Previous Translations: Yorokobi - Pleasure/Delight/Joy
Yokubo - Desire/Lust
Kajo - Excess
Shifuku no Kurushimi - Blissful Throes/Blissful Suffering
Tatakainouta - Song of Battle
Zeitakuna Kutsu - Luxurious Torment
Hentai-ryu: Erokenho - Pervert Style: Erotic Fist Art
Konton - Chaos
Kanzen - Perfect
Henka - Change
Harakainokeru - Dispel
Aka-en - Red Flame
Aoi-en - Blue Flame
Kiiro-en - Yellow Flame
Orenji-en - Orange Flame
Tankoshoku-en - Pink Flame
Maho - Magic
Chishiki - Knowledge
Unmei - Fate
Nozomu - Hope
Hoho no Chenja - honestly this one is a mess, but roughly means Changer of Ways
Ryuketsu - Bloodshed
Chikara - Strength
Meiyo - Honor
Budo - Martial Arts
Ikari - Rage
Jumon - Incantation
Himitsu no Sewanin - Secret Caretaker(Keeper of Secrets)
Sento - Combat
Same no On'na - Shark-Woman
Maebure - Harbinger
Shibari no Ashikase - Binding Fetters
Kanpeki - Perfection
Reikan - the closest English word would be Inspiration, but it specifically refers to 'a divine creative impulse'
Sekkyo-sha - Preacher
Aijin - Lover
Kaen Hosha-ki - Flame Radiator (Flamer of Tzeentch)
Himeiwoageru - Which Screams (Screamer of Tzeentch)
Shikkan - Disease
Ai - Love
Zetsubo - Despair
Mi Haito - Undivided/Not Divided
Shibo - Aspiring
Koki - Exalted
Chakra no Bato - Coruscating Chakra/Chakra of Coruscation
Gyokai - Industry
In case someone somehow doesn't know, Hi - Fire
Don'yoku - Greed/Avarice
Yokuatsu - Tyranny/Oppression
Yami no Chichi - Father of Darkness/Dark Father
Raimeiton - Thunder Release, what Naruto has decided to name his mix of wind and lightning chakra
Shuryoju - Hunting Beasts (same word for plural or singular), an alternate name for Fiends of Slaanesh, best word I could find for them
Konton no Omo - Lord of Chaos
Kemonojin - a very jank way of translating Beastmen into Japanese, basically would mean Animal-Human
Gyumao - Ox Demon King
Eiyu - Hero
Gyumahime - Ox Demon Princess
Kajomahime - Excessive Demon Princess
Renkinjutsu - Alchemy
Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto rode their Daemonic mounts towards the bridge, Haku rode behind the blonde who had already unsheathed his nodachi and given the scabbard to Maemi who also rode with him but in front, and Genkei held Sakura's larger axe in place while she used her smaller axe and shield as the larger weapon was still too heavy for her to use while mounted.
Jiraiya hadn't strictly ordered such a high speed assault, nor had he specified whether or not they were supposed to be stealthy, so they decided stealth was optional for this mission. The Iwa forces were startled, but unsure if it was a lure, a trap, or a distraction, and by the time they realized it was just a straight forward three ninja assault at Tenchi-kyo the Konoha cell were already halfway there.
Sasuke went the chariot route of having three Daemons to keep up with Naruto's Serpent, Sakura had called Flesh Hounds again as they were decent back up for her, and Naruto had added a pair of Shuryoju to match the numbers his team had brought. Predictably the Shuryoju both moved to attack early, moving with speed to intercept Iwa shinobi attempting to halt the Konoha ninso.
"Attack!" Sakura barked, uncertain if the Daemonic hounds understood Japanese but the reptilian mammals moved to obey, violence an easy order for the Daemons to understand and they moved to assist the other Daemons in fending off the Iwa shinobi forces. Sasuke performed another kuchiyose, calling a swarm of Furies to swoop down and harass the enemy ahead in order to have advance warning if any enemies had projectile attacks that would threaten his chariot mount.
Naruto urged his mount ahead, swinging his long sword to carve open the left arm of a man as the serpentine Daemon slithered through a group of Iwa shinobi, Haku had unsheathed his tachi in time to to block a desperate swing of an evading enemy, swinging to force another to guard instead of attacking thanks to the reach granted by his longer blade compared to their ninjato. The horned blonde had an easier time despite wielding a longer and heavier sword, swiftly slashing past defenses and leaving deep cuts on each target he went for, some crippling and some fatal.
One Iwa ninja either overestimated his Doryuheki or underestimated Sakura's Daemonic rhino, the biomechanical monstrosity barreled through the stone defense as if it was lightly packed dirt, goring the man and sending his disemboweled form rolling off the side with a toss of it's head and a snort of steam before it stomped and continued to charge after Sakura's two teammates. The girl herself had the most enemies to deal with but shuriken were useless against her armor and her mount charged through Doton no Jutsu with ease, sharp blades of either kunoichi or mount awaited the few ninja who got too close.
Sasuke was keeping an eye out for a certain threat, but it seemed to their luck that the more dangerous Iwa shinobi who escaped last time weren't present so he risked beginning an attack, creating a pillar of blue flame at the end of the bridge, damaging it in some places and scattering the Iwa shinobi. Some wood of the bridge had apparently been revived by the blue flames going by the sprouting leaves and budding flowers, and he wondered why they were so unreliable for just killing things. It took him a moment to realize the potential benefit, it would only work if he got lucky but it wasn't an impossibility.
Naruto's mount didn't last the entire way to the bridge, failing to dodge an emerging spike of stone and leaving Naruto and Haku to defend themselves on foot, Maemi pulled on the Hoshi chakra within Naruto to make use of Kujaku Myoho and provide assistance as well, but mostly so she could fly close to Naruto while fighting with the peacock wings. Without the advantage of cavalry Haku was on the defensive, but he pulled out a scroll to use when he could get some breathing room as he proved proficient one handing his tachi with his right hand.
Sakura's mount charged through a kunoichi on its way to deliver the pink haired girl to the bridge, the kunoichi was sure Naruto and Haku would be fine, and Sasuke was the one with the high explosive method of crippling Iwa's supply lines. However the Uchiha had encountered a slight problem, and activated his Kiiro-en as soon as he saw the older Uchiha, "I'm a little busy right now." he commented once his heart stopped racing as he saw his estranged sibling was not about to finish him off. His precognition hadn't failed him yet, he hoped he hadn't jinxed it by thinking that though.
The younger Uchiha wondered when Itachi had acquired a contract with crows, he was pretty sure the nukenin just used them for genjutsu but he was riding a giant one to speak with him, "I see you're busy with a mission, but I want to test your hatred, it seems dulled by time." he intoned, activating his Sharingan up to Mangekyo. Sasuke mentally cursed as he found himself within Tsukiyomi, then he verbally cursed since it didn't matter.
"Really chakra intensive chat you're forcing me into." Sasuke grumbled, finding he couldn't hear Aoki like this, and his kiiro-en was deactivated, those were issues. However he understood what he was in, it was just a genjutsu no matter how realistic or powerful. Itachi casually approached his younger sibling, and the youngest living Uchiha became aware that they were back in the Uchiha district, psychological torture on top of physical torture, "You're kind of fucked up, huh?" he asked dryly, masking his fear as best he could manage.
Itachi halted at that, "I suppose so," he agreed blandly before reaching up to take Sasuke's golden false eye, the younger sibling made to pull away but realized the genjutsu had trapped his movements by making him believe he was strapped to a cross. Itachi plucked out the golden orb and inspected it, "Replacing our vaunted Sharingan with alchemy and mysticism? Pathetic." he scoffed in a scolding tone.
Sasuke growled deep in his throat, "What the fuck do you care!? You killed our clan! I decide how the Uchiha line continues you traitorous bastard!" he snapped angrily, focusing on the knowledge that his eye was still in his head, the entire genjutsu was all in his head, if he could focus on that simple fact he could forge through the pain, "I don't need your fucked up brain damaged way of evolving my Sharingan, I didn't need to kill anyone I cared about to achieve my power, and I'll prove your methods are wrong!" he hissed.
Itachi was taken aback that the young chunin could muster such venom, "Yet you can't break this momentary eye contact." he taunted dryly, "I commend your hatred, but you're mistaken if you think such naivety will let you match me." he lectured as he withdrew a spike and thrust it into Sasuke's torso, "Did you know your sensei endured seventy-two hours of this before he went comatose?" he asked curiously.
Sasuke coughed in pain, "This pain is ephemeral, phantom pain, not connected to real damage." he recited like it was a chant, "You can't hurt me in a way that matters, not anymore." he insisted hatefully, "You can't even kill my weakest teammate, I saw you try." he mocked, the smirk invisible on his beak audible in his voice.
Itachi narrowed his eyes, "Trying to goad me into killing your teammates? Strange, do you hope to awaken Mangekyo Sharingan that way and use that to overcome me? Are you too weak to do it yourself? You won't be able to kill me if you can't even do that." he taunted as he proceeded with the meta-physical torture.
Sasuke gasped in pain but also realization, "You want me to kill you?" he wondered, startled by the revelation.
Itachi hadn't expected the question, and took a moment to answer, "Perhaps I simply seek a challenge." he tried.
"Bullshit, there are plenty of challenges to be had besides me." Sasuke called the bluff, "Why the fuck are you trying to groom my power?" he asked, narrowing his good eye.
Itachi had to commend Sasuke's mental fortitude, effectively the younger Uchiha had converted the purpose of the Tsukiyomi, "Perhaps if you had Mangekyo Sharingan, the tablet would reveal more to you, but if you want a hint, I'll give this one early to get silly ideas out of your head." he decided finally, "Madara Uchiha is alive." he informed before breaking the Tsukiyomi.
Sasuke wasn't expecting to be alone when the genjutsu dropped, "Did he just use a long range genjutsu to deliver the Tsukiyomi?" he wondered out loud, "Damn it he's good." he grumbled, taking note that the idea worked if he ever wanted to do similar with lesser genjutsu. Aoki had no idea what had happened, and the Uchiha was slightly taken aback by the veritable bombshell of information Itachi had dropped for seemingly no good reason.
Meanwhile practically no time had passed so Naruto and Haku were still fighting off Iwa shinobi while Sakura charged the bridge, Daemons fighting Iwa shinobi in different locations and some of Sasuke's Furies falling to shuriken as they descended on a group of chunin. Naruto cut down two shinobi while Haku dueled with a third, then he blew his hunting horn to turn the tides. A herd of the deer headed bakemono charged from the surrounded tree cover.
The Iwa ninja were all caught off guard and the blonde resumed his charge as Maemi snapped orders to the Beastmen in dark speech, Haku following Naruto to assist if required after one of the larger Beastmen thrust a naginata through his opponent. Sakura found her charge to the bridge finally halted as a steam powered red armored fist slammed into the armored skull of her mount, "Ah, you again." she commented, remembering with some embarrassment that apparently she'd fought the man naked.
She didn't actually remember doing such a thing, "Just me this time, but whatever you brats are here to do I think I can stop it with the forces Tsuchikage-sama is sending." he warned as he delivered a steam powered kick to Genkei, taking her overly large axe with a crescent kick afterwards, "Sturdy pets you got." he commented as if he hadn't just one shot the armored Imp and armed himself with her weapon.
Sakura was glad she had her shield already up and braced as it was the only reason she was even able to react to the steam powered speed of her opponent, the man crossing the distance to swing at her head. She was startled as she'd heard she kept up with the man, but her eyes definitely couldn't follow him, and his strength was such that her chakra control sticking her to the bridge was the only reason his opening swing hadn't sent her flying.
The result of their clash became obvious in a different way, as Sakura's shield cracked. The young kunoichi hadn't expected that, but to be fair her opponent hadn't expected it to hold up at all nor did he expect a scaled black reptilian creature similar to the blue flying reptiles called by Sasuke to attack from the damaged shield before he dispelled it with a left hook. Sakura took her opportunity, using the ornamental flame shaped peen of her smaller axe to disarm her opponent.
Han pulled back and responded by disarming the girl with a left crescent kick, but saw she went for her larger axe left handed. He could see the young girl either had confidence in the weapon or simply felt more comfortable trying to use it against him so he hopped forward and delivered the armored toe of his left boot to right below her right arm with a steam powered kick. Sakura felt something crack and grit her teeth, releasing her focus on her chakra to let herself go flying and tucking her chin as her left shoulder hit the ground.
Sakura had intended to roll but ended up with a dislocated shoulder as she slid against the ground on the side of the bridge she'd charged from, "Ow." she grunted, having managed to maintain a grip on her axe impressed Han but he moved to finish the fight regardless. He found his fist knocked aside as a nodachi slammed into his armored forearm, cracking the steel.
"My magnificent self will challenge you now, Han!" Naruto declared happily, eager to fight the man one to one and in his mind the battle on a bridge would be coolest. The red armored man considered Naruto for a moment before hopping back and picking up Sakura's smaller axe to use for himself.
"You ninso are even stranger than Tsuchikage-sama implied." Han muttered to himself as the furnace on his back released more steam for him to use. Then the man charged as Naruto swung, the blonde was as startled as the red armored ninja, the two properly clashed and their attacks cancelled out. Naruto's sword had impacted against armored gauntlet and Han felt his arm jarred by the impact as the two attacks bounced away from each other.
Han was baffled that someone could keep up with his steam powered speed and attacked again, Naruto attacked back and they clashed again, nodachi clashing with axe and armor at high speed as the metal wielded by Han cracked, "What the hell is that armor made of?" Naruto asked as he found himself forced to step back with his longer reach and slightly slower weapon.
Han was impressed the young blonde was keeping up with him, "I could ask the same of your blade." he retorted dryly as he continued to release blasts of steam as he fought, speeding up in an attempt to overwhelm Naruto. The blonde's purple eyes widened, pink slit pupils contracting as he stepped back and swung. Han braced his left arm against the swing as he made to step in to throw a Sakura's axe as he saw the blonde moving to step back.
Three distinct clangs of metal on metal rang out as Naruto finished the movement for a horitzontal swing with his head tilted to the right, Han got the impression he missed something as blood squirt from his left wrist and Sakura's axe went flying wide over Naruto's head to land near Sakura. He assessed the damage as he hopped back, two long cuts across the armor over his chest, two cuts lining up with them in his hat, and a deep cut in his left gauntlet that opened his wrist, "You're one scary kensai." he commented.
Naruto smirked at the praise, "This nodachi was made with a high tungsten content," he answered, which explained the weight and sturdiness, "and there is nothing my magnificent self cannot cut!" he bragged, adjusting his stance and focusing his chakra, "Witness the sharpest chakra in the world!" he bragged as static crackled along the length of his blade as he attempted chakra nagashi again. He always thought he performed better under pressure anyway, and evolving in the middle of combat was far more exciting than figuring out a new jutsu while training.
"Sharpest huh?" Han asked as red chakra bubbled out of him, encasing him like a boiling cloak of red chakra, "Well, I've heard mine is the most suited for combat, well balanced for offense and defense in my opinion." he commented before clashing with Naruto's swing in a burst of steam, the two disappearing from Sakura's view for a moment before nodashi met gauntlet, "Seems we're both gifted with speed type chakra." he commented, unsure of what Naruto's was but recognizing the speed.
Sakura was baffled that anyone could fight at such speeds, she knew Naruto had Tatakainouta and Sasuke had Sharingan but how was she supposed to reach that level. Haku approached the downed girl and she saw Sasuke flying across the ravine to the other side of the bridge on his Daemon chariot, the kunoichi assumed her winged teammate had spotted something from up there and was leaving them to mop up the chaff while Naruto fought Han.
Haku flicked a pair of senbon into the legs of an approaching Iwa ninja and deflected his thrown shuriken with his tachi to help protect Sakura as the pink haired girl managed to stand. The still genin of cell seven swung her right arm and flowed her chakra in a careful burst to launch her brass thorns on her right upper arm as a hail at one of the other Iwa shinobi. She saw the older ninja dodge around it and snarled as she leaped to him and backhanded him with her armored right hand into his guard, following that up with a left front kick to his gut and then a right hook that sent the young man to the ground.
Naruto pulled on his Hoshi chakra, evoking his Kujaku Myoho to help defend himself against the increasing speed of his opponent as the cloak of chakra around the man grew a pair of tails. The blonde wasn't sure what to make of his opponents power up, it was similar to what he did but more excessive. That thought almost got him killed as he narrowly evaded a kick, his nodachi wasn't cracking the armor of his opponent anymore.
As soon as the horned blonde realized he wasn't clashing, but deflecting, he scowled and tried to focus his chakra more, his purple chakra flaring to life like a violent flaming aura but he couldn't quite match the cloak of chakra his opponent was doing. Combining that with his Hoshi chakra did give him enough speed to keep up again, but he could tell his opponent was still speeding up and kept trying to push himself to match the increasing speed of Han.
"Damn kid!" Han laughed, "I've never been pushed this hard, you're probably the first person to push me so hard since I put this armor on back when I was still a chunin myself!" he praised as he continued to clash with Naruto, a third tail emerging from his red chakra cloak, much to the alarm of the purple eyed ninso, "Your kenjutsu is downright inhuman, but then I've got inhuman power myself." he finished with a palm thrust that unleashed a blast of condensed steam.
Naruto twisted as he clashed his blade against the attack, but even then the close range attack was wide and scalded him lightly, "This kenjutsu," he began as he steadied his stance, "is my art!" he announced proudly as he performed his three strokes in one breath. Han managed to avoid most of the damage and stepped in to deliver a left straight punch but found the nodachi halting his momentum with a stab to the gut that released a cracking sound, a burst of static, and cracked his armor despite his chakra cloak.
Han stumbled back, "Alright, I hear your friend massacring my back up back there, so I guess this bridge is a lost cause." he muttered before a fourth tail burst from his cloak, "So I can go all out." he announced before he seemed to transform, almost like an advanced Henge no Jutsu that turned the armored man into a five tailed mock up of a horse and a dolphin.
"What the-?" Naruto began to verbalize but his mind couldn't keep up with the speed of the song and he was sent flying back to be caught by Haku so he didn't break his neck, "Ow, ribs!" he complained breathlessly. Sakura scowled and gripped her left arm, popping it back into place with a wince.
"Ah, it has been a long time since a ningen could survive this one's hooves." The Gobi dolphin-horse mused quietly, surprising the Konoha ninja since the speech patterns and manner of self reference had changed entirely.
"Built different!" Naruto insisted breathlessly, trying to take his stance again despite Haku's protests.
"You really shouldn't-" The masked oinin tried to warn.
"My magnificent self is fucking invincible!" Naruto boldly proclaimed as he pushed as much chakra as he could through his body, then he charged what was very clearly the full power of an actual Chakra no Bakemono. Sakura continued to scowl as she watched her teammate somehow actually keep up, despite getting hit harder than her, despite her armor, despite the body she'd been granted to even withstand as much damage as she had, she still couldn't quite keep up.
Even going all out Naruto was barely keeping pace, but it was amazing he was even able to keep pace with a monster like that. Sakura could barely believe that was the same blonde knucklehead she went to the academy with, he didn't even look like he used to. No trademark whiskers, his eyes had changed color long ago, he didn't dress the same, his body had also somehow become more womanly than Sakura's while maintaining bare shreds of masculinity in the shoulders, and she suspected that had more to do with his weapons of choice than anything.
Haku was stunned, and it seemed any remaining enemies were being routed by Sasuke while Naruto held back the Chakra no Bakemono. Finally he landed a glancing blow, and then an actual cut, Sakura didn't even see it happen she just saw the damage building up. Considering the Gobi was using steam powered concussion Sakura wondered just how much damage Naruto was sustaining, but he seemed to be dodging and holding up well.
Finally Naruto stepped into a downward swing, disappearing from view for a split second, the Gobi's left front opened up deeply near the neck with a spray of blood and in a cloud of steam the bakemono stumbled back into Han, clutching a deep and bleeding gouge in his left shoulder above where his armor had been cut earlier. The young blonde panted breathlessly, perspiring from the heat of battle and the steam he'd been forced to endure as his wounded opponent collected himself.
"You actually matched us..." Han muttered, clearly taken aback at the fact he'd lost to such a young opponent.
Jiraiya landed behind Haku and Sakura, "Well, I half expected to see you brats celebrating over a broken bridge, but I think I see what the hold up is." he commented, genuinely impressed, "Good work, Naruto-kun, you just took on a Kage level threat and held your own." he praised proudly.
Naruto was surprised at that, and as he turned a third set of horns knocked his hitai-ate off, his Hoshi chakra barely catching it before it fell. From his forehead sprouted two horns, like those of an oni. Han chuckled, "Held his own? No, he beat me." he confessed, "A hit like this, even I'm done for without medical assistance." he pointed out as he rested his right hand lazily in his kimono.
"You want healing?" Naruto offered, "Just surrender and you're spared." he pointed out as Maemi approached from behind Haku to take his hitai-ate so his Hoshi chakra could recede.
Han blinked twice before he answered, "I hadn't considered one of you would be an iryonin to be honest, sure." he decided, allowing Haku to lay him down and Naruto to start stripping the top of his armor and performing iryoninjutsu.
"You could at least tie him up first." Jiraiya pointed out, unimpressed with their order of operations regarding dealing with the prisoner.
"His clavicle was severed, my magnificent self cut clean and true so medical aide is required right now." Naruto declined with a shrug, finishing healing the worst of the damage before applying pressure with a damp cloth, "Bandages." he ordered Haku as Sasuke arrived in time to see them administering medical assistance to an enemy.
"So we won?" Sakura asked, a little annoyed she hadn't gotten to show off much that time, and wondering how she'd possibly managed to keep up with Han the last time they'd met. She couldn't remember, but she assumed he must have held back against her, maybe her being naked had distracted him. The last thought made her cheeks glow slightly and she wished she had someone to blame besides herself for that particular disaster.
Han sat up hesitantly, noting his captors watching him warily and surrounded he decided it was best to cooperate, they'd needed to remove his furnace and most of his armor to treat him so he didn't fancy his chances, "So, here to blow the bridge I assume?" he guessed dryly.
Jiraiya sighed, "Yeah, figures someone like you would be hear to guard it." he muttered, "What's the Tsuchikage up to?" he asked pointedly. Sasuke moved to set up the explosives while they talked, curiously plugging kunai into the bridge at certain points along with kibaku fuda strapped to the wood construct itself.
Han shrugged, "I'm not privy to that, he mentioned needing Roshi for something else and this was mostly chunin and reserve genin with some jonin, so I'm guessing he doesn't mind losing this bridge in exchange for the other target." he mused, "Actually, he probably doesn't expect either Roshi or I to lose to anyone but you." he added with a nod to the Sannin.
Maemi was openly staring at Naruto's horns, the third pair made six and the crown looked complete, "Hey," the blonde spoke up as he took his scabbard back from his Muse, "why'd you guys destroy Kusagakure no Sato?" he asked as he sheathed his nodachi.
Han shrugged, "Tsuchikage-sama informed me they refused his offer to side against you, so we destroyed their village." he said plainly.
"What about civilians? They lived there too." Jiraiya pointed out coldly.
Han scoffed, "I didn't go killing non-combatants, if you're trying to find a villain or something, I hit a military target because my Kage demanded it of me." he retorted, confirming he'd personally been involved, Jiraiya guessed from that it was either closer to Mokuno-gai than he though or Han was just absurdly fast, "You brats will learn what war is like." the captured Iwa ninja mused with a shrug.
Sakura took offense to that, "Your village attacked while I was trying for promotion! I know damn well what kind of war you bring!" she snapped, not enjoying having her efforts since Iwa opened war with them and Kusa belittled so casually, "How about I bring that kind of war to your home!?" she threatened angrily.
"Still," Naruto spoke up while Jiraiya was getting used to the temper of the pink haired girl, "you destroyed people's homes, you initiated this attack against us. We were some of the first to learn Iwa's declaration of war first hand back at Mokuno-gai." he pointed out as they moved away from the bridge Sasuke was priming to explode, "Kusa and us? We're just defending ourselves, how do you justify attacking a bunch of genin trying for chunin like that?" he asked.
Jiraiya hadn't expected them to question Han on something like that, clearly the man was surprised too, as was Sakura for that matter, but Naruto was clearly trying to understand the motives of his enemies. The injured captive considered the question, "Huh? I hadn't thought much about it, we've been at war in the past and Tsuchikage-sama said it was time to attack." he answered finally, "Our villages still hold grudges against each other for past wars I suppose, not much else to it." he shrugged.
Naruto frowned, "On an individual level, do you seriously have no personal reason to have attacked Mokuno-gai? Like wanting a fight against one of our jonin sensei?" he asked, confused by the logic, his confusion only confused Jiraiya, Haku, and Sakura however.
Han raised an eyebrow, "We're shinobi, soldiers, we follow orders." he pointed out, "Like how you were ordered to blow this bridge I guess, but I suppose you agree with those-" he began to muse.
"Nah, we decided this target on our own." Naruto interrupted, "Sakura-chan remembered this bridge was here, and we wanted to halt your advance to help Kusa's remaining shinobi forces regroup." he explained, Jiraiya rubbed the bridge of his nose at how freely the blonde gave that away and Sakura rolled her eyes as she made a cut in her left arm before making one handed signs for a kuchiyose.
Han was surprised as well, "You invented your own orders in a war situation with minimal knowledge of your target?" he asked dryly and Naruto nodded shamelessly, "Hm, well if you don't know what you're doing then Tsuchikage-sama has absolutely no way to predict it." he mused, sitting down to rest against a tree, "Well, I did what I could-" he began as Jiraiya started pulling out Fuinjutsu supplies, "what are you doing?" he asked as Genkei returned in a puff of smoke.
"I'm going to lock that bakemono of yours down with some Fuinjutsu." Jiraiya answered plainly, "Honestly I'm baffled Naruto managed to overwhelm you in that Gobi state, but I'm not risking you escaping with that much power. Hopefully you're the bargaining chip we need to get Iwa to back off." he explained as he picked out an ink pot and brush.
Han frowned, "Oh, you're Jiraiya, figures you'd be well informed and know how to do that." he grumbled, "Well," he wondered as he glanced at Naruto to make eye contact, "I'm tempted to escape but that Gyumahime of yours-" he began.
"Kajomahime." Naruto insisted flatly, "My magnificent self is not cattle." he added with a huff.
Genkei turned to the blonde slowly at those words, Maemi glared at the armored Imp as she sensed he was about to argue with that statement, then she saw the glowing red dots that were the Malice's eyes lock onto Naruto's third pair of horns, upward arcing out of the forehead, and seemed to decide against speaking up. Sakura was confused and Maemi was pleased, Jiraiya and Naruto didn't notice the exchange.
Han did, but he didn't understand it, "Right, whatever." he decided as he let Jiraiya apply fuinjutsu arrays to his skin, "You know you look like a gyuma more than a ningen though right?" he asked, and the blonde pouted at being called an ox demon again, "Or some kind of gyuma looking hengeyokai at least." the captured Iwa ninja added with a glance at the stinger tipped serpentine tail, the barb was like a scorpion but the tail was clearly far more flexible and less armored.
Genkei shrugged, "All these brats will probably end up as Mao." he commented dryly, Maemi flinched at the rather direct statement of calling them potential 'demon kings'. She was glad the word didn't carry the same weight in these nations without being prefixed by 'Aku', but stating they were basically on the road to becoming 'kings of malevolent spirits' so blatantly and on the nose made the secretive Muse scream internally as everyone's attention fell on the Malice who said it.
"What?" Jiraiya asked bluntly, wanting clarification for a statement like that.
"Uh, a step above Konton no Omo I suppose," Genkei answered, "Apotheosis, granted to select few ningen. Every Imp seeks to groom a ningen for the position as a sign of their abilities so we may evolve too." he explained.
Naruto cocked his head to the left as he considered those words, Sakura looked visibly confused but was considering her boons for the first time in a while. Han blinked owlishly, "Ah, so that blonde kid isn't even considered the peak of a Konton no Ninso?" he guessed, trying to phrase it in ways he at least understood.
"Of course my magnificent self isn't at the peak yet," Naruto answered, "not until this body and ninpo are perfect and ascended to Slaanesh-kaasama's throne." he said as if it was obvious, Maemi was glad he did since it implied to Jiraiya that Genkei was just talking spiritually and not literally. The fact that Genkei was aligned to the most malevolent seeming of the ruinous powers probably helped throw suspicion off of Chaos as a whole. Maemi didn't dare sigh in relief though, and she saw Sakura still looked confused.
Sasuke returned during the awkward silence that followed, "What'd I miss?" he asked as he unwound ninja wire towards their location.
Naruto shrugged, "Questioned the prisoner a bit, didn't learn much." he undersold, to him it hadn't been much. Maemi wasn't sure whether he was being dense or manipulative but no one else thought Genkei's revelation was important as a result so she kept it to herself and even Genkei didn't care to explain to the Uchiha.
Sakura frowned, wondering if everyone but her and Jiraiya knew about that or if it really was just metaphorical, but she knew her Imp wasn't one to speak spiritually or in metaphors. Haku kept his questions for later, although he was curious about the faith of the young blonde he was serving he didn't think it appropriate to ask in front of a prisoner.
"Well, kaboom." Sasuke intoned as he pushed chakra down the length of ninja wire he'd prepared, his declaration followed shortly by a string of explosions, "Bridge is dealt with, enemy is routing, I left a kage bunshin over on the other side to confirm it." he explained, "Let's get the fuck out of here before reinforcements show up I'm pretty much out of chakra." he finished.
Aiko was surprised to see the Konoha team had no only succeeded so fast, but even captured Han, "Well, Jiraiya-san, I must say despite your womanizing reputation-" she began to praise.
"Hey!" Naruto interrupted, "My magnificent self is the one who beat that guy!" the blonde insisted, not keen on sharing glory, "These new horns are proof of that!" he added quickly, pointing to his new horns, his hitai-ate hanging from his sash with the gourd and hunting horn the Beastmen had given him. Maemi nodded in agreement, in her eyes any praise her master received was basically praising her tutelage too, and Haku nodded as well because it was true.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Well I routed nearly a hundred Iwa shinobi with ninjutsu alone." he bragged, although privately he was annoyed the blonde had gotten an opponent actually worth a boon at their current level, "Plus I'm the one who actually blew up the bridge." he added dryly, deciding not to mention his chat with Itachi.
Jiraiya sighed at the competitive chunin while Sakura glared at the blonde in particular for starting it, Aiko glanced at Yoro, the horned Daemonette simply smirked back and the shinobigashira turned back to the Konoha cell, "Well, what you did was impressive then, Han is a renowned shinobi and a veteran of the previous war." she commented, "I learned about him in Kusa's academy myself." she muttered, "I expected him to be older."
Han shrugged, "I was a child soldier like any other shinobi, once upon a time, I think I was a teenager by the time I started getting a reputation." he explained calmly, his lack of concern despite his situation was a slight red flag to the more experienced shinobi in the room, but Maemi could sense he was downplaying his concern to throw them off intentionally.
Jiraiya rubbed his chin, "My protege really do tend to become the most powerful shinobi, don't they?" he mused proudly, "I must have a real eye for untapped talent." he bragged and Maemi narrowed her eyes at him for taking credit for all her tutelage.
Naruto grinned at being compared to the Yondaime Hokage in ability, he wanted to surpass all the Hokage but the Yondaime stood out as having a unique bingo book entry of 'flee on sight' that even the Shodai and Sandaime hadn't had, although they had their own distinctions as Shinobi no Kami.
Aiko nodded in agreement, "Between your holding this encampment and leaving it for us to use with some of your minions, along with the destruction of Tenchi-kyo, you guys have likely halted Iwa's advance enough for us to recover and mount real defenses." she praised happily, "If you're able to stick around, I'm expecting scout reports this evening and tomorrow morning to give me a clearer picture of what our situation is further north-west of here." she commented.
Jiraiya considered it, geographically that would be the remaining angle of attack unless Iwa found an easy crossing point through Taki, but Takigakure was still allied and would likely be stunting a mounted combined offensive from Oto and Iwa. However he should also report the situation to Tsunade and having Naruto in one place in a war zone for too long was practically asking for Akatsuki to make a move.
"Sorry, but we should get this guy back to T&I and report to Hokage-sama." Jiraiya declined after thinking it over, "Now that we know you're holding this position we can direct reinforcements here just in case." he assured.
Naruto frowned, "Can't we use kuchiyose to send a message back?" he asked.
"Not for this." Jiraiya answered, "The message I sent earlier should be reaching Konoha well before us, I'll mention you need back up when we return just in case though." he promised, Aiko frowned but nodded.
Yoro sighed, "Naruto-sama, we'll need more chakra if you're going to be gone." she pointed out and the blonde approached her reclining form.
"Like this?" Naruto asked, pushing a large quanitity of his purple chakra into the Herald with his hands.
Her eyes widened in surprise before she grinned, "That should work for those of us still here." she praised with a nod. Han wondered just how much chakra the young blonde had, and why it was purple. He had red chakra himself but that was distinct from his normal, natural chakra.
Language: Japanese is a fascinating language, their word for 'demon' as English native readers understand it would basically be read as Akuma, which when translated directly into English basically means 'evil malevolent spirit', but the malevolent spirit part doesn't directly translate well into English at all. Personally I have been having fun with the one way language barrier as it currently stands between the ninja and Daemons. Etymologically speaking Daemon doesn't even mean demon as we know the word today, and could refer to spirits who were either malevolent or benevolent. Japanese had a similar thing with yokai in that they were otherworldly, but otherwise individuals so it was hard to judge if one would be kind or cruel. Even the idea of 'ma', as malevolent spirit is flawed because it could also refer to malevolent energies and those could technically be used to accomplish a goal that is inherently good in some folk lore.
This won't be going in the usual translations at the start of future chapters, just a note I thought was worth bringing up at least once.
