"Alright," Kakashi began after Anko, Ino, Shino, Naruto, and Haku were in his office, "you five have been selected for this mission." he said simply, deciding not to mention that Haku was mostly selected because they still weren't sure if separating him and Naruto would go over well, "According to reports a sea monster has been attacking merchant vessels in Umi no Kuni, including a vessel that was supposed to make a payment to Mizu no Kuni." the Hokage explained, "As the highest ranking ninja, Anko Mitarashi will be in charge."
Anko didn't look too happy about being in charge of a bunch of kids, "Alright you brats, meet me at the village gates, we're moving out right away." she ordered despite her reservations. Naruto looked like he wanted to be in charge but held his tongue.
The journey to the coast of Umi no Kuni was a peaceful one, but as soon as they got there Anko looked like she was going to throw up, "You kids procure us a boat to Mother Island." she ordered before disappearing with a shunshin. Naruto frowned, making note to practice shunshin more so he could eventually do it without hand seals like some jonin.
In the village they saw a purple haired and bandaged girl in a blue tunic-blouse selling a basket of fish to a merchant, looking at the money she received she looked at the merchant with an unimpressed expression. The merchant was in the process of insisting he couldn't pay more.
Ino frowned as she approached, "Hey, those fish look good quality, why are you underpaying so much?" the nosy blonde asked, seeming offended on the strangers behalf. Naruto, Haku, and Shino moved to catch up with Ino.
The man raised a hand in a placating gesture, "Look I'm not trying to fleece prices," he defended himself, "with the Kaima attacking trade ships we get less business, that's just the market price of these fish around these parts." he tried to explain.
The bandaged girl frown and turned to run off, Ino furrowed her brow in worry, "Is she hurt?" she asked, "With those bandages?" she added.
The merchant sighed, "No, she has her reasons." he said as a few children saw the girl and ran away, "She's a diver from Mother Island, she comes here to sell her fish because a while back she was spirited away and returned, so the people of Umi no Kuni find her strange." he explained.
Haku frowned, feeling bad for the girl, then he noticed a presence disappear, "Naruto-kun?" he asked, looking around, "Did you see where our friend went?" he asked the merchant who shook his head. Haku felt for the three pronged kunai in his haori to calm himself down, wondering why the blonde had run off like that.
Naruto followed the bandaged girl and was glad he did when he saw a pair of men assaulting the girl, "Oi! What the hell are you guys doing?" he called out as he approached, narrowing his eyes when they disappeared. The blonde wondered what the hell kind of ninja harassed a girl carrying groceries.
The girl swiftly picked her food up in her bag and ran away as he approached to offer help. Naruto frowned sadly, he really felt bad for the girl, but he supposed he had a mission to do and made a seal of confrontation.
"Yo." Naruto said, copying Kakashi's mannerisms as he appeared next to Haku, who was startled by his sudden appearance but relaxed immediately when he realized it was the blonde.
Ino shrieked, much more startled by his sudden appearance, "What the hell! Where did you go?" she asked, "Should chunin be running off without telling us like that?"
Naruto chuckled, "Sorry, I was just checking something. I can be by Haku-chan's side in an instant as long as he carries the good luck charm I gave him anyway." the boy excused himself with a lazy wave as he fell into step with the team going towards the docks.
The only man left at the docks was not very helpful to start with, "Sorry, can't help you, no ferries will be going in or out in the evening with the Kaima around. Come back tomorrow." the man said bluntly.
"Aw come on," Naruto griped, "we're here to deal with the Kaima anyway, and we need to get to Mother Island for a mission." the blonde reasoned.
The old man raised an eyebrow at the kids claiming to be dealing with the dreaded Kaima, but they seemed armed and had ninja headbands, "Alright, if it's urgent you can borrow my boat." he agreed, hoping he'd get his boat back but negotiating a price in case he didn't.
Soon enough the ninja team had the boat and Anko finally returned to them, "Yo!" the purple haired woman greeted with a raised hand, Naruto felt the nostalgic urge to say she was late.
"Where were you?" Ino asked, curious as to what their team leader had been doing.
"Oh, something like information gathering." Anko answered vaguely and dismissively as they got in the boat, Naruto grabbing the oar to propel the small vessel forward as his team sat down to keep watch on the water. As the sky darkened it became impossible to see under the water.
Shino felt that his Hyuga teammate would have been more suited to this mission, as her dojutsu could likely see under the water while his kikaichu could detect nothing below the surface.
Towards the end of the journey the boat shuddered violently, "Did I hit a rock?" Naruto asked, worried, "Shit, the oar is stuck!" he called out and Haku stood quickly to try and help.
"We have a problem up ahead!" Anko warned, pointing out their vessel was drifting towards a whirlpool, Shino and Ino stood to help with the oar but something long and prehensile whipped out of the water, wrapped around Ino, and swiftly dragged her under. Anko cursed and dove in after her.
"Abandon ship," Shino began when the oar didn't budge, "why? Because that whirlpool will drag us under if we don't." he said before jumping off the boat and onto the water surface, Naruto and Haku following close behind.
Anko returned to the surface with an unconscious Ino in her arms, "Could this be the Kaima?" she asked, not having found Ino's attacker.
"Perhaps, or the ninja behind the Kaima." Shino answered as they all looked around for the source of the threat, the Aburame again feeling like he was very ill suited to this mission.
Anko was forced to drop Ino as she was attacked by the same prehensile limbs, the tokubetsu jonin recognizing the Nan no Kaizo that allowed the users limbs to be used like whips as she was placed in a hold that would be nigh impossible to escape. Shino grabbed Ino back up from the water and jumped back with her away from the enemy, sending his kikaichu to assist Anko.
Naruto started running through hand seals but was interrupted by hands on his ankles dragging him under water, "Naruto-kun!" Haku called out, trying to grab the blonde and glaring at the enemy holding Anko when he failed. The dark haired boy knew it was risky to throw senbon or use ninjutsu on an enemy while they grappled an enemy so he palmed a single senbon and lunged.
Under the surface of the water Naruto struggled against his grappling opponent, trying to make a seal of confrontation to return to Haku quickly, but could feel his strength fading far faster than normal. His enemy smirked under their rebreather, unbeknownst to the blonde, as his chakra kyuin jutsu gave him the potent chakra of his opponent.
The ninja grappling Anko released her and tossed her at Haku as he backed off, more because of the approaching kikaichu than the threat of senbon. Haku caught Anko and the woman was quickly on her feet and palming a kunai as the boy adjusted the grip on his senbon.
The two enemy ninja stood across from the team as Naruto floated to the surface, Haku's eyes went wide and the air around him chilled, Ino woke up in Shino's arms as he landed alongside Haku and Anko before she stood with them, "I recognize those two." the blonde girl said, "Yoroi and Misumi, they were on Kabuto's team in the chunin exams!" she said.
Yoroi smirked and started going through hand seals, Haku didn't recognize the pattern but pricked his thumb on his senbon before dropping it into the water and running through his own hand seals. Yoroi finished first, his Suiton: Daibakuryu no Jutsu sending Naruto to the depths before Haku finished and used Kuchiyose no Jutsu to pull the blonde from danger and into his arms.
Anko threw her kunai as she palmed a handful of shuriken and tossed those as well, scowling when both enemies were struck but turned into water splashing on the surface, "How cute," the voice of Misumi said as Anko wondered if they'd been mizu bunshin or merely used kawarimi on some of the sea water beneath them, "he can Kuchiyose his little boyfriend." the ninja mocked as he grappled the dark haired boy from behind and dragged him under water.
Anko, Shino, and Ino moved to help but were stopped when Yoroi landed between them and punched the surface of the water, releasing a wave of chakra that caught them in place before sinking below the surface himself to avoid the kikaichi he couldn't paralyze with the strange jutsu.
Haku struggled desperately against Misumi as he was choked out under water, feeling his strength failing him when Yoroi appeared to grab him and absorb his chakra. Yoroi performed another Daibakuryu and sent the two lovers to the bottom before retreating.
Naruto recovered from having his chakra drained, but was swiftly losing consciousness from the lack of air when they hit the sea bed. The last thing the blonde saw with his eyes closing for longer each time he blinked was familiar dark eyes filled with sadness.
Anko shook off the paralysis effect first and dived under the water to give chase to her enemies and rescue her subordinates, she knew her Katon no Jutsu would not be much help under the surface but she had plenty of snakes and serpent themed jutsu that would work fine in the salty sea.
Shino and Ino waited anxiously for Anko, and felt their stomachs drop when she returned without their teammates, "I can't find them, the enemy must have retreated." the woman said, "We can only hope those two were dragged to shore by a current." she added hopefully and the team went to shore, walking the rest of the way on the surface of the water.
Anko, Ino and Shino met with the man in charge of guarding the ships gathering the funds going to Mizu no Kuni, the proprietor of Shiraguki Inn, a balding man with a beard named Hitode. He expressed sorrow that they hadn't found their teammates and was regretful to inform the Konoha ninja that no one had turned up according to his men.
It turned out due to the concerns of the merchants the delivery had been moved up to the next morning, but wished them luck looking for their colleagues until then. Hitode apologized for the late notice and expressed gratitude that the ninja were still willing to help with the Kaima.
Whether due to chance or his Uzumaki vitality, Naruto woke up first and looked around which knocked a damp cloth from his head, relieved to see Haku sleeping not far from him with a similar cloth on his head. The blonde closed his left eye and recognized the bandaged girl from the mainland was entering the small and humble room with a bowl of water with a couple of cloths in it.
"You're that girl," Naruto said as he sat up, still feeling light headed, "did you save us?" he asked and the girl nodded with a blank expression, "Thanks!" the blonde said gratefully with a wide grin, "I owe you, my name is Naruto Uzumaki y'know, what's your name?" the boy introduced himself.
The girl sat down and changed Haku's cloth, "Isaribi." she answered in a flat monotone.
"Well seriously, thank you Isaribi-neechan." Naruto repeated himself gratefully, noticing his shuriken holster and flak vest were next to his bed with his forehead protector, leg warmers, and training weights, and he even still had the necklace he'd gotten from Tsunade despite his jacket hanging on a coat hanger, the Kiba blades being the only things not on his or Haku's person as they were resting on the ground in between the beds the girl who saved them had put them in.
Once Haku woke up Isaribi went to a different room, the two ninja could smell some kind of stew cooking, "Where are we?" the dark haired boy asked the blonde, surprised he still had his weapons and they seemed unharmed. His own haori hanging on a coat hanger and his forehead protector lying on the ground next to him.
Naruto shrugged, "I'm not sure, but Isaribi-neechan, that girl, saved us." he explained. Haku looked through the open door at the girl as the blonde got up and put his gear back on. The dark haired teen quickly got his own gear back on to follow Naruto as the blonde went to join the girl who saved them in the kitchen.
"Isaribi-san, right?" Haku asked, receiving a reserved nod in answer, "My name is Haku, thank you for saving Naruto-kun and I." the boy said with a grateful bow.
"It just happened." Isaribi said dismissively as she took the lid of the pot to stir the food.
"No, you seriously saved our lives." Naruto disagreed with a grin, thinking the girl was just being humble as she served them bowls of food.
"What are you two even doing in such a remote place?" Isaribi asked, deciding against arguing with the gratitude of the ninja.
"A mission," Naruto answered as he accepted the bowl of stew, "we're supposed to exterminate the Kaima that has been troubling this country." he explained before he started eating.
Isaribi frowned as she handed Haku a bowl of stew as well, "You should quit," she said, "it won't end well if you go up against the Kaima." she warned, averting her eyes from the two ninja.
Haku frowned but Naruto just grinned, "We can't just quit on a mission, besides we got caught off guard last night, we'll definitely catch the Kaima next time!" the blonde assured confidently before resuming eating.
"So... you feel fine now?" Isaribi asked neutrally.
"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "thanks to you," he added to remind the girl of his gratitude, "this is amazing y'know!" he complimented and Haku made a note to remind Naruto not to talk with his mouth full.
"Then, after you're done eating, get out." Isaribi requested as she put the lid back on her food before standing up to leave. Naruto and Haku weren't sure what to say to that, they were surprised the girl could come off as rude while giving them free food.
The two ninja exchanged a look and finished their food before following Isaribi out of her home, "Hey, wait a-" Naruto began but stopped as he noticed the place was vandalized on the outside.
Haku was confused by the blonde before he noticed what the younger shinobi was looking at, "What is this?" the dark haired boy asked, worried as the house was covered in graffiti that referred to the resident as a monster and demanded they leave.
"Just a prank from some local punks, if I let it bother me it'll only be worse." Isaribi said without concern, turning to walk away without even bothering to lock her door, which concerned Haku even more.
"Hey, Isaribi-neechan, seriously, thanks again for saving us." Naruto attempted, his face dropping into a frown when the girl didn't respond and continued walking away. Haku exchanged another look with the blonde as they turned to go find their team.
They stopped when they heard the angry voices of children, "The monster left her shack!" they called, grabbing the angered attention of Naruto and the shocked attention of Haku as they threw a rock at Isaribi which hit her on the arm. A second rock was thrown and the blonde ninja leaped at it to catch it before it could land.
"What the hell is wrong with you brats!?" Naruto demanded to know, "This is way too far for a prank!" he exclaimed as he shattered the rock in his grip and glared at the children.
The children wanted to argue but his display of grip strength startled them, "She's a monster, everyone says so!" one of the braver kids defended their actions.
Another kid spoke up, "Yeah! She was spirited away and became friends with the Kaima!" he called out, Haku couldn't believe his ears.
Naruto looked livid, "Don't say such irresponsible things!" he ordered and a particularly brave and young child ran at him.
"It's true!" The small child yelled back and tried to kick Naruto in the shin only to cry out in pain as his toe impacted with the metal leg weights beneath his leg warmers.
"Crap, he's a monster too!" Another child called out, "Run!" he shouted and the kids scattered, the one that had attempted to kick Naruto limping away.
Naruto scowled after the retreating kids as Haku offered to help Isaribi up, but the girl ignored the offered hand and stood up on her own, "Leave me alone." she said bluntly as she dusted herself off.
Haku frowned sadly and pulled his hand back but Naruto still looked upset, "As if I can do that!" he declared, "If those punks keep doing things like that-" he began to rant.
"It's none of your business!" Isaribi spat, shocking the blonde into silence, "I'm the girl who was spirited away, so it's natural people would find me creepy." she explained, "Humans never accept those who are different from them into their groups." she added with a downcast look.
Before Naruto and Haku could verbally disagree with that they were all distracted by the sound of a horse approaching, the rider seemed to be a messenger and payed them no mind as he raced past. Isaribi sighed and walked away, leaving the two ninja to return to their team.
Anko, Ino, and Shino were unable to find Naruto or Haku, but after pressing for information learned more about the superstitions regarding Demon Island and the Kaima when an old lady mentioned that their teammates had probably been spirited away. They decided to investigate the home of the girl, who they learned was named Isaribi, who was spirited away and returned, figuring she may have information regarding Demon Island.
The Konoha ninja followed the directions of the villagers, unknowingly missing their missing colleagues on their way there and saw Isaribi walking along the beach, "Oh, there she is!" Ino pointed out, startled when Anko stopped her from approaching.
"Where is she going?" Anko wondered out loud.
"She's cautious." Shino pointed out, catching on to why the tokubetsu jonin didn't want to approach just yet.
"Follow her without being seen." Anko ordered as she lead the team to follow the bandaged girl from a distance, watching her go through a tunnel and silently shadowing the girl.
The team watched as the girl went into the sea water on the other side of the tunnel and were stunned when the girl transformed. Her hair disappeared and green scales grew over her skin, along with fins that made her look like a hybrid between a human and a fish.
"No way!" Ino shouted, giving away their position, "You were the Kaima!?" the Yamanaka asked in shock and the transformed Isaribi snarled before retreating into the water.
Anko hesitated and winced, clutching her shoulder in pain as her Juin flared up and memories of her time with Orochimaru surfaced, she recognized the Kaima form but had never known it until the memories, suppressed by Orochimaru, surfaced. The woman remembered now that Orochimaru had developed something like this, she couldn't remember what had happened but she knew her former sensei was behind this.
Ino and Shino gave chase, running after Isaribi along the surface of the water as she swam away from them. The Yamanaka wrapped a kibaku fuda around the handle of a kunai and threw it at an overhanging rock path, the explosion sending rocks into the water.
The Aburame prepared some shuriken with wires attached and as soon as Isaribi surfaced he threw them to wrap the Kaima girl up in the wires.
"Hey!" Naruto called out, having been drawn by the sound of the explosion, "I finally found you guys!" he called out as he ran over to the team, Haku stalling behind when he noticed the situation.
"You guys are safe!" Ino called out, relieved to see them in one piece.
"But you're too late," Shino spoke up, "why? Because we have already captured the Kaima." he explained, gesturing to the green scaled form wrapped up by his wires. Haku was surprised they'd already finished the mission as the Kaima averted her gaze, the creature reminded him of members of the Hoshigaki clan.
Naruto noticed the familiarity and recognized Isaribi faster than Haku, "Neechan?" the blonde asked with a horrified expression, shocking Ino, "Isaribi, you're Isaribi-neechan aren't you?" he asked the guilty looking fish-girl.
"What are you talking about?" Ino asked, Shino was hiding it better but he was confused too and Haku was stunned as he realized Naruto was right.
"Just wait!" Naruto ordered Ino abruptly, "Isaribi-neechan! Answer me!" the blonde demanded of the supposed 'Kaima'.
"Damn it!" Shino exclaimed as the girl broke the wires and dived into the water.
Ino scowled and moved to give chase but Naruto's arm halted her, "Don't be rough!" the male blonde told her.
"Explanations will have to wait." Shino said despite his own curiosity, "Why? Because we're in trouble if she escapes here." he explained as Isaribi was revealed to be in the custody of Yoroi and Anko caught up, clutching her Juin in pain.
Haku gave Anko a worried look as Naruto glared at Yoroi, "Oi! Hand Isaribi-neechan over!" the blonde demanded, prompting a laugh from the enemy ninja.
"As if!" Yoroi responded, "This girl is an important guinea pig, I'll be responsible if she gets lost." he said as he started to sink into the water, a whirlpool forming around him as he retreated with Isaribi. Naruto glared, wanting to give chase but not knowing if the other enemy ninja, Misumi, was waiting to counter attack from the whirlpool.
Haku scowled at Yoroi, tempted to risk getting closer to try and freeze the water and counter his Suiton no Jutsu with his own Hyoton no Jutsu, but he didn't want to harm Isaribi in the process.
Anko startled her team by collapsing into the water after mumbling something to herself, Haku and Ino swiftly pulled her up so she wouldn't drown and Naruto looked on in worry. The team pulled Anko to shore and Haku started treating her as Naruto explained the situation.
"So this Isaribi girl saved your life?" Ino asked, bewildered and clearly not believing a word of it.
Naruto nodded, "More importantly she saved Haku-chan too," he confirmed, the way he phrased that bothering his conscious teammates, "so I owe her a lot."
"Even if that's so," Shino interjected, "there's no doubt that this girl named Isaribi is one of the people who attacked us." he pointed out and Naruto frowned, looking down as he considered that, "Our mission is to protect the government's money and capture the Kaima." the Aburame added bluntly.
"That's right," Ino spoke up, "and no matter how you look at it, there's no doubt that she is the Kaima!" she pointed out, Haku couldn't argue with their logic but he didn't like it.
Naruto had no such qualms about arguing, "Yeah, but I think there's a reason for all that." he said, "I'm going to follow her and-" he began to rant.
"You're talking nonsense." Ino cut him off bluntly, ignoring his annoyed look, "Besides, even if we were to follow her we've got no idea where she is." she pointed out, trying to dissuade him with logic.
"No, I have one." Shino corrected, earning the full attention of the Uzumaki, "It's something I heard." he began, "There's an island in this country that seems to be connected to the incidents regarding people being spirited away, and is said to be where the Kaima lives." he explained as Haku noticed Anko stirring.
"Where is it!?" Naruto asked.
"A deserted island where the Kaima is said to live, Demon Island." Anko spoke up as she sat up.
"Are you okay?" Haku asked, still not sure what had happened to the woman.
"I'm fine," Anko brushed off his concern, "more importantly I want to tell you all something." she began, "The true identity of the entity known as the Kaima, is a human whose flesh has been altered." she explained, surprising the other ninja who had assumed it to be some form of Kekkei Genkai, and left them wondering how Anko knew this information.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto demanded to know and for once Haku was glad the younger boy had no care for the chain of command.
"A spiriting away occurred ten years ago," Anko began, not concerned by the Uzumaki's angry tone, "but it wasn't the work of the Kaima. Orochimaru kidnapped people to conduct experiments on." she explained.
Naruto's blue eye narrowed as his pupil lengthened into a slit, "Orochimaru is mixed up in this?" he asked.
Ino was confused, "Orochimaru? Experiments? Why are you saying such things now?" she asked.
Anko frowned, "I'll have to explain from when Orochimaru left the village." she began, "Over ten years ago, Orochimaru's desire to satisfy his curiosity and further his power was such that he went beyond the scope of being a shinobi and eventually he started developing kinjutsu. Soon Konoha became aware of his experiments and he was forced to flee, but he had many private laboratories and safe houses across the nations." she explained.
"Like Demon Island?" Shino guessed and Anko simply nodded in response, "So, those who were 'spirited away' were used for human experiments." he guessed and Naruto felt more offended than ever that he'd been compared to Orochimaru.
"Alright, we have to go to Demon Island and rescue Isaribi!" Naruto declared, surprising Ino that he was still on that even if the girl was a victim of Orochimaru's experiments.
"So, it's settled then, we'll infiltrate the lair of the Kaima tonight." Anko agreed with a smirk.
The Konoha team acquired another boat and were on their way to Demon Island, but something was still bothering Ino, "Sensei," she asked Anko, surprising the woman with the title but getting her attention, "how do you know about these labs and experiments?" she asked.
"Ah, that would be because Orochimaru was the jonin in charge of my training." Anko answered, surprising the others, although Haku supposed it did explain why the woman hated the man so passionately.
Eventually they arrived on the island and managed to infiltrate the lab. The team stayed quiet as they stayed on the lookout for enemy ninja or anything of note. Soon they came across a room with multiple figures, likely experiments, suspended in water and on display for some reason, likely to be able to record what was happening to their bodies.
While they were looking at the bodies a trap door opened up beneath them, and four of the Konoha shinobi plummeted. Anko palmed a kunai and got behind the girl who pulled the rope to activate the mechanism. Isaribi threw Anko over her shoulder, surprising the older woman with her strength and resistance to being cut, it sounded like her kunai had been cut on metal.
Anko rolled and tossed the kunai and some shuriken at Isaribi but the girl retreated, closing the door to the room behind her to block the projectiles as hidden doors opened up to reveal three large lion-like monsters. The kunoichi smirked, even with her Juin causing her pain she could tell these would only be a distraction.
Naruto, Haku, Ino, and Shino landed easily enough, "Are we all okay?" the chunin asked, checking on the three genin who all nodded to confirm they were fine.
"Well well," Yoroi called out as he revealed himself from behind a pillar, Haku was concerned about the fact he was approaching them alone, "seems the children addicted to peace are here." he said.
Naruto reached for his forehead protector, "I'll show you 'addicted to peace'!" the blonde snarled, Ino wondered what the hell that was even supposed to mean.
"Wait a moment Naruto," Shino spoke up, "why? Because there's no telling how many enemies Anko-sensei is fighting." he pointed out, "You should take the others ahead, why? Because there is no water down here and his specialty is absorbing chakra, so I am the perfect match for him." the Aburame explained.
Naruto was confident either he or Haku could deal with this guy, but Shino made a good point so the blonde nodded, "Catch up soon!" the Uzumaki ordered and lead Haku and Ino away. Yoroi frowned and moved to stop them but was intercepted by a swarm of kikaichu.
Anko had dealt with the lion monsters quickly enough and continued searching. She could feel Orochimaru was nearby, the Juin aching told her as much. Soon enough she found a room with a man sitting on a throne and thought she found him, only to be disappointed that it was just a green haired scientist with a short ponytail. The kunoichi was surprised she recognized him as Amachi, an iryonin who had worked under Orochimaru.
"Anko-chan, it's been a while." Amachi greeted affably with a cruel smirk that betrayed his tone.
"Where is Orochimaru?" Anko asked, ignoring the pleasantries, "I know he's around here!" she declared, clutching her Juin as it flared up again.
"Orochimaru?" Amachi asked, surprised, "Ah, I see, the Juin reacts to the presence of it's maker even if the creator is long gone." he mused, confusing Anko, "Orochimaru was here," the scientist confirmed, "months ago." he finished and the purple haired woman was shocked that she'd been following the presence of someone who wasn't even there.
"Impossible." Anko muttered, not wanting to believe that she'd wasted so much time for nothing.
"Well it doesn't really matter if you believe me or not." Amachi said dismissively.
"Anko!" Naruto called out as he ran into the room with Haku and Ino following behind.
"Oh my, Anko-chan is all grown up with her own genin?" Amachi asked with a smirk.
Anko scoffed, "The blonde boy is a chunin, actually." she corrected, surprising the scientist.
Naruto nodded, "Who the hell is this?" he asked, glaring at the green haired man.
"Amachi," Anko answered, "an iryonin and a scientist who conducted these experiments for Orochimaru." she explained.
"That's all I needed to know." Naruto said, lifting his forehead protector to reveal the Sharingan and lunging at the man, halting when Isaribi stood in his way, "Isaribi-neechan, move." he ordered.
"No, I won't." Isaribi said defiantly, "Amachi-sama is the only one who can return me to being a human." she said sadly as she started pulling the bandages off her face, "As I am now, I'm a monster who can never be accepted by humans, so I have to do what he says." she explained.
Naruto stared at her with a blank expression, "You're already human," he said after a moment, "but if you keep doing what he says you'll become a monster." he warned, "Listen, Isaribi-neechan I get it," he continued with a sad expression, "I'm just like you." he tried to explain.
"No!" Isaribi denied, "You're lying! You're a human! I wish I was like you!" she cried, tears spilling out of her eyes.
Naruto was angry, he latched onto that anger and pulled on it with his chakra, "You wish you were like me?" he asked as malicious intent suddenly filled the room, startling the others.
Before Naruto could continue Anko suddenly grabbed Ino, "Look out!" the woman warned right before the wall exploded, knocking Haku to the ground and burying Ino and Anko in some debris. Misumi smirked from the other side of the wall as the smoke cleared.
Misumi's smirk was wiped off his face when a fist plunged into his solar plexus before an axe kick slammed his skull into the ground, "That was for Haku-chan." Naruto stated in a flat tone, "Isaribi-neechan," the blonde began as he took his foot off the unconscious ninja, "I'm a bit of a monster when I'm angry, and that Amachi guy has really pissed me off," the blonde explained, staring the girl down with a pair of livid red eyes, jagged tomoe spinning around a slit pupil in his left eye, "so stay out of my way." he ordered.
Amachi was startled my this, noticing the whisker markings on the boy had thickened, his fingernails were claws and even his hair stood on end as malevolent red chakra bubbled to the surface. Isaribi had not expected this and stared at the transformation the blonde had gone through in shock.
"What are you?" Amachi asked, taking a step back from the furious blonde.
"I'm like you," Naruto responded in a mocking tone, "unlike Isaribi-neechan, a real monster." he snapped, stepping towards the scientist. Haku heard that as he got up to help Ino and stopped, sending a worried look at angry Jinchuriki.
Amachi was stunned but couldn't help a hysterical chuckle, "How interesting." he said before transforming into a Kaima as well, "Unlike that prototype girl I'm the refined and finished project, I don't know what manner of alterations have been done to you, but let's see who wins!" the man turned monster declared, even his eyes turned red and his face seemed far more monstrous than Isaribi's Kaima form had.
The transformed Amachi shot blasts of water at Naruto, who was simply walking at him, but the water steamed uselessly against the growing shroud of demonic chakra. Haku helped Ino and Anko from under the rubble, seeing that Naruto would have no trouble against the scientist. Anko was unconscious but Ino seemed to be fine.
Amachi scowled when the continued water blasts didn't work and unleashed a hail of scales from his body, delivering small cuts to the blonde who weaved in between the projectiles to avoid most of the damage and avoid any of them cutting anything important with the predictive ability of Sasuke's eye in his left socket.
Isaribi was shocked, she'd not known Amachi had altered himself as well but more stunning was the power flowing out of the blonde. Naruto crossed the distance between himself and his opponent and punched the monster of a man in the face, sending Amachi flying before using shunshin to intercept him with a knee to the back of the skull.
Amachi hit the ground and rolled, too dizzy from the blows to rise to his feet the man could only stare up at the furious blonde, "Isaribi! Help me!" he ordered and the girl flinched, transforming into her Kaima form and moving to obey.
"A monster begging for help?" Naruto mused, cocking his head to the side in confusion, "Just how much of a wuss are you?" he asked the transformed iryonin kneeling before him. Haku had never seen Naruto like this even with the chakra of his inner demon flowing through him and wondered what was going on.
Isaribi tried a blast of water from her mouth, which unsurprisingly steamed pointlessly against the shroud of red chakra surrounding the chunin before she tried to clothesline him with her right arm. Naruto grabbed the arm and tossed Isaribi aside, shocking the girl with how casually he'd done it.
"Stay out of this, Isaribi-neechan." Naruto ordered coldly, "This is a fight between monsters." he said before delivering a vicious kick to Amachi's stomach that knocked the man back, and Haku started to understand what Naruto was doing.
Amachi coughed and rolled as he landed, "Damn you!" he growled, "You had the gall to act righteous to me!?" he asked the seemingly demonic chunin.
"What's wrong, wussy-monster?" Naruto asked mockingly as he advanced on Amachi, "Didn't you say this would be interesting?" he asked, his tone the only thing giving away how enraged he was. The scientist turned monster shuddered but swiftly bit his own arm, ripping through scales to draw blood.
"Kuchiyose!" Amachi declared and an orb of what appeared to be sea water appeared and lunged at Naruto. The blonde moved to backhand the strange creature but it stuck to him, bubbling from the demonic chakra. The iryonin returned to human form and used shunshin, abandoning Isaribi and Misumi to make his escape and narrowly avoiding being caught by Shino as he ran off.
"The other one escaped too." Shino informed them as Naruto slammed the strange water creature into the ground, splattering it everywhere before he dashed after Amachi. The ceiling started rumbling and Haku helped Ino lift Anko, moving to leave with Shino after the blonde.
Isaribi was still shocked but rushed to follow them, leaving Misumi to be buried by the collapsing lab. The purple haired young girl followed after the Konoha ninja as they chased after Amachi, more to save herself than participate in the fight but she was confused.
Amachi collapsed the tunnel behind him and Naruto almost dashed through before remembering his team and wished he'd left a Hiraishin formula outside as his team and Isaribi caught up. The blonde chunin closed his eyes and took a breath, the red chakra of the kitsune withdrawing into his body but he kept his headband up as he opened his right eye to reveal it was back to blue.
Anko had recovered and looked at the obstruction before turning on Isaribi, "You're coming with us." she ordered and the girl winced, knowing she didn't have a choice.
"Of course she is," Naruto said, "I'm not leaving her behind." he declared firmly, Anko hadn't seen the entirety of the fight but she'd felt the malevolent chakra so she had an idea of what happened and bit her thumb, using kuchiyose on a large snake that took them all into it's mouth and smashed through the debris.
As soon as they were clear Naruto opened his left eye, scanning the horizon before he used shunshin, giving chase when he saw the boat with Amachi and Yoroi on it. Haku was worried that Naruto was pushing himself too hard.
"Just what is he?" Isaribi asked, stunned.
"Well," Anko began with a frown, "I guess he is a lot like you. The Kyubi no Yoko is within him, so a lot of the villagers back home think he's a monster and don't trust him." she explained and Isaribi's eyes widened as she realized the blonde chunin had actually been telling the truth and had been trying to help her not out of pity, but sympathy.
"Naruto is a shinobi," Ino added, "despite his background he's done a lot to earn our trust and prove himself." she explained.
Shino nodded, "Naruto-san has not always been this strong, why? I do not know, but he has made his power his own." the Aburame added, wanting to go finish his fight with Yoroi but knowing he didn't have the raw energy to keep up with Naruto.
"Despite his words," Haku added sadly, "Naruto-kun is no monster, he's usually very sweet." he explained, Isaribi remembered how the boy acted when she'd saved them and could believe it. The feminine older teen made a hand seal and a mirror appeared, "Which is why I can't let him fight those two alone." he said and disappeared into the mirror before a line of mirrors appeared and the boy flashed across them to catch up with Naruto.
Anko frowned, "Damn it," she grumbled, "we'll have to catch them in that ship!" she declared, pointing out a boat for Ino and Shino to get in, Isaribi followed and the four of them tried to catch up with the battle.
Amachi flinched when he saw Naruto land on the surface of the water, "Yoroi, deal with that brat!" the scientist ordered and the ninja smirked and moved to engage the blonde, running through hand seals as he landed on the surface of the ocean.
Naruto copied the hand seals, "Suiton: Daibakuryu no Jutsu!" the two shinobi shouted in tandem, the twin whirlpools cancelling each other out before Naruto started running through more hand seals. Yoroi frowned and slammed his palm into the surface of the water, attempting to paralyze Naruto who leapt into the air and released a Gokakyu no Jutsu.
Yoroi narrowly escaped by diving underwater and attempted to grab Naruto's ankles when he landed but was caught off guard when the surface of the ocean froze above him. Haku landed on the ice next to Naruto and helped him stabilize a forming Rasengan before the blonde rushed after Amachi.
The scientist scowled and returned to his Kaima form, attempting to smack Naruto in the head before the chunin could reach him but the predictive ability of the Sharingan allowed Naruto to weave between his guard and slam the swirling orb of chakra into the torso of Amachi, drilling into the hard as steel scales before the ball expanded and sent the man flying through the air in a spin, skipping across the surface of the water.
Yoroi surfaced away from the ice and had to leap away almost as soon as he got to his feet to avoid Shino's kikaichu as the other Konoha ninja caught up in the boat they'd taken. Haku intercepted with more senbon, catching the man in mid air and disabling him.
Naruto chased after Amachi as the monstrous scientist stood up and launched blasts of water at the charging blonde. The chunin weaved in between the blasts thanks to the Sharingan and ran through more hand seals. Amachi wondered what kind of stamina the kid had and braced himself for whatever the jutsu would be.
Naruto leaped into the air, "Futon: Daitoppa!" he called out before unleashing the gale force winds down on his Kaima opponent. The ocean roiled under the weight of his jutsu and Amachi found himself forced below the surface, the man was stunned since that was the third Seishitsu Henka that the blonde displayed in a single battle.
Amachi returned to the surface battered but confident the blonde couldn't manage much else when he heard chirping and saw the boy charging him with a Raiton no Jutsu in his left hand, a melee ninjutsu from the looks of it. The scientist who had turned himself into a Kaima panicked and launched more blasts of water that Naruto dodged around, not even slowing his charge. Amachi roared and swung his arm desperately only for Naruto to alter the momentum of the Chidori and take off the monstrous limb coming at him before twisting to deliver a side kick to the solar plexus with his right leg followed by a second side kick to the chin with that same leg without letting it touch the surface of the water.
The disarmed scientist stumbled back as blood spurted from his injury, returning to his human form in shock. Naruto still looked livid and delivered a right hook to Amachi's face before grabbing him by the shirt so he couldn't use the momentum of the punch to get away.
"You're giving Isaribi-neechan her life back." Naruto ordered as the boat carrying his team and the captured Yoroi finally caught up. Isaribi heard the blonde and was stunned, not just by the display of power but by the boy continuing to look out for her.
Anko was stunned for another reason, and made a mental note to recommend the blonde for promotion after that display. It was downright weird to outrank someone who had that much more raw power than her.
"Even if you hadn't cut off my arm," Amachi snarled, "I don't know how, my plan was to dissect her!" he revealed angrily. This was the wrong thing to say as the malevolent killing intent of a biju crashed down on the man as the blonde reared back a fist.
"Naruto enough!" Anko called out, "He'll be punished and interrogated back at Konohagakure!" she assured to get him to stay his hand.
Naruto scowled, "Fine, but I really want to slug this bastard." he grumbled, tossing him to Anko, who caught him and started tying him up. The blonde closed his left eye and Haku moved over to him in case he'd exhausted himself enough to need help getting to the boat.
Suddenly the ocean writhed and a massive watery form with no distinct shape rose up, "There it is!" Amachi declared, "You fools are done for, the Umibozu is immortal!" he declared arrogantly.
"Haku-chan," Naruto said, "I don't know anything about Doton, but give me some wind." he said as he started running through hand seals, Haku got the hint and prepared his own hand seals.
Gokakyu and Toppa met and became an inferno that engulfed Umibozu, which steamed under the assault but the monster outlived the flames, "Idiots!" Amachi mocked, "What part of immortal do you fools not get!?" he asked hysterically.
Haku frowned, "Naruto-kun I'll try to freeze it." he said, preparing to use his Kekkei Genkai.
"No," Naruto interrupted, "I can deal with this, just be ready to drag me back to the boat." he said as he made the tiger hand seal and closed his right eye. The Umibozu advanced on them and Anko wondered what his plan was as Amachi laughed, the one armed scientist assured of his victory.
Haku stood beside Naruto, trusting the younger boy to handle this but ready to support him if he fell. The Sharingan in Naruto's eye shifted, the tomoe being replaced with intersecting eclipses before the Umibozu ignited with black flames. Amachi's laughter stopped as the flames continued to burned until they were a flame burning on the surface of the ocean.
Naruto swayed and Haku put a hand on his shoulder to support him, "I need to use a Fuin on the flame before we go." the blonde said, panting as he shakily lowered his forehead protector. Haky frowned but helped Naruto over to the still burning black flame, steam rising from the ocean around it.
The blonde chunin pulled out a scroll and went through hand seals, carefully using Fuinjutsu to conceal the Amaterasu flames into the scroll. When he was done Haku lifted one of the younger boys arms over his shoulders and used shunshin to return them to the boat.
Anko decided she definitely needed to recommend the blonde for a promotion before she turned to the stunned and pale Amachi, "So, where did Orochimaru go?" she asked.
The scientist gulped but gathered his nerves, "You expect me to know that?" he asked, "Typical, you were discarded so it's fitting you'd keep chasing after him." he mocked. Anko sighed, took a deep breath to calm herself, and punched the man in the face.
Naruto frowned, "No fair, I wanted to hit him more too." he whined, Haku sighed in exasperation since the blonde could barely move.
Isaribi looked sad, "So, I'm stuck like this." she muttered, looking at her scales forlornly.
"Well," Naruto began as Haku sat him down in the boat, "you aren't a shinobi or anything, so if you want to come to the village we have an amazing iryo specialist who could probably help." he offered, prompting the dark haired teen helping him to give the blonde a look.
"Naruto-kun, are you inviting another girl to live in your home?" Haku asked, the question making Ino and Anko smirk as the blonde just looked confused and Isaribi blushed.
"I mean, if she has nowhere else to go, I guess." Naruto said obliviously, "I didn't really think about where she'd live, but Tsunade-baachan can probably reverse what happened to her." he said with a grin.
Haku wanted to be mad at the blonde knucklehead, "You're lucky I find your compassion so attractive." he said instead, prompting the blonde to blush in confusion. Isaribi realized the implication of those words and giggled at the two.
The next morning Isaribi waited by the boat that would ferry them to the mainland with the Konoha ninja, "Where is Anko?" Naruto asked, having flashbacks to Kakashi again.
"Not a clue," Ino answered, "she left a note saying she'd catch up with us." she explained with a shrug.
Naruto grumbled, "That woman is so damn fidgety." he groused.
Ino glared, "Are you really the person to be saying that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, Naruto glared back with one eye but knowing he could draw on the chakra and malevolence of a demon just made his single blue eyed glare seem non-threatening in comparison.
"Hey!" Anko called out from the boat, "If you kids don't get on the boat it'll leave without you!" she warned.
"When the hell did she-?" Ino wondered, interrupting herself with a sigh and a shake of her head.
"Um, Haku-san," Isaribi asked as they prepared to board the boat, her bandages in place and a bag with her, "is it really okay for me to come with you guys?" she asked, not wanting to ask out loud what her question really meant.
Haku remembered last night and smiled kindly at the girl, "It's fine," he assured, "Naruto-kun owns a rather large home, and the others shouldn't have a problem with you." he promised.