A/N: Yo! Been a minute, and before you ask yes that was on purpose! WHY you may ask! And, I'm glad you would! I've been story boarding for the next few arcs that will follow the culmination of the first "era" of the Naruto cannon. That will kick start the grey area that most authors either skip, or stop a story at to create a sister story blah, blah, blah. I've got my "beat sheets" (fanficition terminology, look it up if you plan to write a story) in the works for the chapters that follow this and that arc. But, we'll be sticking with these monthly updates until I'm far enough ahead to return to weekly updates. Consider it a break between seasons like you'd see for a show, except you'll still be getting content. Also, you can thank today being my cake day for this update, I was feeling like spreading the love.
OH! And I've got two and a half chapters ready for my return to YGOGX, with a five shot in the works, or a revolver as I like to call it because most actually only have a capacity of five. But, anyway, I've also been inspired to write my own Naruto x Yang (Rwby) crossover story, which I may have already banged ten chapters out for. Whoops? Those won't come out for a while though. But, tell me what you think about the idea after you read the update! K, Enjoy! R&R ya hippies!
The Wolf and the Fox
Chapter 26 – Okami no Ikari
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Naruto panted heavily as the remnants of his Bijuu and Sennin Modo faded, revealing his Mangekyo to still be active before they devolved into the base form of the Sharingan. "Th-That took longer than I thought it would," he muttered, looking at the obelisks of Coral that held the undead Hokage at bay, only his father's face remaining partially revealed with a proud smile being present.
"Your fight isn't over yet Naruto," the Yondaime said, and as if the other two combatants on the roof could hear him an explosion rocked the other side. It's what his senses picked up following it, that forced his Sharingan to widen before the blonde vanished in a Hiraishin.
When he reappeared – Rasengan already spinning to life – what he saw brought a roar from his throat as lightning wrapped his technique, his chakra responding to the emotion that built within him. His Mangekyo spinning to life as he slammed his attack forward, just narrowly missing the white snake's head – still singing his skin and hair because of the immense heat of his attack – before he spun, grabbed the Sandaime and flipped away.
"N-Naruto," the labored voice of one of his most precious people reached his ears, even as his Mangekyo burned into Orochimaru demanding retribution. "G-Gomen, ga-gaki, I couldn't kill him," he whispered, watching as Naruto grit his teeth in his barely restrained anger.
"Urusai! You shitty fucking monkey, you shut the hell up before I pull that damned sword from your chest and end you myself!" He roared, oddly enough bringing a smile to the now weak looking Hokage. Hiruzen knew this was a defense mechanism, he could see it in the welling tears at the corner of the boy's eyes. "I'm sending you to Tsunade, and then I'm killing this fucking bastard, do you hear me?!"
The old Hokage chuckled in a strained way at the blonde, coughing up blood as he did so. It only serving to worsen that fierce look in the boy's eyes as he hurriedly performed three hand seals, "My Will of Fire, is yours to protect, N-Naruto-kun," the blonde caught the words just before his hand met with the Hokage's chest – an altered sealing formula of his Hiraishin appearing and glowing – before the air shifted and the wounded man was gone, the sword piercing his chest going with him.
Naruto's teeth clenched so tightly he could taste the copper that ran from his gums, a lone tear falling down his bruised cheek as he never took his burning scarlet orbs from his target – his prey. "You worthless, incomprehensible waste of fucking oxygen," he sneered, his anger seeming to burn wild as the pale snake chuckled in a sick and twisted manner.
"Such strong words, and even a frightening look to accompany it," the bastard said, his golden orbs seeming to find every wound on Naruto's shirtless form. "I will admit that you are far stronger than anticipated, to seemingly beat my little toys in such a short time, but do you seriously think you can kill me in your state, Naruto-kun?"
"Shut your filthy fucking mouth," the blonde growled, getting to his feet as a green aura wrapped around him, six clones appearing around him before they flashed away wordlessly. "Your mistake was not running the moment I was distracted by what you did, for now you will see the full might I possess," he swore, Orochimaru trying to figure out what those clones were doing before a golden, much larger barrier erected around the one his subordinates held. "You were never the hunter, you fucking bastard, from the start you've been my prey," the blonde's words held the full might of their weight as Orochimaru began to see the monster he awoke.
It was only thanks to years of combat experience, that he was allowed to dodge the first swipe of the blonde's Kiba blade – the look of pure anger within those sharingan gripping his heart even more. He was not so lucky when the blonde swiped upwards with his second blade, slicing his left hand off along with majority of his forearm. The vile man being forced to bite back his scream of pain as he narrowly dodged the third slash, aimed to perfectly decapitate him – the blade itself nicking his throat as the searing hot lightning cauterized the wound shut. His body elongating as he forced himself away from the blonde, slithering away into what was left of the forest created by the Okami and the Shodai.
Naruto rounded on the forest, a trail of blood already leaking down his newly transplanted Mangekyo as he whispered in a gravely tone, "Amaterasu!" Black, unquenchable flames springing from his orb and racing after the form of Orochimaru – also cutting off that avenue of escape from the forest as the wicked flames spread. His senses guided him as he felt the snake slither past one of the Hiraishin markers his long since dispelled Mokubunshin had placed within the forest. Like he had done thousands of times prior the blonde flashed, the Raiton chakra screeching off his blade as he slashed it straight down, striking true.
Orochimaru's roar of pain finally filled his ears as the man realized he'd been bisected – the wound once more cauterized by his blade. However, the blonde was not surprised when the snake's jaw unhinged, another completely healed Orochimaru pulling himself from the remains of what would've been his corpse. "I wonder how many times you will be able to do that before I may finally relish in the joy of cutting your head from your shoulders," Naruto darkly growled his question, the image of a demonic looking twin-tailed golden wolf appearing behind him in a deathly visage. "Unfortunately for you, we've only just begun."
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Tsunade shouted to the staff of doctors and nurses of the hospital, varying orders leaving her lips as she controlled the amassing chaos around her. Her hazel orbs finding one of the Anbu members belonging to the platoon assigned the protection of the hospital and the wounded being brought to her from the various battles going throughout the village. "Neko, have you heard anything?"
The purple haired woman shook her head from left to right, "Unfortunately not, Tsunade-sama," she answered verbally, this being the sixth time the woman had asked this of her. "But, judging from the slow decrease of chakra signatures in that vicinity, and the decrease in palpable Bijuu chakra – I'd say that there's been a shift in the struggle," she explained, not many knowing her gift for sensing as it was better to keep some skills hidden when possible and she was for the most part self-taught in her case.
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank Kami-sama," she whispered, having felt her heart plunge the moment she caught word of the appearance of past Hokage at the small-scale war's focal point. She'd never been more worried for Naruto or her sensei in her life, and the fact that no report had come in from Menma's team was still worrying her too. "What of Team Seven?"
"There still haven't been any available squads to go after them, but judging from what I can gather, their own battles are beginning to reach their climax," she answered, and Tsunade was sure the woman beneath the mask wore a frown on her face.
"Yugao," Tsunade began in a low voice, as it was taboo to say the true name of the Anbu you knew when they wore their uniform. "Please, I know you're assigned to the Hospital and retrieval team, but I need to kno – ," she was interrupted before she could finish by the sudden glow of the seal on the inside of her wrist. The sudden appearance of an old man in horrible shape wearing a familiar suit of traditional Shinobi garb with an even more familiar sword stabbed through his chest, shocking both women. "S-Sensei," she breathlessly whispered, her hazel orbs shaking violently as she took in the state of the man she loved and respected like a father.
"Tsu-Tsunade, for-forgive an o-old fo-fool," he rasped, the words being just enough to snap the legendary medic from her state of shock as she quickly jumped into action. Her hands beginning to glow the green hue of her medical ninjutsu as she removed Orochimaru's blade right there in the hallway, her hands immediately hovering over the open wound as she worked to repair the damaged lung enough to move him and simultaneously began work to trace the poison she knew to be in his system. She knew Orochimaru too well to allow something as simple as his love of toxins to slip past her.
Her hazel orbs shot to Yugao not a second after she began, "Find Shizune and send her to me, then take a team and get Uchiha Mikoto, and then get your asses to Naruto and find out what is happening, now!" The order was enough to snap the purple haired woman from her own shock at the abrupt appearance of an injured Hiruzen, quickly using a shunshin to follow the Sannin's orders.
"I-I wasn't able to do it, Tsunade," the old man's raspy voice filled her ears, and it was everything she could do to not cry at the visage of the weak man as a tear rolled down the side of his face.
"Don't waste your breathe, you need every bit of it right now," she said, her will being heavily tested in the moment as she steeled herself to stay calm. The last time she allowed herself to break, was when she failed to heal Kushina and it was taking everything within her to not allow her mind to wonder to those traumatic memories or those of Dan and Nawaki. "If Naruto doesn't kill Orochimaru, I will," she swore, saying what was on her mind in an attempt to dissuade the other thoughts.
Hiruzen let out the weakest chuckle she'd ever heard from the strong man who raised her, Jiraiya and Orochimaru as if they were his own. "Th-there is not a f-force in this wo-world that can st-stop that sh-shitty Gaki," if it had been anyone else she would've killed them for addressing one of grandchildren in such a way. But, she knew it was a term of endearment between the two, fruit of the bond they shared so similar to that of Great Grandfather and his Great Grandson.
The strong woman finally allowed a tear to roll down her cheek at his belief in the blonde they were all beginning to look to for strength, "Just please stop talking, Sensei, you're making it worse," she begged quietly, earning a small smile from the man as he looked to her face – the image of her as a young girl superimposing itself over the focused woman trying to save him from his wounds. Instead of speaking, he allowed himself to just rest, missing it when Tsunade's eyes widened and her voice began to bark out orders to every person in their immediate vicinity.
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Orochimaru's golden snake-like orbs – so often filled with a sick sense of mirth and superiority – only belayed the true fear he felt for the first time since he'd faced Sanshouo no Hanzo and his entire team had nearly been killed by the fearsome man. Not even when Uchiha Fugaku had forced his abrupt departure from the Akatsuki had he felt fear, just mild disappointment that he would not have the man's powerful eyes for himself. But, faced by the fearsome warrior decades his junior – armed to the teeth with legendary weapons and those same powerful orbs – he couldn't control it. Even as he narrowly dodged the naginata thrown like a spear, aimed to pierce his skull, did that fear grasp him as the blonde flashed to its position. His hand striking out to grab the unique weapon before it disappeared and the second Kiba appeared in his hand, lightning exploding from both blades as he felt the tips of the blades slashed across his chest. The X-shaped wound on his chest coursing an immense amount of pain throughout his body as the wounded flesh burned shut, not even being allowed to cringe in pain as the blonde continued to press.
The Sannin hadn't been able to do anything in return, not attack, no response of any kind as he continued to run for his life. If that wasn't bad enough, Naruto seemed even more in tune with the ways of his summoning creatures as he constantly tried pushing Orochimaru towards the black flames encroaching upon them. It was classic predatory habit to corner one's prey after all, and Uzumaki Naruto in his enraged state was everything the word predator defined.
"I can feel it," the snake hadn't even realized he'd been given a short moment of breath, his eyes totally focused on the blonde as that spiky mane over shadowed those frightening crimson orbs. "Every time he crashes, or his heart stops, or his chakra looks as if it will finally fade from the world he loves so much," his shoulders shook with rage or sorrow, Orochimaru didn't know. He just felt the building need to attack, seize the opportunity given to him by the blonde's momentary speech. Charging in without another moment's thought, his chakra racing into his arm in a way that would allow him to spear the blonde's chest.
"I can feel it," the blonde snapped, his Mangekyo belaying that rage within him as true tears joined the river of blood leaking from his left orb. Orochimaru couldn't stop himself, having already jumped in an attempt to strengthen his spearing strike, his eyes widening as once more the wolf struck.
His eyes couldn't begin to follow it as the first swing to the arm poised to strike the blonde landed, severing the appendage once more – this time at the shoulder. Nor could he see it as the second swing severed his legs at the mid-thigh – precise inches from the major arteries within the legs – before the blonde delivered a mighty spinning kick to his chest that sent him sailing into the nearest tree, the insane heat of the black flames behind him waking him from the pain. He looked towards the blonde, his vision wavering as he caught sight of the mist rolling into the forest from behind him. "For every time I must feel his life waver, I will force you to shed your skin and start the process once more, should his heart stop," the scarlet orbs glowed as the mist thickened to veil their owner. "So too shall yours, unless of course you give out before he does, the final test to see if your will is as mighty as the credit you give yourself," that dark voice snarled before the glowing orbs faded into the thickening mist.
The snake quickly summoned forth the chakra to use his technique, once more regurgitating a body in perfect health – quickly feeling the effects it took on his chakra to perform the technique again. After his fight with Hiruzen, he was already low on his otherwise impressive reserves, but he'd been forced to cut his control over the Edo Tensei to properly control his expenditure of chakra. The blonde had every intention of making his words reality and with the young man's ferocity Orochimaru found himself consistently on the back foot. "If this continues, I'll be forced to one of two avenues, though the first would be the wisest given the four candidates I have here with me now to house my soul," he thought as his eyes scanned the mist, the random arc of Raiton chakra forcing his head to whip in its direction before another went off in the opposite direction. "Being able to force me into such a position, I have truly underestimated you, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, but it won't happen a second time," He solemnly vowed to himself, unable to believe the predicament in which the blonde had placed him. Even the reports of the boy's battle against the Yondaime Mizukage had not painted the young shinobi in such a dangerous light, and the information in the international bingo book was severely lacking. He should've known the moment the boy had placed him in the world of Tsukuyomi during the preliminary matches – so brazenly challenging him – that there was more to him than many had seen.
"I once dreaded the mere thought of crossing blades with someone of your likes, but it would appear even a soul as twisted as yours can still be grasped by the bitter chilling hands of fear," that angry voice taunted from within the mist, as if it was coming from every direction when in actuality it was simply the blonde throwing his voice.
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Kakashi sighed deeply as he gripped his bicep, channeling the smallest amount of healing chakra into the worst of the slices that littered his body. He'd just allowed Baki to escape, just as Naruto had asked him to when assigning him the engagement of the Suna Jounin. It was all a little odd to him, between taking orders from his honorary Otouto to letting one of the aggressors of this attack to simply turn tail and run. But, he'd understood to a degree when he watched the glazed look take his counterpart's sole revealed eye. There only being one ability he knew of that could bend the will of an enemy turned into a pivotal piece in a much larger game. What worried the Copy-nin about the situation was Naruto's plan for Suna following their involvement in the attack, what would he do and how far would he go?
Just as he was about to move into the main section of the battle, leaving its epicenter, his eyes widened as a large golden dome shimmered through the sky, enlarging the area of battle. It could only mean one thing if Naruto had taken this route, there was no other plausible reason the blonde would take away the feeling of false superiority he'd allowed Orochimaru to have. The fall of the Sandaime Hokage in battle, meaning that Naruto would quite possibly undo most – if not all – of the careful planning he had done for the past year. With another heavy sigh, he cleared the thought from his mind – it wouldn't have gone according to plan despite Naruto's best intentions regardless, it seldom did in their line of work.
The Jounin was forced to let that go as the hairs on the back of his neck stood, forcing him to instinctually jump away from his position and sink into a taijutsu stance. The polarity opening in the space behind him calming him slightly as a mildly familiar face exited. "Hatake-san, what is happening?" the young woman asked, her unique mangekyo looking at him expectantly.
The copy-nin sighed once more, looking at the young Uchiha woman with that flippant stare of his, "From what I can tell, Naruto is raising the stakes, but given how Orochimaru is – I'm sure it won't be long before he finds some way to slither away," he explained, turning his eyes back to the purple barrier above them just before an idea hit him as he examined its exterior. "How exactly does that technique of yours work, Katsumi-san?"
The black haired woman rose a trimmed brow in return, "What exactly do you have in mind?"
"If we can take out one of the four people holding the barrier, we can enter and assist Naruto," he explained in short.
"You're sure this wouldn't be giving Orochimaru the chance to escape?" Kakashi deflated slightly at that question, beginning to take a moment to think it through a bit further. She wasn't wrong in assuming as such, especially not given the last altercation he had with Orochimaru when he was still an Anbu. He was slippery, and even if Naruto had him on the back-foot, given the proper opening there wouldn't be much the Sannin wouldn't do to escape.
"The plan never was to keep Orochimaru here, not originally at least," Kakashi revealed, slightly surprising the Uchiha woman with the information. "I'm willing to bet my entire book collection that Naruto will still force him to retreat, even if in this moment it isn't what Naruto wants. If we can find some way to drop that barrier, that will be two more variables on the field but two more opportunities we have to slow the snake's plan and make him even more desperate to obtain what he came for."
"Meaning he'll reveal even more chinks within his armor, but you said two more variables. If we take out one, that would leave three not two Oto-nin to deal with," Katsumi reasoned, giving him a haughty look that showed even she had some of that Uchiha superiority complex within her – even if well hidden.
"No, the girl isn't a target, should she engage make it believable but, don't go for any killing blows," Kakashi explained, his voice low and his eyes beginning to scan the area just to be sure as he revealed something Naruto had only revealed to a few.
Katsumi felt her eyes widen as her head snapped towards the battle happening within the barrier, Kakashi surprised by the reactions, followed her gaze just before his own eyes widened. "Wh-what is that?"
"S-Susanoo, h-he can use i-it?"
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Orochimaru panted as he glared into the mist, the damn boy had forced him to use his technique twice more. He was dangerously low on chakra, and judging from that familiar searing heat licking at his back, once more cornered by the Uzumaki. It was why he felt red flags raise within his mind as the mist began to thin, allowing him to once more make out those glowing red orbs watching him with such a murderous edge behind them. However, the raising dread didn't stop there as Kirigakure's signature jutsu raised to the point that he could now see the blonde holding a sheathed katana within his grip. The pommel bearing the epitaph of a rusted wolf's head, azure orbs gleaming in the small amount of light allowed to shine into the forest. The handle was of an ebony color – also seeming to have aged heavily. While lacking a traditional guard, the same rusted metal alloy that made the head of the wolf seemed to follow beneath the handle into an oddly coiled pair of tails that formed a guard which led into the scabbard and the blade itself.
"Can you feel it as I can," his voice seemed hallow, almost seeming to lack the anger it once burned with. "His life and chakra fading moment, by moment," he surprised Orochimaru with the show of momentary weakness from the man who returned fear to his heart. "It's as if that old monkey is giving up simply because he couldn't change the path you chose, redeem the monster you've become despite every opportunity he gave you to right your path," the snake heard it as the blonde clenched the scabbard, the wood that formed it buckling to his might as even more cracks formed in it. Fear once more clenched his heart as the chakra the boy exuded became palpable, an eerie green cloak of burning ferocity surrounding him just as Orochimaru caught sight of the trails of blood now running down each of the boy's cheeks. "He once taught me that no soul was beyond redemption, that if there are still those that hold hope, then even the darkness within the most twisted of souls could be banished by the light within the one trying to save them," he gritted his teeth, and Orochimaru's eyes found some way to widen further as shape began to take that strange aura. "He was wrong to look at you with such philosophies," the blonde glared as the shape became skeletal, the snake watching with rapt attention as a form of skin wrapped around the astral skeleton before a demonic visage was left to glare at him alongside the blonde. "Susanoo," he finally intoned as the chest of the being opened, revealing a floating red magatama.
"Th-tha-,"
However, even more surprise stopped Orochimaru from his utterance as the Susanoo mimicked Naruto's motion of grabbing for his chest – where the strange glowing jewel rested on the construct – before beginning to pull outward. "Susanoo: Orochi no Aramasa (Check A/N at bottom)," He said, Orochimaru feeling his will nearly leave him entirely as a broken blade was pulled from the odd jewel within the chakra construct's chest. But, he finally noticed something crucial, Uzumaki Naruto was moving on instinct alone. There was no prior knowledge to back-up the power he was revealing, if the blonde even truly knew the power the astral form he wielded had just summoned forth. His eyes were vacant, those kaleidoscope orbs showing none of the intelligence the wolf had previously displayed, only the anger, hatred and sorrow that once laid under strict control within the blonde monster.
"I have to escape now, or there will be no coming back from this type of power," the Sannin thought in panic, only realizing it moments later that he was too late as the blade slashed through him with a godly absolution. A scream of agony ripped from Orochimaru's throat as he felt every nerve ending within his body screaming in pain, there was something different about the weapon that had just bisected him, an effect that remained unknown to him. But, before he focused on that, his remaining arm moved to form a single-handed seal, panic swallowing him as he watched the green construct raise its weapon for another strike – the first already decimating the forest around them and even seeming to quell the flames of Amaterasu.
It was with only seconds, that Orochimaru was able to spit out a new form, just as the broken astral sword came down with a mighty over headed swing. The roof around his new form exploding from the force of the blow, sending him flying towards the barrier his subordinates were holding. The monstrous Susanoo turned with its host, taking in the new form of Orochimaru, the sight actually giving even Naruto in his current fog of hatred pause. The atrocious, grotesque culmination of Orochimaru's true method to immortality laid bare for him to see.
It was in the form of a colossal white snake, it's body formed by the wriggling forms of thousands of small white snakes, leading towards a large disgusting visage that still in some ways resembled the human mask of Orochimaru's old self. "To be forced this far, to reveal this form, you are no mere shinobi," the horrific snake hissed, earning a snarl from the beast of a man the blonde had revealed himself to be. It seemed Orochimaru was beginning to say more, but Naruto wasn't listening as he commanded his Susanoo to raise its weapon and sever the head of the vile creature that had finally revealed its true self to him.
But, just before he could bring the mighty sword down on the snake, the purple barrier around them shattered; signifying the death of one of the people that held it. The thought was the only thing that gave Naruto true pause, even his muddled mind rushing to worry about his red haired informant. Orochimaru didn't know why, but he saw the pause the barrier breaking gave Naruto and smirked vilely as another avenue opened before his very eyes. Without even a moment's thought, the Sannin's form twisted into the air before diving straight into the roof, going through the surface as if it was a pool of water.
That garnered the blonde's full attention, as with a roar he commanded the astral being to slash its blade down, knowing it was too late. But, too blinded by his rage to let the snake get away so easily. His eyes snapping towards one of the far corners where the purple barrier had stood just as a surprised scream ripped through the air, just as the snake resurfaced long enough to swallow the Oto Yon's leader. Naruto glowered at the sight, knowing enough about the snake to know what this meant, his chakra once more exploding as the green of his Susanoo began to bleed crimson – the effect of him once more being influenced by Isobu's darker chakra.
"Naruto, that's enough," a voice broke in, making his head snap back towards it only to make that look of hate within his Mangekyo weaken slightly as they met the saddened eyes of Kakashi.
"Naruto," the next voice was calmer and much closer to him, and she flinched ever so lightly as he pinned his glare on her. Nearly the entirety of his anger dissolved as, for the second time since he met her, Katsumi's black hair was superimposed by the silky brown of a friend long since departed. Her Mangekyo bleeding into a pair of worried dark brown orbs, filled with poorly veiled fear. Then, in the blink of an eye the visage of his dead friend was replaced with her own, and he felt everything waver as he realized he was the cause of that fear.
It caused an unwelcomed pang of self-loathing to worm its way into his heart before he roared and lashed his sword out once more, murdering the largest member of the Oto Yon before his Susanoo faded entirely. A ragged breath escaping him before he was startled by the warm, pale hand that cupped his cheek, doing her best to wipe away the blood and tears on his left cheek. "He can't run forever, we will find him, but it won't be worth anything if you lose yourself to your hate," Katsumi gently whispered, and for the first time he saw some of the burden she carried with her in those beautiful eyes of hers. It caused him to nod numbly before he gently grasped her hand and removed it from his cheek, holding it for a moment longer before giving it a gentle squeeze and letting her go. The smile it brought to Katsumi's face was barely noticeable, even less so when he turned away from her towards Kakashi.
"Where is Tayuya," he asked, his eyes once more stern as he looked into those saddened mismatched eyes of the closest thing he had to an elder brother.
"Here, Naruto-sama," she said appearing beside him with her head bowed, slightly surprising Naruto that he hadn't sensed her so close to him. But, to be fair he had failed to sense both Kakashi and Katsumi only moments prior, only Kakashi being smart enough to appear outside of arms reach of an enraged Naruto. He noticed the slight waver in the younger girl's voice, his frown deepening as he realized how much damage his little display of power had caused with those that had witnessed it.
The blonde however managed to surprise her as he brought the red haired girl into a bone breaking hug, her eyes wide as they hung limply beside her. Shocked to the core by what was quite possibly the most intimate interaction she had, had in all her life. It was with shaky unsure arms that she wrapped the blonde in her own hug, his body blocking the view of a lightly smiling Katsumi. "I'm glad you're okay," he finally voiced, and it was all she could to do to bite back the tears that swelled in her eyes.
She wouldn't cry like some weak ass bitch, she told herself. Even if this was her first hug, even if it was the first time someone had shown care for her well-being, even if it was the damned blonde that had done everything in his power to eliminate the one that had subjugated her to a life without those things. It was only when he pulled away to inspect her that the want to cry into his warm chest lessened, her eyes widening as she caught the worry in his mismatched dark brown and ebony eyes. "I didn't hurt you when I split you four did I –"
"No," she interrupted, and he easily caught on that she was uncomfortable with this at the moment, leaving him to only nod before surprising the small gathering as he walked towards the end of the roof. Their eyes locked on his back even as the golden barrier around them fell, once more opening the rest of the battle to them.
But, it would seem Naruto had other plans in his mind as he raised his hand to his mouth and nipped his thumb before running through five hand seals.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
He roared slamming his hand to the ground just before the small group was forced to shield their eyes as the largest cloud of smoke any of them had seen blinded them. When it faded a few moments later, their ear drums were nearly shattered as a heaven shattering howl broke through the air. Only to be followed moments later by an innumerable amount of other less powerful howls, the trio's eyes widening as they took in the sheer amount of summons Naruto could call upon at once. From a single silver wolf that could possibly be even taller than the boss summons of the toads, to wolves bigger than houses, to wolves no bigger than a full grown man.
"I was wondering when you'd finally call us, Naruto-kun," the distinctly feminine snarl of the largest wolf reverberated through the air, all eyes not distracted by battle seeming to fall to her.
"Sorry for the wait, Shiro-sama, some unexpected things happened," Naruto said, once more under the effects of his Senjutsu chakra, his now glowing blue orbs looking over his village – showing the true effect this form had on him when his Sharingan weren't active. "Hunt the Otogakure and Kusagakure shinobi to the last man, trap any and all Sunagakure shinobi you come across, but do not harm them," he continued, not really in the mood for the usual banter he would share with the female leader of the Okami tribe.
Shiro herself seemed to pick-up on it before once more unleashing a mighty howl as Naruto leapt from the top of her head and she led the charge into the village proper.
The Uzumaki clan head released a short breath as he felt the last traces of his Senjutsu chakra waver before the markings faded back into his skin, it had taken all of what he had gathered to summon so many wolves. Though, admittedly he had even cut lightly into his own nearly depleted reserves, which was why his footing wavered and he was sure he'd feel the hard roof against the back of his head. But, surprise filled him when he felt his body being braced before something soft and warm acted as a pillow for his head.
His eyes opened to show confusion, before he blinked and a gentle smile took his face, "is this heaven?"
Mei could only smile softly as she cradled his still bloodied cheek, her jade green eyes usually so full of mirth only belaying the infinite amount of worry she held for him in this moment. "Saying stupidly romantic things won't get you out of trouble for closing me out with that barrier," she whispered back as the love she had for him bled through it all.
Despite the pain from all the stress he had put himself in, he snorted in a childish way doing wonders to lessen the visage of a fearsome warrior he had just built for himself. "Worth a shot," he smiled up at the woman that had been through another occasion just like this with him. "How is Menma," he finally asked after a moment of just staring up at her glistening orbs.
"Mikoto and Itachi are going after them, we were all at the barrier waiting to get in before the Ichibi appeared," she explained before having to force him back down into her lap as he tried to stand, most certainly with every intention of going after his team. "Let them handle it, you've done enough for one day and judging by the lack of a sand spirit on the horizon, I think they've finished," she said calming him instantly and allowing her to return to holding his cheek.
"Whatever the angel of Kami-sama wants," he sighed heavily, earning a weak laugh from his first love.
"Still not going to work, baka," she smiled, happy that even with everything that had happened with his battle he could still be himself for her and those around him.
"I can't rest long, Mei-chan," he frowned lightly and she caught on easily, the hospital would need his assistance and after that there would be far too much damage control for him to do as Hiruzen's second-in-command just before the Jounin commander.
"I know, but just for a moment longer," she asked, earning a short nod from the blonde before he turned his eyes towards Kakashi, who was still standing with the Oto Yon he'd killed over his shoulder.
"Probably shouldn't tell you this yet, but congratulations Godaime-sama, I am at your service," he deadpanned, earning such a shock from the scarecrow that the man dropped his load right at his feet.
"No," Kakashi finally got out, after eleven minutes of the two just staring at each other.
"You can't say no baka, orders from Sandaime-sama and Daimyo-sama," Naruto once more deadpanned, having been prepared for that like he was prepared for taking his next breath – it was Kakashi's natural response after all.
"N-Nani," Kakashi whispered, his eyes still wide, feeling as if he had missed something important, quickly deciding this was the worst day ever, of all time.
XXXXX
A/N: So, first and foremost, the broken blade that Naruto's Susanoo wields is actually the Ten-spanned blade that Susanoo no Mikoto used to slay the Yamata no Orochi, the name of the technique Naruto calls out is one of the names given to that blade in a later reiteration of the story. Most Susanoo in the Naruto series use weapons from the tales of the Kami of Japanese folklore, I decided Naruto would need such a weapon. Given it would debut against Orochimaru, I thought it was almost too poetic to not use the blade that slayed the creature which Orochimaru's final form gets its basis from. Unfortunately, unlike in the epic tale of folklore, the snake did not meet his end today. But, like in the epic, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi has been taken from the battle with the snake!
You may also be asking, why did you write Orochimaru escaping, why not just kill him off if you've already essentially killed off three of the Oto Yon. Simply put he still has value to the plot, if only a small amount. Essentially, there still the fact that Sasuke has not reached the second level of the Cursed Mark, meaning by the handicap that I have given Naruto's sealing remedy to the mark, our hero can't do anything to change it at this time. Yes, that means Orochimaru could still influence Sasuke in the way he did in the canon, which played a big role in Sasuke's defection from the Leaf. That being said, Orochimaru's time will come, just wait for his usefulness to run its course.
Finally, and I'm sure some will ask it, why are you ending this without showing the battle between Menma and Gaara. The first part of that is simple, because following what I already displayed, it mostly goes the same as in canon. The second part, is an alarming number of you wish to not see so much of Menma and his interactions. This is the only pause I will give you in that, because Menma is still a very big part of this story just as Sasuke and Itachi are; the primary focus is Naruto and I can't argue that though. But, you can expect to see some glimpses back at this fight and any differences there may be later in the story, especially as Temari and her siblings are further integrated into the plot.
POLL:
NaruYugi – 33
NaruMabui – 35 (currently leading)
NaruSamui – 21
NaruKarui – ELIMINATED (4)
As you see, due to her low turnout, Karui has been eliminated. If you voted for Karui, there were only four of you, you may vote someone else if you so choose. Next update, the next will be eliminated from the poll and then those who's choice lost in that round may recast if they so choose. But, only after that happens, until then it is still a threeso- three-way showdown between the bodacious ladies of Kumo and those who fanboy for them! (That's a joke) Quick note: the two runner ups will get their one-shots, but we don't know how long that is gonna take and it means a singular "screen" time for them before they fade into the black, SO VOTE!
Oh and MenmaFuu won, sorry to the eight that said they couldn't stand the idea? Meaning this story is – Naru/Mei/Mikoto/Tayuya/Temari/Katsumi-theOC and Menma/Saku/Ino/Fuu/Buntan and Sasu/Hina and Kaka/Anko
Also, because I know the Guest that is spamming NaruFuu in the reviews is still reading, there will be a one-shot in the future of this Naruto and Fuu in my super pervy series just for you my guy.
Also, blooperd06 congrats on making the account and welcome to the community!
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT! I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY READING THIS ON MY CAKE DAY FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT FOLLOW ME TO STAY UPDATED ON WHAT I POST! ANYWAY! REVIEW! K BYE!
