DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO (BUT IF KISHIMOTO PLANS ON MAKING A WHAT-IF SPIN-OFF OF NARUTO? I'LL BE SURE TO CONTACT HIM HAHA)
An Explosive Idea
Asuma and his team were somewhere in the woods, they planned to recuperate there and think of a new strategy to handle their respective foes. Asuma wasn't necessarily struggling with dealing Kushimaru, it's just the fact that this was his first time engaging in combat with him. Kushimaru's style of fighting is all brand new to Asuma, he was able to gather vital information about the way Kushimaru fights. In addition to that, Asuma barely showed him any of his moves other than the Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique), the Katon: Karyudan no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet), and the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique).
He observed from his battle that Kushimaru was rather fond of using ninja wire, and his ninja wire is not a joke for it was able to fall multiple trees in an instant. Asuma also noticed that Kushimaru's choice of projectiles were senbons, and that some of them might have some ninja wire attached to them. Those were the most notable things that Asuma observed from their battle not too long ago, all he needed to do was to counter each of Kushimaru's tactics.
Asuma already knew that to get rid of the Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique), a powerful fire-jutsu will be able to eradicate the mist by raising the temperature in their surroundings thus triggering the process of condensation. He also learned that using the Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall) was effective in blocking/shielding him from incoming projectiles, but a much better alternative was the Doton: Asudomo (Earth Release: Earth Dome) which would be able to protect him from all angles. Asuma also made sure to remember that Kushimaru could use his Silent Killing with or without the presence of mist.
Another was the fact that Kushimaru uses a lot of ninja wires, it was a pain in his ass to dodge and weave through countless wires in an attempt to avoid being dismembered in the process. Asuma decided to continue this train of thought later. For now, he needed to assess their situation along with his students.
Asuma stopped in his tracks and so did Naruto, Shino, and Ino. The three of them were wondering why their sensei stopped all of a sudden, Naruto decided to address this as he asked Asuma the very reason for it. "Why did we stop Asuma-sensei?" he asked.
"I think this is far enough, we should probably rest for a while. And while we're at it, let's discuss some things" Asuma told his students.
The three of them nodded, they dropped their packs and sat down on the forest floor and so did Asuma. All of them were now sitting on the ground in the form of a circle, Asuma then started the discussion.
"I suppose we should address the fact that we got our asses handed to us back there" Asuma stated, both blondes sighed but Shino remained silent but Asuma knew he was bummed out as well.
"And that's alright, we pretty much got jumped by them at the start so we weren't really expecting any company. But then again… We should always be prepared, but that's beside the point. My point is that, don't let losses affect you, alright? The fact that you came out alive from a battle you were probably going to lose could be considered a win, we came out alive with valuable information about our opponents and that's what counts. So tell me, what's so special about your enemy back there?" Asuma asked.
Naruto was the first one to answer Asuma's question due to the fact that he was rather fed up with Kimimaro, "You wouldn't believe this Asuma-sensei, this Kimimaro guy uses his bones to fight us. Like literally, he kept pulling bones out of his body and he also sprouted bones out of every inch of his body. I couldn't even land a hit on him without being injured in return, he also uses his bones as projectiles too!" Naruto said to Asuma.
This fascinated the bearded Jounin, it's not every day that you get to hear about a shinobi that uses literal bones in combat. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he was certain that he heard about this specific style of fighting somewhere. Yet he could not pin what it is for the life of him, he then shared his findings about his own opponent afterward.
"My opponent is one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu (Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist), I'm pretty sure they discusses this back at the academy if you were paying any attention" Asuma said as he turned his attention to Naruto who rubbed the back of his head as a response, Ino rolled her eyes at her fellow blonde.
"Anyway, they're pretty much a big deal. They wield these formidable swords, each of which has special capabilities. The man who I was up against, Kushimaru Kuriare. That bastard is really crafty, he pretty much set up a trap while he was fighting me. He primarily used ninja wire and senbons against me, Kushimaru also utilized the Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique) and Silent Killing against me" Asuma explained.
But then Ino asked why he was telling this to all of them to which Asuma had an answer, "I am telling the three of you this not because I expect you to help me deal with that bastard, I am aware that the three of you are already having a hard time with his 'pet project'. I am simply sharing this information with the three of you just in case Kushimaru were to be successful in killing me. I hope it doesn't boil down to that though, but doing this certainly won't hurt right? In the event he kills me, I am certain he'll come for the three of you and I just want to prepare the three of you for the worst. Do you guys remember what I told you guys back at the ranch?" Asuma asked to the three of them.
"Yes Asuma-sensei, this isn't training and it's the real deal. And that one wrong move would cost us our lives" Ino answered
"Exactly, I know this sounds grim and I am aware of that. But this is how the shinobi world is, it is cruel and unforgiving. And you must have what it takes to survive in it if you don't plan on dying anytime soon, I'm not sugarcoating things cause I want your eyes to be opened to the realities we are faced with. I know you guys can overcome this, just like you got through the other missions. I'll be looking around to see if we were followed or not, you guys should probably use the time you have to think of a new strategy" Asuma said as he got up and left the three of his students to their own devices.
"So do you guys have ideas as to how we'll deal with Kimimaro?" Ino asked
Shino remained silent for he had nothing to suggest, Naruto on the other hand kept scratching his head while he was thinking of something. After a couple of minutes, Naruto's face brightened up. It implied he came up with an idea, Ino noticed this and was about to speak up but not until Naruto mumbled that it was a stupid idea. He resumed thinking of new strategies, after a while Naruto's face brightened up once more. Ino saw this for the second time but Naruto discarded his idea yet again, this cycle went on for a couple of minutes. Ino was starting to get annoyed by Naruto, "Could you stop that Naruto?!" she protested.
"Oh… Sorry hehe, but seriously I have no ideas to suggest" Naruto replied
Ino sighed, they were completely stumped and they weren't being productive at all. Suddenly her stomach grumbled, both Naruto and Shino heard it which embarrassed Ino.
"Why don't we eat? Good ideas can't be created on an empty stomach after all" Naruto suggested, Ino and Shino also thought that eating is a good idea nonetheless. After all, they haven't eaten anything for a while. Naruto then took his pack and began to dig inside of it, he was looking for his cup ramen cause that is the only thing he brought with him. But luckily for Naruto, he brought more than one just in case.
Naruto also fished out his water bottle so that he could boil it and cook his ramen in it, but Naruto needed something else before he could get started. A fire, Naruto got up and began to collect firewood for his campfire. Once that was taken care of, he created a teepee made of wood and he lit it on fire using the fire-jutsu Asuma taught them the other day.
"Katon: Hoteri Ougigata no Jutsu (Fire Release: Flash Fan Technique)" Naruto said as he set the fire ablaze, it was also a smart decision for Naruto to at least pack one pot with him since there was no other way for him to boil water. He created a tripod made of wood as a means to hang his pot onto it, he poured in enough water and waited for it to boil.
While Naruto was preparing his food, Ino was eating food that her mother prepared. She was eating some onigiri while Shino was eating some dorayaki he packed with him.
After a few minutes, the water finally boiled and it was time for Naruto to pour the boiling water into his cup ramen. Naruto disliked the fact that he needed to wait for an additional two to three minutes before he could chow down on his ramen but it is what it is. Once the noodles were cooked, Naruto began to eat his food. He enjoyed each bite and savored every ounce of it, Naruto exhaled in satisfaction as a result. Since he was done eating, he decided to immediately pack his things just in case he and his team needed to go as soon as possible. But then he noticed the sealing scroll where all his books were sealed, this sparked an idea in his mind. Could he possibly use fuinjutsu to deal with Kimimaro, it's possible though the real question still stands. Could Naruto pull it off? He knew to himself that he was still learning the basics, he has read about sealing people but there was no way a newbie like him could do such a feat. Naruto had to think of simpler means, right now Naruto could only seal in inanimate objects but how could he utilize that specific skill?
The gears inside his head began to turn as he formulated a strategy to deal with Kimimaro, he was also cleaning up his stuff as he was doing that. Once Naruto was finished cleaning up, he then focused on creating a plan to share with his teammates. An idea popped inside his head, he grabbed his pouch and dumped all of its contents on the ground. Shino and Ino noticed this and were rather confused as to what Naruto was doing, Ino decided to address this herself.
"What are you doing Naruto?" Ino asked but Naruto did not answer for he was in deep focus as to what he was doing at the moment, Naruto finally found the thing he was looking for. Explosive Tags, he usually carried a pad of it which contains around a dozen tags.
"Hello?... Naruto?..." Ino said and suddenly Naruto's attention snapped to Ino, he got real close to her face and asked her a question. "Ino! Do you have explosive tags in your pouch?" Naruto asked enthusiastically for he was onto something.
His face was really close to her to the point where she could feel his breathing, she could also smell the ramen from his breath. But nonetheless, this startled Ino and caused her face to redden as a result. "Y-Yeah… I do, what for?" she asked her fellow blonde.
"Give them to me" he said
"But why?" she replied
"You'll see, you too Shino. Do you have some in your pouch?" he asked him to which he nodded and handed him one pad of it and so did Ino
"Great, just give me a second" he said as he took out his sealing materials. Ino took notice of what Naruto was planning to do, she wondered what Naruto came up with.
Naruto repeated the same process he did with his books, he began by copying the sealing formula on the book and onto the scroll. He then wrote baku (kanji for "explode") in the middle. Naruto then started pouring chakra into the scroll so that it would be able to seal the explosive tags inside of it. This time Naruto decided to pour in enough chakra, at least what he considers "enough". And finally, it was all done and all he needed to do was place all the explosive tags on top of it. "Funyu no Jutsu! (Enclosing Technique)" Naruto said, after which all the tags disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"There! Now, this is the plan hehe. If he survives after eating thirty-six explosive tags to the face then I don't know what will kill him" Naruto stated.
"That's it?" Ino asked
"What do you mean?" he returned
"That's the entire plan? You sealing a bunch of explosive tags inside a scroll, I mean that's impressive but is that it?" she reiterated
"What? Of course not, let me explain" Naruto retorted
"Oh okay then, I was just curious" Ino said back to him
"Okay… This is how it's gonna go…" Naruto then explained the plan to his teammates thoroughly, he hoped that his plan would work in the end. Their discussion took a while since they wanted to make sure that their plan will work without a hitch. The three of them finished discussing after a few minutes or so, and that was when Asuma regrouped with them.
"Asuma-sensei you're back, so?... What did you find? Were we followed?" Naruto asked
"Looks like we're not followed but we should probably get a move on, staying in one place is probably a bad idea in this situation. Pack all of your things and make sure to not leave a trace whatsoever, Asuma then noticed the campfire Naruto created. They couldn't simply disassemble it, they needed to get rid of it completely but Asuma has a jutsu for that which was fortunate for them.
Asuma performed the following hand seals: Ram – Hare – Snake – Ram – Dog – Ram – Monkey, "Doton: Wareme Souzou (Earth Release: Chasm Creation)" Asuma said after which the ground began to shake. A portion of the ground split into two thus creating a chasm, though Asuma applied less chakra than usual making the chasm not too deep and not too big. The burnt wood and soot fell into the hole, never to be seen again. Asuma released the jutsu and in doing so, the hole closed up as if nothing happened in the first place.
After Asuma handled the campfire, he then told his students to double-check their stuff before leaving. Five minutes have passed and it was now time for them to move to another spot within the forest. Once they think they've recuperated back to a hundred percent, then and only then will they try fighting both Kushimaru and Kimimaro once more. This time they would be prepared for the battle at hand.
- Inside Gato's Office -
Gato was sitting behind his desk, he gulped down the sake that was in his saucer. Based on the way he looked, he was unhappy. Unhappy might not even be a fitting word for what he was feeling at that time, he was pissed off about a lot of things. First, he was pissed that someone in town blabbed and asked for Konoha shinobi to come snooping around his turf, second, he was angry at the fact that his goons weren't able to find any traces of the "pests" that he had to deal with, and lastly he was furious that Kushimaru and Kimimaro failed to dispatch of them when they had the chance. To calm down his nerves, Gato decided to pour one more serving of sake into his saucer. He drank it down once more and suddenly the door to his office opened, only to reveal one of his henchmen.
"Uhmmm… Gato-sama, is now a good t-" the man was cut-off when Gato yelled at him. "GO AWAY!" Gato exclaimed as he threw his empty saucer at the door, luckily the man was able to close the door in time and avoid getting hit by the saucer. The saucer naturally shattered into tiny bits and pieces, causing the floor to be littered with shards of glass.
Gato began mumbling to himself that all his underlings were useless, even Kushimaru and Kimimaro. The door opened once more and Gato wasn't having any of it so he decided to throw the empty glass of sake this time, the door opened and Kimimaro entered the room. He noticed the incoming bottle and he effortlessly caught the bottle with one hand, Gato was stunned but he was still pissed.
Kimimaro somehow survived Shino's insect tornado but he didn't walk out unscathed, he had bandages wrapped around portions of his body. Shino's jutsu sure did take a toll on him but it wasn't enough to finish him off though.
"What do you want?! Can't you see I'm not in the mood to talk"
"Kushimaru-sama has sent me to inform you that it is that time of the month" Kimimaro calmly stated
Gato scoffed after hearing what Kimimaro said, "Really?! Kushimaru expects me to pay him even though you two failed in getting rid of our 'pests' here in Mori no Kuni (Land of Forests), tell your master that I ain't paying him shit not until he does his job properly. Fucking bastard is all talk, I'm just wasting money for hiring his ass" Gato muttered as he took out another bottle of sake from his drawer.
Kimimaro didn't react whatsoever as he bowed down and left Gato's office without a word, his master won't certainly be pleased to hear what Gato had to say about him. Kimimaro was certain about that, he thought to himself as he walked back to their room.
(A/N: So that's the end of this chapter, haha and I hope y'all liked it. I also received some questions, this is the replacement for the Wave Arc. I decided not to put that one in this fic since it has been done a lot so I'm guessing most of you probably know it by heart now and I wanted to go with another route by using a different member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and swapping out Haku with Kimimaro. Second, I was planning with Gato kidnapping Kunio and his granddaughter but... I already wrote it that Gato was in town but not really terrorizing it but the people were still afraid of him since he has armed henchmen and shit. Most of the townsfolk were docile enough to not stand up against him though there was still someone who asked for Konoha shinobi to come to their town (you could probably figure out who did it). I plan on Team Kurenai to deal with a different type of mission. It's also nice hearing from you AtomsK and Ogremen haha. Anyway, that's all I have to say, thanks for the continued support. Show me some love and RnR, cheers!")
(A/N#2: Changed the title haha, oops my bad. It should have been An Explosive Idea and not The Art of Fire and you'll get it soon enough)