CHAPTER 6: THE KAZEKAGE'S RESCUE (PART 2)
(Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I do own my OC's, however)
"Talking / Jutsu"
'Thinking'
'Flashback'
"Flashback talk"
"Demonic voice"
Letter / Emphasis
As a general rule, life was hard to predict.
From the moment they entered the Ninja Academy, children were taught to expect the unlikely, to anticipate the improbable, to never be taken by surprise. It was one of the most basic, yet important lessons a ninja had to learn. Regardless, there were some things, events, and circumstances that no one could foresee. No matter how much a person planned ahead or prepared in advance, fate and chance would always find ways to throw curveballs, either for better or worse. The impossibility to see the future was precisely what made people's lives a peculiar and often ironic experience like few others.
Shujinko knew this to be true, because otherwise, he had no idea how he and Renjiro were currently outside a teashop, sitting together on a wooden park bench three years after their first and violent encounter.
"I can't really say I was expecting this to happen," Renjiro said, breaking the barrier of silence between him and Shujinko. "I heard Konohagakure had deployed a couple of ninjas to help us rescue Kazekage-sama, but I never imagined you'd be one of them,"
"Well, I wasn't expecting this to happen either," The golden-eyed teen said as he folded his arms across his chest and lowered his chin, avoiding eye contact at all cost. The whole situation was beyond weird and he didn't have a clue on how to handle the awkwardness. "I'm glad to see you're alive… You know, now that our villages are on good terms,"
"… And I guess I'm not angry at the fact that you're not dead, so… Yeah…"
'You're not angry at me for not being dead? That's a strange thing to say to someone, but I'll take it as a compliment for whatever its worth,' Shujinko thought. Besides, it wasn't as if Renjiro was obligated to feel happy for seeing him again, especially considering how their fight had ended. "Now that you're here, there's I'd like to ask you about if it's not too much trouble,"
Renjiro raised an eyebrow. "Hmnh? What would that be?"
"What happened to you after the invasion? After our… encounter?"
"You mean after you bashed my head with a rock and left me for dead in an alleyway?" Renjiro asked back, to which the Ozuma shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well, I lost consciousness shortly after. I remember waking up in a cell with other prisoners, me being the youngest of the bunch, and we were kept there for days on end until Sunagakure and Konohagakure reached a compromise. We were then taken across Hi no Kuni until we arrived at the border, where they finally set us free. I'd say I got off easy, all things considered. I thought I would be interrogated, tortured, and maybe executed by your village, but that didn't end up being the case,"
Shujinko nodded in understanding before asking the question he had been dreading most. "That scar on your face… I did that to you, didn't I?"
"You sure did. Just because I got off easy doesn't mean I got off unscathed. The wound was bad in and of itself, but since I was a prisoner, I didn't exactly get top-notch medical attention while I was behind bars. I nearly lost sight on my left eye, and as you might've noticed by now, I developed a bit of a speech impediment. Not to mention, my face has never been the same ever since that day. You left me quite a token to remember you by,"
The words of Renjiro left a terrible taste in Shujinko's mouth as a deep sense of regret took over him. His mind drifted back to the day he fought against the very same shinobi he was now sitting next to, and how he ended that fight by grabbing a rock and bashing Renjiro across the face not once, but twice. During the time that followed after, Shujinko would remember Renjiro every now and then, wondering what had become of him. He would do so with a clean conscience, telling himself he had nothing to feel guilty about. After all, Renjiro had been his enemy at the time, and he had left him no other choice.
But now, as he stared at Renjiro and his ugly scar, Shujinko was forced to see the consequences of his actions, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself. Because of what he had done to him, Renjiro now had to live with a disfigured face for the rest of his life. Most people would say Renjiro had it coming. After all, he had beaten Shujinko's face into a bloody pulp and pulled a knife on him before he got that scar. But even so… Even so…
"I'm sorry for what I did to you," the words left Shujinko's mouth before he knew he was uttering them. "It must be been hard for you, living with that scar and not being able to talk properly. It wasn't my intention to… I mean, it was my intention to hurt you, but not like this. This probably means nothing to you, and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want to apologize,"
Renjiro gave him an incredulous stare. "You want to apologize? Apologize for what? For messing up my face? For giving me a speech impediment? For almost making me lose vision in my left eye? Which one is it, hmnh?" he asked in a rather sardonic tone, making Shujinko feel even more uncomfortable than he already was. But then, to his surprise, Renjiro took a deep breath and exhaled as he leaned back, placing both hands behind his head. "Don't waste your time with apologies. There's nothing to forgive,"
"Nothing to forgive?" Shujinko repeated, blinking three consecutive times in confusion. "How can you say that? It's my fault you ended up with that scar on your face,"
"Yes, it is your fault. You did this to me and I will never forget it. All the same, I don't blame you for what happened that day. Us Sunagakure shinobis were invading your home and I was attacking you. Hell, I was even trying to kill you. You did what you had to do,"
"Maybe, but still, I shouldn't-"
"Listen, if the roles had been reversed, do you think I wouldn't have done to you what you did to me? Do you think I have some sort of moral high ground on this matter? I don't, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. We were enemies when we fought each other, and if you had been the one invading my village, beating me senseless and holding a knife close to my chest, you can bet I would've grabbed that same rock and leave this same scar on your face. If you want to feel guilty over what happened, go ahead and do so, just don't forget you did nothing I wouldn't have done,"
Suddenly, a breeze went by, raising a sparse cloud of dust from the ground and carrying it away. Once the wind began to settle, Shujinko looked down and saw a small leaf half covered in the sand next to his foot. He bent down and grabbed the leaf along with a fistful of sand, and like a curious child, he brought his hand close to his face and stared at the quivering leaf on his palm. '… Nothing I wouldn't have done…'
In that moment, Shujinko felt an indescribable, yet familiar sense of kinship towards Renjiro. It was the very same feeling he experienced three years ago when he had the chance to kill him but found himself unwilling to. Shujinko never understood where that sensation had come from. He didn't know anything about Renjiro and neither was he supposed to care about him, his enemy at the time. But something came over him when he looked at Renjiro's eye moments before he could finish him off, a spark of clairvoyance that made Shujinko understand he wasn't any different from the boy he was about to kill, that the two of them were more alike than what he imagined.
The wind blew again, snatching the leaf out of Shujinko's palm. The Ozuma watched as the leaf glided through the air, twirling and dancing without a care in the world until it was lost in the distance. It made him wonder how different his life could've been if he hadn't become a ninja. If instead of protecting his village and risking his neck on a daily basis, he had decided to travel around, learn from different cultures, see other places, and enjoy the experiences the shinobi path deprived him of. Nothing to lose, nothing to worry about, nothing to suffer for.
"I don't understand how you don't hate me," Shujinko admitted as his train of thought came to a halt. "If you had done to me what I did to you, I'd be furious. I probably wouldn't even consider forgiving you, not now, not ever,"
"Believe me Shujinko, I used to hate you. Not too long ago, as a matter of fact," Renjiro responded in an almost casual manner. "I remember when the medics told me the damage done to my face was permanent and that I had no other choice but to get used to it. From that moment, I began to hate you in a way that I've never hated anyone before. Just the thought of you was enough to make my blood boil, and all I wanted was a chance to get even with you, to hurt you for all the suffering you were causing me,"
"Then how come you're not angry anymore? What happened that made you change your mind about me, the guy who made you go through all of that pain?"
"Didn't you hear what I said before? I came to the realization I was in no position to judge you. What happened to me was unfortunate, sure, but it wasn't unjustifiable. We were fighting, I was beating you up, and I came close to killing you. What else were you supposed to do? Besides, carrying around all of that hate for so long was just… tiresome, I guess. I wanted to get rid of it, so that's what I did. Whether you would've forgiven me or not is irrelevant to me. This is my life and I have to make my own decisions, and my decision was to drop the grudge I held against you. It's as simple as that,"
"That's… really mature of you," Shujinko said before cracking a small smile. "I have a couple of friends who would do well to take a leaf out of your book,"
Renjiro smirked at him. "Trust me, my book isn't filled with as many good leaves as you might think, but if I ever meet your friends, I'll make sure to let them know you think they're immature,"
The two ninjas chuckled at that. Shujinko felt the awkwardness inside of him ebb away, replaced by a comfortable lightness and an ease of mind. As strange as the situation was, Shujinko felt like he was back in Konohagakure talking to an old friend of his, even though his village was numerous miles away. In that moment, Shujinko understood what Temari had told him about Naruto and Gaara. Those two shared a connection despite barely knowing each other, and now that Shujinko was having a laugh with Renjiro, someone who had once been his enemy, the brown-haired Jounin came to realize maybe Naruto's friendship with Gaara wasn't as confusing as he first thought.
"Oi, Shujinko!" The Ozuma turned his head around to see Naruto running towards him, waving an arm around to catch his attention.
'Speaking of the devil,' Shujinko thought. "Naruto, what's up?"
"What's up? I've been looking for you all over the place, that's what's up! What's the big idea, slopping off like that?" Naruto asked before noticing the guy sitting next to his teammate. "Wait, you're that ninja from before, the one with the huge sca... Erhh, scalp! That's totally what I was about to say! A-Anyways, huh, what are you two doing here?"
"So not only do I have an ugly scar on my face, but a huge scalp as well. And here I thought I was already bad looking," Renjiro said as he stood up and stretched his back. Meanwhile, Shujinko sent Naruto a chastising glare, to which the whiskered blonde scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "In any case, I'm heading home now. I have to prepare my equipment and get as much rest as I can. See you guys later,"
Renjiro began to walk away from them, and while he was walking, he turned his head around and glanced at Shujinko one last time. Then, he raised his hand to the side of his forehead and made a goodbye gesture, waving his wrist with his index and middle finger stuck together. Shujinko returned the gesture and watched as Renjiro performed a hand sign, disappearing out of sight after leaving behind a cloud of smoke.
"Huh, looks like you're getting along with that guy," Naruto commented, to which his teammate let out a short chortle. "What? Did I say something funny?"
Shujinko closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's nothing, Naruto. Nothing at all," he replied, the corners of his mouth tugging up in an amused smirk. His meeting with Renjiro, as brief as it had been, left Shujinko with a warm feeling of satisfaction. "In any case, why are you here? Did something happen while I was away from the hospital?"
"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot. I came here to tell you that Kankuro is safe. Sakura-chan extracted the poison out of his body using some cool Medical Ninjutsu stuff. It'll be a while before he's fully recovered, but at least he's out of the woods,"
"Really? Well, I'm glad to hear Kankuro will be alright. It seems Sakura has become quite a skilled medical ninja after all these years under Tsunade-sama's tutelage. We're lucky to have her as a member of our group,"
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and that's not all. Do you remember that creepy puppet of Kankuro, the one he uses in his fights? It turns out Kankuro managed to get a scrap of cloth from one of those Akatsuki's clowns and kept it in his puppet. Kakashi-sensei got his loudmouthed puppy to sniff it, so now we can track them down and find out they're hiding. We're one step closer to saving Gaara, believe it!"
This time, Shujinko's eyes widened in surprise. He was glad to know that Kankuro was going to be alright, but having a lead on the Akatsuki was, in terms of their mission, a more important development. "That's good, that's really good. Does that mean we'll be leaving Sunagakure soon? If we linger too long here, the trail might go cold,"
"I told Kakashi-sensei the same thing, but he insisted on waiting until sunrise. He said that we needed to get our strength back up after traveling for three days," Naruto replied, an exasperated frown on his face. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't waste any more time. I'd go after the Akatsuki right away. They have Gaara, and who knows what kind of stuff they're doing to him. It's just so…"
"Frustrating?" Shujinko guessed. The Uzumaki took a deep breath before nodding his head. "I understand. If the Akatsuki had captured you instead of Gaara, I bet he would stop at nothing to rescue you. Still, we have to trust Kakashi-sensei's judgment. He's the leader of our team and he knows what he's doing. Have faith in him, Naruto,"
"This isn't about faith, Shujinko! It's more than that!" Naruto said, raising his voice in a brief outburst of anger. Shujinko stared at him impassively, keeping a straight face as he patiently waited for his teammate to unburden himself. "You don't get it. Gaara… Gaara is like me. He's been through what I've been through, and he had just become Kazekage. He found something to protect, and now the Akatsuki wants to take away from him everything he's fought for. That's why all this waiting around is driving me insane, because while we're here relaxing and taking it easy, he's…He might…"
"You're right, Naruto. I probably don't get it. I'll most likely never understand the stuff that people such as Gaara and you have had to put up with. If a family member or a close friend of mine had been captured by the Akatsuki, I would feel the exact same way as you do right now," Shujinko said. "But you're wrong about one thing. We didn't come here to relax or to take a vacation. We're here because we're willing to lay down our lives if it means saving Gaara. You, me, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, we're all in this together. I know it's easy for me to say, but that doesn't make me wrong… And besides, I've just come to realize something,"
Naruto raised his eyes and stared dubiously at his teammate. "What's that?"
To his surprise, Shujinko smirked at him. "Destiny is a funny thing. What today feels like a kick in the gut might turn into something good tomorrow. By the end of this mission, we might win more than what we've lost. I know I won today,"
|Kawa no Kuni|
Once the sun was up, the Kazekage's rescue team departed from Sunagakure.
The group was traveling in a pyramid formation with Kakashi leading the front. Behind him were Naruto and Sakura, who were acting as the heavy hitters of the squad in case they met an ambush from the Akatsuki. Shujinko was placed at the rear, along with Renjiro and Chiyo, the rescue team's newest additions.
As he jumped from one tree branch to another, Shujinko turned his head to the right and glanced at Renjiro, whose gaze was fixated on what was ahead of him. It was hard to imagine the two of them were working together in order to save Gaara, to the point where it almost felt surreal. However, after the conversation he and Renjiro had shared yesterday, Shujinko felt a lot more at ease with him by his side, and he was curious to know how much stronger Renjiro had gotten over the years. 'Well, if he was chosen by the Sunagakure Council to join our rescue team, it must be for something,' Shujinko thought.
The Ozuma then took a peek at the other ninja from Sunagakure, Chiyo. He had heard that woman used to be a member of the Sunagakure Council who had retired years ago. Shujinko didn't want to discredit her or her abilities, but he had trouble understanding why Chiyo had joined them. Wasn't she a little too old to fight against the Akatsuki? She probably had years of knowledge and experience under her belt, far more than any other member of the rescue team, but she was a kunoichi of considerably advanced age. Ninjas had to be fast and agile, and judging by her appearance alone, Chiyo didn't look like she was fast enough to dodge a kunai.
'Then again, looks can be deceiving. She doesn't seem to have a problem keeping up with our pace, and she sure caught me off guard when she attacked us yesterday. I just hope she doesn't become a liability,' Shujinko thought before turning his head to the front. "Kakashi-sensei, you said Pakkun had found the place where Gaara is being held captive. How far up ahead is it?"
"Not much. It should take us about an hour to get there, provided that we don't run into problems," Kakashi replied. "I had my ninken search the area last night. I feared the Akatsuki might've spread Gaara's scent all over Kawa no Kuni so that we couldn't find him right away, but fortunately for us, that wasn't the case,"
Sakura nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. Now I understand why you wanted to wait until sunrise. I'm guessing Pakkun is on his way to meet Team Gai as we speak, so he can guide them to Gaara's location,"
"Wait a minute, what did you just say?" Shujinko asked as his eyes widened. "Tsunade-sama sent Team Gai to help us? Why wasn't I informed about this?"
Kakashi turned his head over his shoulder to see his student. "We received a message from Konohagakure shortly after Sakura healed Kankuro. Didn't Naruto tell you Team Gai is our backup?"
The golden-eyed Jounin glared at Naruto, who let out an uneasy chuckle. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. With everything that's been going on, it must've slipped my mind. But hey, it's not that big of a deal, is it?"
'For you, maybe,' Shujinko thought with a great deal of exasperation. 'If Team Gai is on its way, then so is Tenten, and there's a big chance we'll run into the Akatsuki together. Damn it, I hate it when these things happen,'
If there was one thing that bothered Shujinko about Tenten, it was sharing the battlefield with her. It didn't happen very often, but when it did, Shujinko always found himself feeling uncomfortable and a bit distracted. How was he supposed to concentrate on a fight when his girlfriend was right there? It was stupid and definitely unprofessional, but even so, Shujinko quite simply couldn't bring himself to ignore her presence whenever an enemy was around them. And this time, they were going after the Akatsuki… Perfect, just perfect.
"So more ninjas from Konohagakure are getting involved in this?" Chiyo asked without bothering to hide her discontent. "What an embarrassment. It was our leader who was captured, so this matter should be handled by us. Had it been my decision, I would've sent all of you back to your village instead of letting you take care of this,"
"Chiyo-sama, with all due respect, we need them," Renjiro said. "The only reason why Kankuro-san survived is because of this rescue team. Our beloved village is in a fragile state right now, we're in no position to refuse help from an ally,"
"Help from an ally? Ha! It's no wonder Sunagakure has grown weak. Back in my days, we used to rely on ourselves. We developed our strength through our own efforts and sacrifices. Our village used to be respected and feared in equal measure by our enemies, but now? Now we have become complacent and soft, unable to move forward without depending on others. I can assure you this situation would've never happened had we kept our old traditions,"
Shujinko frowned at that. He didn't feel particularly offended by the words of Chiyo, but she could at least keep her ungratefulness to herself. They were the ones who were helping Sunagakure, not the other way around. The rescue team kept moving until they reached the other side of the forest, stepping into an open field. According to Kakashi, once they made it through the prairie, they would reach the Akatsuki's hideout in half an hour or less.
However, just as they were starting to get across the prairie, the voice of Kakashi was heard loud and clear. "Everyone, stop!"
Shujinko and the rest of the group froze in their tracks. Out of instinct, the Ozuma pulled out a kunai and performed a hand sign with his free hand, scanning his surroundings to see what had caused them to stop. He soon found an answer to that, as a man wearing a black robe with red clouds was standing in front of them, waiting for their arrival. With his heart beating, Shujinko immediately realized they had encountered a member of the Akatsuki and his body went tense, getting ready for what would undoubtedly be a brutal fight. Shujinko then took a quick look at his enemy… and what he saw made his blood run cold.
The eyes of the man standing in front of them were bright red, with three tomoes surrounding the black pupils. It was the Sharingan, the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan, and the person wielding it was none other than the shinobi who had massacred the Uchiha many years ago.
"Uchiha… Itachi…"
An ominous silence took place as a sudden breeze went by, carrying a dreadful atmosphere that promised nothing but danger. The air suddenly became heavy and full of tension, as if polluted by the presence of the Akatsuki member. Even Chiyo, a kunoichi who had seen the worst of the shinobi world more than once, was unsettled by Itachi and the dark aura surrounding him. Kakashi immediately lifted his headband and exposed his Sharingan, knowing better than anyone how nasty and ugly things were about to get.
"It has been a long time, Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun," Itachi said, causing Shujinko to shudder. His voice was the same as before, cold and devoid of emotion. He refrained from making eye contact with Itachi, not wanting to fall victim to his Genjutsu like he did the last time. "As fate would have it, our paths cross once again,"
"You damn bastard," Naruto said through gritted teeth. "It wasn't enough for you to go after me. You had to go after Gaara as well!"
"The capture of the Kazekage serves a higher goal, one that the Akatsuki is determined to accomplish. You are part of that goal too, Naruto-kun. Surely you know that by now,"
"Why you-!"
"Naruto, stay back. Don't make a move until Kakashi-sensei says so," Shujinko warned him, hoping that his voice wouldn't betray him. He didn't want his teammate to lose his composure and end up getting hurt by Itachi's visual prowess, for one brief glance was all Itachi needed to put someone out of commission. "I know who you are. You're the guy who attacked Naruto and Jiraiya-sama back in Shukuba Town three years ago. Your partner, the one with the giant sword and the shark face, where is he?"
The expression on Itachi's face remained indifferent as he studied Shujinko. He recognized him as the boy who tried to intervene during his fight against his younger brother. A quick Genjutsu had taken care of him, and it appeared that Shujinko had learned his lesson as he wasn't meeting his gaze. "Kisame is not here. He is dealing with that pesky backup team from Konohagakure right now as we speak. According to Kisame, he has a score to settle with Maito Gai,"
"What a coincidence, because I have a score to settle with you," Kakashi said as he got into a fighting position. "Usually, I try to avoid holding grudges against people, but I haven't forgotten about your Tsukuyomi and what you did to me during those three days. Of course, such an amazing technique doesn't come without its toll. As soon as the Tsukuyomi ended, you were forced to escape because of how exhausted you were. Despite my weakened state, I was still able to assess your chakra levels with my Sharingan seconds before I passed out, and your chakra had taken a big hit. That Mangekyō Sharingan of yours might be incredibly powerful, but it has its fair share of risks,"
Once again, Itachi showed no signs of surprise. He simply stood there with the same apathetic look on his eyes like a statue carved out of marble. "It seems you have learned a great deal about the Mangekyō Sharingan from our brief encounter. I did not expect any less from you, Kakashi-san,"
"Believe me, that's not the only thing I've learned. I wonder, Itachi… How much damage has it already been done to your eyes?"
It was short, ephemeral, and nearly impossible to notice, but upon hearing Kakashi's words, Itachi's body shifted slightly and his eyes widened. The rest of the rescue team was confused as to what he had meant by that. Even Shujinko, who had spent the last three years training under Kakashi, had no idea what he was talking about. 'For him to know that about the Mangekyō Sharingan… Kakashi-san, could it be that you…'
"Alright, enough chit-chat. Let's get down to business, shall we?" Kakashi said. "I'll be the main act. The rest of you, wait for an opening and strike him down as soon as you have the chance. Remember, whatever you do, do not make direct eye contact with him. The moment your gaze meets his will be the moment he'll cast Genjutsu upon you, and I speak from experience when I say it won't be pretty,"
Renjiro nodded in understanding and reached for the tanto strapped to his back. "Even in Sunagakure, we used to hear tales about the Sharingan and the remarkable power behind those eyes. It seems now I have the opportunity to see how truthful those tales were,"
There was a moment of silence when no one spoke and no one moved. Shujinko was trying his hardest to keep Itachi in his line of vision without looking into his eyes, but even with all of the practice he acquired during his training sessions with Kakashi, it was still difficult for him. 'This isn't good. I can't come up with a solid strategy to take this guy down if I'm too busy avoiding his Sharingan. If I look at those eyes even for just a second, I'll be finished,' Shujinko thought.
When he understood that there was no way to get around the problem, the young Ozuma realized he could at least level the playing field a bit, and so he discreetly activated the Karura Tensei. This way, he was now capable of perceiving his opponent's moves without having to look at him, using the enhanced powers of awareness and perception granted by Hawk Sage Mode to his advantage. What was more, Shujinko knew for a fact that Itachi would be unable to replicate his techniques, for not even the almighty Sharingan could copy Senjutsu.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed all of a sudden. Seven shadow clones burst into existence and stood shoulder to shoulder next to the original Naruto, all of them smirking defiantly. "If this punk wants to play, then bring it on! Let's see if your Sharingan can tell who's the real me among this many shadow clones!"
"You have the superiority of numbers, that much is evident," Itachi replied coolly. "However, being outnumbered and being outclassed are two very different things, as you are about to witness,"
After saying those words, Itachi slowly raised his hand and pointed his finger at Naruto and his clones, one after the other. This made everyone else frown, still keeping their eyes off of Itachi's Sharingan. 'What the hell is he up to now?' Shujinko thought. 'Is that some kind of secret hand sign or-'
"Haaaaa!" Without any explanation or apparent motive, Naruto charged his Rasengan with the help of a shadow clone and they all went straight to attack… nothing. He broke formation and ran around aimlessly until thrusting his Rasengan into the chest of an invisible opponent, hitting nothing but empty air. Shujinko and the rest of his squadmates jumped back, asking themselves what was going on inside the head of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki.
"Naruto, what on Earth are you doing? You can't make a move like that without even telling us first! You heard what Kakashi-sensei said, wait for an opening!" Shujinko shouted. To his surprise, Naruto turned around with an angry expression on his face, gritting his teeth in frustration. The rest of his clones did the same. "Oi, what's the matter with you? Why are you-"
"So you copied my jutsu, huh? Well, you're not getting away this time! Come on, let's get them!"
Naruto and his shadow clones proceeded to run towards the rescue team with the clear, yet inexplicable intention to fight them. Sakura yelled at him to stop, but he refused to listen. And just like that, Shujinko, Sakura, Renjiro, and Chiyo found themselves getting attacked by Naruto and his shadow clones, who were punching, kicking, and even throwing weapons at them. Meanwhile, Kakashi and Itachi were engaging in hand to hand combat, and although the Copy Ninja could hold his own against most opponents when it came to Taijutsu, the handicap of not being able to see the Uchiha's eyes placed him at an overwhelming disadvantage.
"Naruto-san, stop! We're not the enemy!" Renjiro shouted, dodging and blocking the barrage of attacks that he was being subjected to. The members of the rescue team were dealing with two Narutos each, and since they didn't know which one of them was the original, they couldn't fight back and risk hurting the real Naruto.
"There's no doubt about it. This boy and his shadow clones are acting under the influence of a Genjutsu," Chiyo said almost casually, ducking down and stepping out of the way with little effort as a pair of shadow clones tried to land a punch on her. Despite her advanced age and her fragile body, Chiyo was far from being a slow old lady, and spending years in the battlefield had rewarded her with plenty of experience. "They must've accidentally stared at the Sharingan at a certain moment. How can a shinobi from Konohagakure follow instructions so poorly?"
"Leave the complaints for later! We have to put an end to this and quickly!" Shujinko replied. Thanks to the Karura Tensei, he was able to fend off his teammate and block or dodge every single attack aimed at him, anticipating Naruto's moves with incredible agility. One shadow clone tried to connect a right hook, but the Ozuma got behind his back and shoved him as hard as he could. "Naruto and his shadow clones have far more stamina than all of us combined. Unless we take all of them out and break the illusion the real Naruto is trapped inside of, this fight will drag on forever and we won't be able to help Kakashi-sensei!"
Sakura performed a backwards summersault and landed away from the two shadow clones that were trying to overwhelm her. "Listen up everyone, this is what we should do! Grab a weapon and make a non-lethal cut on every single Naruto you see! Aim for their arms and legs! If you hit a shadow clone, they should disappear, and if you hit the real Naruto, make sure to restrain him. I'll heal his injury as soon as we break him out of Itachi's control,"
"Got it!" Renjiro said as he unsheathed his tanto. Chiyo stuck her hand inside the bag she was carrying and grabbed a couple of senbon needles. Both Shujinko and Sakura pulled out kunais, and once every member of the rescue team had a weapon in their hands, they finally passed over to the offensive and began fighting back.
POOF
…
POOF
…
POOF
Slowly but surely, each one of Naruto's shadow clones started to disappear, bursting into clouds of smoke after receiving a cut on their arms or getting stabbed in their legs. It was a rather complicated process given how no one wanted to inflict a serious wound upon Naruto by accident, so they had to bid their time and take them out using as little force as possible. Once Shujinko had taken care of the last shadow clone, he sensed Naruto running towards him, shouting and holding a Rasengan.
Instead of jumping away from him, Shujinko placed his kunai back inside its holster and assumed a fighting stance while he waited patiently for his teammate to get closer. Then, just when Naruto was thrusting his Rasengan, the Ozuma stepped aside and grabbed Naruto by the wrist, dodging the deadly sphere of spiraling chakra. 'I'm sorry Naruto, but this is for your own good,' Shujinko thought before burying his knee-deep into the blonde ninja's gut.
Getting the wind knocked out of him made Naruto's eyes widen as he bent forward, losing control of his Rasengan. This gave Renjiro enough time to get behind his back and restrain Naruto by applying a rear chokehold on him. "Chiyo-sama, Sakura-san, this is our chance!"
The two kunoichis immediately went over to help the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, who kept struggling in the arms of Shujinko and Renjiro. They placed their palms on his chest and emitted their chakra into Naruto. After a short while, Naruto simmered down, and a perplexed expression appeared on his face. "S-Sakura-chan? Chiyo baa-chan? What are you doing? What's going on?"
"Looks like you got your bearings back, Naruto," Shujinko said as he unhanded his friend. "You and your shadow clones were trapped inside Itachi's Genjutsu. You were acting really crazy,"
"Genjutsu?" Naruto repeated, blinking his eyes in confusion. "But when? How? I thought I was fighting him and his shadow clones. You guys were all lying on the ground unconscious. Not once did I looked into Itachi's Sharingan, I made sure of it!"
"If that's the case, then it seems our opponent is capable of casting Genjutsu without having to look at his victims. Even by the standards of an Uchiha, that's quite an accomplishment. It's no wonder he was recruited into the ranks of the Akatsuki," Chiyo said. She then recalled the way Itachi pointed his finger at Naruto and his shadow clones before they all went crazy. 'Was it back then? For a shinobi to be able to do that… I've seen plenty of experienced Genjutsu users in the past, but this Uchiha boy is in a league of his own,'
CLANK CLANK CLANK CLANK
Both Kakashi and Itachi landed on the ground at the same time. Weapons such as shurikens and kunais were scattered all over the place, yet none of those weapons had a single drop of blood on them. Kakashi himself hadn't suffered more than just a couple of scratches since his fight with Itachi had started, which could only mean his opponent had yet to take him seriously or he was stalling for time. The first option was highly uncharacteristic of someone like Itachi, so the Copy Ninja would have to speed things up.
'He knows that if he uses Tsukuyomi even once, a considerable portion of his energy will be drained away, which will place him at a disadvantage against this many of us. Itachi is smart enough to avoid that scenario. We have to find a way to hold him steady and attack from a blind spot with enough speed to render his Sharingan useless. One good strike is all we need,' Kakashi thought as he gazed at Itachi's feet, making sure not to meet his eyes. 'If that doesn't work, I have Kamui as a last resort. Not even he can copy that jutsu,'
"Enough warming up, Kakashi-san," Itachi said all of a sudden. "We both know that is not the full extent of your abilities, so I suggest you make complete use of them before it is too late,"
"The same thing goes for you," Kakashi replied. "With your Mangekyō Sharingan, you could end this fight here and now. What's holding you back, Itachi?"
Itachi didn't bother to reply. Instead, he weaved a couple of hand signs and took a deep breath. "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!" he exclaimed, releasing a volley of small fireballs out of his mouth. The Sharingan Warrior made his way forward, evading the flaming projectiles by hopping sideways. But Itachi wasn't done yet, and as soon as he spat the last fireball, he performed a different set of hand signs while Kakashi kept charging towards him. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
"Everyone take cover! Get behind the trees now!" Kakashi shouted as he weaved hand signs of his own. "Doton: Doryūheki!"
BAAAAAM
|…|
Shujinko filled his lungs with air and exhaled slowly, making as little noise as possible. He and the rest of the rescue team had gotten back into the forest, hiding behind trees and bushes while keeping an eye on the battle. Still in Sage Mode, Shujinko was focusing his attention on the chakra signatures of both his sensei and the member of the Akatsuki. He knew that Kakashi was alive and that he had a plan, but in the meantime, they needed to come up with a plan of their own.
'We need to restrict him, catch him off guard and take him down in one fell swoop,' Shujinko thought, memorizing all of his sensei's tactics and putting together a workable strategy. 'Kakashi-sensei knows a direct approach would be futile, so he'll go for a diversion instead and let us finish him off. Maybe… If we manage to move fast enough… and get behind his back…'
"I still can't believe I was under his Genjutsu the whole time," Naruto muttered, tightening his fists in frustration. "That coward… I'm gonna get back at him no matter what,"
Chiyo gave him a side glance. "And how are you planning on doing that? Unless you have a powerful, long-range technique that not even the Sharingan can stop, I don't see a way for you to get back at him,"
"The thing is, I do have a technique. Ero-sennin helped me master it during the time we spent together. It's powerful, more powerful than my ordinary Rasengan," Naruto replied, causing Shujinko to raise his eyebrows.
"More powerful than your ordinary Rasengan?"
"That's right, but there's one problem. This technique only works when I can get close to my target. I want to give it a shot, but if this guy places me under Genjutsu before I can reach him, then it's pointless to try. What's worse, I could end up hurting Kakashi-sensei or anyone who happens to be near me,"
The golden-eyed teenager was surprised. The fact that Naruto had learned a jutsu more powerful than the Rasengan was impressive on its own, but what was even more impressive was his refusal to use it. The Naruto from three years ago would've gone ahead and tried to show off his new technique without too much planning beforehand, but the current Naruto was displaying more foresight and prudence than he did in the past. The years he spent under Jiraiya's tutelage had clearly helped him mature.
"So basically, we're back to square one," Sakura said in a pessimistic tone of voice. "None of us has the speed to counter the Sharingan like Lee once did against Sasuke-kun. If we can't get near him, how are we supposed to deal with his eyes?"
"My oh my, this new generation is hopeless. Why are you youngsters so quick to give up in the face of adversity?" Chiyo reprimanded them. Upon hearing this, Naruto turned his head around and was about to tell her off, but then Chiyo took out a scroll from her bag and stared intensely at it, gaining the attention of the rest of the rescue team. "Listen closely, for I don't like to repeat myself. I learned this tactic many years ago during my younger days and it is the only one that might work against an opponent of this caliber. We have one opportunity to pull this off, so our timing must be flawless and our execution must be impeccable. Together, we shall perform a jutsu… A Fūinjutsu,"
|…|
"The Kirigakure no Jutsu, huh?" Itachi mused, watching as the mist surrounding him grew thicker and denser by the second. The mist had started to grow shortly after his fireball crashed against the soil barrier his opponent had raised to protect himself. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen, undoubtedly hiding among the mist he had spread and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. "I must say, for a man who was allegedly copied over a thousand techniques, none of your jutsus have surprised me so far. Kakashi-san, can we please stop this childish game of hide and seek?"
As soon as he finished that sentence, Itachi heard the whistling sound of metal cutting through the air. He ducked down, allowing the kunais that had been thrown at him to pass over his head. The next noise he heard was that of crackling lightning coming his way, and surely enough, Kakashi was running towards him with his hand covered in electricity. "Raikiri!"
But before the Sharingan Warrior could hit him with his signature technique, Itachi weaved several hand signs at a frightening speed and performed a jutsu of his own. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
The fireball that came out of his mouth was so big that it not only engulfed Kakashi completely, but it also cleared all of the mist away, undoing the jutsu in its entirety. Once the mist had dissipated, Itachi saw the huge line of scorched earth his fireball had left behind. Nothing seemed unusual or suspicious at first glance, but then, Itachi noticed a hole in the ground where the fireball had passed, and the sound of the earth grumbling beneath his feet caused him to look down.
CRAAACK
Kakashi popped out of the ground right in front of the Akatsuki member, wielding a kunai that missed Itachi by a few inches. When he attempted a second swing, Itachi stopped him immediately, holding his opponent's arms and forcing Kakashi into a clinch. This resulted in an apparent stalemate between the two of them, but in reality, both Kakashi and Itachi had carried their battle elsewhere, using their Sharingan to enter a world of illusions… A world under Itachi's complete domain.
|…|
"Now then, is everything clear?"
Shujinko nodded his head. Chiyo's idea was fairly risky and there were no guarantees that it was going to work, but it was the only plan they had and they couldn't think of a better one. "It's as good a plan as any," he said as he cracked his knuckles. "Besides, time is running against us. If this tactic allows us to defeat Itachi and carry on with our mission, then I'm all for it,"
"Me too. If I'm being honest, I've never practiced Fūinjutsu before, so I don't expect to be any good at it," Renjiro commented, tightening his headband's knot. "Well, only one way to find out,"
Sakura wiggled her fingers, making sure they wouldn't feel stiff once she had to perform the hand signs Chiyo had shown them. "I'm ready whenever you are, Chiyo-sama. Let's do this,"
"Good, good. Remember, your Fūinjutsu skills are minimum or non-existent, so when you perform this technique, don't try to overpower your enemy individually. I will be the driving force behind this jutsu, and you three will help me as much as you can. As for you, Naruto, you only have a small window of time to act, so you better move quickly,"
"Don't worry about me, baa-chan. I'm gonna send that bastard flying into the sky with my new jutsu,"
|…|
"Of course, it all makes sense now,"
Kakashi, who was inside Itachi's Genjutsu, hadn't made a noise since the two of them had locked their Sharingan. He was currently tied to a stake, his whole body catching fire in a hellish world of darkness with Itachi staring at him impassively… And yet, Kakashi was just as impassive as he was. No screams of agony had left his mouth, no attempts to break the illusion had been tried, no nothing. He didn't even seem to be aware of the flames that were scorching him from head to toes… And that was when Itachi realized it.
"It is no wonder you are unable to feel pain, physical or psychological. You are not Kakashi-san, but a shadow clone of him,"
Meanwhile, the real Kakashi got out the hole he was hiding. He and his shadow clone had dug that hole using Doton Ninjutsu while a second shadow clone distracted Itachi by attacking him with a Raikiri. The remaining shadow clone had been the one who had erupted out of the ground like a mole. Itachi's Genjutsu, as powerful as it was, couldn't inflict pain of any kind upon a shadow clone, which made it the perfect distraction.
"Now, attack!" Kakashi shouted. "Take both him and my shadow clone down!"
As soon as Kakashi signaled the rescue team to act, a single figure appeared out of the woods. It was Chiyo, who had jumped high enough for her body to cover some of the sunlight. The moment Itachi raised his gaze to place her under Genjutsu, his eyes twitched in discomfort as the brightness of the sun glared back at him. Chiyo used this to open a scroll and send a rainstorm of weapons down upon them, throwing kunais, shurikens, swords, and a plethora of other shinobi tools.
However, none of those weapons reached their targets. They were getting embedded into the ground near Itachi, but none of them even scratched the member of the Akatsuki. All of a sudden, four weapons burst into clouds of smoke, and Shujinko, Sakura, Renjiro, and Chiyo were standing behind Itachi, all of them performing the Ram hand sign. "Tajū Isshi Tōjin!"
Four pillars of glowing kanjis appeared on the ground and made their way towards Itachi, creating a sealing barrier around him and Kakashi's shadow clone. When Itachi tried to step out of the barrier he was inside of, his feet went rigid as if glued to the ground by the Kagemane no Jutsu of the Nara clan. With the sealing barrier restricting his movements and with Kakashi's shadow clone holding his arms tight, Itachi found himself barely able to move his body, preventing him from casting Genjutsu against the members of the rescue team.
"Haaaaaaa!" The last member of the rescue team came out of the forest, holding a Rasengan twice as big as its original counterpart with the help of a shadow clone. The modified jutsu released a piercing noise that grew louder and louder until becoming a full-blown screech, and like a battering ram breaking down the doors of a castle, Naruto buried his technique deep into Itachi's chest. "Ōdama Rasengan!"
BAAAAAAAAM
…
Aaaaand that was chapter 6. Hope you all liked it.
Since the last two chapters didn't have much action, I thought you guys deserved the fight between the rescue team and "Itachi". It was a challenge to write, but I had fun nonetheless.
Well, Shujinko and Renjiro had their heart to heart moment. Some of you might've thought Renjiro would be furious to see Shujinko after what he did to him, but I like to "subvert expectations" every once in a while. I think I did a decent job explaining why Renjiro doesn't hate Shujinko (or why he doesn't hate him anymore, to be precise). Basically, Renjiro realized he would've done the same thing Shujinko did to him had the roles been reversed, and so hating Shujinko would've been hypocritical of him. I'm not saying they're the best of buddies now, but there's no bad blood between them.
The fight with Clone Itachi was tricky to write. About two-thirds of the original fight is just Naruto dealing with Itachi's Genjutsu, and breaking him out of said Genjutsu was all Sakura and Chiyo did. I wanted everyone to participate in the fight, so I took the liberty of adding a few tweaks here and there.
First, I would like to address how Genjutsu affects shadow clones. As far as my knowledge goes, it was never explained in neither the manga nor the anime how Genjutsu affects shadow clones. After searching for an answer in various forums, I came to the (personal) conclusion that Genjutsu does affect shadow clones, but not in every single way it would affect a real person. As we all know, shadow clones have chakra networks. This means that they have chakra that can be manipulated through the use of Genjutsu.
We see this when Clone Itachi casts Genjutsu on Kakashi's shadow clone. The shadow clone was trapped inside an illusion meant to induce psychological pain (It wasn't Tsukuyomi, but a generic Sharingan Genjutsu instead. Not once during the fight do we see Clone Itachi using the Mangekyo Sharingan). However, shadow clones can't feel pain of any kind, which was why Itachi's Genjutsu may have caught him but was unable to inflict any sort of damage. That being said, I do believe Genjutsu can alter the senses of a shadow clone such as hearing and sight. You can't hurt them, but you can make them see and hear things. This is why Naruto and his shadow clones attacked Shujinko and the rest of the rescue team, because Itachi was manipulating them into thinking they were him.
Secondly, I always thought it was kind of lame how Chiyo, despite being a veteran kunoichi with plenty of experience, contributed very little during the original fight against Clone Itachi. I wanted her to display her abilities and her knowledge just like she did against Sasori.
This leads us to the tactic used to defeat Clone Itachi. I will talk about both the technique used and the ones who used it. The Isshi Tōjin is a canon Fūinjutsu technique shown in the manga (in the anime, Iruka uses it on Naruto during episode 275). The Tajū Isshi Tōjin does not appear on the manga, and it is instead shown in the Boruto series during episode 37. However, the Tajū Isshi Tōjin is pretty much the same as the Isshi Tōjin, but performed by more than one user at once. Therefore, it stands to reason that the Tajū Isshi Tōjin might as well by canon in my opinion, since it's basically a canon technique being used by two or more people at the same time.
The second topic is going to be more complex. You were probably surprised to see Shujinko and the rest of the squad using Fūinjutsu, as it is not a skill he has shown before (aside from sealing weapons inside scrolls and stuff). Let's get this straight: Chiyo was the main caster of the jutsu. Shujinko, Sakura, and Renjiro were there as backup, doing the jutsu as best as they could in order to offer whatever help they could give. At least this way they each contributed something, unlike in the original fight where Sakura and Chiyo did almost nothing.
Now, I'm no expert when it comes to Fūinjutsu, but from what I gathered, the Isshi Tōjin doesn't look like some high-level jutsu to me. Iruka could do it in the manga, and while I respect him as a character, I think we can all agree when I say he's not exactly Konoha's finest ninja. In the Boruto anime, even kids who still hadn't graduated from the Academy could do it, and although I don't particularly like how the Boruto series portray jutsus in general, I think this was at least somewhat worthy of being taken into consideration.
Well, that's enough rambling. I hope you liked the chapter and enjoyed the fight.
Glossary:
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Jutsu
Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu – Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu – Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu
Doton: Doryūheki – Earth Style: Mud Wall
Raikiri – Lightning Blade
Tajū Isshi Tōjin – Multi-Coordinated Light Formation
Ōdama Rasengan – Giant Rasengan
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Ja ne!
