A/N: Here I am with the typing and the writing and the whole goody goodness of the writing process ready to get started on the writing with the keyboard and the typing and spelling and the linguistics of the English language with a pinch of Japanese here and there. I'm a little hyper at the moment, so bear with me.
Here are the review responses!
Dragon Man 180: While that would've been hilarious, I couldn't really factor it in. I love the idea though.
DreadCraft: Thanks, I'll keep that in mind in the future.
Dokami-san: Do I really switch perspectives? I'll pay attention more to my work. Sorry for confusing you.
Satetsu: Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I'll get right on it.
Mikadzuki-Ninja: I got it wrong? Oh, damn it, I poured over the anime for half an hour trying to get it right! Can you tell me the actual order?
Okay, I'm sorry. The first time I loaded this chapter, I completely forgot the review responses! Here they are though.
Disclaimer: OG: Okay guys, time to pick rooms. The rules are: a) You injure someone, you have agree to pick last; b) the rooms will be decided on a first come, first serve basis; c) no one over a ton above the 2nd floor; d) no use of the elevator is permitted; if you want a high room, climb for it; e) in the result of a tie, you have to roll 2 dice, the higher number gets the room, best two out of three; and f) the time limit is 5 minutes, I will be coming upstairs to finalize room assignments. Is that clear?
Mary: Yeah, yeah, can we get started already?
OG: Okay, the race begins in three, two, on…
Mary: Hey, how about the disclaimer?
OG: Oh, right, can you please do it Mary?
Mary: Sure, Omegaguardian does not own Naruto or Tales of Symphonia. Can we go now?
OG: Okay, GO!
(Entire crowd of animals race off, leaving a cloud of dust)
OG: Well, you heard what Mary said. Well, if you excuse me, I have to make sure they don't kill each other.
Here's the 25th (holy shit) installment of "Cheerfulness Incarnate"!
(Chapter begin)
Naruto awoke in the middle of the forest. He looked around and saw the trees he just re-created and saw the note in his hand. He had gotten the note in the hospital and was really thinking about going. The problem was, he had to get permission from the (now late) Hokage to leave the village without being marked a missing nin.
Hey Naruto, we had to go soon after we were blown away by that Sand guy. There was something we had to take care of back in my village, but it's nothing big. Come visit sometime! Our village is called Iselia and it's around the edge of what you call Fire Country. I'll be happy to help you out on your sword style and Genis is really thinking a lot about that chakra thing that you guys have.
Hope you come soon,
Lloyd Irving
Naruto held the note over his head as his lie on the ground below him. This was roughly the area where he used to stay, but the grassy aspect that he liked so much was vaporized. He drew in a deep breath and released it, making the paper flutter in his hand. Smiling, he placed it in his pocket and stood up to go to the next area.
He walked to the middle and performed the nine seals and was about to release the technique when he heard a voice.
"Hey, I got his scent! He's this way!"
Hearing Kiba's voice, Naruto started to panic slightly and started to run back to the area where they started. As he got there, he knocked a tall tree down, surprising Hinata and Tenten, who were planting two separate trees about 5 feet away from where the tree landed.
"Tôboku Saisei!"
Pumping his already molded chakra into the fallen tree, Naruto regenerated it into 5 trees about twice his height. The fallen tree disappeared, but Naruto's 5 new trees more than made up for it. Tenten and Shikamaru raised their eyebrows, but Hinata and Shino didn't bat an eye (at least, Hinata didn't; we can just assume Shino didn't bat an eye). Shikamaru was about to speak when the people present heard a voice.
"There he is! He was…here the entire time?" Kiba asked as he got confused. "But, I could have sworn that you were in…but, since when…huh?"
Naruto was standing, his back to Kiba and the search party, as he held a finger to his lips, silencing Shikamaru's questions. Naruto's eyes distinctly said, "Ask me later."
Naruto turned to see a distinctly confused crew of people, the exceptions being Neji and Lee, Neji, who saw Naruto regenerating the trees with his Byakugan and Lee, who was able to catch up with Naruto early on and come back without being noticed after seeing Naruto's actions. Both had an inquiring gaze in their eyes, but Naruto decided to ignore them and respond.
"Were you guys looking for me? I had to use the bathroom," Naruto said scratching the back of his head. Kiba bought it, but no one else did.
"Why would you take that long?" Sakura asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Haven't you ever heard of a "Number two"?" Naruto responded sheepishly.
Sakura looked wide-eyed at the thought. Naruto laughed as she puffed and got back to work. Ino obviously bought it after that one. Chôji didn't really care. He told Naruto that he just wanted to get away from the tree planting, if just for a little bit, making Naruto chuckle. He shot humorous glances to Hinata, Shino, and Shikamaru, drawing a suspicious glance from Tenten, though Naruto didn't catch it.
And thus, the day resumed without incident. Running low on chakra, Naruto didn't perform the technique again that day, but he felt the satisfaction of a job well done…as well as the satisfaction of the fact that he doesn't have to manually replant trees in those areas.
A few days later, the Rookie Nine split into two groups after Sasuke rejoined them after his recovery. The smart ones (Shikamaru, Hinata, Shino, Tenten and Lee) grouped with Naruto and went off to one area of the forest that was squashed by Gamabunta. The others (Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Kiba, Chôji, and Neji, the latter two looking very dejected) went to an area that was obliterated by one of Gaara's attacks.
For Sasuke's group, it was normal and not really all that exciting. The only event that was really of interest was the conflicting competition between Sakura and Ino about who would get Sasuke. This turned out to be counterproductive and they didn't get finished until late in the evening.
For Naruto's group, it turned out to be an amusing day. While the others worked on the trees at a normal pace, Naruto and Lee ended up having a competition as to who can plant/regenerate the most trees in the shortest amount of time. With Tenten as the referee, Naruto and Lee went off and planted trees at an alarming rate. They finished the last of their areas about 8 hours after they started (mostly because of the fact that Naruto and Lee kept on planting trees with superhuman speed, Lee with his inhuman ability to go really fast and Naruto with his Tôboku Saisei). They were able to relax the rest of the day, which had pretty nice weather when they were covered by the tree's branches. Naruto fell asleep for a while as Lee did push-ups, since they tied on the amount of trees they planted. It was a very amusing day, but also very calm; something everyone enjoyed.
(Meanwhile)
As restoration continued, two figures walked through the village. Both were wearing cloaks that had a red cloud print upon them, but their faces could hardly be seen. One of the figures, the smaller one, was looking around at the people around them, the people merely stopping for a moment as he passed by before resuming work.
"Do you really think this will work?" a blue-faced figure asked, a large sword-like item on his back.
"I am confident. Besides, I don't need to even hypnotize them. I just need to enhance the hatred they already have for the boy," the shorter figure said. His face was shrouded by the straw hat he was wearing, but shining red eyes could be seen underneath it.
Three Konoha ninja looked over at the shorter ninja and raised an eyebrow from the interior of a bookstore. Two ninja began to tail the two cloaked figures silently as they attempted to signal other ninjas for backup.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, but your training will have to wait. I have to deal with your brother first," the third ninja thought as he went for an ally.
(Later)
"So, what are two S-class ninjas like you doing in our village?" Asuma asked as he approached the two cloaked figures.
"It's been a long time, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san," the shorter figure said.
"So, do you mind taking off the hat? I'd like to see who I have to fight," Kurenai said as she prepared for battle.
"Do you know these people?" the taller figure asked as he looked down at the shorter one. The shorter figure nodded slightly and took off his hat, revealing the Sharingan eyes and the telltale facial lines that belong to the one who massacred his entire clan.
"Uchiha Itachi, you dare return to this village after what you have done? I can only assume that the tall guy is your partner, am I right?" Asuma asked; anger evident in his voice.
"Well, I guess that's my cue," the taller one said, taking off his hat, revealing a shark-like blue face.
"I knew I recognized that sword from somewhere. You're Hoshigaki Kisame, previously of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, am I correct?" Kurenai asked.
"I see you recognize me; I'm flattered," Kisame said as he brought his gigantic sword forward. Itachi moved his arm in front of Kisame's body.
"Wait, Kisame, we are not here to cause a ruckus."
"Then, what are you here for?" Asuma asked, drawing his trench knives.
"We've already finished our purpose. We need not stay any longer," Itachi said, dropping his arm.
"Well, I'm here to say that you guys can't leave here," Asuma said, ready to fight. Kurenai stood, ready at his side.
Kisame gripped his sword. "This is getting annoying. Can I kill them?"
Itachi looked on and responded in a cold tone. "It seems we cannot leave peacefully. Don't overdo it. Your moves stand out too much and it's too troublesome to fight more than necessary."
Asuma laughed. "You sound like one of my students."
Kisame quickly lifted his sword and struck upward. Asuma saw this attack coming quickly and dodged it. Kisame quickly changed the direction of the sword's path, bringing it towards Kurenai. Asuma quickly got in front of Kurenai to stop the attack with his trench knives. Kurenai jumped back and formed a number of seals. She then started to disappear moments later.
"I can't believe I'm being overpowered by the tip of a blade, even if it is huge."
Asuma groaned at the force of the sword as he tried to hold it back.
"Hurry up, Kurenai!"
Asuma widened his eyes as the very tip of the wrapped blade touched his shoulder and grunted as Kisame pulled it back, grinding off the top layer of his skin.
"The legendary sword, Samehada, does not cut. It grinds!" Kisame yelled as he pulled back his blade.
Asuma staggered slightly. "Kurenai, you're late."
At that precise moment, wood began to grow out of the ground. Kisame looked shocked as he raised his sword. Itachi seemed calm as the branches immobilized him. After they were completely bound by the tree, a flame appeared on the bottom of the trees and started to burn the tree as Kurenai appeared in the trunk above Itachi. He looked calm as he looked up into the image of Kurenai.
"This is the end!" she shouted, thrusting a kunai downward.
There was a flash of light and Kurenai found herself being trapped by her own technique. Bound by a tree, she started to feel the flames at her feet.
"Did he just reflect my Magen: Hiaburi (Demonic Illusion: Burning at the Stake)? Damn, you have to calm down to get out of this one. Don't think about the flames," she thought as she bit her lip enough to draw blood. Itachi charged forward and tried to impale her with a kunai, but Kurenai jumped back just in time. She jumped to the steam below and stood on top of the water and did some seals as Itachi started to follow her. She looked up to Itachi and started her technique.
"Magen… (Demonic Illusion)," Kurenai said.
"…Dekishi (Death by Drowning)," Itachi finished.
Kurenai was now faced with another of her genjutsu as the water below her started to try and consume her. She quickly brought her hands to another seal.
"Kai (Release)!"
Kurenai rose to the surface one more and sighed as she calmed down. It was then that Itachi struck Kurenai, bringing her to her knees.
"Those were some good genjutsu, Kurenai-san. But, it would take more than that to defeat me. It's…"
"…all over for you," a voice said.
Meanwhile, Asuma was frantically dodging Kisame's blade as he tried to look for an opening. As Kisame's blade crashed to the ground, Asuma took the chance and slashed his trench knives toward Kisame's face. The shark-faced man moved out of the way of the blade, but still sustained a slash on his cheek.
"What the…?" Kisame asked.
Asuma stood, his trench knives charged with chakra, ready to strike again when he could. Kisame was making a number of seals quickly and brought his hands to the last seal.
"Suiton: (Water Release)…" Kisame said.
"…Suikôdan no Jutsu (Water Shark Missile Technique)," Kisame and another voice said.
Two torrents of water flew from the stream and met between Asuma and Kisame. The watery mist cleared to reveal Kakashi in front of Asuma and behind Itachi.
"Hatake Kakashi," Itachi muttered as a kunai was pressed against his neck.
"Kakashi, did you get back-up?" Asuma asked.
"They're on their way. They're pretty busy with another task, though; something I think these two may have something to do with," Kakashi said as he looked at Itachi's shining Sharingan eyes.
(Meanwhile)
Naruto had been training in the woods after the forest restoration. He wasn't destroying the tree, merely working on his speed with them. At the moment, Naruto had been sending a small gust into the air (using Fûton: Toppû no Jutsu) and slicing through the leaves that fell down from the canopies.
"Twenty leaves; I need to strike at least 10 of them to take down my last record," Naruto thought as he saw the leaves falling.
As one came within striking distance, Naruto moved his hand upward, bringing his right sword to cut the leaf. Hitting that one dead on, Naruto focused on the next leaf, which was approaching near his left eye. Slicing through that one, Naruto focused on the third, then the fourth, then the fifth, the sixth and the seventh.
The eighth one was cut as Naruto noticed that there were only two leaves left in the air. Naruto cut through the ninth one easily, allowing Naruto to focus on the other one. Naruto moved his left blade to strike the leaf. The blade came closer and closer to the leaf as Naruto moved to cut it.
Naruto messed up on this one, approaching the leaf with his blade tilted partially to the side, catching wind on the flat end. This made a small breeze with the blade, knocking the leaf off path, making Naruto cut only the stem.
Naruto let out a small breath as the leaf fell to the ground. If the weights were off, Naruto could probably do this task easily. The problem was Naruto had no idea how to take off the bangles now that they were stuck to his ankles and wrists.
"That's enough for today. I'll head back, get some ramen and then go home. I'm a little tired after restoring so much forest."
Naruto looked up to the sky and saw birds flying through the air through the branches of the trees.
"At least I was able to restore it."
He wiped his face with a small towel and stuck it in his pocket. He walked through the village, looking around the town.
"What's going on? I feel a great amount of killer intent and it's not from ninjas."
Naruto put his guard up while staying constant in his mask. He looked about cautiously and saw only intense glares. He knew that he didn't miss any specific event that would have the village look at him with such intensity, but he was getting a little freaked out by the display.
"Just keep walking. As long as they don't attack me, I'm perfectly fine."
Naruto then barely avoided a wall of people holding shovels, picks, axes, kunai and other forms of weaponry.
"Shit…"
Naruto began to run. It was a good thing that he brought all his possessions with him because he wasn't going back home, not if the villagers can help it.
(Meanwhile)
"Stop Kisame, you'll sustain unnecessary injuries. It will be harmful in our mission."
"Really; will you kindly tell us what exactly your mission is?" Kakashi asked as the shadow clone in front of Asuma vanished.
"We're here to get something that we're looking for," Itachi said to Kakashi.
"And what exactly are you looking for?" Kakashi asked in return.
Itachi stayed silent as he stared down Kakashi. Kakashi jumped back quickly when he saw shuriken appear in Itachi's hand. Performing seals, Kakashi released a technique.
"Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Encampment Wall)!"
As Kakashi was wrapped in a shield of water, four steams of water burst from the stream, attempting to hit Kakashi. Kakashi emerged from the barrier unharmed.
"He's fast. I wasn't even able to see the seals or his movements."
Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted by a stab in the back. He widened his eyes, since he could still see Itachi in front of him. "Kakashi" then dissipated into the steam below. Itachi only looked in confusion as Kurenai finished a seal order.
"Magen: As… (Demonic Illusion: (Incomplete Name))"
She was interrupted by a harsh kick from another of Itachi's shadow clones. The shadow clone started to get close to Kurenai when...
Kakashi jumped out of the water and knocked her out of the way.
"That's a shadow clone. If I'm guessing correctly…"
BOOM!
A watery mist and a small spout of rain fell upon the people present as Asuma jumped into the mist, looking for his allies. They were standing at another part of the stream as Asuma jumped beside them.
"Are you guys okay? What happened?" Asuma asked, scanning the two for injuries.
"He made his clone explode. That's all," Kakashi said cheerfully as he stood to face Itachi. "Be careful, this is the man who became captain of an ANBU squad at the age of 13."
Itachi stared them down and started to close his eyes. "This is getting to be a nuisance."
Kakashi widened his eyes as Itachi slowly opened his. As Kakashi peered into the blood-red eyes of the Sharingan, he warned the other two. "Close your eyes now! Whatever you do, don't look in his eyes! I'll watch him with my Sharingan. If you open your eyes, you're dead!"
"While it is true that you can resist this technique with the Sharingan, only a true heir of the Uchiha would be able to defeat me. Even then, not many can block the legendary genjutsu, Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)."
"A true heir of the Uchiha Clan…Sasuke?" he thought.
He then felt a jolt. He looked around to see a blood red moon, a crimson sky and black clouds. The water around him turned black as he felt himself being immobilized. He looked down to see Itachi, holding a sword.
"In the world of Tsukuyomi," he heard as he felt a piercing pain, "I control space and time." Another painful jolt measured in his mind. "…And even the mass of objects"
Another stab; another pain; and another voice rang in his ears. "Starting now, I will stab you with a sword for 72 hours."
Kakashi felt his eye close as he lost consciousness. As he awakened, he heard another voice. He saw two Itachis and another body on a cross, immobilized. He looked closer and saw that it was him. He looked down as Itachi stabbed him.
"In the world of Tsukuyomi," stab, "I control space and time," two stabs, "…And even the masses of objects."
Stab, stab, searing pain
Kakashi was knocked unconscious again and he came to again. This time, the entire area was filled with crosses with his body on each of them. Kakashi felt an incredible amount of pain as all of the bodies were stabbed. He could feel each and every stab with a great intensity. As he began to black out, he heard Itachi's voice once more.
"71 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds to go"
Kakashi screamed.
(Meanwhile)
"What are they thinking? Do they really expect me to just halt my wonderful book series for a political title? I don't even want to be Hokage! Well, at least I can take someone with me. Now, who to pick? I was told that training a genin would be most beneficial to the village…"
It was then when an orange blur passed by Jiraiya, making a gust of wind pass by him moments later. About a minute afterward, a horde of people carrying pitchforks, shovels and other tools and weapons burst out of nowhere and followed the orange blur. The sound of "Get the demon brat!" was apparent as they rushed past.
"Well, that suits me just fine. I guess I'm training that guy," Jiraiya said before he disappeared.
He reappeared next to the running orange blur which was, not surprisingly, Naruto.
"Hey Naruto, what are you doing?" Jiraiya asked casually.
"What does it look like I'm doing jackass?" Naruto yelled back, in a panic.
"Well, then, I'll get right to the point. Would you like to come with me to train?" Jiraiya asked as he ran.
"I'm a little busy Ero-Sennin, and watch out for that wall," Naruto said as he jumped over a wall in an attempt to lose his pursuers. Naruto heard a thump on the wall he jumped over and he chuckled a bit before running some more. It was only 10 seconds later when Jiraiya rejoined him.
"As I was saying, I'm giving you the opportunity to train with me, a high-class, ultra ninja! You can't afford to pass this up!"
"I would, but I can't Ero-Sennin," Naruto said as he ran.
"Now why's that?" Jiraiya asked.
"At the moment, I'm not safe in the village. I need to hang around the outskirts of the village until these idiots calm down. It's a good thing I brought my stuff," Naruto said.
"Now, who said that I was going to train you inside the village, I'm going traveling and I'm taking you with me. So, I ask again, would you like to be my apprentice?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruto looked at Jiraiya and smiled. "You've got yourself an apprentice! Let's get the hell out of here before I get gutted like a fish!"
Naruto and Jiraiya sped to the edge of the village and sped out the gates, leaving the civilian pursuers in the dust.
Moments later, a whitish flash followed them. The guards were all too busy herding the civilians to notice.
As soon as Naruto left, the ninjas got into action. A horde of ninja headed for an area near the edge of the village to intercept a couple of S-class ninja. The Konoha ninja proved to be ineffective, since, moments later, Gai could be seen carrying Kakashi to the hospital and the other ninja returned empty-handed.
(The Next Day)
"Kakashi, why didn't you train me yesterday?" Sasuke asked, annoyed as he burst into the abode of the jônin.
What he saw wasn't a pleasant sight. Four jônin sat or stood around the bed of Kakashi as Kakashi himself lay unconscious on the bed.
"What's going on? Why are the other jônin here? What happened?"
Gai looked sternly at the genin. He didn't say a word, but the look conveyed a message.
"It's not your concern."
It was then that another ninja burst into the room.
"Sir, it seems that the S-class ninja have escaped the village. There are no reported injuries except for Kakashi's heavy mental damage. We are currently searching for treatment for the Mangekyô Sharingan's effects."
The jônin present glared heavily at the ninja that walked in.
"Shut up!"
Sasuke widened his eyes and went to the ninja and held him up by his collar.
"Where was he headed?" he asked with killer intent.
"He-he was h-headed for the l-lodging town just o-outside the village."
Sasuke dropped the ninja and ran out, going out of the village and searching for his 'long-lost brother'.
(Meanwhile)
"Naruto; let me take this opportunity to tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to teach you a new technique," Jiraiya said as they walked down the road to the lodging town.
Naruto instantly got excited. "Alright! I'm finally going to learn something new!"
Naruto started to cheer and hop around the Sannin. Jiraiya tried to get his attention after that, but to no avail.
"Naruto…"
"HA, I can finally take down Sasuke and his Chidori…"
"Naruto…"
"I wonder what it is. Is it a powerful fire technique? Is it a wind technique?"
"NARUTO!"
Naruto stopped cheering for a moment to see an annoyed Jiraiya.
"You need to let me finish," he said, still annoyed. Naruto was still excited, but kept quiet. "We're looking for a lady friend of mine."
"Oh, great; I knew this was going to be a perverted expedition, Ero-Sennin."
"Will you shut up and let me finish? We're going to be stopping at the lodging town so I can get some information. You can wander around a little bit, but be back at the inn before nightfall, okay?"
Naruto nodded. "Is that all, Ero-Sennin?"
Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, carry on."
At those words, Naruto began to cheer again, circling Jiraiya as they entered the town.
Jiraiya chuckled. "He is just like you, Yondaime."
(In Naruto's Mind)
Click……click……click……
"Will you stop that infernal clicking?" Kyûbi said as he saw Yondaime throwing rocks at the wall.
"Okay," Yondaime said as he stopped throwing them at the wall.
"Thank you," Kyûbi said as he lied down in his cage. Closing his eyes, he felt something else.
Bonk…bonk…bonk…
Annoyed, Kyûbi opened his eyes to see Yondaime, just outside his cage, throwing rocks at his head.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kyûbi asked, indignant.
"I'm bored."
"Why are you throwing rocks at me?"
"You said you didn't want to hear that 'infernal clicking'."
"Stop throwing them at me!"
"Entertain me."
Kyûbi growled menacingly before trying to run Yondaime through the bars of the cage. Yondaime only yawned.
"Like I haven't seen that millions of times; you did that and more when you found out I was in here with you."
Kyûbi started to ram against the bars of the gate; pissed at the former Hokage before him. Yondaime chuckled slightly.
"You did that too."
Kyûbi started to put his tails through the bars of the gate, going for Yondaime's body. The Fourth moved to dodge the attacks as Kyûbi continued his relentless attack.
"Now, that's more like it."
(Meanwhile)
Jiraiya left Naruto earlier to try and track down information about his "lady friend". Naruto knew better, though. He was probably peeking at women or trying to hook up with somebody in the town. Leaving a clone in the inn in case Jiraya returned earlier than expected, he left.
He was now wandering the streets. He felt odd as he looked at all the weird people around the town. Naruto sighed in relief as he walked around the town. He stopped at a patch of grass and lied down. He felt elated at the thought of leaving the village for a short while. Sure, he did that every so often, but he could still feel the faint feeling of a gaze of hatred. Here, he felt nothing.
"That's why…I can't feel anything…these people just take me as a "normal" person. The hatred…it's not here."
Naruto sighed in relief as he relaxed. It wasn't the nervous relaxation that he had done in the village, but a true calming feeling. Since there was no hatred of him within this village, he could peacefully enjoy the smaller things without worrying about things that awaited him back in the village.
……
Naruto then felt a jolt. In his mind's eye, he found the image of a cloaked man with red eyes like Sasuke's and a shark-faced man beside him. He saw Sasuke next to Itachi moments later. He saw the Chidori once more, creating a line of destruction along the wall of the inn, ripping a line through the doors of the rooms. He saw Itachi blocking the Chidori and breaking his arm. He saw Jiraiya perform a technique that turned the walls into a mushy pink material. He finally saw Itachi and Kisame running away as a stream of fire chased after them. The fire roasted the shadow clone and the memories ended there.
Naruto stood quickly and made his way back to the inn. Halfway there, he found himself face to face with Itachi.
"Oh, shit."
Naruto moved into a defensive stance and prepared to fight. It was then that Itachi spoke.
"I assume you are the real Naruto-kun, am I correct?"
Naruto stood firmly, silent. He clenched his fists and prepared to defend himself.
"Katon: Karyû Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Missile)!"
Itachi and Kisame moved out of the way to prevent being hit by the massive fire attack. They ran off, leaving Naruto and Jiraiya to look closely at Sasuke.
"What happened?"
"He was attacked by Itachi after he saw that you were a shadow clone."
"So, it was a good thing that I left a shadow clone here while you did your perverted stuff, right?"
"That's right…hey, I wasn't doing anything perverted!"
"Sure you weren't. You and I both know you were peeking at women."
"No, I was…"
A kunai flew into the hallway. Naruto and Jiraiya looked at it for a moment before hearing a voice.
"Dynamic Entry!"
Turning around quickly, Jiraiya saw a foot heading for his face.
"Gai?" was the last thing he said before being nailed in the face. Naruto cracked up as he saw Gai's expression change from "smile with a shiny-teeth smile" to "oh, shit, I just hit Jiraiya-sama".
Moments later, Jiraiya was standing again, this time with a tissue stuck up his bleeding nose. He was twitching slightly as Gai announced his mistake with the "power of youth".
"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sama, I didn't realize it was you. Without my mirror, I was unable to detect the identity of my target. I used my forehead protector, but the image was too hazy for me to see very well. I saw someone and the power of youth filled me as I moved to strike! I'm sorry!
"Do you call that an apology?" Jiraiya asked, annoyed at being kicked in the face.
"Mincing words is not my specialty."
"Whatever, can you take Sasuke here back to Konoha and into the hospital? He was hit by Itachi and a genjutsu of some kind."
"I know, Kakashi was hit with the same technique. He's in the hospital right now."
"Kakashi-sensei is hurt? What happened to him?" Naruto asked, in a panic.
"He fought Itachi and was hit by the same technique. He's been out cold ever since."
Naruto looked down at Sasuke's unconscious body as the conversation continued around him.
"Sasuke, what did he do to you?"
Naruto snapped back to reality moments later.
"Yes, we're going to look for her. A Sannin like myself, a medical specialist, the slug master; we're going to look for Tsunade-hime."
(End Chapter)
Technique Explanation:
Magen: Hiaburi (Demonic Illusion: Burning at the Stake) is a combination of Magen: Karyû Chûjô (Fire Dragon in the Shape of a Pillar; shown in the Wave Country arc against Zabuza the first time, albeit unnamed) and Magen: Jubaku Satsu (Tree Bind Death). This technique grows a tree the wraps around the enemy. The tree then engulfs in flames, harming the victim heavily if the victim doesn't escape quickly enough. The user can appear in the trunk of the burning tree to deal a finishing blow, not unlike the actions in Jubaku Satsu.
Magen: Dekishi (Demonic Illusion: Death by Drowning) is Kurenai's genjutsu expression of the Suirô no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique) that she was hit with back in Wave Country. This technique usually has the victim starting to sink in the surface they are on. If the surface is land, it starts to seem that the surface is water, but it is more convincing if the victim is on the water. It is about as deadly as the Magen: Jubaku Satsu, but only if their hands have been paralyzed or immobilized (For example, if a ninja is landing on his hands on a watery surface as soon as Kurenai engages the technique, only distraction of mind would free them). Being most effective around water, watery surfaces are great mediums for this technique.
Magen: Asshi (Demonic Illusion: Crushing to Death) is a technique developed after the war with Iwagakure after witnessing a Rock ninja perform Doton: Iwayado Kuzushi (Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction). If my calculations are correct, she was around the same age as Kakashi, although she may have been only a chûnin or a genin. This was the technique that was interrupted by Itachi in this chapter.
A/N: Hey, did you notice that all of my recent technique creations had to do with execution techniques (Kage Bunshin Raidanketsu: Jûkei (Shadow Clone Lightning Combination: Death by Firing Squad), Magen: Funkei (Demonic Illusion: Burning at the Stake), Magen: Dekishi (Demonic Illusion: Death by Drowning), and Magen: Asshi (Demonic Illusion: Crushing to Death))? I just noticed that. That's kind of funny. Anyway, I made the three genjutsu above on a whim because I could. It seemed right to have Kurenai put more of a fight, even if the Sharingan would take her down anyway. And, if Kurenai is a genjutsu specialist, I would assume that she would be able to have the above techniques, right?
Anyway, this was kind of a bridge chapter. I'll try to make it longer next time around. I'm still trying to get used to the new schedule and the new time zone. I'll see you all later!
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