Naruto: Tornado of Souls V2

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm working a bit more on quality this time so this chapter took awhile longer to write. Hopefully it shows. This chapter we're going to get back to regular missions for our genin teams. The War is now more or less in the mop up stages now so most of the focus will be back on Konoha. Here is chapter 18. Enjoy!

Last time:

Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower

Luckily for the people of Rice Country, the Third Hokage had dealt with crisis situations like famine and drought before. Considering what reports had flowed in about possible prisoners; Sarutobi Hiruzen had already put plans for relief in motion. It was very fortunate that Fire Country actually had a bumper crop problem that year. Without enough places to store the grains there was a huge potential loss of food that was going to literally rot away. Caravans were already being set up to send aid to the Rice Country refugees. In addition, the majority of the ex-prisoners were completely innocent and just wanted to get out of Rice Country.

The Fire Daimyo mercifully sent his samurai to the Rice Country border to receive the influx of immigrants that would no doubt result from this situation. For now the plans to invade Oto Village proper were on hold until the refugee situation was taken care of. The entire area surrounding Oto was encompassed by Konoha forces that were getting the innocent people out. It would be some time before an assault was mounted by Jiraiya's forces. It was a victory of sorts but a hollow one. Orochimaru had escaped but Rice Country was essentially freed of his influence. The Daimyo of Rice Country already was negotiating a peace with the Fire Country Daimyo's representatives and he had ordered Oto Village to surrender to the Konoha Forces.

The remaining Oto forces hadn't made a move to fight or to surrender. For the time being it was simply a stalemate.

All Jiraiya could do at this point was sit and wait…

…

Chapter 18

Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower

It had been two weeks since Oto Village had been cut off from the surrounding Land of Rice. Both the Konoha forces and the Daimyo of Rice Country demanded a complete surrender but the few ninjas left in Oto seemed to be the worst missing nins of Orochimaru's forces so surrender basically meant death for them due to bounties on their heads…

Sarutobi Hiruzen was reading Jiraiya's latest reports to himself aloud. "…And in conclusion Hokage-sama; the whole situation is a massive clusterfuck." Sarutobi sweat dropped. 'Jiraiya-kun always did have a way with words…' thought the aged leader. Hearing a knock at his door he asked "Who is it?"

He heard his secretary's voice. "It's Maki Hokage-sama. I have the lists of available teams for the next supply convoys to Rice Country. They need your stamp of approval."

"Come on in Maki; let me have a look at those." said Sarutobi. 'The paperwork never ends. I wonder if I can con Tsunade-chan into taking this job…'

…

Mission Hall

Later that morning, Umino Iruka was handing out the new assignments to the genin teams. Since several chunin teams had rotated back from Rice Country Konoha was secure and the genin teams were freed up for regular duties again. Inuzuka Kiba was elated. "An actual escort mission Iruka-sensei?! After patrolling the village for weeks on end this will be a regular vacation!" The three genins on Team 8 all looked happy (even Shino).

Kurenai smiled at her student's obvious enthusiasm. "We'll be escorting a supply caravan from Konoha up to the Rice Country border to help the many refugees there. After that we'll be escorting a refugee caravan back on our return trip. It should take a couple of weeks at most. Are you kids up for this?"

"Hai, sensei!" answered all of Team 8 in unison.

"Pack for two weeks then." said the red eyed jonin. "We leave from the North Gates at noon."

…

Hyūga Compound

Hanabi was sitting on Hinata's bed as the heiress packed for her mission. "I wish you didn't have to be gone so long nee-chan." said Hanabi. "Father still hasn't returned either."

Hinata smiled and kissed Hanabi's nose making the younger girl giggle. "I'm trusting you to keep the clan in line Hanabi-chan. Both Father and I will be returning before you know it. In the meantime, I've asked Kō to keep an eye out for you so if you need any help then just ask him." Hinata chuckled. "And try to behave for Natsu-san. She's been a bit overwhelmed lately with the war going on and all."

"Okay nee-chan; I'll keep the clan under control." said Hanabi. "If the Elders get too bossy I'll threaten to tell you about them when you get back."

Hinata beamed. "I'm so proud of you Hanabi-chan!" Both sisters laughed as Hinata finished packing.

Exchanging last hugs and kisses, Hinata said, "I'll see you soon Hanabi-chan. Be good while I'm gone."

"I will nee-chan!" said Hanabi as her big sister left through the gates of the compound. Hanabi sighed. "…I miss you already Hinata nee…"

…

Naruto's Apartment

It was still before lunch and Team 7 had the day off. Naruto was planning to hang out with Blake and Pyrrha that afternoon and wasn't expecting company. He heard a knock on his door and saw Hinata decked out for combat with Midnight on her back. Naruto smiled and the two greeted each other with a warm kiss. "Hinata-chan; I'm glad to see you." said Naruto happily as he let her inside. "What's up? Are you going on a mission?"

Hinata smiled at her boyfriend. "Yes, Team 8 has an escort mission. We're going to be out in the field for two weeks and I wanted to let you know before I left." She kissed him much more passionately and Naruto's hands roamed over his girlfriend's wonderful curves as her hands explored his body as well. When they separated, they were both panting a bit and Hinata blushed prettily and smiled. She squeezed Naruto's hands in hers and said, "I'll be thinking about you Naruto-kun. I need to go."

Naruto gave her a peck on the lips and said, "Be safe Hinata-chan. I'll be thinking of you too."

The Byakugan Princess smiled and blew a kiss back at her boyfriend as she turned and left to join her team…

…

North Gate

"I see you have your swords today Hinata." said Shino. "I've often wondered why you usually have them sealed in a scroll."

Hinata sighed softly and said, "I mainly keep Midnight sealed for the sake of Pyrrha Nikos while I'm in the village. She has an understandable dislike of this weapon."

"What happened?" asked Kiba curiously.

The Byakugan Princess had regret in her eyes and said, "Cinder Fall ruthlessly killed Pyrrha Nikos with this type of weapon in its bow form. She and I were enemies….We are friends now but it's understandable that Midnight would make her feel very uncomfortable."

Kurenai placed her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "She also has to realize that you are a kunoichi and need your weapons."

Hinata nodded. "She does but I can tell it still bothers her."

The red eyed jonin looked at her favorite student with sympathy. Then she noticed something. "Hinata-chan, where is your quiver of arrows? A bow isn't much use without them."

"Oh! That's right. I didn't tell you guys about the upgrades we made." said Hinata. "Naruto-kun added seals to the hand grips to store the arrows. I can make up to three steel arrows appear at a time just by channeling chakra through my fingertips. They can be regular arrows or I can channel flame chakra into them without difficulty."

"It sounds like Naruto is getting quite adept with seals." said Shino. "How many arrows are sealed in the bow?"

"Currently I can carry sixty arrows which is twenty in each seal." said Hinata enthusiastically. "Naruto-kun and Pyrrha-chan are both getting very skilled with seals."

"Pyrrha helped?" asked Kurenai surprised.

The Hyūga heiress nodded. "Pyrrha-chan made the basic seal design and Naruto-kun converted it to hold arrows and added them to Gemini. I'll show you." The Hyūga heiress unscrewed the hilt one of her blades and pulled out a small tube with a sealing scroll inside it. "These little cartridges hold twenty sealed arrows each." explained Hinata. "When I empty a cartridge I just swap it out for a new one. Naruto-kun and Pyrrha-chan are quite clever; wouldn't you agree?"

Kiba whistled. "As small as those cartridges are you could carry a dozen of them easily."

"How many spares to you have?" asked Shino.

"I carry twenty spare cartridges so I won't be running out of arrows anytime soon." replied Hinata as she closed up the sword hilt.

"Looks like our client is here team." said Kurenai. "Let's get going."

…

The leader of the caravan Team 8 was protecting was led by an older man whose squinty eyes were basically hidden under his shaggy gray eyebrows. He said worriedly, "Are you ninja Team 8 that is supposed to protect us?"

Kurenai showed him her mission papers and the old man sighed. "I don't see how three kids and a woman are going to protect ten cartloads of supplies and twenty five of my men."

The beautiful jonin's eyebrow twitched and Kurenai said, "I'm a jonin and my three genin are well trained and disciplined sir. Trust me; Team 8 will be sufficient."

The old man nodded warily and said, "I'm Nobuyuki but my men call me Jiji. Our lives are within your hands."

Introductions were soon made and the caravan got underway at a slow but steady pace…

…
Naruto's Apartment

While Team 8 was moving out; Naruto was sitting at home with Pyrrha who arrived minutes ago. They were waiting on Blake to help them decide what to do today. Blake soon arrived carrying a scroll. She looked excited when Nauto welcomed her in.

"What's in the scroll Blake-chan?" asked Naruto.

"It's a letter from Anko nee-chan." said Blake enthusiastically. "She's going to be coming home next week and she found a couple of refugees from Remnant. I thought I'd ask Pyrrha-chan if she knew of them."

"Who are they Blake-chan?" asked Pyrrha.

"They are a set of identical twins named Melanie and Miltia Malachite." said Blake. "I guess they were bodyguards at that nightclub called Junior's that Yang used to visit. I've never heard of them but they are from Vale."

"I'm afraid I've never heard of them or this Junior's place." said Pyrrha. "Hopefully we'll be able to befriend them regardless. How old are they?"

Blake looked at the scroll again, "Anko-nee says they are about our age and probably could use some friends. She said they are in bad shape from what happened to them in Oto Village but Anko nee-chan didn't go into other details except that they are ninja trained." The feline faunus girl pondered. "I don't really remember them from Oto Village but a lot of Kin's memories were lost when she and Blake merged. I hope we get along."

"Take off your bow Blake-chan." said Naruto. "You look so much better without it."

Blake smiled and blushed a tiny bit as she freed her ears and Naruto smiled warmly. "I guess I'm so used to hiding them that I forget sometimes." said Blake.

…

Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters

Sakura made it to the Northern Base after a huge detour to avoid the Konoha forces. Her visible green eye glinted in the darkness of the tunnels. "I need a new jian thanks to that bitch Pyrrha." she muttered angrily to herself. "I wonder when Ino-chan will come out to join us. It's going to be hard linking up with her again." she said happily. Then she thought darkly. 'Now I have to deal with that bimbo Karin. I hope Sasuke-kun isn't angry at me for not getting Ino.' "Who gave Sasuke the right to judge me anyway? He's so lousy in bed. He needs to be punished for leaving me so unsatisfied…"

As the pinkette wandered through the narrow passages to the rooms she shared with Sasuke and Karin, she ran into Kabuto who wore his usual disarming smile. "Ah, good afternoon, Sakura-chan. It's good to see you back safely. How did it go?"

The rosette growled. "Everything was fine until that whore Pyrrha Nikos intervened. She cost me my jian and prevented Ino from killing Ayano. I hate that girl!" Then Sakura's voice changed to a happy tone. "But I'm sooo happy to be back home with my Sasuke-kun!"

'She's erratic as ever….' thought Kabuto. "Well, I'll see about getting you a new sword out of the armory Sakura-chan. I'll need a written report from you on your mission for Orochimaru-sama of course."

Sakura's visible green eye turned hard as diamond as she glared at Kabuto. "I'll be interested in hearing how we lost Oto Village to Konoha. Getting around the enemy's forces was hell."

Kabuto said in a pacifying tone, "I'm afraid that we ran into a few…setbacks just as you did. Orochimaru-sama will be expecting a report from you though so I ask that you take care of it."

Sakura glared and said, "Fine; I'll get a scroll. -Then I can see Sasuke-kun!" she said all too happily.

Within the hour Kabuto had a very concise report of Sakura's mission. As he read it he noticed something disturbing. 'There are two styles of handwriting here….When she's describing something positive her handwriting is very girly and rounded but when she's writing a negative comment her kanji becomes very stilted and blocky. Did the Curse Seal cause her to develop a split personality?! I thought she actually died but then she steadied out. This is distressing. If she's going to be my apprentice in the medical field I need to know what's going on inside her head.' Kabuto made some notations and took the report to Orochimaru.

…

"…And those are my findings my Lord." said Kabuto to his master. "I can't imagine anything else that would cause such a thing. Her inconsistency and erratic mood swings would be explained by a split personality. One seems to be extremely positive and the other is the polar opposite coming across as totally negative."

Orochimaru scratched his chin. "This is most interesting. I wonder if the chakra from the Cursed Seal triggered a preexisting condition or if she developed it afterwards. None of the other Cursed Seal users had a reaction anything even resembling this. What do we know about her 'switch?' Is there anything in particular that triggers the change?"

Kabuto sighed. "The only thing I've found that is truly consistent is she always keeps her sunny disposition when she's around Sasuke-kun. Otherwise she seems rather random although her negative side comes out more when she is alone. She often talks to herself as well although I don't know if she realizes this. Some of her comments I've overheard indicate a love/hate relationship with Sasuke-kun."

"Such as?" asked Orochimaru curiously.

The bespectacled nin sweat dropped. "Apparently Sasuke-kun doesn't live up to her expectations in bed…"

Orochimaru looked a bit dumbfounded for a moment and then roared in laughter. "My, my. It seems that Sakura-chan is quite the little spitfire. Keep an eye on her Kabuto. I'll be interested in seeing how this situation develops."

Kabuto bowed and said in a harried voice, "As you wish Orochimaru-sama…"

…

Sasuke's body skidded across the floor and he dropped his sword with a clatter. He groaned and Karin and Sakura both cried out, "Sasuke-kun!"

"Oh please…" said Guren darkly. "Even with a sword you can't touch me Uchiha. This is a taijutsu only spar. You're as weak as a baby. Get up. We're not done sparring yet. And leave that sword over there with Sakura before you hurt yourself."

Sasuke coughed and got up on his hands and knees. "Bitch…I don't need my sword to defeat you…" He slid his sword over in front of Sakura and said hoarsely, "Watch over that Sakura-chan."

Sakura picked up the katana and sheathed it. 'Sasuke…this is pathetic.' she thought in a dark voice. 'Naruto is stronger than this. I saw him sparring with Jiraiya-sama and he always got up for more in an instant. Guren's attacks are love taps compared to Jiraiya-sama's. Sasuke isn't worthy of me...' thought the pinkette darkly as she watched Sasuke getting his ass handed to him by Guren. 'Naruto…'

'Shut up you!' thought Sakura angrily. 'Sasuke-kun is my dream man!' she thought in a shrill voice.

'You may have me imprisoned but I can think all I want to Sakura!' growled her darker voice. 'Sasuke's not fit to lick our boots. I'd rather have little blondes than little Uchihas. You'll see that I'm right you stupid fool.'

"Damn you bitch!" shrieked Sakura aloud as Sasuke hit the floor unconscious.

Guren chuckled. "If you want to help Sasuke then yapping like a pink Pomeranian isn't going to help much Sakura. You should focus on getting stronger." Guren had no idea that Sakura's outburst was directed entirely at some else instead of her…

…

Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage Tower

The Third Hokage was listening to the report of one of, if not his most loyal ANBU, Weasel. "That is my full report Hokage-sama. Other than Hoshigaki Kisame none of the other Akatsuki members saw me leave. There are no guarantees but I doubt Kisame will report me. Admitting he let me go without a fight would cast him in a very bad light."

Sarutobi nodded. "Once this war with Oto Village is over I want to fully exonerate you for your crimes. Finding out that other Uchiha that called himself Tobi murdered the Uchiha Clan members that were not in the coup d'état will make a world of difference in how the Village sees you."

Weasel said in a depressed tone, "I still murdered so many…." Then he asked, "Have we discovered Tobi's true identity yet?"

Hiruzen sighed. "He was one of ours that we thought died in the Third Shinobi War as a hero…I believe he was also the masked man that unleashed Kyubi upon the Village thirteen years ago."

The ANBU trembled in horror. "He…unleashed the Kyubi? So many died."

The aged leader said, "Take off you mask Weasel." Seeing Itachi's still young face Hiruzen said, "You've finally laid all those poor souls killed by Kyubi to rest Itachi. Take comfort in that." The old man sighed. "I don't know whether to reveal his name to the public or not so for now be content that a traitor was brought to justice. I read your medical reports from Tsunade. You are very fortunate she is back in the village. That lung disease you had would have killed you eventually. She's one of the few medic nins who has even heard of it. The fact you will fully recover is most welcome news to me."

"I'm very indebted to Tsunade-sama." agreed Itachi. "I know she still has…issues with blood but she drew mine without comment."

"Senju Tsunade is a strong woman." said Hiruzen proudly. "She is slowly but surely getting over her issues and I intend to see you do the same. You are a hero Itachi. You've played the part of a missing nin far too long. What happened to you and your family was a tragedy I'll never forgive myself for."

"What about my brother Sasuke?" asked Itachi.

Hiruzen said in a firm but sad voice, "He did not live up to your expectations. All your hopes for him to start a new and honorable Uchiha Clan were destroyed when he murdered his own sensei for power. He is a traitor and a missing nin. It will be up to you to found a new and loyal Uchiha Clan Itachi."

Itachi looked crestfallen but said, "I read the reports but I did not wish to believe them Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen put a Fatherly hand on Itachi's shoulder and said. "For what it's worth Itachi; I did not wish to believe them either…"

…

Mission Hall

The next morning Team 7 had a mission of their own assigned. Iruka said, "This came up this morning. It's a bandit extermination job to the east. A group has repeatedly raided the supply caravans coming from Otafuku Gai headed towards the Rice Country Border. Hokage-sama suggested I offer it to Team 7 first Kakashi. I would ordinarily assume a chunin squad would take this but it is still considered C to low B ranked. Do you want it?"

Kakashi looked at his team and say they all looked determined. They weren't being arrogant but had confidence in themselves. The silver haired jonin said, "This job will probably be bloody. We could get an escort mission instead if you don't feel you're ready for this."

Naruto, Blake and Pyrrha looked at each other for a moment and seemed to have a discussion with their eyes. All of them nodded and Pyrrha said in her always polite manner, "Team 7 will take this mission and do our very best."

Kakashi nodded. 'They really are in perfect synch with each other.' He said, "Pack for two weeks and meet at the Naruto's Apartment in an hour for a planning session. After that we'll head out. Bring a wartime combat load of weapons. Bring demolition tags as well."

As the three genins left to get their gear Kakashi received the maps of the areas that the caravans had been hit at as well as the information they knew. Iruka said, "This could be rough for those kids."

Kakashi nodded. "This sort of mission is something we all have to go through as ninjas Iruka. I'm confident they are ready. If it comes down to it, at least they've all seen heavy combat before."

…

Naruto's Apartment

Team 7 was gathered up around Naruto's kitchen table looking over the map around Otafuku Gai. "They've struck six times at six different points along the main roads in the area." said Kakashi as he pointed to six red x marks on the map.

Blake looked over the pattern carefully. "We may be dealing with two separate groups. These two strikes in the north are far separated from the four in the south near Otafuku Gai."

Kakashi nodded in approval. "What else team?"

"The attacks in the south were always attributed to small groups and were always near a body of water." said Naruto. "That could mean missing nins using water jutsus."

"It's possible." said Pyrrha. "The stolen goods also could have been shipped out over water indicating boat users are involved and are leaving quickly with what they can take."

Blake traced her fingers over the small rivers that dotted the area. "All these attacks have been near bodies of water that are connected to Kurai Lake. That's where we should look first. If the bandits have a base near there we could take it out quickly."

"What about the two in the north?" asked Kakashi.

Pyrrha answered, "We take out the southern group first and then resupply at Otafuku Gai if necessary. Then we move northwards."

"Sounds like a solid plan." said Kakashi. "At a good pace it will take us two days to reach Otafuku Gai. Kurai Lake is slightly northwest of there. Let's move out team."

Soon Team 7 left the East gates. Destination: Kurai Lake…

…

Northern Fire Country

Team 8 and the caravan they were escorting pitched their tents for the night and settled down to eat some dinner. "Well, we've been out for three days and no one has attacked us." said Nobuyuki to Kurenai. "Here's hoping that trend continues."

Kurenai took a sip from her canteen and said. "With as many Konoha ninjas and the Daimyo's Samurai in the area it seems unlikely that we will be attacked. I noticed you seemed very nervous when those samurai showed up to check on us earlier today. Why is that? Are you smuggling something?"

Nobuyuki sweat dropped. "I'm not a smuggler Kurenai-san. I was worried because they rode up so fast. I thought they were the Reapers."

Kiba asked; "Who are the Reapers Jiji?"

"You don't know much do you kid?" asked Nobuyuki obnoxiously.

"The Reapers are supposed to be a group of ronins that raid caravans and supply routes." said Shino. "Rumor has it they may be in Fire Country but it hasn't been confirmed."

"Rogue samurai….that can't be good." thought Hinata aloud. "What is their point of origin?"

"No one is sure." explained Nobuyuki. "Supposedly they first appeared in Earth Country and have gradually been moving eastward like nomads. They overwhelm small convoys with sheer numbers and by the time the authorities get there the bastards are long gone."

Kurenai was flipping through her bingo book and said, "Most of these so called Reapers are considered a C ranked threat but there are an estimated twenty or thirty of them. They actually have large bounties on them because of all the disruption they've caused in the last six months. Interesting."

Nobuyuki grunted. "Interesting or not they are damned dangerous and I doubt you kids would last long in combat with that many men."

"It all depends on how well trained they are." said Hinata. "A well trained samurai is a serious threat but if they are just a bunch of poorly organized ronins then I doubt they would be able to overwhelm us."

"Be that as it may; hopefully we won't run into any trouble, Reapers or otherwise." said Kurenai.

"Do they have an insignia?" asked Kiba.

Kurenai nodded. "Two crossed scythes in white on a red field. They have them on their armbands."

"We will just have to be diligent then." said Shino…

…

Rice Country, Orochimaru's Northern Headquarters

Sasuke grunted as he released inside of Sakura and basically collapsed on top of her from exertion. As he panted tiredly the rosette below him thought, 'Same old missionary position. Same old wearing himself out before I get off. It's a good thing I have fingers or I'd die of boredom…' She felt Sasuke roll off of her and turn away before he fell asleep. 'This is pathetic. Karin says he's wonderful but she's either easy to please or is just plain lying…'

'Sasuke-kun is giving his all; you're just too demanding!' said Sakura to herself.

'Bullshit!' growled the darker half. 'Now I have to get myself off again damn it!' She thought evilly to her other half, 'Let's fantasize about Naruto while we fuck our self…'

'Don't you dare think about Naruto-baka you hussy!' shrieked Sakura as the darker half laughed…

…

Eastern Fire Country, Kurai Lake Region

Early in the morning Kakashi and his team arrived on the western end of Kurai Lake. The lake was foggy and the area was generally overcast. Team 7 was down in the reeds observing things from a distance. "There is a lot of noise coming from the northern edge of this lake." said Blake as her ears swiveled about. "We should do some reconnaissance before we make a move."

Kakashi quietly listened as his team brainstormed. "If two of us travel north through the trees we can see what's going on land side." said Naruto. "The other two can water walk over and see what's going on from the lake side. What do you think Kakashi-sensei?"

The silver haired jonin said, "Blake and I will head up over the land route because we're the fastest. We'll stay low because the fog will cover us. Naruto and Pyrrha can go over the water and observe. Tune your radios to channel 126 and signal when you get in position. Let's move team."

…

Naruto was quietly observing from his position on the lake. "I see eleven of them in the boathouse on the shore." said Naruto over his radio. "The boathouse isn't overly large but crates of supplies are stacked all around it. There also are two flat bottomed boats that look ideal for carrying river cargo tied off near the boathouse. Hmmm…It looks like they are wearing rebreathers. They are probably from Rain Country…I- Well, shit!" said Naruto as he went horizontal on the water with a splashing sound. "There's two more out here on the water!"

Naruto quickly found himself at a distinct disadvantage. Not only was he outnumbered and caught by surprise; he was in the water -the territory Rain ninjas were at their best. The two he was facing wasted no time stacking the deck in their favor. One was portly and obviously was a chakra powerhouse. He made a dozen water clones and didn't seem winded. The other was a lithe kunoichi with a rapier. Naruto flipped backwards into the fog and made a dozen shadow clones to face his opponent's water clones. The cacophony of kunais clashing rang across the water in the fog as the clone armies battled for supremacy.

Pyrrha heard the battle explode from her position and spotted the portly ninja who had a spiked mace drawn. The big ninja was looking for the original Naruto because the endless sea of orange clad shadow clones was too much for him to keep up with. Pyrrha saw him make another batch of water clones to join the battle and zoomed in on her target with her blade Miló drawn. He heard her footfalls on the water and turned to defend as her sword scarred the edge of his mace. Sparks flew and the big ninja wasn't expecting such strength from the red haired kunoichi.

"Damn it!" yelled the big man. "There are more of them Hotaru! Watch your back!"

Hotaru managed to sneak up on the original Naruto and stabbed him from behind. "One down…." she whispered. "Then 'Naruto' burst into smoke. "A clone? But he was separate from the others…." That's when Naruto's wind chakra covered fist hit her in the ribs and sent her skipping like a stone across the water…The whole battlefield heard her cry out in pain from the impact…

…

With Kakashi and Blake….

Blake heard Naruto over the radio fall into some sort of ambush and wanted to run to him but that would mean exposing herself and Kakashi to the enemy. She heard Kakashi whisper, "Steady Blake. Naruto can take care of himself." The two tree hopped over to the roof of the boathouse in silence and heard the Rain kunoichi Hotaru scream and then saw three of the Rain nins run out onto the lake. Kakashi signaled Blake to stay on the roof and attack in 60 seconds. She nodded and Kakashi vanished in a body flicker.

Kakashi appeared outside the entrance of the boathouse and ducked in. '10 seconds….' There was only on ninja as the others were outside on the dock. The ninja had his attention riveted to the battle outside and wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. It was child's play for a jonin of Kakashi's experience to slip up behind the ninja and slit his throat in silence. '40 seconds….' Kakashi lowered the body to the floor and positioned himself to strike through the door he cracked open….

Blake's amber eyes flashed in the sunlight. '60 seconds….' She launched two handfuls of senbon needles into the backs of the necks of two of the Rain ninjas. As their bodies lurched forward into the water; Kakashi exploded out onto the dock and took the head off a ninja with his White Light Chakra Saber.

The four remaining Rain nins were totally shocked at the sudden attack and jumped into combat ready stances.

'Two on one odds…' thought Kakashi. 'This shouldn't be an issue…'

…

Meanwhile out on the water…

Hotaru was gasping for breath. With one brutal hit the orange clad ninja had knocked her completely out of the fight. She knew her ribs were shattered. One of her comrades arrived and was trying to get to her as Naruto charged in from the other side to finish her off. Two other Rain nins ran out to help her partner Oboro who obviously was in trouble from the way he was yelling and screaming…

…

Oboro was in bad shape. He never dreamed Pyrrha would be so formidable. Figuring he was bigger and much stronger the big man tried to simply overpower her. He soon found her odd round shield Akoúo̱ was as big of a problem as her sword. Pyrrha deflected his mace to the side with the Miló and smashed him rapidly with her shield. He was disoriented and made a wild downward strike with his mace that hit the water. Pyrrha countered him and Oboro tried to block on reflex….His armguard was no match for her sword Miló and he lost his left hand at the wrist. Oboro screamed bloody murder and Pyrrha followed up by smashing her Akoúo̱ into his already mangled left arm causing it to break…

…

Naruto had to abort his attack on the downed kunoichi Hotaru because of another Rain ninja attacking him with a senbon launcher. As Naruto skidded across the water to avoid the spray of senbon needles when he noticed the Rain nin had a scratched out forehead protector. 'Missing nins…Not that I'm surprised…' The orange clad nin rolled to his feet and whispered. "Wind Slash."

Hotaru was horrified as her friend standing over her protectively exploded into bloody chunks of meat from the overpowered wind jutsu that cut him down in an instant. Gore rained down upon her from the horrific spectacle. She felt herself coughing up blood into her rebreather from Naruto's hit earlier and realized her lung was punctured from her shattered ribs. Naruto came into view and Hotaru said weakly, "I'll die before I let you take me alive monster." She then slit her own throat with her rapier. Naruto shook his head as she collapsed lifelessly into the water…

…

Miló tasted Oboro's blood a final time as Pyrrha took the big man's head off at the neck. She'd already defeated him but with two others coming the redhead couldn't risk letting him live. A tall and skinny Rain nin yelled "Oboro!" just as his friend's head separated from his shoulders. "Damn you fucking bitch!" screamed the ninja at Pyrrha. He drew kunai and charged her in a rage. Pyrrha reacted like lightning on threw Akoúo̱ at the angry nin. The shield hit him in the neck before ricocheting back to her arm in a fluid movement.

The angry nin was choking and gasping for breath as two orange clad shadow clones splashed out from under the water and pulled the missing nin under the surface forever…

The original Naruto arrived just in time to se Pyrrha run the last Rain nin though the heart with Miló. Naruto sighed as she whipped her blade out of her enemy's body. He walked up slowly to the redhead and said, "Are you hurt Pyrrha-chan?"

"I'm just tired Naruto-kun." said the exhausted redhead. "Give me a couple of minutes and I'll be fine."

…

The Boathouse…

An unspoken signal sent the four Rain ninjas and two Konoha ninjas exploding into action. Two of the missing nins (a kunoichi and a shinobi) went after Kakashi from either side and the two others leaped up to the roof to go after the still unseen Blake. Blake's cat like reflexes were too much to be caught off guard and one of her assailants ended up with four senbon needles sticking out of his eyes and face. He screamed and fell back off the roof. The other ninja dodged easily. He chuckled and said, "You're pretty good little girl; but I'm a jonin and I'm too fast for your little needles." He produced a barbed whip and said. "I hope pain gets you off girl. You'll never reach me with that katana on your back." He cracked his whip dangerously.

That was when the feline faunus girl pulled her Gambol Shroud and spun it in its kusarigama form. She hissed, "You're not the only one with range…"

The jonin took a step back and started to sweat…

…

Kakashi flipped completely over his kunoichi opponent and got both of his enemies in front of him. About that time Blake's target with senbon needles in his eyes came screaming off the roof between the combatants. All three were a bit dumbfounded as he fell onto the deck face first. Any chances he would have lived were ended when the needles were shoved completely into his brain. His neck snapped as well in a gruesome display as the blood poured out of his downed face and flooded out around his head on the deck.

"Nori…?" asked the Rain kunoichi.

"I'm pretty sure he's dead…" said Kakashi with a sweat drop as the blood pooled. "At least I hope he is for his sake…"

…

Blake made a clone and dodged a whip strike as the barbs destroyed her clone. The jonin leaped back as her Gambol Shroud cut a deadly arc through the air. He counter struck in an effort to catch Blake's ankles but she did a handless cartwheel over the strike. The jonin laughed and said "Not bad but you can't change directions like I can." He almost grazed her arm but Blake was just quick enough to avoid a nasty gash. The jonin ducked another slash over his head that he agilely ducked. "How long can you keep dodging me girl?"

Blake growled, "You talk too much." as she sent a chakra burst down the Gambol shroud causing a chakra charge in the head of the kusarigama to detonate. The blade changed direction mid flight and the jonin barely had time to turn his head as the Gambol Shroud wrapped around his neck.

He choked out, "Wait!" as Blake pulled the blade back towards herself and took his head off in a geyser of blood that rained down on the deck below.

The jonin's head hit the deck and bounced into the water before his spasming body hit the deck as well. Blake appeared at Kakashi's side in a squat. She was coated in blood and hissed, "Who's next?"

The Rain ninja and kunoichi were shaking in fear and Kakashi said, "You know, surrender is an option. I can only hold Blake back for so long…"

The two missing ninjas dropped their weapons and held their arms up in defeat. Kakashi said with a double eye smile, "Ah, I thought you two looked reasonable."

…

The wet and bloodied Naruto and Pyrrha soon water walked up and found Kakashi talking to two tied up missing nins and Blake looking just as bloody as they did.

"How come Kakashi doesn't have a speck of blood on him?" asked Naruto dumbfounded.

"I'm just that good." preened Kakashi as his bloodstained genins all sweat dropped. "Once we get semi cleaned up we'll be escorting our two new friends the Otafuku Gai where they can stay with the authorities."

"Are you sure we shouldn't eliminate them?" asked Naruto plainly. The two prisoners shivered.

Kakashi said, "These two are D-ranked in the bingo books. Given they are just runaway genins I think we can forgive them."

The three genins of Team 7 nodded. "Let's wash up and head to Otafuku Gai." said Pyrrha. "We're all filthy."

…

Northern Fire Country

While Team 7 was escorting their two prisoners back to Otafuku Gai; Team 8 and their clients ran out of luck. A group of men rode over the ridge west of them on horseback. They had a banner much like one would expect from a Daimyo's samurai. It was red with a white image of crossed scythes on it. These were the self proclaimed Reapers…

"Can you see them clearly Hinata-chan?" asked Kurenai as she looked into the distance.

Hinata zoomed in with her byakugan and said. "It's the Reapers we've heard about. There are twenty two of them and they are armed and armored as samurai. I have no doubt they are trained ronins. Their formation is in a perfect line ahead…Most are pulling longbows! Everyone needs to take cover!"

About twenty arrows were unleashed and hit at the front of the caravan where Kiba was. He heard Hinata's 'take cover' and tackled the lead driver Nobuyuki back inside the front cart to shield him. The cart was peppered with arrows and Kiba was hit clean through in the shoulder. The old man was unharmed though. Kiba winced and said, "Are you alright Jiji?"

Nobuyuki's normally squinted eyes were wide open now. "Never mind me boy! What about you?!"

Kiba growled, "My team will patch me up. The battle has just started." Kiba made the hand signs to turn Akamaru into his twin with his man-beast clone. "Cut off the rear end of the arrow and pull it through Akamaru!" said the dog user. "Jiji, can you bandage me up? There is a lot of work to do."

…

Outside, Shino unleashed a massive swarm of insects in a black cloud that rushed towards the front of the Reaper's line. Hinata pulled her Midnight swords and formed them into a bow. Channeling chakra into the seals on the hand grip; three arrows appeared with flaming tips. "I hate to hurt animals but…." She unleashed the three flaming streaks into the leading horse and rider. Both of the targets were traveling at high speed and went down violently rolling end over end. The ronin behind them were caught off guard when their vanguard fell and a good third of them crashed into one another as they piled up trying to avoid each other.

Kurenai cast a wide area genjustu of a massive return fire of arrows the horsemen tried to desperately avoid. Shino's kikaichū beetles swarmed among the men and horses into their eyes causing the group to break out into a panic.

Seconds later a bandaged Kiba was amongst them in a violent fang over fang jutsu that caused a great deal of damage and knocked the remaining riders from their horses. The Reapers were disoriented and half their number was already down. Kurenai slipped among the confused brigands and started slitting their throats.

Hinata stayed with the caravan and picked off the confused stragglers with her arrows. 'Cinder's aim was always superb but combined with Hinata's byakugan I can be even more lethal.' thought Hinata to herself as she carefully shot down another Reaper with deadly precision.

By the time the remaining Reapers regrouped a mere eight of them were left standing and were being harried by kikaichū beetles. Their horses had scattered to the four winds in fear and their remaining comrades were either dead or unconscious.

Kurenai saw Kiba's bandage and was concerned but Kiba signaled he was all right. Kurenai signaled Kiba to hold his position. 'He's already done a fang over fang wounded. There's no need to further aggravate his injuries.' Kurenai threw a kunai with an exploding tag into the middle of the remaining Reapers. They avoided the kunai easily enough but it was too late to avoid the explosion. Though they were wearing armor, the brigands couldn't survive being at point blank from the detonation.

…

A bit later; Hinata was patching up Kiba properly after the fight. "You are very lucky this was just a flesh wound Kiba-kun. When we get to the Rice Country border we need a medic nin to have a look at this. I've cleaned it well but we can't risk an infection." She gave him a blood pill and said, "Take this and ride with Nobuyuki-san the rest of the way."

Shino was reporting to Kurenai. "Seventeen of the Reapers are dead and the remaining five are badly injured. Should we bring them with us or abandon them?"

Kurenai answered, "I'll talk to Nobuyuki-san. If we can; we'll load the injured onto the flatbed cart and haul them in under arrest. The seventeen bodies we'll seal in some scrolls to collect the bounties later. "These Reapers had big prices on their heads according to the bingo books. What about the horses?"

"The men of the caravan collected up nine of them." said Shino. "The remainder fled or died of injuries."

"Shame about the animals." thought Kurenai aloud. "Once we get everything secured I'll talk to Nobuyuki-san and we'll get back underway."

…

Both Team 7 and Team 8 had earned their pay that day…

…

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, this turned out to be an extra long chapter. Team 8's battle originally wasn't going to be until next chapter but it works better this way. It seems that there is no rest for the wicked. Team 7 still has more bandits to get rid of up north and Team 8 still has to escort a caravan the rest of the way to the Rice Country border. Sakura has made it back to her beloved Sasuke-kun only to find him getting his ass kicked by Guren. On top of that she seems more unstable than ever. Next chapter we'll see the return of the Malachite twins and everybody's favorite Snake Mistress Anko. See you next time. Blue out. 11/25/16

Updated 4/6/22