Author Note
Hello and welcome to another chapter of 'Full Moon'.
I know it's taking way longer than usual for my updates and once again, I'm sorry for it. The same excuse…loads and loads of work nonstop. But what can I do, right?
Well, moving on…I was having trouble deciding whether or not to apply Kushina's cannon skills and pass them on to her son, but I decided against it. In this story, Naruto developed skills of his own and those will be developed along the ongoing chapters.
Now, enough with the rambling…let's begin the chapter and I assure you…it's filled with action.
Chapter 26 – The Invasion Part 1
Beta: Kyuubi123
It was a sunny day in Konoha and the village was filled with tourists and merchants from all over the elemental nations.
All of them were in Konoha for one single purpose, to see the final part of the Chunnin Exams. The Stadium was filled with people, all but interested in seeing what this new crop of genins could do. One of Konoha's largest and equally famous clan – Uchiha – has one of its offspring competing.
"I bet everything on the Uchiha to win…" Said the Daimyou of Grass Country as he turned to his two ninja guards and nodded for them to place the bets.
Other Daimyos placed their bets on the Uchiha as well, since the boy was considered easy money, compared to the other contestants.
Besides Sasuke, though, only the Kazekage's son Gaara had a considerable beting crowd. Based on the kid's record, he's been through tough missions until now and returned unscathed. Surely that meant something as a few shinobis decided to vote on him to win.
As everyone was taking their seats, one single presence could be seen in the middle of the arena. The son of the Yondaime Hokage stood with his arms crossed, waiting for the Hokage's signal to start the match. Next to him was his wolf partner Gekkou seating in a relaxed position while taking a look at the ravaging crowd around them. To be honest, the wolf was intimidated at the sheer number of people attending these exams.
Naruto, for his part, was looking at the audience while spotting the hidden Anbu amongst the crowd.
Yondaime's best guess was that if an attack was to happen, it would be right here where all the Daimyos and their respective dignitaries were located. That's why behind every Daimyou, at least two Anbu members could be seen, in disguise. Now looking at the Kage Box, he saw his father discussing something with the Kazekage and his godfather Jiraiya perhaps about the upcoming matches.
Suddenly, he took a brief look at his father to see that he had just stood up to announce the beginning of the last phase of the Chunnin Exams.
"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Konoha's Last Phase of the Chunnin Exams" As soon as Minato spoke, the crowd screamed from their stands. The Hokage waited until the noise died down, before he continued. "These fighters, before you, showed incredible skills thus far but now they must face each other in a battle one on one. As you're probably aware, this last phase will work like a tournament, however each fight will be accounted for regarding a chunnin promotion. A shinobi doesn't necessarily have to win in order to become a chunnin if he or she displayed enough skills to be granted the promotion. With that said, let the Chunnin Exams begin…."
With the signal to begin, Naruto called in the first two contestants before seeing them materialize in front of him. One appeared through a small storm of sand and the other through a swirl of ink.
"Okay, first match of this year's Chunnin Exams will be Sai of the Hidden Leaf against Sabaku no Gaara from the Hidden Sand. You two know the rules, there are none. However, I have the power to intervene in the battle."
Taking a moment to look at the opponents to see if they had any opposition, Naruto signaled them to begin.
Sai didn't waste any time and unrolled an empty scroll, before drawing and summoning ink lions at his opponent. The ferocious beasts all charged at Gaara the same time, but all of them vanished as Gaara's sand barrier protected him. The Root Anbu in disguise knew this was going to happen as he memorized every aspect of Gaara's file. He charged straight at the Suna-nin as he threw barrage after barrage of shuriken, hoping to confuse Gaara's defensive mechanism.
One thing that wasn't clear in the file was whether Gaara was in control of his sand defense or if it was automatic, like some sort of kekkei genkai.
All the shuriken were blocked by the sand, though three got stuck inside. Sai was surprised when a sudden sand replica of Gaara grabbed the shuriken, before throwing them back at the disguised Root Anbu Shinobi, forcing him to use his sword to deflect them. While defending, he saw that the clone was charging him from his blind side. Using nothing but agility, Sai flipped in the air and landed a strong roundhouse kick in the clone's neck, dispelling him instantly. He, then, focused some chakra on his legs and charged Gaara with speeds unknown to a genin, surprising the audience a bit.
Upon arriving inches from Gaara's position, he evaded the sand that erupted from the ground and appeared on Gaara's back. The sand was ill equipped to protect Gaara from Sai's quick punch and he was sent skidding a couple meters. The hit, though, only cracked his suna armor a bit, but was enough to warrant a vicious smile on the kid's face. His opponent was strong and he would prove his existence by killing him.
Focusing on a sequence of hand seals, as he saw Sai preparing to battle him in Taijutsu, Gaara once again showed that vicious smile of his.
"I'll kill you and prove my existence, Sabaku Kyuu (Desert Coffin)."
As soon as Sai stood a few inches from Gaara once more, he was surprised to see sand gripping his legs, holding him in place. The sand, then, started to envelope the Root Anbu entirely. Gaara was extending his hand open at Sai's position, laughing like a hyena as he would once again prove his existence.
His mother would certainly be proud of him.
"Now die…Sabaku Sousou (Desert Funeral)"
The sand coffin crushed Sai, but instead of blood being sprawled on the arena, Gaara was met with a great ball of ink. The ink suddenly materialized into a great number of snakes, who wrapped around the confused Gaara as they started squeezing his body hard. As Gaara saw a few more cracks at his sand armor, he realized that a strategic exit was in order, before killing his opponent. Quickly using a Sand Kawarimi, Gaara appeared next to Naruto as he started looking around the arena for his opponent.
Sai was hidden behind a few trees located at the far west corner of the arena.
So far, Gaara proved to be invincible with that sand of his and looking at his arsenal of abilities, he knew that the odds of winning this match were close to zero. His teachers explained to him that fleeing from a battle doesn't necessarily mean that you lost. Sometimes, when the odds are against you, the only available option would be to admit defeat and save the battle for some other time. Sai would surely wish he had a camera to film Gaara's face when he came clean.
Surely, Danzou wouldn't mind what he was about to do. Suddenly, Sai materialized in front of Naruto and Gaara, before raising his right hand.
"Proctor, I give up." Sai said earning a nod from Naruto and like the kid expected a conflicted face from Gaara.
"The winner of the first round is Gaara of the Hidden Sand."
As soon as Naruto finished speaking, the crowd erupted with cheer at the great display of skills.
"You two please go back to the booth…now…" Naruto said but stopped once he saw that Gaara wanted to fight, sending his sand towards Sai, who was caught by surprise. Not having time to escape, Sai was sure this time he would die, however Naruto quickly appeared in front of the incoming sand and focused some wind chakra, dispersing it instantly.
"I already gave the victory to you Genin. Stand down or I'll be forced to take action…" Naruto's tone was firm and he elevated his killing intent to prove his point.
At first, Gaara didn't move. He stared at the blond man in front of him, with an impassive face. However, he suddenly held his head in pain. Naruto was already waiting for something to happen, before Gaara removed his hands from his head and went to the genin booth as instructed by the proctor. The blond knew something was wrong with this kid. Gaara was on the verge of madness and all of a sudden, he just nodded and went to the genin booth like nothing happened.
"Now, will Uchiha Sasuke of the Leaf and Aburame Shino of the Leaf approach the arena…?"
Naruto wanted to investigate this Gaara but he was the proctor of the exams. As he saw the next contestants walking towards him, he started focusing on the petulant Uchiha. Naruto remembered how Sasuke behaved at the Chunnin Exams Preliminaries, going all out on killing Inuzuka Kiba with the sole purpose of winning the match. Now, since Itachi and Kakashi taught him, Naruto was worried that Sasuke would want to show off his skills.
===the Kage Box===
The Kages were impressed with Sai's skills, both physical and tactics, although Minato didn't like Gaara's attitude one bit.
"Quite explosive your son is wouldn't you say Kazekage-dono?" Minato said, earning a nod from Jiraiya as he looked at Gaara with severe scrutiny. It was clear now that the kid was a Jinchuuriki, a demon jailer. Which one, though, they didn't know. However, the mere fact that such an opponent may be used against Konoha sent shivers to Jiraiya's spine.
The Kazekage gave a simple laugh at Minato's proclamation.
"Yes, well my Gaara gets a little bit emotional when facing such a strong opponent. Don't worry, though, Hokage-dono, it won't happen again. Now, I'm more eager to see what Uchiha Sasuke can do against the Aburame."
If it was one thing that both Minato and Jiraiya could say about the Kazekage it was that he was quite the politician.
===Back at the Arena===
Once Sasuke and Shino stood face to face, Naruto eyed both of them, waiting a bit to give the signal. As soon as his hand went down, the fight started but neither of the opponents moved, just confident in observing the other. Shino was accustomed to the rational side of fighting, which meant he would never be the one to start the fight. Sasuke, on the other hand, wasn't the rational individual, although he couldn't be called irrational up to the point of attacking head on.
Suddenly, as Sasuke saw Shino's bugs preparing to attack, he started a considerable series of hand seals just as the swarm of insects charged at Sasuke.
Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)
However, quite to Sasuke's surprise, the bugs circled around the huge fireball and attacked him once more, forcing the Uchiha to scatter from his usual position. He evaded the swarm of insects using his bare speed and appeared on his back, aiming a solid kick to his side stomach. However, Shino trained his taijutsu knowing that Sasuke would be his opponent. Therefore, he used his arm to defend Sasuke's kick, before aiming a strong punch at Sasuke's jaw. The attack only met air, though, as Sasuke was already on the ground, landing a fierce kick at the Aburame's right leg. He, then, managed to connect a front kick on Shino's chest, sending him flying.
Wasting no time at all, Sasuke went through another series of hand seals, firing smaller but consecutive fireballs towards his opponent.
At first, the fireballs connected causing Sasuke to smile. However, he frowned once he saw his opponent transforming into a swarm of bugs. Activating his Sharingan, he was able to follow Shino's trace of chakra. He managed to locate the Aburame, but he was too late, considering that Shino was just finishing the last hand seal for a very strong fuuton jutsu.
Fuuton Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu)
Sasuke was sent flying because of the technique, while cursing Shino. While flying, his eyes caught Shino's movements as the Aburame appeared right next to him, ready to deliver a solid blow to his chest. However and only based on the image shown by the Sharingan, Sasuke managed to defend the kick, before flipping his body and punching Shino on the face, sending him skidding a few meters. As he landed on the ground, though, he realized that his body suffered some minor cuts from Shino's jutsu.
Sasuke was surprised when the swarm of insects managed to reach his location. They started sucking his chakra dry, leaving him no alternative other than to use the replacement technique.
The crowd was cheering for both of them as both displayed amazing skills so far.
Sasuke then charged Shino in straight taijutsu, forcing the Aburame on the defensive with his bugs. Sasuke, this time, managed to dodge the incoming swarm and stood inches from Shino's position, not giving him time to summon another swarm of bugs. Because of this, the Aburame was forced to defend himself as best as he could. However, close combat was no match to the Sharingan and Sasuke managed to anticipate Shino's every move, countering them all with solid hits. After a strong kick, Shino took advantage of the distance created between them and took out a kunai, before channeling wind chakra through it. Sasuke was so self-absorbed in defeating Shino, that he didn't see the attack coming.
It was because of his Sharingan that Sasuke managed to avoid the fatal slash from Shino's kunai as he flipped his body and landed a strong kick to Shino's neck, knocking him out.
"Aburame Shino is incapacitated. Winner is Uchiha Sasuke".
After Naruto annunciated the winner, the crowd screamed. Some because of how much money they just won from betting at the Uchiha and others from revering the clan. From the crowd, everyone could hear how loud Sakura was cheering at her crush and everyone could hear the rest of the Rookie 9 sighing in exasperation at the girl's never ending crush on the arrogant Uchiha. It was really annoying.
Back at the arena, it was time for the third fight.
"Now it's time for the third fight between Yamanaka Ino of the Leaf and Sabaku no Kankuro of the Sand. Will both contestants approach the center of the arena?"
The fights so far proved to be quite a show to the audience as they were able to see some outstanding abilities displayed by the genins. Certainly, this next one would be just as entertaining.
"Proctor, I forfeit…" Kankuro shouted, shocking the crowd as they expected another good fight. Ino, for her part, was about to leave the genin booth and head to the arena when she looked at her opponent, or rather the man to whom she was about to face against. She was expecting to show off her skills in order to impress the chuunin judges. Ino still was a proud member of the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club, but as daughter of the Yamanaka Clan, she was also a proud kunoichi.
Damn it, one less fight to show them my skills…this way I won't be able to pass…
Naruto nodded at the forfeit request, though he wondered the real reason behind it. Nonetheless, it was now time for the last fight before the semifinals.
"Would Nara Shikamaru of the Leaf and Kinuta Dosu of the Sound join the arena…?"
After annunciating the final match, Naruto swore he heard Shikamaru muttering his favorite word, before being thrown by Ino from the balcony.
"Troublesome woman, why did you push me off the damn balcony?"
Ino just smiled before she started cheering on her friend and teammate, earning a sigh in response from the Nara as he got up from the ground. Cleaning his clothes a bit, he saw when his opponent passed by him, not even bothering to look at him, like he was sure of the victory. Putting both hands inside his pockets, Shikamaru took his time to reach the center of the arena quite like Naruto thought he would. Shikamaru was probably the most intelligent genin in Konoha, but he was just as lazy if not more so.
After a while, the Nara heir stood next to Naruto as he eyed Dosu with apparent boredom, but inside, he was analyzing every bit of the situation.
This guy managed to beat Chouji at the preliminaries and Shikamaru knew the man used some sort of mechanism on his arm, although he wasn't entirely sure what it was. One thing his father told him was to look out for this man. Considering where he came from and who the leader of the village was, Nara Shikaku was insistent on telling Shikamaru to seize every damn opportunity in the field. Shikamaru, for his chance, didn't need to hear it from his father. He knew how dangerous this guy could be if given the opportunity.
As soon as Naruto signaled the go, Dosu managed some hand signs.
Oto Nami no Jutsu (Sound Wave Technique)
Soon after completing the hand seals, Dosu focused chakra on his gray gadget and sent an almost invincible wave at the surprised Shikamaru. However, the boy knew enough to trust his instincts of survival, seeing as he couldn't see his opponent's attack. He jumped to the sidem just as the almost invisible wave of air passed through him, before he threw a great barrage of shurikens at the sound genin. Dosu simply used his gadget and blocked the ones that were aimed at him, though, while watching the others passing by.
Instantly, Shikamaru was at him with plain taijutsu, though for Naruto it was strange considering a Nara wouldn't feel the need for such close combat.
He aimed a straight kick at Dosu's sternum, before the sound genin managed to grab his leg with a smirk.
"Say goodbye to this leg of yours…" Dosu said, before he lifted his left arm where the gadget was located. However, just when he was about to chop Shikamaru's leg off, his body went stiff all of a sudden. He was well aware of the boy's clan and knew about their shadow manipulation ability. That's why when he looked down he wasn't surprised that both shadows were intertwining with each other. The Nara heir, for his part, smirked at his plan.
"Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow imitation technique)…success. It took me a while to understand your skills. I was hoping to see while you were fighting Chouji at the preliminaries, but it was over before I could understand what or rather how that little instrument of yours works. Your last technique, though, helped me in figuring out. By focusing chakra through it, it can emit sound waves, almost invincible to the human eye. If that attack hit me, I would probably be deaf right now."
"Very clever Konoha genin….nevertheless, you're in no position to count yourself victorious. From what I heard of your clan, after binding the opponent's shadow, both movements would be mirrored. What can you do in order to defeat me when I'm holding your leg right now, huh? Also, you won't be able to bind me for too long and when I escape your head will be mine."
The smile on Shikamaru's face confused Dosu, though.
He was considered a very logical individual and he knew that Shikamaru wouldn't be able to do a thing to him. When he saw a series of hand seals that he also started as well, Dosu narrowed his eyes.
"You should've read more about my family, before making a bold claim that all we can do is bind shadows. We can control them as well."
Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu (Shadow Neck Bind Technique)
Dosu saw the shadow crawling over his body until a hand like shape enveloped his neck, frightening the sound genin.
Without waiting long, Shikamaru executed the finishing blow, breaking the man's neck, instantly killing him. Some members of the audience gasped at this, including his teammates Chouji and Ino. Their teammate was probably the laziest human being ever, but to them he would never hurt someone needlessly. Dosu's body fell to the ground and his only visible eye became hollow. Naruto, then, approached the boy and placed two fingers on his neck in order to feel any lingering pulse, but he couldn't feel anything.
He, then, looked at Shikamaru for an instant, before getting up in order to announce the winner of this match.
"Nara Shikamaru is the winner of the last match. Now, the competitors that managed to qualify will have twenty minutes to rest and save their chakra for the next matches."
After he announced the break, he turned his back to Shikamaru and joined his wolf partner. Shikamaru, though, felt like Naruto was disappointed in him for what he did.
"Naruto-sempai…" Shikamaru called, before he saw Naruto turn his neck. The Jounin could see some level of regret in his visage and he remembered the first time he took a life in order to protect his friend Neji.
"You don't need to explain your reasons Shikamaru, at least not to me. Take a break and conserve your chakra for the next round. I have a feeling you'll be needing every drop of it very soon"
Shikamaru nodded and left the arena as he saw the crowd talking amongst themselves while waiting for the next round of fights to commence. While walking towards the genin booth, Shikamaru wondered about his first kill. Nara Shikamaru knew about the shinobi line of work and he knew that killing pretty much came with the package. However, it was one thing to know about it and another to feel it. As he passed by the genin booth, he walked inside an empty hallway in order to get some water and cool off somehow.
However, he was surprised to see his sensei standing there lighting a cigarette, as if nothing happened.
"Asuma-sensei…" Shikamaru was afraid that Asuma would berate him for what he did, but after seeing the man's relaxed posture, he was surprised to see otherwise.
After hearing his name, Asuma smiled at his student. He could see that the boy needed someone to talk to after what happened.
"Come Shikamaru, let's get a bottle of water for you and you can tell me everything…"
Shikamaru nodded and approached the jounin, before sensing the man's hand patting his shoulder, in a very comforting way.
===Twenty minutes after===
After the break, Naruto approached the center of the arena and announced the beginning of the semi-finals.
"Okay, then, now for the first fight of the semi-finals. Will Uchiha Sasuke of the Leaf and Sabaku no Gaara of the Sand approach the center of the arena…"
It didn't take long before Naruto could see the two fighters appear next to him. The Jounin could see the vicious smile on Gaara's face, as if the boy was carving for more blood to be spilled. Naruto didn't care much for the Uchiha, but the blond was the proctor of this event. As such if Gaara went overboard, it was required of him to step in and stop the fight.
Sasuke already had his Sharingan active as he knew this fight would be different than the others.
As soon as Naruto motioned the fight to begin, Sasuke charged Gaara with great speed, trying to land a few hits. However, the sand blocked every strike. The Uchiha, though, persevered and increased the speed of the blows, surprising Gaara. The blows were increasing in speed and the sand was having trouble blocking them all. Then, all of a sudden, Gaara received a strong punch that sent him skidding a few meters. Sasuke didn't waste any time and started a hand seal sequence.
Katon Karyuu Taihou (Fire Release Dragon Fire Cannon Technique)
Sasuke exhaled a strong stream of fire towards Gaara. The Sand Genin, after seeing the approaching flames, managed a few hand seals, before slamming both hands on the ground. A huge jet of sand rose from the ground and stopped the fire technique, although some of the sand became glass because of the scorching hot technique. Gaara, then, sent another jet of sand straight at Sasuke, though he managed to jump away from the technique, before starting a quick series of hand seals.
Raiton Rakurai no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Technique)
The Uchiha's hand started to glow, before he sent the thunderbolt technique straight at Gaara. The Sand Genin knew about sand's weakness to lightning. Therefore, he tried evading, and barely succeeded. He, then, focused on a single hand seal, before a third eye appeared in front of him, much to his brother's shock. Also, sand started to gather around him, enveloping him inside some sort of cocoon. Sasuke saw the coccon closing fast and charged, but before he had the chance to punch Gaara, a great number of spikes erupted from the fully formed cocoon, which would have killed the Uchiha if he didn't dodge in time.
===Outside the village walls===
During the finals, Anbu personnel were busy scouting the entire forest that surrounded the hidden village in the leaves. So far, though, nothing out of unusual happened and Zabuza was beginning to get bored. The man didn't know why the Yondaime Hokage gave him the honor of leading this operation. A few years ago, Zabuza wasn't even a Konoha shinobi and now he was responsible for scouting Konohagakure's outskirts together with three Anbu squads.
"Zabuza-taichou…" an Anbu said, before materializing behind the ex-mist ninja.
"Let me guess…not a single enemy spotted" Zabuza said, before seeing the Anbu nod with his head. "Taki, take your team and scout near the gates. Our walls are strong, but our gates are vulnerable"
Within seconds, Zabuza was alone once more as he used his experience in order to predict the enemy's movements.
A few miles west of his position, an entire battalion made of Iwa, Suna and Sound ninjas stood hidden behind the trees. They were only waiting for the signal inside the village for the Iwa shinobi to act. Their plan was simple, yet effective. As soon as they received the signal, four groups of Iwa shinobi would summon gigantic wooden catapults capable of launching gigantic rocks at Konohagakure. The key to this attack was that inside the rocks, were battalions of ninjas ready to invade the village as soon as the rock shattered.
Konohagakure wouldn't know what hit them.
===Back at the arena===
Gaara was still hiding inside his cocoon and Sasuke was already getting tired of waiting for a reaction. He even tried to fry the Suna genin with a grand fireball technique, but to no avail. This type of sand appeared to be more resilient to fire attacks. Thinking a bit, Sasuke suddenly smirked as he ran all the way towards the stadium wall. Afterwards, he completed a series of three hand seals, before focusing lightning chakra on the palm of his right hand.
Chidori
This move was taught to him by his sensei Kakashi, although the man advised him not to use it unless in life or death situations.
However, seeing as nothing so far worked on Gaara's defense, this would be his last attempt to win this fight and go to the final match of the Chunnin Exams.
Naruto was surprised to see Kakashi's technique and wondered if perhaps Sasuke stole it with his Sharingan or he was taught by the creator. Nevertheless, Naruto figured that this technique would be able to pierce an earth based defense. The young Uchiha looked at Gaara's position and started running towards the cocoon with Kakashi's technique at full strength. The peculiar noise of birds chirping echoed throughout the stadium as the Uchiha approached Gaara's position.
As soon as he reached within inches away from the cocoon, Sasuke extended his right arm and attacked Gaara. The effect was instantaneous as both sand and blood was sprawled on the ground. The crowd, then, started shaking in fear as Gaara screamed in both pain and agony. He managed to capture Sasuke's hand, though and he would certainly rip it off if Sasuke didn't use the Chidori once more. This time, though, Gaara's scream was stronger, more terrifying.
Sasuke got his hand back and jumped just as a strange looking arm appeared out of the cocoon. Naruto narrowed his eyes immediately as he felt Gaara's demonic chakra. However, he couldn't interrupt the fight.
Suddenly, though, white feathers started raining and Gekkou was on immediate alert, dispelling the genjutsu around him. Naruto did as well, before he looked at the stadium with narrowed eyes. Various enemies disguised as civilians suddenly left their seats in order to attack the daimyos and high officials, but were stopped by the disguised Anbus. Naruto noticed that Gaara's cocoon vanished and that Sasuke's attack did quite a number on him, before the two competitors from Suna appeared in front of him.
Gekkou returned next to Naruto just as a Suna jounin appeared in front of the Genins.
"So, Suna betrayed us after all…I do wonder the reason behind such an open statement of war" Naruto said as he faced the jounin named Baki who in turn smirked at the blond's proclamation.
"You shouldn't worry about our reasons for as you won't live to know about it. Temari, Kankuro…take Gaara away from here right now…"
As soon as they heard their orders, all three of them jumped away from the stadium, startling Naruto, before he turned to see Sasuke facing the jounin.
"Sasuke, you need to go after them. Gather a couple of chunnins nearby and capture those three. Remember, though, this isn't a part of the chunnin exams any longer, we're at war" Naruto said, before Sasuke nodded and vanished towards the Suna genin's location. Baki tried to stop him, but had to evade due to a couple of shuriken thrown by Naruto. As soon as the blond moved to strike, though, he saw the explosion at the kage stand and instantly became worried for his father.
He could see two Suna-nins being dealt with by the Anbu Black Ops shinobi, before they moved towards the kage booth in order to protect their Hokage.
===At the Hokage Booth===
No sooner had the Kage booth exploded then four disguised Oto-nins started a series of hand seals, before slamming both hands on the building's ceiling, raising a purple barrier. Inside, Jiraiya and Minato got up from the ground as they eyed the still dressed Kazekage. However, something was off about him. It was probably the scent of snakes that both of them were feeling right now.
"You know…you could disguise your appearance, but the scent of snakes is quite difficult to mask…Orochimaru" Minato said, with a smile on his face.
Still with the Kazekage disguise, Orochimaru wondered how the hell they knew of the invasion. He knew about Jiraiya's spy network and he knew how it worked. So, he sent shinobi to follow them all. Not single bit of information was passed to Jiraiya that much he was sure of. However, it mattered little now. Letting out a sinister laugh, Orochimaru suddenly ripped off the Kazekage disguise and smiled viciously at Minato and Jiraiya.
"Quite astute you are Minato-kun. However, I'm afraid you're too late to find out. It's been some time since I remained by your side and only now did you notice. Some legend you are…" Orochimaru taunted more to his own taste, as he knew a man of Minato's caliber wouldn't be in such position, if he was easily goaded by the enemy.
As he thought, the Yondaime Hokage was more interested in studying the barrier trapping him than the enemy.
"You sure trained your soldiers well Orochimaru. In order for this barrier to remain, all four of them must use the same amount of chakra at the same time. I wonder who'll be the first to fall, considering it will take a while for you to be able to beat both me and Jiraiya-sensei. Just one question, though, I'm really curious. You're not doing this because the Sandaime picked me instead of you for the Yondaime's position, right? I mean, if that's the one single reason, then I would lose the small amount of respect I had for you."
The snake sannin smirked at Minato's statement, though he wouldn't be surprised if his sensei shared the Yondaime's way of thinking.
"Nothing like that...one day I woke up and realized that Konohagakure deserved to be extinguished from the map. So, I developed a rather fine plan if I do say so myself. It still amazes me how past wounds can move people to do your bidding" Orochimaru smirked, as his comment caused Minato to narrow his eyes. "Oh…did I hit a soft spot, Minato-kun? I'm sorry. But I suppose you already know what I'm talking about huh …"
As soon as Orochimaru finished talking, both Minato and Jiraiya's eyes widened to unseen proportions as four gigantic boulders came flying towards the Konoha stadium.
Konoha was already aware of the Suna's participation in this invasion and even Orochimaru's village Otogakure. However, Iwa was just a guess, which was only now confirmed. Minato knew that Orochimaru was low, even baring psychotic. But to goad an entire hidden village just for his ambitions was probably the most despicable thing Minato ever saw. Problem was that Iwa had two most hated targets and Minato knew damn well that they would focus on the second one.
He just hoped that Naruto would be able to look out for himself.
===With Naruto===
After Sasuke left to chase Gaara, Naruto and Baki stood face to face with each other.
"Your reputation is greatly feared Kazeryuu. I wonder how much money I will receive by bringing your head on a silver platter to the Tsushikage."
Despite the situation, the blond couldn't help but smile at how many times he heard those exact words. He was about to pull out his customized trench knives as he looked up and saw the gigantic boulders passing through the stadium. Only one landed on the stadium and Naruto was having a bad feeling about all this. Suddenly, the boulder was ripped in two and fifty if not more, Iwa shinobi got out of it, before joining the still smirking Baki.
"Oh I wouldn't be stupid in facing you alone…but with this much force backing me up, it will be quite easy. The village force is busy gathering the civilians and important officials. No one will come to help you."
The Iwa shinobi started gathering around him in hopes to quickly overcome the great threat and focus on burning Konoha to the ground, without worrying about Naruto. The blond, for his part, looked at each and every one of them, silently contemplating his best course of action here. He could see all of them smiling at him, as in their mind, Naruto was as good as dead. As he looked around, though, Naruto started to smile as he saw Gekkou hidden by an elaborate genjutsu.
It was time to act.
===around the village===
While the Anbu forces and Jounin managed to keep the enemy shinobi in tow, the genins and chunnins managed to gather the civilians and take them to all the safety spots hidden within the village. That included Kushina and little Misao as they were now travelling through one of the many hidden tunnels that passed below ground. Kushina wasn't privy to the entire scheme her husband pulled, but she had faith in both him and her son to save Konoha from the snake Orochimaru.
She could see that her little daughter was terrified to death. It was understandable, though, considering what's happening right now.
"Misao-chan, don't worry...both your father and brother are up there. No one can beat them..." Kushina said, hoping to tranquilize her daughter. She knew how much Misao adored her brother, up to the point of wanting to be like him in the future. THat's why she smiled upon seeing the smile forming on her daughter's face.
"Yeah..no one can beat Niisan"
Kushina had to smile at such energy as they ran along the group of civilians. After a while of running, Kushina met with Nara Yoshino and Uchiha Mikoto, before sticking together throughout the tunnel.
They were heading to a place filled with barrier seals made by the Yondaime Hokage. Anyone who tried to enter would be burned alive.
===At the Kage Booth===
Looking around the village, Minato could see that his Anbu shinobi were able to hold the invading force for the time being.
For now, his plan was working. However, he was somewhat concerned with Orochimaru. As part of the Sannin, and one of the greatest strategists that Minato ever seen, it was strange to see him alone against a Kage and another member of the Sannin. The man must have something up his sleeve, so for now Minato would play a cautious fight.
"Jiraiya-sensei, there is something entirely wrong here, so please cover me just in case…"
Minato didn't wait for Jiraiya's answer, nor did he need to as these two fought together many times during the Last Shinobi War. The Yondaime Hokage started making hand seals, much to Orochimaru's surprise, since he figured that Minato would want to end this soon by using the Hiraishin Technique. However, he knew better than to underestimate him, as he could see pure lightning pulsing through the man's body. As soon as the hand seals sequence finished, a dark cloud gathered on top of their heads.
Raiton Tentou no Doki (Lightning Release: Heaven's Wrath Technique)
Immediately, a great number of lightning bolts charged against Orochimaru at blinding speed, forcing the snake to use his speed in order to dodge them all. However, while doing so, Orochimaru took away his concentration from his opponents, allowing Jiraiya to shoot a fireball technique, which hit the snake sannin dead on. However, the man suddenly transformed to mud and vanished from the vicinity. He appeared a great distance from the two, as he smiled at them.
"Quite a technique you created Yondaime. I was hoping to see your so famed Hiraishin, though"
On the outside, the snake was smiling, but inside he was fuming with rage. His plan to neutralize the Hiraishin was quite simple, yei it would certainly catch Minato. He would wait until the Yondaime attacked him, before he used an Earth Kawarimi. Focusing chakra, he would harden the mud and trap Minato inside, leaving him open for the killing blow.
Minato smirked at this, though. Orochimaru was counting on him using the Thunder God Technique. For what purpose wasn't important as now the element of surprise was on Konoha's side.
Orochimaru immediately charged at Minato using his hidden snakes technique, not even waiting for a response to his taunt. Quickly grabbing his trademark kunai, though, the Yondaime Hokage managed to slash the snakes in pieces using his speed, before landing a fierce kick on Orochimaru's face, which sent him flying. While flying, he could see Jiraiya approaching from the left side. The snake managed to maneuver his body so as to dodge Jiraiya's punch, before connecting a solid kick to Jiraiya's sternum, which sent him skidding a few meters.
"It's quite obvious that I'm in some sort of disadvantage here, wouldn't you agree?"
Facing a Kage and a Sannin would be considered a disadvantage from the start, but Minato and Jiraiya eyed Orochimaru with care, knowing what the man was capable of. As Yondaime Hokage, Minato had access to the report of Orochimaru's betrayal and he knew the type of experiments conducted by the snake back then. Minato wouldn't be considered a Kage level ninja if he let the man do what he intended.
Quickly focusing on a series of hand seals, Minato slammed both hands on the ground, before a series of markings appeared around his hands.
Fuuin Hyoushi no Jutsu (Binding Seal Technique)
As Orochimaru was about to unite his hands, he suddenly found that his body wasn't responding to his movements. When he looked down, he snarled upon seeing the binding seal technique. However, he didn't even see Minato move. Orochimaru knew he underestimated Minato's skills as a fuuinjutsu specialist. Looking to his left, he knew that Jiraiya would seize this opportunity. The perverted sannin smirked at his student's quick wits, before focusing on a huge series of hand seals.
Katon Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Missile Technique)
The attack hit Orochimaru dead on and his body instantly combusted.
The Anbu located outside the barrier instantly cheered for their Hokage and Jiraiya of the Sannin. However, they saw that Orochimaru somehow materialized behind their Yondaime. He, then, charged at Minato's blind side, stretching his tongue. The problem was that the tongue was holding a sword as well. The Anbus flinched upon hearing metal impaling flesh. Orochimaru smirked as he managed to kill the Yondaime Hokage.
Minato's face was one of shock as he knew Jiraiya's technique was enough for the man.
"It's your own fault for underestimating me Yondaime…" Orochimaru said as he appeared in front of the two, with the sword still inside Minato's chest. Suddenly, though, he saw Minato smiling at him, before his body exploded into thousands and thousands of bolts, revealing to be a Raiton Kage Bunshin. And because Orochimaru's tongue was still holding the clone in place, Orochimaru was electrocuted and fell trembling on the ground.
Minato appeared by his side, looking at the responsible for this entire invasion.
"I wouldn't be the Yondaime Hokage if I underestimated a Sannin, now would I? It's over Orochimaru…you're dead now."
Taking a kunai, Minato was prepared to slice Orochimaru's throat when he sensed someone attacking him from behind. Quickly, he turned and sliced a black medium sized snake that was about to bite his neck. The confusion was enough for Orochimaru to throw a smoke bomb and vanish from their view. In order for his plan to work, he would need to be quick. Appearing a great distance from the Konoha ninjas, he got his hands together and began his technique.
Kuchiyose Edo Tensei (Resurrection to the Impure World Technique)
===Outside the village===
"Team Alpha, protect the gate, we mustn't allow these group to invade the village" Zabuza screamed as he was busy decapitating sound genins, one after the other.
The Anbu were silently thanking whoever convinced this man to join the Leaf, as they saw the incredible display of Kenjutsu. Despite the sword's size and weight, Zabuza managed to swing it with perfect precision, not wasting any movements for the enemy to capitalize upon. After he took care of three sound genins with just one swing of his sword, he saw a group of ten Iwa chunnins formulating hand seals at the same time, before slamming their hands on the ground.
Doton Retsudo Tenshou (Earth Release: Revolving Split Earth Technique)
Zabuza cursed the attack as he was forced to jump just as the combined assault reached his old position. Problem was that few Anbu weren't so quick to dodge, being crushed by the attack or rocks thrown by the Iwa shinobi. The former mist-nin snarled once more and, while in mid-air, kept his sword strapped on his back, before going through hand seals of his own.
Suiton Mizu Taifuu (Water Release: Water Typhoon Technique)
The technique charged at the Iwa shinobi with extreme speed, but Zabuza cursed once more when he saw one of them lifting a mud barrier to stop his technique. Smirking at their now lack of vision, Zabuza grabbed his sword once more, before making a few water clones. At the same time another contingency of Anbu appeared and joined him on the attack. When the earth barrier was released, the Iwa shinobi was shocked to their core at the sudden number of enemies. However, it was too late as all of them were killed within five seconds.
Looking to his right, he could see two greatly experience Anbu captains as they took their respective teams and scattered around the forest, in order to kill as many enemies as possible.
Uchiha Itachi's group located a group of sand chunnins, on the verge of summoning something and by the size of the technique, Itachi was having the feeling it would be unstoppable. Moving fast, he grabbed his ninjato and threw it at the first one of the summoning group, before the sword passed through the Sand chunnin's head, killing him instantly. The others immediately abandoned the summoning circle as they grabbed any tools to protect themselves against the almighty Konoha Anbu force.
However, Itachi was a few moves ahead as he went through hand seals.
Katon Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Missile Technique)
Itachi's technique immediately killed three of them while his team used a lightning jutsu to fry two more.
The rest of the summoning group tried fleeing from the scene, however they stopped as their environment was different somehow. Instead of getting away from the Anbu, they were just approaching the enemy. They even tried going the other way but it resulted in the same thing. They weren't aware that Itachi casted a field disorienting genjutsu. However, they went to the afterlife not knowing this as Itachi's team threw a great deal of shuriken, killing the rest.
===With Naruto===
With his trench knives in hand, Naruto was observing the army of opponents circling him.
Suddenly, he performed a back flip just as the first attack approached, before he landed a powerful kick to the woman's neck, sending her to unconsciousness. Charging wind chakra through the knives, Naruto charged at the closest enemy, not even allowing the man to prepare, before the blond killed him with a slice on the chest. That apparently gave the signal for everyone to kill the Hokage's son as everyone attacked.
Seeing the mob of enemies approaching, Naruto was only able to do a quick series of hand seals, before he controlled the wind current around him.
Fuuton Shouheki no Jutsu (Wind Release: Wind Barrier Technique)
The first mob stopped because of the wind draft, allowing Naruto more leverage against them. As he increased the air current, the enemies caught in it were sent flying. Naruto didn't have time to rest as great barrage of shuriken charged at him pretty much the same time as two chunnins were attacking from behind. Diminishing the distance between the shuriken, Naruto used his knives to block the projectiles, before he landed a sequence of kicks at the two chunnins.
While he was dealing with a couple other ninjas, one took the opportunity and started a sequence of hand seals, before the tiger seal could be seen finishing the sequence.
Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)
After he sliced the chest of one Iwa shinobi, Naruto suddenly felt the emanating heat of the technique. He couldn't dodge in time and the attack hit him dead on, much to everyone's cheer.
However, when the smoke dissipated, a small rock stood in Naruto's location. The real Naruto summoned an army of ten kage bunshins in order to aid him against the enemies.
Baki, deciding he had enough, charged at the blond. Seeing the imminent threat, Naruto raised one of his trench knives in time to block Baki's kunai from piercing his chest. The Suna jounin then flipped his body, aiming a strong kick to Naruto's side stomach, to which the blond blocked, before doing some back flips, just as two Iwa jounins attacked him from behind. Baki attacked him once more, this time with ninjutsu, sending a wind sword straight at Naruto. Being well versed in the field, Naruto just positioned one of his trench knives in front of the attack, before seeing the air current pass by harmlessly. Quickly landing a strong kick at a Genin, Naruto charged at Baki with straight taijutsu, forcing the man on the defensive.
He managed to land a powerful punch on his face which sent Baki skidding a few meters. However, when he was about to finish the sequence of hits, Naruto sensed the usage of chakra behind him and evaded to the right, just in time as he saw the same fireball reaching his old position. Going through a long series of hand seals, Naruto focused as much of his lightning chakra for one good lighting technique. He needed to scatter the enemy's attention.
Raiton Kusari Raikou (Lightning Release: Lighting Chain Technique)
Suddenly, the sky on top of the stadium went dark, before a series of lightning bolts charged at the Iwa Jounin, shocking at least five to death.
Sensing the last clone being dispersed, he turned to the left only to receive a hard kick in the face, which sent him flying.
Looking at the man, Naruto could see that the man's arm was made of stone. Getting cocky, the enemy charged Naruto once more, but this time Naruto wouldn't fight alone. Biting his thumb, Naruto did the summoning jutsu, calling forth a total of five wolves including Gekkou who joined them. While the wolves were busy killing Iwa shinobi, Naruto closed his eyes in preparation for one of his trademark jutsus. Going through the long series of hand seals, he opened his eyes while waiting for the wolves to clear the path for him.
As soon as Gekkou gave him the call, a strong air current started circulating around the blond, before suddenly increasing exponentially.
Fuuton Dai Reppushou (Wind Release: Great Gale Wind Palm Jutsu)
The increased gust of wind managed to blow away at least twenty Iwa shinobi, almost taking Baki as well. Appearing from behind Naruto, the man snarled at his situation. When the fight started, it was one hundred against the Yondaime's son. Now, it was only seventy and Naruto didn't show any signs of fatigue. He realized it was time to bring in the big guns. Turning to the one fire user of the group, he nodded to the man, before seeing him firing another fireball at Naruto.
Baki did some hand seals of his own for a small Reppushou Technique, before smiling as the fireball doubled in size, engulfing Naruto completely.
Suiton Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Barrier Technique)
Baki's smile turned once more to a frown as he saw the blond performing a water technique, quickly ending the enhanced fire technique. He was more surprised when Naruto started making more hand seals, as he saw the water barrier transform into the water dragon technique, before engulfing the fire user, killing him instantly.
He was now becoming desperate.
"Everyone throw everything you have at this bastard…." Baki shouted, earning Naruto's attention as he saw a great load of rocks approaching his position and fast. He wouldn't be able to dodge the attack.
Suddenly, though, an earth barrier was raised surprising both Naruto and the enemies.
"You wouldn't mind in being helped by an old man like me would you Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked as he appeared in front of Naruto who in turn smiled at the immense help.
"Not at all, it's considered an honor in sharing the battlefield with you, sir. You're alone?" Asked Naruto, but smiled when he felt another familiar presence nearby. Sandaime, for his turn, smiled and dispelled the earth barrier while summoning his personal bo-staff.
"I have a team of Anbu with me. We'll proceed with the next phase of your father's plan after dealing with this group"
As soon as Naruto heard the gasps of surprise from the Iwa shinobi, the blond grabbed his trench knives and sliced three chunnin's heads, before he looked to the seats where he could see the Anbu team dealing with a good twenty ninjas easily. Blocking an incoming shuriken, Naruto grabbed one of his own and quickly threw it against Baki, slicing a good chunk of flesh from his face, earning a snarl from the Suna Jounin.
"You know, I was kind of worried upon seeing such an army against me, but now I have the advantage. And guess what…no one will be able to save you now."
After saying, Naruto focused his wind chakra for a new technique unique to him as it required molding the air current.
Fuuton Kaze no Yari (Wind Release: Wind Spear Jutsu)
The almost invisible spear travelled the entire field, before piercing Baki in the chest. His eyes spelled surprise, before his body fell limb on the ground. After dealing with the nuisance, Naruto turned to see the Sandaime Hokage preparing a few hand seals, before Naruto could see a mud dragon's head appear from the ground. Naruto knew this specific combination, as Minato once taught him that the elite of the elite managed to merge two different elemental techniques without necessarily having a bloodline.
As soon as the mud dragon spilled the mud bullets, Sarutobi performed two new hand seals and gathered as much air inside his lungs for the Karyuudan no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique). The attack alone killed ten enemies, leaving only more ten left for Naruto. He was about to charge at them, when he saw that Gekkou and his wolf crew were already on their asses. They didn't have any chance against those sharp teeth.
After the stadium was cleared, Naruto and Sarutobi were gathered with Yuugao's Anbu team in order to carry on the next part of the plan.
===At the Kage Booth===
Minato and Jiraiya sensed the usage of chakra and rushed to Orochimaru's side, but it was too late as two wooden coffins appeared protecting the snake from the barrage of shurikens thrown at him.
When the coffins opened, Minato's eyes widened upon seeing the bodies of the Shodaime and the Nidaime Hokage, before Orochimaru placed a kind of seal inside their heads. He wondered what the man was planning, until he saw that the bodies were moving.
"It's not enough to cause the death of innocent lives, you go and tamper with the dead. That's vile Orochimaru, even for you." Minato screamed, earning a snicker from the snake.
"Well…I believe that in order for a Yondaime to be truly tested, why not place him against his predecessors? Surely, I would love to see Sarutobi-sensei's face right now."
During the conversation, the Shodaime and Nidaime looked between each other and then at Minato.
"On behalf of Konohagakure, Shodaime-sama, Nidaime-sama, I, the Yondaime Hokage, apologize for this vile act placed upon your graves. I am truly mortified."
Both Minato and Jiraiya cursed every second of the assault that was to come. Fighting against Orochimaru was one thing, but the Shodaime Hokage and the Nidaime Hokage were considered the best shinobi of their time. The first one possessed the dead Mokuton bloodline and the second had an unparallel mastery of water techniques. Not to mention Orochimaru was a force to deal with as well.
Minato saw the Nidaime turning at Orochimaru.
"Edo Tensei, huh? So this kid summoned us with a forbidden technique. Quite a guy" Nidaime commented as his eyes focused on his brother.
"If that's the case, Yondaime, we must fight you." Shodaime said, much to Minato's snarl.
"I was actually hoping to meet you two on different terms, Nidaime…Shodaime" Minato said as he took his special kunai from his pouch. "Jiraiya-sensei, I'll deal with them, you take care of Orochimaru"
The pervert sannin nodded, while considering the fight ahead.
Would Minato be okay against two Kage level shinobi?
"Let's stop the chitchat, old men…" Orochimaru said, with a wicked smile on his face as he will certainly enjoy seeing Konoha's strongest shinobi killed by the village's very first and second Hokages.
Author Note
So what do you think? Please review.
I must say, it was hard to create this new invasion. I believe I did a good job, though.
I'll let you all be the judge of this different version, which by the way will end next chapter.
Plus, I placed a challenge in my profile page. I was meaning to create a new story, but hey who I'm kidding! I don't have the time to properly update the already existing stories, let one throw another one into the mess. It's an idea I had after seeing the last Shippuuden Movie with the creation of four new bloodlines. My story idea involves one of the bloodlines mentioned at the last Naruto Shippuuden Movie called Jintou (Swift Release). If anyone is interested, please check my profile.
See you next chapter.