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.
Sorry for the late release, got pretty busy this week and I had no time at all to write this chapter. Not to worry though, I have every intention to finish this story, there will be no hiatus or any new story until this one is properly concluded.
Alright, some interesting remarks from the reviews I got for the previous chapter. First, I never said anything about Itachi dying, well technically a neurologist would argue with me that with no brain activity, he's as good as dead. Anyway, I'll let you judge according to your own criteria whether Itachi is alive or not, in his current condition.
Second point, the fact that Kurenai didn't finish either of the two S-Ranked missing nin that are Itachi and Danzo, when she had the opportunity to. Gotta admit, it didn't even cross my mind for her to finish them off. I mean, would you go above what's asked of you in a S-Rank mission, if your action could risk exposing yourself and your teammates to the enemy. Anyway, fact is I still had something in store for the both of them, so I'll leave it at that for now.
Readers were positively surprised by the slip up from Naruto about the heat factor, making him detectable by that snake summon. Someone asked if Naruto could really mask his heat signature, should he need to. Well from a scientific point of view, this should be possible since he is after all a portable programmable fan. Don't know how to explain this, try to picture those little fan that cool down the temperature of your CPU in your computer or something like that.
Some of you thought Naruto should flee after being found out while others preferred to see him fight the duck ass. I'll let you guys read the chapter, in order to find out who was right or wrong about this then :)
Anyway, welcome to the next chapter of Kaze No Kami.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other manga for that matter.
Chapter 54 : Water against Wind
Amegakure – Kage Tower
The whole village could feel the ground shaking, as part of the Kage Tower was destroyed. The first ninja patrols arriving on site saw a huge hole at the base of the tower, from what must have been the meeting room, considering its location.
From the gaping hole, everyone could see a giant purple flaming arm extending outside. That was the Susanoo, one of Sasuke's Sharingan technique and apparently what caused that part of the building to collapse. The Oto shinobi were used to see that jutsu, with Sasuke using it so much lately for his conquests.
Sasuke immediately got out of the tower and looked around, trying to find his opponent with the help of his snake summon. Unfortunately for him, with the rain pouring down all around them, the temperature was not a good tracking system for him anymore.
Otogakure's shinobi were gathering all around the tower, wondering what was going on with their leader. Kabuto stood beside Sasuke and they were soon joined by Sakura and Suigetsu. Seeing that no one understood the situation and with Sasuke completely out of it, Kabuto decided to assume command.
"There was an intruder in the meeting room just now. He can mask his presence almost completely, but a summon creature was able to track him by his heat signature. He may have other accomplices with him, I want a full sweep of the entire city." The second in command said.
The Oto shinobi all went to follow Kabuto's orders while Sakura and Suigetsu remained with Kabuto and Sasuke. Said Uchiha was still scanning the area with his EMS activated, trying to find the intruder. He was about to give up and turn back towards the Kage Tower when his eyes caught something interesting.
In the middle of the street, there was a spot where the rain didn't properly reach the ground. While most wouldn't have noticed this, the Sharingan was able to catch the singularity. The Otokage immediately channeled more chakra to his eyes and dark flames suddenly appeared around the suspicious spot.
"I guess your eyes aren't that useless after all, Uchiha." Naruto said as he slowly revealed himself to Sasuke and his men. However, he was not where the Otokage was expecting him to be. In the spot where Sasuke directed his Amaterasu, now stood the burnt remains of whatever Naruto had used to substitute himself with.
"Dobe ! How dare you show yourself in front of me, inside my city no less." Sasuke replied in anger.
"Naruto ..." Sakura said with fear in her voice, remembering how strong her former classmate really is. She knew of their status of missing nin from the Leaf, there was no way she could defend herself against Naruto if they had to fight.
"This is bad, Tobi isn't here like the last time. Sasuke will want to fight him, even if he loses everything and everyone around him in the process." Kabuto thought, as he started to analyze the different outcomes this situation could have.
"So you're Konoha's Kaze No Kami, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. I always imagined that you'd be taller than that. Anyway, this is your title as the Eighth Swordsman of Kiri that interest me. Sasuke, you promised me when I joined your cause that should we encounter one of them, I'd be allowed to pursue the Swordsmen of Kiri." Suigetsu said as he looked back towards Sasuke.
"Fine but don't you dare embarrass me, if you are to fight against him." Sasuke replied with a scowl. That was indeed the contract that bound them together, ever since the Uchiha heir took over Otogakure.
"I, Hozuki Suigetsu, challenge you Uzumaki Naruto to fight me. My brother, Mangetsu, was one of the Seven before his death." The silver haired kenjutsu fighter said as he walked towards Naruto and unsheathed the Samehada.
"Oh … So it was you who got Kisame's body, I always wondered who were the rats that scavenged the spoils of war. I assume Duck ass got his brother too, is he still alive ?" Naruto asked, knowing Sasuke was close enough to hear him. However, the Uchiha simply stood there and did nothing to attack him.
"With all the audience around, I should probably just get the hell out of here as soon as possible. There is no way that Sasuke will simply hold back and let me fight this swordsman of his without interfering." Naruto thought, as he gazed upon Sasuke's group and the Sound shinobi that were gathering all around them.
He was about to use the Hiraishin to get away from there when Zabuza's words flashed through his mind. Even if it held no official meaning whatsoever, he still held the title of the Eighth Swordsman of Kiri. This was a position that entitled him to accept this challenge, against the younger sibling of a former member no less.
"I just hope that Konan and Kurenai are fine. Well, they would have used the kunai if they were in trouble, so I guess that it's fine for now." The blond thought, as he sighed and unsealed his katana before making his way towards Suigetsu.
Naruto vs Suigetsu
The two swordsmen were now facing each other in the middle of the street, Naruto with his Shinso while Suigetsu had the Samehada. It was a strange sight, to see those two weapons that were the exact opposite of each other. Shinso was elegant, relatively short and compact while Samehada was rough, quite long and pretty large.
"I've been challenged by quite a lot of people during my shinobi career, sometimes as a shinobi of the Leaf, some other times as a jinchuriki or lately as the Alliance's leader but never as one of the Swordsmen of Kirigakure. Are you doing this in order to get promoted to be one of them ?" Naruto asked.
"Not at all, I'm merely interested in that sword of yours." Suigetsu replied.
"I'm ready so you can start whenever you are." Naruto told him.
Suigetsu was logically the first one to move, rushing towards Naruto in high speed and trying to cut the blond down with a vertical slash. Naruto easily blocked it with his own blade, before channeling wind chakra into it, in an attempt to damage his opponent's sword.
Unfortunately for Naruto, as soon as he started to infuse wind chakra into his blade, it was drained away by the Samehada. He could feel the sword absorbing his attack and cursed as he suddenly remembered that Kisame's sword had this particular ability to eat his opponent's chakra away.
"You're quite strong, to be able to wield such a heavy sword despite your body structure." Naruto said as he stepped back, creating some distance between them. He decided that close contact against this sword was dangerous for the moment, so he would have to try something else.
"This is nothing for me, I trained hard to be able to wield any kind of sword. Before his death, my brother Mangetsu had mastered all the Seven Swords of Kiri. There was a time when I also wished to join that group, however, my dream now is to collect all those blades and then master them as my brother once did." Suigetsu replied, as he prepared himself for another charge against his enemy.
"Right, I guess I'm done warming up. I hope for you that you can do better that that or this won't be a very long fight." Naruto said as he channeled more wind chakra around his body.
With Konan and Kurenai
The two kunoichi were still waiting at the meeting point they had chosen before going into the city of Amegakure. They knew that Naruto was fighting someone above the surface but didn't understand why, their mission was only to infiltrate, observe and then report back.
"Naruto should have been to escape at any moment of his choosing with the Hiraishin. Either someone found a way to prevent him from using it, or he simply chose to stay and fight whoever he is currently fighting." Konan analyzed the situation out loud.
"That blond idiot ! We don't have time for this. Konan, can you try to see what's going on up there and assist him if he needs it. I'll move out first, I must bring this boy back and none of us knows medical jutsu." Kurenai said as she moved out of their position with her charge.
"Very well, be careful on your way out. I'll leave one of my paper summon with you to guide you through the maze. Don't wait for us, I'm sure we'll be fine." Konan replied as she then went in the opposite direction, towards the surface.
With Naruto
Naruto took a familiar stance as Suigetsu charged towards his position. The blond had his blade pointed towards his opponent and charged wind chakra through it.
"Futon : Kaze Shinso !" Naruto yelled as he launched his attack against Suigetsu.
The wind blade hit Suigetsu with deadly accuracy, piercing the silver haired swordsman right above his heart and stopping him in the middle of his run. Naruto was about to sheath his blade when something caught his eyes, the injury he inflicted wasn't leaking blood but some kind of water.
"You may be known throughout the world as the Wind God, but here inside the rain, I am the master of water manipulation." Suigetsu said as his body became transparent and he turned into water.
"Mizu Bunshin ?" Naruto wondered out loud as he saw his opponent turn into water. Something was strange though, he should have dispelled or something if he was a Bunshin. However, the one in front of him had just sustained a mortal injury and still stood in front of him as if it was nothing.
"That's not a Bunshin, this jutsu is called Suika no Jutsu. It allows me to liquefy any part of my body and while I'm in this state, no physical attack shall harm me. I can also do this." Suigetsu replied as his body dissolved into a puddle of water.
Naruto's superior battle instincts allowed him to narrowly avoid a sword thrust aimed at him from behind. He turned back in time to evade the Samehada and jumped back again, trying to keep his distance from Suigetsu. However, this didn't work as Suigetsu used the same jutsu again, appearing right behind Naruto's landing spot. Seeing no other choice, Naruto threw out several Hiraishin markers and instantly moved to them in a random pattern to avoid his opponent's trap.
"How the hell does he move so fast, that's nowhere near the Hiraishin but still faster than my normal speed. It must be that rain that provides him with limitless water supply in order to use his water fusing jutsu." Naruto thought as he took advantage of the short recess he got from getting away with the Hiraishin.
Seeing his enemy advancing again, Naruto decided to get serious and unleashed his true powers. He called up a Kage Bunshin and went through his usual process to access his Ultimate Wind Mode.
"Futon : Ten'i Muho no Kiwami !" Naruto yelled as he unlocked his ultimate battle form. The wind violently picked up around him and pushed the charging Suigetsu and his water jutsu back.
"This won't held him back for long, with the rain pouring down I'll be a sitting duck soon enough again. I don't have any lightning jutsu and my genjutsu won't work against him with the rain giving out my position so easily." Naruto analyzed in his mind and prepared a battle plan in order to defeat Suigetsu.
"You can't defeat me, as long as you are an absolute wind type, nothing you do can stop me." Suigetsu said as he appeared again behind Naruto.
With his real strength deployed, Naruto was more than ready this time and could feel his opponent's movements. He placed himself in a position that would allow him to sidestep the sword slash from Suigetsu, and used one of his more powerful attack.
"Futon : Shin'Zou Hakai !" Were the last words Suigetsu heard when Naruto placed both his palms above his chest. The result was an explosion of water all around Naruto as Suigetsu's upper body imploded under the blond's attack. Naruto did not drop his guard, he knew this was far from enough to stop his opponent. True to his prediction, Suigetsu appeared again from a water puddle not far from their last position.
"Very impressive, you are definitely the incarnation of the wind. That won't be enough though, with our new training and this infinite water supply, I can last as long as I need to, even against a jinchuriki like you." Suigetsu said, as he remembered how his chakra reserves went from jonin to Kage level with Sakura's version of the Hero's Water.
With the Observers
As Suigetsu requested, no one from Otogakure's forces interfered with the fight. They all looked as one of their elite jonin was going at it with the famed Kaze no Kami. Some may dare to say those two were evenly matched.
Sasuke watched as the fight went on, burning into his mind every move and attack pattern Naruto was using. Sure, he couldn't copy any of those moves but knowing how his enemy behaved himself in battle was already a good thing to know.
"Seems like Suigetsu is doing fine against Naruto-kun, how about that." Kabuto said with a smirk that was mirrored by Sasuke.
"You did good, Sakura. Your version of the Hero's Water will be a great asset in my war against the Alliance's armies." Sasuke said to Tsunade's former apprentice.
Sakura beamed under her leader's praises, not caring anymore about her actions and the repercussion they would have in the long run.
From a more distant position, Konan had managed to rise back to the surface and observed the fight from her position. She was worried for her adoptive younger brother but trusted his judgment. When she saw him smirk even after one of his attack failed once again, she smiled too, knowing that he most definitely had a plan in his mind.
Back with Naruto
After another explosion, Naruto looked as Suigetsu's body slowly reformed from the surface of a nearby water puddle. They had moved quite a bit ever since the beginning of the fight, the traces of their battle quite visible all around the town. They were currently near a building in ruin that Naruto destroyed, in one of his several attempt to hit Suigetsu.
"You are quite a stubborn one, aren't you ? Your attacks may be powerful, but they can't destroy me." Suigetsu taunted as he once again faced, unharmed, the blond. His smirk instantly disappeared as he saw Naruto smiling at his own failure.
"You are right where I wanted you to be, this is the part where you die now." Naruto calmly said as he called out his next move.
"Futon : Kuroi Ana !" Yelled Naruto as he extended his arm towards Suigetsu and formed his black hole jutsu right above the silver haired swordsman.
The wind increased violently in the area around the singularity, pulling everything into it. A large mass of water was absorbed inside the black hole, Suigetsu included. Instead of releasing his hold on the condensed mass, Naruto used his free hand to dispel a genjutsu he used in order to hide something among the ruins of the destroyed building they were close to.
The trapped form of Suigetsu inside the vortex saw the genjutsu slowly fading away, revealing a huge blue dragon hidden among the ruins. This was Hyorinmaru, the ice dragon that Naruto had placed there in preparation for his attack.
"Futon : Some no Mai ..." Naruto called out, as he pt both his hand to the ground under Suigetsu and channeled a column of wind chakra. Hyorinmaru then blasted away a huge gush of frozen air towards the wind column. "... Tsukishiro !" Naruto finished his combo attack with his Hyorinmaru, his ice dragon. The wind column instantly froze, creating a giant vertical ice block, with the trapped Suigetsu inside.
Naruto pulled out his katana again and prepared to deal the finishing blow to Suigetsu. He prepared a horizontal slash but as he started to move the sword, a giant purple creature blocked him, revealing Sasuke's Susanoo.
"So much for the honorable one-on-one duel ..."
A/N : What do you think ?
Some action after a long time, Naruto did fight, not against the one most of you expected him to but he fought anyway. I know I boosted a lot Suigetsu's fighting potential, the Hero's Water being the catalyst.
Point is, there is no such thing as an unstoppable jutsu, Naruto discovered one of his weakness during this fight. He won with his brain, not sheer skill. We'll see later how he intends to correct his flaws.
Of course Duck ass interfered, did you really expect him to sit idly on the sidelines ?
New Jutsu :
Futon : Some no Mai, Tsukishiro , translates as First Dance, White Moon. This is Naruto's combo attack with his Ice Dragon, Hyorinmaru. Naruto creates a wind column and Hyorinmaru is in charge of freezing it. This is of course a reference to Rukia's Shikai power in Bleach that I do no possess either.
