Chapter 53
Naruto was breathing hard, but he had a big smirk on his face. He looked at the tree and saw that he done it. The damage looked exactly like Pervy Sage's. He took a few moments to gain back his strength. He couldn't wait to show Pervy Sage his success. He wondered if he was back at the hotel. After a while, Naruto stood and made his way back.
As he was halfway there, he caught sight of Jiraiya. He was slumped over, and it sound like he was snoring. He gave an annoyed grunt and wondered why Tsunade didn't bring him back if he felt asleep. He walked up to his slumped body and with a sigh, gave him a swift kick.
"Wake up Pervy Sage!" Naruto shouted. The man didn't move. More annoyed, he kicked him again. There was a grunt but Jiraiya still didn't move. Now Naruto was concerned. He checked his pulse, and he was still alive. He sucked his teeth and wished that Sakura were here. That's when he remembered who he was with last night.
'What did she do to him?' Naruto thought. He needed to find Tsunade and get to the bottom of this. Lucky for him, he knew where she was staying. He quickly made his way to Tsunade's hotel and climbed the side of the building to reach her room. He looked inside and was surprised to see a body. He entered the room and checked over the person who was laying there. He turned them over and saw that it was Tsunade's assistant, Shizune.
"Hey, are you alright?" Naruto asked while shaking her. Shizune groaned before opening her eyes.
"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune whispered. That when she shot up, almost hitting Naruto, and was looking around frantically. "Lady Tsunade!"
"Woah calm down. She's not here. I was looking for her. She was the last one with the Pervy Sage." Naruto explained. That's when Shizune grabbed him.
"Lord Jiraiya! You need to take me to him!" Shizune said while shaking him. "We need his help to stop Lady Tsunade!"
"What… did… she… do?" a weak voice demanded. The two looked at the window to see Jiraiya. He did not look happy or well. He carefully entered the room and made his way to one of the seats. "Do you have anything to counteract whatever Tsunade gave me?"
"I-I might have something." Shizune said. She quickly went to her bag to get some materials.
"As you work on that, you can explain what she and Orochimaru spoke about." Jiraiya stated. Shizune flinched while Naruto looked surprised.
"Snake face is here?" Naruto asked. That's when he looked at the two adults who were ignoring him. Shizune sighed before handing him something to drink.
"Orochimaru wants his arms healed. He promised to revive Uncle Dan and her brother if she did." Shizune explained.
"There's a jutsu that can do that?" Naruto asked with shock.
"Reanimation, an immensely powerful but terrible jutsu. It was the same jutsu he used against Sarutobi." Jiraiya explained. He drank what was in the glass slowly. He finished it and put it down. "We need to stop her. Orochimaru will not hold up his end of the bargain. Will what you gave me help? I can still feel that my chakra is off."
"It might. I don't know what she gave you. It was the best I could do." Shizune explained.
"It will have to do. Come on you two. We have to save Tsunade." He spoke. The two nodded at him as he was getting his bearings. When he felt that he could move without throwing up, the trio began their search.
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Tsunade was breathing hard. She cursed herself for slipping on her training. If she kept it up, she wouldn't be in this situation right now. She looked at her downed opponent who was still trying to figure out what she did to him. It would give her time to fix what he did to her. Her glowing green hand was over her chest and she could feel her breath coming back.
"This level of jutsu," She turned just as he quickly got to his feet. This stuns her and makes her really see just how good he was. He rushed her; his kunai poised to strike. That's when a smoke bomb came between them and exploded, backing him up. When it cleared, Jiraiya, Shizune and Naruto stood in front of her. Shizune turned to her and checked her over.
"Are you okay Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked. Tsunade didn't get a chance to reply as Orochimaru spoke.
"It's been a while Jiraiya." He spoke.
"Has it? We could have caught up when you came to the Leaf, but you had to leave quickly." Jiraiya said.
"Well, at least I was able to complete one of my objectives. Sensei is no longer with us thanks to me." Orochimaru stated. Jiraiya held in his anger at that but Naruto barely did. This made Orochimaru smirk. "Does that anger you Naruto?"
"Not as much as how we messed up your plans." Naruto spat before turning toward Kabuto. "So Shikamaru was right about you?"
"That he was. I'm a bit annoyed that he did discover who I was. For years I fooled the village about my loyalty only to be discovered by a genin, a lazy Nara at that." Kabuto said.
"Lazy he might be, but he still discovered who you were. Maybe you're not as skilled as you think." Naruto mocked.
"Heh, do not think your victory against Sasuke makes you strong Naruto. Flukes happen in our world." Kabuto replied.
"So, from the massive destruction we found in that alley way. Tsunade refused your deal. You should have accepted the rejection and left." Jiraiya said, taking over the conversation.
"Perhaps. However, I am very persistent. Tsunade will help me regain my jutsu, willingly or unwillingly." Orochimaru said.
"You'll have to get pass me first." Jiraiya said. This made Orochimaru smirk at him. That's when they heard Tsunade shout. She shoved Jiraiya out of the way and charged forward. Kabuto met the charge and was immediately pushed back. Tsunade was landing her punches as Kabuto was still feeling the effects of her jutsu. She punched him into a boulder and was prepared to finish him when Kabuto cut his wrist, spraying blood onto her.
Tsunade froze in place, looking at the blood on her. She began to shake and whimper. Kabuto looked at her with disgust. He reared his fist back to hit her.
"Item Transfer Jutsu!" Naruto voice cut through. Tsunade vanished and was replaced with a bomb. Kabuto almost didn't escape the explosion. He reappeared next to Orochimaru. He looked across to see Tsunade being cared for.
"He almost caught you Kabuto." Orochimaru said assumed.
"That he did. It annoys me, his sealing ability." Kabuto said. He then popped a red pill, which stopped the bleeding. "So, what is our next move, Lord Orochimaru?" The sannin held his arm out to him, making him smirk. He undid the bandage to reveal a tattoo. Kabuto smeared some blood on it before putting his palm on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Kabuto called out, summoning two brown snakes. They hissed at the group and were preparing to strike. Jiraiya bit his thumb and smeared some blood on his palm. He did the seals and slammed his palm on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Jiraiya shouted. When the smoke cleared, an awfully familiar toad appeared.
"Yo!" Jiraiya cursed when he saw Gamakichi. This amused Orochimaru who had an idea why Jiraiya was having problems.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto shouted. The smoke cleared to reveal a large, aquamarine toad with two swords. This removed the amusement from Orochimaru. He narrowed his eyes at the blond who was joined by Jiraiya.
"Kabuto," Orochimaru called with a serious tone. "deal with the boy. He does not leave here alive." Kabuto smirked before vanishing. Orochimaru turned his attention to Jiraiya.
XXX
Naruto appeared before the two ladies just as Kabuto arrived across from them. Naruto readied himself for battle, amusing Kabuto.
"Do you plan on fighting me Naruto? Our levels are far and in between. If I had to compare, I'm at the same level as Kakashi." Kabuto said.
"Sorry to burst that bubble of yours but Kakashi is the worst person to compare yourself to." Naruto said.
"Heh, just because he focused on Sasuke does not make him weak. Perhaps, if you just waited your turn, he would have turned you into a stronger ninja. However, you were impatient like always." Kabuto mocked.
"If that's what you think, then you're just as delusional as he is. But hey, if you want to underestimate me like he did and like how you did with Shikamaru, be my guess. It will make your defeat all that much humiliating." Naruto countered with a smirk. Kabuto's smirk fell a little at that.
"Big talk Naruto. Can you back it up?" Kabuto said, flicking out a kunai. Naruto gave Shizune a brief look.
"Is she going to be okay?" Naruto asked.
"I don't know. We just need to keep her safe." Shizune said and stood up. Naruto nodded and summoned four clones. He motioned the clones to surround Tsunade as he summoned four more clones. The five charged forward as Shizune followed behind him. Naruto first attack was ducked while his clone's attack was parried. Kabuto rushed forward to engage the other three. He was having a time dispelling them as they fought with unity. He finally managed to defeat the clones before Naruto, Shizune and the final clone could outflank him. However, two of the clones turned into ash while the third burst into fire. This created an explosion that sent Kabuto flying back.
'I forgot that he could create several different types of clones! Damnit!' Kabuto cursed mentally. He quickly recovered as Shizune took a swipe with her Chakra Scalpel. He was about to counter but Naruto and his clone kicked him behind his legs, dropping him to his knees. They both grabbed his arms and twisted them, holding him in place. Shizune rushed forward in order to finish the fight. Kabuto powered himself to his feet and dropkicked Shizune in her chest. He used the two boys to land on his feet before kicking one of them. He reversed the other one's hold and stabbed him with his kunai. Naruto gasped before exploding into leaves.
Kabuto swiped at the leaves, trying to see. It would only be seconds and the feeling of being cut that saved him from being beheaded. Using a quick Substitution, he escaped the leaf cloud. Kabuto appeared away. Kabuto reappeared away from the two. Drips of blood fell onto the grass before it healed. All amusement was gone from his face. He couldn't believe that this brat almost killed him. He looked to see the destruction that Naruto's just did. The boulder didn't even stop the deadly disc as it split it in two. He looked at the blond and narrowed his eyes.
"I hope you enjoyed those hits Naruto. They will be the last ones you will land on me." Kabuto said.
"You sure about that?" Naruto asked and crossed his fingers. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Ten clones appeared. That's when the clones did seals.
"Leaf Clone Jutsu!"
"Firebomb Jutsu!"
"Ash Smoke Jutsu!" Kabuto looked at the army before him. Each clone was armed and ready for battle. Kabuto narrowed his eyes and activated his Chakra Scalpels. He ran at them and they charged at him. The two sides collided in a furious clashing of attacks. Kabuto was slicing and slashing through the army. Naruto and his clones were getting in their shots, combining the effects of their dispelling to get shots on Kabuto. Still, Kabuto was a jonin for a reason. Despite his best efforts, Naruto was losing clones fast.
"Burning Snake Jutsu!" Naruto shouted and slammed his palm on the ground, unleashing a large fire snake. The jutsu chased Kabuto who ran away from it. He did hands seal before disappearing into the earth. The attack hit and blasted some of the earth away. Naruto and his clones were on their toes when Kabuto popped out of the ground in front of Naruto. He chopped Naruto in the neck, forcing him to dispel. Kabuto looked at the other clones, his smirk returning.
"Hiding among your clones? A good tactic but it will not last. This is the difference between us Naruto." Kabuto said.
"You sure like to hear yourself talk. You take out a few of my clones and you think that you're winning. That's going to be your downfall." Naruto spoke and his clones got ready to continue. Kabuto did as well as Naruto launched himself, continuing the battle.
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Authors' Notes: Sorry for the late update. It's been a busy time at work. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter.
