Naruto Genkyouien
- ナルト- 幻脅威宴
Chapter Eighteen: Party Start (Part Two)
Pristine, white feathers rained upon the stadium.
Yuri could not stop herself from giggling at the sight.
"Ara, how cute."
She glanced at her daughters and grand-daughters, pleased to see they were watching the gentle rain with nothing other than mild confusion.
"Yurisa, dear, would you mind?" She paused. "Oh, and make sure to not dispel it completely; it will not do for the human cattle to go into a panic. Better to let them sleep."
"Ye…yes, mother. Spectral Counterforce."
Kakashi and Gai could only glare at the woman while they canceled the Genjutsu's effect on themselves. Sakura and Hinata showed commendable quick-thinking, grabbing Ino and Kiba, respectively, before using the standard dispelling technique.
"Ah…sleepy…" Tenten blurted out weakly. "Shtoopid…Gai-sensei…never taught me…Jushteesh…"
Magical Dispel.
Tenten shook her head to fully regain her bearings after a faint pinkish aura washed over her. "Thanks, pal."
She did her best to ignore Hinata's fearsome glare. Fortunately, the situation was such that nobody listened to the talking magical artifact.
Naruto, who was struggling to stay on his feet, suddenly found his mind cleared and two different people holding his hands.
"Please remind me to teach you how to deal with techniques like this, Naruto-sama," Kotonoha quickly pointed out wither usual gentle smile.
"Master, I'm so ashamed of myself," Yurimi, on the other side, sounded a little frantic. "I should have acted earlier—ah…"
Naruto tenderly caressed her right cheek, and Yurimi felt her knees weaken.
"Thank you, Yurimi. Really, I'm worthless when it comes to Enchantments."
Yuriyo would disagree.
"So, what's going on?"
"Such a crude attempt at Enchantment is obviously the work of a human," Yuri declared, and many people rolled their eyes.
"Actually, to cover such a wide area, and affect so many…is quite commendable…"
Gods bless you, Yurisa.
"Anyway, I will ask you to—oh, for Inari's sake."
A silver tail lashed at great speed, promptly impaling the Sound nin looming behind Naruto's loudly-snoring fiancée. Instead of blood or guts, however, what came out attached to the tail as it retracted was a vaguely humanoid construct of unfathomable energy. At the same time the lifeless body slumped down on the floor, Yuri examined the extracted soul with a bored expression.
"Not even worth my time. Better luck next life, dear."
Like that, the soul dispersed into the air, leaving the realm of the living to take the long trek towards the Sanzu River.
Before any of the humans present could comment on the undeniably horrific event they had just witnessed, a pillar of sand quickly claimed their attention.
"UCHIHA SASUKE!"
"Tch!"
Yurine exploded in motion, reaching the wall the barely conscious young boy remained attached to.
"Aegis!"
A normal (compared to the last one) spherical barrier of silvery chakra protected both Kitsune and human from the onslaught of sand. The former Silver Lily watched the clash impassively.
"Oh well." She turned to the sleeping foxgirl. "Would anybody please wake my depressingly inept and exiled daughter up?"
A second explosion, this time from the Hokage's stand, interrupted the current flow of events.
"Oh dear," Yuri mused. "No time, it seems. I must ask you to follow me, lilies. Please stay close together."
And then, she disappeared.
"Ghost Step," Yurimi inferred, then turning to her beloved. "Master."
Naruto was having trouble keeping up, but he paid attention. She had said so, had she not? To keep an eye on the Hokage…
"Please hold tight, Mayuri-chan," Yurisa instructed her daughter before following after her mother with the same technique. The three-tailed twins wordlessly flickered away. Sayoko had already disappeared and nobody had noticed.
"Please follow Mother and summon me once you make it there. I will wake Yuria."
"Ah!" He nodded eagerly. That was a plan he could follow. "Sure!"
"Kotonoha," the young Matriarch continued, and the four-tails nodded.
"I understand," she declared before making a half-seal and departing with the "mundane" Shunshin no Jutsu.
"Summon us too!" Yuriyo quickly added before he left. "We can't use Ghost Step!"
"Got it."
Fixing his eyes on his destination, Naruto pumped chakra into his artificial tails.
"Extension!"
Fire tails as spears crossed the air and impaled themselves on the rooftop mere yards away from where he could vaguely see the Third's figure. He was surrounded; what the hell were the guards doing?
The sand receded, revealing Yurine's unharmed figure. Her left hand's fingers wildly drummed on her left thigh for no apparent reason. Reaching outwards, she felt the boy, Uchiha Sasuke's chakra. It relieved her to know he was still alive. The problem was, then, the redhead on the middle of the arena.
Defeating him was not really an issue; Yurine simply refused to raise a hand against a child, even such an obviously unhinged one. However, she could not help but wonder about the strange feeling of his chakra. Yuria had said this boy was like Naruto-kyun. Did she mean…?
"Youkai…" she muttered, just before pulling Sasuke out of the pile of sand that held it to the wall and jumping away from the giant hammer of sand aimed at them.
An unnatural sandstorm rapidly filled the arena. Wild cyclones of sand streamed the air like hungry dragons dancing in mad revelry. Yurine did not fear them. If anything, forcing her to keep dodging only made her stronger.
At the same time Naruto shot to the air, pulled by his chakra tails' hook-shot effect, Yurimi poked her older sister's forehead, injecting a minimal amount of chakra to disrupt the foreign influence acting on her brain.
"Uhn…ugh…"
"It seems Yuria-san does not respond to the standard procedure," Yurimi suddenly stated. "I shall proceed with harsher measures."
"A-Ano, I think Yuria-san's waking up just fine…"
Yurina's words did not stop Yurimi from slapping the three-tails. Hard.
Yuriyo snickered.
"OW! Wha-what the fuck!?"
Yurimi's lips trembled. Just a little.
"Oh my. It appears my original assessment was incorrect. My utmost apologies, independent Kitsune Yuria-san."
"I'll 'assess' you just fine, you little—"
The four foxgirls disappeared, and suddenly Hyuuga Hanabi was the only one standing on the front row.
"What's going on—kyah!" Ino's shriek was interrupted by Gai blowing a Suna nin away with his mighty Leaf Whirlwind.
"As you can see, we have entered a combat situation against the united forces of Oto and Suna," Kakashi calmly explained as he stood guard to the left of the young Genin. Some distance away, a trio of enemy shinobi pondered their options. "Hyuuga Hinata-san, I must ask you to guide your sister to the shelters."
"Ah, of-of course!"
Hanabi remained silent. She did not like it, but she knew it was the proper course of action.
"She can't possibly go alone. I'll go with them."
"Yosh!" Gai stood on guard to Sakura's right, in case an enemy tried anything funny with the young rookies. "Tenten, I'll leave Neji-kun's young cousins to you!"
"You three," Kakashi then addressed Sakura, Ino and Kiba. "Get Sasuke and hide him. He's in no condition to do anything right now. We'll clean up here and then we'll do something about Gaara."
"Ye-yes, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura stiffly stood up. Ino and Kiba nodded; the former visibly more nervous than the latter. The sounds of explosions reached them from beyond the stadium's walls, telling them that the battle was quickly spreading throughout the village.
At the same time the children moved, the two experienced Jounin exchanged nods and moved to the offensive.
"Ufufufufu~"
Sarutobi suppressed the strong urge to groan.
Like a wraith stepping through the boundary of the material and the ephemeral, Yuri stepped out of the ether and stood next to the Third Hokage. Yurisa, Mayuri, Yuriko, Yurika, Sayoko and Kotonoha appeared a moment later.
The panoply of twenty-three tails made Orochimaru and his minions flinch noticeably.
Naruto was a living arrow soaring through the air. Other than the Third, there was another person near him. And those four around him…what was the deal with those?
A trio of ANBU was also approaching, but he would make it first.
The Snake Sannin quickly regained his cool.
"What are you waiting for, fools?" He lashed at his guards. "Raise the barrier, now!"
Naruto made it to the rooftop just before a violet wall of chakra isolated it from further physical entry.
"Naruto…!" The Third called.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Nine more tails joined the panoply.
"Hmm…so, the Kyuubi boy has truly embraced his demonic power. I really should have killed you in the Forest of Death."
"Pfft." Naruto snorted. "If Kyuubi is a demon, then I'm a ballerina."
"A damn good one," Yuriyo promptly added.
Our protagonist then tilted his head in confusion. "And who the heck are you?"
"Mr. Gonna-Get-His-Ass-Kicked, that's who!" Yuria barked excitedly, cracking her knuckles with utmost eagerness.
"Why are you even here?" Hiruzen asked quietly, to which Yuri responded with mock hurt.
"I come this far to show my appreciation for your hospitality and this is what I get? Gosh, you humans are so ungrateful."
"So…what's the deal now?" Yuriko intervened, before addressing Orochimaru. "Um, no offense, mister; I am sure you are most talented in the villainous arts and extremely skilled in all sorts of fancy ninja techniques. The point is, well…this is kind of overkill."
"Well, what about this barrier thingy and those four?" Yuriyo proposed. "They look kind of bad news; look, that mask guy got burned."
Indeed, just outside the barrier, two ANBU pointlessly tried to aid their third member who did not bother stopping when the wall came into being.
"I'm sure Yurisa can break this barrier just fine," Yuria proposed.
"Ah, I…I don't know…" the four-tails mused. "It's a Combination Technique, and there are four of them…"
"Oh, stop it with the fake modesty, it's disgusting," Yuria countered.
"Alright, so Yurisa breaks the barrier," Yuriyo agreed. "Then I pick freaky six-arms guy! He looks funny!"
"Onee-chan! That's awfully rude! And you're not a front-liner…"
"Okay, so you get freaky six-arms guy."
"Wha-no-no! Yurina…Yurina doesn't like fighting…"
"The twins can get the Twilight auction reject—"
"Eeeh?" Yurika was quick to complain. "No way! Can't we have the chick?"
"Nope!" Yuriyo immediately denied their request. "She's obviously the weakest, so she's Yurimi's."
"I'll show you weak, you syphilitic cunt!"
"See? She's perfect!"
"How exactly?" Yuria muttered.
The half-Void finally pointed at Jiroubou. "And Yuria, of course, gets fatass over there. You can play sumo together or something."
"Har har."
"What about their boss, then?" An honestly curious Kotonoha inquired. She had some knowledge of who was who in the Shinobi World, and she had recognized Orochimaru.
"Ah, well, he's the Big Bad, so we leave that fight to our Big Damn Heroes," Yuriyo calmly explained, before shooting odd looks at Sarutobi and Naruto. "Then again, here we have an old coot…"
"Oi."
"…and a brat who won't have sex with me…"
"OI!"
"…so maybe you can give them a tail or two…?"
Kotonoha stifled a giggle. "I'll do my best."
"Hmm…" Yurimi meditated on her nephew's suggestions. "…maybe I should consider you for the role of Master Strategist of Higashiyama."
"I live to serve the clan—OW!" Yuriyo declared most solemnly before she was smacked on the crown of her head by a chakra tail.
"Read the goddamned mood already!"
Nice tsukkomi, Naruto-kyun.
The end of this miracle, like all miracles (well, not really), came with a headache.
"Guh…!" Yurine faltered for a second, suddenly struck by a very strong migraine; an action that almost cost her hers and Sasuke's life. Still, she managed to jump away from the latest assault from Gaara's animated sand.
"Is…Is this it, then?" She muttered forlornly.
Of course she had noticed. She knew, however, that this miracle, whatever the cause may be—though she had a good idea why it had happened—, would not last forever. That is why she feigned ignorance of her "change".
It would not do to break her daughters' hearts so viciously.
"Yurine-san!"
Kiba, Ino and Sakura landed behind her.
"Kiba-kun."
"We'll take Sasuke! We'll get him away from this place."
The fox-woman nodded. "Sounds like a plan—"
"DISAPPEAR!"
"Aegis."
Once again, a fierce tempest of sand clashes against Yurine's Aegis of the Soul.
Even while the barrier stood firm against the onslaught, Yurine took the time to turn her back to it and put Sasuke on Kiba's arms.
"Get away the moment he stops attacking. I'll cover you."
"Um!"
"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura was visibly worried by his mangled appearance.
"Damn, he took a nasty blow…" Ino stated the obvious.
That was when the sand relented.
"Move!"
But that was also when Temari and Kankuro landed on the arena, opposite from Gaara.
Yurine almost moaned in frustration while her fingers drummed on her left side. Where were the evil super villains? She could deal with those!
Shino and Shikamaru then dropped in front of the other Genin.
"Shino to the rescue."
"Shino-kun…" Ino muttered in amused exasperation.
Baki and Kabuto then appeared behind Gaara's siblings, and Yurine's expression brightened.
Evil-looking adults! About damn time!
Then Kakashi and Gai landed in front of Shino and Kiba, and she almost face-faulted.
She really wanted to ask why they stepped into the pincer attack, but she knew it was not the best of times.
"Take Gaara and get away from here," Baki declared.
"Why don't you just ask us to kill ourselves?" Kankuro growled back. "If anything, it would be less painful."
"I thought the plan was letting Gaara loose in the middle of Konoha…?" Kabuto pointed out.
"Not like this," Baki countered. "We'll only die like this; he has to calm down."
"Maybe, if we could get him out of that shell, he would listen to us…?" Temari proposed.
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Her brother was quick to argue.
"I can."
Everybody focused on Yurine, who absentmindedly punched away a sickle of sand aiming to decapitate her.
"If it's just breaking the shell…" Her left hand's fingers still drummed on her waist, while her right hand aimed an Aegis behind her to stop another massive wave of animated sand. "I think I can do it."
"That's…that's pretty damn creepy, alright…"
Such was Yuria's opinion after Orochimaru was kind enough to reveal his finished immortality jutsu. They were no longer being challenged by an evil-looking man, but by an evil-looking, porcelain-faced young girl.
"Damn, she's kinda hot."
"I'll pretend I did not hear that, Yurika," Yuri muttered halfheartedly.
Two steps behind the others, the ever inconspicuous Kurosaki Sayoko perked up when a placid voice filled her mind.
"It seems I won't be able to stay myself much longer, Sayoko-san…"
Yurine hopped from side to side as if trying to warm up her body. She knew she was getting odd looks from the children, but such was the prize of power. Sometimes you just have to make yourself look like a fool.
"When the time comes…I beg you, please protect my family."
She knew there would be no answer from the ancient Void Kitsune. She had done everything she could afford to do at that moment. She might as well make her exit.
"Don't waste a moment and do what you have to as soon as I break that shell," she demanded.
Kakashi and Gai nodded. They knew they could break through Gaara's defense themselves, but they could not just leave the children unguarded with Kabuto and the Suna nin right in front of them. If the fox-woman was willing to make the chakra expense, who were they to complain?
Not Baki, that's for sure.
"Stop! Like we'll let you do whatever you want—"
"Kokuyoureirou."
The Obsidian Spirit Prison Higashiyama Yuri had used on the adult Sayuri some days earlier captured the enemy group of four faster than they could jump away from it. The surprise element helped a lot, of course.
"Well, now that's awfully convenient," Kakashi admitted, glancing at the dark chakra cage before turning to Yurine. "So, how long it will take for you to…?"
"Shinzoku."
The air exploded.
The battle in the stadium was paralyzed when a deafening shockwave rippled through the entire structure and past it into Konoha proper. Sakura and Ino shrieked, fearing their eardrums had shattered like brittle glass. Kiba had to hold his pup so it would not be blown away.
Waaaaai! Expwosion!
Not now, Sayuri.
The resulting sound burst startled the large group on the rooftop, even.
"What the hell was THAT?" Yuria exclaimed.
"I would say…" Kotonoha mused. "That was the speed of sound being broken."
"Sonic boom," Yuri stated clearly.
Sarutobi grimaced as he tried to get a view of the arena. "What's going on down there…?"
"Oi, Rina…" Yuriyo leaned closer to her sister. "Mom's still down there."
The half-Celestial's smile came out somehow bitter. "Mother will be fine."
"Until she trips on air, yes!" Yuriyo hissed. It was strange of her to be the one worried about their mother for once.
"Mother will be fine," Yurina repeated, wondering why she felt so ticklish in her corners of her eyes.
Gaara…was a little stunned.
You see, the cocoon of densely packed sand reinforced with chakra…was not there anymore. It had dispersed like cotton spores in the spring breeze.
Yurine was standing on the opposite side of the arena, having apparently moved its entire diameter at sound-barrier-breaking speed. She released a long exhalation as she felt the empowering effect of Sage Mode (Dancer Mode, in her own terms) wearing off. Then she inhaled…and looked around.
"…hawa?"
"HAWAWAAAAAAN!"
Yurine's voice climbed over the sounds of battle and filled the stadium with her pathetic bawling.
Yuri scratched her right cheek. "Oh dear. Naruto-sama, if you would be so kind."
The boy rolled his eyes. "You know I like you girls, but summoning the whole lot of you takes quite a bit of chakra…and by a bit, I mean I'm feeling kinda dizzy now…"
Still, he summoned her, and the white cloud was just on its way upwards when Yurine's strong arms wrapped around Naruto's waist. The five-tails was seated on the rooftop's surface, bawling and shaking the young Genin's body.
"Hawaaaan! Hawawaaaan!"
"Hai, hai, petting, petting~"
"Hawaaan~"
"So fast!" Yuriyo's outburst in response to her mother's instant mellowing.
Mugyuu…
Yeah, yeah, sorry about that.
A deeper, more womanly voice echoed in Naruto's mind then.
Mugyuu…
You too!?
"Tch!" Orochimaru spat right before his arms began to move. Enough foolishness, he said!
Yuri's chakra perception gave her a troublesome warning. This chakra…
"Aegis, now!" She called out, pulling Yurimi close to her so that she, like the Third Hokage, would also be protected by her Aegis of the Netherworld.
A plethora of chakra barriers came into shape, all of them closely gathered together. Kotonoha was quick to protect Naruto with her own Rapidstream Aegis.
"Kuchiyose: Edo Fuumetsu."
Multiple wooden coffins emerged around the Snake Sannin, one for each of his potential enemies, and an innumerable swarm of eerie hands of purplish energy emerged from within the caskets to lash at the two humans and the Kitsune Clan.
Orochimaru's jutsu showed the clear difference between the different levels of Aegis. While those hands with came in contact with Yuri's barrier or Sayoko's Aegis of Oblivion disintegrated on contact, Yurisa's and Kotonoha's barriers were taking a pounding. The shadowy hands seemed to have a measure of intellect, some giving up on Yuri and her wards to focus on those that seemed like they might succumb.
"This…jutsu…strong!" Yurisa gasped even as she pumped more chakra into her defense. She would never, absolutely, let those things reach her daughter.
Yuriko and Yurika were fortunate. Their original Synchronic Aegis was stronger than the mere sum of their individual techniques, and it stood strong against the onslaught. Holding hands to allow their chakra frequencies to resonate, the lovers firmly resisted Orochimaru's attack.
Meanwhile, Yurina and Yuriyo watched in subdued amazement the same barrier which had protected Sasuke just minutes before. Two-dimensional misshapen faces moaned their sad fate, their souls spent away to fuel the powerful barrier. This was Higashiyama Yurine's original Aegis of the Damned, the one and only Aegis that can be centered on others rather than on the caster.
"Yurine's a good mama!" the grinning five-tails declared with a proud smirk, even as she was protected by Kotonoha's Aegis.
"Guh…do not…do not worry, Naruto-sama…I…" Kotonoha's left foot slid a few inches back. "I can…handle this…"
But Naruto was not particularly worried about himself. He only had eyes for the tragedy unfolding before his eyes, a tragedy the others noticed only when the sole victim of Orochimaru's jutsu fell on her knees.
"Geh…oh…"
Yuria-nee-chan?
Onee-sama!
Yuria, despite being a three-tails, does not know Aegis.
Sayoko gasped. She completely forgot Yuria had no means to defend herself!
Naruto had tried. He had sent his tails to make a wall in front of her, but the hands flew through his chakra constructs like they were not even there. Just what were those things, and why did the Kitsune's barrier work and not his?
A single hand pierced past Yuria's clothes, ignoring cloth, skin and tissue for something even more precious and fragile. Noticing they had a catch, more and more hands ignored the bothersome barriers and rushed to assault the easy prey. The foxgirl's body shook like a string-less marionette whenever a shadowy hand impaled her. Soon enough her entire body had been penetrated, and the remaining hands resorted to smothering her and binding her with their long, rope-like "arms" until she was completely covered in purple and black.
"Only one?" Orochimaru mused. "How disappointing."
"Yuria!" Naruto exclaimed when the gathering of shadowy arms began to pull Yuria's body towards Orochimaru and the coffins, but Kotonoha quickly got hold of him and prevented him from leaving her side.
"Naruto-sama! You'll be attacked the moment you step out of the Aegis!"
"I don't care!" The boy shouted fiercely, but Kotonoha refused to let go of him.
Yuria-nee-chan? Ne, nee, Sayuri, what's going on? Yuria-nee-chan's gone blacky…
Sayuri, dear, please calm down.
"It's a soul-ravaging technique, Naruto-sama," Yuri needlessly explained. "Not unlike some of our Reiton Jutsu. You have no means to defend against such an attack…" She looked forlornly at the black and violet blob that engulfed her daughter's body. "And neither did she…"
Yurimi felt her mother's hand squeezing her right shoulder. It was painful, but she did not complain. She was the Matriarch of Higashiyama. Yuria was an independent Kitsune, banished from the clan.
She was not allowed to break down and cry. However…
"Hokage-sama."
Sarutobi, who had been quietly watching Yuria's body slowly being dragged away, quickly turned to the young silver-haired lily.
"I do not know what personal issues you have with this man," Yurimi began. "With all honesty, it matters little to me."
"That was the independent Kitsune, Yuria-san. An ally of Higashiyama…and my beloved sister."
Yurimi's small, frail-looking right hand clenched into a white fist.
"That moment that jutsu ceases to be, that man will perish by the hands and tails of Higashiyama. That…is an order."
A myriad of tails trembled and rose, responding to the call for righteous violence.
"As you command, Yurimi-sama," Yuri answered on behalf of her family.
Naruto would have eagerly agreed, had he bothered to pay attention to his slave's declaration. But he only had eyes for the featureless blob that smothered his fiancée's body.
"Damn it…damn it…" Gritting his teeth, he hopelessly struggled to keep his bottled feelings inside. Then he realized: why bother, really?
"YURIA!" he called. "Quit fooling around and get out of that thing!"
More than one person set their tender eyes on Naruto.
"Master…"
"YURIA! Get over here already! Get over here!"
Orochimaru shook his head and stifled a chuckle.
"Naruto-sama, please…" Kotonoha tightened her hold on Naruto, just in case. Half a dozen arms lashed at the boy, drawn by his loud voice, but they bounced against the swordswoman's Aegis.
The dark, shapeless blob, much bigger than the caskets were wide, was forcefully squeezing its way into one of the narrow containers.
"Damn it, Yuria, you're better than this!" Naruto insisted when the casket lid began to move to seal the fate of its new prisoner. "YURIA!"
Invisible to all, two Kitsune for a different world mutely watched the scene, their arms crossed. The Empress' fingers impatiently drummed on her left arm.
Naruto stepped out of Kotonoha's grip and out of her barrier, and the floating hands perked up.
"Show me why I believe in you, damn it!"
A hand grabbed the edge of the lid before it could close completely.
"Shut…up, already…you embarrassing fiancé."
The casket lid then flew away courtesy of Yuria's right foot.
The Empress made a gesture towards her struggling younger self. "Well, there you go."
"…it would have been more interesting if she had died."
The strongest youkai glanced at the Time Kitsune. "…you really want me to go Creation-Slaying Oblivion Kick on your ass, don't you?"
"…please spare me."
Even as the hands pulled her back in, the small three-tails forced her way out. Even as the hands gripping her soul squeezed and twisted inside her, she gritted her teeth and moved forward.
The flying hands intent on capturing Naruto spontaneously combusted.
Nice, Sayuri!
Tee-hee!
Naruto's nine tails streaked forward and grabbed Yuria's body, all within arm's reach of the silent Orochimaru, who could only witness something he had believed to be impossible.
"No…your soul...you should be dead already…" the rogue shinobi's eyes glowed with restrained rage. "Why didn't it work?"
A long and beautiful black tail lashed out at the Snake Sannin's head, but it was dodged fairly easily. Even as she made her way out of the coffin and ripped the vile hands off her body and her soul, Yuria could afford to shoot a fierce glare at the quasi-immortal human.
"Because FUCK YOU!"
Naruto finally won the strength battle against the remaining hands holding Yuria, and the girl was roughly pulled towards the group of humans and Kitsune. Naruto hurried to tend to his friend, and Sayoko moved faster than a blink, standing right behind him to protect them from further attack. The strange and dangerous floating arms, however, did not attack anymore.
"Hey…" Yuria greeted her bedmate with a grin.
"Damn it, Yuria, you're such a drama queen." Naruto was definitely not crying.
"Heh, you know me…"
"You alright?"
Yuria rolled her eyes. "I almost had my soul crushed from within. How do you think I feel?"
Naruto chuckled even as he cried. He let his forehead rest on hers. "Idiot."
"No more than you, honey." Her expression softened, only partially due to tiredness. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"You know for what, idiot."
They smiled at each other, though it was hard for them to see the other's smile, with their noses touching as they were.
(Former Higashiyama) Yuria never imagined it would feel so good, to have someone who believes in you.
"Orochimaru-sama!" Kidoumaru called.
"Keep the barrier!" the villain insisting, before gritting his teeth and readying his hands for seal-making. The shadowy arms flew back within the open caskets in an instant, and the containers promptly disappeared in bursts of white smoke.
"Mother!" Yurimi fiercely commanded.
"Edo Tensei!"
Yuri's tails hit a single coffin that emerged from the ground in front of Orochimaru.
"What now…?" Sarutobi took a stance. Kotonoha drew her backsaw, her other hand gripping her bag.
The lid tilted aside, releasing an ominous fog from within its shadowed contents. A hand most definitely of flesh and bone emerged from black depths of the coffin, seizing its edge to aid the hand's owner make his way outside.
A backsaw made an annoying clanging sound when it hit the rooftop's tiles.
Naruto and Sayoko looked behind them, at Kotonoha, whose dilated pupils and trembling lips made for a worrisome sight.
"No…no way…"
The person within the casket fully stepped out, into world of the living, for the first time in many, many years. Large eyes brimmed with curiosity, especially because of the curious location and the considerable welcoming party, almost entirely composed of complete strangers.
"No way…" Kotonoha repeated, falling on her knees and feeling awfully weak. Naruto's eyes widened in alarm, but he could not just let go of Yuria.
The newcomer's eyes met Kotonoha's, and the fox-woman's breath froze in her throat.
"…Kotonoha."
A weak, sibilant sound barely escaped the four-tails' parted lips.
"Where am I?"
Kotonoha gripped her trusty bag for dear life, as a visceral terror gripped her entrails.
"…Makoto…kun…"
It was, most definitely, Itou Makoto.
Tenten and Hinata watched little Hanabi's form disappear beyond the secret entrance. The two exchanged a nod with the Jounin in charge of guarding the access route to the shelter, and then the entrance was closed, leaving the two young girls alone, surrounding only by the distant cacophony of the warring streets. There were no traces of the enemy in that part of the village.
"She'll be fine now," Tenten stated.
After the "mysterious mountain-blasting incident" and Anko's following stunt, the Third Hokage very wisely deemed that the remaining shelters were unsafe, and ordered the realization of shelters under Konoha's streets. They were a rushed job, so they would not be precisely the epitome of comfort, but enough were made to allow the civilian population to be completely sheltered. Naruto's Shadow Clones contributed greatly to this task.
Hinata did not respond to the other girl's statement. She just stared mutely at the hidden entrance, barely distinguishable from the surrounding gray wall. Tenten was a patient girl, so she did not insist. Besides, she had a hunch.
Indeed, as if perfectly tuned to the other's thoughts, their necks turned to slowly glance at each other.
Metal flashed and pink blurred, and two magical artifacts met.
Master, I was not meant to be used to parry bladed weapons.
"Oh, shut up, Justice."
"It's all your fault."
Both girls jumped backwards, separating their weapons and creating a distance from each other.
Tenten rolled her eyes. "Very well. Let's hear it. What is exactly my fault?"
"You…" Last Word trembled in Hinata's hands. "You…and those women…with Naruto-kun…"
The older kunoichi facepalmed. "So that's how it is…"
"You…I thought you already had Neji-nii-san…"
"WHOA! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! Girl!" Tenten outrageously exclaimed, making hand motions as if to push Hinata away. "Neji? You serious?" She paused. "I mean, he's my teammate, sure. I respect him, lots. You could even say I admire him. Hell, I would trust the guy with my life. But, love him? Are you kidding me?"
She pointed in the vague direction of the stadium.
"Didn't you hear the angsty fate speech back there? Girl, seriously! I have standards!"
"Then…Naruto-kun…"
"STANDARDS!"
"Meep!"
Tenten's expression quickly darkened. "If I'm after that rotten little blonde, it will be to kill him with my own two hands…"
"Eh?"
"Yes, yes…" Neji's teammate had seemingly moved to a world of her own. "I'll wring his little neck…after I shove this worthless stick where the sun doesn't shine…"
Please spare me.
Milady, that young lass frightens me considerably. Last Word also expressed his thoughts.
I would have to agree with Last Word here, Master.
"Anoo…Tenten-san…"
"That brat! Everything is that brat's fault! Those annoying youkai! This stupid talking stick!"
You hurt my feelings, Master.
My condolences, Heart of Justice.
Much appreciated.
"And this ridiculous, stupid, pointless magical plot!"
Actually, that would be my fault.
"POINTLESS!"
Yes, I get it. Sorry.
"So it ends today!" The irate kunoichi declared, pointing her magic stick at Hinata. "First I'll kick your ass, then I'll kill that brat!"
The words flipped a switch in Hinata's head. It did not matter whether it was Tenten's fault, did it?
She was a scapegoat. Hinata could not touch the powerful youkai, but she could most definitely touch Tenten. And she was giving her a perfectly valid reason to oppose her, to boot! Isn't life convenient?
"I-I will not let you hurt Naruto-kun!"
And that was when half a dozen Sound mooks chose to show up. They surrounded the bickering girls, drawing weapons, grinning wickedly and acting generally menacing.
Tenten stifled a growl.
"Alright, change of plans!" She barked loudly, startling the mooks. "First we beat these guys, then I kick your ass! Then we have a good, long talk…"
A plan worthy of Master, at last.
She is NOT that magical girl, Justice-san.
"And then I'll kill the brat!"
"Never!" Hinata declared, in as heroic a tone as she could muster, meaning not really heroic at all. It was more of a whine. "Last Word, craft my raiment of power!"
Magical Raiment, materialize.
Needless to say, the Sound nin did not act for the duration of Hinata's astoundingly fanservice-y transformation sequence. That would be poor manners.
While the nameless soldiers gaped at Hinata's rather indecent getup and the girl's futilely tried to cover herself with her cool cape, Tenten had an argument with her own magical tool.
She has an activation sentence. Why don't you have an activation sentence, Master?
"I thought I told you to be quiet."
It was true, though, that Tenten did not want to be upstaged by Hinata. It was just as true, though, that she had absolutely no ideas.
"Ah…umm…ugh…how about…nah…hmm…we-wha…oooh, what the hell!"
She raised her wand to the sky, claiming everyone's attention.
"Mugyuu Power!"
I can't believe you actually said that, Master. Justice commented even as the transformation sequence began.
I can't believe I actually said that, either. Tenten admitted. I think I got infected with something.
"I can't believe she actually said that," Katsura Kokoro, in her guise of Ichiraku Ayame, muttered from a nearby rooftop. "Now I owe Sayuri a day's supply of ramen!"
The village of Konoha was stopped to a halt when a tremendous bolt of lightning fell upon the stadium's highest rooftop.
Some of the younger lilies shrieked when the lightning bolt struck, filling the chakra cage with a thunderous sound and a blinding glare. In that moment, however, the Sound Four's violet wall shattered like brittle glass, allowing the lightning's conjurer to make her entrance.
"I am DOCTOR S!"
The super villain's mantle swayed elegantly in the strong wind.
Tobi next to her pounded a tambourine exactly twice.
Massive sweatdropping ensued.
"Uhh, o—kaaaaay…" Yuriyo responded.
Naruto facepalmed. "Damn it, what now…?"Really, it was hard to keep up with everything that was happening. "Who the hell are you?"
Setsuna grinned under her bulky wear. Her disguise was perfect!
Meanwhile all the other lilies quietly gaped at the boy who had wormed his way into their hearts. Yuriyo, Inari bless her, voiced her entire family's thoughts.
"What do you…don't tell me you don't…but she's obviously…I mean…come on!"
Yuria, while still prone, managed to lean enough to glance at the newcomers and Yuriyo.
"Yuriyo, are you okay? Did you forget to eat breakfast or something? And who the hell are you people?"
Yuriyo facepalmed.
Yuria raised an eyebrow at Doctor S. "…damn, you're tiny."
"Who are you calling tiny, boobs-for-brains?" the Doctor promptly barked back. The words made Yuria turn her face to Naruto.
"Damn, she's twitchy. Kinda like your tsunloli."
Setsuna went stiff.
"Naah, there's no way Mistress would wear such ridiculous clothes," Naruto declared, almost sounding proud of his sensei's fashion sense.
Setsuna twitched.
"Mah, I guess you're right. I mean, even tsunloli must have standards." She looked at the Doctor again. "So, who the hell are you?"
Setsuna twitched some more.
Tobi worked hard not to burst into laughter. He was already crying in amusement behind his mask.
"They're truly meant for each other…" Yurimi whispered softly, her voice mixing amazement with a tinge of envy. Yuri worriedly glanced at her most promising daughter.
"You know what? Forget it," Yuriyo finally decided. "We'll leave you to be happy in your ignorance!"
"Onee-chan…"
"Doctor S…" Sarutobi narrowed his glance. He thought Gai's mission reports were ridiculous, but, to think Doctor S actually exists…
"Doctor S." Orochimaru stepped forward. "Your presence is most unexpected."
"Oh, Orochimaru," the villainous loli saluted the traitor nin. "You have performed most magnificently; you have my gratitude. Now all the pieces are here."
"What does that…?"
"And you…"
Setsuna paused at the sight of Makoto struggling to hide his mirth. "…what's so funny?"
"You're really asking me that?"
"Grrr…"
Doctor S stepped in front of Makoto, looking up at his taller form with fierce eyes.
"It's been a while, Itou Makoto. Just over 150 years."
Makoto's eyes widened. "…a while indeed."
Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "You look awfully relaxed, considering the circumstances."
The young man scratched his right cheek nervously. "Ah…sorry to disappoint."
"Hmph. It matters not." She smirked deviously. "Today! Today is the day I let go of you! Today is the day I put my past behind!"
"Is that so…?"
"Stop right there."
Orochimaru held a thin kunai with a paper strip attached to it. "You. Become my weapon to destroy these annoyances, Conqueror of Kitsune!"
"Waaah…" Makoto made a face of mock-amazement. "That's a big title you just gave me. I mean, yeah, they fell for me and everything, but…conqueror is such a big word…"
"Huh…?"
Nothing's working for poor Orochimaru today.
"WAHAHAHAHAHA!" The half-Kitsune mastermind laughed boisterously. "Orochimaru! Knowing as I knew that you would not trust me, to think my plan would succeed to this level!"
"What do you…?" the Snake Sannin snarled.
"Even if you assumed everything else I told you to be lies, it mattered little as long as you believe in the existence of Itou Makoto, a human with the power to sway the emotions of youkai and put them under his heel!"
"Ugh…" Makoto leaned closer to whisper in the small woman's left ear. "Secchan, that's kinda…"
"Do NOT call me that, insolent!" Doctor S slapped Makoto away from her face before continuing to taunt Orochimaru.
"Did I not help you with Kimimaro? Did I not provide you with the blood of Oni you needed for your new concoction? As long as I helped you truthfully, you would only mistrust my keywords and not the scattered lore I shared in my story! I wanted you to believe in Itou Makoto's power over youkai! I wanted you to believe you could use Itou Makoto as your weapon! I wanted you to summon this worthless human before me with your Edo Tensei!"
Setsuna was trembling with excitement. At long last, her vengeance…!
Tobi smiled gleefully behind his mask. His granny was so cute when she acted all evil and stuff!
He would be a good boy and remain inconspicuous while she had her moment of glory.
"Umm, actually, about that…" Makoto muttered quietly.
"Ehh…" Yuriyo made a face. "Somehow we've been kinda forgotten…"
"Silence, Yuriyo," Sayoko of all people hushed the half-Void, all the while she kept her eyes on the undead summon.
"Do you feel it, too, Sayoko-san?" Yuri spoke quietly, so as to not attract their opponents' attention. Sayoko nodded.
There was something awfully wrong with this man, Itou Makoto.
"No…" Kotonoha whispered.
"And now…" Setsuna fixed her attention on Makoto one more time. "Here we are."
Makoto nodded and smiled. "Thank you for going so far as to bring me back like this. It's nice to feel loved."
To her credit, Setsuna did not blush or go tsundere. "Don't think so highly of yourself, maggot. I am not your little toy anymore."
"That…seems to be the case, yes."
The small half-youkai grinned wickedly, her right hand coated with vile Void Fire.
"Believe me when I say this will hurt you far more than it will hurt me, Ma-ko-chan."
"Wait! Setsuna!" Kotonoha cried, hurriedly reaching for her fallen weapon. "He's not who you think—"
But it was too late.
For Setsuna's eyes were already widened, her expression one of undiluted shock as her right hand reached and struck only air.
"Wha…?"
"My deepest apologies, Secchan, but I believe I will have to pass on that."
Setsuna was paralyzed. He was standing behind her! Just how did he…?
"Katon. Goukabashira no Jutsu."
Not even the fearsome roar of Makoto's Hellfire Pillar Technique could drown out Setsuna's horrifying screams from within.
Reveling in the warmth that caressed the back of his neck, Itou Makoto chuckled in amusement.
"I didn't know you were such a screamer, Secchan."
Waah…fire…
Sayuri's amazement at her favorite thing in the world was somehow muted. The Sound Four nervously gazed at the pillar of flame, unsure of what to do now that their barrier was shattered.
Impressed by the fiery might of Makoto's jutsu, and secretly pleased by the ease with which he disposed of Doctor S, Orochimaru gripped his remote control kunai. This was the weapon he needed!
"Guh-grandma!" Tobi's Sharingan eye focused its rage on the undead. "Damn you!"
"No!" Kotonoha desperately called out.
Orochimaru and Madara made their move at the exact same time.
"No, you don't."
Makoto's words came out as he summoned a large black orb in Orochimaru's way. At the same time, both Madara's drawn tanto and the hand wielding it sunk into a two-dimensional hole in the air itself in front of Makoto's left hand.
The snake Sannin leapt away from the black sphere before it could capture him, but a second one emerged on the very spot he landed upon. However, his form disappeared in a burst of white smoke the moment his feet touched the roof, and the black orb captured only a log.
Madara pulled out from the strange hole Makoto used as defense. He could only grunt and hold the stump where his right hand had once been, until Makoto himself grabbed it.
"If you care for her so much, why don't you join her?"
Like that, he effortlessly threw the old Uchiha into the flame pillar. Even as he winced in pain, his body sought that of his ancestor and covered it in a protective gesture before activating his space-time technique, withdrawing Doctor S within the safety of an extra-dimensional space.
"Damn it!" Kotonoha hissed, grabbing her backsaw with her right hand and leaping into the fray, going for a high slash aiming at decapitating Makoto.
A second hole appeared on the path of the blade, but Kotonoha smoothly stopped her swing and spun counterclockwise, switching the backsaw to her left hand to try a rising slash. However, Makoto's right foot fell on the blade, impaling it on the tiles. He then tried to kick the disarmed swordswoman's face, but Kotonoha leapt away to relative safety.
The pillar created large shadows around Makoto and everyone present. It was from these shadows that dozens of tendrils of void-stuff sprouted out and attempted to capture everyone present.
"Gah! What the-?" Yuriko complained, but words did not help her much. To her left, Yurisa's silver Aegis spared her and her daughter, and the shadow ropes disintegrated before they could touch Sayoko's clothes, but the other lilies were tightly captured.
"Are you unhurt, Yurimi-sama?"
"Ugh…yes, Mother." Yurimi glanced at her mother, wondering why she put up no resistance to an attack she obviously could counter. "I just wish I could be in Yuria's place right now."
"What do you mean—oh…"
In spite of the circumstances, it was amusing. Naruto had been holding the prone Yuria when the shadow ropes captured him and pulled him down.
Yuria raised an eyebrow at the boy whose face was firmly pressed against her bosom.
"Having fun, darling?"
"Mmmghmmhrgrble."
Muu…squishy-squishy puni-punii…
"Hmm…" Makoto addressed the two strongest shinobi present, who had so far avoided capture by jumping around the whole place. So was Kotonoha, for that matter. "You cannot avoid your own shadows forever."
"Doton! Doryuudan!"
"Katon! Housenka no Jutsu!"
"Please."
Sarutobi's mud shots and Orochimaru's fire blasts were devoured by Makoto's Aegis of Oblivion. When the barrage ceased, the barrier dispersed, and Makoto flicked his fingers.
The entire area was bathed in blinding light erupting from the fire pillar, which then exploded, but Madara had long ago protected himself with his impregnable space-time distortion defense.
Unfortunately, stronger light only meant larger shadows, to the point that not even the two powerful shinobi and the talented swordswoman could get away from the onslaught of void tendrils. Still, even as they were captured, their minds set on the task of figuring out a way to free themselves.
"Kuh…" Kotonoha gritted her teeth in frustration. "Damn it!"
"Yurisa, stay still," Yuri warned her lone daughter. She and Mayuri had also been captured in the second round of Makoto's binding attack, but the blonde four-tails was just about to attempt to release herself with her Spectral Counterforce.
"Mother…?"
"Stay still," the tallest Kitsune insisted.
"You…" Makoto focused his attention on his old acquaintance. "When did you find out?"
"Too late," the busty fox-woman responded. "Sekai left a diary."
"Sekai, hmm…the most impressive human I've had the pleasure to meet. I take it Setsuna doesn't know. Very well, it matters not."
Naruto's heart skipped a beat when Makoto smashed his right hand on Kotonoha's face.
"Wai-!"
"Reiton. Rasenshinran."
Kotonoha's body shook as if someone had shoved electricity through her muscles.
"Wha…" Yuriko shuddered. "What the hell is he?"
"Kotonoha!" Naruto cried.
The woman could not stop herself from smiling. He had not called her "Kotonoha-san".
Wait.
Why did the pain stop?
Makoto, too, appeared confused. "What…?"
"I will ask you to stop this at once, Itou Makoto-san, or whoever you are."
Makoto then looked at the violet-clad woman who had just spoken. "Who are you?"
"Please stop, Sayoko-san."
Higashiyama Yuri stepped forward, the dark tendrils fading as if they had never been there.
"You…" Yuri spoke loud enough for all to hear. "You are a kasha, are you not?"
"Eh?" Yurisa perked up. "A kasha? But, kasha are not…"
"A perceptive woman," Makoto thus addressed the oldest of the lilies. "Who might you be?"
"Higashiyama Yuri," the seven-tails flatly stated.
"The Silver Lily of the Netherworld. You…are not an opponent I would like to fight at the moment." His eyes turned to the oldest Kitsune present, who had somehow neutralized his jutsu. "Especially if you are the one I think you are."
"We will protect ourselves in case of attack. At the moment this protection extends to this village and its inhabitants, as well," Yuri declared. "Leave in peace and we will not chase you."
Noticing the expressions on Sarutobi's and Yuria's faces, Yuri allowed herself a tiny smile.
"I cannot answer for the humans, or the independent Kitsune Yuria-san here, though."
"Hmm…fair enough." He shrugged. "So, if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave right now."
Orochimaru reacted at that. "What? Where do you think—?"
"Well, I've been away for so long…there's a world out there I want to see. Places to enjoy, meals to eat, women to savor…besides…" He patted his chest as he walked to the edge of the rooftop. "Even I can tell this fake body won't last long. I have to correct that. So, if you will excuse me—whoa."
Makoto managed to step back just before his face was impaled by a chakra spear.
"Not so fast, bastard."
Naruto had managed to turn his head so that it was not smothered by Yuria's breasts. He still looked utterly ridiculous on all fours and pinned against her, though. His constructs were not constrained by Makoto's bindings.
"Can somebody get him off me?" Yuria asked. "Really, this is embarrassing."
Sayoko blinked and hesitated, but did precisely that.
"Why the hell would you release only him?" Yuria quickly complained.
"Auuu…"
Ignoring the exchange between the Kitsune, Naruto stepped forward to challenge the undead.
"You think you can just show up and do whatever the fuck you want, huh?"
Makoto raised an eyebrow. "...and…just who might you be?"
Naruto's tails swayed menacingly behind him.
"You think you can hurt Kotonoha and walk away just like that?"
Yuri stepped behind Naruto and placed a hand on his left shoulder.
"Naruto-sama, it might be better if you calmed down…"
Naruto, however, pushed the hand away in a rather rude manner.
"Not. Now."
Yuri blinked, but stepped back. "Well, I tried…" She defended herself a bit lamely.
"Not very hard!" Yuriyo offered the tsukkomi this time.
"Hmm…" The dark-haired young man eyed the four-tailed swordswoman, who was still trembling a little bit after only a second of his Spiral Soul Turbulence jutsu. "Seems like your tastes have changed dramatically in the last fifteen decades, Kotonoha."
"Shut up!" Naruto howled. "I don't get what's going on, but you're that Makoto, right?" He made a gesture towards Kotonoha. "She loved you! She worshipped you! What the hell's fucking wrong with you?"
"No…" Kotonoha muttered. "It was…not like…I never…"
Makoto chuckled. "You…really don't get it, brat. Ask her to tell you the whole story. Now, really, I would like to leave—"
"You're not going anywhere!" Naruto shouted right as he lunged to attack. He could have used his tails, but he really, really wanted to punch this guy's face.
"No! Naruto-sama!"
Stop, onii-chan!
But a moment later, Makoto was standing on the opposite edge of the rooftop, and Naruto stumbled his way to the spot where the other guy had just been.
"Wha…where…?"
"I couldn't…follow his movement," Yurisa muttered.
Yuri swallowed. This man was significantly more powerful than any kasha she had met. Shinigami-sama's soul collectors, even with their ability to use Katon, Reiton and Kuuton, were not supposed to be this strong!
A nasty squelching sound pulled everyone's attention to Naruto.
"MASTER!" Yurimi shrieked louder than anyone had ever heard her speak.
"Naruto!" Yuria gaped. "No…way…"
"Naruto-sama!"
"Hmph," Makoto snorted, rudely wiping away the blood on his fingers. "Just human."
"Eh? Wha…?"
As his vision got blurry and his balance faltered, Naruto could see his affliction: a large, vertical gash from his waist all the way up to his left shoulder. Blood freely poured out of the gap as clothes, skin, bone and tissue had been ripped open to unveil the fragile organs within.
"Ah…"
"Naruto…!" Sarutobi's face whitened. It had just happened…in an instant…
Onii-chan!
The lilies were close enough to see Naruto's heart beat once, twice…and then stop.
"Naruto-sama…!"
Naruto fell on his knees, and then forwards. Only the irregular surface of the rooftop prevented him from sliding off.
"Hawaa…wawawawawaaa…Naruto-kyun…"
"Onii-sama…!" Yurina fell her eyes tear up rapidly. Feeling light-headed, she leaned on her sister as much as the shadow ropes allowed her to.
"No way…Naruto…" Yuriyo muttered. Her eyes were somehow latched to the morbid sight…and the blood…all that blood…
She gulped, and resumed her struggles to set herself free.
Yet, even as such a scene unfolded around the fallen protagonist, there was one very confused little foxgirl.
Munii? Onii…chan?
Sayuri…please…please calm down.
Onii-chan…it's dahk, onii-chan…
Sayuri, please…
It's dahk and cold…Sayuri's cold, onii-chan…it's icky…don't wike it…onii-chan, make it bwight again…
Sayuri…
Onii-chan…onii-chan, answer me…don't be a mweanie, it's cold!
Sayuri, please!
Why…nee, why don't I feel onii-chan anymoar?
The pooled water within the cage that housed the nine-tails began to heat up and bubble.
"Sayuri…" the adult Sayuri leaned on the thick bars, cursing her inability to go in there and comfort the little nine-tails. "Sayuri, you have to calm down…"
"Sayuri…" Naruto's little prisoner was shuddering. Her fur bristled as if aroused by a chilling breeze. "Sayuri doesn't feel onii-chan anymoar…it's cold…and it huhts, here…"
Sayuri clutched her chest and winced. Columns of steam burst out of the boiling hot water. A mantle of bubbles released a symphony which echoed throughout the metaphysical cage.
"Onii-chan…where are you? It's dahk…it's dahk and it huhts…why won't onii-chan say anything?"
She slowly shook her head, as if the conclusion she had reached did not satisfy her.
"Onii-chan…Sayuri…Sayuri's afwaid…"
Sayuri fell on her knees. Her nine fluffy tails suddenly grew and discarded their fun, becoming gigantic orange and red constructs of chakra, not unlike Naruto's own jutsu. The tails recklessly and chaotically slammed the walls, the jail bars and the floor, making the room tremble and colossal sprays of scalding water rain all over the place.
"Onii-chan…I don't feel onii-chan…onii-chan won't talk to me…onii-chan's gone somewhere…"
"Sayuri, stop, please!"
"Someone's taken onii-chan away…away from Sayuri…onii-chan…onii-chan said onii-chan would never leave Sayuri alone anymoar…"
The older Sayuri looked around desperately. She had to do something, and soon!
"I don't wike this…" Sayuri shook her head. "No way, no way, no way, no way, no way!"
The pulse of chakra that followed made the other Sayuri stumbled several steps away from the jail bars.
"Onii-chan…onii-chan is Sayuri's onii-chan…where are you…? Why…why did you leave me alone again…?"
"Sayuri, don't!" The taller blonde called out in desperation. "I still can…!"
"Onii-chan…onii-chan…onii-chan…onii-chan-onii-chan -onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chaa aaaan!"
"SAYURI, DON'T!"
"ONII-CHAN!"
And the world became fire.
Everywhere in the village, the battle came to a halt.
Jiraiya, fighting the summoned giant snakes by the village walls.
Tenten and Hinata stopped the clash of their magical weapons.
Kiba, Ino and Shino, by the entrance of the shelter where they had dropped Sakura and the unconscious Sasuke off.
Shikamaru, who was on his way back to the stadium to find the most-likely-sleeping Chouji.
Temari and Kankuro, who had just made it to the edge of the forest around Konoha with an unstable Gaara on tow.
Of course, Gai, Kakashi and Genma, facing off against Kabuto, Baki and the Suna-Sound forces remaining in the stadium.
All of them, everyone in the village, stopped to stare in awe and fright at the pillar of flames that pierced the sky.
Makoto's Hellfire Pillar could not begin to compare. The youkai on the rooftop had to activate their Aegis barriers, not to protect themselves from the flames, which had only consumed Naruto's body and grown upwards, but to guard their bodies from the heat that would otherwise ignite their bodies.
Orochimaru and the Sound Four instinctively jumped away from the rooftop and away from the searing heat. Sarutobi and the two remaining ANBU were protected by Yurine's Aegis of the Damned, as well as Yuriyo and Yurina. Yuria was protected by Sayoko, and Yurimi by her mother.
Makoto's eyes trailed the blazing, roaring pillar upwards until it disappeared beyond perception.
"Wha…what is this? Who is that brat?"
All the present, and the entirety of Konoha, knew true terror when the pillar unfurled into nine colossal tails of flame, hovering over the village like the fingers of a furious god.
"Oh, this is bad…" Yuria muttered.
The tails had no self-control, and most certainly no care for whatever might stand in their way. Eight of the tails swayed aimlessly in the sky, evaporating all water content in the sky over Konoha and driving air currents upwards and away from the village, distorting the country's weather patterns for days afterwards. A lone tail gently fell towards the western side of the village.
"No!" Sarutobi cried, to no avail.
Tenten and Hinata reacted the moment they saw the tail moving roughly their way.
"Shit in a hole! Justice!"
"Waaah, Last Word!"
Stardust Flyer.
Sonic Flyer.
The roofs of countless buildings caught flame seconds before the gigantic tail came into contact with them. Glass and metal liquefied and incinerated everything it encountered in their path downwards. Every living thing in the area without the blessing of flight, burst into flame as their skin and fat ignited and their blood boiled within.
Everyone who did not make it away died and became ashes long before the tail hit solid ground. The construct of fire only destroyed inanimate matter, but it did a hell of a good job at it. The air displaced by the falling tail was hot enough to ignite the regions of the village adjacent to the impact zone, triggering an endless cascade of large fires that would gradually spread all over Konohagakure.
It was only a matter of seconds, but when the tail moved back up, it left nothing behind but charred land. A disturbingly straight black scar covered the Village Hidden among the Leaves from eleven to seven o'clock, and the rest of the village was cloaked in orange and red.
"Inari…blessed…" Yuria whispered within her bindings, rendered awestruck by the sheer magnitude of the power she aimed to overcome one day.
"No…" Sarutobi moaned. "The village…Naruto…"
Orochimaru should have been gleeful by the visage of Konoha's destruction, but his current circumstances were far from advantageous.
The origin of the tails was a sphere of flames the size of a merchant wagon; a miniature sun where Naruto had fallen.
And then the tails were pulled back.
What should have been a blessing was instead the trigger of another calamity.
"Everyone!" Sayoko cried out. "Aegis at full power!"
The tails retracted extremely fast, and the surrounding superheated air rushed to fill the void left by the gigantic manifestations of flame. The vacuum proved strong enough to pull anything not sufficiently attached to solid ground.
"The people in the stadium!" Sarutobi cried in alarm.
"Kuuton! Kage Shibari no Jutsu!"
Thousands of tendrils of darkness emerged from Sayoko's shadow. The trademark technique of the Nara clan, amped up to eleven. The web of shadows attached itself to everything and everyone in the stadium, rooting them to the ground.
"Sayoko-san…" Sarutobi's gratitude was clear in his expression, and so was his amazement. Sayoko was sweating heavily, being forced to dismiss her own Aegis to protect everyone.
"I'm terribly sorry, Yuria-sama…"
"Ah, no sweat," the three-tails joked, no longer protected from the searing heat by Sayoko's barrier.
"Yuri-sama!" the ancient Void Kitsune called for her best friend.
"I'm on it. Reiton: Yomidousha."
Yuri's Magnificent Netherworld Pavillion conjured a giant barrier of glimmering silver light that covered the entirety of the stadium.
Meanwhile, in the sky above Konoha, a third catastrophe was unfolding. The accelerated, chaotic flow of hot air caused by the tails' contraction created tremendous amounts of static electricity. Just as Yuri finished setting up her powerful barrier, the dielectric constant of Konoha's sky was broken and lightning rained upon the hapless village.
"We're gonna die!" Tenten screamed as she flew seeking cover. She and Hinata had managed not to get sucked in the vacuum thanks to their magical barriers, but the mother of all localized thunderstorms was a whole different deal.
There was no semblance of a battle anymore. There were only panicked ants, possessed by terror and struggling to survive the wrath of a goddess.
Meanwhile, on the strangely peaceful rooftop, a figure stepped out of the miniature sun that engulfed Naruto's body.
A small, unbelievable figure, which by any means could not possibly be there.
A small, unbelievable figure, wearing an expression nobody had ever seen her wear before. Her ever-smiling lips were a flat line.
Her large eyes were like rubies brimming with incandescent rage.
Sarutobi would have liked to rub his eyes. He had wondered for a moment if he was in the middle of a very bad dream, but the expressions on the youkai's faces told him the image before his eyes was nothing but the truth.
Higashiyama Sayuri, for the first time in almost thirteen years, stood free on the realm of the living.
CHAPTER 18 END