Chapter 14 Showdown for the Sanbi
I don't own Naruto. Anything I use from the story is the property of its creator Masashi Kishimoto.
Welcome to Chapter 14 everybody. Last time Naruto journeyed deep into the Lake to speak to the Sanbi about the current threat with the hope of securing his allegiance to make the sealing process easier. What he discovered was that the same man who ruined his life, was also behind Yagura's mental breakdown. Meanwhile Team Guren finally arrived at the lake but they were stopped by one of Naruto's shadow clones using a series of seals alone to take down the powerful group and buy enough time for the real Naruto to return. With everybody rested and ready to go, it's time to finish things with the Sanbi.
(Cabin)
Naruto looked at the girls and frowned knowing that what he was about to reveal would cause tons of problems later but it couldn't be helped, "During my conversation with the Sanbi, my plan was to reveal the existence of the Akatsuki and tell them that they were after him. What I discovered is that the Sanbi already knows about the Akatsuki.
According to Isobu, a member of the Akatsuki with an orange mask with a single hole in the right eye manipulated Yagura and made him unleash the bloodline purges on the Mist Village" Naruto explained causing the group to look on in shock.
"Impossible, the 3-tailed beast inside of him would've made it impossible for somebody to manipulate him." Shizune exclaimed.
"Yes, but they still did. Isobu couldn't tell me anything else or how long Yagura was being manipulated but Yagura was absolutely manipulated into doing what he did." Naruto said calmly knowing that it was a horrible situation.
Shizune and Anko both looked at each other before looking to their teams, "Girls I want you to leave us alone with Naruto." Shizune ordered.
"But" Ino protested before receiving the Anko death glare, "Fine fine I'm going" Ino said nervously. For all her improvements, Anko's death glare still scared her.
"Now that we're alone it's time for the truth Naruto." Shizune frowned.
Naruto knew he couldn't hide anything from them and simply flashed the hand signs for one of his privacy barriers. "Those girls have a few tricks at their disposal and I'm simply getting rid of them." Naruto smiled.
"Alright Naruto spill it. I know that there's something you weren't telling us" Anko said with a mix of anger and nervousness. Naruto rarely hid stuff from them and this was clearly important enough to hide.
"The person who hypnotized Yagura was the same person who attacked my Mom and Dad on the night of the Nine-tailed fox's attack." Naruto explained causing both women to pale.
"So that means" Shizune gasped.
"Yes, Yagura was hypnotized by a Sharingan and that person later tried to summon the Kyuubi and use him to destroy the leaf. We have a major threat on our hands" Naruto explained.
"Oh god" Shizune gasped. This meant there was a major threat out there and one they had to deal with.
"Yep. That doesn't change much here, but it just means we have to be extra careful with the Akatsuki moving forward" Naruto frowned.
"Yeah so what do we tell the girls?" Anko wondered.
"That what Naruto learned was an S-Rank secret and one that Naruto can only discuss with the Hokage." Shizune frowned.
"That's fine considering my clone already told her." Naruto shrugged.
"Good. Let's just focus on sealing the Sanbi and go from there." Shizune suggested and after a nod Anko went to get the teams.
(Cave)
As the morning arrived the group from the Sound Ninja was much better but still not quite in shape. "Damn that bastard. What do we do" Guren said angrily. She wasn't nearly at full strength and the group would need another few days to fully recover the problem is that they could seal the Sanbi at any time.
"We attack anyway. You're not at full strength, but you are strong enough to at least take on most of them. That blonde will want to prepare for us so if we split teams with half staying nearby and the other half headed for the Sanbi we can do plenty of damage" Rinji suggested.
Guren smiled viciously since it was a good plan. "Alright Rinji, you Gozu and Nurari will go distract the leaf ninja. Meanwhile I'll go with Kigiri and Kihō to attack the main group. As long as we play it right we should be fine." Guren smiled.
"Sounds good to me. Just don't get killed out there." Rinji taunted.
"Whatever" Guren smiled.
(Cabin)
While Team Guren was discussing strategy Naruto's group was doing the same. "Well there's good news and bad news." Naruto said calmly.
"Let me guess. Bad news is that you have to go back underwater in order to get to the Sanbi because if we're going to seal it, we need it to leave its dimension. Good news is that you have enough scout clones and other supplies to protect everyone while you do." Ino smiled.
"Did you read my mind?" Naruto frowned.
Ino smiled before walking over to Naruto with a sway on her hips, "No Naruto, I just know how you think from all the time we've spent together." Ino smiled before planting a kiss on his cheek.
"Really Ino" Sakura deadpanned.
"Anyway, just have Gyarados take your clone back to the Sanbi while the real you waits with our sealing team. If they're smart, they won't try to attack us but attack the Sanbi since us sealing it is way more important than any damage, they could do to us." Ino reminded him.
"Sounds good to me" Naruto chuckled.
"Hold on, why didn't Naruto do that in the first place. Send a clone I mean" Sakura wondered causing Naruto to twitch.
"I think he wanted the Sanbi to think he was genuine and using a clone wouldn't have done that." Fu smiled coming to Naruto's defense even though she didn't believe that.
"Thanks Fu" Naruto smiled.
"Just admit you wanted to hide what you were doing, and we'd realize pretty quickly if you were a clone" Anko chuckled.
"Thanks Anko" Naruto deadpanned.
"Anyway. We have the plan. Naruto's clone will go down to Isobu and reveal what we want to do and he'll leave now so we're ahead of the game. Team Anko will engage the Sound Ninja who approach us while Naruto and my team will look over the seal. The minute your clone alerts you we'll begin to seal the Sanbi" Shizune smiled.
"Right" the group shouted, and the plan was underway It wasn't ideal, but there was no telling what they would do.
(Scene Skip)
Team Anko stood right in the forest just north of where the camp was setup. The girls were ready for battle and for each of them there was something on the table. "Remember girls this is your big moment. Once Naruto's scout clone determines whose coming we'll do assignments" Anko said happily. Moments later, the scout clone appeared with a smile.
"Okay girls I've disabled all the traps in the area so it's all on you. From the looks of things. The Crystal style user is going along with the smoke guy and rocket user to attack the girls at the seal. My guess is they use the smoke and rockets to throw off the seal team and the crystal user can get in close." Naruto's clone suggested.
"Makes sense and that means we get the big guy, Batboy, and the slippery dude right." Anko smiled happily.
"That's right. I assume you have a plan." The clone wondered.
"Oh yeah and I can't wait." Anko smiled.
"Well good luck girls." The clone replied before vanishing. Anko quickly looked to the girls and made her decision. "Okay girls here's the deal. I'll take batboy myself. Isaribi you get the big guy but make sure to transform immediately. Sasame you and Yakumo take on that slippery guy. I hope you guys are ready because this is gonna be tough." Anko smiled.
"Right sensei" the girls replied, and everybody prepared for battle.
(Seal Team)
The seal team was ready with Ino Sakura Shizune and Fu standing just outside the river's range. Naruto sat calmly as he waited for Isobu's location from the clone. "You alright Naruto" Sakura said nervously.
"Not at all. Once we get started there's no telling what will… happen." Naruto said calmly before a large grin appeared on his face.
"Do you have the location." Shizune wondered.
"No but I know our opponents. Their sending the Crystal user the smoke guy and the rocket guy to us." Naruto said happily.
"Aww that makes it too easy. A good Chaos shield means we're safe and sound." Ino smiled.
"That would've probably been the case anyway, but it does mean we know what they'll do." Fu retorted. The smoke guy would send something their way while the rocket launcher guy contained them in an area for the crystal style user to attack.
"Yep and now all we need is a location for the Sanbi." Sakura smiled.
"And I just got it." Naruto smiled as he ran into the Lake with a smile on his face.
"He's enjoying this way too much isn't he?" Sakura smiled.
"Yep but that makes him Naruto." Ino replied and the girls soon followed all glad that their guy was back.
(Scene Skip)
While Guren and her team took an alternative route towards the lake. Rinji was perfectly satisfied with waiting. After all there was no telling what other traps lied in wait and using his bats he discovered two things. The first of which was all the traps were gone and the second was that the blonde was with the sealing team. "Okay guys so there's good news and bad news." Rinji smiled.
"What's the good news Rinji?" Nurari asked nervously.
"Good news is that the traps are gone and that the blonde bastard is nowhere near us." Rinji replied.
"And the bad news" Gozu said nervously.
"It means that the blonde is with the team sealing the Sanbi. Guren's gonna have a hard battle ahead" Rinji smiled.
"Guren" Gozu said nervously as he moved to stand at Guren's side.
"Gozu enough. Guren is smart enough to know what to do. She's our leader for a reason. Let's just focus on our mission" Rinji reminded the hulk.
"Right" Gozu replied.
"Shall we" Nurari replied and the group made their way towards Team Anko. Unfortunately for them, their opponents struck first.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu" a voice shouted, and a powerful dragon of water shot towards the group.
"Dodge it!" Rinji shouted and the group managed to move away. Out of nowhere Anko charged the scattered group sending Rinji flying with a powerful kick to the stomach.
"Rinji!" Gozu said nervously.
"I'd stay focused if I were you big guy" a transformed Isaribi said sternly having used the previous attack as a distraction to charge herself. The golden Isaribi slammed Gozu with a powerful punch of her own sending the hulk flying leaving just Nurari.
"Wind style: bullets of Chaos" Sasame shouted blasting Nurari with her own attacks. Unfortunately, the slime suit softened the blow but the main objective was complete.
"Get ready" Yakumo said proudly ready to do her best.
(Seal Team)
Naruto and the rest of the group arrived at a distance that was far from the shore, but it didn't matter since Isobu was ready. "Alright girls, Isobu is waiting for the sealing to arrive. He knows that Fu is there so if she mixes a small bit of the 7 tails chakra in the seal he won't protest. Remember that these guys are coming but even from this distance they'll have a hard time attacking us without hitting the water. Naruto said calmly.
"Hey Naruto what if I summon Latias to help you." Ino suggested. Latias would give him some powerful backup and considering the crystal style user, it would make sense if Naruto had dragonic assistance.
Naruto smiled at the suggestion, but realized there was a better option, "Thanks but I've got a better idea. Fu activate your secondary system and make a shadow clone. The clone can back me up while the real you works on the seal." Naruto suggested.
Fu lit up at the suggestion, "Really. You want to fight alongside me." Fu smiled. Fu hadn't fought with Naruto since the mission when they met and now was a chance.
"Yeah Fu. If you use a bit more Bijuu chakra you can even enhance the clone to make it endure a few more attacks." Naruto reminded her.
"Okay" Fu smiled as she created said clone.
"Alright guys we're going to start working on the seal." Ino smiled as the girls got into position.
"Here we go girls" Shizune shouted and she along with Sakura Ino and the real Fu prepared the seal.
"How deep are we going to have to go?" Ino said nervously. The seal they were using was supposed to surround the Sanbi before capturing it completely. It would take them a few minutes to even get right.
"I don't know. Isobu is out of the dimension and directly under us. That's all I know." Naruto frowned. He was too focused on waiting for Guren and her team.
"Incoming! Missiles at 4 o clock." Kurama shouted causing Naruto to turn towards that direction.
Naruto quickly started flashing through hand signs, "It's showtime, Wind Style: Bullets of Chaos" Naruto shouted firing his blasts at 4 o clock and the group watched as the bullets connected with the propelled rockets.
"Get ready Fu" Naruto smiled as he charged that direction waiting for their opponents.
"Right" Fu's clone replied doing the same.
Sure enough, Guren Kigiri and Kihō were charging and ready to attack.
"So that didn't work. That just means we're dealing with a skilled opponent." Guren smiled.
"Once we get in close we'll be fine." Kihō cackled.
"That's right" Kigiri smiled. Unfortunately for them that smile faded when Naruto and Fu charged.
"Curses it's the brat" Guren frowned. The worst part was that the girl was the seven tailed host. Taking on two jinchuriki was not a fun challenge.
"I'm surprised you're in fighting shape already. I guess my vines are losing their touch." Naruto smiled.
"You'll pay for that later. At least now we have the advantage." Guren smiled. They were in close which meant her crystal style would be much more lethal.
"You have one more person, but we're way stronger." Naruto smiled.
Out of nowhere a pillar of water popped up next to Naruto to the shock of all parties involved. "And now you no longer have the numbers advantage." a gruff voice shouted from within the pillar of water. As the water faded a single figure was standing in wait. It was a large muscular man with dark skin, spiky blue hair with a small ponytail in the back and beady blue eyes. His outfit consisted of a blue sleeveless vest with blue pants tied up with a string and no shoes.
(AN: Mako Tsunami from Yu-gi-oh with his outfit when he worked in Battle City. Yes, it is old school and I like it that way)
"Who are you" Naruto said curiously. He was aware that he was on his side, but his identity was a mystery.
'That would be Gyarados's human form. I confess I have no idea why he's here but I'm not complaining.' Timaeus revealed.
"I see so you're Gyarados" Naruto said out loud.
"That's correct. So Lord Naruto, do you mind if I join you and your partner?"
"Go ahead. Why don't you and Fu take smokestack and rocket boy. I want the crystal user for myself" Naruto smiled.
"Naruto come on you have too many women already." Fu shouted catching Guren off guard.
'What in the world is she talking about?" Guren said in confusion.
Naruto chuckled, "I have this thing where enemy kunoichi don't stay enemies for very long. If you know what I mean" Naruto chuckled.
Guren eyes widened at the response smiled, "You're not bad looking but this body is for Lord Orochimaru." Guren said defiantly.
Naruto chuckled as well, "What a shame, then again you're probably wasting your time with that hope. If that old man can get it up in the first place he seems like he'd be into bat boy instead of you." Naruto chuckled.
"You'll pay for that!" Guren said angrily.
"Quit flirting and let's start fighting" Gyarados's human form chuckled.
"Sounds good to me" Kigiri chuckled before smoke came flying from his mask.
Gyarados human form quickly went through hand signs. "Water Style: Water Pledge Jutsu." With a stomp of his foot a pillar of water rushed up soaking Kigiri and dispersing the pillar.As the water dispersed Fu was already going through hand signs of her own. "Scale Powder Jutsu" Fu shouted before breathing the toxic spores.
"Those little spores are useless." Guren shouted focusing her chakra. In an instant the spores were turned to crystal. What Guren didn't count on was Naruto using the opening to get behind her.
"Maybe in battle yes, but as a distraction they're great." Naruto smiled a single hand out with a Rasengan ready.
"What!" Guren shouted but it was too late.
"Rasengan" Naruto shouted before nailing Guren in the back sending her flying.
"Guren!" Kigiri shouted just to see the person in front of them turn to crystal.
"Oh no. She's headed for the seal team." Fu exclaimed realizing it was a diversion.
"On it. You guys deal with the other two." Naruto shouted before vanishing in a flash.
"Right" Fu and Mako nodded and the battles were about to begin.
The real Guren was running towards the girls with the seal and smiling. "I got him. Lucky I made that clone just before the smoke." Guren chuckled. Just as the seal time was in visual distance Naruto appeared in front of them and charged her closing the distance in seconds.
"Thought you were rid of me that easy. You're not that lucky." Naruto smiled.
Guren huffed before focusing her chakra as a small blade appeared against her arm. "You're no match for me" Guren roared as she started charging Naruto. A smiling Naruto unsheathed Red Fury and used it to block the crystal knife.
"I'd say I'm doing just fine." Naruto smiled.
"Damn you" Guren cursed not expecting him to use a blade.
(Sasame and Yakumo vs Nurari)
Nurari looked on in annoyance at the two girls facing off against him. Thanks to his slime suit most physical damage would be useless but these girls had the right idea on how to attack. "I got you" Yakumo smiled before attacking him with a fire chakra enhanced kunai.
"Not quite" Nurari countered but he was forced to dodge again thanks to Sasame attacking him with arrows made from pure wind chakra. A trick she learned from Temari during, one of her diplomatic visits.
"It's not enough. That damn slime suit means we can't hit him easily" Sasame cursed her latest attack having failed.
"These girls are getting annoying." Nurari groaned. They were the worst possible matchup but was odd was the other girl hadn't used any jutsu. It's like they were waiting for something.
"Maybe it's time to up the ante" Sasame smiled.
"Got it" Yakumo replied before she started flashing through hand signs. Yakumo's genjutsu were good but she needed something more offensive. Luckily for her, she was around somebody who specialized in using the mind to attack.
"I won't let you" Nurari shouted before charging at the women firing a kunai to stop her.
"It's too late." Yakumo smiled as her body began to fade.
Nurari cursed as the imagery around him began to blur and he knew what that meant, "Shit it's a genjutsu" Nurari cursed before putting his hands together "RELEASE" Nurari shouted and the images faded. Unfortunately for him, Yakumo had moved behind him with his hand on her face.
"Nice work but you lose." Yakumo smiled with her hand on Nurari's head. "Hidden Jutsu: Mind Crush" Yakumo shouted and her eyes glowed back for a brief second. Mind Crush was a technique Yakumo created after her training with Ino in mental warfare. It sent a portion of the Ido power that used to curse her mind into her opponent and destroyed her opponents' minds from the inside. Nurari collapsed like a puppet who had been taken off his string. He wasn't dead since they needed more information about Orochimaru but he would be useless for some time.
"I wish I did more but this guy was annoying" Sasame grunted.
"Hey the fact I had to use Mind Crush to get him tells you all we need to know. Now let's get the info Anko sensei wants" Yakumo chuckled. The two girls enjoyed their victory and prayed their teammates got the win also.
(Fu and Gyarados vs Kihō and Kigiri)
Kihō and Kigiri had a pretty simple strategy. Kigiri would create smoke to distract their opponents while Kihō blasts them with powerful rockets. Sadly, that plan had gone out the window and they were forced into a brutal close-range battle. "Get ready Fu because I'm about to show you what true mastery of the sea is" Mako shouted before putting up a single finger. Out of nowhere a torrent of water shot up and launched Kigiri into the air. It was the same Water Pledge that he did before and just as powerful.
"What the heck" Kihō exclaimed but before he could do anything he was blasted by a similar force.
"Impossible. You didn't even use hand signs." Fu's clone exclaimed as she watched her foes shoot up into the air.
"I don't need to. My chakra was saturated all throughout the water when I was summoned earlier. Just a mere connection and I can strike." Gyarados smiled. The truth was that he was just that fast at hand signs, an ironic trait since he had none in his dragon.
"Damn it, I wanted to show off." Fu pouted.
"My dear you're a shadow clone. If you show off too much you'll lose." Gyarados replied.
"I won't lose" the clone shouted before firing hand signs. "Water Style: Water Tornado" A vortex of water shot up and attacked the still falling Kigiri and Kihō sending them flying far away.
"Not bad. In that case I'll act as support while you do the fighting. That way you can show off and worst case I'll step in." Gyarados smiled.
"Works for me" the clone said happily.
"Good because they're getting ready." Gyarados announced and the two Sound ninja charged.
"I'm far from done SMOKE CLONES" Kigiri shouted before clones of smoke appeared out of nowhere.
"Aww you're making it too easy" the clone smiled as it flashed through hand signs with Gyarados keen on watching. "Water Style: Bullets of Chaos" the water bullets easily broke the clones but it was just a distraction.
"I got you" Kihō shouted before blasting his rockets at Fu.
"Not at all." Gyarados replied and with a flick of his wrist a massive water dragon sprouted and attacked.
"No way!" Kihō exclaimed as his rockets were again taken care of.
"We've got no choice. It's cursed seal time." Kigiri yelled.
"Got it" Kihō replied. The pair began to focus their chakra as the marks appeared on their skin
"Shit, we have to stop them." Fu said angrily aware of the power of the seal.
"On it" Gyarados replied and in a flash of ruthless speed he was behind the two, "Water prison jutsu."
"Damn he's good" Fu frowned as Kigiri and Kihō were trapped in the intense prison before the cursed seal could be complete. Because of the intensity of the chakra Gyarados used, Kigiri's smoke was useless and even one of Kihō's powerful rockets failed to break the chakra and damaged him instead. From then on it was simply a matter of time until the two ninja collapsed from exhaustion.
"My work here is done." Gyarados replied before vanishing in a large puff of smoke.
"We won I guess" The clone groaned but focused on its task of dragging the two back to shore. It was another bittersweet victory.
(Naruto vs Guren)
"Damn you" Guren cursed as she and Naruto clashed yet again and her crystal style knife fading yet again. Naruto was too close for her to do anything and he kept destroying her crystal style knives. This was a big problem.
"Better luck next time. Though I doubt it" Naruto taunted as Red fury hummed with the wind chakra against it. Naruto loved how easy this was and behind him the girls were sealing the Sanbi with no effort.
'Gyarados is back in the dragon's realm' Timaeus revealed.
'So Fu's clone won. Well I imagine it was mostly Gyarados but oh well.' Naruto chuckled internally before having to use his speed to get away just as a Crystal Style wall appeared to try and trap him.
"I thought I had you" Guren cursed seeing that he was distracted.
"Not likely and now I'm really gonna get you." Naruto smiled before making his hand signs. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu" and five more Naruto's appeared. The first two stood right in front of the girls with the other 3 acting as a second barrier a few feet in front of them.
"You bastard" Guren cursed. She had no way of winning this fight and she could see the seal behind them getting larger. It was only a matter of time until the Sanbi was sealed.
"So do you want to be a good ninja and give up or are we gonna do this the hard way." Naruto smiled as the clones walked forward.
"Fuck you" Guren spat. She was out of time and the minute that seal was over she'd be doomed. The worst part was that her backup was gone.
"Tempting but you're not my type" Naruto chuckled.
Guren blushed at the response but her anger quickly took over.
"THAT'S IT." Guren yelled as she flashed hand signs. She was going to end this now and there was nothing this guy could do about it as far as she was concerned. "Crystal Style: Grand Crystal Dragon" Guren shouted.
"Well damn" Naruto sweatdropped as a massive 10-foot dragon made of crystal appeared from the water. He really shouldn't have given her the opening.
"Now it's my turn to make you suffer." Guren cackled as the massive dragon charged at the clone but instead of terrified the Naruto's looked amused.
"I was wondering when you'd do something major. It's about time!" Naruto smiled before sheathing Red Fury before teleporting to right by the second team of clones. He had a special technique he wanted to try and now was the time. Flashing through hand signs Naruto knew that this would be it.
"Too late" Guren roared with glee.
"Naruto, I hope you plan on doing something about this." Ino said nervously noticing the.
"Don't worry I'm fine." Naruto smiled with his hand signs now complete. "Wind Style: Wind Scar" Naruto shouted as energy gathered around Red Fury and as he unsheathed it a massive slash stormed at the dragon. Unfortunately for Guren, her dragon was easily cut in half and the slash made its way towards her at an incredible speed.
"NO!" Guren shouted but it was too late and the powerful strike slammed Guren directly causing major damage to her and causing a massive shockwave that would've impacted the girls had the clones behind Naruto not protected them with Chaos shields.
"Try not to kill us Naruto. We are the ones doing the hard work here" Sakura chastised. Luckily for them the seal was almost done so it didn't matter.
"Got it" Naruto smiled as he walked over to Guren who was very much alive, but also clearly in trouble. Her clothes had cuts all over but she was otherwise decent. Amusingly enough she had enough chakra to stay above water for a little bit but not much else.
"It's over now. You might as well finish me." A defeated Guren sighed. She was nearly out of chakra and she knew there was no way she could win.
"I've got a better idea" Naruto smiled as he reached down and placed his finger on her neck. "Uzumaki Sealing Style: Giga Drain"
"Guren cried out as a small circle appeared on her neck with the kanji for drain in the middle. Unironically it was right on top of
"I'm not going to kill you Guren. Consider this a warning for Orochimaru" Naruto smiled viciously.
Guren smiled bitterly but realized that she had to get going or her chakra would be gone, and she would fall into the sea. As Guren fled for dry land, the Sanbi seal was complete and Naruto watched as a dark black scroll appeared in the water signaling the end of the long mission.
"Well done girls" Shizune said with sweat dripping down her body before grabbing the seal.
"It seems like we've won this one." Sakura smiled.
"Yes we did. Now let's get going." Ino said happily.
"Yeah" Naruto smiled. He couldn't tell how the girls were doing on dry land, but he was certain they were having as much success as he was.
(Isaribi vs Gozu)
Most ninja fights come down to who has the best technique or who is the better user of a sneaky jutsu but every so often, you get a good old fashion brawl. "Take this!" Isaribi yelled angrily as she aimed her fist at the powerful Gozu.
"I won't lose" Gozu roared and he punched back. As their fists collided yet again both realized the same thing. 'One of us is going to tire eventually and that's when I'll win.' Isaribi and Gozu thought at the same time.
Isaribi had plenty of jutsu but when she saw that her opponent's only means of attack was physical she decided to forget all of those and just attack him straight up. She couldn't explain why but she wanted to have a proper battle. "You're good Gozu" Isaribi said happily.
"Same to you" Gozu huffed as he once again launched himself at the young woman. His only power was to enhance his body but he just chose a straight up brawl. Once again they charged each other and once again their fists collided. Gozu knew that the girl in front of him would easily win if she used her jutsu but she wasn't and a part of him respected that.
"I'm far from done" Isaribi smiled. In the back of her mind Isaribi knew that all she needed to do was use the various water jutsu at her disposal and that would be it. But she hated that. This was the first challenge she had a long time. During missions her sensei would take most of the tougher foes and the lighter ones would lose to a combination of Yakumo's illusions and Sasame's arrows. She got a few attacks in sure, but this was the first time in a long time she had a fight to herself.
Just as they prepared for their latest exchange, they were discovered by a smiling Yakumo and Sasame. "You doing okay Isaribi" Yakumo said nervously.
"Yeah I'm fine. What happened to that Nurari guy?" Isaribi wondered as she charged once again.
"I used Mind Crush. He won't be getting up any time soon" Yakumo smiled.
"So, do you want our help." Sasame smiled as she and Yakumo turned towards the stunned Gozu.
"No! I want to fight him myself. I want to enjoy battle instead of letting you guys have all the fun." Isaribi yelled out.
Yakumo and Sasame both smiled before turning to their teammate, "Alright" the two kunoichi said happily.
"Huh" Isaribi said in disbelief.
"This battle is yours Isaribi. Honestly even with everything that's happened you're still so timid. Speak up occasionally girl" Yakumo smiled.
"Yeah the only time you're vocal is with Naruto and that's it." Sasame teased.
"Really guys!" Isaribi blushed.
"Yep" Yakumo and Sasame said at the same time before going to the opposite sides of Isaribi and kissing her on the cheek. A blushing Isaribi could only stand there in disbelief as her teammates vanished with a shunshin.
"That must be nice" Gozu said whimsically. There wasn't much friendship for their team, and he knew it. Seeing teammates that cared was a pleasant thing.
Isaribi smiled before patting her head and getting focused again. "Yeah. They're great teammates and for them I must win." Isaribi smiled.
"Alright" Gozu replied and the dance began again. The two continued to battle until another figure appeared next to Gozu. To Isaribi's surprise it was a Guren who was badly cut up and exhausted but otherwise alive. Isaribi was concerned but quickly noticed a seal on Guren's neck and smiled since she knew Naruto had done something.
"Gozu get me out of here. I'm running out of chakra fast." Guren panted.
Gozu looked towards a smiling Isaribi who simply nodded and allowed him to leave. Isaribi watched as Gozu grabbed Guren and fled which was her cue to relax finally.
"I won" Isaribi smiled as she prepared to rejoin the team.
(Rinji vs Anko)
"Stay still damn it" Rinji cursed as he continued to throw kunai after kunai at his opponent. Sadly for Rinji, he wasn't really the offensive type and against somebody like Anko he would have some trouble. During their whole battle he hadn't done much but dodge and it really drove him mad.
"When was the last time that ever worked" Anko smiled as she continued to walk through the forest. "Striking shadow Snakes" Anko yelled and from the inside of her coat sleeve came a large batch of snakes who were aiming for Rinji.
"This is bullshit. Of course I go up against the former student. Guren would crush you but this is a rotten matchup for me." Rinji spat as he easily dodged the attacks.
"Heh that Crystal style is something else I'll give you that. Thing is I'm pretty strong also." Anko said happily. In truth she would lose badly to her.
"Well it doesn't matter. Guren will crush those kids and deliver the Sanbi to Lord Orochimaru." Rinji said confidently.
"Maybe so but you won't see that day." Anko smiled.
"And why's that" Rinji taunted. He got his answer when he was forced to dodge a Bullets of Chaos that came out of nowhere. He cursed since the whole time his foe was stalling.
"We're why" Sasame said happily as she appeared with Yakumo.
"What the heck. Don't tell me you brats managed to defeat Nurari." Rinji scoffed.
"We did and you're next." Yakumo smiled as she prepared to attack.
"Yeah right. If you're done and Gozu ain't back yet I'm out." Rinji smiled before reaching into his pocket and grabbing a smoke bomb.
"Sasame!" Anko yelled as the bomb hit the ground.
"On it" Sasame yelled as she quickly flashed through hand signs. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough" the Fuuma heiress yelled. As the storm of wind flashed through the area the girls realized that their foe was gone.
"Damn it" Anko said angrily. She could've easily won a few times but she was playing with her food. Now she was regretting doing just that.
"Don't worry Anko. Everything's fine" Naruto smiled appearing in front of them.
"I don't see how. They managed to escape." Anko said angrily.
"They didn't escape. When I fought the Crystal user, I snuck a tracking seal onto her underneath the Giga Drain. That way, wherever she goes we can find her. Plus, Fu's clone caught a few of the ninja also." Naruto smiled.
"And the Sanbi?" Anko questioned.
"Sealed up and ready to deliver. Why don't we meet up with the others?" Naruto said happily.
"Sounds good but we need to find Isaribi first." Anko admitted. It was a task that didn't take long as the young woman appeared next to them moments later.
"Looks like everyone won." Isaribi smiled.
"Yep" Naruto said happily. Everyone won and now they could return home with a successful mission.
(Scene Skip)
With the Sanbi sealed and Orochimaru's goons driven away everyone was relaxing in the cabin as they enjoyed a final victory meal. "It looks like mission accomplished. We sealed the Sanbi and drove Orochimaru away" Shizune said happily.
"Yeah but I failed." Fu pouted. When she saw Guren arriving Fu's clone moved to try and finish her off, but she was ambushed by Kigiri and Kihō who attacked the clone with a vicious rocket blast.
"Don't worry about them Fu. Guren and her goons may have escaped but we'll get to them soon." Naruto smiled.
"Okay" Fu replied glad that she didn't mess up completely.
"Let me guess. You put a tracking seal on her" Ino smiled.
"Oh yeah. I put it underneath the drain seal so we can find her anytime we want" Naruto smiled.
"Smart and then you'll let Karin and Team Haku know so they can get to Orochimaru." Ino concluded.
"Yep. They want revenge on Orochimaru bad and before you ask Anko. You'll be able to join them to deliver the finishing blow to your former sensei." Naruto chuckled.
"Awesome. So how about we get a long rest and get out of here in the morning. Naruto can send a clone to take the Sanbi back to Lady Tsunade." Shizune smiled.
"Sure" Naruto smiled before making said clone to take the Sanbi back to Tsunade.
"Alright now that we're all settled it's time to finish celebrating. CHEERS" Anko said happily as everyone enjoyed a meal as their time by the lake came to an end. Tomorrow they would return home victorious and that was the way they liked it.
That's it for chapter 14 and things are starting to get fun. Next chapter Naruto 's hope for a relaxing time is shattered when he's summoned away for a meeting to discuss the Iwa Chunin exams.
AN: Yeah I know a lot of people might be disappointed that I didn't show off the groups more but long drawn out battles wouldn't have suited the group and Team Guren is pretty much what I said. I didn't bother adding Guren since Naruto's got plenty of women already.