Chapter 51: Fusion
"I know you want my help," the Kyuubi persisted. "You need my help. Without me, you're mother's death will be wasted. I will assist you in battle."
Natarii shook her head. She almost believed the nine-tailed fox in front of her. What's happening to me? She thought, concerned. He's talking nonsense, but why am I starting to believe it?
"You can't beat Itachi on your own," the demon continued. "You need my help. His genjutsu won't affect you if you accept my help."
Natarii looked up at the fox. The light in her eyes faded. She stepped toward the gate. What's going on? She thought to herself. I can't feel my body. What's...happening to me? Natarii stood directly in front of the gate. She raised her arms and formed a hand sign: Tiger.
"That's it," the Kyubbi said sinisterly. "Do it. Release the seal."
"I don't know how." The words fell out of Natarii's mouth without her even realizing what she was saying.
The Kyuubi snickered. "I'll tell you. It's a technique I'll never forget. A technique only the Takanami can do. Bijuu no Fuuinjutsu...Phase Two."
"Phase...two?" Natarii repeated the phrase as of she was caught in the middle of a trance.
What's...what's Bijuu no Fuuinjutsu Phase One?" Natarii's own words from only a month ago rang through her mind, followed by her mother's reply.
"It's one of the jutsu Kazuki used. It has three phases, each one more difficult that the one before it."
So that's it, Natarii thought to herself. I can release the seal by using Bijuu no Fuuinjutsu Phase Two. "How do I...do it?" A sense of darkness came over Natarii. She was beginning to lose control of her mind.
"When I see a jutsu...I don't forget it," the Kyuubi said. It narrowed its eyes with satisfaction, glaring at Natarii evilly. "I'll give you the hand seals." At this point, any thought of the Keimusho seal was in the back of her mind, and the Kyuubi could see that. Any form of common sense was in the back of her mind. "It begins with the same seal," the Kyuubi continued. "Tiger." It noticed her hands were already in the tiger position. "Looks like you're already on top of things." The Kyuubi narrowed its eyes further. "Snake."
Natarii mindlessly clasped her hands and formed the snake sign.
Kisame lunged forward and knocked Naruto's kunai out of his grip. Kisame's movements were quick. He swished his sword with precision and accuracy. Naruto was barely able to move out of the way.
He stopped for a moment. Something was wrong. Deep inside him, there was some sort of burning sensation. His stomach was churning. It was rather painful, causing him to hunch over slightly. His breathing grew heavy. What is this? He thought to himself. Kyuubi...what's going on in there?
His rhetorical question was left unanswered. Quickly, he glanced at Natarii. His eyes widened.
Itachi was calmly trying to get to her by extending his arm toward her, but he couldn't. There was some sort of barrier surrounding her. She stood as if she were in some sort of daze. The light in her eyes was gone, and her arms hung limply from her body. Despite her state of weakness, no one could touch her. Then, the red chain pattern of the Keimusho Seal appeared. A thin trail of blood came out of Natarii's left nostril.
Naruto's eyes widened further. What the hell?! He felt the same throbbing pain in his stomach, causing him to flinch. Dammit, Natarii! What're you doing?!
Kisame tossed his katana to the side. He paused for a moment, never taking his eyes off his opponent. "I should've known a simple katana would be useless against the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."
Naruto clenched his fists tightly together, trying to remain as calm as possible.
Kisame reached back and took hold of a long handle that was attached to a large weapon covered in some sort of white wrap. That sleek smirk appeared on his face as he began to unwrap the weapon. "Come on out, Samehada..."
Naruto's eyes widened at the weapon. Was it even a weapon? This so-called "Samehada"? It was extremely large, almost the size of Kisame himself, had an oval-ish shape, a spikey texture, a purple-ish color, and a large mouth with pointed, sharp teeth. It appeared to have some sort of evil smile as it snarled.
Naruto quickly brought his hands up, forming a hand seal. A clone appeared out of a puff of smoke next to him. The clone quickly molded the trademark blue chakra sphere in the original Naruto's palm. The clone disappeared, and Naruto charged toward Kisame.
"Heh." Kisame held out Samehada.
As Naruto neared, the Rasengan in his hand grew smaller until it was nothing. "What?!" His Rasengan had been swallowed up completely. There wasn't time to slow down. At this rate, he was going to run straight into Kisame. But, Kisame took action. He swung Samehada, flinging Naruto several feet to the side. He skid along the dusty ground, bumping into the barrier that had formed around Natarii. He shot a quick glance at her. She looked exactly the same. Something was wrong with her. But he didn't have time to sit around and find out what.
From the split second of contact with Samehada, Naruto felt something strange. It was as if he was...weaker. His eyes quickly moved to his opponent. There was something different about Samehada. It was as if it had grown. Naruto blinked a few times. His eyes weren't deceiving him. Samehada was certainly bigger. But how? The shrinking Rasengan...Naruto's feeling of weakness...of course! Samehada ate his chakra! That was the only explanation!
Naruto stood up. He felt another sharp twinge inside him. Seriously! What is this?! He screamed in his mind. He glanced back at Natarii. There was more blood dripping down her chin. What the hell is she doing?! He continued to ask himself. Again, he turned back to Kisame. Samehada's handle, which was more like a tail than anything, curled up his arm. Long, thin spikes appeared on his body. It was as if they were fusing together.
Kisame formed a single hand sign: Ram. "Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shoha! (Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave)" As Kisame shouted the attack with clarity in his words, large amounts of water, taking the form of raging, uncontrollable waves, came spewing out of his mouth. They swallowed Naruto, Natarii, and even Itachi. Before long, they were all surrounded by a massive orb of water that had to have had a diameter of at least one kilometer.
Naruto looked around the mass of water. He felt okay. Except for the fact that he was holding his breath. How long he would last? He didn't know. After a minute of assessing the situation, Naruto's gaze made its way to the center of the large bubble. Kisame sat there, but he looked different. All sign of Samehada was gone and he looked more like an actual shark. He had a tail and fins and everything! The fusion process was complete. He started swimming toward Naruto.
Naruto was itching for a fight, but something inside him told him he probably wouldn't be able to defeat Kisame like this. He was completely in his element, so of course it was going to be a tough fight. Naruto needed another set of hands. He glanced down to Natarii. The force field around her seemed to be gone. Itachi was swimming over to her.
Crap! Naruto started swimming toward Natarii, hoping to get to her before Itachi. But the throbbing pain came back. His body became tense. He couldn't move.
Just do it already! Naruto heard the Kyuubi's snarl in the back of his mind. Who was it talking to?
Naruto ran through darkness, splashing the shallow water with each step he took. Before he knew it, he stood in front of the Kyuubi's gate, but from a distance. The Kyuubi was leaning as close to the gate as it possibly could, looking at a small figure with an evil glare.
Naruto squinted his eyes to get a better look at the figure. They suddenly widened at the familiar blood red seal of pain. Natarii.
That's it for this chapter! The next chapter will be posted on Saturday, August 24!
Next is: "Chapter 52: Bijuu no Fuuinjutsu Phase Two!" Natarii is about to unleash the second phase of her trademark seal! Will Naruto be able to bring her back to her senses?
ANNOUNCEMENT! The posting of the next chapter will be my one-year anniversary! One whole year of Kidnapping! Can you believe it?! Time really flies when you're having fun. ^_^ This really makes me happy! Thank you so much, readers! I really appreciate you reading my story! I believe next week's chapter is worthy of calling an anniversary chapter! I can't wait!
But! 'Til next time!
- ChibiNinja45
