With those words Pain's figure vanished from the dark cave along with the other holograms, leaving the cave perfectly still.
Koga wandered slowly throughout the heavily forested area of the land of fire. His white veiny eyes surveying the landscape. He had expanded his vision as far as he could muster. His footsteps were silent along the grassy dirt. His partner following close behind him, blue shark like flesh standing out beneath his black cloak. He was casually holding his massive bandaged blade on his shoulder. Neither of them spoke as they continued to wander the woods. Koga's eyes picked up a hint of chakra, off to the west. He began to change course, slowly walking and narrowing his vision. He was displeased to find that Hinata was no longer within the shrine when he returned from sealing the yonbi. For the last three years he had been searching for her, on and off of his assignments with the Akatsuki. He didn't like having to clean up the mess that Deidara and Sasori had left behind.
That was another matter… how were they defeated so easily by a brat? Something was off on that account. And manipulating more than the five basic elements? What a farce, it was not possible outside of a bloodline limit. He knew very well the limits of the Uzumaki clan… but now was not the time to think about such things, he had a mission to do. He began to approach the chakra signature. He was sure of it now, it was the Rokubi.
"Kisame." Koga said, the man did not reply but instead just let his sword swing down and land on the ground. He smirked, showing his rows of razor sharp shark like teeth.
Naruto was holding Hinata's hand as they walked along a narrow path through the forests of the land of fire, heading west. They didn't speak much, Naruto would glance every so often at Hinata, admiring her beauty. Sasuke trailed behind, keeping a slight distance. To someone looking at them, it would seem he was aimlessly letting his eyes flit from place to place, but he was watching. He was on guard, constantly keeping watch. Hinata was enjoying the silence and holding Naruto's hand. She began to think back to what he had said.
"We'll continue this later." She blushed at the thought. All three of them suddenly noticed some movement in the trees. All their eyes flicked to their left. Naruto channeled the seal on his neck. He had perfected a newer version of it that allowed them to communicate without speaking and had applied it to his friends.
"You see them?" Naruto asked, only Hinata and Sasuke could hear him, his mouth did not physically move.
"Yeah… Hinata, can you tell who they are?" Sasuke asked. Hinata wordlessly activated her Byakugan. She looked to where she saw the movement and she was surprised at what she saw.
"They're Konoha shinobi!" She exclaimed. "I think I recognize one of them…"
"Who is it?" Sasuke asked.
"It's -" Hinata was about to reply before Naruto let go of her hand and started to run forward slightly, turning around.
"Let's give them an opportunity then… see what they want." Naruto said, turning around to face his teammates.
Kiba was sitting in the trees, along with Sakura and Shino. All of them hiding within the thick foliage. They had found their prey, they just needed to find the right time to attack.
"If Naruto separates from Hinata, I'll hit him with Gatsuga. Sakura you go for Hinata, you should be able to handle her. Shino, try and immobilize Sasuke, he's the strongest of the three of them."
Kiba said, keeping watch. Sakura looked at the linked hands of Naruto and Hinata. It was not all that surprising. They had spent all of their time together before. "Hai." Sakura said.
"I will comply for the sake of the mission, however, you are not the leader. Why? Because you-"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it Shino." Kiba interrupted him, grinning. Shino got a vein bulge on his head, but kept quiet. They watched as Naruto suddenly let go of Hinata's hand and ran ahead of them, turning around. Kiba's grin became feral.
"Akamaru!" Kiba said. The dog barked once before transforming into an exact copy of Kiba. "Let's go!" He said, leaping out of the trees.
"Gatsuga!" He yelled, spinning around going head first towards Naruto. Kiba and Akamaru joined together making one large grey spinning drill like entity. They crashed into Naruto, dust and dirt flying into the air.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said looking at him with concern. She turned just in time to see a flash of pink.
"Shannaro!" Sakura yelled, slamming a chakra enhanced fist towards Hinata. At the moment of the collision, again, dirt was flown into the air.
Sasuke looked around as he noticed a dark haze start to surround him.
"Hijutsu: Mushidama (Secret technique: insect sphere)" Shino called out, his arms outstretched and thousands of small black insects pouring out. They began to surround Sasuke on all sides until nothing could be seen but a human shape covered in black insects. Shino stood there, allowing his bugs to drain Sasuke's chakra until he noticed something strange. There was a small flash of light as the insects around Sasuke all died and fell to the ground harmlessly. Sasuke remained where he stood, arcs of lightning surrounding his body, his Sharingan active standing directly at Shino who behind his high collar, was shocked.
"Chidori Nagashi (Chidori Current)" Sasuke said as his body was surrounded by electrical energy. The dust began to clear around the other two ninjas and Shino could only look on in shock.
Naruto was holding onto the heads of both Kibas, the real and Akamaru clone. HInata had a purple lion's head around her open palm where she had caught Sakura's punch, her eyes active with the Byakugan.
Kiba was looking at Naruto with anger. It was the first time someone had stopped him. Naruto grinned.
"Yo Kiba. What's up?" He said playfully.
"You bastard." Kiba retorted, taking a swipe at Naruto only for him to jump back slightly, letting go of both of them.
"Come on, Akamaru!" Kiba said as he crouched down on all fours and the Kiba transformed Akamaru jumped onto his back.
"Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō (Human Beast Combination transformation: Two headed wolf)" There was a large puff of smoke as Kiba and Akamaru transformed into a giant two headed white wolf, standing ten feet tall.
Naruto whistled. "Not bad." He said before the beast growled and began to lunge at him, gigantic paws swiping with Naruto jumping away from each attack. The beast may have been large and very strong, but it was slow, Naruto could easily avoid its attacks.
"My friends want to play too." Naruto said with a smirk. He bit his hand to draw a small amount of blood before slamming it on the ground. There was a large puff of smoke and a gigantic red fox appeared standing behind Naruto. It was the same size as the twin headed wolf.
"What the hell?!" Kiba's voice could be heard even though the dog did not appear to speak.
Naruto's smirk widened, "Meet Kiyoko." He said, "She's been complaining about not having anything fun to fight."
The fox began to growl at the wolf and quickly lept towards the other animal, biting down on it's back. The wolf howled in pain and used it's other head to bit down on the fox. Naruto watched with amusement as the two giant animals continued to brawl.
Sakura looked shocked as Hinata was holding her fist in her open palm. She had completed negated the chakra enhancement with her Jyuuken. The lion's head around her palm suddenly bit down on Sakura's wrist, closing all the tenketsu in her hand. Sakura cried out and jumped backwards. She held her arm as her now limp hand twitched slightly.
'I can't feel my hand, the chakra and nerve pathway has been cut off…' Sakura thought, her other good hand now glowing green. She placed it on her injured hand and began to fix the minor nerve damage. She clenched her fist as feeling returned. She could now use it, but she wouldn't be able to enhance the punch.
"I do not wish to fight you, Sakura-san." Hinata said in a very formal tone, but kept her battle stance up and her Byakugan active.
"You're a missing nin, we don't have a choice." Sakura said, looking down sadly. She didn't want to fight Hinata either. "Please just give up and come back to the village." She pleaded.
"We can't do that. They abandoned us." Hinata replied, maintaining her stance.
"Abandoned you?" Sakura asked confused. "I don't understand…" She said.
"Naruto-kun has been hated by the villagers his entire life…" Hinata said with a sigh. "They would beat him, kick him out of stores and just treat him like dirt in general." She continued. "But it's not just about him… they couldn't protect my family. My clan is gone now, my little sister…" She hesitated a moment. "Is dead. The village did nothing to prevent it or even punish the man responsible in the end. There is nothing left for me there, or for Naruto-kun. Even less so now that Danzo is the Hokage." Hinata said with malice in her voice.
Sakura looked confused, "But… in the academy... all Naruto ever said he wanted to be Hokage…" She said, maybe there was still some hope. She knew all too well that Danzo was not good for the village but no one dared oppose him now. Not after the first wave of protests. The protesters started to disappear or otherwise lose their nerve one by one. Nobody had any proof of it but they all suspected they had been convinced to back down… one way or another. And those that didn't were… removed.
Hinata looked away sadly. She wasn't sure if that was still his dream or not. "I don't know if he still wants to do that, but I think he still could… given the opportunity." She replied.
"Now please Sakura-san, back down." Hinata said pleadingly, "I don't want to hurt you."
Sakura clenched her fists. Hurt her? She looked up at Hinata with an angry face, another person who was underestimating her. She grit her teeth.
"Hurt me?" She said, eyes flaring in anger, she channeled a large amount of chakra into her fist and slammed it on the ground. The earth began to ripple away from her at a dramatic pace, leaving a giant crater where she punched the ground. Sakura glared at Hinata through the falling earth she had sent flying into the air. Hinata remained unflinching with a look of sorrow on her face.
"So you want to fight then?" Hinata asked.
"You bet your ass!" Sakura yelled to her as she began to run towards Hinata.
Sasuke looked off into the trees. Shino was still hiding amongst the leaves, but Sasuke could clearly see the bugs in the air.
"I can see your chakra. Come out Shino." Sasuke said, looking directly at him. Shino weighed his options. Hiding would not give him any benefit in the current situation. He slowly walked out of the trees with his hands in his pockets.
"I will not underestimate you, Sasuke Uchiha. I have seen what you could do in the academy. Your abilities surpass my own. However, for the sake of the mission, I will defeat you." He said, lifting his hands out from his pockets and extending his arms, swarms of insects flying around his hands, making a loud buzzing sound. Sasuke smirked.
"You know all that and you still want to fight me?" Sasuke asked.
"I do not have a choice. Why? Because that is our mission." The bugs around Shino began to flare up. He moved his hands forward and the swarm began to surround Sasuke. He began using his blade to cut through the swarm, infusing his blade with lightning chakra. He noticed something strange, the more he cut down the bugs, the more they seemed to resist the electrical energy.
"My bugs are capable of adapting and evolving very quickly. They have become resistant to your lightning element." Shino said, tightening the swam around Sasuke. "It's over." Shino said as the bugs completely surrounded Sasuke. He jumped out of the swarm and landed close to where Hinata and Sakura were fighting.
Hinata had just blocked an attack from Sakura, she jumped backwards, avoiding the large punch to the ground landing next to Sasuke.
The large fox Kyoko fell to the ground with a yelp before vanishing with a puff of smoke. The large two headed wolf jumped and began to spin.
"Garoga!" He yelled as the giant wolf began to spin at Naruto. He smirked just as the attack was about to hit him until the wolf suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke and there stood two Kiba's. They both aimed a punch and connected them straight to Naruto's jaw. He flipped backwards and landed next to Hinata and Sasuke, rubbing his chin.
"That hurt…" he said, glaring at Kiba who had a smirk on his face.
"Shino!" Kiba yelled at his teammate. Shino's arms stretched out wide as thousands of bugs surrounded Naruto, Hinata and Kiba in an endless swarm of insect.
"Hijutsu: Mushidama (Hidden technique: Bug Sphere)" Shino called out again as the swarm surrounded them completely. The dome began to change shape into three distinct human like domes.
"They are finished." Shino said until he felt something strange. Kiba's grin dropped, Sakura stared with her eyes wide and Shino looked impassive but was shocked. There was a pulse of chakra. Naruto emanated some wind element, knocking the bugs away and slicing them to pieces. Hinata let out a burst of chakra from all her tenketsu, destroying the insects. Sasuke pushed some chakra into his blade, releasing a fire cloak around his body, engulfing the insects, burning them to cinders. The three of them stared down the trackers.
"I'm done playing games." Naruto said. "Hinata, Sasuke, let's show them what they are really up against."
All three of them let their self imposed chakra limiters fall, as well as show their killing intent. Akamaru returned to his original form and began to whimper, laying on the ground. Kiba stared wide eyed, sweat starting to fall from his brow, his hands began to shake. Sakura fell to her knees, tears beginning to form in her eyes, she began to shake. She was terrified at the raw power they were showing off. Shino's bugs began to flee, their self preservation instincts kicking in. Shino himself was visibly perturbed as he took a step back.
An orange cloak began to surround Naruto, his eyes changing from their normal blue to orange. A vertical fox like slit crossing a horizontal frog like bar, making the shape of a cross in his eyes. The opaque orange flame surrounding him completely.
Hinata's eyes changed to the golden lotus pattern, the dark purple flame beginning to surround her, engulfing her body. Her hair flying wildly above her head, two black spheres appeared behind her back before travelling and encasing her palms.
Sasuke's skin began to have a black flame like pattern cover it before they all blended together, giving his skin a dark tone. The sclera of his eyes became black, giving his Sharingan a heavy contrast. Two black wings sprouted from behind him and rested freely behind him. His hair grew in length, becoming thicker as well. The three of them stood, pressing their power against the leaf ninjas.
"W-We c-can't beat them…" Sakura said, her voice full of despair. She had tears running down her face now. Shino gulped and pulled the insects back inside his body. Even Kiba was stunned into silence, his mouth slightly open.
"Do you see what you're up against now?" Naruto asked, glaring at them. "Go back to Konoha. Tell Danzo if he wants to send someone, it had better be his best." He said, before dropping the cloak and returning to normal. He had a smile on his face.
"It's good to see you guys again though." He said sheepishly, after the whole facade he just put on, it was a strange contrast. Hinata and Sasuke also reverted to their normal forms. Hinata smiled lightly at them and Sasuke's demeanor remained relaxed, almost uncaring.
Hinata reached down to Sakura and offered her hand. "Sorry to scare you guys like that but… we needed you to stop somehow." She said. Sakura gulped, the fear she had felt earlier had subsided. She tentatively grabbed Hinata's hand and let herself be pulled up. "Let me heal your hand Sakura-san." She said, she pushed some chakra into the girl's hand, opening the tenketsu points and allowing the chakra to flow back into her hand.
"Better?" She asked with a smile.
"A-Ah... " Sakura responded, not sure how to react right now.
"W-What did you guys just do?" Kiba asked, still kind of shocked at what the had just witnessed.
"It's a secret." Naruto said grinning. Kiba crossed his arms, the fear he felt earlier was now gone. He was still standing face to face with the same old goofy Naruto.
"What do you mean it's a secret. C'mon tell me!" Kiba said getting annoyed.
"Nope." Naruto said, still grinning.
"... fine whatever." Kiba replied, looking off to the side.
"I'm just kidding Kiba. Sit down with us you guys. I want to catch up with you." Naruto said. He was excited to see old friends again. The tracking group hesitantly let Naruto lead them to a nearby clearing where he set up a small fire and moved some logs for everyone to sit. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky and twilight was engulfing the forest. It would have been a good time for them to rest anyway. Everyone had a seat around the fire getting comfortable to share their stories.
