Naruto: Shinobi Wars
Chapter 33
-Battle of Lake Tenjin-
By Geor-sama

December 17th

Region 6...

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Rock Lee grimaced, shaking his foot absently to clear the slush from the inside of his sandal. You would think that a camp, even in winter, would be devoid of slush but sadly that wasn't the case. If you weren't careful where you stepped you found slush and sometimes it depended on which tree you stood under.

Of course the snow/slush that came from the tree was mostly due to Naruto. While the rest of them, well except for Ino, slept in tents Naruto and Ino slept in the trees. While many things could be said in favor of Naruto, the thing that couldn't be omitted was the fact that he found it funny to dump snow on people.

After a week people learned quickly to locate which tree Naruto had staked claim to and avoided it. It was perhaps a testimony to the respect they had for Naruto that no one had as of yet tried to slaughter him, he was merely trying to lighten the mood. After all the entire reason they were in the forest was so that they could methodically chop away at the Kumo forces.

A daunting task by any stretch of the imagination since Konoha had only three teams per region while Kumo had eight. Hence the concept of chopping the enemy forces into smaller chunks, using hit and run tactics to force the larger enemy to break into smaller units for pursuit. When in smaller groups, Konoha would assault with their superior numbers.

The danger of course was that they might not be quick enough in escaping before the other Kumo teams arrived. Usually when that happened, they only managed to escape due to Naruto or Lee providing a distraction. Over all this tactic had worked frighteningly well, they had eliminated three of the eight teams, and if the scout report they were waiting on was good, that would soon be four out of eight.

The Tokubetsu Jōnin shifted his weight, glancing around the dim camp, before spotting Naruto seated near the guttering fire scribbling away in a notebook. Moving closer, Lee settled down near one of the other fires, considering his friend and comrade with unusual intensity. The others on his team had all commented on Naruto and his darker nature, even the samurai that they would be leading into battle soon were aware of it, and Lee couldn't place a finger on why.

Lee admitted freely that something about Naruto troubled him lately, but it wasn't of a darker nature. It was of a more intangible nature, the best example Lee could offer was the lack of grief the ninja had shown after Anko's funeral. Lee, being mindful of how personal a funeral was to others, had waited until after Naruto finally left the graveyard to offer his condolences.

Instead of a muttered thanks, or an awkward silence, Naruto had flashed a grin thanked Lee and proceeded to tell an amusing story about Anko.

Lee supposed it could be how the young man dealt with his grief, but Lee couldn't comprehend it. The loss of Anjin left Lee in a sort of daze, a dull ache that made it so very hard to grin or keep the flames of his youth burning bright. To lose someone so young, even in the line of duty, gnawed at Lee and filled him with the deepest urge to cry.

Unconsciously, Lee ran a quick hand over his eyes to ensure that he in fact wasn't crying. Satisfied with that, he breathed easier, reminding himself that his other two children were safe. Reformed into a team with Uzumaki Hanabi, so that while they were understandable troubled at the loss of their brother in the Flames of Youth, they would have a reassuring and comforting presence to guide them.

"Captain."

Lee came out of his thoughts, blinking once before looking up at Mozuku, one of his new teammates. "Yes?"

"The scouts are back," Mozuku said, crouching so that they were eye level. "Yamanaka-san and Oukei confirm the total number of Kumo ninja to be one full squad, backed by one complete battalion of samurai."

"Full?" Lee asked, startled. That would be eight Kumo ninja and a thousand samurai, larger than they would normally find though a still manageable situation.

"Yes, Besshu-san and Samo want all of us present so we can plan the attack."

"Of course." Lee said, standing, as did Mozuku, heading for where the other ninja were gathering. Taking a seat next to the others, Lee nodded at Nisei, pleased to feel the warmth of a stronger fire wash over him. Funny how one could forget about things like being cold or hungry until you were presented with warmth or fire.

"Now that we're all together," Nisei said, nodding at Ino and Oukei "please lay out the details for us."

"Not much to say," Ino admitted, having sat next to Naruto closer than was actually necessary. "A squad of Kumo ninja and battalion of Kaminari samurai strung along a logging road, flanked by Lake Tenjin to the south-west and a much denser forest to the north."

"Their security made us hesitate," Oukei added, holding his hands before the fire "it's almost non-existent. That's what took us so long we were triple checking the area."

"I don't like it," Mozuku said, voicing what every ninja was thinking "they have to be aware of our tactic by now. They should have tightened security up, instead there just leaving the front door open. It's got to be a trap."

"You'd think so," Ino said, shaking her head, "But neither of us saw a hint of one. No hidden ninja, no summoning seals, we searched all over the place but there's nothing."

"It appears, that against our instincts, we must go on the information we do have." Nisei said, before shooting a still preoccupied Naruto a glance.

"Yosh, Besshu-san is correct." Lee said, flashing a reassuring smile. "We must plan quickly, dawn will soon be here and our youthful flames will be wasted if not used soon."

"As I see it, we have two possible plans of engagement: over the frozen lake or through the thick forest. Using the Lake of course, would be the quickest way for our troops to get into position." Nisei said, turning his attention back to the planning of the assault "However, if the enemy detects our movement, we would be vulnerable to devastating counter fire."

"What about the second option?" Mozuku asked, frowning.

"Approaching through the forest would be slower, but it would be stealthier. If we were discovered, or hit with an unexpected ambush, we could quickly withdraw into the woods and escape, or regroup for a second attack later."

"Well the answers obvious then," Oukei said, "we go through the forest. The numbers are on their side, and even if the frozen lake is the quickest route, we can't risk moving in the open where we might be detected. The forest is our best option."

As everyone nodded in agreement, including Naruto (who Ino had just elbowed in the ribs), Nisei expanded the details. "We advance through the forest and then fan out along the Kaminari column to launch our assault. I want the archers spaced at intervals with our crossbow team centrally positioned. If the Kumo ninja discover us during our approach, melt into the woods and come back here."

"Actually," Lee offered, scowling slightly "why not attempt to flank them? My team can cross the lake and take them from behind while the main forces attack from the front."

"It would be doubtful you could cross the lake with both the necessary speed and stealth." Nisei said, before adding, "However, flanking them is a sound strategy. Once we are in position, take your team and peel off toward the right."

"Yosh, our youthful energy will not let you down."

Region 6, Base Fuuyou…

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Hanabi scanned her small room one last time, ensuring that she had everything she would need for the patrol. Nothing stuck out in her examination, unlike her first patrol in which Hanabi had forgotten the map and compass. Tsuzumi had been generous enough later to chalk it off to a combination of nerves and having only recently (as well as reluctantly) been cleared for duty.

Hanabi however, wasn't quite so forgiving. She'd spent the rest of the day mentally berating her actions and swore not to make such a mistake ever again.

Satisfied that she would forget nothing, she retrieved her backpack and hurried out of the room and into the pre-dawn lit courtyard. Her eyes adjusted almost instantly to the pale light that filled the sky, even as the samurai changed shifts around her. Taking a breath, she let it out slowly, mindful that she still needed to be careful on how much stress she put on her body.

She was under strict medical observation, they seemed worried that she would stupidly push her body to far too fast. Admittedly Hanabi wasn't taking it as easy as they would prefer, Yuu the medical ninja on her team was especially annoyed, but she wasn't an idiot. Her body needed time to recover, and she would give it as much time as she could.

Still they were in a war and she needed to retrain her body as quickly as she could.

Heading toward the gate, where her teams would be waiting, she debated about which pattern to take this time. Normally they alternated between clockwise and counter clockwise, but Hanabi had been musing with the concept of attempting both patterns at the same time. Though that would involve breaking her team down into two-man units, which lowered the survival probability if they encountered an enemy.

Still, this was a patrol and they weren't supposed to engage an enemy. Locate, gauge the strength and report back were the standing orders, but Hanabi knew that the real world would not allow that to happen. Still, she hesitated to actually employ the new pattern, her own life she had no trouble risking, but she was aware of the other three lives she was responsible for.

Speaking of which, there was Teru standing rigidly near the side entrance, his face hard. Whatever softness he had retained from the academy had been extinguished with the death of Anjin, there was a rough edge to him that bothered Hanabi. To borrow an analogy, he was a jagged blade that would harm both the target and the user.

Gaze shifting, Hanabi found Kojiro sitting silently on the other side of the doorway, her face pensive. The other had been a thinker before, but now she was turning inward and at times Hanabi actually worried the girl was going to get lost inside her own mind. Thankfully Teru provided just enough of a connection that it wasn't likely to happen any time soon.

Reaching them, her stomach rolled, as it always did when she took up her responsibility. "Morning Teru-san. Kojiro-san."

"Good morning." Teru returned, while Kojiro merely nodded. Then his attention flickered over her shoulder adding, "Here comes Hata-san."

Turning, Hanabi spotted the fourteen year old who was almost running while stuffing items into his hip pouch. "You're late. Again."

"Sorry." Yuu managed, giving her an apologetic grin "Konpou-sensei kept me up late practicing a few new techniques."

"I'm sure he did." Teru muttered, just loud enough to be heard, prompting Yuu to flush. Hanabi fought the scowl and the grin that wanted to escape her, it was a poor secret that Konpou had certain tastes or that Yuu was interested in being tasted. Seeing her gaze, Teru shrugged and helped Kojiro to her feet.

"Anyway," Hanabi said, filling the awkward silence that settled over the group concentrating on her heart beat. "We have the same mission as always. We patrol the area surrounding the base, looking for anything unusual and responding appropriately."

They all made the expected agreeing noises, by now they knew the mission but Hanabi liked to do the briefing anyway. It kept her shaky nerves from getting to bad; she doubted she'd ever get comfortable being in command.

"We'll head south about eight hundred yards and then we move north-east. Once we hit a small river, we follow the bank north for about a klick and then loop back." Hanabi paused, before letting out a tiny breath "It should take about nine hours, our second patrol is four hours after the first and we back track our earlier path."

"So we're making two patrols today?" Teru asked, sounding startled.

"Yes." Hanabi confirmed, feeling a little better, and pleased with her new pattern. It would, if nothing else break up the monotony. "As for duties, Teru you're the cover man. Kojiro navigator and flank security. Hata-san, you can be our pace man as well as medic and I'll take point."

Each one echoed 'yes' at her orders.

"And Yuu-san," Hanabi said, glancing at him "try to keep an accurate count of how far we travel. I don't want Kojiro-san to have to try and navigate our route blindly again."

"I told you I was sorry about that." Yuu muttered, before seeing her look and gulping "I mean, right captain. You can count on me."

Hanabi sighed, adjusting her backpack absently "Let's go."

Nami no Kuni, Region 6, Lake Tenjin…

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Nisei crouched immobile among the shrubbery, his patience wearing thin. The samurai seemed to be taking an hour to get into position, despite the fact that the captains were experienced. Nisei wanted to do something, the longer they sat there waiting the higher the chances of getting spotted became, in which case this would quickly become a bloodbath.

Catching a flash from a mirror, Nisei glanced in Naruto's direction, and then nodding he glanced at Ino, who flashed her mirror as well. The samurai were finally in position, and he shifted his weight speaking in a low tone ordering the archers to prepare. Another glance confirmed that Naruto and Ino had ordered their samurai to prepare as well: some were drawing katana and others hefting spears adopting better stances for their coming charge.

Satisfied he touched the radio, speaking briefly to Lee clearing his team to start moving to the right for their flanking maneuver. Satisfied that the pieces for the attack were well under way, Nisei changed the channel on his radio and gave the go ahead for Naruto and Ino to signal for the attack to begin.

Like the well-trained unit that they were, the samurai launched themselves into action. The archers took aim and fired in rapid succession, the newly acquired crossbows inflicting heavy losses, while others broke cover and charged into battle with spear and katana. Against another foe, this sudden and overwhelming show of force would have won the day, but the Kaminari samurai rallied and with a roar launched a counter attack with a contagious ferocity.

Nisei however, was only peripherally aware of the samurai; instead, his focus was on trying to find the Kumo ninja. They should have launched their counter attack by now, but so far, they had remained hidden. Perhaps they thought this merely a matter of samurai against samurai, thus not worth their time or effort- Nisei's musing on such a thought was interrupted when he caught movement to his right; a group of wild samurai were charging toward the archers.

He was debating how to handle the problem when a barrage of kunai from the left cut them down, followed by Naruto breaking cover and entering the fight itself. Nisei had to chuckle, apparently he was not the only one thinking about how to find the Kumo ninja, and Naruto's solution would be a unique way of locating them. It did not take long before the air echoed with the sharp crack of super-heated air as lighting began to rain down on the tree line, obliterating portions of the archers.

"Scatter!" Nisei shouted, mentally swearing at his stupidity. He should have realized that once Naruto revealed his presence that the Kumo ninja would start destroying the tree line in search of the rest of the Konoha ninja. Scrambling out of his hiding location, as did Ino, Nisei heard the death cry of the archers too slow to avoid the lighting attacks.

Weaving and dodging, taking out any Kaminari samurai unfortunate enough to get in his path, Nisei managed to stay one step ahead of the lightning attacks. Damn it, where were those Kumo bastards? His ears were starting to hurt from the repeated thunder and his skin felt raw from the flashes of heat that were closing in on him, he had to get out of their line of sight.

Fishing in his hip pouch, the Jōnin dropped several smoke bombs obscuring his immediate surroundings, and then switched places with hapless Kaminari samurai. A powerful lightning blast struck the smoke filled area, but by the time the cloud cleared Nisei was long gone and already under cover in a position that could not be easily seen.

Breathing heavily, Nisei decided that had been too close for comfort. Still, he had a job to do and lowering his hands; he spread his family out, forgoing the 'charka dot' image for stealth. Nisei watched as they spread out unobtrusively, in search of the Kumo ninja and then turned his attention back to the immediate battle bothered that he had lost sight of both Naruto and Ino.

Of course he knew they were still out there and that they could handle themselves, but he would have preferred to see them.

Shaking it off he focused on the battle, studying the flow while wondering were Lee's team was. For that matter, Nisei felt that something about this battle was wrong, but what exactly he couldn't place. A few moments later, his family reported with the location of the Kumo ninja and he grimaced.

Two were closing in on Naruto who was occupied dodging lighting strikes, while another was headed for Ino. Three were missing, Nisei presumed they had moved to confront Lee's team, and the last two were located near the lake directing the lightning. Reaching up he touched the radio, addressing first Naruto and then Ino before slinking away to deal with the two at the lake.

It took a while but soon enough he was in position, staring at the brightening silhouettes of his enemy. They seemed to be wearing a different kind of outfit, but their Kumo forehead protectors made it clear they were his targets. Now the question became how to take them out, if he used any of the modified techniques to cover his Kikaichū one of them would manage to survive.

He wasn't even sure he had enough chakra to use one of the more powerful moves and disguise it, but he couldn't just use a move without trying to keep the appearance of 'chakra dots' in place. If they got a hint that he was actually an Aburame then his combat effectiveness would be halved. A second later, he didn't have to debate since he was forced into action as one of the ninja threw a kunai wreathed in lightning high into the air and its trajectory brought it down amid the battling samurai with a flash of lightning.

Hands spreading out and then snapping forward, Nisei hurled two spiraling groups of merging chakra dots at the enemy. The ninja furthest away managed to move in time, but the other didn't have such luck and fell victim to the attack. Twisting his hand, Nisei guided the chakra spear upward, carrying the impaled man high overhead, where the spear shattered before reforming into a sphere of chakra that trapped him inside.

The other hand twisted and the chakra dots exploded in a brilliant shower, while Nisei broke cover to avoid the incoming lighting attack. Slipping along the frozen lake, trying to come to a stop, Nisei flung a hand out, trying to catch the Kumo ninja with a whip of chakra dots. Missing that he mentally reached out to the glowing Kikaichū overhead and had them come raining down as glowing hail stones.

A lighting dragon forced Nisei to dodge, leaving a Kikaichū clone behind –one that promptly exploded into chakra dots-. Slipping to another halt Nisei hurled several kunai at the ninja, which they easily avoided while countering with yet another lightning dragon. Nisei managed another dodge, though it cost him even more Kikai and as he launched into his next offensive, he realized that it was only a matter of time before the Kumo ninja got the best of him.

Dodging an unexpected kunai Nisei prepared to unleash one of his higher-level moves, when he felt several sharp stabs from behind which prompted a hasty Kawarimi. Clear of the unexpected attack, Nisei stumbled and then collapsed with the left side of his body completely numb. It didn't take a genius to realize that his enemy had charged that weapon so that he could later scatter a series of lightning needles from it.

Using his unaffected arm Nisei pushed up his body into an awkward kneeling position and spread his fingers sending the unaffected Kikai out so they would launch a series of attacks at his enemy. The Kumo ninja stumbled and reeled from the blows as wave after wave of the Kikai slammed into him, leaving him stooped shouldered while the insects coalesced into a large cloud and struck him down.

Unfortunately, what they struck exploded into a bolt of lightning revealing it to be a Rai Bunshin. Swearing audibly, Nisei stumbled to his feet and began eying his immediate surroundings. Wherever the enemy had gotten to, he didn't think they were simply gloating in private or scared, they had him out matched and they both knew it.

His thoughts were distracted from the immediate process of spotting his enemy by the sudden high-pitch crackling of his radio. Flinching almost instinctively away from the sound, Nisei reached up to cup his ear, attention now split between it and staying alive. That's why it took him a few minutes to catch what Lee's garbled voice was saying, but when he did his world came to a halt.

"Nisei…mush…lost…Mozu…get…can you…am…Nisei?"

Nisei faltered in his attack, mind frantically putting together the scrambled static of the call. Suddenly his earlier feeling of the battle feeling wrong made sense, this whole fight had been a trap; show weakness to lure the enemy in and crush him with overwhelming force. How could he have been so stupid, and now thanks to his shortsightedness their forces faced annihilation, it would almost be pointless to order the retreat but he still did so.

He got as far as selecting the channel for Naruto when his enemy interrupted him.

"You should know better than to stop fighting!" the Kumo ninja exclaimed, hands crackling with lightning before pressing them together, filling the air with a raising pitch.

"Naruto, retreat! Get as many as you can out of here!" Nisei shouted, scattering every Kikaichū he could.

It is a fact that Ino is a kenjutsu master; she had trained with unbelievable tenacity for a little over three years to achieve her level. Indeed, it was only recently that she had started to relax. Therefore, against her the samurai's flurry of attacks was exaggerated and inefficient.

The samurai leapt and spun, chopping and thrusting, but Raijin-ken moved a fraction of an inch to parry and her dodges completed without seeming to move. A sudden shift in weight and her counter-thrust struck with devastating simplicity. No sooner had that samurai collapsed from the thrust and Raijin-ken slid free than it angled left and then right, then up just enough to send the descending katana of the next samurai slipping off to the side.

He stumbled and recovered while slashing to the side, only for Ino to deflect it and send it high off the mark. A simple twist of the wrist and she dropped the samurai with a sharp thrust to the chest. Ino felt a moment of frustration with the fact that she was limited to a thrust as a killing blow.

Her frustration was short lived however; a sudden and horrible noise caused Ino to snap her head around just in time to spot Naruto in mid-air as a bird of lightning swooped down at him. Unfortunately, she didn't get to see if he managed to survive as a quick motion alerted her to an attack. Her eyes caught the motion, followed it as the small object hit the ground, and ended up tracking a…bouncing ball?

Whether it was instinct or just an adrenaline-fueled reaction, Ino managed a Kawarimi with a nearby Kaminari samurai and put as much distance between them as she could. A second later, she hit the ground as the ball exploded leaving her with ringing ears and a searing pain in her thigh.

Panting, she leveraged her body up wincing as her leg moved. Twisting back, Ino tentatively touched the wound and had to bite back her scream. Breathing heavily, she began probing the wound before letting her hand touch her waist confirming another wound there as well.

The crackling sound of lightning cleared her mind from the pain and with a grunt rolled aside as a corkscrewed blade of lightning plunged into the ground where her head had just been. Eyes widening she scrambled to a crouch, trying to stand before collapsing back to her knee, staring at this new development.

Since when did Kumo have lightning blades?

"Like my weapon?" the Kumo ninja said, turning toward her as he pulled the sword with its twisted lightening blade free "We learned a lot from your little toy there."

Ino grunting lunged, her leg and waist screaming in protest, but she didn't have the option of sitting around. The Kumo ninja held his ground and parried her thrust, his free hand slamming into her chin and knocking her over. Using the momentum Ino rolled into another crouch, unable to stop the scream that escaped her that time.

"Keep moving around like that and you'll just make those wounds worse," the Kumo ninja offered conversationally, approaching slowly.

"Heh, what the hell was that thing?" Ino asked thickly, clutching her sword tighter and mind racing.

"A last request? Well, I call it a hand bomb, and when it goes off, all sorts of nasty surprises come out. I'm impressed you didn't get hurt worse."

"I'm just full of surprises." Ino said, free hand flashing through a hand seal before touching the ground. With a rippling effect similar to a stone hitting water, the ground undulated before the Kumo ninja sank with a cry of surprise up to his waist. Removing her hand Ino smirked, forming another seal and touching the ground yet again turning it solid once more.

That done, Ino focused on the serious threat of her wounds. Whatever his 'nasty surprises' were, she couldn't deal with them at the moment, he'd only stay distracted by that low rank Ninjutsu for a few minutes at most. Concentrating chakra to her hand, dark green in nature, Ino touched her thigh allowing the Fujimi no Jutsu to do its job.

The wound numbed, she moved her hand up to her waist numbing it as well. That was about as far as she got before dodging a crackling kunai. Skidding to a stop, Ino lifted her sword in time to deflect the furious blow from the now free Kumo ninja while stumbling back from the force of it.

The Kumo ninja wasted no time in following after her, his slices powerful enough to send Ino skidding back after each block. But, she realized one detail that he apparently didn't, this idiot simply didn't know how to use his lightning blade and he was anything but a kenjutsu user. Ino grunted as she blocked yet another slash and made her first serious counter attack, going for his legs which prompted him to jump and flip over her.

Ino pivoted, Raijin-ken thrusting out, piercing through the hilt of his lightning sword. The resulting explosion of lightning and debris knocked Ino off her feet, but she managed to roll to her feet, breathing heavily. The Kumo ninja had not been so fortunate, he was struggling to get back up but his hands were a bleeding mess.

Hefting her blade, Ino eyed the ninja sourly, preparing to finish this when a sound reached her over the battle. The sound of a scream, high and raw, accompanied by the sound of crackling lightning and her head turned. Through a gap between Samurai, her eyes widened in horror as she saw Naruto, wrapped in a field of lightning, screaming as his body convulsed.

Whatever thoughts about finishing her fight were forgotten, indeed, Ino didn't even realize that she had started running toward him.

Catching the hands of the samurai, Naruto altered the course of the downward chop to the side and sent them flying with a front kick. A quick double-step backwards let him avoid a stab from another samurai and drop an elbow on their neck. The body falling limply to the ground gave Naruto a moment to catch his breath, leaving him temporarily out of the fight.

Glancing around, Naruto realized that neither Ino nor Nisei were in view, and that made his stomach clench. Pushing that aside he took in the samurai, idly wondering at why the numbers seemed off. Eyes widening he began studying the numbers in earnest, this wasn't right there should have been more Kaminari samurai.

A moment later Naruto spun around, Nisei's warning about two ninja echoing in his ear. He didn't find anything out of the ordinary, at least for a battlefield: looking skyward reassured that they weren't coming from overhead. Which meant...looking down, he jumped, his feet leaving the ground just as a ninja emerged from the ground, hands clutching at the soles of his sandals.

Reaching the peak of his jump, Naruto drew a kunai, preparing for a counter attack when he heard a horrible noise from over head. Looking up startled Naruto found a large bird made of lightning, wings swept back, and descending beak first toward him. A hastily created Kage Bunshin pulled him out of its path at the last second, leaving the bird to impact with the Kage Bunshin in a flash of lightning.

Landing in a crouch, Naruto kicked a foot out to stop his skid along the snow, throwing the kunai at his first attacker as the second pressed their hands to the ground and sent an enormous triangular bolt of lightning at him. Eyes widening, Naruto formed a seal and unleashed a Fūton: Byōbu to counter, skidding back from the resulting explosion.

Noticing through the dancing dots in his vision that both enemies were almost side by side, he unleashed a Fūton: Kazeryudan no Jutsu. The wind dragon rushed into battle without hesitation, spiraling and weaving its way toward the two Kumo ninja. One reacted quicker than the other, and formed a long string of hand seals before unleashing a 'Suiton: Suiryuudan'.

Naruto almost laughed; wind could cut right through water, when the other Kumo ninja reached a crackling hand out to touch the body of the charging water dragon. His eyes widened a split second before the two dragons connected. Spiraling and twisting around each other, raising high into the air before they exploded, creating a rain of shocking water.

Naruto swore under his breath, wincing from the electrically charged water as samurai dropped in twitching heaps. They were reacting to his move with a perfect counter every time, not that he was surprised; over the last few battles he had encountered others who had done the same thing. It didn't mean he was happy, just used to the fact that there were Kumo ninja training specifically to take him out.

Unfortunately for them, they still had things to learn: If they knew and had planned for the most common techniques he used, then he would simply use his uncommon ones. Dropping into a spinning leg-sweep, he kicked up snow while forming a new hand seal. A 'Fūton: Reppushou' sent the scattered snow flying at his enemies and another set of hand seals pulled the flying snow together into spinning shuriken.

The two Kumo ninja dodged hastily, caught by surprise, which was what Naruto wanted. Targeting the closest one he formed the tiger seal and then exhaled sharply, unleashing the giant ball of flame of a Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu forcing them on the defensive. The ground gave a jerk and his eyes widened in surprise, turning to stare at the Kumo ninja who was apparently drawing the ground –and hence Naruto- toward him.

A blast of wind from beneath his feet sent Naruto airborne, while he formed several Kage Bunshin. Grasping the wrist of two of them, he forced his body into a spin, hurling one and then the other at his enemy. The other Kage Bunshin mimicked his attack, hurling others forward and when only one was left, Naruto laced his hands together so that it could push off in its own attack.

Landing, Naruto watched as the Kage Bunshin exploded in an attempt at killing that particular Kumo ninja. His attention shifted to the sound of crackling lighting and he pivoted, throwing his body to the side in an attempt at avoiding several kunai wreathed in lightning. Hitting the ground with a sloppy shoulder roll, a portion of his cloak shredded, Naruto fired off his own kunai each coated with wind chakra and when the enemy dodged, tried hitting them with the Kanashibari no Jutsu.

Scrambling to his feet, Naruto turned in time to find another lightning bird bearing down on him. Darting left with a Shunshin at the last moment, he let it connect with the Yuki Bunshin he left behind, and then charged forward dodging and weaving through a barrage from the retreating Kumo ninja. Closing the distance, Naruto ducked beneath a kunai his arm swept back before slamming a Rasengan into the enemies chest.

The enemy flew backward spinning and Naruto pivoted to find the first ninja. With a running jump, he flipped before dropping toward them. His feet should have hit their head, snapping their neck, but instead of the expected impact the Kumo ninja exploded into lightning. Naruto landed heavily the lightning wrapping around his body; bolts passing through his body, muscles convulsing as he screamed his throat raw before collapsing in a lifeless heap.

If he had been any other ninja, any other human, that would have been the end.

Uzumaki Naruto however, was not any other ninja. He was as far removed from being like normal ninja as normal ninja were from being grasshoppers. Even as his body hit the ground unnatural warmth was flooding through his body, healing his lungs and repairing his heart. A malevolent power was forcing life back into his limbs, guided on the subconscious level by a dark will.

Bleeding eyes registered a wounded Ino, blood seeping from her side, rushing toward him. They flicked past her, registering an enemy bearing down on her from behind. Closing for the kill. Suddenly the dark will was overridden by Naruto's own; his body exploded into action, hurtling in a red blur past Ino and slammed a fist into the enemies face snapping his head backwards.

His other hand whipped around, leaving searing slashes across their torso from elongated fingernails. That threat handled, the heat began to ebb and he turned back to Ino, who was just beginning to change directions. Forcing the Kyūbi chakra to less overwhelmingly noticeable levels, he took in the battle around him: more Kumo ninja were already closing in and the Hi no Kuni samurai were almost obliterated.

This battle was lost and Naruto could understand and see it so clearly that he almost flinched from the knowledge.

"Get to the lake!" Naruto shouted, or tried, his voice sounded raw but the samurai heard and followed the order. Ino was almost at his side, and it took her a moment to change momentum, but soon they were both racing toward the lake. Naruto covered the retreat with Kage Bunshin, praying that he could get them out of this mess.

Near the lakes edge, several feet away, an explosion filled the early morning. The shockwave washed over him, the ground rumbling and ears ring, but Naruto didn't pay it any attention. He had other, bigger things on his mind, Ino with her bleeding for one and getting as many people out of this mess as he could for two.

When the lightning started raining down around and behind him, he didn't flinch. He simply sent more Kage Bunshin into the world before asking Ino a very important question. "Can you break the ice on the lake even more?" At her faint agreement, he raised his voice for the surviving samurai "Get as close together as you can on that lake!"

Hands coming up, he formed a series of hand seals and then unleashed the Kirigakure no Jutsu obscuring the fleeing group from view. It wouldn't last long, but it would buy them time for what he had planned for their escape, though he just hopped Gamajun could forgive him later. Smearing blood from his mouth, his hands began forming another string of hand-seals as he bullied his chakra to mold properly, hitting the ice a half step behind Ino.

Ino skidded as she dropped to a knee, blood trailing behind her, hand slamming hard on the ice. The cracks raced outward, joining the preexisting ones and widened wildly. Naruto followed up by dropping to a knee, gripping it with chakra, and smacked his own hand against the surface creating a circle with black lines around his hands.

One Kuchiyose no Jutsu later and everyone disappeared into the maw of a toad.

(SPACE)
Nami no Kuni, Region 1, Forward Konoha Military Command...

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Nara Shikamaru had never wanted any kind of authority, though he usually ended up in such positions: his ambition in life amounted to nothing more than being an average ninja, with an average career, married to an average looking wife with average kids and eventually retiring. Despite the various shake ups that had happened over the years, this ambition had never changed.

Still, Asuma had selected him as his lieutenant and with the older man now assassinated Shikamaru had no choice. Besides, Shikamaru had the sneaking and depressing suspicion that he was the only one capable of untangling the numerous encoded strategies that Asuma had left behind. Not that it made things any easier, he still had to rearrange Konoha's forces and ensure that those under him actually followed his orders.

Apparently some of the older ninja were less than happy about taking orders from someone his age, or maybe it was just because it was someone that didn't have much of a reputation. Shikamaru mused about that for a half-second before shaking his head, it was just too bothersome to consider right then, he had other more pressing things to deal with. Namely the loss of Regions 6, 7,8, 9, and 10 to Kumo along with the many Konoha teams still MIA.

Shifting through the numerous piles of paper on his desk only confirmed what he had told Asuma weeks ago: They needed better communication between their regions. Sighing heavily, his head drooped, letting several pages fall back to the battered table beginning to realize why Asuma smoked so often. Twisting to face the high window, he squinted attempting to separate the slate clouds from the equally slate gray sky; difficult as it seemed at least he was able to take his mind off the trouble on his desk.

Letting out another deep breath, he turned back to the desk and paperwork, before stacking them up to study the map. Asuma had been in the middle of marking out the new defensive positions; Nishio, Chita and Hakusai were forming the north-east perimeter against Region 6 while Maebaru, Fukutsu, Kasugai and Miyawaka made up the south-eastern perimeter against Region 7 and 8.

Neither perimeter would give any time soon, but still it would be better when the real reinforcements arrived from Konoha. Tracing a finger along the north-eastern perimeter, he paused at Nishio, worried about if they would hold out until then. They were the most direct route into Region 5 from that direction, and while they were the best defended the numbers still weren't in their favor.

"Excuse me, Commander Nara-san." A feminine voice said, following a curt knock, which startled him out of his thoughts. Looking up he blinked, staring at the average looking, dark haired woman, standing in the entrance to his makeshift office. Noticing his attention, she smiled and entered the office closing the door behind her. "I'm pleased to meet you."

"Yeah," Shikamaru managed, leaning back slightly "do we know each other?"

"Oh, uh, I guess I forgot to introduce myself." the woman said, before straightening "I am Tōu, formerly of the Twelve Guardians and my current assignment is the head of the Special Reconnaissance Division of ANBU."

"Tōu?" Shikamaru repeated, trying to remember if Asuma had ever mentioned that name before, but the only one he could remember was a Fire Temple Priest named Chiriku. Of course, that didn't mean much, Asuma had never liked talking about that time in his life.

"I was junior to Asuma-sempai within the Twelve Guardians," Tōu said, pausing before shrugging "we both left at roughly the same time following a certain event that split the group."

"I see." Shikamaru said, it certainly sounded right, that was pretty much how Asuma had side-stepped questions about his past. It made Shikamaru curious against his will, about what that event was. "You mentioned Special Reconnaissance?"

"Yes. Once I left the Twelve Guardians and returned to Konoha, I entered ANBU and worked my way into command." Tōu explained, relaxing "I had hoped to work with Asuma-sempai once more, hence why I volunteered to join your reinforcements."

"Ah. You know?"

"Yes," Tōu said, her tone softening "I- I am saddened by his passing. Do we have any leads as to who..."

"No." Shikamaru said, an alarm bell going off in his head. It was possible that someone had leaked details, but Shikamaru had issued orders to keep the assassination quiet. "Do you have the orders?"

"Yes." Tōu added, offering him a sealed manila envelope. "Ten teams, forty all total. Three ANBU teams."

"Great," Shikamaru muttered, reading the papers within: Standard transfer orders, and the numbers certainly matched what she had told him, so there was no warning bells going off there. "Besides the ANBU teams, do the others have any experience?"

"Of course, the majority were pulled from the Oto-Konoha conflict, while the rest are from the Western and Eastern borders." She paused, her eyes looking uneasy "Also, on the way in we made contact with a Kiri ninja. He's under orders from the Mizukage to speak with our commanding officer."

"Fine," Shikamaru sighed, filing that mention of Kiri to the back of his mind while flipping through the orders. "Assemble the teams, we'll be sending them out to the two perimeters ASAP. The most experienced are heading for Nishio, it's the one most directly threatened. After that I'll speak with the Kiri ninja."

"I take it I'm your lieutenant?" Tōu asked, almost sounding amused.

"You said you've been working in the ANBU, and as a member of the Twelve Ninja Guardians correct?" Shikamaru asked, not looking up from the bothersome orders. He needed to bull through it so he could plan accordingly. At her confirmation he glanced up at her, holding up a sheet of paper "Well that means you're used to handling group movements and I need a lieutenant that can help out with that."

"You are a clever one," Tōu said in a friendly fashion "No wonder Asuma-sempai chose you as his lieutenant."

"Bothersome." Shikamaru muttered, turning his attention back to the paperwork, which Tōu correctly took as a dismissal. After the door closed he breathed out heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose, wondering if he had made the right decision. After all, there was really nothing to justify it but he didn't trust her: at least, not enough to turn her lose in the field.

AN:

Playing with a formatting change, where any technique that isn't used regularly is italicized. Let me know what you think about that change.