A/N: This is my first try as an author so bear with me. English isn't my first language so don't hesitate to pm me with any fault you find, I am always eager to learn.
I had an interesting comment concerning the last chapter, stating that Naruto was winning all his fights and that it took the suspense away, making the story somewhat predictable. That is true but even if you know he will win the fight, you don't know how. Knowing the strength of his enemies and seeing him struggle to defeat them with those original powers is what I tried to write.
Now, we're close to the end of this arc. I saw some reviews expecting Naruto to become the second coming of God during this chapter. You have to realize there are still some formidable enemies out there, so I can't have Naruto play the invincible Wind God just yet. All I'll say is that he's slowly but surely getting there :)
Anyway, welcome to the next chapter of Kaze No Kami.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other manga for that matter.
Chapter 38: True Wind
Battlefield
Naruto stood in front of the two undying Akatsuki members, one of them had had his head cut off while the other one still looked like he was in his prime, an impossible fact for someone who had battled the Shodaime Hokage, about a century ago. Yet they were still alive, currently facing the Namikaze heir. The Leaf jonin came to the conclusion that he was doomed to lose this battle if he continued to fight against them without upping his game.
Consequently he unleashed his newest technique, Ten'i Muho no Kiwami, the combination of his bloodline's two ultimate forms. While Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami enhanced his mind powers, Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami was the enhancement of his physical abilities. The final form gave the balance of the two, yin and yang, the perfect harmony that allowed him to become one with the Wind.
Naruto remembered his training days in the Summoning World, trying to reach that level after he modified his seal that was holding back Natsuki's youki.
Flashback – Dragon's Realm
Naruto fell to his knees, heavily panting after he failed again to access his final form.
It had already been a week since he came back from the Toad's Realm, after getting the Key to modify the Shiki Fuujin in order to lift the restriction his father placed on him when he sealed Natsuki.
Each enhancement form of his bloodline consumed four tails worth of youki, the original gate already consuming one tail. Unlocking the nine tails should have allowed him to accomplish his goal of combining the two modes, but he somehow failed each time he tried.
Of course, repetitively using up all of his youki reserves put a heavy strain on his body and he couldn't practice as much as he wanted.
He had tried everything he could think of, but he did not succeed, his concentration or control wasn't high enough.
He tried different strategies, first accessing the Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami and then trying to activate the Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami, then the other way around but nothing worked.
"It seems you're still far from achieving the final form of your bloodline, Naruto." Said Ryuoh as he watched Naruto's training.
"I don't know what I'm doing wrong, this is so frustrating. I can perform each mode alone but trying to activate them both is impossible." Replied the blond to the Dragon King.
"From what I see, the control required to activate each of your ultimate abilities already takes every control you can muster. I know It may be hard to hear, but that could be the highest level of control you will ever be able to reach. You are still a human being, that is your limitation, no one expect you to be able to look left and right at the same time." Said Ryuoh, not realizing he just gave away the key to succeed to Naruto.
"Stupid, stupid … I'm so stupid, of course there's a way ! It was the same with the Rasenshuriken after all, I have to give it a try !" The young dragon summoner's eyes widened, listening to Ryuoh's speech.
"Not that I'm not amused by seeing you finally realize that you're an idiot, but did you just figure out a way to activate the technique ?" Asked Ryuoh with an amused voice.
"I think I did, the answer is this !" Replied Naruto as he formed a familiar hand sign and called out a jutsu.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu !" Yelled the blond as a copy of himself appeared next to him, then each of them went to open a different mode of the bloodline.
Ryuoh watched from his position as Naruto and his clone each went in a different mode of his bloodline. When the activation stabilized Naruto then did a single hand sign again, dispelling the clone. An explosion then shook the entire area, as well as a blinding light illuminated the dark night as if they were in the middle of the day.
That night, the Dragon King was the first to witness the first human being to have ever reached that stage in the wind element manipulation.
End of flashback
The two Akatsuki members looked at each other, trying to figure out their next move.
"Let's do it the usual way, Kakuzu." Said Hidan.
"Fine, it was a mistake to underestimate him. Let's put an end to this fight, the leader won't be happy if we fail this mission." Replied Kakuzu.
Hidan then jumped in front of Kakuzu, as the hooded shinobi gathered his ninjutsu throwing creatures. The one with Suiton and Raiton techniques merged together and the two remaining ones, responsible for launching Katon and Futon jutsu did the same. Seeing his partner ready to resume the fight, the scythe wielder shinobi then launched himself towards Naruto.
Hidan engaged Naruto in another close contact fight, however he was supported by Kakuzu's reinforced creatures this time. His lack of ninjutsu was covered by those monsters and their high level techniques. During all this, Kakuzu stood back controlling his beasts from a safe distance.
During their previous encounter, Naruto already had no difficulty to evade Hidan's attacks with his accelerated metabolism while tampering with his opponent's speed. This time, the silver haired shinobi couldn't even perform an attack as Naruto could now also predict his every moves. Moreover, with their amplified difference in speed the blond was already in position to strike him in his blind spots each time before Hidan could even finish his own attacks.
This brought on the current situation, with Naruto predicting that Hidan was going to try a large swing of his scythe around him. The blond jonin was already in a crouching position in front of his opponent by the time Hidan raised his arms in order to execute his move.
"First lesson, taijutsu." Announced Naruto as he appeared in front of Hidan.
"Futon : Shin'Zou Hakai !" Yelled Naruto as he trusted both his palm towards Hidan's ribcage.
Hidan felt his heart explode, as the air from within his body was forcibly controlled and then expelled inside out. The jutsu caused an internal explosion as the air trapped inside his lungs, tried to escape the missing ninja's body. The result was the disturbing scene of Hidan's upper body exploding in a shower of blood and body parts. Only the lower part of his body from the waist to the feet were left untouched.
"You may still be alive by whatever jutsu you're using but I'd like to see the other freak trying to patch you back after this ..." Announced Naruto as he rapidly leaped back to avoid another combo attack from the masked creatures.
The Suiton / Raiton beast tried to catch him again in a combo attack but Naruto jumped in the air to avoid it. He was followed by the second beast but before it could fire another attack, Naruto made the first move.
"Second lesson, ninjutsu." He said as he extended an arm towards the monster, opening his hand as if he was trying to catch it even though they were not quite close enough, much like Gaara when he was performing the Sabaku Kyu.
"Futon : Kuroi Ana !" Yelled Naruto as he slowly closed his hand to form a fist.
A singularity appeared behind Kakuzu's creature who was still airborne, then suddenly the wind violently picked up as everything around seemed to be drawn towards the singularity, including the beast. Naruto was the only one unaffected, as even Kurotsuchi and Kakuzu, who were still far from the scene, had to apply chakra to their feet in order to not get caught in the jutsu as well.
Naruto hold his fist closed for a few more seconds and when he finally opened his hand again, it caused a huge blast at the exact point where the air was being drawn to. The creature that he caught was totally destroyed as it was in the center of the blast zone. The only remaining parts were the two masks that slowly fell to the ground, broken beyond repairs.
"Third lesson, genjutsu." Called Naruto as he looked at the remaining masked beast.
"Futon : Kyouka Suigetsu !" Yelled Naruto before he slowly disappeared before Kakuzu's stunned gaze.
Kakuzu was still looking for Naruto when his creature suddenly acted weird. It moved around as if it was being pushed but there was nothing around it. Kakuzu tried to dispel an undetected genjutsu but found nothing even after he flared his chakra. The masked beast was still being pushed around but there were no trace of Naruto's presence, no sound, no smell, nothing.
This made no sense to the Takigakure missing nin, no genjutsu could interact on a physical level with its target, even Itachi's ultimate genjutsu, the Tsukyomi could only attack and destroy his opponent's minds, not their bodies.
He was unaware that the blond did indeed activate his ultimate genjutsu. His newly increased mastery over the wind element was so high that he could totally mask his presence, becoming invisible, making no sound as he moved around or punched his target, emitting no heat nor smell. Using this jutsu, he was able to completely dominate his opponent's five senses.
Kakuzu suddenly saw a fading image of Naruto appearing, hidden behind a large tree. He discretely sent the beast towards him and it launched another combo attack towards the unsuspecting blond. The jutsu went through its target and Kakuzu cursed as he knew that it was just an illusion. He didn't understand however why the illusion didn't dispel on contact.
His eyes widened though as the illusion took out its sword and slashed at the masked monster, completely destroying the two masks in one swing before it slowly faded again. Naruto could already create very convincing illusions in the past, but now he could also make them interact on the physical level with his targets, emulating everything he wanted them to project, presence, footsteps, heat, breathing sounds and even make them fight by simulating punches or sword swings with his wind.
The real Naruto then appeared in front of Kakuzu seconds later, smirking.
"Did you enjoy my ultimate genjutsu ? Anyway, it looks like it's just you and I from now on." Said the leaf jonin with a mocking tone.
Kakuzu was an experienced fighter, even if Hidan was still alive there was no way in hell he could gather every pieces of his broken body and sew them back together with Naruto around. He also knew that with four hearts destroyed out of his five, he was definitely in a situation where even he, someone who lived for more than a century, could die from the blond's next assault. He was now evaluating his chances to escape and outrun the jinchuriki.
With Kurotsuchi
The newly appointed Yondaime Tsuchikage was intently watching Naruto's battle against the Akatsuki members. She was already highly impressed by the blond's display of skills when he managed to fight off Hidan and Kakuzu separately.
When they teamed up against the leaf jonin, she thought about joining him to fend them off, not matter how powerful he may have been, going against two S-Rank missing nins should have been impossible. However, she decided against it as he once again managed to prevail.
She could see that he indeed deserved his moniker as the Kaze no Kami. It seems like he could do absolutely everything with his wind affinity, just like his bingo book profile said. Some of the techniques he showed were out of this world, she was particularly impressed by Naruto's ultimate genjutsu, being herself well versed in the art as well.
By the end of the fight, she came to the conclusion that the Iwagakure could not afford to have this man as an enemy. If they remained hostile, he would become a threat of the Yondaime Hokage's level when the man was still alive. Stopping the war and establishing a peace treaty with Konoha became the number one priority in her mind as the new Kage of her village.
Hell, after seeing what he could do in this fight, she began to think that she and the rest of Iwagakure's task force that was sent here, being able to go back home alive was nothing short of a miracle.
With Naruto
"Are you ready for the next lesson ?" Asked Naruto, as Kakuzu was still thinking about his next move.
Naruto was about to speak again when the Akatsuki member suddenly moved, not trying to run away as Naruto thought he would, but towards Kurotsuchi's direction. The missing nin ran at full speed towards his target.
"Your heart will replace one of those that damn jinchuriki destroyed !" Yelled Kakuzu as he was about to strike the unprepared Tsuchikage.
He had changed his body structure again, deploying once more the strange threads that he was using to build his ninjutsu creatures. Naruto was able to determine that those were used to steal the hearts of his opponent's victims in order to create those monsters he was using during the fight.
Kurotsuchi had no time to react, as Kakuzu had already reached her position before she could even blink. She closed her eyes, expecting the incoming pain but strangely nothing happened. When the new Tsuchikage opened her eyes, all she saw was a white flash.
"Hi-Hiraishin …" Muttered the young woman, completely stunned to see the famous jutsu that caused her village to lose the Third Great War.
Kakuzu's eyes widened as he saw Naruto appearing right between Kurotsuchi and himself. He felt a blinding pain coming from his stomach and when he looked down, he understood why.
Naruto had unsheathed his katana and taking advantage of Kakuzu's lack of attention, he stabbed the missing nin right in his gut.
"Well, fuinjutsu wasn't really part of the last lesson." Mused the blond out loud.
"W-When did you mark me with that damn jutsu ?" Asked Kakuzu, not remembering any close contact with his opponent.
"I didn't mark you, she's the one I marked." Answered Naruto while looking at Kurotsuchi.
Said woman's eyes widened when she understood.
"When you took my hand to help me stand up ..." She absentmindedly said.
"Precisely, Tsuchikage-dono." Replied Naruto with a smile.
"I hope you won't take it the wrong way, I meant what I said when I gave you my trust. It was for your own safety as not everyone is as forgiving as I am. I wasn't sure the others from the alliance would have let me the time to explain the situation to them, before they'd try something against you." Naruto added, not losing sight of his real goal to stop ongoing the war.
He smiled as Kurotsuchi nodded her head in acknowledgment of his actions.
"Now, where were we ? Ah yes, the last lesson is kenjutsu." Announced Naruto.
"Futon : Doku Kyuzou !" Yelled the blond as his blade glowed.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, but suddenly Kakuzu fell to his knees and started to scream his lungs out in pain.
"W-What did you do to me ?" He asked Naruto.
"I guess I can tell you, as you will die soon enough. While developing a ninjutsu of mine, I discovered that I could control my wind powers to target my opponent's chakra circulatory system. The technique created thousands of microscopic wind needles that severed my opponent's chakra pathways, interacting to the cellular level. This is what I injected into your body when I used my katana." Naruto replied as he took back his katana and sheathed it.
Kakuzu died shortly after that and Naruto collected his head. As the Namikaze went to retrieve Hidan's head, he was surprised to see that the zombie was still alive, even with only his head. He then sealed both heads in a scroll.
"Let us go back now, Tsuchikage-dono. We have a war to end, I'm sure everyone is worried about us." He said with a smile.
A/N : What do you think ?
Akatsuki is finally losing some members … it was bloody time they did.
Naruto revealed part of his newest powers, many asked me in the first chapters why I did not have him blow out the air in his opponent's bodies, well that was reserved for this particular chapter as all conditions have now been cleared for him to.
As I said, there are still many 'bad guys' so I left him with godlike powers, yes, but he can still improve even more.
Yes, he knows the Hiraishin, he had the scroll for quite some time and trained for a long time in the sealing arts with the Uzumaki scroll, I'll let you do the math.
Next time is the epilogue of this arc and the introduction of a new one.
Follow the next issue to know more :)
As usual please Read and Review.
New Jutsu :
The following moves require the Ten'i Muho no Kiwami to be activated.
Futon : Shin'Zou Hakai , translates as the Heart Implosion. Ultimate taijutsu move, upon contact Naruto can take control of the air present inside his opponent's body to deal extensive damage to them such as crushing their breathing organs.
Futon : Kuroi Ana , translates as the Black Hole. Ultimate ninjutsu that gathers the surrounding air into a single chosen point in space, pressurizing it to the limit. Then, Naruto can release the hold to create a gigantic decompression, generating a powerful blast.
Futon : Kyouka Suigetsu , translates as Mirror Flower Water Moon. Ultimate genjutsu move that takes control of Naruto's opponent's five senses, allowing him to completely mask his presence or even make his illusions dealing real damages while using wind manipulation.
Futon : Doku Kyuzou , translates as Poison Explosion. Ultimate kenjutsu move, allows Naruto to reproduced the effects done by the Rasenshuriken attack to his opponent's circulatory chakra system when cutting his opponents with his blade.