Chapter 36: Neo Sannin Power
Orochimaru has been called many things in his long (borrowed) life.
Genius. Prodigy. Traitor. Snake.
But one thing he was not was a fool.
When he had heard reports about Tsunade personally training a certain pink haired kunoichi who had been teammates with a certain blonde jinchuuriki who was being trained by Jiraiya & a certain dark haired avenger whom, at the time, had been under his care, he realized this trio's potential to become legends whose fame could even be greater then the old Sanin if they were ever to get back together.
That was something he could NOT afford to have if his plans were to come to fruition because they were the only ones capable of stopping him.
But now, what he feared would happen was standing right in front of him. And if the angry looks in their eyes were the basis for his life, he would've been dead a hundred times over by now.
The Jinchuriki's eyes were flashing bloody red, presumebly from his tenant's influence & he was crouched on all fours, growling like some kind of animal as he layed eyes on the snake Sanin.
His former ward's eyes were also flashing red. But his was from his bloodline which, much to his delight, looks to have reached it's ultimate form. He had also drawn his sword & held it low by his side.
Judging from the freakish strength she displayed, the pink haired kunoichi could be Tsunade's apprentice. And though she possessed no bloodline, her emerald eyes were intense as she glared at Orochimaru while cracking her knuckles.
"Baa-Chan, you guys all right?" Naruto asks as he & Sasuke positions themselves between them & Orochimaru as well as his undead cronies.
"Yeah brat. Just a little worn out." Tsunade answered as she sat down.
"You sure your age is not catching up to 'ya?" Naruto asks with a small smile.
"Brat, if this were ANY other time, I'd knock your block off." Tsunade said with a smile of her own, thankful for Naruto's attempt to lighten the mood.
"You're late brat." Jiraiya grumbles. "What took you?"
"Oh, you know. Saving the world as we know it & such." Naruto said off-handedly making Gaara roll his eyes back in exasperation.
"Could you have NOT taken so long in getting here? You DO realize that you have to save your Hokage too, right?" The Kazekage grumbles.
"Hey! I figured that since you're with her, she's in safe hands." Naruto shot back.
"Kukukuku... What do we have here?" Orochimaru said with a chuckle. "Are we having some sort of reunion here?"
Naruto turns & gave Orochimaru an evil, vulpine grin. "That's right you Ero Hebi. We got together again for the express purpose of kicking your sorry gay ass." Naruto then glances at Sasuke & states. "Not that I'm complaining or anything Teme, but what are you doing here?
"Same reason as you dope. I'm here to finish what I started with Kabuto." Sasuke said, glaring daggers at Orochimaru. "Though in retrospect, I should've finished BOTH of them off before I left the Sound Village."
"Kukuku... Sasuke Kun. How nice to see you again." Orochimaru said then adds with a leer. "I see that you've unlocked your bloodline's ultimate form & if memory serves me correctly, you're supposed to kill someone close to you in order to achieve the Mangekyou Sharingan. Who did you kill in order to get it? Certainly not the jinchuriki since he's still standing here in front of me."
Sakura, who had been checking over Tsunade, Jiraiya & Gaara for injuries glares at Orochimaru upon hearing him taunt Sasuke. "Sasuke's not like you or his brother you snake. He would never go down the same dark path as you or Itachi did."
"As touching as your loyalty to him is, you know deep inside that he IS like me & Itachi in so many ways." Orochimaru said.
"How dare you!" Sakura snarls as she stands up & clenches her fist "You know NOTHING about Sasuke Kun. How dare you insinuate that he's as evil & twisted as you are." Before she can go further, a hand from Sasuke stops her.
"Stop it Sakura." Sasuke said. "Orochimaru's right. Only an evil & twisted individual would abandon his own home in search of more power. Only an evil & twisted individual would know how good he has it till he almost lost it. And only an evil & twisted individual would hurt or kill those who are important to him in his mad quest for revenge."
Sasuke then glances at Naruto before turning back to Orochimaru with an evil smile of his own. "But for once in my life, I am thankful for that wickedness because now, I get to use it on you." At these words, Sasuke charges at Orochimaru only to get tackled by Kidomaru & get taken somewhere else.
"Sasuke!" Naruto calls out & attempts to go after his friend only to have his way blocked by Sakon/Ukon. "Get out of my way!" He snarls, baring his enlarged canines.
Sakon/Ukon smiles & bares his own sharp set of canines. "No way squirt." He said as both shinobis disappear to take their fight somewhere else.
"Shit, I guess this fucking leaves us with leftovers." Tayuya stated as she glares at Sakura, Gaara, Jiraiya & Tsunade. "I guess it's ok. At least we got to kill somebody today."
Sakura took a step forward & drops to a fighting stance. "You will do no such thing. Not while I'm still breathing here."
"I can rectify that." Kimmimaro said as he leaps at Sakura with one of his bone blades in his hand only to jump back to avoid a gigantic hand of sand.
"I believe that you have some unfinished business with me?" Gaara stated emotionlessly as he stares at Kimmimaro who simply stares at the Kazekage before saying. "Indeed I have. After all, it's not everyday that one gets to avenge his own death." And with that, the combatants leave to find a more suitable battleground, leaving Sakura & Tayuya still staring at each other.
"So you still want to do this?" Sakura asks.
"Hell yeah. Why the fuck do you think I was brought back from the shitty land of the dead in the 1st place, bitch?" Tayuya said as she readied her flute. "And if at the smallest fucking chance I'm going back there, I'm taking you with me for company."
"Oh I'm sorry but I can't do that." Sakura said with a grin. "First, my end is still ways off & second, even if I DO die today, I'm certainly not joining you in hell."
With a savage roar of anger, Tayuya jumps at Sakura & knocks her off the roof, sending both kunoichis tumbling to the ground below.
"Sakura!" Tsunade calls out & was about to go after her but was stopped by Jiraiya. "Don't worry about her Tsunade Hime. You've taught her well so I'm sure she'll be fine." He said as he glared at Orochimaru. "We've got something to settle here & now that his cohorts are all occupied, our job is much easier."
"Kukukuku... You think you relics can match up against me? You must be joking. There's NOTHING you geezers can do to stop me. I am immortal!" Orochimaru said with an evil laugh.
Tsunade stared at Orochimaru for a moment before slowly cracking her knuckles. "Let's put that theory to the test, shall we?"
(Gaara Vs. Kimmimaro)
Gaara & Kimmimaro stares at each other on top of a rooftop with each waiting for the other to make his move.
"So you've become the Kazekage huh? How appropriate that I'd have a hand in the deaths of 2 Kazekages." Kimmimaro stated.
Gaara narrows his eyes at this revelation but does not allow his emotions to get the better of him. "You think too highly of yourself if you think you can end the life of someone who has succeeded in killing you before. I am not the Godaime Kazekage for nothing & I will defeat you again to restore my village's honor & avenge the deaths of her brave shinobis which includes tat of my father, the Yondaime Kazekage due to your treachery."
"I am also aware that you had Shukaku sealed inside you before & you barely defeated me. What makes you think that you have a chance now that you no longer have the Bijuu?" Kimmimaro asks.
Gaara remained expressionless. But internally, he wondered how they had gotten hold of this information. The only persons who knew were either those close to him or those people he had personally sent to the grave. "I am no longer the same man you faced years ago." Gaara stated gravely. "But instead of just saying it, you're welcome to find out for yourself."
"Thank you. I think I will." Kimmimaro said as he promptly transforms into his cursed form.
Gaara does not wait for the revived Sound nin to start his attack. He immediately goes on the offensive & sends his sand to attack Kimmimaro who uses his enhanced speed & agility to dodge the relentless assault.
"HESSENDAN!" Kimmimaro launches the bony tips of his fingers with bullet-like speed at Gaara who simply blocks the projectiles with a thick wall of sand. But the bony bullets were simply a distraction for his next move which was to break through the sandy wall & attack Gaara up close & personal with a long sword made from his spine.
Gaara, however, was expecting this move from Kimmimaro & had met his attack with a spear made from his sand. Ever since he was rescued from Akatsuki, he had trained doubly hard to make up for Shukaku's loss & was gratified to see that he was at least able to hold his own against the obviously superior hand to hand combatant.
But Gaara knew that he could not sustain this for very long. He jumps back, stabs his spear to the ground besides him & forms the seals for one of his favorite jutsus & stretches out his hand as sand begins to form around Kimmimaro's feet.
"SABAKU KYUU." Gaara whispers as the sand starts to wrap around a struggling Kimmimaro. But as he starts to close his fist to crush his opponent, Kimmimaro breaks out of the Sand Coffin & lashes out with his sword, sending Gaara flying back where he layed still.
"Get up Sabaku No Gaara." Kimmimaro said as he started walking the Kazekage. "I will not believe that that weak attack by me harmed you in any way."
After a moment, Gaara sits up & stares at Kimmimaro with his Suna No Yoroi already reforming around his body. The impact of the weapon knocked the wind out of him but thanks to his Suna No Yoroi, he was indeed not harmed by the attack. "I've forgotten how annoyingly strong he is in that cursed form. I guess I have no other alternative, especially in my weakened state." Gaara mused to himself as he slowly stood up.
Kimmimaro frowns as Gaara's sands starts to inexplicably return to his gourd.
"What are you doing? Why did you retract your sand? Do you really wish to die?" Kimmimaro asks as he starts to walk towards Gaara but stops as he notices dark colored dust swirling around the red-haired Kazekage.
"Not at all." Gaara answers, the swirling dark dust starts to cling to his body as he starts to walk forward as well. "It's simply just too taxing for me to exert conscious control over both the sand in my gourd & my SATETSU(Iron Sand) at the same time. You should be count yourself lucky because you're one of the very few people to experience the bloodline I inherited from the Sandaime Kazekage because it seems that my normal sand will not work on you."
"SATETSU is it?" Kimmimaro comments as he lifts up his spiny sword. "So you do have some surprises left in you. Let's see how your bloodline fares against MY bloodline." Kimmimaro swings his sword at Gaara who simply blocks it with a forearm covered with the black dust. Much to Kimmimaro's surprise, his spiny sword shatters upon impact.
"Your bloodline DOES seem to be formidable." Kimmimaro stated as he tosses the remains of his sword away then forms his HANA on his left arm. "But if all you do is defend, then you won't beat me."
"Whoever said I'm defending?" Gaara asks with a raised eyebrow. With that, the black sand which Gaara had been slowly surrounding Kimmimaro envelopes the Sound nin & no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't budge it.
"Tch... I got careless." Kimmimaro said as he stares at Gaara, his eyes already accepting his defeat. "It is your victory Sabaku No Gaara. Whatever you're going to do, I suggest you do it now before I change my mind."
"You have been a worthy opponent but it's over now Kimmimaro. I don't know how Orochimaro brought you back, but with this jutsu, he won't be able to do it again so you can get back to your eternal slumber." Gaara said as he makes a one handed seal. "But for what it's worth, I am sorry for what happened to your clan & I will do everything in my power to ensure that nothing like it will ever happen again."
Kimmimaro's eyes widens at Gaara's statement. He didn't know that anybody knew about the fate of the Kaguya clan but apparently, Gaara did & probably took pains to research it. He could only nod his head in grateful acknowledgement.
And with that, Gaara completes his jutsu & whispers. "SATETSU NINPOU: SHUKKAKU NO FUINN (Iron Sand Ninja Technique: Seal Of Shukaku)" Instantly, the iron sand binding Kimmimaro forms a statue of Shukaku around the Sound Nin, it's grains even entering his body through the skin pores & hardens, instantly killing the Sound nin by suffocation.
His job already done, Gaara sighs in relief & stares at the statue that was once his opponent & thinks about his life had he lived it like Kimmimaro had.
(Sasuke Vs. Kidomaru)
"How troublesome." Sasuke thought to himself, borrowing a phrase from an acquaintance as he continously dodged a six armed assault by the revived Kidomaru in his transformed state with 6 hook-like weapons made with his gold colored web. He had met & fought the Sound Nin along with the other Sound 4 years ago when he decided to leave Konoha & during their brief altercation, he could already tell that the 6 armed shinobi was the most formidable of them 2nd only to Kimmimaro.
"I've always wanted to fight against you Uchiha Sasuke." Kidomaru said with a chuckle as he swipes at the dark haired Konoha nin with his golden hooks. "I've never quite understood the reason why Orchimaru wanted you so much that he was willing to sacrifice the lives of the Sound 5 just to get to you, but now I see that you're really as good as he says you are."
"CLANG!"
"Good." Sasuke mutters as he calmly crosses both his sword & sheath in front of him to block all 6 of Kidomaru's hook wielding arms. "Now that we've established that, you DO also realize that going up against an Uchiha un close quarters combat even with 6 arms..." With a deft twist of his sword & sheath, Sasuke disarms Kidomaru & sends his weapons flying in different directions before continuing his statement. "...Is tantamount to suicide?"
Kidomaru jumps back shaking his stinging hands from the sheer force of the disarming of his weapons as well as to put some distance between him & Sasuke. "Like I'd care. I'm already dead anyways so it doesn't really matter to me. But since short ranged tactics won't work..." Kidomaru never finishes his sentence. He leaps back & starts spitting out golden goo at Sasuke which rapidly hardens & turns into drill shaped kunais.
Sasuke deflects the barrage using his sword & sheath but had to jump back to avoid a spear-shaped projectile. He lifts an eyebrow upon seeing how deep the spear had dug into the ground where he had previously been standing on. "Impressive power behind that throw." He comments.
"Thank you. But there's much more where that came from." Kidomaru said as he spits out more golden goo at Sasuke. This time however, Sasuke stands his ground & his body shook as multiple kunais seem to hit him. But as the smoke clears, what looked like Sasuke was actually a shell of him which was filled with holes.
"Shit. Snake skin kawarimi." Kidomaru mutters as he looks around in an attempt to locate his opponent & at the same time, starts to secrete the golden goo from his skin pores to create his armor.
"Don't get slow on me now..." A voice whispers in Kidomaru's ear as a fist crashes against his jaw & shatters the golden armor. The Sound nin staggers against the powerful blow but manages to remain on his feet as he quickly reformed the armor.
"That won't work on me." Kidomaru said. "Even if you break my gold armor, I can reform it just as quickly."
"Is that right?" Sasuke's voice came out of the darkness. "So I guess the correct question would be how fast can you reform your armor? Why don't we find out?" And with that, Sasuke begins his high speed assault on Kidomaru. Even without the help of his Mangekyou Sharingan, his speed (honed by years of doing nothing but training) far surpasses any normal shinobi.
Kidomaru feels himself getting knocked around with audible cracks to his armor which he quickly repairs & reforms. But he knew he wouldn't last very long if he kept taking hits like this & continously repair his armor. If only he could trap Sasuke with his webs.
"What's the matter?" Sasuke asks as he appears in front of Kidomaru. "Have you lost your will to live? Is this the extent of a Sound elite's ability?"
Quick as a flash, Kidomaru spits out globs of golden web-like nets which pins Sasuke against some large rubble.
"You should NEVER let your guard down especially against an opponent like myself." Kidomaru said as he started forming his golden bow. "And now that you're immobilized by my webs, you won't escape your death."
"So are you gonna kill me now with that bow & arrow of yours or just bore me to death with your inane rants?" Sasuke asks, looking quite calm for someone who was facing his possible death.
"You won't be so calm once I punch a big ass hole in you, you arrogant brat." Kidomaru said as he drew the string of his bow with all 3 left arms as well as his teeth & aimed a drill tipped arrow at Sasuke. "Wind resistance zero. Maximum power, 500 percent. You're dead Uchiha Sasuke!"
But before Kidomaru can release the arrow, Sasuke breaks out from his bindings & disappears only to reappear behind Kidomaru while sheating his sword. Kidomaru looks on in surprise as all 6 of his arms fall off & his bow & arrow falls in pieces. It took a moment for the shock from losing his arms to sink in.
"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"
Kidomaru drops to his knees as he stares at the stumps that was his arms. He knew that even in his current enhanced which was capable of regenerating lost limbs, it would take a few moments for it to happen. And a few moments is all a shinobi needs to kill his opponents.
"Goodbye." Sasuke simply said as he places a hand on top of Kidomaru's head & channels through it a powerful chakra surge in the form of high voltage electricity. All that remained of the revived Kidomaru after Sasuke was done is a charred, smoking husk.
"Now for you, Orochimaru." Sasuke thought to himself as he jumps off.
(Sakura Vs. Tayuya)
"Shit shit shit shit shit shit!" Tayuya thought to herself as she watched the last of her demonic summons poof out of existence courtesy of a Chakra enhanced punch from Sakura.
When the 2 kunoichis started their battle, Tayuya made the mistake of assuming that her summons were going to be enough to kill her opponent. What she hadn't counted on was the monstrous strength that Sakura seemed to have which was evident in the way that she had caught the first summon's gigantic warclub in midswing & had used the weapon against it.
Things had gone downhill from there as the Konoha nin easily dispatched all her remaining summons & was now staring at her impassively.
"Is that everything you have?" Sakura asks in a bored tone. "Aren't you supposed to be one of those elite Sound shinobis who took away Sasuke? You certainly don't fight like it."
"Don't you fucking mess with me bitch!" Tayuya roared in anger as she charges at Sakura with a kunai. "You don't know who you're fucking dealing with here!"
Sakura catches the hand carrying the kunai & starts to squeeze, causing Tayuya to drop her weapon. "On the contratry, It's YOU who don't know who you're dealing with. My name is Haruno Sakura. I am a leaf kunoichi & a student of the Godaime Hokage." She punctuates her last statement by tossing Tayuya away like some rag doll & tries to follow up with an axe kick.
But Tayuya was able to dodge the powerful attack which had smashed some large rubble to pieces instead. The pink haired Konoha nin goes after her again & Tayuya was hard pressed to avoid her attacks which she knew could cause serious damage if it connected cleanly.
"Shit! If the Godaime Hokage was the one who trained this bitch, that would explain her freaky strength. Gotta put some distance between us so i can use my flute." Tayuya thought as she jumps away.
"You won't get away from me!" Sakura said as she chases the red haired Sound nin who had transformed into her cursed form. Tayuya lands on a rooftop & plays her flute to use her most potent genjutsu on the pursuing kunoichi.
"Genjutsu through sound, huh?" Sakura muses to herself, stopping as her sharply honed senses notices the shifting scenery around her. "Shikamaru warned us about this during the briefing." Sakura thought to herself as she drops down to her knees & raises both arms above her head as if she was tied there.
"That should take care of that bitch." Tayuya mutters to herself as she lowers her flute. She knew that even the most experienced Jounins of the Sound Village had trouble escaping her genjutsus which, over time, would kill them eventually. So there was no way that the pink haired bitch could even remotely fight it off.
"But just to make sure..." Tayuya said to herself, drawing a kunai then jumps over to where Sakura was & prepares to kill. Tayuya however, fails to notice the smirk under the bowed head of Sakura as well as the whispered "Kai." from the kunoichi. So when she tried slit Sakura's throat, she was understandably surprised when the Leaf kunoichi caught her wrist in mid-swing.
"Gotcha. Too bad for you that Genjutsus don't really work on me THAT well lady." Sakura said with a smile as she placed a powerful explosive tag under the Sound kunoichi's shirt & jumps away. What's more, she releases a large quantity of smaller explosive tags which floated down around Tayuya to ensure no escape (think Ino's Ougi in Nrutimate Accel 2).
"Shit!" Was all Tayuya managed to say before the tag on her chest blew & triggered a chain reaction of explosions from the smaller tags. Whatever remained of Tayuya that was not blown away was buried beneath tons & tons of rubble that was caused by the explosion.
"Now that that issue is settled, I have to get back to Tsunade Sama." Sakura thought to herself & leaps off.
(Naruto Vs. Sakon/Ukon)
"I have to get out of here. I have to go help Baa Chan & Ero Senin against that Ero Hebi." Naruto thought to himself as he continously dodged the attacks from Sakon & Ukon.
"SETTLE DOWN KIT. ONE CRISIS AT A TIME, OK? FIRST LETS CONCENTRATE ON DISPOSING THESE EYESORES BEFORE WE GO HELP THEM." Kyubi said with a growl from inside this cage.
"Easier said then done furball. I heard about what this guy can do from Kiba & if what he said is true, I can't afford to let him touch me." Naruto mentally told the 9 tailed beast as he dodged yet another attack from his opponent.
"AHHH YES... THE BODY FUSION TECHNIQUE. ONE OF THE NASTIEST BLOODLINE I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED." Kyubi stated with what suspiciously seemed to be admiration in it's voice.
"I'm glad you admire our enemy's abilities..." Naruto thought back, an eyebrow twitching. "...But can you help me out here?"
"What's wrong brat? Why don't you fight back?" Sakon yelled at Naruto as he & his brother pressed their assault on the blonde Jinchuriki.
"Stop jumping around & stay still. We promise that we'll end your suffering as quickly as we can." Ukon stated.
"Yeah like that'll ever happen." Naruto muttered darkly as he threw a couple of kunais at the creepy brothers to keep them at bay while he formulated a plan. Naruto knows that his strength is in mostly close quarters combat. But close quarters combat was something which he needed to avoid right now given the Sound Brothers's unique ability.
"Dammit." Naruto growled more to himself then at anybody else. "Why the hell am I having such a hard time with these 2 wierdos?"
"THAT'S BECAUSE THINKING OVER THINGS WAS NEVER YOUR STRONGEST POINT." Kyubi answered. "YOU'RE AT YOUR BEST THINKING ON THE FLY & UNDER PRESSURE BRAT. SO WHY THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU GOTTA DO & LET YOUR INSTINCTS TAKE OVER?"
Naruto was silent for a moment before chuckling darkly. "Hehe! That's the most backhanded compliment I've ever heard. I guess you really do know me better then anyone else, don't you furball?"
"AS MUCH AS IT PAINS ME TO SAY IT BUT YES, I DO KIT." Kyubi answers. "AND THE BRAT I KNOW WOULD'VE FINISHED THIS FIGHT AGES AGO IF ONLY HE KEPT HIS FOCUS ON THE TASK AT HAND."
"Heh, I guess you're right. And since these 2 likes to use their combos so much, I think it's time I show them one of mine." Naruto lands on a branch & turns to face Sakon & Ukon while forming a familiar cross shaped seal. "Since you boys use your numbers to your advantage, lets see what happens when I turn the tables on you. TAIJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Instantly, dozens upon dozens of Narutos surround the Sound pair though Sakon & Ukon seemed unconcerned.
"It doesn't matter how many you are..." Sakon started as he transforms into his cursed form & bites his thumb. "...We are still much stronger then you & that will never change." Ukon finished as he also transforms into his own cursed form & also bites his thumb. Both then slams their palms to the ground & calls out. "KUCHIYOSE: KOSATSU RASHAMON (Summoning Technique: Ancient Temple Of Rashamon). A huge cube-like structure made from 5 Rashamon Gates rose & forms a protective barrier around the Sound Pair. "And with this, you'll never be able to touch us." They said in unision.
"A barrier of Rashamons eh?" Naruto comments with a grin as he forms a one handed seal. "Let's see how it fares against this trick I learned from Akatsuki." With a mental command, the shadow clones hurl themselves against the Rashamon barrier & explode with devastating force upon impact. As the smoke clears, the Rashamon shield was in pieces though the brothers did not appear to be harmed. But Naruto was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is that little brat?" Sakon hissed as he looks around. "Did he run away?"
"He's still here brother." Ukon answered his sibling. "He's probably hiding from us & planning his next move."
"Planning my next move? Ain't my style buddy." A set of voices stated from above the twins. Looking up, Sakon & Ukon sees a number of Narutos descending on them. The shadow clones were dispatched fairly quickly but they still couldn't find the real Naruto.
"C'mon out you coward!" Sakon snarled in frustration. "You can't hide forever!"
"Whoever said I'm hiding?" Another set of voices said from behind the brothers. Looking back, they could see another set of shadow clones charging at them. They were again, dealt with easily. The cycle went on for a while with groups of shadow clones attacking the brothers & the brothers defeating the clones. But each time the shadow clones attacked, they tried something different which made Ukon suspicious.
"Something's wrong." Ukon muttered. "It's almost as if the brat is testing us." He said to his brother as he destroyed the last shadow clone.
"That idiotic Konoha nin? It's impossible." Sakon scoffed as he scans the area for Naruto.
"You should listen to your brother you know." Naruto said, appearing in front of the brothers in a flash of yellow with one of his wide, ear to ear grins. "He might have the right idea."
The brothers are immediately on their guard. If there was one thing they've learned in this fight, it was not to underestimate the blonde.
"If your clones couldn't do the job, what makes you think that you alone can fight us?" Sakon said as the brothers start to warily circle Naruto.
"I told you before, your brother might have the right idea this time." Naruto stated, his expression was one of utter boredom.
Infuriated by the seeming lack of concern on the blonde Konoha nin's part, Sakon charges at Naruto & throws a punch. Naruto easily dodges his attack then with a quick Hiraishin backstep, dodges another attack thrown this time by Ukon. No matter how hard they tried, Naruto seemed to be able to avoid their attacks at will.
"He's reading our attacks." Ukon exclaimed. "How does he do that? Nobody has been able to avoid our combination attacks before."
"There's no way anybody can do that." Sakon argued before realization sets in. "Unless... Wait a minute... Those shadow clones..."
"About time you guys realized it." Naruto said, twirling his kunai from his perch atop a large boulder. "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu is a pretty versatile technique. Not only can it be used offensively & defensively, it's also a pretty handy training & scouting tool since I get to experience what my clones experience. Though it can be a bit of a headache taking all the info in."
"So all this time, you were using your clones to gather information about our fighting style?" Sakon asks.
"Yeah, pretty much." Naruto said cheerfully.
"But you're not the only one who can use Kage Bunshin No Jutsu." A voice whispered in Naruto's ear. As he looks back, he sees Ukon who grabs his head & holds on tightly as his own shadow clone besides Sakon poofs away.
"Get him Ukon!" Sakon urged his brother. "Tear him inside out!"
Ukon nods as he starts fusing with a struggling Naruto. "It's no use brat. There's no chance for you now. Once I fuse with you, I won't kill you just yet. I'm gonna torture you slowly & painfully before I turn you inside out. You'll soon be begging us to kill you."
Cough "About time you made your move." Naruto said as he starts coughing out a bit of blood due to Ukon's work inside his body.
"As if there's anything you can do about it brat. I can promise you that your end will be extremely painful." Ukon said with a sneer but was unnerved when Naruto gave him a bloody grin.
"You think so?" Naruto stated brightly. "I'll let you guys in on a little secret. I'm actually the Jinchuuki for the Kyuubi No Kitsune."
"How is that going to help you in this situation?" Sakon asks as he drew a kunai. "You're already possessed by my brother & it's only a matter of time before he tears you apart inside out."
"There's actually something else you need to know." Naruto continues. "Kyuubi actually grants me a healing factor like you wouldn't believe. Not only does he heal all my injuries in record time, he also heals any sickness I might have." Red chakra flares around Naruto making Ukon cry out in pain. "And right now, he's identifying your brother as a disease."
Before his brother's horrified eyes, Ukon screams in anguish as he starts melting off Naruto's body. "Stop it!" Sakon yells as he charges at Naruto with a drawn kunai. Naruto however, stops the attack by clamping down on Sakon's wrist with inhuman strength. "FOR A COUPLE OF SICK & TWISTED FLESHBAGS, YOUR BOND AS BROTHERS IS TOUCHING. SO I'LL REWARD YOU BY ALLOWING YOU 2 TO DIE TOGETHER." Naruto/Kyuubi stated, his eyes glowing red as his red, demonic chakra envelopes Sakon & melts him as well. All that remained of the brothers were 2 puddles at Naruto's feet.
"Baa Chan... Ero Sennin... I'm coming so hold on a little longer." Naruto thought as he leaps off.
(Tsunade & Jiraiya Vs. Orochimaru)
"This isn't looking good for us, isn't it hime?" Jiraiya stated as he warily looks at a rising tidal wave of snakes bearing down on him & Tsunade.
"Damn It! That snake's fighting dirty! Not that I should be surprised about it." Tsunade growls as she gritted her teeth in frustration.
Tsunade & Jiraiya had been doing extremely well against their ex-team mate despite his continuous rejuvenation in battle & their own unwillingness to go all out in fear of destroying their village when Orochimaru decided to up the ante by transforming himself into a gigantic snake-like creature & spitting a large torrent of poisonous snakes from his mouth which was racing into the safety bunkers which housed all the civilians.
Tsunade & Jiraiya did their best to contain the flow of snakes but there was just too many & using any of their more powerful techniques would do more harm then good.
"Kukukuku! Behold the power I absorbed from the Hachibi No Orochi (8 Tailed Serpent)! You & Konoha will not live to see another day!" Orochimaru declared with triumphant laughter from his position behind the tidal wave of snakes.
"Hmm…. So that's why reports indicated that Hachibi No Orochi seemed a little weak when Akatsuki captured it's vessel." Jiraiya muttered.
"A fat lot good that does us now." Tsunade gripes as she claps her hands together which creates a shockwave that drives some of the snakes back while Jiraiya adds to the assault with a powerful fire jutsu. But it has little effect on the rapidly advancing tidal wave of snakes. "But if this continues…."
"SHANNARO!" A voice cries out as a pink blur slams down on the ground creating a large fissure which separated the snakes from Tsunade & Jiraiya.
"KATON: DAIENRYU! (Fire Element: Grand Fire Dragon)
"FUTON: CHOU FUJIN KEN! (Wind Element: Ultimate Wind God Fist)
2 other voices cries out which was followed large gigantic dragon made of fire augmented by a hurricane strength blast of wind that consumes the tidal wave of snakes & forces the serpent-like creature that is Orochimaru to retreat to a safer distance. "It can't be!" He hisses.
"Oh but it is…." Naruto said as he, Sakura & Sasuke lands in front of Tsunade & Jiraiya. "We've taken care of your cronies, now we'll take care of you."
"Stop Naruto!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "Orochimaru's got a portion of the Hachibi No Orochi's power so he is not easy to deal with."
"It doesn't matter." Sasuke intoned emotionlessly. "One way or another, he's going down for his crimes against Konoha."
"But if the battle goes on, Konoha & her citizens will…." Tsunade starts but was stopped by Sakura.
"Our citizens are guarded by our brave shinobis & our homes can be rebuilt." Sakura stated then glares at Orochimaru. "But he can't be allowed to live."
"What can the 3 of you & those 2 invalids do against me? Face it, you're outmatched." Orochimaru said before jumping back to avoid a tendril of sand.
"They're not alone." Came the impassive voice of the Godaime Kazekage who floated down on a cloud of sand. "Look around you Orochimaru. You've lost."
Sure enough, when Orochimaru looks around, he could see a number of elite warriors which consisted of the rest of the Konoha 12, their jounin instructors & the Sand Siblings standing on the rooftops glaring at him.
"Hmmppp…. A temporary setback." Orochimaru huffed in defiance. "Mark my words. Konoha will fall by my hands & none of you or your pathetic allies will be strong enough to stop us." Orochimaru then makes his escape by burrowing into the ground & collapsing the tunnel after him to prevent pursuit. Team Gai makes a move to follow him but was stopped by Tsunade.
"No. Let him go for now." She stated. "Now that we know what we're up against, we need time to prepare. For now we have to fortify our defenses."
Sakura & Sasuke winced inwardly & were prepared to stop Naruto. But much to their surprise, the blonde Jinchuuriki merely nods his head in agreement.
"Konoha comes 1st." Naruto seconded. "There's a lot of other people who'd just love to see us burn & we shouldn't give them that satisfaction. We've also got to tend to our casualties & re-strengthen our ranks." Naruto's eyes then glowed red as he looked at Tsunade & spoke again. This time using Kyuubi's voice. "BUT AFTER WHICH…."
Tsunade nods grimly, knowing exactly what she was going to do after they've recovered. "Yes. After which, Konoha is going to war."
Author's Notes: Whoohoo! A whopping 600 words & 13 pages for me. It was fun to write & I hope you guys enjoy it. As always, reviews & criticisms are welcome. Peoce out y'all