Naruto: Tornado of Souls V2
Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Here is chapter 11. Enjoy!
Last time:
Fire Country, Tanzaku Gai
A busty blonde woman came walking out of the bank in Tanzaku Gai with a pale, shocked look on her face and walked over to the hotel across the street. A dark haired young woman holding a pet pig met her in the lounge of the hotel. "What is wrong Tsunade-sama?" asked the dark haired woman. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Tsunade sat down at a table and said, "It's worse than that Shizune-chan, all the Senju bank accounts have been frozen. I can't withdraw any more money to gamble with!"
Shizune sweat dropped. "More importantly, what about food?!" Tsunade handed a bank statement printout to Shizune who sat the pig down and started reading it over. "According to this, Konoha froze your assets by the orders of Sarutobi-sama. The only way to get it unfrozen is to see Hokage-sama personally."
Tsunade got the mental image of her old sensei cackling evilly as he signed the orders to take her money. 'Take that Tsunade-chan!' laughed the Sarutobi in her mind's eye. (Coincidentally he had glowing eyes, fangs and horns that protruded through his Hokage's hat).
"Curse you Sarutobi-sensei!" yelled Tsunade. 'Now I have to go home!'
Chapter 11
Konoha, Outer Wall
Early in the morning Team 8 was on patrol around the Hokage monument when Hinata giggled. Kurenai smiled at her favorite student and asked, "What has you so tickled Hinata-chan?"
"I was just thinking about Naruto-kun redecorating the Hokage Monument before we became genins." said Hinata. "It was quite a spectacle. The chunins and ANBU chased him for three hours before Iruka-sensei caught up with him."
Kurenai shook her head, "I was out on a mission at the time but when I got back it sounded like Uzumaki Naruto turned the whole village upside down."
"Yeah, that cost me my allowance that week." said Kiba. "I bet him twenty ryo that he couldn't pull it off but he proved me wrong."
Shino said in his usual monotone, "So that's what you were lamenting about that day. I always wondered."
Their morning patrol route proved to be peaceful and the group chatted quietly as they looked around. "The village is so quiet." said Kiba. "It's kind of eerie."
Kurenai said, "Konoha hasn't been in a major conflict in a long time. Back when the Third Shinobi War was going on it was often quiet like this. In the mornings people tended to stay in unless they had to come out. It's very sobering knowing your friends and loved ones are putting their lives on the line. I was a genin back then and my team was always on the dawn patrols. I always thought of the sun rising to be a reminder that a better tomorrow will come. I find it reassuring. My teammates Raidō and Asuma hated to get up so early though." Kurenai chuckled. "That seems like ages ago now."
"Do you mean Asuma-sensei was on your genin team?" asked Kiba.
The Genjutsu Mistress nodded. "I've known Sarutobi Asuma since we were children. It really takes me back since we once patrolled just like this."
….
Konoha Strict Correctional Facility*①
The quiet over Konoha was everywhere, even the prison. As there was a war on many of the prison guards were called away to active duty and the prison was short on manpower. "This will be too easy." said Mizuki. The former chunin and Academy Sensei saw the lapse in Konoha's defense forces as a golden opportunity to escape by staging a prison riot. He quietly said to the group he'd gathered, "This is the time everybody. With so few guards and just a few genin weaklings patrolling around the village escaping will be a cakewalk." He'd convinced several others to join him since most of the village was unprotected compared to normal.
Mizuki had been biding his time ever since he received the instructions from Orochimaru to create a chemical called the Animal Curse Seal which would increase his strength and power. 'With this power I'll be unbeatable.' he thought greedily. The crooked ex-chunin hoped to use this power to get revenge on Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto who were responsible for his incarceration. 'If it hadn't been for those two I would have escaped with the Forbidden Scroll and would have delivered it to Orochimaru-sama without issue. Damn Iruka and that brat! Taking revenge on them is going to be a pleasure.'
When the prison riot took place most of the village was still asleep. The general alarm didn't go off due to the siren being sabotaged so the Konoha forces didn't even know to respond. Nevertheless, the prisoners found the 'easy escape' to be like running a gauntlet. Most of the rioters were brutally beaten down before they escaped and only three or four actually succeeded in breaking out. Mizuki was one of them. He managed to escape but found the 'genin weaklings' he'd thought of with such derision were a lot more dangerous than he expected. It took some time to throw off his pursuers. Twice he was nearly caught before the genin teams were recalled to regroup.
Team 8 was among them and figuring out which prisoners actually escaped was difficult until the rioters were all subdued and tied up for an actual head count. Kurenai said to her team, "Our team managed to subdue six prisoners and the numbers are in. Only three actually escaped in total. She held up the pictures of the escapees and said, "Since our specialty is tracking we have to go after one of them. Which do we want?" All three genins pointed to the picture of Mizuki without hesitation and Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "You all know this one? I remember him."
"He used to be our Academy Sensei before he disappeared." said Kiba.
Shino nodded, "Imprisonment would explain why he fell of the face of the earth."
Hinata smiled meanly and said, "It seems he still isn't done misbehaving and needs a detention."
Kurenai hid her smile and said, "We'll take Mizuki then." After verifying things with the warden Team 8 set out after their quarry…
…
Anko and Blake's Apartment
Blake was getting her gear on for her first morning team training. 'I wonder how Anko nee-chan is? The Second Division left last night. I hope she stays safe.' Blake looked in the mirror. She had everything on but her bow. She moved her ears a bit. "I wonder if these will freak Naruto-kun out? Of course then again he smells like a fox…" she thought aloud. After she put on her bow, Blake grabbed her katana and her kusarigama. Focusing her amber eyes, she said to the mirror, "Ready."
The faunus girl was soon roof hopping across the village at high speed towards the training grounds when she saw somebody she knew. It was Tenten whose Father was crafting the new Gambol Shroud for her. Blake liked Tenten. The bun haired girl took being a kunoichi seriously. "Good morning Tenten. Are you headed out to train?" asked Blake as she landed on the same roof as Tenten.
Tenten turned and said, "Blake, it's good to see you. Got any more cool weapons to craft? My Dad and I were working on your Gambol Shroud last night. It's so cool to work on new and challenging weapon designs!"
Blake smiled softly at Tenten's enthusiasm. "I'm sure it will turn out great. Are you waiting for someone here on the rooftops? I was headed out to meet my sensei."
"You have a full time sensei now?" asked Tenten. Seeing Blake nod, the bun haired girl said. "Good for you. Who is it?"
"I'm under Hatake Kakashi on the new Team 7…He kind of woke up at his own funeral if you haven't heard of him…" Blake added with a sweat drop.
"That was quite a sight I heard….Well, anyway I'm waiting on me teammate Neji." explained Tenten. "He should be here shortly. My sensei always works out a couple of hours before Neji and I meet up with him."
"Well, I'd best get going." said Blake to the weapons loving girl. "See you later!" said the cat eared girl with a wave as she darted off.
Neji showed up a few minutes later and said to Tenten, "Good morning Tenten; who was that kunoichi you were talking to?"
The weapons loving girl said, "That was Belladonna Blake. She's a new genin that just joined Konoha recently."
The Hyūga prodigy said, "Hmmm….she looks exceptionally fit. I wonder if she could replace Lee."
Tenten raised an eyebrow at Neji's choice of words. "She's a replacement member on Team 7."
"Isn't that sensei's Eternal Rival Kakashi's team that recently self destructed?" asked Neji. At Tenten's nod he said, "Seems like she's wasting her talent there. Hopefully fate will get her off that team with that loser Uzumaki."
The bun haired girl sighed and shook her head. "Let's just go meet sensei." she said before she took off leaving Neji behind still looking in the direction Blake left in.
…
Yamanaka Residence
Pyrrha was up early and fixed herself some breakfast before doing some warm ups in the back yard. Donning her gear she checked on both Ino and Ayano before she left to meet her team. 'They seem to be sleeping peacefully.' Picking up her sword and shield she paused as she thought of Jaune Arc. 'My chances with Jaune were lost when I died. I wonder if he's alive and well? Maybe he finally won Weiss Schnee's affections. He deserves someone that really cares for him like I did.' The redhead sighed. 'Someday I'll leave my past behind. I'm amazed at how much Naruto reminds me of him.'
Leaving through the front of the Flower Shop, Pyrrha was soon on her way when she saw an orange blur ahead of her on the village wall. Moving to intercept she saw Naruto screech to a halt in front of her. He said with a smile, "Good morning Pyrrha-chan; ready for a day of training hard?"
The redhead smiled. "You seem very eager this morning Naruto-kun. Why are you running? We're not late."
Naruto explained, "I was getting in my morning laps around Konoha and just decided to head straight to the training grounds when I saw you here and stopped to see how you were doing."
The two headed off towards Training Ground 52 at a moderate pace. "Once we get a routine going with Kakashi-sensei the two of us should arrange to spend some time together." She raised her eyebrows at Naruto's declaration before he added, "We're going to be the best seal master's ever!"
Pyrrha laughed at Naruto's antics and said, "Let's race!" as she took off in a blur. 'Naruto-kun is something else. I thought he meant a date or something.' she thought with a chuckle as Naruto pursued her towards the training grounds. The pair shot through the trees at high speeds and Pyrrha managed to keep a lead most of the way. The redhead came to a stop and saw Blake sitting under the tree they usually met at. "Victory is mine!" cheered Pyrrha as Naruto caught up.
"Blake-chan; Pyrrha-chan cheated and left me in the dirt before she even announced it was a race!" lamented Naruto.
Blake simply said, "Well, we are ninjas. Aren't we supposed to cheat?" Naruto promptly face faulted as Pyrrha laughed.
"I see everyone is here a bit early." said Kakashi as he arrived in a body flicker. To say the jonin was disheveled was an understatement.
Pyrrha raised her eyebrows. "Are you alright Kakashi-sensei?" she asked with concern in her voice.
"I got a little dirty sparring with Gai this morning." explained Kakashi. "I'm fine but I'm a lot rustier than I thought. We're all going to be working hard when we're not doing missions. Now my students; let start with a good warm up."
…
Rice Country Border
It was morning and the Konoha forces had invaded Oto territory at first light. They'd already been fighting the Oto forces for nearly three hours. Jiraiya was on the front lines and had just stopped an attempted charge by the Oto forces in the area with his Swamp of the underworld jutsu. A giant snake summon was spearheading the charge but the giant toad Gamaken's sasumata came crashing down upon the head of the snake and killed it in an instant. The stiffest opposition in the Oto lines began to implode and collapse. They quickly withdrew back into a valley to escape. The Konoha forces were going to give chase but Jiraiya called for a halt. "Hold your positions! They are leading us into that valley to ambush us. He motioned to one of his Hyūga scouts. "Look at the mountains overlooking that valley for enemy troops."
The Hyūga focused his byakugan and said, "Midway up the valley the walls are lined with entrenched fortifications. That place is a death trap."
Jiraiya nodded and turned to Shikaku. "Help me here Shikaku. How can we wipe out that valley in one fell swoop? No survivors."
The Nara Clan head looked over the terrain. "That valley was created by overflow from the nearby river. If we blow the dam holding the water back that whole valley will be flooded beyond use."
The Toad sanin nodded grimly. "Let's make it happen then."
Thirty minutes later what only could be call a tidal wave from the river swept through the valley as Konoha forces followed the deluge in on either side of the flooded valley to wipe out any surviving Oto troops that escaped being drowned or crushed by the wayward river. When the water settled down hours later the whole valley floodplain was a watery grave for hundreds of Oto ninjas and the Konoha ninjas stood victorious.
Jiraiya and Shikaku started checking the maps for other areas that Blake had mapped out from Kin's memories of the area. Pointing out a particular stronghold Shikaku said, "This is the main supply center in this region. If we capture it and close it down the enemy will starve if they don't withdraw."
Choza looked over his old friend's shoulder. "Keeping this area supplied is bad enough given the area is flooded now. If we capture that hub then it will become impossible for Oto to support sustained operations in the area."
"This can't be all Orochimaru has in the region." thought Jiraiya aloud. "The Snake is hardly putting up a fight."
…
Konoha, With Mizuki…
The first thing Mizuki did after he lost his immediate pursuers was to go to his ex-fiancé Tsubaki's house to get some supplies and a change of clothes. He found that was an easy enough task to break in as she was off to war. He saw all the decorations of pictures of him had been conspicuously removed. He also saw a picture of someone he hated with Tsubaki. It was Umino Iruka. 'Damn that bitch! She dumped me for that bastard Iruka! After I kill Iruka I'll take good care of her as well.' Mizuki wanted to wreck the place just to spite her but he knew that making noise would attract attention and calmed himself down.
Mizuki heard a tracking team go by outside and focused back on escaping. Knowing he was actively being hunted and needed an edge; Mizuki decided to go over to a storage lab used by the Nara Clan to steal the components necessary to concoct the potion to enhance his strength. Orochimaru's instructions were very specific to go there. 'I never even knew about this place the Naras have.' thought the crooked ex-sensei as he crept out and headed over to the Nara Clan lands.
It took a while but Mizuki located the lab. It looked like an ordinary storage shed from the outside. The actual lab was underground. As it was the lab was unguarded and once again Mizuki was fortunate enough to be able to break in without drawing attention to himself. Once he gathered the necessary components in Orochimaru's instructions Mizuki carefully started concocting the chemical called the Animal Curse Seal. He was quite convinced would make him invincible. 'All I need to do is let the chemical cool and then drink it. It should be like an elixir. I should be able to practically walk out of Konoha at my leisure with the power I'll have at my fingertips.'
It was originally Mizuki's intention to join up with Orochimaru but he decided that it wouldn't be necessary until this war was over. 'Once everything settles down I'll see about finding Orochimaru-sama. It would be stupid just to walk into a war zone.' It took time to make the chemical but once he had; Mizuki ingested it as quickly as possible. The effects were immediate and quite painful. The ex-sensei howled in agony as he grew in both strength and power and his arms gained a great deal of mass as well as claws. His body took on many tiger like elements such as fur, stripes and a burnt orange coloration. The former prisoner looked like a humanoid tiger now. Mizuki panted in pain from the rather grotesque transformation and reveled in the power now coursing through his body….
….
It was about that time that Team 8 managed to track him down. "I still don't understand why we haven't raised a general alarm." said Kiba.
"They are trying to avoid frightening the populace Kiba." explained Kurenai. "With the war going on it could cause chaos. Besides, with only three prisoners actually loose capturing them shouldn't be a huge issue. Subtlety is the key here Kiba."
"Well, Mizuki's stench leads over to the Nara Ranch." said the dog lover. "I wonder if any of the Naras are even aware."
Shino asked, "Do you see anything Hinata?"
Hinata had been activating her byakugan periodically and zeroed in on a nondescript building on the Nara lands. "There. It looks like someone is in that shed in an underground area I can't see very clearly."
Team 8 carefully crept up carefully on the shed and Kiba confirmed Mizuki's scent led straight in. That's when they heard the agonized howl from Mizuki transforming. "What the hell?" asked Kiba. "That noise wasn't human."
About that time the front wall of the shed came flying out and knocked Team 8 to the ground revealing a laughing Mizuki. "Now this is power!" cackled Mizuki as he looked at the downed Kurenai and Hinata. (Kiba and Shino were under the collapsed wall). "Well, well! If it isn't Kurenai! I'd love to play but I have some appointments to keep."
Kurenai got unsteadily to her feet and said, "What the hell have you done to yourself Mizuki?! You are no longer human."
Mizuki backhanded the still dazed Kurenai back into Hinata and bowled them both over before he laughed and said, "I have all the power I need now thanks to those lazy Nara's chemical supplies! This new form is magnificent. Orochimaru-sama is a genius!" Mizuki then headed towards the Village to find Iruka.
Hinata shook off her dizziness and helped her sensei up. "Kurenai-sensei; we have to help Kiba-kun and Shino-kun!"
Kurenai nodded and they saw Kiba crawling his way out from under the shed's wall. "Ouch." he said. Akamaru barked and trotted out unhurt. Kiba shielded his partner.
"Kiba, are you injured?" asked Kurenai. "What about Shino?"
Shino croaked from under the wall, "I'm alright Kurenai-sensei. I am stuck however."
Kurenai thought for a second and said, "Hinata-chan; can you still see Mizuki?"
Hinata activated her byakugan and said, "Yes sensei. He's moving away rapidly."
"Go after him Hinata. Delay him if you can." said Kurenai. Seeing alarm on her favorite student's face the genjutsu mistress said, "Kiba and I will get Shino out and catch up. Go!"
Hinata nodded and raced after the fleeing tiger man…
…
Training Ground 9
Maito Gai was observing his students as they finished their cool down exercises from their morning workout. "Excellent Neji-kun; Tenten-chan. Let us grab a Youthful lunch before we go pick up our patrol orders. We will be patrolling at least one four hour patrol route daily; sometimes two. During those patrols we must be vigilant and dutiful. Village security is very important my students."
As they started walking back towards the village proper, Neji said, "Gai-sensei, I believe that I have spotted someone (cringe) youthful to join our team until Lee is out of the hospital."
Tenten was looking rather suspiciously at her teammate but Gai was all ears. "And who might this Youthful individual be Neji-kun?"
"Her name is Belladonna Blake." said Neji in a nonchalant tone. "Apparently she is a fill in on Team 7 since they lost two members. I believe she could be an asset to our team."
Gai beamed and gave a thumbs up to his student. "Yes, I remember her now. She is on my Eternal Rival's Team 7 as a new permanent member, not a fill in. Kakashi spoke very highly of her exceptional skill. She was standing with Jiraiya-sama and Uzumaki Naruto at the funeral when my infernally hip rival came back from the dead. You have an excellent eye Neji-kun but I'm afraid she is already committed to a team. On the other hand we can look forward to competing with my rival's team. He seems quite excited with them. Seeing such exuberance from my old friend Kakashi is very uplifting."
'Damn.' thought Neji. 'Perhaps if we run into Team 7 I can speak with her personally. I could tell by just the way she held herself that she is special.'
Tenten was watching Neji rather carefully. 'Just what are you up to Neji?'
…
Rice Country, The Village of Oto
Orochimaru was staring at the map of the Southern Valley region of Oto. 'I knew the forces I sent down there were doomed to be sacrifices but these attacks are like the Third Shinobi War. Jiraiya is being utterly ruthless no doubt at the orders of Sarutobi-sensei. It was a mistake thinking they could delay Konoha at that Valley.'
"Most of our hired mercenary forces have been wiped out or routed Orochimaru-sama." said Kabuto. "Should we send in our regular shinobi forces?"
Orochimaru rubbed his forehead as if he was staving off the worst migraine in history. "I was hoping to keep them intact but our mercenaries bought nothing but a few hours with their lives instead of a few days. Konoha isn't leaving Rice Country's infrastructure intact as I foresaw." The Snake Sanin continued to ponder until he turned to Kabuto. "Send the remaining members of the Sound Four south to link up with Sakon and Ukon along with our Village Defense Units to erect a barrier."
Kabuto looked worried but then said, "Orochimaru-sama, Kidōmaru is confirmed to be dead in Konoha and Sakon and Ukon died defending the valley in the south. Jirōbō and Tayuya cannot erect even a weaker three point barrier without a third member. Our only other option is Kimimaro and he is being transported north. He is in no condition to fight."
"SAKON AND UKON GOT THEMSELVES KILLED?! GOD DAMN IT!" roared the white snake. "All the time and resources I spent on the Sound Four and all that is left is Tayuya and Jirōbō!" Orochimaru got himself under control and hissed, "Leave me Kabuto while I try to figure out a way to salvage this disaster!"
Kabuto didn't need to be told twice…
…
Konoha, Hashirama Lane
The members of Team 9 were discussing what to have for lunch and were nearly bowled over by a huge man with tiger stripes running down the street from something. Suddenly a red and gold blur shot by them and nailed the man in the spine feet first making him eat the dirt. Hinata acrobatically flipped over and landed in front of the brute after she flattened him and said in a condescending tone, "Ah, Mizuki-sensei. How the mighty have fallen. As strange as it sounds coming from a kunoichi; stealing is wrong. The Nara's probably aren't too happy you broke into their place to make yourself all fuzzy. Are you absolutely sure you don't want to surrender and go back to prison?"
Mizuki struggled back up to his feet. His Animal Cursed Seal form should have given him the strength to crush a jonin and this brat was toying with him! "Who the hell are you little girl? You should be running in terror!"
"Really?" asked Hinata sarcastically. "I'm genin Hyūga Hinata, a former student of yours."
Mizuki charged and took several swipes at the heiress with his claws before her fingertips burst into flames. He was soon howling in pain at the scorch marks on his overly muscled arms as Hinata nimbly danced around Mizuki's claw strikes. The rest of Team 8 came roaring around the corner and saw Hinata engaged in battle with Mizuki. Kurenai looked pissed. She yelled to Hinata, "New orders; take him out!"
The cat like man laughed and said, "Take me out? Who are you kidding Kurenai? You and your team of misfit brats haven't got the strength!" That's when the ex-sensei felt a terrible killing intent coming from Hinata.
The Hyūga Heires spread her arms wide and rose in the air as multiple rings of fire danced around her. The all consuming flame blazed in her byakugan eyes and made Mizuki shiver. She said in a dark tone, "Burn forever in eternal pain." The concentrated firestorm she unleashed on the mutated Mizuki left only his silhouette visible as he screamed and thrashed. A smoking, writhing body hit the ground moments later. The fur was burned clean off of the sensei turned criminal.
Hinata landed nimbly as her team rushed up. "Are you all right Hinata-chan?" asked a concerned Kiba.
"I am fine Kiba-kun." asked Hinata. "Are all of you okay? I was worried about that wall falling on you when he escaped us."
Shino said, "We are only scuffed up Hinata. The wall didn't actually crush us. It just pinned us."
"What about Mizuki?" asked a dust and dirt covered Kurenai.
Hinata looked at the unmoving Mizuki's form with her byakugan and said, "He won't hurt anyone else sensei." She then leveled her burning gaze at the dumbstruck Neji. "Well hello there Neji nii-san. I haven't seen you since you tried to kill me at the Chunin Exam Preliminaries."
Neji was too shocked to speak but Tenten said, "Is that really you Hinata?"
Gai was over with Kurenai checking Mizuki. "He seems to be withering away back to his normal size rapidly." said the Green Beast. "What happened to him?"
Kurenai shook her head. "Mizuki broke out of prison and apparently concocted a potion that was of Orochimaru's design. We caught him in a building that he tried to collapse on us so he could escape. I had to send Hinata after him alone to delay him but that turned out to be a non-issue."
Gai said as he checked for a pulse, "It seems Mizuki is still alive but barely. I shall take him to the hospital for treatment. Tenten-chan, Neji-kun; follow Kurenai-sensei's commands until I return. You will be required to fill out after action reports about this incident." The Green Beast vanished in a swirl of leaves.
….
Rice Country, Southern Regions
The Konoha First Division had officially come to a full halt. Ahead of them the large supply garrison they intended to capture was a pillar of flames as well as the areas around it. "Jiraiya-sama, our scouts have confirmed that there is next to nothing left intact. What Oto troops remained in the area are rapidly retreating north." said Inuzuka Tsume.
"So Orochimaru has resorted to scorched earth tactics to slow us down." said Jiraiya somberly. "Has there been any contact with the enemy since then Tsume?"
Tsume shook her head. "Aside of the guerilla raids they've been making no. Their hit and run tactics have been fairly ineffective so far."
Jiraiya shook his head and turned to Shikaku. "Unless you have some strategy in mind it would be best to set up camp here and wait for the fires to die down. On the positive side the prevailing wind is blowing northward into Oto territory. We may not be able to track them clearly as they withdraw but we should be able to spot them easily enough if the send units out of the smoke to attack us."
Shikaku looked at the map of the area. "Capturing supplies from the enemy is unlikely with the strategy Orochimaru is employing. The loss of material to Oto must be staggering but they did manage to buy time to fortify Oto itself. Spreading out our forces to get around this wall of fire they've set up would stretch our supply lines out and leave them vulnerable to attacks. I hate to say it but our best option is to hunker down here and wait."
"Then for what it's worth the snake bought himself about a day's reprieve and probably is setting up every trap known to man under the cover of the smoke." said Jiraiya. "Shit. Send the order out to set up a defensive perimeter and to expect hit and run attacks. We'll just have to hurry up and wait."
"On the positive side our ROOT forces are already in the Oto Village area." said Shikaku "No doubt we should receive some intel from them as the day progresses."
The Konoha forces soon spread out a bit on the high grounds and set up defensive barriers to keep Oto's harassment raids at bay…
…
Konoha Training Ground 52
Kakashi was standing looking over the two poor slobs that tried to jump Team 7 while dressed in prisoner outfits. It hadn't been pretty….
Flashback….
Kakashi was supervising his team as they sparred. They were all working hard but it was obvious they were having fun too. High speed, full contact sparring was something the old Team 7 would never have done. They didn't have the trust in each other or the discipline. On the other hand, Naruto, Pyrrha and Blake excelled and encouraged each other to grow stronger and genuinely helped each other. The silver haired jonin couldn't have been more pleased.
That was when two ronin samurai wannabes showed up with rusty sparring swords in prison clothes and made some outrageous demands….
"All three of you are our hostages." said the taller one. "We'll be taking you three kids with us as a little insurance policy against any Konoha ninjas."
Team 7 looked around for Kakashi and saw he was standing behind the two crooks with a double eye smile waving. Neither crook even noticed. They sweat dropped at Kakashi's antics and Pyrrha said politely, "Judging by your clothing you must have escaped the prison and are lost. We can escort you back to the prison. Why don't you just surrender those swords and we can end this in a non violent manner?"
Seeing the two prisoners looking shocked Naruto added, "Those swords have seen better days. They are awfully rusty. Let us help you out."
The shorter one said, "What the fuck?! Don't you brats know who we are? We're-"
"Don't tell them who we are!" said the taller one. "Keep our identities as secret!" He turned to the bored looking genin and said, "If you knew who we are you'd wet yourselves in fear!"
"Really?" asked Blake. "You two are running around in prison outfits with beat up practice swords you probably found in a dumpster behind a kenjutsu dojo….and you think we're going to be afraid of you? I'd be laughing if you guys weren't so pathetic."
"How did you know where we got the swords?" asked the shorter one.
The genins disappeared in a blur. Blake appeared in front of the shorter one and effortlessly knocked the sword out of the man's hand before she scissor kicked him into the air and flipped backwards and out of the way.
Pyrrha appeared to the right of the taller one and shattered his rusty blade with a cross slash. Seeing he was too dumbfounded to react; Pyrrha followed up by smashing her shield into the prisoner exposed face and sent him flying into his already airborne buddy. Pyrrha then leapt clear.
The two prisoners seemed to be suspended mid air for a split second before Naruto finished going through his hand signs and said "Gale palm!" The two hapless losers were sent sailing into the largest tree in the area and they hit it with and awful cracking noise before they fell to the ground broken and unconscious.
Flashback end….
Kakashi shook his head as he dragged the two prisoners over into the training field and said, "Well, since this…golden opportunity just fell into our laps I'll show the three of you how to secure a ninja prisoner even though these two are definitely not ninja material.
…
By the time another genin tracking team (Team 10 actually) caught up with the two runners a half hour later the prisoners were tied up like a pair presents minus the bows. Asuma looked them over and the taller one said, "Just take us back to jail please ninja-san. Those three kids are just heartless."
…
Rice Country, The Village of Oto
Orochimaru looked over his maps with a bit of grim satisfaction. The cost had been terrible but the scorched earth strategy did what he needed; it bought him the precious time he needed to get everything out of Oto Village of research value. Kabuto was moving the experiments north all the way to the unused facilities Orochimaru set up there a decade ago in case of a disaster. 'The defense of Oto Village is going to cost me fifty to seventy-five percent of my regular troops. After the village falls and Jiraiya discovers the underground prison complexes Konoha will be too bogged down to pursue me further.'
Looking at the map of Fire Country Orochimaru saw his scouts were monitoring a full second Konoha division heading north to reinforce the first under Jiraiya. 'There is no helping it. Even if Jiraiya stays put and waits for the second division the most time it will buy me is two days. Konoha is simply too strong and that damned Suna is staying out of it entirely. Oto has lost this war. That doesn't mean I can't make Jiraiya pay dearly for every square foot of ground in Oto Village though.'
Tayuya and Jirōbō arrived shortly thereafter and saluted. "The fortifications inside the village have been completed as you ordered Orochimaru-sama." said Tayuya.
"Good." said the Snake sanin. "I take it you have news for me as well Jirōbō?"
The largest member of the Sound Four nodded. "The lines a mile behind the wall of flame in the south are moving on schedule my Lord. Unfortunately we lost a lot of laborers due to smoke inhalation."
"They are of no consequence." said Orochimaru. "That line has to hold Konoha back until we seed the area surrounding Oto Village with traps and reinforce our strong points." The Snake sanin pulled out a map of Oto Village. "Since your task is completed Tayuya; I'm putting you in charge of setting up the surrounding area. Jirōbō, head south and motivate those workers to hurry up. We have lots to do and little time to do it in."
Time was running out and the Snake sanin needed to move fast…
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POSTSCRIPT:
*①: That's what they called it in the show. Konoha Penitentiary or Prison sounds better to me but what do I know?
Well, that's a good stopping point. So, we've had a Konoha jailbreak and the beginnings of the war. Basically Mizuki's run for freedom was based upon his anime only escape arc that ended up with him surviving minus his ninja abilities. In this one….Assuming he lives the creep with be crippled beyond recovery. It might be more merciful to kill him off. The other two escapees were just for comedy relief and to show Team 7 is starting to work out their own special combos. On the flip side, Neji has had a very rude awakening regarding his cousin Hinata and seems to have taken an unusual interest in Blake. What will come of all that? Next time the war will continue with highlights here and there and we'll see things as they continue to develop on the home front. See you next time. Blue out. 6/26/16
Updated 4/4/22