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 Notes (A/N): Hey guys it's been a while but I'm back once again with another great chapter. This like the ones previous is quite lengthy with quite a lot of action and character development for all characters involved. This chapter explores in depth some character development and world building from our main characters that expands upon the lore and background of the world at large.
Beware as we get to see a different side to some of our characters such as Chaos as she cuts loose in ways we've rarely seen. The other characters get time to shine along with some cool scenes as well. Strap yourselves in as we see how Naruto bounces back from the set back he was placed in at the end of the last chapter and how he chooses to confront the threat facing the Land of Snow now.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Chapter 89
Avalugg the Glacier Demon
"This is going to be a thing isn't it…?" A deadpanned voice spoke up in the darkened tunnels of its home. The Nine Tailed Fox was staring down at Naruto's crumpled form leaning against his cage. He was watching from Naruto's point of view the last 24 hours of events that have transpired around him. The engagement with the White Walkers and the rest of their demon tribe was an interesting point for Kurama to watch as he knew what created those special demons. Because of his vast life span and experience traveling the world the powerful Tailed Beast knew exactly what the progenitor of those White Walkers were.
It was a powerful and ancient Great Demon that was around 500 years older than Kurama and the rest of his siblings. It's traveled the world too and they've even crossed paths on three separate occasions with the last of those instances resulting in the two massive beings coming to blows. That fight caused the island chain that is now called the Land of Tea to split off from the southern facing mainland of the Land of Lightning to its north. It was so destructive that even the Eight Tails itself Gyūki, who was living nearby in a valley became involved to try and drive the two warring factions away from each other. The entity in question was a massive demon that was almost roughly Kurama's true size before he was sealed into Naruto which makes the being in question massive in scale. As of now Kurama knew that he was now smaller than its old acquaintances by a fair margin.
If you were to travel to the Land of Tea now, the northern coast of the large island still shows the jagged signs of its forced separation from the southern facing shore of the Land of Lightning. The catastrophic battle between the two titanic entities was truly a violent affair as Kurama would be the first to admit that he was in a particularly foul mood after it had become caught up in a fierce battle between the warring factions of several human clans in what is present day now the Land of Hot Water or otherwise known as the Land of Hot Springs. The country also went by the moniker of its shinobi village which dubs it the Land of Steam after the Hidden Steam Village. Interestingly enough the Uchiha Clan was involved along with three other shinobi clans of the local area. As per usual they were fighting over territory and because of their might the Uchiha Clan were single handedly pushing back the forces of the three other clans from their area. Unknowingly though, they pushed them too far and ended up in an isolated valley were Kurama was residing in for a time.
Needless to say, Kurama had long since sensed the fighting even though they were hundreds of miles away due to its ability to sense the worlds Negative Emotions and that of the humans on it. It was content to leave them be until they disturbed his slumber. Once everyone involved became distinctively aware that they were intruding upon the lair of the strongest Tailed Beast on the planet it went without saying that they all tried to escape. Kurama was pissed since it had only been settled down in the valley for 10 years. To a being like him who has watched time pass him by for hundreds of years this interval of time was far too short for him.
He's taken naps that have lasted far longer.
Kurama immediately attacked the armies of the different clans with extreme prejudice completely eradicating one clan out of existence since they were foolish enough to bring every member that they had with them to the battle once they learned that the Uchiha Clan was in the area. That clan's entire history ended right then and there while the other two competing clans suffered grave losses at the Nine Tails hands. Each swipe of Kurama's tails tore apart hundreds of miles of forest around him killing off both the humans and wildlife that lived their indiscriminately.
The Uchiha Clan on the other hand attacked Kurama head on which only served to enrage the Tailed Beast more. Madara Uchiha's great-great-great grandfather Mugen Uchiha who was the leader of the clan at the time was leading this charge as he tried to use his Sharingan to control Kurama's mind which quickly ended in failure since Mugen did not possess a Mangekyō Sharingan and his normal one wasn't exceptionally powerful like his legendary descendent' would eventually be. Kurama took great offense to this attempted control and pulled a page out of Gyūki's favorite handbook and used the Tailed Beast Nine Twist attack to completely level the entire region of the country around him.
The release of his power was so immense that it unearthed hundreds of underground natural water sources that would in the future go on to become the hot springs that the Land of Hot Water is known for. Obviously Mugen Uchiha did not survive that encounter and 90% of the clan members that he was leading at the time perished with him, but some survived albeit barely and went on to record the battle and the feat that their leader tried to do… to use the Sharingan to control a Tailed Beast. Although it was labeled a failure with the Nine Tails…at the time… this notion left open the door to the possibilities… possibilities that Mugen's descendent Madara Uchiha would fulfil.
Feeling angered at the battle it was forced to participate in Kurama traveled further northeast through modern day Land of Frost territory into the Land of lightning to find a new resting place while crushing a few human settlements on the way when they would preemptively attack him long before he ever arrived. A few days later after sensing the presence of his brother Gyūki in a nearby mountain range he would settle down in a new valley that he could call home. Only, he was quickly interrupted by meeting up with his old acquaintance not even a day later who had sensed all of the fighting and not being in the mood for obvious reasons caused the irritable fox to lash out.
The rest is history as the battle ripped the land apart and forced a huge landmass out into the ocean that would become the Land of Tea. He knew exactly what Naruto would be dealing with and that thought alone filled Kurama with anticipation. How would Naruto stack up against such a powerful force of nature like the demon in reference? Kurama was eager to know.
Normal fire attacks were completely ineffective towards it…
Blunt force was an option, but you had to have a lot of it to count which was how Kurama was able to contend with it to begin with. It was slow and very immobile for the most part as it lacked dexterity and agility, but it made up for this fact by being a veritable indestructible tank. Its defensive durability and power was off the charts matching that of his fellow Tailed Beasts.
It didn't take long before Naruto's mental projection gained consciousness and predictably the first thing he did was groan in despair. "You've got to be kidding me…" Naruto groaned in pain as he wearily looked around his surroundings with his vision blurred and disoriented.
"Now this is just sad…" Kurama's voice broke through the haze fogging up Naruto's mind bringing the Chūnin's attention up to him in a startled surprise. "Koyuki! Where's Koyuki!?" Naruto shouted as he regained his bearings only to realize he was in his mindscape once more. Staring up into the glowing red eyes of his resident Tailed Beast Naruto watched the varying emotions play out across the giant fox's face.
"You got knocked out like a little pansy again… and the little movie star is in the same boat as you. This really isn't a good look for you boy." Kurama pointed out with a stale tangent to his voice as an irritated expression formed on Naruto's face immediate afterwards. "This really isn't the time for your usual sarcasm Nine Tails… besides… how do I keep ending up here in your cage anyways?" Naruto growled out with anger bubbling beneath the surface of his skin as he was worried beyond believe of his current situation. He had no idea what was happening in the real world or why as of late he has been having multiple meetings with the Nine Tailed Fox.
Things were pretty chaotic for him these days.
A snort along with an eye roll were Kurama's response to this as he puffed out an exhale of hot air into Naruto's face. "The reason you keep returning to me little brat is because everytime your mind is in a state of high stress or unconsciousness the seal will automatically bring you to me. Another more accurate way to phrase it is because in periods of time when you are in such a vulnerable state, I can exert my influence on your intended destination which is why you always end up here." Kurama explained in an amused tone of voice as he still found enjoyment in the fact that this was a recurring theme for his Jinchūriki. The boy had a penchant for falling into these life-threatening situations.
"Humph… laugh it up fox. I don't have time for this. I need to see to it that Koyuki is safe." Naruto grumbled as he got to his feet in preparation to walk away. He hasn't spoken to Sōkyoku face to face in such a setting in a while. Besides getting her and Miya's help on making the new seals to go against the enemy he hasn't spoken to her in a calm atmosphere in quite some time.
He also needed to devise a plan to find Koyuki once he woke up.
"Pttss… at the rate you're going she's much safer without you interfering." Kurama snorted in barely restrained snark as he watched his blond haired Jinchūriki pause in his steps as the room grew cold. Kurama's ability to sense the full wavelength of negative emotions on the negative side of the emotional spectrum immediately allowed him to detect the fact that he struct a critical nerve in the young shinobi.
"What did you just say?"
A visage of anger was plastered on Naruto's face at this scathing remark as he turned back around to face his literal demon who rose an imaginary eyebrow in interest.
"You heard me boy… or what…? Did the little squabble you had with that prissy little Uchiha pig set your big boy panties in a twist? Get over yourself. You're useless to yourself and others as you are right now." Kurama shot back with barely an inflection of actual malice in his voice as he insulted Naruto in a derogatory way. The only actual malice that he exuded was from mentioning the Uchiha name but other than that Kurama's poker face was set in stone. A flash of genuine anger crossed Naruto's eyes as he growled at the massive fox before him.
"How dare you!"
Indignation was clear in Naruto's eyes at this point as he gritted his teeth at the audacity of the massive fox. What right did it have to criticize and disrespect him? He's tired his very best up until this point. "In case you haven't noticed I've been up to my neck in crap from all sides. It's one thing after another and I'm at my limit! So, I don't need crap from you of all people! I don't know what expectations you have of me, but you can take them and shove it along with all nine of your tails straight up your-…" Naruto's eyes were filled with anger, stress, and self-loathing that spoke of the mental state he was in. He was lashing out at this point and Kurama knew it based upon the staggering amounts of stress he was under and that he could sense from the young boy before him.
It was understandable and Kurama knew the full extent of Naruto's troubles with his sensory abilities, but he wasn't here to listen to a young child whine and complain… and he was certainly not going to take the very last insult thrown at him by Naruto laying down either. He had his pride as a Tailed Beast and for the nine of them their tails were their most prideful physical trait.
A massive deadly roar from Kurama was all it took to turn the tide of the conversation in the fox's favor.
"I dare because you are performing pathetically as a shinobi. You've made reckless decisions that by now in your development you would have never made otherwise and all because you can't cope with the things plaguing your mind. How typical of an Uchiha to always cause problems one way or another." Kurama sneered with its bared fangs as it roared at Naruto causing him to be launched off is feet to the ground with a thud. The burnt orange colored fox had no interest in seeing Naruto wallow in depression and stress. He was not about to subject himself to be the bystander to such a pity party.
Naruto glared up hatefully at Kurama who stared back at him with an uncanny expression of disinterest. "I know what's going on in your mind brat… I understand the pressure you've been under and all the crap that's come with this mission but if you don't shape up soon, you'll either get us killed or those you've sworn to protect. You're better than this and you need to prove it." Kurama laid out with a no-nonsense tone. He was laying out the facts and trying to set his Jinchūriki strait.
While not perfectly fine, Naruto was in a much better state of mind before this mission started. The affair with the fake Hidden Stone shinobi was the beginning for Naruto's instability. That was a stressful situation for anyone to be in but for Naruto as the actual target to be put in the crossfire like that would rattle anyone's nerves. From there he has been on edge and its escalated since he's begun training to master his Demonic Transformation which relies on his emotions.
"What am I supposed to do? This isn't an easy situation to handle. I've done everything I can for as long as I can. I don't know what to do at this point." Naruto softly whispered before sinking to his knees in despair. He felt the pain from all of the most recent stressful memories pass by him in a blur. He wanted to scream, cry, pound his fist into a wall, and hide away forever. He felt a wide range of emotions batter at his weakened soul as Kurama watched on with a more compassionate and softer gaze in his eye that Naruto currently couldn't see.
"Why don't you talk to Shoko about this...?" Kurama suggested as he watched Naruto perk up at this point. "The two of you share very similar experiences and you yourself have helped her out in the past with the exact problem you now find yourself facing." The great fox continued as Naruto lowered his head for a moment in contemplation as this was a lot to take in. Every point that the fox has made has been true so far. His surrogate mother would be the perfect person to go to for help with his problem. He was sure that Kakashi would also be an excellent ear to go too but his own fears and insecurities were holding him back. He didn't know how to process or accept some of the dark thoughts that have plagued his mind.
"I could talk to her, I guess. But she's not here right now and I do need to get my head in the game." Naruto mumbled to himself as he stared at his hands in a festering silence. "You could also speak to you mate about your problems. She's been an excellent confidant to you many times over the years and you've proven that you can't keep secrets from her in the past. Very much like a fox mind you." Kurama pressed on in slight amusement which grew more one he saw Naruto jump to his feet in embarrassment.
"MATE!"
A chuckle escaped the great Tailed Beast's large mouth at Naruto's reaction as the young Shī-ō had a neon colored blush staining his face at the implications his resident was trying to insinuate. "Yes, mate; vixen; girlfriend. All the same in the end. That Hyūga girl has been good for you. She brings out your true potential and power as a good mate should. She's also very loyal and feisty when need be. I approve, she's perfect for you. Especially since you two share your powers together." Kurama taunted with an infuriating grin on his face that continued to grow alongside the embarrassment and mortification of his human host.
He's watched Hinata for a very long time at this point and her development has interested Kurama greatly. Being a Hyūga was one thing but the fact that she could contain both Yōki and Divine Grace inside her body at the same time without dying interested him even more as he had suspicions regarding her lineage on her mother's side. Something was different in her physiology that allowed her to survive such a fusion and Kurama wasn't entirely convinced that it had anything to do with Sōkyoku's previous meddling.
"Hinata isn't my mate! She's my girlfriend and all, but we haven't gotten to that level yet. We're not even married!" Naruto retorted indignantly with a permanent blush coloring his entire face at the thought of referring to Hinata as his mate. He loved her dearly, but he wasn't ready to be physically intimate with her on any high level. The most they've done has been kiss and cuddle on occasion.
Kurama grinned at the opening granted to him as he saw his Jinchūriki flailing around. Unknowingly, Naruto's thoughts weren't focused on their depressing situations and pressures right now. His soul was light and free for the moment. Just as the fox wanted.
"Oh… is that so?" The chakra entity mused to a now nervous and suspicious blond. "She's raised all of your children, particularly your original two since the time they were first born. Supported you and consoled you in your times of need. Slept in close proximity to you including sharing a bed with you on multiple occasions; fought hard to stand by your side and even on occasion risked her life for you against superior enemies. What part of all of the above doesn't make her your mate?" The Nine Tailed Fox questioned with a bemused and mischievous grin that turned to glee when Naruto's head exploded from the levels his blush was rapidly taking.
Curling into a small light ball while hiding his face from view Naruto groaned out his despair at the valid and very much embarrassing points his Tailed Beast was making. Everything he's said since the beginning of their conversation has been nothing but the truth. It was painful and embarrassing to admit and own up to, but the truth was the truth.
"Why the hell are you so interested in my love live all of a sudden?" Naruto roared out in mortification as he ventured closer to the cage where he bumped into Kurama's fist who then curled his finger around Naruto's body while he grinned down at his Jinchūriki in amusement. "I need entertainment here in my solitude. Might as well enjoy the drama that is your love life. You have so many females pinning after you it's almost sad… almost." The fox snickered to an irate blond who huffed and turned away from facing the fox.
"Stupid fox…" There were a million and one things Naruto would have loved to say as a comeback against his tenant, but he felt defeated and out of energy to fight so his insult lacked any kind of effort or firepower in it. He knew he was beat here.
Huffing in amusement Kurama took Naruto and placed him on top of his head before laying back down to get comfortable. He could feel the shock emanating from his host at his actions. Internally he was surprised at his own actions as of late especially with the current interaction they were having. He didn't think he'd go out of his was for Naruto to such an extent. This mission has brought out a lot of surprises for the two of them as they've never interacted this much with each other before Naruto's current mission. However, if Kurama was shocked at his actions up until this point then he would be floored by the action he was about to take.
"If you need someone to talk to about your problems… which you do, mind you… then perhaps you can talk to me."
Silence filled the mindscape after that as both human and Tailed Beast were stunned silence by the proposition that was left in the open. Naruto's entire body went stiff from atop Kurama's head while the great fox's eyes widened at the audacious and out of character proposal to come from his mouth.
Nothing was said after that point for a long while.
Nothing could be said after that point.
Neither of them knew it in that moment but their relationship was changed ever so slightly for the better.
Land of Snow / Dotō's Castle
In the lower depths of Dotō's large fortress like castle were the dungeon area. It was a cavernous enclosed room with dozens of cells all connected together with bridges and catwalks frozen over in ice. In two of these cells sat Naruto and Koyuki who were restrained in the small cells with chains attached to the ceiling keeping them in place.
It didn't take long for Naruto to awaken to his new surroundings and the moment he did a feeling of dread overtook him as he looked around at his familiar surroundings as a sense of déjà vu flooded his senses. In a cell across the hall from him he could see Koyuki strung up as well with dried up tears staining her cheeks. A couple of scuff marks and tears in her clothing as well as the occasional bruise signified to Naruto that she was roughed up from the guards before being placed in her cell.
"Oh, hell no! Not this shit again." Naruto growled out in anger and humiliation as he finally came too and noticed the very familiar surroundings confining him. While it was a different location and time, the fact still remained that once again he has found himself locked up in a cage chained to a ceiling. At this point he was entirely convinced that the universe had a sick sense of humor pertaining to his life as this had to be some kind of elaborate joke and not a mere coincidence.
This commotion brought Koyuki around to noticing her protectors current state of awareness. The young actress gained a spark of hope mixed in with concern once Naruto woke up. It was a tenuous situation that they were both in right now and it was only compounded by the fact that Dotō took her hex crystal. His men were confirming that it was the real artifact while also getting the special location ready for the ceremony he had in mind. Until then she would remain in the dungeon for safekeeping and as a way to psychologically torture her more with her helpless situation. Every option to make her life more miserable was an avenue Dotō was willing to take.
"Naruto…?" Koyuki called out in concern as she watched the boy begin to struggle in apparent anger. "AHHHHHH!" The young Chūnin's pain filled screams filled the dried cold air of the dungeon block as electrical surges flooded his already weakened body from the detected erratic movement. "Naruto!" The actress cried out in fear as she watched the boy spasm uncontrollably for a few moments in agonizing pain.
"Naru! Be careful!" The voice of his beloved other half roused Naruto lightly as Eva buzzed around his head in concern. She was able to remain undetected since being brought to Dotō's castle. They had no idea she was hidden away inside of Naruto's hair. Their oldest trick in the book since they were 4 years old still holds up to this day.
Growing limp Naruto groaned in pain as his head sagged down from exhaustion. Through blurry eyes Naruto could see a small hexagonal shaped mechanical device attached to his stomach. Six prongs extended from the small hexagon device that dug into his skin while in the center of it was a small circular dish shaped core with a Yin and Yang symbol painted on in the inverse colors of red and blue.
'This is a Chakra Suppression Device. I designed it to replicate the effects of Fūinjutsu, Aspen told me that the engineers they had working on it were making great strides, but I had no idea it was complete.' Naruto thought to himself while tuning out everything around him. He needed to think now more than anything else. 'These were supposed to go into the chakra suits as regulators for the power that it could generate… it was also meant to be used as a way to help them hide by suppressing their chakra down below a level a normal Sensory Type Ninja would be able to detect. But now it looks like it's been tweaked to completely suppress my chakra and cut me off from it.' Naruto noted in concern as he after a quick moment of inner focus discovered that he couldn't mold his chakra and bring it to the surface of his body to be usable.
'This isn't good, but I refuse to be stuck in such a helpless situation like this again. Screw that.' Naruto growled in his mind as he was absolutely resolved to not having a total repeat of history… and if he had no choice in that matter then the least that he could do is make sure that just like last time… he escapes.
"What are we going to do?" Koyuki whispered in a small voice laced with desperation and fear as she did her best to remain still. She didn't want to set the chains off and cause her to be electrocuted. "We escape… I promised that I would protect you and so far, I haven't completely been living up to that promise. Which is why I must do everything I can now to make up for it. I've been in my own head so much since this mission started and now it's gotten out of hand." Naruto replied back with a voice filled with remorse and introspective reflection. He knew that deep down he had a lot of issues brought forth to the surface by this mission. Many of which were psychologically in nature and it was currently hampering his logical and productive reasoning skills as a shinobi.
These were things that had to be addressed at some point or else eventually it would cost him either his life or the life of someone he holds dear. Koyuki herself didn't have much in the way of a response to Naruto's declaration but she had her own introspective thoughts about her past. These last few days have radically changed her world and not exactly for the better. All of her old suppressed memories of her father and her childhood that she's pushed down for the last 10 years have come flooding back into her mind without restraint.
Her childhood used to be peaceful and full of happiness with her father until the fateful day that her uncle initiated his coup. After that it was nothing more than a living nightmare for a long time to come for the young actress but even despite that fact, she still clung to the words her father once told her about their family treasure and the Land of Snow as a whole.
Despite the country resting in the north pole the immediate region surrounding the borders of the Land of Snow as a whole was capable of a much lighter climate than the perpetual ice age it was in currently, the reason for this phenomenon was due to the presence of a powerful Great Demon, the same entity that the Nine Tails is acquainted with. After their last encounter ended in a terraforming battle the entity then made the decision to travel all the way north to the northern pole of the planet to avoid any future conflict with any creature. It's natural affinities and attributes made blending in and becoming one with its environment around it perfect for fitting into the glacier ice caps of the northern hemisphere.
However, its mere presence had unintended side effects to the surrounding region around it. Because the creature was so powerful and had an overwhelming reserve of Yōki the entire ecosystem around it often found itself plunged into a perpetual and never ending Yōki enhanced winter that would send temperatures well below the freezing point. Not only that but the vicarious demon would then summon an entire ecosystem of demon familiars to populate the ecosystem around it to act as its eyes and ears to its surroundings as an early warning system to ensure its safety. Though in hindsight with the exception to a few unique demons that were exclusive to it as their progenitor the powerful demon didn't really pay any heed to the species of monsters that it spawns off its body or the damage that they can cause to the ecosystem or human settlements around it.
Her father explained to her that the season of spring was capable of sustaining itself in the north pole. Because of her young age he never told her the exact reason behind how it was possible, but he did allude to the fact that it was a family treasure that he was working on that would allow this phenomenon to happen.
"My father once told me that spring could come to this country of ours… I stopped believing in that dream and a great many things once he died. I haven't had any true dreams, hopes, or aspirations in a very long time." The usurped princess mournfully confessed as she stared out of her cell with a hollowed look in her already dark and jaded eyes. Hope was a concept that Koyuki hasn't held close to her chest in ten years. It all died with her father and the shell of the pitiful state her country has fallen into.
She wasn't sure what she wanted to do with herself now that she was within Dotō's grasps. She didn't have hope that they could win under the conditions they were in. Her uncle held all of the cards as far as she could tell. It was pointless to continue to resist.
"I know you may think that… but it's not true." Naruto countered in a tired but sincere tone as he gazed at the older woman across from him. In his eyes an old flame of determination was being slowly stroked into a brighter and stronger flame. His surprising and polarizing conversation with the Nine Tailed Fox was still fresh in his mind and the confusing yet warm feelings that they brought out in him was enough to banish if temporarily the dark depressing thoughts that has been poisoning his mind. It was time to do what he does best…
… the impossible.
"How can you say that…? Look at us. He's already won and soon he'll just kill us both. Spring will never come to this country." Koyuki grieved as tiny tears leaked out of her eyes but they were stopped by Naruto's next words. "Then it looks like we have our work cut out for us then… don't we?" The young Chūnin grinned as he dug deep into his subconscious while savoring the shocked look on the actresses face.
'The bars and surrounding structure is reinforced and saturated in Yōki. I can feel my chakra but can't manipulated it due to this dampener on me.' The experienced shinobi thought to himself as his eyes roamed his confines in sharp analytical patterns scanning everything around him in the blink of an eyes. This was all familiar territory for him unfortunately, so he wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet… or ever. That wasn't who he was.
'Yōki is naturally thicker than chakra which means that it's going to be hard for me to overpower these chains let alone the bars to this cage. I can't move my own Yōki in my body because it's so interlinked with my chakra. Come on Naruto. Remember your training. Separate your energies from each other.' Naruto coached himself as he felt for the life-giving energy inside of his body and just like with his training under Jiraiya began to separate them away from each other.
Inside of his body he had his own Chakra that he was born with, the powerful and potent Tailed Beast chakra that was granted to him at birth and also during his inception by being Kurama's Jinchūriki and his mother being one herself, next was the strong and comforting Yōki that has fused to him due to him and Eva forming a blood contract together, then next was the godly divine grace granted to him from being Sōkyoku's host as well as Miya's that still to this day reminded Naruto of the great phoenix's, and the tainted grace from Chaos that was so dark and chaotic that for any other person in the world they would be consumed by the sheer madness of it a long time ago.
These five, technically six different energies carefully and tentatively coexisted within his body by a delicate balancing system only held together by Sōkyoku's influence, of that Naruto was sure of. As under normal circumstances his body should have exploded from day one.
'On its own my Yōki while quite thick won't be enough since it's become so dependent on my chakra to sustain itself and since its powered by emotions, I would need a lot of rage or a strong enough emotion to get it going which is not what I need in this moment. I've been swimming in those kinds of emotions enough as it is to last a lifetime. What I need is another source of emotion to empower me right now. Something that me, Koyuki, and this entire country needs now more than ever…' Naruto thought to himself as he began to tug on Sōkyoku's diving energy causing his body to start to glow an ethereal gold.
'… that emotion that I need right now is… it's hope…'
A bright golden light enveloped Naruto as his eyes turned a majestic emerald green just like his diving daughter. "Koyuki. While I may not exactly be hyperactive as that's something Chaos has to take the cake on, I am the Leaf Village's number one most unpredictable ninja and it's my specialty to make the impossible, possible. It's time we gave you and this country back something it's been missing for far too long… and that's hope." Naruto declared as he clenched his fist and the entire cell shook under his unrestrained raw power.
'Unbelievable… what is he?' Koyuki gazed in soul searching awe as the golden light emanating from Naruto's body in conjunction with his glowing eyes made him look like a deity to her. She's never once seen such a sight like this in her life and she doubted that she ever would again. This image was permanently burned into her mind from that moment on as Naruto simply flexed his muscles and the dampening chains that were responsible for restraining his movements snapped under his body after they themselves hissed and groaned in pain from the divine energy coursing through their Yōki enhanced makeup.
The chains didn't stand a ghost of a chance as they disintegrated once the divine energy passed through them. Falling to the floor Naruto stretched as he stood up. "You've already figured out that the bars and chains are fueled with Yōki right partner?" Eva grinned as she saw the beautiful state her significant other was in right now. Even though she herself felt the typical discomfort of having Sōkyoku's energy running rampant throughout Naruto's body she was still satisfied and pleased to see him getting back to his old self again. "Of course, Eva… let's bust out of this joint." Naruto grinned with a flame of determination flaring up in his eyes.
With purpose and vigor restored to his body Naruto walked over to the bars holding him back and reaching out with a determined gaze, he touched them causing a hiss of steam and Yōki to ripple off of the steel bars. "You can't keep me in here anymore!" With little effort Naruto ripped the steel door to his cell off causing most of the door to disintegrate under the divine energy it was subjected too.
Now free from his prison and its dampening effects Naruto could now see and hear a battle raging on in the catacombs above them. He could sense his daughter's powerful energy erupting from them in frantic burst hinting at a rapid pace they were setting for themselves as if they were in a rush. It confirmed to Naruto that they were quickly dispatching their enemies. With that in mind Naruto knew he needed to get Koyuki out of her cage without delay.
In seconds Koyuki found herself freed as well as the light left Naruto's eyes while his daughters energy receded into his body. Unlike any of his other energy sources, Sōkyoku's and by extension Chaos's divine energy always took the longest to recede back into rest within his body and they always left a noticeable trace and presence within his Chakra coils which were saturated by their divinity. It made it especially painful and difficult for him to use his Yōki rich chakra afterwards for any Ninjutsu.
"What are you?" Koyuki whispered in nothing short of awe for what she's seen this boy do for her. He's shown her more than what anyone else has ever done since this mission began and it went without saying that her opinion of him which was originally low along with the others has taken a dramatic shift. Her disposition towards him was even lower than average because of his nature as one of her fans. But all of that was a thing of the past as far as the princess was concerned… not after everything he's done for her.
"I'm a shinobi." A warm smile from Naruto was all that was needed to answer that question which left the older woman speechless, but that didn't last long as the whole underground detention center shook from multiple explosions ripping through the fortress above them while a recently familiar yip of a small animal sounded out in the corridor over the sounds of the guards in the security ward rushing around in panic.
"Guys!"
With Team 7/ Shirakawa Town
"It's been more than a full day sensei… is it time now?" Sakura's impatient voice sighed out with stress and anxiety boiling the blood within her veins. She along with the others had to watch as her teammate and client were taken away right in front of them while they were powerless to stop it.
Now an entire day has passed since then and most of the residents of Shirakawa Town have been saved and treated for their injuries thanks to the battalion of toads from Mt. Myōboku. Things became dicey not to long after Naruto's forceful abduction as the others suspected that he would most likely have his chakra sealed to not only prevent him from escaping or fighting back but to also hide his location from any potential chakra sensory type ninja. While on its own that was enough of a problem and one that needed to be resolved, it wasn't the main concern. The true problem came from the fact that the Toads were under the effects of Naruto's Summoning technique. If his chakra suddenly got cut off, then the technique would immediately end causing the citizens to be left without medical care or worst some of them would be accidentally transferred back to Mt. Myōboku for the ones that were inside the Shop and Diving Toads.
Luckily, Naruto took preemptive measures into his own hands. The Shadow Clone that he had created in the moments before his capture was in the hands of his teammates and Iris like the smart girl her father knew her to be immediately understood what her father wanted her to do with it.
Using her divine energy as a catalyst Iris pumped the clone full of her energy and by extension bringing it fully under her control and away from the connection it has with Naruto. Next, she had the Toads dismiss themselves for a brief moment after letting all of their patients go which greatly concerned the panicked and distraught victims but the gentle coaxing from the little girl and the others was enough to buy the little blond enough time to enact her plan. By the time she had done this she had felt the connection to her father get severed which most like indicated to her that they had placed some type of dampener on him.
In that moment everyone was astonished to see the clone not disappear as Iris explained to them that she severed its connection to her father. It was now a puppet entity being possessed by her. Under her command Iris had the clone which now had a buffed reserve of chakra due to her influence use the Summoning Jutsu once more to bring back the entire battalion of toads and this time he brought even more to help out which bolstered the morale and peace of mind that was sorely lacking in the town beforehand.
The others marveled at Iris's power and ingenuity which was praise the bashful little girl was all too happy to receive but her mood was heavily dampened by the fact that her dear twin sister was injured trying to rescue their father and Naruto was taken before their eyes. After sorting out her business with the clone the graceful deity quickly healed Chaos before the dampening of her father's chakra affected her too.
As of now most of her powers were severely bottlenecked now that Naruto had that power dampener on him. It irked the little girl to no end to be restricted in the use of her own abilities, but she was willing to cope since Chaos was now back on her feet. She concentrated the remainder of her power into sustaining the separated puppet clone of her father to ensure that it would not pop leaving the citizens of the town in danger.
While irritable and wracked with worry for her precious father Iris's mood paled in comparison to Chaos's. The little Angeloid was furious to say the least even if she was incapable of expressing it properly. Her behavior was becoming increasingly erratic and spontaneous and a dark miasma was constantly hanging around the little girl's presence. Chaos was beyond upset at the fact that she couldn't rescue her father who was right in front of her. She felt powerless and at a lost without her guiding emotional and moral compass which is her father by her side. Being separated from him for any amount of time over a day was enough to begin to affect the girls moods but to also be cut off from him because of his powers being dampened and to know that he was in peril was an entire matter altogether. It was enough to make the insane little girl angry.
It went without saying that the others stayed out of her way for the remainder of the day as the entire camp was being affected by a seemingly never-ending wave of negative energy and bad luck spells. It got to the point that Iris had to take her sister away from the camp to another portion of the town that was not damaged just to make sure that her influence couldn't hurt anyone. They had come close to losing a patient who was being healed by one of the toads that continued to bleed out unexplainably despite the fact his wounds were completely treatable. It didn't take the others long to figure out that Chaos's sphere of influence that Naruto would usually be the one to suppress and manage was now fully unrestrained and out of control.
On the other hand, Henrietta was inconsolable as her best friend and crush was taken with her not being able to do a thing to stop it. The young marionette was determined to find and rescue her partner and that was a sentiment shared by all those who were present.
"Yes Sakura… now is the time."
It didn't take long at all for Kakashi to get a strategy up and running that had Team 7 plus Jairo who insisted on coming along now that he has had time to rest and heal set on infiltrating Dotō's castle with the intent of sabotaging the entire complex for their coming assault while Henrietta would take Iris and Chaos to link back up with Naruto and coming along with them was the mysterious little arctic fox that was growing increasingly impatient as time went on without its chosen master by its side.
The other members of section two volunteered to stay behind and guard Naruto's proxy clone so that nothing would happen to the army of summoned toads who were busy tending to the injured citizens. In the event of a follow up attack the clone would be able to summon more offensive battle toads to aid them in their time of need. It was the best option that they had and soon the group were off to rescue their captured teammate.
It took them a combined days' worth of travel and recon to safely scout out the massive castle that was heavily fortified and protected against invasion or intrusion. Upon closer inspection the outer walls and key entrance points such as doors and windows were covered by security, sensor, and reinforcement seals to keep anyone from entering.
The security seal would shock anyone who physically touched the seal as well as sound an alarm if enough pressure was applied to either the door or window in question. The sensor seal sent out a small micro pulse of chakra in a small five-foot radius of itself that monitors any object organic or otherwise that comes near it. It doesn't set off any alarms because it could be a local animal or a pebble but if the object in question flares its chakra to Genin level or interacts in any way with the passageway itself then an alarm would sound. Finally, the reinforcement seal's purpose is to increase the durability and sturdiness of its target. Throwing a rock or kunai at the window in hopes of shattering it would no longer work in this case and kicking down the door would also be extremely difficult.
These same security measures were implemented in the village with key locations such as the Hokage Administration Building, Academy, Hospital, ANBU Black Ops Headquarters, I&T Headquarters, Intelligence Archive Center, Leaf Archive Library, and several other prominent government buildings all had these measures installed to further protect the village. Of course, the caliber of those seals back in the village was of a much higher standard than the ones Kakashi saw before him. The ones protecting Dotō's fortress were good, but fairly standard and of a low quality, not to mention easily detectable.
If Kakashi hadn't been the student of the Legendary Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze who was a renown seal master and an elite Jōnin in his own right for well over a decade then he might not have known how to get past these defense let alone detect them as they were of a good enough quality that even an experienced Chūnin might not notice their presence if they were careless enough.
As things stand, Kakashi was well equipped to handle the obstacles in their path. He was by no rights a seal master like his own sensei Minato was or his wife Kushina Uzumaki who was even more of an accredited master due to her lineage than her husband and he wasn't even to Shoko's standards nor the likes of Jiraiya but despite the huge gap in skill level and knowledge the Copy Cat Ninja was at the level of a Seal Expert and so Dotō's weak defenses stood no chance against the silver haired Jōnin at all who managed to sneak his squad into the fortress undetected while keeping the seals intact as to not set off any alarms.
At this point the groups split up with Chaos shrouding her sister, Henrietta, and the fox in a complex illusion using what little of her powers were available to her while Kakashi and the remnants of Team 7 used their shinobi skills to their utmost to avoid detection while placing demolition level explosive paper bombs in key areas for their assault. They had to avoid many patrols of Genin and Chūnin level Hidden Snow Ninja who patrolled specific routes and guarded key choke points.
Luckily, they didn't encounter any Jōnin level ninja as of yet and that was understandable as far as Kakashi was concern. The Hidden Snow Village was a very small village with an even smaller military force. Their shinobi population didn't even spike over 300. There weren't than many Jōnin to begin with and the ones that they did have weren't all to the same quality as those found in the Great Five Hidden Villages.
For the staff of Jōnin that were in the building they were all strictly guarding key areas such as the royal throne room, security headquarters, and Dotō's personal chambers. This worked out to Kakashi's favor as he didn't have to worry about running into an opposition that he wouldn't have been able to hide his students from. To Jairo's credit he was holding his own up against Kakashi's high standards which earned him the silver haired Jōnin's respect as a fellow shinobi as the young man obviously earned his status as an experienced Chūnin and foreign operative. To Kakashi, it was almost like Naruto was still with them and that was enough to soften his heart.
It wasn't long before the show down was to come to a head as the children managed to sneak into the underground detention center while Team 7 were almost finished placing their final touches on the explosives planted around the area. As an extra measure Kakashi had confiscated all of the intelligence and files from as many of the rooms he had passed by to be used at a later date. It would be turned over to both the Leaf Government and the Jasmine Dragon Mafia for analysis as it was clear that Dotō was working with a benefactor. This benefactor was thought to be the Black Sun by Naruto and the mafia and so Kakashi knew that a lot of interested parties would like to know how things went.
It was at this moment that Iris was able to detect the fact that her father was actively using her powers which only made her more determined to get to him. The arctic fox seemed to know exactly where to go as it had some form of connection to their father. It sniffed the ground every few minutes then it would take off again with a single tracked mind. Up above them Team 7 were making their way to the throne room when they finally ran into issues.
It was Fubuki and Mizore who were on their way to the throne room where Dotō and Nadare were to give them an update on ironically enough Team 7. Being experienced Jōnin in their own right with a caliber that matches that of a Jōnin from the main villages as opposed to their substandard weaker colleges the two mercenary ninja were quick on the uptake and noticed the teams presence. If it were just Kakashi by himself then this wouldn't have happened but concealing his students and temporary tag along Chūnin subordinate who were far below his level was all but impossible.
Their element of surprise was gone and now their presence was known.
Present Time / Underground Detention Center
Just as things were escalating up above in the castle the same could be said for the detention center as the two children of Naruto and their escort ran into two Chūnin level guards stationed at the steel reinforced door leading into the open cavernous detention center.
Still under the blanketing illusion from Chaos herself the small group of girls plus arctic fox stood hidden around the corner ready to act at a moment's notice. "It's a narrow corridor leading to that steel reinforced door. Our only option is a frontal assault and if one of them slips in to warn the others they could then harm the prisoners." Henrietta noted as they would have to remove both ninja simultaneously in order for an alarm not to go off.
"I think I have an idea so…" The marionette began to say but was stopped by Chaos whose face was contorted into a visage of psychosis broke off from behind the corner without warning startling her sister and chaperon. "Chaos wait!"
The two Chūnin didn't even know what hit them as one split second they saw a little blond-haired girl appear around the corner in a distorted mirage and then the next they were transported out into the freezing cold tundra of the outside world. Their partner that was supposed to be next to them were replaced by the appearance of the hidden leaf shinobi they were warned beforehand to be on the lookout for. The only logical conclusion that the two shinobi could come to would be that they were under a Genjutsu… and they would be right in this aspect which is why they then tried to dispel the illusion casted upon them.
The only thing is… it didn't work.
They were still stuck in what they presumed to be a Genjutsu with an enemy that was now attacking them relentlessly. In a matter of moments both guards were dead as from the perspective of those in the hallway they had killed each other in a brutal and vicious fashion.
Henrietta gasped at this with a shocked look on her face while Iris casted a concerned gaze over to her twin sister for good reason. Chaos had a demented and psychotic look on her face while hidden beneath the surface of her eyes that was reflecting her madness a deep pit of cold fury and anger resided in the unhinged child. Chaos was angry… angry that she failed to save her father the previous day… angry that she's been separated from him and suffering from the negative side effects of that separation, angry that there were now people standing in her way from reaching her father… and just overall angry.
Iris had a good reason to be concerned for her sister…
Chaos was angry…
That was an occurrence that was incredibly rare… rarer than spotting a magical creature in your lifetime… rarer than winning the lottery.
The little arctic fox that was accompanying them didn't even bat an eye at the gruesome scene before it as it trudged ahead forcing the others to follow while Chaos herself didn't say a word as her shadow on the wall began to morph and change along with the imaginary smile that is usually depicted on her shadow where her mouth is supposed to be. Spike like protrusions extended from her body's shadow near her back while the smile itself transitioned into a prominent frown. These changes weren't reflected on Chaos's facial expression as her typical dopey expression was still in place but now her wings were fully extended from her back in a menacing stance.
In moments before either her sister or familial babysitter could react, she launched her wings forward tearing through the steel door in front of them like a hot knife through butter. What remained of the door was flung into the detention center where it smacked into a slowly reacting guard who was a normal civilian killing him instantly when the steel plate from the door smashed directly into his head snapping his neck with the excessive force of the objects fast velocity.
'She's truly lost control… and it's too late to stop her now. I only hope she calms down when we see daddy.' Iris contemplated to herself as she rushed into the room in a rolling dive that had her now in the center of the reception room. Coming out of her roll Iris punched out her small fists in rapid fashion launching several small fireballs that exploded against the torso's of five other guards launching them back across the room until they slammed into the adjacent walls. They were down and out before they could put up any resistance. They were just standard civilian guards and not shinobi. They had neither the physical superhuman durability nor proper armor that shinobi had to resist an attack from Iris.
Henrietta wasn't idle either as one guard who was positioned near the now destroyed entrance way tried to draw his sword against Iris's unprotected back but he would never get that chance as the skilled assassin and marionette snuck up behind him in a ghost like fashion and stabbed the man in his spine with her combat knife before twisting the metal into the lumbar and spinal bone causing the man's lower half to crumble to the ground in a split second. He didn't even get a chance to scream as his neck was already snapped simultaneously.
It was over before he fully realized he was truly dead and all throughout this spontaneous burst of violence Chaos's expression didn't change as she walked into the room passing the others with a single tracked minded gaze in her eyes. She was determined to find her beloved father and reunite with him finally and nothing would stop her.
Iris took a moment to close her eyes as the souls of the recently dead passed through her body while Henrietta sighed at the loss of life in the room. Chaos was in no mood to hold back as their father would want her too. He would be none too happy to hear about what they did.
"This roster here says that Naruto and Ms. Yukie are on the bottom floor in the open chasm. Down there are specially made cells designed to hold shinobi and supernatural creatures. That's why we haven't been able to sense them most likely." Henrietta spoke up as she went behind the desk in the room and looked up the roster for the prisoners held in the detention center. The list was quite long as there were many state prisoners held captive in the catacombs below who were captured and detained for breaking the new rules and laws of the new regime. The men and women down below are mostly if not all innocent people who have spoken out against Dotō and his oppressive government.
Henrietta's heart went out to these people and if that was the case then they would need to be freed before the blew up the castle or else those prisoners would die down their due to the cave ins and collapse of the ceiling above them. Iris herself looked around the room and noticed a few basic seals hidden in locations. Some were alarm seals while others were the typical sensor and reinforcement seals. Since none of them used chakra it was fortunate that the sensor seals didn't trigger but the chance for the alarm to go off was still present.
'I'll have to disable these seals in order for us to move on. Luckily, I've finally masters this spell that I've been working on with daddy during the month-long trip here. Our practice with Fūinjutsu is about to pay off. It's a good thing I have enough of my own energy stored up to do this.' Iris thought to herself as like Chaos, Iris only had a small pool of grace left within her body since her connection to her father was cut due to the dampening field around him. She didn't have access to her overall reserves of grace… but that wouldn't be needed for what she was about to do.
"Holy Magic: Sigil Disruption Ward!" A while glowing seal with golden outlines appeared beneath Iris's feet with archaic glyph letters spreading out around the magic circle that was lighting up the room. The character's for "seal"; "letters"; "energy"; and "ink" were displayed in the ancient angelic language while at the center of the seal the character for "disrupt" was displayed in one large character. Henrietta was mesmerized by the ethereal glow being casted by Iris's new spell while the little arctic fox accompanying them hid behind the older girls leg in discomfort at the amount of divine grace permeating the air around it.
Within moments iris's sigil pulsed and a white light bathed the entire room in a bright flash. Once it was over not only were the seals hidden in the room deactivated but the ward was now displaying itself on the palm of Iris's hand. She planned to use the technique more as they encountered more seals. She didn't want them tripping any alarms before they reached their father and client. She wanted their assault to come as a complete surprise to the guards… but at the rate her dear twin sister was going… that was becoming difficult. "This ward will protect us from any Fūinjutsu seals hidden in the detention center. But we must all stick close together." The little girl reminded as Henrietta came up to stand behind Iris with a nod of her head while rubbing the little princess's head in pride. Chaos didn't respond to this announcement, but Iris knew her sister heard her.
The little fox companion with them placed its nose to the ground and began to sniff while it's diamond shaped tail wagged behind it in both concentration and excitement. It knew where its master was, and it was anxious to reunite with him.
Chaos was of the same mindset as her scanners came on which was noticed by the others in the room since her eyes were now a striking ruby scarlet. "Aegis." One simple word from Chaos and immediately the small group were surrounded by her blue hexagonal patterned protective dome. A look of pure concentration could be seen hidden behind her eyes as the floor below them began to crack and deform around them at an alarming rate. "Sister what are you doing?" Iris blinked as it was highly uncharacteristic of Chaos to be so silent and intense. It was hard enough as it is already to predict the unhinged girl's thoughts and actions but as she is now it was almost impossible to guest what was running through the emotionally disturbed girl's mind. To be honest, it was unsettling for Iris and Henrietta to witness.
"We're going straight down… daddy is straight down." The reply was short, simple, and straight to the point as the ground shook around them from the stress of Chaos's shield pressing down on it. In moments the large spherical dome plowed straight through the floor with little resistance while its passengers inside were suspended within Chaos's metallic wings for safety.
They passed through four floors of jail cells as the concrete girders, and other reinforced materials separating the different floors deformed and cracked under the pressure of Chaos's impenetrable shield as they breached the last layer of concrete standing in their way before bursting into the large catacomb cavern that held the larger more specially made cells.
Crashing through the ceiling of this prison wards control and reception area Chaos touched down onto the floor with her shield dispelling while simultaneously placing her family members on the ground before surging her powerful wings forward to impale an unsuspecting guard who was startled by the ceiling exploding above him. A surge of chaotic tainted flames ignited on the tip of Chaos's wing causing the man to combust from the inside out with flames searing his skin off in seconds. His brief screams along with the loud sound of the breach of the ceiling above them was enough to alert the rest of the guards that they had company.
"Intrude-!" The first guard to react accordingly to this new threat with a strangled cut off cry of "intruders" found one of Chaos's individual blade like wings sticking out of the back of his throat with a spray of blood splattering onto his fellow guardsmen who were behind him. A flash of blackish tainted flames burned his now dying body from the inside out while the tip of Chaos's blade that was far past extended out the back of his neck lit up with a fireball at the very tip.
"Lock On."
Chaos already had the three guards that were behind the first one in her sights as she unleashed fatal strikes against them. "Artemis… fire." Three lightning quick fireballs in the shape of small bullets passed through their weak armor like a hot knife as fist sized holes could be seen where their hearts should be. They were dead before they could make an offensive move against the children of Naruto Uzumaki.
Out of the corner of her eye Henrietta scouted out a guard who was behind a reception desk reaching over to activate the alarm seal that was printed onto an electrical button and within a split second the marionette had her wrist mounted launcher pointed at the man who was far too slow to react. With a simple flex of her pointer finger the chestnut colored haired girl triggered the gears in her wrist mounted launcher to discharge a metal projectile bullet that lodged itself into the skull of the man through the opening of his civilian protection helmet that these infantry guardsmen were wearing.
With her act of intervention, they avoided anyone sounding the alarm for the maximum-security ward of their detention center but that did nothing to change the fact that their noise has alerted the other guards to their presence. Now alongside the now frantically responding infantrymen were shinobi and they were all heading their way.
Both Genin and Chūnin were coming along with squads of guardsmen who were carrying Sasumata's and basic standard issue katanas at their hips. These swords were cheap, and mass produced along with the head to toe grey colored metal plated armor that the guardsmen were wearing. The shinobi on the other hand were hopping over catwalks and running up the walls to make it to the reception room at the center of the detention block where the girls were while the civilian guards were confined to the catwalks and crosswalks that crisscrossed all across the detention center.
"This is it… I can sense daddy now and he's using my energy. He must be making his escape." Iris called out as this announcement finally got a visual response out of Chaos who flexed her wings in preparation to confront the rushing guards. Black crackling lightning with a reddish hue could be seen sparking off of her metallic blade like wings as her twin got in front of her to confront the rushing infantrymen. Turning to the corridor on the opposite end of the reception room where the door was left wide open Iris circulated a potent dosage of wind magic within her tiny lungs.
"Holy Wind Magic: Divine Wind!" Iris called out as she took a deep breath before unleashing a powerful blast of magical wind that slammed into the charging civilians stonewalling their charge in an instant as they began to be pushed back down the narrow corridor that they were in causing them to trip and stumble on top of each other. A couple broken bones throughout the group were the extent of their injuries but for the most part that ground was down and out for the count.
"I see them!" An overzealous Genin guard who broke away from her Chūnin leader shouted out as she jumped up to the window of the reception room where she landed on the glass to peer inside. She couldn't have been older that 16 at the most, but in the end; it didn't matter to the ones breaking in… especially to one in particular. It was a fatal mistake on her part as Chaos's wings impaled her through her throat and heart at the exact same time.
"The first persons voice I want to hear is my daddy… not yours." Chaos intoned in a dark voice that sent a shiver up Henrietta's spine while Iris frowned in concern to her sisters mental state. Chaos never took being separated from her father well. When they were caught back on Hōrai Island the only reason why she didn't spiral out of control was because she was preoccupied with being tortured by Minos and his harpies. If Chaos were ever allowed the opportunity to escape back then, she would have most definitely gone on a violent rampage to get back to her family while slaughtering any enemy that stood in her way.
What was prevented the first time from happening was now coming to fruition as dead bodies have already dropped in brutal displays of violence to Chaos's silent fury and separation anxiety. This bloodshed wouldn't end until she was in her father's arms and while Iris wanted nothing more than to be back in the warmth and safety of her beloved father's arms… she was more determined to get her sister there first before she continued on any further.
Throwing her fist out a blazing bright green fireball left Iris's hand where it exploded against the window shattering the glass and knocking the now dead girls body away into the abyss of the cave below. Jumping out of the window after setting the corridor on fire to prevent anyone from entering the room Iris jumped across the chasm to a nearby catwalk with Henrietta doing the same. Their little fox companion surprised them all by making the jump with its surprising powerful hind legs all the while Chaos floated over to her family with her wings giving her a monumental advantage.
Sticking the landing Henrietta herself came out of her crouch and opened up on several guards who found bullet holes from her metallic chakra propelled silver beads blasting through their bodies before they could raise their shields to defend themselves with.
"Ice Style: Snow Bombs Jutsu!" Several Genin shouted in conjunction as they launched multiple volleys of chakra packed snowballs towards the three-girl strike team suspended in midair on one of the many hanging catwalks. The attacks were coming in from multiple directions, but this weak attack wouldn't be enough to deter the group in the slightest as Iris slammed her fist down onto the steel grating below her while channeling her godly aura into her attack.
"Phoenix Fire: Heat Wave!" Iris's counter was as quick as it was effective as an expansive wave of heat and flames pulsed out melting the snowy projectiles as they came in. The closest Genin were knocked out of the air and off their feet as the sweltering oppressive heat passed through them scorching their skins in a matter of moments. The attack was just as effective as it ever was as the enemies dropped like flies around them due to the unbearable heat changing the atmosphere around the room.
"He's on the bottom level. I can see a golden glow from down below us." Henrietta called out as she hopped the railing to the next level below while dropping down onto an unsuspecting guardsmen who had a large combat knife jammed into the top of his skull. He was an unfortunate soul who did not have a protective metal helmet on his head… not that it would have done him much good since Henrietta could channel chakra through her special issue combat knife. Wrapping her legs around the man's torso the soft-spoken girl shot the four other squad members in the now dead man's squad. The marionette had to be accurate on her first shots as the body armor worn by these civilian security guards offered up the potential for her metal slugs to miss or ricochet off of their surface if she wasn't careful.
That margin for error was something that Henrietta did not want to risk in the heat of combat, so she made extra sure to land every shot fired from her wrist mounted launcher. Speaking of which… it was at this point that the mafia's young gifted assassin realized that the shooter was out of ammo. She had to reload but another squad of guardsmen were coming down the catwalk towards her while the twin sisters battled four Chūnin up above on the previous passageway Henrietta jumped from.
Grabbing her knife in preparation while the civilian guards drew their standard katanas while the ones in the lead pointed their Sasumata's at her in an attempt to impale and entrap her the assassin was caught off guard by the appearance of the beautiful and majestic fox that was following them. It too jumped down after Henrietta and now it was standing protectively in front of her.
Opening its mouth, a cyan colored orb of Yōki gathered in its maw before it fired the beam of energy at the charging squad of six guards. All six of the security guards found themselves frozen over after the beam hit them straight on and a flash of light blinded them temporarily. Opening her eyes Henrietta gasped at seeing the men frozen in place with a thick layer of frost covering their bodies. They wouldn't be capable of breaking free on their own.
They were done.
"Thanks, little guy. I owe you one." Henrietta smiled softly to the fox like creature who wagged its tail at her with what the young girl could only describe as a grin spreading across its face… a very familiar grin. If Henrietta had to compare it to something human like, then she would swear it looked like Naruto whenever he would grin his mischievous and infectious grin. It's sharp teeth were in full display as it gave Henrietta the few precious moments of time to reload a new magazine into her launcher.
"You're not the dollies I want to play with… die." Chaos sternly quoted as she tore apart another Genin that was foolish enough to try to sneak up on them from behind. The young teenage boy didn't stand a chance before Chaos was off to engage the four Chūnin who were converging on her and her sister.
"Chaos… I know you are very upset right now but no more killing. Daddy won't be happy to hear about this. We're almost there." Iris tried to plead with her sister as the little Angeloid's rampage was leaving behind a trail of bodies that Iris herself wasn't comfortable with. She didn't like killing and more importantly she didn't like witnessing her beloved sister killing so indiscriminately. It taints Chaos's soul each time it happens, and it breaks Iris's heart.
What could only be constituted as an annoyed expression and huff of aggravation flickered across Chaos's visage before her wings crackled with her dark lightning. "Black Magic: Nightshade." The lightning sparked before discharging at the two closest Chūnin to her who cried out in agony at the magical lightning coursing through their bodies. It didn't feel anything like how a normal Lighting Style technique has felt before in their training. This was something entirely different. They were unconscious before they hit the ground while Iris herself engaged her two assailants with her wind enhanced speed.
Whatever these defending shinobi thought they would find in the intruders that were sieging their castle it was most definitely not two six-year-old girls with powers that far outstripped them… if only they knew that Iris and Chaos were heavily suppressed right now.
"Phoenix Interceptor Style: Fire Lash!" Before the two older men could react Iris already had them both restrained in red hot whips made out of her ethereal flames. They were in mid jump as well which didn't make things any easier for the responding Chūnin who were now on the receiving end of a follow up finisher from the disguised goddess. "Phoenix Fire: Searing Shot!" Positioning her hands that were holding onto her rope shaped flames into guns with her pointer fingers directed at the two Chūnin who crashed to the ground in front of her Iris shot of a small compacted red colored flame at the two shinobi that blasted through their flak jackets and further through their bodies. The heat was so intense that it cauterized their wounds preventing any blood from being spilt but it did nothing for the blistering pain that they briefly felt before everything faded to black. They too were unconscious before they hit the ground.
"Let's end this." Iris declared as she jumped up onto the railing of the catwalk before jumping off into a dazzling pirouette in midair where she twirled through the air in a majestic manner. Blood red flames coated her body drawing the attention of everyone running through the multiple crisscross catwalks. "Phoenix Fire: Flame Burst!" Multiple orbs of flames shot off in various directions before impacting into clusters of incoming guards or the very crosswalks they were running on. Some even exploded against the ice-covered walls of the cavern around them causing the structure to become unstable.
The flame balls exploded like splashing water being displaced sending anyone hit flying with burns all across their body. The spectacle was over just as quickly as it had begun and in a moment Iris herself landed at the bottom of the cavern where she could finally see her father's cell which was bigger and constructed in a different manner as oppose to those that they passed on their way here as they had previously expected. The cage was designed to trap shinobi and other supernatural creatures with powers.
She was just in time to see Naruto break himself out of his cage and quickly assist Koyuki in the same manner. His body was giving off an ethereal golden glow that warmed Iris's soul just by being in the same vicinity as him. Her power was flowing through him in tranquil yet powerful waves and it was this scene that gained Naruto's attention as the little fox jumped down from the overhanging catwalks and made a mad dash for the blond haired Chūnin with Chaos doing the same via the use of her wings while Henrietta made the last jump to reach the ground behind Iris.
Normal POV – Detention Center
"Guys!" Naruto was immediately tackled by the hyperactive little fox that was cold to the touch as he was bombarded by the frozen tongue of the little creature as it licked its face in happiness. "DADDY!" Naruto who couldn't even properly recuperate himself from the sudden appearance of the mysterious little companion that he recently met flinched out of reflex since it was customary for whenever Chaos greeted him after a long period of absence that she would shoot off like a supersonic missile and flying headbutt tackle him in greeting. His spine would usually feel like it was snapped in half during these overbearing greetings and sadly for his back this was a fairly common occurrence.
However, none of that happened as a feathery light mass impacted against his stomach while tiny hands wrapped themselves around his waist in a feverish and frantic manner. Chaos's face was buried deep within Naruto's stomach and the tone of her voice was enough to cause Naruto's heart to crack. He missed his daughters dearly, but he knew the feeling must have been double that for them. Especially Chaos herself.
"Sweetheart… I've missed you so much." Naruto softly cried as he put down the surprisingly heavy fox in favor of wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He could feel the sheer amount of darkness built up within Chaos's body just by being in physical contact with her and it was enough to make him wince in discomfort and for his stomach to churn as his body automatically began to absorb it away from Chaos. She was in a bad place… but he was here now, and he knew what he had to do.
"Daddy!" Iris herself gave her sister a moment longer before she too jumped on Naruto who grabbed her with one arm and hugged her tightly to his side. A million and one words of happiness were shared between the father and his two daughters at being reunited together. Even though they weren't separated for long it was still a harrowing experience to be sure as the girls came so close to rescuing him only to end up failing and seeing him injured badly as a result. The helplessness that they felt was palpable but now their fears were put to bed now that they were back in his arms where they felt that they belonged.
"I'm sorry… Daddy… I'm sorry!" Chaos cried out as she peppered Naruto's face with kiss after kiss until not a single square inch of his face wasn't bombarded by the hysterical girl. Tears were leaking out of her eyes, but she didn't care as she just kept kissing him over and over. It took Naruto a moment to register what was happening but when he did, he understood what this was about. Not only had she failed to save him… she probably went on a rampage to get him back.
"You… you killed again… didn't you Chaos?" Naruto mused lightly in a restless and remorseful tone while rubbing her back gently in a relaxing and comforting manner. He could see the blood that spattered on her clothes and wings. She must have killed her fair share of enemies to get to him.
Placing her forehead against his own the little girl nodded her head to the heavy questioned asked of her. A tired sigh escaped Naruto's lips as he rubbed his nose against Chaos's tiny one in an affectionate eskimo kiss that he knew that she just loved. "I'm sorry too… if I hadn't lost my composure and commonsense the other night then none of this would have happened. I haven't been acting like myself lately and its lead to a lot of costly mistakes." Naruto apologized to the now sobbing young girl whose facial expression finally changed to reflect her mood. There was no smile on her face as she sniffled and rubbed at her eyes to dry her tears.
"I forgive you baby. I couldn't in good conscience condemn you for your actions when I have just as much blood on my hands. However, once everything has calmed down, we will all sit down together and talk about what happened. It's not good to keep it all bottled up inside." Naruto compromised as he left tiny little pecks all across Chaos's cheeks much to her internal delight as she tried her best to regain her composure.
"I'm sorry you had to feel all of those things Iris." Chaos mumbled out to her twin who was hoisted up in Naruto's other arm. With each girl in his two arms they were snuggled up in his embrace which was fine by him since he had no intention of letting them go. As for Iris… she understood immediately what her sister was apologizing for. Every one of the souls killed today passed straight through her body on their way to the afterlife and for each one of those souls Iris in those split seconds had to relive the entire lifespan of those individuals and all of their memories. It was a lot and quite a daunting experience to go through repeatedly in such a short amount of time. But Iris understood… she knew.
Not a single word was uttered from Iris as she silently placed her forehead against her sister's head and just smiled gently. No words were needed between the two twins and they didn't even have to telepathically communicate with each other either. Forgiveness, love, and acceptance were shared between the two sisters in an instant without any words and that was enough to cause a small genuine and rare smile to cross Chaos's lips as she stared into her sisters eyes before closing her own for a moment to bask in the feeling.
Naruto wouldn't have been able to keep the smile off his face even if he tried as he hugged his daughters closer.
"Thank you for getting them here Henrietta. I'm glad you all are ok but how did you get all the way down here?" Naruto questioned as he allowed the shy marionette to give him her own hug which he enjoyed very much. She was still clinging to him when she explained that they were responsible for the rumblings and explosions that he heard.
She explained to him how they snuck down here and the opposition that they faced. She brought up the fact that there were other prisoners held in the detention center that needed to be freed before the castle above was destroyed from the explosive tags being planted by Team 7.
"I see… first things first. Chaos I need you to remove this dampening device from my stomach without destroying it. We're going to need it later." Naruto had a plan of action in the works and he needed this mechanical device off of him in order to do it. "I can do that!" Chaos chirped as she was eager to please her father now that she was back with him. She knew he hated the fact that she killed several people today, so she was willing to do anything for him in order to stay on his good side.
Hopping out of his arms Chaos spawned in her wings once more where she used her delicate and intricate control over her remote appendages to grab onto the circular suppression device attached to her father's stomach. With her blade like wings securely hooked to the device Chaos began to pry it off while trying her hardest not to damage the mechanical object with her powerful wings.
Naruto gritted his teeth in discomfort and slight pain as the machine was pried off of him relatively intact with only a few scratches being evident on its surface. The mechanical internal parts were completely intact which was all that really mattered in the end to keep the device functioning and operational.
With the restrictive device finally removed Naruto felt a wellspring of energy flood his body in tremendous waves. He was completely drained of chakra when he attempted to rescue Koyuki the day before. He had exhausted everything in the defense and later labor of saving the town of Shirakawa and its citizens. He used up what little chakra he had left to create that durable clone that Iris took control over. In his imprisonment his reserves replenished themselves overnight and into the next day even though it couldn't be used. The dampener placed a limiter on his reserves causing them to swell with no exit in sight.
It was the same phenomenon that occurred many months ago when Jiraiya had finally removed the Five Prong Seal that Orochimaru had placed on him. The tremendous increase in capacity that had happened to his reserves was noticeable back then, and that was after more than a week of having that on him. With only a day of time passing in this instance the backlog wasn't as much… but it was still very noticeable. Especially since Naruto has a far better grasp and control over his powers than back then.
The air shimmered with his chakra as the floor cracked below him. 'It's good to feel my chakra again… and my connection to the girls is restored too. Now let's see about getting out of this place.' Naruto pumped himself up as he surged his chakra out while forming his favorite hand sign. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Well over 50 clones popped into existence at Naruto's command as he instructed his copies to seek out the prisoners to free. Some went in search of the prison manifest to determine if the prisoners they were releasing were actual dangerous criminals that would better off be kept separate from other or if they were innocent victims. With most of the exits blocked or destroyed Naruto knew that they would need transportation for the prisoners out of the detention center.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Summoning both a Shop Toad and a Gourd Toad in response to his plans Naruto quickly went on to explain his intentions to his summons. He hasn't had a lot of time to practice with the denizens of Mt. Myōboku and work on his summoning since bringing Tsunade back to the village to be the Hokage. He and Jiraiya haven't had a lot of one on one training since then as his recent promotion and the new duties that they entailed have kept him from his master's side. However, he's been able to squeeze in extra training sessions with the old pervert on an odd day here and there all the way up until the day he left on this particular mission with Koyuki.
At that time Jiraiya left him several training scrolls on the many techniques native to the Toad Contract and Mt. Myōboku. The month-long voyage up to the north pole allowed him more than enough time to practice and familiarize himself with the denizens of the prestigious toad clan. He wasn't a master in using all of the native techniques to their absolute mastery, but he instead spent most of that time with befriending the toads and forging bonds with them. With his massive chakra reserves he has summoned large quantities of toads before during the trip and has spent the time learning about them and their techniques while training with the ones Jiraiya left for him.
It was the only reason why Naruto was good enough to use their techniques to such a degree at such a young age. Naruto was quick to explain to the two toads his intentions as he asked the Shop Toad to collect the innocent prisoners being held in the complex for transportation while the Gourd Toad would transport any dangerous individuals that actually needed to be kept separate from the general population. Gourd Toads had a special pocket dimension inside of their stomachs that prevented anything from the real world from sensing the inhabitants sucked into his belly. Your chakra signature, presence, and existence on the normal plane are erased to any sensor looking for you by a special Time/Space barrier placed inside of these special toads. Inside their bellies are dangerous poisonous lakes of acid and poison and harsh environments making it an inhospitable environment to survive in. It would be the perfect place to send any real trouble making criminals who were too dangerous to go unsupervised.
Once everyone was collected by Naruto's shadow clones, he had the two toads dispel themselves back to the summoning realm to await further instructions. He couldn't worry about their safety in the upcoming battles. After confirming their safety Naruto then summoned an entire batch of Infiltrator Toads more commonly known as Dive Toads. He had them all scatter to search for any intel or valuable objects to confiscate since he couldn't be sure if Kakashi had time to perform this task as well.
Leaving one of these useful toads behind Naruto had the group climb into its belly for transportation as they needed a route back to the surface that was fast and reliable. "Come on girls… first we're going to go back up our team. Then we're going to save this country."
Main Throne Room – Dotō's Throne
Explosions ripped through the once pristine throne room that now had its marble floors ripped up in places to create hastily made Earth Style walls and scorch marks from what was most likely fire style attacks. At least one of the supporting columns in the room was damaged while scattered all across the room discarded kunai and battered bodies of security guards could be seen.
A major battle was taking place within the throne room now and it was quickly becoming apparent who were the perpetrators of this event. Team Kakashi were in a tight spot and it was plain to see. Running into Mizore and Fubuki was a stroke of bad luck on their part and every one of them knew it. The second they were spotted Kakashi had to make the first move so in that regard there were no long-winded dialogues happening between the two factions at the beginning of the arising conflict. Reacting accordingly the two enemy Jōnin began to fight back with Sasuke, Sakura, and Jairo rushing in the back him up.
The fight was immediately brutal in all aspects and it didn't take long for the conflict to reach the throne room as the renegade members of Team 7 managed to push back the two defending Jōnin despite their best efforts to keep the leaf ninja at bay. It didn't take long for the fight to spill out into Dotō's illustrious throne room where he and Nadare were awaiting them to discover who was attacking them. By the time the warring factions got to the throne room the situation went from bad to worst.
The room was soon flooded with civilian guardsmen and responding Chūnin and Genin that the team had previously snuck past, not to mention the few Jōnin to actually be stationed in the castle. It was a fight for their lives at this point as Dotō ordered his men to barricade and block all of the exits trapping the leaf ninja in the room with him. The enigmatic leader of the Land of Snow was eager to see his enemies brought to their knees, so he orders his men to attack without restraint.
This was the situation that the little Dive Toad came upon as it was stuck to the ceiling of the grand hall. It had instructions to let out its cargo and its master once it reached this room so that was exactly what he was going to do. A little croak escaped its mouth as it prepared to complete its task.
Things weren't looking good for the members of Team 7 as they were battered and bruised from the intense fighting they were suffering from. They were looking for a miracle to drop from the heavens above but never in a million years would they have expected what happened next. Naruto was the first to be released from the Dive Toad's mouth and already he had his chakra built up for his maneuver. The hand signs were already formed as he screamed out his warning for his teammates to heed. "GUYS! JUMP RIGHT NOW!"
"Summoning Jutsu!" Not even a full second passed after screaming those words did Naruto open his palm causing a sealing array to spread out from his hand in mid-air. A massive cloud of white chakra smoke exploded above the heads of everyone in the room. The sound was loud and pervasive but it didn't deter Team Kakashi for more than a moment as Kakashi reacted immediately like the veteran that he is as he grabbed Sasuke and Sakura around their waists while Jairo jumped on his own as his instincts trusted in his fellow Chūnin's tactics even if he himself was surprised at how quickly he was willing to put his trust and faith in his younger colleague.
A massive black blur slammed into the marble floors of the grand hall below shattering it and sending shockwaves out that shook the entire castle without remorse. Standing now in the grand hall with barely any room to fit in was a massive magenta colored toad with black secondary markings lining his skin. The markings covered his face, arms, and legs. While on his head he had curved horn like protrusions of skin that flared up like eyebrows above his gold colored eyes. For clothing as some toads like to wear battle armor the impressive warrior class toad had on a black kimono with a white sash and chain mesh armor shirt underneath. He keeps a Sakazuki sake cup-like shield wrapped around his back and his Sasumata in his hand. He was as large as Gamabunta and the other massive warrior class toads.
This toad was named Gamaken and the last time he was summoned it was on the request of Jiraiya when he raided Hōrai island to rescue Naruto months prior. He and his silent dual sword wielding partner Gamahiro were tasked with taking on and subduing Gōra the Island Turtle. Ultimately, they succeeded but the massive island turtle put up a relentless fight against the warrior toads. Gamaken was a support and defensive oriented warrior toad while his partner Gamahiro was a pure offensive oriented toad.
With his Sasumata in hand Gamaken could pin and restrain targets to the ground while letting the tip of the spears explosive properties stun and concuss the target with disabling explosions. With his shield that was a reinforced Sakazuki sake cup for drinking he could defend against many kinds of attacks both elemental and physical in nature. The magenta colored toad had a lot of variety and options available to it in terms of combat and his supplementary and defensive skills were exactly what Naruto was looking for in his attack.
Naruto's met Gamaken once before after the battle on Hōrai Island as Jiraiya asked him to transport their group back to the mainland and to the village in an expedient manner. He personally liked the toad and his shy demeanor. He reminded him of Hinata in some respects but at the same time Gamaken's somewhat "clumsy" persona and antics cracked Naruto up. He thought that the magenta toad was hilarious. He gave off a reliable aura which Naruto respected.
Before they knew it the members of the team found themselves landed on Gamaken shoulders while Naruto himself stood proudly on top of the great toads forehead with a determined glare on his face as he stared down the dozens of ninja and soldiers surrounding them. Now was not the time to be afraid… now was the time to be brave. Now was the time to act.
The dive toad that had transported Naruto's group back to the surface dropped from the ceiling and landed on Naruto's shoulder with a croak as it awaited further orders. "Thanks for the help Gamabean. I want you to take Princess Koyuki and the others out of the castle and back to the camp in Shirakawa Town where she'll be safe. But first I need you to release my daughters as well. I'll need them close by so that I can use my powers to their fullest extent." Naruto instructed with a soft smile to the black and gold toad on his shoulder who nodded in understanding.
"You're a Toad summoner? Impossible!" Dotō gasped in shock as this was beyond the scope of anything he could have ever imagined. Nadare never told him that the enemy squad had a toad summoner in their ranks. Between the raging fires, billowing smoke, and snowstorms ravaging the area around the town due to what happened to it Nadare and his squad never paid any attention to the toads that they could barely see when they went to retrieve Naruto and Koyuki. None of the toads attacked them since they were hunkering down to protect the citizens from Fubuki's random attacks.
Dotō only knew of one Toad Summoner… and he was world renown and famous. The Toad Sage and Legendary Sannin of the Hidden Leaf Village. Lord Jiraiya. To see toads here all the way up in the Land of Snow was completely unexpected and quite unprecedented. Dotō knew of Jiraiya's legendary career and social status within the ninja world. He didn't become a tyrant and leader in the underworld without learning about the most influential and important figure heads both in the civilian and shinobi worlds.
Jiraiya was one of the strongest ninjas in history and currently one of the most well-known strongest in this day and age. But what set Jiraiya apart from other ninja was his known association with the criminal underworld and his penchant for taking down particularly nasty crime lords. If this boy had a connection to the Toad Sage, then he was a much bigger threat than any of the other ninja present.
"Believe it! My master is Jiraiya the Toad Sage so I'm your worst nightmare right now Dotō." Naruto declared as he watched the illegitimate leader seethe in anger and frustration at the current situation that he was in. Ninja with summoning contracts, especially ones that are battle oriented like the toads typically were very competent and powerful ninja and to be able to summon a toad of this size meant that the boy had massive reserves of chakra. It was no wonder Nadare and the others insisted on capturing him.
"This won't end the way you think boy! Men! Attack them immediately before they can counter." Dotō ordered as he didn't want to take a chance on Naruto retaliating any more than he already has. They were now in a much more tightly confined space with the presence of one of the great battle toads of Mt. Myōboku squeezing itself into his throne room. The ground beneath it had already cracked and splintered away from his touch down. The room wouldn't be able to take much more from Gamaken's mere presence.
His men obeyed despite the hesitancy that they showed and now the battle was on. However, in the midst of the ensuing chaos Dotō spied the small gold and black toad sitting on Naruto's shoulders release Iris and Chaos from its belly. That small detail didn't escape Dotō's sight as his mind began to whirl with the possibilities. 'I didn't see Koyuki with either this boy or with Kakashi's team from earlier which means that he's storing her away inside that little toad. If that's the case, then I need to retrieve her.' The sinister Daimyō was a cold and calculating man who by all rights was a competent and smart individual. Like a ninja he could see underneath the underneath as Kakashi might say. The context clues were right there in front of him and it wouldn't take much for him to put the pieces together.
Naruto had her stored away inside the toad, and Dotō wanted her as his hostage. In one single moment Dotō exploded into action as he took off from his spot cracking the floor below him as his men were already charging the Leaf shinobi with ninjutsu and kunai flying through the air in a hailstorm of death.
"Chaos I need a barrier right now!" Naruto shouted as his staff was already in hand allowing him to block the incoming hail of kunai and shuriken heading their way. Kakashi and the others joined him on top of Gamaken's head as they began to deflect the projectiles coming close to them. "Well this is a fine mess we've landed in." Kakashi idly commented as he lazily deflected a fireball coming at them with one of his own before following it up with a thrown shuriken to the throat of the enemy Chūnin who attacked them in the first place. This kind of large-scale battle reminded Kakashi of his adolescent years fighting on the bloody battlefields of the Third Shinobi World War. Those old memories weren't pleasant ones in his opinion.
"Aegis." In seconds a dome of reassurance surrounded the already exhausted team as Chaos held her hand out in front of her generating her blue defensive dome that blocked the rest of the incoming hailstorm of metal and chakra. "I know… this isn't really good, but I'm glad to see all of you and I'm happy you're ok." Naruto replied as he was happy to see that his team was alright and had mounted a rescue operation for him and Koyuki. They were brave and respectable shinobi.
"Likewise, you made quite the entrance. Guy would be proud." Kakashi eye smiled as he prepared himself for the coming onslaught that was awaiting them. Multiple ninja were racing up to Gamaken's form and using him as a platform to ascend higher up to them. The enemy would be upon them in moments. Naruto smirked at the compliment his sensei gave him since one of Might Guy's favorite techniques was literally called Dynamic Entry. The powerful Jōnin was as eccentric as ever.
"Naruto… do you have a plan to get us out of this mess?" Sasuke grunted as secretly he was happy to see his best friend once more and to know that he was relatively unharmed but once more seeing him entering the battlefield in such a dazzling manner once more ignited a deep seeded notion of inferiority and jealousy to bubble up in the pit of his stomach. While he knew he has closed the gap between them when it comes to their technical and physical skills, it was still clearly evident that Naruto far outstripped him in terms of raw power and dominance. In instances like these when he appeared on the battlefield, he commanded the center of attention and respect.
That was a difference that always separated them apart. Naruto's aura was always brighter and warmer than Sasuke's and it fueled the notion that he was still lagging behind in his development as a ninja. Turning to his best friend Naruto grinned with that peculiar look in his eye that subconsciously got a smirk to creep across the black-haired boy's face. "Of course, and you're a part of it."
"Gamaken! Give me some oil!" Naruto commanded as he signaled to Sasuke and Jairo to join him up towards the front of the magenta toad's forehead as Naruto channeled his chakra into his partner to fuel this attack. "As you wish Lord Naruto. But be warned, I can be quite clumsy." Gamaken prattled to himself which got a chuckle out of his summoner, Naruto greatly enjoyed Gamaken's quirky nature as he perpetually thought that he was a very clumsy and ungraceful individual which humored Naruto greatly since ironically enough the great toad was one of the best fighters in all of Mt. Myōboku. The irony combined with the toads very shy and humble nature instantly garnered a friendship between him and Naruto.
"Toad Style: Toad Oil Bombs!" Gamaken's stomach and throat expanded greatly with an audible gurgling sound before he spewed forth gallons upon gallons of toad oil unique to the denizens of Mt. Myōboku. The oil was a honey brown color with a thick viscosity to match and it came shooting out of the large magenta toad's mouth with the force of a geyser. Channeling a small dosage of Sōkyoku's flames into his hand Naruto threw it onto the deluge of oil with both Sasuke and Jairo using a combination Fireball Jutsu to add to the destruction.
"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bombs Jutsu!" A massive firestorm was the end result of the cooperation from everyone involved as the golden hued flames due to Sōkyoku's influence tore through the grand hall with a heat so intense that even Gamaken himself grimaced in discomfort for being at point blank range to his own attack.
Instantly dozens of guards and shinobi alike were incinerated from the intensity of the flames while those on the outskirts of the blast received third degree burns as they were flung away to the outskirts of the room more than likely unconscious. As for Nadare, Mizore, and Fubuki they knew that their suits would not be capable of absorbing the massive amount of chakra being dished out in front of them so they did the sensible thing and jumped up into the air as high as they could go sticking to the nearby support columns just as the sea of flames washed over beneath them wiping away anything in its path including the bottoms of the columns they were perched on completely scorching the throne room a charcoal black.
"Incredible…" Sasuke mumbled in awe as he watched the sea of flames dance below them destroying the back half of the throne room and leaving nothing in its wake but ash and cinders. The power of that combination technique was beyond anything that Sasuke would ever think himself capable of on his own. 'Is this a power that I'll ever be able to achieve on my own… or can I only produce this kind of result with your help Naruto?' Sasuke deeply contemplated to himself as his curse mark subtly started to act up.
'This kid… despite being the same rank on paper I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is much stronger than I am. I got that impression when he saved me form that demon tribe, he proved it in the assault our enemies did on Shirakawa Town and the labor he did for them afterwards, and now here we are again. We've come to rescue him yet he's here fighting side by side with us in such a manner. There's no doubt in my mind that this kid is incredible.' Jairo mused to himself as he was 19 years old and a Chūnin, yet a boy who was only 13 was the same rank, yet far outstripped him in terms of skills and power, and he was inclined to think he was also superior to him in total battle experience as well.
A small swell of giddy childish pride welled up in Naruto's heart at being able to accomplish a technique that his master described to him once. It was one of Jiraiya's most prized combination techniques and a technique passed down within the Toad Summoning Clan. Only a summoner who was in tuned and in sync with his partner could pull off the technique without any friction and blow back from the summoned toad.
"Gamabean… now is the time. I've given you an opening so escape the castle and head back to Shirakawa Town with Ms. Koyuki and have Henrietta and that fox watch over her. Relay to the rest of the toads still there that they are to hunker down just in case of enemy retaliation." Naruto ordered to the small black and gold toad on his shoulder who nodded to the new orders he was given. However, a split second later before he could even jump off of Naruto's shoulder a presence entered everyone's range at blistering speeds.
A hand snatched the small toad off from Naruto's shoulder which revealed itself to be Dotō who with a smirk to counterbalance the shock on the faces of his enemies jumped away off of Gamaken's head but not before kicking Sasuke away and off Gamaken's head who with his Sharingan was able to notice his approach at the very last second.
Landing to the floor behind the great toad whilst his enemies began to scramble after him the enigmatic dictator grinned a dark grin at the small toad in his hands. "Gamabean!" Naruto shouted in worry as he made to jump off after the nation's leader, but his three bodyguards chose that moment to intervene on their master's behalf.
Mizore's grappling hook like gauntlet hand snatched Naruto out of midair much to his and the other's surprise as the portly man swung the young Chūnin through the air with his leverage until Naruto smashed through a nearby support column to the room. The shouts of his teammates were muted out by the raging fires from his last attack and that of Mizore's follow up assault who chose to press his attack.
Fubuki seeing her chance immediately rushed off to face Sasuke while Nadare himself dropped down from his perch and landed behind Kakashi who immediately turned to face his adversary. The team leader of the mercenary squad lashed out with a kick to the gut that doubled over Jairo and knocked him off Gamaken's forehead while a powerful backhanded slap to Sakura's face who was quickly trying to draw a kunai took her out of the equation leaving him alone with his chosen opponent.
Growling in frustration Naruto immediately grabbed onto the claw gripping his chest and yanked it off before Mizore could send his electricity into the gauntlet. "Ice Style: Ice Prison Jutsu!" Not wasting a single second Naruto froze over the entire gauntlet and metal wire it was attached to in a thick block of ice permanently taking the weapon out of play as he honestly did not want a repeat of his fight from last time. To add to his own reassurance Naruto lashed out with an elbow strike that shattered the gauntlet that was frozen solid in the ice that destroyed the weapon in its entirety. He would not be dealing with that annoyance of a weapon ever again.
"Daddy!" Iris called out as she and Chaos had zero intentions on being split up from their father again. Leaving the others to their fights the two little girls jumped down from Gamaken's head with the intent of joining Naruto by his side, but the father had other ideas. He knew what was at stake in this situation.
"NO! Girl's go after Dotō and stop him!" Naruto yelled out as he clashed fists with the much bigger Mizore who was out muscling his much smaller opponent. The twin sisters hesitated for a moment, but they could never disobey their father. They too understood what was important in this scenario as they rushed after Dotō who retreated to the opposite side of the room. "Gamabean! Forget my earlier orders. Just reverse summon yourself. They'll be safer on Mt. Myōboku anyway!" Naruto called out as he realized that he made a mistake in not just doing this in the first place.
He didn't relish the idea of sending his client to a place he himself has never been to before which was why he originally was going to have the movie star sent back to Shirakawa town where she could be safe amongst the citizens they saved who would protect her alongside the contingent of toads he had previously summoned. But now he was regretting that decision. She would have been much safer in a place that no one else could access. It was a regrettable mistake that was about to cost him as he watched Dotō smash his fist into Gamabean's stomach with tremendous force causing the little toad to release the contents from his stomach. Diving Toads aren't very durable at all and are not battlers. They can't take a hit the same way other kinds of toads can.
A strong enough hit to them would force them to release the passengers they have in their stomachs. It's a similar thing that could happen to Shop Toads as well. Naruto's fears came to pass when Koyuki, Henrietta, and his new fox companion were forcibly released from the small gold toads stomach. The blow was debilitating forcing the Diving Toad back to the summoning realm leaving his passengers in a very vulnerable position.
"At last… I have you back in my possession Koyuki." Dotō grinned as he was moments away from grabbing the disoriented princess when Henrietta intercepted him with a roundhouse kick to the side of his head that sent the dictator stumbling back a couple feet. "Princess! RUN NOW!" The young agent screamed as she spurred the dazed movie star into action. "You little wench! Begone from my sight!" Dotō roared as he threw clubbing blow after clubbing blow in Henrietta's direction, but the very petite and tiny girl was ducking under the wild swings with ease.
"I don't think so!" Henrietta growled as she caught the dictator's arm in a lightning quick armbar before judo tossing him over her shoulder with a twist of her hips. Keeping her grip secure the assassin flipped her combat knife around in her hand into a reverse grip as she then attempted to plunge the blade into his exposed neck in one fell swoop but the callous man had more skills hidden up his sleeve than his occupation would lead you to believe.
"Ice Style: Ice Smashing Hammer!" In a fraction of a second Dotō had his fist encased within a solid layer of ice that he used to punch Henrietta's attack off course. Recoiling from the heavy blow the young agent knew she left herself wide open which was something her opponent capitalized on as he shifted his weight on the ground allowing him to spin on his back into a vicious leg sweep that knocked the child off her feet. Grinning in satisfaction the blacked haired dictator lashed out with a sledgehammer like stroke with both hands encased in ice still to add to the power of his attack.
"Chakra Barrier: Opaque Reflection!" It was a hasty last-minute decision on Henrietta's part, and it was a decision that would ultimately save her life as several flaps opened up along her arms as jets of pure chakra released itself in waves before forming an opaque barrier of chakra between herself and the hulking man standing over her. This was just another of the many upgrades she and her sisters received following their surgeries as Shoko and Naruto poured countless hours into designing Fūinjutsu seals to add to the newer designs the girls would be using from now on. The ability to conjure a defensive barrier during battle would be invaluable in their hands since they aren't trained shinobi. Having such a useful tool in their arsenal could literally be the deciding factor of life or death.
Dotō's fists slammed into Henrietta's barrier with a thunderous boom that shook the floor underneath her cracking it in several places. The brown-haired girl felt the air leave her lungs and her brain rattle within her skull from the reverberating shockwaves passing through her body, but the shield had done its job in keeping her relatively safe. Although her barrier did its job in keeping her relatively safe it ultimately did nothing to stop the unintended side effects from Dotō's strike. Dazed from the powerful blow the young marionette couldn't protect herself from a steel covered boot to the side of the head that knocked her small body across the floor over 10 feet away.
"Trash like you ought to stay on the ground where they belong. I can see the same chakra armor tech has been given to you as well. I can only assume that this boy had something to do with it. From what I heard from Nadare he said the boy designed these tools. He and the mafia are full of surprises I'll admit." Dotō sneered as he turned around only to have to sidestep flying tackle from the arctic fox who growled at him. Narrowing his eyes in annoyance Dotō flew through hand signs at the same time that he saw the little fox charging up a blast in his mouth.
"Ice Style: Whirlwind Jutsu!" A tornado of frigid icicle shard filled wind surged around the tainted leader of the Land of Snow as the small predator like fox launched another ice beam at his adversary who smugly smirked at his opposition when the beam of ice froze his tornado of wind inadvertently creating a wall of ice that separated them from him and subsequently Koyuki who tried to run in the confusion of the moment but was easily caught by her uncle who was well versed in the shinobi arts who caught her with a lightning quick body flicker.
Koyuki's screams broke through the symphony of fighting happening around the room as Dotō restrained her within his grasp. He's waited a long time for the chance to have her in his custody and now he wasn't letting her out of his sight again. He was making preparations for the final stages of his plan when he had her and Naruto captured for the last few hours but as always something had to go wrong…
"Koyuki!" Naruto screamed as he tried to push past Mizore but the larger Jōnin wasn't having any of it as he used his surprising agility to keep up with Naruto's superior speed. "Everything is set and in place for where we're going my dear. Now all that is needed is our attendance." Dotō grinned as he shed his elaborate and ornate Daimyō robes to reveal a sleek upgraded chakra suit that was an advanced prototype model that was shipped out ahead of Naruto taking this mission. This model was the prototype to the finished product that Naruto was scheduled to deliver to the researchers here in the Land of Snow… but seeing as how he now knew who these weapons were going to, he had no intentions of giving the government in power any more weapons.
The suit had a pair of mechanical wings very much like the ones on Fubuki's model and spreading out they had a much more imposing appearance and wingspan in comparison to his subordinate. "It's time we take out leave now my dear." Dotō smirked with a smug look on his face as he grabbed ahold of Koyuki in an even tighter vice like grip. There would be no way for her to escape his grasp now. "NARUTO! Save me please!" Koyuki screamed with terrified tears gushing out of her eyes. She herself wasn't sure what the treasure to her country was. Her father never got around to explaining it to her since she was so young back then before his death. Whatever it was the movie actress didn't want to die over it or bare witness to it being soiled by her uncles tainted hands. The last memory of her father would be forever ruined.
"Damnit all! Gamaken! Bring down the ceiling now!" Naruto roared as was throwing all caution to the wind. It was an all or nothing gambit that would chance the landscape of their battle and hopefully it would be changed to their benefit.
Nodding in compliance with his orders the massive magenta toad smashed his destructive lance into the many support columns around the room tearing them to pieces and sending concrete and stone flying everywhere. Being in contact with the explosive end of Gamaken's Sasumata added to the overall destruction as in one fell swoop the clumsy toad did a 360 sweep that completely destroyed every column around him.
In seconds the ceiling and the floors above the throne room began to cave in and crack with the sudden lack of support and seeing this destabilization it ignited a cold piercing dread into the hearts of almost everyone present. The thunderous rumble shook the inner eardrums of everyone in the entire castle as the roof and ceiling above began to crumble around them. The great toad himself held his shield above his head to protect himself from the falling debris while everyone else in the room wasn't quite as lucky.
It was a dramatic moment of opportunity as Naruto saw his opening now that Mizore was finally distracted from him. It was a moment he would not let slip past him. "OUT OF MY WAY!"
Exploding into action the young Chūnin immediately channeled the power of the Nine Tailed Fox into his system which in a brief retrospective moment of clarity he idly noted that there was no resistance whatsoever from his inner tenant. Lashing out with his fist covered in a red orange like aura Naruto slammed a mammoth uppercut into the portly man's stomach nailing the chakra core of the suit causing the large man to nearly fold in two from the sheer force of the blow.
A portion of his armor was blown straight off from the impact as he was lifted off the ground and flung into the air with a thunderous boom. "Double Acceleration!" Naruto's feet barely touched the ground as he took off from his position cracking the expensive flooring below him while leaving three shadow clones behind who spawned in next to him within microseconds of him taking his first step to continue with Mizore.
"Kenjutsu: Accelerated Decapitation!" Jumping straight up into the air the real Naruto tore a deep gash into Mizore's shoulder with his swords while tearing off the bulky protective shoulder pad armor plates on his suit in retribution. Blood gushed from the open wound along with Mizore's scream of pain as Naruto used the portly man's body as a launch pad to rocket off across the room through the air directly at his chosen target leaving Mizore to contend with three remaining Nine Tails amped shadow clones. Two of them grabbed his arms into armbars that locked his joints in place while the third clone formed a Rasengan with the aid of one of the clones holding on to him who used their free hand as a platform for the legendary technique.
They dropped out of the air with the debris falling alongside them as the clone viciously slammed the chakra sphere into the power core of the chakra suit. The chakra itself was just barely absorbed by the suit but nobody missed the fact that the suit struggled heavily in this endeavor and the concussive force of the attack drilled the man straight into the floor below with a thunderous explosion. Concrete buckled and churned from Mizore's rough impact with the ground as the man let out a strangled gasp of pain. At least 2 or 3 of his ribs were cracked from that impact.
Groaning in pain Mizore smirked at the clone on top of him as he gloated at the fact that he was safe from the Rasengan's true power. "You may be right about the fact that just one Rasengan couldn't finish you… but that wasn't our intention. We're Exploding Shadow Clones dumbass… and you know what they say… BOOM!" The lead clone smirked in satisfaction as he and his fellow clones exploded in massive fireballs that detonated at point black range across the top of Mizore's body muting out his screams of pain as the explosions nearly knocked him unconscious.
All of this was visually missed by Naruto who would soon gain back those memories as he was now upon the area Dotō was just standing in, but he was already too late. The dictator was ascending out of his crumbling castle with Koyuki screaming in his clutches. He was doing an excellent job at dodging the falling debris that would have otherwise killed him and his hostage. "Damnit!"
Cursing his luck and unfortunate lack of speed in this instance, Naruto immediately turned to Henrietta's downed form before scooping her up into his arms just as a massive slab of concrete slammed into the ground right where she was just lying. The curious arctic fox was latched onto his back in the same moment too which made things easier on the rushing blond who noticed his daughters approaching while dodging and weaving out of the way of the hazardous falling shower of rocks.
"Chaos go after him right away! I'll be right behind you on Gamaken! GO NOW!" Naruto shouted to his beloved daughter who immediately changed directions on the flip of a dime who revealed her wings and took off into the air with maneuverability and agility that Dotō could only dream of. Iris herself jumped up and landed on Naruto's back while the fox moved himself to Naruto's shoulder at the last second as the father of the two powerful young girls charged a massive amount of chakra into his legs and rocketed off into the air straight to Gamaken's head in one impressive leap.
Gamaken wasn't so worried about the roof coming down on his head as he felt Naruto land back down on his forehead. His bulky body and shield would protect him from the hazardous debris falling around them. "Guys! I'm going after Dotō and Koyuki with Gamaken! Can you handle things here?" Naruto yelled down to his team as he placed Henrietta's recovering body down by his leg. She was getting over her dizziness from Dotō's powerful blow. She'd be up in no time at all.
"Go Naruto… we can take care of these guys. Be careful. Dotō might be even more trickier to deal with than his subordinates!" Kakashi advised with a supportive nod of his head towards his student as he knew that besides himself if anyone of them stood a chance at taking down Dotō before he could carry out his plan then it would be Naruto… not to mention he had the actual fire power to deal with whatever kind of demon the crazed dictator was trying to revive.
"Get going Naruto! You'd just be in my way if you stayed anyways." Sasuke barked back as he clashed once more with Fubuki who was separating him from the rest of the group as Nadare was slowly doing the same with Kakashi. The three elite bodyguards of Dotō wanted one on one fights with their adversaries to finally settle the score between the two groups. Naruto didn't know whether to smirk at Sasuke's comment and pass it off as his usual playful banter or not. He was having a hard time detecting the usual Uchiha brand of snark in the young teenager's voice. That was just one more thing to add to the long list of things slowly developing cracks in their friendship.
Turning to Sakura last, Naruto could see the concern in her green eyes as she took a step forward towards him and Gamaken. She's come a long way from how she used to be as a kunoichi. Before she never would have wanted to step up to the plate and help in such critical moments because of her own severe limitations, but now that was the farthest thing from the case.
"Sakura, stay here and help Jairo take out that bastard Mizore. That last attack of mine wasn't enough to permanently take him out of the game. But keep in mind I busted his suit so you should be able to attack him directly now. Good luck!" Naruto passed on his own advice to his final teammate who nodded with a determined glare in her eyes. Between the two of them as one Chūnin and one Genin they should be capable of beating the severely weakened and injured Jōnin who relied far to heavily on his chakra suit instead of his own practical and physical skills.
With his mind at ease now that he knew his teammates could handle their own in this chaotic battle Naruto took a deep breath before remembering a tidbit of information that might help them. Rolling up his sleeve he channeled chakra to his arm where a seal appeared. In a plume of smoke several paper seals appeared in his hand. These were the prototype suppression seals that he was working on before being subsequently captured. This would definitely help his team in the long run.
After throwing them to his teammates who nodded back graciously, he centered his mind on the task at hand. Tapping his foot down on Gamaken's head as a signal the large magenta toad knew it was time to leave. Now was the time to leave and handle his own share of the burden.
"Mr. Gamaken! Let's get going. We're going to stop Dotō no matter what it takes!" Naruto grinned as his summon replied back with another one of his self-deprecating remarks before taking off in a thunderous leap that not only took off the rest of the roof and floors above them but also blasted the fighting parties away from each other. Now it was truly one on one battles.
Land of Snow / Azure Tundra (Rainbow Glacier Valley)
10 minutes…
It took Naruto that amount of time to catch up with Dotō who landed in the frozen over valley deep within the Azure Tundra. They were miles away from any civilization in the country and this was deep into the territory of the uninhabitable zone of the north pole. Only the absolute hardiest of humans could live in this unforgiving and harsh environment and it was here that Naruto could feel the most Yōki infused into the atmosphere of the region.
It only fueled his suspicion that this was the sacred location that housed the demon that Avalesk the White Walker told him about days prior in their battle. The source of all the demons in the northern frozen continent and the palpable Yōki that naturally wafted itself in ambience with every breath he took was most likely below their feet in the frozen over lake.
Gamaken's touchdown was a little rougher than what his normally "graceful" nature would dictate but considering the fact he was in a frantic chase against their foe it was understandable. Landing on the shore of the lake Naruto and his summon stared down the madman before them who had Koyuki in his grasp and in the other a unique purple crystal called the Hex Crystal that he procured from her after she was thrown in the prison cell. Chaos herself was already floating above the duo but she refrained from attacking the dictator on the flight over as any attack she could have launched at him would have also hurt Koyuki in the process.
Now if only he didn't have a hostage with him at the time…
All the pieces were in place for his plans to come to fruition. Dotō could basically taste victory at this point. Even if Naruto was here before him it still wouldn't change the outcome in the false Daimyō's opinion. He was standing in a gazebo like shrine with a stone altar razed in the center of it. A hexagonal shaped keyhole was in the center of the altar that would receive the Hex Crystal once it was inserted activating the purpose of the shrine.
"You're too late boy… I don't just plan on bringing back this glorious demon. I will make myself its Jinchūriki and set myself upon the Five Great Nations. All will bow before the might of the Land of Snow. With this Hex Crystal all is possible and attainable by my will." Dotō sneered up at the young boy who was quickly becoming his biggest obstacle to his goals. He couldn't definitely proof it, but he was fairly positive that the blond haired Chūnin was a Jinchūriki or at the very least connected to the supernatural realm.
The massive amounts of chakra that he possessed and the powerful Yōki infused attack he launched at his train that tore it to shreds all but confirmed it for him. In the grand scheme of things, it was irrelevant to a certain extent, but it was good for him to know who the biggest threat was out of the enemy leaf shinobi in his country. While he knew that he wasn't even half the caliber of a ninja that the Legendary Copycat Ninja Kakashi was, Dotō was still confident in the new prototype suit that he had on to contend with the powerful Jōnin and keep him at bay, especially since his Sharingan couldn't casts any Genjutsu on him.
To know that Naruto was a summoner of a legendary contract like the Mt. Myōboku Toad Clan and capable of using not only Ice Style like his countrymen but also wield Yōki made him an equal and even more valid threat than his very own sensei… and if what Nadare said was true in that he had a hand in designing their chakra suits then it put him on the top of his hit list.
"Whether you summon that demon or not Dotō won't change the fact that I'll stop you today. My name is Naruto Uzumaki and it's in my blood to stop supernatural threats. Once this day is over, I will have rid the world and your country of you and Koyuki will be free to bring it back to what it once was." Naruto declared with the sharpest steel in his voice as he was determined to make his promise a reality. This fiasco has gone on long enough and he was beyond the point of frustration with both the mission and the enemies involved.
Dotō was a dangerous individual with far to extreme ideals in his head. Allowing a Great Demon to possess him was a stupid idea. His psyche would probably be crushed by that of the demon and the price for that power would probably not be worth it.
From what Avalesk told him the demon in question was the guardian deity of the Land of Snow for the last three to five hundred years or so. It was a benevolent and docile creature that avoided civilization as a whole, yet it had unbelievable power on par with the Nine Tails itself. Naruto secretly hoped that he would be able to tame the demon if it came to it. Miya had suspiciously instructed him on the usage of specific Uzumaki Style Sealing techniques geared towards the suppression and taming of demonic creatures when he had consulted her on coming up with a seal to help neutralize the chakra suits. He didn't think anything of it at the time then, but now as usual in hindsight he should have sensed that something was out of place with her intentions. He hasn't had a chance to test it out since then despite have dozens of clones working on it while the crew were filming but he suspected that he may have to use it in this coming fight.
"We'll see about that brat… we'll see." Dotō growled as he made a move with the hex crystal, but it was at that moment that Naruto moved. 'Now Chaos!' Naruto signaled in his mind using his telepathic link to his daughter to spur her into action. In less than a second Koyuki was no longer in Dotō's arms as Chaos used Kayros to manipulate reality around the dictator allowing her to rip the actress away from him.
Growling in rage Dotō slammed the crystal into the altar he stood before as purple lines of Yōki filled energy bands spread down the side of the stone altar and into the ground. They glowed and formed a hexagonal snowflake pattern on the ground as it spread itself out and expanded as the power within it rose. These leylines traveled into the lake just as Henrietta who from her earlier fatigue and shock at Chaos's move took a shot at Dotō with her wrist launcher that would have put a hole directly into his skull if not for the fact he was able to react and block the projectile at the very last second possible. The metallic black projectile bounced off the jet-black gauntlet protectors around his arms saving his life in the nick of time.
"You're too late brat! Now bask in the presence of the guardian of the north pole! Avalugg the Glacier Demon!" Dotō roared as Naruto felt an unimaginable amount of Yōki begin to coalesce in the center of the lake. The icy surface cracked and churned, as a massive object began to break through to the surface with a deep baritone groan that reminded the young Shī-ō of Gōra and his own impressive entrance.
The atmosphere felt dense and heavy as the sky turned dark with storm clouds overhead. A powerful blizzard began to sweep into the area alongside the massive presence of Yōki in the air as the body of the demon which was bigger that anything Naruto's ever scene before began to become visible. Sōkyoku didn't count as Naruto understood that her true size couldn't be calculated considering she was in his mindscape, but he could estimate that this creature was even bigger that the Nine Tailed Fox inside of him and at least almost twice the size of Gōra. This thing was huge and the glowing purple lines of energy detailing its body added to the effect.
The blizzard was obscuring its appearance from view but it didn't deter Dotō in the slightest as he retreated until he was in range to jump up onto the head of the creature in question that was quickly and easily beginning to drastically dwarf Gamaken in size as the rest of its body rose out of the lake.
"Gamaken are you with me in this fight?" Naruto asked his summon in a surprisingly calm voice that differed from the dire situation that they found themselves in. "Yes, Lord Naruto… but you must forgive me in advance if I should mess up along the way. You see I am quite ungraceful." The shy and bashful toad replied in his typical manner which brought a smile to his face as he turned to his two daughter who looked up to him for direction. "Do you guys feel the same?"
The question didn't even need to be asked as the twins latched onto Naruto's legs with a vice like grip. They didn't say any words as a million of them were already spoken with their eyes. The conversation that they spoke through their telepathy conveyed everything that could be said within moments. His daughters missed him… and they were going to stand by his side in this coming battle no matter what may came. It warmed Naruto's heart more than what he could ever convey with words as he grinned down at them. Once this was all over, he just wanted some down time with all of his children so that he could spoil them and shower them with the love he never got growing up.
"I'm with you Naruto…" Henrietta spoke up suddenly before Naruto could turn to her. She grabbed his hand in hers with a gentle smile adoring her face which brought one to his in return. He knew he could count on his Mafia partner for anything. "You don't even have to ask for me Naru… I'm ready when you are." Eva grinned as she appeared in front of his face. The little fox that tagged alone with their group yipped in excitement as it wagged its tail in anticipation at what was to come. It dreamt of this moment ever since it was born… to be able to fight by its masters side. It was finally time.
Koyuki herself could only just stare at Naruto in silent awe as he continued to do the impossible over and over again. His ability to inspire confidence in her and those around him was a power she was just coming to realize he had… she didn't know why but she felt like she could place her trust in him to pull through with a miracle.
A smirk crossed Naruto's face as he stared out ahead of him at the looming threat. A treat that just like any other he would deal with in the only way he knew how. A being that no one has seen in hundreds of years was back and its name was Avalugg the Glacier Demon. This fight wasn't going to be easy.
To be continued...
Jutsu Library
1.) Tailed Beast Nine Twist - A unique offensive move unique to each of the Tailed Beast in correlation to the number of their tails. The beast in question wraps its tail(s) in question a round it's body tightly until its taunt. At its maximum tension the beast then extends them with an enormous amount of physical strength. This causes the beast to spin rapidly, resulting in the generation of tremendous gusts of wind that buffets everything in the surrounding area. This technique is powerful enough to level the entire terrain in a region capable of taking out mountain ranges, valleys, settlements, and ripping apart fault lines underground that can cause earthquakes and split the land.
2.) Holy Magic: Sigil Disruption Ward - A powerful and useful technique that Iris has developed alongside her father that allows her to summon a magical circle that displays the central hieroglyphic sigil character that represents the word "Disruption" which is then surrounded on the outside with the four words that represent: Seal, Letters, Energy, Ink. These four words represent the components necessary to create Fūinjutsu. With these characters written down and surrounding the central glyph all Fūinjutsu in the immediate vicinity immediately gets disrupted and or fully suppressed allowing for those under the protection of the ward to walk by undetected to any of the seals in the area so long as the power of the ward remains active.
3.) 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.
4.) Artemis - While her wings are manifested Chaos can conjure her tainted flames and target multiple objects or enemies at the same time using her targeting systems. When they fire they are fast, traveling two to three times faster than the fireballs she shoots from her hands. They are smaller and in the shape of bullets. They have a lot of piercing power but a lower amount of explosive power. They are good at intercepting or bombarding targets.
5.) Holy Wind Magic: Divine Wind - A relatively simple yet powerful spell casted by Iris that allows her to unleash a dense blast of magically enhanced wind from her mouth that can tear through any obstacle or obstruction in its path and barrow over any object not secured down. This technique mimics Naruto's Wind Style: Great Breakthrough technique in application and potency with the added benefits of being biologically superior to dark beings that comes into contact with these winds.
6.) Ice Style: Snow Bombs Jutsu - A weak C - Rank technique in complexity that is a standard for the ninja of the Hidden Snow Village. Much like the Earth Style: Mud Bomb technique this one compacts a dense dosage of chakra into the snow balls that the user creates. They explode with the force of a typical Paper Bomb for comparison.
7.) Phoenix Fire: Heat Wave - A magic attack that Iris invented during the heat of battle. This technique rapidly heats up the atmosphere around Iris to the boiling point. At full strength, the heat could be comparable to standing on the surface of the sun. The heat is so much that any organic matter around Iris will evaporate almost instantly and inorganic materials will begin to melt after a short amount of exposure to this technique. Iris herself is left completely unharmed by the intense heat but any other person around her would die if they didn't flee in time.
8.) 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.
9.) Phoenix Interceptor Style: Fire Lash - A simple technique that Iris develops that allows her to create a fire whip in her hands that she can use that has the same dexterity a normal physical whip would have. The upside to this technique being she can severely burn any target she attacks with this lengthy whip.
10.) Phoenix Fire: Searing Shot - A relatively weak but extremely versatile technique that Iris favors for its simplicity and ease of use. Iris conjures up a small candle size flame on her index finger in a very similar fashion to her sister Chaos. Iris then shoots a blood red fireball that is compacted like a projectile at her targets. The fireball moves at immense speeds and can penetrate targets at high velocities. Iris created this technique for its simplicity and as a way to mirror Chaos's Artemis weapon system.
11.) Phoenix Fire: Flame Burst - A relatively weak technique that Iris can use that allows her to shoot multiple small blood red colored flame balls at her intended target that once they hit explode in a large radius. The fire splashes everywhere reminiscent of water being displaced.
12.) Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu - The Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu is the advanced version of the Jutsu and creates hundreds of clones instead of just the average number.
13.) 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.
14.) Toad Style: Toad Oil Bombs - The user converts their chakra into an extremely sticky oil and spits it out as a huge mass. Those caught by it will find it difficult to move, and simply washing the oil away with regular water won't be easy. Furthermore, if a Fire Release technique is launched at the target after this technique is used, they will be enveloped in flames in an instant.
15.) Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu - The Hallmark Jutsu of the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf Village and founded by the famous Uchiha Clan the Fire ball Jutsu is the go to fire style Jutsu as well as a rite of passage in the Uchiha clan. The Jutsu spews forth a fireball from the mouth of the user and the size of the technique is depended on the amount of Chakra used by the user. The Jutsu is the gateway Jutsu to many other advanced and powerful fire style Jutsu.
16.) Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bombs Jutsu - This is a cooperation ninjutsu performed by a toad and typically a Fire Style user who have achieved mental and physical harmony with each other. The toad (specifically a large toad such as Gamabunta) uses its large lung capacity to spray toad oil from its mouth at a target. The summoner then ignites the oil, increasing the attack's range and power. The power of the technique is so immense that it can turn the ground to molten slag and scorched earth. The ground below is also scorched black to a crisp and if used indoors or against a building the entire structure would come down with little effort as its support structure is liquified by the intense heat of the oil enhanced flames.
17.) Ice Style: Ice Prison Jutsu - This technique allows the user to infuse their chakra with ice on the ground and bring it to the surface. The user can then trap their opponent within the ice by controlling its movements and completely surrounding them in the ice. It is strong enough to withstand basic Fire Release techniques, because the ice has already been infused with the user's chakra. The user can also surround themselves with the ice prison to act as a shield. Additionally, any piece of ice that Naruto is controlling can be used to immobilize a target. If he hits you with ice from any Ice Style Jutsu then he can freeze you in place.
18.) Ice Style: Ice Smashing Hammer - The user surrounds their fists with ice, increasing their striking power or, alternatively, allowing them to use their fists to block stronger attacks than they would be able to otherwise.
19.) Chakra Barrier: Opaque Reflection - A useful tool built into the Marionette's of Section 2 after their upgrades. Panels open up around the wrists of Henrietta's hands that have emitters placed in them. They generate a large opaque concave dome of pure chakra around her body that is strong enough to defend and deflect heavy physical impacts and even other chakra based attacks. A weakness of the technique is exemplified do to Henrietta's young age and light weight which causes the concussive shockwaves of whatever she is defending herself against to rattle her body and push her back.
20.) Ice Style: Whirlwind Jutsu - Aiming their hand at a target, the user shoots shards of ice rapidly around the target which entraps them in a whirlwind, leading to the target becoming partially encased in ice. The technique can also be used in a more defensive oriented manner by having the whirlwind surround the user as a thin barrier for defense.
21.) Double Acceleration - 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.
22.) Kenjutsu: Accelerated Decapitation - A move that Naruto came up with in the heat of battle mixed in with his determination to escape a dire situation he found himself in. Coating himself in his Accel Cloak Naruto who has a sword or bladed weapon in his hands {It can be a real weapon, or one created from his Ice Style} disappears in a burst of speed granted to him by his Accel Turn and swiftly decapitates his target in one fluid and quick motion. The victim will have no time to react since this technique is used at point black range and it is used during the element of surprise which will catch the opponent off guard.
23.) 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.
24.) Exploding Shadow Clones - An advanced version of the Shadow Clone Jutsu that allows the user to create shadow clones that will explode either upon death or through voluntary detonation. It is caused by destabilizing the chakra core of the clone and then packing it full of excess chakra that the normal Shadow Clone Jutsu doesn't need.
25.) 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.
Author's Notes (A/N): That was quite the chapter... Naruto and Kurama once more share a very deep and impactful conversation with each other which is a theme that will continue to be expanded upon as the story develops. Their relationship will continue to grow to be more and more complex and fleshed out as they take a different approach than in cannon. It won't be completely antagonistic like we're familiar with but Kurama will not tolerate any perceived disrespect or failures on Naruto's side. He still harbors a great animosity for humans in general and he's most definitely not happy with his status of being sealed within Naruto, but he is willing to be agreeable to a civilized relationship towards his host. However, their will be times when Kurama will try and exert his influence over Naruto in certain matters that rouse his anger.
We learn some lore and history between Kurama and Avalugg and how both the Land of Tea and Land of Hot Springs were created due to their influences. The battle between Kurama and Avalugg created the Land of Tea by splitting the very earth around them and forming an island from the southern coast of the Land of Lightning that would soon go on to become Tea Country. The scale of the battle was truly immense as even Gyuki had to become involved to stop them. Later after the battle we find out that Kurama who was trying to find a place to rest was disturbed by Mugen Uchiha who is Madara's great grandfather and the rest of the Uchiha Clan. They along with three other clans were doing battle in the local area and disturbed Kurama's slumber. The consequences for this act resulted in the genocide of one clan as Kurama completely wiped them all out and the near extinction of the other two clans. The Uchiha on the other hand suffered major casualties and Mugen Uchiha attempted to control Kurama with his sharingan which was the first recorded attempt in history but in his failure and death it opened the door for his descendent Madara Uchiha to successfully attempt the same feat.
The conversation between Naruto and Kurama that follows further develops their relationship as the Nine Tailed Fox demonstrates some of his animosity towards the Uchiha Clan once again but he also takes the time to give Naruto a harsh pep talk to bring him out of his inner depression that has been clouding his judgement in the field. He even alludes to his relationship between Naruto and Hinata much to Naruto's embarrassment. However, the real shocker comes from the fact that Kurama offered to be a confidant towards Naruto.
Waking up from his unconsciousness and his talk with Kurama, Naruto with a new perspective and clearer conscience than he's had in days was easily able to break out of his constraints that in an act of irony was extremely similar to the ones he was in at the hands of the Four War Gods. With inspirational words to rouse hope within Koyuki and within himself Naruto used Iris's power to save them both.
In the meantime Team Kakashi mounted a rescue operation to save Naruto and Koyuki while at the same time launching an attack on Dotō. Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Jairo infiltrate Dotō's castle with the intention of sabotaging the building and attacking the leader directly. Simultaneously, Henrietta, Iris, Chaos, and their new fox companion snuck into the lower catacombs beneath the castle to rescue Naruto and Koyuki.
Chaos who is suffering from the separation anxiety and the negative effects of being separated from Naruto went on a brutal rampage to get him back while being fueled by her own self imposed anger and regrets on not being able to save him the previous day. Numerous guards and enemy snow ninja are brutally killed by Chaos who spares none of them a second glance until she is able to see her father again. Iris herself displays some impressive abilities as well allowing the two sisters to steamroll through the defending guards with the assistance of Henrietta who downs several guards of her own with deadly precision.
The reunion between Naruto and his daughters is heartwarming as expected and he is made aware of Chaos's actions which saddens him greatly. A reconciliation is reached between the family members as they turn to face the bigger problem facing them. Dotō and his men have Team Kakashi on their last legs and outnumbered in their fight. Naruto's intervention at this moment is the reprieve that they need as he summons Gamaken to his side who helps turn the tide of battle in the Leaf's favor. With the battlefield on even terms once more Naruto launches an all out attack against the Hidden Snow ninja overwhelming them with the signature techniques of the Toads to kill dozens of them with the help of Sasuke and Jairo. Sasuke himself is still having bouts of uncertainty and insecurity around Naruto which continues to fester quietly in the back of his mind.
Dotō himself manages to snatch Koyuki away in the confusion of the battle who Naruto had secured within a Dive Toad named Gamabean. Gamabean was forced to dispel once Dotō physically assaulted the toad forcing him to release Koyuki and Henrietta who were hiding out inside. Now vulnerable and out in the open Dotō moves to capture koyuki but is blocked by Henrietta who bravely tries to defend the princess but is ultimately unsuccessful as she is physically stunned long enough by a heavy strike by Dotō that he is able to successfully kidnap Koyuki once again.
While this is happening Naruto and Mizore face off once again but this time our protagonist isn't in the mood to be dealing with his chosen opponent so he aggressively disposes of him with a combination of his famous speed, exploding shadow clones, and a Rasengan. While not dead, Mizore was left injured and unable to pursue Naruto who took off after Dotō who left the building after he ordered Gamaken to destroy the ceiling to cause a cave in. Before leaving Naruto hands his teammates suppression seals to deal with the mechanical suits of their enemies and once again he notes a chink in the armor of his friendship towards Sasuke.
The chapter comes to a close in the Azure Tundra were Dotō is able to summon the ancient demon Avalugg from beneath the lake to fight for him but not before Naruto has Koyuki rescued via the use of Chaos's Kayros ability. Avalugg turns out to be a massive creature that is roughly around the same size or ever so slightly larger than Kurama's true size before his imprisonment inside of Naruto, While his silhouette is the only thing that is visible so far, Naruto understands he's in for a difficult battle.
Props to anyone who can guess correctly what the great demons appearance is based upon.
Next Chapter: Chapter 90 (The Land of Spring Fairies)
That's the end of Chapter 89 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.
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Published: 9/1/2019
