Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose, in his office Jiraiya looked a strange mix of bashful and proud, Karin looked confused, Haku and Kin looked resigned, and Naruto was grinning. The Godaime Hokage silently cursed the Sandaime Hokage, he didn't want to think ill of the dead but he couldn't help but feel this was the fault of the old Sarutobi for allowing Naruto to take a vassal in the first place.
Logically the current Hokage knew he shared some of the blame, he'd foisted responsibility on how to deal with Haku onto the old man because he hadn't wanted Naruto to hate him and in the end it seemed to have been for the best. But now the boy wanted another vassal and knew how to deal with it.
"Naruto," Kakashi began, dropping his usual honorific, "what the hell are you thinking?" he asked in an annoyed tone, taking some consolation that at least Kin seemed contrite if no one else did.
Naruto himself just shrugged, "It was this or let her die, and letting her die felt wrong if I could stop it y'know." he answered, and the Hokage could understand Jiraiya's pride, the Uzumaki was doing what he thought was right and sparing the life of a young girl.
However that young girl had been an enemy ninja, Kakashi couldn't even see any parallels with Haku that might tug at the heart strings of the blonde except their hair was slightly similar and they both used senbon. He really hoped that wasn't actually enough to garner the sympathy of their resident Jinchuriki.
"Can you even financially support this decision?" Kakashi decided on another route, figuring his best chance at avoiding an incident was to convince the boy to change his mind.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I should be able to, Kin will be able to do D rank missions anyway right? It'll be like community service." he answered, seeming to have considered that avenue already. Kin didn't look happy about working for free or being a servant but she didn't complain, likely because it was this or die.
"What about your current family?" Kakashi asked, "You can't watch her all the time and you barely know her, what if she uses your kindness against you and hurts Karin or Haku? What if she kills one of them?" the Hokage asked and immediately was made uncertain of his choice of words as he felt the malevolent intent of the Kyubi no Yoko press down on the room.
Naruto's eye went red and the pupil lengthened into a slit, his expression remained surprisingly neutral, Kakashi glanced at Jiraiya to see the Sennin was on edge and noticed Kin was sweating bullets, understandably the girl looked terrified.
Karin closed her eyes and felt Naruto's chakra, she could see it in her minds eye, the usually dazzling and calming bright blue had a seemingly infinite and malevolent chakra rising from his already nearly bottomless depths. The red eyed Uzumaki wondered again what the source of this power was as she saw the outline of a fox in her mind's eye.
Haku placed his right hand on the left thigh of the boy, "Naruto-kun calm down," he requested and the killing intent of the kitsune was stemmed for the moment, "I defeated Kin-san once before and she had back up then." the older boy assured.
Kakashi noted with some concern that the blue eye of his Jinchuriki student still had a slit pupil but the blonde blinked, or winked, and it was normal again. The Hokage quietly released a breath he hadn't been holding.
"Kin will behave," Naruto said firmly, "right?" he asked the girl and she nodded insistently. Jiraiya was a bit worried that the boy was effectively ruling the girl through fear with that stunt but could tell the response from the boy was pure emotion and not a measured action.
Kakashi and Jiraiya both glanced at Haku, wondering again if his icy chakra had some calming effect on the biju or if perhaps Naruto was simply calmed that easily by the boy. Karin was shocked at how swiftly the seemingly endless malevolence of the toxic chakra had retreated into her blonde brother and worried about his safety.
The Uzumaki girl noticed that Kakashi seemed to know what it was, "Okay, seriously, what the hell is that chakra and why is it inside Naruto-nii?" she asked, her worry for the blonde fueling her glare.
Kakashi just looked at Naruto to see if he'd answer, "I'm the Jinchuriki who contains the Kyubi no Yoko." the boy answered, a bit worried as to how she'd react but given some bravery by the way the rookie six and his own team had reacted to the news.
Karin jumped, "Oh," she said simply, "oh that does explain it." she continued, now feeling a bit silly for not realizing it sooner, "No wonder your healing factor and chakra are so powerful." she mused.
Kin was taking the news surprisingly well too, although she was mostly thinking that power like that might actually be able to protect her from Orochimaru. The girl made the decision to never hurt Haku or Karin, she didn't want to know what her new master was capable of if he was truly pissed, the killing intent he released just at the idea of one of them being hurt had suffocated her.
Kakashi turned on the former Oto kunoichi, "Well, it seems I can't convince Naruto-kun not to adopt you into his growing little clan," the man said lazily, "so I hope you intend on behaving and not betraying the trust he's putting in you." he finished sternly.
"I'll be good for Naruto-sama." Kin said mechanically, almost sounding contrite, but Jiraiya and Kakashi detected no lie so they sent the kids on their way to fill out the paperwork.
Kin adjusted her new forehead protector, she always thought Konoha was soft and now she was part of it. At least she was the vassal of someone with some power and influence, she wondered why the Hokage hadn't pulled rank on the blonde ninja she owed her life.
The girl considered her new master, the Uzumaki boy was young, probably her age or a bit younger, but he had raw power in spades. He was definitely unrefined, but he was also apparently the apprentice of one of the Densetsu no Sannin, the Gama Sennin himself.
Kin knew her new place in the small clan well enough already without being told, she could tell Haku was close to the blonde even if the older ninja was also a vassal so she herself was right at the bottom of the food chain. She almost considered trying to get that close to her new master for safety but she already knew Haku only looked like a girl and didn't want to risk angering the older vassal in case it earned the ire of the blonde powerhouse that was metaphorically holding her leash.
Still, doing D ranks to pay her way was going to suck, apparently Karin and Naruto were looking for a new place to live so Haku was doing the D rank mission with her, she was pretty sure the girly boy was just supposed to be watching over her, these missions were so easy they could probably make more money just taking them solo.
"We should tell him." Tsunade said, surprising Kakashi and Jiraiya with her words more than her firm tone and stern glare.
"I know he's gotten better but he's still a loud mouth," Jiraiya said, "all it takes is one leak and Iwagakure would become sympathetic to Otogakure." he pointed out.
"You think that snake doesn't already know?" Tsunade shot back and the Gama Sennin had no response for that but to frown, "I get that it was hidden from him for his own safety but he's a chunin now, and his little clan is growing in size." she pointed out, "They can't just keep upgrading to bigger apartments, he owns property and doesn't know it, give it to him." she insisted.
Kakashi wanted to, "I know he's getting stronger, but if Iwa finds out they might send assassins," he reasoned, "if it became public knowledge every Iwa missing nin my age or older would be gunning for his head." the Hokage said even though he really wanted to agree with the iryonin.
"So just impress upon him that he has to be quiet about his parents!" Tsunade insisted again, anger evident on her features, "That boy has a kind heart, he'll probably adopt even more if Kin behaves herself." she reasoned, "At least give him his birthright, at least tell him about Kushina." the woman practically begged.
Kakashi sighed, "Jiraiya-sama, get the two Uzumaki and take them to sensei's old home," he decided, "Tsunade-sama you go grab the vassals, I'll find the keys and meet you all there." he finished and the two loyal Sannin nodded before leaving.
Jiraiya found Naruto and Karin looking at apartments that would probably force the blonde chunin to take more missions, he knew the kid was a workaholic when it came to being a ninja but the boy needed to focus on training so he wasn't too upset by Kakashi's decision, he just hoped it was the right one.
"Hey kid," Jiraiya greeted the boy, getting the attention of both of them, "we need to talk, come with me." he said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Naruto frowned, "I need to find a bigger place to live, I'm not forcing Karin and Kin to sleep together no matter how much you'd think it's a good idea." he argued despite the tone of the Sannin.
"Please, give me some credit, they need at least a few more years before I'd consider them research material." Jiraiya said flippantly and Karin wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed by the statement, "Come on, this is actually serious." the Sennin insisted, "Hokage's orders." he added to get the two Uzumaki moving.
Naruto and Karin were curious but followed the old man without further questions, even the usually dense blonde could tell it wasn't something Jiraiya would talk about until they were there.
"Whatever it is I didn't do it, and Haku can confirm it." Kin said as soon as Tsunade bought the two to Kakashi, apparently thinking she was in trouble or being framed for something, to the relief of the girl Haku just shrugged and nodded, indicating whatever it was he wasn't in on some plot to kill her.
Tsunade rolled her eyes, "You aren't in trouble." she informed the young black haired girl for the second time that day.
Kakashi nodded to confirm the words of the blonde iryonin as they waited outside an old house. Soon enough Jiraiya arrived with the two Uzumaki in tow, "Did you tell them anything yet?" the Hokage asked the old pervert.
"Are you kidding me?" Jiraiya asked with a raised eyebrow, "This is a ninja village, I'm not saying a thing until we're inside." he assured, making the four young ninja wonder just what was going on.
Kakashi nodded and pulled out a key, unlocking the door and leading them into the dusty old home, once they were all inside he shut and locked the door, "Glad to see nothing is missing." he mused as he looked around at the furniture.
"It could do with a cleaning, but the kid has his vassals." Tsunade spoke up as she looked around at the dusty furniture. Kin didn't like the sound of that.
"So what is this place?" Naruto asked, still not sure why he was here.
Kakashi looked around for somewhere to sit, and decided the dust covered dining table was probably the best bet and leaned against the table itself, "It's your home," he began, "your parents home." he specified, watching the blue eye of his student widen in shock.
Karin took the place in, it was nice even if it was dirty, but she'd never heard the other Uzumaki mention his parents. Haku was confused about that too since Mizuki had said Naruto had no parents, but that had obviously been false even if he hadn't been lying about Naruto having no birth records.
"You knew." Naruto said, his tone accusing as his eye narrowed on Kakashi, who nodded sadly.
"We all knew." Tsunade spoke up sounding guilty, "Sorry we couldn't tell you earlier, but it was secret for a reason, and we all had our own problems to deal with." she apologized sincerely.
"We sort of trusted Sarutobi-sensei to take care of you without considering that there's only so much the Hokage can do." Jiraiya added, "I have a spy network to take care of, and if I'd raised you people would ask questions and make connections." he excused with a shrug.
"I had no idea how much work actually goes into being Hokage," Kakashi confessed, "and honestly I was a mess for most of your childhood, and even if I had been in a fit state to look after you my connection to your father would have allowed people to know what couldn't be common knowledge." he explained.
Tsunade sighed, "I don't have a good excuse," she admitted, "but I was more of a mess than Kakashi, I was still hurting and I abandoned the village, the only reason I wasn't considered missing nin is because of Sarutobi-sensei." she explained, "I spent most of your childhood drinking and gambling anyway, I wouldn't have been good for you."
Naruto was stunned, "So who the hell are parents!?" he demanded to know.
"First you need to know that you can't go blabbing about it to anyone, not even your teammates." Kakashi ordered sternly, "But for starters, your mother was an Uzumaki named Kushina, she had the red hair and everything." he explained.
"She was also the last Jinchuriki of the Kyubi." Jiraiya spoke up, "I don't know the details, but an unknown Uchiha released the kitsune when you were born, Kushina only lived long enough to help your father seal it into you thanks to her Uzumaki life force." he explained and his words helped all four young ninja connect the dots.
Kin recovered first, "This guy is the son of the Yondaime Hokage?" she asked, bewildered as she pointed at Naruto in disbelief.
Kakashi nodded, "Minato Namikaze," he began, "my sensei." he added. Karin looked at her family in new light and felt foolish for not realizing the name of his mother earlier at least, she wondered if that would be enough to connect dots, she'd never heard much about the woman's private life but she'd been a feared kunoichi in her time.
Naruto blinked, the shock of knowing his parents was startling, but the pain that they'd died to seal the kitsune in him and that they'd left him alone bothered him, "An unknown Uchiha?" the blonde asked suddenly, his eye murderous.
"Truthfully, Sasuke's mother was a friend of your mother, but she wasn't allowed to raise you either." Kakashi spoke up, "People were worried, few shinobi knew for certain, but there are legends Madara Uchiha could control the fox with his Sharingan. Sandaime-sama determined it could cause an incident between the major clans if you were put in the custody of the Uchiha clan." he explained, "I'm sure Kushina-chan and Mikoto-chan would be happy you and Sasuke-kun have become such close friends." the Hokage added with a smile under his mask.
"I never learned the identity of the masked Uchiha that Sarutobi-sensei mentioned," Jiraiya spoke up, "it's likely that he died during the massacre of their clan, but we're pretty sure it wasn't Itachi." he explained.
Kakashi spoke up again, "You need to understand, Minato-sensei had a lot of enemies," he explained earnestly, "Iwagakure no Sato would have sent assassins after you from day one if they learned who you are. You remember how Pachi wanted to kill you just for being the student of the student of the Yondaime?" he asked and Naruto nodded, eye downcast.
Haku frowned, bothered greatly by the usually bright blonde's sadness, and grabbed his hand to entwine their fingers, "Is this all that's left?" Karin asked, looking around the old house.
"Minato had two safe houses, but both were destroyed during the Kyubi's rampage." Jiraiya answered sadly, "It's why I wanted to teach you the Rasengan and sign the Toad Contract." he added, rubbing the back of his head.
"There is this," Kakashi added, pulling out a three pronged kunai, "a key part of the jutsu that earned your father his moniker and his unique bingo book rating of 'flee on sight'." he explained, holding the weapon out to the blonde.
"Hiraishin no Jutsu was actually developed by the Nidaime Hokage." Jiraiya explained, "As near as we can tell it's an advanced Jikukan Ninjutsu, allowing the user to move to a marked object or location, but the formula is too complicated even for me. That being said, who knows, maybe you'll figure it out." he mused with a shrug as the blonde took the three pronged weapon and examined the markings on the handle.
"We'll let you kids get settled in," Tsunade said, and the other two adults moved to leave, "not needing to pay rent should help with your funds."
"Take the week off, you can worry about missions and training later." Kakashi said as he left, Jiraiya didn't argue and the three adults left the four kids in the dusty home, the Godaime having left the key to the house on the table.
Haku was worried about Naruto, the blonde had slumped onto a dust covered chair as Karin had Kin help begin the cleaning, removing cobwebs and cleaning dead insects and live spiders out of the furniture. The Uzumaki chunin was staring at the tokuchu kunai with a blank expression on his face, eye focused on the formula.
It had been a week, Naruto's new home was cleaned up, but Kakashi knew the blonde had not taken a break from training. The silver haired Kage was worried that Naruto always kept trying to get stronger, he should have known that knowing about his parents would only encourage him to get stronger, the boy hadn't wasted any time practicing kenjutsu against his kage bunshin.
Sasuke had been training with Lee and Gai in between missions too, and recently the Uchiha had found three men passed out floating down stream and brought them in. They'd been questioned and revealed they were from the Katabami Gold Mine of Kawa no Kuni and were coming directly to the village for an urgent mission.
Konohagakure was already busy as it was, and Maito Gai had been requested for a specific mission, S rank. Kakashi considered sending Team Gai and his own team on a joint mission, since it sounded like the entire mine had come under the control of crime family by the name of Kurosuki lead by a shinobi of some kind, a strange man who was obsessed with funerals, even burying some citizens alive.
Kakashi wondered if a team of seven shinobi would be too much for one mission, then remembered Kin could very well be taken along for the ride too. Eight would definitely be too many, and three chunin with four genin was still sending too much manpower on a single mission. Then again if he sent even one of his students he might as well send the whole team unless he sent Sakura, and as much as Sakura had grown recently she was still on the low end of being a chunin while Naruto and Sasuke were capable of fighting jonin level opponents alone, and their teamwork could allow them to deal with any other threats.
There would be no convincing Naruto to leave Haku behind, the two were inseparable even after learning to kuchiyose each other. He could probably be convinced to entrust Kin to Karin for the duration of a mission like this, but that was still two entire teams. The Hokage wondered if it would be safer to entrust the mission to Team Gai due to Naruto and Sasuke's tendency to attract the absolute worst changes in mission parameters and threat ranking, it was already at least an A rank mission already from the sounds of it.
According to the wounded miners the shinobi had appeared with the pretext of guarding the town and swiftly taken over the place. Apparently their leader was a man called Raiga, which was the most concerning part, since Raiga Kurosuki was also the name of one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu. Kakashi really hoped sending Naruto and Haku on the mission wouldn't be a terrible idea.
Naruto and Haku were last to arrive at the village gates since the blonde had wanted to put his supplies and certain weapons within small storage scrolls that he stored in the pockets of his flak vest. Then had insisted that Haku hold onto the Hiraishin Kunai, the blonde said it was for luck but his grin and the fact he'd been studying the formula all week had Haku wondering if the chunin had somehow figured out the S rank jutsu.
Sasuke and Sakura were already there with Team Gai and the three clients, "I know of a good shop in Kawa no Kuni!" Lee spoke up when everyone was there, "It would make a splendid pit stop to plan our next move, it's not far from the Kabatami Gold Mine if my memory serves!" the energetic genin informed them all.
"Alright, sounds great!" Naruto said with a wide grin, "Lead the way, no time to lose, we got a bunch of people to save!" he declared. The miners were relieved the blonde was taking it seriously, as short as he was, although the fact that two of the shinobi they hired had only one eye concerned them, the flak vests and the way the apparent children carried themselves did help make them feel a bit better. They just hoped the number of ninja would be enough to save their home.
Eventually the group made it to the shop that Lee was talking about, "Sansho-baachan!" the green clad genin called out as he ran ahead of the group to greet the woman. Meanwhile the miners pointed out the mountain that held the gold mine to the rest of the team.
Lee introduced the shinobi and miners to Sansho and her Curry of Life Shop, where she sold a curry that had apparently saved Lee's life.
When they saw the curry the story became a little less believable, it was a bubbling black goo served over rice. Lee seemed quite happy to see the food and took a bite, his face glowed before sweat dripped down his bright red face, but the boy insisted it was delicious and that the use of spices was amazing as he ate.
Encouraged by the way Lee dug in the rest of them, not to be rude to the sweet old lady who had cooked the curry for them, decided to try it as well. They all screamed in pain a moment later as their bodies had similar reactions to Lee.
Haku took his glass of water, cooled it with chakra and tried drinking it with a pained look on his face before tipping his head back and pouring the water over his burning face. The miners had all collapsed, one had fallen into his curry and everyone but Sansho and Lee pitied the poor man.
Sakura clutched her chest and panted breathlessly with Tenten, the two girls not even bothering to hide their agony. Tenten hunched over the table and pushed the plate away and Sakura leaned back away from the monstrously spicy curry to fan her face with her hands.
Neji sat stock still, trying not to let his pain show but his hands shook as he put the spoon down, unable to handle another bite.
Naruto barely swallowed it with a determined look on his face, he felt like his mouth and throat were on fire, and his face, and his lips. The blonde Uzumaki didn't feel too good if he was honest but he tried not to let his anguish show. Sasuke was reminded of the time he'd messed up practicing a Katon no Jutsu and burned his throat, but the two cyclops boys caught each others eye and both glanced at Lee who was eagerly eating his curry. Soon Naruto and Sasuke were powering through the pain, each determined to outdo the other in the endurance challenge that was finishing the curry.
Sansho and Lee discussed the old lady's son, a young man named Karashi who had left for Kabatami Gold Man because Sansho had kept telling him to be stronger. She revealed the boy had joined the Kurosuki family, the the surprise of the miners.
Lee felt responsible as Neji, Sakura, and Tenten drank their own water, desperately trying to recover, "Naruto-kun!" Lee exclaimed, "Please include rescuing Karashi to our mission! We must bring him back from the road of evil!" the boy begged, feeling responsible for the older but weaker man.
Naruto and Sasuke finished their curry at the same time and both looked like they would pass out from pain, Sakura and Haku both wondered why the two had insisted on eating as they drank their water, still red in the face.
"Yeah," Naruto gasped after chugging his glass of water, "that's fine. We can use this store as a base and check out the village." he decided breathlessly, "Then we'll plan our attack."
"You guys should stay here," Sasuke told the miners, having taken a second to collect himself so his voice would be more calm, "if the Kurosuki family finds you, it'll only cause problems." the Uchiha explained.
That night one of the miners went missing, they were alerted by the other miners that the one called Rokusuke had gone missing and they suspected the man had run off to the town alone.
"Well," Naruto said, frowning, "now that it's come to this we don't have time for a strategy, let's get right to it y'know!" he declared, standing up. The other shinobi weren't happy with running in without a proper plan or intel on the enemy but had to agree with Naruto. If the enemy got information about them out of Rokusuke before they rescued him they'd be on the back foot and Sansho's store would become a potential battle ground.
The seven shinobi arrived at the mine by morning, where they witnessed members of the Kurosuki family forcing an old man to work, and threatening to arrange his funeral, "Sasuke, Lee," Naruto spoke up, glaring down on the thugs, "take those guys down before they can raise the alarm. Neji, watch their backs with your eyes." he ordered and the Hyuga activated his dojutsu as Sasuke and Lee moved to follow orders.
Four thugs went down in two moves from the two ninja before the other five ninja joined them, "Hey old man," Naruto called out, trying to calm down the frantic old miner, "you're alright now, have some water." he offered, pulling out a metal canteen.
The old man back handed the canteen away, "No! Punch me, and kick me, rough me up like you did those guys!" he begged desperately, confusing the ninja who glanced at each other to see if any of them had figured out what was wrong with the man, "Ah, fine, I'll do it myself!" he declared, starting to punch himself in the face.
Lee stopped him, "Oi! Oi! What are you doing!?" the bowl cut genin asked, keeping the old miner from hurting himself anymore, the man just babbled about how he was in trouble since he was the only one who was safe. The ninja team couldn't make heads or tails of it when they all heard the gong.
"Did they find us?" Tenten asked, looking in the direction of the sound.
"No one is coming this way." Neji assured although he was concerned about what seemed to be an alarm as well.
The old miner spoke up, "It's the funeral bell, Raiga-san buries those who defy or betray him alive." he explained, looking defeated.
"What? But that's so cruel!" Tenten exclaimed in surprise, Sakura nodded in agreement and Haku frowned, deciding he already disliked Raiga Kurosuki, and if it was who he thought it was he was glad Zabuza had never spoken much of the man. Haku really hoped it wasn't who he thought it was.
The old man bowed his head, "Yeah," he agreed, "but Raiga-san always cries during the funeral." he informed the ninja.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto pulled a confused face, "What a weirdo." the blonde grumbled.
"Still," Neji spoke up, "I doubt that funeral is yours." he pointed out.
The old man nodded, "Well I heard they captured Rokusuke-san this morning so-" he began sadly.
Naruto didn't listen to anymore and rushed off, Haku was the first to follow him with Sasuke close behind. The rest of the team quickly fell into step behind them.
The blonde chunin lifted his headband as he ran, he saw the funeral march and wasted no time. He created enough kage bunshin that he outnumbered the enemy and ganged up on them, ignoring the one who ran away as he swiftly dealt with the thugs using taijutsu. Haku moved to save Rokusuke while the thugs were dealt with.
Sasuke landed next to his teammate with a shunshin, his own eye blazing with the Uchiha dojutsu as he looked around, letting Lee rush the last enemy as Sakura popped out of the ground dragging another of the thugs with her, "They're barely genin level." the pink haired chunin commented as Neji and Tenten caught up.
Lee recognized the last thug and they heard him talking to the man who was apparently Karashi, Naruto didn't like what Karashi had to say but left the man to Lee as he approached Neji who looked around in concern.
"You notice something, Neji?" Naruto asked the Hyuga, leaving his forehead protector up just in case.
Neji nodded, "We're being watched, it's probably Raiga." he commented, staring up at a cliff.
"Karashi, take care of Rokusuke!" Lee requested as the seven shinobi rushed up the cliff face to deal with their opponent.
Once at the top a thick mist enveloped the area, "Kirigakure no Jutsu." Naruto commented, smirking since he and Haku still practiced silent killing despite not having much use for it. Haku palmed handfuls of senbon, growing nervous despite the confidence of his young blonde lover.
"Something is wrong." Neji commented with a frown, "This mist is nowhere near as thick with chakra as Naruto's, but I can't see a thing." he explained, confusing them since his Byakugan was active. Lee and Tenten wondered if there was actually a jutsu that could block the Hyuga's dojutsu somehow but had never heard of one. Sakura palmed a kunai with a kibaku fuda wrapped around the handle and Sasuke palmed the vajra that was the handle of the Raijin no Ken.
Suddenly, lightning crashed down through the mist from above, far more powerful than any natural lightning strike it tore up the ground where they stood as they all dodged away, sticking together as they moved down the cliff and into the cover of trees.
Neji focused on his Byakugan and gave the group coordinates for enemies, they split up to take them out only for each enemy to be a genjutsu. The Hyuga couldn't understand how a genjutsu could fool his eyes and was caught by surprise when a weaker lightning blast homed in on him and electrified him, knocking the genin unconscious.
Sasuke activated Raijin no Ken and slashed the Raiton no Jutsu with the electrical blade to protect himself as the others where struck and gave pained screams as they fell to the ground, even Naruto seemed to be down. The Uchiha glanced around, keeping an eye on his team to protect them from this enemy, but he'd noticed that his eye had been fooled by the genjutsu as well.
Then a taller ninja in a coat, with twin swords and something on his back approached out of the mist, "Oho, one of you lived?" the man asked and Sasuke glared at the man.
Another voice surprised the dark haired chunin, "Not just him, the rest are only unconscious." the voice told his opponent.
"You must be Raiga Kurosuke." Sasuke guessed, trying to get the attention off his team.
"What of it?" Raiga asked, holding his oddly shaped blades up at Sasuke, "Who are you anyway? Wielding the Raijin no Ken, this could be interesting." he commented.
Sasuke smirked, "I am Sasuke of the Uchiha clan," he commented, remembering the strange blue swordsman who had been with Itachi, "but how about you tell me something else. Do you know a man called Kisame Hoshigaki?" he asked.
Raiga spat on the ground, "Why would I want to remember that guy?" he asked, "I hate him, so what if I knew him?"
Sasuke saw before him a lead and his dojutsu spun, the tomoe moving around his pupil in a slow dance as he took in his opponent, "Fine," he said, "I'll just beat it out of you." he decided and deactivated Raijin no Ken to use shunshin, getting to the other side of the man before swiftly moving in for the kill, activating Raijin no Ken to slash at the last second.
The strange voice from before spoke up, "Behind you!" it warned Raiga and one of his blades met the electrical blade of the Senju heirloom. Electricity danced between the two weapons and Raiga proved his was no slouch with his blades as Sasuke found the major advantage of the Raijin no Ken didn't seem to work. Raiga's swords could block the electricity without causing harm to their wielder and Sasuke only kept up thanks to his Sharingan, but he found he couldn't gain the edge and that his eye kept being fooled by something that forced him on the defensive.
Unsurprisingly the first of the unconscious ninja to awaken was Naruto, who saw Sasuke fighting Raiga and stood to his feet before looking around. The Uzumaki saw Haku lying on the ground and then he saw red. The killing intent of a demon fell upon the surrounding area like a crashing wave.
Raiga was startled and disengaged from his Uchiha opponent as he wondered what the hell happened, "Something horrifying just woke up! Left!" the strange voice warned the swordsman and he lifted his left hand blade to block a ninjato as Naruto dropped the scroll he'd pulled it from on the ground.
"Hah! Moron!" Raiga mocked, pushing electricity through the two blades and into the blonde, but to his concerned surprise the boy just growled as the Raiton chakra pushed against a malevolent red chakra to get into him. Although it was clearly hitting him from the way Naruto winced the chunin pushed the offensive.
"How dare you!" Naruto snarled, swinging the ninjato furiously, each block from Raiga hurt his right hand and arm up to the shoulder but he ignored the pain and kept swinging, "How dare you hurt my Haku-chan!" he roared. Raiga was on the defensive now, stunned by the power the younger shinobi was putting out.
The former Kiri nin was only keeping up thanks to his experience and expertise with kenjutsu, "Ranmaru! What the hell is this kid?" he asked as he forced more Raiton chakra into his swords, trying to force the red eyed blonde back.
Sasuke finally realized the strange voice was coming from the man's back and waiting for an opening, since this Ranmaru could apparently warn of incoming attacks, "I don't know!" the voice sounded panicked, "I've never seen this kind of chakra, but I think he'd mad that you hurt that boy that looks like a girl." Ranmaru explained as the twin blades blocked the ninjato.
Raiga broke off and tapped his swords together to launch a blast of lightning at Naruto, who was knocked back with a scream of pain before he ran at Haku as the other Konoha ninja woke up. Sasuke cursed under his breath and moved to intercept but could tell he wouldn't be fast enough.
"I don't know what the deal is with that blonde brat," Raiga said as he thrust his swords at Haku, "but if you're the reason he has the strength to withstand Kiba then I'll just carve you up first!" he declared.
A spray of blood and the smell of burnt flesh hit their senses as Naruto appeared in front of Haku in an instant, Raiga wondered if the boy had performed shunshin to take the blow but he'd only made half a hand seal. The blonde had managed to knock one blade off course with his ninjato but the other had plunged through the right side of his chest, through flak vest and mesh armor.
Haku stared at the bloody blade in front of him in horror, it crept towards him an inch before Naruto stepped towards Raiga, dropping his ninjato with a gasp of pain as visible electricity danced along his body. The former Kiri nin scowled and jumped back, tearing his blade out of the blonde as he used the other to block the Raijin no Ken.
It was Sasuke's turn to attack furiously, legendary electrical blades clashed as the two shinobi fought, "Right!" Ranmaru's voice warned and Raiga cut a volley of kunai out of the air before leaping away to avoid the resulting explosion from the attached kibaku fuda.
Naruto moved to pick up his blade but collapsed into Haku's arms, "Naruto-kun!" the older boy exclaimed in concern, checking the injury as the younger boy coughed a bit of blood, indicating a lung wound. Haku's face was a mask of worry as the chunin rested against the Hyoton bearer.
Tenten joined Sakura in trying to overwhelm Raiga to assist Sasuke in taking him out as Neji and Lee moved to flank the man, but Ranmaru's voice warned Raiga of them and the man tapped his swords again, "Raikyu!" the swordsman declared, throwing the orb of lightning at Sasuke. The Uchiha blocked it with Raijin no Ken and thrust the legendary blade at his opponent, pulsing his chakra to release electrical rings at his target.
Lee moved to attack, "Behind!" Ranmaru warned as Raiga caught the rings of lightning against Kiba, then twisted and turned them into another Raikyu he shot at Lee. The green clad genin screamed as he was sent flying back, "Right and left!" Ranmaru called out and Raiga used his left hand blade to block Raijin no Ken as his right hand blade clashed with Kaiten.
Neji had anticipated a counter and intended to disarm the man, but the lightning flowed through the blade and into his chakra, disrupting his jutsu and sending him flying with a cry of pain, "Behind!" Ranmaru warned again and Raiga was forced to twist to avoid the volley of shuriken from Tenten and Sakura as Sasuke swiftly grabbed the bundle on Raiga's back and jumped away.
"Ranmaru!" Raiga called out in concern before sheathing his blades to free his hands for hand seals and getting to Naruto and Haku quickly with shunshin. The swordsman unsheathed his blades again and swung, intending on finishing off the powerful young blonde and take the dark haired pretty boy hostage to rescue Ranmaru. Kiba clashed against a block of ice as Haku used Hyogan Domu to protect Naruto.
Sasuke landed near Lee, "Don't let Raiga get this back." he ordered as Neji landed near them, the two genin nodded to indicate they would do their best to obey the order as the Uchiha deactivated Raijin no Ken to form a hand seal and disappeared with shunshin.
Raiga slammed his Raikyu angrily against the barrier of ice, glaring at Haku within as the dark haired teen glared back. The Hyoton no Jutsu withstood the Raiton no Jutsu admirably but it was chipped away by the attack and maintaining it drained Haku's chakra.
Sasuke arrived and swung, finally landing a solid blow against the flank of Raiga with the blade of raw lightning, the former Kiri nin cried out in pain before breaking off, going on the defensive against the Uchiha. Tenten felt out of her league watching the two engage in their duel, she was awed to watch the legendary weapons clash but she wished she could help.
"Raiga below!" Ranmaru called out, startling Lee and Neji who looked at the bundle that had just shouted desperately. Raiga blocked Raijin no Ken with one blade and thrust the other into the ground, Sakura's muffled voice screamed in pain as lightning coursed through the ground.
"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, not wanting to risk giving his enemy more lightning to use against the pink haired girl. Tenten threw two handfuls of shuriken at Raiga to force him to block and Sasuke reached into the dirt to pull his pink haired teammate out of the ground, using his Sharingan and Raijin no Ken to block the counterattack from Raiga as he did before jumping back and checking her vitals. The Uchiha was relieved Sakura was still breathing, but she twitched in pain and her heartbeat was erratic after an attack like that.
"Haku-chan, I think I can stand," Naruto spoke, "let me out." he ordered. Haku frowned but obeyed and the blonde stood, performing hand seals and launching a Suidan at Raiga. The swordsman noticed it and destroyed it the attack with a slash from both of Kiba. Naruto used shunshin to get close and Raiga frowned when he noticed the boy used both hands for that hand seal, then he saw the young ninja was going through more hand seals.
In an attempt to stop the close ranged ninjutsu Raiga swung at the blonde but Sasuke was there, guarding his teammate with Raijin no Ken. The head of the Kurosuki family noticed Tenten was guarding Sakura now and jumped as Naruto finished his seals, "Hijitsu!" the blonde shouted, surprising most of his team, "Sensatsu Suisho!" he declared and the water from his earlier Suidan formed needles of water and launched themselves at the retreating swordsman. Sasuke hadn't been looking at the hand seals and frowned, half wishing he had been.
Raiga barely blocked the attack with Kiba, a few needles grazing his legs and arms before he landed. The man sheathed his weapons again and started running up the cliff face. Naruto and Sasuke gave chase, watching and attempting to copy the hand seals Raiga used as he ran, "Ninpo: Iwa Nadare!" the man called out, pulsing his chakra through the cliff to force the rocks around him to fall towards his pursuers.
The two chunin were surprised it was actually a Raiton no Jutsu, but Sasuke recovered and dashed ahead of his teammate to destroy the rocks with Raijin no Ken as Naruto made a kage bunshin and they both used shunshin. Above Raiga the two Naruto formed a Rasengan as they descended upon their enemy.
"Please stop!" Ranmaru cried out desperately, surprising Naruto but the blonde was incapable of stopping at this point, Raiga turned and only managed to catch the swirling orb of chakra against his swords thanks to the earlier injury he'd delivered to Naruto, but the man was caught by a second Rasengan held by Haku, who had followed behind the blonde.
With a cry of pain the man was sent flying away to a distant cliff face and Haku's face turned to surprise as the fact he may have just performed his first kill for Naruto dawned on him. The boy felt weak in the knees and quite sick but stayed steady when he caught the blonde swaying and supported the Uzumaki to stop him falling from the cliff.
Sasuke sighed in relief and glanced down towards the other four Konoha ninja, wondering what to do about the person Raiga had referred to as Ranmaru.