Drip…drip…drip…drip
Cerulean eyes opened, registering the gloom, dimly lit by flickering torches.
Drip…drip…drip…drip
Soaked clothes clung to his body as he floated in an unknown liquid, a musty smell invading his nostrils.
Drip…drip…drip…drip
A body rose from the water, tanned feet causing ripples across the surface as they stood on the water.
Drip…drip…drip…drip
The eyes rose from the ground, seeing the bars of a cage in front of them.
Drip…drip…drip…drip
"That dripping is quite irritating isn't it?"A demonic voice boomed out, slight annoyance in its tone.
Drip…drip…drip…drip
Azure eyes met crimson, warming slightly in recognition.
Drip…drip…drip…drip
"Intending to speak sometime today Naruto?"
Drip…drip…drip…drip
The scene changed, moving from a sewer to a cave, the bars finding purchase in the stone of the surroundings. The annoying drip vanished, causing the crimson entity to sigh in relief.
"You have no idea how irritating it is to have nothing but that sound for company for a month straight."
"What happened Kyuubi?" the blond asked, almost emotionless.
"Straight to business eh? Well then, how far do your memories take you?" The boy considered it for a moment, thinking over what he remembered.
"To the point of passing out." The Kyuubi nodded, humming in thought for a moment before talking.
"Well, you know that you survived the major backlash of your technique through a last-second Doton: KouseitanKawa. (Element Skin) Despite this the lightning from your technique wound up shredding your skin and screwing up your nerves beyond recognition. The wind blasts that resulted from the explosion also wound up with you getting shredded. Along with this was immense chakra exhaustion, something your body didn't know how to handle, having never experienced it before.
Fortunately, the immediate attention from medics allowed me to help fix it; you're going to have to have an explanation for that by the way. It took me a week to finish healing your wounds, though there are complications. I'll get to those in a moment. I was able to heal all of your injuries, and adapt an eye that they transplanted into you to be just like your old one.
Despite your injuries being gone, your body needed time to recover, especially with the consequences of the speed healing you went under. There's only so much that should be healed in a week after all. Because of this, you've been in a coma for a month. Any questions?"Naruto just looked at the giant fox, causing the beast to smirk at him. It knew exactly what its host wanted.
"What complications?" The Kyuubi got serious again, crimson eyes hardening as it stared at Naruto.
"You're fucked up. That jutsu you used has some major side effects, and I'm not even sure if you'll be able to survive using it again, with or without safety measures in place. You might, and I stress might, be able to survive it once you perfect Sage Mode, and that would provide the necessary chakra to use it, but don't use it again. Ever, unless you truly have not other choice. I'll start with the worst side effects first.
Your chakra has been fucked up. There's no other way to generalize what happened. The microscopic winds slashed your tenketsu to pieces, and even I have trouble fixing those. Because of that, you won't be able to access as much of your chakra as you used to. It's all still there, but you have access to less of it, the rest is devoted towards maintaining balance in your Tenketsu. I estimate that you'll be this way for a year and a half, and you have access to high-chunin level chakra."Naruto's eyes widened in shock. This was bad.
For all of Naruto's attempts to the contrary, his fighting style used a lot of Ninjutsu, especially considering his body wasn't mature enough to master his Soru (Shave) yet. His massive chakra reserves allowed him to make up for the fact that he quite simply wasn't as fast as the adults he fought. Weight training could only do so much, so fast. He usually blew threw a high chunin's reserves over the course of a fight, higher if he was against several fighters. After all he never seemed to fight people around his natural speed level. Not a day went by that he didn't thank Danzo for teaching him how to do that. It was a mark of just how skilled he was that no one had ever noticed him doing it, despite him being around Byakugan-wielding shinobi a lot.
Even then, Naruto would have preferred to use less Ninjutsu, being able to avoid the attacks thanks to various factors. Unfortunately, he was forced to rely upon more Ninjutsu for the same reason he needed to use immense amounts of chakra to increase his speed. The vast majority of ninja he fought were at least A-Rank, meaning that they had improved their Ninjutsu to at least their own speed level, if not faster. It was a major pain in the neck, one he would now have to find another way around, because he could no longer match the fast, furious Ninjutsu techniques with ease. However…something wasn't adding up.
"How is this possible Kyuubi? Typically if the Tenketsu are damaged like this you lose access to chakra completely." The fox nodded, continuing his explanation.
"The best way to explain it is that I've managed to change the effect of the damage to mimic a more powerful form of the Hyuga Juken. If the typical Juken palm strike is a needle, your jutsu took a hammer to each of your Tenketsu. I can restore them, along with your chakra, but it will take a long time, at least a year and a half. So I'd advise physical training, and taking the opportunity to master your Ken, Tai, Gen, Fuin, and Iryo jutsu while you can. You have more than jutsu knowledge for now, and you can continue elemental manipulation training as well, refining your control." Naruto nodded in agreement.
"Any ideas on what I can expect?" The Kyuubi lay down in a slouching position from where it had been standing, lazily laying its head on its paws while yawning.
"No S-Rank Jutsu, that's for sure. One, maybe two A-ranks a day, a few more B-ranks then that, so long as you do no A-ranks. I'd advise mastering defensive and manipulative C-ranks and D-ranks, because with these injuries you'll need to master subtlety and control of a battle to an extent you've never needed, even while serving with Root." Naruto nodded again. Kyuubi knew what it was talking about when it came to medical knowledge, considering the great fox had spent decades learning everything about the human body it could to save the Rikodu Sennin from death.
"Next." He said, hoping the news wasn't too bad.
"This one is nowhere near as bad Naruto, so don't worry too much. Your left arm was shattered; I've fixed it, but for about a month you'll be dealing with pain after any serious use.." Naruto blinked. For a ninja, that wasn't that bad. Considering that it wasn't anywhere near the spine, there would have been no complications in healing the bone through medical jutsu, though admittedly it would have been both expensive and time consuming for anyone other than Tsunade and Chiyo. As a result, by the time it was finished most shinobi would be completely out of shape, unfit for duty. Though the village retrained them, the lost time and depression that usually came about from such a wound often stopped the shinobi from rising any higher than chunin. A very notable example of the contrary was Jiraiya, the only man in history to shatter every bone in his body with the sole exception of his spine.
"That's all the semi-permanent damage; however, there is one other thing. Mei and a few doctors saw your real face and hair color." Naruto shrugged, causing the Kyuubi to raise an eyebrow.
"It was going to happen eventually. I'm not quite sure how dye could be blasted out of…healing chakra, of course. Returning everything to the way it originally was, the basic idea of all medical practice." The Kyuubi nodded slightly. With the amount of chakra flowing through his veins and the vast majority of Naruto's body needing healing, Kyuubi hadn't been able to stop its chakra from restoring everything it could, down to the very color of Naruto's hair. The boy wouldn't be surprised if his eye-color had been restored to baby blue upon awakening and his skin every bit as soft as silk, not a single callous to be found, anywhere. Mass restorations were useful, but draining.
The thought of just why he was in this situation was enough to make him laugh, confusing the Kyuubi.
"Just think Kyuubi, both me and my target survived. Me through my earth manipulation, and him through that incredibly useful intangibility skill, even if neither of us will be fighting all out for some time." The Kyuubi growled at the reminder that the Uchiha survived, having gone intangible after getting rather cut up. Still, like Naruto said, Tobi had been in almost as bad a shape as Naruto. Now that the beast thought of it, that way of fleeing was rather cheap, but whatever worked. This was the shinobi world after all, no such thing as cheating.
~Breaking~
"Mei-sama, he is waking." The red-haired woman glanced up from her desk in the Kage office, barely two weeks in the job and already buried in paperwork that didn't involve the repairs or missions to recover Kiri's economy. No, this paperwork was important, yet unimportant, being a variety of requests for lodging from civilians who wanted to move back into Kirigakure now that the civil war was over.
"Take me to him then." She responded to the nurse, the one she had assigned to the secret-keeping Hanzo. Not that she blamed him, they were shinobi after all, and he had never claimed to trust her, despite her trust in him. And it was obvious that she would be dead twice over without him, so she was giving him the benefit of the doubt…for the moment. The walk took just a few minutes, and Mei entered Hanzo's hospital room to find the now-blond shinobi sitting easily on the bed, handsome face now revealed to the world for the first time since she had met him. She took a moment to observe it, as who knew when he would cover it up again.
Blonde, spiky hair, trailing halfway down his neck with two bangs slowly winding their way down, framing the sides of his face, ending just under his jaw. His face was oddly tanned considering he was almost never without his mask, aristocratic jaw line with slightly high cheekbones. One thing that drew attention was a set of scars, three on each cheek, looking like whisker marks for some reason. 'A birthmark perhaps?' She though curiously, intending to ask later. However, it was his eyes that drew attention, an icy blue, every bit as clear and cold as the water the man so effortlessly commanded. It could easily draw one in, and as his eyes met hers a pleasant buzzing filled her mind, although she shut the feeling down as quickly as it appeared. 'It seems I'm crushing on him…' It was a natural reaction after all. If a woman or man didn't have a crush of some sort on the person who saved their lives twice then something was terribly wrong in that picture.. (AN: Sakura and Naruto; a moment of silence for our brother in the friend zone.)
"Mei-sama, always a pleasure. What brings you to my room so soon after I wake up?" Now that she could see his face, Mei could read more into what he said thanks to his eyes. He knew exactly what she was there for, but he didn't care, completely at ease, or as much as a shinobi can be. She sat down on one of the chairs, outwardly every bit at ease as he was, before speaking, melodic voice flowing through the room in a wave, soft and deceptive on top, but beneath it was an edge every bit as deadly as the lava she commanded.
"Hanzo-kun, glad to see you're awake. Have you recovered?" The man smiled slightly at her, just a slight upturn of his lips.
"From what I've been able to tell I'll recover fine, and be back up to full strength in just over a month. Thank you for asking. Also, thank you very much for the ocular transplant. Without it, there may have been some…complications." A slight hardening of his eyes, visible for only a second, before they warmed back up as she inclined her head in response.
"You're welcome. I must admit though, blue goes quite well with blonde." A hint of steel in her own tone now, an easily interpreted demand for an explanation by any shinobi above genin level.
"Not quite as well as red and green I think, but thank you anyways. It would seem as though the high-speed regeneration I was forced to undergo wound up kicking any foreign agents away from my body, dye being one of them." A fair deflection, but not one that would distract her.
"Dyeing your hair as a mercenary? One could almost call that cowardly Hanzo-kun, attempting to avoid the judgment of whatever you were fleeing from. I hope that it is not too serious though, I think that I've had enough to deal with already without handling the trouble that would cause a name change." A stab at his honor, one that would affect most shinobi, washed over him without so much as a blink, and the revelation of what she suspected from the moment she saw blond hair instead of the usual brown had the exact same reaction; nothing. She had to give him credit; the man had an enviable control over his emotions.
"A shinobi lives and dies by the skill of their deceptions Mei-sama. Why should I be any different?" A nod of her head gave the point, but she patiently waited for an explanation.
"My past is behind me; I've made sure that any remnants of it will have no influence on my current allegiances." She looked at him for several moments, before deciding to believe him; Hanzo was too careful of a shinobi to do otherwise, and too paranoid as well.
"Your name then?" She asked, raising her only visible eyebrow. He tilted his head slightly, evaluating her.
"Naruto." No surname, but then again she hadn't expected one. Han…Naruto, from what she had seen, wasn't very trusting. And despite his deception, she needed his talents working for Kirigakure, rather than an enemy. A shinobi of his level could easily cause problems for her village down the line. She was cut off from her thoughts by his voice.
"Congratulations on becoming Mizukage. You earned it." She blushed slightly; the memory of every one of her soldiers and every civilian left in Kiri cheering at her inauguration still fresh in her mind.
"Thank-you." The atmosphere in the room changed in that moment, going from companionable to ominous as an orange liquid dribbled from the corner of Mei's mouth, the temperature going from mild to overly oppressive in under a second.
"Of course, I will do all I can to defend it." She said, smiling sweetly, receiving a nod in return. She had to give him credit for that as well; even Yagura had flinched when she got serious, even if he recovered quickly. The temperature dropped back down to normal, a pale hand wiping the drop of liquid from her mouth. A threat, and a warning. It opened up the stage for her proposal.
"What do you intend to do, Naruto-kun?" She queried, watching the man carefully for any reaction. He made none.
"I'm not sure yet." It was casually stated, making it seem as if he had yet to make up his mind, yet was open to suggestions.
"Perhaps you would consider staying? Kiri could make great use of a man with your talents, especially with you skill with spies." It was quite true. Five months into the war Naruto had created a flawless spy network that could actually tell him how many times Yagura shook it after he peed. The first time Naruto had volunteered that particular piece of information had caused a fair few amusing reactions. She had no clue how he did it, but she knew that Kiri couldn't afford an enemy that could be that well informed. Naruto smiled mentally, the Kyuubi snorting in his head. Seals were powerful things.
"It depends on what I'm offered." A mercenary through and through it seemed, but she already had a position for him, one that reflected well upon his talents. She had gotten the idea from Yagura actually, and considering she had no one else capable of filling it she had to keep Naruto. She tossed him a scroll, his right hand coming up easily and catching it, an eyebrow raised as he unrolled it.
"That scroll is the last thing Yagura ever wrote as himself. It seems he managed to break free of the controlling genjutsu one last time, and it was right before our final fight." Naruto looked up, realization dawning in his eyes.
"I couldn't find out what he was writing, I figured it was a set of orders for his army when it was reported to me." Mei shook her head in exasperation.
"And that is exactly why we need you. How the heck did you manage to find out what one of the last things he was doing before me?" Naruto made no response, not that she expected any, choosing instead to read the scroll. It held a warning for him, a warning of the shadows. (Beginning of last chapter. This way I have what all involved parties were doing right before the big event)
"So you want me to be Kiri's Flood?" Naruto had expected ANBU at the highest, but a position this high right off the bat? Mei wanted something else, something more.
"You are the only person qualified. Besides that, Kiri needs you to create a spy network, one that will allow us to hold out against the other four great nations, considering our number of ninja has been greatly lowered." Naruto nodded, understanding that part, but what he didn't get was why Mei was willing to put him in this position. For all that he knew of Mei, the woman knew little of him. This curiosity showed slightly in his eyes, resulting in the red-head continuing.
"There are a few requirements though." She said, a hint of danger reentering her tone.
"Of course." He replied, elegantly and calmly.
"First, we will need to spar. If you are going to be in charge of a good portion of the village I need to know just how strong you are." Naruto nodded, that made sense. Mei had never seen him going all out, even if he couldn't now.
"Second, no more holding back information from you network." The feeling of danger increased, radiating off from Naruto now as he slowly moved off the bed, eyes icy cold.
"Impossible. What if your office is compromised? The Kage office is the highest target for spy activity, and my reports would cross your desk like any other. If I am to serve Kirigakure, then something that damages the village will not be tolerated." Mei raised her own killing intent to counter Naruto's, emerald matching sapphire as the room heated up and the scent of heated rock engulfed the area.
"And what makes you think you have a choice Naruto-kun?" She asked, sweet smile perfectly in place before she continued.
"You can always tell me everything from your base of operations." It made perfect sense to Mei, but it was shot down in a moment from a well-placed question.
"And when enemies of Kiri notice you are frequenting a single place? What then, Mei-sama?" Mei's aura died down as she thought of that, trying to figure out a way around Naruto's logic, but it was pointless, as the man continued.
"Anything involving Kirigakure will be forwarded immediately to you, and if it's important enough I'll come myself. But a spy network is a dangerous weapon in our world, and if more than person knows everything it does it becomes useless." That much was certainly true. That gem of wisdom held its origin in a very old saying. "Three people can keep a secret, if two of them are dead." The killing intent in the room vanished as everything calmed down, Naruto's logical refusal having won the dispute, for the moment.
"Very well then. Third, you will have to gain my approval before taking action on anything other than emergencies." Naruto nodded at that condition, it was a universal one for village leaders dealing with the darkness. The only exception had been Konoha, with Danzo holding up the village in complete secrecy from Sarutobi, or trying to at least.
"My final order is simple. I need you to open up to me. I will never be able to fully trust if I know so little about you, and the position you will hold requires a great deal of trust." Naruto looked at her, for several minutes, before speaking.
"Very well. Shall we start now?" Mei blinked in slight surprise, but nodded, almost eagerly.
"I'm Naruto, I like tea, seals, and sparring. I dislike traitors, arrogance, and people who cannot become serious. Hobbies include cooking, reading, and training. Goal for the future…not sure at the moment." Mei nodded, having learned a lot about the man from just those few words. The style of introduction was quite common in the ninja world, allowing skilled shinobi to get to know a comrade without giving too much away. Analytically, Naruto's statements meant several things.
His liking of tea showed an enjoyment of peace and quiet, a brief moment of calm in the maelstrom of a shinobi lifestyle. Seals showed an artistic flair, a creative side to him that could prove problematic for enemies. Sparring showed that he was capable of embracing himself in the chaotic way of a ninja, yet little bloodlust, the act of sparring not requiring death. Disliking traitors was common amongst shinobi; the act of betrayal was something that could utterly destroy a shinobi. There were not many that a shinobi trusted, and when betrayed it always left a mark. Disliking arrogance and people who could not get serious proved what she had already known, Naruto was a serious person, both in personality and about his career, and both of those stopped one from reaching full strength.
An enjoyment of cooking and reading showed a like for the domestic side of things, a value for what the shinobi life protected. Shinobi existed to keep war from engulfing the life of regular citizens, changing the shape of warfare from public to private. Before shinobi the Samurai way wound up destroying thousands of innocent lives, in a war between shinobi villages there was much less innocent death. A hobby of training showed that he took his skills seriously, refusing to allow himself to slip, which was very good.
So, all in all, Naruto seemed to be a calm, serious person, shinobi to the core, yet knew how to relax.
Mei smiled at him, warmly this time rather than the sweet, sickening smile she had used for the better part of their time together today. She understood him a bit better now.
"Very well then, I am Terumi Mei. I like heat, peaches, solitude, and rivers. I dislike traitors, crowds, and wasted potential. My hobbies include training, reading, and dancing. My dream for the future is to bring Kirigakure back to power, and raise a nice family of my own." Naruto evaluated her statements as easily as she did his, except she had given him far more then he gave her, despite what she thought to the contrary. Picking up many things out of something small had become a survival skill for him.
Liking heat was straight from her bloodline. She controlled lava and steam, both of which were incredibly hot, and as such a heated area likely felt safe to her. Her like for solitude and dislike for crowds indicated some sort of trauma or hatred from others in her youth, before she was strong enough to stop it, and it was likely directed at her bloodline. It also showed a more quiet and considerate nature, the pressure of crowds feeling uncomfortable to her. Along with that was a typical shinobi fear, the fear of enclosed spaces with a large amount of people. If you were in a situation like that, especially as a kunoichi, no good would come of it.
Liking rivers could be interpreted as many things, but in this case it was most likely a love for the Land of Water, rivers being quite common in it. It also translated for a liking of calm natured people, or those who seemed calm on the surface yet could become a raging rapid when provoked. Disliking wasted potential indicated that she had a teaching nature, both loving to learn and to teach, and it was also possible that she had a deceased sibling who had died because they didn't train to their full capacity. That was backed up by her own love for training, and could explain her reading as well. She didn't want to join the deceased member just yet, and wanted to make a mark on the world.
Dancing was perhaps the most varied of her hobbies, and the fact that it was a hobby rather than a like meant that she was a serene person so long as the right buttons weren't pushed. That had been backed up by his own observations of her; she was generally calm and considerate of others. Her love for dancing indicated a natural grace and poise, one that gave her a natural skill for elegant, deceptive taijutsu. It also showed that she preferred relaxing activities and calm discussions, definitely not being a Tsundere woman, like Tsunade or his former teammate Sakura. Her enjoyment of peaches as a food also backed up that theory.
So, all in all, Mei was a kind woman with a bad past, skillful and intelligent, a love for knowledge, and a serene demeanor.
Naruto stood, stretching slightly and rolling his shoulders before speaking to Mei.
"So, shall we spar?" Her head tilted slightly to the right, a curious gleam in her eyes.
"You are still injured." She responded, causing a slight smile.
"My only injury is to my speed. I am limited to mid ANBU speed for a while, and for a spar that is all that's necessary. Besides, it's a good opportunity to test out my eye." She thought on that for a moment, before agreeing. Rising gracefully from her chair, she walked beside him to an open training ground, a private one.
~Break~
Naruto stood across from Mei in a clearing, both standing in a ready position. They had been about to begin when she posed a question.
"Why are you not using your katana? You have always used it against your opponents." She queried, curious, before moving to attack him, left arm swiftly striking at his sternum. He replied as he deflected the jab away, moving to counter with a fist to her stomach.
"This is a spar; I am not aiming to take your life." A flash of anger as she twisted away from the fist, her knee coming up to strike his kidney.
"Do you not believe that I can handle it?" His hand caught her knee, flinging it to the side as his other hand arced towards her chest.
"Quite the contrary, I know you can." She slapped his hand away, using the momentum from his throwing of her knee to spin-kick him.
"Then why do you not use it?" He leaned back, enough to avoid the leg, which was still bent at the knee, his own knee snapping up in an attempt to strike her stomach.
"As I have said, this is a spar." She was the one to tilt back this time, the knee skimming the stomach before stopping and withdrawing as she countered with a swift jab towards his neck.
"As such…" He tilted his neck and head to the side, the jab missing by a hairs breadth, his hand stabbing at the now-exposed elbow joint.
"This battle is for both sides to learn. If I was to use my katana…" Her other arm stopped his, the hand next to his neck attempting to chop at it,
"I would be coming at you with the intent to kill." His back bent quickly, just enough that her chop brushed his hair, his second arm coming up in a palm-strike towards her stomach.
"The fight wouldn't last long then." She blocked the strike, with the arm that had previously been holding his, the one that had chopped at his neck coming down in a fist to strike his head.
"Underestimating someone will get you killed." She said, no longer angry, just curious. He side-stepped, the fist whizzing by his ear as he straightened up, an uppercut heading towards her chin and a jab towards her heart.
"Not at all. I say that because fights between high-level shinobi never last long." She tilted sideways, her position allowing both strikes to miss as she snapped off a punch towards his chest.
"What do you mean?" His arms stopped moving forward, bending at the elbows to catch her wrist in between them before pushing it back.
"How long was your fight with Yagura?" She sent several punches toward him with the same arm, the man deflecting them skillfully.
"No more than fifteen minutes." She said, somewhat bitterly, as she moved closer, an elbow-strike moving towards his head. It was somewhat of a sore point for her how quickly she was defeated. He raised an eyebrow as he knocked her elbow off course, the strike flying harmlessly over his head as he struck at her armpit, the arm far to extended to retract in time.
"You haven't been in many high-level fights have you?" Her body spun around to dodge his strike, the same fist that just whizzed over his head striking towards his face.
"I've only been Kage-level for about a year, so no." His hand moved up, knocking the fist up above his head as his leg kicked out at her knee.
"I see. In that case…" her foot blocked his before kicking it to the ground to gain momentum, snapping up towards his face in an incredible display of flexibility considering how close they were.
"You should know that S-rank shinobi fights rarely last more than twenty minutes." Her eyes widened slightly in shock, but was brought right back to the fight as Naruto tilted sideways, the kick easily missing as his elbow struck at her gut.
"Every mistake is taken advantage of…" she blocked the strike, but was taken off-guard as his other hand hit the back of her knee, her leg having still been extended.
"Every movement is a risk…" the pain from her knee distracted her, allowing his fist to strike her across the chin, sending her stumbling back.
"Every breath you take could be your last." Killing intent blasted through the clearing, far more then Mei had ever felt before. The earth itself cracked as it struggled to rise to the will of a wielder, without chakra. The air heated up, but Mei didn't like this heat, it was a wet heat, one that promised dehydration and death. The water in the air, usually cooling and pleasant, heated up as well, turning from nice to sticky and hateful, sweat beading on Mei's brow.
"A Kage-level fight takes less than twenty minutes not because of lack of skill, but because of the incredible amount of it present in the battle." The killing intent vanished, allowing Mei to breath properly again. He walked over to her as she straightened up, an extremely serious look on his face.
"You have the skills Mei, but none of the experience. The only fight you've ever been in with someone of your level was Yagura right?" It seemed rhetorical, but she nodded anyways. He sighed, before walking back to where he had been, taking up a ready position.
"Come at me with the intent to kill Mei, and let me show you the difference between a battle between Jonin-level, and a battle between Kage-level." She looked uncertainly at him, but did as he asked. She knew he was strong enough to take it.
Her chakra heated up the air, the earth starting to melt slightly as she kicked up the pressure, but frowned slightly as Naruto once again gave no reaction. She was at his side in an instant, fist arcing through the air towards his cheek, only to find he wasn't there! His head had tilted back, and a slap hit her face, cheek stinging as she looked askance at him. It had only been a distraction, one that allowed him to dance around her, knee slamming into her gut and elbow striking her back once she was forcibly bent over.
She hit the ground, hard, and before she could recover a kunai was pricking into the back of her neck, a clear sign that he could have killed her. He got off her, letting her stand up, still a little short on breath, looking at him incredulously.
"How?" Was all she managed to choke out. Those icy cerulean eyes stared emotionlessly at her as he explained.
"In a fight of this level everything¸ and I mean everything, is used against you. The short spar was more than enough for me to figure out one of your tells, and use it to avoid your attack, despite your greater speed. After all, it matters little how fast you are if I know what you're going to do as soon as you make a decision to do it. The slightest shift of body weight is enough to tell an observant opponent exactly what's going to come next, whether it is a technique or a taijutsu attack. Yagura knew this, you didn't. You spar with jonin, elite perhaps, but your highest sparring partner is merely borderline S-rank, and there is an incredible amount of difference between borderline, and the weakest of S-rank ninja." He shook his head, blond bangs swaying with the movement.
"Why am I even explaining this? The only way to learn it is through experience, and that takes time, time neither of us have." Naruto shook his head again. Mei was good, that was for sure, but she had never been out-classed in a battle, never had to gain the instincts required for a fight like this.
Fights between genin could be intense, but they were usually longer than any other. The lack of skills and strength wound up with a long-lasting fight, turning into more of an endurance fight than an intense fight to the death. There were exceptions, but the rule was that a genin fight typically lasted twenty to thirty minutes.
Chunin level fights were shorter, not often taking more than twenty minutes. By this point the ninja involved had had intense training, and as such knew how to end a fight quickly, and why it was important. In a world where you can be attacked at any time, waste was not something that was wise.
Jonin fights rarely lasted more than fifteen minutes, more often around ten. A jonin had undergone intense training, and as such never wasted a movement. Mistakes were costly, often causing loss of life, but if you survived your mistake you gained in experience and skill, knowing not to do it a second time.
ANBU fights varied, for it depended on the skill of those involved, varying from ten minutes to a half hour.
Kage-level fights, such as the one Mei fought Yagura in, only lasted more than five or six minutes if they were playing around for the better part of it in an attempt to wear the other down. By this point taijutsu, Ninjutsu, genjutsu, and other attacks were engaged at a level of speed and strength that was simply incomprehensible to normal humans. Even high chunin could often only see the reaction of the jutsu, not the jutsu themselves unless it was a massive attack. Every mistake was costly, and most were fatal. Every movement was at great speed, speed that would take a fully developed Sharingan to begin to see, unless the owner of the eyes was close to that level themselves.
That was why he was always forced to use so much chakra in his fights, because more often than not, he fought people faster than him, people who had reached that insane level of speed and strength.
Like he had told Mei, the only way to truly understand this was to fight, to battle with another person at your level. Her lack of experience in this kind of fight was as clear to him as the morning sun, because the effort she made to hide her movements stood out. That was how he knew. Lower level shinobi knew to disguise their movements, to deceive or risk being deceived. Higher level shinobi knew better. The greatest way to hide something was to put it in plain view, yet disguised as something else. A true shinobi found the flow of battle and immersed themselves in it, letting it hide their movements and skills for them, using everything to gain an edge.
"Then we'll make time." Mei's emerald eyes glowed with passion, slight anger, and desperation.
"I can't afford to lose again Naruto. If the strongest ninja in a village can lose this easily, then what does that mean for the village? I need to learn this Naruto, whatever it takes." He looked at her, crimson hair blowing with the force of her will.
"You'll be in a lot of pain." Her eyes showed that she didn't care, and the two made ready again, beginning the lessons that Danzo had pounded into Naruto's head. It would be several hours before they left the training ground, and the rest of their time would be spent preparing Kiri, planning how to bring it back up to full strength.
AN: So people both loved and hated my fight with Tobi. I got a lot of positive reviews on my Tails of the Moon Rasengan, which I find awesome personally, but one or two of you despise it. I admit that it's godlike and incredibly powerful, but it also has some nasty side effects. To be honest I put it there to develop Naruto's skills, along with a last-ditch offensive jutsu if necessary. As I've explained, Naruto has just been forcibly made into a more subtle shinobi, a valuable experience for him to be sure. This will also have some other side effects later on down the road.
Decius23, your concerns about Naruto being too strong are valid, but I had already planned ahead for that. Naruto is only able to keep up with this stuff thanks to Danzo and his own natural potential, which is present in pretty much every Naruto fic out there. That's why him loosing access to a large portion of his chakra is such a big deal to him, for without it he simply won't be able to keep up. His experience from Jiraiya and Danzo, along with the high-level fights that he's been in also allow him to be much more prepared for things.
ChronoMitsurugi, come on man. You've been reading my fic for quite a while, and you've seen that I usually have a reason for doing things like that. Tobi is still alive, damaged, but alive. This is a ninja fic, and it will be proven in the next few chapters, which will be Naruto establishing Flood. Thank you for the compliment on the fight though, imagine seeing something like this fight in the show?
Ero-Sennin56, the person you based your username off of is a "plain jane earth type, and he is a freaking Sannin! At least you left a second review changing your opinion, and I thank you for that.
NeoJuubiSannin 1870, I hope you read one more chapter and found out that the rape/torture scene didn't actually happen.
Random Guest who flamed chapter one…I am a sick person, thanks for the compliment! Seriously though, make your own opinions before you insult someone, not taking a review from someone else, which was one review might I add, and forming opinions. I'll admit I based the beginning off some over-used plot devices, but I'd like to think that I've adapted and changed my story to move past that.
Hells Mercenary, interesting name, hope I answered your question about the beginning of my last chapter in this one. That little "letter" was Yagura's last moments before the genjutsu took over again, the last moments of a Kage who wanted nothing but the best for his village. He knows that the village itself is in good hands, but what about the constant warfare between villages? Kiri had been in a civil war, unable to take part, but once peace was restored they would be thrust back into it. This was a warning and a briefing for the one he though had the best chance of becoming the darkest shadow, Flood of Kiri. And you'll get an expansion of the Mokuton bloodline, just wait, I'm not done with it yet.
Thank you very much King Jahret, positive reviews like that make a writer's day.
