I do not own Naruto. All rights remain that of Kishimoto.
As mentioned earlier, I had planned on using Tigers as the summon, but the voters chose differently, so I went along with it.
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Chapter Twenty-Four
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Neji paused at the entrance of the large Dojo and stared in amazement at the sight before him.
Around the edge of the Dojo were over thirty members of the Branch family, ranging from small children to the Branch Elders, each of whom had a pile of various objects that they were throwing at Hinata, who was standing in the center and not even trying to dodge.
None of the projectiles were even getting close to her, however.
Neji activated his Byakugan and felt his respect for the former Clan Heiress rise even higher. She was standing proud, her hands moving so fast that they seemed to blur and leave after-images. From the palm of her hands she was expelling chakra, but shaping it into long blades that she was using to weave a protective dome around herself, using her flexibility to ensure that it provided full three-hundred and sixty degree protection.
"Incredible." He whispered as he stood almost entranced by the deceptive simplicity of the technique.
"She calls it the Shugohakke Rokojuyon Sho." His father noted from just behind him and Neji nodded almost absently as another barrage of thrown items disintegrated as they impacted the dome.
"Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms." He whispered. "It looks like it could defeat the Kaiten. So this is the technique that Kiba was talking about."
The barrage stopped and Hinata lowered her arms, allowing the chakra dome to fade away.
"Neji-nii-san!" She called and Neji bowed.
"Hinata-sama." Neji replied as he straightened to see Hinata pouting at him and he fought down a chuckle. "That is an amazing technique."
"I was inspired by the Rasengan." Hinata admitted and Neji nodded, remembering how the chakra blades had seemed to twist and lash as they formed the dome.
"I do not think that I could do that." Neji admitted, then he let the corner of his mouth briefly quirk upwards. "I am nowhere near as flexible as you are."
Hinata shrugged as she accepted a beaker of water. "If you can do half a dome, then perhaps someone else could do the other half."
"A fascinating idea." Hiashi said as he entered the Dojo, causing all the Branch members to bow. "Daughter, once the exams are over, perhaps you could help develop that technique further."
Hinata nodded. "Yes, father."
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"Alright!" Jiraiya announced as Naruto entered the training area that the Hyuuga had allowed them to use. "Bee-san tells me that you've managed to make friends with the Kyuubi similar to how he's friends with the Hachibi. Is that right?"
Naruto nodded. "Um, yeah, kinda. I've given him full access to my senses and… well, watch this. Bijuton: Kage Youkai Bunshin!"
A burst of smoke heralded the appearance of a small fox with multiple tails, which looked round, then up.
"Dammit, use more of my youkai next time."
"…naruto?" Jiraiya asked slowly as he subtly shifted his weight, ready to attack or defend.
"Hmmm? Oh, this is Kurama-sama. Or a clone of his. When it pops, Kurama gets all the memories like I do with my clones, I made one earlier today at his request. And if I channel more of your youkai, it starts to hurt, Kurama, remember? We're still working on a direct mental link so that he can be in the seal while directly experiencing the real world. I think I need to talk to Inoichi-sama about that."
The kit-kyuubi sulked and Naruto laughed.
"Hey, you had fun when we practised this yesterday evening. Remember how Hanabi glomped you?"
The kit-kyuubi looked away. "Never talk about that again."
"You liked it." Naruto protested. "You let her fall asleep wrapped in your tails."
Kurama growled, then glared at the Toad Sannin who had fallen over and was writhing on the ground as he howled with laughter.
"Foxes eat toads, so shut up or I'll decide to have a snack!"
"Whoooo, sorry." Jiraiya gasped as he sat up and wiped his eyes.
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Iruka stared at the Hyuuga Heiress who was sitting at her desk, stoking a small multi-tailed fox's belly. The rust-coloured fox was sprawled out half-asleep as her fingers stroked its fur.
If not for the size and the fact that it was almost comatose with pleasure, Iruka would have mistaken it for the Kyuubi.
Konohamaru gave her a long look that bordered on a glare. The boss had given Hanabi a cool fox, but not him? He was going to have to ask for one too. There was no way he was going to let himself fall behind again.
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"So why did you want me to make a small clone of you for her anyway?" Naruto asked his biju companion.
"…ummmm, because you see her as family and it would hurt you to lose her, and that would affect how often I get to come out?" The Kyuubi offered weakly. Jiraiya fell over again and Kurama glared at the laughing man.
"So, what did you want?"
Jiraiya sobered, then his hands flashed through a series of five seals before he bit his thumb and slammed his hands down. A cloud of smoke engulfed him and when it cleared, Jiraiya was standing on the back of a large orange toad which had blue markings.
"I think you're ready to sign the Toad Contract." Jiraiya said as he hopped down. The orange toad looked at him, then at Naruto.
"Gama, this is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, aso known as Yurei Ruto. Naruto, meet the guardian of the Toad Contract, Gama."
"Honoured to meet you." Naruto said and Gama stared at him with wide eyes.
"Hey, pervy sage." Gama croaked after a long moment. "There are floating clothes talking to me. Did you mess up my summoning or something?"
"It's his bloodlimit." Jiraiya said in explanation. "He's naturally invisible."
Gama thought about it for a long moment, then he shrugged. "So, what did you want? Wait, Namikaze? He's the Yondaime's kid?"
Jiraiya nodded proudly and Gama looked at Naruto again.
"Ahhhh. So you want him to sign like his old man did. Hold on."
Naruto watched in horrified fascination as Gama produced a large scroll from his mouth, using his tongue to lay it on the ground before nudging it so that it rolled open.
"The Toad Contract." Jiraiya pronounced proudly. "Sign it and you'll become the third Toad Summoner."
"Eeeeuuuugh." Naruto managed. "It's been in a toad's mouth! It's got toad spit all over it!"
Jiraiya facepalmed. "No, it hasn't and it doesn't."
"What?" Naruto half-yelled. "Listen, old man, I know what I saw!"
Gama chuckled as he watched the impromptu show.
"The scroll is stored in another dimension and while Gama uses his tongue to summon it, he's careful not to get it damp. Got it?" Jiraiya growled and Gama nodded in confirmation.
Naruto looked at them both suspiciously before walking over to the scroll and looking at it.
"That's my dad's signature?"
"Yes it is." Jiraiya said proudly. "My greatest student. Now, all you have to do is to sign your name in blood."
Naruto nodded and Jiraiya watched as his glove seemed to drift above the scroll.
"Done? Good. Now, you just need to draw a little blood and then use the following seals, boar, dog, bird, monkey and ram before slamming your hand down and releasing your chakra. Don't forget to use as much chakra as you can."
Naruto nodded and his gloves seemed to flicker as he rushed through the seals.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock as Naruto vanished in a cloud of smoke, then he quickly bit his thumb and ran through his own set of seals.
"Jiraiya! If you have summoned me to help you peek at girls again…" The massive toad growled and Jiraiya shook his head.
"No, Lord Gamabunta, I didn't. Listen, why did you reverse-summon Naruto?"
Gamabunta blinked, then he placed the tip of a paw on the scroll that was still on the ground in front of Gama.
"What are you talking about? You're the only active summoner we have."
Jiraiya froze, then he grabbed the horns on his custom Hitai-ate and groaned.
"Oh Kami! Invisible blood, invisible chakra… why the fuck didn't I think it would be a problem!"
Gamabunta blinked again.
"Jiraiya… what are you talking about?"
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Naruto looked round at the place where he had found himself.
"What the…? What happened to me?"
A sound behind him caused him to spin round and he paused.
"You don't look like a Toad to me…"
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"…this isn't good." Gamabunta noted, earning a flat stare from Jiraiya.
"Not good?" The Toad Sannin repeated in a voice barely a hair's breadth from hysteria. "Not good? He could be anywhere!"
"No, he is in the lands of the summon tribe most suited to himself." Gamabunta said thoughtfully. "Perhaps if you describe his personality to me, I can work out which summons he may have been sent to and thus begin negotiations to get him back."
Jiraiya slumped to the grounds. "Oh hell, I'm so dead. Where the hell did that brat go?"
"What have you done to my snuggly?" A female voice ground out behind him and Jiraiya's eyes widened as he felt the spectre of death looming over him. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Ultimate Toad-sage technique!" Jiraiya yelped. "Run-screaming-like-a-little-girl no jutsu!"
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Tenten somersaulted away from her purple-haired adversary's attack, flicking out an arc of shuriken as she did so in order to buy more space. As she landed, she realised that her attempt had failed as the edge of a sword came to rest against her jugular.
"You need better reflexes than that." Yugao said, stepping back and sheathing her sword. "As soon as I got close, you had lost."
"Dammit." Tenten cursed as she started to collect and store the weapons she had used.
"Can you use a sword?" Yugao asked curiously and Tenten shrugged.
"I can, but I've never been formally trained."
Yugao hmmmm'd in thought. "Any non-projectile weapons that you have trained in?"
"Well," Tenten mused, "I can use single or twin Kamas, Kusari Fubo, Kusarigama, Johyo, tanto, tonfa…"
"I get the message." Yugao said quickly as Lee finished his warm-up exercises and trotted over. "Okay, we'll work through your weapons to find out which one is best suited against a sword-user. What's a Kusari Fubo?"
Tenten grinned as she pulled out a small storage scroll and unrolled it. Applying chakra to one of the seals, she turned to show the weapon to Yugao.
"A short club with a weighted chain at each end?" Lee asked in confusion. "How does it work?"
Tenten grinned, then she shifted her grip to one of the end-weights. Spinning the weapon, spun and twisted, causing the weights to describe complex patterns in the air, then she hurled it at a tree and Yugao's eyebrows shot up as the Kusari Fubo smashed straight through the trunk, toppling it in a cloud of splinters.
"Wow." She managed after a long moment. "That's one long-range attack sorted and one I don't think he'll see coming."
"IIIIITTTT WAAASN'T MYYYYYY FAAAAUUUULT!"
"…and I didn't see that coming." Yugao managed as she, Tenten and Lee turned to watch the vanishing cloud of dust that marked the passage of Jiraiya and Hinata.
"…was that a youthful run, or was it unyouthful?" Lee mused.
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"G… gaara?"
The red-haired boy slowly sat up and looked around.
"I… was asleep?"
Temari nodded and Gaara blinked a few times.
"The… seal works. I cannot hear the Ichibi any more."
Temari stared as Gaara stood up and blinked several more times.
"I must go and thank Jiraiya for fixing my seal…"
"I DON'T WANNA DIIIIEEEEEE!"
Temari and Gaara exchanged confused glances, then Gaara's sand whipped out and flung open the curtains just in time to see two blurs pass by.
"Was that…?"
Gaara stared wide-eyed at the departing duo.
"That girl… she is chasing Jiraiya-sama and he is scared of her… I may need to reconsider my actions should I meet her in the finals."
Temari nodded slowly. "I'm suddenly very glad that I didn't make it, if all the Leaf ninja are that good. I mean, her fiancee is the one that Zabuza finds scary."
"Indeed." Gaara allowed. "However, for now I hunger… for salted tongue. I believe that Baki-sensei has some among his rations."
"SOOOMEONE HEEELP MEEEE!"
Temari turned away from the sight of the panicking Toad-sage frantically dodging chakra-laced strikes.
"Gaara, wait up!"
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Bee rubbed at his jaw and glared at his fellow Kumo Jinchuuriki.
"Why you hate my rap?"
"Now is not the time." Nii Yugito growled as she looked at the trio of collapsed genin. "What the hell were you doing?"
"Training." Bee grumped as he started to pick up and sheath the swords that he had dropped when Yugito had punched him in the face. "They said they were ready and you know how I hate over-confidence.
"They may talk real big/ but they ain't quite there, do ya dig?"
Yugito shook her head. "Dammit, Bee! We need them ready for the finals! You keep doing that to them and they'll have to drop out because they'll be in hospital!"
"Hey, don' worry, they'll be fine/ I went light on them this time."
Yugito opened her mouth to say something, then paused.
"SOOOOMMMEEEEOOONNNEEE HEEEEELLLLP MEEEEE!"
"…the hell?"
"Hey, weren't that the toad-sage?" Bee mused. "Thought he normally chased da girls, not da other way 'round."
"…was that a Hyuuga?" Yugito asked and Bee sighed.
"Okay, Gyuki, they're coming back so let's stop them 'fore they hurt themselves. Eight-tails partial transformation!"
The air behind Bee seemed to ripple, then eight tentacles appeared from his back, each stretching almost twenty feet. Bee took a couple of steps, then he strained against the sudden impact as his tentacles wrapped round the two figures, halting their chase.
"Hey there now, what's all dis here/ Ya runnin' and fighting and causing lotsa fear.
"Little girl tell me why ya chase the ol' perv/ causin' him to dodge, to duck and to swerve."
"Hmmmph, hmmmph hmph!"
Bee frowned, then shifted the tips of the tentacles, freeing Hinata's mouth.
"He did something and Ruto-kun's gone!"
"Not my fault!" Jiraiya countered as he tried to wriggle out of the tentacles that were wrapped round him. "I didn't realise that his chakra would cause that to happen!"
"Cause what to happen?" A new voice asked and Jiraiya managed to turn even paler as he looked at the new arrival.
"Sensei… ahhh… well, you see… I…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen motioned for Jiraiya to stop, then he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Bee-san, if you would be so kind as to bring them to my office? I don't think that I can risk you releasing either of them yet."
"Sure thing, Hokage-sama." Bee replied with a respectful nod.
"I'll look after your team." Yugito said, then she reached out and grabbed Bee's scarf, dragging him down to her level even as she raised her other hand to show that her fingernails had extended into long claws. "And if you do anything that gets us into trouble, I'll ensure that you can only rap in soprano, got it?!"
Bee nodded frantically and Yugito released him with a cheerful smile. "Okay, off you go."
"Is… she normally like that?" Hiruzen whispered and Bee nodded.
"Oh yeah, you annoy her and she'll claw your face off."
Hiruzen winced.
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"Haku." Zabuza said as he lowered his bottle. "This is damn good Sake. What is it?"
"I am… rather nervous about my upcoming fight with the Hyuuga girl." Haku admitted and Zabuza glanced at his apprentice.
"What? Why?"
"I saw the Toad-sage fleeing from her."
Zabuza choked, causing the Sake he was drinking to spray all over himself. Choking and spluttering, he accepted a small cloth and wiped his face clean.
"You're telling me that Jiraiya of the Densetsu no Sannin was running away from that girl?"
"Screaming for help as he did so." Haku confirmed and Zabuza stood motionless for a long moment before handing over the bottle.
"I think you're going to need this more than I will."
"…thak you, Zabuza-sama." Haku managed, looking at the bottle in confusion.
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Bee watched with interest as Hiruzen wrote a series of seals onto the two chairs in front of his desk.
"If you can please place them on the chairs, Bee-san?"
Bee nodded and, making sure not to touch the chairs themselves, positioned the captured duo above the chairs before releasing them.
"Dammit, sensei." Jiraiya moaned. "Gravity seals?"
"Thank you, Bee-san." Hiruzen said. "If you could inform Sasuke that our meeting will be postponed, I would be grateful."
Bee nodded and, dismissing his tentacles, quickly scooted out of the room, not wishing to be caught in the impending explosion. As the door started to swing closed, he sagged in relief.
"I take it I should come back later, then."
Bee looked at the black-haired youth who had spoken. "Depends, you Sasuke?"
"Uchiha Sasuke." The boy said with a slight bow. "An honour to meet you, Bee-sama."
"Backatcha." Bee grinned. "Saw you had a problem. You not all bent out about not getting to the finals?"
"There's always next time." Sasuke shrugged as he rose from the bench he had been sat on. "Besides, it gave me more time to try something. I think I've cracked that weird lightning of your brother's."
Bee removed his shades. "You use your eyes fo' dat? Wait, you can't have done..."
"I used my mind." Sasuke laughed. "Everyone knows about the five main elements, but they always forget about the Yin and Yang. As an Uchiha with a Sharingan, I can use Yin release and Yang release. I tried to combine Yin release with my Raiton and I suddenly had lightning that absorbed light rather than expressed it. Felt different, too."
Bee stared at the youth for a long moment. "How…"
"I used my mind." Sasuke repeated with a smile. "For some reason, when I tried to use Yang with Raiton, it was like my body and senses suddenly became supercharged. It was almost painful."
"Whoah." Bee managed and Sasuke grinned.
"I've already put my findings into the clan archives so even if something happens to me, my clan can continue."
"Damn." Bee managed. "Bro's gonna be pissed."
"Lots of luck and even more work." Sasuke shrugged. "It's taken me several weeks to actually get it to a point where I can start to experiment with it. We probably won't get any useful jutsu out of it for another generation or so. We're better at copying than innovating, my brother notwithstanding."
Bee nodded slowly. "Deyaaamn. I'm glad you ain't in the finals, my bro would have a heart attack if you used black lightning in front of him and I don' wanna be Raikage."
"I hear the paperwork for a Kage-position is quite bad." Sasuke agreed. "My brother says that he's stumbled across a jutsu that can reduce it."
The door slammed open, almost falling off its hinges, as a white blur shot past and Bee blinked as Hiruzen pinned Sasuke to the wall.
"What jutsu? What jutsu! Do you have any idea how much paperwork there is to do? What jutsu did your brother find?!"
Sasuke whispered something and Hiruzen slowly released the young shinobi before walking to the other side of the room, removing his hat as he did so. Sasuke started sniggering as Hiruzen started to thump his head against the wall.
"Baka! Baka! Baka! Kage Bunshin! Why didn't I work it out? Minato must have, why didn't he tell me?"
"Come on." Sasuke whispered to the gobsmacked Jinchuuriki. "I know a place that sells great onigiri."
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Author's note – Yeah, I had to include that last fanfic cliché.
But this time, it was Sasuke who said it.
You probably didn't see that one coming.