They spent another week in that village, before the group of forty who destroyed the bunkers as well as Itachi, prepared to assault the neighbouring island. Naruto had sent several clones across the Shallow Sea to scout out the island and they now had a detailed map of it, including the three villages and the Kiri forces there, and the Temple of Jashin in the center of the island. Yoneda had also joined their group, citing that he would be coming along to help deal with the Jashinists.
Kitani and Isaribi came along too, thogh they wouldn't be participating in the fighting. Kitani said he would start trying to find them allies and was thrilled to hear that Naruto was friends of Fujika and Yazawa. Yazawa had promised to try to find some samurai that they could send under the banner of the Coalition to help as well as advising Kitani to appeal to the samurai's sense of honour. The quicker he found someone to act as Shogun and bring the samurai back together, the quicker they would be able to cripple the Kiri forces.
They waited until nightfall before once again walking along the bottom of the Shallow Sea, thanks to Naruto's help. Once they reached landfall, they immediately started creeping through the jungle, avoiding the various patrol routes until they came across another bunker, similar to the ones they destroyed on the first island.
It didn't take much effort for them to silently clear out the enemy forces. By the time the alarm was sounded throughout the bunker there was barely three dozen Kiri shinobi remaining and Naruto's group cleared them out with only one person suffering from a kunai to the leg which Haku immediately set to healing, having started to learn during their time in Uzu from Tsunade and Shizune when she was unavailable.
Kamei transformed into the shinobi in command of the bunker and reported an all clear when the radio on the table in the commander's quarters crackled and asked for an update. The next few hours were spent taking down unaware patrolmen as they came back at the end of their shift, and rounding up the ten or so samurai who had been helping. As it turned out, Yazawa's intuition was spot on, as the samurai immediately fell to the ground at the sight of Kitani and begged for forgiveness. Kurama helped Naruto to discern the samurai's sincerity as they explained that they had no choice other than to follow Yagura, and hated every second where they were forced to harm the people they were sworn to protect.
All but three of them were sincere in their pleading and Naruto was impressed when he called them out on it and the lead samurai who had spoken for the group drew her sword and cut down her comrades without remorse. Wiping the blood from his blade, the woman bowed low before Naruto and Kitani.
"I apologise for the violence of my actions, Kitani-sama, but I have long suspected those men of taking far too much pleasure in our forced submission beneath Yagura. While the rest of us refrained from doing much more than patrolling and fighting rebels, they volunteered to 'protect' the villages whenever they could."
Naruto and Kitani observed the woman with interest. She had short, orange hair cut in a pixie cut, and her blue armor was covered in scratches and dents detailing a long history of battle. Naruto felt out her chakra and was surprised to find a chakra signature almost as strong as Mei's. He nodded to Kitani and he addressed the woman.
"What is your name, Samurai-san?"
"Fumio Igarashi, Kitani-sama," the woman said to the ground, refusing to rise until allowed.
"Rise, Fumio-san," Kitani ordered, waiting until she had done so and was looking him in the eyes to continue. "The Land of Water is on a precipice, Fumio-san. A madman has turned our shinobi forces against our own people and tried to usurp my throne. He has murdered your Shogun and forced you to commit atrocities in his name. I offer you and your fellow samurai the opportunity to join us and be the first in this revolution to dismantle the system of chaos gripping our country. Will you join me?"
All of the samurai snapped to attention and their voices boomed in the concrete room as they all shouted, "Yes, Kitani-sama!"
Kitani smiled and nodded. "Then I name you, Fumio, the new Shogun of the Land of Water. We are pledged to following Naruto-san's orders after his tactical brilliance has proven a boon to our efforts, and should we succeed in our mission we will join his Coalition and pledge our country to the pursuit of peace."
Fumio slammed her fist over her chest and bowed her head. "Yes, Kitani-sama. My men and I will not disappoint you."
"Fumio-san, I need any information you can give me on the samurai," Naruto ordered. "I already am aware of their patrol routes and patterns along with the rest of the forces on this island, but I need to know if it's worth it to try and sway any of them over to our side."
"I dare say most of them are unhappy bending to Yagura's will," Fumio replied. "He did not prove his strength with a blade, and that rubs many of the samurai the wrong way. I know that there are many of us who have been working in secret to try and find a way to free ourselves from his control, but we are scattered and making contact is difficult at the best of times when surrounded by shinobi. That being said, it is unlikely that they will immediately surrender. Their honour will demand that they fight."
Naruto nodded and dismissed everyone to get some rest while he thought on this development. The next day they moved out, leaving Fumio's samurai and eight of their shinobi to guard the bunker after sealing many of the exits, while Yoneda, Isaribi, and Kitani stayed back as well to avoid the coming battle.
They approached the first village, a small farming community by the name of Sokunai. The village had been surrounded by earthen walls and other defences while the snap of a whip and shouting could be heard from within, setting Naruto's blood to a boil. Forcing himself to calm down he nodded to Mei who took most of the men and a clone around the village to the side of the wall farthest away from the farms. Once the clone dispelled, telling Naruto that Mei's group was in place, he nodded to Zabuza and Kisame who both activated their Hidden Mist Techniques, creating a blanket of fog that rolled out of their position and across the village in no time.
A boom told Naruto that Mei's group had started their assault and Naruto's group sprinted through the mist and up the wall in no time. Fumio and Kisame cut down the shinobi on the wall, circling the tiny village in no time at all while Haku and Tayuya went through knocking out any samurai they ran into and Naruto and Zabuza took the four men they had with them, wiping out the remaining shinobi in the streets. Naruto once again heard the crack of a whip and growled as he sprinted towards the sound, finding a tall, willowy man standing with his arm around a young girl's throat and a kunai to her jugular.
Naruto used his swift release and stabbed the man in the back with Eclipse while kicking his foot up to create a tendril of wood that wrapped around his wrist, yanking it away from the sobbing girl's throat. The man dropped to the ground and Naruto gathered the girl up in his arms before passing her off to a woman who looked like her mother.
An hour later and they had managed to rout the last of the Kiri forces occupying Sokunai, Mei's men combing the surrounding jungle for any survivors who escaped. Fumio spoke with the reawakened samurai, and managed to win their alliegance adding thirty swords to their growing attack force. Naruto ordered twenty-two of the samurai to return to the bunker and send the seven samurai already there to come and meet them. While they waited for the samurai, Mei and her people spoke with the villagers, helping them wherever they could and providing medical assistance to the ones suffering the worst from their time at the receiving end of a whip.
They spent the night in Sokunai, with Naruto's clones filling as much of the area around Sokunai with traps and seals as possible. Yoneda had joined the samurai coming back from the bunker and offered his assistance in healing the wounded. Their losses had been minimal, only two of their men having died in the initial assault against the wall, but as Naruto watched Mei and her men bury the dead while Yoneda prosided over them, he couldn't help but be struck dumb. He was aware of the fact that he was embroiled in a full out war, and had thought that after the invasion in Konoha, he might have been more used to facing the casualties of war, but he couldn't shake the guilt and pain that came from watching how quick and methodical Mei and her men were when it came to digging graves and burying their comrades.
He forced himself to stay until the end of the impromptu burial, even after the Rebel's left and Yoneda was praying over the buried bodies of their fallen enemies. He figured that he owed the dead at least that much, even if they were on opposing sides. When Yoneda finished, he left with a smile and a nod in Naruto's direction while Naruto himself allowed Tayuya and Haku to take his hands and lead him to the hut where they were staying before curling onto his bedroll on either side of him and banishing his numbness with their warmth and comfort.
The next day they were preparing to leave for the next village when Yoneda came up to Naruto and they exchanged a look. Naruto nodded and sighed in defeat, turning to Mei and the others.
"Do you really have to leave now?" Mei asked. "We've been doing so well under your command."
"I won't be gone long," Naruto replied. "But I think this is something that I have to do."
"Well then, we'll just wait until you come back to march on the next village," Fumio declared.
Naruto smiled and shook his head. "I can't ask you to do that. You have a war to fight, this is my fight."
"Well, you're not going alone," Tayuya said resolutely. "We're going with you."
"Ongaku-chan, you heard Yoneda. I need to do this myself. Besides, I don't you guys fighting someone like this Hidan creep."
"That's not up to you, shithead!" Tayuya shouted. "I don't care if Ameterasu-sama herself comes down to tell me not to go with you, I'm going anyways! If you're so worried about that immortal piece of crap hurting us, then take him down before he gets the chance! We'll help and keep the other freaks off of you."
"That goes double for me," Haku added.
"Naruto," Yoneda said calmly. "Your friends' loyalty is not something you should dismiss so easily. It cannot hurt to allow others to support you in your mission."
"Besides," Mei reasoned. "There's a bunker near the temple that we can take out to make your life a little easier while you deal with the Jashinists."
"Alright," Naruto conceded. "Kisame, Zabuza, you two stay here with the main force. Itachi-sensei, Sekki-chan, Ongaku-chan, Mei, and Fumio will come with me and Yoneda to take care of the Jashinists. Mei, Fumio, pick three men each to bring with us."
Zabuza and Kisame nodded. "Give 'em hell kid," Kisame said with a feral grin.
Naruto nodded and summoned Ryuda, ignoring the wide-eyed staring of the others as he hopped on his familiar's back. Something about this whole affair filled him with dread, and he couldn't help but be filled with worry. The sun was well on its way towards the western horizon when their group caught sight of the temple, and Naruto narrowed his eyes as he spied a white-haired man in Akatsuki robes and a red, three-bladed scythe strapped across his back sitting calmly on top of the gate at entrance to the temple grounds.
The temple itself was composed of a massive stone pyramid, vines covering most of the chipped steps indicating just how old the building was while four obsidian obelisks stood at each of its corners rising high above the main temple.
"So, you're the champion Jashin warned us about," Hidan shouted as they approached. Scores of Kiri shinobi and samurai poured out of the temple and Naruto noticed a foul aura surrounding them as they lined up in front of them. Their eyes were pale and lacked expression even as they snarled at Naruto and his little group while Hidan jumped down to stand between them and the Temple. "Gotta say, I'm not impressed."
"Ryuda, stay with the others," Naruto ordered as he jumped down from his friend's back. "This is between me and him."
Ryuda reluctantly nodded as Naruto walked forward, his Kunshugan trained on his opponent while the others watched.
"Kick his ass, Naruto-kun!" Tayuya shouted.
Hidan looked away and scanned the group at Naruto's back. "Itachi? Is that you? Oh, I don't think Leader-sama is gonna be too happy if he hears that you're siding with this brat after swearing allegiance to him. Then again, he might not care seeing as you'll be dead either way, Jashin-sama loves the blood of oath-breakers."
"I'm not your opponent today, Hidan," Itachi replied calmly. "We're simply here to deal with the Kiri forces in the area, though it seems you took the liberty of doing that yourself."
"Do you like them?" Hidan asked indicating the soulless warriors behind him. "Our latest shipment of sacrifices never arrived, so we had to make due with what we had. Of course, the Mizukage wouldn't be terribly happy if we just up and slaughtered his men, so we decided to test out a little… improvement we've been working on."
"You're sick!" Mei shouted.
"Maybe," Hidan shrugged. "But Jashin-sama's love cures all!"
With that he charged at Naruto, his scythe flying through the air while the forces at his back attacked the others. Naruto jumped back to avoid the swing of the scythe and winced as the top blade still managed to scratch him across his left eye, carving out a gash in his eyebrow and cheek and nearly impaling his eye.
Naruto leapt back and screamed as his back impacted some sort of invisible wall that electrocuted him and set his nerves on fire. Dropping to his knees, he panted as Hidan laughed.
"Do you like it?" He asked. "The priests of the temple were so kind as to erect a nice little barrier so that your friends can't interfere. It's just you, me, and Jahin-sama!"
Naruto growled and released his seals, drawing Eclipse and channeling his fire chakra to cauterize the gash on his face and stem the flow of blood into his eye. He vanished with the swift release and reappeared next to Hidan, swinging his sword and channeling his wind chakra. A flurry of black energy blades sliced into Hinda and even separated his left arm from his torso, but the maniacal fanatic merely laughed as he grabbed his arm and jumped back.
"Sorry, but you're gonna need to try harder than that!" Naruto growled in frustration as Hidan threw off his cloak and pushed his severed arm towards the stump where it had been removed. He watched as the flesh knit itself back together and he swung his arm around to test it while the remainder of his injuries vanished. Satisfied, Hidan flew towards Naruto and remarkable speeds and the two engaged in a deadly back and forth as Naruto's blade and staff clashed with Hidan's scythe. Eventually, Hidan gained the upper hand, knocking Eclipse out of Naruto's hand and impaling his left forearm on his scythe, prompting Naruto to cry out and drop his staff. "Don't worry, Champion of Ameterasu, I won't use your blood in my ritual to Jashin-sama. You don't deserve that honour. I will however slice you into tiny little pieces and leave just enough life in you to watch as I sacrifice all your little friends out there. Then I'm gonna head to that little village you 'liberated' and do the same thing there."
"You… leave them alone," Naruto grunted as he pulled his arm off the scythe and kicking a stream of fire up into Hidan's chest.
Hidan barely even grunted as he jumped back, his chest badly burned but quickly healing, and laughed. "So he can speak! Great, I love it when they beg." He stuck out his tongue and licked Naruto's blood off his scythe before spitting it out in disgust. "Just as I thought, your blood is tainted by that bitch Ameterasu. Hopefully those two girls over there will taste better."
Naruto turned his gaze to where Tayuya and Haku were fighting back to back, and growled as he turned back only to see Hidan's scythe flying towards him at near-sonic speeds. Ducking and spinning in place, Naruto channeled Kurama's chakra, creating a three-tailed cloak, and created several spinning blades of crystal that sliced through Hidan's legs, only for them to heal before he even fell off them. Hidan laughed and yanked on the chain attached to the bottom of his scythe, bringing it back to him as he charged forward to rocket a fist into Naruto's gut sending him flying up into the wall of the barrier surrounding them and wracking his body with pain before his chakra tails pushed him away and he dropped down to his feet.
He reached his freshly recovered arm out and summoned his staff, using it to block and counter Hidan's attacks. The elements flew as he tried everything he could to put the immortal fanatic down, but no matter what he did, Hidan simply bounced right back.
There was a scream from outside the barrier, and Naruto almost turned in its direction before he felt Itachi spring into action. With his help, the Kiri forces were quickly decimated and Naruto couldn't help but grin at the scowl on Hidan's face.
"Looks like you're gonna be making those sacrifices by yourself," He quipped.
Hidan glared at Naruto and raised his scythe to charge back in. "Those were gifts from Jashin-sama! I'm gonna tear you and your friends apart one by one!"
Haku flinched and gripped Tayuya's hand as they were forced to watch a madman slowly beat Naruto down. Naruto gave as good as he got, but none of the wounds he inflicted lasted more than a few seconds while the one's Hidan inflicted costed him precious blood and chakra to heal. All the while, Hidan screamed about the various horrors he would inflict upon her and the others once he was done with Naruto. Turning to her head as Naruto's left shoulder was caught between the top two blades of Hidan's scythe, screaming as the blades tore through muscle and grinded against bone, Haku spied Yoneda on his knees praying while a silvery-white chakra poured out of his body.
Naruto ground his teeth as Hidan yanked on his chain, tearing the scythe out of his shoulder before rushing forward and punting Naruto into the barrier. He had lost track of how long they had been fighting and how many times he should have killed his opponent by now. Darkness creeped into the edges of his vision as the electricity of the barrier coursed through his body, all of his concentration directed towards the sole act of channeling the energy away from his heart.
I can't die here, Naruto thought. I won't!
Why not? A melodic voice asked, and in an instant Naruto found himself standing in a dark void as a glowing figure descended upon him. Are you afraid of dying in my name?
Ameterasu-sama, Naruto bowed as the goddess approached and wrapped him up in his arms. He closed his eyes as memories of the first hug he ever received rose up in his mind.
It's good to see you again, Naruto-kun, Ameterasu's voice was soft in Naruto's head as she held him close.
I'm not afraid of dying at all, Ameterasu-sama, he said. But that doesn't mean I can just roll over and die, even if I'm outmatched. I made a promise to you that I would help solve whatever conflict it is you see coming, as well as a promise to myself to help bring peace to the Elemental Nations. If I die here, than I break those promises, and even worse, this crazy guy is going to hurt my precious people. That's something I won't allow.
I knew I made the right choice in champions, Ameterasu said with a smile as she leaned down and placed a warm kiss on his forehead. Now show this madman the strength of your convictions.
Naruto suddenly found himself back inside the barrier just as Hidan's scythe arced through the air, on a path to cleave his head in two. A surge of strength flowed through Naruto's body and his chakra exploded while his eyes burned with renewed ferocity. Raising his right hand, he caught the scythe by its center blade while his left hand reached out and grabbed the barrier. He could feel the chakra of someone nearby sustaining the barrier as he channeled the electricity through him and down the chain of the scythe, pumping Hidan full of millions of volts.
Hidan screamed and was frozen in place as his mucles locked while Naruto forcefully pulled the energy out of the barrier and drained the chakra of the one holding it. Taking advantage of his position, he closed his eyes and used his already separated positive and negative energies to help him start building sage chakra within his body as Kurama healed his wounds and pumped more of his chakra into him with a roar of approval. The barrier finally fell away, the one sustaining it having run low on chakra, and Naruto released the scythe as he fought to contain the incredible energy within him. His every cell screamed and burned, not used to containing so much of Kurama's chakra as well as the phenomenal power of the little bit of sage chakra he managed to create, and he knew he would have to end this soon, or not at all.
Itachi's eyes widened as he spied the beginnings of black markings forming around Naruto's eyes while the five prongs of his Kunshugan spun wildly. At the moment, with four tails worth of chakra bursting from his back, just above his shoulder blades, Naruto was bleeding off enough chakra that the trees surrounding them were bending away while plants grew out of the soil around his feet.
Hidan grunted as he shook off the last of the electricity coursing through his body and shakily stood up from where he collapsed to his knees after the chaotic attack. He eyed Naruto and growled as he ran forward and threw his scythe once more only for Naruto's already ruined robe to explode and reveal the black metal disks sticking to various parts of his body. The disks raised off his skin slightly and glowed as dark chakra surrounded them, shifting and morphing into a translucent set of samurai armor made of solidified chakra. It reminded Itachi of a miniature Susanoo as the dragon themed armor mingled with his chakra cloak and Naruto summoned Eclipse and his staff with a flick of his wrists.
Hidan's scythe glanced off the chakra armor and Naruto swiped Eclipse across himself, severing the chain and dropping the scythe to the ground before vanishing and reappearing right in front of Hidan, slamming the head of his staff into Hidan's chest and draining him of his chakra before swinging a flaming Eclipse while a number of dark blurs sliced Hidan to bits, the dark flame cauterized each amputation as the Jashinist was cut where each of his individual bones were, separating him into hundreds of small pieces that were burnt to prevent proper healing. Naruto then sheathed Eclipse and swung his arms around, encasing each individual part in a separate crystal. Turning to the temple behind him, Naruto raised up on a small tornado and sunk the pyramid in a controlled pool of lava, eroding the obelisks with his boil release before cooling the molten pile with water he bent out of the air. Once the hill of igneus rock was properly cooled, Naruto turned back to the crystals containing Hidan and directed each one to impale itself in a different part of the hill where he willed a great tree to grow around them.
Activating his Sharingan, Itachi could see intricate seals imbedded within the trunk of each tree, sealing away Hidan to a truly pitiful existence. They all watched as Naruto took a deep breath, reverting to his usual form with the exception of the black metal disks on his skin stretching to create a thin chest plate and pads around his body. The second he touched ground, he immediately collapsed and Haku was there in an instant, catching him and, with Tayuya's help, lifted him onto Ryuda's back.
They were all silent as they marched back towards Sokunai until finally when they were within sight of the walls, the tension reached a breaking point and Mei called for them to stop.
"What was all that?" She asked, eyeing Naruto who was sleeping peacefully between Haku and Tayuya on Ryuda's back.
"That is the power of Ameterasu-sama's chosen champion," Yoneda replied sagely. "The strength of Naruto's convictions allowed him to momentarily tap into the raw potential within him and protect those he cares about."
Naruto woke up and groaned as he looked around the hut in Sukunai where he had been staying. He could tell that it was night time by the lack of light, but other than that, he was unsure for how long he had been unconscious.
It's been about two days since you collapsed, Kurama told him. Take it easy for now though. Your body's still healing.
Naruto nodded and smiled as his father's chakra started flowing through him, assisting in repairing his body from the damage of his fight with Hidan.
"Good to see you finally awake, Naruto-kun." Naruto whipped his head around and froze as he locked eyes with a strange hooded figure.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked activating his voice seal so the others would know what was going on.
"That is of no concern to you," the hooded man replied, his voice low. "I simply wished to meet the boy who gave Chikanari so much trouble on his mission to the Land of Fire."
"How do you know that psychopath?" Naruto asked.
"Simple," the man said with a chuckle. "We are both members of the same organization. Though he is not as firm a believer in our ideals and simply revels in the opportunity to be provided with some entertainment."
"And what ideals are those?"
"Now why would I explain our divine burden to someone like you, simply waiting to be delivered to death's door?" The man asked as he raised his arm and a dark red, curved blade shot out of his sleeve. Naruto tried to move out of the way, his friends were seconds away and he only needed to stall for that long, but his body would not listen to his commands. At the same moment, he felt an impact on a barrier surrounding his hut and the cold realisation that he was trapped settled upon his soul before a bright flash of light illuminated the room between the two, and the clang of metal striking metal ripped through the air.
Standing above him, easily blocking his assailant's attack with one of his ornate scimitars, was Owryudan in his human form. A surge of chakra shot out of the King of Dragons and Naruto felt his body return to full capacity while the barrier outside was torn to shreds permitting his friends to all burst through the door and prepare to attack the hooded man.
Faced with the impossible odds, the hooded man scoffed and pulled his arm back before vanishing in burst of lightning. Confident that the threat was neutralized, Owryudan turned to kneel in front of Naruto.
"This was not how I planned on congratulating you for beginning the second half of your Kunshugan's growth, Naruto-kun," Owryudan said with a smirk. "But I suppose considering your propensity for attracting danger, I shouldn't be surprised." Reaching into his armor, Owryudan pulled out a scroll similar to the one Naruto had read in the Hokage's Office all those months ago after returning from his mission to the Land of Waves. "This will help you in beginning your journey of understanding."
Naruto accepted the scroll and bowed his head gratefully. Owryudan stood and vanished in another flash of light, but was replaced by Ryuda, who padded over to Naruto's side and lay down curled around him.
"Well, now that you're awake, maybe it's best we get to work planning our next move," Mei suggested.
Naruto smiled and indicated she lead the way while he held his hand out, calling his staff and Eclipse to him as Tayuya and Haku fussed over him and helped him to his feet. Noting the changes in the metal disks Yoneda had given him, Naruto strapped Eclipse to his waist and leaned on his staff casually.
He examined the staff as they followed Mei towards the town hall. He watched the gem floating in the middle of the golden ring and made a decision.
I think I'll name you Corona.
A thrum of approval traveled down his arm from the staff and Naruto smiled as he turned his head forward. The group entered the town hall and gathered around a large table in the foyer. On top of it was the detailed map Naruto's clones had helped draw up with marks on where they had been and where the fighting was currently taking place.
"The forces from the other two villages are quite a bit bigger than what we faced here," Mei surmised as she pointed at various spots around the island. "There are twice as many bunkers in the jungles between the three villages as there were back on the other island. They each house an average of seventy-five men, and we've already taken care of two of them."
"But there were nearly two-hundred in each of the bunkers we took down before," one of the Rebels said.
"That's because you chased them out of the village and they split up to stay at the bunkers surrounding you," Itachi replied coolly.
"So that's our merry little band of a little over fifty against four-hundred and fifty Kiri shinobi and samurai," Kisame concluded. "Sounds fun."
"Then you'll love this," Mei replied, pointing at the two villages. "Each of these village has an outpost housing another two hundred troops and radios to contact each other and Kiri should they need reinforcements, which, considering we are right smack in the middle of Kiri territory, would not be hard to find."
"I can handle the radios," Naruto said confidently. "But I need two transformation specialists and to be part of the group who is the closest to the radios. Additionally, the bunkers probably have radios as well so I'll need someone who specialises in lightning release for each one to meet me so I can teach them how to deal with them too."
"You'll get them," Mei promised as she turned back to the map. "Guerrilla tactics have worked so far, and with Naruto's help we should be able to keep using them, but we need to figure out a way to hold the islands once we win them."
"What about a genjutsu?" Tayuya offered. "If we can divert their ships to only one place, I can probably figure out a genjutsu that will keep them away."
"But how do we divert ships to one place between two entire islands without drawing attention to the fact that they've been taken?" Zabuza asked.
Naruto frowned and examined the map, his eyes drifting to the south-western corner. "I might be able to figure that out, but I'll need to leave for a little while to do it."
A/N: Hopefully that fight wasn't too bad. We get to see another glimpse of what Naruto could be in his fight with Hidan, and see how he starts to accept the realities of war. On top of that, another member of the group Chikanari follows has made a brief appearance and Naruto has unlocked the fifth prong of his Kunshugan. Things are steadily picking up, though hopefully at a much more chaotic pace than they did in the Hot Water arc. Thanks for reading and reviewing, I'll see you next time!
