So this should be the longest chapter of the story thus far. Assuming I get all the things I want done in this chapter, this could be three times as long as the last chapter. If that's the case, this may be the longest chapter for a long while as well. The story is going to start branching out after this as I attempt to get to Beacon hopefully within the next 5 to 9 chapters or sooner. All depends on how I feel about the story moving forward. (As I type this, more ideas pop into my head so I don't have a solid guestimate about when we'll actually see Beacon. BUT, we will be getting to more RWBY characters next chapter, finally.)
Other than that, I'm going to give a warning now that I'll repeat in more detail in the next chapter. Some characters are going to be exceptionally OOC. Ruby and Yang's backstory is going to be...different. And fairly...taboo. Probably see where I'm going with that already. (Edit: As of writing this, if you want to know what their relationship is going to be like, I've shown it in my story The Saiyan Arc, in the chapter The Sisters Part 1)
Edit 9/15/2021: Things have taken a turn for the worse in my life with some serious issues cropping up. So I can't promise the quality of anything going forward, nor can I promise a reliable posting schedule.
Edit 3/7/2022: Uh...heheh...sorry for the long delay. Not gonna lie, things got significantly worse for me around the time I posted the last chapter. But once they got better, I decided to start writing another RWBY story called The Saiyan Arc. Check it out if you want. It's a little easier to write than this one only because it's even more absurd than this one.
Edit 5/16/2022: This was supposed to be a grandiose chapter, but in the end I honestly don't like it. I started rushing through since it's been so long and a lot of things simply feel unnecessary in this chapter. But I guess that's just me not liking my own writing at the moment. Hopefully everyone else still enjoys it.
Edit 6/4/2022: I abruptly ended this chapter because I just want to get on with the story at this point. Feedback is appreciated, but I have to reorganize before I can continue with the story past the next chapter.
Chapter 6: Uzumaki Arc Finale
It had been over a month since Jaune had first met the shinobi of the elemental nations. In such a short time, Jaune had grown leaps and bounds in every aspect of being a shinobi and huntsman. From being taught taijutsu and weaponry by Team Gai, to sealing by Naruto and Jiraiya. Everything he had been taught, he ate up like an Akimichi at a buffet.
Though there were trying times, such as learning biology under Orochimaru, or sex-ed under Anko and Tenten (who volunteered for hands on training but was shot down), Jaune persevered. Hiding his powers from his parents and sisters became somewhat easy, though there were still plenty of mishaps that he had to explain away. Sometimes the powers within him went wild without his control, specifically anything genjutsu related. Kurenai and Itachi did their best to teach Jaune, and while Kurenai could easily show him how to perform simple genjutsu, neither shinobi couldn teach him how to control his massive chakra and aura. Especially his aura. It was clear that his aura was having an effect on his ninjutsu as well, giving it stronger and stranger properties, or simply making it harder to control for the boy. It was unfortunately something that none of the shinobi or kunoichi could help with.
Fortunately his training under his parents had progressed to a point where him showing off some of his skills, even if only a tiny fraction, wasn't dangerous anymore. His last spar with Amethyst ended in his total victory. The girl was mortified for all of 2 seconds before she glomped her brother and squeezed the life out of him in pride, akin to their mother.
After a while, Jaune began to train with everyone, sans Sypha. For Miriam and Shanoa, he would do push-ups with them on his back or run several miles while carrying one piggyback and the other bridal. Jean volunteered every now and then for the same.
Outside of that, Jean hadn't been the slightest bit upset about her brother leaving her in the dust skill wise. He would take her out to train and teach her stealth techniques. Jean hadn't decided on a specific weapon yet, but had asked Jaune if she could use the Buster Katana he had made. (The blade is reminiscent of the Tetsaiga from Inuyasha.) The girl was a quick learner, even being able to keep up with Jaune when he took to the trees. Her dexterity and coordination was truly scary.
Amethyst and Jaune sparred the most and Jaune couldn't help but notice that Amethyst was getting a LOT more handsy with him. She would hug him longer, feel his newly formed muscles and just generally cling to him. More so than even Jean did. He hated to admit that it was making him feel a certain way as well. She was reminding him of Tenten.
Maria was the one that Jaune was most happy with though. Mainly because she never held back against him. Regardless, he kept up with her and even outpaced her sometimes. He had beaten her a few times. But she was a student of Beacon. He knew if they were to go for killing blows, she would still outclass him. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he could beat her just as easily as he beat Jean though. He wondered who this 'Adrian' guy was she mentioned from time to time. When asked, she said he was far stronger than even herself.
Safron wasn't nearly as strong as Maria or Amethyst, but trained with Jaune whenever he wanted to face Amethyst in a 2 – on – 1. He had yet to beat the two when they were working together, but he came close. Plus, he knew if he could use his shadow clones, or really any of his ninja abilities, then they wouldn't stand a chance.
His parents were another story entirely. Jaune could keep up with them but he had yet to beat either one of them. He would get closer and closer every time they sparred, but his parents were strong enough to eat through his massive aura. It took hours sometimes, but they had the stamina to fight all day and night. The closes he had gotten to beating one of them was getting his fathers aura to 60 percent.
It was the norm he had settled into. Unfortunately, for two days, Jaune had been unable to contact the Shinobi spirits. After the first day, he merely wrote it off as a fluke. Though he panicked a little, he held hope that everything was okay. But when the second night rolled by and all he had was a dream about ramen and chocolate chip pancakes, the teen knew something was wrong.
"You okay Jaune?" The dual voices of Miriam and Shanoa drew the boy from his thoughts. He looked to his younger sisters, their stoic look offset by the worry in their eyes. He was happy that his newfound strength actually made him closer to all of his family. He could easily read the monotone of the twins and even knew what they were feeling form subtle physical clues now.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry girls, I think I'm going to rest for today. We can exercise tomorrow."
The twins looked a bit downtrodden. They had been happy to finally spend more time with their elder brother, and were even happier they were able to help him with his training, even if it was just being impromptu weights. Jaune had inspired them to want to become huntresses when they were older, and the twins had begun to practice hand to hand combat together.
"You can talk to us big brother." Miriam called, almost pleading. Shanoa just nodded her head, both girls moving to hug their brother.
Jaune paused at the affection he was receiving from the two girls. He sighed and hugged them both back, his worry seeming to melt away from the action. "I promise, everything's okay. I just need to rest every now and then or I can do more harm than good to my body. You two should remember that too. Don't overdue your own workouts, okay?"
The girls smiled, breaking their stoicism. "Okay big brother!" They called together before bounding off to their own devices. Jean walked out into the backyard where they were, watching her younger siblings go.
"What was that about?"
"Decided to rest for today. Wanna play some games?" Jaune asked, just then noticing that Jean had a single hand behind her back and wouldn't look him in the eye.
"Maybe later…" She trailed off, seeming to be trying to hide a smirk from some reason. Jaune got a little suspicious and his eyes narrowed.
With a subtle hand sign, he whispered 'Byakugan' and activated a small genjutsu to hide the veins on his face. He looked through his younger sister to find...a water balloon?
It was at that moment that the girl smirked and brought the weapon around. She threw it at Jaune but it may as well have been in slow motion. Jaune effortlessly leaned out of the way of the balloon before reaching back and catching it. He gently spun with the force of the balloon and soon had it sailing right back at Jean.
The girls eyes widened at the speed Jaune moved, but she had been training with him enough to not be caught flat footed. The girl herself did a back bend, letting the balloon soar over herself. She turned the back bend into a back flip by placing her hands on the ground. With dexterity and precision Jaune couldn't help but admire, the girl caught the balloon on her foot and finished the back flip by kicking the balloon back at Jaune.
The boy hadn't deactivated the byakugan yet and was amazed at the type of acrobatics Jean could do. Though she was his younger sister, he couldn't help but admire her lithe body and flexibility. With training, she'd be just as deadly as their mother.
He stopped his musings to do a back round house, catching the water balloon on his heel and spinning to send it back at Jean again. This time the girl yelped, not expecting Jaune to be quick enough to send the projectile back at her. She ducked just in time and the sound of the water balloon breaking was heard behind her.
Jaune's eyes widened as he had been so focused on Jean that he hadn't paid attention to the person approaching behind her.
Maria stood soaking wet with her scroll in her hand, an expressionless gaze on her face. Jean stood and turned around, just to go silent at seeing what had happened.
…
….
"You both have three seconds to-"
She didn't even finish before both Jaune and Jean took off. The older girl smiled before putting her phone away and counting to three. With a burst of speed that would make Gai cry for joy, the girl almost seemed to vanish.
Unfortunately for her, Jaune had become a speed demon as well. Though Jean wasn't nearly as fast, she was agile. As the two came upon the house, Jean called out for Jaune.
"Bro, meet me out front! I'll go up!"
Jaune nodded and skid to a stop, before turning and kneeling down, cupping his hands. Jean didn't even slow as she stepped onto Jaune's cupped hands and the boy launched the girl upwards. She used her own aura to enhance the boost and soared clear over the massive 4 story house. Jaune's eyes widened as he saw Maria approaching with a deadly smirk. Now she was barely a second behind now.
Jaune turned and continued to run, darting to the side of the house instead of going through it. To his shock, however, Amethyst stood there waiting, a super soaker in hand and a wall of stone behind her, making a massive blockade.
"It's a trap!" Jaune shouted in shock. Maria appeared behind him and Amethyst pumped the weapon.
"Too bad for you!" Amethyst said as she prepared to blast Jaune. However, a balloon smashed right onto her head.
Maria frowned before pulling a black water pistol from behind her. "Turncoat!" She cried.
Jaune looked up to see Jean standing atop Amethyst's stone wall with another water balloon in hand. He smiled, knowing now that the entire thing had been a setup from Jean, Amethyst, and Maria. "Thanks Jean!"
"Come on bro!" She called, throwing the other water balloon at Maria.
The older girl easily dodged and made the black pistol glow. "No you don't!" She cried.
Jaune's eyes widened as he realized she was using part of her semblance. Jean did as well and jumped back behind the stone wall. Amethyst had been caught off guard from Jean, but seeing her older sister preparing her semblance, she immediately used her own to have the ground swallow her up. Jaune took a moment to note that it seemed like the headhunter jutsu he had been taught by the shinobi. However, he quickly focused on getting out of the way.
Knowing that everyone was so distracted by Maria, he quickly substituted with a log in the woods just as Maria pulled the trigger on her water pistol. The stream that fired from the small gun glowed bright blue and was the size and force of a fireman hose. The log Jaune substituted with was splinted and the stream struck Amethyst's wall, cracking it.
Jaune saw that he appeared within some brush and saw Jean still hiding behind the wall as it began to crack.
"Jean, go!" He cried and began to sprint to the front of the house. The girl was confused at how Jaune had gotten into the forest so quick but didn't hesitate to heed his words. She began to run again too.
"Damn, he's fast!" They heard Maria cry. "Plan B Amethyst!"
Jaune didn't want to know what Plan B was.
He and Jean made it to the front of the house where he saw three large laundry baskets filled with water balloons. However, Shanoa and Miriam stood in front of one of the baskets, water balloons in hand.
Jaune and Jean skid to a stop, looking at the twins in shock. The girls had devious smirks on their faces before tossing the balloons with all their might. Luckily, the two hadn't had their auras unlocked yet so Jaune and Jean could easily dodge them.
What they hadn't expected was an assault of balloons from the second story of their home. The two were able to dodge the sneak attack, but had to move further from the home and the arsenal of water balloons. This allowed Shanoa and Miriam to join in on the assault some more.
On the second story wrap around part of the roof, Hector and Safron stood tossing balloon after balloon from their own laundry basket of grenades.
"Oh come on, was everyone after me?" Jaune called as he continued to dodge.
"I was always gonna betray them big bro!" Jean admitted while dodging as well.
By then, Amethyst and Maria had come around the corner. Maria made both of their weapons glow blue.
"This is it brother and traitor!" Maria said with mirth.
Jean and Jaune had backed up enough to no longer worry about the water balloons, but with Maria's semblance, they wouldn't be able to dodge both her and Amethyst. They braced themselves for the end.
Until Joan blurred from the house and in front of the two.
Maria and Amethyst fired, the massive streams of water.
"AEGIS!" Joan cried out, holding the shield to Crocea Mors. The shield shined white before projecting what looked like an even bigger shield made of light. The water streams struck the light shield and dispersed.
"Mom! No fair!" Amethyst cried. Maria just looked annoyed.
"You two were using your semblances. It's only fair I give them some help with mine." Joan chuckled.
"We're out!" Shanoa and Miriam called at the same time, heading towards the house. They knew they were completely out of their depth then.
"You really want to do this mom?" Maria called icily. Joan gave her daughter a challenging smirk.
There was a small silence as the wind began to pick up. Hector and Safron stood with confident smirks on the roof while Maria and Amethyst prepared their own weapons.
Jaune noticed Joan had placed a bucket of water balloons behind her. It was partially hidden by her and the shield.
"You two ready?" She asked. Jaune and Jean looked at each other before sharing a smirk and nodding.
"Let's do this!"
Joan knelt down and placed her shield over herself. Jean immediately jumped up onto it and was once again boosted into the air. This time she was sent soaring high into the sky. She spun and launched two water balloons at Safron and Hector. Her father was able to dodge easily while Safron was almost struck.
Jean didn't stop, showing that she had two water balloons on her shoes as well. She kicked them both at the roof, one striking Hector as he finished his first dodge and the second hitting Safron in the back, making the girl squeal at the cold water.
Jean landed on the roof and immediately picked up the super soaker Safron dropped. She shot Safron in the back one more time, officially taking her out of the game. The family played by the rule of getting hit twice.
"Dammit…" Safron groaned and then played up a dying breath with a 'bleh!'.
Jean spun quickly and shot at her father, but was struck in the chest by a water balloon she hadn't been prepared for. At the same time, Hector dodge rolled again and pulled a water pistol from his side.
The two began to fire at each other while dodging the water shots with a flexibility that would make a contortionist blush. It was easy to see where Jean got her dexterity and agility from. The two knew they wouldn't be able to hit each other as they were.
They began to run at each other, still firing. When they neared each other, they jumped, clasping each others guns to make them miss as they continued to fire and falling to the roof on their stomachs. When they landed, their respective weapons were at each others head. They both pulled their triggers just for nothing to come out.
"Looks like we're out." Hector smirked. However, the devious grin on his daughter gave him pause.
"Jaune taught me to always have a back up plan." The girl pulled a small water balloon from who knows where and smashed it into the roof between them, hitting them both and taking them from the game.
"Clever girl." Hector said before feigning death. Jean did the same.
On the ground, Joan cursed as she took a shot from Maria when she launched Jean in the air. The girl was an opportunist for sure.
"Cover me mom!" Jaune called and placed a hand on her back. She nodded, knowing what he wanted.
The two began to run forward with Joan's shield held up. Amethyst and Maria continued to fire at them but the shield proved enough to block all their attacks.
Jaune carried the bucket of balloons before reactivating the byakugan. He began to launch the balloons around his mother, making them curve towards his sisters like they were kunai and shuriken. Sure enough, Amethyst was hit by one, being taken out. But Maria was able to dodge or shoot them out of the air before they reached her.
"Go for it Jaune!" Joan cried and knelt again when they were within twenty feet of Maria. Jaune leapt over his mother and was boosted just like Jean. He launched the entire bucket of balloons down at Maria.
Maria used the moment shoot her mother again, taking her out. When that was done, she looked up at Jaune and smirked.
"UNDINE!" She cried. A deep blue glyph appeared between Jaune and herself. Maria's full semblance; Aria of Sorrow. She was able to summon what were essentially elemental spirits. Undine of Water, Gnome of Earth, Ifrit of Fire, and Sylph of the Wind.
A beautiful mermaid seeming to be made completely of water emerged from the glyph and took the hits from the water balloons. However, one made it through before Undine could appear. Jaune couldn't stop his momentum and was caught by Undine, being soaked in the process. It counted as a hit.
Maria, however, wasn't prepared for one of the balloons to get through. Though she tried to dodge, she was struck by the balloon right on her foot. "Fuck!" She cried and looked in disbelief as Jaune somehow broke Undine's grip.
He landed with a huff, soaked from head to toe. He was breathing heavy at having to spend so much energy escaping what felt like Zabuza's water prison. When he saw Maria's wet foot, he smiled.
"I win." He called. The older girl smirked and shook her head.
"That you do." She dropped to her knees. "Parting is such sweet sorrow!" She cried melodramatically before falling to her back.
The boy chuckled at his sisters antics before raising his hands in triumph! "For the first time ever, I have won the Annual Arc Water War!"
Before anyone could respond, however, a water balloon hit Jaune in the chest. The boys eyes widened and he looked down just to find Sypha grinning up at him.
"I win Jaune-Jaune!" She cried.
Everyone looked at the little girl in absolute shock. She continued to grin up at her big brother.
"Looks like Sypha wins her first ever Annual Arc Water War!" He cried and picked the girl up.
The rest of the family began to clap and cheer, making the little girl beam in happiness.
The rest of the day was spent with his family laughing and joking. It was the most fun he had with his family in his entire life. His mother cooked a big dinner to commemorate Sypha's victory and the family ended the night by watching several movies.
Once everyone began to retire for the night, Jaune laid in bed and sighed. Though his family had taken his mind off of Naruto and the others, it was inevitable for him to fall back into his worry. With hope in his heart, he drifted off to sleep, hoping to see his second family once more.
When he felt the sheets of Naruto's bed, he was ecstatic. He jumped up and immediately jumped out of the boys window and into the Leaf Village. The shadows of people continued to walk about. He was used to it by then and instead began to feel for a specific chakra signature. The boy smirked as he felt his own chakra signature at the Ichiraku's Ramen shop. In a golden flash, the boy disappeared.
He appeared in front of the shop with a grin and picked up the tri-pronged kunai that sat on the counter top. It had taken some time, but he had learned the hiraishin. However, he couldn't do it without the tri-pronged kunai like Naruto could.
"Hey old man Teuchi! I'm here for the usual!" Jaune called and sat in a stool. However, when no one answered him, he frowned.
"Sorry, give me a sec." Ayame's voice responded from the back of the shop. The girl emerged looking a bit disheveled. "Sorry Jaune, Naruto made dad stay home."
The boy rose an eyebrow. "Why?"
Ayame blushed and looked down nervously. "Well, he said that you weren't allowed to have ramen today...Dad would've caved and gave you some anyway."
Jaune nodded at the girls words. "Oh. Well that makes sense. I guess I'll WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T HAVE RAMEN TODAY?" He screamed.
Ayame had been prepared for the outburst and sighed. "Naruto told me to tell you to meet him at training ground 7 when you got here. He'll explain the rest."
Jaune stood up with a blaze of fury around him. Naruto was going to die. No one kept him from his chocolate chip pancakes, ramen, or cinnamon rolls. (Dammit Hinata…)
Ayame just watched as the boy began to run towards the training grounds. When he was gone, she turned around and went back into the back of the shop. She looked down at a bound and gagged Teuchi whimpering on the ground. "Sorry Dad. But Naruto said no ramen for him today. I'll release you later when they're done." She called and began to leave the shop, leaving her father to whine pitifully.
When the boy reached the training ground, he was shocked to find almost all of the ghost of the elemental nations there. Just as they had been when he first arrived, they filled the clearing and stood in trees.
"What's going on?" Jaune asked nervously.
Naruto stepped forward, being at the head of the mass of ghost. "It's time for your final test before you receive the rest of my memories and power Jaune."
Ino stepped forward next. "We had to prepare quite a bit so we couldn't have you here. Sorry for not telling you before hand Jaune-kun."
Hinata ran to the boy and scooped him into a hug. "I hope you didn't worry too much Jaune-kun. I promise to make it up to you with some cinnamon rolls!"
The boy hugged the starry eyed princess back before she placed him down and moved to stand with her lovers again. Jaune was still nervous though. With everyone there, it truly felt like a momentous occasion.
"So...what's the test going to be?"
A jingle was heard in the dead silent clearing. Jaune looked at Naruto whom held a single bell.
"You will need to retrieve this bell, Jaune. And you will need to come at us with the intent to kill, or we will make your time here a living hell. Believe it."
The serious tone of Naruto even made the catch phrase terrifying to Jaune. Naruto's words also sunk in.
"All of you?"
"No." The voice of Tenten came from behind Jaune. "Since your world is a bit different from ours, we're going to be mixing things up a bit. The bell test is something that most genin have to do to officially become genin. But we know that your world has teams of 4 people to make a huntsman team in most academies. So you'll have some back up."
Shikamaru and Anko walked to stand next to Jaune. The pineapple haired shinobi looked oddly serious while even Anko didn't seem like her flirtatious self. It hammered in how serious this was for the boy.
"We got your back, gaki." Anko spoke. "But this is your test. That means that you have to take the lead. We will only do as much as needed unless you order us to do more."
Shikamaru just shrugged. "We want you to pass, Jaune, but it's not our job to ensure it. This is all on you."
Their words both encouraged him and made him more nervous. Naruto had made it abundantly clear that he had gotten far stronger than they even thought in the short time he was there. However, he had reached a point where the rest of the abilities he needed to acquire would require him to be mentally, physically, and spiritually evolved. It was time to let go of the Jaune that only wanted to become a huntsman.
It was time for him to reach for godhood.
"The leader of each nation is known as a Kage." Naruto spoke. A majority of the people in the clearing vanished. "Kumogakure had the Raikage." A majority of the Kumo forces vanished. "Kirigakure had the Mizukage." More people gone. "Iwagakure has the Tsuchikage. Sunagakure has the Kazekage."
Once Naruto was done speaking, the clearing was almost empty. There were still a handful of people, including Ino and Hinata.
Naruto's ki flooded the area, making all four of his opponents grit their teeth.
"I am the Hokage of Konohagakure, and the sole Kage of the Elemental Nations. I will challenge you right now, Jaune. The first obstacle in your way to becoming the Kage of Remnant."
With his words, he vanished alongside Ino, Hinata, and a handful of other people. Only two people were left and they were already dashing forwards towards Jaune and his team.
'Tenten, weapon!' He called telepathically. The girl immediately swiped a finger over her arm where a seal appeared. A katana popped out and she tossed it to Jaune.
Jaune caught it and immediately blocked a strike from a clawed gauntlet.
"Good reflexes boy." The gruff voice of Meizu called out. Their first opponents were Meizu and Gouzu, the demon brothers.
Jaune ignored the man and kept his sight on Gouzu. 'Shikamaru, shadow bind Meizu. Anko, shadow snake strike Gouzu.'
The two nodded minutely and did as instructed. Shikamaru caught Meizu effortlessly and Anko moved forward to intercept Gouzu as he tried to attack Jaune. The man stopped his movement and jumped back, assuming his brother would follow suit.
When Meizu didn't move, Gouzu was halted suddenly by the chain that connected their gauntlet. Anko fired her snakes at the man and he was paralyzed as they sunk their fangs into him.
Jaune wasted no time and flashed forward, decapitating Meizu and impaling Gouzu in the same movement.
Gouzu coughed up blood from beneath his mask. "Good...Jaune…"
The man went limp on Jaune's blade. The blonde ripped the blade from Gouzu's chest and slashed it to clean it of the blood. He looked down at the dead body and sighed deeply. A hand on his shoulder didn't surprise him, but he turned to look at Anko anyway.
The snake mistress gave him a sad smile. "You've already passed your first test. Naruto-kun wanted to make sure that you would be willing to kill, even if your opponent wasn't a grimm."
"I know."
Jaune had already known that Naruto wanted him to kill. Whenever he trained with Sasuke and Itachi, they both made sure to make him understand that his enemy wouldn't just be grimm. However, it didn't make him feel any better.
"Let's keep going." He called and moved forward. Another lesson was to not let his emotions get the best of him, especially on a mission.
The group hadn't even gone twenty meters before a wave of ice spikes erupted towards them.
"SCATTER!" Jaune yelled and jumped to his left. Shikamaru jumped with him while the girls jumped right. They were separated by the wall of ice.
The two didn't get a chance to see where the attack had come from as Jaune heard Shikamaru grunt in pain.
He turned just to see the shadow users body sail into the ice wall, indenting it but not breaking it. In his place, Zabuza stood with his foot still outstretched from kicking the man.
Jaune grit his teeth, seeing that the difficulty of the test had truly just shot up. He flashed through hand signs and immediately created three shadow clones.
"Go help Shikamaru. You see how Anko and Tenten are fairing. They've got to be fighting Haku."
With his words, two of the clones broke off to do as he instructed. He and the last clone dashed at Zabuza.
"Really? Coming at a stronger opponent is reckless. I beat that into you already didn't I?"
Jaune didn't respond and instead threw a kunai at the demon of the mist. Zabuza easily blocked it with his massive sword but his eyes widened as the clone suddenly vanished in a golden flash. He was too slow to block as the clone slashed at him with the katana. The clone cut into his arm, but it was just a bit more than a flesh wound. Zabuza cleaved the clone just to feel the drilling of a Rasengan as it dug into his side from the real Jaune.
The attack carved into flesh, but instead of blood, water spilled out.
"Nice try kid." Zabuza's voice came from the ice wall. The mans image was actually inside the ice. He stepped out and pointed his sword at Jaune. "Going directly for the kill. You've learned well."
"Yet here you are talking too much." Jaune's voice was in Zabuza's ear as he also emerged from the ice wall. "Shouldn't have let Haku teach me this so soon."
Zabuza turned and punched Jaune, just for him to puff into smoke. Something fell at the mans feet and his eyes widened once more. It was another tri-pronged kunai. He would have been prepared to intercept the attack this time, however, he found himself unable to move an inch.
"Forgot about me Momochi?" Shikamaru smirked. He was free from the wall and was crouched, his shadow attached to Zabuza.
"Chidori!" Jaune cried as he appeared before Zabuza in a flash. This time blood did fly as he pierced the man through the chest.
"Damn...guess I got a little too...cocky…" The man coughed up blood.
Jaune ripped his hand from this chest and decapitated him, ensuring his death. He turned and immediately went into the ice wall, coming out the other side to see the situation with Haku.
Moments earlier…
As Anko and Tenten had gotten separated from the boys, they took in the sight of Haku wearing his usual mask and already being within his ice mirrors.
"Shit, going all out from the beginning. Wish Momochi would learn that." Anko called and took out a kunai. She knew she didn't have the tools to take on Haku when he used his mirrors to their fullest, regardless of if she were stronger than him in a one on one setting.
"Doesn't matter. We'll do what we can until Jaune-kun shows up." Tenten swiped her arm again and a kanabo emerged. She slung the club over her shoulder and smirked.
"Will you two engage me without Jaune-kun?" Haku asked from within the ice mirrors.
"Of course. We're still his team." Tenten said before flashing forward. Anko followed after her slower, waiting to see what Haku would do.
The boy sighed and began to launch senbon from the mirrors at the women. Tenten batted most of them away with her club, but a few got through. It didn't seem to deter the girl though. If anything, the smile on her face grew more sadistic.
"Freaking sadomasochist…" Haku mumbled before making more mirrors on the side of Tenten and Anko.
The snake mistress threw two kunai to the sides and then flashed through hand signs. She slammed a hand down while crying 'kuchiyose'. Two snakes appeared, both thirty meters in length.
The kunai she had thrown hit the ice mirrors and exploded, showing that they had explosive tags attached to them. They weren't strong enough to destroy the mirrors, but if Haku attempted to emerge from their sides, he would either be hit or blinded from the smoke screen.
The two snakes slithered forward faster than their mistress. One picked up Tenten while the other spit out a haze of green smoke.
"You got it?" Anko asked.
"I'll try." Tenten responded seriously before jumping from the head of the snake. "1st gate open!" She cried before the telltale sign of the gate of opening appeared around her body. "2nd gate open!" The gate of healing was opened and Tenten plummeted towards the smoke cloud Anko's snake had created.
"Dammit…" Haku cursed, knowing that the poison cloud would immediately incapacitate him if he left his mirrors. He instead went through hands signs and reinforced the mirrors.
For Tenten, the 2nd gate of healing was to prevent the poison from effecting her too bad. The first gate gave her the strength she would need to hopefully break several of the mirrors.
As she crashed down into the ground, slamming the Kanabo down, she was surprised to see all of the mirrors around her crack from the shockwave, but not break.
"Just in time…" Haku sighed in relief. "And the cloud is gone too."
Sure enough, the shockwave from Tentens attack had dispersed the poison cloud.
"Shit, should've opened more gates…" Tenten cursed and dashed backwards. However, while only having two gates open, Haku was still faster. The boy launched out of a mirror and attempted to stab a senbon into the weapon mistresses neck.
Tenten was quick enough to block, taking the senbon into her arm. Haku was already within another mirror.
The image of Haku appeared in all of the mirrors and Tenten knew what was next. A rain of senbon came down. The two snakes coiled around her and covered her. Anko herself stayed a bit back and cursed that their plan hadn't worked.
"OODAMA RASENGAN!" The cry caught everyone by surprise. Ten Jaune's soared over the ice wall that had separated them. The attacks crashed into some of the ice mirrors and destroyed a large portion of them.
Haku was luckily enough to not be in any of the mirrors that had been destroyed. But that gave Anko and Tenten enough time to regroup with Jaune. Shikamaru jumped over the ice wall as well, looking a bit worse for wear.
"Bout time!" Anko called.
"You beat Zabuza-sama that fast?!" Haku asked in astonishment.
"I'm not here to play games. You and Zabuza taught me to go for the kill at any chance I got. And that means here too." Jaune was still completely serious. Zabuza was stronger than him, but he hadn't gone all out like he should've. Plus Jaune wasn't above abusing the hiraishin and Shikamaru's shadow possession to win.
"I won't make the same mistake as Zabuza-sama then." Haku created more ice mirrors and launched senbon and kunai at the group. The two snakes slithered around as fast as they could to block the attacks but it soon proved fatal. The two snakes poofed as they finally sustained enough damage.
"Tenten, use Thor." Jaune called as he slammed his hands to the ground and created an earth dome around him, Anko, and Shikamaru.
Tenten smiled sadistically before jumping back several meters. She pulled out a scroll and bit her thumb. Running her blood over the scroll, she made one of her newest weapons appear.
Haku's eyes widened behind his mask. "Is that…"
"An RPG!" Tenten cried happily, hefting the rocket launcher over her shoulder. "Smile for the birdy mother fucker!"
She fired without hesitation. Haku didn't have time to reinforce the mirrors as the warhead struck one and ignited a massive explosion that filled the entire clearing and uprooted dozens of trees in a hundred meter radius.
Tenten laughed maniacally at the firestorm that she caused from the explosion. Of course she had loaded the warhead with explosive tags on top of its normal properties.
Once it cleared, she would see that Jaune's earth dome held, but Haku's mirrors did not. The boys body was blown to bits, being scattered over the ground near the dome.
Jaune let the dome fall and cringed at Haku's body. Anko pulled him into a hug that put his back against her chest and whispered in his ear to stay focused. He nodded and swallowed, almost having vomited at the sight. He forced himself to look at Haku's body a bit longer before turning to his team.
"This is a battle of attrition that we clearly don't have the advantage with. Our goal is to get the bell from Naruto, or whoever he gave it to. So we need to focus on that instead of taking on wave after wave of enemies."
The trio of shinobi were impressed with how Jaune was able to get back on track. He was giving the test his all, clearly, and it made them want to do their best for him as well.
"Anko, summon as many small snakes as you can and have them spread out in the forest. I'll make some clones to head into the village. Naruto didn't specify if the test would only take place out here in the training ground." Though Jaune spoke his plan out loud, he was giving different orders to the group telepathically. He knew Naruto, Hinata, and especially Ino would be able to hear his thoughts if they wanted to. He simply had hope that they weren't listening.
The trio nodded at their leader. Anko bit her thumb and flashed through the summoning hand signs again. Slamming her hand to the ground, a massive summoning circle appeared. Hundreds of tiny to small snakes emerged, getting a shiver from Shikamaru.
'Still never got used to snakes…' He shuddered.
The swarm of snakes spread out and dispersed into the forestland. Jaune himself created over 1000 clones, making a decent dent in his chakra reserves, but not enough to really even wind him. He sent the clones towards the village.
Almost immediately did he feel a chunk of his clones getting dispelled. His eyes narrowed and he growled in rage. "Mother fucker." He cursed.
"What's wrong?" Tenten asked, her elation from earlier gone.
"Get ready for a real fight." He simply said before making ten more clones that surrounded him and his team.
Just as he did, a wave of sand emerged from over the canopy of trees closer to the village. It settled down in front of the group before dispersing and revealing Gaara, Neji, and Kiba. Jaune had speculated it, but now he was sure what Naruto was doing.
Tenten and Neji locked eyes, sparks immediately flying. "I hope you are ready Ten-chan. It has been over 1000 years since we've had a serious match."
Tenten shook her head. "Doesn't matter. You're just an obstacle for Jaune-kun right now."
The Hyuga frowned at her words but knew she was right. This wasn't for them. Not completely. He slid into his jyuken stance and activated his byakugan.
Jaune did the same and surprised everyone when he also activated the sharingan at the same time, three tomoe in each of his eyes.
"You learned to combine them already?" Shikamaru was more than a little impressed. "And you hid it from everybody. Like a true shinobi."
Jaune just nodded. He listened, but his focus was on one person in particular.
The red haired jinchuriki smirked. "Let us begin."
Kiba and Akamaru rushed forward. Neji began to launch vacuum palms at the group. Jaune's clones teamed up to do the same, nullifying the older shinobi's attacks.
"Shadow clone jutsu!" Kiba called, making a single clone. "Let's do this Akamaru!" He cried before he and the clone jumped into the air. Akamaru jumped afterwards and the three fused into their Cerberus form. He had learned to do it instantaneously.
Gaara didn't waste time on attacking with his sand. He encased himself in a dome of sand.
"Shit, he's trying to transform already!" Anko threw a few kunai with exploding tags towards Gaara, but they were intercepted by Kiba. The Cerberus ate the kunai. When the sound of a muffled explosion went off, smoke simply bellowed from the three dogs mouths.
Jaune knew this was a bad situation. But it wasn't unmanageable. "Execute Order 66."
The three with him looked shocked for a moment, their eyes wide. However, they all adorned devious grins. Jaune himself frowned though. The order was something he never wanted to use.
Kiba leaped into the air before becoming a massive drilling tornado. Anko moved forward and performed one last summoning jutsu. In a huge plume of smoke, a gigantic purple snake with three heads appeared. The snakes body was over 400 meters long. The snake spun and slammed its tail into Kiba, deflecting his attack away. Anko was still flaring through hand signs as she did so.
"Lamia sage!" She cried and her eyes became slit like. She jumped onto the snake and seemed to meld into it. The snakes upper half began to change until it formed into a giant Anko with the bottom half of the snake. She had become a giant Lamia, her chest bared to the world.
"3rd gate open. 4th gate open. 5th gate open. 6th gate open." Tenten called, her body exploding with chakra and her skin burning red. She vanished as soon as she had opened the sixth gate and appeared in front of Neji. Her kanabo was already raised.
"Rotation!" Neji cried and spun on spot. However, Tenten had predicted it and kicked off the ground into the air.
"7th gate open!" She cried before literally kicking off the air and rocketing down towards Neji's dome. The kanabo struck the dome and sparks began to fly as it grinded against the rotation. However, the power behind the attack was clearly pushing right through the chakra dome.
Neji cut the attack short and jumped back as Tenten struck the ground, causing an earth shattering impact that shook the entire clearing.
With the dust cloud up, Shikamaru sent hundred upon hundreds of shadow spikes towards Neji and the sand dome that held Gaara. The spikes pierced the sand dome but Neji vanished in a burst of speed that matched Lee without his weights. He appeared behind Tenten, his own skin glowing red as he instantly activated the first 3 gates as well. Tenten turned and blocked his strikes before the two began to exchange blows and blocks at the speed of sound.
"Dammit, we were too late." Shikamaru called as the dust cloud began to fade.
Gaara's orb cracked before exploding outwards. The sand began to grow until it formed the full size of the Ichibi. It was still pierced by Shikamaru's kage nui, but it wouldn't take long for it to break free.
"It's on you Jaune." He decided to focus on Neji with Tenten. It was clear Neji was still stronger than the girl. Or so it seemed.
The clones surrounding Jaune and Shikamaru kept their formation, but created even more clones, bringing the total up to about 40. Shikamaru used the clones to hide his shadow as it darted towards Neji. The boys byakugan was enough to see it though, and he was able to dodge it. However, that gave Tenten the openings she needed to get grazing blows on the boy. She was slowly chipping away at him.
The Ichibi finally broke from the shadow spikes that pierced it, however, it froze for a moment for some reason.
…
'Shintenshin success.' Jaune thought from inside of the Ichibi's body. Gaara tried to fight him, but Jaune's will was far superior, even if physically he wasn't.
"Thanks for the body Gaara." Jaune chuckled before immediately sending a hand to smash Neji. The boy couldn't dodge and was crushed immediately.
With Kiba and Anko, the two had wounded each other pretty badly. Anko was missing an arm while one of Kiba's heads had been eroded by poison. The grizzly sight made Jaune want to vomit again but he stayed focused.
'It's time Anko.' Reached out to the woman's mind, the sadness evident in his voice. The woman didn't share his sentiment and chuckled.
'Stop being so down Gaki! This is gonna be epic!'
Anko suddenly shot forward, slamming her massive tail overhead and pushing Kiba into the ground. Then she slithered around him, tightening her body and sinking her teeth into one of his heads necks.
"Wind bullets!" Jaune called and fired both wind and sand bullets from the Ichibi's stomach.
The final act. The reason Jaune didn't want to use the order.
The bullets struck both Anko and Kiba, destroying the land around them and sending up a dust cloud as large as a mushroom cloud. Jaune continued to fire on them, hoping to exhaust as much as the Ichibi's chakra as he could. After literal minutes of firing, the Ichibi form began to collapse and Jaune was left in Gaara's body.
He nodded to Shikamaru who threw a single kunai with an explosive tag. Jaune vacated Gaara's body not even a second before the kunai pierced his skull. The tag exploded, taking Gaara's top half with it.
Back in his own body, Jaune moved from within the mass of clones that protected his body while he used shintenshin. He looked solemnly towards the area Anko and Kiba had been, finding them both back to normal and dead on the ground; their bodies bruised, battered, and broken. He didn't let his gaze linger this time, not wanting to see his friends mangled corpses.
"It had to be done, Jaune. It's the plan we came up with for if we ever had to fight larger enemies, especially bijuu." Shikamaru tried to console the boy, but it did nothing this time. Jaune shed tears.
"This was another test right? To know that no one is invincible? That my teammates could die at any moment...and that as a leader, it may be my order that gets them killed...or even my own hands."
Shikamaru placed a hand on the boys shoulder, reminiscent of Anko. "Yeah. You passed."
Jaune looked at Tenten and his tears began to flow faster. The girl was struggling to maintain the 7th gate. She looked to be in tremendous pain, and he knew she was prepared for what was to come next. The girl saw the look on his face and smiled. She warped over to him and took his lips as her own.
His eyes widened as he felt the girl quivering. Her lips were still soft, despite the whipping chakra about her body.
"Don't you dare cry for me." She strained out. "This is all for your sake."
Jaune wiped the tears away and smiled. "Alright. Let's finish this. My clones in the village found Naruto and are trying to get the bell. But if I'm right, there's at least one more obstacle in the way…"
Jaune grabbed on to Tenten and Shikamaru before activating the hiraishin kunai he had left at Ichiraku's. He appeared within the village and knew he was correct.
Standing at the opposite end of the street was a lone person.
"Sasuke…" Jaune's eyes narrowed, the byakugan and sharingan still activated in his eyes. He took a step forward but Tenten stopped him.
"You said you found Naruto."
"Yeah?"
"I can't tell you what to do Jaune…" She said cryptically.
Jaune sighed. He knew what she was asking. Shikamaru just nodded his agreement with Tenten.
"Alright. Finish the order." Jaune's voice was empty.
In another flash of golden light, Jaune and Shikamaru vanished. Sasuke rose an eyebrow.
"Really? He left you to fight me alone?" He pulled his own blade from its sheath.
"No. He left me to kill you." Tenten answered. "8th gate...open."
The explosion of chakra made Sasuke's eyes widen. He didn't even get a chance to move as the blur that was Tenten slammed into him.
With Jaune and Shikamaru, the two had teleported to the top of Hokage mountain. Jaune had left his last hiraishin kunai there under Naruto's own request.
Appearing at the very edge, he had to dodge immediately as wooden spikes erupted from beneath him. Shikamaru dodged as well and knelt down, using his kage nui to attack their offenders.
Ino clicked her teeth at missing her sneak attack and Hinata jumped in front of her, activating her protection of the sixty-four palms to fend off Shikamaru's shadow tendrils. The Nara cursed. He had trained his kage nui enough to pierce through even Neji's rotation, but Hinata's chakra blades were on an entirely different level.
"Stop, Shikamaru." Jaune ordered.
Hinata and Ino froze and Naruto smiled. Shikamaru immediately stopped and stood up lazily, putting his hands in his pockets.
Jaune looked Naruto in the eye and bowed. "I know that we can't win here. Not by a land slide. But I won't just surrender...not just yet."
Ino and Hinata looked between Jaune and Naruto curiously. They had a hunch of what was going on and knew Shikamaru was well aware of what Jaune was doing.
"This last test...its to know when I'm beaten. And to not sacrifice those under me needlessly, right? If we were to fight here, Ino and Hinata would kill Shikamaru and I still wouldn't be able to get the bell."
Naruto's smile warmed. "Congrats. You've passed the last test. Though you had to sacrifice Tenten and Anko to make it this far, knowing when a sacrifice is too great or pointless is also key to being a leader."
Jaune looked down sadly. Sasuke was the obstacle meant to keep him from reaching Naruto all together. If he hadn't left Tenten, he knew Sasuke would have hunted them down until he had killed them all.
The blonde teen shook his head. "It's not over though." He began. "We're shinobi...and you just lied. That wasn't the last test."
Now Naruto's smile became a wide toothy beam.
Jaune smirked. "Can I have the bell please?" He simply asked and held his hand out. Naruto tossed him the bell.
Ino and Hinata looked at Naruto incredulously, having not known about that part of the test. Shikamaru just smirked and chuckled.
"Diplomacy was the last test, though in a really watered down way." Jaune explained. "Just because we are on opposing sides now, doesn't mean that some people can't be reasoned with. Though not everyone will deserve camaraderie, keeping some enemies close can give me the leverage I need to take them down if needed. Or simply converting them to my cause."
"For real this time, congratulations Jaune. You've passed the test!" Naruto said and held up a single hand sign. Ino and Hinata smiled and moved to Naruto's side before performing the same hand sign. A blue and green pulse of what Jaune could only describe as pure unadulterated life force spread out over the entire reality.
He didn't need to look back to feel that they were healing and reviving everyone that had 'died'.
"Let this be the one and only time you concede like that Jaune. From this moment on, you will never bow your head to anyone, and you will never admit defeat." Naruto walked forward, his hands behind his back. It was the wisest Jaune had ever seen the man look. Ino and Hinata approached from his flanks, their expressions serious as well. "After today, you will truly have the potential to become a god among gods."
Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat. His words were lofty. Yet, the weight didn't linger on his shoulders. After everything that had happened that day, Jaune knew where his future lie. "I'm prepared."
With a final nod, Naruto moved until he stood directly in front of Jaune.
"We will fight one day, Jaune. And it won't be a subtle test like this. In two years time, we will fight. Your goal will be to land a single hit on me. If you can do that, you will have already become the strongest person in your reality. So every single day, from now until then, will be spent training you to be as such. There is no going back now. This is the true start to your journey."
His words would ring within Jaune's mind for the next two years and then some. It truly was the start. The blonde teen needed to become more than just a huntsman. More than just a shinobi.
He would need to become infinite.
Sorry for the abrupt end and sketchy pacing. There will be a timeskip next chapter and I'll start moving the plot along faster from here on out. If there's anything people want to see with the Ghost of the Elemental Nations, or with Jaune's family before the timeskip, let me know and I'll try to find a way to incorporate stuff. Specifically for character development purposes. That's all I've got for now.
Til Next Time Loves~