The Tale of Devilish Fox - chapter 9
-/\/-
As the sun set behind the horizon, five flying figures left Konoha. They remained completely unnoticed, flying close to cloud level. From the ground, one could mistake them for some birds.
Akamaru barked happily as he did a double flip. Next to him, Kiba tried to mimic him but failed miserably. Instead, he ended up spinning like a corkscrew until he was flying on his back. Naruto laughed at their antics.
"We should focus." Temari scolded the trio. "This mission might decide the war before it even started."
"Come on. We'll be fine. Those bastards got a lucky shot on us in the onsen, but now we know what to expect."
"Ano… We should still stay on guard." Hinata joined in. "Who knows what the enemy might send."
"Come on. They don't even know where we are. Besides, there is no way they'd have prepared anything if they knew. We've just left the village."
Naruto flew to the front. "They are right, ya know? We have to focus here. Move fast, get to the destination, and we're home free."
"Fine…" Kiba grumbled, but he and Akamaru stopped their antics.
Most of the night was surprisingly peaceful. The group didn't see any enemy forces or even bandits. Though they took care to avoid flying over popular trails, so it perhaps wasn't really that strange.
The sun was rising by the time they reached the general area of their destination. The location was on the border of Nami no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni. As the group landed to rest their wings and catch a break, Kiba smelled something.
"Guys… I think we need to move."
"What is it?" Temari barked. She held her half-unwrapped ration in hand as she looked around.
"I smell… I'm not sure what it is, but it's some sort of corpse."
"What do you mean?" Naruto summoned a clone and started to gather nature energy, just in case.
"It's… I know! Remember that trip to the museum back in the academy? There was this one really thin dude on the display."
"You mean a mummy?" Hinata supplied.
"Yeah. It had a similar smell. Like a corpse that didn't rot."
"Whatever that is, it's not good." Temari pulled her fan. "How far away?"
"About… Look out!"
A wave of heat swept over the field, instantly turning everything into withered husks. Plants, animals… everything was dead.
High in the air, Naruto and his team glided on the devil's wings. Pure instincts and Kiba's warning were all that separated them from suffering the same fate as everything on the clearing. Akamaru growled toward where the wave came from.
Four figures walked from the forest. First was a woman. She wore Suna Hitai-ate on her forehead. Her hair was green, but she had two orange bangs framing her face. Her stomach was wrapped with bandages that held her black dress.
Next was dressed in traditional Hyuuga clothes. White Kimono shirt, loose pants, and dark-green robe. There was one thing that put the Konoha shinobi on edge. He looked exactly like Hinata's father. There was only one glaring difference: his forehead was marred by the Caged Bird Seal, which was displayed in full prominence.
The third figure was a tall man with long white hair pulled into a high ponytail. This time, he looked like an Inuzuka, with purple fang-like markings on his cheeks. He wore a dark-gray robe that reached to his knees, from under which a mesh bodysuit could've been seen. A blue flower motif repeated in several places on his robe. A navy blue belt held a fur coat around his waist and kept the robes stable. On his arms, he wore vambraces with Inuzuka symbols.
The fourth figure struck Naruto the most. It was Haku. He looked exactly like the day he died.
"Pakura-senpai…" Temari gasped, recognizing the woman.
"U-uncle?" Hinata's eyes widened.
Kiba and Akamaru were silently glaring at the Inuzuka man.
And Naruto was frozen still (figuratively… for now).
"Naruto…" Haku bowed his head. "I am sorry that we were forced to meet in these circumstances yet again. I beg you to forgive me for what we are being forced to do."
"Stop wimping, you prissy." Pakura scowled. "Let's just take them and be done. That Kabuto guy promised me I would be able to take revenge against those traitorous bastards."
"Pakura-senpai?" Temari's eyes widened. Like many other young kunoichis, she idolized the Hero of Suna. "Wh-what are you talking about?!"
"Oh? So your precious brother, the Kazekage has never told you? Or maybe… maybe that monster in human skin didn't know either." The woman let out a low growl. "It doesn't matter. I will make them pay."
"This team was specifically assembled to counter and eliminate, or at least delay, the four of you," Hizashi spoke. "I am sorry there is no other way, but we are not in full control of our bodies."
"Son…" The white-haired man bowed his head in shame. "I…"
"Spare your bark, Toga." Kiba's voice took on a dangerous edge. "You've been dead to us for years now."
"How did you know?" Naruto asked. His voice was gentle but strong enough to stop any other discussion.
"Heh. You really think that we don't have spies in your precious village?" Pakura laughed.
"Indeed. Our mission is to delay you enough to let the Akatsuki forces locate the Kazekage's brother." The older Hyuuga took a combat stance. "Regardless of our feelings."
"So be it." Temari unfolded her fan. "No one's gonna stop me from reaching my brother."
"Naruto-san… I wish for once we fought on the same side." A single tear streamed down Haku's cheek. "Makyou Hyoushou" (Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals).
A dome of rectangle crystals materialized around Haku, cutting him and floating Naruto off from the others.
-/\/-
As soon as the crystals solidified, Naruto summoned his chains and weaved them around. When he first fought Haku, he was still just a genin. Back then, he had barely any real training under his belt. He survived that fight on luck and stubbornness alone. Then, Haku was, objectively, stronger, faster, more experienced… the boy was a beast and Naruto was merely a child. It was Haku's unwillingness to kill that saved Naruto and Sasuke. That, and Kyuubi's chakra.
This time? Naruto had years to train under one of the legendary Sannin. Now, he was no longer a defenseless child.
Golder chains coiled around him before shooting out.
A rain of ice senbon collided with the constructs, forcing them back.
"It is futile. Your attempts will not work. Due to the Edo Tensei, I will now not run out of chakra. Therefore, I can hold you here for as long as I am forced to."
Naruto didn't speak. He was instead forced to focus on blocking senbon from hitting his vital spots. The surprise attack before has prematurely broken his sage clone and now he was almost out of Senjutsu chakra. He had to hold himself in check, else he would run out and the fight would become that much harder.
He made sure to stand still, letting his chains strike out and try to attack Haku in his place. He kept the boy dodging while he tried to absorb whatever nature energy he could. The chains would either try to intercept the ninja or smash into the mirror he was in. That strategy didn't bear any results though. Even if a chain managed to pierce through one of the mirrors, it would reform instantly, trapping the chain. Luckily, Adamantine Sealing Chains that pierced into the mirrors were similarly able to pierce out of the mirrors.
Any wound Haku sustained repaired itself back to normal rather quickly. Naruto watched scraps of dirty paper whirl around any damage and restore it to working condition.
"It's almost like fighting that Riser guy all over again." Naruto groaned as he returned to moving. Now that his reserves were properly replenished, he could try something riskier.
"Let's see how you take this!" A spinning mass of miniature wind blades formed in his open palms before sailing through the air and slamming into Haku's mirror. Precisely the one he had been hiding in. The boy tried to escape the blast. His attempt though was in naught. The Rasenshuriken was able to catch him, only to be shortly after followed by the second.
Naruto watched as the blades pulverized Haku, leaving nothing but some scraps of dust floating in the air. The mirrors shattered into powdered snow, revealing the others in his team. They weren't doing great.
With a wordless cry, he leaped to their rescue.
-/\/-
As soon as the fighting began, Kiba charged forward with reckless abandon. He defaulted to Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique). His claws and fangs grew as he slashed at Toga. Small wisps of chakra were now escaping all over his body.
Next to him, Akamaru similarly tried to bite the man, but none of their attempts did any serious damage. The aged man simply proved to be too fast to connect with.
"Son, please…" Inuzuka Toga tried, but Kiba only redoubled his efforts at that.
"No! You lost the right to call me that!" This time, he managed to slash at the right sleeve of Toga's robe, leaving a tear in the cloth.
"So… she told you."
"Damn right she did!" The teen growled. "After Pein's invasion, she finally told me and Hana-nee-chan what really happened. You are a coward and a total bastard! Jujin Bunshin." (Beast Human Clone). Next to Kiba, Akamaru turned into a perfect copy of the teen. The dog-turned-boy then jumped on his partner's back. Kiba became a human springboard as he helped send the dog high into the air.
"Tensoga!"(Heaven Twin Fang). The partners started to spin as they practically flew at Toga, who once more was forced to dodge. The two tornados passed each other several times while trying to tag Toga. There was no need for marking here. Kiba wouldn't forget the smell of that man any time soon. It was the only smell he could focus on in his blind rage.
"I know I made some mistakes, but…"
"I don't care!" Kiba interrupted. He landed on the ground, with his clone on the other side of Toga. Both of them now had red eyes with black sclera.
"I don't want to fight you, son. This… Jutsu that brought me back. Unless the user assumes direct control, I still have some agency in how I follow orders. We're to stall you. We don't need to fight, we can just talk."
"You have nothing to say that I care about." Kiba's low growl was the only warning before the teen lunged claws-first into his reanimated father.
"Inu no Daiyoukai Jutsu" (Great Dog-Demon Technique) Toga jumped high in the air as the Jutsu took effect. His facial features sharpened, giving his already-bestial look wilder quality. His claws elongated. His fangs were now visible even when he kept his mouth closed. Toga's eyes became even more dog-like than Kiba's normal ones. The two most glaring changes though were that now, he sported two dog ears on top of his head and that he had a bushy tail extending from under his robes.
"Then I'm sorry, but I no longer have any control over my actions. I hope you can forgive me for this."
Then, Toga charged. Mid-dash, he started spinning, utilizing Inuzukas' signature technique. In response, Kiba and Akamaru used their own Gatsuga (Fang Passing Fang). The three met in the air, clashing with each other several times.
Vortex flew higher and higher, repeatedly attacking each other. Kiba and Akamaru worked in tandem to box Toga in. The older Inuzuka in turn viciously pushed them both back. He tried to break the Jutsu and stop his son, but he found himself unable to overpower the pair.
"When two Inuzuka fight, it often comes down to three things" Toga lectured in between clashes. "the bond they shared with their ninken, the speed they possessed, and the connection to their animal self. We don't have a kekkei genkai as such." Three more clashes. "Most of our techniques and abilities could be attributed to decades of training. Inuzuka Shinobi practice trusting their other senses more than just sight. From a young age," the trio passed each other harmlessly, avoiding a direct clash, "we would be taught to react before our brain had a chance to even notice the threat. It often comes at the cost of allowing more base responses to the sensory input. But, in the shinobi world, where fractions of a second could mean the difference between life and death, those instincts served Inuzuka well for generations."
"I don't care!" Kiba roared as the trio finally landed, unable to keep flying anymore. "Akamaru, pincer maneuver!" The two Kibas dashed at the man from two sides. Each held their right hand extended, ready to slash Toga as soon as he got in range. But the man suddenly leaped high in the air.
"I lost my ninken partner when he was still a genin. A dog that I trained side by side with for half a decade sacrificed its life to save me from a trap" Toga continued to talk from the dried branch he took refuge on. "He took a rain of kunai for me. Was it not for him, no one from my team would ever return to the village. As it was, three days later, a lone genin managed to cross the gates of Konoha. He was covered in blood, with his nails torn and several dislocated fingers." The former Inuzuka patriarch flexed his hands, causing razor-sharp claws to glimmer in the light of the morning sun. "This was the power of the bond that a ninken shares with their Inuzuka partner."
Kiba instinctively seemed to gather a small portion of demonic energy, not unlike how Hinata explained. A bolt of red lightning smashed into the branch, sending Toga flying. The man landed on the ground and started to run, only to be chased by the pair of devils.
"After that mission, I received a promotion to chunin, but I refused to accept another ninken partner. I didn't want to replace Shiromaru. Instead, I honed my Taijutsu to the extreme. After years of hard work, I developed the 'Inu no Daiyoukai Jutsu' (Great Dog-Demon Technique) to compensate for fighting alone. Even in this era, it is still considered the peak of Inuzuka Hiden." The man explained, though a sliver of pride slipped into his voice.
In his time alive, Tsume was the only one able to take Toga out. The ease with which she could bring him to his knees had nothing to do with her status as his wife (contrary to some jokes). What was scary about the Inuzuka matriarch was that she could match him in the speed department, rival his instincts in some cases, and her bond with Kuromaru provided her an edge.
Kiba's coordination with Akamaru was nothing to scoff at. The two were perfect partners. Given time, they could grow into a force that could rival Toga. Kiba's instincts were also up to snuff. His brash nature played into his power. He doesn't need to think about things to respond to sensory input. Becoming a devil only further enhanced that. Devils were, by nature, guided by their desires. In battle, Kiba simply surrendered to his primal nature and let it guide him. And his speed was beyond chunin level.
But none of those alone stood out. Even combined, he couldn't rival Toga. Then… why was his father just running?
For his part, Kiba just kept getting furious the longer the chase lasted. Toga did nothing but run all his life. His father abandoned the family. He found himself a civilian girl on the side and then tried to hide it. He kept going on 'missions' to visit her. That bastard led a double life. And when Tsume finally found out, he wasn't even repentant. He wanted to bring his side-bitch into the clan. Sure, polygamy wasn't exactly unknown or even unpopular in the Shinobi world, but there was a certain level of consent involved. There is a difference between an open relationship and cheating on your wife.
Toga was given a chance to apologize. He didn't. Tsume took offense to that. He ran.
He left Kiba and his sister for some piece of rump.
"Why should I care about your story!?" The boy roared in fury.
"I want you to understand-" Toga's begging voice was cut off short.
"I don't want to understand you, bastard! Gatsuga!" (Fang Passing Fang) He called out as he and Akamaru leaped into the air, ready to drill the bastard of an Inuzuka.
He would pay.
Orange-and-black energy started to seep into one of the tornados. Kiba's claws cut through Toga's robe before the man could respond. The suddenness of it made the man fall to the dirty ground.
Akamaru whimpered, feeling the pure rage of his partner.
Kiba didn't care. He dived right down at his father's prone form.
The tornado of claws and fangs smashed into where Toga laid, unmoving.
And a sword went through Kiba's stomach right after that.
-/\/-
The girls didn't fare much better. Hinata was locked in combat with her uncle. The painful memory of the kidnapping when she was still a child. She didn't really remember much about Hizashi, but he was family and that already made it hard.
Despite his reassurance that it was alright, she could not find it in herself to try and harm him. Every time she would move for a strike, an image of young Neji flashed before her eyes. Her cousin was filled with so much hatred when they were kids... She knew that he would forgive her, but the mere thought of harming someone so close to her dear cousin, one she thought of as almost brother, made her freeze.
Hizashi had no choice but to capitalize on each such opening.
Temari's fight with Pakura wasn't going much better. Due to the latter's Shakuton (scorch release), the blonde was unable to use any of her ninjutsu. The wind would only feed the fire, giving the already-deadly kekkei genkai even more power.
Her fan took a lot of beating, but the Suna steel was reinforced against even the highest temperatures of the desert. The tessenjutsu was also the only defense she had against the dead woman's attacks.
She tried to back away and get a moment to formulate a strategy, but Pakura kept the pressure on her. Temari found small flickers of flame lick her skin here and there as the fight progressed. And the fan was becoming hotter and hotter. She would soon be unable to hold it.
A primordial roar shook the battlefield.
Everyone looked to find the source, but Naruto moved faster than they could see.
A single punch was enough to send Hizashi flying away from Hinata, who had almost been backed into a corner a moment ago.
Pakura tried to send some of the Shakuton at him, but Naruto somehow redirected the attacks with some well-timed flicks of his palm. The blond then flew at the Suna Kunoichi and she soon joined her team-mate far in the woods.
Kiba and Toga were nowhere near to be seen.
"N-Naruto-Kun… Where is Haku-san?" Hinata asked, walking to her boyfriend.
"I used two Rasenshurikens on him. He's out for the count…" Naruto bowed his head in shame. "I still couldn't save him." His eyes snapped toward the forest. "We need to move. They are here to slow us down, so they must at least have an idea where Kankuro is."
"We can't beat them." Temari protested. "And we've been flying all night. We stand no chance of outrunning them."
"Ano… They are much better shinobi… and they were selected specifically to counter our team." Hinata added.
"No." Naruto shook his head. "They were chosen to counter our shinobi team." He made a point by spreading his devil wings. "But we've got some tricks they don't know a counter for."
The girls smirked. How did it escape them they would never figure.
"Still, someone needs to go and get Kankuro. The mission must succeed." Temari pointed. She pulled a scroll and pushed it into her fellow blond's hands. "Naruto-san. You must get there and get my brother out."
"Wha…? But shouldn't you-" His argument was interrupted by Temari again.
"No. I still don't know how that Devil Teleportation thing is supposed to work. And between the two of you, you're faster than her. We've lost too much time on this fight. My brother's lab might already be under attack."
Naruto looked Temari in the eyes for a moment before nodding. "Alright. But the moment I send the all-clear message, get out of here. Hina-chan will teleport you back to Konoha."
"Go. We'll hold them back." Hinata reassured.
Naruto gave the duo a last look before leaping towards where he could sense Kiba's chakra.
-/\/-
Kiba could feel the blade going through his stomach. A memory of his fight in the Yugakure flashed in his mind. Was he supposed to die anyway? Naruto gave him a second chance, only for it to end so soon?
"I made sure to avoid any vital spots." Toga informed. "If you stay put, you might come out of it alive. Tell your partner to stand down." The man glared at Akamaru, who was growling menacingly.
"Fine. Let it go for now, bud." While the words seemed to placate the dog, the ninken still traced Toga's every move.
"I must say, I'm impressed." Older Inuzuka began. "You were able to almost match me. Given a few years, you might've even won. I barely managed to use the Kawarimi (Substitution)."
"Gloat all you want. I bet my friends have already dealt with your pals. I'm gonna enjoy watching them tear you limb by limb."
"Son… Please. You have every right to be angry, but just let me explain."
"You cheated on mom. And then you left without a word. There is nothing to discuss."
"Yes, I ran. But I had to. Your mother would most likely tie me up and drag me naked for all village to see. And then it would be too late."
"Too late for what? To run with your tail between your legs? Like-"
"You have a sister." Toga interrupted.
"Yeah. What does Hana have to do with it? Besides the fact that you've abandoned her as well."
"Not Hana. Well, not only her."
"What?" Kiba let a furious growl.
"She's roughly your age. Maybe a year older. I… They were in danger. Someone put a bounty on Kagura. I had to protect them."
"Likely story. You were just a greedy bastard."
"It's the truth!" Toga begged. "I… after your mother chased me out, I went to them. We spent two years on the run. Then that bastard got us."
"I don't particularly care for whatever sob story you've invented." Kiba still refused to believe that man. He was a liar anyway.
"Look, I have no right to ask this, but you must try to find your half-sister. Please. After I died, I can't know what happened to them… Her name is… Someone's coming." He stood up, making sure not to move the sword around.
"Rasengan!" Naruto fell from the sky, burying the spiraling orb of chakra into Toga's stomach.
The Edo Tensei was durable, but senjutsu-reinforced Rasengan would stop anyone for at least a few seconds. Naruto capitalized on it. He carefully removed the sword and pushed a miniature amount of Senjutsu into the wound. Nature energy had innate healing properties that could technically be transferred. The problem was that Naruto was pants at this side of Sage training compared to Shima.
"Thanks. I was getting really tired of his drivel." Kiba nodded to his friend, but inside, he was reeling from the revelation. He… had another sister… supposedly at least.
"I can't stay," Naruto informed. "If they're trying to slow us then they must be going after Kankuro."
"Don't worry. He got me by surprise. There will be no second time."
Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Okay. Oh! One more thing… ano…" Naruto scratched the back of his head, trying to remember. "Ah! Kiba, Akamaru. We're in the enemy territory. You're allowed to use [promotion]."
"You mean that buff thingy?" The Inuzuka grinned. "The fun's gonna start for real now."
"Good. I'm counting on you." The [king] nodded and flew off toward their goal.
"So…" Toga coughed a bit of dirt. "Your friend just left you…"
"Quite the opposite. He gave me all the power I'll need to take. You. Down." Kiba looked at Akamaru and they both spoke in synch (barked in the dog's case). "[Promotion: Knight]!"
While previously, the duo moved with incredible speed, it was nothing compared to their moves now. It was almost able to match Lee with the three gates open (almost). Toga was unable to quite track them with eyes alone. He had to rely on the smallest creak of dirt, smell of burnt grass, and feel of kicked morning dew falling on his skin.
This time, he wasn't even given a chance to start any more advanced Jutsu. The only thing that stopped him from simply rolling over and dying was the fact that he just… couldn't. An arm ripped off would regenerate. A cut jugular had no effect. A torn tendons would stitch themselves back together. No matter what Kiba and Akamaru tried, Toga would just get back up shortly after. On the flip side, he was simply unable to follow the duo.
The devils were now moving faster than jonin or even some ANBU. In life, Toga was never anything above a jonin, and even then he couldn't match some of the more renowned members of the shinobi corps.
This would now be a battle of endurance above all else. Kiba needed to hold Toga back until Naruto managed to reach the objective.
Unnoticed by both attackers, a small white rabbit jumped on the edge of the devastated battlefield.
-/\/-
Naruto moved above the trees. Kankuro's lab was located about fifty minutes of land travel away from the ambush point. The wings easily shortened that time to fourty. Sage-powered Naruto could cover it in fifteen.
A feeling on the edge of his mind made Naruto speed up. He shook his head. There was nothing he could do about it for now. He already lost too much time.
Kankuro's chakra signature became visible without any warning. Naruto sensed him before he spotted the entrance to the base. It was located inside a cliff, protected by thick metal doors.
The base used to be protected by metal doors. Now those same doors were tossed away. Someone or something ripped them off the hinges and tossed them a good twenty meters away, breaking at least two trees in its way. Naruto was likely too late.
"His chakra is still strong." With renewed resolve, he dashed into the base. Less than ten minutes later, a blur followed his trace.
Weak light flickered in the corridors. The walls were once plated with dark sheets of metal, but in the assault, many were torn off or damaged by stray ninjutsu. Several such plates stuck out of the wall half-buried. Someone used them as projectiles. Others yet had big dents or even holes in them. But perhaps the most gruesome were the few that had human bodies sticking out of them. There were luckily only one or two such places, where someone punched a shinobi so hard that they cracked the wall plating and stuck in there.
As Naruto dashed through the corridors, he had to avoid the bodies that littered every corner of the lab. A lot of them were Zetsu. Those looked half-burned, destroyed by the chemical weapon developed here. But a staggering amount belonged to shinobi. What was worse, far too many belonged to Suna nin.
Currently, though, Naruto didn't have time to mourn the dead. He had the living to save.
He could sense Kankuro trying to fight off someone. The puppeteer's opponent had massive amounts of chakra and one that felt… wrong. He tried to focus on the enemy, but they were hiding their presence. If it wasn't for sage mode, Naruto might've not even felt them. Nature energy. The enemy was using the sage mode, but much more… corrupted.
He arrived at the entrance to a large hall. The room was filled with stacks of crates, indicating it used to serve as some sort of storage room. Now, many of the crate towers were toppled. The floor has been littered with dozens of shattered containers mixed with glass, paper, and some chemicals. A smell of fresh blood in the air masked whatever the broken vials might've once contained. Bodies of two shinobi lay by the doors. The first one was torn in half while the other simply had his neck wrought. It didn't make the sight any less gruesome.
Kankuro stood in the middle of the room. His three puppets surrounded him from all sides while the fourth one, Sasori, floated high in the air.
A blur dived from the shadows right at the boy.
Without thinking, Naruto moved to intercept. He kicked the attacker mid-air, sending a powerful burst of nature energy right into the savage's guts. A normal shinobi would likely be incapacitated by that attack alone, but this particular enemy simply growled.
He looked like Sasuke did during the battle in the Valley of the End. His skin was dark brown, with many sharp protrusions all over his body. Six of them seemed to produce a steady stream of energy that helped him maneuver. His forearms were sharpened resembling twin axes. A wild mane of orange hair further reinforced the savage image. He was clad only in purple pants and a shirt that seemed to have been torn to shreds long ago.
"You!" The monster roared. "I will kill you!"
"Kankuro!" Naruto ignored the monster's threats for the moment and turned to the exhausted puppeteer. "Do you have the formula?"
"Yeah. We've used all of our supply, but I memorized the recipe."
Naruto wanted to ask if anyone else survived, but it was a moot point. His sage mode would've sensed them. As it was, Kankuro was the last one standing.
"Get behind me. I can't teleport with him raging around."
"I can hold him…" The boy was unable to finish his sentence when he collapsed on one knee, feeling the effects of a food pill he's eaten some time ago finally leave his body.
"I'll take care of him. Rest and wait."
The monster laughed. He cracked his neck in anticipation. "You think you can kill me? I'll kill you!" The flames on his back lit up with more energy and boosted him forward.
Naruto met him in the air, sending several fast Frog Kata slaps into his enemy's body. He fully expected the force to stagger him, but Jugo simply shrugged the damage off and instead delivered a powerful haymaker to naruto's stomach. The devil [king] had his overall toughness already boosted by being a devil. Sage Mode made him near-invincible to normal attacks.
The punch hurt!
"Okay. I don't know what you are, but I need to get going." Naruto growled. He quickly went through the required hand seals and slammed his hands into the ground. "Kuchiyose: Gamaguchi Shibari" (Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind). The whole room transformed. What used to be rocks, crates, floors, and metal walls; all became flesh. It was one of the Jutsu Naruto learned from Jiraya's precious notebook. It was also an incredibly efficient stalling tactic.
Jugo tried to move, but he found his legs sinking into the fleshy floor. In a blind rage, he tried to destroy the floor with a powerful punch, but his hand similarly got stuck. He would try slashing the floor, with the ax, but it got a limited result. Any damage he did seemed to heal before more could be done. In fury, he chopped the stuck hand off and stood up. From the stump, an identical arm grew back in a matter of seconds.
His troubles though gave Naruto enough time to prepare a spell. Orange symbols lit the floor under him and Kankuro. In a flash of light, the duo was about to vanish when a blue blur smashed into them. The three were all consumed by the sigil and the room became dark again. Jugo's furious roar was the only sound in the dead halls.
-/\/-
The trio reappeared in front of the Uzumaki manor in the Underworld. Kankuro fell flat on his stomach while Naruto prepared for a fight. Haku simply straightened, but otherwise made no move at first.
Slowly, the Hyoton user looked at his hands.
"Ano… Do we fight?" Naruto looked somewhat confused.
It seemed that Haku was preparing to answer, but the shinobi suddenly stiffened. He looked around once more, clearly in shock this time.
"Where are we?" The Edo Tensei asked. His voice felt… detached.
Naruto was about to answer, but he paused. Haku used to be his friend, but… was he speaking to Haku? During his browsing of the Scroll of Seals, he recalled a bit about the Edo Tensei. The caster was supposed to have some form of a mental link to the summoned. To be honest, the whole Scroll of Seals thing was a major disappointment. Pretty much everything in there was either disappointing, dangerous, required too much chakra control, or just plain useless. He did memorize some of them, but nothing actually worked with his current skills. He much preferred the Jutsu Scrolls Tsunade kept sending him during his exile.
"Where are we?" Haku repeated.
"Oh. This is my manor." Naruto replied, avoiding the question. "Do we fight now?"
"There is no need to fight. My mission was a failure." Same empty voice. "On the other hand, this place is most interesting."
Without any warning, Haku dashed away, using chakra to accelerate himself.
"Kuchiose: Toad Tongue Thundering Trap!" Naruto shouted, blitzing through the hand seals of yet another of Jiraya's Jutsu.
When he slammed his palms into the ground, a gourd toad appeared and shot its tongue at escaping Haku. The appendage wrapped around the resurrected Shinobi and pulled him back.
"Nice. Why the 'thundering' part though?" Kankuro asked, looking at how the toad slowly pulled its victim.
Haku tried to cut the tongue, but electricity shocked him the moment the metal kunai met the flesh. Despite being only a reanimation, his entire body spasmed and froze, unable to move.
"That's the trap part." Naruto laughed. "Hey, Gamatetsu, make sure to hold him tight in there."
"Thul thing." The summon answered however well it could with its tongue busy trying to reel Haku in like a fish. Soon, the Edo Tensei disappeared inside the gourd toad, which looked as if nothing happened at all. A cork jumped into its mouth out of nowhere, sealing the toad's victim inside.
"That was…" Kankuro paused. He shrugged and looked at Naruto. "Anyway, where are we, really?"
"Well, we're about to be in Konoha." Naruto cringed, figuring there would be a hell of a report for Tsunade. Better to get out of here before Ajuuka got on his case for bringing humans to the underworld… again.
Another sigil formed under the trio and they disappeared.
-/\/-