Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter1098...
Aaaannnndddd we are back on another chapter of this fic! Just a few hours after a finished the last one, I decided to keep on going because I was like, "Aah, what the heck, I could still write!" You see, there are some instances that I'm pretty sure other writers also experience, there have been a lot of times in the past that I write continuously without stopping; it's like an attribute, you know? I don't know, it's like my brain has a mind of its own and I just type all that I have in mind. Anyway, let's talk about the events of the last chapter. What went down? First of all, Shizune's childhood friend, Kenzo, is actually a part of the Uzumaki Empire that also debuted last chapter. Along with that, the Akatsuki have made their decision to leave our favorite blonde hero alone for three years but I wonder how strong Naruto will be after that. And lastly, the battle of the Sannin took place ending with Naruto debuting his newest technique, the Rasengan. Now in this chapter, we'll witness what happens next after that, along with the aftermath of the battle. Reminder to everyone, not only is this a NaruHina fanfic, but a SasuSaku one too. Hell, since Sasuke won't be the same person as he is in canon, I need someone to pair up with him, and who else could but Sakura? From now on, brace yourselves for SasuSaku moments, kay? Before we go on to the story itself, let's answer some reviews that some readers left for me...
bloody dragon fang: Well, nothing is going to threaten his life, dude...
Raviox: I don't know if I'll be doing The Last film here because if I did, it won't change much from the movie, to be honest... but I think it will depend on how well the story will be received before that. To answer your other question, yes, Boruto and his pals will also be included along with a brand-new OC who's important to the plot too. I also have one more arc for Part 2 in the works but I have to figure out how to incorporate it first. Does that answer your question?
DanteShindo: Well dude, you're the first to crack it. I had no intention of using those names in the first place, to be honest... but I couldn't come up with something better, so I decided to just borrow those three. Besides, it's not like I'm using anything other than them from the Star Ocean universe...
Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: Is that your answer to my question?
the death bringer779: No, he's not a commander. Hirooki is the last commander of the Uzumaki clan's forces that managed to survive. His son, Jujiro, grew up normally as a normal heir to the throne, going through Genin, Chuunin, and Jounin. And what do you mean, 'Naruto is the true heir'? He's not Jujiro's son or anything. He doesn't even know any other Uzumaki besides his mom. Haruko is the only heir right now . That is, until his father dies and he takes up the throne.
SeanKR: Well, if that's what you want, I don't really care. All I have to say is that I created the Uzumaki Empire to give Part 2 more interest. Given that this is an AU and we're talking un-canon business here, the Empire is important as hell to the storyline. If there is no empire, there would be no Man from the Future arc, Turtle Island arc, and even the Restoration of Konoha arc. The empire has one of the biggest roles here and if you can't accept it, it's fine with me. I already said many times that this story does not follow canon at all; sure, there are times when I will, but overall, no. And what makes you think they're after Naruto? Sure, they're after him but not in a bad way! In fact, they're trying to get him to join them since they're 'family'. It's your own damn 'vault' if you don't like it.
"Normal Talking"
'Thoughts'
Flashbacks
Jutsus and Battle Intros
"Beasts and other high beings talking"
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and my OCs...
While Naruto and Shizune had their own battles to focus on, Jiraiya and Tsunade left to deal with their former teammate. Orochimaru knew that he can't take on both of them at the same time, so he had Kabuto summon two snakes earlier to help in their battle. As he stood atop the snake he was riding on, the other Sannin were conversing about what plan of action should they take. "Hey, do you think I should go and help those two kids in their fight?" asked Tsunade, unsure of what she should do right now because she was worried for Naruto and Shizune's well-being. Over the past days, she finally came to see and admit Naruto's striking resemblance to her dead brother and if he gets injured in his fight, she won't be able to take it.
"I wouldn't worry about that gaki so much, hime..." he said as he went through a few hand seals. "He's too strong for Orochi-baka's lackey, I'm sure of it." ( Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram) "Just help me take on our teammate then we'll be able to check on those two." - he then slammed his palm to the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)" he yelled out, a cloud of smoke exploding in front of him. But when the cloud of finally cleared, his jaw dropped to the ground in shock while Tsunade sweat-dropped at what he had just summoned.
"Yo, boss! What's the situation?" asked the little orange toad that showed up underneath the smoke. His size could be compared to that of Akamaru and he also had purple markings around his eyes, mouth, and along his stomach. As his clothing, he only wore a light blue jacket. He was Gamakichi, the son of the toad boss, Gamabunta.
"W-Wait, ain't you Bunta's son?!" asked Jiraiya, getting over his shock as the young toad nodded. His response caused Jiraiya's face to fall to the floor in absolute shame. "What the hell just happened? Why do I have to mess up now, out of all times?"
Tsunade sighed and massaged her forehead in irritation. "Well, do you remember what happened last night?" she asked in a threatening voice. "From what I recall, you were up late because of drinking... tell me, how many bottles have you had? That must be the reason why you're not feeling 100% right now; I can see it in your eyes, you pervert."
The man then thought about it for a while, rubbing his chin in the process. It took him a few more seconds to try and remember what exactly happened when he suddenly snapped his eyes open and flashed an embarrassed grin. "I-I may have nearly drank the entire supply of sake that the bar had..." he reluctantly said, which caused a tick mark to appear on Tsunade's head as she readied her fist in order to pummel him to the ground. "Now, now, don't be too mad at me, hime..." he said, trying to calm the woman down. "There are bigger problems at hand, don't you think?" he continued, raising both his arms in defeat.
With that, Tsunade took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She withdrew her fist back while crossing both of her arms under her large bust. "You're lucky that we are in the midst of battle right now... because if we weren't in this situation, I would've punched you where it really hurts right now..." she warned, causing Jiraiya to pale. The woman's intense look was then stopped when the unmistakable voice of Orochimaru intervened.
"How shameful for you, Jiraiya..." he said with a smirk. "Here I thought, you could summon someone who is more formidable to fight against me... but I guess you'll have to be put away on the sidelines for now." - the snake he was riding on then slithered at a much faster speed, almost reaching his two opponents. "All of this nonsense will stop just as soon as you agree to heal me, Tsunade... just say the word. Heal me, and no one need get hurt."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her fellow Sannin before turning her attention towards Jiraiya. "Okay, change of plans, you pervert," she stated. "Since you can't perform techniques quite well right now, I'll be the one fighting him in close quarters. Just support me from a distance with some of your long-range jutsus, but be careful on when to make your shot, because I'm not planning to kill him. We'll take him back to the village and hold him captive. Got it?" Jiraiya's demeanor then changed from scared to serious as he nodded immediately. With that, the medic-nin flashed a small smile before she took off and ran towards Orochimaru's incoming snake.
Seeing Tsunade charge directly towards him, the Snake Sannin flashed an evil grin before the large snake below him lunged its neck towards the Slug Princess, wanting to devour her. Luckily, she managed to jump away in time. When it saw that it failed, it once again tried to lunge at her, but for the second time, she dodged its incoming attack by jumping away. Orochimaru smirked at Tsunade's undying determination to stay alive. In a last attempt, the snake tried lunging at her again, but unlike the first two times, she jumped on top of the creature's head directly, looking straight into her enemy's eyes, who returned it with an evil look. She had to make sure this would be over as soon as possible, because who knows what tricks Orochimaru can pull up his sleeve.
The snake-like man began evading her every strike with ease, having adapted to her fighting style ever since. He would just have to wait until she tires herself out from all her attacking and then he would make his move to take out both her and Jiraiya at the same time. And with Tsunade's slow speed in attacking, he has another advantage. He may be outnumbered and outmatched at the moment, but he isn't without brains, as he could cook up a quick plan of action at almost situation. "Tch, s-stay still, you snake!" growled out Tsunade, getting frustrated over his pesky agility that she hasn't landed a blow on him for several minutes now. It didn't take too long for Tsunade to reach her physical limit, easily tiring herself out. As soon as he found an opening to attack, he smirked and crouched down before delivering a deadly knee to her stomach, making her fall to her knees to cough out the pain she felt. Immediately afterwards, Orochimaru then kicked her several feet back, but she managed to keep her balance atop the snake.
Jiraiya, seeing Tsunade get beaten without effort, quickly went through a few hand seals to help her. "Doton: Yomi Numa, (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld)" he said, causing a very large mud swamp to appear out of nowhere below the snake, which trapped the huge reptile in its sticky waters. Atop the snake, both Orochimaru and Tsunade were trying their best to keep their balance while the creature itself was thrashing to and fro to get out of the mud that was holding it down. As soon as she saw mud below them, she turned her attention to her former teammate, who seemed to be confused with what he was seeing. "Damn it, looks like I did drink too much last night," he cursed himself. "I can only hold it down, I can't sink that snake..." he paused for a bit to analyze the situation further. "Well on the bright side, Orochi-baka's snake is useless now that it can't move..." - he was cut off momentarily when he felt an intense pain shoot up into his head, causing him to bow forward while massage his forehead with his fingers thoroughly. 'Damn hangover... should've known this would hold me down...' he cursed.
Orochimaru's eyes darted towards Jiraiya, and Tsunade immediately recognized his stare. 'Useless... I guess I'll have to eliminate him first then...' he thought to himself, before jumping over Tsunade's fallen figure, rushing towards the Toad Sage. The Slug Princess's eyes widened the moment she figured that he was heading for her other teammate, which prompted her to get back to her feet immediately and then she began to run after the snake-like man.
Jiraiya looked up when he started hearing footsteps heading towards his direction. When he saw that it was Orochimaru, he quickly went through another set of hand seals to counter whatever he would try to do against him. Since he predicted that couldn't pull off any decent offensive jutsu, he opted for something to shield him instead. (Tiger → Horse → Boar → Ram → Rat → Snake) He then decided to wait until Orochimaru would enact his move, so that he will be able to counter it at the precise moment. The moment that the Snake Sannin's neck extended from his body and lunge for him, he performed his technique. "Hari Jizō, (Needle Jizō)" he breathed out, causing his hair to suddenly grow in length and become a lot sharper, before they all wrapped him inside a cocoon-like casing, acting as a protective shield like that of a hedgehog. "Here he comes!" he told himself, Orochimaru's head finally reaching him.
Due to his spiky hair acting as protective armor around him, Orochimaru wasn't able to reach any part of his body; however, a little bit of his face and neck was left exposed, and so that became the area that the latter targeted. Jiraiya winced in pain, before he thought to himself, 'Damn, even defensive jutsus... I can't do anything proper right now.' As soon as he felt the Snake Sannin finally leave his neck, his spiky hair started to retract as Orochimaru's body was finally in front of him, while his neck also retracted back. The pervert fell to one knee as his opponent smirked.
"Looks like you're not in the zone today, Jiraiya..." said Orochimaru with an evil grin as his old teammate looked up at him. "You know, I think you should just —" before he could speak any further, he was sent flying to the side by a massive punch from Tsunade behind him. Due to her being back at full strength, the snake-like man fell victim to her incredible power, crashing back-first at a large rock, nearly a hundred meters from where Tsunade and Jiraiya were. Due to his healing abilities, he was able to immediately recover from the crash, getting back up to his feet immediately and running towards his two former teammates. 'All I have to do is bring one of them down, and it would be easy to get Tsunade to give in...' he thought to himself.
Tsunade sighed, seeing that Orochimaru still got up from her punch. She quickly turned to Jiraiya and began to speak. "On second thought, you should just rest until that hangover of yours is gone," she stated bluntly. "If you continue on throwing out jutsus like earlier, not only would you waste chakra, but you'll screw it all up. Just leave him to me at least until you're a bit better." Jiraiya didn't hesitate to nod, agreeing with her claim. Having dealt with this situation, the Slug Princess once again turned back to face Orochimaru, locking eyes with him for a moment before she charged ahead. As they ran towards each other, the woman drew her right arm back for hopefully the final blow, but just as they were about to make contact, Tsunade widened her eyes upon seeing that her opponent suddenly went underground and her gaze immediately turned towards his designated route, as she could see the ground giving way to where he was going to.
Jiraiya's eyes widened as well upon seeing that Orochimaru suddenly went underground and he instantly started turning his head towards different directions to see where he would spring out of, but his attention was immediately brought back in front of him when he heard the ground suddenly break down, and out came Orochimaru with killing intent in his eyes. The Snake Sannin then opened his mouth slightly to reveal a small snake inside, and then the snake opened its mouth as well, which revealed a narrow, but very sharp blade that extended towards Jiraiya that seemed to aim for his throat. 'Crap!' he cursed before he quickly stopped the incoming attack with his two hands, the sharp edges of the sword sliding through his flesh, blood oozing out from his hands.
Orochimaru flashed an evil grin that could be pointed out even if his mouth was wide open, while Jiraiya simply returned it with a glare of his own. The former kept on pushing the sword, intending on finishing his former friend once and for all, but Jiraiya kept a strong demeanor, although the blade was slipping out of his hands more and more by the second, and was now dangerously looming closer and closer to his throat. Then a few seconds passed, with nobody gaining the advantage over the other, which was turning out to be a stalemate between them. This particular struggle was finally ended when Tsunade suddenly appeared beside Orochimaru before giving a swift punch to his cheek, breaking the contact between him and the Toad Sage. Tsunade's attack sent him flying once again, but he managed to land atop his snake's head as he began recovering from the damage that he sustained.
The pervert started taking deep breaths of relief that he wasn't hit whatsoever by the sword Orochimaru had in his mouth. He looked at his hands, which were coated in his own blood, before he began shaking it all off, while also the resisting the pain that the cuts gave him. Tsunade turned her attention from Orochimaru towards Jiraiya and she started slightly trembling at the sight of the blood on the latter's hands. The Toad Sage immediately noticed her stare and quickly took action before she would get traumatized. "Tsunade, it's all right! Don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine, it's nothing serious!" he assured her.
She gulped heavily before speaking again. "A-Are you sure? M-Maybe I should heal your hands because your wounds will become worse if left alone..." she trailed off, not sure what to do.
He stood up from the ground and grabbed her by her shoulders and began to talk in a serious voice. "Look, it's nothing serious, got it?" he showed her his two palms to make sure. There was no sign of the blood anywhere, because the cuts that he received weren't that deep because of the protective gear he had on his hands. "My hand guards made sure that the wounds I'd receive aren't that deep, so don't worry about me because Orochimaru is the bigger problem right now, understand?" Although a bit hesitant, Tsunade nodded and the next few seconds were a silence before Orochimaru's evil laughter filled the area.
"But Tsunade, what happened to Jiraiya is only the beginning!" he mocked, staring at his two enemies down below. "If you don't stop this nonsense fighting and just give in to what I want, Jiraiya will receive more than just those two little wounds... and oh, look." He then pointed to the Toad Sage. "His words earlier are contradicting what's happening right now, if you look closely, Tsunade..." Hearing those words, the woman's gaze darted towards her friend/teammate's hands and saw his blood flowing from his wounds again, which caused her to tremble once again. Jiraiya gritted his teeth, resisting the headache he was feeling and at the same time, scowling at the snake-like man as the latter continued on playing mind games. "If you think about it, Tsunade... if this nonsense continues on and you won't stop fighting until the end, not only will Jiraiya fall to the ground dead, but as well as your apprentice..." The Slug Princess started shivering at the cold image of Shizune being dead at her feet, which caused her to fall to her knees, nearly submitting to his taunts. "And especially Naruto —" before he could go on any further, a certain voice stopped him from behind.
"That's where you're wrong, Orochi-bastard!" said Naruto Uzumaki with a grin on his face as he landed on top of the snake his opponents have summoned earlier. He had just taken care of Kabuto as well as the other snake that they summoned, and now was his chance to guarantee their victory by helping his sensei and the next hokage in their battle. "Ero-sennin won't be lying dead, and neither will Shizune-neechan, and especially me!" he spoke out in a defiant voice. "Dying is not on my to-do list right now and I have to be Hokage first before I even go to my grave! Hey, baa-chan!" he screamed aloud from atop the snake, and the woman slowly looked up from the ground, staring at Naruto.
'I knew bringing that gaki along would be for the best...' Jiraiya said in his thoughts, smiling at his student.
"Don't listen to what this snake bastard is saying, okay?" he continued in a loud voice, making sure that Tsunade would be able to hear him. "He's just trying to get into your head! I know that the thing you fear most if blood, but that's not the case here! If you don't get up from where you are right now, more blood will be shed, you hear me?! The blood won't stop flowing if you just sit there and give up! You're the Fifth Hokage of the Leaf, damn it! I look up to you because I want to be the Hokage someday, you know?!" With that, Tsunade's eyes widened as she pictured that it was Nawaki who was speaking to her, not Naruto. "If you ever give up to this son of a bitch, I'll never forgive you! Don't you see? This is exactly how he's trying to trick you! Don't listen to his pleas because you still have people who care for you; even though the ones who are dead aren't with you physically, they're still in your heart, cheering for you to go on! So stand up and get back in the fight, baa-chan!"
Meanwhile, Orochimaru was just plain staring at the boy with an evil look while he was behind him, talking to Tsunade. 'I can't just attack him head-on... he's faster than me and his jutsus are terrifyingly powerful...' he thought to himself, trying his best not to lose control and attack out of nowhere. 'I guess I'll just have to continue playing with Tsunade...' he turned his gaze back to his ex-teammate and began to chuckle evilly. "Don't tell me that you are going to listen to the words of a useless child, Tsunade... he doesn't know what happened to your lover and brother, therefore he can't possibly understand the pain that you're going through, correct? The only ones who can are sensei, Jiraiya, and myself. Sensei and Jiraiya are trying to make you forget about them by making you the hokage, which means I am the only one who can sympathize with you. Just think about it Tsunade... if you work with me, we can bring them back... or blood will be shed around this place." - he stopped after that, waiting to see what will be her answer.
'I will become the Hokage!' screamed Naruto, Nawaki, and Dan altogether in Tsunade's mind. The particular thought made her lose her breath for a second in shock, but she composed herself. She was caught in a dilemma at the moment that she didn't know how to respond, looking down on the ground to think about her options. It took her more than a minute to finally decide on what she will do, and her next action caused everyone to freeze in their place.
She stopped trembling.
This caused Orochimaru to widen his eyes in disbelief, while Jiraiya and Naruto grinned, getting the reaction that they wanted from her. Slowly, she made her way back up to her feet and glared at the Snake Sannin from atop the large reptile and pointed her index finger towards him. "I am the Godaime Hokage of Konoha, Orochimaru! I won't let the one dream of Nawaki and Dan die, even if it takes my life! As the leader of the Leaf, I sentence you to your death! This is where you'll meet your end, you snake!"
"So you've made up your mind then..." Orochimaru hissed, glaring daggers at the woman. "And what makes you think that I will die here? I still have a backup plan should I fail to get you to heal me," he revealed. "Well, it seems that I have already failed in that, which leaves me no choice but to withdraw from this pointless duel." - he finished in a bored tone, before he crouched down, successfully evading an energy disc thrown at him by Naruto. He turned around to see the blonde with another energy disc on his palm.
"You've heard the lady," he said with a determined look. "This is where you'll meet your end, Orochi-bastard!" - he then threw the other disc towards his enemy, who evaded with ease and ran towards his direction. Adapting quickly, Naruto activated his Meteor on his right arm for a quick counterattack but to his surprise, instead of running towards himself directly, Orochimaru jumped over him and began running away, staying true to his word to pull back from the fight. "You're not going anywhere!" screamed Naruto, running after him. When he was about to use his Meteor completely to immediately fly towards him, a voice stopped him.
"No, don't use your Meteor," said Kurama, acting quickly. "If you use it again this time, it could drain your eyes of its power, meaning they would return back to normal."
'But I need to catch that guy as fast as I can!' he replied, not turning his attention away from the Snake Sannin.
"Well, you should have thought of that before you oh, so valiantly, flew your way here, kit!" he roared, furious at Naruto's inability to see what was wrong. "Your shadow clones using Meteor earlier played a big part in it as well, you know!"
He rolled his eyes. 'Can't you just resupply me with chakra or something?! I'm kind of in a hurry right now!'
"Like I said when we first talked, kit... I'm not some secret weapon that you can tap into when the situation's dire." - he crossed his arms and smirked at the blonde. "I will only grant you my full power once you're worthy of it, and I don't see you as someone worthy as of the moment. You're still acting reckless and you don't think of your every action before doing it. You're on your own now. You can, however, use your normal Space jutsus, just refrain from using your Meteor, otherwise you'll drop back to using normal techniques."
Naruto groaned, pissed that the bijuu won't be lending him any help now. There were times when Kurama acted like a real comrade, helping him with his troubles, yet there were also times wherein he would act like a total bitch and ignore him for who-knows-why. 'Fine, I'll do this myself...' he said, throwing the tailed beast a very displeased look. 'Geez, you can be such a pain in the neck at times...' - his last remark caused Kurama to grin, which made the boy to groan once more.
Turning his full attention back to the ongoing fight, Orochimaru looked back at him, which was only answered by a glare from the blonde. A few moments later, they were now sliding down the lower body of the snake due to its awkward position while captured in the mud swamp. The two ninjas used their feet to keep their place on the creature. Taking advantage of their statue, Orochimaru then turned around completely, facing Naruto before he opened his mouth widely, revealing his very long and prehensile tongue. His tongue then grabbed ahold of Naruto's right foot, which caught the latter off guard.
'This isn't good,' he warned himself before he was pulled down by the snake-like man, his feet leaving the skin of the snake as he was being dragged by his opponent like a person that has fallen off a horse. He gritted his teeth to resist the intense pain brought by the friction caused by his body and the snake itself, while Orochimaru looked please that he managed to catch the boy off guard. However, what he didn't know was that he was falling into a one-way ticket to pain.
As soon as Orochimaru and Naruto were both out of her sight by running towards the other side of the snake, Tsunade took off as well, intending to catch their enemy off guard by getting there first. And she did, above her was Orochimaru falling with his prehensile tongue wrapped around Naruto's foot. The Slug Princess then clenched her fist tightly, before it met the Snake Sannin's body at the same time, with her directing the blow to the open area in front of her. Unfortunately for her, Naruto was dragged into the air as well, still bound.
Both Naruto and the snake-like man crashed to the ground at the same time, creating small craters as they composed themselves. Tsunade immediately rushed towards the Uzumaki, only to see Orochimaru's tongue unwrapping itself from Naruto's leg and going back to where it came from. She outstretched her right arm for Naruto, the boy pulling himself up to his feet quite easily as he wasn't hurt that much, furthermore, his wounds were being healed courtesy of the Nine-Tailed Fox in his body. "You okay?" the older woman asked, with Naruto nodding as his response. After that, they quickly turned their attention towards Orochimaru yet again, and saw that he was already back to his feet. He looked at the two of them before his eyes darted towards the giant snake that was still behind them. He knew that it would be suicide to try and get past them head-on, but he had no other choice at the moment because Kabuto still hasn't shown up; he'd have to wait for him before they eventually make their escape.
All of a sudden, he suddenly jumped up above them, wanting to do the opposite since he had already tried travelling underground earlier. If he went for it again, he'd most likely get caught because Tsunade adapts quite well to any situation.
"You're not getting away this time!" said Naruto, performing the Clone seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique) - almost immediately, four clones appeared beside him and immediately jumped up in the air as well, flurrying the Snake Sannin with blows. But unfortunately for them, they were immediately eliminated by Orochimaru's unprecedented ability in fighting, which prompted Tsunade to jump in the air as well, fighting him herself. She tried catching him off guard with a powerful kick, but the snake-like man blocked it with one of his own; however, his lack of strength in his legs still sent him stumbling back on the ground.
"This will be the last time that you speak ill of my loved ones," she hissed, as she approached him at a fast speed. Orochimaru instantly got back up on his two feet and began dodging all of her attacks like earlier. Not too long in between her attacks, he heard approaching footsteps from behind him, and immediately sensed that it was Jiraiya. With beautiful grace, he ducked under an incoming attack from the Toad Sage, which caused him to nearly hit Tsunade in return, and it was a good thing that he managed to stop his own hand, because he wouldn't want to feel her wrath.
"Hey," he greeted, before turning around quickly to face his ex-teammate once again, but as soon as he did, he was met by a kick to his gut, which immediately sent him crashing into Tsunade, causing the both of them to fall to the ground together. Orochimaru thought that he had finally dealt with them, but he was far from correct when Naruto immediately showed up afterwards, jumping over his sensei and pseudo-grandmother while weaving through a set of hand seals.
(Tiger → Ox → Hare → Rat → Ox → Dog → Ram → Rat) He was now only within a few feet before reaching his enemy, while the latter seemed to be stuck in a trance. "Uchūton: Moeru Suisei! (Space Release: Blazing Comet)" he yelled out, his hands burst in blue flames, showing off its intense temperature before he delivered a straight right punch towards Orochimaru's stomach, followed by two more hits to his chest, then one to his jaw, which eventually sent the snake-like man flying off, while his clothes were being burned by the second. He hissed through the burning pain that he felt on his cheek, before he subsequently healed himself from it.
Not giving him any time to think of a counter, Orochimaru's eyes widened when Naruto suddenly showed up in front of him with a scowl, before he tried to move away, only to be caught in the boy's next attack. "I'll make it rain..." he threatened, making certain of his alias as Konoha's Rainmaker. He then went on to deliver a vicious left hook towards his opponent, followed by a right one, then a kick to the gut that made the Snake Sannin bow forward in pain. Quickly turning around, he then gave his enemy a huge kick to the chin, making the latter stand up straight once again, before he felt a devastating uppercut that sent him up towards the air because of the strength.
Orochimaru opened his eyes slightly to see that Tsunade had followed him into the air as she raised her leg up. "You won't leave this place alive!" she exclaimed, bringing her foot down to hit her former teammate with a powerful kick, sending him crashing back down into the ground immediately. Before he could land though, Naruto managed to finish his intended technique while thanking Tsunade for her initial cooperation.
"Feel the judgement of the stars! Nanahoshi no Mai! (Dance of the Seven Stars)" he yelled out, catching the snake-like man in mid-air as if time had slowed down, with the finishing straighht right punch to his chest, sending Orochimaru flying away, almost as far as to where the giant snake was. If he wasn't lucky enough, he managed to stop himself from going any further by burying his feet on the ground, resisting the pain that came with it through friction.
Breathing heavily, Orochimaru wiped the blood that was trickling on his chin before he tried to get up and resume his original plan of escaping. Besides, he could enact revenge on all of them eventually. However, as soon as he turned around to run for it, Jiraiya was there already. He immediately backed away and tried to use his tongue once again to get his former friend by his leg and throw him towards Tsunade and Naruto but the Toad Sage quickly acted, delivering three strong punches to him before sending him rolling on the ground with another powerful kick, now having him finally cornered.
By the time the Snake Sannin opened his eyes, he saw that he was already being restrained by Jiraiya, tying him by his hands behind his back. He tried struggling out of them, but he couldn't. He looked up to see Tsunade and Naruto both staring down at him. "Do you think you can hold me?" he asked in a low tone, with underlying rage in his voice. (A/N: Get the reference?)
"You're lucky I don't kill you right now," Tsunade stated as he was brought up to his feet when Jiraiya pulled him up from his sitting position. "We'll wait until we get back to the Leaf and there, we will decide what to do with you. Enjoy whatever time you have left, Orochimaru." - she threatened, but the snake-like man just snorted at her statement. "Now get going, we have to get your little lackey as well." - with that, all of them began walking towards the place where Shizune and Kabuto where, but they were immediately frozen on where they stood when they saw Orochimaru's apprentice holding the former by her neck, while pointing a kunai to her neck. She had been taken hostage.
Out of instinct, Naruto immediately tried to rush in and save her but Tsunade kept him at his place by holding him by his shirt. "Stay put, brat! We don't know what kind of trick he's trying to pull against us!" she reminded him, which caused the blonde to stop and remain on where he stood. Tsunade then turned her attention to Kabuto and pointed her index finger at him. "It's over! We have Orochimaru in our grasp, things would be harder for you if you continue fighting, now let Shizune go and come peacefully with us, or face the consequences," she growled out.
"Speaking highly of yourself, aren't you, Tsunade?" replied Kabuto with a defiant voice, tightening his hold on her, which caused Shizune to try and pry out of his grasp. "Let Orochimaru-sama go and let us be on our way and I'll return this worthless medic-nin back to you. As he himself said, you have already won this battle. If you don't, I don't think this woman will mind if you let her die just because
Naruto was desperate. He left Shizune alone with Kabuto earlier and he was sure that he left him unconscious after the Rasengan hit him. Does this mean what's happening to Shizune right now is all his fault? "Shizune-neechan, what happened when I left you earlier?" he asked quickly. "Did he somehow fight out of your restraints and overpowered you?"
"I-I'm s-sorry, N-Naruto-kun..." she muttered, nearly choking because of Kabuto's tight hold.. "H-He caught m-me off guard... it turns o-out that he w-wasn't really u-unconscious... don't listen to w-what he's saying! He's trying to t-trick you all! Just g-get out of h-here, I'll be f-fine..." she finished in a sad tone, causing Naruto to grit his teeth. As a response, the bespectacled man tightened his hold on her neck even more, which made the girl's eyes bulge out in shock, trying her best to stay conscious.
Half a minute passed but nothing happened and nobody dared to make a move. Jiraiya, Naruto, and Tsunade were all frozen in their place, staring at Kabuto and Shizune not very far away. The only sound that could be heard was Shizune struggling to get out of Kabuto's grasp. That is, until they heard Tsunade sigh with a hint of sadness in it, making her apprentice shake her head repeatedly, as if she knew just what her master was thinking right now. It was probably something crazy, since they had been through so much together. "Let her go, and I'll give you back your bastard of a master..." she growled out., causing Jiraiya and Naruto to look at her, dumbfounded. Was she crazy or something?
Kabuto smirked evilly and held the kunai dangerously close to Shizune's neck. "Not so fast, Tsunade. How can I be sure that you're not trying to cook up a plan just to get me to give in to your demand? Give me Orochimaru-sama and I'll give you your apprentice back," he repeated. "You may think that I am trying to deceive you, but I am a man of my word. Let him go, and I'll let your apprentice go too." With that, Tsunade once again sighed heavily before turning around to look at Jiraiya with a pleading look, with the latter staring at her in disbelief, before shaking his head in disapproval. However, the Slug Princess maintained her pleading look, as she couldn't bear anything bad happening to her apprentice, because she looks at Shizune as if she was her own daughter.
Knowing that he would lose this battle of words anyway, Jiraiya stepped forward with Orochimaru in tow. He narrowed his eyes at Tsunade and began to speak in a low tone. "Just remember this was your —" before he could speak any further, he was cut off when the snake-like man beside him kicked him on the jaw, making the pervert fall to the ground due to the impact, causing everyone to freeze in their place. Knowing that he has very little time to make his move, even with his hands tied behind his back, Orochimaru began to rush towards Kabuto.
"He's getting away!" said Naruto, breaking the silence as him and Tsunade ran after their enemy. Seeing this, Kabuto chuckled before he let go of Shizune, throwing her towards them afterwards. Orochimaru ducked under to prevent getting hit by the medic-nin's body, whereas the boy and the Slug Princess were forced to stop running in order to catch Shizune. Though they managed to do just that, the impact and the strength of the throw caused all three of them to fall to the ground, ending with younger woman coughing violently, finally free from Kabuto's tight grasp. "Shizune-neechan, are you okay?" asked Naruto, immediately recovering.
"I'm all right, Naruto-kun," she quickly replied, struggling to get off the ground, before her eyes widened at what she saw in front of her. "Oh no, Tsunade-sama!" she cried, with the Slug Princess following her gaze and her eyes widened too at what she was seeing. Kabuto had already freed Orochimaru from his restraints, proceeding to cut the latter's finger afterwards, which drew blood. Tsunade already knew what he was up to so she turned to Jiraiya, who was already back up on his feet.
"Jiraiya!" she yelled out, immediately getting the pervert's attention. "He's bringing it out," she simply stated, and Jiraiya answered with a nod before he jumped over to an open space to his left where he could do his designated task. Tsunade grabbed one arm of Shizune and slung it over her shoulder, before she jumped over to an open area as well, setting her apprentice back on the ground afterwards. Right now, the three Sannin were forming a huge triangle, if their current positions were connected by a line. Meanwhile, Naruto was in the middle, surrounded by the three, and he knew just what was going to happen. In incredible fashion, him, Jiraiya, and Tsunade all bit their thumbs at the same time before weaving through a set of hand seals. Kabuto had gotten the blood of his master on his thumb and prepared for the technique.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)" all four of them: Jiraiya, Naruto, Tsunade, and Kabuto, screamed out at the same time, slamming their palms into the ground, causing a very large cloud of smoke to explode in their area, covering every possible place that could be seen. Once the smoke had dissipated, three gigantic creatures had taken the place of the Sannin, and it was none other than their very own personal summons, Gamabunta, Manda, and Katsuyu; atop their heads stood Jiraiya, Tsunade with Shizune, and Orochimaru with Kabuto respectively.
"Orochimaru... I demand a hundred sacrifices for summonning me," Manda said in a deep, looking up at his summoner.
The snake-like man only grinned. "Why, of course," he replied.
"Milady! What can I do for you on this fine day?" cried out Katsuyu in her kind tone.
"I need you to assist me in this battle!" the woman replied, crossing her arms under her large bust. "Please heal Shizune while we wait for the enemy to attack."
Katsuyu looked around her to see both Gamabunta and Manda. "So, My Lady, the opponent right now is Orochimaru and Manda?" she asked, with Tsunade nodding as her response.
The boss of the toads breathed out a whiff of smoke through his large pipe. "Jiraiya?" said Gamabunta, immediately noticing the man on top of him. "Is there a reason why you summoned me here in the middle of nowhere right now? It better be important because I was just about to go out for some fresh air!" he said in a grumbling tone, meaning that he was rather not pleased at the moment. "I thought for a second it was your student that summoned me... wait a minute, where is he anyway? I kind of sensed his presence before I got here."
"The gaki's down there if you look closely... and you might find a small surprise along with it if you look even closer," said Jiraiya, pointing to the center that the Sannin had formed where he saw his student perform the Summoning Technique. Everyone's gaze, including Orochimaru, Kabuto, and all the summons, followed the direction on where he was pointing to and their eyes widened in disbelief at what they were seeing, except for Jiraiya himself, of course, much because he had already known about this way before all of them.
Mika the elemental phoenix showed up in front of Naruto as the smoke that concealed her dissipated. She looked up at her friend and partner for a moment, before she looked around herself to get a feel of the surroundings. She saw three other summon animals like her, yet they were very different in terms of size. She also saw Orochimaru once again, standing atop the giant purple snake with a bespectacled man by his side. Next, she saw two women on top of the head of the giant slug that seemed to be staring at her, but the phoenix could care less. Finally, when she saw the giant toad, there stood Jiraiya, on top of it. She then decided to ask what was the situation at hand because she knew that if Naruto summoned her, it would mean that he needs help in battle or he needs someone to carry Jiraiya up into the air again. "What do you need, Naruto?" she asked in a neutral tone. "Do you need me to help you in battle or do you need me to carry Jiraiya-san again?" she finished bluntly, causing Naruto to sweat-drop while the Toad Sage chuckled.
"The first option," he said, trying not to sound pissed off. "I'll tell you what's the situation right now once we get to the air, okay?" She nodded in response. "Okay, now come on! We have to act quick before Orochi-bastard even makes a move and I can't tell that it won't be good if that happens!" he exclaimed, patting his own shoulders as a signal. Mika spread out both of her wings and flew behind the boy, grabbing his shoulders with her feet, before lifting him up high into the air, way above the three Sannin and their own summons, as the two partners stared down at all of them. Each of them had their own reactions, except for Jiraiya, who seemed to be taking amusement in everyone's shock.
"I don't believe it..." muttered Kabuto, his mouth hanging at the sight of the phoenix that was above them. "I-I-It's a phoenix..."
"How could that brat earn a summoning contract for that kind of creature?" asked Orochimaru, dumbfounded at what he's seeing, but inside his mind he had very different thoughts. 'Not only a unique dojutsu that nobody in this world knows about, but a phoenix as a personal summon too?' he said in his thoughts. 'This brat keeps on surprising me, and he interests me the most out of all my intended vessels... too bad he's not giving in to what I want anytime soon...'
"My, isn't this quite the surprise?" said Manda, chuckling in amusement. "I'd never thought I'd see a phoenix in my entire life."
"Damn that brat!" said Tsunade, planting her hands on her hips, while trying to prevent a smile that was threatening to take over her face. "He already has celestial powers and then we find out that he has a summon phoenix too!" - she began shaking her head playfully. "Just how weird can he possibly get?"
"No way!" exclaimed Shizune, her jaw dropping at seeing Naruto fly into the air because of the phoenix that was carrying him. "Phoenixes are real?! I thought they were only a myth! It can't be true, right Tsunade-sama?" she looked at her master to try and gain her support while chuckling nervously, unsure of what was happening. "This has to be some kind of genjutsu that he's trying to pull off so Naruto-kun can catch Orochimaru off guard, right?" Her eyes widened even more when the Slug Princess shook her head in denial, confirming that what they were witnessing was real.
"Goodness!" Katsuyu cried out. "This is the first time I've seen such a beautiful creature like the phoenix! I once thought that they were a myth myself, but it appears that I'm wrong!"
"Hey, Jiraiya, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" asked Gamabunta, staring at the small but recognizable fiery orange-colored creature flying above them. The pervert simply answered with a nod. "I never thought I'd live to see the day that I would see a phoenix for myself," he stated. "Man, that student of yours is something else... why didn't he or you tell me anything about it during the contract signing, anyway?" he asked in a suspicious tone.
"Don't blame me, he wanted to keep it a secret back then because he couldn't risk it..." Jiraiya replied with a shrug. "Nowadays, the kid has no problem showing off to his fellow villagers... even now," he then turned his attention from his student to Orochimaru, glaring at his figure. "Bunta, sightseeing's over. We need to take out those three snakes right there."
"Hmm, Manda and Orochimaru..." the boss toad spoke, breathing out another whiff of smoke. "I haven't seen their faces in a long while... they're up to no good again?"
Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, we better take advantage while they're still staring up at the gaki. You ready?" Gamabunta grinned, preparing to unsheathe his sword. "Let's end this," as soon as Jiraiya said those words, the large toad jumped up into the air and prepared to strike the leader of the snakes, who then caught it between his teeth, opposing the Toad Sage's words about them being distracted. Bunta kept on pressing his strength to try and get around the snake's defense, but Manda seemed to possess the same strength, causing a stalemate between the two. However, neither one of them broke contact, as it would mean something bad for the either of them if the other moved. Jiraiya was about to move from his place and attack head-on when he saw Kabuto pull out a kunai threateningly, which made the Toad Sage reconsider.
If Gamabunta tried to move even an inch, Manda can turn the tables around and use his sword against him; however, if the snake was the one who made the move, his enemy can fully enact his attack and win with a single blow. Tsunade was looking from afar, trying to find a way to help her friend in this stalemate while Shizune was panicking beside her. "Tsunade-sama, we need to help Jiraiya-sama!" she looked below her. "Katsuyu-sama, please your acid to attack Orochimaru!"
"NO!" Tsunade's loud voice rang out. "Don't use your acid yet, Katsuyu!" It looks like she spoke at the right time, because the slug was about to go and proceed with what Shizune told her to do earlier.
Shizune looked shocked. "But —" she was about to disagree with her master's decision, but was immediately cut off by a glare that shut her up in her place.
"If Katsuyu used her acid, not only would Orochimaru and his snake be the ones damaged from it, but Jiraiya and Gamabunta too." - she explained, before rubbing her chin. "There has to be a safer way to attack without harming those two," she finished, looking at Jiraiya and the giant toad he was standing on.
Meanwhile, up in the sky, Naruto had finished explaining the current situation to Mika, starting from when Orochimaru offered Tsunade the deal to revive her lover and brother up to now. Of course, he made sure to explain it in a very short way, not wanting to take too long. "Now, do you get what's happening right now?" he asked his partner, looking up at her to meet her eyes. Mika nodded, ready to fight with him. "Good, now let's —" when he turned his attention to the Sannin that were supposedly still in their own places below, he saw the boss toad struggling with the giant purple snake that had Orochimaru on top of it. "Come on, let's get a closer look," he told the phoenix as they flew down to the ongoing battle.
When Tsunade saw that Naruto was heading down towards Jiraiya and Orochimaru, an idea struck her head, and thus she began waving her arms frantically to get the attention of the blonde. Luckily for her, Naruto was able to notice her immediately so him and Mika flew all the way towards Katsuyu, stopping just at the slug's head. "What is it you want to tell me, baa-chan?" he asked quickly, because he still had to help his teacher with his situation right now.
"If you want to help your pervert of a teacher," she began. "Start by separating that toad from the snake," she pointed towards Gamabunta and Manda. "If only they had some distance, Katsuyu could attack Orochimaru with her acid, but right now, we can't risk it because it might hit Jiraiya and Gamabunta too. Since you and your... uhm, friend here are not too big of a duo..." she had trouble trying to come up with a good word to refer to the phoenix carrying the blonde. Shizune was too shocked in her place at seeing a phoenix up close and personal that she can't speak. "You can sneak in between them and break off their connection and once you do, we'll move in to attack. Do you get that?"
It took a few seconds, but Naruto finally nodded with a grin appearing on his face. "Yeah, I do!" he said with confidence. "In fact, I just had a good idea on how to get those two animals apart!" he looked over to the two clashing summons. "I'll be back, baa-chan!" he finished as him and Mika took off, leaving Tsunade smiling and shaking her head playfully in her place.
Manda and Gamabunta still kept up their stalemate which only had the two rivaling Sannin glaring at each other. Orochimaru was smirking as he stared at his former teammate. "What will you do now, Jiraiya?" he asked mockingly. "This is nothing but a worthless stalemate between the two of us! Why don't you try to —" before he could speak any further, he was cut off when Kabuto kept on patting his shoulder to gain his attention. "What do you want, Kabuto?" he said, turning to face his apprentice with a scowl. He didn't like being disturbed, after all.
"The Uzumaki kid is heading towards this direction, we better watch out for any of his tricks, Orochimaru-sama," he warned, which made both his master and the pervert look up in the sky, seeing that the boy was indeed approaching towards them. This time, it was Jiraiya who smirked at his ex-teammate, who only kept a strong demeanor as his response. "And we don't know what kind of abilities his phoenix has as well."
"Well, Orochimaru..." said Jiraiya, returning the same mocking tone the snake-like man used earlier. "Looks like this time, what are you going to do? The gaki is unpredictable and I'm pretty sure you'll be caught off guard with what he can do... and I'm also sure that you'll be blown away by that phoenix of his as well..." - he then took a deep breath to prepare a jutsu of his own, knowing that it was now safe to do so. A second later, he then spat out a continuous flowing mass of oil towards Orochimaru and Kabuto who managed to evade with ease.
Naruto immediately caught up with what his sensei is doing and went through with a set of hand seals to help him as he and Mika neared the two giant animals. (Tiger → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger) He then took a deep breath before releasing his technique. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)" he shouted, breathing out a large fireball towards Manda; the combination of the oil and the flames, caused a small explosion atop the snake's head, which finally removed the connection between him and Gamabunta. The boss of the toads immediately jumped away to avoid the explosion, with Mika and Naruto simply following him.
"Thanks for your help, kid! Couldn't have made it out there without your help!" said Gamabunta, thankful that Naruto had saved him from a precarious situation. Who knows what would have happened if the boy hadn't interfered? Naruto just flashed a grin and showed him a thumbs-up in response. After that, the smoke that was created by the explosion which concealed Manda underneath started to dissipate, revealing the leader of the snakes with slight burns but Orochimaru and Kabuto were unharmed. They had survived it.
"Good job, Naruto!" said Tsunade with a small grin, happy that the blonde kid managed to accomplish what he was told to do. "Now it's our turn! Katsuyu!" she yelled out.
"I know, milady!" she replied, spitting out some of her acid repeatedly towards Manda. The slug's acid is well known to be highly dangerous, able to melt through rock at impact. Unfortunately for Tsunade, Shizune, and herself, Manda evaded all of her shots, while slithering closer and closer towards her. Tsunade's intended plan of attack proved to be ineffective the moment when the purple snake wrapped itself around in an attempt to suffocate her. That wasn't what Manda really intended to do though, and Orochimaru's real plan initiated when the large reptile began moving his mouth closer and closer to the slug in an attempt to bite.
However, before that could happen, Manda's face was blasted by a torrent of water, causing all of them to look at where it originated. They were all taken aback upon seeing that Mika was spitting out water from her mouth. Weren't phoenixes supposed to control fire only? How could Naruto's summon use water too? Mika kept on blasting the snake with the continuous stream of water until she let go of Naruto, with him landing on top of Manda's head. "Mika, go for his eyes!" he told his partner, as he engaged Kabuto in a battle of fists and kicks with the latter having the desire to protect his master until the end, with Orochimaru simply watching, not wanting to get involved.
"Roger that!" she replied, diving in to take out one of the snake's important senses. Showing her sharp talons, she began scratching the reptile's two eyes starting from the outlines all the way towards the pupil, switching from one to the other, making sure to wound both so that Manda would be left in intense pain from the loss of his sight. (A/N: Does anyone get this reference? It was taken after a popular scene from a popular movie... bonus points to anyone who can answer it correctly!) Since she was too fast for the snake, Manda couldn't get a chance to lunge and bite her, missing every time. "You won't be able to see what's left of you after this..." she spoke out in a low tone, which caused the purple snake to get even angrier than before.
As soon as Kabuto brought out a kunai to gain the advantage over the blonde boy, Naruto began dodging all of the bespectacled man's attacks without even fighting back. Besides, to fight and bring him down wasn't really the Uzumaki's goal, it was something more than that. When Naruto finally reached the edge of the snake, Kabuto pointed his kunai directly at him, panting heavily as well, too spent with everything that has happened. If Naruto takes one more step backwards, he'd fall over and he gain many injuries because of the height. "You... did you really think... that a mere bird... would be enough to stop... the great leader... of the snakes?" asked Kabuto with an amused smirk.
"Well, this bird is enough to bring you down, Kabuto!" the blonde countered, taking a glance to his right side, where he saw Mika nodding at him. What happened next was that Manda began thrashing around while howling in pain, loosening its hold on Katsuyu, which allowed the slug to slither out its grasp. Orochimaru and Kabuto were barely keeping their balance, and they could fall over at any second. Naruto took this chance to jump off the edge of the snake, but when the Oto-nin tried to look if he had indeed crashed to the ground, Naruto flew up into the sky again, apparently getting caught by Mika before he did hit the hard ground. Kabuto scowled and gritted his teeth at the boy, he was getting more and more annoying with every passing second.
"Damn you!" Manda cursed out, howling in pain. "That annoying bird got one of my eyes... now I only have one left for me to even see, but she wounded the other as well... I can't see anything from far away at the moment..." he stated, which caused Orochimaru to turn his head to look up at Naruto in anger, which was returned by the blonde with a smirk. He then turned his gaze towards the phoenix that was carrying him and narrowed his eyes at it, while wondering how could the boy have gotten a summoning contract with a mythical creature, but that was cut short when they all heard Jiraiya and Gamabunta speaking together.
"Let's light 'em up, Bunta!" exclaimed Jiraiya, weaving through another set of hand seals. Since it was now three against one, he was sure that they would win this without even breaking a sweat. (Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger) He then took a deep breath, while having a few thoughts of his own. 'I'm so glad to have met that phoenix,' he joked in his thoughts.
"Here it comes, Jiraiya!" said Gamabunta, spitting out a jet of oil that was headed for Manda along with the people atop his head.
"Katon: Gamayu Endan! (Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet)" the pervert yelled out, breathing out continuous flame bullet to the oil, which ignited it and thus made a small explosion in the process. This was one of the many cooperation ninjutsus that Jiraiya knows, as he had worked with toads for the most of his life. Meanwhile, up in the air, Naruto himself decided to help add more spice to the technique his sensei did with his summon, going through a batch of hand seals of his own.
"Let's help sensei and the boss, Mika!" he said as they flew down closer to the oil that was ignited by Jiraiya earlier. (Boar → Dog → Dragon → Bird → Hare → Boar → Serpent → Horse) He and Mika then took a deep breath. "Uchūton: Kinboshi no Ai!" he screamed out, breathing out a continuous stream of flames that were of the same temperature in Venus. The phoenix however, breathed out a huge fireball headed for Manda and then she gave both of their attacks a huge boost by flapping her wings, summoning a gust of wind to enhance the fire.
All of the attacks hit home, and an explosion occurred at where Manda was. Jiraiya and Gamabunta immediately started cheering for themselves, thinking that they have won, but Tsunade, Shizune, and Naruto were still inspecting the scene, wanting to see if they really had won. They wouldn't want it to be just a false alarm. After a whole minute of waiting, the smoke had dissipated, and after seeing what was left there, the boss of the toads as well as his summoner were frozen in their place as the battle wasn't over yet.
Only Manda's skin was left there, which meant that the large snake shed its skin before escaping. They all saw a large hole just behind it, meaning only one thing. "Everyone, watch your backs!" Tsunade yelled out at the top of her lungs, making sure that she could be heard by everyone. "They went underground, we don't know where they could end up!" She and Jiraiya then began scanning the surroundings quite frantically, because knowing Orochimaru, he is pretty sneaky as well when it comes to surprise attacks. Naruto and Mika had a bird's-eye view from up above, so they'd be able to know immediately where the snake-like man would show up and they would dive down and help whoever they try to attack.
Jiraiya's eyes widened when he heard something hissing from behind him and the huge toad he was on top of, so he immediately screamed in order to get Bunta to act quickly. "Hey, big guy! Behind us!" he yelled out, which made Gamabunta unsheathe his sword as he turned around to catch Manda off guard. Just like what Jiraiya had predicted, their enemies were behind them and the purple snake was getting ready to bite the boss toad. Manda easily evaded it and since Gamabunta was slow in attacking, the former decided to use that to their advantage.
When the snake finally saw an opening long enough for it to strike, Orochimaru and Kabuto smirked, finally able to bring one of them down after a hard-fought battle. But just as it could strike, an energy disc was thrown to its head, preventing its attack. "Insolent brats!" cursed Manda aloud, as Orochimaru and his apprentice were forced to take cover to evade another energy disc. Both Oto-nins started growling in annoyance when Naruto flew in closer with Mika, both with amused grins on their faces.
"That kid is getting out of hand, Orochimaru-sama," complained Kabuto. "Don't you think that this is too much because with every attack we try, he always has a way to counter it? I think it's best if we pull out of this pointless fight, Orochimaru-sama... it would only lead to something bad for us if we continue... we don't know what else his phoenix is capable of doing..." he tried persuading the Snake Sannin, who only narrowed his eyes at him in response.
"Perhaps you're right... very well, let's give them this victory today," he spoke out, finally giving in. "Manda, let's turn around and escape from this fight," he told the snake, who only hissed angrily. "I'll give you the hundred sacrifices you've been asking for," he bargained, which managed to convince the leader of the snakes, maneuvering around so that it was facing away from Gamabunta, who was ready to strike it down any moment. But just when they were about to leave, Katsuyu was there with Tsunade crossing her arms atop her. Naruto was up in the air, watching closely if Orochimaru would try something else. In other words, they have been cornered once again.
"Going somewhere?" the woman taunted, while Orochimaru just snickered. "Earlier, you seemed pretty confident, now you want to escape? Totally out of character for you —" she stopped mid-way during her little statement when she heard her former teammate's slick tongue stretch out towards her in a last effort. "Not gonna work," she remarked, catching Orochimaru's tongue with her right hand, causing the latter to widen his eyes. He tried to pull away from her grasp, but she kept her hold on him. "Come here!" she yelled out, pulling on his tongue with such strength that the Snake Sannin was launched towards her with great speed. "This is what you get for messing with the village!" she screamed out, punching the snake-like man on the jaw with all her strength, sending him rolling over then crashing on the ground, finally defeated.
xxx Tsunade, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Shizune vs Orochimaru and Kabuto xxx - End
"Orochimaru-sama!" cried Kabuto, running after his defeated master, jumping off Manda's head and landing on the ground. The Snake Sannin managed to compose himself even after receiving that strong of a punch from his former teammate, although he only sat up on the grassy ground. Meanwhile, the purple snake was left in its place, cursing loudly about his summoner. Naruto and Mika flew closer to the other Sannin, noticing that it was now safe to do so.
"Orochimaru... you should be grateful that I am partially blind right now... I would've eaten you right now, you disgust me... to think that you are defeated like this... prepare yourself the next time we meet, as I will surely eat you then..." threatened Manda, before the reptile finally exploded in a large cloud of smoke, disappearing back into the summon realm, leaving the two Oto-nins with no other kind of defense left. Before Gamabunta or Katsuyu can even make a move towards them, Kabuto had already helped Orochimaru back up to his feet, as the latter began to speak in a weak voice. He needed immediate treatment after this encounter.
"Like I said," he said loud enough for Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Naruto to still hear. "I still have another way to get both of my arms back. Enjoy your days as Hokage, Tsunade... because Konoha's days are numbered... it will fall..." he warned all of them, before him and his apprentice left in a blur. After they disappeared, Tsunade and Jiraiya both sighed in relief, grateful that this battle was now over. The Slug Princess didn't pay attention to the snake-like man's warning at all, taking it only as a way for Orochimaru to get into their heads.
"Tsunade-sama, do you really think it's wise not to go after them?" Shizune asked in a nervous tone, standing up on her two feet. "I mean, we could still catch up to them if we're fast enough... it would be dangerous in the future if we just let him get away now..." she then rubbed the back of her head after that, not really sure of what the right thing to do at the moment.
The older woman shook her head while chuckling. "Just let them be, Shizune," she replied. "I don't know what plan Orochimaru has to get back his arms, but as long as he's away from the Leaf, I don't care. He's the least of our worries right now, and all that's left for us now is to return to our home village. It's been quite a rough day for us, especially for me." - she joked, which caused her apprentice to chuckle.
All of a sudden, Naruto's eyes went wide in shock as he felt something hit him from behind. Mika immediately noticed that there was something wrong with her summoner as she felt him become suddenly weak. "Naruto?!" she asked rather loudly, which earned the attention of Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya. "Naruto, answer me! What happened? Did something hit you or something?!" - she then suddenly lost grasp of the boy's shoulders, causing him to fall out of the sky. "I'm sorry Naruto, just hang on, I'm coming!" she panicked, realizing that she accidentally let go of her friend.
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade screamed out of desperation, which prompted the pervert to jump off Gamabunta and into the ground, rushing towards the spot where Naruto could crash. Luckily, he was able to catch the boy in time, which made him let out a huge sigh of relief. When he heard footsteps approaching from behind him, he turned his head to only see Tsunade and Shizune running towards him, the two also concerned as well to why Naruto suddenly fell out of the sky. Was he crazy or something? "Here, let me check on him," the woman continued, with the Toad Sage handing over the blonde Uzumaki towards her so she could check his condition.
"What happened to him?!" asked Mika, flying down and landing on the ground with a sad look on her face. Naruto was her first friend in this world, after all. "Is he all right?!" - it was there that she noticed, Tsunade and Shizune were both distracted by her presence, their jaws slightly dropping at seeing her, while Jiraiya only grinned nervously. "I will explain everything to the two of you later on, first I have to know is Naruto all right? He just got attacked out of nowhere while we were both up there..."
Tsunade coughed a few times to snap herself out of her trance before continuing to check on the boy's condition, her hands glowing green. After about twenty seconds or so, she sighed in relief and lightly bonked the blonde on the head. "You brat..." she spoke out with a relieved tone. "Don't go scaring us like that again..." she then turned her attention towards everybody else. "He's just unconscious, nothing too serious."
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head after her statement. "Wait, what? Unconscious? Why the hell would he be —" before he could even continue, a loud booming voice broke out behind them and they immediately turned their heads to whoever was speaking.
"HEY!" In the distance they saw a white-haired man wearing a white jacket with dark pants and brown hiking boots. It was Ichiro from the city's casino about a week earlier. He seemed to be angry at the moment, because of the way he was storming over to where they were with very heavy footsteps that the whole group could hear them. Not only that, but his face was also filled with rage Mika immediately transported back to the summon realm without a word, after she felt something weird with the man, which made Jiraiya raise an eyebrow at her sudden disappearance. "HEY, QUEEN OF DEBTS!" he roared. "YOU BETTER PAY UP YOUR DEBT TO ME RIGHT NOW OR I'M SENDING AN ASSASSINATION SQUAD AFTER YOU! YOU WON'T LEAVE THIS PLACE UNTIL PAID FULL PRICE!"
At the mention of 'Queen of Debts', Jiraiya immediately turned his head towards Tsunade, who was sweating nervously. Shizune, who was sitting beside her, also seemed mortified with what was happening. That was when he put the puzzle pieces together, immediately finding out the reason why the man was so worked up. He then quickly thought of a plan to get out of this situation, as they weren't looking for any more trouble for the day. They've had enough.
When Ichiro was within range of his voice, Jiraiya stood up with a nervous grin on his face. "Hey, man!" he said nonchalantly. "Nice to see you out here, how you doing?" - the white-eyed man across him only rasied an eyebrow in confusion. "Anyway, like you, I know how Tsunade is such a wuss at bets and because of that, she has been in debt all the time! Believe me, I've been a victim of it as well!" he took a quick glance at his former teammate, who was looking angry at the moment, but Jiraiya managed to silence her with a wave of his hand. "Why don't you let us be on our way so that she'll be able to pay you up?" he tried asking nicely.
Ichiro stomped on the ground rather hard. "No!" he shouted defiantly. "It's either she pays up now or any of you won't be leaving this place alive!" He looked over towards Tsunade. "Well?! Where's my money?!"
The pervert sighed but he stepped forward, patting the man on his shoulder a few times. "I have a proposition for you, my good man," he started. "You know, the reason me and my nephew went to this city was to find my lost wife Tsunade, the one you call 'Queen of Debts' and our eldest child, which is my daughter, and bring them back to our home!" he said with a fake smile. He knew that he would probably get killed for this kind of lie, as demonstrated when he saw Tsunade with a menacing aura around her, but right now he had no choice. "You see, I was offered to be the leader of our little village, but I refused and suggested my wife instead. We're actually trying to bring her back home so that she can take up the leader position! How about it?"
"What does that have to do with me?!" Ichiro demanded, a tick mark appearing on his head.
"Well, if you think about it more, once she becomes the leader, she can manage the village's resources and she'll finally have money to pay you back!" - at this point, Tsunade facepalmed, while Shizune sighed. "But if you won't let us go, she'll never be able to pay you... so what do you say?" he asked for the last time, with a tinge of hope in his voice.
The white-haired man rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, now that you mention it..." It took a full minute for him to finally give his response. "Okay, I'll let this slide, good sir... you seem like an honorable man to defend your wife like that!" As soon as he answered, Tsunade and Shizune's faces fell, unable to believe what they just saw; whereas Jiraiya simply grinned. Ichiro's mood seemed to have lightened a bit, as he didn't sound angry anymore. But then, he turned to Tsunade and began to speak in a threatening voice. "But don't ever forget about your debt... because if you do, I'll make sure of your demise. Do you get it, Tsunade?"
The woman didn't hesitate to nod in response. Jiraiya sighed in relief, inwardly thanking that this problem was now solved. He just had to make sure that this man beside him won't bother them anymore. "Is that all you want to tell my family? If that's the case, it was nice talking to you sir, good —" he was then cut off from his words because of Ichiro's loud voice.
"No, there's still one more thing I have to do." - he stated, walking over to Naruto's unconscious figure and knelt down. Neither Tsunade nor Shizune couldn't do a thing to stop him in whatever he was planning to do, and they were simply frozen in their place. "This is your son, right?" he asked, looking over towards Jiraiya with a raised eyebrow as he pointed at Naruto.
"Uh, y-yeah..." he replied, not really getting what the white-haired man was trying to do.
Ichiro sighed and stood up and walked over to him. "Then I apologize," he spoke out, making the pervert all the more confused as well as Shizune and her master. "It is because of my actions that he is out cold right now," he then rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "He was accidentally hit by my wind jutsu earlier, but he wasn't my real target. I was hoping to get Tsunade, but it seems I may need eyeglasses these days, my sight isn't as good as they were in my prime," he finished with a chuckle, before walking away while waving his arm goodbye. "Cheerio!" he exclaimed, leaving three ninjas behind him with their jaws on the ground in shock.
They couldn't believe it. He was the one that knocked out Naruto?! And with a single jutsu?!
They were dumbstruck.
Four days later, Konoha...
Four young teenage girls were making their way through the streets of the village after having gone on a shopping spree. Hinata originally didn't want to go with Ino, Sakura, and Tenten on their particular activity, because she was already planning to train for the whole morning then wait by the village gates again for Naruto and Jiraiya's arrival. It had been like that for the past few days for the Hyuuga, and in the process, it drove the three other girls to persuade her to join them in shopping. While reluctant to do so, Hinata wasn't known to be a person that declines her friends, so she agreed for a change. There'd be no harm to be honest, if she went shopping. She could always train later on, but with how talkative her three other kunoichi friends are, she doubts that.
"That was fun, right girls?" asked Ino cheerfully, earning nods from Sakura and Tenten. In truth, the question was directed to Hinata, but she seems out of it. "Hey, Hinata!" she called out, which seemed to pull the Hyuuga out of her thoughts.
"W-What is it?" she asked, now paying attention to them.
"You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" Ino asked in a teasing voice, which caused the white-eyed girl to blush slightly. Even until now, she was still quite uncomfortable when others tease her about her relationship with Naruto. By now, almost all of the population of Konoha knew about their relationship, leaving many people shocked. Perhaps when he finally returns, she would be brave enough to openly talk about their relationship without any shyness. As a response, the Hyuuga nodded, which made the three other girls chuckle evilly. "Oh, I knew it... you just can't stop thinking about your boyfriend, can't you?" The blush on her face became deeper, closing her eyes tightly when she finally couldn't take it.
"P-Please stop teasing me, I'm so embarrassed..." she squeaked out in a high-pitched voice.
"Hey, you should be happy for yourself, girl!" Ino continued. "Did you know that idiot has his own fangirls now? I've been hearing rumors that he's now considered as Sasuke-kun's rival! I also heard that it was him who managed to take down that Sand-looking bijuu during the invasion, and that alone is a major achievement! I thought back then that he'd grow up without anyone even having the idea to fall for him, but clearly I was wrong because of you and those girls crushing on that knucklehead..." After she spoke, Hinata smiled to herself, knowing that she indeed should be happy.
"Cheer up, Hinata! He'll be back soon, I'm sure of it! Remember, that idiot is very fast, and I have the feeling that he's on his way back home here right now," said Sakura, trying to alleviate some of the embarrassment her friend was still feeling. "If it helps you, I get embarrassed all the time when Sasuke-kun and I take long walks whenever we have free time in training! And Naruto always teases me about it, to be fair."
Sakura's first sentence made Ino suddenly freeze in her tracks. "Wait, what are you talking about, Forehead?!" she demanded, a tick mark appearing on her head. "What do you mean, 'whenever we have free time'?! Is there something going on between you and Sasuke-kun?! Since when has he ever paid attention to you? Last time I checked, he dumped you in front of everyone before we went into the forest! How could you and him become closer after that?! You better tell me the truth!"
"It's none of your business, Ino-pig!" - Sakura retorted, sticking her tongue out at the blonde as they began to fight over Sasuke using words.
Tenten used this opportunity to walk over to Hinata. "Hey, Sakura's right, Hinata," she said with the same calm tone that the pinkette had. "There's no need to become embarrassed over your boyfriend! We all have silly crushes, you know! It's a normal thing for guys and girls to have a crush on someone, take Sakura and Ino as examples!"
Hinata then smirked as she lay her head low. It turns out that there was a playful side of Hinata as well. And who else has she gotten it from except from a certain blonde that she's head over heels for? "You wouldn't happen to have a crush on nii-san, now would you, Tenten-san?" asked Hinata, looking up at the weapons mistress with a smirk. Her particular question made Tenten's eyes snap open as a blush immediately coated her cheeks.
"N-Neji?!" sputtered Tenten, as she took a step back before waving her arms in front of her in denial. "N-No way! Why would I have a crush on him! Sure, we're friends and teammates and all, but I seriously don't have a crush on him!" Hinata didn't reply, but instead just stared at her with a knowing look and a smirk, as if she had no way out of this. Tenten finally sighed, sure that there was no way to save herself now. "Fine, it looks like the cat's out of the bag..." she grumbled. "I-I do like Neji... I know he's arrogant, and a bit of an asshole sometimes, but these days, he's changed... looks like his fight with your boyfriend changed him for the better... and not to mention he's hot as hell..." she trailed off, a massive blush appearing on her cheeks as she looked away.
"Well then, I wish you luck, Tenten-san!" said Hinata with a sweet smile. "I used to dislike nii-san as well, but we are now in very good terms with each other! We have a daily training session everyday which feels like I'm a child because the last time he was kind to me was during our childhood."
"Hey, why don't we all go to the hot springs?" Ino suggested, interrupting their conversation. "It'd feel good to let out some real steam..."
"So, who won between you two?" asked Tenten, planting her hands on her hips, interested in knowing who between the die-hard Sasuke fangirls managed to outdo the other.
"It's a draw..." said the blonde with a smile, which suddenly morphed into a hard glare. "For now..." she glared at the pinkette beside her, who only returned it with a triumphant smirk.
It's not like it wasn't true. She knew that she was already one up ahead of her friend/rival because she and Sasuke have grown closer ever since she showed that she can stand up to others, more so it was him; as shown during the little quarrels he had with Naruto during the exams. It made Sasuke see her in a completely new light because he was clearly wrong about her. Sakura can be strong and brave when she wanted to, and she wasn't really useless. He had called her names back then, most of them pointed out that she was a weak person and should not be considered a kunoichi. He was taken aback during the time that she had the guts to stop him and Naruto from fighting, and it was also right after he dumped her. How could she have moved on that easily? It was a question that is still yet to be answered but that wasn't really important. Sakura knew to herself that she still held feelings for the Uchiha, and if only she was gifted with skills in deductive reasoning, she would've found out that her feelings were returned.
"Whatever, I'm just looking forward to who wins that Ice Prince's heart," said Tenten, following her friends to the hot springs for a quick dip. "He's one tough nut to break, you know... I'd actually be surprised if he marries someone someday!"
"Doesn't that apply to your emo of a teammate too?" said Sakura, sweat-dropping at her statement, which actually made both Ino and Hinata laugh. It was a good thing that today was 'No Jiraiya Day' in the hot springs... otherwise it would be a total nightmare for them to even get in the steaming water.
XXX
Four figures were walking happily through the forest outside of the village gates. If Tonton was counted, it would be five, actually. Jiraiya led the way for Tsunade and Shizune while Naruto was following closely behind. They all had the same clothes since they left the city where Tsunade was found, but Naruto now had an added accessory.
Dangling from his neck was the unmistakable emerald necklace that once belonged to Hashirama Senju. It was passed on to Tsunade, and now it was passed on to him. The woman gave it to him before they set out from the city as a gift for reminding her about Nawaki and Dan as well as the one dream that they both shared. At first, Naruto had too much respect for prized possessions so he tried to decline the offer, but Tsunade said otherwise, putting it around his neck herself. Since he possibly couldn't deny the offer, he simply thanked her while flashing his signature grin and usual cry of 'Believe it!'.
When they arrived at the gates, they were greeted by the guards, Izumo and Kotetsu. "Welcome back, Jiraiya-sama!" said Izumo, shaking the Toad Sage's hand. "I take it the mission's a success?"
"Yep!" he replied. "The mission's a success, as you can see," he showed the two Shizune and Tsunade, the two people him and Naruto were supposed to find.
"Here is our next hokage, Tsunade Senju." - with that, Tsunade bowed slightly, which prompted the two to bow as well.
"Her apprentice, Shizune Kato..." he then noticed the small pig in her arms. "And the pig, Tonton," he finished with a chuckle.
"It's good to see you again, Tsunade-sama," said Kotetsu. It had been over fifteen years since her and Shizune were last seen in the village. "Welcome back and congratulations to being the new hokage."
"It's an honor to have you back in the village!" Izumo remarked before an old man smoking a pipe approached the group.
"Welcome back, Tsunade-chan..." he said, nearing tears as the woman wrapped him in a hug. "I missed you and Shizune-chan too..." After she pulled away, it was Shizune's turn to hug him. When she pulled away too, Hiruzen continued on speaking. "So, are you ready to take up your position, Tsunade-chan?" he asked his student with a grin.
Tsunade shrugged. A lot has happened during the past few days, but she wasn't in the mood to talk about it. "Well, it's good to be back! I'll do my best to lead the village," she exclaimed, earning a nod from Shizune and Tonton. "Let's go to the tower, everyone... it's a long day for me, I know it..." she said, while trying not to sound annoyed at the thought of paperwork. As they walked through the streets, her their appearance caught the attention of most of the villagers which resulted in some of them cheering for her while some only clapping. But then when she felt that someone was missing from their group, she turned around around to see Naruto going to another street. "Hey, brat!" she called out, earning his attention. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked him.
"Oh, well I'm heading home!" he replied, yawning in the process. "I want to have a full day of rest because I haven't gotten a proper sleep ever since." - he then continued on his way towards his home. "Catch up to you later, baa-chan!" As he went down the road towards his apartment, he began to start a conversation with the bijuu inside of him, unaware of the villagers that were staring at him with fear in their eyes, or admiration. 'Hey, Kurama...' he called out in his mindscape.
"What is it?" he replied, surprisingly not asleep at the moment. "Is it about your Uchiha friend? You've been thinking about him ever since earlier."
'Do you think I should go visit Sasuke tomorrow? It's been more than a week since I last saw him and baa-chan said that she's going to heal him later on today along with Kakashi-sensei.'
"Well, that's entirely up to you, kit... but if I were you, I'd visit him without showing myself. Unless he asks for your presence."
'What do you mean by that?' asked Naruto.
"You can call me crazy but, I think there's something bothering that kid's mind when you visited him before leaving for the mission. He was feeling intense anger yet at the same time, he was also feeling concerned. I don't know to whom those emotions were directed to, but I can tell that there is a war going on in his mind. He may be emotionally unstable, and it'd be risky for you to show up since you're one of the closest people to his heart. Unless he gains control of his emotions again, I suggest you keep a low-profile during your visits."
'Okay, I think I can do that. Thanks for the tip!' he thanked the bijuu, who only shrugged in response. 'By the way, what do you think Orochimaru meant when he said that he still had a 'backup plan' even if baa-chan refuses to heal him? Do you think it has something to do with Sasuke? I mean, he did give him a weird seal on his neck, right?'
"No idea. But yeah, your friend might be the closest answer. Unless he has already given that kind of seal to many people and not only to your friend, though. However, something tells me that the Uchiha kid is his target... I mean, his Sharingan is one of a kind and he's basically the last of his family in this world unless you count his brother too."
'Since when did you have such knowledge on human emotions?' Naruto asked, astounded at how Kurama was answering. 'I know you can sense emotions, but I think this is too much information even for you, no offense...'
"If you haven't forgotten, your mother also became my host," he simply stated, making Naruto grin embarrassingly. "Now back to what I'm trying to say. That snake bastard sure does have a huge interest in your Uchiha friend, because if you notice, during your fight a few days ago, he didn't even make a move in capturing you, even though your eyes are way out of the Sharingan's league. That could mean that he really is after that kid..."
'What bothers me is how far Orochimaru would go just to get to Sasuke. He already attacked our team during the exams and knowing him, he won't hesitate to use other measures to ensure he gets what he wants. What do you —' he was then cut off from his conversation with the tailed beast when he heard a very familiar voice call out to him, forcing him back to reality.
"Hey, brat!" Naruto only rolled his eyes in annoyance when he immediately recognized whose voice it was. Zabuza and Haku were walking towards him, the swordsman had his usual grin on his face that while Haku looked characteristically sad, as it could be directly seen on her face. "Was the mission successful?" he asked in his usual tone when talking to Naruto as him and his surrogate daughter stopped in front of the blonde.
"Yeah," he replied, his attention turning to Haku. She was looking down on the ground and pure sadness could be seen in her eyes. "Zabuza-sensei, what's wrong with Haku? She looks kind of sad today."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Zabuza said in a more concerned tone. "She told me earlier that it she was just trying to complete a stupid dare by one of her friends," he explained, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Her friend told her to look sad for an entire day, and she decided to do it today, ain't that right?" he said bluntly while Haku nodded as her response, which made the boy sweat-drop at his idiocy because what he said made no sense at all, before turning his attention back to the Ice-user. Why was she sad? It went against her to look that way as she was usually smiling or looking stoic most of the time.
Since the news about Naruto and Hinata's relationship has pretty much spread like wildfire throughout the village due to the boy's growing popularity, it wouldn't be a surprise if Haku was feeling sad now. After all, she did feel something for Naruto and she was just waiting for the right time to tell him what she felt, but it looked like she waited too long upon hearing of the news just yesterday. Zabuza caught her weeping in her room earlier morning, but she managed to use his idiocy to her advantage, successfully fooling him into believing her story, which involved the 'dare'. She didn't have the guts to look at Naruto straight in the eyes today, as it would only tear her up more inside if she did. She couldn't bring herself to get angry at either Naruto or Hinata, because it was her fault for not acting sooner in the first place. All she could do is be happy for the two, but it would appear that it will take time before that happens because the wounds were still fresh.
"O...kay..." Naruto trailed off, looking at Haku with concern. "Anyway, I'm going to head home, I want to get some rest because I haven't been able to sleep well ever since the mission started. Catch up with the two of you later," he finished, sending his teacher a fake grin, before continuing on his journey back home, but not before sending the Ice-user one last concerned look. 'Man, I wonder what's wrong with her... Kurama, what's she feeling? I can obviously tell that Zabuza-sensei's just acting like an idiot earlier!'
"She's feeling intense sadness inside, kit... it's like her heart has broken into two pieces," Kurama replied.
'What the hell? What happened? Is she going to be all right? Did she broke up with somebody? Or did someone hurt her?' he suggested with a hint of anger in his tone.
The bijuu shrugged before speaking once again. "I don't know, but one thing's for sure... she feels incomplete and all she needs is time to recover. She's suffering from something that hit her deep inside so don't even try to help her, because it would just fail. If you even suggest to have your damn phoenix read her mind, no doubt she'd refuse to do it. Like what she said, you can't invade other people's minds whenever you like. Just give her time, kit. She'll be back to normal."
'I wish I could help... but I'm gonna follow you on that... damn, what the hell happened to her?' he replied sadly as he finally reached his apartment. 'Home sweet home...' he said to himself as he stepped inside the building.
Tomorrow...
Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see the white ceiling above him. He didn't do anything much yesterday, because like he said, all he wanted to do was simply rest in bed. He even declined an invitation to dinner by Tsunade to celebrate her return to the village. But today was a different day. Surely, Tsunade had already healed the wounded people that have been left scarred during the events of the invasion, so it was at the top of Naruto's list to visit his Uchiha friend in the hospital. When he looked at himself, he was surprised to see that he was shirtless but when he looked under his blanket, he saw that he had his boxers on, which made him let out a sigh of relief; he never sleeps naked and he was not an exhibitionist. He looked out the window and saw that the sunlight was directly shining on him, which made him move to his right but when he did, there was something, or rather someone, was blocking him. He turned his head to the side to his beloved girlfriend sleeping beside him naked as the day she was born.
This made Naruto jump up slightly out of shock before he regained his composure. He began to wonder where did Hinata come from, as he didn't remember anything about letting anyone inside his apartment yesterday. 'Wait, when the hell did she sneak into my bed? And why is she naked? I don't remember having company last night...' he then went back to his original position in the bed and stared directly into her cute face. 'God, she's so adorable while sleeping,' he thought as he brushed off a strand of her hair from her face. After a few more seconds of looking at her directly, he sat up and smirked to himself. 'I'm sorry, Hinata... but it's time to wake up!' - he then raised his right hand up.
Hinata's eyes shot wide open as soon as she felt a stinging sensation to her plump bottom. She began looking around to see what it was when she saw Naruto sitting upright at the bed, smiling at her. Her face then lit up, a very wide smile appearing on her features as she immediately sat up and hugged him tight, her generous bosom pressing to his well-toned chest in the process, which made him blush a bit at the contact. "I'm so glad you're back, Naruto-kun!" she cried out happily, laying her head on his shoulder. "I missed you..."
Naruto's arms then wrapped around her and she moaned softy at the warmth of his touch. "I missed you too, Hina-chan..." he replied, kissing the top of her head. After they continued hugging each other for a whole minute, they finally pulled away with smiles on their faces. Naruto was the first one to speak between them, as he still had to know how she got here. "So, if you don't mind me asking, Hina-chan... when and how did you get here in my apartment?" he asked.
"Oh, well I heard from Sakura-san that you've returned to the village yesterday with Jiraiya-sama and the new hokage, Tsunade-sama," she explained. "Then I began to wonder where were you and why weren't you looking for me... but then I realized that maybe you were at your house. When I came across Zabuza-sensei (A/N: He's considered a teacher of Water techniques and swordsmanship) I asked him where you were since you two lived in the same building. It turns out I was right about my guess. I went to Father and asked for his permission to let me sleep at your house since I missed you so much, and he said yes. That night, I tried knocking on your door, but then I noticed that it wasn't locked, so I went inside. When I saw you sleeping on your bed, I decided to sleep as well and just talk to you tomorrow morning."
"Sorry if I didn't try to find you yesterday," apologized Naruto, rubbing the back of his head. "I was just so tired that I wanted to rest all day..."
Hinata cut him off with a breathtaking kiss. "It's okay, I understand..." she told him in a kind tone after pulling away. "So what are your plans for the day? I'm sorry but I can't be with you for today which is why I asked permission to sleep here," she asked him. "After I leave your house, I need to get home for my daily training with nii-san and Father asked me to teach Hanabi all about the basics of Gentle Fist because she is nearly of age to be sent to the academy to study. And then after that, our team is having a meeting in the afternoon to discuss our next mission. I'm really sorry, Naruto-kun..."
"No worries!" said Naruto in his cheerful voice. "I'm actually pretty busy today as well! First, I have to go and visit Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei at the hospital then I think I'm going to visit jiji since he's no longer the hokage and I also haven't seen him since I returned... and then maybe I'll be doing some training in the afternoon and eat at Ichiraku's for dinner." - he explained, earning a warm smile from his lover before he decided to get back on track. "By the way, why were you sleeping naked?" he asked her. "I don't think I've ever seen you do something like this before..."
She let out a high-pitched squeak after his question before looking down to prevent Naruto from seeing her bloody red face. He began asking her if she was all right but she was having thoughts of her own. 'What should I do, what should I do?' she asked herself. 'Come on, girl! He's here now, there's no need to be shy anymore! You weren't shy when you wanted to go all the way with him, remember?!' she told herself. 'I can do this, I can do this, I can do this...' she then opened her eyes after about half a minute, steeling her resolve.
"Hey, is something bothering you? Come on, answer me..." he asked once more, before the Hyuuga started crawling over his lap as if she was a pet animal. This action led the blonde to blushing several dark shades of red. "Uh, Hina-chan? What are you doing? Why are you crawling over my lap?"
"Maybe I just missed the feeling of your hand, Naruto-kun..." she said in a seductive tone, becoming the direct opposite of her shy self yesterday in front of her kunoichi friends. Well, who wouldn't expect this? She could let herself loose whenever she was around Naruto and she literally keeps a journal containing all of her dirty fantasies involving her blonde boyfriend. Hopefully, she becomes a lot braver now that he's back in the village, but not too much, of course. Making the Uzumaki blush all the more, she then raised her naked butt higher in the air and started shaking it as a way to trigger his sadistic side. "Come on, it's not right to make your girl waiting, Naruto-kun..." she purred, looking at him with pleading eyes.
He rolled his eyes and inwardly ignored Kurama's woos and praises from inside his mind. By now, he wouldn't really be surprised if Hinata asks like this in front of him, as it had been made clear by the girl herself before he left that she loves his sadistic personality and behavior and that she was a masochist herself, but only during in these kinds of situations. It made Naruto blush real hard when the girl offered to be his personal maid for a day, something that he vowed never to happen. Kurama teased him non-stop for the rest of the day after that little talk, lecturing his host on how to properly please a woman as well as declaring openly that Hinata is a better partner than Kushina from a male's point-of-view, much to the boy's annoyance. It was adorable seeing the blonde Uzumaki being shy about his own sadistic side, according to the Hyuuga heiress' words.
"You asked for it," he breathed out, running his hand down her back, stroking her milky skin, causing her to moan at the contact. When he reached her perfect backside, he started kneading both of her cheeks in his hand as if they were dough; when Hinata tried to look at what he was doing to her, he kept her head down on the bed with force using his left hand, making her giggle. She was successful in triggering him. After half a minute of squeezing and lightly pinching her butt cheeks, he then raised his right hand before bringing it down...
XXX
"Naruto!" Sakura called out as she exited the hospital. She had finished her daily visit to Sasuke as well as Kakashi and she was looking quite happy at the moment. As soon as she saw her blonde-haired teammate heading for the hospital too, she ran towards him and wrapped him in a hug. In response, Naruto also wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace. He had missed the pinkette too, because she had turned out to become one of his closest friends after everything that has happened. After they pulled away, Sakura patted his shoulder and pinched his cheek afterwards. "I'm pretty sure the old me won't say this, but I missed you, you idiot."
"I missed you too, Sakura-chan," he replied with a smile before turning his attention to the hospital behind her. "So have you finished your daily visit?" he asked, and the girl nodded. "So how's Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei? I heard that baa-chan have already healed them both along with the other wounded shinobis that are still confined there." After the blonde boy had dropped off Hinata at her home, he went on to complete the first thing in his to-do list for the day, which was to visit his best friend and teacher.
"You mean Tsunade-sama?" answered Sakura, earning a nod from her friend. "Oh, that's right! She did heal everyone and man, was she skilled! I'm actually thinking to try and ask her to teach me more about medical ninjutsu, but anyway, Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei are all right because I know that you went here for them. While sensei is back to his usual self, Sasuke-kun has been a bit moody lately..." she trailed off, much to Naruto's confusion.
"Moody? What do you mean?"
"Well, the doctors said that he wanted to be alone after he finally woke up... and whenever someone dropped to visit him yesterday, he yelled at them to get out and leave him alone. I was a bit nervous earlier because he might yell at me too, but then when I went inside his room, he seemed pretty calm to me." - Naruto's eyes slightly widened in surprise while a light blush started to cover her cheeks. "We talked for a bit and I told him what happened to the village and everything while he was in a coma-like state. Then he told me to look for you, because he wanted to talk to you in private."
With that, the Uzumaki's eyes fully widened. Sasuke was looking for him? Why, though? Was there any specific reason? "Wait, he wants to talk to me?" he asked, wanting to confirm it. "Are you serious? Maybe you're just hearing things. Because in all our time in being ninjas, I was always the one who started a conversation between us, if he was going to start the talk, it would only lead to a fight."
"I don't know," she shrugged. "He only told me to look for you and here you are! You should head in there and just listen to whatever Sasuke-kun wants to tell you. I'm sure it won't take long. After you talk to him, you can go visit Kakashi-sensei afterwards. How does that sound?" While he still had a lot of questions on his mind, he had no choice but to nod. "Great! Now head in there and get going!" she then walked past him, but not before giving him a playful punch to the arm. "I'll be out for some early training with Haku-sensei... hopefully she's not looking sad today, though..."
Naruto didn't move from his place even after Sakura had left the area. He was deep in thought, wondering why would Sasuke want to talk to him. 'It doesn't make sense!' he thought. 'Why would he want to?! He's the least person I'd expect to want to talk to me right now! Knowing him, he'll probably just...' he then sighed, stopping himself from saying any further. 'I feel crazy... I'm arguing with myself... Oh well, how bad can it be?' he then started walking towards the entrance of the building. 'He's still in a goddamn hospital, he can't start a fight here... can he?'
XXX
Naruto opened the door to Sasuke's hospital room, as he still remembered what number it was even after being away from the village for over a week. The doctors and nurses had warned him of Sasuke's current mood at the moment, but he didn't pay attention to any of them, opting to figure out what the real deal was behind it. Opening it fully, he saw the raven-haired boy sitting upright on his bed, rolling his fingers on his hands while staring blankly at the bedsheets. When he heard the door open however, he turned his gaze to whoever was there; if it was Naruto, he'd invite him in as he really needed to talk to him but if it was another person, he'd yell at him/her to get out and leave him alone.
Seeing that it was Naruto, he pointed to the wooden chair that was beside his bed. The blonde simply agreed with him, stepping inside the room before closing the door behind him. He then sat down at the chair where Sasuke had pointed to. A few more seconds passed by, and everything was quiet inside the room. Sasuke was once again staring blankly at the bed, which prompted Naruto to make a move, otherwise this would be pointless. "So, um..." he began with a nervous tone. "Sakura-chan... told me that you... wanted to, um... talk to me? I wanted to know... if that was true..." he turned his gaze to the Uchiha who didn't budge an inch from his place. "Sasuke? Sasuke? Sasuke... come on, just answer me..." he tried persuading the black-haired chuunin to answer. But still, he didn't move from his place or even said anything, which caused the blonde boy to sigh. Another wasted opportunity, then...
"I was wrong."
Wait, what? This question was imprinted inside the Uzumaki's mind as he tried to recall what Sasuke had just said. He was... wrong? About what? Was Naruto just hearing things? Or did he really just hear a prodigy say he was wrong? He looked up and stared at Sasuke. "W-What did you just say?"
Sasuke let out a heavy sigh, turning his head to look at Naruto. "I was wrong, Naruto..." he repeated, now adding his friend/rival's name.
"A-About what, exactly?" asked the blonde. 'What the hell is he going on about?' he asked himself in confusion. Maybe this is what Sakura was talking about earlier regarding Sasuke wanting to see him.
"Everything. I was wrong from the very start."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Explain 'wrong'," he demanded, wanting to know what Sasuke is really trying to tell him.
"I thought I would become stronger if I fueled myself with hate and lust for vengeance, like what my brother said to me back then... that's exactly what I did, Naruto. I was confused why would Itachi kill tou-san back when I was but a mere child, but I ignored it since I still had kaa-san..." Naruto's eyes widened. Did Sasuke just talk about his brother? Wasn't this a sensitive topic for him? He started to listen in more carefully because this was getting interesting. "But when he came back and killed her along with the remaining members of the clan except for me... that is when I first felt anger and rage inside of me. Itachi told me to hate and resent him so that I'd be strong enough to kill him someday, and that is exactly what I did." - he then shifted in his position, turning his body towards Naruto so that he was fully facing him.
The blonde Uzumaki began putting all of the puzzle pieces together. "Wait, are you saying that you changed because of your brother's words?" he guessed, making Sasuke nod in agreement. "So that's why you became different during our days in the academy..."
"Believe me, I never forgot our friendship back then..." he admitted, making Naruto's eyes widen to the size of saucers. "You were my first real friend, you treated me not as a member of the Uchiha clan, but as 'Sasuke'. I had to resist every attempt you made to try and get me to train with you during the academy days. There were many times that I wanted to train with you after kaa-san died... I mean, aside from her, you were the only one I had left. I had no friends other than you back then. But then I made the life-changing decision to focus solely on getting avenging my clan... I left everything I loved behind in favor of getting revenge... but during the events of both the exams and the invasion, I realized that it was wrong..."
"When exactly?" asked Naruto, raising an eyebrow.
"During our fight, when you teamed up with that Hyuuga girl..." he started to explain. "I was convinced that I finally had the power I needed to defeat Itachi when I saw her defeated. But then, you... changed. After you brought me down, you told me that you became strong because of the people you care about... it's love, isn't it? The love you feel for them became your fuel that drove you to becoming stronger." Naruto nodded. "It was then that I noticed how wrong I was. I wasn't near Itachi's level... in fact, I haven't changed. I was still weak if I compare myself to you right now. We both had different reasons in why we wanted to become stronger, and I was confident in myself. I noticed that it wasn't me who defeated Hinata Hyuuga, it was her cousin. But it's not only him too... we worked together in order to defeat her. That's when I noticed I was wrong about everything."
Naruto gulped. "Is that all you wanted to say?" he asked, making sure of things if he was really done because a few seconds had already passed without Sasuke talking.
Sasuke flashed a small but sincere smile. "Not even close, dobe..." he joked, chuckling softly as he used the nickname he uses for his friend, which made Naruto widen his eyes again. Sasuke just laughed. He laughed. The last time he saw the Uchiha laugh was during their time as Team 7 in the Forest of Death, where they were telling jokes amongst each other. "Then during the invasion," he continued, making Naruto pay attention to him once more. "I confronted Kabuto after I dealt with group after group of Sound ninjas. Turns out that he was one of our enemies too... I don't remember much, but I recall seeing in my mind my family again. We were smiling happily, and Itachi was with us. It's as if nothing had went wrong. But then that pictured burned in black flames before being replaced by the team photo of Team 7. That's all I wanted to say."
"What exactly are you trying to tell me?"
"I now know about the real deal behind my eyes."
"What do you mean, 'real deal'?"
Sasuke took a deep breath. "I have the Mangekyo Sharingan," he stated bluntly, making Naruto's jaw drop to the floor in shock.
"S-Seriously?! When did you acquire it?!"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "You know about it?" he asked, astonished that Naruto knew about such a thing that was supposed to be exclusive only to the Uchiha clan.
"I have my ways," he replied. In truth, it was one of the many advantages of having an elemental phoenix like Mika who also had telepathic powers. He accidentally stumbled upon the term 'Mangekyo Sharingan' when he overheard a conversation between Kakashi and Hiruzen regarding Sasuke. Because of that, it gave the blonde enough reason to want to know more about it because it involved his best friend. Not wanting to be offensive, she is like a flying library for Naruto because of her unique abilities. It was a good thing that Sasuke wasn't pressing the topic further as he continued speaking.
"It turns out that I acquired the Sharingan after tou-san and most of the clan members were killed... and then I got the Mangekyo after kaa-san died. Sandaime-sama explained everything to me last night when he visited my room; when I asked why would he hide the secret that I had a Mangekyo, he told me that there would be a possibility that I might have gone crazy and make a decision that would spell as outrageous. The Mangekyo could be acquired by only a select few Uchihas that have matured their Sharingan to the highest point, before they witness the death of a beloved, especially those with strong blood ties to the Uchiha involved. However, I didn't ask for you to come here to discuss something that can be taught in class."
"Then spill it. Why were you looking for me?" It was now time for the moment of truth. The reason why Sasuke wanted to talk to him.
"Help me..." he simply replied.
"W-What?"
"Help me... and I'll help you, Naruto..." The blonde didn't reply, as he simply stared at Sasuke with wide eyes. "We're the same, you and I. We both have unique eyes and we have yet to learn more about them. I was too blind to see it, Naruto. Even though I'm a ninja with enhanced eyes. I'm sorry for everything that I have done, I was a fool to think of revenge as my top priority. If I have to be honest, these past few months have been the best since my childhood. I had fun during our missions and it is an honor to be a part of Team 7. Not only you, but I've come to also see Sakura and Kakashi-sensei as my own family... and maybe that's the reason why I saw our team photo replace the image of me with my original family." - he flashed another smile, before looking at Naruto. "Let's start over, Naruto... like we used to. Help me go down the path that you've walked on, where you used love as your drive in order to become stronger. Let's help one another with our dreams. My dream is to avenge and restore honor to the Uchiha clan while you dream of being the Hokage. I would definitely want to be your friend again."
Naruto was completely blown away by what Sasuke just said. His eyes went to the floor, unsure of how to respond. The Uchiha had just offered to reconcile and start over with him, which was one of Naruto's hidden desires if he had to be honest with himself. After a full minute of having deep thoughts, he finally looked up, seeing that Sasuke was still smiling at him. He then took a deep breath as he spoke. "Well you know me, Sasuke... I'd do anything for my friends... and that includes you." - he smiled at the raven-haired boy before he outstretched his hand for him to take. "It's good to have you back... teme," he spoke, chuckling at his friend.
"Nice to be back... dobe," Sasuke replied with a grin, accepting the handshake before the two of them broke into a fit of laughter as they began throwing each other insults and names like their days in the academy. Talk about a weird way of reconciliation...
Meanwhile, at the top of the Hokage tower, Tsunade stood there looking at all of the villagers that were staring up at her. She was wearing the Hokage cap, concealing her identity from the world. 'Dan, Nawaki... I'm finally home...' She then removed the cap she was wearing, revealing her face. "From this day forward, I am the ruler of the Hidden Leaf Village, the Fifth Hokage!" she cried from atop the tower to the cheers of the civilians and ninjas from below.
Next on The Celestial Shinobi...
"What the heck is this?"
"This must be the second gift he was talking about!"
"Please don't go with them, Sasuke-kun..."
"I won't give in to my inner desires!"
CHAPTER 23: STARDUST
Things to remember: In canon, the reason Jiraiya's early techniques in the fight were lame was because he was drugged. Here, it's because he was drunk and is having a major hangover. Kurama has not granted Naruto his full power, he only gives him chakra when needed, and he will only do so once Naruto becomes 'worthy of it'. I know that Katsuyu is referred to as 'it', but what do you expect? She sounds like a woman and she has a name, like with Gamabunta and Manda. Bear with it. Sasuke became a chuunin along with Sakura and Hinata.
Wow, that was one hell of a chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the outcome of the fight and I do sincerely hope that I did a good job. I put in more effort since this was a different case, involving multiple combatants, not in a traditional one-on-one fashion. Mika also joined in the 3-Way Summoning, if you notice. Anyway, there we have the Part 2 of the Sannin battle which pretty sums up the climax of the Search for Tsunade arc! Then, staying true to the title, our heroes returned to the village and Tsunade is now officially the Fifth Hokage of the village. What's more, Naruto and Sasuke have reconciled and are now once again the best of friends. There! We are now done with the Search for Tsunade arc which means that next chapter, we are proceeding with the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc. How will it go down, you ask? Why don't you take a guess? Remember that Sasuke made his peace with Naruto at the end of this chapter, so how would he react to the Sound Four's offer in the next arc? Oh, this would be interesting to read, don't you all think? Will he accept or reject? His mission for vengeance or the village? It's quite unpredictable what he would do, so I'd advise you all to stay tuned! Do leave a lovely review if ya'll got the time and give your thoughts on this chapter. Also, don't forget to follow/fave this if you so totally dig it!
PLEASE REVIEW. I NEED FEEDBACK SO FAR ON HOW'S THE STORY'S PROGRESSING. (Just not flames, please?)
Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*
Word Count: 21, 724
-Lance