I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.
"talking"
'thinking'
Chapter 28:
Itachi let out a yell as his body ached. He felt something inside of him moving. He didn't know what it was. Kurama was at his side. Itachi coughed, trying to throw up whatever it was. He looked at Kurama. Catching on, Kurama slammed a fist into Itachi's stomach. Itachi bent over and finally threw up. The liquid quickly formed into what looked like small black snakes. It was gross. Before Kurama could step on them, the snakes slithered away. He then watched as they began to fuze together. His eyes widened when they took on a human shape. It wasn't long before Itachi was looking at a clone of himself. His sharingan tried to see through what he assumed was a Genjutsu, but when it failed, he knew it was real. The Itachi Snake Clone moved quickly, slamming an Amaterasu covered fist into Kurama's chest. Kurama let out a scream of pain as the fire began to burn him. Itachi tried to get the flames off of him, but it wasn't working. He knew they'd only spread to him if he touched them. They needed Nagato's ice or Naruto's Demonic Flames. Nagato was no longer able to fight. Tenten was helping him get behind the barrier. Naruto was too busy fighting Kushina and the twins. Itachi began to wonder just how everything had gone wrong.
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Sasuke instantly activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. Naruto tapped his shoulder and Sasuke smirked. He vanished from sight. Itachi and Kurama knew what Naruto had done. Moving under Naruto's special moving barrier, Sasuke charged at his father. He silently apologized before shoving an Amaterasu covered Chidori through his Susano and into him. Fugaku was forced to drop his Susano as his body tried to heal. He wasn't sure what had hit him and neither did Kabuto. Kabuto's control over Fugaku, Kushina, and Mikoto had faltered when he'd been blinded. It allowed them to get their emotions back.
"Naruto?" Kushina asked when her eyes met her son's. "What? Where am I?" She looked around. "I'm dead. I shouldn't be here."
"You've been brought back by a jutsu created by the second Hokage," Naruto said. "A man named Kabuto used it to bring you, Mikoto, Fugaku and a bunch of others back."
"Mikoto?" Kushina looked over at her friend who had also frozen when she had regained control over herself. "How?"
"I wish we could talk longer," Naruto said. "But I'm afraid I have to stop you. Kabuto is sure to regain his control over you. I'm sorry mom, but I'm going to have to seal you."
"It's ok," Kushina said. "I understand. Quickly now." Naruto nodded. He charged at her, seal at the ready. Her eyes changed and she grabbed his hand. Naruto knew Kabuto's control had returned. Her chains instantly came out. Naruto dodged them, already knowing what they were.
"We will have to dodge those and then get close enough to her to place that seal on her," Kurama said. "We will have to work together."
"Itachi, go help Nagato," Naruto ordered. Itachi bowed before he teleported over to Nagato. "Sasuke can handle Fugaku."
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Shikamaru used the few seconds Kabuto lost control of Asuma to seal his movements with a shadow. Choji caught on to his plan and used his arms to keep Asuma still just in case the shadow broke. Temari then quickly placed a seal on him. Lee, Gai, and Tenten also took advantage of those seconds to knock Neji's father down, sealing him in the process. Both groups fell to the ground in exhaustion. They grabbed the sacrifices used and dragged them over to Kankuro. They would stay there in order to not get in Team Kitsune's way. Jiraiya had Tsunade on her feet and behind the barrier around Konoha. This left the battlefield clear except for Team Kitsune, Nagato, the twins, Mikoto, Fugaku, Kushina, the two Clones, and a partially sealed Dan. The numbers were clearly on Naruto's side. However, if it was a fight based on which group had the most chakra, Kabuto would win. Naruto was the only one with plenty of chakra, Sasuke being the next strongest. Itachi and Nagato were on the verge of having to sit out for the rest of the fight. Kurama was also not looking good. Naruto had half a mind to tell Itachi, Kurama, and Nagato to join Tsunade and Jiraiya. He knew telling them to do that would just start an argument. He'd have to transfer some of his chakra to them.
Suzume and Subaru looked at Naruto while they had the chance. He had far more chakra than the Clones. It made sense why Kabuto wanted him. In their minds, only Naruto was a threat. They weren't foolish enough to undermine the others, but it was clear they weren't up for fighting much longer. The twins wondered if they could make the war last long enough for Naruto to be the only one left standing against them.
"Subaru," Dan said. The man speaking caught Suzume off guard. "I have a gift for you." Those words made it clear that it was Kabuto speaking through Dan.
"A gift?" Subaru asked. He grinned. Things were about to get chaotic.
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The Curse Marked Clone closed its eyes. He knew that the curse mark was trying to influence him at best or kill him at worst. Not wanting to fall victim to it, the Clone had only one option. He had to defeat the curse mark. He could seal it, but that would be what Subaru thinks he's going to do. The Clone grinned. He wasn't going to let that brat have the last laugh. He knew it was possible to control the curse mark, and that was what he was going to do. But first, he'd have to die.
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The Barrier Clone's Demonic Chakra slammed into Suzume as it got closer to her. He was going to kill her. Suzume summoned a Rashomon Gate in an attempt to protect herself. She then surrounded herself with wind.
'Suzume, can you hear me?' Subaru's voice popped in her head.
'Yes,' Suzume said. She hated using their special Twin Telepathy. It always gave her a headache.
'Kabuto has a gift for us,' Subaru said. 'We only need to pick who to use it on. We can't use it on Naruto-san since he has too much chakra. Same with the Clones.'
'Oh I know who to use it on,' Suzume said.
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Itachi and Nagato managed to seal Mikoto. It was a lot easier since Itachi's Shurikenjutsu was better than Mikoto's. It also didn't require a lot of chakra. Nagato used his ice to freeze Mikoto long enough for Itachi to place the seal on her. Itachi was glad he didn't have to resort to using the Totsuka Sword. He helped Nagato up and the two walked over to Shikamaru and the others. "It may be better if all of you go behind the barrier." He glanced at Kyoko. "And maybe bring her to the Uzumaki Compound. I'm sure someone there will have a chakra restraining bracelet."
Shikamaru made a face. It was clear that he was worried about something. Then he nodded. "You're right. We don't want to be in the way. Besides, if she gets free, who knows what she may be able to do. Naruto doesn't need another opponent." Everyone stood up. Tenten helped Nagato get to his feet. She began to walk him towards Konoha. They were about half way there when Suzume appeared out of nowhere. Itachi moved to intercept her attack. They ended up on the ground. Suzume pushed her hand against Itachi's mouth and something entered it. She quickly grabbed his nose and forced him to swallow whatever it was. When Itachi let out a cry, Suzume jumped away. It was good timing as Kurama was now at his side. Suzume chose to leave them and joined Kushina in her fight against Naruto.
The Barrier Clone was now fighting Subaru instead of Suzume. His fire was better suited for the monster since Suzume's wind would only make things worse. It was clear that the Barrier Clone was still making sure to keep the barrier around Dan up. If he failed to do so, Kabuto would force Dan to take over Naruto's body to get what he wanted.
Naruto dodged another chain. When he heard Itachi's cry, he nodded to let Kurama know that he'd be ok. He knew help was coming since he could feel his Curse Marked Clone walking back to the battlefield. He didn't know who the Clone would help, but he knew it was still on his side. The Clone had gained control over his Curse Mark.
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Itachi let out a yell as his body ached. He felt something inside of him moving. He didn't know what it was. Kurama was at his side, trying to comfort him. Itachi coughed, trying to throw up whatever it was. He looked at Kurama. Catching on, Kurama slammed a fist into Itachi's stomach. Itachi bent over and finally threw up. The liquid quickly formed into what looked like small black snakes. It was gross. Before Kurama could step on them, the snakes slithered away. He then watched as they began to fuze together. His eyes widened when they took on a human shape. It wasn't long before Itachi was looking at a clone of himself. His sharingan tried to see through what he assumed was a Genjutsu, but when it failed, he knew it was real. The Itachi Snake Clone moved quickly, slamming an Amaterasu covered fist into Kurama's chest. Kurama let out a scream of pain as the fire began to burn him. Itachi tried to get the flames off of him, but it wasn't working. He knew they'd only spread to him if he touched them. They needed Nagato's ice or Naruto's Demonic Flames. Nagato was no longer able to fight. Tenten was helping him get behind the barrier. Naruto and his Clone were too busy fighting Kushina and the twins.
The Curse Marked Clone appeared seemingly out of nowhere and placed a hand on the fire. He let out his own flames, consuming the Amaterasu. His flames died out later and he was healing Kurama. "What is that thing?"
"I don't know," Itachi said. "It's like a clone, but not really. If I had the Byakugan I might have been able to tell."
"Neji and Hinata can't help us," the Clone said. "If I had to guess, this is part of Kabuto's experiment. How was that thing formed?"
"Suzume made me swallow something," Itachi said. "When I threw it up, that thing formed."
"What exactly did you throw up?" The Clone asked.
"It looked like snakes," Itachi answered.
"Orochimaru," the Clone cursed.
"Dammit that hurt!" Kurama yelled. He sat up. "Why isn't it moving?" The Clone and Itachi looked at the Snake Clone. It was staring at them, but not moving. It was strange. Was it like a puppet, unable to act on its own? Why wasn't it attacking?
"Is it observing us?" Itachi asked. The Clone and Kurama looked at him. "If this thing is like me, maybe he is staring at us because he's looking for a weakness or an opening."
"Doesn't look like that matters right now," the Clone motioned towards the Snake Clone's eyes. He made a few signs, throwing up a barrier. The Snake Clone used a Fire Ball jutsu before throwing a few kunai with Amaterasu explosive tags. The tags exploded all over the barrier, managing to crack it. The Curse-Marked Clone frowned. He knew his chakra wasn't as strong as it usually was since he had used a lot to control the curse mark, but that shouldn't mean his barrier should be so weak. He didn't have much time to think as the Snake Clone lunged at him. It wasn't hard to fight against the Snake Clone since it was like fighting a weaker version of Itachi. It was a good thing that the Snake Clone had been formed after Itachi had gotten so low on Chakra. The Curse-Marked Clone kicked the Snake Clone, before pinning it to the ground. The Curse-Marked Clone moved to finish off the Snake Clone when it suddenly coughed. It looked down at it's stomach to see a hand there. The Snake Clone had managed to stab him with its hand. The two Clones separated from each other, both managing to stand after a few seconds. The Curse-Marked Clone coughed again, something black coming out of its mouth. Itachi recognized it right away and tried to Amaterasu it, but the Snake Clone took the attack instead. A few seconds later, a Snake Clone of the Curse-Marked Naruto Clone stood. What was more disturbing though, were the Mangekyo Sharingan spinning in his eyes.