HIDDEN MIST RECOVERY III
The docking was the easy part. Well, docking might not be the most apt description. Because the shinobi team all headed off toward the inlet, the ship actually stopped some distance from the shore and they ran over the water to get to land. This way, at least they ensure that the crew will have time to react in case any enemy slips past.
The crew, while not shinobi, are still competent combatants, and Awaji is a trained shinobi. Retired, but trained. Then there's the kids, who might be strong enough, but if the enemies have Curse Marks, there's no way they'd be a match.
The plan is simple- go in and take them out.
Team Chojuro is currently running through the trees making their way toward the inlet where Hinata saw the group had docked. They haven't moved much since, with some group venturing inward and others returning.
Hinata has her Byakugan trained on them. "They seem to have set up a base at the inlet. They seem to be looking for someone. 'He's not there, either.' they say."
Chojuro raises a brow. "How do you know? The Byakugan only gives the user a visual, correct?"
"Oh, I can read lips." She explains. "I can't pick everything up but I can manage well enough here."
"That's certainly a handy skill to have at your disposal." Kiri compliments.
"Then I better watch what I mutter under my breath, huh?" Naruto laughs.
"Alright, keep us posted on any changes, then. See if they give anything more on this 'he' they're looking for." Chojuro orders.
Hinata nods, "Right." and continues to keep her eyes focused on the Curse Mark holders, observing their movements. Two of them are sitting under a large tent and appear to be the leaders, or at the very least the ones everyone reports to once they return. Some of them keep watch around the perimeter they've set up, while one is sitting on the ground, hands in front of his torso, in the 'Ram' hand sign.
As the Mist-Leaf group approaches, the Cursed that's been sitting the entire time whips his head exactly in their direction. For a brief moment, it feels to Hinata as if he looked directly at her.
'Intruders coming fast', she sees him mouth to the others as they already begin to prepare.
"They've spotted us!" Hinata calls out. "They know we're coming."
"Damnit." Chojuro curses. "Was that one guy a sensor?"
"No," Hinata shakes her head, "He definitely wasn't using sensory abilities, I could tell that much." She continues observing them. "He doesn't have our exact number, but he estimates there's 3 or 4 of us. He has an estimate of how far away we are."
"What do we do, Captain?" Kiri turns to his superior.
"They don't know that we know. We can use that to our advantage. Whatever ability that man used, it's apparently not perfect; they don't know our numbers, most likely don't know our chakras."
"I could just rush them." Naruto chimes in. "Kick 'em down before they even know what hit 'em."
"While I do support brute force, I believe there's another option for now. We can save the rushing for stage two." Chojuro then turns to Hinata. "You can see with your Byakugan through anything, correct? Cover it with your headband so they're not alerted by it when they come to intercept."
"How do you know they will?" Naruto asks.
"They will."
Just as predicted, three Cursed make their way towards them, having been informed of the intruders' location. They move quickly and silently, showing themselves as competent, if nothing else.
The entire time, Hinata observes them and conveys their movement. They seem to have no idea who they're approaching.
The Cursed hide among the trees and bushes. They may be hidden from the naked eye, but the Byakugan is anything but. Their group approaches the ambush, fully aware of it and ready to pounce.
They move closer.
And closer.
[Hiramekarei: Release]
Chojuro's sword ignites with chakra, ripping the wrappings off. He grabs the two handles with each hand and swings at a tree, sending a sickle of chakra flying, slashing the flora in half. The man hiding behind it falls dead in a single hit.
Naruto and Hinata break off on the opposite side where the other two are hiding. Hearing the commotion, they scramble to go on the offensive.
"Shit, what the fuck happened?!" One of them screams out as half of his body becomes covered in black lines, the clear signs of a Curse Mark.
"Doesn't matter, just kill 'em!" The other's body goes through the same change, save for the differing pattern.
Just as they go to swing, their enemies disappear from sight.
"Huh?" They both look around, and just barely from the corner of their eyes do they see two figures standing behind them.
Naruto and Hinata gather their chakra around their hands, ready to unleash their jutsu.
[Gentle Step: Lion Fist]
Purple chakra surrounds Hinata's hand, taking on the shape of a lion, flaring with all the ferocity of one. She hits her mark directly on the back, sending the lion to engulf him entirely, burning his chakra pathway.
[Massive Rasengan]
The large ball of spiraling chakra demolishes everything around it, ripping into the trees, the ground, but most importantly- it's target. The Rasengan hits him square in the back and the force twists and contorts his body on the outside, and the less is known about his insides, the better.
Both of them fall dead to the ground.
Hinata immediately focuses her Byakugan back to the inlet. "They're aware they were taken down, but uncertain as to what their status is."
"Is it based on smell or something? Can they sense our footsteps?" Chojuro grunts. "In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter. Naruto." He calls out to the blonde. "Now we charge in."
Naruto smirks.
-x-
The Cursed scramble about their makeshift headquarters, preparing for battle.
"So what can you even tell us?!" One of the supposed leaders shouts at the pseudo-sensor.
"I already told you everything I know! I heard 'em get taken down but I dunno if they're alive or not!" The pseudo-sensor protests.
"What the fuck good is your heightened hearing if you can't even tell us something that basic?!" The other man raises his voice.
As they argue, the sound of crashing trees cools down their tempers. As they quiet down to try and understand what they heard, a gigantic figure jumps out from the cliffside above the inlet. A translucent orange fox, nine tails flowing behind it, comes flying right at them.
"What the fuck?!" They exclaim in both confusion and fear.
The orange fox disappears, leaving in its place three figures to come flying down toward them. Naruto in Sage Mode, Hinata with her Byakugan active, and Chojuro with Hiramekarei out, rush into the confusion.
"You useless moron!" The leader pushes aside the man he was just arguing with, and activates his Curse Mark. They all do.
Patterns of differing designs cover either the left or right side of their bodies, power surging through their bodies. Naruto immediately recognizes the power as natural energy, except… twisted. It's not being gathered, as much as it's being violently ripped. It's obvious to him these people aren't aware of the power they wield.
-x-
Naruto's first target is the one who saw them coming earlier. Unfortunately for the Cursed, he got too distracted by the argument and didn't focus his chakra. That was his first mistake; it allowed Naruto to use Kurama's avatar to sprint to the inlet in a matter of seconds.
The Cursed swings but Naruto dodges up, using the fist that was coming toward him as a spring. It's an odd sensation. Sage Mode allows him to better react to his opponents, having an innate understanding of how and when they'll move by reading the air around them. This guy's a bit different. It might be because he can sense a diluted, almost corrupted, natural energy from their Curse Marks that doesn't allow him to read them properly.
Naruto flips over and grabs onto the man's shoulder. "Got good ears, huh? Then listen to this." Naruto breaths in and lets out a low rumbling sound, guttural and from the throat. The rumble becomes louder and very much sounds like a toad's croaking.
[Sage Art: Frog Call]
The sound hits the man right in the ears, enhanced by whatever ability he possesses. The man screams in pain and falls to his knees, clutching his ears as blood drips between his fingers. After a moment, he faints, and Naruto turns to face the other Cursed coming toward him.
The flesh on his forearms has extended into sharpened blades, taking on a very metallic appearance. Like a whirling dervish, he swings his arms, a sharp sound filling the area as his literal arm blades cut through the air. Naruto takes a stance with his Frog Kata and pushes away his attacks, either striking at the attacker's arms with his palms, or blocking with his armguards, which bend slightly under the pressure.
Naruto tries to get some distance between them but the Cursed keeps close, he tries to gather chakra in his palm to form a Rasengan but the Cursed doesn't give him enough time to focus. Eventually, he manages to get a second away. Just like before, he breaths in and his voice rumbles.
Recognizing the noise, the Cursed jumps back and covers his ears. "As if I'd fall for that!"
[Fighting Tongue Slash]
Where the man expected a croaking sound to pierce his ear, when Naruto opens his mouth something else comes out instead. There isn't even time to see it, it's so far. As he racks his brain to try and figure out what the Leaf ninja did, he feels a pain in his shoulder. He looks down to see it completely severed, and the pain only now hits him.
Naruto reels back his tongue, much longer and thicker than normal, enhanced by his own natural energy. The Tongue Slash is a tricky one to pull off, and one can easily hurt themselves doing it, but it's also probably his fastest attack in his arsenal. Now, it allowed him to stop a fairly speedy enemy in his tracks but not fully put him out for the count.
Naruto Flickers closer to the man clutching his shoulder that's still hanging on after being cut by the tongue, but just barely. Naruto delivers a hit to the head, knocking him out.
-x-
Hinata wastes no time in Flickering right in front of one of the Cursed. He tries to grab her head in his massive paws but she expertly twirls out of his way. He tries to grab her hair which lashes out behind her but in a trained move, she whips her head to pull her hair out of the way. He grasps at air.
Hinata ducks under his arm. Two palms. She strikes at his heart and stomach. Four palms. Another two hits on his shoulders. Eight palms. She dances in front of him, keeping an elegant footing even as she pushes him back with each successful hit. Sixteen palms. Her arms are barely visible, they move at such great speeds. Thirty-two palms. The whirls around her target, just in time to dodge several thorn-like projectiles that were aimed at her. Her second assailant jumps where she was just now, thorns regrowing on her back like a hedgehog, but Hinata's shifted her position again, all the while continuing to strike at her first foe's chakra points.
[Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms]
Hinata sends her first target flying through the air after delivering a blinding series of lightning fast blows. He goes crashing into the hedgehog woman who's blown back with her unconscious companion weighing down on her.
She pushes the dead weight off of her and tries to get back up, but a violet blur is already on her. She swings her arm with the force of a cannon but Hinata ducks and deflects with her Gentle Fist. The Hyuga thrust her other hand to the woman's head, sending a pulse of chakra through her brain.
[Gentle Fist: Palm Bottom]
The woman falls on the ground for good this time.
-x-
Chojuro unleashes Hiramekarei's hammer form, crashing at his foe. By far the largest of the Cursed present, built like a brick outhouse and arms the size of cannons, he plants his feet in the ground and tanks the hit. Just barely. The hammer strikes him in the chest but he manages to reach over to grab Hiramekarei's blade and hold on through the pain.
"You're gonna need a lot more than that!" The Cursed wheezes, blood spurting from his mouth.
"You don't sound very convincing." Chojuro retorts.
A second attack approaches behind him, her belly and throat glowing hot red, her cheeks puffed out. The woman breathes fires onto Chojuro. He has nowhere to go. His blade is in the clutches of his enemy.
Or so they think.
Chojuro separates his two blades, leaving only one of the twinsword Hiramekarei behind. He spins around, going behind the large man, and with an enhanced blade slashes across his back, leaving behind a large gash. The Cursed cries out in pain and is propelled forward from the attack, right into the flames. He quickly catches on fire and tries to put it out, but another slash in the back sends him to the ground.
"Boss!" The fire-breathing woman cries out, watching it happen before either of them could react. Seething with anger, she prepares to breath fire at Chojuro again. Unshaken, the Swordsman channels his chakra through his sword. With a powerful swing, he sends multiple rod-like projectiles made of chakra hurtling right for her.
[Bloody Mist Sword Art: Bone Mutilation]
The projectiles ember in her body and into her chakra pathway. The alien presence makes her chakra act, the fire still inside her runs wild with her having lost control. She cries out, and the fire burns her from the inside.
-x-
The three of them regroup having finished their respective battles.
Chojuro still looks on alert. "Anyone else around?"
Hinata shakes her head. "No more Cursed, just the pri...soner…" She trails off when she checks up on the man in the ship. Last she checked, he was tied up and unconscious, and yet…
The prisoner steps out on the front of the ship. "You wasted two days of my time, Chojuro."
They all look up to see a man, as Hinata described visibly in his late-20s to early 30s, bald with the side of his head, down past his ear, burnt. He's dressed only in some shabby rags that hang far too loosely off him.
Chojuro squints. "... Saizo?"
"You know this guy?" Naruto asks.
Saizo Flickers down next to them, rolling his shoulder and cracking his neck. "What're you doing here, kid?" He then looks over Naruto and Hinata. "And who're these guys?"
"Uh, right." He first decides to introduce his colleague. "This is Saizo Kyorin, he's currently the only other Ninja Swordsman of the Mist." He then introduces his current team. "And these are Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga of the Hidden Leaf, we're on a mission together to reach the Hidden Whirlpool Village."
"Ah, yeah, think I heard something about that. Right, I remember now. You're the big war hero."
"Yeah, that's me. So how'd you get captured by these guys, anyway?" Naruto looks back to the bodies laying on the floor. "Didn't think they'd manage to nab a Swordsman of the Mist."
"They didn't." Saizo is quick to correct a misunderstanding. "I let them capture me, 'cause I wasn't getting any good intel otherwise. Knew they've been looking for some source of power but couldn't find out what."
"A source of power, huh? Is it because they couldn't fully use their Curse Mark?" Naruto scratches his chin.
"What do you mean, didn't they use it?" Chojuro turns to him.
"I mean, they kinda did, but that's not the full extent of it. If you can really use it, then your body goes through these really weird changes and you become way stronger than before. I've fought some who can use it properly, and honestly these guys can't even hold a candle."
"So they were super weaklings?" Saizo clicks his tongue. "Here I had my hopes up for them."
"More or less. Honestly, we were lucky they couldn't use it. It's really nasty."
"What power could they hope to find on this random island?" Chojuro crosses his arms. "There should be nothing here as far as I'm aware."
"Maybe Orochimaru has a secret lab out here?" Saizo stretches his arm, trying to get a bit more feeling back into it. "He's managed to slither his way into a lotta places, and the Land of Water's a good place to do it. We can't very well keep an eye on every damn little island."
"But why did they even need a prisoner in the first place?" Hinata questions. "How does a prisoner factor into them gaining more power?"
"Think they wanted someone to send out as a lure, whenever they found what they were looking for." Saizo shrugs. "Worked well enough for my purposes, until someone ruined my plans."
"Who did that?" Naruto cocks his head. "Oh, wait, that's us."
"Yeah, that's you."
At this point, Kiri comes walking out the woods, having heard the commotion is over to look over any potential injuries. "Ah!" He stares at the new figure. "Lord Saizo! You're here, and you're hurt."
The medic walks over and immediately begins treatment. Saizo has a few injuries across his body, from his two stay stint as prisoner which Kiri does his best to mend, although rest will be needed to finish the process.
While here, Chojuro's team looks around the makeshift camp and the ship for anything useful. They do indeed find a crudely drawn map of the island and certain locations crossed off. Hinata notices that she observed through her Byakugan groups of two or three returning from those directions. They're scanning the area and have finished about ⅔ of it. Meaning that whatever they're looking for, if it's here, might be in the final ⅓ that they'd yet to explore.
Chojuro gathers the group together. "We can finish their search, at the very least. If something is going on, we need to know about it."
"Let's not forget," Saizo stands himself up, to the protest of the medic, "That this is my mission and I was on the right track until you showed up."
"Then we can just work together, can't we?" Naruto looks between them. "Now that we're here, anyway, we have no reason not to."
Saizo snatches the map from Chojuro's hands and turns to the ship. "Just don't get in my way." He disappears for a few minutes and returns fully clothed.
In place of the rags, he now wears his Hidden Mist uniform. A long sleeved striped shirt under his flak jacket and a pair of black trousers, with white wrist warmers that reach below his elbow and leg warmers. For the most part, the Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of olde wore similar attire, and being raised in that period, he emulates their style.
His bald head is now covered by bandages that also loosely wrap around his head. The bandages also cover the left side of his head, hiding the burn marks, and he wears his forehead protector as a bandana around the bandages.
By far the grandest addition to his wardrobe is the large blade by his side. The hilt goes up to what looks like a scroll case, with two blades from its sides. One blade is much shorter, while the longer side is covered in explosion tags. They don't call Shibuki "the Blastsword" for nothing.
"Let's go." Saizo
The group of now five make their way further into the island, following the map they found in camp. Hinata continues to use her Byakugan to seek out anything out of the ordinary that may have been of interest to people once under the rule of Orochimaru but nothing catches her eye in these early stages of their search. Even though the Byakugan can see afar, it still has a limit to its range, and they at the very least need to move forward to increase its scanning area.
"What even drew you to this island?" Saizo asks. "Said you were going to the Hidden Whirlpool, didn't you?"
"We were, but Hinata saw an unauthorized ship docked here, filled with people possessing Orochimaru's Curse Mark, so we came to investigate."
"I apologize." Hinata says meekly. "I saw they had a captive, but I was not aware you were one of the Ninja Swordsmen. I didn't properly describe you to our captain. Had I done so properly, we might not have ruined your operation."
"Yeah, maybe you should've thought of that."
"Hey, man, we had no way of knowing who you were, alright?" Naruto jumps. "Usually doesn't matter what the hostage looks like, so why describe it?"
"I can list you plenty of factors that make descriptions important. I suppose the Leaf's education is… lacking."
"You tryin' to start something?" Naruto glares.
"Alright, that's enough." Chojuro breaks it up. "We have a task to focus on."
"Assuming they can focus on it." Saizo mutters under his breath.
Naruto evens his pace to Hinata's, who looks dejected at her costly mistake. "Hey, don't listen to that guy, alright? We'll put things in order."
"Yeah." She gives him a light smile, more out of courtesy than anything.
The group continues their search before something happens about twenty minutes in. Suddenly, a terrible sensation comes over Naruto. He feels sick, on the verge of throwing up, despite not having any problems at all. He stops on a branch and props himself up on the tree, taking a moment to catch his breath. He begins to feel dizzy but shakes it off to some extent.
"Naruto?" Hinata runs to his side. "What's the matter?"
Chojuro, Saizo, and Kiri go to him, as well.
"I don't know, I just… don't feel too good all of a sudden." He tries to catch his breath. "I feel like I'm gonna be sick."
"Were you hit by something?" Chojuro looks around, almost expecting some sort of ambush. "No, at the very least Hinata would've noticed something."
Kiri goes up to him, hand surrounded by chakra, and inspects Naruto, first palming his forehead, then checking his pulse, his eyes. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary. You're not poisoned or anything. You should be as fit as a fiddle."
"Sure don't feel like it." Naruto tries to laugh.
"Is it an enemy jutsu? But how would they affect only you, and why only you of a team of five?" Saizo crosses his arms.
Hinata stares at Saizo, processing his words. Calculating.
Saizo uncomfortably looks back at her. "What?"
"Naruto, is it natural energy?" She asks.
"Natural energy? Lemme check." Naruto sits down in a meditative state and gathers whatever natural energy he can. He can already tell that Hinata's hunch is right. Something is terribly wrong here but he wasn't able to fully pick up on it without being in Sage Mode.
When he opens his eyes, the sensation is somehow worse. If the Curse Mark felt unpleasant, then this is putrid. He felt natural energy being disturbed by those guys but this is on a whole other other level. Natural energy is being sucked into a single point, and he knows exactly where it is, and he might also know who it is.
Naruto points south-southwest. "He's over there."
"Who is?" Saizo asks.
Naruto looks to the two Swordsmen. "Please, could you leave this to me?"
They both look puzzled at Naruto's request and share a contemplative look.
About 2 kilometres from their spot, Naruto leads them to a deep cave within a cliffside. It's somewhat well hidden, the only entrance being just barely wide enough to let them squeeze in, and from most angles it doesn't even look like an entrance to anything. However, this is where Naruto sensed the natural energy being ripped to.
Naruto leads the group, with Chojuro and Saizo following in close behind him, followed by Hinata, and Kiri manning the rear.
As they get closer, they hear loud guttural yells. Almost animalistic in nature but the odd sound makes it clear this is, in fact, a person. Someone in excruciating pain by the looks of it. The closer they get, the more the yells echo through the cavern.
"This is a terrible idea, Chojuro." Saizo whispers in-between the yells so he can be heard.
"If Naruto says to leave it to him, we can trust his judgement. If this is about natural energy, he's the expert here."
Naruto slowly and carefully walks into a large open cavern, where the pained cries are coming from, with the rest of the group taking cover. Hinata has her Byakugan trained to make sure things are going well.
In the room, Naruto sees a man thrashing around on the ground. His skin like earth in both colour and texture, his body is anything but human. His forearms are enlarged, much thicker than his biceps, with a sharp spike extending past the elbow; on his back are lined protrusions that almost resemble stalagmites, in rows on his left and right side; his forehead has deformed into what resembles horns. The only thing left from his human side is his orange hair.
"You're… Jugo, right?"
Jugo whips his head on hearing someone approach. He'd been so absorbed in his thrashing that he never saw or sensed Naruto until now.
"You..." He growls. "Kill."
"No, no killing. I'm here to help. I just… need you to stop what you're doing, alright?" Naruto extends his hand and begins inching his way closer. "I'll come to you, alright?"
Behind, Saizo grips Shibuki's hilt. "Damnit, it was that guy?"
"But why is Jugo here? He's supposed to be imprisoned in the Land of Iron." Hinata asks.
Chojuro shakes his head. "He was but when we transferred Suigetsu Hozuki, he managed to escape. Been in hiding ever since. To think he was out here…"
Jugo's voice grabs their attention. "Kill you! Maim you! Slaughter you! Crush you!" He yells out each word louder and louder.
"I feel like those are more or less the same thing, but okay. Hrmm… What do I gotta to make this work? Work with me, buddy."
"DIE!" A blue light flashes at Jugo's soles and he's instantly propelled at a great speed toward.
Jugo cries out and swings at Naruto, who manages to just barely duck out of the way. The wind pressure alone is almost enough to blow him back. Jugo swirls around mid-air and comes crashing to a halt in the stone wall.
Before Jugo can move again, a cloth writhes its way into the room, covered in explosive tags. It snakes its way toward him and releases a series of localized blasts. Not enough to damage the structure, thankfully, but a normal person will still feel it.
Jugo, however, is not normal.
Saizo enters the cavern, pulling back the cloth to wrap itself around the wider of the two blades, as new explosive tags are dispensed from the scroll.
Chojuro making his way behind, both Hirmekarei swords out. "Saizo, we were to wait!"
"Wait?! For this?!" Saizo does not hide his anger. "That's Jugo of the Fucking Scales. The so-called hero led us into a closed space with that monster, where I can't even use Shibuki to its fullest!"
Jugo interrupts the argument by propelling himself again, this time aimed at Saizo. Chojuro puts himself in front and blocks by crossing both his swords as a makeshift shield. Jugo impacts with tremendous force, causing Chojuro to skid back.
"Wait, don't hurt him!" Naruto calls out.
"I don't think we're being given a choice." Chojuro grunts, trying hard to keep hold of the swords.
Jugo's flesh begins to shift around his elbow. Where previously there was a spike, it morphs into a cylindrical shape. With a blue glow of chakra between the cracks, the cylinder plunges further into his arm, sending a shockwave through his fist.
[Piston Fist]
Chojuro is blown back against the wall, crashing hard. Kiri comes out to help him up and heal his injuries.
Saizo, meanwhile, takes this chance to swing. The best part about Shibuki is that you don't necessarily have to hit your opponent. When the sword gets close to hitting Jugo, who tries to block with his thick arm, Saizo activates the tags, sending an explosion right in his face. The trained Swordsman knows exactly how to position himself so he's not caught in the blast and can make the best use of it. He can even ride the blast to shift his position, which he does now to deliver another series of explosions.
Jugo's arm reaches out from the smoke in an attempt to grab Saizo by the head.
[Gentle Fist: Vacuum Palm]
Hinata's hand reaches out from behind Siaoz, over his shoulder, and sends a blast of wind pressure at Jugo who's sent flying back.
Naruto immediately rushes in to intercept him and keep him away from the rest. When it comes right down to it, senjutsu is the best way to fight senjutsu.
Jugo swings his massive fists while Naruto nimbly dodges, trying to land in the occasional hit. When he goes low to thrust at Jugo's chest, the larger man sees an opening and slams his elbow in Naruto's back who is not able to dodge in time. Naruto does manage to land a hit but it's nowhere near as impactful because of how much pain his back is in.
Hinata Flickers to him, trying her Gentle Fist to block Jugo's chakra points. Naruto and Hinata fight side by side, dodging as much as they can. Hinata proves more than capable of keeping up with Jugo's enhanced attacks, although it's touch-and-go at times. She's incredibly fast, and only gotten faster with time, to the point where she might outspeed Naruto if he doesn't rely on Sage Mode or Kurama.
"Hinata, get back!" Naruto calls out.
She does exactly that as Naruto jumps high in the air with a frog-like leap, trying to get Jugo's attention.
[Sage Art: Frog Call]
A loud croak fills the cavern but only Jugo is truly affected by the sudden blast of sound. The rest do hear a very irritating noise but because it's not directed at them, they get by without suffering its effects. Jugo is stunned in place, which gives Hinata enough time to get right in his face.
[Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms]
She delivers all hits with lightning fast speed but she meets far too much resistance. Jugo roars and swings his arm, only lightly catching her shoulder, but that's more than enough to send her flying back and crying out in pain. Her arm hangs limp.
"It didn't work?!" Naruto puts himself between Jugo and Hinata, once again engaging him in close combat.
'This is like the stories of the Teshin clan.' She winces in pain. 'A body so tough not even the Gentle Fist can break through it.'
Kiri immediately runs over and sets her shoulder back in place, placing a hand over it to heal the lingering pain as best he can given the urgency.
This time, Naruto reaches into his pouch and takes out a kunai. A tri-pronged kunai that was left behind on Mount Myoboku so many years ago. He channels his chakra through it and hopes it's enough to at least slow him down.
It's not.
The kunai does leave marks against the tough hide but it's almost immediately healed. This won't work.
Chojuro and Saizo jump. Hiremekarei slams into Jugo in its hammer form and sends him flying back, where Shibuki wraps its explosives and detonates.
"Kill. All of you!" Jugo yells. The spines on his back grow bigger and twist to point forward. The openings in them begin to glow blue.
Naruto's eyes widen as he feels the natural energy gather at an immense rate. "Defend!"
[Cursed Self Chakra Cannons]
Multiple beams of bright light shoot at them and in random directions. He's lashing out in anger at this point.
The rest don't really need the ability to sense natural eneergy to know this is not an attack they can easily survive.
[Sage Art: Massive Rasengan]
Naruto places his signature jutsu in front of himself as a shield.
[Tenseigan: Chakra Spears]
Hinata's pale eyes turn cyan and she immediately fires the spears made of pure chakra that form around her arms.
[Mist Sword Art: Bunker Blast]
Saizo unleashes a series of large explosions from the sword to keep the cannon blasts from reaching him.
[Mist Sword Art: Heavy Stamp]
Chojuro brings his twin swords together into their Hammer form to try and hit the blast back.
When everything dies down, the group groans in pain as they try to get back on their feet. Saizo's strategy worked well enough. He's taken a heavy hit but dusts himself off. This isn't the time for a rest. Chojuro's hands are shaking but he's keeping his composure. Naruto and Hinata are the most well off, as is Kiri who was protected by Hinata, with their special abilities but were pushed back, as well.
Having already activated her Tenseigan, she prepares her chakra spears for another throw.
"My Gentle Fist couldn't pierce his hide, but the Tenseigan might. I just don't know how it will affect his unstable chakra. It may end up killing him." She looks to Naruto.
Saizo growls. "Do it."
"We can't do that!" Naruto protests. "He's just not himself, he doesn't deserve to be put down like this!"
"As much as I'd like to agree with you, Naruto, I don't see a lot of options. Either we end him, or he ends us. Our only real chance is to drain his chakra, and if even the Byakugan can't do it, I don't see what else could."
"... I think I do. Cover me." Naruto bites his thumb and smears it across his palm. He slams his hands together and begins weaving chakra. "This'll take a bit."
Jugo comes flying at them with a gleeful cackle.
"Not asking for much, are you?" Saizo runs over to intercept him with an explosion, while Chojuro comes from the other side keeping Jugo occupied with both blades. Dual wielding might weaken their overall effectiveness, but right now they just need to stall.
Kiri stands behind Naruto and focuses his healing on him to bring him back to as good a shape as he can. "You focus on your jutsu, I'll take care of your injuries."
"Thanks."
Hinata joins the fray with a mixture of hit-and-run tactics and using her Hyuga arts to strike at him from afar, although she's deactivated her Tenseigan before its effects cause her eyes pain.
Jugo brings his arms together, crossing them over his chest, and the flesh begins to shift again. His forearms take the form of a tower shield. He swings his arms in a wide sweeping motion to try and get some distance between himself and his three attackers.
Jugo moves past, going right for Naruto.
"As if!" Saizo roars unleashes the largest explosion yet. The blast covers a large and sends both Jugo and Saizo flying back. The Swordsman might be trained in using it but his opponent didn't give him enough time to properly position himself for it. He had to act quickly to keep Jugo from getting to Naruto. "Hurry it up, kid!"
The wild man slams his fist in the ground in anger and propels himself forward with chakra.
"Naruto!" Hinata calls out.
Just before he can reach, Naruto slams his hands on the ground.
[Ninja Art: Summoning]
In a puff of smoke, both Naruto and Jugo are hidden from view. A moment of silence takes over the cavern that had just been a cacophony of yells and grunts.
Jugo is sent flying back, crashing onto the ground. His form is disturbed. The additions to his body are not as prevalent now, having shrunk in size. Jugo holds his chest in pain, where a single circular indent is present, his rough hide pierced by something.
"Honestly, boy, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" An elderly voice sighs.
"Sorry, Pa. I'll need your help again." Naruto gives an embarrassed laugh.
The dust clears, revealing Fukasaku standing on Naruto's shoulder, clutching a small staff in one hand.
"Yeah, I already figured that out." Fukasaku winces. "This natural energy… so dark and twisted."
"Can you knock it out of him, like you did with me during training?"
"I can but it'll take a few whacks. I didn't have time to put enough force into it since you summoned me right in his face."
Naruto laughs nervously. "Sorry 'bout that." He then immediately brings his arm to a more than familiar hand sign.
[Shadow Clones]
Four more Narutos appear in front of him, ready to fight.
"You guys stay back." Naruto calls out to the rest of his group. "We'll take it from here."
One Clone stands behind another and places a hand on his back, connecting their chakra. The Clone at the front, weaves his chakra and puffs out his cheeks.
[Sage Water: Toad Water Pistol]
He releases a violent torrent of water. Jugo brings up his arms to defend himself, flesh once more shifting into a shield. The pressure is enough to push him back with great force
Jugo once more charges his cannons, readying them for another strike as he's being hit by the torrent, but this time Naruto won't give him the time. A third Clone has already gotten close. He focuses his chakra in his mouth and opens wide.
[Fighting Tongue Bind]
His tongue, much thicker than before, lashes out and wraps around Jugo's legs, tripping him up and causing him to land on his back, disrupting his gathering of natural energy.
The original Naruto and the final Clone leap over the fallen Jugo and begin croaking.
[Sage Art: Frog Call]
This stuns him in place just long enough for Fukasaku to dive in and hit him with the staff enough times for his modified body to shrink. His rough brown hide turns to a much softer pink with each strike, his human features eventually returning back to normal.
Jugo falls unconscious. Maybe it's the overuse of natural energy. Maybe it's the getting continuously whacked part.
Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and falls to the ground from exhaustion.
"You could've led with that, kid." Saizo stills keeps Shibuki at the ready. Just in case.
Naruto laughs. "I'll keep it in mind next time."
Fukasaku stands on Jugo's chest, patting the man gently. "Poor lad. To have been under such an influence…"
Hinata walks over to Naruto to make sure he's alright. "So what do we do with him?" She looks over the passed out man on the ground.
"I'm… not really sure. We could take him with us for now?"
"On the ship?" Chojuro walks over, as well. "Is that wise?"
"What else could we do with him? We can't just leave him here, and he needs help."
"As if we have anywhere to keep him safely." Saizo asks.
"But we at least now know he can be contained, if necessary." Chojuro looks at the toad. "Um, excuse me, mister..."
"Fukasaku, Sage of Mount Myoboku." The elder toad answers the unasked question.
"Myoboku? That legendary place. I guess it's no surprise you took him down so easily, then."
"Hrm, easy it was not, boy. Doing that took over a hundred years of training." Fukasaku taps his staff on the ground. "Do you need me for anything else, Naruto?"
"Um, actually, I was kinda hoping you might stick around a bit? Just in case Jugo acts up again?"
Fukasaku sighs. "Very well, I suppose I could. Just make it quick, Ma's preparing rhino beetle and centipede stew."
Naruto gulps. "... Yummy..."
"Still, I must say, Naruto, you were right about us being lucky with the guys from before. If they could do even a fraction of the stuff Jugo could…" Chojuro yelps as Kiri comes over to heal his wounds.
"So just to make it clear, we're actually taking this monster with us?" Saizo asks.
"Yes! Look, I know he didn't make the best first impression, but from what I've seen of 'im, he's not usually like this. He just can't control his power."
"You mentioned it's sage power, right? Like the thing you were using. How're you even so different?"
"Well, I dunno how to explain it." Naruto crosses his arms and thinks. "Ah. Think of like harvesting, right? When I harvest, I carefully pluck out the produce to not damage it. Those guys back there were just violently ripping everything out. But Jugo…"
Fukasaku laughs. "Using that analogy, this lad isn't even harvesting, he's being buried beneath the soil."
"Dunno if I was gonna go there, but that works, too. He had all that power piled on him and he couldn't keep it in check."
"And we're supposed to trust he won't go berserk again?"
"Naruto…" Hinata's voices comes out quietly. "As much as I want to help, I can't help but think about the kids. If a fight breaks out on the ship, there's little we can do…"
Naruto gently places his hands on her shoulders. "I know it's not the safest, but if something happens this time, we can be there before it begins to stop it. We just gotta help him stay calm so he doesn't take in too much natural energy. I can keep watch on that, at least."
"But without Elder Fukasaku, do we even have the ability to?"
Fukasaku groans. "You're planning on bringing this one on a ship with the kids?" He facepalms. "Alright, fine, I'll stick around as long as I can; make sure he doesn't act up anymore. For the little ones."
"Thanks, Pa."
With that decided, the group with an additional Hidden Mist shinobi, a toad, and an unconscious giant of a man head back to the ship.
Jugo stirs awake. Before he fully comes to his senses, he notices a rocking sensation. He's swaying to and fro for some reason. He blinks and opens his eyes to find himself lying on a cot inside what appears to be a cell, or better put- a cage.
His eyes widen in shock, remembering only that he was previously safely in a cave, away from anyone he could harm. He grabs the bars of the cage and looks around in a panic for anyone around but sees no one.
'No… No, please tell me I didn't do something…' He presses his head against the cage. 'I was alone, there was no one I could've hurt…'
"Good morning, boy."
A voice catches his attention. He looks around again. No one's here.
"Down here."
Jugo follows the voice's origin, only to see a… toad… Fukasaku waves.
"I… where am I?" Jugo racks his brains to try and remember but comes up with nothing.
"You're safe, don't worry."
"No, you don't understand. You're not safe!" His breathing intensifies, worry coming over him again. He rattles the cage. "I have to get out of here. I have to get away from you!"
Another voice joins the conversation, accompanied by the creaking of stairs. "You're not a danger to anyone here." Naruto walks over by Fukasaku's side. He turns to the small toad. "I sensed a shift in natural energy when he woke up."
"Hah. Impressive." Fukasaku looks proud.
"You're… Naruto Uzumaki, right? You're Sasuke's friend. What happened to me, why am I here?"
"You mean you don't remember?" Naruto scratches his head. "I guess it's no surprise, you were really hyped up on natural energy. Honestly, we kinda just randomly found you. We fought and managed to knock you back to normal and bring you back here."
"You mean you managed to stop me? Revert my transformation." Jugo is still processing the information.
"Well, I did that." Fukasaku raises his staff.
"But it was like a team effort, y'know?" Naruto adds.
"What… will happen to me now?" The wildling lowers his head.
"For now, we have a little trip to take to the Hidden Whirlpool Village but after that… Hmm… How tired are you of running?"
Jugo lets out a light laugh. "The entire reason I went to Orochimaru is because I was tired of running away. I needed some way to keep my other self in check."
"Then how about you go to the Hidden Leaf village?"
"I suppose the Leaf might have a prison that could hold me." He sounds resolved to his fate.
"Not as a prisoner. As a citizen. We have people who might be able to help you, keep you in check, and maybe even help you control yourself. I'm not as good at the sage arts as Pa or Ma but I can show you the ropes. Teach you to reel it in."
"That's not possible, I've tried!" Jugo is uncertain. It almost sounds too good to be true. 'And yet, looking at him, why do I want to agree right away? Kimimaro… I thought Sasuke was a lot like him, but maybe I was wrong...' He takes a moment to collect his thoughts, his emotions, his memories of everything he's been through. His breath becomes shallow, his eyes- wet. Droplets fall to the ground inside his cage. "Please help me."
Naruto smiles. "Of course."