Next chapter of Blood is Thicker Than Bone. As Naruto tries to get Tsunade to heal his cousin, he is unaware of Orochimaru's plot to regain the use of his arms and restore himself to full power. In the End, Tsunade will be the one who decides the outcome.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"Orochimaru…what are you doing here?" Tsunade said glaring at the man who sat nonchalantly before her surrounded by his guards.
"KuKuKu, is that anyway to talk to an old comrade Tsunade-hime?" Orochimaru said with a laugh as he smirked at her as she glared daggers at him. She and Shizune were retiring to their room at the hotel they was staying at after their meeting with Jiraiya and Naruto when to their surprise upon entering it had discovered Orochimaru seated there as if waiting for her to show up. His guards were with him as the two stared at one another. "I've been waiting for you to show up, I was starting to think I'd gotten the wrong hotel." He said in amusement.
Tsunade glared at her former teammate the two Sannin staring at one another for the first time in over a decade, the last time either had seen each other, Orochimaru was slipping off the slope of madness and Tsunade had been preparing to leave after drowning her sorrows over all that had happened.
"What do you want?" She asked him.
"Nothing much, just a small tiny favor." He said and with a bit of difficulty lifted up his hands and Tsunade and Shizune's eyes widened in shock and horror a bit seeing them as they were purple and damaged with seals placed on them due to what Sarutobi had done during their battle. "I want you to restore my hands and enable me to use Jutsu again, I've met with an unfortunate…accident involving our old sensei." He said to her.
"So it was true, you did attack Konoha!" Tsunade said gripping the arms of her chair. "You attacked and tried to destroy your very own home?"
Orochimaru laughed amused at her. "I told you long ago that I no longer have any sentimental value towards that place, you shouldn't be so surprised. But I need you to restore my arms as they have been sealed thanks to Sarutobi."
"Never…" Tsunade said immediately to him.
"Not even if I bring somebody back to you?" Orochimaru asked her.
"There's nobody I want to see right now." Tsunade said to him and stood up and turned getting ready to leave.
"Not even an old lover?" He said and her body stiffened and a look of hurt appeared in her eyes. "Someone you was once very close with? Who was getting ready to propose to you before his untimely passing? I remember him saving up for a ring to put on your finger." He asked with a smirk. "Or if not him, a beloved sibling who you cared deeply for and loved. A young boy who said he would become Hokage and you encouraged him to follow his dreams no matter what others say. Before he recklessly charged in and was killed by an enemy." Orochimaru said to her smirking as he played with her emotions opening up old wounds in her heart. Wounds that even now had not healed despite the decades it had been since both had died.
A tear went down Tsunade's face at his words remembering the two people she had loved so long ago before they were cruelly taken away from her before their time.
Orochimaru smirked darkly as he knew he had her right where he wanted her and lifted himself up out of the chair and walked behind her leaning in close.
"I'll do it Tsunade-hime, restore my arms and I'll use Edo Tensei and resurrect not only Dan but Nawaki as well." He whispered into her ear enticingly to her his words like honey. "I shall bring them both back from beyond the grave but only if you heal my arms. Restore them, so that I can regain the use of them and be able to use Jutsu again. Do it and you have my word that I will resurrect them both." He said to her dangling a temtping Apple of Eden right in front of her face. All she had to do was to take it.
"…I'll do it." She said surprising Shizune and Orochimaru smirked cruelly. "Give me time to prepare and I shall heal them."
"KuKuKu, very well then. Two days from now at The Castle not far from here. I'll be waiting for you there." He said and he and his men disappeared in a blur disappearing from the room leaving the two inside it.
"Tsunade…" Shizune said and she looked over at her apprentice. "Your not really thinking about doing it are you?" She said to her. "Your not going to restore that…mans' arms are you?"
The Slug Sannin was silent and didn't say anything in response as she fingered the necklace around her neck and calmly turned and left the room.
"So what are we going to do? Are we just going to leave?" Naruto asked seated in the hotel room he was staying at with Jiraiya and Tayuya. "A lot of good this trip has done us." He grumbled over the fact that their attempt to find Tsunade and have her heal his cousin had been futile as the woman had refused to do so, refusing to go back to Konoha her former home. He was angry and furious that she had refused to do so and had called her out, calling her a coward who ran away.
"I wouldn't consider throwing in the towel just yet Naruto," Jiraiya said to him. "Let's wait around a few more days before we do something else." The Toad Sannin said to his pupil.
"Well I'll make her heal him even if I have to drag her every step of the way back." Naruto said his eyes narrowing and Jiraiya smirked in amusement, he would like to see him try that. The image of him trying to drag Tsunade away from the bar only for the Slug Sannin to nonchalantly flick him across the head and send him flying out of the room caused him to chuckle.
Tayuya sat in a chair across from him looking on as their attempt to get The Slug Sannin to heal Kimimaro Kaguya had not worked. The woman refusing to head back to Konoha so that she would heal Kimimaro and possibly become the next Hokage. She was the only chance they had at healing Kimimaro and removing his disease. Without her, he would soon die…
"We'll have to be persistent if we're going to convince Tsunade. One she sets her mind on something she rarely changes it, the more we plead our case to her the more likely she'll come around." Jiraiya said to the two. "We'll try talking to her again later when she hasn't got so much Sake in her. Hopefully she'll be in a better mood than what she was today." He mentioned to them.
"Alright, guess we got no choice." Naruto said and stood up and exited the room taking a walk to clear his mind.
Jiraiya watched him go and turned his head to look at the redhead his eyes narrowing a bit as he stared at Tayuya.
"What?" She said defensively.
"Don't think that I don't know that he's after her as well. I'd wager money that he's here somewhere as well in hiding." Jiraiya said and she knew who he was talking about. "She's the only one capable of unsealing his arms and enabling him to use Jutsu again. Needless to say I can't let that happen. No way am I going to let him use something like Edo Tensei again." He said his brows narrowing at her.
"I know that." Tayuya said in a defensive response. She knew that Orochimaru had lost the use of his arms and so would look for any cure so he could use them again and would be after Tsunade as well.
"If he regains the use of them we've have an even bigger mess on our hands as if he attacks Konoha again we might not be able to fend him off due to the death of Saurtobi and others." Jiraiya said and he knew he couldn't let that happen. "That's why we're staying here to make sure he doesn't. You know, since you was one of his top ninjas how cunning he is and he'll do anything, promise anything in the world if it would mean he could use his arms again."
"Alright, get off my damn back already." Tayuya said frowning at him. "You think I have any intention of going back to him after he abandoned me back at Konoha? Hell no, he showed just how much I meant to him back there."
"Well at least your one of the few followers of him to realize he's a lunatic." Jiraiya said in response to her.
"Fine whatever," She said rolling her eyes.
Naruto took a walk through the city a lot on his mind. Thinking about Tsunade refusing to help him heal his cousin and his anger at her for not doing so, she may have lead a terrible life but that didn't mean she had to forsake her duty as a medic in his eyes, her duty was to help people, no matter who they were or where from.
And he had also thought about Tayuya, and anger entered his mind recalling how she had betrayed them as she was actually one of Orochimaru's men who took part in the attack and partly responsible for Sarutobi's death as well. What hurt the most was that he was starting to care for and consider her a friend before it all happened and she wound up using them. How could he trust her after that when she could do it again? She could wind up betraying them again for all he knew how could he have faith in her?
Naruto walked and thought about all that had happened, images going through his mind. Mizuki, Wave, Haku, The Forest of Death, The Exams, Sasuke, Neji, Kyuubi, Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Kimimaro…those and other images passed through his mind as he thought about had that had happened the past months, becoming a blur and meshing into one long image.
Suddenly he stopped when he heard what sounded like someone singing. He turned his head and looked on and saw to his surprise Tsunade…she was standing on the rooftop of a building and was singing. A solemn quiet song that was beautiful…her eyes had no emotion in them but there was sadness and beauty in her voice as she sung into the night sky.
Naruto looking on made his way to the building and scaled up it making his way as Tsunade continued to sing her voice echoing over the night sky. He made his way to the top and was behind her as he listened in as she finished singing and stood there and for a moment he thought he saw her shoulders heave.
"That's a beautiful song…" Naruto said outloud to her from behind.
"What is your dream kid?" Tsunade asked him not turning around to look at him.
"To become Hokage." He answered and faintly a smile played on her face.
"It sounds like a nice dream Naruto, but its not." She replied bitterness in her voice. "Reality is a lot more crueler than peoples' dreams. I had a dream once as well. I dreamed I would get married, raise a family, live my life with the one I wanted to spend the rest of it with. But things never go the way you want them too." She said to him. "You should give up being a ninja kiddo, sorrow is the only path that you'll go down if you continue being one. Take it from someone who's seen it happen far more times than she could count." Tsunade said as images of the past Wars she had fought in went through her mind and the deaths of people she had called enemy and friend.
"I can't do that, it would go against my Nindo my ninja way."
"A Shinobi's life is full of nothing but sorrow Naruto, just when it appears you are going to be happy tragedy strikes and you realize how empty you truly are."
Naruto gritted his teeth in anger. "I can't, I won't give up. I'll make the world a better place! I'll make it so that kind of stuff doesn't happen anymore!"
"You wouldn't be the first one to believe they could do that, and you won't be the last." Tsunade replied as she turned around to look at him. "You have better luck as a farmer or a cobbler than you would chasing after an impossible dream." She said and walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Go home, find yourself a different dream." She said and a tear appeared in her eye. "One that won't result in the deaths of those you care about like mine did." She said and walked off the building. Naruto turned and watched her go as she walked through the streets disappearing amongst the crowd.
The next day…
An eye slowly opened and found itself staring up at the ceiling above him. As he took in surroundings he recognized them as that of the Hospital having been there numerous times before. He was strapped to a machine monitoring his heart rate and vitals with an IV in his arm. He drowsily pulled himself up seating himself on the bed and brought a
"Sensei your awake!" The pink haired girl shouted and flung her arms around the conscious man hugging him in relief that he was finally awake. "I was so worried…"
Kakashi brought an arm and hugged Sakura back as he had regained consciousness. During the fight with Itachi and Kisame he had used his Sharingan to block Itachi's Genjutsu on Kurenai, but Itachi then used a stronger Genjutsu on him making him relive the days where everything had went to hell in his past. Kakashi had collapsed shortly afterwards and was taken to the hospital. He had been unconscious for the several past days due to it. He looked around and saw Sakura tears of happiness in her eyes as with her was Ino.
"I'd thought you wouldn't ever wake up." She said to him.
"I'm sorry I worried you all, I'll try and keep that from ever happening again." Kakashi said in response.
Recalling what had happened a look of concern appeared in his eye as someone wasn't there with them.
"Naruto…Where is Naruto?" Kakashi said struggling to sit up.
"Easy sensei you need to rest." Sakura said to him. "Naruto's alright, he went with Jiraiya. He left a few days back." She explained to him.
"I see…" Kakashi said and suddenly laughed to the confusion of the two girls. "Tsunade." He said surprising Sakura. "He's going to find Tsunade. I shouldn't be surprised." He said and for a moment he smiled.
"What do you mean? Who's Tsunade?" Ino asked him.
"A legendary Medic of Konoha, along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, she is the third Sannin." He said to them. "If anyone can heal his cousin it's her. I should've seen this coming." He said and began to get up out of bed.
"Sensei, you can't go now. The Doctor said it could be another week before your cleared to leave." Sakura said to him but he waved her away. Feeling his strength returning he got up out of the bed and stretched his muscles getting some movement back in them.
"I've suffered worst," He said standing up. "I can't just sit here doing nothing. I'm finding my student."
"Your not really thinking about going after him are you?" Ino said in disbelief. Kakashi ignored her and started heading towards to the door of the room. He reached to the handle but he suddenly collapsed and fell to one knee.
"Sensei!" Sakura cried out and she and Ino ran towards him and helped him up to his feet. "You gotta stay here, I wanna be out there helping Naruto as well but right now the best we can do is still here and recover and see that Sasuke wakes up as well." Sakura said to him and he let out a grunt.
"So it would seem, given what Itachi did to him he won't be waking up anytime soon." He murmured to himself. "His Mangekyo Sharingan had a deeper effect on Sasuke than it did me. Our only hope is that Tsunade comes and heals him as well as Kimimaro. That's the only chance we got. As much as I don't want too, we have to stay here." He said to them as they lead him back to the hospital bed and he sat down on it.
"Ino, get Kakashi something to eat." Sakura ordered the blonde who nodded and exited the room.
Kakashi sat down and shook his head trying to clear himself. He heard a coughing and wheezing and standing up despite Sakura's protests made his way to another room and saw Kimimaro. The boy was attached and hooked up to the bed and machines, looking as if he was on Death's door with his eyes lifeless. On the verge of death and soon would be.
He looked into another room and saw Sasuke inside the boy in a coma not moving still after taking Itachi's genjutsu.
"Raiga!" Orochimaru said ordering The Leader of The Kurosuki family who stood at attention with Ranmaru seated beside. "I have a job for you. While I go to meet Tsunade tomorrow The others will accompany me, while that is happening I want you and your best men to locate this." He ordered and Kabuto handed him a piece of paper and Raiga looked at it.
"I expect to be paid well for-"
"I've given you enough money!" Orochimaru snarled at him getting right up to his face. "I hired you and thus far you have given me lackluster results. This one you'll do for free." He said venomly to him. Raiga glared at him but didn't protest, this was one of the Three Sannins afterall.
"Fine, I go. Come Ranmaru." He said and opening a window put Ranmaru on his back who looked fearfully at the Snake and leapt out disappearing.
"What shall we do Orochimaru-sama?" Sakon asked him.
"You three shall stand as my guard." He told him, Ukon, Kidomaru, and Jirobo. "If that wretched Uzumaki boy shows up while Tsunade restores my arms…kill him."
"What about Tayuya?" Jirobo asked.
"Dispose of her as well." He responded coldly.
"Yes Orochimaru-sama," The group said bowing their heads.
Tsunade was walking throughout the city at a slow pace trying to steady herself as she felt a bit of a hangover coming on. Too much Sake she had had earlier.
"Tsunade…" A voice said and she rolled her eyes as she saw Jiraiya standing across the street from her.
"Again Jiraiya? I told you I have no intention of going back to Konoha." She said to him.
"You know me, I never give up after the first try." He said to her with a cheeky smile. "I come back for more and more." He said and she rolled her eyes again. "Listen, hear me out. You can't restore Orochimaru's arms." He told her all serious.
"How did you know?" She said to him.
"My ears are larger than an elephants and I have more eyes than a room full of ANBU." He said to her rather smugly. "But you can't restore them, you know what will happen if you do and he gets to use Jutsu fully again? He'll try to destroy Konoha again, and this time we won't be able to stop him I'm afraid if he does. You can't do this Tsunade if you do you will seal the fates of thousands of innocent people." He admonished her.
"Why should I care?" She responded to him.
"Well if you don't I guess I'll have to take the spot instead." Jiraiya said with a perverted grin. "I already have some designs in mind for the outfit's the Kunoichis will have to wear from now on." He said trying to get her riled up.
"Go right ahead and be Hokage then," She said coolly to him "I have no more attachments to The Leaf." She said and Jiraiya scowled angrily at her
"I can't believe you would be so selfish." Jiraiya said in disgust. "Look, I know what happened to Dan and Nawaki was terrible but you can't keep on living in the past. I too have lost people close to me, Minato for one. Sarutobi has died as well remember, but I ain't dwelling bitterly in the past thinking about what could've been like you are. You haven't suffered any worse than anyone else has despite what you think!" He said admonishing her. "The Gaki lost both his parents before he was an hour old and The Uzumaki's are gone. Kimimaro watched as his clan degenerated into barbarians and were wiped out to only him. They got more right to be upset about what's happened to them than you do. Even the Uchiha Sasuke does. Your not the only one who's hurting Tsunade but their moving on but your still living on in the damn past! Maybe Naruto was right, maybe you are a coward you hides and shrieks away from her duty in a bottle."
Tsunade glared at him as his words hurt more than he knew. He had no right to treat her like that, not after what she had done for Konoha and what she had gotten in return. The deaths of her family, her grandfather, her brother, and her fiancé. All of them she had lost ever since she had became a ninja of The Leaf.
"If you don't want to be Hokage fine then, I'll be The Godaime if I have too but I ain't letting you restore Orochimaru's arms." He told her The Toad Sannins' eyes narrowing at her. "What do you expect will happen even if you do heal them? He'll let you walk away? Not a chance in hell, he won't let anyone else use you. If you can restore his arms, think what use he'll make you do. And he won't take no for an answer."
"Do you think I didn't realize that?" She said dryly. "I know full well he won't likely go by his word tomorrow if I do heal them. He is a snake after all." Tsunade said bitterly. "I never thought he would go that far though, killing his own Sensei without a second thought."
"I'm glad you haven't gone blind then." He replied to her and she narrowed her eyes. "Listen, you can either A: Skip town today and leave him wondering where the hell your at and have him look for you again and once he finds you have you locked up and force you to heal his arms. Or B: You can listen to my plan."
Tsunade looked at him skeptically. "What kind of plan did you manage to come up with this time?"
Jiraiya flashed his trademark grin. "Just a plan that if all goes well will take care of Orochimaru for good tomorrow, but only if you work with me and don't chicken out."
A sigh escaped The Slug Sannin's lips. "Fine let's hear it."
The next morning…
"Wake up!" Jiraiya said shaking Naruto from his bed who looked up at him drowsily and looked at the clock.
"Ero Sennin, it's not even past six." He mumbled in response.
"Tsunade has left." He said to him. That got him up in a hurry.
"What?!" He exclaimed and tumbled and rolled out of the bed caught up in the blanket. "When? Where? How? When?!" He yelled as he got up out of the bed.
"Easy, calm down and focus, rumor has it a woman matching her description was seen heading towards a castle not far from here. Three or so miles from here I'm going to go on ahead and catch up with her and talk some sense into her. You get dressed and washup and meet us there. Hopefully we'll find her and talk some sense into her this time." He said and turned and left the room leaving the dazed Genin behind.
Jiraiya walked out of the room and spotted Tayuya leaning against a wall.
"I trust you know your role incase any of his goons showup right?" He asked her and she didn't respond to him. "Hmph, well then I'm off." He said and made his exit
Tsunade was by herself as she stood on the rooftop. Shizune wasn't with her as she had told the girl to remain behind. She waited patiently up there as the sun rose up.
She felt a presence and knew that she was not alone.
"So, you actually came? KuKuKu…" A voice said laughing and she turned around and spotted Orochimaru there, with him as always was Kabuto at his side.
"I've came like you agreed upon Orochimaru."
"Of course Tsunade-hime, though I'll admit your slug messenger last night was a bit surprising that you wanted us to meet so early." He said to her as she had sent a Slug to deliver a letter to him telling him to meet her earlier.
"No point in delaying the inevitable, let's get this over with." She told him.
Orochimaru again laughed. "Patience Tsunade-hime," He said teasingly. "Soon your beloved Brother and Lover shall be back with you again. Give me time to find two able bodies and they shall be." Orochimaru said with a cruel smirk.
"Fine, come here so I can heal your arms." Tsunade said growing irritated with his joyful mood.
Orochimaru walked over to her and held out his purple lifeless arms. Extending them out for her. She looked and examined them and slowly her hands began glowing a green color as she began her work. Time passed slowly as beads of sweat formed over her forehead as it required intense concentration and skill to do what she was doing. One mishap and it could be ruined.
Kabuto looked on as Orochimaru grinned as slowly his arms began to return to normal changing back from their purple to their original form and color. His fingers twitched without any struggled or pain flowing through them and he cackled in delight as they slowly began to heal. So he would have access to his Jutsu once again.
However, Kabuto was a skilled medic, a prodigy just like Tsunade was and his eyes narrowed as he realized that something was off with the way she was using it. While they appeared to be healing, he sensed that instead they were being damaged moreso and at the rate she was going it would spread all the way throughout his body and kill him before he realized what was going on.
"Orochimaru-sama!" He shouted and leapt and slashed at Tsunade with a scalpel aiming to stop her. She leapt backwards dodging his attack. "She meant to kill you my lord, under the pretense of healing your arms she instead was going to poison and kill you!"
"You treacherous witch!" Orochimaru shouted at her in fury that she had intended to kill him under the guise of healing and restoring his arms.
"I will never restore your arms Orochimaru, not after what you've done!" Tsunade said to him anger in her eyes as she glared at him. "I will end your life, as Revenge for what you did to Sarutobi!" She shouted and leapt and threw a fist which hit him across the face knocking him backwards staggering back from the blow. He wiped his head around murder in his eyes at her.
"If you will not heal me, than you shall die!" He shouted as Kabuto did Hand Symbols suddenly Tsunade find herself in an empty forest and she gasped when she saw bloodied bodies hanging off the limbs of the branches. Their bodies decayed and mutilated as blood oozed out of them and The Slug Sannin fell to her knees as her body shook and trembled at the sight of so much blood.
"No…" She said as she saw a pair of bodies before her. Two of them, both of them she knew instantly. "No, No, NO!" She shouted as tears formed in her eyes as she saw the bloodied corpses of Dan and Nawaki reliving their deaths. Her body was shaking and trembling as she couldn't do anything, the same way she felt when they died and she could do nothing to save them long ago.
Orochimaru appeared beside her and a Snake appeared out of the sleeve of his outfit and it raised its head up and prepared to sink its fangs into her neck and kill her. Venom drooling from its fangs as it prepared to bit her unprotected neck and sink its poison into her.
"TSUNADE!" A voice shouted and the Genjutsu broke suddenly and Tsunade found herself back on the rooftops of the Castle and saw what was about to happen. She dodged the bite and grabbing the snake yanked it loosed and snapped its neck killing it and tossed it away as she stood up.
Jiraiya threw a Kunai at him which Orochimaru ducked and dodged his attack.
"I maybe be armless, but I am not helpless!" Orochimaru shouted and lashed out his tongue which extended and his Kusanagi sword appeared connected to it slashing at Jiraiya who narrowly dodged the blade leaping back, he noticed a cut on his shirt seeing just how deep it was and it could've been trouble if he had gotten him just now. Orochimaru lashed out at him again with his sword and Jiraiya ducked the swing. Kabuto appeared behind him and went to stab him with his scalpels.
"Mind your business boy!" Jiraiya said dodging it and using his momentum threw him off the rooftops of the castle. Doing hand symbols he fired a large stream of oil at Orochimaru who dodged it. Producing a match he then lit it and threw it onto the oil on the rooftop setting it aflame.
Orochimaru hissed and covered himself as smoke and fire covered the top of the castle and leapt down and began running down the sides. Jiraiya scowled and chased after him running downwards pursuing him.
"You won't escape!" He shouted as he chased after him.
Orochimaru suddenly grinned and leapt up and was passed by Jiraiya surprising him. He then lashed out with his tongue and it wrapped around Jiraiya's foot like a lasso. The Toads' eyes widened as he was pulled off it and dragged down and slammed into the ground back first and he groaned in pain as he laid there not moving.
"Now Jiraiya, you will die!" Orochimaru said and a Snake appeared out of his mouth and spat out the Kusanagi blade the sword coming downwards towards him and he was unable to move. He gritted his teeth and clenched them as it went down coming at him and closed his eyes bracing for the impact.
Suddenly Tsunade appeared in front of him and took the hit the blade stabbing into her stomach and blood sprouted out form her wound as the blood stuck out of her.
"Tsunade!" He shouted as he managed to break loose and pulled himself up.
"I'm…ok, I've suffered worse." She said and Tsunade reached in and pulled the blade out of her stomach hissing in pain and threw it away and reached down to her stomach as she channeled chakra and in an instant the wound had faded and the blood from the wound had drained away as if never there. Grabbing the blade she then threw it back at Orochimaru who caught it with his tongue and swallowed it whole.
"You can't beat both of us Orochimaru," Tsunade said to him as she stood side by side with Jiraiya across from him and Kabuto who rejoined him.
Orochimaru suddenly smirked. "Maybe so, not without some help. Kabuto!" He shouted and the medic slashed his shoulder with a kunai causing blood to spill as Orochimaru struggled to bring his hands up. Jiraiya and Tsunade's eyes widened at what he was about to do as he formed the symbols.
"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" He shouted performing the summoning Jutsu.
(SHIT!) Both The Slug and Toad thought simultaneously at the same time realizing what he was going to do as they felt a wave of chakra emitting and a giant cloud of smoke covered the area.
A Great Purple Snake large enough to crush the castle with golden black eyes emerged from the smoke and he opened his maw and let out a deafening roar and hiss as The Snake Lord, Manda had been summoned. On top of his head standing there was both Orochimaru and Kabuto.
"Crush them!" Orochimaru ordered and he hissed and lunged at them and the two dodged in the nick of time as a deep crater was made and the earth shook from the force of him hitting the ground. The gigantic summon opened its maw and snarled as it lashed at them with its tail which could topple buildings and break apart mountains.
While Orochimaru was smirking pleased, Kabuto was nervous. Manda demanded large sacrifices for each use and because of Orochimaru's great power that was the only thing that kept him in check each time he was summoned, if he discovered that Orochimaru was weakened, he would no doubt turn on them and try to devour them instead.
Jiraiya and Tsunade looked on at the sight before them.
"I hope your still on friendly terms with Katsuyu, we're gonna need her help as well." Jiraiya said to her biting his thumb.
"We are, just make sure your toad watches where he fires." Tsunade said as she did the same and the two did hand symbols.
"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!"
Two poofs of smoke appeared and Jiraiya stood on top of The Toad Boss Gamabunta whilst Tsunade stood on the head of The Slug Queen Katsuyu, The Three summons on opposite sides a Sannin on each of them.
Naruto ran as fast as he could as he had realized what was going on when he heard the people back in the City going on about something going on. Apparently someone matching Orochimaru's description had been spotted as well going in the direction where Tsunade was going. He couldn't let him get to her
As Naruto ran towards the castle he looked on and saw the outlines of the three giant summons, larger than anything he had ever dreamed of seeing and faintly saw people on top of them. Looking on he knew he had to get there at once, no way was he missing this!
To his surprise he was surrounded by three people dressed in similar clothing.
"Lookie here boys," Sakon said as they surrounded him. "A careless rat that walked right into a trap." He said and Kidomaru and Jirobo snickered as well.
"Get out of my way." Naruto said to them.
"Your really are stupider than you look if you think we're going to let you through." Kidomaru said to him.
"Fine…then I'll make you move!" Naruto shouted and sprouted two bone swords and charged the group. Jirobo was the first to attack him raising his fists up and punching at him looking to crush him. Naruto swiftly dodged and blocked his attacks dodging the larger ninja's attacks. He threw a kick at him and Naruto ducked under and did a backflip his legs connecting with Jirobo's jaw knocking him back. He then followed it up with a running dropkick knocking him to the ground.
He heard a sound and saw Sakon rushing him and he braced himself as he attacked him, The leader of the group's attacks fast and swift coming at him from many directions. Naruto dodged and blocked reading his movements
To his surprise Sakon's brother Ukon appeared and thrust his leg out of Sakon's stomach and kicked him in the chest knocking him backwards. The two than split from themselves and attacked at the same time using the same attack as Naruto had to deal with four arms and four legs coming at him.
"Kage Bushin!" He shouted activating his Jutsu and created a hundred clones. The force charged the two who snarled and activated their cursed seal powering themselves up as markings covered their bodies similar to how Sasuke had done and Kimimaro as well.
The two fought against the clones and defeated them knocking them down causing them to explode into clouds of smoke. The real Naruto appeared and forming hand symbols began to cast a Jutsu.
"Sun Flare No Jutsu!" He shouted bringing his hands to his forehead and a bright flash hit them blinding them as they covered their faces. Naruto was prepared to finish them off at once when suddenly something hit him in the back. He turned his head and looked and saw a sticky weblike substance sticking into it and it had been fired at him by Kidomaru hitting him with his thread.
"Time to go for a ride!" Kidomaru shouted and swung and launched him into the air. Naruto cried out as he did a flip and landed on his stomach. Getting up he then saw Jirobo hoisting a giant boulder up over his head effortlessly and threw it at him. Naruto dodged it in the nick of time as that would've crushed him. He was good but he knew he couldn't last forever against all three of them.
He dodged Jirobo's fists and head butted him knocking him back and just narrowly avoided an arrow fired at him by Kidomaru having created his bow and arrow. Sakon and Ukon rushed him and he fought hand to hand against them. He ducked under their attacks and grabbing their arms flipped them onto their backs and stomped on both of their chests. He then getting a short bone blade out threw it in a spinning motion at Kidomaru and hitting his bow breaking it. He scowled and threw it away and formed six short blades one in each arm and attacked Naruto swiping at him with them. Naruto blocked and parried his attacks with his bone swords as Kidomaru looked to overwhelm him.
Naruto reached down and pulled out a large bone the size of a Kanabo and swung and hit Kidomaru in the stomach making him cry out in pain as he felt his ribs broken and cracked from the force of the blow. "Damn you!" He shouted in pain coughing up blood. Naruto then swung again and hit two of his arms breaking them as well. He went to deliver an overhead blow and crush his head and kill him.
"Oh no you don't!" Jirobo shouted grabbing him in a full nelson from behind before and grinning cruelly applied pressure using all his strength looking to break his arms. He cried out when he felt something pierce him suddenly and let go as Naruto stabbed him in the stomach with spikes sticking out of his back and let go.
Naruto turned and slugged him across the face and The group regrouped glaring death at him for having hold his own against all of them at once. They looked at each other and they all nodded in agreement evil grins sprouting on their faces which Naruto realized they were up to something bad as markings from their seals covered them.
Suddenly the sound of a flute being played was heard surprising them and the markings receded from their bodies.
A blindfolded ape appeared beside Naruto and swung its club at him and he narrowly dodged it in the nick of time and landed in a kneeling state as he turned his head and saw a red haired girl wearing a hat on top of her head and white tunic and black shorts with a purple bow around her waist walking towards them playing her instrument.
"Tayuya?!" Naruto said in disbelief. She had attacked him? Damn it, she had betrayed him again!
"You think I'm going to betray my comrades you stupid dumbass?" Tayuya said smirking evilly at him as she walked towards them. "I was just letting for an opportunity to get a chance to kill you." She said to him.
"Why you…!" Naruto said as he had been right all along. She was not trustworthy! It had all been an act just so she could get close.
"Well then Tayuya, I guess you wouldn't mind killing this fool for us, think of it as a welcome back gift when you present his head to Orochimaru-sama." Sakon said and chuckled darkly and the others joined in as she summoned her other Doki.
"With pleasure." She said grinning and brought her flute up and prepared to order her summons to kill him.
Tayuya played a tune on her flute and her Doki raised and swung its club…
Right into Sakon.
"ARGHHH!" He shouted as he and Ukon were launched into the others knocking them all down to the ground. He sat up and looked at Tayuya. "You treacherous Bitch!" He shouted at her as he had been setup.
"You really think I haven't forgotten that you pieces of shit abandoned me back at Konona?!" She yelled at them remembering what they had done. Naruto looked on surprised as this was something he hadn't expected, Tayuya saving him.
"You'll pay for this! I'll have your head one day!" Sakon shouted and he threw a smoke bomb down and he and the others disappeared.
Naruto watched them leave and then turned and looked back at Tayuya his brows narrowing as he looked at her. Had she truly saved him? Or was it a setup so she could try to kill him when he least suspected it?
"If you still think I'm an enemy that's fine, I don't give a damn." Tayuya said to him. "But my allegiance is no longer to Orochimaru so if you can get your head out of your ass about past grudges and what happened before maybe we can actually stop that Snake bastard. You want to save your cousin don't you?"
"Fine, let's go." He told her and the two went heading in the direction of the ongoing battle
Manda wrapped himself around Katsuyu but the Slug Queen burst into several smaller Slugs and reformed herself.
"How's about a light?" Gamabunta said to Jiraiya as he formed liquid and Jiraiya tossed an explosive tag into his mouth and he fired a fireball at Manda hitting him directly. However when the smoke cleared Manda was revealed to have shedded his skin deflect the attack and regrew new scales and The Snake Lord bitter enemy of the Toad Boss lunged at him and sank his teeth into Gamabunta's side who responded by smacking him with his tongue.
Katsuyu pressed herself against him rubbing poison against the Snake's body and he roared and rammed his head into her. Despite Tsunade and Jiraiya working together, it was at a standstill to see who would win.
"Whoa, what a colossal battle!" Naruto said looking on at what was happening as he stood next to Tayuya and Shizune who had joined up with them. He watched on as Manda clamped his mouth down on Gamabunta's neck looking to snap it. Katsuyu appeared looking to aid him but Manda brought his tail back and swatted him stunning her. "I gotta do something!" He shouted and ran towards the scene.
"It's too dangerous to go by yourself!" Shizune called out by Naruto paid her no attention as he did hand symbols.
"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" He shouted as he did his own summon and summoned a giant Toad of his own. Not as big as Gamabunta, only half his size but a formidable one in his own right.
"Wretched brat!" Orochimaru shouted seeing it and Manda lashed out at him with his tail. The Toad dodged it and Naruto threw dozens of shuriken and kunai at him which Orochimaru and Kabuto dodged. That distraction gave Jiraiya enough time to get Gamabunta loose and free itself and slammed its legs into Manda's head knocking it backwards and creating an opening.
"Try this! Earth Release: Swamp of The Underworld!" Jiraiya shouted doing hand symbols. The ground under Manda began sinking and changing and turned into a giant swamp and the Giant Snake began sinking into the mud. The reptile roared and tried to break free of it as it was being pulled down into the swamp immobilized.
"Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted at his student and the two nodded realizing what the other was going to do and the two leapt out and each formed a ball of energy.
"Double Rasengan!" The two shouted and Naruto threw his first and Jiraiya threw his as well the two growing into a giant sized version of it and it slammed into Manda and it exploded and staggered the summon and knocked Orochimaru and Kabuto off of him and the two landed on the ground.
"Damn it!" He shouted in fury. He looked on as Manda retreated heading back to his realm having had enough.
"Its over Orochimaru…" Jiraiya said as he leapt down from Gamabunta along with the others standing against him. Sakon and the others appeared to protect him but concern was on their faces as they knew they were outmatched.
Suddenly a bolt of lightning hit the ground and Raiga Kurosuki appeared beside them and whispered something into Orochimaru's ear who's eyes widened a bit before he grinned.
Orochimaru suddenly laughed at the unexpected turn of events much to their surprise. "How unpredictable, not even Sages of old could've predicted these turn of events. Very well then Tsunade go on become The Godaime, be the next Hokage of Konoha. It'll make no different next time I attack and this time I will destroy The Leaf." He said to them. "There is another way for me to regain the use of my arms, a certain boy perhaps." He said with a cackle to them. "And Tayuya," He said grinning cruelly at the ex Sound Kunoichi who gritted her teeth. "You will never escape my grasp no matter how far you go or what path you take, just like Kimimaro you are mine forever."
"Go to hell," She said anger in her voice. "I will never be yours you bastard, never again." Tayuya said renouncing her ties to him. Jiraiya stood in front of her
Orochimaru cackled darkly. "I look forward to our next meeting and encounter." He said and he, Kabuto, The remaining Sound Four, and Raiga disappeared in a blur.
The group of five stayed at the spot for a long while after Orochimaru had retreated. None of them speaking or saying anything as they stood there.
"Well…" Jiraiya spoke up after a minute had passed. "I guess we'll try to find someway to bring Kimimaro to you so you can heal him and Sasuke." He said to Tsunade. "Do you know a spot that will fine with you?"
"It'll be a waste of a trip for us to gather and go to one place." She responded. "I see no reason why I should make an extra trip,"
"I see…"
"When instead I could head to Konoha myself and heal them there." She said and a smile grew on Tsunade's face.
"Huh?!" Naruto said in disbelief at her words.
"I've been thinking about what you said Jiraiya, and what you've said as well Naruto. I am a coward, I've run away for so long. I know that the past hurts but I've let it consumed me for so long that I've stopped caring about what's happening here in the Present and The Future instead thinking about what could've been. Others have suffered and moved on and now its time for me to do the same. I shall head back to Konoha."
"Does this mean?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yes, I shall succeed Sarutobi, and become The Fifth Hokage, The Godaime of Konohagakure." She said as she would accept it.
"All right!" Naruto shouted with a grin as they had succeeded in getting her to agree to become Hokage.
"Well then let's head back to Konoha then." Jiraiya said with a smile and he looked over at Tayuya. "All of us."
Sometime later…
Kimimaro felt his eyes open and felt strange, as if something that had been bothering him before had gone up and left. He found himself staring up at the ceiling and his eyes focused and he felt strength, strength he hadn't felt in years coming back to him. He opened his mouth and inhaled and for the first time in months had no problems breathing, he felt no strain or trouble doing so. His lungs, they felt purified and whole instead of crippled and damaged like they had been for so long.
The disease…it was gone. He was cured of it at long last.
"Welcome back to The Land of The Living." A voice said and he lifted his head up and saw a Blonde woman smiling at him. "The disease that had plagued you for so long is gone. You are now healed Kimimaro Kaguya." She told him with a smile on her face.
"How?" He said not understanding.
"I did it, my names Tsunade and I healed your lungs and rid the disease that had inhabited your for so long." She told him. "But if your going to thank someone, thank the guy who wouldn't give up on you no matter what." She said and made a motion with her head.
Kimimaro looked to where she mentioned and saw standing in the doorway tears of joy beaming down his face at the sight of him fully healed.
His Cousin…Naruto Uzumaki.
A/N: This chapter was a hassle to do, Read and Review please. I'll try to update my other stories as well.