Naruto the knuckleheaded ninja that we all know, and love is just starting his career as a ninja, but the stakes are higher now. With his two girls Iris and Chaos growing up at a startling rate he must now handle their growing powers, and the mysterious demons that are after him and uncover the mystery behind Sōkyoku's mysterious past and origin. Watch Naruto progress through his live as an Ancient Evil born before the beginning of time stirs behind the scenes that threaten all of existence. Watch Naruto as he goes from being a Father to a Ninja.
I do not own anything from the Naruto Franchise, Heaven's Lost Property, High School DxD, or any other Anime that I may borrow themes and ideas from.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Franchise that belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto; I do not own Heaven's 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): A payoff for all of the build up is on the way fokes... and what a pay off it is. Strap yourselves in for quite the battle against superior odds as Naruto learns to dig deep and go beyond his limits. Our blond haired protagonist takes one more step to becoming the legend he will one day become as he follows in the footsteps of his parents and ancestors with the themes revealed in this chapter. As a Chūnin the odds are going to be heavily stacked against him in the wake of three powerful enemy ninja gunning for him in this all out free for all climactic battle to come with unique and never before seen Ninjutsu and backstories debuting in this chapter. We also get to see the debut of some familiar faces and some new ones never before seen. It's going to be a lot everyone so get ready!
Today is my pet dog's birthday! Happy Birthday Maggie!
So sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Chapter 80
Balalaika's Test – Border Patrol
Two days have passed since the night Naruto and Eva had their talk. A noticeable tension was in the air over Squad 9 as they canvased their patrol grid with an increased vigilance after the warning Naruto gave the others. An ordinary person wouldn't take things so seriously if they were told based on a gut feeling. But in the line of work of the shinobi, there were no coincidences and gut feelings were usually to be trusted. You don't live long as a ninja if you don't trust your instincts. Only fools would shrug off warnings from their colleagues.
"Chaos can you scan the area once more?" Naruto requested with a tint of seriousness in his voice. The bad feeling that Eva was experiencing started to affect Naruto so after Eva's initial warning as well as something in his gut was telling him that something was going to happen. It only made things more valid when both Iris and Chaos sent him knowing looks that indicated their knowledge on what's to come. He couldn't always count on them acknowledging his intuition and warning him of future events. There are going to be times when he's blindsided by events he couldn't possibly see coming, but for now… he was positive something wasn't right. Hayama already sent out warnings to the other squads patrolling in their zone to be on high alert with Shikamaru's squad being the closest to them in distance. If anything went down they'd be the first to respond to their aid.
Giggling in her own typical way Chaos activated her long-range scanners once more with her purple eyes spinning around before turning a scarlet ruby red. The whole world was open to the tiny little Angeloid who scanned everything within ten square miles of their location. She could extend her range a bit more than that but only age would increase her maximum abilities. Most of her power was still locked away inside of Naruto's body because of her age… in a few short years she would have the rest of her powers back with the same stipulation being said for Iris.
Chaos could see and feel everything, from the ants and the microscopic sized bugs in the ground around them to the giant various trees and wildlife in the entire region. She could detect a small village deep into the territory of the Land of Grass that by her estimation had close to 3000 individuals in it. It wasn't the largest settlement in the country and it wasn't the Hidden Village that the Land of Grass owns, but it did have a substantial amount of people with the vast majority of them being civilians based upon the meager chakra levels Chaos was detecting. In that whole village only 153 of the population were ninja and even then, very few of them were Jōnin level at best. Despite having a Hidden Village in their country, the Land of Grass had a very small shinobi population. Just enough to protect their country and keep their economy somewhat stimulated at a competitive rate with the rest of the world, but not much else.
"There's a village seven miles northwest from here in the territory of the Land of Grass, but that's about it. There are no shinobi in our area." Chaos reported with a softer tone as she became distracted by a small flock of birds fluttering through the trees near them. Her job was done, and now as usual Chaos was unresponsive to the group. Smiling faintly at his wayward daughter who was a simple soul at heart Naruto peered over towards Iris who was also distracted by the congregation of animals and insects being drawn to her because of the fact they could sense her divinity. Blending in was a very hard task for the young girl.
"That must be Yagashina Village. It is the fifth largest settlement in the Land of Grass and it's also the one that's closest to our border. They have a very small population of Shinobi and usually are the first to greet us whenever friendly forces venture into their country. They won't be a problem." Tekuno spoke with a lowered voice as he had a world map out in his hands marking down all of the locations Chaos was supplying them with over the last few hours with a diligence that only a Jōnin like him could have.
"We still haven't found any evidence of enemy activity in our patrol zone. While I believe you and your gut feeling Naruto, the fact still remains that things are pretty quiet." Hayama intoned as he jumped down from a high tree branch with a barely audible thump. "I understand sir… I'm sorry I've had you guys on high alert these last few days, but I know my instincts… I wouldn't be here with you right now if I didn't trust in them or in Eva's. We know what we felt. Something's on the horizon coming for us… I just want to be diligent." Naruto apologized in a regretful tone of voice as he blew out a frustrated breath of air. He knew what he and Eva felt. That sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach, the hairs sticking up on end at the back of their necks, and the coldness in their veins. Something was coming for them.
"Do not despair over such a thing as this young one. Your instincts are sharp for a boy your age and with your strong connection to the supernatural it only enhances it further. If you feel as if we are in danger, then I believe you." Kosuke comforted while placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. The old man had a very reassuring expression on his face that warmed Naruto's heart as it reminded him very much so of the Third Hokage. "Thank you, Mr. Kosuke. I just don't want to seem like I'm going crazy." Naruto smiled with a somewhat disappointed twinge in his tone. This wasn't the kind of impression he wanted to make on his squad. Two days of no activity reflected badly on him in his opinion.
"It's not a bad thing to be cautious Chūnin Uzumaki, I've had the privilege of reading up on your files and I am heavily impressed. You were no ordinary Genin during your career and even at the time of your graduation you were without a doubt the strongest in your graduating class. Even during the academy, I highly suspect you were heavily suppressing yourself of your full capabilities. You have both experience and skills far surpassing your recent promotion to Chūnin. I do not doubt your instincts in the slightest. It is always good to be extra vigilant and cautious. You won't live long in this profession if you shrug off your instincts." Hayama spoke in a commanding yet kind tone of voice as he patted Naruto on the back briefly in a comforting way.
He was warming up to Naruto over the last few days as he learned more about his new recruit. The Uzumaki's skills and power were attributes to be well respected and admired. There was no one else in the entire village that had an Ice Style Kekkei Genkai, the monstrous reserves of chakra, or such a versatile skill set. On top of being a Jinchūriki and an Uzumaki.
Naruto had a lot going for him and Hayama could easily see Naruto becoming a monster of a shinobi in his prime. His morals and dedication to his duties as a shinobi were also to be commended. Hayama was certain that Naruto would make a great shinobi in the future and it was for that reason among many others including his knowledge of Naruto's parentage and lineage.
"Thank you, sir."
1 Day Later
Now Naruto was just down right paranoid and even his squad mates could feel a shift in the atmosphere of their region. Chaos's latest scan revealed that at least 40 individuals were passing Yagashina Village and were heading for the border of the Land of Grass. The fact that the little Angeloid revealed that these people had large shinobi sized chakra reserves sent red flags off in the squad. That was a sizable force for the four of them to compete against but since they had the other squads in the section on standby if necessary then it made them a little less worried.
A messenger bug curtesy of Muta Aburame from Shikamaru's squad was sent back to the village with this update. It wasn't natural to have such a large group of shinobi moving and operating close to a nation's borders without informing the other country first. It was one of the reasons why most shinobi squads consisted of between 4, 8, and 12 ninja at a time. Any larger than that and it would start to raise a lot of questions if they were to move near a border of a country.
40 Ninja all moving as one to the Land of Grass/ Fire's border was highly irregular. This was something that needed to be reported back to their higher ups. "You and old man Third really went on those kinds of missions?" Naruto mumbled while setting down a hidden trap between two large trees. Kosuke was beside him setting up the other end of the trap that usually was placed down faster if done by two people. A chuckle escaped Kosuke's mouth as he saw the hidden look of awe on Naruto's face.
"Yes Naruto. The Third was quite a wild young man back in his youth. He always jumped at the sight of adventure. He was a brave and selfless soul who always was on the front lines ahead of others. He was a man who lead from the front lines instead of from the rear. He taught me much when we were young." Kosuke elaborated while placing the final touches on the trap they were setting with Naruto soon finishing up his end with a simple thumbs up to signal his completion of their shared task.
"Thanks' for sharing that with me Mr. Kosuke. I understand why you chose to remain a Genin for all this time, but I still think you're a pretty awesome shinobi." Naruto warmly praised that caused a small smile of gratitude to work its way onto the Eternal Genin's face. It felt nice to be respected and idolized by one so young. He himself didn't believe in his own glory, he has lived a lifetime of atonement and shame for his actions in his youth. To hear such positive words decades later from a stranger that wasn't even his friend for very long meant a lot to the aging man.
"We're going to stop here for now. We're only a short ways off from our border and we need to be here in case that unknown force of shinobi cross into our territory without a good reason." Hayama ordered after another hour of traversing the very thick foliage of their region. It was well into the evening now with the sun starting to wane in the late afternoon sky. A beautiful orange tint painted the sky in its illustrious light which was a sight to good for Chaos to pass up on as she took several pictures of this view with her eyes. Never in a million years would Naruto be able to explain to you where Chaos then pulled out the fully printed out pictures of the images she just captured. The knowing and cheeky look sent his way was all the indication that Naruto needed to know that it was in his best interest to drop the subject.
His squad mates didn't even bother wasting their breath on asking either… they've all witnessed Chaos doing some ridiculous actions that they all felt they've seen enough to last them a lifetime. It was best for your sanity to never question Chaos's actions or motives.
"Eva, I think we should try something new to help scout the area." Naruto suggested to his partner while sitting around their camp fire. The unknown group was slowly getting closer and closer. Splitting up or trying to scout ahead against such a large force when there was only four of them in the area wasn't a smart decision. "Oh… what do you have in mind?" The Winter Fairy was willing to try anything at this point. Her demonic instincts were flaring up for days now warning her of an impending danger.
"Let's try a combination of our Toads and binding random animals in the forest. We can use them to cast a large net around the area that will help us keep track of that incoming group. Some of them are Jōnin level which can't be good. If we can get eyes on them from a far without risking any of us physically going out there ourselves then all the better." Naruto reasoned while eating an onigiri rice ball. Their dinner was light tonight considering the tension in the air and the situation at hand. They had to be ready at a moments notice if they were attacked.
"I'm with you on that… it would also be a great training opportunity to get us more experience in using your magical abilities." Eva concluded with a tiny shrug of her shoulders. Things have been far to quiet for the last few days. She was on edge and at this point was willing to try anything. If it ended up benefiting them in the long run as an extra bonus, then that was simply one more reason to do it.
"That's an excellent strategy Uzumaki, go through with it." Hayama ordered as he sharpened and cleaned his katana with special cleaning tools. He's been in far too many situations like this over the course of his career to simply become lax now. If these shinobi were a threat, which they most likely were… then he'd be ready.
With the green light given to him Naruto went through the quick chain of hand signs for the unique technique associated with the rare few shinobi who have summoning contracts. "Summoning Jutsu!" Four small puffs of smoke filled the air around Naruto's form as new guests made their presences known. Four small toads slightly larger than the normal species appeared around Naruto's outstretched palm with curious expressions on their amphibious faces. They've never been summoned by this kid before, even Jiraiya rarely summoned their smaller types.
The first toad that Naruto took notice of was a small bright orange toad the size of his head with a wide smile on his face. That fact that he was orange was already a major plus in Naruto's book. He had dark purple pigmentation around his mouth, eyes, and stomach. A dark grey shade of coloration could be seen on the back of the little toads' amphibious web like hands and feet. A dark navy-blue vest like jacket was around the small toads body and just by looking at the little guy Naruto got the funny feeling that this particular one would be a handful.
The second toad to be seen was also an interesting character in Naruto's opinion. This toad was a chubby toad with a mustard yellow color to his body with dark orange pigment around his eyes, mouth, and stomach. Just like with the orange toad next to him this toad had grey colored pigmentation on the backside of his appendages. This toad also had a vest like jacket over his back that was a normal blue in color. A dopey airheaded expression was on this toads face which was an indicator to Naruto that he would get along great with Chaos.
The next toad that Naruto looked over was a female toad surprisingly enough which came as a shock to Naruto who wasn't aware they had female toads. This toad was an aquamarine colored toad with dark magenta colored pigmentation in the same design as the males next to her. Pink blush like marks were around the toads cheeks as a more shy expression could be seen on it's face. A pink frilly like dress jacket was on this toads back with the frills actually being seaweed like leaves. The back of her appendages were a more ash grey like tone that was different compared to her male counterparts.
The last toad that appeared was another male toad with a bright fire red color to his body with dark yellow pigmentation in the prominent shape of lightning bolts around his eyes, mouth, and stomach. The typical dark grey colored shade was also seen on this toads appendages as well. Another unique characteristic of this toad was the fact it had a slim body and bandages wrapped around his legs with a black obi like belt around his waist. This toad also had a red jacket on his back with yellow lightning bolt designs.
'These toads are so unique, the look way different than the Chief Toad. I wonder if they each have special attributes to them?' Naruto thought to himself as he and his other squad mates looked over the toads with their own thoughts in mind. These summoning animals would be great for reconnaissance, especially since they were sentient and could talk.
"Yo!" The orange toad greeted with a very laid back and snobbish tone to his voice as he looked around the camp with a lighthearted curiosity. "Aww! You're so cute!" Chaos squealed in delight as the orange toad suddenly found himself in the psychotic girl's arms. "Oh… we've got a young lady here with some taste! Yo, the name is Gamakichi. What's your toots?" The now named Gamakichi said with a flirtatious swagger in his voice. He had a very distinct and velvet like voice that sounded like a gangster. A twitch came to Naruto's eyebrow at the blatant flirting this little toad was doing with his daughter, granted Naruto understood Gamakichi was a toad and as such he had nothing to worry about for his precious little girl but any attempts at any of his children was enough to set Naruto off.
"My name is Chaos Uzumaki. You're pretty funny." The little Angeloid giggled as she squeezed the little orange toad to her chest in delight. With her abnormal amounts of strength at play Chaos was actually crushing the poor toad in her arms who was now flailing about in panic. "Hey! Hey! Hey! C'mon kid you're killing me here! Hey summoner dude get this kid off of me!" Gamakichi wailed in despair as he saw the annoyed look on Naruto's face before he purposefully turned away from the toad.
"Hey everybody. Is their any food around here?" The yellow toad asked in a very slow and squirrely tone. His chubby cheeks inflated a bit as saliva poured out of his mouth. The little thing was a gluttonous soul that would fit right in with the Akimichi clan if given the chance. "Oh, my goodness! Your cheeks are so cute and pudgy!" Iris squealed as she let her inner girl out by picking up the yellow toad just like her sister. Poking the toad in the cheek Iris cooed in delight while Hayama sweat dropped at the actions he was witnessing. Tekuno had an exasperated look on his face while Kosuke chuckled in good natured delight. It was always refreshing to see the joys of youth and children having fun.
"Hey, Gamatatsu, get me out of this girls arms bro! She's killing me here!" Gamakichi wailed in despair as Chaos continued to squeeze the life out of the swanky toad who was now regretting his earlier actions. The yellow toad turned ever so slowly to face his brother before blankly looking at him for nearly ten seconds straight. The airheaded toad then turned back to Iris before smiling up at her. "Hey miss. Do you have any food?" Gamatatsu was a simple soul at heart and the quaint little blush that came to Iris's face as she excitedly fed the hungry little toad left a warmth in Naruto's heart. "Hey! Gamatatsu you glutton! I'm dying over here tubby!" Gamakichi's derogatory cries of help went woefully unanswered by his younger brother as Naruto cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention.
"Excuse me my name is Naruto Uzumaki, I'm the new Toad summoner. Can you tell me your names?" Naruto politely asked as the last two toads hopped over to his side in obedience. "Hi Mr. Naruto. My name is Gamasoap and I'm a Bubble Toad. I'm at your service." The female Toad croaked in a very soft and respectful tone of voice that allowed Naruto an inclination into this toads personality. It looks like he has met yet another soft-spoken female companion. This was starting to become a very blatant theme.
While Gamasoap croaked a bit in embarrassment when Naruto petted her on the head her fellow companion was a bit more excited in his introduction. "Summoner! Mr. Summoner! I'm over here!" The red and yellow toad chattered excitedly as he hopped up and down in place in his blatant attempts to gather Naruto's attention who couldn't even ignore him if he wanted to try. Waving his hand in the universal sign to placate an individual Naruto watched as the red toad finally calmed down enough to give his name.
"Hey Mr. Naruto! My name is Gamaspeed and I'm a recon and messenger toad. I can get anywhere in the world in a flash. No one can catch me!" The proud and excitable toad boasted as he jumped on top of Naruto's head who blinked in bewilderment at the hyperactive little summon. If he didn't know any better he'd think the little thing had ADHD. If Naruto had any Adderall on him he'd give it to the little lightning bolt jumping up and down on top of his head.
"It's nice to meet you all and just Naruto is fine. I have a very important task for you four and I'm also using this as my chance to familiarize myself with the denizens of Mt. Myōboku. As the new Toad Contract holder, I have a duty to get to know my new partners." Naruto explained to the four toads who all in their own unique way were giving him their attention. "Get off of Naruto's head!" Eva yelled as she blasted Gamaspeed off of Naruto's head with a surge of water. The little winter fairy felt her body get crushed underneath the weight of the hyperactive toad. No one was allowed anywhere near Naruto's head, this was her sacred territory.
Trying his hardest to keep a straight face as the circus act going on around him Naruto cleared his throat to address his new summons. "I have a feeling we will be working together a lot in the future. There will be many times where I will have to call upon your aid in particular when the situation demands it. There will also be times when it would be impractical of me to call upon the Chief Toad for help, so I hope I can depend upon you guys when those times come." Naruto stated as he gave his new personal summons a pep talk that actually got them to pay attention to him fully. It was short, simple, logical, and very sweet. He came off as genuine with his intentions of getting to know them which earned him a plus in all of their books.
"Well you can count on me boss. My pops said you were alright especially after you had this awesome fight against a Tailed Beast." Gamakichi croaked in a friendly tone that actually got Naruto to pause in his thoughts. Blinking at the little orange toad who he secretly loved the color of Naruto felt compelled to ask the next question on his mind. "You're the son of the Chief Toad?" Naruto asked in shock which got a chuckle out of Gamakichi. "Yeah, our daddy is the coolest around. He's super duper strong." Gamatatsu drawled out while stuffing his face full of food that Iris was liberally giving him. Naruto felt his jaw unhinge ever so slight as he looked towards Gamaspeed and Gamasoap with an expectant look on his face, but the other two toads were quick to deny any relations to the chief of the battle toads.
'These two are brothers… they don't even look alike. I could see the strong resemblance from Gamakichi's side but Gamatatsu doesn't look anything like what Gamabunta looks like.' Naruto blinked once more as he slowly absorbed the information given to him. He had no idea the chief had sons. More than that, he wasn't aware of the sheer versatility that the denizens of Mt. Myōboku offered. These were very unique toads.
"Yeah, we've gotten that look before. You see I inherited the good genes in the family." Gamakichi snorted with a chuckle while Iris gasped in shock. "It's kind of like how that girly over there got the better end of the stick compared to this psycho." The orange little toad included causing a scowl to form on Naruto's face while Chaos laughed at the blatant insult thrown her way. While Chaos had no problem with the insults being thrown her way Iris, Eva, and Naruto certainly did as Gamakichi found himself blown out of Chaos's hands by two separate strong gusts of wind curtesy of the little Angeloid's sister and father while Eva finished up this retribution with a large snowball to the punk toad's face.
No one insulted a member of the Uzumaki family and got away with it… nobody.
It took a few minutes but eventually Naruto was able to get the four toads underway with the instructions for their assignment fresh in their minds. He didn't want them to engage or reveal themselves to the unknown force of shinobi in their area. There was a large lake close by on the Land of Grass's side of the border that the larger group would have to pass by on their way towards their squad. It would make for the perfect place for the summoning toads to spy on their opposition.
"Next up is to have some regular animals follow in their footsteps and pass closer to the enemy so that we can see what we're really up against. There is the off chance that these shinobi might be able to sense my toads somehow and I don't want them getting hurt. No one would attack a normal animal." Naruto proposed as Hayama agreed with this assessment from personal experience. No shinobi typically attacked a random animal in their area unless it was for food. They weren't a threat and you could usually tell if an animal was a summoning creature or not.
"Binding Contract Magic: Familiar Binding!" Naruto exclaimed after drawing out a small magic circle on the ground that he traced over with his hybrid like chakra. He still was far from mastering this technique in a more practical sense. In time with full mastery Naruto should be able to perform the technique from a self-generated magical glyph that he could summon on the palm of his hand or from a longer range. The need to physically draw out the glyph on the ground which has the potential to lead to design errors based on the surface it's being formed on and the steadiness of the person's hand could often cause failure and misfortune in the activation of the technique. It was something that couldn't be used in the middle of a battle and had to be repeatedly drawn if the physical representation of the glyph was messed up in any way.
Right away Naruto could feel a noticeable dip in his magical reserves that was tied directly to both his Yōki and Sōkyoku's divine grace flowing within him. He couldn't convert these energy sources into magical abilities very easily. It took a toll on his body as these powers of his were very undeveloped in comparison to his more shinobi like abilities.
A bird was sitting in the middle of the pre-drawn circle in preparation for this moment as Naruto felt a tug on his soul with the activation of the technique. It was faint, but he could now feel this little bird attached to him now as it quickly fluttered up to his shoulder to use as a perch. It's tiny black eyes looked at him in curiosity while it's head twitched and moved in sporadic contortions that birds are known to do. "Fascinating… I've been around long enough to have seen the supernatural. But it is always a privileged treat to see it's mystifying arts in action up close and in person. You are just full of surprises little one." Kosuke commented with a golden sliver of awe in his voice. He's seen a lot in his time, but it was rare for someone to be present for such a demonstration in the magical arts. It was incredibly rare in a world dominated by chakra and the shinobi arts.
"I just need a few more and then I can send them out to scout in a more direct manner. In the meantime, I think we should get ready. That bad feeling, it's coming back again but stronger." Naruto advised as a precaution while Hayama was already holstering his katana to his back. It was both cleaned and sharpened just now by the veteran shinobi. He would be ready for battle if it came to it. The same could be said for Tekuno who was performing last minute checks on all of his sealing scrolls that were filled to the brim with a plethora of weapons of various kinds.
"Tekuno go set up in overwatch position. I want long range coverage of our zone now!" Hayama ordered as he got into the role of commanding officer for their squad. It was time for a potential confrontation with an enemy and he wouldn't allow his precious teammates to be caught unaware by an attack. Their duty was to protect the Land of Fire at all costs and that was what they would do.
"Roger that. You guys keep your heads on a swivel and stay safe." Tekuno parted with a warm smile on his face as he left the camp in a blinding blur of speed while darting off high up into the trees for a high vantage point. He needed to see the entire region around him for the optimal coverage of his comrades. He had technical ways of the weapon variety for dealing with long range targets with stealth and quietness in mind. He was in his element now and nothing could dispute this claim.
"Kosuke scrub the camp and our presence here. We move out into interceptor positions in five minutes. That's just about all the time Tekuno needs to set up properly and get into overwatch." Hayama ordered as the elderly Genin began dismantling their small nondescript campsite. The small campfire would be put out and their tents taken down. The foot prints and disruptions in the ground that they made while occupying this space would be gone along with their sent making it incredibly hard for trackers to pick up their trail.
"Chūnin Uzumaki… I want you to be ready for battle and I need your daughter to scan the area once more so that we can get the latest information." Hayama ordered as he turned to address the Uzumaki family but was shocked to see Chaos dozing off in what appeared to be slumber. "What's the matter with her? She was just up a minute ago." The grey-haired man demanded as the tiny terror was laying down with her head in Iris's lap while her eyes were closed.
'She must know what's about to happen. She's not interfering because this must have something to do with me… but yet… I can also feel that Chaos's reserves of negative energy are depleted down to a lower level. Despite the tension and stress our team has been under for the last few days it wasn't enough for her to feed herself with properly. She's been taking a lot of naps these last few days as a result. Great! Of all the times.' Naruto correctly deduced as he knew there was no point in trying to wake the tiny terror back up or ask for her help. Knowing her if a battle were to break out then she would wake back up, if not… then she would be out like a light for a long time.
"She's going to be of no help to us here sir. Chaos has reached her limit for right now. Iris are you willing to help me when the time comes, or do you want to look after your sister?" Naruto questioned as he wanted to know if Sōkyoku was going to hold back on giving him assistance. It was looking more and more like an actual conflict was on the horizon. "I'm with you daddy." Iris smiled her typical beautiful smile while her eyes flashed it's ethereal emerald green for half a second. It was fast, but not fast enough to escape Hayama's gaze who mentally filed this away for later.
'Lady Sōkyoku… does this upcoming situation have something to do with me?' Naruto asked in his mind for clarification as he wanted to know just how deeply he was tied to whatever danger was coming their way. He wanted to know if he was the intended target or if this was just a random event. 'Of course, Naruto.' It was short, simple, and straight to the point with a hint of amusement in the voice of the primordial being sealed within his soul as Naruto couldn't help the exasperated chuckle from escaping his lips.
'I know I sent out those animals to help me scout the unknown party up ahead but how will I be able to keep in touch with them or interact with them more? My summons are also at a slight disadvantage in the fact they are an easier target to sense if they aren't careful. They'd have to take the long way around to meet back up with us ahead of time from the enemy. Do you have any advice on what I can do Lady Sōkyoku?' Naruto questioned his companion while physically he was checking over all of his equipment while Iris picked Chaos's sleeping body up and placed it on her back. The tiny terror was quite heavy when she wanted to be.
'Yes… I do have an answer.' Sōkyoku replied shortly with a hint of expectation at the tail end of her words. Now this got Naruto's attention as his curiosity and suspense could be sensed by the ancient Phoenix in his soul. 'There is another being you could ask for advice in this matter. I'm sure she's eager to help.' This cryptic response wouldn't remain a mystery for long as the mental image of Miya passed through Naruto's mind at Sōkyoku's hint. Naruto almost forgot he merged his soul with that of the Cauldron of Resonance. Ever since then whenever he went to sleep he would always dream of Hōrai Island and the same could be said for when he enters his mindscape. It's remained largely unchanged but with a very noticeable addition.
Hōrai Island was right off the shoreline of Naruto's mental landscape. The area by the coast where the cave would normally be could now be used as a look out to see the mythical island resting right there in the bay within swimming distance. He hasn't tried going to that area of his mind yet, but it was definitely visible from the world tree that houses Sōkyoku's birdcage. When he went to have his long-awaited conversation with Sōkyoku a few weeks ago he completely missed this glaring addition to his mind but afterwards with subsequent visits back to his mind after that day Naruto discovered the mental representation of his ancestral homeland. He was hoping to go explore that mental realm soon.
With a firm answer now in place Naruto dug deeper into his subconscious than he usually ever goes. Miya was now an important part of his soul since he was the new Shī-ō of the Land of Whirlpools. This symbolic relationship has existed between the High Priestess of the Land of Whirlpools and her mortal counterpart in the Shī-ō for centuries. Now it was Naruto's turn to carry on this sacred tradition and use it's many benefits to its fullest potential.
A tug on his mind was Naruto's cue that he was connected to Miya now who he felt enter his more active mind with her tranquil presence that caused a feeling of serenity to envelope his body and soul. "I see it's finally time for us to start communicating." Miya's ethereal voice resounded through Naruto's mind as he was pulled into a pseudo trance like state where he could see the Goddess right in front of him. His physical body was still carrying out it's actions in the real world but now Naruto was face to face with the Priestess who was now smiling at him in the same way she did when they first met.
"It's good to see you again Lady Miya. I can already assume you know why I'm here?" Naruto couldn't help but state as that knowing look was on the joyful woman's face. Her ability to just simply read his mind was an annoying gesture that he was going to need to get used to. She knew everything before he did.
"Yes… you would like my consultation on connecting with familiars you temporarily bind to you with the Binding Contract Spell that I taught you. I do have the answers you seek. It's going to be a lesson that will serve you well in the near future." Miya instructed while taking a seat in front of Naruto prompting him to do the same out of respect. "Really…?" Naruto inquired as the goddess was giving him a hint towards the future. He wasn't expecting her to do that here of all times. "Yes… magic isn't really your forte and I don't expect you to replace your instinctual shinobi related skills with it. It will simply serve its purpose as an alternative in more esoteric and specific situations that more often than not might be supernatural related. I don't recommend you using it during combat since you don't know any offensive spells yet." Miya warned with an iota of concern in her voice that Naruto would be a fool not to heed.
He understood the dangers of magic well enough. Any number of things could have gone wrong in just drawing that magic circle earlier for his binding spell. It wasn't a form of battle that had any place in the shinobi world. Only masters of the art could create the magical glyphs from their own energy without worrying about messing up the design and even then, magic spells are created and locked by rules to create only one effect. If you want to conjure up a fireball then you'll only get a fireball and nothing else. You couldn't manipulate it's form without adding extra types of magic to the equation and all of that takes time.
With chakra and ninjutsu respectfully, the entire process is carried out seamlessly by the shinobi who oftentimes use hand signs to direct the entire process from start to finish in creating a technique that can be modified mid use in the heart of battle with a simple change in hand signs. The sheer versatility and natural edge chakra gives a person who is born with it and depends on it for survival beats a person with magical powers who have to learn a multitude of different battle related spells to compete with a shinobi in physical might. Of course, these stipulations are more lenient and specified when it comes to pure magical beings who rely upon magic in the same way that shinobi rely on chakra.
The rock, paper, scissors aspect of chakra vs. mana is a subject that honestly doesn't belong within the shinobi world. It was why it's such a rarity and the dominant and native form of energy is chakra and ninjutsu. This detriment was the exact reason why Naruto wouldn't be able to rely on magic as his primary source of combat. It's more foreign to their world and abstract compared to fighting as a shinobi. He would only use it for supplementary uses whenever the situation called for it.
"I understand… so, is there a way for you to help me Lady Miya?" Naruto continued with a slight edge of anticipation in his voice that Miya was able to pick up on without difficulty. She understood his impatience as he felt danger lurking over the horizon for him and his team. She could respect that.
"It's a simple task really. Grab on to my divine grace and wash yourself with it. Think of the animal you have formed this bond with and bathe them in this energy to. Focus it in particular to any of your organs such as your eyes or ears to get a more specific enhanced result. You must meditate first to get the hang of it. In time this will become second nature to you and you will constantly feel a partners presence within you without any distractions or discomfort. So, let's practice really quick. It's a very easy trick without a steep learning curve." Miya instructed as she prompted Naruto to enter a meditative stance which he quickly assumed.
Taking a deep breath Naruto began pulling on the divine grace within his body that belonged to Miya. Once again, he felt this air of similarity in Miya's powers that he's always felt with Sōkyoku. As much as the curiosity was burning at his soul to ask this question Naruto knew now wasn't the time to get distracted. In moments Naruto felt a tug on his very soul as the whole world opened up to him. The presence of the ocean was the first sensation that Naruto felt as he became disoriented from his new perspective.
He was seeing Hōrai Island below him now with tiny little villagers all congregating around him and petting his armor like scales? "Wait what? What's going on?" Naruto wailed as he grabbed his head in nausea, he felt like he wasn't in his own body. "You just connected yourself to Gōra. He's in the bay of the island right now entertaining the villagers. There are even some of them walking on his shell. He is the very first creature you have performed a successful contract with and since he has been the sacred guardian of Hōrai Island for hundreds of years it will come more natural to you as his partner and Shī-ō to connect with him first." Miya informed as she patted Naruto on the head with her simple touch erasing the nauseous feeling swirling around in his head. This task was going to take some getting used to.
"Let's try again… this time picture the bird you first started off with." This was how the lesson went between the Shī-ō and the Priestess as they began their new symbolic relationship that has been carried out for dozens of generations. It was a task that Naruto's grandfather on his mother's side had to do as he was the very last Shī-ō to be crowned. Kushina was supposed to be the next Shī-ō but she died before ever receiving the mantle.
Back in the real-world time was progressing with Hayama, Kosuke and Naruto taking off to set up an ambush for their unsuspecting guest. Naruto's body was working on autopilot right now with Iris keeping a close eye on her father whose eyes were closed the entire time. It was a lucky thing too. If they were open everyone would see that Naruto's eyes were glowing the same powerful emerald color that Sōkyoku's eyes are.
While very much concerned for Naruto's state of being Hayama was assured by Iris that he was completely fine. The old veteran has never seen someone move while in meditation. It was practically unheard of before. Kosuke was of the same mind set but he chose to trust in Naruto's judgement as Hiruzen during his lifetime often told him stories of just how unique and bizarre things in Naruto's life could get. As long as he wasn't in any discomfort or distress then Kosuke would keep his thoughts to himself.
2 Hours Later
The confirmation that everyone was looking for would be coming to them in mere moments as Naruto finally woke up from his trance. "Daddy you're back." Iris exclaimed while still holding on to Chaos's sleeping form. The apocalyptic angel of chaos was as still as a statue, but Iris knew her fraternal twin sister would wake up any minute now. It was almost time after all.
"Yeah… that was some experience Iris. But I've got the hang of this technique down now. It's not perfect yet but it's just fine for our situation here." Naruto explained as he patted Iris on the head in thanks while sending her a wink. Her usual blush of affection came to her face as she snuggled into Naruto's side who embraced her and Chaos with one arm.
"Sir, it's bad. Really bad." Naruto called out to Hayama who was a few trees away. The older man narrowed his eyes in concern to this as he prompted Naruto to continue. "It's an entire platoon of Hidden Stone Shinobi. They're the ones we've been tracking, and they're headed right for us. I already ordered my summons to flank them and follow their group in from behind. They've picked up their pace once they got near the border. I think they'll be here any minute now." Naruto informed as Kosuke and Hayama both shared looks with one another. This was really bad as Naruto said. If the Hidden Stone were the ones involved, then that could mean this was like an expeditionary vanguard force meant to probe their defenses and establish a foothold in the Land of Fire. This could potentially be the precursor to a full-on invasion.
"Chūnin Uzumaki… get a message out to the other squads in our zone. Warn them of a potential invasion. They'll send a message for reinforcements to the Leaf. Everyone prepare for battle." Hayama ordered as he started to circulate his chakra throughout his body in response to this new development. A full out battle couldn't be avoided now if their mortal enemies were the ones involved.
Naruto didn't need to be told twice as he used a few more animals to send written messages out to the other three squads in their patrol section. "Eva are you ready?" It was a lifelong question that Naruto's asked his partner since the very beginning and it would be a question he'd continue to ask her for the rest of their lives as the Uzumaki clan head felt the usual amounts of Yōki flooding his system from his beloved partner. It was time for them to dive right back into the fray once more with a very important task ahead of them. The fate of the Land of Fire and Hidden Leaf Village could potentially be in jeopardy. He could not fail on this day no matter what. "Always partner."
Those were the last civil words Naruto and Eva were able to share with each other before a hail of kunai and shuriken blasted through the colorful tree tops causing Naruto and the others to scatter for safety. It looks like the enemy was moving faster than anticipated. Because they were here.
"IRIS! Take your sister and fall back for now. Once she wakes up get ready!" Naruto screamed as he created several dozen shadow clones that all started to scatter in different directions to cover his daughters retreat. This surprise attack was without provocation which meant hostilities were at an all time high. This unprovoked attack couldn't be ignored now.
Doing as told Iris rushed back to what used to be their campsite while Naruto and his squad was met head on with eight of what would turn out to be a forty-man platoon. "Well, well, well… what do we have here? Blond hair, blue eyes, and wearing orange. I think we found our prey." A woman wearing the traditional attire of the Hidden Stone zeroed in with a grin adoring her face. She had charcoal black hair with burgundy highlighted tips on her bags. Her hair was tied into a small bun on the top of her head while her black eyes held no warmth or compassion in them whatsoever. She was a shapely woman with large breast and a slim waist which was another tally in Naruto's books that all kunoichi were ridiculously hot.
"What does the Hidden Stone want with us? Are you invading?" Hayama demanded as he rejoined Naruto and Kosuke in a unified front in the face of this threat. Things were about to go down. "Maybe… for now all we want is the spawn of the Fourth Hokage. The head of two of the four Hidden Leaf Legendary Titan's will satisfy us and probably make us leave in peace." The woman answered truthfully with a blood thirsty grin on her face while Naruto gasped in shock. 'Spawn… this is what Jiraiya was hinting at. I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage. Why didn't I ever see it before? Jiraiya was the Jōnin sensei to Minato Namikaze back in the day. I feel like my head is spinning.' Naruto caved in on himself as this revelation was not what he was expecting.
They were here for him because of who his parents were. That could only mean they wanted revenge for the catastrophic amounts of damage and casualties his father the Yellow Flash caused to the Hidden Stone military. He single handedly wiped out a legion of over 1000 enemy Hidden Stone Ninja in one fell swoop completely bringing that bloody battle which was stalemating for over 2 months to an end in under 120 seconds. The effect any of the Titan's could cause whenever they entered a battle was psychological and prolific. They were game changers in every sense of the word.
'So, they want the legacy of our village. I will not let them get their hands on him. If they kill him not only will our village lose a very loyal and powerful shinobi, but the Nine Tails will be reborn into the world and there's no telling where it will spawn. If any of our enemies get to it first it could spell the end of the village if they can harness its destructive power. The protection of our Jinchūriki should be our top priority.' Hayama thought to himself as he drew his sword in preparation for what he knew was going to be a bloody battle.
'We must stop these ninja here or everything will be lost. I am prepared for what I must do.' Kosuke resolved in his mind as he drew his short sword in readiness. The bloodthirsty look on their enemy's face was enough to let him know they weren't leaving until they got what they wanted.
"So… you guys are after me huh?" Naruto questioned in a quiet tone that drew the attention of everyone around him. "You got that right runt! Your little daddy did a number on us back in the war. He's not here now but we're going to take our pound of flesh from you for every person he took from us. You're nothing but a bastard child who shouldn't have been allowed to live." Another ninja spoke who had scars and welts littering his body while some of his teeth were either rotting out or completely missing. He didn't look like he took care of himself really well.
Naruto would be lying to both himself and you if he said that the last comment thrown his way didn't scratch at his heart. All he's ever wanted was to be able to live with his parents. He wanted to be raised by them. For most of his life up until very recently he had no idea who either of them were. To now know he was the son of two of the strongest shinobi to ever live filled his being with a surge of pride. His parents were loved by many and were hailed as good people. He wanted to live up to their legacy and to hear such acidic words from a stranger hurt more than he would ever care to admit.
"If you are anything like your old man then we can't let you live. You'll just become a threat later on in life that we don't need." Another person said as Naruto's shoulders started to shake worrying his teammates and causing the unknown to them escaped convicts to laugh. "Oh… what is this? Is the baby going to cry now?!" These taunts weren't going to last long however as a dense pressure settled down on the entire area crushing the shoulders of everyone present with the force being lighter on Hayama and Kosuke's shoulders.
"You have a very good reason to be afraid of me you bastards…" Naruto's voice started out as a whisper which was accompanied by a dense shroud of multicolored cerulean chakra that covered Naruto's form in its cloaking nature. The pressure in the area continued to bare down on the convicts with sweat building up on their bodies in waves. The amount of chakra Naruto was releasing was staggering. "… BECAUSE I'M EVERYTHING LIKE MY FATHER!" Naruto roared as his chakra spiked to its apex before he disappeared from his tree branch causing the entire thing to disintegrate from the force of his launch. A massive shockwave nearly took Hayama and Kosuke off their feet as well as Naruto raced through the treetops with such speeds that the opposing ninja couldn't even begin to track him.
If Naruto's speed didn't shock everyone present, then the very distinctive sound of chakra coalescing together into a violent maelstrom sure did as a bright light blue light showed itself through the treetops as Naruto along with a clone could be seen forming the legendary Rasengan in his hand. 'That's the Rasengan! He knows the Fourth's signature technique!' Hayama shouted in his mind as the unmistakable sound and sight of a Rasengan coming into existence whistled against the ears of the opposing parties leaving everyone in a perpetual state of shock and awe.
'That's the legendary Rasengan! One of the two signature techniques of the Yellow Flash… and this ungodly speed! This boy truly is his son!' The woman from earlier froze in place as her heart was hammering in her chest as the mental overlaying image of Minato Namikaze replaced Naruto in her mind as she was a shinobi who could claim to see the Yellow Flash in action back during the war and live to tell the tale about it… granted it was because she wasn't in his direct path and a retreat order had been given to all of her comrades back then. But the fact still remained that she bore witness to the Legendary Titan tearing through entire squads of her men during battles and what infuriated her the most was he always did it in defense of his own comrades who were trying to retreat or fall back. He was a selfless man who always jumped head first into danger if it meant his own people could survive to see another day. His selflessness made her sick.
"You Genin get up here and block him now!" The woman yelled as she managed to get her body moving again and with purpose in her heart, she jumped back letting five of the men she brought with her take her place. Even though they were convicts, these men used to be Genin of the Hidden Stone Village. Most of them were convicted of war crimes or normal abuse of their powers over the years. They were stripped of their rank from an early age and thrown in prison for their sentencing terms. They weren't the traditional Genin anymore. What they lacked in the norm that most would associate with the average Genin they made up for it in the toughness that was carved into them for being in prison all these years.
The hesitation was clear in the eyes of these selected men as they conjured up weak defenses in the face of Naruto's wrath. "RASENGAN!" Naruto roared as he slammed his fully constructed sphere of chakra into the upper chest of the man in the middle of the formation who had turned his arms into stone to use as a defense. The sad thing was because of that tactic his arms became to heavy for him to move in time. They became his downfall as he felt the grinding forces of the Rasengan tear into his body with the force of a storm. Twisting his wrist in a clockwise manner Naruto detached himself from the Rasengan causing it to rapidly expand uncontrollably while he was flung back purposefully by its repulsive nature. A shockwave tore through the formation causing the other four men to be violently flung through the air into adjacent trees while their friend that was hit was swallowed up in a massive sphere of chakra that was as large as he was.
This massive sphere of chakra turned a blinding white as the same phenomena that afflicted Kabuto nearly a month prior and took him out of the fight against Naruto happened to this unfortunate prisoner as the sphere shot off like a canon and flew straight to the ground smashing through several trees along the way before exploding against the ground in a violent explosion that rattled the surrounding trees sending birds and wildlife scattering for safety. No one could even take a breath as Naruto wasn't done quite yet. "Tempest Turn!" Four tempest clones spawned off of Naruto's dwindling accelerating turn that shot off in the direction of the four other Genin that were thrown back by his attack.
If any of those four ninja had recovered from being slammed through the thick brush of the tree tops, then none of them could capitalize on this fact as two shadow clones from Naruto each grabbed on to their prone bodies that were created at the very beginning of this conflict when Naruto was covering his children's escape. The sad thing was these clones weren't normal Shadow Clones, they were Exploding Shadow Clones and when the tempest clones slammed into their pinned down captives massive explosions rung out in the fading sun light killing all four ninja in an instant.
Landing back down on a nearby tree branch Naruto with a cold fire in his eyes stared into the shocked eyes of the three ninja that were left while his own teammates were shocked at not only his forethought but the brutality and efficiency in which he dispatched his enemies. 'She's sacrificed the lives of her Genin for her own gain… unforgivable… she was just like me.' Kosuke growled in his mind as he couldn't forgive the heinous and deplorable actions of what he assumed to be the enemies leader.
'His skills are sublime… his judgement, analytical mentality, mobility, and efficiency are all off the charts. He truly is his father's son.' Hayama couldn't help but praise in awe as Naruto single handedly killed five enemy combatants in under 10 seconds and all in the same attack sequence that he had built upon in the heat of the moment.
"Who's next?" Naruto growled as the leader of the group gritted her teeth in rage. "You're just like your bastard of a father!" The woman screamed as she rocketed off from her position with a ferocity that only Hidden Stone Ninja have. Crossing the distance in an instant a kunai flashed into her hand as she attempted to stab Naruto who was pulled aside into a clean side step by the clone who helped him form his Rasengan earlier. As the woman passed by Naruto he was able to catch a glimpse of the back of her neck with his sharp eyesight. What he saw there bewildered him. 'Is that a serial number… is she a prisoner?' This thought plagued Naruto's mind as the woman touched down on a tree branch behind him with vengeance in her eyes. Unfortunately for her before she could further act on her impulses she was besieged by Kosuke who appeared on the branch with her with an overhead slash from his short sword.
"You sacrifice the lives of those under your command! Unforgivable!" The force of his swing sent the two combatants tumbling down through the thick foliage to the ground below while Hayama shot off from his position to block a large shuriken thrown by one of the last ninja with them. Turning back to the task at hand Naruto created his signature twins swords in his hand to prepare himself for the battle to come as the last ninja with them which was a fellow former Chūnin like him charged at him with a battle cry.
"Yōjutsu: Water Celebration!" Eva wanted a piece of this action as well since a powerful surge of cerulean colored water blindsided the charging Chūnin who was caught in midair and vulnerable to this lightning fast assault. Drenched in heavy Yōki infused water the nameless convict looked up to see Naruto perched above him with Eva floating next to his head. "Ah… a demon?" The man choked out as he coughed up water from his lungs. "Demonic Art: Winter Fairy Freeze Vision." The escapee wouldn't get a chance to neither speak nor retaliate again after this point as the water on his clothes turned to frigid cold ice that froze him to his spot indefinitely.
"It feels good to be in the thick of it again Naru… my blood's boiling." Eva purred in delight as her more demonic instincts started to manifest themselves. Her eyes flashed red as Naruto felt the untamable and ferocious nature of his partner rubbing off on him with his Yōki stirring in anticipation. It wanted to cut loose, and Naruto was feeling more and more inclined to indulge it. They were here for him… so as far as he saw it he wasn't obligated to hold back.
"Mine to Eva… let's show them we're not an easy target to take down." Naruto jeered as he took off from his position to catch up with Hayama who had already taken out his opponent with a swiftness born from his many years of experience. A thunderous explosion in the distance ahead of them was a prominent indicator that some of the enemy ninja were running into the pre-laid traps set up by their team. Tekuno from his vantage point must be having a field day as he had a crossbow in his arms with a scope attached to it. With each pull of his trigger a thin arrow bolt would shoot through the air with a paper bomb tag wrapped around the body of the arrow to deliver a hefty payload of explosive force to any unfortunate soul caught in his iron sights.
Coming upon Kosuke's battle with the de facto leader of the enemy platoon Naruto and Hayama were moments away from intervening when thirteen more shinobi broke through the thick foliage to appear before them. They were coming through in waves meant to stagger and overwhelm their target while also ensuring that the entire group is not accidentally caught in any wide range counter attack. This plan was effective as eight more shinobi were already caught by some of these traps and Kosuke's sniping supremacy.
"This is the brat that we're after?" One of the men drawled as he took out brass knuckles with his building muscles rippling across his body in anticipation. A close combat type. Things were about to get interesting for Naruto as the man took off from his spot with reckless abandon. He wasn't interested in small talk as Naruto met his charge at the same time. In mere moments the two shinobi met head on one a Chūnin and the other a former Jōnin turned serial murder with a bloodthirsty disposition for a clash.
Naruto saw the phenomena happening seconds before it was to late. The man's fists were heating up to a dangerous degree as the grin on his face grew in proportion to this. "Explosive Style: Napalm Wrecker!" The man shouted as Naruto felt his instincts take over as he synced up with Eva who together were controlling the actions of his body. The synergy that the two partners had could never be overcome as Naruto retaliated to this dangerous technique in seconds. "Accelerated Punch!" The two attacks met in the middle with a thunderous explosion shaking the surrounding trees. The repercussions from the explosion sent Naruto flying back while the explosive user slammed into a nearby tree.
"He packs a punch." Eva deadpanned as she couldn't help the joke that was desperate to come out even despite the fact she was feeling surges of bloodlust. "I think we needed that joke Eva after all of the stress we've been under these last few days." Naruto chuckled in a muted demeanor as even now he could feel the stress of the entire situation bearing down on his shoulders. His home and country could be going to a full scale war with the Land of Earth if this battle turned out badly. He had to avoid that disastrous outcome at all cost… no matter what he had to do.
"You think this is a joke boy! I'll give you something to laugh at!" The shinobi roared as he threw dozens of shuriken at Naruto before chasing in after them with his fist heating up once more. "The name's Jotaro Koetsu and I'm going to enjoy every second of pounding you into oblivion!" The gruff looking man yelled as he charge in. There was a noticeable theme with all of these men that Naruto was starting to notice. These supposed enemies all looked like they've been confined for years on end. To be honest they looked like stereotypical prisoners in Naruto's opinion. 'What's going on here? It's like these ninja haven't fought in years. They're in shape and all but they're sloppy. Not refined in the way I'd expect them to be.' Naruto questioned to himself as he absentmindedly formed a single hand sign for the technique he's known for most of his life. At this point he has mastered the technique to the point he only needs one sign for it.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!" A massive gust of wind plowed through the hailstorm of shuriken coming to him as if they weren't even there to begin with. The small throwing stars reversed directions ahead of Jotaro who was also being pushed back by Naruto's powerful technique. This wasn't the position the explosive man wanted to be in as he quickly thought of a counter to his predicament. "Explosive Style: Napalm Backdraft!" It was a snap decision on the grizzled man's part and one that worked to his benefit as a massive backdraft firestorm ignited between Naruto and Jotaro setting the forest ablaze as a wall of flames came barreling at the blond haired Uzumaki who admittedly panicked at this unexpected development. The oxygen rich attack from Naruto's end mixed in well with the flammable gases created by Jotaro's attack creating the perfect recipe for a fire storm.
"Eva!" Naruto called out as the scarlet flames diffused across the forest headed straight for the Uzumaki duo who had seconds to react. "Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!" Naruto was first as he spat out hundreds of gallons of water within an instant just as Eva made her move. "Yōjutsu: Ice Wall!" The rumbling surge of water instantly froze over into a thick wall of ice that stopped the firestorm in its tracks.
The cold air from the ice mixed with the super-heated air from the flames on the opposite side created a second explosion of steam knocking Naruto back once more while Jotaro jumped back to his squad mates who backed him up in response. "Earth Style: Mud Bomb Jutsu!" The three former Chūnin ninja who joined Jotaro all rained down cover fire for their companion by launching thick globs of chakra packed mud at Naruto who had the decision of retaliating taken out of his hands by none other than Hayama.
"Wind Style: Slicing Palm Waves Jutsu!" Waving his hand in rapid motions the squad captain launched dozens of small crescent shaped blades of razor-sharp wind that tore through the incoming attacks with ease. Scattering to safety to dodge the incoming blades of wind the four ninja were left wide open to Hayama's follow up attack. "Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu!" Channeling a thin current of chakra into his sword Hayama swung his katana around in a wide arc producing a massive crescent wave of wind that tore through three nearby trees and cut the leg off of one of the supporting Chūnin. His screams rung in Naruto's ears as he took advantage of the opening given to him by his superior.
"Acceleration!" Taking off like a rocket Naruto appeared in between Jotaro and his comrades in the blink of an eye with his hands outstretched with shards of ice building up on his fingertips. "Ice Style: Icicle Bullets!" The opposing Chūnin who just had his leg cut off had no way of dodging this follow up attack and so he took an icicle bullet to the back of his skull courtesy of Naruto who let out a deep sigh of regret. 'I truly hate doing this… but it has to be done.' Regret would forever plague Naruto's heart at having to do such brutal acts against his enemies, but he would steel his heart if it were absolutely necessary… and now was such a time.
Before any of the men could fully react to Naruto outmaneuvering them Hayama came barreling in with his sword shrouded in his potent Wind Nature Chakra. Taking a swing at Jotaro with a lightning quick horizontal slash Hayama watched as the admittedly very skilled man brought his hands which were rapidly heating up close to the edge of his sword that he just ever so slightly managed to lean out of the way of. The incendiaries inside of the chakra coating Jotaro's hands ignited after coming into contact with the oxygen supercharged blade inches away from him created a miniature explosion that knocked the explosive man off course and out of the path of Naruto's follow up icicle bullets that would have torn into his back had he not moved.
'I've had enough time to study these guys and I know for a fact I recognize him from Mr. Aspen's Bingo Book. His name is Jotaro Koetsu and he was a former Jōnin and captain of the Hidden Stone's Explosive Corps. He took over following the death of Gari the previous captain who died a little while ago. He was put in prison when he got drunk one night at a bar and got into a fight with a fellow patron. He accidentally killed him by causing him to explode with his Kekkei Genkai. The explosion set the whole building on fire killing everyone else inside but him. He's supposed to be serving life in prison. So, what is he doing here?' Naruto questioned to himself as he and Hayama fell back while Jotaro retreated to a far-off tree across the clearing.
"Captain… something isn't right here. This man's name is Jotaro Koetsu. He's supposed to be currently serving life in prison for multiple counts of murder. On the back of his neck I saw a prison serial number. I noticed the same tattoo on the back of that woman who is fighting Mr. Kosuke. What's going on here?" Naruto revealed with concern lacing his voice which was matched by the expression to come onto Hayama's face. This was troubling. 'What are prisoner's from the Hidden Stone doing here dressed as their shinobi? What kind of assault is this… is there something we're missing?' The mystery of this unprovoked attack was growing more and more.
"I see what you're saying. The woman Kosuke is fighting… her name is Katakura Kusu. She was sent to prison after she was convicted of sacrificing all of the Genin and Chūnin under her command on missions going back for more than a decade now. She was even known for this back during the last great war. She was finally found guilty five years ago. Kosuke has a big problem with that sort of mentality. She's very skilled in her own right." Hayama informed with a scowl forming on his face. This wasn't making any sense. Why are they being attacked by a group filled with confirmed prisoners?
An explosion off in the distance sounded out in the forest alerting the two-leaf ninja to the larger battle at hand. The many traps that they had set up were being triggered as they speak taking a few unsuspecting enemies with them. The rest were being pinned down by Tekuno who was picking them off from his well-hidden position that none of the shinobi could fine. Already he had three kills by head shot from his crossbow. More were going to fall by this method as it was taking a small burden off of the other three member of Patrol Squad 9.
"You're pretty good kid… I can see a bit of your father in you. He had a brutal ferocity about him in battle that has taken the lives of many shinobi. I can't let you live past this day." Jotaro praised while igniting sparks on his hands in a threatening manner. His gruff and haggard appearance did nothing to deter from his dangerous aura. He was still a skilled man to be feared.
"I can't die today… I have a lot of people to live for and I won't ever leave them. You can try to kill me Jotaro, but I won't make it easy on you." Naruto countered with a ferocity in his eyes that caused a savage grin to appear on his enemies face. "I won't be the only one trying to get their hits in." Jotaro hinted as two strong chakra signatures that Naruto was sensing since the beginning entered the clearing and joined Jotaro on his side. These two shinobi were strong enough to make it through Tekuno's defensive net. Along with them the other twelve Chūnin and Genin level ninja that initially appeared with Jotaro joined them forming a perimeter around Naruto and Hayama trapping them inside. Five more Chūnin and Genin could be felt by Naruto boxing in Kosuke while the last six remaining ninja of this 40-man attack force were busy being picked off by Tekuno and the many traps they had laid down in preparation for this moment.
Things were going to get crucial from this point onwards… they were serious about getting their hands-on Naruto and they had the numbers to do it. Looking at Jotaro Koetsu with a critical eye Naruto took in his appearance as this man has stood out to him so far. He had shaggy short black hair with his sides shaven down to a buzz cut. His face was youthful nearing his 30's with brown eyes glaring at Naruto who returned the gesture with one of his own. Most of these men had the traditional uniforms of the Hidden Stone Village with the protective clothing having the distinctive colors of grey, browns, and burgundy's that articulated the rustic nature of the Land of Earth.
Jotaro was an intimidating man but if you could describe him with such an adjective the you could definitely call the stoutly man that stood besides him the same thing but with ten times the emphasis. This man looked like a giant brick wall. This man was a short and stout bald-headed individual with sunken in black eyes and a hardened face that spoke of his cross demeanor. His grizzled face was aged with the haggard life he's lived with him being 42 years old. The man was so short and has such a low center of gravity that he barely had a defined neck that led down into very broad shoulders and a thick torso and waist area that had equal amounts of muscles and thick fat that was as solid as stone.
This man's name was Tomohiro Ishii and his nickname was the Stone Pitbull of the Hidden Stone. He was a former Jōnin of the village who was convicted of the horrific murder of 11 students and 1 teacher after a dispute he had with the Chūnin teacher of the academy. Tomohiro had always been known for his stubborn and uncompromising nature… he was very brutal and hot headed in all aspects of life with a pit-bull like mentality. He was often unleashed upon his enemies with his teammates hanging back to allow him to rampage uncontrollably. His bulldozing charge like attacks eventually gave him the moniker The Stone Pitbull because of this attribute and it was this attack that killed the Chūnin teacher and destroy an entire section of the academy building. Tomohiro was serving consecutive life sentences with him almost getting the death sentence.
The last of this prominent trio was a younger woman named Tsuchimikado Fusa who was known as Melting Point. She like many other kunoichi in the world is a beautiful woman with undeniable attractiveness to her. Tsuchimikado had bright lava red colored hair with black highlights and spots scattered throughout her long upper back length hair that gave off the illusion that she was covered in a veil of lava. Her eyes were a striking pink while matching lipstick settled her face nicely. She had well-proportioned c-cup breasts and a slim waist while she wore a more modified version of the Hidden Stone's uniform.
Just like with all of the others Tsuchimikado was a criminal and her offense… she was a terrorist. Tsuchimikado was born with the Lava Style Kekkei Genkai which wasn't uncommon in the Land of Earth. She grew up to develop her powers to a formidable degree making her one of the top five strongest users of the style in the entire village. However, despite all of that skill Tsuchimikado hated the way the government was run in the Hidden Stone Village. To get back at them she destroyed an aqueduct in a nearby resource rich town by turning a local river into a mote of flowing magma that completely destroyed the river and sent lava traveling down into the pipes and sewer systems of the town which inevitably seeped into the houses and buildings completely destroying the entire infrastructure of the village leaving almost everyone who lived in it homeless.
For her crimes she was sentenced to life in prison for the tens of millions of Ryō it costed the Land of earth to rebuild that very important town that was rich in resources and crops that the Hidden Stone Village and several other villages in its area relied upon. While no one died in her attack the sheer fact she completely destroyed the infrastructure of such a crucial town to the entire country was all the action needed to have her thrown away for life. She hated the way her village and the governing body conducted themselves, but she equally hated the Leaf for contributing to the violence and bloodshed caused on all sides of the conflict. At the end of the day she was an activist and extremist who wanted change.
The last person of note was the woman fighting Kosuke whose name was Katakura Kusu and her offense was for her blatant acts of sacrificing those under her command particularly Genin who she thought had no promise. Over the course of her career she was single handedly responsible for the deaths of 17 Genin, 13 Chūnin, and 2 fellow Jōnin with the evidence found by one of those two fellow Jōnin who confronted her on her actions which lead to the death of their Genin causing her to murder him in a fit of rage. That act would be her downfall as the ANBU caught her swiftly after that with a conviction of being guilty being indisputable. She was also serving life without the chance of ever getting out.
These men and women were hardened criminals of the highest order. They weren't shinobi to be respected but feared. With this in mind Naruto and Hayama knew that the situation has changed now. These individuals had to be defeated now or the damage that they could cause later on would be detrimental if this conflict were to escalate to a full-on war. What made things worse was the fact that all four of these ninja were A – Rank ninja. They were each individually strong in their own areas and now Naruto knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had to go beyond his limits.
"There will be no escape for you boy… let's get him!" Jotaro declared as he charged in with Tomohiro and Tsuchimikado joining him in this endeavor. Hayama felt his heart pounding in his chest as he wanted to meet this charge head on in Naruto's stead but just as the three powerful Jōnin charged in the other 11 Chūnin and Genin used this opportunity to blitz the veteran and separated him from Naruto in the blink of an eye. "Naruto! They're trying to separate us. You must fall back until reinforcements arrive. You can't take them by yourself. Make sure Iris and Chaos are safe!" Hayama screamed while using Naruto's first name for the first time. While not individually stronger than him by a long shot the sheer fact that 11 combatants were swarming Hayama and cutting him off from getting to Naruto was making it difficult for all parties involved. He couldn't in good faith let Naruto take on three Jōnin by himself, but his path was blocked now and if he wanted to help his subordinate then he would have to deal with the threat in front of him.
'I have to win no matter what!' Naruto's resolve couldn't waiver in a time like this as he met the charge of the three adults coming his way. He wasn't stupid. The second he turned his back to these ninja he'd be killed. He also wasn't dumb enough to run back and lead them to where his children were. If Chaos was still asleep then that would make her vulnerable unless she wakes up upon feeling their killing intent. If his girls come to his aid instead it would be all the better as they could get the drop on these ninja and easily help him turn the tide of this battle.
Naruto felt free and unchained as he ran at a speed, he never thought he could achieve as he charged up the tree with the opposing ninja doing the same. Jotaro met Naruto in the middle first as sparks flew between the two shinobi who clashed kunai together. Flipping over each other Naruto threw his kunai at Jotaro's exposed back before immediately recreating his ice swords in his hands in preparation for Tsuchimikado's incoming assault in the form of kunai of her own.
Spinning around on the tree Jotaro caught the incoming kunai before throwing it back at Naruto who sidestepped the older woman's initial strike causing her to fall into the path of this incoming kunai that with her instinctive reflexes, she deflected away from her causing it to spin in the air before popping and turning into a clone of Naruto. "Ice Style: Ice Kunai Barrage Jutsu!" A hailstorm of kunai were launched from the clone of Naruto at near point-blank range forcing the neon red headed woman to jump away from the tree relieving Naruto of his pressure… or so he thought.
"Earth Style: Granite Rush!" A meteor in the form of Tomohiro came crashing down onto the real Naruto with the added momentum of gravity on his side just as Naruto crossed his swords to block this attack. 'I feel like I was hit by one of Lady Tsunade's finger flicks! This guys strength is monstrous!' Naruto screamed in his mind as he took a look at the husky man barreling into him and he was shocked to see that the convict had encased his entire body from head to toe in a thin but bulky layer of granite giving his body a highly impregnable defense.
The force of the impact was so great that not only were Naruto's swords shattered on impact, but the two fighters were launched clear off the tree on a collision course with the ground. Before Naruto's clone could even react to help it's creator it was killed by a lightning quick kunai throw from Jotaro that popped it while it was distracted. Naruto knew he had to do something and quick as he charged up his chakra cloak in a split second. "Tempest Turn!" Two tempest clones came to life off of Naruto's body who pulled their creator out of the way of his downwards descent causing Tomohiro to slam into the ground with such force that the earth was caved in forming a destructive crater. Deciding to add insult to injury Naruto sent his speedy clones in after the Stone Pitbull while he turned his attention back to Jotaro who was upon him in the blink of an eye.
"Explosive Style: Napalm Wrecker!" This time both of his hands were superheated to scorching levels as the bomber attempted to punch Naruto who backpedaled as much as he could. 'I can't let his fist touch me and I can't afford to attack him in a linear fashion. I have to dig deep and evolve my style and approach to combat.' Naruto's thoughts transformed themselves into action as he felt a fire lite underneath him metaphorically as Tsuchimikado closed the gap from behind him leaving him in a pincer trap.
When Jotaro came in with a right hook Naruto didn't attempt to either block or attack… instead he parried the man's strike with a precise and flowing wave of his hand that was very familiar. It was the Gentle Fist style of combat… his years of sparring and hanging out with Hinata were paying off as he blocked several more strikes from Jotaro while not letting his fists get near him. If the man chose to detonate his attack now, he would be caught in the blast as well. The only way he could avoid this outcome would be if he connected with his attack. Being in physical contact with something would transfer the force of the explosion into it and point it away from his body saving him from harm but that wasn't the case now as he couldn't lay his hands-on Naruto's much smaller frame.
Naruto didn't need the Byakugan or the Hyūga blood in his veins to use some of the kata's and stances of the Gentle Fist as he let his muscle memory guide his actions in keeping him alive. It was at this moment that the pressure was upped with Tsuchimikado coming in from behind in an attempt to overpower him which ended up not going the way the lava girl would have thought as Naruto responded to her intrusion by loosening the joints in his body as he contorted his body out of the way of the woman's path using aspects of the Striking Shadow Viper Style taught to him by Anko over the years. The lessons ingrained into him over the years by all of the friends he's observed came flooding into Naruto's mind as he slammed his foot into the ground to perform one of his favorite techniques.
"Ice Style: Ice Ground Spears Jutsu!" Thick massive jagged spikes of ice tore across the ground in a thick column towards to the two Jōnin who weren't perturbed in the slightest. "Lava Style: Lava Flowing Gorge!" A destructive column of erupting magma shot up into the air in a penetrating trail from Tsuchimikado's feet that met Naruto's favored technique head on causing steam to erupt at the center of contact. Naruto wasn't sure what to expect exactly but he held no delusion that he would be able to simply overpower this older ninja's technique in such a manner and his intuition was proven correct not even a second later as his ice was obliterated by the surging blast of lava that melted his technique without remorse.
'The lava should be cooled down a little bit… now's my chance.' Naruto was playing a more round about defensive game here as he couldn't realistically take on 3 Jōnin level ninja all by himself who were all renown in their own right. It wasn't odds that were favorable in his corner. Yes, he took on the Four War Gods single handedly for a short period of time and defeated Kyōra one on one, but he was heavily amped by Miya's power from just merging his soul with hers. Now wasn't the same case. His reserves of chakra have expanded since then to accommodate Miya's presence within his body, but he currently didn't have a large buff energy or strength wise right now and that was something he would have to put some thought into as he saw Tomohiro emerging from the crater he made.
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave Jutsu!" This attack wasn't aimed particularly at the opposing Jōnin but more at the incoming lava that was cooled to a halt by the rushing water washed over it. The steam that erupted was what Naruto was hoping for as he created ten shadow clones who charged in while he hung back. "A smoke screen won't help you kid… neither will numbers!" Jotaro roared as he blasted several of Naruto's clones before they could get near him while Tsuchimikado decided to take it up a notch.
"Lava Style: Magmortar!" A massive construct made out of lava and stone formed in front of Tsuchimikado as a superheated ball of lava was shot at Naruto like a canon causing the young Chūnin to gasp in shock. Using a quick Accelerating Turn to escape the impact Naruto watched as a massive fiery explosion tore apart a thick bundle of trees spraying superheated rock and soil into the air. "Looks like I missed… I won't again." The young woman warned as Naruto tensed in preparation for the incoming onslaught which came in the form of Tomohiro closing the distance between them in the blink of any eye. For a burly man weighed down by a thick layer of granite he could move with blistering speeds which was something Naruto was trying to keep in mind.
"Double Accel!" Naruto had no choice in the matter if he didn't want his face caved in by the fist that was inches away from his face as he darted out of the way of the Stone Pitbull's blitzing assault. Touching down after having Tomohiro pass him by Naruto was greeted by Jotaro who was so close to him he didn't have any room to maneuver. Lashing out with a straight jab Jotaro opened the palm of his hand right as he was near Naruto's ear releasing a small contained explosion completely throwing off the young Shī-ō's equilibrium who wanted to drop to the floor in an instant. "You won't be blocking my attacks like earlier again!" Jotaro sneered as he lashed out with several gut busting jabs to Naruto's diaphragm that was wreaking havoc across his body causing the blond Uzumaki to spit of saliva and small globs of blood.
"Back off! Yōjutsu: Water Celebration!" Eva's assist came in without a shadow of forewarning blasting Jotaro across the clearing and into a nearby tree cracking the bark off of it with the force of his impact. Eva's Yōki enhanced water was like being smashed into by flowing concrete. It was extremely dense compared to normal water and carried much more pressure to it as well. The little fairy would admit to feeling desperation at seeing Naruto on the receiving end of such a beating and she'd be damned if she didn't help out her other half.
"A Winter Fairy… how interesting." Tsuchimikado purred as she launched another cannon ball of lava at Naruto who at Eva's desperate pleas managed to just barely dodge at the last second. The blast and shockwave of the explosion were things that Naruto couldn't dodge however, as he was violently flung through the air because of this affect. On instinct alone Naruto managed to create a Shadow Clone that caught him in its arms before he could slam body first into the nearby tree the clone was standing vertically on. Naruto couldn't even take a single breath before his clone suddenly and without warning threw him away with fear in its eyes as Tomohiro slammed into the tree obliterating it down to its stump with his destructive charges.
"Fire Style: Crematorium!" Tsuchimikado shouted as a massive wave of blue hellish fire shout out of her mouth scorching the earth around it as it traveled to Naruto who widened his eyes in shock and fear. 'I know that I don't have this technique mastered in any way shape or form but it's crunch time. Shoko only had time to show me the basics these last few weeks with how busy I've been but desperate times and all that jazz!' Naruto panicked in his mind as he flashed through a new chain of hand signs wild pumping out a massive amount of chakra.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave Jutsu!" It was desperation at its finest as Naruto transformed the billowing cloud of chakra that he was expelling into hundreds of gallons of water that started to swirl into a cyclone around his body. Pulsing his chakra outwards in completion the shockwave of water expanded out into a massive tidal wave that crashed into the incoming blue flames that was melting the very ground around it. Naruto's attack by the skin of its teeth managed to overpower that of his opponent who could only brace herself in shock as the wave of water slammed into her taking her across the clearing and also disrupting the mob battle happening with Hayama and his assailants who were caught up in this massive rush of water.
Kosuke who was a couple dozen yards beyond that area also felt the aftereffects of this technique as he used the excess water to create the Water Dragon Jutsu that would allow him to overpower the Earth Dragon of Katakura defeating her for good while leaving the few Genin with her at a major disadvantage.
'Holy crap… I did it…' Naruto choked as he stumbled on his feet in both shock and exhaustion. Using a new technique that hasn't been fully mastered yet would do that to a person. Eva who was going to make her own comment on her partners achievements was cut off by a very prominent person who decided to make their presence felt. "You left yourself wide open boy!" Tomohiro roared as Naruto turned around at seemingly light speed to see Tomohiro already upon him with his fist encased in a thicker layer of Granite.
"Earth Style: Granite Spear Rush!"
"Accelerated Punch!"
It was a snap decision on Naruto's end made by a part of his brain that he'd argue wasn't fully aware at the time as the two fists clashed in a contest of wills. Tomohiro's bloodlust was far stronger as Naruto found himself pulverized into the ground with his fist being the only thing holding off the mammoth of a man. 'SHIT! I can barely hold him!' Naruto screamed in his mind as his fist tried desperately to hold off Tomohiro's as he drilled him further and further into the ground with the area around them deforming and breaking apart in response to this.
'I need more power… I need to be stronger!' Naruto cried in his mind as he felt his Yōki become supercharged by Eva who was feeling the same desperation he was. They were staring death in the face as the power rolling off of Tomohiro's unrelenting assault was far too much for the duo to take. "Winter Fairy King Mode!" Naruto's body underwent an immediate transformation as his skin became pale while his hair turned pure snow white. The sky grew dark as the storm clouds rolled in dropping snow onto the region as Naruto felt a boost in his power. He didn't know how long he could keep this form up since it wasn't perfect, but he'd use every second he could get. He'd feel a lot better if he could get assistance from the Nine Tails, but he wasn't going to push his luck. The fox only came around when he wanted to.
"I'm not done yet!" Naruto screamed his resolve and heart out as he pumped a tremendous amount of Yōki to his fist that started to match and overpower Tomohiro's. "YES! That's it! Show me your blood!" The bulky man roared as he pushed back surging out all of his chakra in an attempt to smash Naruto six feet under. Naruto's desperation in his mind would take a turn for the worst when Tsuchimikado returned to the scene with vindication in her eyes.
"You're a lot stronger than I gave you credit for boy, but let's see you handle this on top of your predicament!" The woman roared as she slammed her hands into the ground while pumping out a substantial amount of chakra in preparation for her signature technique. This was the technique that she used to destroy the village that landed her in prison. "Lava Style: Pāhoehoe Jutsu!" Black vulcanized tar erupted from the ground spreading across the clearing until it seeped into the crater Naruto found himself in. This superheated rubbery solid lava burned at Naruto's body and back as it seeped underneath him and Tomohiro who seemed unfazed by this addition who was encased in a thick layer of solid granite.
"RRRRRAAAAHHHH!" Naruto's painful screams were music to Tomohiro's ears as he increased the pressure he was exerting on Naruto's body. It was getting harder to breathe for Naruto as he felt the scorching white hot heat searing off the back layer of his Chūnin Flak Vest and burning his hoody off. It wouldn't be long before all of his clothes were burned off along with his skin. He didn't have long to hold out and his chakra which was now converted to Yōki was starting to run low since he wasn't used to maintaining his Winter Fairy King Mode yet. To convert all of his chakra to Yōki and maintain that was a strenuous task no matter the state Naruto was in. He wasn't used to it and the strain it puts on his body was immense, even if it gave him a temporary boost in power and strength. It also had the negative side effect of making his actual Chakra replenish slower.
Even Eva's current assistance of blasting Tomohiro with a concentrated blast of water to his chest wasn't getting him to move. He wouldn't budge even an inch, but it did have the unintended side effect of softening up the protective layer surrounding his assailants chest. The excess water being sprayed around worked wonders for cooling down the burning tide of thick sludge like magma scorching his back but in the back of Naruto's mind it wasn't enough. He needed more.
It wasn't Naruto's intention to die today and feeling the incoming energy signatures gave him reassurance that the tide of this battle was going to change. 'Girls… I won't die here… I can't let these guys beat me!' Naruto's eyes glowed an ethereal white with power as thick blankets of ice and snow appeared underneath Naruto halting the scalding heat burning at this back. "I'm not going to die here!" Naruto roared as he started to concentrate the remainder of this Yōki to the fist holding back the impenetrable wall of stone crushing him.
"Kill him Tomohiro! Make him suffer!" Jotaro who had returned and recovered from Eva's attack cheered before he took notice of a fast-moving shadow across the ground heading straight for Tomohiro on his blind spot. "Tomohiro watch out!" The explosive man warned but the advice came to late as the Stone Pitbull suddenly found himself paralyzed and unable to move.
"What is this?" It's been years and it took Tomohiro a moment… but he realized he's felt this sensation before and now he didn't want to feel it again. "It took you long enough Shikamaru." Naruto grunted in pain as he looked over the hulking frame of Tomohiro to across the clearing were Shikamaru could be seen with his hands in his patent hand sign. "Shadow Possession Jutsu… complete." Shikamaru was a sight for sore eyes in Naruto's opinion as the pissed off face of his hulking opponent seethed in his face.
"Shit! Come on Tsuchimikado lets go!" Jotaro prattled as he was about to make his move when his senses told him to dodge… and dodge he did as a fireball exploded from the previous position, he was just in. "You won't get anywhere near my daddy scum." Iris's commanding voice called out drawing the two Jōnin's attention to Iris and Chaos who were behind them on a nearby tree with Shikamaru's other teammates quickly circling around the clearing to mop up the other enemy ninja harassing Kosuke with Tekuno arriving in the clearing after taking care of 6 more ninja on his own.
"Children?! What the hell is going on here?" Jotaro growled as he saw a bright ruby red fireball in Iris's hand flickering in anticipation. She was ready, and Chaos had her signature eerie smile on her face as she scanned the entire area to get a feel for the situation at hand. By the girl's feet were Gamakichi and Gamatatsu who were able to make it back to them in time just as Chaos was waking up. As for Gamaspeed and Gamasoap… well. The other Chūnin and Genin still alive who were engaging Hayama were about to find out.
"Water Style: Ethanol Bubbles!" Gamasoap was as sneaky as any ninja could ever hope to be as gaseous bubbles filled with ethanol wrapped themselves around the heads of the remaining ninja causing them to wheeze and gasp for air which resulted in them swallowing the unsafe substance. Nausea was quick to set in for these men as the first of them suddenly began vomiting in sickness. Their skin and eyes were inflamed in seconds with the urge to scratch and itch at the skin began to overwhelm the suffering men who would be put out of their suffering soon enough.
"Lightning Style: Amphibious Voltage!" This enthusiastic shout came from the hyperactive red toad who had lightning bolt shaped pigmentation around his body. Saturated yellow lightning sparked off of Gamaspeed's body as he hopped from one person to the next discharging a huge surge of voltage into their bodies that was surrounded by the liquid bubbles causing an extra dosage of damage. The rest of the enemy ninja were instantly knocked into unconsciousness by this brutal yet affective assault which just left the three strongest ninja left in Jotaro, Tomohiro, and Tsuchimikado who now found themselves severely outnumbered and outmatched with the addition of Muta Aburame and Tokuma Hyūga as highly skilled Special Jōnin and Tekuno and Kosuke now free from their own battles it made it next to impossible to take on 4 strong Jōnin level fighters as they were now.
"So, you think we'll simply give up now that the bands all together? This kid will die before any of you take us down." Jotaro boasted as Iris narrowed her eyes in anger before carefully loosening the restraints on her godly aura reserves. A crushing pressure settled down on the clearing bringing everyone's attention to the tiny little girl whose eyes were glowing an ethereal emerald.
"I'm your opponent now and you won't lay a hand on him." It wasn't a threat but a promise and one as an Uzumaki Iris never intended to break as Jotaro and his partner tensed in nervousness as the amount of power rolling off of Iris was unlike anything they've ever felt before. "This is going to be over before you know it." Chaos giggled in excitement at the thought of taking these ninja down. Even if it were to be over quickly, she would still enjoy herself. 'Are we going to see what these girls are capable of now? Just how powerful are they?' Hayama questioned to himself as Tekuno came to stand beside him with the same look on his face. He was thinking the same thing. He also couldn't wait to see what the twins were capable of.
"You think two 6-year old's can take us? Don't make me laugh!" Jotaro roared as he released mini explosions from his hand in rage. This was all that Iris needed to see as she rocketed off from her position faster than what any of the men present thought she would be capable of. "Phoenix Interceptor Style: Blaze Propulsion!" The tree she launched from had its branch incinerated while Chaos unfurled her wings and took flight towards Tsuchimikado who backtracked to gain extra distance for her attack.
"Don't get cocky brat! Explosive Style: Napalm Wrecker!" Jotaro's fists were ablaze with explosive properties ready to explode as soon as Iris got close, but the little divine girl wouldn't be scared off so easily by such an attack. "Phoenix Interceptor Style: Blaze Kick!" Iris was an upfront and straight kind of girl as she met Jotaro's charge head on with a flying kick set ablaze by her domain over fire that clashed with the fist of Jotaro which exploded as soon as the two combatants connected shaking the ground with an explosion that briefly blinded Jotaro who lashed out with his other hand in reflex. The incoming strike was inches away from Iris's face who pivoted in the air with a brief gust of wind before unleashing a mini explosion of her own from her open palm allowing her to flip over the older man's head in a summersault stunning those watching as she used a secondary explosion of fire from her opposite hand to stop her momentum once she got behind Jotaro's head who turned his face just in time to catch another simultaneous explosion from a fireball straight to his face curtesy of Iris from her first hand sending the Jōnin tumbling in searing pain.
"I'm not going down without a fight. Lava Style: Magmortar!" Tsuchimikado had seen enough from Iris to realize that these two girls were actual threats as she took aim at Chaos's flying form and launched a blazing round of molten rock at the Angeloid who grinned in amusement. "Naughty! Naughty! That won't work on me. Aegis!" Chaos's signature defensive barrier came up in the nick of time causing the molten slab of rock to crash and explode against it's translucent form shocking Hayama and the others who were getting front row seats to the domination the Uzumaki twins could cause.
"Damn those brats! I've got to get free!" Tomohiro cursed as he tried to struggle out of Shikamaru's binding technique, but Naruto wouldn't let the opportunity before him go to waste. "Hey! Don't forget about me. I'm your opponent!" Naruto shouted as he gathered up his chakra which was slowly returning to him after dropping his demonic form. He couldn't hold it for long and it still wasn't combat viable yet. A Shadow Clone appeared next to Naruto in the deep ditch they were in and began gathering chakra for him in the palm of his hand while Naruto held onto Tomohiro with his unused hand and for extra measure froze over his own hand to keep them conjoined for just long enough as the older man began to pick up on what was happening.
"No! No! No! I won't go down here. I will kill you boy!" Desperation began setting in as Tomohiro struggled more in his restraints surging chakra out that was beginning to disrupt Shikamaru's technique. "Hurry Naruto! I can't hold him down for long!" Gritting his teeth in concentration Naruto formed the Rasengan in his hand with a deadly look coming to his eyes as he locked gazes with Tomohiro who could feel the potent power coming off of the legendary technique. "This is the end of the line for you! RASENGAN!" Naruto roared as he shoved his father's technique into the softened-up chest of Tomohiro who was on top of him forcing the man high up into the air in an ever-expanding sphere of swirling chakra that tore away at the layer of granite surrounding his body. Tomohiro's screams of pain could barely be heard over the roar of the Rasengan as a massive explosion of chakra detonated high in the canopy of the trees above them.
'Take that you bastard…' Naruto tiredly thought in his mind as he slowly climbed out of the crater, he was in to watch his daughters finish off their opponents. It wasn't even technically a fair fight as the two stone Jōnin had no idea just who they were dealing with or the fact that Iris and Chaos's abilities weren't human or scalable at all. Tomohiro's rag dolling unconscious body dropped to the ground in the crater behind him like a dead brick. The man wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
These events were simultaneously happening at the same time as Iris landed on the ground behind Jotaro's flailing form before lashing out with a wind enhanced leg sweep taking the boisterous man off his feet before performing a jumping summersault into a falling axe kick that caved in two of Jotaro's ribs with the force of Iris's impact. "You bitch!" The convict cursed as he coughed up blood before swiping at Iris forcing her to jump away to safety. "Explosive Style: Detonating Chain Demolition Jutsu!" Desperate would be the word meant to describe Jotaro at this point as he sent a trail of exploding ground towards Iris who took a deep breath while a magic circle formed in front of her mouth.
"Phoenix Fire!" A pure white flamethrower shot forth from the Phoenix in human form's mouth clashing with the trail of explosions coming her way. It wasn't even a contest as Iris's holy flames overpowered Jotaro's latest technique before it engulfed him in its wake causing the man to scream in excruciating pain.
Now Tsuchimikado was downright scared as nothing she threw at Chaos worked as the little girl blocked absolutely everything with that damn shield of hers. She's never seen anything like it before and so far, nothing worked. "You're getting scared… let me put you out of your misery little dolly." Chaos smiled as she teleported behind the older woman with Kayros always active causing the red head to choke on her spit as she never even saw the tiny terror move at all.
"Fire Style: Cremating Hands!" To her credit Tsuchimikado was still a former Jōnin and as such she turned around on a dime to throw a sapphire flaming punch at Chaos's head who only smiled wider in joy. "Aegis." The end all be all technique returned with a vengeance as Chaos trapped the older woman's hand in her powerful barrier while holding the sphere in her hand. This was now a dire situation for the redhead who tugged on her hand that wouldn't budge no matter what she did.
"I'm not done! Do you think I need both hands to fight back! Fire Style: Crematorium!" Using one hand to form the very rare one-handed hand signs Tsuchimikado sucked in a huge breath before unleashing a torrent of blue scorching flames at point blank range on Chaos who giggled once the flames washed over her. "NO!" Hayama screamed as he thought Chaos was severely hurt or killed by such an attack. Even he wouldn't be able to defend himself properly at such a close range to such a devastating technique.
Chaos's infectious laughter could be heard over the sound of the fire blowing into her face as everyone was drawn to Iris who had her arms and in particular her hands waving around in mesmerizing pattern while the little girl had her feet planted firmly on the ground in a strong stance. None of the lava loving woman's flames actually touched Chaos's skin as her dear twin sister began to remotely control the powerful flames with her absolute domain over fire overpowering the control Tsuchimikado had.
With a strong pull of her arms Iris ripped the roaring spray of flames away from Tsuchimikado's mouth who choked at the discomfort while cutting the chakra to the technique. The cloud of sapphire blue flames flew through the air under the command of Iris who then spun around on her heels before directing the attack at Jotaro who was still conscious and trying to launch a weak and feeble sneak attack at Iris who was well aware of this notion from the very beginning. "No!" Jotaro's scream was short and clipped off at the very end as he was burned into unconsciousness by his teammates own attack as it slammed full force into his prone body by Iris who cut the power at the last second as so to not kill the criminal.
"Things aren't look so good for you now… but don't worry. I'll put you to sleep and erase all of your worries." Chaos jokingly snickered as the red headed woman turned back to Chaos who was still holding onto her hand in shock. She wouldn't even be able to get a single word out before the tiny terror made her next and final move.
"Black Magic: Nightshade!" Tsuchimikado was electrocuted into unconsciousness with her painfully wails of having her chakra circulatory system directly assaulted by this unstoppable technique echoing throughout the clearing for all to hear.
3 Hour Later
It wouldn't be for another three hours later and a lengthy interrogation session that the surviving members of this impromptu attack force finally broke and gave a name to the mastermind behind this whole fiasco. The mysterious and quite problematic roadblock the leaf ninja ran into was the fact that the first prisoner that they interrogated had his head mysteriously blown off the second he started to speak. This shocked everyone present and judging by the looks on Jotaro's and Tsuchimikado's faces they knew what was really going on. When this same phenomena happened to another surviving prisoner that they tried to interrogate the group made the decision to have Chaos scan their bodies to find out what was happening.
To the shock of the entire group Chaos revealed that there were tiny metallic spheres implanted in the necks of all the prisoners. This was barbaric in the minds of the group who had to decide how to proceed. This decision was taken out of their hands when Chaos without warning used her blade like wings to hold down to flailing prisoner while injecting a small miniature Aegis shield into their necks that extracted the explosive suicide bomb holding these unfortunate criminals lives in its hand. With a quick healing from Iris the prisoners survived the unexpected surgery and were then subjected to torture sessions that got them all to break.
"Do we finally have the information we need?" Naruto asked with a slight cough as he rested against a tree with Iris healing his numerous scrapes and bruises. It was one hell of a fight that he and his team were in and with Shikamaru's squad doing several sweeps of the area confirmed that there were no more enemy ninja in the area.
"Yeah… but I have to say this was one heck of an introduction to your new career as a Chūnin huh Naruto?" Tekuno jested in amusement as Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at. "Yeah… I never want to do this again. But I have to say everyone went above and beyond for this… especially you girls." Naruto cooed as he scratched Chaos on the top of her head getting the little girl to melt in his arms with a dopey lovable look on her face. Her father's attention was the only reward she needed for a job well done. Iris felt the same as Naruto peppered her cheek with kisses just the way she liked causing a ruby red blush to come to the affectionate girls face.
"Yes… they did, and we'll have much to discuss about them at a later time Naruto… but I must ask you this. We have the name of the mastermind who put this whole invasion together and it wasn't the government of the Hidden Stone." Hayama included as he interjected into the conversation. This caught Naruto's attention immediately as he felt compelled to ask. "If this wasn't the Hidden Stone then who was it?"
Naruto's squad leader had a dark and foreboding look on his face as he asked the dreaded question… a question he didn't know Naruto already knew the answer too. "Naruto does the name Balalaika mean anything to you?"
To be continued...
Jutsu Library
1.) Summoning Jutsu - The Summoning Technique is a space–time ninjutsu that allows the summoner to transport animals or people across long distances instantly and uses blood as a sacrifice. Before an animal summoning can be performed, a prospective summoner must first sign a contract with a given species. The contract comes in the form of a scroll, on which the contractor uses their own blood to sign their name and place their fingerprints and once signed it is valid even after the contractor's death as long as the contract itself remains intact. After this, they need only offer an additional donation of blood on the hand they signed the contract with, mold their chakra with hand seals and then plant the hand they signed the contract with at the location they wish to summon the creature. The amount of chakra used during the summoning determines how powerful the summoned creature can be. It is possible for a summoner to summon a group of the same contracted animal, as opposed to a single individual.
2.) Binding Contract Magic: Familiar Binding - A very useful magical technique that allows the user to bind an animal to them temporarily to make them their familiar. While in a contract together the user can share their senses with the animal allowing for advanced scouting options without the risk of the user being in danger. The more animals that are bound to the user at a single time will cause an increasing amount of stress and pressure on the user due to the strain of sharing their senses with so many others simultaneously.
3.) Rasengan - The Rasengan is a spinning ball of chakra formed and held in the palm of the user's hand. Once it is formed, it also does not require any additional chakra to sustain it, which means that there is no definite limit to how long the Rasengan can be used. Though the Rasengan's shape is consistent from user to user, its size varies from only barely large enough to be noticeable to much larger than the user's hand. With greater experience with the Rasengan comes a larger size. On contact, the Rasengan grinds into its target, propels them along the Rasengan's trajectory - either away from the user or into the ground beneath them - and at some point, bursts causing severe damage at the point of contact.
4.) Tempest Turn - Tempest Turn works by storing Kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by their own internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), and then giving form to that energy using their internal energy and shooting it out of their body. With this technique that is unique to only Naruto he can create multiple afterimages of himself that function similarly to Shadow Clones. However, they cannot interact with their environment like normal Shadow Clones. They are literally made up of the energy cloak Naruto creates whenever he activates his Accel Turn. The after images energy wise are indistinguishable from their creator but visually they have a light blue glow to them. The copies have a sizable speed advantage, but they are not moving at the same speed as when Naruto uses Acceleration. Also, the copies take up so much energy that Naruto can only create up to four copies with this move. Also, while using this move to its fullest Naruto is unable to use Acceleration because all of it is being used to maintain Tempest Turn.
5.) 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.
6.) Demonic Art: Winter Fairy Freeze Vision - A technique that allows Eva to freeze anything in her line of vision. It is a move that she instinctively knows, and it is one of several that all of the winter fairies are capable of using.
7.) Explosive Style: Napalm Wrecker Jutsu - A powerful and highly destructive technique from the very dangerous Kekkei Genkai known as the Explosive Style. Used by Jotaro Koetsu this technique causes his hands to superheat to dangerous temperatures were the moment it comes into physical contact with an object a massive forward facing explosion detonates destroying anything in front of him. The technique has its inherent weakness of being a short range technique but Jotaro makes up for this with his ingenuity.
8.) Accelerated Punch - The only known technique of Acceleration. By molding all of the chakra in the cloak to his fist Naruto can discharge a massive burst of both chakra and kinetic energy that can demolish at this point in time almost anything. However, this attack can be canceled out by an attack of equal force of makeup.
9.) Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu - A technique that simply creates a ferocious gust of wind, whose scale and usage varies depending on the user. If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight. The technique can also be used in the form of a devastation stream of wind expelled from the user's mouth.
10.) Explosive Style: Napalm Backdraft Jutsu - A useful support oriented technique used by Jotaro that he activates in chakra enhanced oxygen rich environments. When Jotaro's open palms come in contact with Wind Nature Chakra a massive flashfire erupts feeding off of the excess oxygen that wind style ninjutsu typically give off.
11.) Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu - This defensive technique creates a wall of water around the user. Enemy attacks are completely intercepted by a fence of water blown out from the mouth and is raised from below with tremendous might. The water is blown out in the form of a circle around the user, and it makes for a defense without openings. It is also possible for the user to control the amount of water and duration at will. The wall's strength and resistance change following the quantity of chakra poured down into the water, so a skillful shinobi will be able to build a sturdy one. Furthermore, because the field of vision is maintained even while defending one can easily go on to the next move, which is a great advantage. The wall can also be formed from a pre-existing water source.
12.) Yōjutsu: Ice Wall - A demonic technique that Eva can use in which she creates a large wall of ice to separate herself from oncoming attacks. The technique is strong and can hold against even fire attacks however if the fire attack in general is enhanced with Yōki or is a demonic fire attack to begin with then her shield can be overpowered.
13.) Earth Style: Mud Bomb Jutsu - A simple technique that is the weaker version of the Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb Jutsu as well as being the normal variant to the alternate Earth Style: Sludge Bomb Jutsu version. This technique allows the user to shoot off a small basket ball sized ball of mud that is packed with condensed chakra that will cause the projectile to explode on contact with an object.
14.) Wind Style: Slicing Palm Waves Jutsu - The user waves his hand and creates multiple blades of wind that can be thrown at the opponent. It is a relatively strong technique that requires a strong Wind Affinity along with excellent chakra control.
15.) Wind Style: Wind Cutter Jutsu - Using their chakra or a ninja tool such as a war fan to manipulate or create an external source of wind, the user can create one to several blades of wind, which are capable of slicing through their target with ease.
16.) Acceleration - Accelerating Turn works by storing Kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by their own internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), and then releasing that kinetic energy through an opening in the shielding their internal energy is creating at the bottom of their feet allowing the user to reach and utilize explosive high-speed movements.
17.) Ice Style: Icicle Bullets Jutsu - A move that Naruto created that allows him to form thin icicles that he can launch at incredible speeds that most people can't track. It has a massive amount of penetration power since it was able to shoot straight through Mizuki's shoulder blade despite the fact that he had on his flak jacket. It pierced through the bones in his shoulder.
18.) Ice Style: Ice Kunai Barrage Jutsu - A Jutsu that allows Naruto to create dozens of ice kunai in midair and telekinetically control them and launch them at a target.
19.) Earth Style: Granite Rush Jutsu - A powerful but straight forward attack that is the signature technique of Tomohiro Ishii. This Jutsu allows the Stone Pitbull to coat his entire body in a thick layer of granite mineral. This vastly increases his attack and defensive power allowing him to tank heavy concussive blasts and techniques and it's even durable enough to protect him from actual lava.
20.) Ice Style: Ice Ground Spears Jutsu - A move that Naruto uses. The user must be connected to the ground for this to work (Preferably by the feet) the user sends a surge of chakra through the ground that will travel to the intended target. The ground should freeze over in a thin sheet of ice. Once the user has his chakra spread out in his desired area, he or she will send a pulse of chakra out into the area which will cause ice spikes to shoot out of the thin icy patch that their chakra created earlier. The technique is good for taking down enemies by impaling them in their legs.
21.) Lava Style: Lava Flowing Gorge Jutsu - A powerful and destructive technique that allows Tsuchimikado to send an eruption of white hot lava through the ground in the form of a deep gorge that tears up the earth around it. The power of this technique is great as it was effortlessly able to melt through Naruto's ice style technique without difficulty.
22.) Water Style: Wild Water Wave Jutsu - A basic water style Ninjutsu the user molds water nature chakra into their mouth before spitting it out into a small-scale wave powerful enough to sweep grown men off their feet and knock down lightweight objects not tied down or secure to the ground.
23.) Lava Style: Magmortar Jutsu - A very powerful heavy technique employed by Tsuchimikado that allows her to form a giant cannon made out of molten rock and slag that fires off a fast moving molten projectile capable of destroying entire sections of forest with its destructive explosive radius that sprays molten sparks of rock and ash everywhere destroying the area further. While not initially shown the physical cannon emplacement can move upon Tsuchimikado's will by creating more lava underneath the cannon that can pivot and elevate the stone construct and turn it into a turret.
24.) Double Accelerating Turn - The first variant of Accelerating Turn that works the same way as the original. The user stores up kinetic energy in their body but the difference is at this point. The user separates the built-up energy into two separate pockets surrounded by a shell of the user's internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), the two bubbles of kinetic energy is pressed up against each other and concentrated at the user's feet creating which in turn creates tremendous amounts of pressure on the body. Once released the added pressure results in a massive shockwave of kinetic energy that propels the user forwards at incredible speeds. The user then releases the second and final bubble of kinetic energy after the first gets depleted allowing them to speed back up again. Because of this there is a brief amount of lag in between each jump but the lag spike is so short that only experienced fighters would be able to notice or counter it.
25.) Fire Style: Crematorium Jutsu - An extremely powerful A - Rank Ninjutsu that allows Tsuchimikado to unleash a white hot sapphire blue flamethrower capable of melting the very ground it travels over. The heat it produces is immense capable of catching nearby objects on fire with its simple presence. The flames are highly volatile and barely controllable even for the caster and as such it needs a wide open area to use safely. If used at close point blank range against a target it as its name implies will cremate the victim on the spot and turn their body into a pile of ash.
26.) Water Style: Water Shockwave Jutsu - This technique allows the user to make a spiraling vortex of water. The vortex then proceeds to explode from the top in the form of a wave. The user can also control the direction the wave goes with hand movements.
27.) Earth Style: Granite Spear Rush Jutsu - A potent attack Ninjutsu that allows Tomohiro to encase his fist in an even thicker layer of granite that is sharpened down more into a jagged dangerous edge. Using this new dangerous weapon Tomohiro can then charge full force at a target before pulverizing them into the ground with tremendous destructive force.
28.) Winter Fairy King Mode - Naruto's advanced Demonic transformation that allows him to turn into a full demon. His skin turns a a dull pale color while his hair turns pure snow white. Ice starts to build up in his hair forming a crown with icicle claws forming on his hands. While in this form Naruto is a full demon and his power matches that of his Version 1 State with One Tail. His domain and power over his Ice Style Kekkei Genkai are brought up to their maximum capabilities allowing Naruto to unleash ice attacks at a level he normally would be incapable of. However, the strain of converting the entirety of his Chakra into Yōki puts an immense strain on Naruto's body who can't maintain this form for long.
29.) Lava Style: Pāhoehoe Jutsu - An extremely powerful S - Rank Jutsu created by Tsuchimikado that is her strongest and signature technique that was used to destroy an entire village. Black sludge like molten tar is created by the user that spreads across the ground expanding at a rapid rate. Anything that is touched by this molten tar will begin to melt and burn immediately and with excruciating pain. It's not easy to stop but a strong enough Water Style Ninjutsu can help cool down the heated up earth or an alternative that Naruto found out by using his Yoki enhanced Ice Style to put a blanket of ice over it to slow down its advance.
30.) Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu - This is the signature secret technique of the famous Nara Clan. The user extends their shadow on any surface even water and as far as they want as long as there is a sufficient area. Once it comes into contact with a target's shadow, the two merge and the target is forced to imitate the user's movements. If the target is out of range, the user can produce a better light source to increase their shadow's size or rely on pre-existing shadows for their shadow to freely travel through. It's also possible to split one's shadow, either to trap more opponents at once, or to create a distraction.
31.) Water Style: Ethanol Bubbles Jutsu - A dangerous and toxic technique produced by Gamasoap that allows her to trap people in bubbles filled with the chemical ethanol. Just physical contact with the substance is enough to case the victim to have the overwhelming urge to scratch and itch at their skin. If ingested it causes immediate nausea and the urge to vomit.
32.) Lightning Style: Amphibious Voltage Jutsu - A simple yet useful technique from Gamaspeed that allows him to coat his body in lightning as he hops from location to location. As he comes into contact with people Gamaspeed electrocutes them with a taser like effect.
33.) Phoenix Interceptor Style: Blaze Propulsion - A Hand to Hand combat technique that Sōkyoku uses that allows her to channel Fire Magic to her feet. Out of the soles of her feet comes super condensed jets of fire that propel her forwards at mind numbing blistering speeds well past the speed of sound and beyond. On the ground flaming charred footprints of where she has stepped can be seeing so the move is not meant for stealth but more for wide open field combat.
34.) Phoenix Interceptor Style: Blaze Kick - A Hand to Hand combat technique that Sōkyoku uses that allows her to channel Fire Magic to her legs and feet. She can coat her legs and feet in intense white flames that allows her to increase the amount of damage she can dish out. Anything touched by these flames would instantly be disintegrated and the concussive force would blow away anything near the point of impact with a dense shockwave.
35.) 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. Chaos can also summon her Aegis shield at long ranges to encompass objects that are not connected to her; effectively allowing her to trap people, objects, and targets within an inescapable prison.
36.) Explosive Style: Detonating Chain Demolition Jutsu - A straight forward but destructive technique that allows Jotaro to send an explosive charge in a straight line through the ground that destroys everything in its path. It is often used by Jotaro as a long range alternative to combat since he is a close range fighter.
37.) Phoenix Fire - The signature attack of Sōkyoku the Phoenix Goddess. This technique is her go to move to usually start off and finish a fight. She builds up for her a small amount of Holy Magic and spits it out of her mouth in the form of a massive flamethrower. To others the buildup of energy she releases is immense. The attack on her scale is small and the flamethrower itself is relatively small by her standards but the damage it causes is anything but. It can annihilate entire forested areas in an instant and carve gorges into the ground. The amount of Holy Magic in the attack is so much that it can instantly purify any tainted or evil presences within a certain radius of the attack. You wouldn't even have to be hit with the attack to be incinerated if you were a low level evil entity. She can also shoot this attack out of Magic Circles to focus the attack better or remotely shoot it from multiple angles or distances instead of shooting it out of her mouth.
38.) Kayros - Chaos has the passive ability that is always active to manipulate reality in a relatively small radius of 50m around her and with this ability she can control the events within this predefined space. The most common use of this power that Chaos employs is the ability to teleport short distances towards things and locations that she has scanned and memorized beforehand or that happen to fall within her line of sight. Because of Chaos's ability to warp reality around her not only is the teleportation instant but it is also untraceable not to mention others can't sense her presence. However, Chaos doesn't seem to be able use her other powers while this one is active.
39.) Fire Style: Cremating Hands - A simple close range combat technique that allows Tsuchimikado to cremate objects and people with a simple touch of her hands. This technique was an answer that the Kunoichi came up with since she was primarily a long range Ninjutsu specialist.
40.) Black Magic: Nightshade - This technique is a very peculiar attack that Chaos can use that directly affects a person's body by damaging a victim's body based on the amount of energy they contain. Chaos fires a black or dark crimson beam which travels similar to lightning; outlined in red, blue, or purple from either her hands or wings at the intended target. Chaos can also use this ability in an omni-directional wave. Chaos's body is surrounded by a purplish aura that dyes her actual body a pale purple color. She then releases multiple crimson rings from her body at the target. When the rings hit the opponent, their body becomes surrounded in a pale purple like aura. The technique works by poisoning a person's energy reserves and causing it to shock the person's body from the inside out like a taser. If the victim has a small pool of energy within their body, then they will barely be affected by this attack. On the other hand, if the victim is a powerful being with large reserves of energy then their very own power will inflict pain on them. It will have the same sensation of being burned or electrocuted from the inside out.
Author's Note (A/N): Hey guys how was that? This chapter was insane with three new OC's who depending on how I rearrange already pre-planned future chapters have a strong chance of returning. Their strengths, personalities, and power all intrigue me who created them to begin with. They have a lot of potential for showing up again in the future so I'm strongly leaning towards using them again.
The chapter starts off with heavy paranoia on the part of Naruto and Eva who are convinced that a threat is coming and this notion would soon be confirmed to them by Chaos as the 40 Man team of enemy criminals dressed up as Hidden Stone Shinobi. To counter this Naruto summons four small toads to scout the area out for them. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu make their grand debut into the story like I always wanted them too. I portray them to be everything I wanted them to be which I think came across greatly. As for the other two toads they are new OC's I created for the story but the cool and unique trivia fact that should be known is that their names are actually canon. These two names are written down in the Toad Contract as being denizens of Mt. Myōboku. I just based their entire character and everything about them off the concept and idea of their names and I'm happy at the way the two turned out.
To supplement this growing reconnaissance network while also finding a safer alternative method to spy on their enemy on the off chance his summons were detected Naruto performs the Binding Contract Seal with a variety of animals in the forest who he then asks Lady Sōkyoku on advice on how to communicate and interact with them to make them more useful. The ancient deity directs Naruto's inquiry to Miya who educates him on the in's and out's of the technique and begins training him on how to use it properly.
The conflict later starts with the criminals antagonising Naruto while also revealing who is father is. This is the first time Naruto is directly referred to as the Fourth Hokage's son in the story while this insinuation was being made within his presence. This triggers Naruto who uses the Rasengan and a brutal combination of Exploding Shadow Clones and Tempest Clones to kill five enemy Genin in under ten seconds. This brutality would only continue to escalate as Naruto then procedes to freeze a man to death while shooting another in the back of the head with his deadly icicle bullet technique.
It's at this point that we are introduced to our three new OC's. Jotaro Koetsu, Tomohiro Ishii, and Tsuchimikado Fusa. Three ex-Jonin of the Hidden Stone Village who were all thrown into prison for various crimes with the three of them all being strong A - Rank Ninja in their own right. Naruto has his hands very full initially dealing with Jotaro who is the unspoken de facto leader of the three accomplaces as well as the invasion force while Katakura takes on Kosuke and loses to the veteran shinobi who does not take to kindly to the specific crimes she's committed.
The pressure on Naruto's shoulders only continue to increase as he is forced to take on all three Jonin simultaneously who show their advanced skills and prowess in battle with Jotaro having the Explosive Style Kekkei Genkai and Tsuchimikado inheriting the very powerful and versatile Lava Style Kekkei Genkai. Props to anyone who can guess the real life person I named Tomohiro after. Their personalities aren't the same as that was taken from the most popular manga out right now that everyone knows and loves... including the final confrontation between him and Naruto but all and all I created a very simplistic but interesting character. I might even drop in a sneak peak at the synopsis for the next chapter.
The battle becomes a game of cat and mouse as Naruto navigates himself around these older ninja while trying to stay alive as he digs deep and pushes himself beyond his limits. This ultimately proves to be not enough even with the unstable addition of his Winter Fairy King Mode as Tomohiro overpowers Naruto and drives him into the ground with his overwhelming strength. Tsuchimikado adds to this by pouring lava onto Naruto's body who while in excruciating pain manages to give himself a reprieve by protecting himself with a layer of ice and water curtesy of Eva.
Help would come in the form of Iris and Chaos along with Patrol Squad #11 which consists of Shikamaru who helps Naruto out by trapping Tomohiro with his shadow. With an opening that he couldn't pass up Naruto finishes his opponent off with a powerful Rasengan blast to the chest that knocks the man into unconsciousness while Jotaro faces off against Iris with Tsuchimikado doing the same with Chaos. The girls make quick work of the Jonin using the full extent of the power available to them with Naruto in a weaken state and incapable of dampening their powers with his own hybrid chakra system. Iris brutally overpowers Jotaro by outpacing him in Taijutsu before taking him down with Tsuchimikado's own flames after he tried to launch a sneak attack against her while Chaos as per usual toys around with her pray before knocking the older woman out with her new favorite black magic technique.
The chapter wraps up and comes to a close with it being revealed that the squads interrogated and tortured their prisoners to gain any useful information. For a time it looked as if they would get nothing after their heads started to mysteriously explode until Chaos found out the source of the problem by extracting Balalaika's metallic orbs that she implanted within the convicts. After this danger was gone they were able to learn who was really responsible for this whole incident with the chapter ending on a cliff note of Hayama asking Naruto if he knew anything about Balalaika.
This turned out to be one hell of a chapter that I put together. I hope everyone enjoyed it!
Next Chapter: Chapter 81 (The Demon Priestess)
That's the end of Chapter 80 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.
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Published: 1/19/2019
