his fellow demon containers.
"Damn, these thing hurt like shit!" Enma said as several snowflake shuriken were stuck in him.
"This Haku kid is able to hurt Enma in his Nyoi form. You should be proud Zabuza, not many people can do that," Sarutobi said as he extended his summon to push back the incoming First Hokage.
"Hard to be proud when he's being used against his will Hokage-sama!" Zabuza responded as he cut through the First's wife, who just burst into a cloud of smoke. Damn it! Do all the Uzumaki abusively use shadow clones?! Zabuza thought irritatedly.
"Everyone stand back, I'm going to put some distance between us and them!" Mei shouted.
Lava Style: Lava Wall! Mei spit out a wave of lava that as soon as it hit the ground, rose back up and turned into a wall that was half the width of the barrier.
"Stay close Sarutobi-dono. Zabuza, Ao, Tsurugi!" Each nodded as they, along with the Mizukage, enshrouded their entire side of the roof in a thick, chakra laced mist.
Sarutobi closed his eyes and focused all feeling and concentration into his ears.
Above, he thought as he felt a breeze. Everyone moved out of the way as a pair of clawed, metal fists completely obliterated they spot they once stood on. The attack was so strong that it instantly dispersed the mist. Standing in the mini-crater was Mito Uzumaki wearing a pair of her own Fox Claws; unlike Naruto's more plain ones, hers had a spiral-flame pattern on the arms that stood up. In front of her crown was a pair of red fox ears, a matching tail was sprouting from her robes, her irises were an orangish-brown, her pupils were slits, and to complete it all, pointed red marks had formed on her eyelids.
"Crap, she's gone into Sage Mode," Sarutobi said to himself.
"What Mode?" Tsurugi asked.
"Think of it as a power up that you never want to fight against," Sarutobi answered.
"INCOMING!" a Konoha shinobi said as the two jinchūriki crashed through the stadium, bringing down several walls as they did so. Many civilians, who still had yet to evacuate due to the fighting shinobi, were unfortunate enough to be hit by the flying debris, some even crushed under the more sizeable pieces.
"Wait! Is that another jinchūriki?" Kakashi questioned as he saw the green-haired girl land near Gaara. When Naruto appeared in the middle of the arena, he was instantly surrounded by Kusa and Taki shinobi.
"Bring this freak down. He can't interfere with the plans," a Kusa captain ordered his subordinates.
Naruto looked at his assailants with feral eyes. "You asked for this." Naruto eerily smirked at his unfortunate prey.
At the sound of pierced flesh, all the fighting in the immediate vicinity had stopped.
"No way. He... he didn't just," Chōjūrō muttered as he watched what went on down below. Several of the Flower Group members that had surrounded Naruto were now being held several inches above the ground, each impaled through the chest by one of the two chakra tails that Naruto had willed to become as thin as the Nuibari; though the next act was more reminiscent of the Shibuki.
Naruto sent out a pulse of chakra through the tails. Once they reached the unfortunate victims, it caused their upper torsos to explode out in a rain of blood as their lower halves fell uselessly to the ground.
"What the HELL?!" an Oto chūnin yelled as from right next to him, his fellow comrade's head was crushed by Gaara's miniature-Shukaku hand.
"He's mine. I'll kill anyone, WHO GETS IN MY WAY!" Gaara shouted as he squashed more ninja, indiscriminate of village affiliation. The Nanabi jinchūriki flew/tackled Gaara, and used him as a shield when flying through several support beams before unleashing a stream of lightning from her mouth.
In response, several mouths on Gaara's partially transformed body opened up to blow out gale force winds filled with sand, forcing her to let him go.
At that moment, Naruto came in and fired several more wind filled tailed beast chakra orbs at both of them.
"Damn it," Gaara muttered. Half of his sand body was crumbling away, and he could barely lift himself up of the ground.
He's down. Now I have to finish this! Naruto thought as he reared a claw back to end the fight.
"No way... There's no way, that I'll lose... TO YOU!" Gaara screamed as his sand expanded ever further, throwing the blond away.
"EVERYONE CLEAR OUT! GAARA'S GONE INTO HIS COMPLETE FORM!" Baki shouted to the allied forces.
"Now come Naruto Uzumaki! Show me that power of yours!" Gaara bellowed out over the screams of the panicking Konoha citizens; leaving the stadium became much easier as the invading shinobi had heeded the Suna jōnin's command.
So he's unleashed Shukaku's power, Naruto thought. The backlash of Gaara's transformation had thrown him through the village's perimeter wall and into the forest surrounding it. I'm going to need some help with this. Naruto pulled out a scroll from his belt; unlike most his other scrolls, which were made from tan paper, this scroll was orange.
Forming a third chakra tail, Naruto smeared his blood on the scroll. He screamed out as everything around him became shrouded in white smoke.
"Naruto, what's so important that you summoned me out here?" Kohaku asked.
Naruto moved up to the fox sage's forehead; he was panting, and his chakra cloak now only had a single partial tail. "The Ichibi's host has released Shukaku, and according to Kyūbi, the host of the Nanabi has joined the fight."
Kohaku whistled at the sound of his summoner's predicament. "Say no more, I'll bring the others." Without forming a hand seal, two clones of the sage appeared. Each of the three foxes slammed their palms onto the ground, causing the other three sages to appear. Kohaku relayed what Naruto had told him to the others.
"I'll go with Naruto and handle the raccoon bastard," Masaru said as he slammed a fist into his palm.
"I'm going with you. I can't entrust Kyūbi-sama's jinchūriki to a ill-tempered fool like you," Kiyoko evenly stated.
"What are we going to do about Konoha?" Haruko asked.
"They're not our concern. Leave them to their own fights," the white fox coldly said.
"Eh, I say what the hell? Let's send them some clones for help," Kohaku said as he and Haruko made several shadow clones. As they and their clones took their human guises, though now hiding their fox traits, Masaru, and reluctantly, Kiyoko, made a single clone that took their human forms, knowing that they'd need to conserve as much chakra for their fight against two jinchūriki.
"Naruto, you, me, and Kiyoko are going to perform a three-way transformation, get ready!"
"Keep the civilians protected at all costs!" Kakashi shouted to his fellow Leaf ninja. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Guy and a Kiri jōnin covering each others' back. Most of the fights had been confined to the rooftops, though they had unavoidably suffered casualties, noncombatants included. Thankfully, somewhat, Gaara didn't show any concern with them, being interested in only Naruto.
*BOOM* Kakashi looked away for a moment before seeing a red and black dot flying around the transformed Gaara. With his Sharingan, he realized it was the Seven-Tails' jinchūriki.
Fuck! She's entered the Version Two Blood Cloak, Kakashi thought, remembering the first time he'd ever seen that power, he'd nearly wet himself. The little dot dive bombed into the Shukaku body's right shoulder, managing to knock him to the side, where he crushed multiple buildings as he used his left hand to prop himself upright.
*RUMBLE*
Now what?! Kakashi, and most everyone else for that matter, was definitely not in the mood for anymore surprises. A cloud of white smoke stood outside the village walls. Another mini-quake shook the area. A red-orange, fur covered hand shot out of the smoke and grabbed the barrier. The shape of approximately nine flailing tails could be made out as the figure came closer.
"K... K-K-K..." One of the villagers stuttered out, praying to whatever deity might've existed to spare them all.
Soon, the form of the very Kyūbi that attacked the village twelve years ago came roaring out of the smoke.
"KYUUUUUUBBBIIIIII!" Many screamed; the civilians were now in a full blown freakout; trampling over each other to get as far away as possible.
At this moment, a platoon of Sand ninja blocked off the citizen's path in front, and a squad of ten Oto shinobi appeared behind them. But before any Konoha ninja could assist, a red-haired man landed between the Suna forces, and a white-haired women blocked off the Sound group.
The red haired man said nothing as he formed the sign of the tiger. He stuck his hands out to the side, where several orbs of bluish-white fire started forming in his palms*(1). Without a single physical gesture, the orbs shot out and hit each of the Suna shinobi in the chest. The fires didn't cause any burn damage, but the ninjas' eyes rolled to the back of their heads as saliva fell from their lips.
Meanwhile, most of the Oto forces were completely decimated; many had either missing limbs, slit throats, and/or caved in chests; and throughout it all, Kiyoko's face was as calm and detached as ever. There was only one member of the group left, and he was desperately trying to run for his life. Unfortunately for him, the white-haired fox sage appeared in front of him in a burst of speed. He threw up his arms in a futile effort to defend himself from the punch she was going to connect with him, but when he felt nothing, he looked to find her hand only an inch from his cranium; that would be the last thing he'd ever see. Through an unseen force, his head completely detached from his neck and flew into the crowd, causing the civilians to panic even more.
The Masaru and Kiyoko clones jumped onto the roofs to get a better view of the fight between the Ichibi jinchūriki and their summoner.
"*cough* Talk! Who are you and why are you here?" Hayate demanded. his sword was pointed at the two, and he was surrounded by a group of ANBU.
"We aren't your enemy child, but you'd do well to lower your weapons," Masaru commanded.
"Are you rogue ninja?" a brown-haired, bird masked ANBU asked.
"We're here on behalf of our summoner," Masaru's clone answered. He and Kiyoko's copy proceeded to bring out their ears and tails.
"You mean the Kyūbi brat?" the ANBU responded. "I'm sorry, but we're going to have to bring him down along with the Sand kid."
With very little effort, Kiyoko's clone appeared before the ANBU unit and snapped his sword with her bare hand. She then proceeded to lift the ANBU into the air by his neck. "We're not as submissive as the turtles or monkeys human. Our loyalty is only to our summoners," she said as she dropped him. She and Masaru's clone then jumped towards the giants' fight.
"Naruto, what are you?" Ino, while in an Oto chūnin's body, froze at the sight that came out of the smoke. Even with the multiple chakra signatures coming from the giant fox, she could feel Naruto's.
She'd heard stories of the Nine-Tails. How it was a merciless demon that slaughtered all in its way. How it would appear out of nowhere for no reason and begin an unstoppable rampage before disappearing again. She used to think that these stories were just fairy tales made to scare children from getting into trouble. But now, she saw the beast with her very eyes.
In the shadows of the buildings behind her were Sasuke, Sakura, and Anko carrying her body.
Did Naruto/the brat actually unleash the Fox completely? The three thought. Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Instead of complete red chakra like he expected, the body of the fox was mostly normal blue chakra. It was the head of the fox that had red chakra coming out of it.
"Ow," Ino said as a rock pelted her in the back of the head of the enemy she'd hijacked.
"Focus Blonde!" Anko hissed from behind the shadows.
Ino refocused herself to find any enemy units. She'd sensed some heading towards the Academy from the east.
"Hey, where's your squad?" the captain of the enemy platoon said as Ino intercepted them.
"They were taken down by a group of Konoha ninjas. My squad captain told me to find reinforcements," Ino said.
"Alright, you lead the way," the Oto jōnin said. Ino backtracked towards the Academy, knowing that her peers and Anko would be ready with an ambush.
However, before they even made it halfway, a wave of water several meters high came crashing through the streets. Everyone jumped to the roofs to avoid getting washed away.
"Damn, that was too close! Did anyone see who did that?" Ino asked; partly to keep up the charade, and partly because she was genuinely curious.
"To answer your question gentlemen, it was me," an elderly blonde woman in a grey and black kimono appeared in front of them. "Please, I don't wish to kill you, so surrender and no harm shall come," she asked politely.
"Don't waste our time you old bat. We have our orders," the Oto captain said dismissively.
"I feel that it is only fair to warn you that I am a sage. If you fight against me, you will most assuredly lose," Haruko said as she kept her hands in her kimono sleeves.
"A wha'?" Ino asked, still trying not to break character.
"Take her down," the Oto jōnin commanded. Several of his men raced towards the woman, drawing swords as they neared. Ino charged in too, but stayed back to be safe.
Without even a warning, the mysterious woman disappeared, then reappeared behind the ninja who'd given the order. "Please don't hate me for this," Haruko said as she squeezed the back of his neck with one hand, killing him instantly. She let go of the body and dashed towards each of the Oto shinobi. Without them even being able to keep up with her, she jabbed her claws into each of their abdomens. From where her nails struck, on each of them appeared a sealing formula that spread over their bodies.
"Forgive me, but I will make your deaths fast and painless." Haruko stuck her hands out into the Zai Kuji-in Mudras position.
Sage Juinjutsu: Aid to Nirvana.*(2) Each Oto ninja gripped their chests before falling over, all except Ino. The girl fearfully moved back as the strange woman moved towards her with a serene smile.
"Help!" She screamed out. Anko, Sakura, and Sasuke jumped out from their hiding spots and confronted Haruko.
"Back off lady!" Anko threatened.
"Calm down. I know that that's a Yamanaka in that body, that's why I haven't activated the jutsu on this one yet."
"How would you know that?" Sakura questioned.
"Like I said before, I'm a sage. Don't worry, I understand if you're still confused, it's not something one would come across that often in their lifetime." Haruko revealed her fox traits.
Ino ignored the partial transformation from the woman, and returned to her own body. At this point, Anko released several vipers onto the now conscious enemy, where they injected very lethal levels of venom into his veins. She dropped the Yamanaka heiress, who clutched her right side as it started bleeding.
Haruko simply stared at the giant Kyūbi transformation. "It may just be a transformation, but still, Kyūbi-sama never looked so handsome," she said somewhat dreamily.
"Kyūbi-sama/Transformation?" Ino and Sakura asked respectively.
"Yes, my friends Masaru and Kiyoko are working with Kyūbi-sama's jinchūriki, Naruto, who's also our summoner, to try and stop the Ichibi and Nanabi's jinchūriki."
"Okay, wait lady, you're not making any sense. Why do you keep calling the Kyūbi 'sama'? What is a jinchūriki, and how is Naruto one? And finally, what the hell is even going on?!" Ino asked, tired of being out of the loop.
"Well, to answer your first question, Kyūbi-sama is essentially our king. 'Our' being mine and all the foxes inhabiting the Kitsune Valley. As for what a jinchūriki is-"
"Hold it Ms. Sage. What you're about to say is above these threes' pay grade," Anko cut in.
"Ah yes, that law Naruto told us that was passed by Hiruzen. Very well. Out of respect for Little Saru, I won't speak." And with that, Haruko left as quickly as she'd come.
"C'mon you raccoon bastard!" Naruto challenged, throwing his voice to mimic the Kyūbi's.
"Giant Sand Shuriken!" Gaara said as he flicked his tail at the fox construct; several sand shuriken the size of houses flew towards the disguised trio. With Kiyoko's aid, the shuriken were easily deflected, though they ended up causing more collateral damage in the village.
"Now Masaru!" Kiyoko said from within the transformation. The Kyūbi disguise threw its hands into the tiger sign.
Fire Style: Running Fox Jutsu! The false Nine-Tails blew out fire that took the form of a fox running on air. The fire fox roared as it collided with the sand tanuki. However, the fire creation was destroyed by a blur flying through it.
"Crap! Naruto, Kiyoko, brace yourselves!" Masaru told his summoner and fellow sage. The Nanabi jinchūriki rammed herself full force into the fake Kyūbi, sending it to its back.
"NO! HE'S MINE YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Gaara shrieked. He inhaled deeply before bringing his hand down onto his stomach. "WIND STYLE: DRILLING AIR BULLET!" he screamed with his mouth closed before letting out a compressed ball of air. The attack created a trench through the village as it flew.
"Jump now!" Naruto said to his boss summons. They made their false Kyūbi roll to its side and jump right before the compressed air ball exploded near them, flattening more of the village's perimeter wall.
"Not so fast!" Masaru said as he made the fake Kyūbi backhand the Nanabi jinchūriki through several structures. The fake Kyūbi then charged in at Gaara, wrapping the Suna boy's limbs with its tails*(6). After chomping down on the other jinchūriki's shoulder, the fake Kyūbi began landing repeated punches to its chest and stomach. It suddenly let go and jumped to the right. This caused the flying Nanabi container to plow into Gaara, rather than Naruto.
I can't be losing? Gaara said inside his transformation.
LET ME OUT! I'LL KILL ALL OF THEM!
Yes, they will all die. Gaara sprouted from the head of his Shukaku body, like a pimple ready to burst. "Playing Possum Jutsu!" His body slumped down, and the eyes of the beast below him went from a dull brown to a vibrant yellow.
"YEAH! I'M FINALLY FREE! HERE I COME BABYYYY!" Shukaku turned to the fox standing away from him. He could sense several chakra signatures in it, but all he cared about was the chakra similar to his own. "I'M FINALLY GONNA SHOW YOU WHO'S THE BEST YOU STUCK UP DICK!"
"Get over here little raccoon!" Naruto said as he made a 'come here' gesture. Shukaku struck his fist into the ground, where it reappeared underneath the transformed trio and grabbed the fake fox by the throat. With Masaru taking the lead, the right hand of the fake Kyūbi was swathed in blue fire, allowing them to cut clean through the Sand Spirit's arm.
"AARGH! FUCK YOU KURAMA!" Shukaku raged out as his hand was slowly reforming.
Your name's Kurama? Naruto questioned his Bijū.
That dumbass tanuki, Kurama simply responded.
"I'M GONNA BLOW YOU AWAY WITH ONE SHOT!" Shukaku announced as it opened his mouth wide. Rather than suck in wind, redish-black and bluish-white pieces of chakra started gathering over him.
"Naruto, we must stop him before he completes his attack!" Masaru said as he and Kiyoko made their chakra replica charge in.
"What the hell is that?"
"The Tailed Beast Ball, the ultimate skill of the Bijū and their jinchūriki," Masaru explained.
Meanwhile, around the village all fighting was temporarily stopped as Shukaku formed the purple chakra bomb.
If that thing's detonated, we're all going to die, Kakashi and Guy both thought. Tenzō, where are you? Kakashi mentally questioned.
"Shit!" Zabuza cursed. With very little effort, the revived Uzumaki had completely shattered his sword. And because these reanimated bodies didn't spill any blood, he was unable to reform his weapon. It was now nothing more than a giant hilt. And that Mui character was no slouch either. The Hokage's ANBU was currently in a taijutsu brawl with the Kusa jōnin.
"Zabuza-sama!" one of the hunter-nin escorts said as he threw his katana to the Swordsman. The former rogue ninja was surprised that they'd been able to hold off for as long as they did. Apparently the current Hokage had a Wood Style user of his own. Though from what he'd seen, this was a more watered down version of what the revived First Hokage was throwing at them. And if anything his wife was even worse; she used the same fighting style that Naruto used in his fights, but hers was even more deadly and precise. With her sage tecniques, she didn't even need to necessarily land a hit; just get close to her target. They'd lost several Konoha ANBU and Kiri hunter-nin just to her.
*clang* Zabuza used his katana to block a bone sword from the snake's underling.
"Do you remember me?" Kimimaro asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Zabuza asked back as he raised a nonexistent eyebrow.
"Years ago, after the destruction of my clan, I met you and Haku."
Realization hit Zabuza as he recalled telling Haku to leave behind a white-haired child. "That was you?" Kimimaro only nodded. "I guess I should apologize. If we had taken you, you wouldn't have ended up with this lunatic."
"Don't be sorry. Because of you, I met Lord Orochimaru; he gave my life meaning. I live for him, and I will lay down my life if he says so," the last Kaguya said as he tried thrusting his bone sword through Zabuza.
Live for him. Die for him. Was this what Haku felt? Zabuza questioned. He slammed the katana's blade against Kimimaro's chest, but the Shikotsumyaku user grew out several ribs to block the attack.
Zabuza only felt a chill in the air before he was surrounded from all directions by twenty-one mirrors of ice.
"I suppose I should laugh at the irony that I'm about to be done in by this jutsu," Zabuza said mirthlessly as Kimimaro left through the openings between the mirrors. Haku appeared in each mirror. His face was a blank slate, his eyes held neither love for his former master, nor even contempt.
Damn me for making you so good. Zabuza closed his eyes, ready for what was to come. However, Each mirror became completely encased in wood.
"Are you okay Zabuza-sama?" Tenzō asked as he came out of the ground.
"Yeah. Thanks for saving me. What about the Kusa guy?"
"He's fighting a wood clone, hopefully this'll wood binding will hold your ex-student, even if for a little while."
*RUMBLE* Zabuza and the wood user both looked outside. Looking through the barrier, they could see Shukaku charging up a purple-black chakra orb.
"Tenzō, the village needs you now more than I do! Go!" Hiruzen yelled.
The ANBU nodded as he made a tunnel beneath him to escape the barrier.
Kohaku whistled absentmindedly to himself as he drew symbols on a blank sheet of paper. The ground around him was littered with bodies punctured with weapons, yet he himself had not a drop of blood on him.
"I've known you for centuries now, but I still can't get use to your use of genjutsu," Haruko said as she walked up to her fellow sage.
"At least they died thinking they were killing an enemy. And besides, you know I don't like getting my paws dirty," Kohaku said without taking his eyes off his work.
"You know you felt it too?" Haruko said as she got serious.
"Yeah, that's definitely Mito-sama's chakra," Kohaku said as he rolled up his paper and sealed his writing tools in a scroll.
*RUMBLE* Before they could go off to the purple barrier, they saw Shukaku preparing a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Don't worry about the Ichibi. Masaru and Kiyoko are there; they'll handle it," Kohaku said as he left.
Haruko lingered back a little before following Kohaku.
"DIIIIIIIEEEEEE!" Someone shouted. Haruko narrowly avoided a massive grey-brown fist. The fist had multiple holes on it, with flares of chakra being emitted from them. The limb belonged to a boy who looked more like a demon. He had orange hair, and wore a tattered black cloak and a torn white shirt and shorts; all soaked in blood. The boy's left arm, rather than having "chakra boosters," instead had a giant piston located at the elbow, presumably to increase the power behind his punches. His face had two horns that went above his hairline, with a black stripe that went from his forehead to the bridge of his nose.
Out from his back sprouted a webbed-claw-like hand that tried grabbing at her.
"What an interesting ability," Haruko said as she avoided the appendage. She could feel waves of Natural Energy flowing into the child. "I thought I'd never see one of you again," she said to the boy.
"SHUT UP AND DIE ALREADY!" Jūgo screamed as he pulled himself from the wall. More chakra boosters grew from his back that propelled him towards the sage.
"You need any help Haru?" Kohaku asked.
"His body is constantly taking in Natural Energy; your genjutsu won't be much help!" Haruko called up to him. I can't take my time on this. Mito-sama needs my help. "Sage Art: Fox Fire Jutsu!"*(1) Four orbs of blue fire began hovering around Haruko before shooting off for the deranged boy. As the orbs struck him in the chest, his monstrous traits started receding, and his yellow eyes became red*(1). "Sealing Jutsu: Binding Shackles!*(3)" Haruko pressed her palm against Jūgo's chest, and a seal formula spread over the subdued child.
"What've you done to me?" Jūgo barely managed to get out; the act of merely speaking became next to impossible as his muscles were now bound.
"This jutsu should stop your movements." Haruko bit her thumb before slamming her palm on the ground. "What's your wish, Haruko-sama?" Daichi said as he appeared.
"Daichi-kun, take this boy back to Kitsune Valley. He's a very special case that we'd like to study later, and make sure the binding on him holds."
"Yes ma'am." Daichi hopped up onto Jūgo's shoulders before both disappeared.
The Bijū Bomb hovering over Shukaku was now the size of the beasts body, but was compressed to the size of a shack. The sand monster opened his mouth wide before swallowing the little purple orb.
He's not going to detonate it! Masaru realized. They had just made the Ichibi's aim a whole lot easier. However, Kiyoko's clone ran up the tanuki's arm and landed a punch to its right cheek.
"Pull Masaru," the clone said. From Shukaku's left side, Masaru's clone took handfuls of the Ichibi's face and used all his strength to turn him completely around. When the sand spirit released his built-up energy, it shot out as a powerful beam that cleanly carved a hole in the empty spot next to the Fourth Hokage's head on the village's Monument. Meanwhile, every structure around the blast was easily blown away by the initial explosion of the attack.
So this is the true power of the Tailed Beasts, Orochimaru thought to himself.
Once Shukaku's attack ended, the fake Kyūbi was once again on the Ichibi.
"Now Naruto!" Masaru shouted. In a burst of smoke, Naruto broke from the transformation and jumped towards Gaara, his two chakra tails flailing behind him.
"Rise and shine jackass!" Naruto yelled as he used the chakra cloak to punch Gaara's unconscious body in the left cheek, forcing him awake.
"AW COME ON! I JUST GOT OUT!" Shukaku whined as the eyes on the sand body once again became a dull brown.
Gaara's teal eyes opened to the blond before him. The Suna jinchūriki grit his teeth in anger. "You haven't won yet!" Giant sand tentacles erupted from every part of the sand gargantuan's body.
In response, Naruto's chakra cloak sprouted a third tail. The tails wrapped around Naruto, forming a protective dome. Naruto thrust his hand out, causing a chakra arm to latch onto Gaara's head.
"Kiyoko, stop her!" Masaru yelled. He and Kiyoko had dropped the transformation when the sand tendrils tried to attack them. The red fox had seen the Nanabi jinchūriki once again fly towards her fellow containers.
Taking her human form, Kiyoko jumped from tentacle to tentacle to intercept the possessed child. It seemed she was going to make it, but the flying jinchūriki released a cloud of sparkling powder that blinded her completely, though she could still sense her chakra signature. You won't get away that easily. However, the flying girl released another spark of lightning from her mouth, causing the scale powder cloud to combust in a beautiful explosion.
Damn it! Kiyoko thought as she jumped high into the air to avoid the blast. The girl used the distraction to fly straight to Naruto and Gaara. Before the fox sage could chase any further, the tentacles closed around the three jinchūriki, causing the massive sand body to come to a complete stop.
"Fuck. Where am I?" Naruto groaned as he picked himself up from the stone floor. Looking around, he found himself in front of his tenant's cage. Only this time, the path leading away from the cage feathered off into blank space. When he stepped onto the white abyss, he found that located across from him was a vast desert. Gaara lay face down in one of the dunes, and behind him stood Shukaku, it's arms wrapped in rusted chains*(5).
Gaara forced himself up, but ended up stumbling down the dunes and onto the insubstantial floor. "Where have you taken us?" he demanded from the Uzumaki once he regained his composure.
"Me? I have about just as much a clue to where we are as you do," Naruto shot back. Suddenly, in front of them, another environment started to materialize. It was more hazy than theirs were, and obstructed by black, interlocking bars that went so high they weren't able to be seen from where the two stood; but nevertheless they could make out a clearing surrounded by a vast expanse of tropical forest. When they got closer to the bars, they noticed the green-haired girl from before. She was alive, but held against the ground by black shackles. They noticed that the shackles and the bars both exuded a misty, purple aura.
Behind the girl they could barely make out what looked like a line in the dirt that someone drew with their foot. Behind that line was a giant, armored beetle held down by chains, just like it's host.
"The seals on the girl must be the work of the snake sannin," Kurama noted.
"HAHAHAHA! YOU'RE A LOT SMALLER THAN THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU YA' BASTARD!" Shukaku laughed out.
"Hmph. Unlike you, I'm so strong that a proper seal is needed, unlike those unsightly chains," Kurama gibed.
"THERE YOU GO AGAIN WITH THAT SUPERIOR ATTITUDE I HATE!"
"Where are we Kurama?" Naruto asked.
The fox snorted at his host's use of his true name. "Don't get too full of yourself just because the One-Brain-Cell idiot spouted off my real name." Kurama ignored his brother's further swearing. "We are all in a form of Tailed Beast Telepathy, an imperfect form. Normally, to reach the full level of the deeper collective psyche, a Bijū and their jinchūriki must be in perfect synchronization. In the full mental world, there are no restrictions between human and beast, no seals keeping either at bay. Right now, me and my siblings are still held back by our seals, but you two can communicate in that empty area you're standing in. As for the girl, the seals added onto her are preventing her from joining you two."
After the explanation, Gaara and Naruto faced each other down.
"Why do you defend them? We are the same, so I know what you must've gone through," Gaara asked.
"I don't fight for them. I fight only for answers. More secrets than just the Kyūbi have been kept from me, and I need to find out. You?" Naruto answered and asked back.
Gaara looked down before answering, "Because of my mother. My father is the Kazekage, and I'm the only one of his children who's compatible with the Shukaku spirit. Before I could even draw my first breath, the sand beast was placed inside of me, but it came at the cost of my mother's life. Everyone in the village, even my own family, hated me, because I couldn't control Shukaku's power, and I would inadvertently harm people. I was made to be the ultimate weapon for my village, but to them I was a defective tool. Soon, my father started sending assassins after me when I turned six. Each time, I killed them. The only one I ever truly cared for, was my mother's brother, my uncle Yashamaru." The blank space beneath the two soon bore the image of a very feminine looking man with sandy-blond hair and purple eyes.
"Is that him?" Naruto asked. He found himself relating to Gaara a little more, but also a little less. Not only was it his village's Kage who'd sealed the One-Tail into him, but it was his own father no-less. How could any parent even think about putting monsters like these into their own children? Naruto thought as he looked between Kurama, Shukaku, and the Nanabi.
"Yashamaru told me what love was, and the difference between physical scars and emotional ones. He made me think that the sand that protected me from harm was imbued with my mother's love for me, not the Shukaku's power. But one night..." The floor changed to Sunagakure illuminated by the light of the full moon. On a rooftop, a young Gaara knelt by Yashamaru. The man's limbs were crushed, and blood trickled out the side of his mouth.
(Heads up, the next few paragraphs will be canon flashbacks. Feel free to skip/skim over if you know what happens.)
"Why? Why uncle?" the young redhead cried out.
The man looked into the sky and said, "It was an order. Your father gave me the mission to assassinate you. You still can't control the Shukaku's power, and that means you're a danger to Suna. We can't allow that."
"So... you had no choice." Gaara stated, a gleam of hope in his eyes for the one he loved.
"No," the violet-eyed man denied. "Yes, it was an order from the Kazekage. But he gave me the choice to decline it, and would've sent someone else after you. I guess I took the mission because deep down, I always hated you." Gaara stopped breathing after that declaration. "You were born through the sacrifice of my sister. I tried to convince myself to love you, on the belief that you were a memento that she had passed down. But I could never believe that." He turned his head to face his nephew. "She never loved you Gaara. She never wanted to have you. Her life was sacrificed for the village, and to her very last breath, she cursed it. She gave you your name from the phrase 'a self-loving carnage.' She only wanted you to live so her anger at the world would be known. Gaara... you were never loved." Yashamaru unzipped his flak jacket to reveal his body covered with explosive tags. "This is it. Please die." An explosion engulfed the roof, but in the smoke, the sand had once again protected Gaara.
The boy screamed out in anger as the sand carved "LOVE" onto his forehead.
(End of canon.)
"From then on, I've lived fighting only for myself, loving only myself," Gaara said as the floor beneath them turned blank.
"Actually kid, not all of that is true," Shukaku said, for once not screaming like a madman.
"What?" Gaara responded, caught off guard by how calm his tenant was being.
"I've seen everything that's happened to you since before you were born. I know what really happened on the day of your birth."
The floor beneath the two jinchūriki once again changed, only this time to hospital room. A doctor held a tiny Gaara in his hands "From the looks of it, he's premature. Will he really be able to handle the sand spirit?" The Kazekage asked an elderly woman with her hair in a bun.
"He's the only one of your children who's compatible with it. We'll need extreme caution in his handling," Chiyo stated.
"Show me my baby!" Karura panted out. Her body was drenched in sweat and her eyes were heavy lidded. "He's so small, and looks so fragile," she said when the doctor placed him next to her.
"Lady Karura's heart rate is falling fast Lord Kazekage!" a doctor whispered to Gaara's father.
"Then do something about it!" the man ordered, dread for his wife's sake evident in his voice.
Meanwhile, the dying mother held her child, smiled lovingly, and said, "No matter what happens, I'll always protect you, Gaara." Once again, the images faded away.
"Your mother really did love you, ya' brat," Shukaku said.
Gaara was now trembling, his right hand clenched over his heart. "That... that can't be true. My mother never loved me; YOU'RE LYING!" Gaara shouted to the tanuki.
"And why would I do that? Day and night, all I can do is sit here and wait for you to lose control, and watch your memories and mine. There's no entertainment in something I made?" the sand beast questioned.
"That was just a vision you made up to trick me!" Gaara accused.
"Trust me kid, Shukaku isn't smart enough to think up something that elaborate," Kurama added, much to his brother's ire.
Naruto jumped as yet again, the floor changed and shifted. Now it was showing a secluded room lit by torches. "Fox, are you doing this?" Naruto asked.
"I suppose now's as good as any to reveal to what truly happened on the night of your birth," Kurama admitted. In the room was an elderly brown-haired woman, a young ANBU medic, and the last two both surprised and confused Naruto. One was the Fourth Hokage. The other was a woman with long red hair lying on a bed.
(Most of what's next is basically canon again, so I don't expect that you'll read it. Just a heads up.)
"C'mon Lady Kushina, push!" the medic said as she placed a damp cloth on the sweating woman. Naruto's eyes widened slightly. He remembered that Kushina was the name before his on the fox summoning scroll, and this woman's red hair seemed so familiar, like he'd seen it before.
"The head's crowning!" the elder woman announced. "It's a boy!" The ANBU medic wrapped the baby in a bundle. The blond boy felt his breath hitch in his throat. The baby had his whisker marks, and his hair. "Congratulations Hokage-sama. You're now a father," the medic said to the only man in the room.
"Naruto," Minato uttered as he saw Biwako carry his child to his wife. Naruto fell to his knees, but he didn't even notice it.
"This can't be true. The Fourth, he can't be my-"
"Yes kit. Minato Namikaze is your father. Your mother, Kushina, was my jinchūriki before you."
"Okay Kushina, I know you just gave birth, but I need you to exert full control over the Nine-Tails," Minato refocused his attention to his wife's seal, but his concentration was broken by Taji and Biwako giving startled shrieks before falling lifelessly to the floor. Standing over their bodies was a man in a black cloak and a yellow mask. It was the same man that Naruto had seen in his fight against Sasuke.
"Yondaime, step away from the jinchūriki, or your firstborn dies in his first minutes," the man threatened. The scene on the floor then shifted to Naruto, Minato, Kushina, and Kurama on the outskirts of the village. Yellow chains had come out of the red-haired woman's back and were wrapped around the fox. They formed a protective dome around the four. Naruto noticed that outside the barrier, was the Third Hokage and two other ninja watching.
"I'll drag the Kyūbi to the grave with me. It's the only way to save you both," Kushina said with a smile. "Thanks, for everything, Minato." The Fourth tried to protest, but was reassured by his wife. "My only regret is that I won't see the man our son will grow up to be."
Minato wiped the tears from his eyes. "Kushina, you don't need to take the fox with you. We can both see Naruto, at least one more time. I'll seal your chakra with the Eight Trigrams Seal." Kushina looked horrified at what her husband was saying. "I'll use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to put half the Kyūbi's chakra into our son; it's too big to seal away completely. And if it revives without a jinchūriki, the balance of Tailed Beasts will be out of order. I know that you're against this, but Jiraiya-sensei said that one day, the world will undergo a great change, which will bring great disaster. I now know two things. The man who attacked us is the harbinger of that disaster, and Naruto will be the one to stop him." Minato put the baby down before going through hand seals. After ending it through clapping his hands, the spectral form of the Shinigami appeared behind him, his soul grasped in the reaper's hair. "I'll add some of your chakra to the seal. You'll meet Naruto before you know it. I want you to be there when he tries to control the Kyūbi's power."
"That's exactly why I don't want him to shoulder such a burden on his own!" Kushina shouted. "There's no reason for you to die, just so I can meet Naruto for a few minutes when he's older! You're his father! You have to be there to raise him; to teach him! Why sacrifice yourself just for the Tailed Beasts, the village, the country, for me?!" the former jinchūriki panted out.
"To turn your back on your village and country, is just as bad as abandoning your child. You of all people should know, your own country was torn apart before you. You know the pain of living without a home to call your own. But above all, we're a shinobi family." Minato smiled as he knelt down to her. "And I couldn't replace you anyway. There are things that only a mother can tell their child. And it's not just for you, ya' know. It's the father's job to lay down his life so his son will have a better one." The death god clacked it's prayer beads together, as if telling the new parents to hurry up. "Seal!" Minato declared. The Nine-Tails roared out in anger as the Shinigami pulled out half its life. Minato then summoned the alter necessary for the Eight Trigrams Seal.
"Unh," Kushina moaned as she temporarily lost consciousness.
"Kushina, stay with me!" Minato said as he took his eyes off his son. The Kyūbi used that moment to kill the boy with its claws. Unfortunately, with a burst of speed unlike any other, both Minato and Kushina used their bodies to intercept the Kyūbi's claw, and hold back the rest of its hand.
"Just cause this is the father's job, doesn't mean I can't do it any better." Kushina said. The Nine-Tails tried to push its hand further, but the two still wouldn't budge.
"Thank you Kushina," Minato smiled. In a burst of smoke, Gerotora appeared before them. "HOLY CRAP! THE NINE-TAILS?! AND MINATO?! WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!" the toad screamed out.
"I'm trusting you to take this key to Master Jiraiya," Minato said as he finished writing down the formula key on the scroll toad's paper stomach. The amphibian nodded before disappearing. "Kushina, I'm going to seal a little of my own chakra into Naruto. If you have anything to say to him, say it now."
"Naruto, don't be a picky eater. Eat plenty so you'll grow up to be a big boy, just not like the Akimichis. Always take your baths, and get to bed on time. Be sure to make friends; you don't need too many, so long as they're people you know you can trust. Be sure to study well; I was never really a good student, hopefully you'll be different. Do your best in everything you do, but remember that everyone has things they're good at, so don't be too hard on yourself if you can't do everything. And respect your teachers in the Academy. Eventually you will be a shinobi, so be careful of the three vices:
Don't borrow money if you can help it, but don't give it away to just anyone.
No alcohol until you're twenty-one, and only in small amounts.
And regarding women, I'm one, so I can't give you the best advice, but there are only men and women in this world, and at some point, you may want a girlfriend. Make sure she isn't weird; try and find one like me.
So basically, be careful around Jiraiya-sensei." Kushina and Minato both smiled. "Naruto, you'll go through a lot of pain and suffering in life. Remember who you are; find a goal, a dream, and don't stop until it comes true. There's so much that I want to tell you. I love you, so much." Kushina wiped the tears from her face. "I'm sorry Minato, I took up all you time."
"It's okay Kushina," the Hokage assured his wife. "Naruto, this is your dad, listen to your motor-mouth mom." In a flash of light, the Nine-Tails vanished.
(End of canon. How many of you actually took the time to read these?)
Naruto's tears ran freely as the weight of everything he'd learned hit him full force. His father was the Hokage, the same Hokage who'd sealed the most powerful Bijū in existence into his own son. His parents loved him, and had willingly died for him. He looked up to find Gaara on his knees, shaken by his own revelation. As if on instinct, both boys leaned forward and hugged each other, burying their face in the other's shoulder. They were two souls who lived the same life of hatred and loneliness, but now they had each other to hold in their grief.
Back in the real world, many gathered around the frozen form that was once Shukaku. The sand body gave an audible crack as the right arm broke off and fell to the ground below. The rest of the giant raccoon dog followed, turning into nothing more than a big pile of sand.
Did that kid actually beat Gaara? Baki thought as he saw the sand spread out, revealing an unconscious Gaara and Naruto. Suddenly, the Nanabi jinchūriki burst from the sand. She would've finished off the two, but before she could, three identical blonde women surrounded her.
"Binding Shackles!" they each said as they slapped their palms against the girl. "Fox Fire!" Each of them had several orbs of blue flame that flew themselves into the child. Soon, her Version Two chakra cloak was gone, and she was back to the transparent Version One. A mind-suppression seal, Haruko's clones thought. One clone went through several signs before uttering "Release!". She pressed a palm to the girl's forehead, causing the seals to fade. The beetle's remaining chakra receded, and the green-haired girl lost consciousness next to her jinchūriki brothers. "Can I trust you two to keep them safe?" the clone said to Masaru and Kiyoko who were in their human guise. Both nodded. "And Masaru, don't kill the Ichibi child," the clone said before she and the other two went off to the barrier. The red fox simply crossed his arms and huffed.
"Take all three of them now! Kusa will have its prize!" a Kusa ANBU shouted to his subordinates.
"I'll let you deal with them Kiyo," Masaru said as they calmly watched the enemy forces rush them.
I'd expect no less from the maker of the Seven Swords. Mei had locked down the Uzumaki's body with a layer of hardened lava, but she broke free from it with little effort. The woman now only had a single clone with her. "Tsurugi, Ao, take out her last clone! Zabuza, you and I will distract the original!" The two hunter-nin ran past Mito, one to the left and one to the right. Before she could go after them, Mei and Zabuza each blew out a wave of water that formed a dome around the resurrected Uzumaki.
Mei stuck her head through the wall and released a dense steam fog. The boiling mist not only melted away at the reincarnated body, but soon started causing the water dome to bubble rapidly. Gong through more hand seals, Mei and Zabuza forced the dome to shrink, increasing the pressure inside. Soon, the building energy became too much, and the dome exploded. As the Mei forced the mist to lift, they found nothing left. Hopefully we got her, the dual kekkai genkai weilder thought.
"Get down Mei!" Zabuza screamed as he thrust his sword in her direction. When the Mizukage turned around, she found Haku and Mito about to come out of an ice mirror, but were temporarily halted by the katana lodged through their chests. Without forming seals, Mei launched a stream of lava at the resurrected woman and effeminate boy before jumping back with Zabuza.
"Damn! Nothing works on these guys!" Zabuza yelled as the two corpses started reforming.
"I'm a little hurt that you forgot me." The Kage and Swordsman barely ducked under Mui's fire-sword.
"So what is Kusa's gain from this invasion?" Mei said as she dusted off her outfit. "Has Orochimaru offered you part of the Leaf Village?"
"What we want is far greater in scale. We desire the power that comes with those three children."
"So it's the strength of the Bijū in those kids. I can see the appeal. With the power of three jinchūriki under your control, not much could stand in your way. But you know that none of the other nations will let you just go about with your plan." As Mei kept talking, she formed a water-sword and handed it to Zabuza.
"That's why none of them will find out." Mui dashed forward, as did Zabuza. A hot burst of steam was a result of the clash between fire and water. While Zabuza grit his teeth in frustration, Mui's expression was unchanging. As they fought, Mei opened her mouth and let out a stream of mud that began moving towards the two.
Earth Style: Earth Corridor! The surrounding mud shot upward and became a small cavern around them. Lava Style: Painful Eruption! Mei released a powerful stream of magma that flowed into the man-made tunnel. Before the Grass jōnin could finish off the Kiri elite, the latter was protected by an earthen dome that pulled him below the surface. "HA!" Mei yelled as she clapped her hands together. With this gesture, the mud cavern erupted towards the sky as the molten, liquid earth eroded the roof they stood on.
"Did that finish him?" Zabuza questioned.
"Do you really take me so lightly?" Mui stepped out of an ice mirror Haku stood in. Mei threw Zabuza back as Mui landed his glowing red palm to her stomach. From his hand, fire burst out, throwing her away. When she got up, she saw that a luminous rectangle pattern had spread across her shoulders and down her body. "This is the end for you." Mei had little warning as the juinjutsu placed on her set her body alight. She writhed in pain before Zabuza doused her with a water jutsu, putting out the flames. Mei threw her hands into the ram sign, but when she tried to mold chakra, she felt a horrible burning sensation; as if a fire was burning her internally. "What did you do to me?!" she grit out.
"Heavenly Fire Prison; it's a special juinjutsu of my family. That seal will prevent you from even molding chakra without feeling excruciating pain. If you hadn't been covered with water, you'd be nothing more than a pile of ashes by now."
"Then I'll just have to make sure you take that damn seal off her!" Zabuza growled as he pulled out a kunai and charged at the prison warden, but Mui kept staying two steps ahead of the enraged Swordsman. When Zabuza took another stab, Haku jumped in the way, causing Zabuza to stab his former protégé through the left biceb; the exact same spot that had killed the child in the first place.
No, this isn't Haku. It's just a puppet made from dirt that looks like him. Mui readied another fire-sword, but only managed to cut through the ice user; Zabuza had jumped back a second earlier. At least the First's wife isn't here, but that could only mean that she's with the Third.
"Don't think we're out yet!" Ao appeared in the air behind Mui and thrust his palm out, unleashing a twin spiral torrent on the Kusa shinobi. Mui performed a front shoulder roll to right himself. That was when his arms were bound to his sides by a water whip held by the Tsurugi. As the head hunter-nin held Mui down, Zabuza and Ao each formed two water clones. One of each of their clones placed their hands on him, while the other two placed their hands in them. The first set of clones changed shape, turning into a sizable sphere around their captive.
"Don't kill him yet! We need him to get this seal off Lady Mizukage," the original Zabuza called out.
Suddenly, from outside, four identical blond women appeared on all four sides of the barrier.
Sage Art: Barrier Destruction!*(4) Each woman slammed their hands on the ground, causing intricate seal patterns to spread across the walls and onto the top of the purple prism.
"Shit! What kind of jutsu are these old broads using?!" Tayuya said through clenched teeth.
"I'm running out of health here!" Kidomaru's muscles in all six arms were strained to their limits.
"I really need something to eat!" Jirōbō whined.
"Even I'm failing!" Sakon said incredulously.
(Several minutes earlier)
"What's the matter sensei? You look like you need to lay down," Orochimaru taunted.
"At least I aged gracefully! You don't look any different from the monster I should've put down all those years ago!" Sarutobi declared with murderous intent as he fired an earth dragon from his mouth. Hashirama intercepted the attack with a wall of trees.
The wayward disciple rose from the ground behind his former master. "I'm not? Well then, see for yourself." The snake sannin grabbed his face before ripping off the skin like flimsy paper, to reveal woman's face.
"What is this? What are you?!" Hiruzen demanded in shock.
"I'm hurt sensei. It's me, Orochimaru," the creature spoke out in a definitely female voice.
"I see. So you've actually completed that wretched kinjutsu," Sarutobi accused as the woman/man started cackling maniacally.
"With this power, you anchor your soul into a new body. As long as you never run out of candidates, one has the potential to live forever." Orochimaru moved his hand over his face, causing his original facade to reappear. "If you're going to die, then I want this face to be the last one you see," he said in his own voice.
"Don't let this little bastard goad you into doing something stupid Hiruzen," Enma said in his staff form.
"All the people I've murdered, all because I was too weak to kill him the first time. I won't make that mistake again!" Sarutobi declared. He threw five shuriken and multiplied them into fifty. He then breathed fire-infused chakra onto the metal stars.
Orochimaru extended his Grass Longsword, channeled wind natured chakra through it, and forced back the flying fire-stars. "So you still have some life left in that old body of yours?" Orochimaru taunted. He jumped back, letting Hashirama, Tobirama, and Mito take the lead. Mito rushed in spewing out a fire dragon, followed by a wood and water dragon from her husband and brother-in-law respectively.
Forcing his old body to go beyond its limits, Sarutobi jumped onto the back of the wood dragon. The artificial beast turned it's head around to strike at the unwanted pasenger, but found him on its snout. This caused the fire dragon of its maker's wife to crash into it in its quest to destroy the staff wielding human. Hiruzen placed Enma in front of himself and called out, "Full Adamantine Nyoi Prison!" In a burst of smoke, Hiruzen was completely encased in cloned Enma staffs that left no gaps for an attack to get through. The two remaining elemental dragons both crashed into the nigh-impenetrable box, but ultimately failed.
"You so owe me when this is all over!" Enma shouted as he was tossed between flame and liquid.
"You can't hide forever sensei!" Hashirama made a copse of trees grow underneath the cage and lifted it into the air. Mito blew out a stream of fire at the canopy, setting it ablaze. Her husband caused more trunks to grow over the fire, giving the flames more kindling, while also cutting off Hiruzen's oxygen. When the flames were of considerable size, Tobirama formed a blade of water and sliced through the base of the trees. Orochimaru summoned a giant anaconda, which proceeded to smash its body onto the area where the only living Hokage was last seen. Orochimaru inspected the charred foliage, but when no signs of life presented themselves, he chuckled to himself. "They called you the God of Shinobi. If that were true, you wouldn't have lost so easily."
At this moment, Enma's fur covered hand shot from the ground and wrapped itself around his neck. "Then I won't disappoint you!" Hiruzen shot out from the behind Orochimaru, the fingers on his right hand glowing purple. "Five Pronged Seal!" Sarutobi yelled as he thrust his hand through is former student's shirt and into his back. "You are a genius, of that I can't deny, but you're also too arrogant for your own good. Now tell me how to end this jutsu."
Orochimaru simply laughed. "You're only options are to get me to cancel the jutsu; I would never do that on my own, but now that you've sealed off my chakra, I literally can't. The other course of action is to restrict the bodies' movements. However you seem to have forgotten another crucial aspect."
"Flower!" The Sandaime's body was instantly wrapped in a strange black rope-like substance that was mostly covered by multiple white barbs that he could only assume was bone. Turning his head, he found that Kimimaro had undergone a monstrous transformation. His skin was now a dark brown, he had several large, spear-like bones protruding from his back, and he had a spiny lizard's tail. He was the one holding the whip in his right hand, while most of his left arm was covered in a spiral bone-lance.
"Now you're in for a real treat sensei; this is the last act of Kimimaro's fourth dance, and it's quite a number."
"Flower!" Kimimaro reared back his lance.
*CRACK*
The four looked to see the purple barrier walls being covered in seal patterns that were quickly destroying it.
"Hurry Kimimaro!" Orochimaru shouted.
The last Kaguya(not really) focused himself. He thrust his lance to the living Hokage. However, instead of piercing through the heart, he only managed to cut off Sarutobi's left leg.
"You okay Sarutobi?" Enma said as he went to his summoner's side and helped him stand.
"Yes. Truthfully, I'm glad it was just my leg."
"Maybe now you'll actually retire," Enma joked.
"Don't get too comfortable now you two!" Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, and out of it came a snake the size of three cars placed bumper to bumper. Enma jumped back with Sarutobi as the snake dove through the roof beneath them. Suddenly, the snake's tail came up from the ground and tried piercing through the two.
"Hop on Hiruzen!" The Sandaime gripped onto Enma's tiger-stripe vest as the Monkey King grabbed the snake tail with both hands. From behind him, the snake's head came up, it's jaws opened wide.
Earth Style Stream! Hiruzen blew out a stream of boulders into the serpent's mouth. As the snake reared back, the blade of the Kusanagi extended through the rocks, where it went through Hiruzen's left bicep and barely missed Enma's spine.
"Hiruzen!" Enma screamed as he lept out of the way, but stumbled when he landed.
"Oh well, it may not have been how I wanted to finish off the old codger, but I guess no matter how you slice it, dead is dead," Orochimaru said as he came out of the snake's mouth.
"You little bastard! Hiruzen had such high hopes for you! How could you do this to the man who pulled you from your loneliness?!" Enma shouted in rage.
"I don't understand what's going on, but it's been a while, hasn't it Enma?" Haruko asked as her clones dispelled and she appeared between the the monkey and the sannin, easily binding the four resurrected corpses.
"Haru? It has been a long time."
"Kimimaro, the plan's gone down hill, it's time to leave." Orochimaru placed his hand on the Kaguya's shoulder, where a snake slithered between them. They both disappeared as the summons took them back to Ryūchi Cave.
"Excuse me, but I'll need to take those three off your hands," Tenzō said as he landed in front of Masaru and Kiyoko. At their feet were the bodies of about a dozen dead ninja with headbands ranging from Oto, Suna, Kusa, Taki, and even Konoha.
"As you can see, many have already tried to, and I'm sure you've already figured out that neither of us really believe in holding back," Masaru said as he thrust a sword into the spine of a Waterfall ninja.
"I can assure you, I'm only on orders to contain them should they wake up with traces of their Bijū chakra."
"And how would you do that?" Masaru questioned. Tenzō clapped his hands together and made a wooden cage appear around himself.
"So it seems that the Wood Style hasn't died with Hashirama. However, that doesn't mean we'll hand our summoner and the other two over to Konoha."
"Then until Lord Sandaime comes how about we each watch over them?" the ANBU proposed.
"Fine. You seem reasonable enough, but don't think we'll restrain ourselves against everyone else from your village. I've got a few words for that little Monkey when I see him," Masaru stated. Tenzō made a wooden stool, and the three sat in a semi-comfortable silence.
"Whoever you are, thank you for bringing down the barrier," Mei said as she bowed to one of Haruko's clones. "If it isn't too much trouble, do you think that you can take this juinjutsu off of me?" Mei asked.
"Ya' know Haru, you've been doing most of the work today; why don't you let me handle this one," Kohaku said as his eyes narrowed in a rather perverted manner.
In response, the female sage simply shoved him out of the way. "You know that you specialize in genjutsu Ko, and I've still got enough spirit left in me, though I have to say, this seal looks like it's going to be a bit of a challenge.
"Do we kill this one yet?" Ao asked as he gestured to Mui still stuck in the water prison.
"Not yet. If he's the one who made this seal, we don't know if there'll be any negative side effects from his death." It took several minutes, but eventually, Haruko was able to take the Heavenly Prison Seal off.
"Well now that you're no longer of use..." Zabuza grabbed a katana and gave it a few experimental flips.
No! I can't die here! Not now! Mui struggled inside the water prison, but it was all in vain. Zabuza reared back his arm. Muku.
"Wait!" Haruko said as she grabbed the katana with no damage to her hand. "Me and Kohaku will take him off your hands. This juinjutsu is a peculiar kind that I'd like to study."
"He worked with that snake bastard! There's no way I'm going to let him-"
"Zabuza! I don't know who she is, but I can tell that this woman boasts exceptional power from the way she brought down the barrier. However, I have to ask, what village are you with?"
Haruko smiled and said, "Just know that we don't move against the currents." With that said, she and her fellow clones dispelled, and Kohaku disappeared with a bound Mui.
(At the same time)
"Sorry Enma, but he's not coming back," Haruko said as she placed a hand on Enma's shoulder.
"Even in the end, he gave everything for the village. He truly did embody the Will of Fire. We'll have to get together sometime Haru; properly." Enma bowed before vanishing back to his home.
"Don't get your hopes up too high Enma; we may never get that chance." Haruko walked over to the four zombies and pulled the talisman out of each of their skulls. Cracks instantly appeared on their skin as their irises reverted to their original colors. "We have a lot to catch up on, don't we Mito-chan."
"Haruko-sama?"
"You haven't changed a bit, haven't you Granny?" Hashirama joked.
"Neither have you Hashi-kun. Still as thick-headed as ever," Haruko countered with a smile.
"You don't have to be so mean about it," the Shodaime said as he started becoming depressed.
And he still goes into those depressive states. Typical, the fox elder thought with a sigh. "You three don't belong in this world anymore. I wish that we had more time to chat, but your souls belong in the Pure World."
"She's right you two," Mito said as the binding seal was taken off of them. She and Hashirama locked their hands together as their bodies started crumbling. Tobirama simply watched with his hands crossed and smiled as his own form began deconstructing.
"Zabuza-sama!" Haku yelled as the Swordsman came over. "I almost killed you, please forgive me!" the boy yelled as tears ran down his cheeks.
"No Haku. I should be begging for your forgiveness." Haku's eyes shot open. "You dedicated your life to me and my own selfish desires. Even in the end, you died so that I could live. That's a heavy burden to put on someone, but you accepted it with all your heart. Even I'm embarrassed to call myself a ninja compared to you. Thank you."
Not knowing what to do, Haku simply hugged his master as he too began ascending. Soon, Haruko returned to Kitsune Valley, and all that was left was the bodies of Team Dosu and an Oto chūnin.
Author's Notes:
*(1) Sage Art: Fox Fire Jutsu
Classification: Senjutsu, Ninjutsu, Chakra Absorption
Rank: S-rank
Class: Offensive
Range: Short to Mid range
Hand seals: Tiger
The user mixes Natural Energy with fire nature chakra. However, rather than burn a target, the fires from this jutsu suck out chakra from a person's chakra pathway system as well as the chakra forming elemental attacks, rendering them useless. How much is dependent on the prefrence and skill of the user. The orbs also suck in Sage chakra if the victim is using it, causing the fires to last longer.
*(2) Sage Juinjutsu: Aid to Nirvana
Classification: Senjutsu, Juinjutsu
Rank: S-rank
Class: Offensive
Range: Short range
Hand seals: Zai (Kuji-in Mudras)
This technique requires great mastery in fūinjutsu and Senjutsu. After branding the target with a special juinjutsu, the user performs a specific hand sign, causing the seal to stop the victim's heart.
*(3) Sealing Jutsu: Binding Shackles
Classification: Fūinjutsu
Rank: A-rank
Class: Supplementary
Range: Short range
Hand seals: Boar → Snake → Dragon → Clap hands
After forming the necessary hand seals, the user presses their palm against the target. After that, a seal matrix spreads from the palm and over the target's body, binding their movements until the jutsu is undone by either the caster or someone else.
*(4) Sage Art: Barrier Destruction
Classification: Fūinjutsu, Senjutsu
Rank: A-rank
Class: Supplementary
Range: Short range
Hand seals: Clap hands
This jutsu uses seals to bring down very powerful barriers with relative ease.
*(5) This is my own interpretation of what the inside of Gaara's seal looks like. Yes, I've read chapter 660 of the canon manga. This is one of the liberties I'm taking as a fanfiction author.
*(6) Here's how I see the Transformation Jutsu working. Officially, it's classified as an E-rank, General Skill that's taught to all Academy students. But I see it as simultaneously being every rank from E to S. To elaborate, let's take each of the members of Team 7 at the start of their shinobi careers, and use the three basic stages of matter as an analogy:
First is Sakura, the gas stage (and no, that isn't an airhead joke). Like certain types of gases, the transformation can be seen, but like gas, it can't actually be interacted with. If someone were to try and touch the transformed with this level of transformation, their hands will simply go through it.
Next is Sasuke, the liquid stage. This transformation level is capable of interacting with its environment, but is still rather unstable. Like how the surface of water will ripple when touched, this type of transformation isn't ideal for prolonged use, and is best suited for quick infiltration operations.
Finally is Naruto, the solid stage. This is the strongest level of transformation, as it can interact with the environment, yet remain fully functional. This type of transformation can be used by people with high levels of chakra, and is more suited to long-term body-double missions.
I'm going to leave a poll on my profile to see who the next Hokage should be.
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