(Meanwhile)
"That's all I have to report. So, Shika, where do we go from here?" Temari asked as she sat on a branch and rested her back against the trunk. She had just finished recounting the events in Trost.
"Do we even have the right to decide what to do? I mean, shouldn't we ask the higher ups at least?" The pink eyed Kurotsuchi asked as she caught her breath at the bottom of another tree where she could still see the others. Maybe it was because she was from Iwa and a rock ninja, but she never did feel as comfortable as the others did high up in trees. Being close to ground made her feel safe.
"We normally would," Shikamaru drawled tiredly as he stretched himself on another branch and stared up at the sky with his head resting on his arms. "But I am unsure of the window we have been given. Even if we do send a message it would at the very least take one of us an entire week running without rest to get to Suna, which is the closest village. Then they would take who knows how long to reach an agreement with the other villages and another week to get back to us. He gave us two days, troublesome blonde."
"So it falls to a case by case basis scenario where we exercise our own judgement." Samui summarized with an arm on her hip, the only one of them who remained standing. It made some sense since her village had the most intense military regimen and discipline among the great five.
"Indeed, though it would be too much of a drag if I took sole responsibility for this decision." Shikamaru sighed as he chewed on a toothpick, still gazing at the clouds. "What do you three think?" Shikamaru asked.
"I serve the interests and safety of Kumo first and foremost. If Temari is certain about Uzumaki being our objective, then it is really cool that we found him far earlier than expected. Not just that but he's even willing to talk. His only request is the Uchiha, who isn't cool. If we can give Uzumaki what he wants, then I vote for this meeting to push through. We don't even have to catch the Uchiha ourselves which is cool, we just have abandon our support of him." Samui summarized again as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, her part in the conversation said.
"I'm of a similar opinion. Weighing the pros and cons, we have nothing to gain by supporting the Uchiha. The only reason I can see for denying Uzumaki's offer is Konoha's possible desire to have a loyal Uchiha as the last of the clan. But is the Uchiha's loyalty to the village and mission assured?" Temari pointed out. "I think we all believe he would go rogue if he thought it offered him greater chance of killing his brother. Since missing ninja are usually hunted down anyways, there's nothing different if we just leave him be and let Uzumaki go through the trouble himself. Why risk ourselves incurring Uzumaki's wrath or fighting the Uchiha when we can just let them deal with one another."
"Except that you said we kinda need Uzumaki. So why don't we just ensure he wins and then be done with that psycho Uchiha." Kurotsuchi interrupted.
"Hmph, you sure you aren't being biased?" Temari asked with a pointed look.
"Don't question me about my loyalty to my village," Kurotsuchi snapped back with a scowl. "And this isn't about Eren."
"I didn't say it was. Why are you so snappy about it?" Temari smirked, having managed to get under the other girl's skin.
"I think it is a legitimate concern," Samui interrupted. "Haku has all but defected due to her emotions regarding Arlert. It's not cool to behave so unprofessionally and get attached." She added as she tried to halt the brewing discontent between the two girls.
"Yeah? Not everyone is as detached from everything as you are! And this Suna bitch over here is busy playing hot desert mama with a Konoha ninja and no one's complaining! Inter village relationships are practically taboo as well! If anything, that's actually even worse than what you're accusing me of. And despite my feelings I will still operate for Iwa. So shut it, you two want to get rid of that Uchiha as much as I do and that's without your personal feelings involved." Kurotsuchi snapped back irritably. This whole conversation was a sore point among the group and it wasn't the first time they were having it. But unlike before, one of the girls under scrutiny had actually gone and proved them right. Kurotsuchi was proud of Haku, but definitely annoyed that she had been put into this situation.
"Unlike you however my relationship with Shikamaru isn't detrimental to achieving our objective and completing the mission. He and I are on the same side of whatever arrangement this is, and the same cannot be said for you." Temari answered with a shrug.
"Riiiiight," Kurotsuchi drawled sarcastically. "I thought we were talking about the Uchiha here?"
"Cool it you two," Samui said with an eye roll. "Relationship woes aside, the Uchiha deliberately attacked Eren knowing there was a chance to antagonize a possibly hostile factor in our investigation then he went through Haku when she tried to stop him, ignoring if she was acting in our interests or theirs, and now he's missing."
"His actions in Trost speak clearly enough even if we leave Eren out of this." Kurotsuchi said with a glare at Temari. "And you found us, so where the hell is he? If he even plans on showing his face."
"Fine." Temari scoffed. "We at least all agree that he isn't worth keeping around. But in the end he is still a Konoha ninja and one of their last bloodline holders of a prominent clan. So Shikamaru, what do you think? You're in charge of this mission and can override anything we say. We're just women to you anyways aren't we?"
"Troublesome blonde," Shikamaru grumbled. Yeah he had insulted them before during the exams, but he had thought that women weren't much of a threat to men. They were either a seductress as the stigma with female ninja, or they were like his mom, who ran the household but had a fearsome temper. It was partially why he had actually put in effort at the selection exams when he noticed that all the other villages' best candidates were women. He didn't trust a woman to lead and he trusted Sasuke Uchiha even less.
He could admit now that he had been wrong in some of his assumptions which Temari had gladly decided to try and beat out of him, but she really had a long memory. He hadn't said a derogatory word against women for a few years now.
"I've been expecting this from Haku for a while now, so I can say I accommodated it into my plans." He continued. "Her connection to Arlert was a very good avenue for communication and leverage that unfortunately may or may not have gone to waste, but it's still annoying to have her fully abandon us. The Uchiha affected this by attacking Eren, and I didn't account for it fully. Troublesome titans. Choosing today of all days is their fault." Shikamaru grumbled. "But at least we took care of as many as we could on this side to lessen the burden in Trost. Either way I hate to say this but I think we need to at least meet with Sasuke."
"I know everyone calls you a genius, but you'd better explain why we would put ourselves in danger." Kurotsuchi demanded. "What's going to stop him from outright attacking us?"
"What a drag you troublesome women," Shikamaru sighed as he stared up at the sky, half wishing they all thought alike and didn't need to go through the entire effort of explaining things. "As a fellow Konoha ninja and a member of this squad I at least have to try and reason with him. That's the troublesome responsibility of a leader. If he is out of control, then I am also responsible for subduing him and killing him if I deem him a lost cause. I have to talk with him before we come to the decision at least. It's not that I do not trust you Temari, but in the report back home it will not look good if I blindly trusted your word over someone from my own village."
"And if it doesn't work out well?" Temari asked, acknowledging the reason.
"Then we kill him. He is too dangerous to try and contain while we try to operate. Furthermore just think about it, if we kill him then we bring more to the dealing table and we get ourselves better odds to win Uzumaki's favour. If we left him for Uzumaki to take care of, he may think we aren't really committed and he may even suspect us of helping the Uchiha later on. But if we present a dead body, it will show how dedicated we are." Shikamaru explained, half wishing for a cigarette and half focused on the meeting.
"That sounds cool and all, but how exactly do you plan on subduing him? All of us have taken turns coming here outside the walls to practice and he has grown the most. We may have been able to stop him four years ago, but I doubt we can now." Samui pointed out as she opened her cold blue gaze once again. She wasn't eager to get into a fight with him.
"And he dealt with Haku and only his cockiness saved her life. He's going to be much more cautious, especially since we outnumber him and he's always known Shikamaru is the biggest threat to him. He may not even know we are aware of his actions on Haku and will be even more on guard." Kurotsuchi pondered out loud.
"I still have a few tricks, and they all rely on catching him off guard." Shikamaru groaned. "And you're right, we can't beat him in a straight fight anymore. Especially if he is anything like the monster his brother is." Shikamaru said with a lazy yawn. "Lord Tobirama was right, Uchiha are so damn troublesome."
"So we wait?" Temari asked for clarification.
"Yeah. If he plans on meeting with us he'll meet us today to regroup as I ordered earlier. Then we'll see how it goes." The shadow user said, quickly losing interest in the conversation as he caught sight of a particularly slow drifting cloud that reminded him of his teacher.
"Shikamaru?" Temari interrupted.
"What?" He muttered in annoyance. Why couldn't she just copy the others and spend some downtime relaxing?
"I told you it was a bad idea to leave my war fan at camp."
"Troublesome woman. It's not like we were even expecting any fighting to be done today. Even without it you aren't weak, so suck it up and leave me in peace."
Naruto
One of Naruto's clones that had been trailing Temari settled in around the tree tops, watching and listening in on the conversation the group had been having. He and the other clones had localized chakra suppressant seals on them, designed to hide their presence entirely unless they were seen. They could still use the basic transformation and substitutions, but their chakra wouldn't linger and couldn't be sensed by anyone more than a foot away from their bodies. Combined with the fact that they were physical copies of Naruto, staying out of sight was one thing he had gotten very good at.
It was interesting to note some of what they had been talking about.
It gave him some added insight to their background, something he could ask Haku to elaborate on later whenever she finally awoke. But from what he had gathered so far, this team of ninja was composed of people from different villages which he assumed were usually enemies. So why would they put aside their differences for this mission, which they had decided meant him? Did they somehow know that he housed the Kyubi? Well he hadn't exactly been hiding his presence in Trost, but what did they want him for? If they wanted his power, wouldn't it have made more sense if only one village was looking for him? Why all of them?
They seemed pretty damn certain he was who they wanted though. And they were looking for something with immense power. Knowing what he did about who and what he actually was however, he was inclined to believe they were right. Even if he wasn't at full power compared to his past self, he had the potential to match his predecessors' power and even surpass it given enough time. What had that Shinigami been planning to actually interfere during his creation as a jail? There were too many parties with a vested interest in him and it was starting to get annoying.
But while he could understand that they needed him for something, he had other factors to consider. If he went with them and submitted to whoever was in charge, would that guarantee that his family would be safe? And if supposedly they could guarantee his family's safety, he wouldn't accept it if that involved getting his family locked away inside their villages to be free from danger and ensure his cooperation. If he did that to his family then what different would their lives be from living within these walls in fear of titans?
Armin wanted to see and explore the world they had born in, and naturally the others wanted to follow him. He had promised them that and even if locking them away was ideal, he would never do that to them. They were all strong and capable in their own way now. And despite the horrors they had lived through so far, this world was indeed beautiful. Especially compared to some of the memories he was obtaining of the hell that was Gehenna. If all went well and good and these frightening prophecies didn't come to a head for another few hundred years then he wouldn't have to deal with this problem within his family's lifetime.
He could give them the life they wanted and then work on this issue after they had passed away. That was a frightening and somewhat morbid thought but now was not the time to dwell on it.
His eyes narrowed at Shikamaru's group. Despite how willing they seemed to be to get into his good graces, he found it difficult to trust people who were so willing to throw a member of their group away despite his flaws. Then again he wasn't willing to work beside Sasuke either. Sasuke had almost succeeding in killing Eren and Armin, and apparently wasn't someone they could easily control. Not only that, but Naruto clearly remembered who had sabotaged his fight with the armoured titan. That duck haired asshole.
Naruto was honestly eager to just look for another option that would let him and his family avoid all of this mess. But for that decision to be made properly he had to weigh his options, and to do that he needed to know what was available to him. They couldn't stay in these walls. That was for certain. The Underground Sanctuary was near self sufficient and he doubted it would be found at all, but while that was the safest option he knew his siblings would hate being cramped in there far more. He would have just tightened the prison walls around them.
With that in mind they had to vacate the premises as soon as they could. From his memories Orochimaru was not something he was going to be ready to face anytime soon and if he was right then that snake would be gunning for him specifically. He hadn't exactly been discreet in Trost. So right now he had to establish where they would go. They could wander around blindly after all, but if they went with Shikamaru they at least had a guide of sorts.
Or they could just head to Annie's home. He was partially eager to let Annie's dad know exactly what he thought of that man, and Grisha too. Those two had serious shortcomings when it came to their biological kids. Naruto's fists clenched as he struggled to remain under control. Despite what he had said to the nine tailed fox, he had locked away its consciousness but it left the fox's chakra out of control. It was pathetically easy to draw upon and it responded eagerly to any negative feelings he had, rage paramount to it.
He was thankful Eren and Annie had entered his life, and he could shower them in the attention and affection they needed, but he was seriously going to need some control when he met the two men. Grisha had knowingly abandoned his child and in his negligence in raising the boy, Eren had developed a dangerous personality that bordered on the insane. Naruto had managed to curb it so far, but he new there was a darkness in Eren's heart that would never truly go away. And that was Grisha's fault. He had also barely managed to salvage Annie from the uncaring husk that she had become, formed through emotional neglect and arguably abuse at her harsh training.
Naruto shook his head and directed his thoughts elsewhere before he lost it. These localized suppressor seals Armin had developed could only hide so much chakra before they overloaded, and he could already feel his eyes burning as they turned a different shade. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand only to blink in surprise at his nails, that had lengthened to claws.
In his curiosity, he found himself calming down while he watched in fascination as his claws receded back into his fingernails. Well, that was interesting.
With his thoughts now clearer, he thought back to what these hidden villages could actually offer him. On that note, why were they named weird names like sand, leaf, rock, and even cloud? Like seriously what led them to name villages like that. From the militaristic view that Naruto saw them as, their names were rather ridiculous and not at all threatening or indicative of power. Even Shiganshina as a name sounded way more awesome. And what exactly was Haku's village supposed to be anyways? Water? Air? He had no clue really.
But this also made him very curious to see how their meeting with Sasuke would go, as that would help him decide if they were worth his time. And if he got to see Sasuke fight then all the better, the more prepared he would be to inevitably face him.
At least Haku was most definitely on their side now with how they were behaving. They had no reason to fabricate a story since they were not aware he was even here.
It was a shame that Kurotsuchi didn't view Eren more important than her village, though she did seem to care about him somewhat. Contrary to popular belief, nobody was really sure if the pink eyed girl and Eren were actually together. For all he knew they could just be best friends. But Naruto could at least respect that part about the girl. She had a duty and she knew how to prioritize. But that didn't mean he looked down on Haku for her decision either. There may have been different circumstances at work but in the end both girls had something they were dedicated to and willing to fight for it despite how much it would hurt. It was like two sides of the same coin. Either alienate your village and be with someone you cherish, or alienate that person for your village.
Neither was wrong and honestly Naruto's only thought on the issue was to pick what path you would least regret if you looked back.
There was a blur of movement below him and and Naruto glanced downwards, recognizing Sasuke as he appeared on a branch opposite Shikamaru. The pine apple haired boy sighed and sat up lazily with his legs crossed to meet the Uchiha's gaze.
"Uchiha," Shikamaru's voice stated calmly.
"Squad Leader," Sasuke acknowledged with a slight bow.
"How was your mission?" Shikamaru asked immediately, skipping directly to the point.
Naruto noticed Sasuke stiffen slightly at the question when the raven haired boy caught sight of Temari next to Shikamaru. He probably quickly realized that he did not know where the other two kunoichi were. Naruto could see the gears turning in his head, wondering how much Temari had known and therefore how much Shikamaru now knew.
"It went well. Trost was defended and they did not enter the inner gate," he replied smoothly. It was vague enough but still counted as an answer.
"What part did you play in the defense?" Shikamaru continued the line of questioning with his signature lazy drawl.
"I have not seen you the entire battle, and Haku is missing. You were assigned to the same squad if I remember correctly." Temari stated with crossed arms when Sasuke opened his mouth to answer.
Sasuke pursed his lips into a slight scowl at being interrupted. "We were temporarily overwhelmed and we lost sight of each other during the battle."
"You, overwhelmed by titans?" Temari scoffed in disbelief. Nobody missed the sarcastic undertone lining her words however. "Fine then, let's pretend you were overwhelmed by mere mindless titans, then where were you when everyone ran out of gas and gathered near headquarters?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest at how Shikamaru seemed content to let Temari take charge of the questioning. It was working however, since she was cornering Sasuke and forcing him to expose himself verbally. She had wrestled control of the conversation away from Sasuke before he had even started.
"I was low on gas and separated from my squad, I used common sense and scaled the wall before my canisters emptied." Sasuke sneered as if Temari was stupid.
"Then where were you when Eren went rogue and started attacking attacking all of us with that malicious chakra?"
"Hn, that wasn't Eren." Sasuke retorted immediately.
"And how would you know that if you weren't there?" Temari pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
"I went back over the walls to check for the cause," Sasuke said.
"And yet you didn't help Haku and I, despite being able to discern Naruto clearly when he was near unrecognizable in that state. You saw the situation we were in and you did nothing. You abandoned us in a situation where our abilities where already compromised and therefore had no reason not to help us, if anything you were in the best position to provide assistance."
Hmm, checkmate. Naruto's clone thought appreciatively. Either Sasuke could carry on trying to formulate a believable lie and dig himself a deeper grave or he could just admit the truth from the start. Naruto idly wondered if Temari would be even more annoyed when she discovered that Sasuke had also been the reason the kyubi had gotten free.
"Hn, fine. How much has Haku told you?" Sasuke finally relented.
"Why should we tell you first? If anything we want to hear what you have to say." Temari snorted with a half condescending smirk on her lips.
"I attacked Eren. She stopped me. I left. I came across Uzumaki fighting the armoured titan, I interfered and am partially the reason he went berserk. Then I left to find Shikamaru, viewing it as detrimental if none of us were to report back." Sasuke summarized very briefly. Naruto was surprised he actually told them the part with the armoured titan.
Shikamaru and Temari shared a nod and Temari nodded as it was at least passable by her events.
"Then why did you attack Eren and Haku." Shikamaru pushed, his lazy drawl a stark contrast to Temari's biting tone.
"Because it was an opportunity. Hn, and it would have gone smoothly if Haku hadn't noticed the genjutsu I placed on her. If he died in battle it wouldn't affect anything anyways." Sasuke reasoned.
There was a flare of chakra nearby and Naruto assumed it from Kurotsuchi. Chakra sometimes had a mind of its own and was hard to control when your emotions took over. He assumed that she had heard what the Uchiha said, and despite his doubts about her at least he had some proof she cared for Eren.
"And you don't see anything wrong with that?" Temari asked disbelievingly.
"Hn, no. Eren isn't vital to the mission. If anything you should thank me. I have exposed Haku, and I caused Uzumaki to show his hand. My actions have led me to our true objective for this mission." Sasuke replied nonchalantly.
"Uzumaki?" Shikamaru asked.
"No. But his careless display of power caught the interest of the true ruler inside these walls, and I have met with him. Uzumaki has fearsome power, but it is nothing compared to this man." Sasuke said with a suddenly thoughtful look. "I don't think I can even call him that."
"You felt how raw and dense that chakra was as much as I did! How can you be sure that the prophecy didn't mean Uzumaki?" Temari protested.
"Remember the stories we used to hear about the bijuu?" Sasuke interrupted with annoyance at having to explain himself.
"The Bijuu? The tailed demon beasts? Yeah we've all heard of them. They're walking, localized apocalypses and are unfathomably powerful constructs of chakra." Temari answered as if reading from a textbook. "But while I can see how that fits the prophecy in a way, no one has seen one in a hundred years at least. The last time anyone saw one of them was when the nine tails stumbled upon a battle between the Senju and Uchiha clans, then Hashirama and Madara drove it off. Are you saying you found a freaking bijuu in there?"
"Try eight." Sasuke answered with a smug look.
"Eight of the nine bijuu!" Temari gaped.
Naruto had to admit that he would probably react the same way. Though he had to wonder, how would this affect his negotiations with Shikamaru's group if he wasn't the power they were seeking? Then again he was technically a tailed beast himself, though fledgling was a more apt term. Right now he didn't even hold a candle to the weakest of the nine which was the one tailed raccoon. He momentarily wondered whether he should refer to the other bijuu as his siblings before he dismissed the thought. They were the siblings of previous nine tails, not his.
"We don't even have the capability to capture one, much less get it to help us! There hasn't been anyone on the level of Hashirama or Madara ever since those two legends disappeared." Temari continued her rant.
"Hn. There are eight of them technically, but they are all part of a single entity now." Sasuke added. "You can imagine what type of power that is, and why Uzumaki's power pales in comparison. Now picture all of that power gathered into an immortal legend, namely Orochimaru the eight headed snake."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled as his eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. "And you are certain he is the power the prophecy refers to? Why would he even cooperate with us?"
"He wants a sharingan he can use." Sasuke answered honestly, short and quick to the point.
"And you're willing to give up your eyes?" Shikamaru clarified.
"Hn. No," Sasuke snorted. "I'll give him my brother's. He wants to breed his own clan for further study into the sharingan, and he is aware that Ackerman is also in possesion of a pair and he has added her to his request."
Temari sucked in a breath while Shikamaru showed no outward reaction.
"What a drag. So you're saying if we provide these for him he'll cooperate?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yes. If you doubt we can beat my brother, or deal with Uzumaki to get Ackerman, then you can simply relay the new details to our respective kage and request for reinforcements. It's for the betterment of the mission." Sasuke offered, laying out the groundwork for his plan.
"I see. It does seem logical." Shikamaru said as he raised a hand to his chin in thought.
"Shika! you can't seriously be considering this!" Temari shot him a horrified look.
"Quiet, troublesome woman." Shikamaru grunted as he closed his annoyance before he opened them and glared at her. He then turned his eyes back to the raven haired boy. "Sasuke, why should we believe you?"
"Hn?"
"Do you have any proof?" Shikamaru asked, having understood the grunt for what it was.
"Proof like what?" Sasuke asked, confused.
"Anything to show that you aren't just trying to manipulate our available resources to focusing solely on your brother. Or anything to show that this isn't just an elaborate plan of yours to revive your clan now that you know Mikasa Ackerman is in possession of her own sharingan." Shikamaru's glare intensified. "Do you think we are stupid? You have no tangible evidence to support your claims. A bijuu? We haven't felt any or seen anything from any of them in the past century at least. Now you're claiming the boogeyman of the shinobi world has somehow absorbed eight of the nine and is willing to help us in exchange for a clan? Say it out loud to yourself and how coherent does it sound to you?"
"You don't trust my word?" Sasuke snapped back.
"I'm no Yamanaka, Sasuke. But I can at least tell when someone is lying. You may completely believe what you are saying, but that doesn't mean it is true. You have shown nothing but poor judgement in the vendetta against your brother and this fabrication is just another in a long slew of events. As the leader of this mission I hereby declare you unfit for further duty on the grounds that I certify you as a deluded and insane madman. You are a fellow Konoha comrade, but the lives of everyone in Konohagakure outweigh you. No single person is worth more than the village, as you seem to think you are. I need to protect the future generation, something which you have no care about since you are endangering them to further your own pointless agenda."
Naruto then noticed that sometime during the conversation, one of Shikamaru's shadow tendrils had sneakily circled around the forest of trees until it had ended up behind Sasuke. Shikamaru had probably been focusing on that shadow throughout the conversation and had spoken with Sasuke just to save time. Naruto decided then and there that he would have to watch out for that shadow. He didn't know how it worked but it seemed that a lot of Shikamaru's plans revolved around trapping his opponent in it. With his brain, it was going to be very hard to avoid.
"Hn, you think a mere shadow possession can hold me?" Sasuke said with a smirk as his chakra began to rise and he took a step forwards.
"No," Shikamaru said easily. The casual admission wiped the smile off Sasuke's face. "Which is why I went through a few troublesome precautions."
Naruto watched in interest as the shadows that bound Sasuke began to move and twist into something he began to understand. It was a large seal, rather simplistic compared to what Naruto was capable of, but it was still impressive to use shadows as a medium. From What Naruto could see it was a rather basic chakra suppression seal, which he assumed would negate the Uchiha's rather large reserves and make it easier for the Nara to restrain him.
Shikamaru then leapt from his branch to Sasuke's, standing right next to him as he drew his sword. These ones provided by the military were designed for cutting into titan flesh, and they were far more effective on humans.
The Uchiha had apparently been waiting for this moment and even with the restricted movement and chakra, managed to set off a flashbang of sorts that completely blinded the clone and everyone else as well. It was good thinking all things considered. Enough light would remove any shadows in the area and allow for a few seconds of respite. For a ninja one second was a frighteningly long time to get away.
But despite that when Naruto's vision cleared, nothing had changed. The only difference was the confused look on Sasuke's face and the confident smile on the shadow user's.
"Troublesome. Don't you think I would have planned for that? My shadow possession is strongest when I am closest to my target. With me this close I can hold someone ten times stronger than me, coupled with this seal, that number multiplies. You're a monster, so I went overboard. I guess I should correct you as well, the more light there is the stronger my shadow becomes. Don't mistake my power for darkness, which is simply absence of light. Your little trick just guaranteed my hold on you." Shikamaru explained in his lazy drawl, as if he hadn't just captured someone with very little effort.
"Hn. Fine. You captured me. But sending me back to Konoha isn't going to stop me. I will kill my brother, and I will get Mikasa. I don't need you. If anything I can give you hell once I get back and tell the council what you've done. Or if they choose to contain me I'll just break out and find you myself. Do you think they can hold me forever? I'll eliminate anything in the way of my brother and you're highest on that list right now!" Sasuke forced out through gritted teeth as he began to sweat from the strain of trying to break free. He really couldn't move and he hated being completely at someone else's mercy, especially since Shikamaru was nowhere near Itachi's level anyways.
Naruto's clone narrowed his eyes in anger. He had heard it earlier of course, but it was definitely sinking in now. Sasuke wanted Mikasa for breeding stock? Hell no. Mikasa was his. Sure, Mikasa was free to be with whoever she wanted, but Naruto knew that he was hers as much as she was his. And if this moron wanted to take her away then he would have to go through Naruto. And on the off chance Naruto wasn't there he was pretty sure Mikasa could kick his ass anyways.
"Oh I know that Uchiha. Which is why I'll deal with that nasty fallout whenever I do get back. But that's the thing, I'm the only one between the two of us heading back to Konoha. I think Hokage-sama can overlook your death when I return with the one mentioned in the prophecy. We have tangible proof it is Uzumaki, and even if your story was true I'm certain none of the villages would work with a being like Orochimaru. But be happy, your death will be insurance that I get to at least discuss with Uzumaki why we need him."
Naruto's clone raised an approving eyebrow. This meeting was going his way.
Then without warning an arrow speared the shadow user through the shoulder, barely missing his heart due to a last second movement. Unfortunately it disrupted his shadow bind and the Uchiha immediately leapt away, his sharingan blazing to life.
Naruto himself tensed, wondering who else there was here to aid the Uchiha. He himself was merely a clone and with the amount of chakra in him he could take a hit and he knew he was seriously difficult to dispel. The issue with getting involved in a fight like this was simply because he wasn't ready and hadn't adjusted yet.
Sure having a sudden massive boost in chakra sounded amazing seemed like an instant hack to become more powerful, but with the massive influx came the harsh truth that his chakra control had been shot to hell. He had no semblance of finesse at all which was what a lot of his techniques required. It was frustrating to know that what he had spent the last few years training diligently in were now out of reach until he could acclimatize to the new level of chakra. Molding chakra was like forcing it through a hose to get the desired effect. But now instead of the pond he used to have to work with and shape, he now had a lake.
With that issue the clone decided to watch how the battle would play out. Maybe Shikamaru's team wouldn't need help after all.
"Shikamaru!" Temari yelled as she jumped towards the shadow user and caught him in mid air.
Right as she landed she turned behind her and threw her arm outwards before she drew them downwards across one another and a sphere of wind encased both her and Shikamaru from all directions just in time to deflect another arrow that whistled in from a different angle. It was quick thinking and ensured defense even if she wasn't sure where the attack would come from.
Naruto blinked when a grey headed man landed in front of the wind dome with a sadistic smile. It wasn't that the attacker had brazenly shown himself that shocked Naruto, it was the second head butting out the newcomer's back. It was supposedly asleep but that didn't matter much. What the heck? How was that even functional?
The grey haired ninja breathed in and Naruto held back a wince, recognizing the hand seals he used for a fire jutsu. Considering that Temari and Shikamaru were taking cover inside a dome of wind, the resulting inferno was likely to cook them alive. Fire had an annoying habit of, well, setting stuff ablaze. That was especially true when it was hurled at wind techniques.
He was about to rip off the suppressor seal on his shoulder to interfere and help the pair when, luckily for him, the grey haired newcomer was forced to dodge a bolt of lightning that would have conveniently taken off his head.
Naruto's hand dropped to his side in interest as Samui appeared from the foliage, expertly wielding a sword crackling with lightning as she tried to bisect the newcomer.
The fiery blaze the dome had become on the other hand burst outwards as Temari sent another blast from herself to dissipate the flames. Unfortunately it left her open to another arrow.
An earth wall erupted, the arrow thudding into it. Naruto suspected this was due to Kurotsuchi even if he couldn't see her.
Shikamaru was injured, Temari was quite clearly a wind user, and Samui showed that she used lightning. From Hiruzen's notes in the scroll he was left he was aware that the vast majority of ninja could only master a single element, sometimes two. Learning any more than that was not just very difficult, it also meant you weren't as efficient with what you knew. There was no reason learning jutsu for an element you weren't affiliated with as you had to dedicate more time, concentration and energy to learning it. Then in battle you'd have a lot more to choose from, but also a tendency to get caught flat footed from having so many options.
Temari looked pissed however and Naruto felt a large buildup of chakra within her. Even if he was a clone he decided he didn't want to be as high up in the trees as he currently was. As a wind user himself he knew just how wide scale and devastating wind jutsu could be. It was a rare affinity, but undoubtedly the most versatile of all the elements in his opinion.
Earth was very difficult to do anything with. Just like the ground you could only nudge it or move it in certain ways. There was a reason most of the earth techniques looked very simplistic like spikes or boulders. It was sturdy as hell, but just as slow and stubborn when you wanted it to do something. This was why most of what Naruto knew with this element was defensive.
Fire was his strongest affinity and it was indeed powerful. The problem with it was it was difficult to get fire to spread out more than a few metres depending on the user. Even the ranged fire attacks, while you risked burns or explosions, lacked the sort of punch that something solid like water or earth would have. It offered more for offense than defense.
Water, while versatile as well, worked best with a nearby water source. It wasn't impossible to form it as one did with fire, but only near a water source were they at their full potential. Like earth, water tended to offer more defensive advantages than it did offensive.
Lightning jutsu was something that rarely lent itself to defense, being almost purely offensive in nature. Really good for piercing things or electrocuting something living, not so much when someone threw a knife at you.
Wind on the other hand, could hit like a hammer or cut like a scalpel. You could defend or attack with it and the only limit was your imagination. It didn't suffer many of the drawbacks the others had which was why Naruto found himself inclined to using it.
Dropping to the ground proved a wise decision a moment later as Temari proceeded to completely decimate their surroundings. A large number of wind scythes tore through trees like paper. One minute they were in a forest, the next they were in a graveyard littered with fallen trees.
"That was smart," a voice commented and Naruto's clone did a double take.
It was definitely the archer, since he had a bow. But whereas the grey haired guy had an extra head, this one had four extra arms. Where were these freaks coming from?
"Got tired of you coward," Temari shrugged unrepentantly. "And now there's nowhere to hide."
"That's true. I guess I have to thank you for making this more exciting. The game gets boring if we adhere to the same rules for too long."
"I agree!" Kurotsuchi yelled as she shot out from among the fallen trees with her hand encased in dirt as she launched a devastating punch at the archer who surprisingly didn't flinch. Instead a giant of a man landed in front of him and then proceeded to simply let the hit crash into his chest.
It had no effect, and Kurotsuchi backed away from the smirking giant in surprise.
Naruto's attention then turned to Samui who got overwhelmed by the multiple hands and feet from her grey haired opponent and ended up captured. The grey haired ninja then pushed his hand through her chest cavity but instead screamed when Samui detonated into lightning.
"I thought I told you to be careful Sakon!" A voice sounded as a second body emerged from the grey haired ninja and intercepted a lightning strike with a gust of wind.
Naruto' ears perked at the sound of a flute and automatically tried to dispel any illusion on himself, momentarily forgetting he had sealed his own chakra.
Luckily it wasn't an illusion the flute heralded, rather it was three large beasts that were at least each ten metres tall and were so grotesque and hideous that they belonged in a nightmare. Even the appearance on the titans wasn't anywhere near as ghastly and nightmare inducing as these three ogres.
Naruto spotted the girl playing the flute and realized that she was controlling the ogres somehow through her instrument. If he wasn't wrong then she was also responsible for the memory wiping that the other clone had experienced before it dispelled and transferred the information among all the remaining clones. She drew his curiousity however because for some reason he felt like he was supposed to recognize her, but he couldn't place the face.
Instead he watched the battle unfold, using the opportunity to learn more about all of these prospective opponents. He would step in later.
The information he had gathered on all the combatants was worthwhile. Well, except for Sasuke since the raven haired boy seemed content to just watch both sides battle it out.
Yet Naruto couldn't help but wonder that maybe it would be best if his original body didn't find himself in a conflict where all of these monsters could work together. He was pretty sure he could handle them, not that he was bragging, but with his chakra control all out of whack and thrown into the abyss he couldn't trust his skills as he normally would.
There was also the little detail, that the clash before him had completely annihilated the forest, and the battleground before him looked far worse than anything Naruto had ever seen.
Shikamaru and his group had been holding off pretty well at first. He could see the chemistry in their teamwork and if their group had been complete Naruto wasn't sure if he could have handled them alone. Shikamaru was a very dangerous planner, and his shadows could pierce, immobilize, and construct seals. If he hadn't been injured early on his shadows and leadership would have greatly helped.
Temari was their long range support, in both attack and defense. Even without the war fan she had been complaining about missing, Naruto had to grudgingly admit that her mastery over the wind element was better than his own. Sadly for her, she was disadvantaged because she was the one left in defense of Shikamaru and therefore could not launch her own offense and her movement was restricted.
Samui was their close to mid range fighter, with a skill in sword fighting that spoke of intense discipline and hours of practice alongside her lightning techniques. Compared to Naruto's, hers was focused and precised. There was no wastage of chakra and she was extremely energy efficient.
In contrast Kurotsuchi was a frightening powerhouse. The pink eyed girl was probably their ninjutsu specialist for the heavy fighting as well. He had witnessed her using fire, water, and earth ninjutsu. Which to be honest, actually kind of rounded up the five elements for the three girls. Added to that Kurotsuchi had somehow found a way to combine elements to form new ones, leading to her usage of lava and boil techniques. Impressive arsenal aside, she was also capable of throwing techniques around carelessly with reckless abandon and she had been doing so for the last ten minutes. If only Shikamaru was in a shape to direct her variety of attacks.
Naruto laughed to himself as he idly considered that if Eren and Kurotsuchi ever had a literal heated disagreement, he was going to stay out of it. Both of them were now literally hotheads who could both use lava. The heavy usage was taking a toll on her however, as she had begun to slow down considerably. Ninja battles were usually very quick things, decided in a few seconds and rarely lasting more than a minute. Drawn out engagements like the one in front of him was one of warriors, not shinobi.
Despite all of this Shikamaru's team had all been pushed on the defensive.
Naruto could only marvel at the team and wonder at the potential they had if Haku and Sasuke were fighting alongside them, and if Temari and Shikamaru weren't so disadvantaged. Their villages had sent a team that was capable of such destructive power.
If only all of them had remained loyal, Naruto mused. They probably could have kidnapped him if they took him by force and surprise.
Their opponents on the other hand, Naruto didn't like.
The giant was a master at earth jutsu, and aside from his monstrous strength it was like watching an over-sized toddler throwing a tantrum in a world made of paper. He simply shrugged off almost everything he was hit with as if nothing fazed him. And yet despite his intimidating size he was deceptively agile.
The six armed archer was dangerous as well, and his subtlety was not lost on Naruto as the archer eagerly tested the defenses of the shinobi, probing meticulously for any weakness. It was almost like he was playing a game. But his assortment of webs, arrows, and armour were nothing to scoff at. The few attacks that he was unable to dodge didn't manage to leave a scratch and his arrows could tear straight through multiple logs and rocks before burying itself deep into the ground. Luckily he loved to run his mouth and explain that everything he could make was from a liquid he could secrete from his body. Naruto would have never figured out what the heck he had been doing otherwise. Naruto supposed he was the group's assassin and trap maker, as well as the long range support .
The twins who had split bodies was another anomaly that confused Naruto. They were both well versed in all five elements and were able to flawlessly execute many combination attacks. But that wasn't his only strength. They were very fast and when the two bodies blended back together they could attack in the most unorthodox manner with extra limbs flying out from nowhere. And he was definitely Naruto's biggest concern.
The illusion user wasn't giving much away. Either she wasn't using any illusions, or the ones she were using were directed solely at her current opponents. She seemed mainly focused on controlling the three ogres that she had summoned with the weird spiritual worms that ate physical energy.
But either way it was obvious that Shikamaru's group had lost this fight and both sides knew it. Sasuke's four new friends were just drawing it out for fun.
Naruto sighed. He needed to talk to Shikamaru to help plan for the future. And to do that he needed to help them out of this predicament despite his handicap. And he was just a clone. He could probably take a few hits, but then he would disappear.
With his currently abysmal level of control there wasn't really much he could do. He probably couldn't even form the most basic clone at the moment.
Then an idea hit him and Naruto blinked.
His solution to his lack of control problem when he was younger had been to instead mold his chakra to produce ten clones instead of a single one. He couldn't control it in tiny amounts, but he could achieve the detail he wanted if he put more chakra into it. Definitely inefficient and not recommended unless you wanted to waste chakra. But he had quite a bit to spare now, even if he was just a shadow clone.
In a way it was similar to pushing water through a river. Skill was used to direct the water in the direction you wanted it to go, and the amount of chakra you pushed in was how much water would go through that set path. If you threw too much chakra or water into that river pathway that you had set up, then the water would spill over the sides, and you would still get your result but it would be really sloppy and a waste of water. And sometimes for techniques that required fine control, the extra water would drown it.
And that sucked when you couldn't control how much water you wanted to push in, which was his current problem. He needed a bucket of water, but called upon a lake.
So what Naruto could do at the moment, was instead of making one river to fill with water and make one clone, he would make multiple rivers and many clones. This way even if he had an accident and pushed way too much chakra into making clones, instead of one stupid bastardization of the clone technique he would get ten clones of acceptable quality.
He ripped off the chakra suppressor and set his eyes on his target. It was time to join the fight.
He took down the spider first. The marksman wasn't someone he could afford to get blindsided by as he assaulted the others. Thankfully the six armed one had dedicated all of his attention to the cornered group. Naruto scoffed at his arrogance before he remembered that Sasuke had also blindsided him against the armoured titan earlier, especially because he had thought that he had it under control. Well, he wouldn't be making that mistake again. And it felt especially good to use it on someone else.
His target didn't even know what hit him.
Naruto was pretty sure that despite that force behind his punch the hit wasn't fatal, but it would leave him unaware of his surroundings for a good few seconds and that was all he needed as his eyes searched for his next target.
He had to get the flute woman. He didn't need to get distracted by illusions mid fight, or hit by one of her three ogres or spirit worms.
His eyes locked with hers and to his surprise they both hesitated as they caught sight of one another. He didn't know who she was, but he had definitely noticed the spark of recognition in her eyes for a moment and due to that he had frozen as well as he wondered whether to push forward or not.
Thankfully she saved him from their dilemma and raised her hands in surrender before she set her flute down next to her and stepped away from it. Naruto wasn't stupid enough to think she was helpless without it but she had made her intention clear. If she wasn't going to interfere then Naruto could place her lower on his current list of immediate priorities. Was he confused, yes. Was he distracted, not so much. He didn't have much time to waste before his element of surprise wore away and he didn't want to give too much of his abilities away in case he had to fight them again at a later date. Killing was necessary sometimes, but he avoided it if he could. Though he could already hear Armin's voice in his head that it would be safer to eliminate them already. He ignored it.
He aimed for the twins next and focused on Samui's body. Swapping places with another person was considerably more difficult than doing it with an inanimate object, but still doable if you had enough skill. Or in this case enough chakra to compensate for his temporary lack of skill. He still had to focus for a second or two though because that girl moved fast.
He inhaled as he felt the familiar tug in his navel as the world swirled around him, preparing himself for the sudden change in surroundings.
One of the twins had been prepared for a girl with a sword. Naruto had a moment to enjoy the look of surprise on his face before his fist connected with it and Naruto was treated to the satisfying crunch of a broken nose. Before the twin regained his senses Naruto leapt into the air and delivered a textbook kick to the chest in much the same direction he had sent the six armed dude. He wanted them where he could see them.
He then turned to the surprised twin and brought his hands into the ram seal as he summoned a horde of clones.
"What type of amateur are you?" The twin teased as his fist went through one of the clones without resistance. He probably assumed that they were all the basic clone illusion. "A thousand of nothing is nothing!"
The remaining twin didn't bother with any of the other clones after that revelation and shot towards Naruto, who ironically was a shadow clone himself. Naruto smirked, unable to hide it as the twin fell right into his trap. While there had been a bunch of the most basic clone, which was merely a distraction at best since it had no practical application, Naruto had mixed in a bunch of other shadow clones as well.
This time Naruto actually laughed when a supposedly harmful clone landed a hit that actually drove the twin into the ground.
Mixing clones the way he had meant you couldn't discount any of them being a threat as you didn't know which one was solid. And yet if you wasted energy and time on the clones that weren't really physically there, you would achieve nothing at all. Therefore you were weary of uselessly spending energy and yet alert for whichever was solid. It had been brutally effective in the Underworld even when Naruto had only been able to make five shadow clones and a few more regular ones. Now he could easily summon a few hundred and he wasn't even feeling the strain. And he was a shadow clone too, who knew what the original was capable of now?
He turned to the giant who he had left for last since while extremely durable, he wasn't all that fast.
"Hmmph, another weakling to-"
Whatever he was about to say was cancelled out as Kurotsuchi's fist, which was covered in dense rock, literally exploded against the distracted giant. He skidded back along the dirt, though he didn't lose his footing. He glared back at the pink eyed girl who stuck her tongue out at him.
Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The giant was arrogant, and Kurotsuchi was just as childish as Eren even in the middle of a life threatening situation.
"That almost hurt weakling," The giant said as he massaged his jaw. "It won't happen again."
"Hn, you're right. It won't. Everyone stand down." Sasuke's voice interrupted as he jumped down in front of his group and faced Naruto.
The whiskered boy frowned a little, wondering why despite their arrogance and bloodlust, the newcomers reluctantly obeyed Sasuke. That was an annoying development, and he didn't like not knowing what was going on.
"Why are you here Naruto?" Sasuke asked conversationally as if there hadn't been a large scale conflict.
Naruto momentarily took notice of the red haired girl who was heading mostly unnoticed to another one of the shadow clones. After his own display and usage of chakra, that particular clone she was heading towards currently had the biggest reserves amongst the small clone army. How did that girl know that? Did she assume that clone was the original? Why wasn't she alerting her team? Either way the clone was heading towards her as well, and Naruto wondered what that was about before he settled to just wait. He would receive the memories later anyways. And even if he didn't all their memories would hit the original.
Instead he focused his gaze on Sasuke and matched the casual attitude that the Uchiha was displaying. Two could play at that game.
"It's no use using your sharingan to find the real me Sasuke," Naruto said with a lopsided grin. "You can tell apart the ordinary clones, but all of us shadow clones look alike to you don't we?"
"Hn, don't be so sure." Sasuke snorted as his eyes slowly ran over each shadow clone.
Naruto scoffed in his head at the false bravado.
"Mikasa's got the same eyes pretty boy, and even she can't tell us apart. Your only hope is if you already had your eye on the original and kept your eye on his movements."
It was a half truth. Mikasa couldn't tell them apart with her eyes, but she usually had a sixth sense regarding the original.
"Hn," Sasuke replied and Naruto felt his eye twitch. "Would it be too much to ask you to stay out of this? What we have going on here does not concern you."
Naruto raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. Was this jerk going to pretend he didn't want Mikasa to revive his clan? He had to give it to the Uchiha, he was rather cunning and Naruto may have fallen for it if he hadn't been listening in on their conversation earlier. Manipulative bastard.
"Hmm? You mean my fellow comrades from the 104th were in danger, and I wasn't supposed to come to their aid against these... things?" Naruto asked sarcastically as he gestured towards Shikamaru's group. "Oh wait, I guess you have a different opinion regarding comrades, since your pets are trying to kill them. Oh, and you almost killed my brother too by the way. Will you look at that?"
Sasuke's brow creased in response even as he held out a hand to stop the furious reactions of the spider and the twins.
"Stay out of what you don't understand Naruto. They don't want to help me and are in the way of my mission." Sasuke continued as he narrowed his eyes.
"Then help me understand," Naruto shrugged but made no move to let them get past him. "Because from the way I see it all six of you had the same mission and you might have missed the memo."
"I have one main role in life, and that is to be an avenger. I am going to kill a certain man." Sasuke declared as a dark look crossed his features.
"So you're doing this all for revenge?" Naruto asked blandly, showing how unimpressed he was.
Sasuke seemed to take offense before he sighed. "I guess I'll have to show you," he said cryptically.
Naruto tilted his head in confusion, momentarily confused. He realized his mistake a moment later when the pattern in Sasuke's sharingan shifted into a kaleidoscope pattern. How could he have forgotten not to look these things in the eye?
"Tsukiyomi," Sasuke said as he smirked at his victory.
A/N: Here we go, classes are resuming soon so updates may or may not come slower we shall see.
But yeah anywho, in response to GamerX568 yeah I did change how the Sharingan works here, for a couple of reasons that will be made known later.
As for Eren being overshadowed by Naruto at the moment yes I am aware, but that's simply because it isn't his time to shine just yet. He is one of the biggest plot centres in here and in the coming arcs it will hopefully show.
So yeah, reviews hehe. I read somewhere that it's a currency for writers and I would quote the dude but I do not remember where or who wrote it so yeah, sorry man. The important part is it is kinda motivating.
