Chapter Thirty One
Sup. Welcome back. Sorry this wasn't released on a Friday, but hopefully you'll forgive me. I try to put a chapter out about every other Friday. Anyway, I don't own Naruto Kishimoto does. If I did, I'd make a couple cool games, even though they wouldn't have anything to do with Naruto.
Edit: 11/1/19 fixed mistake saying Team Twelve instead of Team Two
"The name's Hōzuki Suigetsu." Said the newcomer.
"Mangetsu's brother?" Naruto questioned, knowing of the man.
"Yeah. Don't let him overshadow me now. Kirigakure's back, alongside the Seven Swordsmen. I've taken Zabuza's place." The man said. Naruto quickly took in the standard shinobi gear the man wore, it was the same as Konoha's, just grey.
"I thought your village wanted nothing to do with this war?" Naruto asked.
At this point Suigetsu started to make air quotes while speaking. "We don't. But maybe some Kiri nin wanted to fight in the war, so they kinda went rouge and decided to come work for Konohagakure." The man said, grinning the whole time. "It was my idea. We all knew Kumo and Iwa wouldn't stay out of Kiri's territories if they beat you. So here I am."
"Hm I see, well then, I look forward to working with you." The jounin said.
"Well, I owe you one after all."
"What do you mean?"
"As ashamed as I am to admit it, I was captured by Orochimaru. I escaped when you dropped that big ass toad on outpost ten in the war with Oto."
"Ah I see, glad to help."
"Anyway, let's get down to the details." Interrupted Shikamaru.
The group began pouring over the plans. They showed that Suigetsu would escort Naruto and his team through the sea surrounding Kirigakure. Under the cover of a cleverly made thick fog formed by Suigetsu, they would slip into the Land of Lightning. There was a hidden cove on the shore line where they could get ashore. The nearby guard tower would have no knowledge of their arrival, even with a sensor nin stationed there. Suigetsu had recently developed an extremely deadly and useful version of the Hidden Mist Jutsu that could hide even the largest of chakra signatures.
"Well then, when do we leave?" Asked Naruto.
"In one week." Said Tsunade. "There's someone who wants to see you."
(Warning. I honestly can't remember if I addressed this or not at all before, but if I did, then anything that conflicts with what I write in this scene you can consider retconed.)
"Naruto boy."
"Lord Fukasaku."
"It was Jiraiya's intention for you to one day learn Sage Mode. I've brought you here to see if you can."
The elder toad had heard long ago that being a Jinchuriki could cause problems with the gathering of nature chakra. He and the late Toad Sannin had discussed the rumors at length, but had never come upon any evidence. They had dug deep, and searched through the history books. Throughout history, other than the rumor that Hashirama had tried to teach Mito, no jinchuriki had ever attempted to learn the Sage arts.
After some time spent introducing Naruto to the theories and working behind nature chakra, the toad had the jounin sitting on the ground in meditation. "No luck Naruto boy?"
"No, I can't feel a thing."
"Alright, now hold still. I'm going to try to fuse with you." The toad hopped atop the blond's shoulders, clapping his hands together and closing his eyes. He soon found out why the boy could not draw in the nature chakra around him. The second his eyes closed, the chakra of the Nine Tailed Fox surrounded his being, forcing the image of the gigantic chakra monster into his mind. Seconds later, the toad felt pain from the chakra that tried to force itself into his own chakra paths. Quickly, he abandoned his place atop the man's shoulder, and sighed in defeat.
"It seems it won't be possible to teach you Sage Mode Naruto boy."
"Hm, I felt it too. The Nine Tails right?"
"Yes, his chakra is so prevalent throughout your own pathways, it seems there is almost no room for any nature chakra to go."
"That's part of the issue. I was able to feel the energy you spoke of when you attempted to fuse with me. Due to my sensor ability, I have a theory. I believe from what I observed, that the chakra of a Tailed Beast is the exact opposite of nature chakra. Not in the literal sense, but like a magnet. Except in this case, opposites repel instead of attract. Tailed Beast chakra seems to force away Sage chakra, meaning I can't even gather it in the first place."
"I see… I'm sorry to waste your time Naruto boy, I thought I could help."
"It's alright Lord Fukasaku, Thank you for your time, I got to at least see the kind of training Jiraiya-Sensei put in to get to the level he was. Anyways, please come visit sometime. I'm sure Rikka would love to meet you."
"Will do Naruto boy, now get back home to your wife." The toad said with a smile. Naruto simply nodded at the elder, giving a grin in reply. The aged toad quickly formed hand seals, and sent Naruto back to his village.
The green creature sat quietly, remembering something Jiraiya had once said. "Sage Mode would be a game changer for him, yes. But if he learns Minato's jutsu… along with having the Nine Tails.. that boy will be strong enough to handle anything thrown his way."
"Hm, it seems you were right Jiraiya boy." The toad mused aloud.
"Please, make sure he comes back safe Yuta-Sensei." Rikka said to her former teacher. She really did not want her husband to go off on such a difficult mission, but she knew his duty to the village called for it.
"Don't worry Rikka, we'll watch out for sunshine." Said Agus Mikazuki, one of her former teammates who was now a jounin. He spoke with almost robotic tone, and his personality reflected that voice. He had fairly long black, and slightly spiky hair. He possessed blue eyes, and was quite short compared to all the people present. The jounin wore a blue T-shirt with a large green coat about 2 sizes too big. Olive green combat pants with black combat boots finished off his slightly unusual look. He'd actually become a fairly well known jounin in the opening stages of the war, he had a very strong water affinity, that some even said could be the closest to Senju Tobirama any Konoha nin had been since the Second Hokage's death.
"You have our word, we will do everything we can." Spoke the almost crazy looking swordsman beside Mikazuki.
"Thank you Kenji." Said the bluenette. The man was her other teammate, Luca Kenji. He had short dirty blond spiky hair, and was a tough looking man from a civilian family. Naruto had noticed in his limited interactions with the man that he almost always had a crazy kind of look in his eyes. He wore a simple dark sweater over blue and red pants. The two male teammates had a close bond, them having met before ever ending up on a team together. Mikazuki had actually even been raised by Kenji's family.
"Alright, how about you two let her say goodbye to her husband." Spoke the former sensei of Team Two, Satomi Yuta. He had graying black spiky hair, red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. He looked reclusive and tired, and also had a slight drinking problem, but was actually very outgoing and liked to laugh. He wore the standard Konoha jounin attire, and was almost as tall as the now six foot Naruto.
"Thanks Yuta." The blond said with a grin. He'd met Team Two a while before he'd married Rikka. Her team had been on an extended assignment in the capital. Yuta had become one of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi right after his team had made chunin, and with the exception of Rikka, his genin followed him to the capital with permission from the Hokage. There the boys had trained until they were strong enough to become Jounin. However; with the outbreak of the war, the team was ordered back to Konoha by the Daimyo. He'd made it clear that he could go without a few of his Guardians, and that Konohagakure would need the extra manpower.
The shinobi met with the rest of the outfit, while their commander said goodbye to his wife. Rikka reached up, cupping the cheek of her husband. "Naruto...come back to me...you've got more responsibility here than ever before." As she finished, her lips and voice trembled. So much of the young woman's mind was screaming at her to demand he stay, but she knew he could not. "Come back to us."
"I promise I will. I won't abandon my wife, nor my child. I don't blame my father, but I won't let this child grow up without a father like I did. I will always return to you, because you are the most important person in my life Rikka. I love you." The blond said, leaning into her hand. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her to his chest before kissing the top of her head. "I hate saying goodbye, because it feels like I'm not coming back." He said, lifting her chin up. "So instead, see ya later Rikka." He kissed her, and before she knew it the blond was walking down the street, his hand waving above his head.
"Naruto…." She said quietly. "I love you too!" She screamed loudly. She heard him laugh loudly, and watched as he turned around to grin at her. When he turned the corner, she noticed the people staring at her, and blushed bright red.
At the front gate, the blond shinobi met up with his group. His platoon consisted of four Inuzuka, including Kiba. Three Hyuga came along, among them was Neji. A familiar ANBU had come along too, as Naruto had a particular task in mind for him. The men of Team Two were there as well, with the last six nin consisting of some civilian born jounin and two from the Sarutobi clan.
"All set?" Asked their commander.
"Yes sir!" Responded the group in unison.
"Good. Let's go, we're to meet Suigetsu by dawn, so we're going to travel all night." And with that the platoon got under way. They all knew they couldn't fail, as the mission they had could save the lives of hundreds of Konoha nin.
Kisaragi Juzo was the youngest jounin in Naruto's platoon. The fresh jounin followed orders well, and was itching to prove himself. He'd been awestruck when he was told he'd be going on a mission when with the son of the Fourth Hokage. He was one of two radio nin that had been sent along, him being the one with a long range transmitter.
He found that two of his fellow jounin seemed a bit excited to be able to go cause chaos behind enemy lines. The talk made him uncomfortable, so he made his way to the front of the ship to find his commander.
Naruto sat at the bow of the ship, with his feet dangling over the railing. Ten of his soldiers joined him on this ship, while the other ten were on a second boat with Suigetsu. He really wasn't sure if he could trust the Hozuki, but he didn't have a choice. If this was a trap, then it was a risk they had to take.
"Sir?" A voice asked behind him.
The twenty one year old blond turned around to see the nineteen year old jounin standing awkwardly behind him. "Oh, hello Juzo. What can I do for you?" The diligent commander had taken to learning and memorizing the names of all those under his command. He was fairly good at keeping the information retained, but every once in a while he still forgot.
"I uh, well I wanted to thank you Sir."
"Oh thank me? For what?" The Namikaze questioned with a smile.
The younger man idolized the blond ninja, and Naruto could tell. "For defending the village from the Akatsuki assault sir, and for all you've done in the war."
"There's no need to thank me. One day defending this village may fall to you and your comrades. If people like myself and Uchiha Sasuke fall in battle, Konoha loses strength. However; as long as you and your comrades exist, there is hope for the village. With your team's help, you're stronger than ever. You just have to have the guts to not give up." Naruto was sure that Konoha could win this war, even if himself and Sasuke were to fall. He was just here to make the war as short as possible, and save the lives of as many Konoha shinobi as he could.
The younger nin stared back at his superior with complete awe. "Um.. you really think so sir? I've only freshly made jounin, and I'm not that strong."
"You were strong enough to become jounin. So I'd say you're strong enough. You'll be leading your own missions often now, unaccompanied by any other commanding officer. Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage, but under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive. Be that strong leader, and you can't go wrong."
"Thank you sir."
"Of course, now get some rest, we'll be hitting Lightning Country soon."
"Right." The younger man replied, turning on his heel and leaving his commander to his thoughts.
Naruto had been happy with the distraction his comrade had provided, but now alone, his mind drifted back to its original thoughts. "Now…. what the fuck am I going to do if the Raikage or Bee show up. I'm the only one who can fight them, so I need to keep my nin safe…"
He soon resigned himself to playing it by ear. If the Raikage did show up, any plan would go right out the window anyway. "No strategy survives first contact with the enemy."
"Alright, show is this trick of yours." Naruto said to the Kiri ninja.
"Watch and learn Namikaze." Spoke the swordsman. He weaved hand seals, and slowly a large foggy mist rolled in around the boats. They watched as the distant towers disappeared within the growing mist. Naruto closed his eyes, and realized he could barely sense the people on board his boat. He placed his finger down, and with extra concentration could just barely locate the other boat.
"Hm, I'm impressed Suigetsu. It really can hide chakra signatures from sensors." The blond commented.
"Pretty cool huh? Now, let's make landfall no?"
"Indeed, let's." The jounin replied.
With the boats having been sunk in the deep cove, the team made their way inland. They'd cut large holes in the sides of the ships, after removing all the water susceptible gear from them. Naruto intended for Tenzo to repair the ships with his wood style when they left, thus the ANBU would be sticking close to the teleporter, and was even given one of Naruto's kunai.
The task force made its way through Lightning Country over the next two days, slinking around the enemy to get to their first target. "There it is. The Storm Fortress." Naruto said.
"I'd heard tales of it from my mother, but never thought I'd see it myself." Kiba commented in awe.
"Likewise. My clan keeps stories and records of it in our history books." Neji said. "The Hyuga have quite the grudge against this place."
"Why?" Questioned the Inuzuka.
"This is where Kumo brought any prisoners or corpses from the Hyuga clan to try to extract their Byakugan during the Second and Third World War." Naruto answered for his comrade. The large fortress had a very long and dated history, leading all the way back to the warring clans era.
"I see.." Kiba replied solemnly.
"Think nothing of it." Spoke the well mannered Hyuga. "We will destroy it soon enough."
Over the next day. Naruto and Neji spent their time meticulously learning the patterns of the guards. The Fort had played a major role in Kumo's war effort in the past, and was an important target for the Nara's plan.
With the help of their thorough scouting, the team managed to strategically place large amounts of explosives on the weak points of the fort. Naruto had even managed to get close enough to place Flying Raijin markers on the watchtowers, giving him the ability to put all of his shinobi in position in seconds.
The blond's sensor abilities had told him that, although the fortress' garrison was large, only ten jounin level ninja were stationed there. Although he knew full well not to underestimate any ninja, even genin.
As sunrise broke through the darkness, chunin Haruko Ken of Kumogakure stood outside of his radio building drinking tea. He watched as the sun slowly rose over the far wall of the massive fortress. He had been sent here as soon as the war with Konohagakure had kicked off to man the radio of Kumo's most important radio station in the area.
The Storm Fortress currently held the closest permanent radio tower to the border of Frost Country. The fort resided on the very border of Lightning and Frost Country. It's proximity to the front line made it the last place orders were relayed through before reaching any station not within the Land of Lightning.
He smiled widely, if he did well, he'd likely have an easy promotion to jounin after the war ended, maybe even before. His job was easy, and he was happy to do it. He yawned loudly and stretched his limbs, feeling light headed as he finished. Once he'd regained his balance, he sighed. "Ah, maybe once the war is over I can finally find a woman and settle do-." The young man was cut off when massive explosions ripped away large portions of the fort's walls.
He watched as Konoha nin suddenly appeared along the watchtowers, and realized what exactly was going on. Recognizing a surprise attack, the shinobi immediately made for his radio. He reached out for the radio transmitter, only for his eyes to widen in shock as a well known kunai carved its way into the electronic equipment. "No! It can't be him." He muttered softly as he stopped his movements.
"Sorry, but you didn't have a chance. The truth is, the game was rigged from the start." Spoke the voice of none other than Namikaze Naruto.
"I….I surrender." The man stuttered out.
"Good choice."
"You...are the Second Yellow Flash of Konoha, aren't you?"
"Yes I am." The blond said sternly. "Now come on."
The blond and his task force managed to capture five of the Kumo garrison, and quickly destroyed the entire fort. He sealed away the chakra of the captured nin, and sent them off with Suigetsu and Tenzo, along with two more of his men back to the ships. There, Tenzo would create and entirely new, smaller boat that the two extra nin would use to take the Kumo prisoners back to the Land of Fire.
After the successful attack, he and his force made their way deeper into Lightning Country. They arrived at the next target soon enough, which was one of Kumo's few full blown forward operating bases. They scouted the defenses and the surrounding area until Suigetsu and Tenzo returned.
Suigetsu and Neji sat beside Naruto as the blond placed his finger to the ground. They had just observed the arrival of another fifteen shinobi, and Naruto wanted to know their chakra levels. The blond huffed in annoyance soon after as he realized exactly who one of the new arrivals had to be.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Questioned the Hyuga.
With a sigh, the blond lifted his finger off the ground and opened his eyes. "There's a jinchuriki down there."
"What? Really?" Asked Suigetsu. "Dammit this is gonna be a pain."
"Yeah, no kidding. Either this is some routine inspection, or they found out about the destruction of the Storm Fortress. The latter is definitely the more likely candidate. The Namikaze said. "From the chakra level, it seems she's the jinchuriki of the Two Tails."
"It's not everyday we have to fight jinchuriki." Said the dog loving shinobi, who had just walked in on the conversation. "In fact, I'm pretty sure you're the only one who has."
"It's safer for me to do it as a jinchuriki myself than it is to send anyone else to fight them. It just seems to be my bad luck to run into them lately." The blond thought to himself for a while before speaking again. "Listen. When we begin the assault, I'll draw her away. You guys rig the place, and blow a retreat signal."
"Are you sure? We could help." The Inuzuka offered.
"Yes I'm sure. I can handle her by myself, and it will give you time to get the job done." Naruto commander.
"Alright then. Good luck…. don't be reckless Naruto...you've got a child coming." The dojutsu wielder said.
"I know, thank you Neji." The father to be replied with a smile. He stood and walked to a higher point. "Is it time?" He questioned.
"Yes." Neji replied.
"Okay, relay the move order. I'm going." And with that, the blond stood tall on the edge of the cliff overlooking the FOB. (Forward Operating Base.) He drew two of his signature kunai, throwing them high and long into the sky, watching as they arched when gravity grabbed hold of their weight. With a smile, he disappeared in a flash.
Nii Yugito walked quietly behind the jounin that lead their group. After receiving the news that all contact had been lost with the Storm Fortress, the female jinchuriki was dispatched to inspect and reinforce FOB Gale. She had been dispatched with the jounin in front of her, a man she had just met, and Team Samui that walked behind her. The two students of the blond kunoichi bickered behind them as they walked through the front gate. She tuned out the pair's argument as Samui intervened in their argument, knowing Yugito was beginning to get annoyed.
She glanced back at the team, only to hear the jounin in front of her yell out in pain. She spun around quickly to see him crouching down, and pulling a large kunai out of his foot. Her eyes widened as she recognized the object, and before she could speak, the jounin had his throat cut by the Konohagakure shinobi.
Her claws came to bare, and as she lashed out at the newly arrived enemy, Team Samui finally began to move. The made to provide assistance, but were distracted once again when the South Gate exploded. They watched as Konoha shinobi assaulted the base, quickly jumping into the fray.
The female jinchuriki leapt back, moving to allow her tailed beast to let loose. Naruto being in close proximity, recognized the build up of chakra, and immediately rushed her. He slashed at her with his blade, which she dodged. She took the opening to thrust her claws forward, stabbing into his side. However; only then she realized she'd fallen into his trap. His hand grabbed her wrist, and before she could move to break free, he spoke.
"Let's go somewhere else shall we?" The Namikaze asked with a grin. Suddenly she found herself in a forest about a mile or two away from the FOB. She'd barely regained her barings when she was forced to dodge as a Rasengan ripped apart the ground she had just occupied. Before she could even land fully, he'd already appeared above her.
He swung down with the blade of his kunai, barely missing her neck as she dodged. As she got her footing, he again appeared above her in a flash of yellow. She barely managed to avoid the deadly sweep of his wind covered kunai, only to be on the back pedal once again to dodge a newly incoming Rasengan.
Yugito knew she needed to draw out the power of her beast, but this Konoha jounin had her completely cornered.
They battled quickly the woman on the consistent back pedal, and Naruto was almost fully in control. He flashed behind her, and she finally realized exactly how he was getting to her so easily.
He noticed that she was now staring at her forearm, seeing the formula he'd attached to her. Her eyes raised to him, and she sent him a sharp glare. "You can't get it off, even if you were to kill me. So why don't you just surrender and make this easy?" He asked.
Suddenly the female smirked, and unleashed her claws. "Like hell." Naruto's eyes widened as the woman shaved the entire top layer of skin and muscle off of her marked forearm, and then kicked the severed flesh away.
"Well...that certainly shows commitment." Naruto said. He would admit that this was unexpected, and had actually thrown him off guard slightly. This gave the enemy just enough time to launch forward. She reached him in a burst of speed, and her claws came close to his chest.
The Konoha jounin dodged her attack quickly, and kicked the woman across the clearing, and watched as her beast's chakra began to emerge. He'd given her a chance to draw it out, and he knew that would cause him trouble. Just then, a loud whistle rang out through the area, signaling the Konoha groups retreat. Seconds later, a large explosion sent shockwaves through the ground, and smoke billowed in the air in the direction of the FOB.
She quickly took the form of the Two Tailed cat, albeit still smaller in size. The jinchuriki leapt forward at her enemy, lashing out with her claws. He tossed a kunai lightly out of his hand as her claws got dangerously close to his face. He quickly flashed to a kunai across the field, and before she could move, he appeared at her back. He charged Rasengan and slammed it into her back, sending her to the ground with a hard sickening impact. In seconds, he performed a set of hand seals, and slammed his palm into her back. "Fuinjutsu: Devine Suppression." He said softly as the chakra suppression seal bound her body, knocking the woman unconscious as it did. "If I don't kill her here…she could kill many more of my comrades in the future.." Naruto growled loudly at the predicament, before finally he did something that would bother him for the rest of his life. The jounin withdrew a kunai from his pouch, and spun it around in his hand. His hand shook lightly, as he forced himself to plunge his blade into the side of the defenseless jinchuriki's chest. With the woman now bleeding out, he stood and flashed to a kunai he'd left with Kiba.
"Yugito! Yuuugiiiitooooo! Where are you!?" Called out Samui and her team. They wandered through the forest, in search of the jinchuriki. As soon as the base had come under attack, the commander had sent them to attempt to back up the now missing jinchuriki. They had gone back and seen the aftermath of Konohagakure's attack, and chose to hunt for their missing kunoichi. They knew there was likely no survivors from the size of the explosion that rocked the earth minutes ago.
Finally the team burst through the underbrush, to find the jinchuriki bleeding profusely from a large hole in her ribs. Samui noticed the strangeness of the stab wound, it was larger than most kunai, and had a fair sized puncture on each side. She was oblivious to the fact that Naruto's kunai were larger and a lot more deadly. What would bring Yugito to her death however, was the severed connection between herself and her beast. With no link, the Two Tailed Cat was unable to heal its host.
"Well that's objective number two complete. What's next Naruto?" The feral looking man asked. "Naruto? Oi! Naruto!"
"Huh, oh what was the question?" The blond asked, ripped out of his trance.
"What's next?"
"Oh… that would be the Typhoon Fortress. It's Kumogakure's second largest fort. It's likely to be garrisoned with a large amount of shinobi and kunoichi. It's not going to be an easy battle by any means." Naruto mused quietly. His head was in a bad place, he was beginning to doubt himself, and he knew that it could cost his team lives.
"I see, well then it's likely time to get moving then?" Kiba inquired.
"Yeah. Please go gather the troops." Naruto asked of his friend.
"Psh, don't boss me around." The Inuzuka said dismissively, even though he was walking off to execute his orders.
As Kiba left the blond to himself, a thought popped into the platoon commander's head. "What would sensei think of my actions…"
Fun fact: Yuta actually made his first appearance in the beginning of the invasion during the chunin exams. I wonder if any of you remember? Anyways, new art coming soon from wilczyca117! It's pretty cool! I'm sorry if my writing quality was subpar in this chapter… I hope you enjoyed, and I'll catch ya later! Darling in the Fox out!