A/N: So many updates, so little time... This time, revisiting an idea from Chapter 28. Now, I've had many different ideas concerning this ficlet idea. Everything from various "Chakra Tech", Iron Shinobi Armors, Powercores and the like. I've even thought of a couple different versions of "War Machine". The original idea was to unveil him during Pein's Invasion when Naruto was MIA. Konohamaru would break into Naruto's Armor Vault and take one of the older- unused- Armor Designs and fight Pein to a near standstill before being defeated. Naruto would then show up in his new "Sage Armor" and take out Pein.
The version of War Machine, to me, makes a bit more sense and seems a bit more real than my original idea.
Iron Shinobi vs. War Machine
"Going somewhere, Danzou," said a voice from behind the fleeing cripple.
Danzou barely spared the young shinobi a sideways glance with his good eye. The speaker in question was dressed in his usual orange and black ensemble that he typically wore when off duty, however, attached to his forearm and hand was a bracer from on of the many Iron Shinobi Armors he regularly wore on missions. The senbon repeater that was embedded into the bracer was active and he had a targeting reticule over his right eye.
"The difference between us is too great to be overcome, Uzumaki," Danzou said disdainfully. "Perhaps if you'd come fully armored, you'd have a chance."
Before Naruto could sound some sort of witty reply, Danzou's "missing" arm shot out from within his robe, and firmly embedded a glowing, metallic fist into Naruto's stomach. As soon as contact was made, glowing fist fired a beam of pure chakra into Naruto's gut and sent him flying into a near by tree, which shook from the impact.
"Bastard… I always knew there was something fake about you…" Naruto grit out as he clenched his stomach. "Though now I can guess how some of our older armor designs leaked out to our enemies."
The newly exiled elder merely smirked in response. "Orochimaru's old research was truly a wonderful thing. Fortunately, he didn't have the same sort of resources I had, or else the world would be a much different place. Of course, the technology put into use for your armor so you could remain a Shinobi was nothing short of outstanding either. Together… Together they are a marvel which has allowed me to achieve power absolute. Advanced genetics mixed with robotics is the new future. Compared to me, you are obsolete, Naruto-kun."
Then, to Danzou's surprise, Naruto managed to stand up. "Think again."
It was then that Danzou noted something out of place on Uzumaki. The bracer on his right arm, was missing its' hand and wrist attachments, yet the hand was still metallic in nature, as was the hand on the opposite arm.
"This was my favorite jacket!" Naruto grumbled before snapping off the bracer and tearing his jacket off to reveal that he was wearing armor underneath. "It's good to know the experimental Chakra Field works though."
Said armor was mostly dull silver with light black plating trimmed in a metallic dark orange.
"I don't have time to dispose of you, Uzumaki-kun," said Danzou. "Sai."
Naruto then heard heavy, machine like foot falls approaching from his right. What he saw made his blood run cold. He was staring at a near replica of some of the more advanced designs of his suit. The biggest difference, however, was that this armor was far more heavily armed and armored than any of his own suits.
"Naruto-kun," the emotionless boy greeted. Sai's face was still visible as he was currently holding the face shield of his helmet in his hand.
"Sai." Naruto curtly greeted in turn.
"Even with your new Chakra tech, it is as I said," Danzou gloated a bit. "You are obsolete, a relic of the past. The time of the Iron Shinobi is at an end. Sai, deal with this nuisance."
Danzou then turned and started to walk away. Naruto took a step in his direction before Sai stepped firmly between his master and the one who sought him harm.
"Move out of the way, Sai," Naruto warned.
"I apologize, Naruto-kun, but I can not," Sai answered before punching Naruto in the torso, again sending Naruto sailing through the air. This time Naruto landed on his back, but was able to recover quickly, rolling to his feet.
Sai then set his face plate into place.
"Fine, if that's how you want to play it," Naruto said through clenched teeth. He brushed his mailed right hand over his armored left bicep and a helmet appeared in his hand. He snapped it open and then took the targeting reticule off of his face. He casually tossed it to the side before placing his helmet onto his head and securing it into place.
There was a moment of darkness before the view screen activated and his HUD calibrated itself.
"Okay, Sai," Naruto taunted, his voice now metallic sounding. "You want some, come get some."
"You won't be able to defeat me, dickless," the metallic, emotionless voice of Sai warned as he raised his right arm, arming what looked to be a repeating explosive kunai launcher.
"We'll just see about that, won't we," Naruto said with more confidence than he felt. Already, he was scanning Sai's suit for weaknesses, but was not being all that successful. Given the bulkiness and size of Sai's suit, Naruto was undoubtedly faster and more mobile. Unfortunately, those were the only advantages Naruto had over his foe, as the new experimental "Centurion Armor" was currently without armament.
The Centurion Armor was the first to fully utilize Sakura's Tantalus Powercore, which allowed Naruto full use of his chakra reserves and safe use of three tails worth of the Kyuubi's chakra. Also, like most all of the Iron Shinobi Armors, after the first incarnation of the Uchihabuster Armor, it utilized Sharingan Countermeasure Technology- the Chakra Pulse Emitter. It also was the lightest armored of all the Iron Shinobi suits, allowing Naruto even more mobility than even the Uchihabuster Mk. 1 Armor (which had been thrashed by Uchiha Itachi). It made up for the lack of armor plating by encasing itself in a thin layer of Chakra which acted as a force field to all forms of attacks.
The Chakra Field was powered by a complex Chakra battery pack, called the Centurion Battery, that was installed on the back of Naruto's newest armor that would also supply power to the currently not installed experimental cloaking device and hover and flight mode systems.
The greatest strength of the Centurion Armor was its' adaptability to different situations, as the different suit armaments were to be stored within special seals through out the armor that reacted to seals on Naruto's gloved hands- eliminating the need for a blood sacrifice- and were incredibly easy to install and uninstall in the heat of battle, making the armor ideal for both long and short range battles.
Of course, this strength was also a weakness as the armor's systems would take 2.074 seconds to recalibrate themselves when each armament was either installed or uninstalled.
Unfortunately for Naruto, at this very moment, all of the attachable armaments and systems (many of which had once been a part of the mostly scrapped Uchihabuster Armor)- minus the senbon repeater- were either still in the Research and Development Engineering Laboratories, Sakura's personal office and lab, or in his own personal workshop and Armor Vault underneath his house.
The scans of Sai's suit confirmed everything he suspected about his new foe's armor. While based on the Iron Shinobi Armor design and using much of the same technology, it was far different from anything Naruto or any of the others had ever designed or developed.
The Iron Shinobi was a peacekeeping tool, developed as a means of serving and protecting the citizens of Konohagakure no Sato, Spring Country and the Elemental Countries as a whole. The Ne Armor was designed specifically for war. It was designed to start them and end them. Given the heavy armament and the bulky, cumbersome armor plating, Danzou's War Machine was meant to take a lot of damage and deal out much more.
Sai fired several kunai at Naruto, which the latter dodged. As he suspected, they were explosive kunai as each caused massive devastation to the landscape behind him. However, due to seals within the armor, Naruto's reflexes and speed were sharpened significantly, as well as a small boost to his strength. Using his superior speed he charged at Sai.
Iron Shinobi grappled War Machine in a contest of will and strength. One that the Iron Shinobi lost as Sai demonstrated far superior physical strength to Naruto who was tossed back. While Naruto had a significant advantage in speed and agility over his opponent, Sai was exponentially stronger than Naruto was.
Naruto managed to keep a vertical base as he bounced on the balls of his feet, fists ready. However, Sai raised his left hand. The seal in the palm of his hand began to glow. Anticipating what was about to happen, Naruto crossed his arms. A small beam of Chakra shot out from Sai's open hand and struck Naruto, knocking him off his feet.
Naruto landed on his back and cursed as his HUD started flashing. While the Chakra Field did recharge over time, two direct blasts from a Chakra Canon and a devastating punch from Sai earlier had left the Chakra Field at 35 percent of its' original strength.
"RAAGH!" Naruto roared as he jumped into the air, as he reared his right arm back for a punch. There was a load boom and Sai jumped back even quicker, causing Naruto's fist to leave a sizeable crater where Sai had once been. "Shit!"
The War Machine's armored feet touched down on the tree behind him and with another boom lunged at Naruto. Sai reared back with a punch of his own only, unlike the Iron Shinobi, his punch rang true as his heavily armored fist connected with the face shield of Naruto's helmet.
Naruto's head snapped back and he spun around in mid air from the impact of Sai's fist. The Iron Shinobi impacted with the ground hard and with enough momentum that he continued hi spin as he bounced off the ground twice, simply rolling on the ground after his third impact on the ground. He shook his head as he tried to clear himself of the effect of the jarring punch. His HUD had blanked out for a brief second and now there was a small crack in it.
Naruto noted there was only 11.57 percent left in the Chakra Field's energy cells as he touched his helmet where Sai's fist had made contact, feeling a small dent in it. "Damn!"
It was then that Naruto noted where he landed. He immediately grabbed the discarded bracer and armed himself. He immediately directed it at Sai and armed the Senbon Repeater as soon as it came operational. Sai, on the other hand, moved his left arm into defensive position as a bluish dome appeared around him. The dome rippled as Naruto riddled it with senbon.
"Damn it!" Naruto cursed as he then jumped back towards the village. Having both left the village in a hurry, in an effort to intercept Danzou and only expecting to encounter the old man, Naruto had not equipped himself to fight in a battle of this caliber.
Sai made another booming jump, moving to intercept Naruto. He landed in the middle of Naruto's escape route, cutting him off from the village. Doing so, he also showcased another of the War Machine Armor's capabilities.
Hover Mode.
Before, Naruto had thought that only he, Jiraiya and Sakura knew the secrets of the Iron Shinobi Armor's defiance of gravity, the cleverly placed wind chakra seals that allowed for greater speed and mobility as the armor was lifted several inches above the ground. Now, he was proven wrong, as Sai could possibly match him- if not in mobility and agility, at least in speed.
Naruto lashed out with a solid left hook which was caught by Sai, who then pulled on it to unbalance his opponent. Sai then released his grip on Naruto's wrist and back handed him before placing his left hand on Naruto's armored stomach before unleashing another Chakra Canon blast into the Iron Shinobi's abdomen. Naruto could feel as the Centurion Armor's back plates cracked. He didn't have to look down to see the scorch marks on the front of the armor or look at the Chakra Field read out to see that the ever present force field wasn't.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but I can not defy Danzou-sama," Sai said with a hint of sadness in his metallic voice.
"Having second thoughts about finishing me off?" Naruto asked angrily, his voice modulator cutting out due to the damage dealt to the armored suit.
"Danzou-sama's orders were to deal with you. You have been dealt with," Sai replied evenly as he turned away from Naruto. "Good bye, Naruto-kun."
It took a few minutes for the battered and beaten Naruto to recover from his ill-fated battle. In that time he reflected on what happened and continued to do so as he made his way back to Konoha. Next time would be different, he swore.
Danzou had a lot to answer for.