Kiri shinobi stood on either side of their boats on the water. At least one per ship placed their hands on the water, performing a summoning jutsu. "Tayuya, they're summoning things," Kidomaru called from up high on the masts. The tactician fired a bow into the Kiri shinobi who were approaching the Alliance ship.
Tayuya changed the tune she was playing, causing the Doki to spring forward in front of the three squads. One of the giants wielding a club roared in fury as a crab equal in size came out of the water and stopped it. The giant covered in bandages was assaulted by a group of tentacles belonging to an octopus. The last giant roared as it grabbed a shark its size that lunged at it in midair.
The squads rushed past the battling summons and headed towards the ships. Kimimaro kept his eyes deadest on the Destroyer in front of him. "So how do we take out something that large," Sasuke asked, noticing the ship's cannons turning to them. "I hope you have a plan!"
"Pierce the hull and let it sink," Kimimaro replied. The Destroyer's cannons fired upon the shinobi, causing them to scatter.
Kidomaru scowled in anger as he formed one bow after another and kept launching them into the crowd of Kiri shinobi, 'Really wish we could've gotten more shinobi on this mission!' The spider boy fired one last bow before looking down at the three newly ranked Chunin, "HEY! They're gonna be on your asses soon! Be ready to protect Tayuya got it?"
"Understood," the three shouted.
Kidomaru scowled as he fired another bow, realizing that a few shinobi were close enough to board already. He frowned furiously before firing another bow. At the moment all he was doing was panic firing for the most part, not taking considerable time to aim. If he did, he'd probably have killed all of his targets at the very least. He had hit a few of his targets, but not nearly enough to cause a dent in their forces.
"Bee bombardment," Suzumebachi shouted. A swarm of bees carrying explosive tags shot towards one ship.
Several Kiri shinobi onboard the ship fired crossbows and threw kunai and shuriken at the insects. Several of the bugs exploded, but more and more continued forward. The shinobi soon jumped off the ship once they realized that they couldn't stop them all. A flurry of explosions went off all around the ship, consuming it in fire and letting water flow in through numerous holes.
"Brother," the bearded man shouted.
"Of course Kurobachi," the blonde, Jibachi, exclaimed. The two sent forth a wave of bees which fired a barrage of needles into the Kiri shinobi who abandoned the sinking ship.
Most of the shinobi were gunned down, while others sunk into the water to avoid the bee's stingers. A pair of shinobi shot out of the water, one Kiri Chunin stabbing Kurobachi through the front while another stabbed Jibachi in the back. The two brothers gasped in shock before they started melting into a sticky goo. The two Chunin gasped in shock as their arms and hands were covered. They cried out in terror when they noticed the paper bombs a second before they went off.
Suzumebachi smiled over at the explosion as her brothers came floating up out of the water behind her. The siblings were surrounded on all sides, but still they smirked challengingly at their opponents.
"Water style: water trumpet!" Kurotsuchi shot a powerful burst of water from her mouth which punched a hole straight through the last wooden ship. Immediately, shinobi started jumping over the rails as their ship sank into the sea. "Get em creep-o!"
"Bug swarm," Shino exclaimed. A sea of black surrounded more than half of the Kiri shinobi and closed in around them. The bugs bunched the shinobi tightly into a ball and began to eat away at them, agonizing screams of pain coming from inside. "My bugs will eat the last of their chakra until they're nothing but lifeless husks…"
"Great job," Kurotsuchi praised. Two Kiri shinobi landed around her, one in front and one behind. "Hey now boys, you gotta buy me dinner first!" A strange noise caused the cocky kunoichi to gasp and look up. A man screamed at the top of his lungs, ready to plunge his sword into Kurotsuchi. The kunoichi quickly sprung backwards as the man landed, his sword sticking through the surface of the water. "Oh crap!" It was then that Kurotsuchi noticed that the blade was surrounded with lightning. The kunoichi quickly performed a few hand signs then blasted another water trumpet which propelled her further away beyond the range of the lightning stream.
Kurotsuchi landed safely before looking up, seeing that the man who attacked her was a Kumo shinobi, "Oh no way…"
"The granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage," the Kumo shinobi murmured. "Kill her!" The two Kiri Chunin rushed forward. Kurotsuchi prepared herself, pulling out two kunai against her sword wielding opponents.
She blocked the initial strike, ducking and spinning below it before stabbing towards the gut of the second shinobi. The Chunin blocked it with his sword. Kurotsuchi scowled, looking between the two Kiri shinobi who had her pinned. Quickly, the kunoichi sprung straight up into the air, causing the two enemy Chunin to stumble into each other, crossing blades. Kurotsuchi quickly flung her kunai down, piercing through the skulls of the two Kiri shinobi. The Chunin fell over dead as Kurotsuchi plummeted back to the water. As soon as she landed on the water, the Kumo Jonin appeared behind Kurotsuchi. The kunoichi turned her head, glaring angrily at the Jonin as he swung the sword down.
Before the strike could land, the Jonin sprung backwards as a large bee flew towards him. The Jonin swung his sword, slicing through the bee and covering himself in a sticky honey. More bees started swarming the Jonin, who instinctively started swinging around his sword, cutting through the insects and covering himself in more and more honey. The Jonin screamed in rage with a mixture of fear as he tried to move, but was unable to.
One final bee with an explosive kunai flew towards the Jonin and exploded upon contact. The sticky honey acted as an explosive adhesive which gave the explosion more fire than normal. Kurotsuchi turned around, seeing Suzumebachi smiling satisfactory.
"Is there any honor in killing a defenseless shinobi," Kurotsuchi asked venomously.
"He was a Jonin, I doubt there's anything 'defenseless' about him."
"I understand you and your siblings are willing to prove themselves worthy to Iwagakure after your falling from grace…" Kurotsuchi stood up straight, glaring at the bug kunoichi hard. "But you do things my way on this mission if you want a good word in with the Tsuchikage." Suzumebachi smiled, tilting her head to the side and huffing in amusement.
"Whatever you say princess." Kurotsuchi glared at her fellow kunoichi for another moment before rushing off to aid the other shinobi.
Zaku blasted a Kiri shinobi overboard as Dosu blocked another's strike with a sword. "You got Kumo shinobi coming next!"
"What'd he say," Sakura shouted as she pinned one Kiri Genin to the ground, her knee digging into his back.
"He did not just say Kumo," Dosu murmured. A few more Kiri shinobi along with several other Kumo jumped on board the ship and charged. "DAMN IT HE SAID KUMO!"
One Chunin performed a series of hand signs, lifted his hands up in the air covered in lightning and then slammed them onto the metal ground. The defending Chunin gasped in shock.
"Barrier," Sakura barked.
The three teammates all pulled out identical tags and put them on the ground, funneling their chakra into it. Three streams of charka shot up, arching over the three teammates, plus Tayuya, and formed a solid chakra barrier around them. The lightning struck the barrier, surging across the shield, as if frustrated, before dissipating.
'Not bad pinkie,' Tayuya thought to herself, still playing her flute.
Kidomaru fired a bow through the chest of the Kumo Chunin who sent the wave of lightning through the ship, killing him instantly. Sakura, Dosu, and Zaku all lowered the barrier, but kept the tags on the ground.
"I'll protect Tayuya," Dosu said, "You two go on the offensive and try to push them back!"
"Kumo ninja are the top priority Zaku," Sakura added as she pulled out a kunai. "Try to at least blow them off so that we have more breathing room."
"Gotcha." Sakura and Zaku rushed forward into the squadron of Kumo and Kiri shinobi.
Dosu pulled out a series of shuriken and then hurled them forward, making sure the spinning blades would pass right by his teammates. Zaku put his hands forward, letting out his slicing sound wave to give the shuriken extra momentum forward. The shuriken took out three shinobi, but the rest were either deflected or dodged.
Zaku snapped his head at one Kumo shinobi and instantly blasted him off the edge of the ship. Two Kiri Chunin threw shuriken and knives at him in retaliation. Zaku turned and used his air holes to sent the projectiles flying back at the Kiri Chunin. One Chunin was hit with the shuriken, but the second one dodged.
Sakura crossed blades with one Chunin before delivering a devastating punch to his stomach. The man cried out before flying back, cracking his back against the steel railing. Sakura turned as a Kiri kunoichi came at her with a sword. She ducked under the strike as the enemy kunoichi circled in front of her. Sakura watched carefully, not daring to even remove her eyes from the woman. Finally, the kunoichi came at Sakura, screaming as she slashed at her. The pink haired Chunin managed to block and parry against her opponent, focusing carefully on the movement of her arms. Finally, Sakura caught the woman by the wrist, spun around and hurled her over her back and off the ship.
Kimimaro cut down the last Kiri shinobi that stood against him, Akatsuchi, Sasuke, and Hinata. He looked back over his shoulder as the two Chunin spread apart. Hinata used her gentle fist to find a weak point in the hull and the pierced it with her palm. Sasuke activated his Chidori and punched a hole through the metal. They stepped back, letting water flow into the Destroyer. Hinata smirked before moving between the two holes that she and Sasuke made and then used her rotation. The chakra barrier ate through the metal, creating a large hole that allowed even more water to flood in.
"That's good," Kimimaro said. "This ship is done for." Sasuke nodded as Hinata stopped her rotation. The four immediately started running back towards their vessel, leaving the Kiri Destroyer to sink.
As they ran back to their vessel, Kimimaro noticed that the other two teams were also heading back to their ship. He huffed in approval before looking back forward.
Kidomaru fired another bow through the head of one Kiri Genin before looking out to sea, "They did it! We're about to get reinforcements!"
The Kiri and Kumo shinobi turned their heads, seeing that the wooden ships were either sunk, sinking, or burning to the ocean's surface. A few other shinobi noticed that their Destroyer was slowly sinking as well.
"Retreat," one Kiri Jonin shouted. Without a single protest, all the Kiri and Kumo shinobi jumped off the ship and headed back towards their small fleet.
"That's right! Run ya chickens," Kidomaru shouted. The spider released his webs and landed back on the metal deck, laughing maniacally. "That's how we do it!" Tayuya stopped playing her flute, dispelling her Doki before standing up. "You three actually did pretty well. I didn't think fresh meat like you could handle it when things got thick like this."
"Glad we met with your approval," Zaku replied with a cocky smile.
Tayuya turned to Sakura, causing the younger to look at her senior in confusion, "The barrier…nice idea. Way to think quick on your feet."
"Yeah," Kidomaru agreed, "not a lot of people your age can do that."
"Thank you both," Sakura replied with a smile. "It means a lot to hear that from two students of Orochimaru-sama's."
"We're gonna need to put a lot of distance between us and them once the others get on board," Kidomaru said to Tayuya. "I'll go and get us moving." The redhead nodded, allowing her partner to run off into the ship.
"We're going to need to tell Lord Danzo about what happened," Tayuya added, turning to Sakura's team. "Which one of you three wants to write a letter and send the messenger bird back to Konoha?"
"I can do that," Sakura offered. Tayuya nodded to her fellow kunoichi. Sakura quickly ran off into the ship, disappearing behind a heavy metal door.
In the back of her mind, Sakura knew what this meant. Kumo and Kiri shinobi fighting side by side, attacking a vessel carrying Konoha and Iwa shinobi was an open act of violence, and might as well have been a written declaration of war.
It was going to be a long ride to the Land of Snow for Sakura…
Naruto shivered furiously, bundled underneath layers of blankets and jackets. "I-I thought the mission was s-s-s-supposed to take place TOMORROW!"
"If we move today we'll reach the factory by tomorrow," Jiraiya said, carrying a heavy backpack of supplies with him. Sandayu's brigade and a few members of Akatsuki had already moved out through the freezing plains almost an hour ago, parting with the other half of the group that had the princess with them. "I figure you wanted a break from watching the princess right Naruto?"
"Y-y-y-yeah, but I didn't know I'd be f-f-f-f-freezing!"
"Try not to think about it Naruto-kun," Itachi suggested with a caring smile. "Try to think about your part in the mission tomorrow."
"I-I-I-I have b-b-b-b-b-been! It still makes me cold!" Itachi smiled apologetically, laughing softly in response. "Wh-what's so special about this ch-chakra a-a-armor anyways?"
"It's a special device invented by Doto's older brother, the former daimyo Sosetsu," Sandayu replied. "It can repel any chakra based attacks: ninjutsu and genjutsu are rendered useless."
"Combined with the shinobi from the Land of Snow who specialize in mid to long range combat, getting in close for taijutsu is difficult," Jiraiya added, "if not impossible."
"Not only that, but you've seen their kunai turrets," Sandayu murmured bitterly. "That makes them even more dangerous to try and approach. Luckily, we've been able to develop many different tactics to help us combat their armor. Plus it'll help that we have some men on the inside."
"Hopefully they're reliable," Hana muttered.
"I've worked with these men back when Sosetsu was daimyo. I trust them with my life." Sandayu looked up, seeing the snow falling from the sky. "The day is almost over. We should set up camp and rest up until tomorrow."
Jiraiya and the other shinobi nodded, putting their backpacks on the ground. Naruto helped Jiraiya unpack and unroll the tent. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder if the Alliance was going to send someone to the Land of Snow. Jiraiya reassured him before they set sail though that Doto and Danzo didn't see eye-to-eye, and that there was little to no chance of them working together until Doto was pushed against a wall, and by that point they'd be close enough to winning this civil war that it wouldn't make a difference.
Still, something in the back of Naruto's mind nagged at him. Something bad was going to happen. The blonde looked up at his white haired senior, "Jiraiya…" The Sannin snapped his head at Naruto, a look of shock on his face. The white haired sage wasn't quite use to hearing his name from his godson. "I have a bad feeling about…something."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know. It just feel like something bad is going to happen. Not really on the mission, but about something on the horizon." Jiraiya sighed through his nose, smiling at his apprentice.
"Don't worry about it. You haven't been in war before. You're just a bit on edge, which is to be expected. Everything is going to be fine, alright Naruto?" The blonde nodded, still feeling doubt in his heart. Jiraiya smiled then ruffled Naruto's hair, causing him to smile back at his master. "Come on, let's set up the tent."
Deep in the heart of the Land of Snow, in the Kazahana Mansion, the country's daimyo, Doto Kazahana sat in his throne atop a small flight of stairs. One of his men, a top lieutenant Nadare, entered the room and bowed before his daimyo. "My lord…our scouts have encountered foreigners entering our land."
"Konoha," Doto asked.
"No. Intelligence says that they're of Akatsuki, a group of rogues from various countries around the world assembling under one leadership. They were aided by the rebellion, Sandayu of course, and the Akatsuki squad themselves are led by Jiraiya of the Legendary Three Sannin."
"Interesting. And how far out are the 'reinforcements' from Konoha?"
"They'll land on the mainland tomorrow, and be here before nightfall." Doto smiled, chuckling lowly. "And that other little…factor is being dealt with." The daimyo grinned and nodded to his lieutenant.
"Dismissed Nadare…" The Yuki shinobi bowed his head and then left Doto's chambers.
The Daimyo grinned in silence, sensing the object of his desire coming closer to him. With the Hex Crystal, he'd have enough fortune from the Kazahana Clan's secret treasure to fund his own army. And with the power of the Land of Snow's chakra armor, as well as their many other technological advancements, the Land of Snow would be a formidable force, powerful enough to even stand against Danzo's Alliance. Granted they had numbers, and diversity amongst their ranks, but even that went so far before the power the Land of Snow wielded from its technology. Their various weapons, kunai turrets, explosive field landmines, shuriken trip mines, the newly developed airships in collaboration with the Land of Sky, who would join with Doto if he could acquire the Kazahana treasure, they were all devices that were well beyond what the Five Great Nations had.
If the Land of Snow joined with the Land of Sky, their technological prowess, along with chakra armor, and the aerial advantage that they would gain, would for certain crush the Alliance underfoot. And with the Alliance out of the way, the newly formed Water/Lightning Union would be child's play compared to that.
All Doto needed to make all of this come to fruition was the Hex Crystal. With it, he could begin his own conquest of the world.
The next day had arrived rather quickly for Naruto Uzumaki. His normal body temperature had dropped back to normal, so he was no longer shivering constantly. Complaining about the cold every five minutes was another matter entirely however.
The plan to break into Doto's factory was simple. Two teams would enter topside, one through the front and one through the back. Two more teams would enter from alternate routes, one topside and the other underground. Each team was assigned to a leader: Jiraiya's team was entering underground, seeing as he was the only one who could perform earth based ninjutsu. Itachi's team was heading through the front, and Sandayu's in the back. Hana's team had the difficult task of entering from the roof, which involved them climbing a mountain of ice, and then repelling down from it.
Jiraiya's team would make the entrance, and the Itachi and Sandayu would launch their assaults. Once all the teams were inside, Hana's team would rain down from above and take out all the guards.
Naruto was with Itachi, who hid behind a wall of ice along with the rest of the team. Itachi's Sharingan was active, to see Sandayu through the light snowstorm around them. The old general had enough experience in the snow to see miles through the stuff. Sandayu was closer to the factory, and would be more likely to hear struggling once Jiraiya's squad infiltrated.
As it turned out, so could Itachi's squad.
The entire area shook violently from an explosion, which actually took out a few windows as well. "That did it," Itachi exclaimed, trying to keep a proper footing. "MOVE!" Itachi, Naruto, and a large portion of the 50th brigade charged through the snow towards the factory.
"What's that," one soldier shouted. Itachi and Naruto stopped, looking up at the top of the mountain looming over the factory. Several pillars of ice shot out from the mountain, and faint battle cries and a clashing of weapons could be heard.
Itachi's blood red eyes widened in realization, "It's a trap!" Naruto looked back at the factory, questioning if the explosion was Jiraiya's doing, or a trap that the Yuki shinobi set. His question was answered when suddenly ice started to break down the walls, spikes and pillars jutting out from the ground. "Damn it! Naruto, help me break down the ice! The rest of you cover our backs!"
The two shinobi shot forward, pouring chakra to their feet to carry them faster while the armed soldiers behind them charged behind them, screaming as they rushed into battle.
Several Yuki shinobi appeared from beneath the snow, rushing forward towards the Akatsuki and Snow rebels. Naruto and Itachi scowled, both pulling out kunai and preparing themselves for a conflict.
Itachi swung his kunai across a Yuki shinobi's, ducking under his arm and moving past him. The young Uchiha threw his leg up while spinning, kicking a kunoichi in the gut and sending her flying into two other Yuki ninja.
Naruto dove forward, slamming his shoulder and head into an enemy shinobi, knocking him to the ground. Naruto punched the man across the face and then rushed forward to catch up with Itachi.
The two Akatsuki shinobi ducked, spun, and dodged their way through the shinobi, knocking them unconscious, to the ground, or injuring them as they moved forward. The factory was in the clearing with no shinobi between them or the fortress of ice.
Itachi's eyes suddenly snapped up and he stopped. Naruto skidded to a halt, turning back to his partner right as he released a fireball in the air, dangerously close to Naruto. The blonde yelped and dove onto the snow, covering his head. Itachi's fireball melted a series of ice needles that would've hit both him and Naruto had he not noticed.
A woman flew out from behind the ice fortress on a mechanical set of wings, laughing as she flew towards the Akatsuki shinobi. Itachi's eyes narrowed before he stopped his fireball. Naruto stood up, scowling at the Yuki kunoichi as he clenched his fist.
"You're going down lady!"
"Break Jiraiya out Naruto," Itachi shouted, launching past the Jinchuriki. The blonde gasped lightly before frowning at his partner.
Itachi sprung into the air, flipping around in an attempt to kick the kunoichi. The Yuki shinobi moved to the side, avoiding the strike. Itachi landed on an ice wall, finishing a set of hand signs he started naught but a second ago, and then launched another fireball. The woman sneered as she became engulfed with fire. Itachi continued pouring more and more chakra into the fireball, his eyes narrowed as he watched carefully. The woman broke through the flames, her body surrounded by a bubble of chakra, as she stabbed towards Itachi with a kunai in hand.
Itachi quickly sprung off the wall, flipping gracefully over his opponent. The woman quickly twisted her body around, placing a small object on Itachi's cloak. The Uchiha gasped, looking at a tiny blue ball on a string. As soon as the kunoichi kicked Itachi away, the ball erupted in a tower of ice, entrapping Itachi in the center. The kunoichi spun around and flew around the pillar, grinning in satisfaction at the opponent she trapped. Suddenly, Itachi was engulfed in a cloud of smoke and vanished.
'Shadow clone!' The kunoichi looked back to the wall where she last encountered her opponent, seeing Itachi exploding out of the ice. 'How did he!' The kunoichi scoffed before forming a hand seal. "Ice style: swallow snow storm!"
Itachi performed the same hand sign, his eyes fixated on the kunoichi in front of him, "Ice style: swallow snow storm!"
The kunoichi snarled in rage as Itachi copied her movements to throw the miniature ice needles. The two jutsu clashed with one another, ice shattering against ice, throwing particles and tiny shards everywhere. Itachi began to fall towards the ground, spinning backwards as the kunoichi threw a kunai with one of her ice bombs attached. The young Uchiha's eyes narrowed before the kunai hit the ground in front of him and erupted in a pillar of ice.
The kunoichi flew overhead like a vulture and frowned whenever Itachi slid to the side unharmed. The Uchiha looked up at his airborne opponent before standing up straight. The young kunoichi snarled fiercely at the growingly irritating Akatsuki adversary.
"You're quite the capable kunoichi," Itachi stated. "It's obvious that you're more than one of Doto's grunts."
"I'm one of Lord Doto's three top lieutenants. You can call me Fubuki Kakuyoku." Itachi narrowed his eyes. He had heard the name before in the mission reports before being shipped out.
'Extremely ruthless, and kills any and all opponents without a shred of remorse. She's fast and utilizes her ice style to trap her opponents, capturing them alive so they can interrogate them later. I'll have to keep my guard up with her.'
Naruto watched Itachi's fight, turning back to the ice fortress during his partner's conversation with Fubuki. Immediately, the blonde rushed towards the factory, but just like that it was blown to shards. Naruto yelped in fright, falling onto his rear as ice rained down around him. A massive toad sprung out of a hole in the ground and landed in front of Naruto, causing him to scream in fear.
"DAMN IT JIRAIYA," the summon, Gamabunta roared, "YOU SUMMON ME TO THIS COLD ASS PLACE?"
"I just needed your help for that Bunta, you're heading back!" The Sannin dispelled the toad, falling to the ground through a cloud of smoke. Jiraiya looked back, putting his hands on his hips as he lowered his head to Naruto. "What the hell took you so long?"
"I was working on it alright!" Out of the remains of the factory came Jiraiya's squad, who rushed to aid their comrades fighting the Yuki shinobi. "I'll help them out! Back up Itachi if he needs it and—what the hell?" Naruto narrowed his eyes on his godfather, noticing the older man was looking up. The blonde turned his head, staring in the same direction to see a figure leap off the ice mountain looming high above their heads.
Itachi and Fubuki also looked up, seeing a pair of shadows covering their heads. The former focused his Sharingan, his mouth falling slightly ajar when he realized it was Hana.
The headstrong Inuzuka leapt off the ledge of the ice cliff with a metal arm wrapped around her abdomen. She screamed in fury as she spun around, wrapping the cable around her body and bringing in its owner, another of Doto's top lieutenants, Mizore Fuyukuma, closer to her. The large man howled in rage, pulling his fist back as he got closer. With all his might, he struck Hana across the face, sending her in the opposite direction with great force, unraveling the metal cable from around her body. Hana snapped her head back at Mizore, blood trailing down the corner of her mouth, and eyes slit in fury as her clan's feral instincts took over.
With Mizore's hand still grabbing onto Hana, the young Inuzuka grabbed the metal cable attached to it, and pulled hard with all her might. Mizore cried out in shock as he was forcefully yanked towards his opponent. Hana snarled, breathing like a rabid beast as she kept grabbing the cable, pulled, grabbed the cable, and continued. Mizore clenched his jaw, pulling his fist back again. Hana pulled the lieutenant forward once more, giving him enough momentum to get close. Mizore threw his fist forward with all his might, funneling some chakra into it too. Hana pulled her head to the side, keeping her beast-like eyes fixated on her opponent while his massive arm grazed the side of her face. Mizore's eyes widened as Hana then pulled her fist back. Before the Yuki lieutenant could block, Hana's fist smashed against his face with tremendous force.
Hana threw her other fist into other side of Mizore's face, then her previous fist, and then the second, effectively pounding mercilessly on the Yuki shinobi's face as they both fell. Each blow only gave extra momentum and force as they plummeted to the ground, reaching breakneck speeds from falling alone. The impact alone would be more than enough to kill anyone. Hana's blows became stronger, faster, and more ferocious, eventually drawing blood. She delivered a powerful fist across Mizore's face, spinning around to kick him in the stomach, causing the man to cough out a mouthful of blood. Hana twisted the foot against his stomach before kicking Mizore against the chin. The feral Inuzuka lightly lifted off Mizore's stomach, spun around and screamed in outright fury as she brought her arm back. With all her might, mixed with a little chakra, brought down a bone shattered punch to Mizore's stomach just before they came crashing into the ground.
Snow and ice flew out from beneath the impact, causing Itachi, Fubuki, Jiraiya, and Naruto to shield their faces from the shards and cold powder. The snow fell back to the ground, revealing Hana hunched over her fallen enemy's body. Mizore groaned weakly, revealing that he somehow survived. His chakra armor started sparking. Hana guessed that the chakra armor took the brunt of the impact. The headstrong Inuzuka snapped her head up, glaring up at the airborne Fubuki with slit, animalistic eyes.
The Yuki kunoichi flinched in distaste upon seeing the young woman's glare, before taking note that the enemy forces were overtaking hers. Fubuki scoffed before turning her head, nodding towards the vast number of reinforcements on the horizon.
"A double-cross," Hana murmured, her eyes slowly turning back to their rounded form. "Won't say I didn't see this one coming."
"We can't fight that many enemies," Naruto stated loudly.
"Retreat," Jiraiya shouted. The Akatsuki and Snow rebels turned and started to flee from the battle.
"My apologies," Sandayu said with a sorry face. "I thought for certain that my inside sources would-,"
"Less talking, more running," Jiraiya ordered.
Fubuki landed on the snow, crossing her arms while narrowing her eyes on the feeling enemies. From the crater, Mizore sat up, groaning as he cracked his neck from one side to the next.
"Think you can pursue them big guy," Fubuki questioned.
"I just need a few minutes to recover. I'll be hot on their trail."
"Just don't let it run too cold, otherwise you'll never find them." Fubuki smirked cockily before turning around and flying off into the distance. Several other Yuki forces revealed to have the same glider and followed after Fubuki.
Mizore huffed, clenching his right fist so hard his knuckles popped. The reinforcements rode up on snowmobiles, surrounding their leader. "I'll give them a little head start, then we'll go in and finish them off. Understood?"
"Yes sir," the Yuki Pursuit Squad replied in unison.
Konan sat at the front of the ship, legs crossed and in a deep meditative trance. According to the ship's captain, they were going to arrive in the Land of Snow much sooner than expected, thanks to the winds being with them. The captain said that it would only be a few more minutes, closer to an hour perhaps. A shadow passed over her, followed shortly by the sound of a dull thud behind her.
"Well, the Land of Snow is in sight," Deidara informed. "The captain was right: the winds were with us today. Really cold freaking winds I might add…
"Good, thank you Deidara." The artist nodded, but lingered for a bit. Konan turned her head over her shoulder, giving a curious stare. "Is something bothering you?"
"Not really me, but some of the other guys. They're kinda freaked out by one of the people assigned to this mission." Konan stood up, picking up her Akatsuki cloak off a nearby barrel and throwing it over her shoulders.
"Who would that be?"
"I dunno his name," Deidara replied as Konan fastened the belt around her cloak. "The tall kid with silver hair and those weird…sparkly like eyes."
"Sparkly like eyes…?" Deidara rolled his visible eye, which slightly annoyed Konan.
"The kid with silver hair I thought would be enough." Deidara turned around and pointed to the opposite end of the ship. Konan tilted her head to the side, seeing a young man with two tonfa-like blades, wearing a black tank top and white pants. "That kid is freaking some of the other guys out for some reason or other. Don't ask me why: I'm just the messenger."
"I think his name is Kiriya if I'm not mistaken," Konan murmured. She turned to Deidara, who looked back at her, "I didn't assign him to the mission. Yahiko thought he'd be a good addition to the team."
"What's he specialize in?"
"Assassinations," Konan replied, looking back out at the training youth. "He's Yahiko's go-to-boy when he needs something done. I've never really worked with him, but I've definitely heard things about him around base, and a lot of praise from Yahiko." Deidara rested his elbow on the railing, huffing with a bored expression as he looked towards the rear of the ship.
Konan put her hands on her hips, her expression becoming a bit annoyed as she remembered her boyfriend. She was still a bit upset with the way he acted before she left on her recent mission. He of all people should know how important it is to make sure that the Land of Snow remains neutral in this conflict.
Turning to Deidara, who gave his superior a perplexed look, Konan sighed, "You're dismissed Deidara."
"If you insist Lady Konan." The artist stared walking away, murmuring quietly to himself, "Not like there's anything to do on this stupid ship anyway."
Konan rolled her eyes as Deidara went down the stairs. She looked back up at Kiriya training across the ship. She wondered, in the back of her mind, if he was sent by Yahiko to keep an eye on her. It wouldn't surprise her if that were the case. Whether or not that was the case, she had to focus on the mission at hand, then she could worry about tearing Yahiko a new one.
Sakura clutched her cloak and hood over her body tightly, not quite use to the freezing temperatures of the Land of Snow. The Serpent Five, and even Kurotsuchi's group didn't seem too bothered by it. Thankfully she didn't have to carry the ship's supplies, unlike Shikamaru, Lee, and Choji, the three of whom somehow slept through the attack on the seas. It was a form of punishment for them, issued by Kimimaro. It also didn't help that they were the only Genin in the group either.
The pink haired kunoichi turned to her teammates to see how they were doing. Zaku was shivering worse than Sakura was, rubbings his arms while a trail of snot dangled from his nose. Dosu had his hands tucked under his arms, mumbling angrily behind his mask about the cold. He seemed to be taking the cold better than his teammates.
Sakura looked forward just as Tayuya looked back over her shoulder, "If you cover your chest it'll warm you up more than rubbing your arms." Immediately, Zaku's hands and arms were used to cover his chest. Sakura did the same, as did Dosu.
"Thank you," Sakura replied.
"Don't mention it." Tayuya turned her head back around. Her apparent kindness caused the three newly promoted Chunin to look at one another for a moment.
"How far is the Kazahana Palace," Sakon asked, his arms crossed over his chest while he walked.
"Miles away," Kimimaro answered tonelessly. "Apparently we're supposed to be met halfway by some of Doto's soldiers, and they can transport us the rest of the way there."
"Good, I can't handle much more of this cold," Jirobo stated.
"You've got enough blubber there to support a whole platoon's body heat fatass," Tayuya replied snappishly.
"Let's keep from killing each other until we're safe, alright," Kurotsuchi suggested. The redhead huffed, rolling her eyes at Jirobo. Sakura was glad to have Kurotsuchi along with them. Just another ninja to help keep the peace between everyone else.
"There's something up ahead!" Kimimaro, Sakon, Kidomaru, and Kurotsuchi narrowed their eyes up ahead, while everyone else looked back at Hinata in panic. "There's a large group of people running from something! And some of them…their uniforms…"
"What about their uniforms," Kimimaro asked. Sakura knew what Hinata was going to say. Judging from Kimimaro's tone, he knew too, but just needed confirmation. The mission report said that there was a high probability that they would run into this group.
"Black coats with red clouds…"
"Akatsuki," Kimimaro seethed. "ATTACK!"
Naruto ran right behind Jiraiya, with the rest of Sandayu's brigade and the other few Akatsuki shinobi behind him. While they fled from the ambush, Sandayu explained about the Yuki Pursuit Squad, and how they had vehicles that could travel through snow and ice with ease, and were easily faster than a normal human on foot. It would only be a matter of time before Mizore recovered and raced after them with his squad.
The gasp from Hana was audible from the front of the group, causing Naruto and Jiraiya to look back over their shoulders, "Ambush! Close too!"
All heads snapped to the left, just as a figure almost as pale as the snow itself sprung into the air, spun around and fired a few tiny projectiles that tore through two rebel soldiers.
"ATTACK," Jiraiya roared.
Naruto prepared to lunge into battle, but a young boy with Sharingan active and blue hair appeared in front of him. The blonde gasped in shock as Sasuke Uchiha thrusted his Chidori forward. Quickly, Naruto jerked to the side, using his forearm to push the lightning attack to the side. The two glared at each other, both of their eyes burning with fury.
Naruto wrapped both of his hands around Sasuke's left arm and then threw the boy over his back, sending him flying. The young Uchiha flipped around and landed crouched in the snow. Naruto couldn't help but smirk cockily while Sasuke simply glared.
Hana ducked under the massive arm of Jirobo, then side stepped from another destructive blow. She quickly hopped up, throwing her leg forward and kicking the large Chunin across the chin. Jirobo grunted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth before he glared back at Hana. The Inuzuka landed on her hands and flipped gracefully back onto her feet, scowling fiercely at her opponent. She quickly turned to the side, noticing two other kunoichi from Iwagakure charging at her.
Tayuya sprung backwards, spinning around in the air before bringing her flute to her lips. She scowled before she was forced to dodge another pair of kunai, courtesy of Itachi. He knew all to well what her abilities entailed, and wasn't going to give her the chance to use them. Itachi's eyes snapped to the side, noticing a swarm of bees flying towards him on either side. He quickly sprung back, and launched a fireball as the bees turned to follow after him. The fire set the insects ablaze, and headed for Tayuya as well to keep her on guard. The redhead cursed loudly before launching herself to the side to avoid the blazing ball of fire. As she glared at Itachi, Jibachi and Kurobachi stood on their side of Tayuya, all focused on their target.
Dosu dodged a sword from one of the rebel soldiers before elbowing him in the side of the face. He looked around carefully, noticing Sasuke's particular opponent. With widened eyes, Dosu quickly looked around to find either of his teammates. Zaku was the first to enter his sight, and he immediately bolted for him.
The black haired Chunin blasted a pair of soldiers back before scowling as more rushed towards him. "ZAKU!" Dosu slid across the snow, stopping right in front of his teammate, "Go help Sasuke!"
Zaku's immediate reaction was a perplexed one, "Did you hit your head or something?" The masked, hunched over Chunin snapped his arm in the direction of Sasuke's fight. Zaku's eyes widened on his blonde opponent during the Chunin exams. "OH IT!" Zaku shot across the battlefield to aid Sasuke. Dosu now concerned himself with finding Sakura before she found Naruto.
Blocking Sasuke's strike with his forearm, Naruto delivered a powerful fist across his face, knocking the Uchiha to the ground. He turned around, just as a powerful force of wind threw him to the ground and sent him rolling across the snow. Naruto quickly bounced up to his feet and gasped lightly at the sight of Zaku.
"Hey there buddy," Zaku greeted smugly, "Miss me?" Naruto's eyes were wide, a look of dread washed over his face. Zaku narrowed his eyes, knowing what was going through his opponent's mind. He opened his mouth to answer Naruto's question, but stopped himself and gasped in shock.
Naruto spun around, seeing a silhouetted figure falling down towards him. The shine of the sunlight off a kunai caused the blonde to raise his own knife in defense. The silhouette's knife clashed against Naruto's, tiny sparks flying out as the metals grinded against each other. Naruto's eyes widened in horror once he saw who it was. Sakura's emerald green eyes were filled with anger, fury, and hurt as they bored through Naruto's.
"Sa-," The blonde was cut off when Sakura's fist struck Naruto across the face with surprising force. The Jinchuriki rolled back over his own head, and then onto his side before he came to a stop. He was stunned briefly by the power of Sakura's punch, which had sent a surge through his body. 'She used chakra like Granny Tsunade. But it's a lot weaker than Granny's…'
Naruto moved his eyes to the side just as Sakura rolled him onto his back. She lifted him up by the collar of his shirt and held her kunai to his throat. Naruto looked at the blade in shock and then up to Sakura. She was still, very visibly, angry at him. Naruto swallowed the nervous lump in his throat, moving his eyes back to the knife.
"Uh…hey Sakura-chan…"
Jiraiya jumped back as Kimimaro shot a series of bone-like bullets at him. The white haired Sannin looked to the side, seeing Naruto in danger. He scowled and moved to assist him, but was cut of by Sakon and Kidomaru.
"You're not going anywhere old timer," Sakon stated. "Let's just see what happens between those two wayward lovers shall we?"
Jiraiya smirked, taking a step back, "I don't think you realize who you're messing with little boy. I guess Orochimaru told you everything he knew about my abilities, but let me show you the power that not even your master could prepare you for!"
"Bring it," Kidomaru challenged cockily.
Sakura scowled fiercely, making sure Naruto could feel the sharpness of her knife. Zaku took one step towards them, watching Sakura cautiously. "Come on Sakura, killing him won't help us."
"I think it'll do me a world of good," Sakura seethed angrily.
"This isn't the time for your personal crap," Sasuke snapped. "Lord Danzo would want the village's Jinchuriki alive. If you kill him…then there's going to be hell to pay for you."
"Shut up," Sakura venomously muttered. Zaku gasped in shock, turning to Sasuke who narrowed his eyes dangerously. Zaku never thought that Sakura would ever tell her childhood crush to shut it, let alone risk angering him. "You've got a lot to answer for Naruto Uzumaki."
"Sakura, I already told you that I'm sorry for lying to you! That was months ago, and I saved your life!"
"Really smart yelling at the scorned woman with a knife to your throat," Zaku sarcastically pointed out.
"Sakura, please, this is stupid!"
"You think breaking my heart was stupid?"
"No! I didn't say that was stupid! I still like you, I really do Sakura-chan, and I don't want to fight you!"
Sakura scowled, ready to fire a reply back before she snapped her head up. The kunoichi sprung backwards, averting a spear stabbed at her with her kunai. Naruto rolled back, standing next to Sandayu, who held the spear. The blonde glared at the older man, who returned a glance to him.
"Are you alright Naruto?"
"I'm fine, but leave Sakura-chan to me, got it Sandayu?" The older man stared at the blonde for a moment. Naruto was grateful that Sandayu helped him, but if he was going to hurt Sakura, then Naruto didn't want the old general's help in this fight.
"As you wish Naruto. I'll leave the young lady to you, but I hope you don't mind if I help you against the others."
"Be my guest, just don't let your guard down," the blonde replied. Sandayu nodded then readied his spear.
Sasuke huffed dismissively before rushing forward. Sakura growled angrily at him before rushing off to get to Naruto fist. Zaku rolled his eyes and followed after his fellow, hard-headed, teammates.
Sandayu strode forward, swinging his spear across to Sasuke. The young Chunin stopped in his tracks and jerked his head back, watching as the tip of the spear passed by his face.
Sakura shot right past the two and headed for Naruto. The blonde's face hardened and determined. His feelings for Sakura were absolute, but that didn't mean he was going to roll over and let her take him to prisoner.
Sakura swung her kunai forward. Naruto swiftly raised his in defense, the two knives grinding against each other. The pink haired kunoichi quickly spun around and slashed at her opponent again. Naruto again blocked the kunai and swung back in retaliation. The two moved back and forth in a flurry of blinding motions, sparks flying out as their blades crossed against each other's.
Naruto stepped back, letting Sakura's kunai pass by his nose. Before he could react, a gust of wind threw him violently to the side. Sakura looked to her right, seeing Zaku with his palms aimed at the blonde Jinchuriki. She scowled angrily, frustrated that her fight was being intruded on. Her fight with Naruto had nothing to do with him or Dosu.
Naruto rolled back across the snow, flipping onto all fours. As a shadow covered his whole body, Naruto's eyes widened as he snapped his head around. Dosu pulled his sleeve back, revealing his melody arm before he swung is arm forward. Naruto sprung forward as Dosu's fingertip dug through the white powder.
Zaku rushed forward towards Naruto to catch him off guard. Sakura growled in frustration before following her teammate. Naruto saw the other two Konoha Chunin rushing at him. Before he hit the ground, Naruto created a clone beneath him. Using the clone as a stepping stone, Naruto surged some chakra into his hands and feet and rocketed off his copy. Zaku started coming to an immediate halt, but Naruto slammed into him with all his force, shoving him to the ground. Naruto rolled over Zaku, who groaned softly in pain.
The blonde snapped his head up as Sakura brought her kunai down. Naruto grabbed Sakura by her wrist and halfway down her forearm, holding her firmly in place. The two glared at each other, Sakura with unrelenting fury and Naruto with resolved determination. The blonde looked over towards Sandayu out of concern. To the old man's credit, he was holding his own.
Sandayu lashed the spear out, causing Sasuke to bend backwards as the weapon narrowly passed by his face. The general then stuck the tip into the ground and spun around, slamming his feet into the young shinobi's chest. Sasuke scowled and rolled backwards before straightening himself. Sandayu hurled the spear a second before Sasuke stopped rolling. The young Uchiha sprung back as the spear hit between his legs in the snow. Sasuke glared up at the old man who unsheathed a pair of short swords and rushed forward.
Naruto looked back at Sakura and threw her arm to the side, causing her to fall face-first into the snow. The blonde quickly rushed to help Sandayu finish off Sasuke just as a kunai landed in front of him. Naruto gasped in confusion before a tiny blue orb at the end of the kunai erupted into a massive pillar of ice.
The rebels, Sandayu, Jiraiya, Itachi, and Hana all turned their heads to the side, seeing a large battalion of snowmobiles being led by Mizore on a snowboard racing in their direction. Naruto slid back from the pillar of ice, scowling fiercely at the Yuki reinforcements. The blonde turned his head just as Sakura slid around the other side of the pillar and rushed him.
"We have to retreat," Itachi shouted as he defended himself from the Alliance shinobi.
"They're faster than us," Hana sniped back, punching Jirobo across the face with all her might before springing off the large man's stomach.
"Hana's right," Jiraiya agreed, "we have to make a stand here and now! Take out everyone you can!"
The Yuki Pursuit Squad hurled ice bomb kunai from a distance as they closed in, bombarding the battlefield. Both forces managed to dodge and battle between the pillars, despite the bombardment.
Naruto ducked as Sakura threw her fist at his head, breaking one pillar of ice like it were glass. The blonde spun under the kunoichi's arm and snapped his head as Dosu threw his leg at him. Naruto sprung to the side, avoiding Dosu's strike. The masked Chunin bounced off the pillar and ran behind Sakura, who was already rushing after Naruto. The blonde kept his eyes focused on the two opponents in front of him, unaware that Zaku was hiding behind a nearby pillar. The black haired Chunin spun out of cover and violently blasted Naruto across the battlefield and into a pillar of ice, causing the freezing element to crack under the impact. The three teammates rejoined, the two boys standing on either side of Sakura who approached Naruto.
Sakura lifted Naruto up by the collar of his hooded Akatsuki jacket and then shoved him violently against the ice pillar. She glared fiercely into his eyes while Naruto simply stared back with equal intensity.
"You certainly got a lot stronger Sakura-chan…" The kunoichi made no reply, simply glaring at the rogue in front of her. The two stood in silence, staring at each other with equal passion.
Standing where she was, Sakura still wasn't sure what to feel about Naruto. She was still upset, enraged even, that Naruto had lied to her and manipulated her like he did. But there was something in her heart, repressed feelings that she buried deep inside. They were muffled whispers at best, trying to break free. Sakura had a duty though, to her village, not to her heart.
"Naruto!" The three Chunin plus the rogue looked back, seeing Sandayu striking Dosu and Zaku across the face with a wooden pole. The general rushed forward to aid the blonde Jinchuriki. Sakura scowled, pulling out a kunai in defense.
Sandayu rushed forward, his eyes focused and deadest on the young woman. Halfway between the two, one of the ice pillars was shattered by Sasuke's Chidori. Sandayu, Sakura, and Naruto all gasped as the young Uchiha landed in the snow and rushed towards the old general. Sandayu swung the pole at Sasuke's face, but the Konoha Chunin ducked under the weapon and shot his hand forward. Sandayu gasped in shock as he watched Sasuke's jutsu coming towards him.
"SANDAYU!" Sasuke slid past Sandayu, standing between Zaku and Dosu as he came to a stop. The old rebel general fell to his knees and then collapsed face-first into the snow. Naruto's eyes were wide with horror, looking at the fallen general who died trying to save him.
His grief was washed away by a tidal wave of pure, uncontrollable fury.
Naruto screamed out at the top of his lungs, an immense force exploding out from around him. Sakura was instantly thrown back, releasing Naruto as she landed between Sasuke and Dosu in the snow. Naruto continued to scream, destroying all nearby ice pillars with his chakra which exploded around him.
The heads of the other combatants whipped around in shock at the source of the immense power and destruction of ice. Jiraiya, Itachi, and Hana all gasped, knowing that Naruto was losing control.
Red chakra started bubbling out from around Naruto before he slowly descended to the ground. The blonde lowered his head, focusing on the three Konoha Chunin in front of him. Sasuke trembled slightly, but kept his composure. He never expected to fight a rampant Jinchuriki. Dosu narrowed his eyes, letting his arms dangle at his sides as he readied himself for Naruto to attack. Zaku was visibly nervous, but he would fight if he had to, even if he had to take on the Kyuubi itself.
Sakura's eyes were wide with rage, and bloodshot with fury. The site at the unholy chakra, that demon's chakra caused something within her to snap. Slowly, almost lifelessly, Sakura stood up. Her head and arms hung limply for a moment before she snapped her eyes up at Naruto, matching the demonic fury in his eyes.
Naruto let out a loud, head splitting roar as the Kyuubi's chakra exploded around him, shooting up in a pillar of red chakra. The chakra soon gathered around him in a shroud, turning his hands and feet into claws of chakra, with two long, fox-like ears and a single tail of chakra.
The transformation caused Sakura's rage to build, veins bulging out of her hands and forehead. Despite herself, Sakura threw her head back and screamed out with all her might, fury, and anguish. The demon that killed her father was before her, taking control of Naruto. Her feelings now were absolute: kill the demon that took her father.
The pink haired kunoichi shot forward with incredible speed, throwing up snow behind on her teammates. The Kyuubi chakra settled down a bit, letting Naruto look forward. A split second after Naruto lowered his head, Sakura slammed her fist across his face, pouring as much chakra as she could into the blow. With her chakra exploding out of her fist, combined with the Kyuubi's chakra, Sakura's glove was torn to shreds.
Naruto sailed through the air before throwing his arms out. The chakra extended out and grabbed two pillars of ice. Though the pillars broke under the pressure, they helped bring Naruto to a stop. Sakura rushed forward again, snow flying out from behind her. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and then threw them outward, sending an immense shockwave forward. The snow flew up in front of the shockwave, right towards Sakura.
The kunoichi sprung into the air, high above the tidal wave of snow carried by the shockwave. Eyes focused on Naruto, she spun around and hurled a kunai with a chain of explosive tags attached to it. The blonde threw his arm up, the charka extending to cause the kunai to hit his hand and explode before it did him any harm.
Sakura landed in the snow, eyes still boring into the demonic Naruto. The rampaging blonde lowered his head to the pink haired kunoichi, matching her anger and hatred.
A group of Yuki shinobi surrounded Naruto very quickly, causing the blonde to snarl in shock. With an enormous cry of rage, Naruto lashed his arms out, slashing and smashing through the Yuki shinobi with ease.
Sakura shot forward in a mindless rage. Naruto turned his head as his chakra arm slowed after cutting through one last Yuki shinobi. The pink haired shinobi ducked under one appendage of charka that shot out at her, sliding through the snow on her back. She threw her leg into the back of Naruto's knee, causing him to collapse. Another appendage of chakra shot out at her, causing Sakura to shoot up to her feet. She spun around, surging chakra through her leg before slamming it into the back of Naruto's head. The Jinchuriki flew forward, landing on his face and rolling forward before turning back towards his opponent.
Naruto shot forward with a feral cry, vanishing in a flash while kicking up snow. Zaku and Dosu immediately rushed to aid Sakura in whatever way they could. Green eyes focused on the snow flying up under Naruto's feet. The blonde appeared in a solid form instead of an invisible blur, right in front of Sakura. His fist was pulled back and shot forward. Sakura gasped, quickly raising her arms in front of her face to shield herself. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the crushing blow that never came.
Sakura peeked through one eyelid, staring at Naruto as his demon's chakra started to die down. A look of remorse plastered itself on Naruto's face before he lowered his arms and head. Sakura couldn't help herself as a soft gasp escaped her lips. She was no longer consumed by the blinding fury that consumed her when she saw the Kyuubi's chakra. Her rage and anger went away at the same time Naruto repressed the demon inside of himself. What's more, Sakura was surprised that Naruto managed to settle the demon's chakra on his own, just because he was about to hurt her. Guilt washed over her face before she raised up a kunai to Naruto's throat.
"I have to take you in Naruto…"
"I know Sakura-chan…" Naruto looked up at Sakura, his blue eyes meeting her green orbs. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a frightened scream. Sakura's eyes widened as she saw Naruto getting pulled back by one distinctive Yuki shinobi with a metal arm and purple hair.
Naruto clawed at the snow, trying to grab onto something to stop himself from being dragged towards Mizore. The Yuki commander grinned as his arm started pulling the blonde closer and closer. Suddenly, an explosion destroyed the cable attaching his hand to his arm, breaking Naruto free from his grasp. Mizore cried out in shock, stumbling backwards before looking around to where the explosion could have come from. Finally, he looked up, seeing a group of figures falling from the sky.
"Rotation!" The figure closest to Mizore spun around, unleashing a powerful barrier of spinning chakra. The commander groaned in pain as his chakra armor raised its force field up, protecting him from the barrier, but still throwing him back with great strength.
Naruto pried the metal claw off his chest and looked up just as the chakra barrier dissipated, revealing a long stream of flowing brown hair on top of a black cloak with red clouds. "NEJI!" The brunette looked back at his blonde companion and smiled.
"Naruto my man!" The blonde turned his head to see Deidara, dressed in a long, hooded cloak descend on top of a giant clay bird. "I've gotta say, you put off a hell of a flare my man!"
"A what now?"
"Your chakra," Neji said, pointing at the Jinchuriki. Naruto's eyes widened at the realization before laughing nervously, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. The Jinchuriki looked back at his fellow blonde, noticing a small figure sitting on the bird behind him.
"Who's that?"
Deidara turned around, looking at the purple haired youngster before turning back to Naruto, "This is Ranmaru. He's got a cool little dojutsu." One more clay bird descended to the ground, carrying Hanabi Hyuga, and Haku. "We also brought reinforcements!"
"I'll say," Naruto exclaimed loudly.
Hinata turned her head, seeing the Akatsuki cavalry. She quickly noted the inclusion of Neji, her cousin, and her baby sister Hanabi. Instinctively, she turned and rushed towards her rogue relatives.
Neji's eyes quickly picked up on the Hyuga heiress, causing him to spin around and block her initial strike. The two dojutsus met each other, both filled with hatred. Neji pushed Hinata back and used his rotation, causing her to jump back. The heiress turned her head to the side, knocking away a strike from her younger sister before distancing herself further.
"So, the treacherous rats in our family are working together are they?" Hanabi and Neji both narrowed their eyes furiously at the arrogant heiress.
Deidara let out a low whistle before his clay bird flapped its wings, "Guess I need to give these guys a hell of an art show!" The artist flew higher into the air. His eye caught something, noticing Kurotsuchi. The kunoichi was also looking in his direction, scowling furiously. Deidara scoffed before reaching into his clay pouches, "Let's start off with some base work!"
The artist threw his arms out to the side, unleashing a shower of clay spiders that rained down on the battlefield. Upon contact with the enemy, the spiders exploded. Many Yuki shinobi had their chakra armor overloaded, and were killed by a series of chain-linked explosions. The Alliance shinobi managed to dodge the spiders, even if narrowly.
"Next, let's layer up on the groundwork!" Deidara spun around, throwing what turned into smaller clay birds in a spiral direction.
Though fewer in numbers than the spiders, the birds were much faster and had a more destructive blast radius. The Yuki shinobi whose chakra armor held out against the spiders soon met their end by the birds. The explosives also took out groups of Yuki shinobi whose chakra armor was overloaded.
Mizore scowled, swatting at the bombs before shouting, "Retreat!"
Kimimaro fired a few of his bone bullets through one bird, causing it to explode prematurely. He scoffed before watching the Yuki shinobi retreat. "Everyone: fall back!" The Alliance forces followed the Yuki shinobi.
Sakura looked back to Naruto, who was staring at her as well. The two exchanged a long glance before Sakura turned and ran. Kurotsuchi stopped and turned around, noticing her friend was behind the rest of the group. She looked up at Deidara who had a cocky smirk on his face. She scowled before Sakura patted her shoulder, causing the two kunoichi to follow the retreating forces.
"Is that it," Deidara asked, his bird slowly falling towards the ground. "I was hoping for some more action to test my art against!"
"There's gonna be plenty more chances for that Deidara-san," Jiraiya replied, letting out a soft sigh of relief afterwards.
"General Sandayu!" The Akatsuki turned their heads, seeing a group of rebel soldiers trying to patch up their general. His chest was bleeding intensely, pouring the red substance all over the pure, white ground.
"I can help," Ranmaru said. Jiraiya nodded then escorted the young boy through the group of rebels.
The Sannin pulled the two medics off and allowed Ranmaru to step in. The boy knelt down and placed his hands over the wound. His eyes began to glow a bright red as his hands were covered in a light purple chakra. The chakra covered the wound, closing it slowly and causing Sandayu's eyes to flicker with life.
The soldiers cheered in joy while Ranmaru smiled. A firm pressure on his shoulder caused Ranmaru to blinked in surprise. He looked up, seeing Jiraiya smiling warmly down at him. The boy couldn't help but smile at him, pride swelling up inside him.
Ranmaru stood up, allowing Sandayu to sit up and look around in shock, "I…I'm not dead…?" The old general looked to Ranmaru to offered him an innocent smile, "You…you saved me?" Sandayu moved onto his knees and bowed on his hands with his head down. Ranmaru gasped in shock at the sudden gesture. "I am forever in your debt young man."
Ranmaru couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, causing Sandayu to look up in confusion. "Don't worry about it mister. You owe me nothing." A wide smile of appreciation came over Sandayu's face before he nodded.
Hanabi smiled, holding her hands behind her back as she witnessed Ranmaru healing the unfamiliar old man. Neji and Haku walked up, noticeable from the crunching of snow underfoot. The two stood next to each other, looking out at Ranmaru before looking at Hanabi.
"Looks like your cousin is rather fond of Ranmaru eh Neji-kun," Haku questioned. Hanabi turned her head in bewilderment while Neji simply smirked.
"Seems that way." Hanabi's eyes widened as her face became flushed with embarrassment.
"N-NO! I don't like him like that at all!" Haku and Neji couldn't help but grin as they exchanged glances. Hanabi fumed in frustration, glaring at the two older shinobi angrily.
Jiraiya helped Sandayu to his feet and allowed the latter to brush the snow off himself. "Sandayu, can you move?"
"Yes, we'll continue to the rendezvous point," the rebel general answered. "I won't hold us back Master Jiraiya." The Sannin smiled in admiration and nodded. With a wave of his rather large hand, Jiraiya, Sandayu, and the rebel faction moved forward.
Deidara walked alongside Naruto, a sour look on the artist's face, "I didn't even get a chance to show you my latest masterpiece my man."
"Don't worry about it. I get the feeling we're going to be here for awhile now Deidara my man…" Naruto looked back at the battle ravaged field of snow as he walked. Deep down, Naruto knew for certain that he and the rest of Akatsuki was going to be in the Land of Snow for awhile yet.
Turning his head forward, recent images of Sakura flashed through his mind. Her anger, determination, and hurt all aimed at Naruto. He wondered if she could even consider liking him, let alone harboring feelings for him. Naruto wondered if he still even liked her, or if he was just fooling himself at this point. He rubbed the back of his neck, frowning in his own sadness.
"Hey Deidara…" The artist turned to his fellow blonde with a curious look. "Konan-chan is with you right?" Deidara nodded with a puzzled expression on his face. Naruto returned the nod before turning away from the artist. The Jinchuriki sighed through his nose. He needed to talk to his big sister when they rejoined with the reinforcements.
