Disclaimer: - I, SSG-Goku3397, do not own Naruto and any related matter. It all belongs to Kishimoto, the original brain behind the character Naruto. The only thing that I do own is the plot of this story and any original jutsu, seals, concepts and OC's that are present within the story.
'Thoughts'
'Bijuu / Jinchuriki Mode / Summons Thoughts'
"Speech"
"Bijuu / Jinchuriki Mode / Summons Speech"
Jutsu
Letters / Jutsu notes
"Telepathic Speech"
"Bijuu / Jinchuriki Mode / Summons Telepathic Speech"
Chapter 24 – The Fall of Mouryou
==========Morning, 8th April, Space-Time Hub Bunker==========
A high-pitched beeping had erupted from the control console of the Space-Time Bridge. Sasuke and Naruto were moving about handling the different alerts. Hiruzen, Hinata, and Kushina watched as a humming filled the cavernous room. Groups of people walked out of the cuboidal warp area as they appeared and stood at the edge of the barrier with a clone of Naruto guiding them.
The first to show up were the Raikage and his entourage. With Ei came Kirabi, Yugito, Team Kirabi, Darui, Shee, and Mabui. They all stared in awe at the room they found themselves in, after them came the Tsuchikage, Onoki and his entourage. With the aging Tsuchikage came Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi and another old man. After them came the Mizukage and her entourage. With Mei came Chojuro, Ao and Hozuki Kagura. Then came Sunagakure, presently lead by Elder Chiyo. With her came Baki and his three students. Finally, Minato appeared with Shikaku, Inoichi, Yamato, and the Clan Leaders.
"Wow pups! This place looks great!" A wild looking woman wearing a Konoha Hitai-ate called out getting a chuckle from Naruto.
"Thank you Inuzuka-dono! We aim to please!"
"Now that everyone is here, we can finally get started with the tour and eventual planning." Sasuke said appearing in a small flash of lightning with Naruto appearing beside him in a flicker. "Everyone please break up into two groups and follow us to the two platforms."
Everyone nodded their heads and broke up into two groups. One following Naruto and the other were following Sasuke. They walked onto the platforms and waited. They were all surprised when Naruto and Sasuke placed their palms on the pedestal, causing the platform to quickly raise to the level of the catwalk.
"Are they lifts? I didn't know that they can work without counter weights?" Onoki asked in shock getting nods and laughs from Sasuke and Naruto.
"It was Sasuke's idea. Originally, I was planning to create a warp platform. Sasuke said that it would be a bad idea since we would not be able to shut it off. The lifts can be overridden from the control platform, if needed. They work on gravity manipulation. You should see the barriers protecting the Hub."
"True! This is probably the best work we have done yet. A masterpiece of legendary proportions!" Sasuke replied with an arrogant tone. Everyone nodded in agreement. To them, this truly looked like a masterpiece.
"Welcome everyone to Uzushiogakure! Please keep any questions you have till we have reached the Uzukage Tower!" Hiruzen said with a serious expression. An expression that was mirrored on Minato, Shikaku, and Inoichi's faces.
"Then lead the way Sarutobi! The faster we get there, the faster we can get back to our paperwork! I say, even with clones helping out, they seem to multiply at the rate rabbits do!" Onoki said in a growl getting sympathetic nods from the other Kage.
==========Morning, 8th April, Uzukage Tower==========
The group of Kage, their Jonin Commanders, their ANBU Commanders, and advisers walked into the Uzukage Office to see the room much larger than the outside indicated. Hiruzen walked to up to the table and sat down. The Kage following his example, sat down as well. Minato sitting with Ei on one side. Elder Chiyo and Mei sitting opposite them. Onoki sat facing Hiruzen. Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Sakura stood behind Hiruzen. Kushina and Tsunade stood behind Minato. Kirabi, Yugito, and Mabui stood behind Ei. Baki and Team Sabaku stood behind Elder Chiyo. Akatsuchi and the old man who came with Onoki stood behind the aging Tsuchikage. Kurotsuchi decided to stand beside Naruto. Ao, Chojuro, and Kagura stood behind Mei. Inoichi, Yamato, Shikaku, Darui and Shee leaned beside the door.
Seeing everyone in position, Hiruzen nodded to Naruto and Sasuke. Nodding back, the duo clasped one of their hands with the others before simultaneously creating hand seals with their clasped hands. When they finished, they slapped their other hands together releasing a visible shockwave of chakra. When the shockwave hit the walls of the room, they glowed brightly for a moment before settling down to a pale purple.
"What did you two do now?" Minato asked with a frown.
"A combination Jikukan Ninjutsu. While Sasuke manipulated the time aspect of the jutsu, I manipulated the space aspect. To put it simply, we sealed off the room in a constantly shifting chaotic space-time field. Since it is constantly shifting, Tobi can't use Kamui to get here and since it is dissociated from normal space-time, no one can enter or leave till we let the jutsu go." Naruto explained getting wide-eyed looks from everyone except Kushina, Tsunade, Minato, and Hiruzen.
"Why go with such extreme measures?" Ei asked with a frown. He did not like the need for such measures. "Especially since Akatsuki doesn't know about Uzushio being used for the creation of the Alliance Headquarters!"
"That is no longer accurate. Yesterday we hand an incident after the first test. After Tou-san, Kaa-chan, Baa-chan, Yamanaka-dono, Nara-dono, Yamato-dono, the Jonin-sensei, our classmates and Team Gai came by. We were having lunch when I sensed a malicious presence. When I went to investigate, I saw this white humanoid creature trying to poison the food stores. I was easily able to defeat the being and brought it back for Baa-chan and Sakura-chan to examine. After that, the rest of us scourged the island to see if there were any more. Luckily, there was not. From Itachi's report, the creature was called Zetsu. He normally has a black half but they can separate. So we can conclude that Akatsuki now knows that Uzushio is becoming active again." Naruto said getting nods from the grim faced Kage and Chiyo.
"From our examination, we were able to conclude that the creature, Zetsu was some kind of clone of Hashirama-jiji. It has a weak mokuton ability, weaker than Yamato's and Naruto's is but still deadly. It also seems to have no need to eat. It is like plants in that aspect. It also has a strong regeneration ability but it cannot regenerate fast enough from a lethal blow to survive. It should have an ability to drain chakra because of the mokuton. All in all, I conclude that it was an artificial creature and there may be more of them around." Tsunade said getting grim nods from everyone.
"In response, we have erected an intention based barrier around the Hub and the Village. It will not prevent them from entering, but it will alert everyone to where it is. The barrier will be useful to identify and subdue traitors as well. They will start glowing with a faint red light." Sasuke explained with a grin.
"That's good but what about the security breach?" Onoki asked, "How are we going to seal it up?"
"We are already working on barriers and seals to handle the situation. It will take time, especially since we are exhausted but we should have it up all around the island within two months at latest." Naruto replied getting nods from everyone.
"That's good, now Suna would like to make an announcement." Chiyo said getting everyone's attention. After seeing that she had everyone's undivided attention, the old woman continued, "Within the year I will stop representing Suna. We will have a new Kazekage."
"That's good. One shouldn't have to work so much at their old age!" Minato said getting glares from Onoki and Hiruzen.
"Thank you Hokage-sama. The new Kazekage has already been decided. He wished for a year to prepare untill he takes the position. I would like all of you to meet the future Godaime Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara!" Chiyo said getting surprised looks from everyone before they congratulated the embarrassed redhead.
"Thank you everyone. I will strive to follow all of your examples and be the best Kage I can be!" Gaara said with a bit of happiness in his usually emotionless voice.
"Now that all of this is out of the way, we should start the meeting. We do still need to build the HQ and that will need planning." Ei said getting nods from everyone. After that, everyone started inputting their thoughts on what will be needed and where they should be.
==========Night, 26th August, Uzukage Tower==========
"You called us Soutaicho-sama?" Sasuke asked as he entered the Uzukage Office, now being used as the office of the Soutaicho of the Allied Shinobi Forces. Following the Uchiha were Uzumaki Karin, Hozuki Suigetsu and Jugo.
"Hai, you four will be a team under the Allied Shinobi Forces. Your moniker will be Taka with Sasuke as Team Captain. Your job will be to investigate rumors of Akatsuki involvement and movement. If possible, sabotage of Akatsuki operations. As your first assignment, I want you four to investigate Oni no Kuni. There have been rumors that Akatsuki are trying to get a demon called Mouryou under their control. The former High Priestess, Miroku-dono, had sealed the demon away before she had died. His soul is in an undisclosed location while his body is in another undisclosed location. Her daughter, the present High Priestess is the only one who knows where both are sealed. Your job is to investigate Oni no Kuni for the presence of Akatsuki."
"Hai Soutaicho!" Team Taka exclaimed and made to leave when Hiruzen called them.
"There is one other thing. Konoha has recently gotten a joint mission along with Iwa and Kiri from Oni no Kuni. A Team consisting of Naruto, Sakura, Kurotsuchi, and Chojuro has been assembled to protect the High Priestess, Shion. After the recent assassination of her mother, her advisers have become paranoid. If Akatsuki is really after Mouryou, I want you to join up with them and protect the Priestess. You leave tomorrow right after breakfast. Be at the Hub at half-past-ten to be warped to the general location of the latest rumor, dismissed!"
With a nod, the group vanished from the room in swirls of leaves and incase of Sasuke a small flash of lightning.
==========Morning, 28th August, Oni no Kuni==========
A group of four ninja phased into existence on top of a large tree. Two of them, a blond boy, and a pink haired girl were wearing Konoha Hitai-ate with one wearing a dark green Jonin vest while the other wore a lighter green Chunin vest. Beside them was a girl with black hair and pink eyes wearing an Iwagakure Hitai-ate and a brown Jonin vest, finally, behind the group of three stood a white haired man wearing a bluish-grey Chunin vest and a Kiri Hitai-ate. A leaf shaped package wrapped in bandages lied on his back.
"So this is Oni no Kuni?"
"That's right Chojuro. It is nice to see such sights after spending so long in Mizu no Kuni, right?"
"Hai Naruto-taicho!"
"We are supposed to meet up with the client at the Main Temple right?" The pink haired girl asked only to get a nod from the blond haired boy. "Then what are we waiting for?"
"I sense a weird chakra presense at the Temple, Sakura. Interestingly, the chakra is being emmited from a bell. Dare I say the chakra feels holy in nature! It has a very soothing presence; I am just trying to feel the depth of that chakra."
"Alright Naruto but we really must be moving. You can examine the depth of the chakra when we are near the client!" Sakura replied before placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder and motioned for Chojuro and Kurotsuchi to do the same. When the other two members had placed their hands on Naruto's shoulder or arm in Kurotsuchi's case, all four phased out of existence leaving behind a fading an afterimage of themselves.
"That was a rush!" Kurotsuchi exclaimed shakily as Chojuro and Sakura fell on their knees, vomiting up their breakfasts. "Huh, what's wrong with you two?"
After Sakura and Chojuro finished vomiting, they stood up and glared at Naruto. "You could have warned us it was that uncomfortable? And you, why aren't you vomiting with us?"
"Gomen Sakura-chan! I forgot how uncomfortable it was at the biggining. The disorientation should pass shortly."
"I came late so I didn't have time to have breakfast. An empty stomach equals no vomiting!" Kurotsuchi said with an impish grin causing Sakura to growl at the girl.
"Ano where are we?" Everyone turned to see Chojuro to see the shy swordsman fidgeting and looking about.
"We are about a couple of miles away from the Main Temple. I didn't think I wise to appear at the Temple." Naruto said getting nods of understanding from his teammates before Sakura's face showed confusion. "Anything wrong Sakura?"
"Hai, you said that your technique was short range. How did we cover over three hundred miles in a single jump?"
"Oh, we didn't. We jumped exactly thirty-three times within a second. I can jump to the edges of my sensory range, so in Sennin Modo, I can teleport to anywhere I what within a few thousand-mile radius, but it will harm me from the amount of space I would be bending. I would end up with heavy interenal injuries. My Ketsueki Bunshin learned that the hard way." Sakura nodded in understanding before taking the water bottle Chojuro handed her. Taking a deep swing from the bottle, Sakura handed it back to its owner before bringing out a ration bar from her pouch and biting into it.
Kurotsuchi and Chojuro followed her example and munched on a couple of ration bars as well. Naruto just sighed before he sat down and started meditating, waiting for his team to finish their impromptu breakfast. After five minutes, Naruto opened his eyes and stood up drawing the attention of his team.
"What's going on Naruto?"
"There are four malicious presences heading towards the Main Temple. Quickly finish you breakfast and catch up with me. Kurotsuchi, you are in charge while I am away." Naruto declared as he faded away from existence.
"Stop, else we shall kill you!" A guard declared as he raised his naginata and tried to block the way of the pink haired man in front of him only for a violet colored snake to emerge from the man's arms and bite down into the neck of the guard. The guard fell down convulsing as the pink haired man walked forward. Behind him, three more people appeared out of thin air. One was a tall, muscular man with long white hair, red eyes, and a blue cloth around his face. Another man with long blue hair was there as well. The final person was a girl with orange shoulder length hair, black eyes, and blue lipstick. All four were wearing white attire with hexagram symbols.
"Let's kill the Priestess and get out of here. Kill anyone who interferes," the pink haired man, said getting nods from his companions before all four vanished from sight.
"Shion-sama, you must get going. You will be killed if you stay here!" A young man with brown hair and glasses said as he tried to get a young girl with pale blond hair and violet eyes to escape from the assassins.
"Oh be quiet Taruho. I did not get any vision of anyone near me dying, not even a vision of me dying. There is no danger. Besides, Naruto-dono will be here soon, along with his team. Just have faith." Shion said with a small smile. "You do remember what I told you of him nearly two years ago."
"That may be but what if the enemy has already ambushed Naruto-dono and his team. While his team handles the ambushers, the assassins will kill you!" Taruho exclaimed as he tried to convince the young Priestess to listen to reason and leave.
"You should have listened to the boy Priestess. Then you wouldn't have died yet!" Shion and Taruho looked up to see the pink haired man was speaking as he leaned on the wall beside the door, with him stood his team. "Let us introduce ourselves. It is only fitting to know the names of you killers. I am the one called Kusuna. The man with his face covered in blue cloth is Gitai. The other man is Setsuna. The girl is Shizuku. We serve under Yomi-sama."
"And may I know why am I being targeted?" Shion asked with a calm tone. Taruho had unsheated his sword and was prepared to attack at the slightest provocation. The man called Kusuna laughed.
"While I don't need to tell you, I will just to see your beautiful face show a dismayed expression. You are the only threat to the resurrection of Mouryou-sama. It is nothing personal." Shion stared in shock but before she could say anything Setsuna quickly went through three hand seals before throwing his hand forward calling out, "Futon: Kami Oroshi!
A tunnel of swirling wind ripped its way towards Shion when Taruho pushed her away. He flew back and struck one of the large support pillars. Blood seeping through his clothes from the cuts he sustained from the futon jutsu.
"Taruho!"
"You don't have time to think of someone else Priestess!" Kusuna said as he jumped forward brandishing a scalple. Shion closed her eyes, as she pondered why she had not seen a vision of her or Taruho dying but accepted that she was about to die. A small clang caught her attention causing her to open her eyes to see the back of a boy near her age. He had spiky blond hair that fell to his upper back, held up in a ponytail.
He was wearing black ANBU style pants and black ANBU style boots with burnt ornage trim. He had a haori on that hid what he wore on his torso. The haori was dark red with orange flames licking the bottom. At his waist was a sheathed Odachi in a dark violet saya and dark crimson tsuka. Another saya, a black one, with the kanji for Phoenix near the mouth laid empty. The boy held a silver katana with an orange tsuka and orange flame like patterns on the blade stopping the scalple that would have killed her. Finally, she looked up to see the boy staring at her from the corner of his eyes. She caught a glimpse of a vibrant cerulean eye staring at her with concern. She involuntarily blushed and nearly missed the whispered question.
"You alright Hime?" Shion just nodded not trusting her voice causing the boy to nod in return before he turned his full attention to her would be assassins. Kusuna had jumped back and was watching the newcomer with caution. "You have to the count of three to lay down your weapons and surrender. Resist and I can promise you that you will die!" The cold tone in the new boy's voice caused a shiver to run down Kusuna and his team's spine before they started laughing. "Did I say something funny?"
"You think you can kill us? We have you outnumbered and we are stronger than we seem." The girl of the group said as strange markings covered everyone faces but Kusuna's. At the same time, their chakra levels rose to greater hights. Naruto just raised an eyebrow before sighing.
"You think that is enough to go toe-to-toe with someone who can defeat a bijuu all by himself?" Naruto said before he sheathed his sword. Before the four ninja could even react, the Naruto in front of them flickered before they felt an intense pain in their guts as their surroundings changed at nearly the sametime. After recovering from the pain they experienced, they looked around only to see that they were outside in the courtyard of the temple. They could not see or sense where their blonde haired opponent was so they tensed for an ambush all the while confused as to how they appeared outside.
"Were we in a genjutsu?" Gitai asked only to get a shrug from the others.
"I don't know, but the ninja we are facing is dangerous. If needed, we must retreat!" Kusuna said only for Shizuku to oppose him.
"Hell no, I want a piece of that bastard!"
"Then you will have to wait in the afterlife!" The blonde ninja's voice drifted about the courtyard causing the four to stand back to back while they watched their surroundings like a hawk.
"Where are you?" Setsuna called out in frustration only for a haunting laugh to flood the courtyard before the blond ninja phased into existence with Shion behind him. With him were three other ninja. A girl with pink hair and Konoha hitai-ate, a girl with black hair, pink eyes and Iwa hitai-ate and finally a boy with a bandaged package on his back, glasses, shark like teeth and Kiri hitai-ate.
"What? Are you four nuke-nin or something, Konoha, Iwa, and Kiri working together?" Shizuku asked in confusion only for the blonde ninja to laugh.
"Where have you been? Didn't you know that the five great ninja villages have created an Alliance? It happened nearly two years ago and declared to the world nearly a year ago. The names are Haruno Sakura, the Apprentice of the Sannin, Senju Tsunade, Kurotsuchi, the granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage, and Chojuro, the present wielder of Hiramekarei, One of Kirigakure's Shinobigatana no Shichinin Shu." The blonde ninja said causing another shiver to run down the assassins' spines.
"You forgot to introduce yourself honey so let me," The girl who was revealed to be the Sandaime Tuschikage's granddaughter said with a grin causing a forboding feeling to form in Kusuna's heart. "This is the captain of our squad and my fiancée, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. The present head of the Uzumaki and Namikaze Clans and the son of the Konoha no Kiiroi Senko."
"Iwa and Konoha getting along, that's impossible!" Gitai screamed before he tried to throw a kunai only for a beam of white chakra to strike the kunai causing it it disintegrate. The four assassins eyes widened in shock as Kurotsuchi laughed out. "Thanks for giving me the idea for the jutsu Naruto-kun. Jinton: Shiroi yubi no juu is a kunoichi's best friend, I can target what I want to disintegrate. I still remember disintegrating those lowlife Nuke-nin's balls when they had the gall to suggest that I should submit to them if I wanted to live."
"What kind of monster did you create Naruto-taichou?" Chojuro asked only to gulp when Kurotsuchi pointed a finger at his crotch and mimed shooting.
"So are you going to surrender or do we have to flood the courtyard with your blood?" Naruto asked only for the three to shiver in fright. Kusuna palmed a smoke pellet and slowly raised his arms causing his companions to do the same.
"Alright we give. We know when we are beat!" Kusuna said getting a nod from Naruto. As he motioned for Sakura to approach them and place chakra suppression seals on them. Just as Sakura made it a couple of feet away from the assassins, Kusuna threw down the smoke pellet and made a run for it along with his teammates. When the smoke cleared, Sakura was seen standing in the smoke with a mask over her face.
"You planted them with the seal right?" Sakura asked as she removed her mask as Naruto nodded his head.
"You wanted them to escape?" Shion asked as she gaped at the four.
"That's right Hime. We need to know where their leader is. Then I can easily dispose of the group while the others protect you." Naruto said with a grin causing Shion to give a startled look at the revelation. "Sakura head to the thone room and heal the unconscious man. He was hit by a futon jutsu. Kurotsuchi and Chojuro shadow Shion-dono. I will see about tracking those four down."
"HAI!" His team chorused as Sakura rushed into the temple. Kurotsuchi and Chojuro moved to stand behind Shion before casting a small genjutsu to hide them from view.
"Were did they go?" Shion asked in confusion only for the disembodied voice of Kurotsuchi to come from her right side causing her to jump. "We are right here Hime. A small illusion is hiding us from sight. You won't have to worry about being assassinated at the moment."
"Kurotsuchi you have my Hiraishin Kunai, right?"
"That's right!"
"Then throw it if you guys need help. I am going now. If I can, I will take down the group and their leader as well."
"Alright, be careful. We don't know what kind of jutsu these guys have." Naruto nodded before he faded from view causing Shion to stare at the spot he previously occupied with awe.
==========Late Night, 29th August, Oni no Kuni==========
Shion as soundly sleeping in her futon when she started shifting about and muttering, in the room, Kurotsuchi was sitting by the door while Sakura was sitting beside the window. Both ninja could sense Chojuro standing outside the door. As the three ninja kept a quiet vigil over their client, they saw that Shion had started to thrash right before she suddenly sat up with a cold sweat covering her.
"You alright there Hime?" Kurotsuchi asked, drawing Shion's attention to her. After a moment's hesitation, Shion's eyes became cold and distant.
"Hai, when do you think Naruto-dono will be back?" Kurostuchi just raised an eyebrow at the Priestess's question before she replied, "He can be here in an instant if we need him. If not, he should be here within a couple of days, probably after killing the group of assassins and their leader."
Shion nodded her head before she rung the bell in her room. Within moments, Taruho ran in with serious expression on his face. "You called Shion-sama?"
"Hai Taruho, I need to check up on Mouryou's seal. I had a vision of him beig released. I shall set out tomorrow morning. If Naruto-dono has not returned by then, then leave a message for him to meet up with us. We cannot delay any more."
"You had aa vision?"
"Hai, and in it I saw Mouryou being released. I need to check up on the seal to see if it has weakened or if Naruto-dono will fail to kill the leader who wants to release Mouryou!" Taruho nodded and was about to leave when Naruto phased into existence beside Kurotsuchi.
"We have a problem. The leader, a man called Yomi, has merged with the spirit of a demon called Mouryou. He has raised a terracotta army that marches towards Numa no Kuni. Normal jutsu has no effect on the army and Yomi. The only thing that seemed to be effective was Taijutsu, Senjutsu, and Kenjutsu. I do not know if your Jinton will work Kurotsuchi so I want you to protect Shion. The rest of us will handle the army. Also, I was able to kill the four assassins."
"Then what are we to do Naruto-dono? I need to check up on the seal that holds Mouryou's body. The temple that holds the seal lies in Numa no Kuni! I was planning to leave tomorrow morning!" Shion said causing Naruto get a thoughtful look. After a few moments Naruto nodded, "Alright Shion, but may I ask how you mother defeated Mouryou before? It may come in handy."
"I don't completely know, only that she used her powerful holy chakra to counter Mouryou's dark vile one. She said that the holy chakra is the only thing that can affect Mouryou. Unfortunately, I do not have that much holy chakra to subdue Mouryou. I only have enough to maintain the seal." Naruto nodded his head before turning his attention to the bell Shion wore.
"May I borrow the bell for a moment?" Shion looked startled but grew suspicious at Naruto's sudden request. "Why?"
"I can sense immense power in it. Holy power to be exact, I want to examine it to see if it can be useful against Mouryou and his army." Shion thought about it for a moment before nodding and handing the bell to Naruto.
==========Evening, 31th August, Oni no Kuni==========
"Karin, are there anyone close by?" Sasuke asked as he looked around the clearing his team found themselves in. After a moments hesitation Karin shook her head.
"No one is close by within three miles of the clearing. Should I put up the barriers?"
"No, you keep concentrating on finding Akatsuki. We will handle the barriers. Suigetsu, Jugo, take these seals and one of you place them in a pentagram formation and the other place the seals around the clearing in a circle formation. I will handle the farthest line." Sasuke commanded as he handed Jugo a stack of seals before vanishing in a flicker of lightning.
"Don't stand around like idiots! Get on with it with Sasuke-kun said!" Karin ordered when she saw the two looking at the place Sasuke previously occupied in surprise. Not wanting to anger the redheaded girl, Jugo nodded and separated five seals before handing the rest to Suigetsu and silently walking away. "What are you looking around for? You have a job to do! Get the barrier up!"
"Shut up Karin! I am your superior, so you must show me repect or I will write you up for insubordination!" Suigetsu said with a smirk only for his head to explode into water when Karin threw a kunai through it.
"BAKA, when we do Alliance Missions, I have the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin while you have the rank of Chunin, or have you forgotten that? That means until you can convince the Kage Council that you are a Tokubetsu Jonin material Shinobi, you are a Chunin, and we are going to treat you as one. So I out rank you, now get to work!" Karin said with anger as her hair whipped around.
"Get moving Suigetsu. I did not tell you to stand around doing nothing and remember what Karin said. Village Ranks wont matter as when you work under the Alliance, you are assigned new ranks. Your and Jugo's are Chunin while Karin has been given Tokubetsu Jonin with a specialization in Fuinjutsu and Sensory Ninjutsu. The only ones who were not assigned new ranks were I, Naruto, Hinata, and Gaara. Now get going and do not let me catch you trying slack of again. The consequences will not be pleasant for you." Sasuke said with a cold voice causing a shiver to run down Suigetsu's spine. Without even a nod, Suigetsu ran towards the edges of the clearing so that he could quickly put up the seals. "Tell me if he keeps causing trouble. Jugo should be able to keep him in control when I am not around."
"Alright Sasuke-kun…" Karin said before she sat up straight. "Ah… I think that we found our targets. Two Kage-level shinobi are skirting by the edges of my sensory range. One of them has a strong suiton affinity while the other has an affinity with all five though they seem concentrated at separate portions of his body. What should we do?"
"Where are they headed?"
"Towards Numa no Kuni, at their present pace, they would reach Numa in two days time. Are we go give chase now?"
"Hmm…" Sasuke hummed before sighing, "No we let them pass. Other than us, Suigetsu and Jugo don't have the stamina to chase after and then engage them, especially with one them them being Jiongu no Kakuzu and the other probably being the Kirigakure no Kaijin, Hoshigaki Kisame."
Karin nodded in understanding, "Anyways we have their heading. We can start tracking them tomorrow when everyone is at top condition!" Sasuke nodded before turning to the newly arrived Jugo and Suigetsu.
"We have our targets. We start tracking them tomorrow morning so have a heavy dinner and rest up. From tomorrow, our lives will become harder for a while." Sasuke said getting nods from his team. "I am going to spy on them. Karin is in charge while I am gone. Don't cause any trouble or you will regret it." Jugo nodded but looked confused until he saw that Sasuke was staring at Suigetsu. Jugo sighed before motioning to Sasuke that he would keep Suigetsu under control. Sasuke nodded before he faded from existence in a small flash of lightning.
==========Dawn, 2nd September, Numa no Kuni==========
Naruto and his team were standing at the edge of a large cliff. Behind them stood Shion, looking down at the valley with shock and sadness. In the valley, an animated terracotta army was moving about preventing anyone from approaching the entrance of the temple.
"This is really bad! Mouryou is already strong enough to summon his army!" Shion exclaimed with a grim face. The team of Ninja protecting her nodded in agreement.
"Sakura, Chojuro, you two are with me. We will clear a path so that Kurotsuchi can escort Shion into the temple. Kurotsuchi, wait for exactly a minute before following us. Go!" Naruto exclaimed as he, Sakura and Chojuro jumped down from the cliff.
Sakura was falling down first with a fist cocked back, whole body covered in flowing black steel. Chojuro had Hiramekarei in his hands glowing with blue chakra. Naruto had unsheated both of his swords, the Shi no Hokori in his right hand and the Houou no Ken in his left, while his body was wreathed in golden flames.
"Are they going to be alright?" Shion asked with apprehension only for Kurotsuchi to laugh.
"Don't worry about them Priestess. They have handled worse odds in Kiri. These are just puppets, not sentient beings." Shion just gaped at how easily Kurotsuchi dismissed her worries only for a loud crashing sound followed by a large pillar of flames and a wave of blue chakra to catch her attention.
While Shion was worrying about the three Shinobi, they were preparing to transform the terracotta army into rubble. Sakura landed first and punched the ground with all her chakra enhanced might causing a massive shockwave to erupt from her position, throwing back many of the soldiers while reducing any soldier to close to her crash site into rubble.
Right after her, Naruto landed and swung his swords in a cross like motion causing a cross of golden flames to erupt and fly towards the approaching army. When the cross of golden flames struck the first soldier, it exploded into a pillar of flames ten feet wide. When the flames dissipated, the only thing left behind were crumbling figures of the terracotta army. When a sudden wind blew through the valley, the crumbling figures suddenly collapsed into ashes and carried away with the wind.
Finally, Chojuro landed and swung Hiarmekarei with all his might releasing a crushing wave of blue chakra that easily smashed through many of the soldiers in the front row. Standing up from their crouched positions, the three nodded to each other before rushing towards the approaching army. Sakura jumped up and brought her leg down on the head of one of the soldiers causing it to crumble into dust. Beside her, Naruto was slashing through the terracotta soldiers, his swords wreathed in golden flames, as easily as a hot knife through butter. On her other side, Chojuro batted away another soldier with Hiramekarei covered in blue chakra in the shape of a warhammer.
Shion and Kurotsuchi watched the three destroy many of the soldiers only for more to take their fallen comrades places. Slowly they realized the three Alliance Shinobi were being pushed back. Sakura and Chojuro just did not have the stamina to keep up with such large swarms of enemies while Naruto was unable to use his ful power in fear of damaging Mouryou's seal or harming his allies.
"Sakura, Chojuro, get out of here! That's an order!" Naruto commanded as he created two Kage Bunshin and had them teleport the two out of the battlefield before they could protest. "Now that they are out of the way… Hijutsu: Sekka-rin no shutsugen!" Naruto called out as a massive forest grew around him. The surprising thing about the trees was that they were not only made of wood. They had crystal veins mixed into the wood with some of the leaves and branches being primarily of crystal with wooden veins, the crystal glowing with an eerie inner light.
"What is that?" Shion asked as she watched in awe as the forest of wooden and crystal trees instantly grew in previously barren valley.
"That is Naruto's signature mokuton/shouton konbi jutsu. He is mixing his ability to create wood and crytstal together to create the forest." Kurotsuchi said with a grin. Shion watched as the newly formed trees moved about crushing and restraining the army as easily as if they were mere ants in the presence of an enraged god. After five minutes, the forest stopped writhing about causing an unnatural silence to fill the area. As the three ninja and Shion watched the newly created Forest for any signs of Naruto, they were surprised when Naruto called to them from behind.
"Hey guys! I think I restrained all of them now. It is safe for Shion to enter the Temple now!" The group turned and glared at the grinning blond jinchuriki.
"That wasn't funny Naruto!" Sakura said with a menacing expression on her face as she crached her knuckles. Naruto shivered a bit before he saw that Kurotsuchi and Chojuro were not pleased with him as well.
"Sakura is right Naruto! We could have attacked first asked questions later!"
"The grisl are right Naruto-taicho, but we should get going. The sooner we check the seal, the sooner we can be sure that Mouryou is not going to get free." Chojuro said getting nods from the group.
"Alright then, keep to the tree tops. The trees will attack if we go below the five feet mark from top." Naruto said as he turned around and motioned for Shion to get on his back. After the girl was comfortable, Naruto nodded to his team and jumped onto the top of the closest tree, his team following him. As the group got closer to the Temple, they had to jump back as a powerful blast of flames nearly burned them.
"You missed Kakuzu now we have to face Gogyo no Naruto!" A man said in a gruff tone. Naruto and his team looked at the source to see Hoshigaki Kisame and Kakuzu standing in their way.
"Not surprising with how skilled he is Kisame."
"What is Akastuki doing here?" Naruto asked as he placed Shion into Sakura's care and signed for Chojuro and Sakura to leave with her when the opportunity presented itself. Kurotsuchi on the other hand prepared to fight.
"We are after the Priestess. Hand her over and we shall let you get away alive. Well not really, we will kill you either way." Kisame said with a grin causing Shion to shiver.
"You know we cannot do that, but you two kill us. That's rich since I defeated both of you before!" Naruto said causing Kisame to laugh.
"Last time we underestimated you brat. This time I will make sure to kill you even if Pein-sama becomes angry at me." Kisame said before he burst into a thick mist that covered a large portion of the forest canopy. "Shit! Guys get away from here!"
"Roger!" Sakura and Chojuro said as they tried to get away with Shion only for a blast of wind to cause them to jump back. Kakuzu was interfering with their plans.
"I will handle Kakuzu, you handle Kisame, Naruto!" Kurotsuchi called out as she rushed into the mist after Sakura, Chojuro, and Shion.
"Futon: Ookaze no Shougekiha," Naruto called out as he clapped his hands together causing a massive shock-wave of wind to burst from his position blowing away the mist and with it all of Kisame's Mizu Bunshin.
"That was one hell of a wind. If I did not have Samehada absorb the chakra from the portion directed at me, it would have torn me to shreads. Suiton: Suikoudan," Kisame called out releasing a glowing blue water shark at Naruto.
Without even blinking, Naruto place a hand on the Odachi sheathed at his waist in a violet saya and with a crimson tsuka. In a single motion, Naruto withdrew the sword with its dark crimson blade and silver cutting edge glowing with silver wind chakra, swung it at the approaching water shark releasing a blade of silver wind, and resheathed the sword. Kisame watched in awe as the blade of wind easily cleaved through the shark disrupting the jutsu and the proceeded to fly towards him. Jumping out of the way, Kisame heard Naruto mutter the name of the technique.
"Shi no Mai: Iai: Tan'itsu no Nami!"
"I must commed you on dodging that technique. It is one of the more deadly techniques available to a Shi no Mai practitioner, to be exact, to those with a futon affinity. There are similar techniques for the other affinities as well." Naruto said with a mocking tone causing Kisame to growl in frustration. "How about we keep it to kenjutsu only? With that handicap, I would like to think that it would be fairer to you!"
"Who do you think you are talking to gaki? I am Hoshigaki Kisame, Kirigakure no Kaijin! I have been training in kenjutsu since before you were born! If you truly want to die by my hands, then come at me with your useless kenjutsu!" Kisame shouted out in anger causing Naruto to smile.
"If that is your wish…" Naruto said before he rushed towards Kisame who unfurled Samehada and prepared to meet Naruto's charge only. Just before Naruto was directly upon him, Kisame swung Samehada through Naruto. The shark like man grinned only for the Naruto in front of him to fade into the winds before an excruciating pain overcame his right shoulder.
"Shi no Mai: Iai: Dantou!"
"AHHHHH…" Kisame screamed as he clutched his right shoulder with his left hand, blood flowing down in rivulets through the cracks between the fingers. "How did you do that?"
"You may have been practicing kenjutsu longer than me but I have mastered my clan's style to an extreme degree. In your arrogance, you stopped training to gain better mastery of your style. You have gone stagnant. I could have easily beheaded you instead of severing your arm. The only thing you have going for you is experience and large chakra reserves. Even then, most of it is due to Samehada sending you chakra while absorbing your enemies' chakra. That is the only reason you are as dangerous as others make you out to be. You call yourself a swordsman, yet you are mediocre at best. Now that you have faced against a true one, you lose as a toddler loses to a Kage. You should just give up being a shinobi." Naruto said in a monotone causing Kisame to grit his teeth but listened in silence and pain. "You can come out now Tobi. I know you are there!"
A man with an orange mask with a single eyehole appeared beside Kisame from a swirling vortex. "You are very sensitive to presences, aren't you Naruto-kun?"
A blast of fire collided with one of the trees causing the non-crystal leaves and branches to explode into flames while the crystal ones to shatter from the intense heat. Following the flames, a blast of blue lighting struck the next tree, causing it to explode into wooden splinter and crystal fragments. Kurotsuchi was dodging the blasts of fire, lightning, wind, and streams of water.
"Take this, Jinton: Shiroi Ryuushi no Ken!" Kurotsuchi exclaimed as white auras of destructive chakra formed around her fists before she threw her fists out towards Kakuzu's Fire and Lightning masks. Wave of destructive chakra flew from her outstretched fists causing Kakuzu to look surprised. He was even more surprised at the speed at which the energy waves flew forward disintegrating everything they were passing through. He tried to make his masks move out of the way only for blue chakra spikes to hold the creatures in place. He turned his attention to Chojuro to see Hiramekarei glowing with blue chakra.
"I will kill you all and take your hearts for my own!" Kakuzu exclaimed in anger as the destructive waves of energy consumed his mask creatures. He commanded the water and wind masks to fuse together and launch a powerful collaborative technique when a wave of blue lightning in the form of a dragon consumed them reducing them to ash. "WHAT!"
"That was pathetic, I expected better from Akatsuki, especially someone who fought and survived against the Shodai Hokage." Sakuke said with a mocking grin before a ball of white jinton chakra struck the weakened man before bursting into a column of destructive white energy. When the energy dissipated, the only thing remaining was a hole in the canopy where Kakuzu stood.
Everyone turned to see Kurotsuchi on her knees, panting heavily with a grin on her face. At this time, Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo appeared beside Sasuke and looked around.
"Wow, what happened here?" Suigetsu asked looking around with wide eyes.
"The destruction was my doing. Jinton is a very destructive style of ninjutsu." Kurotuschi said causing Suigetsu to look at her as if crazy.
"I don't mean the hole in the forest canopy! I mean the forest itself! There should not be a forest here. It should be a barren mountain plateau, not a freaky wooden and crystal forest!" Suigetsu exclaimed in shock causing everyone excluding Jugo to sigh.
"Naruto happened!" Sasuke said flatly just before a tremor shook the trees they were standing on and a massive plume of smoke floating in the air directly above the temple housing Mouryou's seal.
"No, this can not be happening!" Shion said with fear as she stared into the rising plume of volcanic smoke. A silhouette of a nine-headed dragon could be seen within the smoke.
A/N:
Japanese Translations
Oni no Kuni = Land of Demons
Sennin Mode = Sage Mode
Shinobigatana no Shichinin Shu = Seven Ninja Swordsmen
Konoha no Kiiroi Senko = Konoha's Yellow Flash
Numa no Kuni = Land of Swamps
Taijutsu = Martial Arts
Senjutsu = Sage Arts
Kenjutsu = Blade Arts
A/N:
Japanese Jutsu, Style and Weapon Name Translations
Kamui = Authority of the Gods
Ketsueki Bunshin = Blood Clone
Futon: Kami Oroshi = Wind Release: Divine Mountain Wind
Jinton: Shiroi yubi no juu = Dust Release: White Finger Gun
Hiraishin = Flying Thunder God
Kage Bunshin = Shadow Clone
Hijutsu: Sekka-rin no shutsugen = Hiden Technique: Emergence of a Petrified Forest
Futon: Ookaze no Shougekiha = Wind Release: Great Wind Shockwave
Mizu Bunshin = Water Clone
Suiton: Suikoudan = Water Release: Water Shark Bullet
Shi no Mai: Iai: Tan'itsu no Nami = Dance of Death: Iai: Single Severing Wave
Shi no Mai: Iai: Dantou = Dance of Death: Iai: Dismemberment
Jinton: Shiroi Ryuushi no Ken = Dust Release: White Particle Fists
A/N: Hey everyone I hope you like this turn of events. I will wait for your reviews.
SSG signing off.