'Thoughts'
"Technique/Demon/Bijuu" Talk
"Demon/Bijuu" Talk from inside
'Technique in head/Demon/Bijuu' Thoughts
Reviews
Imperial-samaB, NinjaFang1331, Samuel Santillan, willow1996: Thank you!
EarlSilver: Yes, they'll be in the story permanently, and maybe in the harem as well. And yes, you can have more.
Otaku-king-389: I hope so.
biginferno: Well, the first part of the plan failed, time for the second part.
panjangya: Maybe they will be.
Autobot-Wolfsketch: Thank you! The other forms will probably take some time for him to get. And Shisu has a pretty high chance of joining the harem.
Spellbat: Shisu might join, but the others, don't know. Ah that makes sense. After looking at her I can see why you thought that.
Freddielebron: Sorry for making it too long.
dragonslayerjahn: I understand why you mean and don't worry, they won't worship him and some of them will have at least one thing Naruto doesn't have.
Astramilitarum: I don't wanna stick to canon that much, so I added some OCs to spice it up a bit.
In the harem
Fem!Haku, Hinata, Kin, Temari, Yugao
Harem currently
Amaru, Ameyuri, Anko, Ayame, Fubuki, Fuu, Fuka, Guren, Hana, Hanabi, Hotaru, Ino, Isaribi, Karin, Karui, Kaguya, Kirai, Konan, Kotohime, Koyuki, Fem!Kurama, Kurenai, Kurotsutchi, Mabui, Matsuri, Mei, Mikoto, Mito, Moegi, Natsu, Natsuhi, Pakura, Rin, Ryuzetsu, Sakura, Samui, Sara, Sasame, Shizuka, Shizune, Shion, Tayuya, Tenten, Tsume, Tsunade, Tsunami, Yakumo/Ido, Yugito/Nibi, Yukata
Chapter 20: Exams VI
Akame dashed forward and prepared her sword to strike.
"Vibration Release: Airwave Punch!" Sakura began punching the air, producing waves of air towards Akame. The noirette weaved through the blasts of air and sliced through one.
'Vibration Release: Buzzing Aura!' Sakura punched her knuckles together as the blue chakra on her arms quickly spread out over her body. Akame narrowed her eyes, but continued her advance. Once she was close, she spun out of the way of a punch and slashed at Sakura's side, but her eyes widened slightly when nothing happened to the pinkette, but the white aura on her blade started vibrating.
Sakura turned towards Akame and tried grabbing her, but the noirette jumped back. She looked at her blade and saw that the white aura stopped vibrating.
'This is troublesome. I can't do anything to her unless I remove the white chakra and kill her by accident… maybe I should wait for her aura to disappear, it has to be running on chakra,' Akame deduced. She took a deep breath and backed away.
Sakura knew what she was doing and looked behind herself. Sasuke already had his Chidori active in his left hand.
"Chidori Tracer!" He shouted as he slammed his hand onto the ground. Electricity traveled across the ground past Sakura towards Akame. The noirette jumped back and landed on a tree as the electricity raced towards it. Akame stabbed her sword into the tree and raised her foot. She back kicked the handle and quickly sliced the trunk cleanly through, using the white chakra on the blade to extend it.
Akame grabbed her blade and retreated back on the falling tree as the electricity jumped off the trunk and onto Akame's tree. The girl quickly leaped off of the trunk and onto another tree behind her. Sasuke's Chidori Tracer stopped and dissipated, not able to reach where Akame was.
Akame looked for Sakura, and found that the girl was below the tree she was on.
'Shit,' Akame thought as Sakura punched the tree and made the entire thing vibrate madly. The noirette jumped off as the tree exploded. The Sanya girl landed on another but quickly saw the barreling fireball coming towards her. She jumped off the tree and onto another one, but got hit by an Airwave Punch. She stumbled onto the branch as she started vibrating. 'Damnit, she hit me!' She noticed Sasuke jumping from tree to tree towards her and made the Snake → Dragon → Hare → Tiger hand seals.
'Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!' Sasuke blew out flames that quickly traveled towards Akame. The noirette tried moving away, but misstepped and got hit by the flame. The entire branch lit on fire as Akame was flown back.
Akame hit a tree and fell to the ground. She reoriented herself and landed on her feet, but was still vibrating. She looked down at the ground and tried catching her breath before looking up and seeing Sakura and Sasuke. The girl looked at her sword before shaking her head.
A little thing about Akame is that out of Team Kuroka and Akame combined, she's the only one that doesn't have something special about her. Kuroka and Aoika had Plasma Release, Kiryu had Ryurin, Hyoshi had Ice Release, and Shisu had a Juurei, something akin to a tailed beast, but she had nothing. All she had was Yang Release, and that seemed to be the only nature transformation she had an affinity for, and it wasn't even one of the basic ones. She was proficient in kenjutsu, shurikenjutsu, and a bit in kyujutsu, but that was it. Shisu loved to use Yang Release, but at least she could use Fire Release, while Akame couldn't do that. So to make up for it, she excelled greatly in what she could do.
The Sanya noirette took a deep breath and raised a hand up. She curled her index and middle finger under her thumb while keeping her ring and pinkie finger up.
"Murasame: Yang Release Shadow World Overspread." The area around Akame, Sakura, and Sasuke turned pitch black, only their figures were visible. The Uchiha and Haruno looked around in confusion.
"What the hell?!" Sasuke questioned.
"I wouldn't ever use this technique to try and assassinate anyone. All it does is change the surrounding area to black. Anyone can intervene and the person in the black space can shout for help. That's why it's better to use this when someone is separated from their comrades. And if I do happen to use this on someone, I deal with them swiftly," Akame explained.
"Why are you telling us this?" Sasuke asked as he glared at the noirette.
"Because Naruto isn't here, so he can't help you," Akame responded.
Sasuke scoffed. "I don't need that bastard to help me. I can deal with you myself!"
"Your Sharingan isn't going to help you for this one, Sasuke," she stated.
"Tch, you don't know that!" Akame shrugged before she disappeared, surprising Sasuke and Sakura.
A second later, Sakura flinched, causing Sasuke to turn to her. The pinkette flinched again before a visible slash was seen near her chest. The Uchiha's eyes widened, he couldn't see her at all. Sakura jumped away from her spot and continued moving around to hopefully not get slashed at, but unfortunately got slashed again, this time, near her right thigh.
"Your aura is protecting you from my slashes, but it still hurts feeling the impact of my hits, doesn't it?" Akame guessed from everywhere. Sakura didn't respond, but the noirette knew she was right. "If that's the case…"
Sasuke watched as Sakura flinched again, but this time, millions of visible slashes were being created on Sakura. The raven-haired genin couldn't do anything. Akame wasn't anywhere to be seen but was somehow attacking Sakura. He grit his teeth before making the Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger hand seals.
'Since you're near Sakura and I can't see you, I'll just set you both on fire!' Sasuke thought. 'Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!'
The Uchiha blew out a fireball that barreled towards the paralyzed pinkette. Before it could even reach her, the fireball got sliced in half and exploded into flames with Akame appearing in front of the explosion, sword in the air.
"I understand what you were doing, but you shouldn't try to injure your comrade," Akame told as she put her arm down.
"Shut up. If it means defeating you, my teammates can take a hit," Sasuke replied as his left hand started crawling with electricity.
"Troublesome," Akame said before making the Horse hand seal. "Yang Release Deep-Rooted Chakra: Tree Binding Sap Stealer." White appendages sprouted out around Sasuke's feat and quickly swirled around his body before tightening. Sasuke cursed as his chakra was starting to get taken from him. Akame looked at him before turning around, still seeing Sakura's aura still up.
"Huh. I'm surprised you still have chakra left to sustain that aura," Akame spoke as she walked over to the pinkette. Sakura slowly looked at Akame as she grit her teeth. The pinkette let out a shout as she forced herself low to the ground despite the pain. She planted her hands on the black surface.
"Vibration Release: Reverberate!" Sakura shouted. Her aura transferred to her hands then to the surface and intense vibrations started shaking the area as if an earthquake was happening. Akame lost her footing and fell on the ground as she saw cracks in her technique. She narrowed her eyes before looking at Sakura.
'She's really smart,' Akame noted. After two more giant vibrations, the blackness surrounding the area shattered and revealed the area.
Sakura was left a quivering mess as she tried to stay still, but was having difficulty doing so. Akame used her sword to help her get up and stumbled over to Sakura. Once she was standing in front of the pinkette, she spoke.
"You're smart. How can you make vibrations and control them?" Akame wondered as she looked down at Sakura.
"C-C-Cha-kra. A… a l-lot o-of c-c-chak-ra," Sakura stuttered.
"More than you can handle?"
"I-I-it h-h-h-he-lps."
"I see… but did you plan for this to happen, or was it an on-the-spot thing?" Akame asked.
Sakura smirked. "I h-had a plan f-for t-this."
Although Akame was vibrating—not as badly as Sakura—she plucked her sword out of the ground and took a step back, but nearly lost her footing.
"Heatwave Outburst!" A rapid expansion of heat exploded outwards of Sakura's body, forcing Akame to fly back and into Sasuke. The two raven-haired genin rolled away before coming to a stop.
Sakura fell forward and was shivering now due to being slightly cold. 'Damn me and my brain…'
"Heat, huh? Never woulda thought of that," Inner Sakura chimed in.
'Heh, if you're in a desperate situation, you might've…'
Akame groaned before rolling over on her stomach and propped herself up on her arms. She took deep breaths before repositioning herself and was in a sitting position.
'Come on Akame, get up. You shouldn't be feeling this tired.' The noirette took a deep breath before attempting to stand. She was successful, but her legs were shaking.
Sakura saw Sasuke get up and look at Akme before pulling out a kunai and standing up.
'Shit… Sasuke's gonna kill her! Inner!'
"You got it, Princess." Inner Sakura and Sakura connected again. The Team 7 pinkette closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she reached out to Sasuke and the tips of her fingers were coated with chakra. Her fingers opened up once she felt something, then she slightly closed them before lowering her hand. 'Heartbeat Sedation.'
Akame looked up to see Sasuke limping over to her with a kunai prepared to stab her. She looked past Sasuke and saw Sakura lower her hand. The noirette looked back at Sasuke and saw the boy suddenly look fatigued before dropping to the ground.
Akame blinked twice in surprise before making her way towards Sakura. It took a couple minutes, but when she made it over, she fell on her knees and stared at the pinkette's tired face.
"What did you do to your teammate?" Akame wondered.
"Slowed down his heartbeat," Sakura responded.
"... How did you do that…?"
"I… dunno. I think when I punched Sasuke, my arm was still vibrating and either my chakra or my vibration transferred over to him, but it was low and didn't really affect him. After using vibrations I got a somewhat decent grasp at it and seeing Sasuke about to kill you, I got desperate and racked my brain to find a way to stop him."
"Your brain must work really fast for you to come up with a technique like that on the spot," Akame pointed out.
"You'd be surprised how fast the brain works during stressful situations."
"What are you: a scientist, doctor, or a kunoichi? It's hard to tell," Akame joked, making Sakura giggle. The pinkette's gaze drifted down and she noticed something that piqued her interest.
"You wear purple?" Sakura asked as she raised an eyebrow.
Akame slightly blushed. "Hyoshi told me it was for… confidence, and that I'd hopefully find someone during these Chuunin Exams…" the girl sighed. "I don't even know how she talked me into wearing purple…"
"I think orange would be more fitting for confidence. It's a bold color," Sakura told with a small smile.
"Really? I… guess that makes sense. But… what's purple?"
"Loyalty, luxury, mystery, wisdom, things like that."
Akme blew a raspberry, making Sakura giggle. Hyoshi walked over to the two girls and plopped down next to them.
"Nice fight, girls. That was exciting to watch!" Hyoshi complimented with a smile.
"I'm sure it was. How much chakra did you recover?" Akame asked.
"Not enough."
Akame nodded before narrowing her eyes at Hyoshi. "You liar. Purple isn't confidence."
Hyoshi blinked a couple of times before looking at Sakura who rolled onto her back with a smile. The pinkette shrugged.
"Y-Yes it is! Just look at the color purple! It basically screams bold!" Hyoshi defended herself as she looked at Akame.
"No it doesn't. It's a regal color, Hyoshi. People like the Daimyos or princesses would wear that. Orange is a more bold and confident color than purple," Akame explained.
Hyoshi stuttered before groaning. "Alright, fine! Purple isn't a confident color! I wanted you to wear it so that any boy who saw would think highly of you!"
"... You think I'd be flashing my underwear just to any boy?"
"I mean…"
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't cut you right now."
Two Narutos, Rock Lee, and Tenten jumped from tree to tree with one Naruto carrying Tenten because of her cramps and the other one carrying an unconscious Neji.
"You didn't have to carry me," Tenten said as she pouted.
"Would've been faster to carry you then to have to wait for you," Naruto explained. The blonde heard Tenten sigh and couldn't help but smile. The five of them passed by a giant spot of nothing but scorched earth, burnt and destroyed trees, and smoke rising from random areas.
"Dear Kami, Naruto! This is the aftermath of that Nibi attack?!" Tenten exclaimed in shock. Rock Lee was also surprised at seeing the destruction.
"Whoops," Naruto responded before he continued on his path. "Didn't know it'd be that bad."
"I dunno Naruto. When you form a literal Bijuu behind you that clashes with another animal the same size as a tree, it tends to cause some serious damage, especially when they explode and set the whole Kami-damned forest on fire and almost incinerate bystanders!" Tenten mentioned with a glare.
"Calm down, Magemage. I did protect you, didn't I?"
"You almost burnt us to a crisp!"
"It was an accident."
"An accident that almost cost us our lives!"
"Would an apology make you feel better?"
"Hell no!"
"Then what would? I don't want you screaming in my ear. Ya know, I lost my hearing once, I don't wanna lose it again in the same day," Naruto replied.
"I'll have to think on it."
"Naruto, Tenten does have a point…" Rock Lee said, making Tenten smile confidently.
The whiskered blonde sighed. "I'm sorry Lee, I didn't mean to get you guys caught up in that giant blast of hellish flames."
The green-clad genin nodded, then gave Naruto a thumbs up. "Just be careful next time, Naruto."
"You got it!" Naruto said as he returned the thumbs up. Tenten looked at Lee incredulously.
"Lee! You can't just forgive him that easily!" Tenten scolded.
"Don't scream, Tenten!"
"He agreed to be more careful, I do not see why I should think he is lying."
Tenten stuttered trying to come up with a response before groaning and going quiet while Naruto smirked. The brunette decided it wasn't worth trying to argue with the blonde, so she got as comfortable as she could and slept.
"I'm curious, how'd you do the Jinchuuriki Invasion?" Naruto asked as he carried Shisu. A tiny version of Lionelle formed on her back and hopped on Naruto's head before settling down.
"Why do you want to know?" Lionelle wondered.
"Just curious is all. "
'Hm… well, he can't do it to Shisu. The technique was made specifically for Jinchuurikis, so there's no harm in telling him.' "While Shisu placed her hand on her opponent, I get extracted out of her temporarily and enter the opponent."
"You get extracted? Do you do it yourself or does Shisu have to do it?"
"I do. When Shisu places her hand on her opponent, she pours a mixture of her chakra and my Essence into the opponent, and a doorway appears in her mindscape that I can go through to get to the opponent's mindscape where their Bijuu resides," Lionelle explained, then licked her paw.
"Wow! That sounds cool! So all I have to do is place my hand on someone and pour a bit of myself and the Kyuubi's chakra into them?"
"Yes, but be warned: if you do it while they're conscious, they can attack you, so it's best to either bind them, incapacitate them, or place them under a genjutsu for it to be fully effective. But, when your Bijuu leaves you temporarily, you will be weakened considerably, leaving you vulnerable to other attacks," Lionelle warned the blonde. He hummed and nodded. "I'm curious about something."
"What's up?"
"Who is that woman inside you? She's… weird."
"Her? She's Kirai. A parasite that just lounges in my mindscape and freeloads off of me," Naruto insulted.
"Hey! Don't go talkin' shit about me when I'm right here! I could kill you, ya know!" Kirai shouted in his head. He could hear Kurama chuckling.
"Really? How'd you get a parasite like her? And how does she act?"
Naruto didn't know how, but he tuned Kirai's voice out as he continued. "I dunno myself. She just happened to appear and was all like: "hey, brat, I'm gonna start living in your head from now on, so deal with it," and seeing no way to get her out of my head, I just let her stay. But boy oh boy is she the rudest parasite ever! I keep her alive and yet she hasn't thanked me once! And she's always insulting me as well. She's getting a bit too comfortable in my head and I don't like it. She thinks she owns the place!" The boy ranted, then shook his head. "But she does act weird sometimes, like she ki—"
Naruto was interrupted by a black appendage shooting out of his back and wrapping itself around his mouth, silencing him. Lionelle blinked.
"Interesting parasite Naruto… I didn't know they were capable of silencing you like this," the lion said. Naruto made the clone hand seal and a clone popped up in front of them, walking backwards.
"I didn't know either," he said with a shrug. "I also didn't know parasites could look like humans. I always thought they were bugs… actually, Kirai is a bug, so nevermind." After he insulted the entity, a black appendage shot out of Naruto's chest and stabbed the clone, popping it. The appendage quickly wrapped itself around Naruto's arm and forced it to hold onto Shisu.
Naruto mumbled incoherently as he glared while Lionelle chuckled. "A peculiar relationship you have indeed." The boy rolled his eyes.
Kin dashed past the trees and avoided shurikens being thrown at her. She got out three senbon before throwing them quickly at her attacker. The genin that was attacking her saw the senbon and jumped out of the way, but then he heard bells ringing. When he saw Kin run towards him, more of her started appearing and rushing at him at the same time.
"What the fuck?!" The Konoha genin exclaimed as he got a shuriken ready. The multiple Kins got out senbon and threw them at him. The genin nervously watched the senbon fly towards him and decided running away was the best plan, but before he could, something hit the back of his neck and he fell forward, knocked out. The Kins faded away and the real one was behind him. She instantly turned around and made the Tiger → Hare → Boar → Dog hand seals before slamming her hands on the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" A wall made of earth shot up from the ground and protected Kim from a fireball coming at her. The Oto genin got out three senbon and threw them around the wall and when she heard the genin curse out of confusion, the ground opened up below her and she traveled underground to where the genin was standing. Kin's hand popped out of the ground and grabbed his ankle before dragging him underground until only his head was above it.
"What the hell?! Get me out of the ground, you bitch!" The genin demanded. The girl popped up from the ground behind him and was planning on knocking him out until she sensed someone behind her. The girl made the Hare → Snake → Monkey hand seals and poured her chakra into the earth. 'Earth Release: Stone Monkey!' Stone quickly covered her entire body from her feet to her head right before a kunai could hit her. The girl poured her chakra into the earth again and it opened up, allowing her to travel underground again.
The genin that was in the tree looked at the stone statue in confusion. 'Did she just turn herself into stone…? How do I get her out of there?' He asked himself. Kin leapt from the ground and was now behind the Konoha genin. He whipped his head to look at Kin, but the girl did a roundhouse kick and sent him flying into the ground, knocking him out. The noirette landed on the tree branch before hopping to the ground and walking over towards the remaining conscious genin that was still trapped. She went underground again and circled around his grounded body before striking his stomach hard. The genin spat out saliva as the wind was knocked out of him and he fell unconscious. Kin resurfaced and dusted herself off right as her two teammates landed in front of her.
Dosu and Zaku looked around with the latter smirking at Kin's fight. "Wow, Kin, nice job on dealing with a team on your own."
"And a Konoha team no less. Good work," Dosu added with a head nod.
Kin glared at them before scoffing at them. "Whatever." She turned around and walked away, leaving her two teammates behind.
"Damn, what's got her panties in a bunch?" Zaku asked with narrowed eyes.
"You know as well as I do why she's mad. Such a childish thing, but whatever. She is a girl after all," Dosu responded, making Zaku chuckle.
"Damn right about tha—" Before Zaku could finish, a kunai whizzed by his head and he shut up instantly. He and Dosu looked at Kin in shock.
"I can hear you, ya know. Learn how to fucking whisper and get a damn move on," she ordered before turning around and walking away again. Dosu and Zaku shared a look before following their ticked off teammate.
The group traveled through the large forest for some time before someone landed in front of them. The group stopped once they saw who it was.
"Kabuto," Kin said as she narrowed her eyes.
"Hello Kin, Zaku, Dosu," Kabuto greeted with head nods. Dosu and Zaku nodded back.
"Is the plan still going on?" Dosu asked.
Kabuto smirked. "Yes. Orochimaru has successfully infiltrated Konohagakure. He knows the ins and outs and where to send the Sound Four to enter Konoha. Right now he is most likely with the Yondaime Kazekage and is discussing the plan one more time before planning his assassination."
"Is killing the Yondaime Kazekage a good idea?" Dosu wondered.
"Of course it is. When this works, we'll hit two villages at the same time. We aren't really allies with Sunagakure, we're just using them so we could expand our land and influence. By saying we crushed two villages, the other Hidden Villages will have to take us seriously," Kabuto explained.
"Then there'd only be three Great Nations—well, four once we rise and they acknowledge us as a Great Nation," Dosu pointed out.
"That's the plan. We crush Konoha and Suna, then we'll go after the other nations," Kabuto said. 'Although… the Akatsuki are gonna be a pain in the ass to deal with.'
"Heh, I like that plan a lot. These Konoha bastards deserve to get their village destroyed," Zaku voiced as he punched his palm.
Kabuto smirked at Zaku. "Good. You all remember the plan?" They all nodded. "Great. Don't fuck this up."
Once Kabuto jumped away, Zaku started talking to Dosu, but Kin wasn't paying attention. She stared at the ground as she thought about the plan to destroy Konoha.
'I can't do this… but how do I tell Naruto this? And how do I also save myself from being killed?' The more Kin thought, the more she began to realize something. 'Oh wait, I can't prevent myself from being killed. If the plan doesn't go the way it should, they'll blame it on me, and I'll definitely be killed. No way Naruto or the other girls could save me from that fate. And I'll probably be killed even before that…' Kin sighed and rubbed her face. 'Either way I'll die, so I should just tell him the truth.'
"Hey, Kin, aren't you dating that Konoha genin?" Zaku checked. Kin looked at him and didn't like the way he was smirking at her.
"Oh yeah, you are. You're going to trick him into thinking you're going to switch over sides because of how much you 'love' him, then will backstab him given the perfect opportunity, right?"
"So cruel, but it's a perfect plan and a nice way to kill off some Konoha genin. Must suck to be him," Zaku added as he chuckled.
"If you're going to kill some genin, make sure you kill Sasuke Uchiha. He's still our main priority after all," Dosu said. Kin nodded and her two teammates began walking ahead. The noirette grit her teeth and clenched her hands so hard to the point her palms were bleeding.
'I hate you all.'
The two Narutos met up with the other girls and a downed Sasuke Uchiha.
"We sure got a large group here," the Naruto carrying Shisu noticed as he looked at everyone.
"How are you still functioning? You must've used a lot of chakra fighting Shisu," Hyoshi wondered.
"I just have way too much chakra. I could be using it all day and still have a good amount left over," Naruto responded with a smile.
"Unbelievable," the light bluenette said as she fell on her back. Naruto looked at Sakura and saw the pinkette was asleep.
"How was your fight with Sasuke and Sakura?" Naruto asked as he looked at Akame.
"Sakura is very smart. She's a mixture between a doctor, a scientist, and a kunoichi. Truly a terrifying mix," Akame responded. "She gave me and Hyoshi a good fight. As for the Uchiha? He was alright."
Naruto's smile widened. "Those are my teammates for ya."
"You say it as if it's normal," Hyoshi pointed out.
"Making exploding water droplets with fire isn't normal, nor is using vibrations, or heat itself, or being able to control someone's heartbeat," Akame added.
Naruto's eyes widened at the feats Sakura did. "She… she did what now?"
"I don't know how, but she made an explosion with water and fire and started rapidly firing exploding droplets at us. She also somehow used vibrations to fight, and she used—what I assume—her own body heat to blow me away. She also put Sasuke to sleep by slowing down his heartbeat. Your pink-haired teammate is far from a normal kunoichi."
Naruto looked at the noirette in shock while Rock Lee looked at her in surprise. Tenten's eyes widened as she heard what Akame said.
'Wow… that girl is really strong! I've never heard of anyone using vibrations!' Tenten thought in awe.
"As much as I'd like to chat, you all still need to get to the tower," Lionelle stated. They all looked up at the wispy lion on Naruto's head.
"Yeah. We call defeat on this one. We don't have enough chakra to fight you, Naruto," Hyoshi stated with Akame nodding her head in agreement.
"Woah! Is that the same lion as before?!" Lee asked as he pointed at Lionelle.
"Yes Lee, that's the same lion as before, just smaller…" Tenten responded with a sigh.
As the Naruto that was carrying Tenten made more clones, the original looked around. "How exactly do we find the tower? We've been roaming this forest forever and haven't found a hint as to where it is."
"Luckily for you, we can track where it is through Anko. She has to be at the tower now," Kirai spoke.
'How would I track Anko?'
"Through the Uzumaki Seal! All ya gotta do is focus in on it and you should be able to trace where Anko is," Kirai answered.
'Alright… I'll give it a shot.' Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He concentrated on trying to find his seal and was surprised to find a small, but glowing dot to his left. He opened his eyes and smiled.
"Alright guys, I know just where to go!" He informed the group.
Hyoshi raised an eyebrow. "You sure? This forest isn't small, you know."
"Trust me, I know where to go." Naruto turned towards the direction where the dot was and got ready to jump away.
"Wait. Before you jump, just know that Kabuto is working for Orochimaru. He's been working with him for years now,' Kirai told the blonde. Naruto's face soured as he nodded, then jumped away.
It didn't take long for the group of genin to make it to the tower. They didn't see that many genin teams on the way there and had no trouble with any wild animals either. When they arrived, it was starting to get darker out.
The group landed in front of a set of double doors with a paper on it. Without hesitation, Naruto opened the doors and they walked in. The genin all looked around the giant, barren room. Hyoshi looked up at the two catwalks but noticed no one was standing there.
"Huh, seems like no one's here," the light bluenette noticed.
"Could we be the first ones here?" Tenten asked.
"Possibly, possibly not. We won't know unless we see another genin squad," Naruto responded as his eyes landed on the board at the other end of the wall. 'If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. If earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When heaven and earth are opened together, the perilous path will become righteous forever. This… something is the secret way that guides us from this place today… Is the missing word supposed to be 'method?' What the hell does this mean?'
"I think we have to open up both scrolls," Akame spoke next to Naruto. The whiskered blonde slightly jumped at the sudden voice and whipped his head at the noirette. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized.
"Oh, no need, you just caught me off guard is all," Naruto dismissed. "But what were you saying before?"
"I was saying that we have to open up both scrolls to advance," Akame restated.
Naruto hummed as he looked at the board and read over the third sentence again before nodding. "You're right, but we all have two scrolls. Should we open them at the same time or one at a time?"
"Let's just do one at a time to see what happens before the rest of us simultaneously open up ours," Akame suggested.
Naruto nodded in agreement before tapping his chest and pulling out both scrolls. "I'll go first."
"Let me open up the other scroll for you," the noirette volunteered with her hand out. Naruto gave her the earth scroll and the two of them crouched down before putting their fingers on the scroll. Everyone watched as Naruto and Akame both rolled each scroll out fully and set it on the ground.
It was a couple of moments of silence as Naruto and Akame both looked at the inside contents of the scroll. Naruto raised an eyebrow while Akame tilted her head.
'Is this… a summoning technique?' Naruto asked himself as he looked closely at the symbols.
"Yes, yes that is, and I advise you get away from it." Right after Kirai said that, the paper inflated a bit and poured out, making his eyes wide. Naruto shot up and grabbed Akme before taking a few steps back as the smoke emitted out of both papers. The group waited in suspense as the smoke continued rising. Suddenly, a burst of smoke came out and there was a shadowed figure behind the veil. The smoke soon cleared up and Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened.
"I-Iruka-sensei?!" Naruto questioned.
The man in question had his arms crossed before yawning. "You couldn't have done this in the morning? It's kinda late, dontcha think?"
"W-What are you doing here…?" Sakura asked.
"Heh, what do you think? I'm here to congratulate you all and pass you," the brunette responded with a smile. Naruto and Sakura couldn't help but smile. The chuunin looked at Naruto and Sakura, then at the waking Sasuke, before noticing Team Guy, and then one of the genin teams he was worried about before the Chuunin Exams began. 'So it seems like they passed… and they're… with some Konoha genin? How did that happen?' The man sighed before shaking his head.
"The rest of you guys have both scrolls, correct?" Iruka asked the other genin teams. They all nodded before they grabbed the scrolls and presented them to the scarred man. Iruka looked at them and nodded. "I'll let the other chuunin know, so don't bother opening them. But other than that, congratulations on passing the second phase of the Chuunin Exams."
"Sweet, we passed!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin. Sakura smiled and the others had a small celebration.
"Oh, and before I forget, I have to explain something to you guys," Iruka voiced, causing the genin to look at him. He then went on to explain what the board meant and that they were instructions from the Sandaime Hokage himself to follow. The scarred chuunin also explained the missing letter and that it was meant for the genin to fill in for themselves, as well as explain a bit of what a chuunin is.
"Oh, and one more thing, during the third phase of the Chuunin Exams… do your best! You guys have around four days left, so I advise you to spend it relaxing a little," Iruka suggested with a smile. Everyone nodded their heads at the advice.
"Thanks for seein' us, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto thanked.
"Of course! I had to see my students before they went off!" Iruka said. "Now, go on and relax, bye!" Iruka disappeared in a pillar of smoke, leaving the room of just genin.
"Well, you heard the man. Let's find some place to relax and put Shisu down," Hyoshi suggested as she walked ahead of everyone. The group of genin followed the light bluenette to a door and walked throughout. They looked around the area that had couches, chairs, TVs, and tables.
"So this must be the lounge area… where's the infirmary?" Hyoshi asked as she walked through the area. Sasuke and Neji both broke away from Naruto's hold, giving him a stern look before they both rooted themselves into the chairs.
"Hey, I'm gonna try and find Kuroka and them, I'll meet up with you later," Akame told Hyoshi as she walked into the hallway and disappeared.
"Sakura, do you want to go to the infirmary?" Naruto asked the pinkette. The girl nodded and the clone carrying her walked up to Naruto and Hyoshi.
"Oh, can I come with you guys? I gotta get something from there," Tenten asked.
"Sure," Hyoshi responded and the clone carrying Tenten walked up to the others.
"The rest of us will be right here," Rock Lee informed. Naruto gave him a thumbs up before they left the area and walked through the halls of the tower.
The small group soon found the infirmary room, and when Naruto looked around his eyes widened as they locked onto someone. He quickly set Shisu down softly on an available bed before rushing over to another one.
"Hinata! What happened to you?!" Naruto questioned as he saw the Hyuuga's bandaged eyes.
The girl that was sitting up in the bed looked at Naruto's direction. "Hi Naruto… I… I think I overused my Byakugan?"
The whiskered blonde looked perplexed. "Overused it? How'd you overuse it…?"
"I… don't know… I don't think I've used it that much…" The bluenette pulled down her bandages over her left eye and opened it up to look at Naruto. "But it bled and burned for some reason after I used it." The Hyuuga activated her Byakugan and Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the black ring where a pupil would be.
"W-What the hell…? Hinata…"
The girl sighed as she wrapped the bandages around her eyes. "I know. Something's different with my Byakugan. I… can see into the future? I think? I don't know…. but I did it in my last fight…"
'See into the future? The Byakugan can't do that… right?' Naruto thought.
"... I have never heard of a Byakugan being able to see into the future… unless that girl's Byakugan is evolving into something completely new or is reawakening something," Kirai spoke.
"I think… your Byakugan is evolving," Naruto said. The girl flinched as she looked at Naruto with a worried look.
"E-Evolving?! B-But how?!" Hinata questioned as she clenched the bed sheets.
"I don't know, Hinata. But maybe we can figure it out after the Chuunin Exams. In the meantime, get some rest, okay? I wouldn't want you fighting blind during the final phase of the Chuunin Exams and getting hurt even worse."
"... Naruto. I have the Byakugan," Hinata pointed out.
Naruto stared at her for a moment before chuckling in realization. "You're right. I'm worrying over nothing."
"I do appreciate you worrying over me though. It feels nice."
"I can do it all the time if you want."
"And what about Kin and Temari? They're standing right next to you, you know."
Naruto flinched and looked to the right to see Kin and Temari with their arms crossed.
"About time you noticed us," Kin scoffed playfully.
"Worst boyfriend ever," Temari added as she rolled her eyes and looked away.
"W-Hey! I'm sorry, alright? It's just seeing Hinata hurt like that scared me!" Naruto apologized as he defended himself.
"Ugh, and now you're making excuses?! Trash. Absolute garbage," Kin insulted with narrowed eyes. Naruto sighed and looked down in defeat before mumbling an apology. He was surprised to feel a hand petting his hair and giggling. He looked up to find the three girls giggling at his misfortune. The Uzumaki glared at the three of them.
"You all are a pain…"
"Yet you're dating us," Temari pointed out with a sly smirk.
"That I am…"
"Are you thinking second thoughts right now?!" Kin accused.
"Of course not!" Naruto denied. The four of them shared a laugh before it died down as well as Temari and Kin's mood.
"Hey, uh… can we talk to you in private, Naruto?" Temari asked as she gestured to herself and Kin. The blonde looked between the two and wondered what was bothering them.
"Yeah sure, let's go. Bye Hinata! Take care!" The three of them left the infirmary and walked the hallways before finding a secluded spot. Naruto turned around and found the two usually boisterous girls shy and nervous. It would've been cute hadn't they sounded scared as well.
Temari rubbed her arm for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath. "Naruto, listen… Konohagakure is going to be destroyed during the final phase of the Chuunin Exams."
Naruto stared at Temari for a few moments before blinking. "Huh?"
"Konohagakure is going to be destroyed by both Otogakure and Sunagakure… well, more specifically, we're going to destroy it," Kin clarified.
"So… you and your teams are going to destroy Konohagakure from the inside out?" Naruto simplified as he gestured to the two.
"Y-Yes…" They both responded. The two girls expected Naruto to grow mad and yell at them. Who could blame him? His two girlfriends were planning on destroying Konoha and they didn't tell him sooner. They braced for him to yell, but after a couple seconds of silence, they looked at him and saw him thinking.
'Huh?' Kin asked as she looked dumbfounded.
'W-Why isn't he mad…?' Temari wondered as she stared at Naruto with wide eyes.
Naruto hummed in confirmation as he nodded his head. He then looked up at Kin and Temari and the two flinched. "Okay. I assume the Yondaime Kazekage is working with Otogakure's Kage, but who's that?"
"U-Um… it's Orochimaru…" Kin responded. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at Kin.
"Orochimaru is a Kage?" Naruto repeated, not believing what he heard.
"Y-Yeah… he-he threatened the Daimyo of Ta no Kuni to be able to establish a hidden village and he did. He also renamed it to what is now known as Oto no Kuni…" Kin informed her blonde boyfriend. "And… he also plans to kill the Yondaime Kazekage."
"Wait, what?!" Temari questioned as she whipped her head at Kin.
"Y-Yeah… from what I heard from Kabuto, Orochimaru plans to kill the Yondaime Kazekage after they go over the invasion plan again…" Kin replied as she scratched the back of her head. "It's to get recognized as one of the Great Nations so that the others know we're strong by taking down two nations at once."
The sandy blonde's eyes widened as she looked at the ground. "Oh no…. Orochimaru's gonna kill Dad… what do I do…? How do I stop him? How can I stop him…?" Temari continued going on a mumbling spree of asking herself questions.
"Temari!" Naruto shouted, causing the girl to yelp and look at Naruto. The boy firmly placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her "Calm down. We're going to save your dad from dying, okay? He's not going to die, not on my watch."
"B-But h-how can you promise t-that…? I-It's Orochimaru we're talking about…" Temari pointed out as she began shaking.
"Because, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I never go back on my word! That's my nindo, my ninja way!" Naruto claimed as he grinned at her. Temari stared at him as she visibly calmed down. She stared at his face and realized how far Naruto was willing to go for her. She felt like crying right on the spot, but held the tears back. Those would spill after they saved her father.
The sandy blonde nodded and sniffed. "Thank you so much Naruto…"
"Anytime, Tema."
"Don't forget that the Sound Four are coming as well," Kin spoke up, causing the two blondes to look at her.
"The Sound Four? Who're they?" Naruto asked as he slightly tilted his head.
"The Sound Four are Orochimaru's elite bodyguards. They're about the same age as us… but they're as strong as jounins," Kin informed. Naruto's eyes widened.
'Shit, they're really strong then…' Naruto thought.
"And they also have Cursed Seals which makes them stronger when activated," the noirette added. Naruto grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes.
'The same seal as Sasuke…? Damnit all… this makes things even more troubling…'
"Don't worry, Kit, just calm down. You'll be able to deal with this just fine," Kurama advised.
"Yeah, you got us after all. We'll help you, brat," Kirai added.
Naruto smiled as he heard them. 'Thanks guys, that helps.'
The whiskered blonde took a deep breath. "Let's tell the Hokage about this. Everyone, hold on." The two girls held onto him as the blonde made the Tiger hand seal and flickered away in a yellow flash.
The group of three reappeared in a room with TVs that showed the different rooms. In the room was Anko, Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, Iwashi Tatami, and the Sandaime Hokage himself. Everyone turned to face the three new arrivals.
"Eh?! The hell are you doing here, slick tongue? And how the hell did you get in here anyway?!" Anko questioned the whiskered blonde.
"I used the Body Flicker Technique, Anko," he quickly answered before turning to Hiruzen. "Gramps, this is serious. Orochimaru is planning to destroy Konoha with the Yondaime Kazekage. The two of them planned to do this together, but Orochimaru is planning on killing the Yondaime."
The chuunin and purple-haired jounin stared at the whiskered blonde in shock while the Sandaime stared at him. He took out his pipe and blew out some smoke.
"And what about the two girls?" Hiruzen asked as he pointed at them.
"Orochimaru told me himself about the plan, Lord Sandaime," Kin responded as she took a knee.
"And my fa—I mean, the Yondaime told me as well, sir, as well as my brothers," Temari replied and did the same as Kin.
"Also, Kabuto Yakushi is acting as a spy for Orochimaru," Naruto added.
Hiruzen nodded after hearing the new information. "And I assume you have a plan, Naruto?"
"Yes. The first step is to get Temari's jounin leader and inform him that Orochimaru is planning on killing the Yondaime. Then travel with him to Sunagakure and inform the Yondaime that Orochimaru plans to kill him. After that, I want to help defend the Yondaime with Sunagakure's shinobi and hopefully fend him off. During my time over there, I'll make a clone to defend here and capture Kabuto before or during the third phase of the Chuunin Exams to make Orochimaru worried. But if Orochimaru continues his plan even without Kabuto, I want extra Anbu here and chuunin and jounin surrounding the village. Orochimaru has elite bodyguards called the Sound Four that are around my age but are as strong as jounin. They all have Cursed Seals as well, if you know what those are. And it wouldn't surprise me if Orochimaru brought extra shinobi to attack the village, he has to." Naruto debriefed his plan.
"Yes, I know what Cursed Seals you're talking about. Anko told me that Sasuke has one of these seals on him and you've taken one off of her."
"Unfortunately yes, and he doesn't want to get rid of it," Naruto confirmed. "And with Anko, I have. I guess it was luck that my technique worked."
"I thank you for that. But Sasuke is a problem, but there are also other problems. Let's first start with Kabuto. How are you going to capture him?" Hiruzen asked.
"By catching him off guard before we do the third phase of the Chuunin Exams with an ambush," Naruto replied.
"Luckily for you, we have to do a preliminary anyway," Anko voiced.
"Really? Why?" Naruto wondered as he and the other two girls looked at the purple-haired jounin.
"Cause there's too many of you to be advancing. We gotta at least cut that in half," Anko explained.
Naruto nodded. "Perfect. I'll do it then. Before we begin the preliminaries I'll capture Kabuto."
"I'll get some Anbu here before we do the preliminaries to capture Kabuto," Hiruzen said. "How long do you plan on staying in Suna?"
"As long as it takes to get Orochimaru away from the village," Naruto responded. Hiruzen hummed as he took a draw from his pipe before releasing the smoke.
"And what if Orochimaru attacks earlier than expected? What if he kills the Yondaime out of irrationality?" Hiruzen questioned.
"Then I'll do my damndest to protect the village. Honestly, I can only hope that this plan works. Orochimaru is unpredictable, but one thing is clear though: he wants Sasuke," Naruto stated.
"Huh? But my team is supposed to kill Sasuke," Kin mentioned.
"Eh? Kill Sasuke? Why would Orochimaru want you to do that when he wants the teme?" Naruto asked.
"Because it's a test. He wants to test and see how strong his seal makes Sasuke," Hiruzen responded. Kin's eyes widened but then narrowed as she stared at the ground. "And how are you going to get the Suna jounin back? He has to be present after all."
"... I'll figure that out when I get to Suna. I promise I will."
Hiruzen grunted and nodded. "You better. Now, is that all?"
"Yes, Gramps."
"Alright. I approve of this plan of yours," Hiruzen said.
"Woah woah woah, you sure you want a genin to do this job, Lord Sandaime?" Anko questioned as she raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah I agree… shouldn't we have a jounin do this? Or at least an Anbu?" Izumo checked with an unsure look.
"How many jounin or Anbu do you know that can make one thousand Shadow Clones and more without breaking a sweat?" Hiruzen asked. The chuunin and jounin gawked as they whipped their heads at Naruto. The blonde looked away and scratched the back of his head. "Exactly what I thought. Naruto is fit for this job not just because he can make a bunch of clones, but because he's as strong as a jounin himself. Hell, he could probably become Hokage at his age."
'A thirteen year old Hokage?!' Everyone else in the room thought with wide eyes.
"Oh come on, Gramps. Stop praising me so much!" Naruto complained with a pout. Hiruzen chuckled at his displeasure.
"Okay, okay. Hurry up and find your jounin, Temari, and bring him here," The Sandaime instructed.
"Right!" Temari responded with a head nod. "But uh… where are the jounin leaders?"
"On the top floor," Kotetsu responded, pointing at the ceiling."
"Got it," Naruto said as he grabbed both Kin and Temari's hands and bolted out of the room.
After Naruto, Temari, and Kin left the room, the boy found the nearest window he could and jumped out of it while carrying the two girls. They let out shrieks of fear while the blonde turned around and found a balcony. He made the Tiger hand seal with one hand and the three disappeared in a yellow flash.
They landed on the balcony and Naruto set the two girls down. They took wobbly steps and held onto the railing. Temari looked at him with wide eyes.
"Naruto! Don't do that again!" She yelled at him.
"I know, you can yell at me later, right now, we have to find your jounin leader," Naruto said. Temari took a deep breath and nodded before rushing through the door and looking around. All of the jounin in the room looked at who entered.
"Baki! Come here!" Temari urgently told her jounin.
"Temari?! How the hell did you get up here?" The man with a white head cloth asked as he stood up.
"I'll tell you later, come on!" Temari responded.
"Okay, okay, coming…" Baki said as he walked towards the door and left the room, closing the door behind him.
After a few moments of silence, Kurenai spoke up. "How did she get up here? Genin can't fly…" That question started a conversation between the jounin as they made theories on how the sandy blonde Suna genin made it on the balcony. Kakashi stared at the door Temari left. He could've sworn he saw Naruto on the balcony.
'Oh well. If Naruto was on the balcony that explains how she got up there,' Kakashi thought as he shrugged while taking a sip of a drink through his mask.
Naruto, Kin, Temari, and Baki were on the balcony with the older man crossing his arms at Temari. He looked at Kin, then at Naruto and worrying thoughts protruded his mind.
'Shit. Did we get found out? But how?' Baki asked. "Temari, what's the meaning of this?"
"The Sandaime Hokage wants to speak with you," she responded as she touched Naruto's arm.
The man blinked a couple of times. 'Oh no.' The noirette also touched his other arm as Naruto touched Baki's arm. He quickly made the Tiger hand seal and the four of them were quickly teleported to the room where the Hokage was waiting.
Baki looked around in confusion before seeing the Sandaime Hokage and his eyes widened.
'Oh fuck. This is where I die. Yondaime, I'm sorry that I failed you…'
"Baki." The man flinched at being addressed. "It seems that you were trying to destroy Konohagakure with the help of Orochimaru."
"Uh—"
"Don't answer that because I already know the answer. Yes, you were trying to destroy Konoha with Orochimaru. Right now, I would try and execute you or jail you, but there's more important matters to be addressed," Hiruzen interrupted.
"Like what…?" Baki asked.
"Orochimaru is going to kill the Yondaime Kazekage."
Baki froze for a second as he processed the information. "W-What…?"
"You heard me. Before the invasion actually begins, he's going to kill the Yondaime," Hiruzen repeated.
"But… h-how do you know this…?" Baki asked.
"Why do you think the Oto genin is here?" The Sandaime asked as he gestured to Kin. Baki turned to Kin and stared at the noirette.
"Is… is that true…? Is Orochimaru going to kill the Yondaime…?" Baki asked.
"Yes. His most trusted spy told me himself. Orochimaru planned on taking down two villages at once," Kin responded. Baki looked away in disbelief.
"Baki. I will overlook you trying to destroy us if you help us. We want to protect the Yondaime from getting killed by Orochimaru. Will you help us?" Hiruzen asked. "Also, Hanzo might jump on the opportunity that you're weakened considerably."
"H-Hanzo…? Hanzo of the Salamander?"
"Yes. He may have gotten dull, but it wouldn't surprise me if he waged war on you guys after the major hit you'd take and try to steal your land," Hiruzen explained.
Baki looked away and thought about it. If he refused, Hiruzen might kill him or execute him, and what would he gain by destroying Konoha? Sure, one of the Greatest Nations would be destroyed, but then so would his. And then Hanzo might take over because of how weak they've gotten. That would be horrible. Amegakure took over Sunagakure after taking a large hit from Orochimaru, or something similar to that. Maybe not even Hanzo would be the one to take over. It could be Orochimaru himself! And it's not like they're lying to him. An Oto genin that was part of the plan was telling him the truth right in front of him, though why she was with a Konoha genin, he'd never know.
With his mind made up? Baki took a deep breath and looked at the Sandaime. "Alright, I'm in. What can I do to help you?"
"All you have to do is guide Naruto to your village and tell the Yondaime what's going on and to prepare for when Orochimaru attacks," Hiruzen responded as he pointed at the whiskered blonde. Baki turned around and looked at Naruto before raising an eyebrow.
"Him?"
"Don't judge a book by its cover," Anko spoke up, making Baki look at the woman. "He may be a pipsqueak, but he's powerful." The Suna jounin looked at her in doubt, but when he looked at the other chuunin who agreed with her, he looked back at Naruto and sighed.
"Alright fine, leave the forest as quick as you can and meet me at the gates of Konoha at 6:00AM, and pack for at least two weeks," Baki instructed. Naruto nodded and the man left the room.
"Should I tell anyone what's happening?" Naruto asked as he looked at Hiruzen.
"No. We don't want to cause the genin to panic. And that goes for you girls too," Hiruzen responded. Kin and Temari nodded. "Now, get ready, Naruto. And be safe."
"I will, Gramps. Believe it." Naruto left the room with Kin and Temari following. The walk was silent and once Naruto made it to the entrance of the tower, he turned towards Temari and Kin.
"Come with me. I know you girls wanna see me off before I go." They both held onto Naruto's arms tightly as the boy made the Tiger hand seal and the three of them disappeared in a yellow flash.
The three of them made it to the front door of Naruto's apartment. "Wait out here." The boy said before entering his apartment. After a second, Kin slid down the wall and sat on the floor with Temari following. The noirette pulled her legs up and dropped her head.
"... I feel so bad…" Kin said.
"Why?" Temari asked as she looked at the Oto genin.
"Because I won't be able to do anything… I can't go with him cause that'll raise suspicions tenfold… and because I'm making him use so much chakra for this…" Kin responded.
"You did a lot by telling him that we were gonna destroy Konoha, and that Orohimaru was gonna kill my dad. I can't thank you enough for that, by the way."
"Yeah… but I wish I could do more…"
"Listen, Kin, you did enough. Telling us what was going on was a brave and really helpful thing to do. You just saved thousands of lives. Not to mention, Naruto's the only one who could pull this off. He can make multiple clones and has an abundant amount of chakra to keep them up for a long time. He'll be fine," Temari reassured the noirette. She nodded, but deeply sighed as something else entered her mind.
"There's something else…" Kin said.
"What's that?"
"I'm going to die after this is over;" Kin told, making Temari's eyes widen.
"What?! W-What are you talking about?!" Temari questioned.
"Look, after Orochimaru's plan fails, it'll all point to me, it's the most logical conclusion. You guys couldn't have known that Orochiamru was going to assassinate the Yondaime unless an Oto genin told you. And the only Oto genin that know are me, Dosu, Zaku, and Kabuto. Kabuto devoted his life to Orochimaru, so no way it's him. Zaku straight up hates Konoha, he's said so plenty of times for it to be a personality trait of his, so it can't be him. Dosu wanted to kill Sasuke, wouldn't make sense for him to spill everything about the plan. So the only option is me. I'm one of Naruto's girlfriends. I'm not a part of Konoha or Suna, I'm a part of Oto. Also, Zaku and Dosu know that I'm dating Naruto. It'd be easy for them to realize I'm the one who told him everything," Kin explained. She took a deep breath as she looked up at the sky. "That's why I said I'm going to die. Because I am…"
Temari looked at Kin in worry. "Kin…" before the sandy blonde could say anything, Naruto's door opened.
"Yo! Let's go back to the tower now," Naruto said. Both girls grabbed onto his arms and he made the Tiger hand seal. 'I swear to Kami I won't let Kin die.'
After Naruto got back to the tower and found Baki, they flickered to one of the gates of Konoha that led them towards Sunagakure.
Naruto turned around and faced Kin and Temari.
"As you already know, I'll be leaving for Suna. I'll be back in a couple weeks, so don't miss me too much, 'kay?" Naruto informed the girls. They both looked at the ground in distress. "Hey, look at me."
They both looked up at him. Naruto hugged them both, making their eyes widen a bit before hugging him back tightly.
"I promise you I'll be safe. I'll protect the Yondaime, and I'll return safely," Naruto promised.
"You better. I'm not taking no for an answer," Temari stated.
"If you don't come back safely I'll find your body and bring you back to life just to beat you up," Kin told with a stern look.
"Heh, I believe you, and don't worry, I promise." He quickly kissed the two of them on the lips before backing up and making a clone. "He's my replacement. He'll be here in my absence."
Naruto leaned into his clone's ear. "You know what to do."
"Protect Kin at all costs."
The original nodded before turning around and waving. "I'll see you girls later!"
And with that, Naruto and Baki sprinted out of the village. The clone watched them run from sight for a bit before turning around and facing Kin and Temari.
"Let's get you girls back, yeah? It's kinda late," Naruto suggested.
Kin and Temari shared a look before looking back at Naruto. "Only if you sleep with us."
Naruto blinked a couple of times, trying to register what he heard. "Pardon?"
Kin lightly chuckled. "Just cuddle with us. That's all we're asking."
'Well, I already do that with Haku. No problem with doin' it with Temari and Kin,' Naruto decided with a shrug. "Sure. Now let's go before anyone notices we're gone." The girls grabbed Naruto's arms and they disappeared in a yellow flash.
Laying in the shadows of the large gate, two glowing, blue eyes opened up and moved out of the shadows. An orange dog looked around before cracking its neck and waving its paw around.
"Ugh, such big paws for no reason…" the dog spoke. "I'd much rather be a fox than a dog… Why did Kogosei force me to be a dog…? No one's even here!" The dog complained. He sighed before biting one of his fingers and planting it onto the ground. Symbols popped up and glowed. "Would you look at that. Still amazes me how us animals are capable of summoning. Thankfully we don't have to use hand seals. That'd be a pain in the ass."
The dog took a deep breath. "Reverse Summoning Technique: Round-Robin Travel." The seal stopped glowing and sunk into the ground. "Good. Now I have to fucking go to Suna… Kami damnit! Why Kogo, why?!"
Naruto and Baki were running through the forest as quickly as they could with the Suna jounin leading the two.
'Kirai, is there any way to get to Sunagakure faster than running?! The preliminaries start in around four days and I want to have at least two days to get Suna ready!' Naruto thought.
"Yeah just gimme a minute or two. There ain't really a technique for traveling far distances you don't have marked, and this'll take a lot of chakra for you to perform," Kirai responded.
'Fine by me.'
"Hey, brat. What's your deal with Temari? I didn't expect my student to be with a Konoha genin," Baki wondered as he glanced back at the blonde.
Naruto sighed. "We're dating."
Baki jerked as he almost misstepped, but corrected himself. "You're what?!"
"Yes, we're dating. Four weeks so far," Naruto repeated. Baki remained silent as he stared ahead. If the Yondaime knew that his daughter was dating a Konoha genin… well, maybe that could convince him to listen to the blondie instead of shrugging him off. The man nodded at that. They'd use his relationship with Temari as an advantage as a last resort.
"Okay. We can use that to convince Lord Rasa that Orochimaru is betraying us if he doesn't listen," Baki decided.
"Use my relationship as an advantage? That sounds wrong," Naruto pointed out.
"Mainly because it is, but this could be a saving grace when things go south, so we'll use it only when necessary," Baki explained.
Naruto hummed as he thought about it. He then shrugged. "Okay, sure."
"Yo, I got a technique for ya. It's called Hate Release: Ihyo Otoshi Koten! The hand seals are Ox → Dragon → Bird → Hare → Dog. Look at a map and locate Suna. You can either place a finger where Suna is, or place a seal on it, then make the hand seals," Kirai instructed. Naruto nodded and was now beside Baki.
"Hey, Baki! You got a map on you?" Naruto asked. The Suna jounin nodded and got out a map before handing it to Naruto.
"What do you need it for?" Baki asked as the whiskered blonde unrolled it and located Suna. He then tapped his chest and got out a black tanbo with yellow and orange seals on it.
"I have a technique that'll get us to Suna in an instant," Naruto replied as he tapped Suna's location on the map and the orange seals slid off the tanbo and onto the map. The symbols surrounded Suna's symbol and started glowing. Baki watched in shock as the whiskered blonde put the tanbo back into his chest and made the Ox → Dragon → Bird → Hare → Dog hand seals. "Hate Release: Ihyo Otoshi Koten!" Naruto quickly grabbed Baki and the two disappeared in an orange flash.
Naruto and Baki appeared right in front of the entrance of Sunagakure. They both rushed into the valley entrance, ignoring the guards that called for Baki. Once they entered the village, the whiskered blonde looked around wildly in hopes of locating the Kazekage's building.
"Baki, where's the Kazekage building?" Naruto asked as he looked at the Suna jounin.
"Right there!" He answered as he pointed at a building. Naruto followed his finger and saw a rounded building with the kanji for "wind" on the front of it. The whiskered blonde nodded and the two dashed towards their destination, ignoring the very confused looks of the Suna people.
Baki and Naruto ran through the Kazekage building quickly, weaving past the chuunin and jounin till they made it upstairs to the double doors of the office. Without hesitation, Baki barged through the doors with Naruto behind him.
"Lord Rasa! I have urgent news!" Baki announced, causing the other two people in the room to look at him.
The man behind the desk had short, auburn hair and black eyes. He was wearing a black jacket with matching pants and sandals. Naruto thought he looked a lot like Kankuro.
The other person in the room was a short woman with interestingly colored hair. The woman had green hair tied in a bun with a needle holding it together. She had two long strands of hair with orange tips framing her face accompanied by pupil-less brown eyes. The woman was wearing a sleeveless, backless black top and lavender pants with black sandals. She had lavender arm warmers and an obi around her waist.
"Baki? Why are you here? And what are you doing with a Konoha shinobi?!" Rasa questioned as he shot up from his chair.
"Listen, Lord Rasa, I have a good reason as to why he's here! Orochimaru plans to backstab us! He was going to kill you before we invaded Konoha!" Baki told with urgentness in his voice.
"What?! How do you know this?! We made a deal with Orochimaru!"
"Yes, but he was still going to betray us! He's Orochimaru! Why wouldn't he backstab us?!" Baki asked.
"Because we promised him land! He needs that if he wants to expand his forces!"
"I don't think it's just land that he wants," Naruto spoke up, causing everyone to look at him. "If he wanted land, he could take it from Yu no Kuni or the Mountains' Graveyard. And if he wanted your land, Lord Yondaime, he'd just come and kill you. Orochimaru wants to simultaneously destroy Konoha and abduct a certain Konoha shinobi. He doesn't have as many shinobi as the other Five Great Nations, since his hidden village was recently built, so he couldn't destroy Konoha by himself. He wanted full control over one of the Nations' shinobi, and seeing as how you guys were participating in the Chuunin Exams, he used that as an opportunity to partner up with you and act like destroying the Nation that was hosting the Exams was a good idea."
"See what I mean?" Baki spoke.
Rasa looked at the ground in contemplation before looking up at Naruto. "I'd expect you to be mad, Konoha genin, so why aren't you?"
"I would have been if the plan worked, but thankfully I was told about it by none other than your daughter, Temari, and an Oto genin in the exams," Naruto explained.
Rasa's eyes widened slightly. "You know Temari?"
The blonde smiled. "Yes, sir! She's a strong kunoichi, sir."
"You fought her?"
"Well… more like training, but basically the same thing," Naruto replied with a shrug.
"I see…" Rasa said as he looked at the floor again. He took a deep sigh and looked at Baki. "Alright, I don't see a reason to not believe you."
"Good, because the Sandaime Hokage knows about this," Baki mentioned.
"... If you told me that sooner I would've been more inclined to believe you."
"I thought you'd believe me after hearing that Orochimaru would betray us! Or maybe the fact that a Konoha genin is here, in the Kazekage Office!" Baki stated.
Rasa sighed as he sat back down in his chair. "Yes, yes, I apologize. Pakura."
The woman looked at Rasa. "Yes, Lord Rasa?"
"Forget about going to Kirigakure. That can wait," Rasa told. "For now, go escort the Konoha genin to a room in the building. You'll be his escort for the time he's here."
"Yes, Lord Rasa," the woman complied as she bowed her head.
"You were gonna send her to Kirigakure?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"As an ambassador, yes."
"That wouldn't have been a good idea."
"And why's that?" Rasa asked as he leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table and crossing his fingers together.
"Kiri's going through a civil war right now. If you were to send her as an ambassador, she'd get killed. Either by the Mizukage or the resistance," Naruto explained, making Pakura's eyes widen.
"And how do you know this?"
"I know two people from Kirigakure. They were trying to get some funds to help them in their resistance and recruit more people. They didn't have that many to begin with. Me and my team crossed them twice and had to fight them, but we came to an agreement and stopped fighting. One of them is now a Konoha resident becoming a shinobi through Konoha's system while the other is going back to Kiri," Naruto responded, thinking back on a conversation he had with Haku about that topic.
"I see. You're lucky, Pakura. Next time I'll thoroughly examine what's going on in another Nation before trying to send anyone there," Rasa decided with a sigh. "Thank you, Konoha genin, for informing us of such events."
"No problem, Lord Rasa. Oh, and can I help you guys in fighting Orochimaru?" Naruto requested.
"I thought that's what you were here to do."
The blonde nodded. "Yeah, but a heads up: Orochimaru has four elite bodyguards that are my age but are as strong as jounin. So have jounin or Anbu ready to fight them. And beware of the Cursed Seals that they have. If activated, they make them stronger."
Rasa nodded. "Thank you…"
"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki," the blonde finished.
"Right. Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki for preventing thousands of lives lost, not just in your village, but in ours as well. Maybe I shouldn't have tried destroying Konoha…"
"You're lucky that Gramps knew about Orochimaru backstabbing you. He would've killed Baki," Naruto added, making the jounin sweat drop.
Rasa chuckled. "That sounds like Hiruzen alright. All for peace but at the same time would kill you if you messed with Konoha." After a moment of silence, Rasa began sorting through his desk. "Pakura, escort Naruto. Baki, you should hurry up and go back to Konoha, and don't act like you know what Orochimaru is secretly doing. Continue acting like we're going to destroy Konoha. Now go!"
"Hai!" They all responded before leaving the Kazekage's office.
"Thank you a lot, Naruto. I… can't thank you enough for what you're doing right now. I don't know how I can make it up to you," Baki thanked as the trio stopped in the hallway.
Naruto smirked. "Don't thank me just yet. Wait until after we get rid of Orochimaru."
"You're right… Now, I have to hurry and go back. I only have four days before the third phase," Baki said as he turned to leave.
"Oh, wait, I may be able to help you get back quickly," Naruto mentioned, making Baki look at him with a raised eyebrow.
The trio walked up to the roof of the building. Naruto made the reverse clone seal and a clone of himself popped up next to him. This clone had red pupils instead of black ones with black pigment around his eyes and black streaks connected to them. The clone flexed his fingers before looking at his right palm and seeing a symbol appearing on it.
'He already set it up? That was fast…' Kirai thought. She was Naruto's clone.
"So… how does this work…?" Baki asked with uncertainty.
"I'm kinda curious as well," Pakura spoke up.
"Don't worry, you'll be in Konoha in a flash. Just trust me and my clone," Naruto told the two Suna shinobi with confidence, but truthfully, Naruto didn't know what his clone was going to do—or, what Kirai was going to do.
Naruto's clone suddenly grabbed Baki's wrist before looking at Naruto and waving. The clone made the one-handed Lightning Release hand seal and the two of them disappeared in a black flash.
Naruto turned to Pakura and saw the woman with wide eyes.
"So…" Naruto spoke, breaking the Suna kunoichi out of her stupor.
"Right, follow me to your room," Pakura said as she turned around and went down the stairs with the blonde following.