Naruto: Tornado of Souls V2

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'd like to thank Solvdrage for his input on this chapter. Here is chapter 13. Enjoy!

Last time:

'…Orochimaru-sama is setting Jirōbō and I up to die! I need to tell that fat ass so we can –No, Jirōbō can fuck himself. He'll never believe me. I'm out of here.' Ten minutes later she arrived over at the command tent she had been working in to enhance Oto's defenses. Tayuya gave her underlings several tasks to do so that she was alone in the tent. The redhead carefully rolled up all the maps she had of Oto Village into a scroll. Every last trap was shown in them as were all the underground passages.

She strolled out of the command tent and told her second in command. "I'm going to go south and get some supplies and workers from Jirōbō. That fat-ass is where the supply problem is, not Kabuto. It will probably take a few hours so post four guards around the command tent. Nobody goes in there without my say so. Those documents are too valuable to risk anyone seeing them; got it?"

Getting a quick and frightened affirmative from her subordinate Tayuya set out towards the area Jirōbō was working in. 'With these maps I can pay for amnesty from that fucker Orochimaru. All I have to do is hand them over at the Konoha Command Post and I should have a ticket to safety. I hate traitors more than anything but Orochimaru-sama and four eyes betrayed me first.' she thought angrily. With a purpose in her step Tayuya walked out of sight and then took off at ninja speeds towards the Konoha army…and hopefully freedom.

…

Rice Country, Southern Regions

"The Second Division will be here to reinforce and resupply us by this time tomorrow Jiraiya-sama." reported a chunin.

Jiraiya was looking at the dying fires that Orochimaru's forces set up the day before. "We're going to have to make a move today." said the Toad Sage. "We've already given the snake too much time to mount a defense as it is." He motioned to his strategist Shikaku. "Let's take a look at this map now that the fires are starting to smolder."

….

Chapter 13

Rice Country, Southern Regions

The advance scouts of the Second Division had been sent ahead of the rest of the division to help the First. With all of the smoke and fog from the fires set by Oto troops the scouts had become a necessity. The minute they were rested enough from racing ahead to the front lines the scouting teams were sent out towards the Oto lines to look for weaknesses in the Rice Country defenses. Jiraiya ordered both the First and Second Division scouting teams to be cautious and report back what they found once they deployed. –Preferably without engaging the enemy. The bulk of the First Division was slowly bulldozing through the forefront of the enemy lines. It was an obvious target that kept the enemy forces pinned while the scouting teams probed for actual weaknesses…

It was now that Hyūga Hiashi found himself in a very bad situation. As a senior jonin he was in charge of a scouting group and his squad was ambushed. When Hiashi received the orders to reconnoiter an area where they suspected the enemy was he moved with caution but his subordinates were too eager and went too far afield. Now Hiashi was acting as a rearguard so his injured team could withdraw. He had multiple kunai wounds and was quickly falling behind his troops. 'Damn, these Oto troops are weaklings but there are dozens of them. I'm starting to run out of chakra.' thought the Hyūga Clan head. Hiashi saw a kunai with an explosive tag flying at him and yelled "Kaiten!" The expanding dome of chakra expanded around him but the shockwave caused him to lose his footing.

From Hiashi's point of view it was as if his enemies were turned into a swarm of insects coming towards him, ready to consume him alive. They moved in slow motion to him. He kept swatting them and crushing them by the dozens but no matter how many the proud clan head killed more and more and more crawled out of the cracks and crevices of the earth to consume his already bleeding flesh. His thoughts went back to the last time he spoke to his daughter Hinata….

"…I am very proud of you and I know you can take care of the clan in my absence. Should the worst happen to me you have my permission to get rid of the Caged Bird Seal by force if necessary. I know you will do the right thing Hinata-chan."

He was surprised when Hinata hugged him and said, "Do not talk as if you are not coming back Father."

Hiashi felt himself falling and thought, 'I'm so sorry Hinata-chan…'

One of the insects closed in on him. Its beady eyes and mindless grin disgusted Hiashi but there was nothing he could do to stop it…The sharp mandibles chattered eagerly as it closed upon him. As he was about to close his eyes for the last time the Clan Head thought he saw a massive foot crush the insect in front him with a thunderous crash. The exhausted Hyūga let darkness take him…

…

Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage's Office

The Third Hokage was looking over the report submitted by Kakashi on the Beowolf. He had summoned Kakashi to discuss it and the two were trying to gauge how big of a threat they were dealing with. "At this point we don't have the manpower to follow up on this Kakashi." said Hiruzen. "With the war going on it will pretty much fall on the shoulders of our genin teams. Bearing that in mind though I want you to write up a memorandum that I can hand out to the jonin senseis of the genin teams. Knowledge is power and these creatures sound like they could be anything from a minor nuisance to a truly major threat. The world of Remnant…It wasn't a pretty place was it?"

Kakashi shook his head. "It was an ongoing struggle for survival Hokage-sama. I…Ozpin dedicated his life to fighting the Creatures of Grimm and training the younger generations how to do so. Despite our advances technology in Remnant we still couldn't explain the Grimm's existence. It had been an endless war between man and beast for centuries. It's actually rather lucky that my team ran into that Beowolf. Other than Hinata, no one else but us could have identified the Grimm for what it was."

Sarutobi nodded. "Be that as it may, if these creatures actually feed on negative emotions like you've described then the Elemental Nations would be a virtual feast for them. Once the war is over I'm going to have teams actively hunt for these creatures. We can't be idle with this kind of potential threat out there."

"I agree entirely Hokage-sama." said Kakashi. "I'll write up a memorandum quickly and return it to you as soon as I'm finished. I may get my genin Team to help me on this before we take our afternoon patrol."

"Why would you need your genins Kakashi?" asked Hiruzen. "It sounds like you have a lifetime's worth of experience with these creatures."

"I can't draw to save my life Hokage-sama." said Kakashi in a guilty tone.

Hiruzen sweat dropped. "Do what you need to do Kakashi. Unless there is more you are dismissed."

…

Rice Country, Oto Village Headquarters

"What do you mean Tayuya is missing?!" asked Orichimaru irritably.

Kabuto cringed slightly. "Apparently she was having difficulties procuring supplies and left hours ago to speak with Jirōbō my Lord."

"Why didn't she come to me then?" growled the Snake sanin.

"I have no idea Orochimaru-sama." answered Kabuto. "I sent out a squad to find Jirōbō so we could locate her. She stationed a heavy guard at her command tent before she left and indicated it would be a few hours but she could have been to and from the front lines two or three times by now. Do you think Konoha got her?"

"Go to her command tent and see where she left off Kabuto." said Orochimaru. "She might be at one of the new fortifications inspecting her work."

Kabuto bowed, "Right away Orochimaru-sama."

…

Rice Country, Southern Regions

Tayuya was surveying her work. "Fuckin' A." she said to no one in particular. Around her were dozens of Oto troops that her ogre like Doki had demolished when she decided to break through the lines into Konoha controlled space. As the redhead advanced she found a hill that was littered with an impossible number of Oto troop's bodies her own targets had been following. What was most shocking of all was one man had caused it all and was at the top of the hill. She saw him falling and decided to intervene figuring he would make a strong ally. There really wasn't much left for Tayuya to kill but she directed her Doki to crush what little fodder was left…

"I hope the fucker's still alive. I need all the help I can get." thought Tayuya aloud as she waded through the pile bodies to the top of the hill. She saw the man's Konoha headband and checked for a pulse. 'He's just unconscious but he's got several wounds.' (sigh) 'I'm no medic but I can patch him up.' After checking the ninja over and dressing his injuries; the red-haired girl directed one of her Doki to give herself and the wounded ninja a lift towards the Konoha forces….

…An hour later a Konoha tracking group led by Inuzuka Tsume heard of (all things) a flute playing in rhythm with very heavy footsteps. That's when one of the Hyūga scouts with her said; "Hiashi-sama!" and everyone turned in the direction he was pointing. Out of the fog they saw a massive ogre like creature carrying Hiashi a gently as the ponderous thing could. On its opposite shoulder was a lithe red haired girl playing a flute skillfully. The girl noticed them and changed the melody she was playing. The creature kneeled and gently put Hiashi down. The girl hopped off her summons' shoulder and sent the creature back to its realm.

"I hope you Konoha bastar…ummm, ninjas have a medic. I rescued this guy and I did what I could to patch him up." called out the redhead.

Tsume exchanged looks with her Hyūga scout that nodded in the affirmative. Tsume said, "Identify yourself kunoichi."

"I'm Tayuya and I want to defect from Oto." She motioned to Hiashi. "I found him fighting a losing battle when I was escaping the Oto lines so I brought him with me."

Tsume came up and the feral woman said, "I'm Inuzuka Tsume. We've been looking for this one." Tsume motioned the medics to come tend Hiashi seeing there were no traps involved. "Why are you defecting?"

Tayuya spat out angrily, "I was a bodyguard to that fucker Orochimaru and I overheard him telling that four-eyed chicken-shit Kabuto that I was going to be sacrificed along with Oto Village so they could escape!" The girl was obviously raging. "So I grabbed the maps of Oto Village's defenses and got the hell out of town. I'll give you all the maps if you'll grant me amnesty."

The Inuzuka Clan head gave a wolfish grin. She pointed to Hiashi and said, "Do you know who he is?"

Tayuya shrugged and said. "I know he's a strong fucker. He killed dozens of Oto troops before he got knocked out. Why?"

"Let's just say he's someone important." said Tsume. "You bringing him back to us will earn you some points with Jiraiya-sama. Can I see those maps?"

The redhead pulled out a scroll and said "There's a big pile of maps. Let me unseal them." Tayuya kneeled over the scroll and quietly said, "Unseal." A plethora of maps appeared in front of a slightly surprised Tsume who started going through them with wide eyes. The clan head whistled.

Tsume said, "These maps are dated yesterday. How did you get these?"

The redhead answered, "The snake fag had me in charge of setting up defenses around Oto Village to fight off the Konoha forces. When I left I took them all with me. I've been hauling ass since this morning to get to Konoha forces to defect."

"These appear to be genuine but I'm not an expert." said Tsume. Tayuya was about to say something but Tsume cut her off and said, "I think you are trustworthy. I trust my instincts."

The medic on Tsume's Team said, "Hiashi-sama is going to be alright but we need to take him back to our medical tent at headquarters to heal him properly. He's suffering from chakra exhaustion as well."

"Let's get these maps sealed back up Tayuya." said Tsume. "We need to move out."

….

Fire Country. Konoha, Naruto's Apartment

Naruto was cleaning up his apartment. Ever since Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake started coming to visit him he was making an effort to keep the place spic and span. 'With a dozen shadow clones it's actually pretty easy to keep the place clean.' thought the blonde. 'Since we got back from Midori Village early enough Team 7 will be taking a patrol or two after lunch. It sure is nice having Blake-chan and Pyrrha-chan on my team. Blake-chan said she would pick up lunch this time so odds are it will be seafood. I think she loves fish as much as I love ramen.' As Naruto finished wiping down his kitchen he heard a knock at the door. 'They are awfully early.' he thought.

After checking through the peephole on his door a puzzled Naruto opened it up to Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei; isn't it a bit early to start our patrol? Don't tell me you are going to start showing up early instead of late!"

Kakashi gave a double eye smile. "Actually I knew you three were meeting here for lunch and I need help with my report on the Beowolf and other Creatures of Grimm. The Hokage wants everyone to understand the threat is out there."

"Hmmm…Makes sense that Jiji would want everyone to know." said the orange loving ninja. "Come on in and tell me how I can help."

…

Rice Country, Oto Village

Kabuto was shaking in fear. After ordering a manhunt to find the missing Tayuya he went to her command tent and found that the maps spread over the table were all old ones that were out of date. 'Orochimaru-sama is going to be furious! All evidence points towards her abandoning Oto. With those maps the Konoha forces could avoid and overrun our defenses easily! This is bad; really bad!' As the apprentice of Orochimaru travelled towards headquarters he hoped that Orochimaru-sama wouldn't take his head off over this…

When Kabuto got Headquarters he heard Orochimaru ranting and raving through the door of the Command Room about how incompetent his underlings were. Knocking crisply Kabuto heard Orochimaru's voice snap, "Who is it?"

"I have urgent news regarding Tayuya, Orochimaru-sama." squeaked out Kabuto. "May I enter?"

"Come in Kabuto." said Orochimaru in a tired tone of voice. When Kabuto entered he saw the place was a mess from Orochimaru raging earlier. On the positive side there were no dead bodies… "What do you have to report Kabuto? Was she injured fighting Konoha forces or something?"

Kabuto swallowed heavily and said, "Orochimaru-sama; all evidence I have found indicates that Tayuya defected to the Konoha side with all the maps of our village defenses. She vanished early this morning and there has been no sign of her since."

"WHAAAT?!" screeched Orochimaru. "DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!" The snake sannin was hyperventilating for a few seconds and then shattered his worktable to pieces with his fist in anger. Bringing himself back under a facade of self-control, Orochimaru said calmly, "Explain your evidence to me Kabuto."

Kabuto bowed. "Yes my Lord. Tayuya left around 9 AM this morning under the pretense that she was going to procure supplies from Jirōbō. Before she left, she specifically told her subordinates to guard her tent and not let anyone in until she returned. I outrank her and was able to enter the tent. When I did, I went through the maps there and found that they are the old and outdated maps her team used to make the new maps with all of our new traps and fortifications. Given it is 6 PM she had nine hours to cross into Konoha territory and three would have sufficed. No one has seen Tayuya anywhere since she left including Jirōbō who I contacted via messenger hawk. I can only conclude that she has gone over to the enemy side. Those maps would have bought her freedom in Fire Country… That concludes my report Orochimaru-sama."

The Snake sanin sat down in a rolling chair that he'd damaged earlier while having a fit. "Have you dispatched hunter teams to find her Kabuto?" asked Orochimaru in a resigned tone.

"Yes Orochimaru-sama." said the glasses wearing ninja. "I ordered a full-scale manhunt for her thirty minutes ago and came straight here to report to you afterwards."

"I will summon you later Kabuto." said Orochimaru in a morose tone. "For now I need to ponder this situation in private."

"By your leave." said Kabuto. He quickly left afterwards.

Orochimaru looked around at his demolished command room. "What the hell am I going to do now?" he wondered aloud…

…

Fire Country. Konoha, Market District

Blake was on her way to get some lunch for her team at her favorite sushi restaurant when she ran into Tenten and Neji. The feline faunus girl knew Tenten of course but she'd never crossed paths with Neji before. Tenten waved her friend down. "Blake; are you out for lunch?"

The cat eared girl nodded and answered, "I'm picking up lunch for my team actually. I'm going to the sushi bar to put in an order."

Neji stepped forward. "I am Hyūga Neji; Tenten's teammate under Gai-sensei."

The black-haired girl shook his hand. "Belladonna Blake of Team 7; nice to make your acquaintance."

Tenten said, "So you are the gopher for lunch this time?"

"Actually I'm doing it because Naruto always does it." admitted Blake. "Since we are meeting at his place to eat I figured it was the least I could do."

As the girls conversed on the way over to the sushi place; Neji was carefully scrutinizing Blake. 'She has a well toned, athletic body and seems to have excellent manners.' He admired her slim exposed midriff and noted her katana and kusarigama. 'Blake is exceptionally well bred and obviously very strong. She also seems rather quiet.' thought Neji approvingly. "Blake would make an excellent addition to Team 9. How should I go about asking her? It's a waste of her time to be on that thrown together Team 7 with that loser Uzumaki.'

After the three put in their orders (Blake said her orders were to go) the three genins sat down at a table under an umbrella. "Having a combination katana and kusarigama is really innovative." said Tenten happily. "Dad and I have been pulling out all the stops on the Gambol Shroud. The sheath being an auxiliary weapon is great too."

As the bun haired girl carried on happily about Blake's weapon of choice, Neji was trying to get a word in edgewise….and was getting frustrated. 'If Tenten would stop talking about weapons I could actually join in the conversation.' "I'd like to see this new weapon when it's done." said Neji. "It sounds interesting."

The bun haired girl turned to Neji with a look that could only be described as shock. "Ummm…since when have you had any interest in weapons at all Neji? Are you feeling well?"

Neji huffed affronted. "From your description I thought it sounded innovative. If Blake-san created the design, she must be quite talented. I wondered if I could use such a weapon."

Tenten snickered. "Neji; my Dad wouldn't even consider making the Gambol Shroud until Blake displayed her expertise with the kusarigama. The Gambol Shroud is a weapon that could easily kill its user without years of training. I'd have to practice a lot before I even touch the Gambol Shroud and I'm fairly proficient with a kusarigama."

Neji turned to Blake. "So you are a prodigy with the kusarigama? I am impressed if you are better than Tenten. I would like to see how you use it."

Blake looked thoughtful and said, "I'll have to get used to my new Gambol Shroud before I go demonstrating it to anybody. It's going to require lots of minor adjustments before it's perfected. I have every faith that Tenten and her Father are going to turn out a superb weapon."

"Well, I'd still like to see this Gambol Shroud." said Neji.

About that time Blake heard her name called. "Sounds like my order is ready. I will see you later Tenten. It was nice meeting you Neji."

Neji was going to call after her but the cat eared girl was gone in a flash…

…

Rice Country, Konoha Command tent

Jiraiya was grinning like a madman as Shikaku went over the maps with Tayuya's help in pointing out the defenses. The Toad sanin said, "As the Commander of the Konoha forces I grant you full amnesty Tayuya. That's the least I can do for you for saving Hiashi and delivering these maps." 'You don't know the hell I'm going to rain on you Orochimaru. With these maps we've been given a golden opportunity.'

Tayuya said politely, "Thank you Jiraiya-sama. I am in your care." The red haired kunoichi was in a fairly good mood. She had been questioned both by Jiraiya and Yamanaka Inoichi but it was more like an interview than an interrogation. At no point did she feel in danger and they never even seized her weapons. 'Of course, I've got nothing to hide.' thought the redhead to herself. 'I've got to say Jiraiya-sama and Orochimaru couldn't be more different. At least I'm safe.'

…

Rice Country, Konoha Medical Tent

Hiashi awoke with a start and saw one of his clansmen watching over him. It was Hyūga Hoheto. The topknot wearing Hyūga said, "Hiashi-sama; I am glad you are awake. Try not to move around too much or you'll aggravate your injuries. You are also suffering from chakra exhaustion so relax."

Hiashi said in a hoarse voice, "No wonder I am so tired. What happened Hoheto? My men…are they safe?"

Hoheto quickly gave the clan head some water for his parched throat which Hiashi drank greedily. As Hiashi drank his water; Hoheto said, "Your squad made it back fine Hiashi-sama." Seeing then Clan Head relax a bit Hoheto said, "You were found by a young Oto kunoichi who was defecting from Orochimaru's forces. She treated your wounds and brought you back to our forces. We feared we had lost you Hiashi-sama. It was a great relief to all the clan members that you were returned safely."

The clan head finished his water and said, "I would like to meet this kunoichi. I owe her my deepest thanks. What is her name Hoheto?"

"Her name is Tayuya." answered Hoheto. "Apparently she was one of Orochmaru's bodyguards at one point."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "This Tayuya was that high in the ranks and she defected?"

Hoheto nodded. "I don't know all the details but Jiraiya-sama has granted her full amnesty from Oto for her actions. She apparently has a great deal of intelligence on the enemy and has agreed to share it in return."

After a few more minutes of talking Hiashi dozed back off again. He thought of Hinata and Hanabi as he drifted off to sleep. 'I will see both of you soon my little angels…'

…

Fire Country. Konoha, Naruto's Apartment

Blake arrived at Naruto's apartment with the lunches for Team 7 and was soon let in by Naruto. "Blake-chan, you're right on time!" said the blonde ninja with a beaming smile. Blake blushed a tiny bit and smiled. "Let me help you with the food." said Naruto as he led her inside.

The faunus girl saw Pyrrha at the dinner table working on a paper furiously. She looked up briefly and said, "Hello again!" before she went back to work.

Kakashi was also there and waved with a "Yo!"

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei." said Blake, "If I'd known you were going to be here, I would have picked you up some lunch too."

"Don't worry about it." said the jonin. "I already ate. Can you draw like Pyrrha-chan can Blake?"

Blake raised an eyebrow at the odd question before Naruto explained, "Hokage-Jiji wants a report on the different kinds of Grimm. I don't know what they look like so Pyrrha-chan is drawing them for Kakashi-sensei's report.

The feline faunus girl asked, "Why didn't you just sketch them yourself Kakashi-sensei?"

Pyrrha let out a completely unladylike snort but kept drawing and Naruto openly laughed as he snatched a paper away from where Kakashi and gave it to Blake. On it was a hairy stick figure with little triangles representing teeth and claws. Blake stared as Naruto said, "That's Kakashi-sensei's drawing of a Beowolf." Naruto shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. All those years of art school gone to waste Kakashi-sensei."

Blake tried hard not to laugh. She really did. Alas, the faunus girl exploded into hysterical laughter and Kakashi just sweat dropped…

…

Rice Country, Konoha Command tent

Hours later; with the masses of data the maps provided; Jiraiya and his planning staff had completely revised their strategy. They had called for a halt in the slow going offensive Konoha started that morning in order to revise their plans. "We must assume that Orochimaru is aware that we have these plans." said Nara Shikaku. "In spite of the delay a night offensive wouldn't be to our advantage even though the enemy is vulnerable right now."

"So we wait for the bulk of the Second Division to arrive in the morning and start a multi pronged offensive?" asked Akimichi Choza.

"Precisely." said Jiraiya. "We've already found five areas in their lines that are only protected by troops without any fortifications to back them up. Moving rapidly through those areas will allow us to completely flank their first and second lines of defense. Within two days we should be right on top of Oto Village itself."

"Do you think we can trust that Tayuya girl and these maps you are using?" asked Morino Ibiki. "I haven't even interrogated her."

Yamanaka Inoichi grinned at the psychological sadist and said, "Trust me Ibiki. Jiraiya-sama and I spoke at length with her and she wants Orochimaru to go down as badly as we do."

Jiraiya added, "Besides, all they information our scouting forces have gathered through the day correlate to the maps and information she has down to the last digit. Just because the situation seems too convenient to you doesn't mean that it isn't true Ibiki. I've seen more than my fair share of crazy things happen during a war. Shikaku's right though. We know this information but we have to assume that Orochimaru realizes we know it as well. He's going to try his damndest to counter the situation but the gaps in the lines we are going to exploit are simply too damn big for him to stop us."

Tsume asked, "So what's the ETA of the second division? I'm going to be putting my pup Hana to work helping our ninken."

"They should be here at dawn tomorrow." said Choza. "Once they've rested and gotten a good meal in them they should be good to go."

Shikaku nodded. "Once the logistics are in place we'll move out. If we stay on schedule then it will be about 8 AM."

For the first time since this mess began the Konoha forces were brimming with confidence…

…

Konoha, Main Square

That night, genin Teams 7, 8, 9 and 10 were all in the mission hall filling out their reports. Each team had two patrols that day and absolutely nothing of note had happened during their patrols as far as combat was concerned. They were all discussing this and other than Neji (who claimed he didn't have time for it) they all decided to do something after they finished their reports for the day. So what do ten bored young genins do after a hard long day of patrolling the village? They go to the theatre to see the latest movie and blow off some steam at the cheap late-night show:

Ninjas vs. Zombies XVII: The Return of the Son of Goremaster

Ino shrieked in horror as the fourteenth scantily clad kunoichi was eaten by the zombies in just as many minutes. Why was she shrieking? Did she actually identify with the bubble headed bimbo on the screen because they were both blonde? Well, no actually. (Ino was naturally blonde. The so-called actress obviously had on a wig that kept slipping). Ino was shrieking because the special effects were so bad that most children's plays were more dramatic.

The movie's ninja hero came on the screen and beheaded a dozen zombies with his chainsaw sword. Naturally the army of undead was still coming. "Ugh, this is nauseating." complained Blake as she ate her popcorn.

"You mean the gallon of creamed corn they threw on that guy that was supposed to be flesh melting, undead stomach acid from hell?" asked Naruto as he stifled a snort at the horrible method acting.

Pyrrha sighed. "I have to agree that was a truly tasteless scene." said the redhead in agreement. "This is pitiful."

"No, that's not it." said Blake. "I do agree that was horrible though."

"No kidding." said Choji. "Throwing away perfectly good, creamed corn like that is criminally wasteful."

"I think the acting is the worst part." said Hinata as she sipped her soda. "If you can even call it acting."

"I agree" said Tenten. "If I had my arm bitten off by a zombie, I'd imagine I would be screaming in pain a bit."

Naruto laughed. "The girl was supposed to be going into shock. It was shockingly bad."

Hinata smiled evilly. "Fortunately, she died in the next scene Naruto-kun…. After spraying more fake blood than a human body could possibly contain all over the place."

Shikamaru said, "This whole movie is a drag. When the flesh-eating worm sock puppet came off the guy's hand in the middle of the scene it was horrifically tacky. This is the worst thing I've seen since Ninjas vs. Zombies XVI."

Blake face palmed. "Special effects aside; the book this movie was based on was really excellent. They totally botched it."

Ino and Kiba burst into laughter as one of the characters died in an explosion of totally fake gore.

Shino simply asked, "You mean there was actually a book of this abomination?"

"They said the screenplay was adapted from the book, The Haunted Labyrinth. I'm so disgusted." said Blake as if she'd eaten something bad. "This is making a mockery of what was an enjoyable piece of literature."

Naruto chortled as some 'cut off' rubber limbs wiggled by on the screen. "So if it's not the horrible acting or the special effects then what is it Blake-chan?"

The faunus girl narrowed her amber eyes and said, "They cut out all of the gratuitously hot sex! What's with all this mindless T & A?! There should be lots of steamy, creamy, hot bodies covered in oil all proudly on display!"

Everyone present turned to Blake with wide eyed looks of shock and disbelief frozen on their faces.

Blake had the decency to blush. "Well, that's what I think anyway." The cat eared girl squeaked out.

Needless to say the group of genins was a bit preoccupied for the rest of the show…

…

As the group left the theatre they were discussing the masterpiece they'd just watched. "Well, that was a low budget film." said Pyrrha politely. "I guess they did their best with what they had."

"You're giving it too much credit Pyrrha-chan." said Ino. "I think they covered the production costs of that disaster with our ticket prices alone."

Shino added, "I agree, you are far too gracious Pyrrha. That movie was pure garbage."

"Anyone up for snacks?" asked Choji. "Seeing that movie made me hungry."

Ino giggled. "After seeing all those people get eaten you are hungry Choji?"

"Actually, after watching that zombie cannibal buffet I'm hungry too." said Naruto. "Where is some succulent young kunoichi flesh to eat?"

Ino, Hinata, Pyrrha and Blake all blushed slightly at that totally tactless comment. Tenten just laughed.

"Troublesome. Think before you talk knucklehead." said Shikamaru.

Naruto suddenly blushed beet red realizing the implications of what he'd said. "Sorry…" squeaked out Naruto.

The group soon settled on Yakiniku Q and generally had a good time talking before the genins all decided to call it a night.

Things were peaceful in Konoha…for now…

…

POSTSCRIPT:

This chapter was a bit odd to write, being split between the battlefront and the home front. I almost had the two separate plotlines completely separated but eventually I was able to blend the two to my liking. I hope everyone likes what I did with Tayuya and Hiashi. Things will probably be faster paced next chapter because the war is going to be more ferocious as it moves towards a climax. Jiraiya is setting up to make a big move and Orochimaru is at a bit of a loss. The Konoha side of things was really more character driven than plot driven. Things are tense and the genins need some downtime given how much is going on so I gave them a night out at the movies (as opposed to my original idea of drinking and gambling). Thanks everyone for reading. See you next time. Blue out. 8/7/16

Updated 4/4/22