Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Franchise that belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto; I do not own Heavens lost Property, High School DxD or any other Anime I borrow themes from. The only thing I claim is my OC's and original Story Plot.
Author's Note (A/N): Hey guys I'm back and we have an interesting chapter ahead of us to get into. Based on the title of the chapter then it's easy to guest that the family has been split up. The family has a lot to deal with as they try to make their way back to each other.
Note: From this point forwards magic attacks will have a Japanese name accompanied by it's English name. I thought it would be cool to give those magic techniques a name that is in a "different language" for the characters to speak. Speaking in a archaic or different language would be really cool and it would give the techniques a personality and presence of their own.
Chapter 36
Uzumaki Family Divided
A high pitched sound was all she heard in her ear as she came to. 'What happened?' Slowly opening her luminescent eyes Iris looked around the small dark clearing she found herself in with temptation and caution in mind. 'Where am I, where is everyone?' Iris thought as she got to her feet. She was looking around the clearing trying to gain a sense of direction since everything looked the same to her. 'I have to find daddy. The energy that hit us wasn't human.' Iris observed as she looked herself over to check for any bruises or injuries. Finding none Iris attempted to ruffled her clothes with a gust of wind to blow away the leaves and dirt that collected on her clothes but she was shocked to find she couldn't even feel the wind around her. She couldn't bend it to her will.
Noticing how dark it was in the clearing she was in due to the thick canopy Iris didn't let this stop her. Iris had perfect night vision with her keen eyes and also because of the fact her eyes are luminescent they were giving off a faint blue glow to her person. "I can't sense anything, or use my powers. They're being blocked." Iris mumbled as she couldn't sense anyone or use her powers. She felt helpless without the soft feel of the wind at her command but she took comfort in feeling the warmth and heat her body produces.
"Someone intends to cut me off and keep me from interfering." Iris observed as she gritted her teeth in irritation. She squeezed her trusted teddy bear John Paul to her chest to help comfort herself but she was far from happy about this development. "You would be correct in your assumption little girl." A voice spoke up. Turning around in surprise Iris was greeted with a tall man dressed in dark brown robes with a light purple rope tied around his waist in the form of a belt. A straw-hat was resting on his back and it had a paper tag with kanji hanging off if by a string. His hands were very long and claw like and he had a deformed human face mask attached to his face on a string. The mask was brown and the face looked like it was made out of mud and stone.
He was a Hidden Grass Genin based on the fact he was wearing the same style of clothes as the man who approached Naruto and Anko earlier. 'He's not human.' Iris noted with barely a second of a glance. She could identify a species instinctively. "Who are you and what do you want with me?" Iris questioned as she looked for an escape route. Without her powers she didn't want to deal with a potential threat so soon. "Who I am is of no concern to you little girl all you need to know is that my master wishes for you not to get involved with his play time. I was instructed to capture you and bring you to him." The older man spoke up with a weasel like voice. "And who would this elusive master of yours be?" Iris questioned with her hypnotizing accent.
"You'll know soon enough." The man stated as he disappeared in the blink of an eye when he saw Iris attempt to dart off to the right. It was an escape route she could use but one she wouldn't get a chance to. The man grabbed Iris by the throat and roughly slammed her into a nearby tree so hard she left a slight impression. Iris grunted in pain as her head smacked off the hard bark of the tree she was pinned too. "And where do you think you're going little lady?" The man whispered into her ear which caused Iris to recoil in disgust and panic. Iris dropped John Paul to the ground from the rough impact and now she had her tiny hands around the man's much larger forearm in an attempt to pry it lose from her throat.
"My master said that I can't touch you directly or I'll die but with this special little seal on I won't have to worry about that." The man stated as the little paper tag hanging off his hat was glowing with power. "You're a demon…" Iris wheezed out between gasps of breath. "More specifically a Reiki Akuma. You steal the life force energy of things around you to make yourself stronger." Iris revealed as she glared daggers into the man's skull holding her captive. "Oh you're a smart child aren't you. You're right I am a Reiki Akuma. My master also informed me that you are a divine being and a demon such as myself would die if I came anywhere near you." The man taunted as he ran a finger down Iris's cheek. Iris was seething in both disgust and rage but she wasn't about to give in.
"I can't absorb your life force since that would just kill me but this forest is overflowing with it. It's paradise for me." The man stated as he used his free hand and placed it on the tree Iris was pinned to. A faint orange glow surrounded the tree as it traveled down his arm into the rest of his body. He already had a substantial amount of Yōki in his body but Iris could feel his reserves grow larger as the tree behind her withered away and died. "See what I mean?" The man taunted as Iris silently had an epiphany in her mind. 'That's it!'
"How come I can't use my powers. Did you do something to me?" Iris questioned as she put her plan into action. "No, that was my masters doing. He tagged you with a wave of energy that left a spell on you. Your powers are sealed up for good." The man gloated with an air of arrogance surrounding him. "That's nice to know." Iris said with a cocky grin plastered across her face. Iris quickly reached out with her hand and placed it on the tree she was pinned to. Iris's eyes glowed an ethereal emerald green as all of the trees in the surrounding area glowed a faint orange as she absorbed the life force of the trees all around her. The energy overflowed into her body which caused a shockwave to ripple out knocking the Grass Genin back a dozen feet.
Iris messaged her throat as she landed on the ground. "Now let's get rid of this pesky spell shall we." Iris murmured as she made a gripping motion with her hand and ripped something from her body. A purple web of glowing energy that was previously invisible found itself ripped away from Iris's body as it reformed itself into a floating kanji. "I can feel my power again." Iris chirped as her eyes lit up in happiness. To demonstrate this Iris ignited a ball of pure white fire in her hand which burned away the dysfunctional spell. Iris took a deep breath and released it as she stared down her assailant.
"Damn you little brat." The Genin cursed as he placed his palms in front of him. A small orange magic circle appeared in front of him as a small ball of glowing orange energy formed in front of it. "Jinsei no Dangan (Life Bullet)!" The demon chanted as he shot the energy ball off like a bullet. Iris snapped into action as she punched her fist out in front of her and a pure white stream of fire launched itself to intercept. Both attacks met in the middle between them causing an explosion and dust cloud to form but Iris wasn't going to give her opponent a chance to use the smokescreen to launch a counter attack. With a gust of wind Iris blew away the cloud of smoke and then proceeded to slam her fist into the ground.
All of the dead trees came back to life as Iris pumped out copious amounts of life energy. The tree roots sprung up from underneath the ground and wrapped themselves around the Grass Genin who was preparing to launch another attack. "What is this? How did you do this?" The man grunted in pain as his entire body was constricted. "Life energy, are you even aware of where it comes from?" Iris questioned as her voice was deeper and far more mature than her six-year-old self. Her accent was completely prevalent as she gazed at the demon trapped in the tree roots with her glowing emerald eyes. Sōkyoku had taken over.
"What are you talking about?" The demon grunted in pain as he tried to break free of the tree roots. He didn't even have time to absorb the energy of the roots to break free before he noticed Sōkyoku approaching him. "It comes from me." Sōkyoku announced as she walked up to the trapped demon and stared him directly in the eyes. "You've stolen the life of many innocents and have kept them trapped within your body for a long time. Now I'll be taking them back." Sōkyoku declared as she reached up with her hand and yanked the talisman hanging off the man's hat. It sparked and hissed in protest as Iris's hand shattered the protective barrier around it. With her other hand Iris made a pulling gesture and an orange cloud of energy trailed out of the demons mouth from deep within his body. His body started to wither away and age as all of the energy was ripped away from him.
Sōkyoku condensed the large mass of floating life energy down into a small little ball that she then proceeded to eat in one bite. Swallowing it without issue she mumbled out a small prayer. "May all you restless souls finally find paradise and peace in the afterlife." A faint glow could be seen from Sōkyoku's stomach as the souls attached to the residual amounts of life energy were able to travel to the afterlife through her body. "What are you?" The demon whispered out as he was too old and feeble at this point to speak properly. "I'm your damnation." Sōkyoku said as she touched the demon and he disintegrated for coming into contact with a divine being.
Touching the tree root in front of her Sōkyoku's vision was transferred over a long distance through the tree roots as she saw Sasuke and Sakura being faced down by an assailant with a presence that made her frown. Taking her finger away from the root Sōkyoku sighed as she flexed her fingers. "Thanks to that demon my vessels capacity has increased but it's still not enough for me to do something reckless. I must find my host first." Sōkyoku decided as the ethereal glow of her emerald eyes faded and returned to their piercing aqua blue as Iris took back control.
"I have to find daddy and quickly." Iris declared as she picked up her precious teddy bear and blew away all the dirt on her with a gust of wind. Taking off into the trees Iris headed in the direction she thought her father was in but she was wrong. It wasn't her father she was sensing but someone else.
Landing in a clearing two minutes later while tracking the presence of her father Iris was startled to sense three souls depart. Looking across the clearing Iris came face to face with Gaara who was holding an umbrella that was dripping blood. In fact, the entire clearing was covered in copious amounts of blood. The mangled bodies of three rain Genin barely recognizable at all was buried under a mountain of sand. Gaara panned his eyes over to Iris when he sensed something else enter the clearing and his eyes widened in both shock and surprise but also hidden deep beneath the surface was a sensation of fear as well. "It's that girl, what is she doing in here?" Temari asked in surprise as she caught sight of Iris.
Iris hugged John Paul to her chest in her nervous habit as she was panicking in her mind. 'I did it again! I mistook Gaara for daddy. Are their souls really that similar to each other? What is it about the two of them that makes them so alike?' Iris ranted in her mind as she was not happy she did this for a third time. 'I have to go. I don't have time to deal with him now!' Iris decided as she slowly started to back away. Iris felt the souls of the three dead rain Genin pass through her body since they were lingering around the area due to her close proximity to them. Through her presence they were able to cross over into the afterlife much faster and safer. She got all of their memories and experiences in a brief split second which caused her to pause in her steps.
The blood soaked sand laying around on the ground started to move as Gaara turned his full attention to Iris who was again backing away after shaking off the memories of the three Genin. "Uzumaki…" Gaara whispered as his dead eyes board into Iris's skull. "Hey kid what are you doing in here? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Kankurō asked incredulously as he was in complete disbelieve that Iris would be inside the Forest of Death with them.
"I will kill you…" Gaara intoned as his killing intent spiked. Something about Iris's very presence set him off. He didn't know what it was but it agitated something in his soul. Gaara's sand flew at Iris without warning who widened her eyes in shock. Iris placed John Paul on her back which stuck there with a subtle amount of her energy. Iris quickly pulled out her battle fans and unfolded them in preparation for combat. Jumping back with a large back-flip Iris landed on a nearby tree with a bird's eye view of Gaara below her. She coiled her legs before jumping off the tree high into the air to get an angle on Gaara. Iris twirled in the air while doing multiple round house kicks as she sent six blast of white hot fire at Gaara's position. Temari and Kankurō gasped in shock as they both jumped back in surprise. Gaara's sand reformed around him into a barrier as Iris's fireballs impacted Gaara's sand and turned it into crystals from its heat.
Without missing a beat Iris nosedived at Gaara's shield and smashed straight through the crystal wall between them. Iris tucked into a roll to reduce the amount of damage she took from her fall. Iris is all about movement and centripetal force in her fighting style. She's always spinning, twirling, and rolling in any circular motion that she can possibly move in to actually empowered her absolute control over wind and to actually aide in the flow of her fighting style. Coming out of her roll Iris spun around and with a gust of wind sent the shards of crystallized sand at Gaara who's remaining sand came to his defense.
Iris could see Temari and Kankurō circling around in caution as they had shocked looks on their faces. They were not expecting her to know how to fight. How could they? She was six and a half years old with a very princess like appearance and delicate attributes. Frilly dresses and expensive shoes and unblemished porcelain like skin. All of that didn't equate to a strong fighter in this world. If they ever saw her without her concealing dresses, then they would see strong and well defined muscles and a body that only a physically active fighter could have.
Iris was starting to panic since it looked to her that it would be three on one and with the added stress of wanting to get to her family it caused her to lash out at them as well. Iris shot out a gust of wind at both Temari and Kankurō who jumped back to dodge the attack. Temari reached for her giant metal fan on her back out of reflex as she tensed up. Kankurō started to reach for the object on his back as well as he looked towards Temari with caution in his eyes. "Stay away from me." Iris said as she tried to retreat but Gaara's sand wasn't having it. "Sand Coffin." Gaara intoned as sand swirled around Iris's feet. Iris jumped up into the air on pure reflex as a gust of wind escaped her feet and caused her dress to flutter. Iris launched another volley of wind gust at Temari and Kankurō while simultaneously shooting off a burst of flames that turned the sand cloud following her up into the air into a sheet of crystallized glass.
Iris kicked the sheet of glass back at Gaara who used his sand to catch it in its grasp. Iris snapped her fingers as she landed on the ground and again rolled to dissipate the force of her rough landing. Gaara's sand shield exploded in a shower of fire which turned it into a giant glass ball. "Gaara!" Temari yelled in shock as she was not expecting Iris to be so skilled in fighting. It was a true shock to her to see Iris command the very wind itself without hand signs or buildup. 'How is she doing that? What is she?' Temari questioned to herself with shock lacing every thought. "Leave me alone!" Iris yelled as she threw one of her battle fans which spun through the air like a buzz saw straight at Kankurō who was not expecting such a quick attack. Kankurō swiftly dodged out of the way of the spinning buzz saw like battle fan which nearly bisected him in half since as it passed he noted the fact that there was a very dense and sharp almost unnoticeable spinning air current surrounding the fan itself propelling it forward. Kankurō landed on a nearby tree branch and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when Iris's fan bounced off a nearby tree and actually shot straight at him. Iris cupped her hands together and launched another gust of wind at Temari who stood her ground with gritted teeth.
Temari braced herself and grabbed her giant metal fan as Iris's wind washed over her and Temari's form blurred for a quick moment. Temari grunted a bit but Iris's blast of wind was dispersed after Temari skidded back a few inches. "Kid what are you doing in here? Where is your brother?" Temari asked as she saw out the corner of her eyes Iris's fan bounce off a tree and head straight at Kankurō. She almost did a double take but she was much more composed and calm to do something like that.
"I need to find him! Please let me leave." Iris pleaded as she didn't want to fight right now. Her father was in danger and she didn't know where her sister was. Not to mention a very dangerous person was in the forest with them that sent her senses into a frenzy. She had the feeling that she knew who it was but she couldn't think of the name. Deep down in the back of her mind she knew, but it worried her that her father and teammates were in danger.
Iris reached out with her hand and grabbed her fan when it missed Kankurō and bounced off another tree back in her direction. Before anything else could be said a sudden spike in killing intent brought everyone's attention back to Gaara who made his presence known when his sand shattered his glass prison. What secretly terrified Iris about Gaara is the fact that his eyes were dead. She could never see any emotions in his eyes. The only things she ever feels from him is his murderous intent.
A large amount of sand was leaking out of his gourd as his chakra spiked to levels he's not shown before. Iris tensed as she prepared to defend herself but three fast moving chakra signatures coming from within the forest drew Iris's attention. Three blurs entered the clearing just as Gaara unleashed a tidal wave of sand at Iris. "Fang over Fang!" Kiba's voice could be heard as two grey drill like blurs smashed into the wall of sand dispersing it while another blur scooped Iris up into their arms.
"Iris are you ok?" A soft voice asked as Iris looked up in surprise to see Hinata staring down at her with a look of worry in her lavender colored eyes. "Hinata?" Iris asked in shock. "What are you doing out here all alone? Where is Naruto and the others?" Hinata questioned as Kiba and Shino landed in front of her. "Daddy is in trouble. We were split up by an ambush. We need to get to them right now. I can sense him fighting already." Iris said as she could feel Naruto's chakra fluctuating wildly and erratically as he was engaged in a tough fight. "Then let's go." Hinata agreed as she was now worried about Naruto and the others. "Kiba, Shino we have to go!" Hinata called out as she hoisted Iris up into her arms and prepared to jump away. She had seen what Gaara did to those three Rain Genin and she was horrified. She and her team snuck away when the coast was clear but they came back once Hinata spotted Iris with her Byakugan.
"You will not escape." Gaara exclaimed with a spine tingling tone of voice. His sand shifted into a wall of sharp spikes ready to skewer anything in its path. Gaara unleashed his attack without a moments of hesitation and with all three members of Team 8 jumping away they would have no way to dodge. Iris peaked over Hinata's shoulder and saw the attack incoming. Time slowed down for the young princess as her eyes dyed themselves green. "Sensei Boruto (Purification Bolt)!" Iris yelled as a divine Magic Circle appeared in the air behind Team 8's backs.
It was a Magic Circle that hasn't been seen since the battle on the bridge months prior. It was the riches shade of white and gold imaginable. It had 12 concentric rings and on each ring was ancient runes in gold. On every ring you would find many spheres and inside of those spheres you would see the symbols for many different kinds of elements. Many of which were unknown to all that looked at them. For every three rings however it would have small little spheres on them and inside those spheres you could see the symbols of Fire and Wind on them. On the center circle was a symbol of a mighty Phoenix.
Out of the magic circle a pure white lightning bolt made entirely out of Holy Magic came souring out in a bright flash incinerating the chakra inside of the sand coming at them. All the dried up blood and impurities in the sand disappeared never to be seen again as the bolt of lightning traveled towards Gaara who's eyes widened in unrestrained shock. He could feel a reaction within his body for just being in the general vicinity of the attack but once it struck the ground in front of him his whole world was lit up in a blinding flash of white light.
With the impromptu flash bang going off behind them Team 8 made their escape without looking back since Kankurō and Temari had to shield their eyes from the blinding light Iris's attack gave off. A few minutes later Team 8 finally had a destination in mind now that Hinata's Byakugan was in range of where the rest of Team 7 was. Hinata was busy trying to get as much info out of Iris as she possibly could but Hinata gasped in shock once she saw something far up ahead. The others wondered what it was but they would get the hint when Iris screamed in pain before falling unconscious in Hinata's arms. "Iris! Iris wake up! Are you ok?" Hinata called out in a panic as she gently shook the young girl in her arms.
With Chaos
~Power Rebooting~
~Power Restored~
~Damage Report Minimum~
~Unknown Origin of Attack~
~Unknown Foreign Spell Detected~
~Magic Abilities Jammed~
Chaos's vision returned to her as she sat up in a dark clearing much like her sister. Her lazy purple eyes looked around with perfect clarity since she didn't need light to see. She could see small little animals and hundreds of bugs scurrying around but nothing was out of place. Standing up Chaos began to use her long range scanners to scan deeper into the forest. "There he is… I wonder what he is doing to Dada's teammates?" Chaos questioned to herself as she saw an unknown assailant harassing Sasuke and Sakura. Broadening her search Chaos had to shift through the overbearing power of the natural energy within the forest and just how full of life it was to be able to locate anyone. Eventually she did and she found her sister further into the forest.
Iris was pretty much like the sun in the vacuum of space with how bright and full of power she was compared to everything else Chaos's scanners picked up. She found her father as well and he was getting into a situation of his own. ~Unknown Foreign Spell Detected~
~Magic Abilities Jammed~
The same warning was going off in Chaos's head again which finally grabbed her attention. Chaos was going to see to the notification blaring in her head if not for the interruption of a voice behind her. It was a Hidden Grass Genin dressed very similarly to the assailant currently attacking her sister. Chaos could tell what he was from a mile away. He was a Reiki Akuma. Chaos knew that her magic abilities such as her Tainted Flames and Time/Space Abilities were out of her reach but luckily for her she was an Angeloid. She didn't have to depend on her powers to protect herself and she could utilize many of her unique abilities because they were technological and not magical in nature.
Of course her sister could fight using Taijutsu if need be and her muscles are so strong that she pretty much has super strength but Iris is a pacifist at heart and if she can find a way not to fight then she wouldn't. Chaos saw the demon begin to move but she was having none of it. "Aegis." An aegis shield appeared around the demon's legs stopping his forward movement with little effort. Chaos's wings expanded as she used one of the blades to impale the demon to a tree much like she did with the two rain Genin a few minutes before.
"I've heard about your kind… you're an Angeloid." The demon coughed as he tried in vain to remove the bladed wing from his abdomen. "And you're a Reiki Akuma. A life force Demon who steals the life force and vitality from living creatures to grow stronger. But you're a young one. You haven't absorbed a lot of energy unlike your partner." Chaos retorted as she revealed she was aware of what was happening with her sister. "The Fallen Angels created you machines to aid them since their numbers are so low. You're nothing but Fallen Angel trash." The demon struggled to get out as he was quickly losing blood. Chaos's blades were mechanical not organic so he couldn't absorb her energy and before he could even think of reaching for the tree behind him Chaos used two more of her blades to grab his hands and hold them in place. Even if he could reach her it would do him no good since she is a machine and the soul that she does have is so far buried inside of her that he could never reach it. None of his kind could and her energy itself is poisonous to a demon like himself since she was built by the Fallen Angels.
Chaos frowned at this as her feelings were hurt by his comment. Negative emotions started to cloud her judgment as she killed the demon by ripping him apart with her wings. Chaos sagged her shoulders in sadness as she ended up killing another person again and not even 10 minutes after what happened back with the Hidden Rain Genin. Chaos much like her sister made a ripping motion with her hands and the spell affecting her peeled off her body. With it in her hand and her powers returned to her the floating Kanji in Chaos's hand decayed and blew away within seconds.
Chaos burned the blood off her wings before spreading them open so she could fly with them. Floating up into the air Chaos took off in the direction of where Team 7 was to be located in. She took notice of the fact Iris herself defeated her opponent and was now on the move as well but Chaos couldn't help but laugh at the fact she noticed Iris heading in the direction of Gaara. If she was scanning based on the feeling of a person's soul, then she herself would get Gaara and her father mixed up but Chaos had many different instruments that allowed her to tell people apart. Her sister is far more childlike then her mature mindset would allow her to believe. If she had simply scouted out the location of their father with her ability to see through the eyes of birds, then she wouldn't run into these problems.
Before Chaos could silently laugh at her sister's misfortune again her scanners picked up something she was not expecting. Chaos placed an illusion on herself that made her invisible to the surrounding area before dropping down onto a nearby tree branch. Down below her was none other than the mummy that they haven't seen in a long time. He was talking to someone and it was Fuki. "…And what about the mark on my back?" Fuki asked as she looked up into the decayed face of the mummy. "The mark of the Four War Gods will only disappear once you are no longer of any use to them. Our masters want you to find the right opportunity to snatch the boy up. These exams might be the perfect time." The mummy explained in his gruff voice that sounded like gravel pouring onto the ground.
"But I thought another person was here to take him away?" Fuki questioned with uncertainty and hesitance in her voice. "That person has his own interest and won't be collecting the boy for us. That is why this job will fall to you. I can't go anywhere near that boy because of those two children around him. Even though they are very young they are exceptionally powerful and they would sense my presence long before I could get close enough." The mummy growled out begrudgingly in personal irritation and malice. "With your ability you could drain him of his chakra and render him useless. Do not fail us." The mummy said as his bandages came undone and swirled around him in a tornado and within seconds he was gone from the small clearing.
Fuki swallowed hard as her shoulders tensed up. She had a conflicted look on her face as she subconsciously scratched at her back. Fuki jumped out of her skin when she felt a tiny hand on her shoulder. Leaping forwards and turning around in midair Fuki looked to the ground but saw nothing around her. Landing on the ground Fuki started to wildly look around in every direction until she looked behind her and saw Chaos looking up at her with her eerie smile. "I knew I'd catch you in the act eventually. So you're friends with Mr. Mummy. Naughty, Naughty." Chaos patronized with a disappointed tone of voice and wag of her index finger. Fuki lashed out with her fist glowing with a swirling green aura surrounding it. Chaos caught Fuki's punch without moving an inch while the leaves and dirt around her blew back with a ton of force. Chaos's hair and clothes rippled and bellowed back as well but Chaos's face remained the same as her smile grew larger.
"I don't think so…!" Chaos chirped as she slowly moved her arm off to the side and Fuki's arm was forced to bend and follow. "What do you want little brat. What are you doing in here?" Fuki grunted as she tried to wrench her arm back but Chaos's mechanical strength wouldn't allow her to budge an inch. "You're after my dolly. You want to take him away from me… I can't let you do that…" Chaos murmured as she tossed Fuki one handed into a nearby tree and then pinning her there with her wings. Chaos didn't impale Fuki to the tree but she was using her wings to restrain her wrist and ankles while another one wrapped around her waist and anchored her to the tree like a rope.
"I don't have a choice. You can't stop me." Fuki strained as she tried to pry herself loose but with all of her limbs restrained it made it impossible for her to break free or muster up any kind of physical strength. "You mean that enslavement curse seal on your back? That is a problem but it's not mine." Chaos said with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "You little…" Fuki growled with gritted teeth as she strained against her restraints. "I might be able to help you… I might not, but you'll never know unless you stop chasing after my little dolly." Chaos stated as she grabbed Fuki's chin and moved her face from side to side. "And how could you possibly help me. The people who gave me this mark would kill anyone in their path. They only gave me one because of the special ability I can use with my chakra." Fuki said as she glared daggers into Chaos's skull. "The ability to absorb any form of energy into your body with a single touch. You can't contain large amounts of it but you can adapt it and use small bits of it in your future attacks. It's a very special power." Chaos praised as her scanners scanned Fuki's body.
"How do you know that?" Fuki questioned as she looked into Chaos's eyes which were currently purple but were moving around in an inhuman way. "I know a lot of things… just like I know you and your team will not pass this round. I can't have you playing with my favorite toy." Chaos threatened as her eyes turned red as her scanners came to life. "I'm going to have a lot of fun playing with you in the future. I can't promise that I won't break you though…" Chaos rambled as something was forming behind her back and Fuki's eyes were slowly widening in sheer terror. Large ruby red eyes with an overwhelmingly powerful presence was staring directly into Fuki's soul and the poor girl was shaking uncontrollably. Sweat was pouring off her in gallons as she did something she never thought she would do. Fuki urinated herself as the eyes looking back at her represented death itself.
Chaos seeing Fuki looking over her shoulder instead of at her looked over her own shoulder to see what she was looking at but she didn't see anything. Chaos couldn't see what Fuki was looking at and because of that she scratched her head in confusion. "You're weird… oh well. I will play with you another time. I've got to get going now. Dada needs me." Chaos apologized as she let Fuki down from the tree. Fuki coughed and massaged her wrist which was swollen do to the pressure of Chaos's wings. Looking up after hearing Chaos giggle Fuki saw that her teams scroll was now somehow in Chaos's hand with the little terror smiling innocently back. "Wait… you can't take that…!" Fuki cried out but her vision became hazy and distorted. "Goodnight sleepy head." Chaos said as she waved at Fuki which was the last thing the older girl saw as her eyes closed shut.
Hearing two sets of footsteps approaching and knowing that it was Fuki's teammates the smile on Chaos's face stretched.
A few minutes later Chaos found herself jumping from tree branch to tree branch. At her age she couldn't use her wings to fly for very long. She could hover off the ground for a long while but as far as actual flight is concerned she was very limited in that regard. She couldn't ascend very far into the sky nor could she travel a great distance either. Also using her flying abilities drained her energy quite a bit as well so it was best for her to use it only when necessary. Chaos didn't mind to much anyways since right now in her mind she was playing an exciting game of hopscotch using the tree branches as her stepping stones.
'Big brother Shikamaru's team is fast approaching. They must have been attracted to the large amount of chakra Dada and his assailant is giving off.' Chaos theorized to herself as her scanners picked up Team 10's chakra signatures on an intercept course with her position. They were of course coming in from a different direction and if they kept up that pace they would meet up with Team 8 in a few minutes but, they would have to encounter her first. With that thought in mind she was happy to see her favorite person who was Shikamaru. His general fascination and interest in her flattered the tiny terror and all the attention he gives her warms her heart. She took to thinking of him as her big brother since she doesn't have one or knows what it's like to have one.
Chaos was aware of Naruto's rapidly fluctuating chakra since he was in a tough fight and so she quickened her pace a bit but the carefree expression on her face still remained. That wouldn't last long as the battle took a turn for the worst and something happened that caused Chaos to express surprise. Chaos's vision immediately started to fizzle out as she felt her body lose all power. 'Dada…' Chaos thought as her vision turned black as she fell out of the air. The last sensation that she could feel was a person grabbing her out of the air and a panicked but muffled voice of concern.
With Naruto
The first thing Naruto felt upon regaining consciousness was a major headache. After checking his surroundings, he immediately felt around for Eva. After confirming that she was with him Naruto looked around and slowly started to have a mini panic attack once he realized Iris and Chaos nor his team were with him. He knew he was in a different section of the forest. That much was clear to him even if most of the forest looked the same due to how dark it was and how unnatural all the trees grew.
Naruto could immediate tell something was wrong with him. He couldn't feel Iris and Chaos's aura's within himself. He couldn't access the small amounts of power that is constantly circulating around in his chakra network and that terrified him. Not being able to feel that familiar comforting presence of his daughters was mostly foreign to Naruto. Doing his best to keep his composer Naruto stretched out his senses to get a read on where he was in relation to everyone else.
He couldn't sense were his daughters were but he got a faint signal of were the rest of his team was. 'I have to find the girls… but I also have to get back to the others. I know they are in trouble. Whatever hit us wasn't normal.' Naruto agonized as he wanted nothing more than to search for his daughters but his loyalty and gut was telling him to go back to his teammates. Naruto would have done more debating in his mind if not for the sudden large presence in the clearing with him. Opening his eyes Naruto had no time to react as he was swallowed whole by a large brown patterned snake. It was large; at the very least it was nearly 40 feet long and it had tough looking scales that had predominantly brown patterned markings on it.
"What's going on? There shouldn't be any snakes of this kind in the forest…" Naruto wheezed as he was being compressed and passed down the snake's long throat. Slime and saliva was covering Naruto's body and it was making it easier for the snake to pass Naruto down into his stomach where he could later be digested or locked away for safe keeping. "Naru… get… us out of here…" Eva whined as she was securing herself tightly to Naruto's scalp. She was afraid that with all the saliva around she would be washed out of Naruto's hair and become separated from him. "I'm… working on… it. Hurry… up and sync… with me Eva." Naruto grunted as he was migrated along over another large mound of flesh and muscles within the snake's digestive track. It was becoming tighter and tighter the further they went along but thanks to the saliva around them it made it so that they weren't being crushed instantly. They would soon start to face the problem of no air however, since the actual space inside the snake's digestive track was very small with only small pockets of air surviving this far down into the snake's body.
The snake was about to coil its body up after forcibly swallowing Naruto and making sure he made it into his stomach as fast as possible but the snake soon found that it couldn't move as the section of its body Naruto currently was in started to rapidly freeze over at an accelerated rate. A thick sheet of ice formed on the outside of the snake's body where Naruto was and it froze the cold blooded creature to the ground by accident. Naruto fist broke through the sheet of ice as the snake hissed in annoyance. It couldn't really feel the pain anymore since Naruto's ice completely froze its lower body solid. Naruto pulled himself out of the snakes body with a large gasp of air as he tumbled to the ground a few feet below him. Landing with a rough dud Naruto coughed and wheezed as he allowed oxygen to flow into his lungs.
He was giving no time to rest since the snake lunged at him. Since it has no bones the snake could reach Naruto easily despite the fact he was so close to its body. Seeing this attack incoming Naruto and Eva sprang into action. "Yōjutsu: Water Celebration!" Eva yelled as she summoned a large geyser of water that she shot directly into the snake's mouth right as it was about to bite down on Naruto's position. Seeing the snake recoil from having a high pressurized blast of water shoot directly into its mouth Naruto immediately grabbed a hold of one of its fangs and watched as the snake's mouth instantly froze over in a layer of ice.
The snake thrashed around for a few minutes in rage but it could do nothing with its mouth frozen solid. Naruto was preparing another attack to hopefully finish it off when the unexpected happened. It without warning disappeared in a large and violent explosion of white smoke. "A summoning?" Naruto exclaimed in shock. "What's a summoned snake doing in here? I thought Anko couldn't have any of her snakes in the forest during the exam?" Eva questioned in confusion since it seemed odd to her that Anko would release her snakes into the forest during the exam even thought that was against the rules. Only the strange animals that call this forest home are allowed to be in the forest during an exam.
"That's not one of Anko's snakes. I've never seen that one before… unless… no… oh god no…" Naruto theorized until an epiphany hit him. Anko only used a certain number of specific snakes. She didn't really summon a large variety of them and it wasn't until years later did she tell Naruto why. She wasn't the only snake contract holder out there in the world. In fact, there were two to her knowledge. Her and her former Jōnin Sensei who taught her everything she knew and made her sign the Snake Summoning Contract. Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin.
"What? What is it Naru?" Eva asked as she realized her other half came to a shocking discovery. "Anko didn't summon this snake. There is another holder of the snake contract out in the world and its…" Naruto explained as he let Eva put the last piece of the puzzle together. "…OH no. Orochimaru… Naru you can't possibly think he would be in the forest with us? Let alone back in the village. How could that even be possible?" Eva asked in denial and it made sense in her head but she didn't want to believe it.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto created six shadow clones that spit off into two groups of three. This brought Eva out of her thoughts. "What are you doing?" Naruto looked at his clones with a serious gaze. "We need to get back to the team, they are in grave danger. My clones can track down the girls. They are strong and can fend for themselves for a little while." Naruto explained through gritted teeth. He would personally want to go find his daughters on his own but with the threat that a Sannin could be in the forest with them made Naruto switch his priorities. He didn't want to and he felt nauseous even thinking of not rushing off to find his children first, but he had a decision to make. "But…" Eva began to protest; she didn't like the idea of not going out to find the girls one bit but Naruto cut her off before she could get started.
"We don't have time Eva. I really wish we could go find them ourselves but if Orochimaru truly is in this forest with us then no one is safe. He separated us from the others for a reason. He's after one of us. I don't know who but we stand a better chance if we are all together." Naruto rationalized as he watched his team of clones run off in search of his daughters. He took note of the fact that with how dense the forest is and how much wildlife is bustling around it made it extremely difficult for Naruto to pick out individual chakra signatures and with an unknown mental block keeping him from sensing where his daughters where it made it impossible for him to track them down on his own.
"Come on Eva lets hurry." Naruto said as he took off in a blur of motion. His heart was racing as he thought about what the Legendary Sannin Orochimaru could possibly want with his team. Naruto concluded that he wasn't after him or else when he came to Orochimaru would either be staring him down or he would be tied up and restrained. His heart sank as the thought of Orochimaru being after his girls. If that was the case, then Naruto wouldn't know what to do. It was the worst possible scenario he could think of to have someone that powerful after his daughters. He could feel it deep down in his heart that he would fight with everything he had to keep his girls safe against someone like Orochimaru but the fact remained that the power gap between them was as apparent as night and day. It was simply no contest. He would die if Orochimaru really wanted him dead in a head to head confrontation.
Naruto was so deep in thought about the possible target Orochimaru had in mind that he was startled when he heard a girls scream. Regaining his bearings, he came to a hard stop on a nearby tree and looked down into the natural formed clearing down below him. In it he saw something that made his eye brows raise into his hairline. The girl he saw earlier that day with the red hair and glasses was cowering in fear as an unnaturally large bear stared her down. It had blood on his claws and Naruto could see two dead bodies on the ground behind the bear. It was large and had dark brown fur on its skin and it had copious amounts of healed over scars and wounds scatters across its body with a visible and distinguished scar over its left eye.
The bear raised its arm up which was three times the size of the girl's entire body to strike her down with one swift blow. Naruto felt a tiny pull in the back of his mind that he felt when he first sensed the girl the other day. It was foreign to him as he's never felt this sensation before in his life up until now but it was calling to him. With that being said Naruto didn't hesitate to intervene as he disappeared from the tree branch in a burst of speed. In one swift moment Naruto swooped down from the tree branch; dropped a few smoke and gas pellets onto the ground which exploded in the bears face; pick up the girl who did not notice his interference; and then escape back into the surrounding foliage in under 3 seconds.
Once the girl regained her bearings she looked up to see Naruto staring down at her with concern and compassion in his eyes. "Are you ok?" He asked. He was in a hurry and time was not on his side but he couldn't just leave the girl to get killed, besides something about her was drawing him in. Naruto took a quick look at the girl in his arms. She wore a mesh shirt and stockings, a purple skirt, a light brown short sleeved jacket with an orange stripe going across the chest, and black sandals. She also had The Village Hidden in the Grass headband tied securely across her forehead. "Yeah… you saved me… why?" The girl asked in a daze. She was taking in Naruto's full appearance with critical detail.
"Well… I couldn't just stand by and let that bear kill you. I'm sorry about your teammates… I guess this means you are disqualified." Naruto said with a frown. For some reason that upset him. He couldn't figure out why though. "It's fine I guess. Thank you for saving me." The girl humbly thanked as Naruto gently sat her down on the ground. Standing next to her now Naruto could sense her chakra and for some reason it felt familiar. Warm, comforting, familial. It was a strange feeling that Naruto's never sensed before. "You seem familiar to me. I don't know why though. What's your name?" Naruto questioned with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "My name is Karin… you feel similar to me too. What's your name?" Karin said as she adjusted her glasses. Naruto usually doesn't give out his name to a stranger he literally just met but for some reason he felt like he could trust her. "I guess so. My name is Naruto. You should lay low for a while until the exam is over. There are still a lot of teams out here lurking around. Will you be ok on your own?" Naruto warned in caution since from what he could observe from her Karin didn't seem like the front line fighter type. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her.
"You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself see." Karin reassured as she formed the ram hand sign and Naruto gasped in absolute shock. Karin disappeared. She was standing 1 foot away from him and he could see her but as far as actually sensing her presence and chakra… that was another story all together. Her chakra presence dropped down to zero. He could not feel a single ounce of her chakra at all. "How…?" Naruto whispered in awe since he's never encountered a person able to hid their presence and chakra that well before. This was completely new to him.
"Like I said I can take care of myself." Karin reassured with a smug air around her. Naruto could tell she was quite prideful of her unique ability. In all honesty he probably would be too if he was in her shoes. "I guess you can. I'm in a bit of a rush so I have to get going now. But you take care of yourself." Naruto said in a wary tone. Although he thought her unique power was impressive he was also slightly worried about it. She could sneak up on him easily if she wanted to. Her stealth abilities must not be too bad either and she seems like she knows how to hide herself. For Naruto who relies on his sensory abilities he's been developing for many years Karin's ability was a very obvious threat to that.
Naruto had been fidgeting the entire time as he wanted to make it back to his team so when Karin shook her head letting Naruto know he could leave the blond Uzumaki rocketed off the tree they were standing on. He was out of sight in mere seconds as he pushed his body to his max speed. 'His chakra… it's so warm and inviting. Like a bright sun. But I can also sense some darkness buried deep down inside of him. Just who is he?' Karin thought to herself as she looked off in the direction Naruto went. Karin took a look around her surroundings before taking off in the same direction Naruto went in but a lot slower.
As for Naruto he was very worried about how his teammates were faring and he only hoped they were ok by the time he got back. As he was hoping from tree branch to tree branch Naruto idly to note of the fact he could now sense Iris and Chaos again since for some reason whatever was blocking him from sensing them had been removed. He was relieved to know that they were ok and that he could feel their presence again so it helped put his mind at ease in that regard.
"Naru that girl was strange. She felt so similar to you. It was so weird." Eva said as she spoke to her other half. "I know Eva. I feel the same but we can worry about her later. Right now we have to hurry back to the others." Naruto replied as he surged forward. In the back of his mind he could feel that the battle taking place between his team and Orochimaru was heating up as a lot of chakra was being expelled. He could also feel confrontations going on far off into the forest as Iris and Chaos's energies spiked and swirled around in his body.
Naruto knew he was close now as he slowed down and landed on a thick tree branch above him. Righting himself Naruto looked into the wide open clearing and saw Sasuke with over a dozen strands of heavy duty ninja wire tied to his fingers which were in front of his mouth and restrained to a nearby tree was the same Hidden Grass Shinobi they briefly saw outside the Forest of Death earlier that morning. Sasuke's chakra spiked to unreal levels as the entire area around his body lit up in flames.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" Sasuke roared as he breathed out a massive flamethrower that traveled down the length of the wire with incredible speed. It reached the Grass Ninja in seconds and scorched his entire body in a raging inferno. Sasuke didn't let up, in fact he poured on the pressure as he added more chakra to the attack as he roared even louder. Sasuke's attack was so powerful that it melted the tree the enemy ninja was tied down to and made a massive hole in the thick tree trunk. The flames themselves traveled through the hole and out the other side of the tree and put severe scorch marks on a nearby tree behind the first one.
'Damn… Sasuke has come a long way with his Fire Style Ninjutsu. I guess all that time he spent learning from Iris wasn't for nothing.' Naruto thought to himself as he was deeply impressed by Sasuke's power. Naruto was just about to jump down to join his teammate went he heard spine tingling laughter. The grass ninja was not affected by Sasuke's attack at all. The man pulled away his melted skin to reveal a face they all learned about back in the academy. It was Orochimaru one of the Three Legendary Sannin of the Hidden Leaf.
"Marvelous Sasuke! Simply Marvelous! The Uchiha blood runs strongly in your veins. You are a true heir to the Uchiha Clan. Even your Sharingan has matured to another level due to the stress of the fight I put you through. You will suit my needs perfectly." Orochimaru praised with a slow clap of his hands. His long tongue was slowly sliding out of his mouth as his desire to capture Sasuke was at an all-time high. He had plans for Sasuke and with the performance he just showed him it wet his appetite more than what he was expecting.
"As a thank you for the brilliant performance you just showed me I'll leave you with a parting gift." Orochimaru thanked as he placed his hands into a hand sign and his entire neck extended from his body at high speeds like it was made of rubber. By this time Sasuke had already dropped to one knee in exhaustion since he expelled a lot of chakra during his fight against Orochimaru and with the powerful Jutsu he just used which is currently his strongest Jutsu in his arsenal he was beyond exhausted.
'He won't be able to dodge in time! I've got to move.' Naruto thought in panic as his body glowed in an ethereal light blue as he activated his Acceleration Technique. The chakra cloak that normally accompanies his technique flared to life as Naruto destroyed the tree branch he was standing on as he moved in to save his teammate.
'Please let me make it in time!' Naruto thought as he pushed himself to his absolute limit.
Jutsu Library
1.) Jinsei no Dangan (Life Bullet) - A bullet made entirely out of life energy. A being gathers life energy into a magic circle and shoots it off in the shape of a small bullet with high penetration power. Because it is made up of life energy it is a powerful source to fuel the power of the attack and very hard to defend against.
2.) Sand Coffin - With his ability to control sand, Gaara encases his opponents in a large amount of the special chakra-infused sand kept inside his gourd, immobilizing them. It can be used to suffocate an opponent or in preparation for a deadlier technique, the Sand Waterfall Funeral. This appears to be Gaara's signature technique.
3.) Fang over Fang - The user and their ninken partner spin at a ferocious speed and deliver many powerful beast-like attacks when contact is made with the target. The force of this attack is strong enough to drill through stone. When this attack is done alone, it is called Passing Fang.
4.) Sensei Boruto (Purification Bolt) - A Holy Magic attack that Iris can use that purifies any impurities that comes in contact with the energy shaped like a lightning bolt hence the name of the attack. Since the attack is Light Magic and Holy Magic is a sub-magic category the technique burns and purifies any dark elements within its path. If used neutrally against an opponent the energy would only hurt them based on how much power was used in it. However, if used against a dark being or a person with a very dark presence or attributes then the attack leaves physical burns against the target as well as spiritually cleansing and burning away those impurities.
5.) Aegis - A unique ability that Chaos demonstrates. She creates a light blue shield that has hexagonal shapes as its pattern. The shield is in the shape of a large sphere that increases its diameter and can encompass anything Chaos wishes it to.
6.) Yōjutsu: Water Celebration - A Demonic technique that Eva created that allows her to rapidly form a large volume of water that is cerulean in color instead of the normal clear color water takes. It is thick and heavier than normal water and it can blast through objects and break them a lot easier than normal water can. Eva can control this water at will and she can create large volumes of it.
7.) Shadow Clone Jutsu - A Jutsu invented by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. The technique was created to be used to spy on an enemy without fear of going in person. The Jutsu works by splitting the chakra of the user evenly in two which makes the clone have half of the users chakra. By creating multiple clones the fraction in which you have to split your chakra becomes larger. The clones can think independently of one another and can use any technique that the original can use as long as they have enough chakra to use it. A clone can feel pain and can even bleed but it will be dispelled if it is hit hard enough. The unique ability of the Jutsu is that during the clones entire life span it is recording everything that its five senses experiences and upon dispelling all of that information is transferred back to the caster of the Jutsu. Because of this training or learning something new that would take an extended amount of time can be cut down to a fraction of the time depending on the amount of clones you use. Because you have multiple people learning the same thing at the same time and having all of that knowledge compiled into one person it can speed up the time it takes to learn something.
8.) Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu - The user breathes fire along a cord or any other type of long object, which rushes forward in straight line catching the enemy on fire. A line of enemies can be used as the conductor as well. The flames are meant to target, and assault the enemy's upper body just like a projectile weapon.
Reiki Akuma - Translated as a Life Force Demon. A C – Rank Demon the Reiki Akuma sucks the life force out of its victims to increase its own power. It can suck the life out of plants and animals as well as humans. If a living creature has its entire life force sucked out, then their soul goes with it into the belly of the demon. Once inside, the soul is forever trapped within the belly of the demon and can never escape on its own. If the demon is killed the souls will be destroyed as well. The only way to save the souls from destruction and allow them the chance to go to the afterlife is to extract them from the demon's belly. Only certain spells, abilities, and beings have this ability for once a soul is destroyed it can't be brought back.
Author's Note (A/N): The chapter is over and we know what's coming next. Iris ran into a new demon that we've never seen before. A Reiki Akuma. While potentially powerful it quickly fell to the might of Sōkyoku who simply overpowered the demon and incinerated it out of existence. Iris also had a bad run in with Gaara which quickly spiraled out of control for her, she just does not have good luck with him it would seem.
Chaos ran into a Reiki Akuma as well and he was in a worst position then the older one that attacked Iris. Chaos has a run in with Fuki who is not who she claims to be. The mummy's side kick is revealed now and it would appear that a group is going around marking people with unique abilities for some reason or another. Chaos of course tortures the poor girl and incapacitates her teammates. The demon also mentions what Chaos really is which is an Angeloid. A term which hasn't been thrown around a lot in the story so far. Only time will tell us how this develops for Chaos.
Finally Naruto and Eva run into Orochimaru's snake after it eats them alive. With the theory and potential of Orochimaru being in the forest with them Naruto needs to make it back to his teammates but not before he runs into Karin on the way back. After saving her life Naruto feels that connection between the two of the again and learns of one of her unique abilities. Finally Naruto arrives just in time to see Orochimaru about to give Sasuke the curse mark.
Will Naruto make it in time? Only one way to find out.
Next Chapter: (Predator's and Prey)
That's the end of Chapter 36 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.
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Published: 12/1/2016
