I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.
"talking"
'thinking'
Chapter 29:
Kurama barely managed to catch Itachi while the Curse-Marked Naruto Clone slammed into a tree beside them. Kurama looked up at the figure standing before them, and he knew they were screwed.
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The Barrier Clone slammed a fist into Subaru's stomach, sending him flying into the barrier around Konoha. The boy coughed up some blood before standing. He couldn't understand how this Clone was so strong. Its Chakra was leaking out so much that Subaru was sure it would die soon. But here it was, putting up a fight while maintaining the barrier holding Dan. He quickly glanced over at his sister. She was fighting Naruto with Kushina, but it didn't look like she was faring any better. Subaru dodges another of the Clone's attacks. What he needed was time. His Snake Sage Mode had already run out. If he could tape back into it, he'd be able to hold the Barrier Clone off long enough for it to die and for Dan to be set free.
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The Snake Clone suddenly froze before it pulled back. It turned around and started to run. Kurama's eyes widened when it saw who its target was.
The Barrier Clone barely managed to block the Snake Clone's fist. It was pushed backwards into the barrier around Dan. Subaru sat down, closing his eyes and clearing his thoughts. The Barrier Clone's Demonic Chakra burned at the Snake Clone's skin until it let out its own Demonic Chakra. The clash of the two Demonic Chakras made the ground shake. Naruto looked up, but had to dodge a chain. He didn't have time to look at another's fight. Kurama and Itachi tried to get up, but their bodies were too tired. The Cuse-Marked Clone got to his feet. Kurama and Itachi's eyes widened as the Curse Mark transformed the Clone. His skin darkened as black swirls formed over his body. His sclera turned black while his iris turned more blood-red than usually. His pupils were slitted like usual when he entered Kyuubi-Mode. The dark chakra from the Curse Mark mixed with his Demonic Chakra. The black chakra rose off of the Clone. Kurama tugged Itachi away from the Clone, using the last of his chakra to make a barrier.
Several pairs of eyes turned to look at the Clone including those of the Barrier Clone and the Snake Clone. Everyone else froze. Even Kushina didn't move. The three Clones looked at each other. Naruto cursed as he realized what was about to happen. The Clones collided, the collision of the three chakras sent sparks flying. Subaru, Suzume, and Naruto dodged while Kushina remained frozen. It exploded over her body, breaking it into tiny pieces. Naruto saw his chance and quickly sealed her. He didn't let himself cry as he know had to make sure the three Clones would be able to take down not only the barrier around Dan but the one around Konoha as well. Kurama and Itachi seemed to be out of range, but Naruto wasn't sure how long they would be.
"Don't worry Dobe, I won't let them get hurt," a voice said. Naruto turned to the voice. Sasuke stood behind him, dragging what looked to be a dead shinobi from Sound. It was clear that Sasuke had managed to seal Fugaku. "I'll protect them." He grabbed Kushina's sacrifice and dragged him towards where Kurama and Itachi were. Sasuke waved some familiar hand signs and Naruto couldn't help but smile as his barrier formed around them. He must have copied his barrier jutsu with his Sharingan. Naruto nodded before he moved to stop the three clones.
Subaru and Suzume could only watch as what seemed like three god-like shinobi clashed. The ground shook beneath them and they were too afraid to move. They were extremely surprised to see Naruto jump into the fray, especially since he was the only one not using his Demonic Chakra.
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Those in Konoha felt the earthquakes. Karin was able to detect exactly what was going on. She did her bed to explain things to the others. Hinata was using her Byakugan to do the same. Bee could feel the clash thanks to Gyuki. Neji wanted to see what was going on, but Kakashi told him to rest his eyes. Everyone knew that this was going to be the biggest fight of Naruto's life, and sadly, they didn't know what the outcome was going to be. But they had faith that somehow Naruto and the rest of Team Kitsune would make it out okay.
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'Subaru, I thought you said we couldn't use those snakes on Naruto or his clones,' Suzume thought.
'That's what Kabuto said,' Subaru replied. 'Maybe it worked because of the Curse Mark I gave him. The real question is how did he enter the Second Stage without dying?'
'I don't know,' Suzume answered. 'Dad used pills to kill people to get them to Stage Two. I doubt the Clone had those. It doesn't matter. We should break that barrier. If we can, then we'll win.' Subaru nodded in agreement. The twins met halfway, careful to avoid the four Narutos.
Seeing what the twins were planning, Kurama tried to speak up. His voice however, wouldn't come out. He tried to get Sasuke's attention, but Sasuke's eyes were on Naruto.
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"What should we do?" Tsunade asked. "Dan is still behind that barrier, but it doesn't look like it will stay up for much longer."
"Stay here," Jiraiya said. "I'll seal Dan."
"How?" Tsunade asked. Jiraiya only grinned.
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Naruto was pushed backwards by the Curse Marked Clone. The Barrier Clone and the Snake Clone were in the middle of a taijutsu fight. This only meant trouble if the three Clones kept fighting. Naruto could seal the Curse Mark to stop this Clone, but he didn't know if he could weasel his way into stopping them. A memory of Gyuki stopping a fight between Kurama and Shukaku popped in his head. It gave Naruto an idea. He jumped back, going over the other two clones, forcing the Curse Marked Clone to interfere in the Barrier Clone and Snake Clone's fight. He used this time to fully unseal all of the seals on his body. He then released his chakra, letting it take form over his body. The three Clones stopped in awe as tails of chakra grew out of Naruto's body. The tails lunged at the clones, wrapping around them. Gaining control over the outburst of the Demonic Chakra, Naruto glared at the three clones. "Kneel!" His voice had power to it and the three Clones bowed. However, it wasn't just the clones. Everyone around him were on their knees. Naruto turned his attention to the twins who were struggling to move.
At the command, the twins felt their legs buckle and their knees hit the ground. Their eyes widened. Why couldn't they move? Jiraiya was also surprised. He looked at Tsunade who was also on her knees. His eyes then moved to everyone else behind the barrier. They were also on their knees. This meant that they too were affected by the command. Sasuke's body fought against the command. He could see Kurama doing the same. Itachi, despite being unconscious, was also on his knees. This meant you didn't have to hear the command to obey it.
Unbeknownst to what was going on around him, Naruto slammed the three Clones to the ground. He knew that sealing them wouldn't really stop them. He had to permanently stop the three Clones. Slowly, he tightened his tails around their bodies. The Clones started to put up a fight, but it was pointless. The Barrier Clone was the first to die followed by the Snake Clone and the Curse Marked Clone. Naruto released them and then called upon his flames to get rid of their bodies. He then turned toward the barrier holding Dan. It began to crack until the barrier shattered. Dan was still on his knees.
The twins saw the barrier break and the two knew it was their only chance. They reached out their hands, grabbing hold of each other. Their chakra began to mix as they began to fuse together. Naruto felt the chakra and turned towards them. His control over Dan ended, allowing the reincarnated man to stand. Jiraiya also felt the control drop. He lunged for Dan, knocking the man to the ground. "Naruto!"
Naruto turned around once more. He raised his hands to make the signs for a barrier jutsu, but a roar from the twins distracted him. In his peripheral vision, Naruto saw the new creature the twin had fused into. It's chakra level matched that of the Sanbi's. Naruto cursed as several chakra rings appeared. They flew at Naruto and Jiraiya. Naruto moved his tails to block the rings from hitting Jiraiya. The chakra around him blocked most of the rings from hitting him. A few managed to get through the chakra, cutting him. His blood mixed in with his chakra. Jiraiya struggled to keep Dan from moving.
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade called. She slid down and placed something around Dan's wrist. The man looked at her with a smile on his face.
"I'll do it," Jiraiya said. He pulled out a seal and placed it on Dan's head. Dan struggled against his hold, but it wasn't long before the seal spread over his body. Once the sealling was complete, Jiraiya dragged Dan behind the barrier. Tsunade was at his side the entire way.
Seeing Dan out of each, the twins let out a roar of rage. They then lunged at Naruto. Naruto met their punches with a few of his own. They summoned a few Rashoman Gates with Subaru's Sage Mode finally activated. They jumped back and tossed a few rings at the barrier around Konoha. It was futile as the barrier was far too strong for them to break.
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"We need to help him," Itachi managed to say. Kurama hugged Itachi, glad to see him awake.
"It is his fight," Sasuke said. "We agreed on this."
"The twins, let me fight them," Naruto said. "I think I know how to stop them." Sasuke wanted to argue with him, but he didn't. "It isn't your fault you know. No one knew about their existence."
"I should have killed Kabuto after I killed Orochimaru," Sasuke said.
"That may not have stopped them," Naruto said. "We don't even know if Kabuto is the only one that knows how to perform Edo Tensei. The twins might know how to do it. They've had time to learn."
Sasuke nodded. "Alright. They're all yours."
"Naruto will win," Sasuke said. Itachi couldn't help but smile at that.
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Naruto used his tails to form several Rasengan. He then slammed them into the Rashomon Gates. They shattered, but the twins were ready for him. They combined their jutsus making a tornado of fire. Naruto was instantly wrapped up in the strong winds. He was spun around a few times, but the fire didn't hurt him. He sent his tails down into the ground before using his own hands to make a Rasenshuriken. The tails dug through the ground and moved to grab the twins. The tails held down their body. Naruto tossed the Rasenshuriken at the twins.
Seeing the Rasenshuriken coming, the twins summoned all five of their Rashomon Gates. It barely managed to protect them. Snakes were summoned and they wrapped them around their body, using them as armor. Subaru's hand slammed into the ground, summoning a giant three-headed snake. The snake charged at Naruto. Naruto plowed right through the snake and slammed a fist into the twin's stomach. Naruto didn't stop and kept punching the twins. Some of the snakes covering them bit at Naruto, but their venum didn't work. The snakes then wrapped around Naruto's wrists to stop him. The twins saw their chance and slammed their head against Naruto's. Naruto fell backwards. Naruto and the twins stood. Blood was dripping from the twins' wounds while Naruto's were healing. Just because the twins were fused together didn't mean their healing ability was stronger. They knew they had to end this quickly. If they could get back to Kabuto, they could get healed and plan to destroy Konoha some other day. It was clear that they weren't ready.
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Kabuto slammed a fist against his board, breaking it. He screamed out in anger. This battle was over. Naruto was far too strong. Kushina's chains were lost along with Kyoko. If they still had her, maybe they could stop Naruto, but now it was pointless. Kabuto's mind went to the twins. 'Are they even worth saving?' Kabuto didn't want anything to do with them anymore. He raised his hands, waving a few signs.
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Several Konoha shinobi froze as the reincarnated shinobi they were fighting suddenly fell to the watched as the souls from those bodies rose into the sky. Their bodies crumbled, leaving behind the person sacrificed to reincarnate them. The Konoha shinobi looked at each other before cheering.
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The twins saw Dan's soul begin to leave his body. They instantly knew what Kabuto had done. They cursed his name.
'We should leave,' Suzume said. 'Kabuto has abandoned us. We have no reason to stay here.'
'And let those Konoha brats get away with this?' Subaru asked. 'Those bastards deserve to die!'
'We can't win!' Suzume admitted. 'We stand no chance against that monster!'
'I won't give up!' Subaru yelled. 'I'll kill him!' The fight between the twins ended with Suzume releasing their fusion, separating her body from Subaru's. She wasn't about to throw her life away. "Suzume?"
"Sorry Subaru," Suzume said. "But I'm not about to die for no reason." She waved at Subaru before vanishing in a tornado.
"Suzume!" Subaru yelled.
"So even twins aren't irreparable," Naruto said.
Subaru gritted his teeth. "This is all your fault! If it wasn't because of you, none of this would have happened!"
"Don't blame me for your decisions," Naruto said, walking towards Subaru. "Don't worry. Your sister will join you shortly, along with Kabuto."
"Eh, Arg!" Subaru let out a cry as he began to throw balls of fire at Naruto. Naruto let the balls hit him since they did no harm. Subaru fell backwards, his butt hitting the ground. "No! Please!" Subaru began to beg for his life.
Naruto made a sword or wind. "Apologize in your next life." Subaru let out one last cry before Naruto plunged the wind sword into his chest.
Sasuke let the barrier around them fall. He quickly made it to Naruto's side. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Naruto said. "But we have to find Suzume and Kabuto." Naruto sat down on the ground, closing his eyes. He entered Sage Mode before sending out his chakra through the ground. He found Suzume first. She was running towards what looked to be a cave. Naruto spread his search radius. In the cave he found Kabuto. Naruto opened his eyes and reported his findings to Sasuke.
"I'll go after Kabuto," Sasuke said.
"Alright," Naruto agreed. "I'll get Suzume then." Naruto and Sasuke disappeared in a blast of fire.
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It only took a second for Naruto to catch up to Suzume. He stabbed his wind sword right through her stomach. It slammed into a tree, keeping her against it. She started to struggle, cursing at Naruto. She was like a caught rat, fighting to break free. Deciding to show her a little mercy, Naruto brought a kunai across her neck. He waited a few seconds to make sure Suzume was really dead before he sealed her body. Lifting it up, he began to make his way back to Konoha, knowing Sasuke would meet him there soon.
