'Normal Speech'
'Thoughts'
'Bijuu/Summons/Gamer/Techniques'
'Bijuu/Summons/Thoughts/Techniques'
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, The Gamer, or any series for that matter. If I did the last thing I would do is write fanfiction for your amusement. I am also way too lazy to come up with new creative and funny disclaimers to post on every chapter, so I'll be copying this one and pasting it on every chapter. I've got better things to do with my time, like read fanfiction, write fanfiction, eat, do work, work out, read fanfiction...you get the idea.
(P.S. Did you guys know I like fanfiction?)
Chapter 21
"Using our Chimera Jutsu, four of the Kekkei Genkai from each of the great ninja villages are already mine."
The gargantuan projection of Hiruko explained as he continued to monologue his entire plan.
"He has 4 already…that's probably not good."
"When I obtain the fifth and final Kekkei Genkai, I will become invincible…a perfect immortal ninja."
"Why is he telling us his grand plan? Isn't that just inviting everyone to stop him? Wouldn't it be better to just obtain whatever he needs quietly and then take over the world?"
Was I the only one with these thoughts?
"With that power, I will descend the shinobi villages into a Great Ninja War and I will rule over everything."
With his message delivered, the projection vanished from the sky.
There was a moment of silence.
Kushina narrowed her eyes, "If I wasn't 10 months pregnant right now, I would personally go out and smack his face."
Kakashi continued to focus his forlorn gaze in the distance. "…We've just suffered through a Great Ninja War, yet he wants to drag us into one again."
There wasn't much anyone else could say at that statement.
Suddenly I perked up.
Mito smiled, "Dad!"
Minato patted his daughter's head before he looked at me gravely. "I'm going to assume you already know the situation."
I nodded, "…It was kind of hard to miss." I looked to the distance where Hiruko had set up his projection, "Rin's situation was already complicated enough, but now this…"
Minato sighed while gently running his hands through his hair, "Even after all the effort we made to block any information about him. I didn't think he'd have such a technique that would screw us over."
"And now the other nations are going to be at our front doors." I stated
"… What about our relationship it's Suna?" Kakashi asked.
Minato smiled wryly, "They've been on edge since they found out we gained possession of the Three-Tails. At this point, the most we can hope from them is that they don't try to attack us."
Kushina sighed deeply, "All this stress is not good for my baby. You all better figure this out in the next few days because I won't bring my child into another Shinobi War."
"Don't worry." Minato began with a smile, "We'll figure this out. You can count on me." He concluded while gently stroking Kushina's face.
As she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch…
"Am I going to get another sibling after?" Mito asked innocently.
Minato and Kushina froze before they stared at me.
I blinked, "You can't blame this on me."
Minato just shook his head and looked at me before saying, "Come with me to my office. I'll explain to you and a small group of others our plan." He then turned his gaze to Kakashi before saying, "Continue on with your duty."
Kakashi nodded.
With that, Minato placed a hand on my shoulder before our surroundings shifted and warped in my view. Not only that, but I now sensed three familiar and powerful chakra signatures inside the Hokage's office.
"Ohh? You brought the little one in here too Minato?" Jiraiya's voice rang out soon after our appearance.
Minato nodded before sitting on his chair. "That's right, it's easier for me if you are all here right now."
I decided to move around his table and face the Hokage alongside the 3 Sannin.
Seeing this, Minato then continued. "Over the past year or so, the previous Hokage and I have been gathering intel on Hiruko in the inevitable scenario that we would have to confront him." He then exhaled lightly. "We hadn't thought the situation would be this large but regardless, a few days ago, we were able to locate his whereabouts."
Jiraiya furrowed his brows, "That's a little…"
"Convenient?" Minato completed with a smile. "That's what I was thinking as well, however, the trail of his most recent victims ends there and it's the only lead we have."
"So?" Tsunade began. "Where exactly is our body stealing friend hiding out?"
Minato nodded. "The intel says that they found a base at Mt. Shumisen in the Kōrin range on the border of the Hidden Stone Village in the Land of Earth and the Hidden Grass.
"I remember that area…It was around where my very first mission took place…and where I killed someone for the first time…good times."
Minato continued. "The scouts fought against odd chimeric beasts not unlike the ones that are in your lab right nor Orochimaru. They were, however, more stable and seemed to be more complete and stronger versions of the ones Hiruko had been working with in the past."
The man slightly narrowed his eyes in intrigue. "Fascinating. Our next course of action then?"
"That's why you are all here." Minato said before looking at Tsunade, "In preparation for the encroachment of enemies on our borders, I would like you to delegate medic-nin to the field in correspondence with the number of shinobi we already have out there. I'll have information about our deployment delivered to you."
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
Minato scratched the back of his head, "You don't have to be so respectful you know, just Minato is fine. You three are still my seniors…"
"You calling me old?" Tsunade said with a glare.
Minato blinked, "Well no-"
Jiraiya coughed, gaining Minato's attention and preventing Tsunade from responding in turn and derailing this meeting into something meaningless.
With that Minato strained a smile before adopting a serious countenance and gazing at Orochimaru. "Have you found a weakness to his ability?"
He grinned, "I have, but I need just a few more hours to complete it. Trust me when I say that it will be very effective."
Minato nodded, seemingly relaxed a little bit, before he gazed at Jiraiya, "Sensei, I'll have you watch the border between us and Sand and try to delegate. I don't want us to break ties with them if possible."
Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "That will be just a bit tough. With this situation and that other one, it'll be difficult to calm them down…"
"I know." Minato said. "And that's where Yoru comes in."
I blinked, "Me?"
He nodded. "I have a specific mission for you that will more than likely halt any thought of invasion from Suna and may allow us to even gain their help."
At this, the rest of us were intrigued.
"To put so much faith in him…" Jiraiya said rubbing his chin and looking my way before smiling. "Well, what's this special mission you have?"
"Do you all recall that the Third Kazekage disappeared a couple years back during the War?" Minato asked.
Jiraiya's eyes instantly widened causing the visions of Tsunade and Orochimaru to be surprised.
"Well?" Tsunade began in irritation. "Don't just leave us out of the loop."
Jiraiya actually ignored her and looked at Minato seriously, "Do you think he can handle this alone?"
Minato looked at me to which I simply looked back at him cluelessly.
He smiled, "Maybe, maybe not, but I plan to have him bring someone along if he feels the need to."
Jiraiya closed his eyes in thought and nodded for a moment. "I see."
"I would really appreciate it if you both allowed me to understand what you were talking about." The blond Sannin said with a frown.
Minato explained, "To be honest, the Third Hokage and I had somewhat planned for the scenario in which Hiruko's ties to us were found, so at the very least we thought of how we could keep Sand on our side. We figured that we could find the person they had been looking for after all these years and at least prevent them from moving against us."
"I was tasked with finding any information about the Third through my extensive network and only through some chance was I able to come up with a name." Jiraiya spoke gravely. "Sasori of the Red Sand."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "What does the puppeteer have to do with the Third Kazekage's disappearance?"
"Apparently, everything." Jiraiya stated. "During one of his excursions, he was seen with a puppet that was using the Third Kazekage's Magnet Style iron sand. It was in a remote country so the news likely wouldn't have ever made it over here to the elemental nations if not for my web barely reaching that far."
Tsunade raised a brow and looked at Minato, "I see what you're thinking. If we can get the Third Kazekage's Body back for Suna, they'll be more than likely grateful enough to step back. However, you're going to have him face off against someone who could take down someone of the Third Kazekage's caliber?"
Minato shook his head. "The mission objective is to primarily secure the Kazekage's body, not to collect a bounty. As long as the body is secure…" Minato stated before pulling out of of his tri-pronged kunai. "…Then I can just pick him up." Saying so, he handed it to me.
Ping!
Quest Alert!
Red Iron Sand!
Based on Jiraiya's intelligence network, it has been found that Sasori of the Red Sand is in position of the Third Kazekage's corpse. Your duty is to retrieve it safely and intact in order to return it to the Hidden Sand Village.
Reward: 250,000 EXP
Failure: Death
"…I should be able to handle it." I stated as I took the weapon. "But I'll probably need a little backup."
If I went alone and faced such an opponent, I didn't doubt I could win if I decided to say 'fuck it' and just blow myself and my opponent up, but that would probably also destroy the mission objective.
With that said.
I looked at the Hokage, "If Itachi is still in the Village, I'll use his assistance."
The Hokage agreed to my request. "I'll see to it." He then looked at Jiraiya.
"Hold on just a moment." Tsunade said as she centralized her vision on me. "A team is not complete unless it has at least one medic-nin. You don't think I'll let you leave with only one other person do you?"
When Tsunade had officially returned to the village a couple of years ago (as a result of yours truly), she had brought with her a variety of reforms for the current team system in Konoha. It was mandatory for the shinobi with the best chakra control of the graduating classes to take intensive Medical training classes. This had also helped reduce our casualties during the war in the long run.
That being said.
"…I should be able to heal myself if-"
"No." She said simply, cutting me off. "While your ability can heal bodily injuries quite effectively, that's its only purpose. You have little official training as a medic-nin. What will you do if you are drugged or poisoned? Or you become infected with something unknown?"
I paused for a moment. "Well, my body is resistant to poisons-"
"Resistant?" She asked with a raised brow. "But not immune? My point then still stands. Besides, I'm pretty sure that Itachi doesn't have your body so if you plan on taking a partner with you on this mission, you'll go with a full team of three."
I could see that she wasn't really going to budge on this. I wasn't sure if it was because she cared for me, didn't want me to die, or because she liked her rules followed. Regardless, I nodded in agreement, "Alright then, who do you suggest I take with me?"
"Rin." Tsunade said.
Minato considered. "Are you sure that's the best decision."
"Why not?" The blonde Sannin rhetorically asked. "Kiri doesn't know who she is, only that she exists, and with that there's no one else from the other nations who would be able to identify her. Furthermore, I've been teaching her everything I could during these past 5 months. She'll be able to handle herself well enough. That also reminds me…" she looked at me. "I think her control is enough for your seal."
Minato nodded. "I'll trust your judgement on this. Now then, Sasori of the Red Sand?" He asked, looking at Jiraiya.
The white haired man sighed before adopting a serious expression. "From my reports, Sasori was last spotted around the ruins of the city of Rōran. Possibly to look for more puppet parts, or because of the scenery but I can't be sure."
Minato suddenly frowned. "I sealed off the Ryūmyaku vein of that city so he shouldn't be there for that at the very least." he shook his head before looking at me, "Alright, now that you know where to go you can start preparing. I'll have someone contact Itachi."
I nodded. "If he declines then don't worry too much about it, I'll probably be fine regardless."
If Sasori did make a human puppet out of the Third Kazekage, it was likely weaker than the original. Factoring in my abilities, I should be able to scrape a win even if I was alone as long as I played it smart. Though there was also the fact that he had been able to kill the Third Kazekage in the first place…
"Here." Jiraiya stated before tossing me a scroll he had puffed from his storage seal. "That's all the information my spies have been able to gather including his disguises and some of his abilities. It's not much but it should help you a little bit."
I slightly bowed in thanks before storing the scroll.
"Alright, you all are dismissed." Minato stated.
I nodded before adding. "Let my partners know that I'll be at the front of the gate."
Minato nodded. "They'll know."
I bowed then I left.
-Yoru: Gamer-
I leaned on the wall next to the large exit path that would lead me out of Konoha and looked at the blank space in front of me.
Name: Yorudan
Race: Human?
Age: 10.99 years old
Level: Lvl 96 Next Level: 258700/471000
HP: 397201/397201 Regen: (10923 per min)
CP: 633076/633076 Regen: (23740 per min)
CC: 100%
STR: 493 (292%) = 1440
VIT: 497 (292%) = 1451
DEX: 495 (292%) = 1445
INT: 385 (300%) = 1155
WIS: 380 (300%) = 1140
ENGY: 400 (492%) = 1968
Points: 235
Ryo: 6,355,348
I wasn't really sure what would be the most appropriate distribution of points for the coming mission, but I would be damned if I didn't get my first three stats to 500
Ping!
Due to your STR reaching 500, your skill [Dense Muscles II] has evolved to [Dense Muscles III]
Dense muscle III (Passive) Lvl Max
Dense muscle is a skill given to those with overwhelming Strength. The denseness of your muscled increases greatly, allowing you to suffer less damage form physical attacks.
Increase Durability equal to your STR x 5 value.
Due to your VIT reaching 500, your skill [Thick Skin] has evolved to [Thick Skin II]
Thick Skin II (Passive) Lvl MAX
Thick Skin is your body's natural outer defenses that depend upon your maximum HP value. It increases your final durability equal to 5% of your HP value.
DUR increased by 5% HP
Due to your DEX reaching 500, your skill [Hawkeyes II] has evolved to [Hawkeyes III]
Hawkeyes III (Passive) Lvl Max
Hawkeyes III is a skill granted to those with incredible natural vision. With this ability, every point the user has in Dexterity x 5 is a meter long increase to their natural vision range. It also allows the user to see in the dark. (I.e. a DEX stat of 200 [including bonuses] would increase your maximum vision range by 1000 meters.)
"Beautiful…" I thought to myself as I gazed at the perfectly even numbers.
My next course of action was to blow away 115 stat points on INT since it had been hard to make it and WIS catch up to my first three stats. ENGY was a non-issue since the passive multipliers I got for it were immense.
Ping!
Due to your INT reaching 500, you have gained the skill, [Parallel Processes]
Parallel Processes (Passive) Lvl Max
Parallel Processes allows your brain to simultaneously process two completely different sets of information. One part of your brain is almost completely independent of the other and can work subconsciously while the other part works consciously. When both parts of your mind focus on a singular task, your processing capabilities are quadrupled.
Immediately, I could feel an alien phenomena occur within my mind as something akin to a second brain seemed to form. I looked around the world, my minds taking in and processing information at a pace much more rapidly than I had ever done before.
"Neat…" I thought to myself before another thought came to mind. "I'll have it work on that other project for now…" The project in question was one that would significantly increase Mito's life expectancy when completed.
As soon as I delegated the role to my new mind, I immediately felt a sense of loss as my processing capabilities returned to "normal".
I gave myself a moment to readjust before I focused on the screen in front of me. With only 105 stat points left, I put 20 into WIS to give it an even 400 and closed my screen.
With that, I took out the scroll Jiraiya had given me and read through the contents.
"Rōran huh…"
Rōran was a kingdom surrounded by a desert in the Land of Wind. Now, it was simply a city in ruins. I didn't really know the specifics because I had been off on a mission at the time, but I knew that Minato had sealed off the city's chakra vein after defeating some idiotic megalomaniac who had planned on using it to take over the world.
I halted my thoughts and put down the mission scroll before looking in front of me. "…You decided to come."
Itachi looked at me plainly before nodding.
I internally sighed.
Some time ago on a simple escort mission, Itachi had lost both of his teammates. The escort had been slaughtered as well, their bodies staining the grass with blood. I didn't know the specifics like who attacked or why, but ever since then, he'd been a lot quieter.
"Yoru!" A feminine voice exclaimed from the distance.
I turned my head and gazed at Rin's quickly approaching figure as she waved at me while smiling. In but a few moments, she arrived in front of Itachi and me.
I scanned her up and down for a moment before commenting. "You seem to be in good health."
She nodded. "It's all thanks to Lady Tsunade's treatments but of course I would have never had the opportunity if not for you."
With a light smile and a nod in her direction, I faced both her and Itachi. "We'll be working as a team so we'll need to know each other. Rin, Itachi. Itachi, Rin."
The brown haired girl smiled at Itachi before slightly bowing. "Nice to meet you Itachi. I look forward to working with you."
"…Likewise." He quietly replied with a bow.
"Next up, here is the mission detail." I said, giving them the scroll to look at. Rin opened it and Itachi stood next to her as he observed from behind. "Our first mission is to confirm if Sasori of the Red Sand has what we are looking for. If not, we won't engage and we'll go on our way, hopefully avoiding detection. If he does have what we want, however, we'll have to engage and retrieve it."
"…The Third Kazekage's corpse." Itachi said before looking towards me. "Is this about that projection?"
"Among other things." I said. "We'll be heading out to the ruins of the Kingdom of Rōran. Any questions?"
Itachi said nothing while Rin simply rolled the scroll back up and handed it to me.
Seeing this, I nodded. "Alright then, but before that…" I looked to Rin and grabbed her hand. "Lady Tsunade says you're ready so what design do you want."
She blinked for a moment before she smiled in remembrance, "A turtle."
I didn't bat an eye at the odd request as there had been some really weird ones in the past. With that, numerous lines of Fuuinjutsu script covered her body from our point of contact. In but a moment, the script began to coalesce onto the back of her hand before a realistic green turtle was displayed on it.
Rin raised her hand to the sky and marveled at it before suddenly hugging me. "Thank you! Iso-kun says he loves it!"
"No worries." Was my reply after which she separated from me.
I ignored Itachi's questioning look at he looked between Rin and I (was he smirking?) before I placed a hand on both of their shoulders. Unbeknownst to both of them (or perhaps they both knew, but it didn't matter anyway), I formed a Fuuinjutsu seal on both of their bodies. With that complete, I looked to them before saying, "Let's move."
We were right next to the gate so after showing our mission statement, we were quickly let through.
-Yoru: Gamer-
I stood in the front and center of our triangular formation as we traversed through the forested terrain that made up most of The Land of Fire. You know, I always found it ironic that the land of Fire was surrounded by trees.
The Land of Earth was well…I guess surrounded by dirt.
The Land if Wind was a desert and very windy.
The Land of Lightning was up in the clouds (pretty literally) so it made sense.
And the Land of Water was quite aptly surrounded by water.
The Land of Fire, however, only had trees. Not even an active volcano was around here.
Did no one else ever find that strange?
"We should be arriving close to Amegakure soon." I said out loud.
I didn't need to look back as I felt their agreement at my statement.
From what I knew, The Village Hidden in the Rain was in the middle of a civil war of sorts and so it was important that we moved around the outskirts of Hidden Rain. The only reason we were going through this area was due to the fact that Rain acted as a buffer between Sand and Konoha and was the quickest way to our destination.
It was inevitable, however, that we would have to pass through some of the smaller villages that were located around the Hidden Rain's territory so as we approached one such village, I began to slow down, my teammates following suit.
"We'll make a quick pit stop here before we move on." I explained. We weren't really tired but since we were here, I figured we could take a little moment to pause before continuing on with our mission.
We landed on the ground and walked out of the forest before beginning to make our way towards the gate of the village.
It was then that I furrowed my brows. "Odd…the security is lax."
Even if this village wasn't a part of the Hidden Rain's civil war, I expected that it would at the very least increase its security especially due to its proximity to Rain.
"Well, it's not my problem." I thought as I entered the village.
My teammates and I walked along the paved dirt road of this small town while I looked to and observed the people here. "There's little to no tension…" I observed.
Another thing I noted was that some of the individual n the area were staring at us with whispers. I couldn't say it was hostile, but it certainly wasn't friendly. I closed my eyes and focused on my ears in order to hear what they were talking about.
"-Shinobi from the Leaf."
"What are they doing here?"
"-projection in the sky…"
"Hmph, as long as god is in Hidden Rain what can Konoha do…"
"-Angel of God."
I stopped concentrating and furrowed my brows, especially at the last two statements. "God? I haven't heard anything about that in the Hidden Rain, but then again they are quite isolated…"
As I noticed the visions of the people around us getting less hospitable, I looked to both Itachi and Rin and grabbed their forehead protectors before taking them away. "Itachi."
No more needed to be said as his eyes transformed into his clan's signature bloodline limit. Soon after, the individuals surrounding us suddenly started to ignore us as if we weren't there.
I nodded. "Let's quickly depart, it seems like our presence isn't welcome."
There was no disagreement as we quickly exited to the other end of the village and continued on with our travels.
"Um…Yoru?" I heard Rin ask behind me.
I slightly turned my head to her, "What's wrong?"
"My headband…" she commented with a smile as she scratched her cheek.
"Right…" I said as I took them both out and handed them back to their respective owners
Rin took hers with thanks before stating, "You know, I have never seen you with your shinobi headband on."
Itachi slightly perked up as well so I answered, "It reflects the light making whoever wears one a shining beacon that screams 'kill me please'. At night it's not so bad but I still don't bother wearing it."
Rin and Itachi paused and looked at each other before slowly putting their headbands away.
With that, there were no more distractions as we quickly traversed through the forest before the environment began to change. The trees became more sparse as the soil became less fertile and more grainy as we began to approach Wind Country's borders.
Before long, we found ourselves surrounded by Sand signifying that we had arrived at Wind Country.
I looked to the sky, noting the position of the sun in relation to us before I mentally conjured the map of the area. "…As long as we continue moving southwest, we should make it soon."
Itachi and Rin nodded in agreement so we continued our movements. In but a few moments later, we finally arrived at our destination. In front of us a magnificent city of towers surrounded by a metal wall.
The architecture of the area was exquisite with the tall metal towers gleaming in the afternoon sun. Some of the buildings were tilted or had fallen down due to the aftereffects of the war yet the city retained its charm.
"So this is that place…" Rin said as she idly took in the architecture. "Kakashi told me he went on a mission around here with sensei."
I walked forward into the city gates, signaling the others to follow. "Nothing of note really happened at that time."
"…Wasn't someone trying to take over the World?" Itachi asked skeptically.
"…You get those kinds of people from time to time." I replied. "As a matter of fact, the elemental nations are currently dealing with one such individual at this moment. Like every other idiotic megalomaniac, he'll die as well."
Suddenly, I stopped and held out my hand.
I listened.
"Do you two hear that?"
Itachi and Rin stood on guard as they focused on their surroundings and began to look every which way.
"I can't-" Rin began before she immediately paused.
I narrowed my eyes, "Jump."
Without a moment's hesitation, Itachi Rin and I leaped up to the top of the closest tower just as the ground beneath burst open, three large bodies puppets spilling out from the gap. They were humanoid shaped puppets that seemed to be modeled after Dogū.
Before I could contemplate further, the puppets suddenly launched towards, jet boosters propelling their flight.
I sharpened my gaze, "move!"
No more needed to be said as we all jumped to other buildings just before the puppets released powerful chakra lasers from their mouth. The building we had previously occupied was easily vaporized, the ashes and debris falling downwards due to gravity.
The three puppets then turned, each one facing one of us before they attacked.
I focused on my enemy as it charged at me before it suddenly launched kunai from its hips. I took out my own and easily deflected them before hoping back a few paces as I found that they were following me.
I took a deep breath.
Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame
White flames of immense heat poured out of my mouth and engulfed the projectiles as they fired off towards the puppet.
An explosion sounded out on the battlefield
The puppet I had been facing was charred black as it tumbled in the air before crashing to the ground. No sooner did a couple more explosions sound out through the battlefield before I saw Itachi and Rin standing on different buildings.
We looked at each other before nodding.
"I suppose those were flawed pieces of art."
I widened my eyes at the sudden voice before hopping back a few steps and jumping up to the building Rin was on. I focused my senses and felt a powerful chakra signature thinly linked to certain objects that were all around us.
"There's no point in running." The voice said, closer this time. "Once I'm done unearthing the masterpieces located here, I'll turn you all into immortal pieces of art!"
Before I could find the source of the chakra, the ground began to tumble and shake before hundreds of puppets emerged from below. The streets were densely packed with the metal automatons, half of which took up to the air.
"This looks problematic." Rin states wryly.
I shook my head. "We simply have to even the odds."
Shadow Clone Jutsu
I divided my chakra into 210 parts and gave rise to 210 clones of myself, each with only around 3000 units of chakra.
But it was enough.
My clones jumped down from their higher vantage point while simultaneously forming a swirling ball of blue chakra on their palms. The Rasengan only cost as much as a B-ranked technique despite its power being S-ranked, however, if I had divided my clones any further, they would not have been able to use it.
As these thoughts filtered through my mind, my clones attacked.
Rasengan Barrage
The ground below lit up with a magnificent blue glow as each of my clones' Rasengan made contact with the enemy puppets. The shockwave from the attacks quickly dispelled them and caused powerful winds to surge in all areas.
Itachi and Rin partially covered their eyes from the gale force winds while I kept mine peeled in search.
After the wind died down, Itachi asked, "…Was it even necessary for us to come?"
I nodded. "I'm out of chakra with that stunt. I'll be out of commission for just a moment." With that, I sat down and activated Meditation. To be honest, I wasn't completely out of chakra, but I wanted to see what they could do.
"Truly magnificent! Your body can contain so much chakra! I must make you part of my collection." It was at this time that the owner of the voice made himself known. He appeared on the opposite end of the street among the puppet wreckage.
He was a man with wide greyish brown eyes and short, mousy red hair. He wore the Suna flak jacket with a sleeveless undershirt, bandages around both arms, brown pants with an attached holster, and brown shinobi sandals.
"The Puppet Ninja Force created by Mukade were exquisite masterpieces of art." Sasori began as he spread his fingers, thin chakra strings attaching to the scattered remains of the puppets. "It's a pity he couldn't appreciate them and ended up dying. Thankfully, he left more than enough spare parts for me to use."
He stopped and smiled before moving his hands and twitching his fingers. Immediately after, the puppet pieces flew together and began to pile and merge with one another.
"I'll leave the next few seconds to you." I told them before taking out two kunai and stabbing one on either side of me.
Itachi nodded.
Rin smiled. "Let's show him Itachi."
Itachi looked to her and smiled in kind before activating his Sharingan.
With that, they took off.
Two handseals was all it took before Itachi puffed his chest with air and exhaled a ball of fire at the scrap puppet pieces. An explosion of fire followed by a wave of heat resulted from his attack connecting.
Rin followed behind as she dashed across the roofs of the buildings before she jumped up. Her handseals rapidly formed before she puffed her cheeks and spit out a giant blob of water in the air. It paused as it reached its apex before lances of water shot out from it towards the smokescreen caused by Itachi's attack.
The earth trembled and dust picked up as Itachi and Rin leaped back and watched in seriousness as the dust from their attacks began to clear.
"An Uchiha?" A voice said from within the smoke as it dissipated. "I suppose I could add you as well."
The smoke finally dissipated showcasing a massive unharmed centipede-like puppet body. "In the past Mukade used this city's underground chakra vein to power this beautiful puppet." Sasori stated as he stood on the head of the doll. "And that was why he was a failure as a puppeteer. He used external means to supply his abilities and was much too weak and unqualified to do it on his own."
With that said, Sasori uncrossed his hands, the chakra strings connecting them to the giant puppet causing it to move. With a roar, the puppet raised its hand and slammed the ground causing the earth to tremble as a shockwave spread outwards.
The turbulent winds caused Itachi and Rin to leap back a couple of paces before they stabilized themselves.
Sasori smiled. "Go!"
The beast roared before its mouth glowed as it gathered chakra before it shot out a beam of immense energy out of its mouth. Its head turned as it indiscriminately attacked the rest of the city along with its targets.
Rin and Itachi jumped up from the smoke.
The former looked below with a serious gaze before a cloak of red chakra in the form of a turtle with three flat tails began to cover her form. Not a moment sooner did she flip through a few handseals.
Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu
With her Bijuu's aid, the moisture in the air rapidly gathered behind her and formed an immense pillar of water in the shape of a dragon. Its yellow eyes gleamed as it looked below before it roared and dashed downwards to attack.
Itachi didn't idle as he shot a powerful beam of electricity into the dragon causing it to glitter in lightning as it continued its decent.
With its large size, the puppet was forced to confront the attack head-on as it blasted a beam of concentrated chakra at the lightning covered water dragon. Unfortunately, the added chakra from Rin's Bijuu was more than enough for the water dragon to overpower it.
With an explosion of energy, it came crashing down on the puppet causing cracks to spread outward.
The puppet below lay damaged from the attack and it groaned as it struggled to stand.
But it didn't end.
With gravity doing its job, Rin began to descend towards the puppet. She cocked her hand back and right as she lashed out, I felt her gather a sufficient amount of chakra on her fist.
With a short shout, her fist hit the puppet squarely on the head, caving it in. The impact caused a shockwave to spread through the surroundings and the ground to cave in. Cracks spread all around as the earth collapsed in on itself with the nearby buildings breaking down from their destabilized structure.
I raised a brow as the dust and debris from the impact expanded. "What exactly did Tsunade teach that girl?"
"It seems like my affinity for this work of art isn't high." Sasori said in slight disappointment. "However…" he looked to Rin with a grin. "A Jinchuuriki as well! You three will more than makeup for my losses!"
A terribly foreboding feeling welled up from within me.
Without warning, Spears of iron sand shot out from the ground beneath Itachi, Rin, and me.
Time slowed down in my perception as I threw the two kunai beside me in the air before I leaped back.
I could see the iron spears inching closer to Itachi and Rin.
I could smell the dangerous poison-laced on the projectiles.
I could tell that Itachi and Rin would have a hard time dodging these attacks.
Despite this, I remained calm.
Amenotokotachi (Heaven)
In a flash, the two Kunai I had thrown were replaced with Itachi and Rin respectively. Soon after, the kunai were shredded to shrapnel from the iron sand attack.
Itachi and Rin quickly gained their bearings and flipped back before softly landing on the ground to my either side.
Rin breathed heavily before looking at me in wonder. "What was that?"
"A project I've been working on for a while." I replied simply. A few years back when I had memorized Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique notes, I had already begun to formalize something similar of my own. It came with its advantages and disadvantages, but those could be explained at a later date.
"…We have company." Itachi stated.
No sooner did an iron spike shoot out from below us which we hurriedly dodged by jumping back. The attack didn't end and more spikes emerged and traveled towards us.
We leaped backward from rooftop to rooftop, each building soon being devastated by the iron spikes. We gained significant distance and I took the time to observe the landscape noting how it had drastically changed with iron spikes jutting out everywhere.
"Don't let those touch you." I said. "They're laced."
Their bodies straightened in seriousness before laughter sounded out.
In the sky on a cloud of iron sand, Sasori sat with his arms in the air as he controlled a puppet with short black hair reaching its shoulders, yellow eyes, and a gray overcoat. "This is my most prized work of art. The effort that it took to capture him was so well worth it."
Rin's eyes widened, "Is that…?"
"The Third Kazekage." Itachi finished as his sharingan eyes narrowed.
I nodded, "It looks like the information was correct. Sasori of the Red Sand killed his own Kage and turned him into a puppet." I stood up and cracked the joints in my fingers. "Now we have no choice but to engage."
My eyes glowed as I activated Deconstructive Analysis while I simultaneously activated Accelerated Analysis and also used my other mind from Parallel Processes.
My perception of time slowed to a crawl.
I pulled out a kunai attached to a string and placed my Amenotokotachi mark on it. Lightning coursed through my hand and fell onto the blade before I threw it.
Hard.
The sound was deafening as the blade traveled through the air towards Sasori at speeds that easily caused it to catch fire from the friction.
Despite this, in my gaze, the knife moved slowly.
I could see Sasori's serious visage as he controlled his puppet releasing a wave of chakra that adhered to the iron spikes. They moved to intercept my kunai, however, their movements were captured in my eyes.
The velocity of the knife, the wind resistance of the air, tension of the string, and the angles of the iron spikes were all calculated rapidly by my second brain. Every twitch I made to my fingers was calculated to give my kunai the most optimal flight path towards its destination as I caused it to weave through the jutting iron spears.
Sasori widened his eyes as he hurriedly formed an iron barrier, however, my lighting shot through it like a beam, melting the edges of the hole it made.
Still, with his incredible experience, Sasori was able to tilt his head just enough for my Kunai to just barely graze his cheek.
A Rasengan formed on my hand
Amenotokotachi
Spacetime distorted as I vanished from my initial position and appeared right behind Sasori, my kunai changing positions with me.
The spiraling ball of energy on my palms slowly inched its way towards Sasori.
And then, I felt it.
An immense sense of danger blared within my mind.
The Third Kazekage puppet suddenly shot out a black iron knife from a hidden compartment within it. I could easily see it coming, however, if I chose to dodge now, I wouldn't get this chance again.
So, I didn't.
The blade pierced my back and exited through my chest.
Despite that, I drilled the Rasengan into Sasori's back, knocking him off the iron sand cloud. His momentary incapacitation caused the iron sand below my feet to dissipate and gravity to take over.
At the same moment, the kunai I had switched myself with had kept its momentum and once more travel in this direction before passing over us and flying over head.
I sighed and thought to myself as I fell to the ground below. "Just as I was showing off my new technique, I get stabbed through the heart because of it…"
At that moment, I felt for another Amenotokotachi connection and tried to move there.
And then I realized.
I couldn't control my chakra.
You've been afflicted by a powerful poison!
Decreases HP by 500 per second
Decreases CC by 100%
Due to Toxin resistance, HP is decreased by 50 per second
Due to Toxin resistance, CC is decreased by 10%
It was the sudden feeling of not having perfect control of my chakra that threw me off. It was like suddenly losing your limb out of nowhere and trying to walk without realizing you had lost it. It was because of this feeling that at that instant...
I was unable to use my chakra.
I looked to the sky, "Why have you forsaken me?"
An iron spike on the ground rammed through my stomach, the sickening sound of flesh tearing resulting from the impact. I coughed up a glob of blood, but that was inconsequential compared to the immense pain my body felt.
"To think you hadn't instantly died from that attack and the poison." Sasori stated as he grinned despite the blood pouring from his back. "You're a little roughed up but I can fix you up nicely."
My vision somewhat blurred as the poison worked its way through my body.
Congratulations! [Toxin Resistance] has leveled up by 1!
"Fantastic." I thought blandly as I gazed at him before turning my head to Itachi and Rin.
They were frozen.
I could make out Rin's horrified expression while Itachi's eyes were widened.
"Yeah…I probably don't look to be in good shape right around now…"
I would tell them to take this opportunity to attack, however, that would clearly alert the enemy and make it obsolete. Plus they looked shocked and probably wouldn't register my words anyway…
Then there was the fact that my lung was punctured through so doing anything that required air would be quite difficult for a few more moments…
"Looks like I'll have to continue myself."
Even in my condition, I was still fine and my regeneration would be able to keep the poison at bay in addition to my Toxin Resistance.
"Before you're reborn as an immortal masterpiece." Sasori began as he shakily stood up, eyeing me with a crazed smile. "You first have to die!" He spread his arms with a smile and controlled his puppet to move.
At the same moment, I was about to pull the iron spike out of my gut.
And then, we both stopped.
Chakra signatures spiked to immense levels.
A beast roared which shook the skies.
Sasori paused his attack with wide eyes and looked to the source only to see an orange ethereal armored warrior surrounding Itachi. Next to him stood…
"The Three-Tails…" Sasori whispered before taking a step back. He looked back at Itachi, "What the hell is that?!"
There was no one to answer him as the ethereal warrior lifted up his sword.
The Three-Tails began to gather an extremely dense amount of chakra within its mouth.
My eyes lingered on the two behemoths radiating immense amounts of energy…
I blinked.
"Yeah…they got this."
I then focused on Sasori's tense look and thought about attacking him, but I gave up that thought soon after. The amount of chakra Rin and Itachi were gathering was quite large and I would definitely get caught in the crossfire if I decided to interfere.
I decided that the next best thing for me to do then would be to simply vanish to a different spot.
Why?
Well for one, I didn't want Sasori to take me hostage and use me against Itachi and Rin.
Plus, I was interested in what type of abilities they had…
With that thought, I found a kunai marker for my Amenotokotachi technique nearby and immediately flashed there before looking down below at the battle that would soon commence.
-Yoru: Gamer-
[3rd Person POV]
Neither Itachi nor Rin really knew what happened.
One moment their partner and friend was next to them.
The next moment he was gone, the kunai he had thrown earlier replacing his position.
The fact that the Kunai still flew forward did not even register in their minds as they watched Yoru get stabbed through the stomach.
Despite this he carried out his duty and landed his attack on the enemy, causing him severe damage.
That should have been it.
They didn't know what happened.
Yoru should have been able to use his ability to teleport back, but he didn't.
The floating Iron cloud lost its cohesiveness as soon as Sasori lost control and caused Yoru to tumble down.
They wanted to yell at him to move, however, they could only stand frozen in shock as he became impaled through the chest from a stray Iron shard on the ground.
Itachi couldn't breathe.
The scene of a past mission played within his mind.
The death of one of his friends at the hands of that Masked Man.
The despair he felt when his mission objectives had been slaughtered in front of him reappeared.
He hadn't been able to do a single thing.
Why had he been left to live?
Why had his friends died?
Why hadn't he been able to protect them?
The situation replayed in his mind, his friend's body overlapping with Yoru's corpse.
The powerlessness he felt…
The pain he felt…
Itachi didn't know what made him say it or where it had come from, but from the depths of his mind, a name appeared.
Instinctively, he knew what to do.
And he spoke: "Susanoo"
A large orange skeletal projection of chakra appeared around his frame.
Muscle wrapped around its bones.
Skin wrapped around its muscles.
Armour wrapped around it skin.
With only its upper half visible, it raised its sword.
Rin had watched Obito die in her arms.
At that point, she had been powerless to do anything.
When she had been forced to become the Three-Tailed Jinchuuriki, She had tried to kill herself in order to protect her village.
She had caused her own friend to impale her through the heart.
She had expected to die.
Who wouldn't?
She never expected to survive and see her friends and family again.
Her sensei and his wife.
Their beautiful daughter Mito.
Her friends at the Academy.
Kakashi…
She would have never been able to see them again if not for Yoru.
Moreso, she had made friends with her Bijuu, the thing she had been afraid would destroy her village.
The coma she had been in had allowed her to talk to and understand him.
It was all thanks to Yoru that she was able to continue holding onto what she loved and had even gained so much more.
And now, he was dead.
And again she had been powerless to do anything.
Just like with Obito, she could only watch.
Her mind unconsciously sank deep within herself as she appeared on a beautiful sunlit beach.
Tears streamed down her face as she gazed at the gigantic Turtle like creature. "Iso-kun…"
Isobu shuffled unceasingly with giant beads of sweat (or water?) streaming down his head. "P-please d-don't cry Rin!"
The Turtle knew what was going on outside and while he didn't really care about the boy who was presumably dead, he really didn't want to see Rin cry.
The girl in question looked at him teary-eyed and ran to hug his large fingers.
Seeing Rin shudder in sadness, Isobu narrowed his one opened eye in anger. "Rin…" he said causing the girl to look up at him. "There's no need to cry, I'll help you."
She sniffled and held back her tears before looking up at him with a firm gaze and nodding.
Isobu's expression relaxed.
Rin hugged his finger.
Their minds synchronized.
The Orange Susanoo lowered its raised sword causing the earth beneath to split as an energy wave shot out towards its target.
Sasori hurriedly took to the skies on a cloud of iron sand and looked below. He gulped and looked to the distance to see that the ethereal monster's weapon had split the city of Rōran in 2.
Instincts honed from years of shinobi training was the only thing that had allowed him to react at the Tailed Beast Bomb that suddenly followed.
He quickly used his chakra to form giant walls of Iron sand while simultaneously moving out of the way. His chakra drained extensively at the ordeal, however, he was able to barely dodge the powerful beam of energy.
The beam blasted through the iron barriers he had put up, slowing it down long enough for Sasori to move away. The attack exploded in the distance, completely leveling the mountain that had previously been erect there.
Sweat crippled down his forehead. "What are they?" He thought while looking for an escape route, "Screw turning them into art. I need to live if in order to even do that. All I wanted to do was to get a few puppet pieces for my collection…" He looked below… "Wait where the hell did he go?"
Wait...Didn't that kid have an iron spike impaled through his body just a second ago?
How could he have moved away?
Well, there went his plan of using a hostage.
He couldn't contemplate any further as the Bijuu suddenly slammed its hands on the ground.
It took only a moment for Sasori to realize that large pieces of coral pierced through the earth from underneath and destroyed his spikes of iron sand.
"Dammit!" Sasori thought as he took off to the air. "Arial escape it is, though I won't be able to do this for long." The amount of chakra it took to manipulate the Third Kazekage's Iron sand was immense mainly due to the fact that he wasn't the Third Kazekage and Magnet Release wasn't his Kekkei Genkai. As a result, Sasori had a difficult time using the iron sand to its pinnacle.
Before his plan could be completely put into motion, however, Itachi's Susanoo moved.
Between its hands, it formed three magatamas bound together by a single, circular thread of energy. It's shape allowed it to function as shuriken which Itachi took advantage of as he immediately launched his most powerful long-ranged attack.
Yasaka Magatama!
Sasori couldn't dodge.
His control of the Third Kazekage's kekkei had become poor as he was running out of chakra. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that he was already quite heavily injured from the white-haired shinobi's last attack.
He grit his teeth as pushed as much chakra as he could to form thick gigantic walls of Iron sand. They barely proved useful as the Yasaka Magatama sliced through each wall one by one before arriving in front of Sasori.
There was little time.
Sasori reached into his holster where he held his puppet summoning scroll and quickly took it out before summoning his army of personal puppets.
An explosion shook the battlefield.
Sasori's form was launched out of the smoking cloud of debris before he roughly slammed against a wall of one of the buildings and fell down.
His most prized Third Kazekage puppet clattered beside him relatively unharmed.
He chucked ruefully. "This is how the tale of Sasori of The Red Sand ends." He knew how bad his condition was right now. His back was torn open from the attack Yoru had inflicted on him earlier, he was out of chakra, and he had not come out of that last attack unscathed.
A pool of glistening crimson blood pooled out beneath him causing Sasori to smile. "In the end, I died before I could turn myself into a beautiful everlasting work of art, however…" He stared at his reflection in his pure red blood as it reflected the sunlight. "Dying this way is actually quite beautiful as well."
The battlefield was silent.
Itachi could not hold the Susanoo armor for long due to his small chakra reserves and had only been able to do those two attack before wearing out. The ethereal armor dissipated and Itachi began to sway as exhaustion overwhelmed him.
Right as he was falling, a pair of lithe arms wrapped around him and held him up straight. His vision unfocused, he turned to see Rin looking at him with a sad smile.
His expression became despondent. "…Let's complete our mission."
Rin nodded, "Knowing him, I'm sure that's what he would want."
They walked on in silence as they approached the area where Sasori had fallen.
As shinobi, they knew they couldn't really hate him. In all truth, they had technically trespassed into foreign territory. Forgetting the fact that Sasori had pretty much defected with his murder of the Third Kazekage, he still had any and all right to defend himself against intruders to his home soil.
Not to mention, it wasn't like they had come here with the intention of peacefully talking him out of releasing the Third Kazekage's corpse.
"I'll do it." Rin said as she approached the Third Kazekage puppet before taking out a storage seal. With a little application of chakra, a beautifully decorated and elaborate coffin.
Rin's expression soured, "Such a beautiful thing for a puppet yet…" She shook her head and carefully placed the Third Kazekage's puppet body into the coffin and resealed it in the scroll.
Next, she looked at Sasori. Rin was a kind-hearted individual and while she definitely didn't like Sasori by any stretch of the imagination, she felt it was wrong to simply leave him bleeding here. While he had betrayed Sand, they were still Konoha's allies and so Rin felt it would be best to have them deal with him.
She took out another storage scroll that was on her person and placed his corpse within.
She looked to Itachi who nodded in agreement.
With that, they made their way over to the area in which Yoru had "died"…
Then they noticed an oddity.
"…Where did his body go?" Itachi asked
"…"
Rin had no idea what to say.
Itachi activated his sharingan despite his protesting eyes and looked around.
Then he stopped.
He sighed and sat down on the ground before speaking out loud. "…Yoru, please come down."
-Yoru: Gamer-
[Yoru POV]
I looked down below where Itachi was sitting on the ground while Rin was looking up every which way for my shadow.
"I suppose I should…" I thought as I heard Itachi. I promptly jumped off the building I was on before landing in front of the duo "Yo."
Itachi remained silent.
Rin was looking at me with an upset gaze.
I idly scratched the back of my head. "Good job team…"
"…"
"…"
Rin almost looked to be on the verge of tears.
I looked at her and patted her head somewhat awkwardly, "Aren't you such a kind soul? Preserving the body of your enemy like that…"
She looked downwards before her body trembled, "I...I thought you died...I was so upset."
"Rin." I said making her look at me. "I'm not so easy to kill. As you can see, I'm still alive."
She froze before immediately hugging me. "Please don't worry me like that again...I don't want to lose anyone else anymore…"
I Idly patted her head since I wasn't necessarily the best with comforting people…
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Itachi give me a subtle thumbs up.
I internally rolled my eyes. "Thank you for worrying about me." I said as Rin leaned away from me and wiped a tear. "May I take a look?"
Rin blinked before understanding and nodding her head. She took out a scroll and spread it out before a coffin appeared which she promptly opened.
I looked into it. "All this trouble for what is now essentially a pile of wood." I shook my head and looked at the Third Kazekage puppet before I internally smiled.
I immediately snatched up a strand of his hair and put it in my inventory before looking at Rin and Itachi, "We're all set."
They nodded
"Now then, time to inform Minato."
-Yoru: Gamer-
[3rd Person POV Suna/Konoha meeting point]
The tension in the atmosphere was so thick that it almost felt like you could touch it.
The Fourth Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage stood on opposite ends of the canyon that separated their two forces.
On Suna's end, there were many powerful chakra cannons that were lined up while the Kazekage floated on his Gold dust cloud in front of his forces.
On Konoha's end, the Hokage stood tall as the wind caused his cloak to wave in the air. As a show of goodwill, they didn't have weapons pointed, however, that didn't mean Minato was foolish enough to come here without a contingency plan.
He just hoped he wouldn't have to use it.
"Minato Namikaze." Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, spoke with his arms crossed as he floated on his golden dust cloud. "At this stage, there is little else that could be said between us. With the situation as is, you can't blame me for being afraid of Suna's best interests."
"Don't be so hasty." Minato said calmly. "The situation is in and of itself a misunderstanding, but I know that won't appease you so I've scheduled for something to be brought back to you."
Rasa frowned, "There's very little that would move me at this time Yondaime."
"I wouldn't be too sure if I were you." Minato stated with a smile, "Give if a little time."
Rasa remained silent, tacitly in agreement.
Time passed by.
The tension on both ends began to make the soldiers slightly restless in discomfort.
More time passed.
Someone sneezed.
Everyone whipped their heads at the individual in question causing the poor Suna nin to sweat in discomfort. "I-It's just a little sandy out here and I'm allergic to dust…"
Everyone's faces turned black.
"How are you allergic to dust when you live in the middle of a desert?"
Everyone thought it.
Neither said it.
They had to remain professional after all.
The tension eased somewhat and the time continued to pass.
Rasa sighed. "With all due respect Yondaime, I'm usually a patient individual but if we're going to have to wait any longer…"
Minato opened his mouth to reply.
Then he stopped.
And smiled. "That won't be the case."
Before Rasa could refute, a flash appeared on Konoha's end causing both sides to tense but before anything happened, the flash revealed itself to be another Minato in addition to three young individuals. The clone Minato nodded and poofed into a cloud of smoke.
Rasa looked on carefully, "They are…?"
Minato merely smiled and looked at him, "Here to deliver something to Suna."
[Yoru POV]
"So that's the Fourth Kazekage…" I thought as I looked at the individual on the opposite end of the canyon who was floating on a cloud of gold dust.
I wondered how much that cost…
"Yoru." Minato stated, looking at me.
I nodded and looked to Rin who took out a paper storage seal and ran chakra through it. It poofed before dropping an elaborately decorated coffin on the ground.
Minato spoke, "Not too long ago our sources managed to track down some information about your Third Kazekage."
Rasa's eyes widened.
Minato continued. "I know how much Suna has been looking for any information about him. Unfortunately, we found out that he had already been killed. Despite this, we figured that you would at the very least want to have some respite."
Rasa floated down towards the coffin at the opposite end of the canyon.
I decided to say something for everyone's benefit, "His corpse wasn't really in the most ideal situation."
Rasa narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"
Rin stepped forward and placed a storage scroll on top of the coffin. "We had to fight Sasori of the Red Sand who had turned the Third Kazekage's corpse into a puppet. His body is sealed within."
I could sense surprise emanating from the individuals around us. Whether it was from the fact that Sasori had killed the Kazekage, we had killed Sasori, or both, I was not sure.
"Did you just say that my grandson is dead?" An elderly female voice sounded out. The crowd of Suna-nin split giving way to an elderly woman. She looked at Itachi, Rin and I carefully, as if trying to remember our faces, before speaking, "I want to see his body."
Rasa nodded before the coffin began to levitate. "A gold-rimmed coffin?" He asked as he looked at Minato.
"Part of our sincerity." Was his reply.
In my opinion, I was pretty sure they only did that because Rasa used gold dust and could levitate the coffin away. If he had been able to use a different element, I was pretty certain we wouldn't have wasted money on a gold-rimmed coffin.
After the coffin arrived in Suna's end, the lid was opened, allowing every individual there to see.
"It's true…" one Sand shinobi stated. "It's really the body of the Third…"
Chiyo frowned, "How can this even be considered a body anymore? It's been defiled nearly beyond recognition." She shook her head before taking the scroll from the coffin lid and splaying it on the ground.
With a cloud of smoke, the body Sasori appeared on the ground, his arms crossed on his chest and his gaze peaceful.
Chiyo looked at her grandson for a while before gently stroking his hair. "At least you'll be with your mother and father again." She said. After gazing at his dead body for a while longer, she sighed before resealing his body and looking to the Fourth Kazekage with a nod.
Rasa turned to look at us before saying, "Sunagakure will remember this moment of goodwill from the Leaf. I pray that our partnerships remain secure for the foreseeable future."
"Of course." Minato said with a smile. "I'll be always glad to work with our friends from the Sand."
Ping!
Quest Complete!
Red Iron Sand!
Reward: 250,000 EXP
You Have Level up by 1!
Rasa smirked and began to fly away, leading his army with him as they moved back.
Minato sighed, "One issue averted." He looked towards us with a smile, "I knew you all could do it. Thank you."
"That was no issue." I replied.
Minato smiled for a moment before his expression became serious again. "Unfortunately, we still have another prevalent matter to attend to." Minato looked to the sky before sighing, "Hiruko's ritual requires the energy produced by the sun during the solar eclipse, but we still don't know what his Fifth Kekkei Genkai will be…"
"There's not much use thinking about it." Jiraiya's voice sounded out as he appeared beside Minato and placed a hand on his shoulder. "In any event, the only opportunity he'll have is tomorrow when the solar eclipse appears. Till then we only need to keep our eyes peeled around Mt. Shumisen."
Minato sighed in exhaustion and nodded before looking at us, "Well, let's get you all home."
He created a clone and had it attend to us as we formed a point of contact with it before the scenery suddenly changed.
"Thanks again you all." Minato's clone said with a smile. "I'll make sure you all are compensated." And with that, he disappeared in a puff.
We found ourselves in the middle of the village and with nothing to do, I pointed to the ramen shop that was right beside us. "Why don't we all get something to eat? It's been quite a day and it'll all be on me."
"Why not?"
"…I suppose so."
Was their reply.
I walked over and opened the flap of the store before calling out to the store owner. "Teuchi, 3 bowls of the usual."
"Hmm?" A voice sounded out from the back of the store. Teuchi walked out with a towel in hand as he looked at us before smiling. "Ah, it's Yoru! And you even brought your friends. You know, I was beginning to worry you didn't have any…"
Rin chuckled.
Itachi looked mildly amused.
"…Just bring the food." I said before sitting down on the stool in front of the counter.
"No problem!" He said with a chuckle before moving to the back of the room.
Rin sat on my left.
Itachi on my right.
We remained in relative silence, the sound of shuffling footsteps and conversation from the outside the store wholly prevalent…
"How are you still alive?" Rin asked, breaking the quiet atmosphere.
"It almost sounds you want me dead…"
"You know what I mean. I saw you get stabbed through-"
"Some refreshments!" Teuchi said as he placed three glasses of water in front of us before going back to his cooking.
I took a sip of water and looked at my reflection in the water. "The simplest answer would be my 'Bloodline Limit' kept me alive."
Both Rin and Itachi looked at me in surprise.
"…Bloodline?" Itachi asked. "What kind of Bloodline would allow you to survive getting stabbed through the heart…"
"How to explain this…" I thought while swirling my cup. "Imagine my body can take a certain amount of damage before I die. What matters isn't really where the damage occurs but how much damage occurs. Stabbing me through the stomach and stabbing me through the leg would cause the same amount of damage to my body even though for normal individuals, a stab through the gut would be much more fatal. Of course, it's slightly more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it."
"That's…" Rin began in surprise.
Itachi looked at me. "So you don't have any weak points?"
"Not necessarily." I said before downing the cup of water and placing it down on the counter. "If you crush my heart, I'll take much more damage. Furthermore, I'm not sure if I can survive without my head and I truly don't want to find out. Aside from those obvious weaknesses, the only way to kill me would be hit me enough that my body's natural regeneration is unable to heal me in time. Ohh yeah, I also have a healing factor."
Rin frowned. "Is that why you let yourself get stabbed? Then why didn't you simply use that technique you used on Itachi and me earlier when you were falling?"
"Ahh, that." I said ruefully. "Sasori had poisoned the iron and the poison had prevented me from using my chakra effectively at that moment."
Rin's eyes widened, "Wait, poison?! Are you alright?"
"I'll be alright, though I still can't use my chakra 100%."
"How is that 'alright'?" She said, looking at me seriously. "We should get you checked out before it leaves permanent lasting effects."
I shook my head, "My body can heal itself of all negative status conditions as long as I get some sleep. Ahh, I guess that's another facet to my 'bloodline'".
"…"
"…"
We lapsed into another round of silence.
"Three bowls of beef ramen!" Teuchi said with a grin as he placed the bowls in front of us. "Please take your time and enjoy!"
"Thank you." We said.
Teuchi nodded before attending to another customer.
I split the chopsticks apart and gave a mental 'Thank you for the meal' before taking in a strand of noodles. Even though I didn't need to, I blew on it a little bit before eating a few strands.
"Takoyaki is still better though…"
"Enough about me." I said looking at Itachi. "What exactly was that thing you pulled? Don't tell me it's actually part of your bloodline…"
I could recall the chakra mutation that had occurred in Itachi before he pulled out that Orange armored avatar. Most importantly, however, was the fact that I had felt a very similar fluctuation in chakra before.
In Kakashi.
"…I believe so." He said quietly.
I watched his contemplative expression and saw that he didn't really want to say anymore.
I patted his head, "If you can't say it then that's fine. It'll be something between us three."
Itachi calmly removed my hand from his head.
I smirked before my expression turned serious. "Speaking of…" I said, looking at Rin, "You showed off your Bijuu-"
She frowned.
"-Fine Iso-kun…"
She smiled.
"…During our mission."
Rin stayed silent for a moment, "I-"
I patted her head, "Don't worry about it but you should be more careful. The other villages don't know who is in possession of the Three-Tails and we want to keep it that way." We all spoke quietly enough that only we could hear each other.
She nodded but put then sulked. "Why are you comforting me like I'm a kid? I'm older than you…"
I removed my hand before looking back at my noodle bowl and grabbing my chopsticks. "Whatever happened during that mission involves secrets that we either rather not talk about-" I looked at Itachi. "-Or ones that we should not talk about." I looked at Rin. "We will keep these to ourselves."
Itachi nodded and looked at Rin, "…No one will hear anything from me."
"Likewise." She replied with a smile.
I downed my bowl of Ramen before placing it on the counter and wiping my mouth. "Then we are in agreement. Teuchi!"
"Yes, Yes!" The man said as he came over to us.
I pulled out a stack of money and placed it on the counter. "Thanks for the meal."
Everyone looked at the money wide-eyed.
"T-That's a little much Yoru…" Teuchi said with a strained smile.
I observed him carefully before nodding. "You're an honest guy and the meals were delicious so think of the extra as a tip. Besides, I'm rich."
"I see…" he said with a sigh before taking my money. "The next meal you get will be on the house."
I opened my mouth.
"No buts!"
I closed my mouth.
Around this time, Itachi and Rin had finished off their meals.
"Thank you for the meal Mr. Teuchi!" Rin said brightly as she placed the bowl down and got off the chair.
"…Likewise, the meal was delicious." Itachi said before following suit.
I stood up last. "I'll see you around Teuchi."
He chuckled, "Likewise Yoru. Stay safe and tell my favorite regular 'hi' for me!"
"Will do." I replied before walking out the shop, Rin and Itachi in tow.
The streets were still somewhat busy with people walking to and fro and shop owners pitching their sales.
"This is where we split up." I said, looking at the both of them. "Thank you for coming with me on the mission. It would have been much more troublesome otherwise."
"Of course!"
"Hn."
I couldn't help but slightly smile, "I'll see you all later."
With that, we all went our separate ways.
Stat Update
Tier: 7-B+
Age: 10.99
Level: 96 - 97
HP: 399599 - 403760
CP: 633076 - 639669
STR: 1440 - 1460
VIT: 1451 - 1460
DEX: 1445 - 1460
INT: 1155 - 1500
WIS: 1140 - 1200
ENGY: 1968
Points: 90
Skill Update
Toxin Resistance: lvl 94 - lvl 95
Oblivious IJ:
Yoru is 11 right now
~5 years younger than Kakashi
~5 years younger than Rin
~11 years younger than Kotoe
~13 years younger than Minato/Kushina
~27 years younger than Jiraiya
~2 years older than Itachi
~6 years older than Mito
(Note: [~] = a few days to a few months)
Ataxius: No…Yoru is there to protect Kushina overtly and it's not like he was watching over her every single day for close to 10 months. He still has missions and other things to attend to, after all. The point of chapter 20 was to somewhat introduce the next villain, show Rin waking up, and a little bit of slice-of-life to calm everything down before the next big thing hits. Not every single chapter has to have something major going on.
Acherus01: I'm glad you stuck around!