Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence.
CHAPTER 22
Konoha Crush: Part 1
"I see," Hiruzen kept his head tilted down as he grimly acknowledged Kakashi's update of the 'rat' that had crossed their path and caused their tardy arrival. They had stumbled upon Hayate in mid-battle with the suspected spy that Ibiki had been tracking. Hayate would most likely have been killed if it were not for their intervention, and Kakashi had insisted on taking him to the hospital even though it meant that the spy had escaped.
"Well done, Kakashi. I assume Naruto has updated you?" The Hokage noted the succinct nod of affirmation. "I think there is something more than just a possible kidnapping attempt in the works. Call it an Old man's intuition. Join the crowd for now, stay alert."
"Hai." A few stray leaves marked the jonin's exit. Hiruzen lifted his head to exhale a cloud of fragrant tobacco and cast a sidelong glance at the imposter who sat beside him. Orochimaru was continuing to uphold his guise of being the Kazekage, and seemed disturbingly unconcerned by Hiruzen's side conversation with the Copy Nin. Either he is overconfident, or he feels that he is prepared to face us, whether we are aware of his plans or not.
During their whispered discussion, Kankuro had forfeited to Shino without so much as setting foot upon the arena, which caused the Aburame to buzz in annoyance and the ANBU to look at one another in confusion. "Rasa" was unperturbed. Genma merely chewed on his senbon before announcing Shino the winner and immediately calling out the next match.
"Rock Lee vs. Uchiha Sasuke!"
"UGH!" Sasuke blocked yet another brutally strong roundhouse kick from Lee, he couldn't keep absorbing the beatings from blocking the massive strikes in order to get close enough to land some of his own, he needed to start evading them all together. I was trying to save my chakra, but he is too fast. With a pulse of chakra and a blink, his two-tomoed Sharingan spun alive, and the crowd roared. He gasped as the seal on his neck instantly started to throb and he barely dodged the next attack due to the painful distraction, without his bloodline he would have been knocked out cold. Why is it aching so much now? I have been training my Sharingan all month without difficulty. Unless…it's because HE is here…
The pace changed instantly, the two teenagers were moving with such speed that only the jonin were able to keep up with their movements. Sasuke had spent a grueling amount of time building up his speed to match the visibility of his bloodline, and he needed every millisecond. Lee had unraveled the bandages around his wrists and was attempting to entrap Sasuke, but the Uchiha was able to slice through them with his sword. Stop playing around, a voice whispered in his head, just end him, you know how.
"NO!" Sasuke yelled at the inner thought, and angrily punched Lee with his frustration empowering his strength, sending the green clad genin tumbling away. The Uchiha rubbed his neck, but his hand froze and his eyes widened in dismay as he saw Lee stand and remove his ankle weights, shaking the earth with their impact as he dropped them. Shit, you've got to be kidding me. Who the hell trains like this?
They clashed again, and to his alarm, Sasuke was having to push more and more chakra into his limbs to fend off the insanely fast genin, let alone retaliate with any hope of achieving victory. Unbidden, panic began to pool in the pit of his stomach. I cannot lose, I am the pride of the Uchiha!
Borrowing a trick from his teammate's book Sasuke threw a kunai and used it to get behind his opponent with a kawarimi, then slammed his sword's handle into the back of Lee's head, sending the boy smashing face first into the ground. Just as Sasuke was about to deactivate his Sharingan thinking he had KO'd his opponent, the prone form burst into a green glowing aura and Lee leapt to his feet with an unhinged scream of youthfulness. What is this jutsu? I cannot see any chakra within it, but it is something very powerful, something different than anything I have ever faced…
As Lee yelled the name of one gate after another, Sasuke watched in horror as his opponent seemed to turn into a demigod of might and vigor before his eyes. The newly enhanced genin was insanely fast, and none of the Uchiha's swings, punches, or kicks were coming close to landing, and dodging was nigh impossible. With a final tremendous attack, Lee sent Sasuke's new sword spinning out of his aching grasp, and before he knew what was happening, he was tightly bound in what seemed like miles of bandages and being thrown into the sky. The immense throbbing in his neck blended with the pain that screamed throughout his entire body, and his mind reeled. I cannot lose, I cannot fail, I am their only justice, they are watching me, I cannot disappoint them, Father will we furious, I have to do it, I have to succeed, I am their last hope, I am an avenger, I will not have mercy, I will not hold back…
Suspended at the top of their trajectory, they were weightless in the air as Lee prepared to bring Sasuke into the deadly Primary Lotus, when suddenly electricity crackled across the Uchiha's body, coming into blinding focus on his left hand. "CHIDORI!"
They landed on the dirt, facing one another as shredded bandages rained around them like macabre confetti. White eyes focused on red, and they charged. Lee was nearly at his limit, the Lotus was to have been his final move, and now he only had enough endurance for one last massive hit, to dodge would be wasting precious time.
The chirp of a thousand birds pierced the ozone filled air as Sasuke grinned and raced towards his enemy, the world was painted red in his mind's perception. I will show you the power of the Uchiha! You will never forget the day you stupidly challenged my Sharingan!
"LEE NOOO!"
Gai was instantly at his disciple's side, cradling the screaming teenager as he clutched his shattered right fist, the wrist was bent awkwardly, and the sharp protrusion of his humerus could be seen bulging beneath the skin of his upper arm. Genma flashed over to stand before the panting Uchiha, who was powering up a second Chidori to deliver the death blow upon the defenseless genin, and seized his sparking arm over their heads.
"Are you unable to continue?" the jonin ground out around his senbon, never taking his eyes off the Uchiha's crimson gaze, as he addressed the genin behind him.
"He forfeits," Gai rasped through his tears, already scooping up Lee's body and turning to sprint toward the medics, leaving a trail of blood and the echoes of his wounded student's howls reverberating through the stadium.
Genma glared down at the victorious teenager, squeezing his wrist painfully tight before Sasuke finally cut off his Chidori, and let the Sharingan bleed out of his eyes with a scowl of annoyance. The jonin dropped Sasuke's arm in disgust, clicking his teeth around the senbon as he turned to address the crowd.
"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke!"
Sasuke blinked as his bloodline faded, his expression changing from fury to confusion as he felt a fog lift from his mind. He grimaced at the immense ache of his seal, it was nearly burning his skin and making his whole shoulder throb. As he trudged over to pick up his sword and slowly stood, he felt an unwelcomely familiar tingle run from the cursed mark up the nape of his neck. Straightening, he looked towards the Kage's platform where the beady black eyes of The Imposter were dancing with maniacal glee and sinister desire, making Sasuke sick to his stomach. Not even bothering to bow to the Village Leaders or acknowledge the adulation of his fans, he nearly ran back through the double doors. But he could not escape the voice in his brain that hissed, I see you, Sasuke-kun.
Orochimaru's sultry chuckle as he observed the fight made Hiruzen's skin crawl. The disapproving scowl that darkened the Hokage's face as he watched Genma practically have to put the Uchiha down before he ceased his attack, deepened as he saw the pleasure that danced in his former student's eyes. Kami, how far have you fallen? Aside from his twisted mirth, the posing Kazekage had made no threatening move, only leaning forward to avidly observe the fight, as nearly the entire audience had done. Hiruzen found this restraint none too surprising, it would not be wise to steal the Uchiha straight off the arena floor. So when? Kankuro's forfeiture could be seen as a tactical move to preserve energy for a future fight. But it was so obvious, perhaps he is injured?
Below in the arena, Genma called out the names of Temari and one of the Sound Nin, and Hiruzen furrowed his eyebrows as she eagerly met her opponent on the floor and proceeded to mercilessly attack him with her wind chakra, securing an easy victory. Apparently she felt no need to hold back as her brother had done. It will rest upon Gaara then? The unstable jinchuriki. Would they dare pin their plans on the behavior of such a wild card? Orochimaru, what are you planning...
"Next competitors: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Gaara!"
"It's the demon child."
"There's no mistaking him, look at those whiskers."
"They let that troublemaker become a shinobi?"
"I hope he doesn't release that monster and kill us all."
"I hope he does win, then he will face the Uchiha and be put down for good."
Kakashi grit his teeth as his sensitive ears picked up the murmured comments of the crowd around him. They had no idea what they were talking about, and their ignorant assumptions had even his own laid back nature boiling with irritation. Between dealing with Hayate on the way to the exams, hearing about Hinata's brave but nearly suicidal declaration and oath after beating Neji, and watching the way Sasuke had lost control of himself during the battle with Lee, Team Seven's sensei was already on edge. And despite the faith he had in Pup, he truly feared the potential proportions to which a battle between the two jinchuriki now facing each other could escalate.
"Hajime!"
"Tajū kage bunshin no jutsu!"
Gasps whispered across the spectators as no less than a hundred blond ninjas burst into existence, challenging the snarling Gaara to split his focus all over the arena in order to defend himself. Sand swept across the floor, some clones were destroyed, but others landed massive kicks that rattled the sand barriers which formed to block them. The comments of the crowd grew louder around Kakashi as their astonishment multiplied like the bunshin below.
"So many clones!"
"I haven't seen this since that red haired kunoichi, what was her name?"
"Wasn't she an Uzumaki as well?"
The remaining clones all drew their kunai and in perfect sync threw their weapons, drawing much smaller defensive spikes of sand out from the sphere that was slowly building up around the unmoving Gaara. At the last second, Naruto's clones used a kawarimi to swap with the flying blades, allowing several of the bunshin to break past the minimal defense of the smaller sand spikes and collide with enough force to throw Gaara off his feet. He laid blinking in shock at the unexpected body swaps and tried to understand the feeling of pain that caused blood to trickle down his face. Across the arena Kankuro and Temari shared a look of silent incredulity and fear at their brother's stupefied reaction. The crowds felt no such hesitancy to voice their approval of the unexpectedly successful attack.
"He landed a hit!"
"What a move!"
"Unpredictable as ever, that kid."
The seething Gaara suddenly let out a scream of rage and twisted around with his arm extended, intent on crucifying Naruto upon a spear of sand. But the mind of the Leaf genin was never idle, and as his enemy had laid dazed upon the earth, four more clones were already setting up a perimeter around the infuriated jinchuriki. Just as the sand began to shoot from the gourd upon Gaara's back, four walls flashed up around him in a barricade of chakra that was laced with rows of intricate sealing arrays, trapping him inside along with his tumultuous sand. At each corner of the chakra cage, a smirking clone grit his teeth in concentration, completely tuning out the audibly growing admiration of the audience.
"Kami be damned, he can do fuuinjutsu?!"
"How much chakra does that guy have?"
"This is a hell of a fight!"
Gaara was looking more crazed by the minute, and muttering in a voice too low for the sound to be heard over the rowdy crowd, but the words upon his lips were clear enough to read for any sharp eyed shinobi. You will not defeat Mother, feel her wrath as she satisfies her hunger for vengeance with your blood. Kakashi's grip tightened on the railing where he stood when a dome of sand completely engulfed the bleeding Gaara who was pouring out enough killing intent for the Copy Nin to feel it all the way up in the stands. But he had seen Naruto spar enough times to know the teenager was still feeling out his opponent, looking for a critical weakness. Naruto's blond hair nearly gleamed in the bright sunlight as he cocked his head to the side, as though listening to an invisible partner, and Kakashi grinned under his mask. It was time to see what Pup could really do. I hope the civvies don't shit themselves, it would be annoying for my nose.
With a quick hand sign another horde of clones filled the arena, immediately pairing off and beginning to work their hands as though molding invisible clay. The Original Naruto was lost amongst the bowed heads, who all continued their focused efforts as the weight of Gaara's malice intensified, causing even some of the non-shinobi citizens around Kakashi to fidget uncomfortably. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted the ANBU turning one by one from scanning the audience to scrutinizing the fight below, each twitching towards their own weapons as they picked up on the building miasma of the demonic aura. Kakashi knew it wasn't coming from his student, but from within the solid sphere of sand. Lifting his hitae-ate to assess the hidden jinchuriki, he stifled a gasp of horror at the blinding level of chakra that was writhing within the confines of Gaara's Ultimate Defense. Shit! That's an insane amount of chakra building up in there. Kakashi was so focused on the fearsome sight that he nearly missed the exclamations of awe coming from the spectators around him.
"It can't be! That's—that's The Fourth's jutsu!"
"The Rasengan!? And so many!"
"It's so nostalgic, he even kinda looks like the Yondaime."
"Kick his ass, Naruto!"
The throaty war cry of an army of slit-eyed shadow clones echoed through the stadium as they leapt toward their target. The fuuinjutsu barrier was released with perfect timing as they rained blinding spheres of pure swirling chakra one after another upon the top of the now undulating shell of sand. The hail of impacts lasted for several seconds and by the end the crowd was cheering enthusiastically at the spectacular sight of the perfectly executed A-ranked jutsu that most of Konoha considered a national treasure.
When a massive and grotesquely distorted arm covered in purple markings erupted from a crack in the shell, the whole audience recoiled in disgust. Kakashi glanced at Genma, who looked like he had nearly swallowed his senbon and saw the same dread creeping into the jonin's expression that the Copy Nin felt in his own gut. That wasn't some D-rank transformation jutsu. That was the real deal. Pup, do you know what you're doing?
The creature emerged from his shell, revealing it to be the mutated amalgamation of the jinchuriki and his beast, his eyes split between black and teal, his mouth contorted with fangs and a maniacal grin. The thing lurched towards the few clones that were left, screaming for the real Naruto to face him, only to have his rant abruptly cut off when The Original himself shot out of the earth with an enormous Rasengan the size of which Kakashi had never conjured himself in his entire life, and slammed the powerful sphere of chakra directly into the monster's chin.
Pandemonium reigned around Kakashi as the crowd leapt to their feet at what appeared to be a victorious end to the flashy battle. The beast collided with the wall of the arena, sending cracks spider-webbing all the way up into the stands and forcing people to scramble for safety. But the celebrations were premature, don't let your guard down yet Pup!
Out of nowhere feathers began to fall from the sky, and Kakashi's well honed instincts kicked in as the lazy jonin instantly assumed the mindset of battle hardened assassin. Electricity curled down his forearm to form the deadly lightning blade for which he was feared across the nations. Below in the arena a massive sandy tail lashed out from the frenzied Gaara, flailing around and breaking several support beams nearby before swiping at Naruto. The genin jumped out of range, and then took off towards the forest, luring the single minded jinchuriki away from the heart of the city, and Kakashi saw Sasuke and Hinata race after them in hot pursuit. Pride and resignation mingled within their sensei as he watched Team Seven disappear from sight. Let it begin.
Sakura's heart was pounding so loudly she didn't hear the kunai whizzing towards her until it was nearly too late and someone else thankfully darted forward to deflect the deadly weapon. She stared blankly at the gray-haired jonin who was yelling something at her from behind his mask, but her mind was so overloaded by the sudden battle that had erupted around them that she couldn't process a single word. It's like the Forest of Death all over again, I can't fight them all by myself, where are the boys? I can't do this, there's no way…
Seeing her frozen face, the shinobi dismissed her and quickly moved on, taking out another foreign ninja with a stab from his chidori, and red blood poured from the wound in the fallen man's chest to run down the stairs between the bleachers where she hid. Severed aorta... her brain dimly flickered to the page of the medical text she had read while in the academy.
The blurred form of the green spandex sensei leapt over her head, what was his name again? With a youthful howl he barely blocked the unconscious citizens from being hit by the wild jutsus flying around them, before viciously head butting a foreign shinobi and immediately darting away in search of more opponents. The enemy's body fell to her left, his eyes vacant. Multiple fractures to the frontal and nasal bone with bone fragments imbedded in the brain…her clouded mind latched onto the only thing that made sense in the moment, and she could clearly visualize the diagram of the human head from page 237.
Suddenly she realized what the masked jonin must have been saying, the civilians, they need to get out. The others can't fight properly with them in the way. Her body remained frozen but her mind latched onto the thought, the thousands of pages of strategy she had absorbed sliding through her brain like ticker-tape. I need back-up, someone to cover me, someone to help me find those who are trapped, then I can focus on waking them up from the genjutsu, I can do this! Shannaro!
Taking a deep breath, Sakura slipped through the stands, starting with Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru, she released them from the genjutsu. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio immediately got down to business, their renowned teamwork clearing the entire section of enemies with the perfect synchronization of a well oiled machine. To her massive relief she stumbled across Kiba and Akamaru, her panic receding greatly as the white Ninken happily licked her face, and together they quickly formed a search-and-rescue team, reviving and evacuating all the civilians within reach.
The last boy they pulled from their section of the stands had an obviously broken leg, and as they gently delivered him to the rapidly overflowing medical bay, Sakura's eyes widened at the entirely different level of organized chaos that reigned in this new arena.
"Puncture wound to the left thorax," she heard one medic shout, "patient has a deviated trachea and cyanosis!" Hemothorax: page 134, place chest tube and drain fluid to reinflate the lung...
"Right arm amputation proximal to the elbow!" Page 76, elevate the limb and apply pressure to stop the bleeding. If found, wrap the limb in plastic and place it on ice...
"Third degree burns across the chest, neck, abdomen, and left arm!" Page 24, Rule of Nines: 27% body surface area, immediately clean and cool the wound. Infection prevention, fluid replacement, and pain control are imperative...
"Sakura! I'm going back to find Team 10, they were moving on to the next section. Most of the civvies are out now, but there may still be a few trapped with how the building is starting to collapse. Akamaru and I are going to do one more lap, you coming?" Kiba was panting, but his voice was full of energy, his instincts pulling him back to the front line. Sakura straightened, the thought of going back into the heated war-zone making her stomach knot. She scanned the rows and rows of wounded, with more arriving every minute, and saw the harried faces of the overwhelmed medics racing to triage and treat them all. A hand gripped her ankle and she flinched reflexively, but looked down to realize it was the desperate grasp of the child they had just carried.
"Please!" he cried, fear and agony making his breaths hiccup, "it hurts! Please help me! Where is my Kaa-san?" Kneeling down beside him, green chakra flowed from her fingers and she brushed a hand across his sweaty forehead, effortlessly engulfing him in a genjutsu of deep sleep to instantly ease his suffering. Compound fracture of the tibia and fibula, page 55, bones need to be reduced immediately to preserve circulation to the distal limb. Now is the time to do it, before he wakes up…
"Go on, Kiba," she murmured, the certainty of her purpose here cementing her determination with more clarity than she had ever felt on any training exercise or mission. Here she could make a greater difference than on the battlefield, here she could ease suffering instead of causing it.
Sakura tossed her pink hair out of her eyes and she moved to wrap her hands around the boy's ankle, visualizing the diagrams and step by step instructions of the Shinobi Trauma Field Manual in her mind with perfect accuracy. With a firm yank the crooked limb snapped back into place, and she heard her teammate heave behind her. A small smile formed on her lips as she reached for a nearby medical kit to begin fashioning a splint. "This is where I need to be."
"You inferior imbecilic piece of Branch filth!" Hiashi seethed as his hand tightened around the throat of Tadao. The rage that had been boiling within him had finally found an outlet upon the foolish guard who had thought that the pathetic genjutsu could ensnare the Head of the Clan. "You don't even deserve to die like a Hyuga, but as a common murderer!"
From his view down the row Satoshi was nearly stomping in frustration. Aware of the enemy's plans thanks to his spy, he had immediately roused the useless guard so that he could strike down Hiashi before he released the genjutsu, anticipating that it might not hold the powerful shinobi for long. But the baka Tadao had been so nervous that he had stumbled across the falling body of an unconscious dignitary and wasted precious seconds. An unskilled shinobi himself, Satoshi clumsily reached for the first kunai he could find and hurled it at the two foes, missing Hiashi completely but distracting him enough that Tadao was able to gasp out his final words in the slightly loosened grip.
"But it will be my ch-children to inherit the t-title of Clan Head," Tadao grinned remorselessly at the shock that flashed through Hiashi's steely eyes. The dying Branch chunin rolled his gaze over to Satoshi, who was gaping in horror at the man's thoughtless revelation of their darkest secrets, "t-tell Ane and Hanabi-chan that I love them—"
The guard's body thumped heavily to the deck of the stands, his crushed windpipe ending his sentimental endearment. White fury pulsed from Hiashi's Byakugan as he slowly turned to see his honorable wife's father scrambling backwards towards the stairs, the guilt and fear on his face all the confirmation the Clan Head needed to see. You are a dead man Satoshi.
"Now is not the time Son!" Hiroto darted in front of the incensed man, clubbing another Branch guard who had awakened and was attempting to assassinate the Clan Head whilst he was focused on the retreating council member. Hiashi snarled at his father, who had forgone his pretense of dotage and was wielding his cane-turned-bo-staff like the experienced shinobi he had always been.
"This isn't over," Hiashi growled in response, glaring over his shoulder at his brother's back where Hizashi was fighting off multiple foreign shinobi while yelling for any other Branch members who dared to try their luck at assassination to instead focus on defeating the enemy invaders and evacuating the dignitaries. This is the last straw of the Branch's insolence. Before this day is done, I will burn the forest and sow the fields anew.
Kabuto sliced his chakra scalpel across the neck of his opponent and turned away before the body hit the ground to look over from his perch and check on the loyalty of his Hyuga informer. A sly smile spread across his face as he saw that the clan was at each other's throats, doing a poor job of assisting to thwart the invasion. The elder father and his twin sons were fighting back to back fending off the attacks of their mutinous guards and other enemies. Then his eyes fell onto something immensely more interesting. Hana-san, the latest lover of the Clan Head, was cowering between the planks of the bleachers with her arms crossed protectively not over her head, but her abdomen. What do we have here? This could be useful later on. Orochimaru-sama would be forever grateful if I helped him obtain the Sharingan and the Byakugan.
Swiftly darting over to her side, he grasped the sobbing woman by the arm and her trembling pearly eyes latched onto his ANBU mask. "It's alright, Hyuga-san," he said in a calming voice. "Come with me, the civilians are all being evacuated this way." She bit her lip in hesitation and cast a glance over to Hiashi, who was brutally disposing of a Branch guard that underestimated the furious strength of the Main House Leader. "Think of your child," Kabuto prompted, and smirked inwardly at her gasp and blush. Bingo.
The two flee as far as the breezeway of the stadium before he withdrew a syringe from the fold of his cloak and jammed it into her thigh. His glasses flashed and his smile widened as he carried her limp body past the medic tents and headed for the genjutsu disguised tunnel he used to enter and exit the village. Pulling a scroll from his hip pouch he bit his thumb and released the sealed serpent that Orochimaru had contained within it, just for his apprentice's usage.
"Take her to the hide out," the spy instructed, watching closely as the woman's body was smoothly swallowed by the massive reptile. "She carries the key to Master's plans in her womb. Do not allow her to die." A flick of a forked tongue was his only response as the creature swiftly disappeared.
As soon as Gaara took off after the blond genin, Kankuro and Temari vaulted over the railing on the balcony in hot pursuit. They passed Baki, who was facing the jonin proctor with a glare of deadly intent, and he shouted at them over his shoulder to bring Gaara back to the village at all costs. "We need his support if this is going to be successful!" he yelled just as Genma launched his senbon and began to attack.
"Dammit Gaara," Kankuro clicked his teeth in frustration. "He knew the plan and left us anyways, just to satisfy his own fucking bloodlust."
"Shut up and run!" Temari snapped as they raced up the high wall of the arena. "Something is off. That blond is not your average genin and I think he's triggered the beast within Gaara in a way we've never seen before." The puppet user glanced at her in concern when he heard the fear in her voice. Temari was his big sister and one tough kunoichi, if she was rattled then there truly must be some serious shit going down.
The pair crested the top of the stadium and transitioned to the trees around the structure, intent on catching up to Gaara by following the trail of destruction towards the outer reaches of the forest. Before they had cleared the edge of the main village, three figures landed before them and blocked their path.
"Get out of our way!" bellowed Kankuro, immediately animating his puppet with an ominous clatter that echoed like the sound of dry bones. "We're on a mission and we won't hesitate to kill anyone who tries to stop us!"
"You will not be joining your teammate," the tall one stated flatly as he adjusted the dark glasses on his face. "Why? Because you owe me a fight. I am your opponent now."
Temari withdrew her fan, spreading it wide with a flick of her wrist, and the brown haired girl with two buns grinned with malicious joy as she also reached for two scrolls, twirling them in her hands. "I've been wanting to try this new move out on a real enemy," she laughed mirthlessly.
"This fight will not save your friends from our little brother," Temari sneered, forcing more confidence into her stance than she felt. They were outnumbered, and without them for backup Gaara would be vulnerable after the bijuu had used him to fulfill its demonic hunger and discarded his chakra wasted body. She and Kankuro had to get to him before that other team of genin did. "He will destroy those three, and then the Leaf as well."
The third shinobi glared at her as the blood vessels on his temples pulsed and his steely silver eyes locked onto her. "My little sister is strong enough to save herself," he smirked. "Nor should her teammates be underestimated either. And you," he dropped into a taijutsu stance that had the Sand Siblings swallowing hard, "are in my range."
He slid under a bramble of bushes and clamped down his chakra level to nonexistence, breathing heavily into the dirt as he felt his clones spread out, leading the half formed bijuu on a wild goose chase further into the forest away from the village. His blue eyes closed and he let his forehead fall onto the fold of his red scarf as the bijuu within his own body roiled. He needed a break, he needed advice, and he knew just who to ask.
"Kyuubi!" Naruto blinked up at the bronze bars that separated his mindscape between prison and sewer. One of these days I have got to figure out how to get rid of this gross water. Behind the barrier, nine tails slashed in agitation as the Fox paced back and forth.
"The answer is NO," the beast snarled before Naruto could get another word out of his mouth. "The seal they enslaved him with is an atrocity as it is, and I will not allow you mortals to exact anymore torture upon my brethren."
"I know, I just—"
"You know nothing! They have reduced him to an insane monster, when he is the son of gods! His power should be worshipped yet he is forced to endure the dishonor of being treated as nothing more than—"
"Than a weapon," Naruto crossed his arms and stared with sympathetic blue eyes up at the caged creature before him. A magnificent entity made of pure chakra and imbued with an independent will and consciousness that demanded the respect due to any living being. And yet here he was...
"I know, Kyuubi. We are more than weapons. We deserve more than to just be used whenever wanted and locked up whenever they wish to forget the sins they forced us to commit." He moved forward, fisting his hand over his heart in an earnest display of honesty. "I have no desire to see your brother tortured. I have no desire to murder Gaara. I do want to ease their suffering, but I have to stop them first."
Naruto sighed and scratched at the back of his head, starting to pace back and forth before the cage as the Kyuubi had been doing just moments ago. Red slitted eyes watched him with carefully hidden scrutiny as the teenager started rambling out his thoughts with each step.
"If I could get a better look at his seal I might be able to tweak it. I doubt I'll be able to reconstruct the entire thing, especially without Ero-sennin. But there might be a sequence that I could patch over, something that would allow a greater level of independence between Gaara and the crazy raccoon—"
"He is the Ichibi," the Fox snorted as he settled upon his haunches, entertained more than he would admit by the frankly appropriate name for his younger brother.
"The One Tail, huh," Naruto paused and tapped his chin, scrunching up his face in thought. "Actually, that might just work in our favor…" Slamming his fist into his open palm with determination he smirked up at the demonic being before him with a foxy grin that nearly made the Kyuubi proud.
"Leave it to me, Furball! I promise I will do everything in my power to balance the scales that have burdened our Brothers from the Sand with such injustice. Can I count on you to have my back?" The Kyuubi snarled at the disrespectful form of address, but he hesitated before swiping his tails across the bars to throw the mouthy boy back into the outside world with a gust of wind. He had seen this human accomplish more than anyone had deemed him capable of over and over again. He had born witness to the magnitude of his understanding and the persuasiveness of his words. Felt the weight of his convictions, and seen how unshakably solid they stood despite being challenged by one fool after another. He knew first hand the validity of Naruto's promises.
"Do not disappoint me, Mortal."
Naruto jolted back to full awareness and was immediately assaulted by the memories of several clones that had been massacred by the rampaging jinchuriki, causing him to swallow hard and pray to Kami that he would never have to relive those moments ever again, even in his nightmares. The remaining clones had led the morphing Gaara into a clearing that would be ideal for battle, now if only he had—
His head snapped up at the arrival of his teammate's chakra signatures on the edges of his senses. Now we're talking!
Hinata and Sasuke landed next to Naruto just as he slammed his hand into the ground and yelled, "kuchiyose no jutsu!"
An orange toad the size of Naruto's head popped into existence at the group's feet, startling the two newcomers. "Naruto-kun!" Hinata gasped, "Since when did you have a summoning contract?"
Two bulgy eyes fixed on Hinata and widened in open admiration. "Yo Namikaze! You didn't tell me you had such a babe as a teammate!"
"Definitely a Naruto Summon," Sasuke sighed as Hinata turned two shades of pink. Wait, did he say 'Namikaze'? Where have I heard that before?
"We don't have time for that 'Kichi! There's a half-man-half-bijuu throwing a full blown temper tantrum over there because he wants to eat my guts for lunch! Where is Gamabunta?"
"Pops was summoned to the North guard tower by Jiraiya-sama to fight the Snake Summons."
"What about Gamaken?"
"West Tower."
"Gamahiro?"
Gamakichi frowned, "East Tower, more snakes."
Naruto growled in frustration, "I can't believe I'm saying this but, Gamariki?"
The orange toad crossed his arms, "South Tower, I'm starting to get offended."
Raking his fingers through his hair Naruto wracked his brain. "What about Ma and Pa?"
"Helping Jiraiya-sama with his Sage Mode. Seriously, did all that training we did together mean nothing to you?!"
Naruto was too busy swearing creatively, so it was Hinata who knelt down to sooth the hurt feelings of the amphibian. "Gomen-nasai, Gamakichi-kun, he is just stressed over the invasion. My name is Hyuga Hinata. I'm sure Naruto-kun meant no offense, but you see, we are up against—"
Her words were cut off by the screeching cackle of the demented One Tailed Bijuu behind them and the small toad's eyes bugged out even more than they naturally did at the demonic sound. "Oh shit," he croaked.
"For once, I have to agree," Sasuke deadpanned, activating his Sharingan, and rapidly blinking before cutting off his bloodline again. "Judging by that chakra he's fully transformed now and there's only two clones left distracting him."
Naruto flinched hard and grunted as he grabbed his chest, "Ugh, make that one."
"I know you're out there Mortal! I can feel the presence of the Kyuubi seeping from your pores. Release my brother so that we may reap our revenge upon the fools who stole our freedom!"
"That's it!" Naruto exclaimed and immediately closed his eyes in concentration.
"Dobe! That wasn't a suggestion! You're not seriously considering setting that thing free?" Sasuke was ready to tackle his teammate.
"Wait!" Hinata gripped Sasuke's shoulder, her own bloodline flaring as she scanned the clearing. "Gaara is unconscious, he must have given over control to the Ichibi. Which means if we could just wake him up—"
"We can get his mind to overrule the bijuu again," Sasuke finished, easily following her train of thought. "So then all we need to do is get close enough, with a jutsu massive enough, to hold down a tailed beast long enough, to wake the jinchuriki just enough to control the monster. but not enough to put up a fight against us." He glanced over at Naruto's constipated look of concentration and frowned. "Kami save us..."
"I've got a plan!" the unpredictable ninja opened his blue eyes to reveal slitted pupils and a vulpine grin. "It's time for Team Seven to kick some ass!"
