Chapter 30
Negotiation
Land of Earth
Shiin Clan Hideout
Naruto was watched very carefully as he walked behind Arashi with Tayuya on his back, on his left was the orange-haired girl Sasame, on his right was Kotohime the older black haired woman and behind him was the blonde Menma.
They were walking in a diamond formation with Naruto in the centre, it was both a defensive formation to defend Naruto from any attacks and also to make sure he could not make a move without one of them seeing it.
They were walking through the same valley though the top was gradually closing over which meant they were heading underground, it was getting darker and Naruto could tell that apart from his 4 escorts there were other Ninja in the shadows following them.
As they went further in, it got darker as the gap above them got smaller and smaller until it closed completely and the only light was from temporary quick torches that the Shiin Clan must have set up since it seemed like it was their hideout in the Land of Earth.
"I have to warn you Naruto, tread carefully around our leader, she is a bit touchy." Arashi said diplomatically as they came up to a huge pit fire and Naruto could see a load of tents set up and people were milling about walking to and from different tents.
He could smell the fire along with the scent of cooking meat and even the iron smell of blood as they got closer and more eyes turned their way.
Naruto could definitely feel some glares on him as they came to the central tent where the most people were around, Arashi seemed to command a lot of respect as everyone moved out of his way and didn't seem to question why he was coming back with Tayuya on his back and with an unknown Ninja behind him.
But they moved out of the way and went right to the biggest tent which was also the only one that was shut, it looked like some warlords tent from the old days when Ninja Clans didn't have their own territory and were more nomadic in nature.
"Arashi you're back with a guest." One of the guards said gruffly as they got in front of the desk.
"I have, I've brought him to meet Shiin, he had performed a great gesture of kindness for our Clan." Arashi said smoothly.
"Kindness! Pah! Pull the other one." The guard spat on the floor and Arashi's demeanour shifted slightly and the guard recoiled.
"I need to see Shiin." Arashi repeated calmly.
"Okay, go on through." He cowered and lifted the tent flap to allow them all in.
Naruto walked in behind Sasame and Kotohime with Menma still bringing up the rear behind him, the tent was warm and seemed comfortable there was a lot of comfortable looking furniture along with pillows all across the area and there was only 3 people in the room, a black-haired man who was obviously Shiin who was sat on a pedestal above everyone else, he had a pallid complexion and was dressed in a well made purple kimono which was held closed by a green sash and he also had a haori which had that same grey snake scale pattern on it like the other Clan members scarves and he was plucking away at a beautiful dark wooden sitar. His eyes were closed as he played a soothing melody on the stringed instrument.
The other two people were women who were less dressed than Shiin, wearing short cut red and blue kimono's respectively one had long blonde hair while the other had short cut brown hair one thing they shared was the same green eye colour, Naruto had a good idea why they were here since they were serving him food and sake while also rubbing sensually up against the man as he played his instrument.
"Arashi, you have returned with more than what you left with." He commented and opened his eyes to look at the group assembled in front of him.
"I have good news Shiin, Tayuya was found alive by this Mercenary Ninja Naruto." Arashi said, he placed Tayuya on a nearby pillow and stepped aside allowing the Clan Head to see Naruto who was standing there awkwardly while Sasame was stood off to the side looking vaguely disgusted while Kotohime sat down on a chair near a table that had some drinks on it, Menma remained behind Naruto on guard.
"Naruto? Not a name I have heard and you're young as well no reputation or bounty I imagine." Shiin mused looking over Naruto with a lazy gaze.
"Well, you saved one of our best up and comers and have even come to us without a fight. I suppose this means you want something." Shiin correctly deduced as he stopped playing and placed the instrument to the side.
Arashi had moved and was placed himself in between Shiin and Naruto but he was sat down and revealed his own instrument which was also a stringed instrument a more classical Biwa in comparison to Shiin's more exotic Sitar.
"You're half right, I did save her but it was for two reasons. I needed information and I didn't want her to die." Naruto said repeating his earlier assertions and Tayuya actually sighed and looked away from him while Arashi smiled slightly as he plucked away creating a relaxing tune that permeated throughout the room.
"Information and to save her? Why do you want her, I cannot give one of our most talented Kunoichi to a Clanless one such as yourself." Shiin grinned down at Naruto who flushed at the acquisition.
That got a different reaction out of everyone, Tayuya also blushed but she looked more affronted at the thought that Shiin would just 'give' her away, Kotohime smiled and took a sip from her drink while Sasame let out a disgusted sigh and although Naruto could not see Menma's reaction he felt a slight increase in Killing Intent coming from behind him which told him all he needed to know.
"I walked through what was left of Kosaten after the battle, do you know how many dead bodies I saw there?" Naruto asked as he fought his blush down.
"Kosaten, you were there?" Shiin seemed taken aback by the sudden outburst.
"I was watching the battle, waiting for it to finish but then the Kuzan decided to drop the cliffside that I was on down on your Clan, I passed out after dropping through a roof to break my fall. After the battle ended I walked through the streets and saw everyone that was killed." Naruto said to him somewhat forcefully.
"Did you see the aftermath of that? All the bodies crushed by rock and stone or half-melted by lava and burnt by fire?" Naruto asked him.
"Of course not, I am the Head of the Shiin Clan: Shiin XVI the 15th person to inherit the name from our founder." Shiin declared grandly.
"I cannot go to the battlefield when I have to lead the Clan." He told Naruto with a smirk on his face as he accepted a drink from one of the scantily clad women next to him.
"I'm sick of watching people die for no reason." Naruto said which raised some eyebrows in the room but Shiin did something else entirely.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed loud and long at what Naruto said.
"You are too soft to be a Ninja boy, this is a world where the strong rule and the weak are ruled." Shiin mocked him from his raised dais.
"But you did bring back one of our best Tayuya so I suppose I could give you some information as long as it does not threaten my dear Clan. So what information do you wish to know?" Shiin said acting magnanimously.
"Just about the Land of Earth and the Clan's in it and their relationship with each other, maybe a map of the area as well." Naruto answered holding back his annoyance, Shiin was rubbing him the wrong way.
"Why would a single Ninja want that kind of information? Well, I suppose I can give such basic information to you." Shiin said and he looked over to Sasame who was maintaining a good distance.
"Sasame! Get what he has requested, give him the full gratitude of the generous Shiin Clan." He ordered her and she bowed to him then looked at Naruto.
"Come on." She said shortly very eager to leave the tent.
"Thank you." Naruto thanked him despite wanting nothing more than to punch him in his smug face but he turned and followed Sasame out of the tent.
Menma allowed Naruto to pass then looked at Shiin and Arashi and after getting a nod from Arashi he followed out after them.
"What a strange kid." Shiin said as Naruto left the tent.
"You'd better be careful around him Shiin-Sama." Tayuya said as she nursed her legs and flute.
"What was that Tayuya? I need to be careful you forget your place. I am the Clan Head not you and I do not need to be saved by some foreign Ninja." Shiin said with a dangerous look in his eyes.
"Normally I would agree with you Shiin-Sama but in this case, you should heed Tayuya's advise." Arashi's calm and smooth voice, directed Shiin's ire from the injured girl.
"And why is that?" Shiin questioned him venomously.
Arashi looked at Tayuya and nodded. "Be-because he's the Kiiroi Senko's kid."
"What!" He gasped at hearing that.
"Indeed, he admitted to Tayuya here that his Father is Namikaze Minato the Kiiroi Shi, I cannot imagine what he would do if it was found out that we killed his child." Arashi said.
"He-he could be lying, just because they're both blondes does not mean that boy is his son." Shiin said attempting to dismiss it.
"I have seen the Kiiroi Senko only once during a skirmish back home, he moved faster than I could blink but he did stop for a moment and I've never forgotten his face." Arashi explained with a haunted look in his eyes.
"He killed nearly everyone singlehandedly and when I saw that boy Naruto I knew he looked familiar but it was only when Tayuya whispered it into my ear on our way here that I remembered how he looked." Arashi told his leader.
"Fuck!" Shiin gasped and fell back into his luxurious chair.
"I think our best plan is to give the boy what he wants and get him out of here as soon as possible, if he's here on a mission from his Father then we are best not getting in his way." Arashi advised.
"Yes, we shall do that after Sasame gives him the information feed him and kick him out,
there is no need to get in his bad graces while he is here." Shiin agreed and gestured for another drink.
"Leave me, to contemplate this." He ordered the remaining people in the room.
"Of course Shiin-Sama." They chorused, well all except the two women next to him.
"He's going to drink and fuck again." Tayuya whispered to Arashi as he picked her up.
"Indeed, such is the way of our honourable Clan Head." Arashi allowed a single quick flash of disgust to appear on his face before he regained control of his face and suppressed it.
Arashi with Tayuya on his back left first followed by Kotohime who blew a kiss at Shiin who ignored it.
"Urgh, he's so fucking disgusting." Tayuya said as soon as they were out.
"Language Tayuya a lady doesn't speak like that." Arashi scolded her gently.
"I'm a Ninja, not a lady." She muttered but did not swear again.
"Arashi, how long are you gonna pamper that skinny girl, when you should be pampering a woman like me." Kotohime said and even winked at him.
"We're all part of the same Clan Kotohime, we have to be nice to each other." Arashi sidestepped the issue and instead said something obvious.
"Ah! Whatever I'm going to get a drink." Kotohime gave up and threw her hands up in the air in annoyance before walking off.
"She's such a skank." Tayuya growled as she glared at the woman.
"Be nice Tayuya, she is an infiltration specialist it's her prerogative to be desirable and provocative," Arashi said as he approached the huge central fire pit where most of the Clan had gathered and with good reason, there were 2 huge boars on spits being roasted and people were walking up and taking a cutting from it to eat while there were barrels of stolen sake open for anyone to take a drink from.
"Hah, it's good to be back." Tayuya sighed as Arash placed her on a bench.
"I'll get you some food and fetch the Medical Ninja to take a look at your legs." Arashi said to her as he walked off to the fire pit.
Tayuya was left alone for a moment and she looked at her flute, it was dark grey in colouration and made from steel, it could take a few hits before being bent and making her music distorted, lucky for her it was relatively undamaged with only a few dents nothing that would affect the sound.
They had lost the capability to replace their Ninja Instruments most of them were produced from a blacksmithing village in the Land of Grass near their old home but after the Fuuma assault it had been taken over by the Fuuma as such they had no way to replace the ones that were lost and more than a few of their ragged Clan had their instruments destroyed in the skirmishes against the Clans of the Land of Earth mainly the Kazan Clan but there had been a few small fights with smaller Clans though thankfully they hadn't come across the Tsuchi Clan and their monstrously strong leader.
"Here you go, I've sent for Kagero." Arashi said as he placed a plate of meat in front of Tayuya.
"Thanks. Kagero ain't a medic what happened to Sora?" Tayuya asked as she bit into the meat and ripped out a chunk, it was juicy and so much better than the dried meat that Naruto had fed her.
"Sora was left behind during the battle, she was not as lucky as you." Arashi said solemnly as he sat down with a bottle of sake, well it was a bottle that contained water but he dipped it into one of the barrels and filled it with sake.
"Ah, Fuck! I'm sorry. Shit!" Tayuya apologised awkwardly.
"It's fine there were a lot of casualties in that battle, we couldn't have saved everyone." Arashi said though there was a haunted look in his eyes.
"We lost a lot of people Tayuya, Shiin is hiding it but we've lost almost half of our total fighting strength, the Kazan Clan are larger than us, have better supply than us and they have the support from other Clans. We have nothing, our people are hunting in order not to starve, we have no allies and no supplies or money coming in, I don't think we can last here it was a stupid plan to go into one of the 5 instead of fleeing to another minor country." Arashi admitted as he took a swig from the bottle not even bothering with a cup.
"Fuck! We really in that bad a place?" Tayuya said looking more despondent.
"Yes, we need help but there is no one, I tried approaching other Clans but we have been rebuffed by all of them none of them wants more competition and the Land of Earth does not have much in the way of missions." Arashi revealed.
"I thought Shiin said we don't need help from anyone else." Tayuya did not object but usually, the Clan Heads word was law.
"He is too busy crawling between those two women's legs to pay attention to what's going on outside his tent, he didn't even flinch when I told him about our losses." Arashi said with rage in his voice.
"Asshole, I can't believe he was chosen to lead us." Tayuya grumbled finishing her food.
"Careful Tayuya that kind of talk it treason." Arashi warned her.
"I know." She muttered but it was obvious how she felt about their leader.
"Perhaps we could entreat with Naruto and have him call his Father?" Arashi mused looking at the surviving members of his Clan.
"You think he'd help us?" Tayuya asked him and she did not sound convinced.
"It's a long shot." Arashi admitted.
"Let's just hope he finds what he's looking for." Arashi said.
"Hm." Tayuya hummed in agreement but she was out of the conversation now.
Arashi sighed and looked over what was left of his dear Shiin Clan, mot of who was left were either the veterans or the non-combatants and most of them were looking ragged and hungry, they were lucky to steal two boars from a passing convoy but that wouldn't last forever and Shiin simply wanted everyone to concentrate on drinking and eating rather than the very real threat of their Clan being destroyed.
'Is there a future for us?' Arashi questioned any who could hear him.
The Next Day
Naruto had spent a few hours going over what the Shiin Clan had managed to find out since they arrived in the Land of Earth and it was shockingly more than he expected considering their current leader, he had detailed maps and information on the entire western half of the Land of Earth along with the Clans who lived in it, there were only a few Clans with Kekkei Genkai in the west and apparently, they were reclusive very hostile to outsiders so those Kekkei Genkai would be more difficult to get a hold of.
And that was not even mentioning the near-mythical Jinton a Kekkei Tota that was only held by very few people with only one man alive who could currently use it, the legendary Ohnoki current Head of the Tsuchi Clan. That one was very tempting but also extremely dangerous since the man could literally reduce anything to dust.
After Naruto had his fill of information and made copies whenever Sasame wasn't looking, he was taken to that huge fire he saw as he came into the camp and given some boar meat along with water since they only had water and sake and he was too young to drink so all he could have was water despite Naruto technically being a rogue runaway he still abided the rules of not partaking in the Ninja taboos of Alcohol, Gambling and women.
Then as he was eating he saw Tayuya get some actual treatment from another girl in the Clan called Kagero who seemed very strange, she had an ethereal look with light turquoise hair and dark blue eyes with no pupils and she was wearing a light coloured dress that did not fit a Ninja but she looked like a nice girl and she put her hands on Tayuya's legs and they glowed green and it seemed to help her. Kagero did not speak to him and only spoke to Tayuya in a soft tone then whispered something to Arashi before leaving silently without even a glance at Naruto himself.
After that he spent some time talking with Arashi and Tayuya while being glared at by Menma and watched by Sasame, the older woman had disappeared and Kagero also went away after helping with Tayuya's legs. Soon enough Naruto had gotten tired and he was guided to an area away from the rest of the Clan and told he could set up camp and sleep there which he did so but not before creating a Kage Bunshin in his tent and sending it out to keep an eye on him and the Shiin Clan.
He woke up the next day and was surprised to find that no one had even bothered approaching let alone spying on him. Naruto dismissed the first Kage Bunshin and took its memories and created a new one for backup.
"Good morning Arashi." Naruto greeted the older man brightly as he approached the now dead fire.
"Morning Naruto, did you have a good rest?" Arashi inquired politely.
"Yeah, I did." Naruto nodded and sat down across from him on the wooden table that was set up.
"Now that you have what you're here for, are you leaving?" Arashi asked him as he rested his arms on the table.
"Yes, I've gotten what I came here for." Naruto nodded, he had actually gotten more than he expected so this entire trip was a win.
"Do you think you can do me a favour when you leave?" Arashi asked him and Naruto was put on edge.
"What kind of favour?" Naruto asked trying to be careful around this situation.
"We need allies and there are very few stronger allies than Namikaze Minato, all I want for you to do is contact your Father and ask if he would be able to aid us." Arashi said to Naruto looking him right in the eyes.
"I'll see what I can do, but don't expect anything." Naruto replied, it just occurred to him that Tayuya told them about his Dad but none of them knew that Naruto had no actual way to contact him except through Messenger Toads which Naruto had tried to summon in his own time but all he kept getting was small annoying Toads that claimed their Pa was gonna kick his ass.
"That is all I ask of you." Arashi said with a grateful nod then he got up and walked away leaving Naruto alone.
"I guess this is it then." Naruto muttered as he too stood up and looked to the exit, he
could feel someone's eyes on him and it was probably that Menma kid who had been following him around ever since he went with the Shiin Clan, Naruto had no idea what he did to the other blonde boy to make him glare and watch Naruto so much.
Naruto started walking towards the exit, past some of the Ninja who was already awake and he noticed that while they were still glaring at him he could also recognise a small glimmer of respect in their eyes at seeing him.
'Is it because I saved Tayuya or is it because of who my Dad is?' Naruto wondered to himself watching them as he left.
"Oy! Shit head!" A familiar voice filled his ears and Naruto turned and had to restrain himself from sighing or just plain running away.
He saw Tayuya and Sasame approaching him, it looked like that treatment really helped Tayuya as now she was walking, it was with a cane but she was actually walking under her own power now so it was a massive improvement.
"Morning." He greeted them both completely unenthused.
"What's with that tone fuck face?!" Tayuya was offended by his energy-less greeting.
"Nothing." He sighed and waited for them to get closer instead of just sprinting away.
"Hello, Naruto-San." Sasame greeted him politely, it seemed like she respected him a bit more than when they first met through Naruto could not understand why.
"Sasame, Tayuya." He greeted them both.
"Nice to see you on your feet for once." Naruto could not help the comment that slipped from his lips.
"Shit head you're very lucky I'm stuck on this cane otherwise I'd kick your teeth down your throat so far you'd be shitting them for a week." If looks could kill then Naruto would be dead.
"Naruto-San we wanted to say goodbye and thank you for what you've done." Sasame said diplomatically ignoring Tayuya's fury with practised ease.
"I don't want to thank some fuck like him." Tayuya growled.
"Tayuya." Sasame sighed and looked at her Clan mate.
"Fine! Fucking Hell! Thanks." Tayuya said unconvincingly.
"Haah. Thank you for saving Tayuya Naruto-San." Sasame said much more formally.
"It's fine seriously, I saved you but I got information out of it which was what I wanted." Naruto tried to downplay the situation.
"That does not change the fact that you did not have to save her. And I want to thank the person who saved my sister." Sasame said to him.
'Sisters!?' Naruto screamed in his mind looking at the two girls.
"Don't look so shocked asshole, obviously we're sisters." Tayuya said noticing the look on his face.
"Oh well, you're welcome and take care of each other." Naruto said awkwardly not really knowing what to say.
"We will." Sasame smiled at him again and Naruto flushed.
"Tch!" Tayuya made an unhappy noise seeing that.
"Yeah thanks for saving my ass, now go on do your 'mission'," Tayuya said waving him off.
"I'm going but Tayuya I need to tell you something." Naruto said turning his attention to her.
"What?" She said looking at him suspiciously.
"You're cute when you're asleep." And after that statement, Naruto put his hands together and used the Shunshin to flee.
"WHAT!" She shouted at the rapidly disappearing smoke.
"Fucking cute!? Creepy Asshole! Shit Head!" Tayuya shouted after him with a huge blush on her face while Sasame giggled.
"Oh, my Tayuya how bold." She teased Tayuya with a smile.
"Sasame!" Tayuya rounded on her sister with a glare that could melt stone.
"I don't like him." Menma's soft voice interrupted the sisters, he had appeared from the shadows and was glaring where Naruto had been.
"Menma, that's a shock coming from you usually you're all about seeing the best in people." Sasame said to him while Tayuya recovered from the mental attack.
"It's better he's gone, the entire situation is contrived." Menma said tying with his ocarina which was held firmly in his hands.
"Yeah, that asshole he better stay gone as well." Tayuya grumbled aloud to Sasame's amusement.
"Maybe he'll come back with his Father to help us out as Arashi-Sama wants." Sasame said hopefully.
"That is a pipe dream." Menma said darkly.
"Come on! Let's get back my Legs are killing me." Tayuya said as she began to hobble back.
"Let me help." Menma moved in to help her.
"Fuck off! I don't need anyone's help!" Tayuya bit out at him and glared for good measure.
"Maybe next time Menma." Sasame patted him on the shoulder and follow her sister.
Menma stood alone watching the retreating duo and then looked to where Naruto left before turning to follow after them.
Things were not good for the Shiin Clan at the moment and they did not need an outsider meddling in their affairs while they were fighting against a monster Clan like the Kazan. In Menma's opinion, Arashi was putting far too much on unreliable people both within and outside the Clan, even now Menma's foremost memory was being found by Shiin himself after a battle. Shiin had saved him and took him into the Shiin Clan despite Menma having no blood ties to any of them, not only that he was also taught their Ninjutsu and given an ocarina as a gift for him fully becoming a Ninja of the Shiin Clan and Menma had no memories of anything else before he was found, his entire life was spent in the Shiin Clan and he would fight, kill and die for it more than anyone else.
This Naruto had no such reason to help, he could easily sell out their location to the Kazan Clan and get them wiped out if he wished to which was why Menma was against letting him go free and instead wanted to hold him for ransom against his supposed father the Kiiroi Senko.
'Everything is for the Clan.' Menma thought as he followed Tayuya and Sasame.
With Naruto
Naruto left the Shiin hideout and jumped across the river to the other side and this time with no Tayuya on his back he could sprint up the vertical cliffside.
Without having to carry another person around Naruto had a lot more options for moving around and didn't need to follow some goat track up and out of the valley instead he just ran and was out on the opposite side within a minute or 2.
"Hah. Now, where should I go?" Naruto asked himself as he reached the top.
He looked ahead and then looked behind and both sides looked exactly the same like most of the Land of Earth.
"This place really does suck." Naruto sighed and began his journey further west, he was hoping to find one of those reclusive Clans with Kekkei Genkai.
With his new knowledge Naruto know knew about the multitude of smaller Clans in the west and even found out which ones had Kekkei Genkai, the Kazan of course had the Yoton but then there was the Jishaku Clan and their rare Jiton but then there was the Yude Clan and their Futton and of course the scattered Haretsu Clan and their Bakuton. But then there was the truly unique Kekkei Genkai in the Land of Earth the Hoseki Clan and their Shoton Kekkei Genkai and as far as Naruto knew they were the only Clan in the world with it on a similar rarity of Kekkei Tota of which there was only a handful in the world with one of them being in this country the Tsuchi Clan's Jinton and even then only one man in the Clan had the right Chakra Nature's and genetics to use it.
'So many choices here, I didn't have to go far in the Land of Lightning but here the country is so big I feel like I'm going to be hunting for weeks.' Naruto thought as he ran through the wasteland with new energy.
Naruto kept running and followed his mental map, if he kept going in this direction then he would hit the western village of Oninoko which was actually a Mercenary village where the scum of the Land of Earth gathered for jobs and money, it was a neutral territory in the hotly contested western lands and let Ninja-like Naruto move about without being attacked constantly by patrols of the various Clans within the western land of Earth.
'If I keep up the fast pace then I should reach the village by nightfall.' Naruto thought but then he was distracted when a group of kunai landed in front of him.
"Shit!" He shouted when he realised that they had Explosive Tags hanging off of them and he leapt back pumping Chakra into his legs to gain distance.
Naruto looked and realised he was being flanked on his left and right sides by two Ninja in familiar red clothing.
'Kazan!' Naruto ran through Hand Signs as quickly as he could.
"Futon: Fusajin no Jutsu!" He unleashed his Jutsu, it was an extremely basic one that kicked up wind currents around himself and made them revolve around him like he was the centre of a miniature tornado, in a forest all it did was kick up mud but here in the rocky Land of Earth it created a miniature sandstorm which could conceal his movements.
The best thing about the Jutsu was that it let him feel the Chakra of anyone caught in it so he could accurately tell where they were.
"Futon: Toppa!" Naruto unleashed another Wind Jutsu directly at the one on the left who was trapped within his sandstorm while the one on the right retreated out of it.
His Jutsu hit true and he heard the man cry out in pain as the wind slammed into them and sent them out of his sandstorm Naruto ended the Jutsu so he could see but only after moving back to create distance.
The storm of loose rocks and dirt cleared and Naruto found himself facing a standard team of 4, one was obviously the leader with how he stood back and had armour on while the other 3 were dressed more simply but the thing that united them was a brown hair colour and dark amber coloured eyes which marked them as Kazan Clan Members more than the red uniforms.
The leader and 2 of them were uninjured though one of them looked scuffed from being caught up in his concealment Ninjutsu while the fourth was on his knees holding his ribs, Naruto hoped he at least broke some with that Jutsu, he did want to conserve Chakra and that was the reason why he didn't go with the more powerful Futon: Daitoppa.
"You're not a member of the Shiin Clan." The only woman in the group said to him, her long brown hair was tied up in a tight bun and she had a katana in one hand and was glaring fiercely at him.
"No, I'm not so how about you let me go and we go our separate ways." Naruto offered though he knew it was useless to do so.
"You are a foreign Ninja in our territory, you are not leaving here without a full explanation." The leader spoke up staring at Naruto impassively.
"That's not gonna work for me." Naruto replied while reaching into his pouch ready to pull something out.
"Katon: Kaen Senpu!" One of the others just unleashed a Fire Jutsu from their hands.
That was a shock since usually most Katon Ninjutsu involved taking in air in the lungs then superheating it with Chakra and expelling it from the mouth, similar to Suiton and Futon Ninjutsu which would use the moisture inside the lungs to expel water enhanced with Chakra and mould air in the lungs respectively. It was for this reason why Katon, Suiton and Futon users had the best lung capacity among Ninja since most of their Jutsu revolved around taking deep breaths and unleashing them from their mouths.
Naruto watched as a spiralling flame erupted from the man's hands and flew right at him and he made a split decision, though he had a Suiton affinity Naruto did not have the skill to pull moisture out of the air like Senju Tobirama and Suiton Jutsu using water created in the lungs was always weaker than using natural water and Naruto did not have any Suiton Ninjutsu with the right amount of power to quench the flames, so he decided to use a Fuinjutsu that Jiraiya taught him while they were together.
"Fuinjustu: Fuka Hoin!" Naruto pulled out a scroll that already have a Fuinjutsu array written on it and as the fire was just about to hit Naruto it began to glow and then the spiralling flame was sucked inside the scroll and then once it was all gone only a glowing red Kanji for 'Seal' remained on it.
"What!?"
"Fuinjutsu!"
"!"
The three that were uninjured could only gape in shock at seeing the high-level Katon Ninjutsu disappear.
"Futon: Daitoppa!" Naruto unleashed a huge more powerful blast of wind from his own mouth at the shocked 4-man squad.
His Jutsu hit perfectly and all of the standing Ninja were blown off their feet while the fourth injured one was just blasted away and cracked his skull on the ground as he landed while the others managed to recover and land on all fours apart from the leader who landed on his feet and was glaring at Naruto now.
"Formation C." The leader said and blasted forward to engage Naruto directly while the other two got back to their feet and moved around his flanks again.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto unleashed a group of 5 Kage Bunshin, it was enough to help him but enough to completely reduce his Chakra down.
"Yoton no Yoroi!" The leader went through his own Hand Signs completely undeterred by the sight of 6 Narutos instead his skin began to glow red hot then lava began to form all over him until he was completely clad in a layer of lava.
'Oh shit! That's not good I can't touch him!' Naruto thought alarmed as 4 of his clones went to engage the other Ninja, so Naruto was left with one Kage Bunshin for himself as 2 of his Kage Bunshin engaged the Kunoichi on his left and the other 2 engaged the Ninja on his right while he was left with 1 Kage Bunshin to deal with his lava clad opponent.
'That Jutsu must have a weakness of some kind.' Naruto thought desperately as he pulled out another pouch but this one was not for absorbing Jutsu.
"Kai!" He called as he unrolled the entire scroll which had an entire sealing array written onto it as well as something sealed within it.
The Sealing array began to glow blue then it unleashed a huge torrent of water, during his stay in the Land of Hot Water with his Dad, Jiraiya and Kakashi Naruto in order to practice his Fuinjutsu he would seal the different elements into scrolls just like with the Fuka Hoin and one of his practices was sealing a huge amount of water into different scrolls and this was one of them.
It was a huge amount of water and it was on this uneven terrain at least ankle-deep in some areas while in others it was just a coating across the top, but it was enough to make everyone but Naruto and his Kage Bunshin stumble even the leader who was covered in lava slowed down as the water hit his ankles and instantly steamed up creating a small haze of steam which blocked his vision.
With Kage Bunshin 1 & 2
The two Naruto Clones engaging the woman on the left were very prepared for the small lake's worth of water and they were running on top of it while their sword-wielding opponent stumbled for a second before she recovered but the Kage Bunshins moved in sync and the one furthest away threw a handful of shuriken at her which she deflected but the other clone moved in with kunai and clashed with her.
"Sending Clones to fight me pathetic!" She growled at him as her sword ground against his kunai creating sparks.
"Solid clones!" The Kage Bunshin mocked her as he gave ground due to her pushing him back.
"Cocky little shit!" She then stopped pushing and backed up suddenly making the clone lose balance.
"Got you!" She brought her sword down at the Kage Bunshin's head but she was stopped by shuriken hitting the sword and making it miss.
"Sensatsu Suisho!" The Kage Bunshin slammed one foot into the water and used the Jutsu that Haku had taught him all that time ago, the water rose up into the air and formed into Senbon shapes and shot down at his enemy making her try and block them.
It was a valiant effort but she got hit by more water needles than the ones she blocked and now there were dozens of bleeding puncture wounds covering the woman who looked even more indignant at the injuries.
The first clone then slammed his foot on hers with a stomp and then wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug and because of the height difference and the fact that her arms were held against her sides she couldn't move without first destroying the clone.
"I'll pop you now!" She shouted and just about she was about to do that the other Kage Bunshin had moved behind her.
"Ranton: Laser Beam!" The second Kage Bunshin unleashed the Jutsu point-blank from behind her aimed at her stomach and the liquid lightning blew a hole right through the Kunoichi and the Kage Bunshin holding her which then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"No." She whispered as blood dripped from her mouth and the gaping hole in her torso and all strength quickly left her legs and she collapsed to the ground with a thud on the unforgiving rocks.
The remaining Kage Bunshin saluted his fallen friend and then dispelled himself leaving nothing but water and blood.
With Kage Bunshin 3 & 4
The other clones engaged the other Ninja with ferocity as he unleashed small fireballs at the both of them.
"Suiton: Suijinheki!" Naruto's Kage Bunshin called out together and a wall of water shot up and blocked the incoming fireballs making them hiss and disappear on contact.
Both Clones knew that they had to deal with him with limited Chakra and Jutsu, both could probably use one Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu either the Ranton or Hyoton before running out and becoming weak enough to get dispelled with a tap.
They decided to use their own tactics against the Kazan Ninja and one clone moved left and the other went right to enclose him in.
"You think that will work!" He called out and prepared another Jutsu but he was stopped by both clones launching shuriken at him forcing the man to stop weaving his Hand Signs.
"Suiton: Suidan!" One Kage Bunshin manipulated the water and shot a bullet at the Kazan Ninja.
The other clone continued with the shuriken barrage but he also reached into his own pouch and pulled out a scroll with a smile and he unfurled it slightly and went to put their plan into motion.
"Grgh!" Their enemy growled as he avoided the shuriken and water bullet aimed at his torso.
So far he had not taken any damage but that could change in an instant so he threw his own kunai shuriken back at the Kage Bunshin along with some Kunai Bombs which had Explosive Tags wrapped around their hilts.
Only one of the Kage Bunshin managed to avoid it while the other was destroyed but not before it threw the scroll which the Kazan Ninja did not notice as the Kage Bunshin that escaped destruction used another Suiton: Suidan to catch his attention by attempting to hit his legs with a water bullet which would have snapped the leg in half.
"Katon: Kaen Senpu!" He unleashed the same strong fire attack which vaporised the thin layer of water across the rocky ground forced Kage Bunshin to move in for close combat.
"You think you can beat me in Taijutsu!?" He sounded offended at the thought then made a single Hand Sign.
"Katon: Engeki!" He threw a punch at the Kage Bunshin who just barely dodged the blow which would have incinerated him since the Katon: Engeki was a Jutsu that infused the user's fists with Fire Chakra and would burn anything that came in contact with them.
Naruto's Kage Bunshin lunged at something on the ground which the Kazan Ninja did not see and then as Naruto's enemy turned around and threw another punch the Clone used the scroll it just picked up as a shield and the Katon: Engeki fizzled out as all the fire Chakra was siphoned out of his fist.
"What!" He was shocked at seeing the scroll not burst into flames.
"Fuinjutsu: Kai!" The Clone said mockingly and the full force of his own two Katon Ninjutsu's exploded out of the scroll and burnt him to death while also destroying the scroll and Naruto's Kage Bunshin in the resulting explosion.
All that was left was a charred corpse and very hot rocks and evaporated water.
Back With Naruto
Naruto and his remaining Kage Bunshin were not faring as well as the others as the Kazan Leader proved himself as relentless and fearless just charging in and of course, his Yoton Ninjutsu was hotter than Naruto's Suiton Ninjutsu could put out so it was a game of cat and mouse with Naruto and his Kage Bunshin being the mouse.
"Is this all you can do? Run." He was thoroughly unimpressed with Naruto who was weaving around him avoiding every strike since one could spell death for the young blonde.
"Suiton: Suidan!" He used the same Jutsu as his Kage Bunshin did and shot multiple bullets of water at his lava-clad enemy but it was not good enough as the Suiton evaporated as soon as it came in contact with him.
"Not good enough!" He called out and then he managed to catch Naruto's Kage Bunshin with a kick which sent the clone to the ground and then he finished the Naruto Clone off with a brutal stomp that didn't just crush his clone but also put his molten footprint into the rock melting into it.
Naruto noticed something as he was getting chased around by a man covered in lava, the Kazan Ninja was getting tired far more quickly than Naruto was expecting and then it hit him, this Yoton no Yoroi was incredibly powerful in offence and defence but must have been extremely draining on Chakra and stamina so it couldn't be kept active for so long.
With that knowledge Naruto know had a clear plan in how to deal with this enemy. Naruto began weaving Hand Signs as he dodged over the ballistic man who was single-mindedly trying to crush him but Naruto finished his Hand Signs and felt his Chakra drain as he activated the powerful Ninjutsu
"Hyoton: Hyoryudan no Jutsu!" A gigantic dragon made of ice formed up behind Naruto and roared at the Kazan Leader who actually stopped at the sight.
"Hyoton! What!" He was shocked but the Jutsu launched and the ice dragon slammed into the lava man and there was a huge burst of steam as ice met lava.
Naruto quickly moved about to set up his final trap, the Hyoryudan was just a distraction and not a finisher like what most people would have expected, instead, Naruto would end up relying on the knowledge that he gained during the week spent with his remaining family.
"That was a surprise, to think one of the famous Yuki was so far from the Land of Water. That was a good Jutsu but not enough to stop me!" The Kazan roared as he walked through the steam.
The Hyoton had done its job and he was panting heavily like a dog now, the lava armour was still active but Naruto could see chunks where it was weaker or not active at all, most of the lava was concentrated on his arms, legs and chest his head was relatively uncovered compared to earlier.
Naruto was playing possum, he was crouched on the floor panting heavily.
"Out of Chakra? That's not a surprise it was a powerful Ninjutsu probably would have done me in but we Kazan are the strongest in the land." He boasted at Naruto as he stalked closer to his prey.
"Fuinjutsu: Kanashibari!" Naruto unleashed the array that he had written on the ground just as his enemy entered the centre of the Fuinjutsu Array.
"What!" He roared as the black chains wrapped around his arms, legs, chest and neck holding him in place.
"Argh! YOU!" He screamed at Naruto as he struggled but it was no use, he couldn't move now.
"That was close, that lava armour is really powerful but I win." Naruto said as he stood up and held out an arm with the palm facing upwards.
"You think this can hold me forever!" He shouted at Naruto and the chains creaked as he tried to jump forward.
"I don't need it to last forever, just until you run out of Chakra." Naruto said revealing he knew the weakness of the Yoton no Yoroi.
"No!? You!?" He was shocked and even stopped struggling for a moment.
"This will be my final Jutsu, I've never used it before so you are the first to see it." Naruto said as he concentrated on his palm.
'Rotation, Power and Containment.' He thought through the 3 steps, he had mastered the first 2 but it was the last that he was shaky on, his practice, however, had served him well.
Chakra began to swirl around Naruto's palm and then it became visible and then began to condense down into his palm until he held a swirling ball of blue Chakra in his palm.
"What is that Jutsu!? The Chakra is so visible!?" The Kazan was fully shaken now and Naruto smiled at the questions.
"Just in time, your armour is gone." Naruto pointed out as the lava receded from the man leaving him vulnerable.
"No! NOT LIKE THIS!" He struggled ineffectually at the chains and Naruto ran forward bringing his arm back with the Chakra ball in his palm.
"RASENGAN!" Naruto roared and he slammed his Father's Ninjutsu into the Kazan Leader's chest.
The effect was spectacular, it ripped right through Naruto's Fuinjutsu and into the man's chest and then began to grind, the Kazan was lifted off his feet and his clothes on his chest were shredded and then he was blown backwards into a nearby boulder, his body moved in a spiral pattern and it even left such a pattern on his chest and the boulder behind him.
"Woah! I never expected that." Naruto said as he took in the damage the Rasengan had done.
The Kazan leader vomited blood as his insides were reduced to past not even mentioning the force of being slammed into the boulder, he died there embedded in the boulder still technically standing though it was obvious his body was slack and it was just that his bodies impression was perfectly snug that kept him upright.
"What an amazing Ninjutsu Dad." Naruto said falling to one knee, using the Kage Bunshin, then his Kekkei Genkai on top of the Rasengan had drained him of Chakra.
"I should get his Yoton Kekkei Genkai now while I can." Naruto said looking at the dead body, he still had an hour before the Chakra left the Chakra Coils deep in the body so he could absorb it using the Chimera Jutsu.
But it was not to be as Naruto felt multiple Chakra signatures incoming to his position so he reached into his pouch and gulped down a handful of Hyorogan in order to recover his Chakra and stamina.
"Shunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto used the little of his Chakra left and disappeared in a burst of speed without the usual puff of smoke.
If only he recognised the Chakra then he might have realised that he did not have to flee from his recent allies.
About 5 minutes after Naruto left, a group of 5 shadows arrived on the scene of carnage that he had left behind. But it was this precise action that would lead to a certain decision in the future.
AN:
Here we are the huge gigantic Chapter 30. Hope you all enjoyed it, I decided to do an extra-large chapter to celebrate hitting 30 chapters.
I really do love this story now so I hope you'll keep reading until the end, not that this is ending anytime soon we're still on 2/5 Kekkei Genkai and that's not even mentioning all the other stuff I have planned.
See you all for Chapter 31 which will be a bit smaller than this one sorry.
Translations:
Kiiroi Senko=Yellow Flash
Kiiroi Shi=Yellow Death
Kage Bunshin=Shadow Clone
Shunshin=Body Flicker
Yoton=Lava Release
Jiton=Magnet Release
Futton=Boil Release
Bakuton=Explosion Release
Shoton=Crytsal Release
Kekkei Tota=Bloodline Selection
Jinton=Dust Release
Futon: Fusaijin No Jutsu=Wind Release: Dust Wind Technique
Futon: Topppa=Wind Release: Breakthrough
Futon: Daitoppa=Wind Release: Great Breakthrough
Katon: Kaen Senpu=Fire Release: Flame Whirlwind
Fuinjutsu: Fuka Hoin=Sealing Technique: Fire Sealing Method
Yoton no Yoroi=Lava Release Armour
Same reason as Raiton no Yoroi, I hate the whole Yoton/Raiton Chakra Mode naming convention and this is a hill I will gladly die on.
Kai=Release
Suiton: Suidan=Water Release: Water Bullet
Katon: Engeki=Fire Release: Flame Attack
Hyoton: Hyoryudan=Ice Release: Ice Dragon Bullet
Fuinnjutsu: Kanashibari=Sealing Technique: Temporary Paralysis
Hyorogan=Military Rations Pill