This chap might be a bit shorter than the last few. Waah...I only got three reviews for the last chap...so sad...KEEP EM COMING PEEPS! And thank you to those who actually took the time to review for me. Momochi Zabuza...thank you as well. Just cause I wanna say it.
Chapter 11: Repaid Debts
As one, the guards rose up and surrounded the three, raising their weapons and glaring menacingly at Naruto, Sasuke, and Kimimaro. Sasuke instantly took a defensive stance, only to be stopped by Kimimaro.
"There are at least five hundred guards surrounding us, so it would be useless to fight." Naruto growled.
"Like I'd give up so easily! Come on, we have to at least try to get away."
All of a sudden, an electric blue flash plowed its way through the mass of guards and Neji leapt into view, chakra shimmering about him. Summoning another slender blast of chakra, he spun around in Kaiten, the rod of solidified energy wiping out a good hundred of the guards. Naruto and Sasuke gaped openly.
"Neji! Where did you come from, and how did you learn that?" Neji smirked.
"Thanks to the little book you gave me on my birthday, Naruto-kun. It contains much more valuable secrets than the present Hyuuga clan could ever hope to possess. Anyway, are you alright? How did you manage to get out of prison?" Naruto grinned.
"Kimimaro unlocked my cell for me. News now, explanations after we get back to Konoha." He was interrupted by Orochimaru.
"And who said you're going to make out of here alive?" Naruto flashed his teeth at the snake-summoner in a cheesy grin.
"We say so. Come on guys, we have some shinobi ass to kick!"
Kimimaro nodded and extracted his bones, holding his spinal column in his mouth. Sasuke summoned two Chidori in each hand, and Neji readied Jyuuken once more. Contrary to everyone's expectations, Naruto simply stood, an eerie smile spreading over his features. Kimimaro turned to the blonde.
"Naruto! Why aren't you defending yourself?" The blonde's hands slowly lifted into a seal as a response.
A low growl emitted from deep within the kitsune's throat, piercing through to the very souls of those in the room. A shudder passed involuntarily through the guards. The snarl coming steadily from the blonde signified death and bloodlust to come.
"Naruto, snap out of it!" Sasuke yelled. Neji silenced him with a glare, and turned to gaze wonderingly at Naruto.
"Look at him…he's changing."
And indeed, Naruto's body was emitting hazy waves of smoke that swirled and writhed in the air with a chaotic pattern. His body had contorted, and Naruto was going through a series of rapid-fire seizures. Crimson chakra leaked out of the boy, and slowly his hair grew wild and fierce and his nails elongated into deadly claws just waiting to soak themselves in blood.
The growling continued to come from the boy, although instead of being Naruto's voice, the growl had taken on a feral edge and deepened to match Kyuubi's baritone. Naruto jerked spasmodically once, then reared up on his legs to let loose a howl, veins standing out on his forehead and neck. Fangs slid down to alter his teeth, and his whiskers thickened to three black gashes slashing across the fox-child's face. It was then that Naruto opened his eyes to survey at his surroundings with a bloodthirsty gaze.
Naruto's eyes had gone from pure cerulean blue to tainted red-orange with an ebony slit down the middle. The chakra surrounding the boy pulsed and roiled as Naruto continued to growl menacingly. The hue of the chakra grew to a blinding red-orange and completely surrounded the boy until it looked like he was on fire. Slowly nine tails formed, and the head of Kyuubi appeared above Naruto's writhing form.
Kimimaro threw up his hands to shield himself from the sheer magnitude of the chakra. Such terrifying power…and all within one small boy. No wonder Orochimaru had wanted to capture him. The Kaguya backed away further as his clothes were ripped to shreds due to the enormous pressure of the energy Naruto was emitting. He could barely make out Naruto's form; the very core of the energy had turned pure white, with an animalistic form inside. It was then that a voice was heard, slowly and clearly from within the source of the energy.
"Don't worry guys. I have him under control." Everyone gasped.
"Naruto?" Neji asked cautiously.
"Kyuubi is letting me use the full extent of his chakra. Normally my body could only support only a tiny portion of his chakra, but due to his training I have been able to withstand the pressure within my chakra coils. Together we are going to get out of here safe and alive."
The head of the magnificent fox hovering over Naruto spoke.
"Do not worry, this kit is fully able to endure my energy. Besides…I don't have a passion for snakes, and this one seems more of a nuisance than any others I've encountered." Sasuke gaped at the fox.
"Well we don't have all day, let's get out of here!" Naruto's voice came echoing from the pure white light.
Visible once more, Naruto leapt into the battle and began his deadly dance of destruction and blood. Wounding guards left and right, he managed to demolish several of Orochimaru's minions, leaving a gaping hole in the thick mass of bodies. The snake-summoner gasped in horror.
"No…this puny little boy has managed to defeat my strongest guards? What are you standing around for? ATTACK!"
With renewed energy, the guards swarmed towards the four, weapons extended and ready to dismember. Kimimaro gracefully defended himself, looking almost serene as he danced on the battlefield he was used to all his life. Sasuke whirled around, several kunai in hand, cutting whatever he seemed to reach, be it friend or foe. Neji gathered a whirling shield of chakra about him and ran through the guards, the shield protecting him from the brunt of the attack and doing serious damage to those who got in his way.
The guards now swarmed towards the glowing kitsune, trying in vain to get past the enormous chakra energy surrounding him. They became sluggish as they continued their assault; Naruto was draining their chakra and using it as his. He turned and forced his way through the festering guards until he stopped at Kimimaro's side.
The Kaguya whirled around, his bones becoming needle sharp, and snowballed into the guards, cutting them to pieces. Stopping slightly, he sensed a presence behind him and turned too late to see a guard with a huge kunai aiming for the exposed area of his back that wasn't protected by his bones. There was a weird grinding sound from behind, and the guard fell to the ground. Kimimaro looked up to see Naruto, a Rasengan in each hand.
"Naruto, you…?" The blonde nodded.
"Be careful next time!"
He quickly spun to slam the Rasengan into a nearby guard's entrails. Contrary to what happened in the past, the Rasengan stayed intact and whirling madly on the blonde's palms. These were specialized Rasengan, spinning far faster than the normal ball of chakra, and much more concentrated in the rotation and energy concentration. The blonde plowed through the guards, swiping right and left, not stopping to survey the damage he did. The guards tried in vain to attack the boy with ninjutsu, but the shield of unholy red chakra surrounding the kitsune deflected all attempts.
Neji whirled madly around the battlefield, ebony hair flying in the wind. Plunging his deadly fingers into whoever got in his way, the Hyuuga made an almost elegant sight, fighting gracefully and fluidly, a grim determination in his eyes. Taking a stance, he closed his eyes and envisioned the Hakke around him.
"Hakke-shou, Ni-hyaku Gonshou Rokushou!"
The third level of the Divine Strikes formed in Neji's mind, and he became but a blur as he delved his way through the offending guard. Plunging his fingers deep into all two hundred and fifty six points on the guard's body, Neji attacked relentlessly, never stopping until the guard was incapacitated beyond hope. Spinning around, he rushed through a column of men, disturbing but a hair in his passing. Though he barely touched the minions, one by one they crumpled silently from the needle-sharp chakra Neji emitted from his body.
Orochimaru glared in utter horror and disbelief as the four slowly but surely disabled his guards, doing enormous damage yet sustaining little injuries themselves. The snake-sannin clenched his teeth; Kimimaro should have been eliminated the very moment he contracted his disease. What had once been a powerful ally was now greatly hindering his plan. He called Kabuto to his side.
"Kabuto, do you know where Kimimaro's weak point is?" Kabuto thought long and hard.
"I'm not rightly sure since almost all of his body is covered by bones, but since he is fighting with his spinal column, I believe the back of his neck is the weakest."
Orochimaru nodded and produced a long, thin syringe. Slowly pressing down the plunger, he extracted a clear liquid from the tip of the needle, took out a senbon, and coated the tip with the fluid. Handing it to Kabuto, the snake-sannin provided him with brief instructions.
"You are to throw this as accurately as possible at Kimimaro's neck. The senbon is quite thin, so Kimimaro shouldn't feel a thing as it penetrates. The poison will react within five minutes, and Kimimaro should die, for the toxin is extremely potent. He'll be lucky if he's completely paralyzed." Kabuto gingerly accepted the weapon and turned to face the whirling Kaguya through the mass of bodies.
"Oh yes, and capture for me the Kyuubi brat and the Uchiha alive. I have my experiments to conduct." Kabuto nodded and slowly drew back the hand with the senbon. Seeing an opening in the mass of thrashing bodies, he sent the senbon spiraling towards the Kaguya with a flick of his wrist.
Naruto shrieked and plunged his claws into the enemy, twisting and turning around, the fiery chakra still flowing around him. The fox-child stopped and gasped for breath, panting slightly. Though the portion of chakra Kyuubi had leant him was but a fraction of the great fox's normal capacity, Naruto's body was feeling the physical effects of so much energy. The red chakra flickered erratically as the blonde gasped for breath.
Suddenly Naruto sensed a flux in the normally calm air. Something was wrong. Or something was going to be very wrong if he didn't stop it from happening. He turned just in time to see Kabuto flick the senbon at Kimimaro, the Kaguya still oblivious to the flying needle. Naruto screamed a warning, and Kimimaro turned too late as he saw the approaching needle.
A series of flashes went through Naruto's mind. Kimimaro….Kimimaro had helped him. Kimimaro was the reason why Naruto wasn't snake food at the moment. Kimimaro had risked his life for him, and Naruto wasn't one to let debts go unpaid. Summoning the last of his chakra reserve, he sprinted with all his might towards the Kaguya.
There was a grating sound as the needle penetrated through flesh and cut to the bone.
Naruto clamped his teeth together as hard as he could as the needle pierced his left shoulder blade, biting back a scream of pain. Immediately his vision went blurry, and several spots danced their way across the kitsune's vision. He staggered slightly; the room was oddly spinning about him. Naruto wobbled again and sank dazedly to his knees, pulling out the needle and flinging it away. He vaguely made out the white of Kimimaro's hair and the expression of shock on his face, but his vision blurred once more before going completely black. Still conscious, the fox-child clawed weakly at his eyes, rubbing them gently in hopes of restoring his vision. He was dimly aware of footsteps running towards him before his hearing gave as well.
Kimimaro watched in utter amazement as Naruto shielded him and took the full blow of the needle. Words failed him as he saw the blonde wince in pain and stagger slightly. His limbs seemed oddly numb as he saw Naruto stagger and pull out the needle, flinging it onto the floor. Still in a trance, the Kaguya picked up the weapon and inspected it carefully for any signs of poison; Naruto was failing fast, and one needle couldn't have possibly taken down the blonde unless it was contaminated.
The Kaguya's pine-green eyes widened in horror as he searched through the blood and flesh still clinging onto the senbon. A clear glutinous liquid had separated from the crimson-hued blood and was dripping down the side of the needle. Kimimaro immediately recognized the toxin; it was Orochimaru's specialty, the poison that the snake-sannin had distilled from the venom of his deadliest snakes.
Neji and Sasuke stopped fighting just in time to see Naruto fall, a deadly needle imbedded in his shoulder. Fighting their way through the remaning guards, they dashed madly to Naruto, crouching down by the fallen boy. Neji cautiously touched Naruto's still form, searching for any signs of life, refusing to believe that the blonde was dead. The Hyuuga recoiled the instant he touched Naruto's cheek, snow-white eyes widening with panic. Naruto's cheek was so cold to the touch…as if he were already dead. Neji called out to the blonde, hoping and praying for an answer.
"Naruto…?" There was no change in the limp form of the blonde.
"Naruto…come on. You have to awaken. We still have to go back to Konoha." No response ensued from the blonde. Sasuke knelt next to the kitsune and stroked his hair.
"Oi, dobe. What happened to all of your stamina? You can't be as weak as to give up now, can you moron?" Naruto didn't reply. Sasuke gritted his teeth, fighting to believe that Naruto was dead. Tears ran their course down the Uchiha's cheeks, and Sasuke bowed his head, breaking down into desperate sobs.
Neji stared wide-eyed at the scene before him. Chanting Naruto's name over and over under his breath, he felt his heart constrict with a sadness and desperation far beyond what he had ever felt before. Salty drops fell to the ground. It was then Neji felt a breeze and he turned to see Kimimaro's form running towards Naruto.
The trance released itself from the mind of the Kaguya as the extent of what happened sank into Kimimaro's mind. Snapping out of his daze, Kimimaro flung himself upon Naruto, searching frantically for any signs of life. Finding Naruto's carotid artery, he laid two fingers on the vessel and prayed for a pulse. Neji and Sasuke held their breath anxiously as Kimimaro examined Naruto's lifeless form. Many minutes passed by, and finally a weak movement caught at Kimimaro's senses. Naruto indeed had a pulse, yet it was extremely erratic. After a few more flutters, it died completely. Kimimaro found that a strange lump was growing in his throat, making it difficult to breathe. Inhaling quick shallow breaths, he laid his ear to Naruto's chest.
His worst fears were confirmed when no heartbeat responded.
I'm soooo evil! Ending in a cliffy! Now, I'm debating whether or not to kill Naruto, so it all depends on whether you review or not.