Naruto and Hanabi stood back to back as ink-coated beasts charged at them from either side.
Acting quickly and in tandem, Naruto placed his hands in a seal, creating a clone of himself that stood on the other side of Hanabi, who quickly took hold of both Naruto's wrists and started spinning around. Going fast enough for the two Naruto's to become streaks in their rotation, before letting them go and having them fly in either direction towards a beast each.
The Naruto's each grabbed the red-hilted blade on their backs, unsheathing it as they flew past the black and white beasts, a quick albeit powerful slash hitting both breasts as they dissipated in a burst of ink. Surprising both Naruto and Hanabi that they were actually made up of the stuff, and turning their attention towards the pale-skinned boy on the rooftop just a few bit away, they surmised he was the one making them.
Not wasting a moment, Hanabi and the two Naruto's ran towards him, Naruto leading the charge while Hanabi stayed in the back, as she was still recovering.
Reaching just in front of the building the boy was perched upon, Naruto was ready to jump towards him. Only to pause as the black-haired ninja suddenly brought his scroll up as his pressed his brush towards it. His hand moving incredibly fast to Naruto's eyes.
And after pulling away the ink-dipped brush from the scroll, a multitude of beasts sprung out of the paper, catching Naruto off-guard.
"Don't stop!" Hanabi's voice called out to him.
Naruto heard the sound of a kunai cutting through the air, appearing in over the blonde and in the middle of the ink-based-beasts ready to pounce on it. The kunai them puffing into a cloud of smoke as Naruto saw his clone emerge from it, taking a glance back to see Hanabi's hand stretched out, indicating she was the one who threw it.
Following her earlier words, Naruto jumped up, his clone cutting a path through the beasts in front of him. Allowing Naruto to get through while the remaining beasts took his clone to the ground with a hard crash, causing it to disperse. Only for the beasts to follow its fate shortly after as Hanabi threw another kunai at the group, this time a paper-bomb being attached to it.
The explosion held more than enough force to take them out.
Naruto meanwhile landed atop the roof, his blade already swinging in front of him directed at his mysterious attacker. Who quickly grabbed a hold of the blade strapped around his back and unsheathing it. Revealing a short, non-tipped tanto that clashed with his own.
Naruto gritted his teeth as he was locked in a blade struggle. As despite his own sword appearing strong and longer, his opponent held more than enough skill to hold him back for now.
"Who the hell are you?" Naruto growled at his opponent.
Who simply wore a smile and said, "You're kinda a pushover, aren't you?"
Naruto felt a tick appear on his forehead from the taunt, growing in size as the boy continued, "Do you even have a backbone?"
Naruto growled "Who do you think you are?"
However, before the two could even converse any further, Hanabi landed atop of the room and ran towards them.
Seemingly not wanting to test his luck, the mysterious boy pulled away from the blade struggle. Jumping into the as his opened scroll was thrown over him, one hand placed in a seal as a stream of black ink poured out of the scroll and swirled around his body.
"You two will know more about me in due time, Naruto, Hanabi." He spoke as the steam of ink suddenly expanded, covering his form completely from view before dispersing with a burst. The boy was nowhere to be seen.
Naruto and Hanabi both looked at each other with a confused and worried look.
"And then he just disappeared! Like that!"
Kushina sighed as Naruto repeated himself once again, her back turned towards him as she washed the dishes while Minato slept on the couch.
"And like I said before Naruto, I'll speak with Hiruzen about this, but until then, there's not much I can do." Kushina told her son. Who was still clearly frustrated by this mysterious person who attack him and Hanabi out of no-where. Kushina also feeling a bit of frustration as she had a pretty good idea of who it was.
*Ring
The sound of the doorbell cut any further conversation on the topic between the Mother and Son short.
"Can you get that dear." Kushina simply asked her son, who just nodded as he already had started walking towards the door, muttering something under his breath that Kushina had no doubt was related to his attacker.
"Shikamaru-Nii?" Naruto stated surprised. Facing the tired looking Jonin as he gave a yawn.
"Hey Naruto," The Nara simply greeted, looking up into the house as Kushina peaked around the corner.
"Well hello Shikamaru! Pleasure to see you!" She greeted from the kitchen, "Come on, make yourself in!"
Shikamaru simply held a hand up and shook his head in a respectful no, "Unfortunately I can't do that, I'm a little short on time, I have a mission to set out for a bit."
"Really?" Kushina asked curiously as she walked down to the door to properly face him, "Than may I ask why you're here?"
"For him, actually." Shikamaru pointing towards Naruto.
The blonde looked up at him confused, "Me?"
"Yep," The Nara confirmed, "I'm a bit short on teammates, so the Third recommended you and someone else."
"Who else?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Not sure, Third said he'd meet us at the gate, be there in less than an hour, ok?" And with that, the Nara simply turned around and started walking away, with the wave of his hand serving as his goodbye.
Naruto looked up at his Mother, who looked down at him.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kushina asked him, "Go and get ready!"
Naruto quickly made his way up to his room to pack.
Naruto jumped from rooftop to rooftop, making sure to arrive at the village gates before hours end. Seeing it come into sight, and two very familiar people standing at its entrance.
"Hey Naruto!" Ino cheerfully called out as Shikamaru stood next to her, giving her fellow blonde a wave as he landed a bit away. Running up to the two before stopping in front of them. His head only reaching up to their neck.
"Hey guys," Naruto greeted the two.
Shikamaru merely nodded at his response, taking a finger out of the ear that was closer to Ino as the ringing it had from her boisterous voice went away, "Well, we're all here, it's time for us to get going."
"All here?" Naruto questioned confused, "Didn't you say you we were getting one more person?"
Shikamaru simply pointing his fingers towards the gate's edge, revealing someone standing just on the other side of its corner. Who made his way around it. A smile on his pale-skinned face as Naruto was stunned as he recognized him instantly.
"You?" Naruto stated confused.
"Hi," The pale boy simply greeted at the blonde.
Ino looked at the two confused, "Do you two know each other?"
Naruto gained an irritated look on his face, "This guy attack me while I was out with Hanabi earlier!" Shooting an accusing finger towards the boy, who still wore that smile on his face.
Naruto didn't hesitate as he quickly grabbed a hold of two kunai in his pouches, holding one in each hand. The boy meanwhile, simply responded by grabbing ahold of the tanto on his back and slightly moving back, ready to defend himself as that smile never left his face.
"Hey hey hey," Shikamaru repeated at the two in irritation, turning towards the blonde genin, "Naruto, stand down." He told him in a somewhat serious tone, seeing as Naruto was the one who drew his weapon first.
"You two are teammates now, right? And not just for this mission, but for your actual squad too." The Nara added.
Naruto visibly relaxed his stance, "Teammate?" He repeated confused, looking back at the pale boy, "This guy?"
Said boy, who was still holding a hand on his blade's hilt seemingly relaxed, removing his hand from it, "Sorry about earlier," He told Naruto with that same smile, "It's just that since we and that girl Hanabi will be teammates in the future, I wanted to properly gauge your strengths."
Naruto seemed a bit perplexed by the answer, seeing the strange logic, "You could've just asked us to spar," Naruto told him as he placed his kunai back in his pouches.
But he would soon wish he thrown them at the boy from what he said next, "And thanks to that quick fight, I can tell the two of you worthless."
Ino had to hold Naruto back from trying to pummel the boy. Who's smile never left him.
Shikamaru simply sighed, 'I know he's from root, but even so, this mission's gonna be more of a drag than I thought.'
'Yep, this is a drag.' Shikamaru thought as the team walked down the dirt path. Naruto on one end, while the pale boy who introduced himself as 'Sai' walked down the other. The blonde genin clearly looking displeased while the Sai seemed emotionless. He and Ino situated in between them, with the ponytail-blonde glancing at the two every now and then.
Naruto held his hands behind his head as he continued walking, taking a glance at the side towards Sai who kept looking straight ahead, only for the pale-skinned ninja to look back at him and give him smile that Naruto didn't like. The blonde quickly looking away from him and back towards Shikamaru.
"So anyways Shikamaru-Nii, whats our mission?"
The Nara gave a sigh, hating having to explain something due to the energy it took, "Escorting a VIP, We'll be acting as bodyguards basically." He simply responded before elaborating, "Thanks to the Akatsuki destabilizing the region from the Sand all the way to the cloud, including the Leaf's borders due to their attack on the Chunin Exams. Some countries have found themselves losing control of very important locations that are in our best interest not to happen."
Shikamaru gave a yawn before continuing, "It's one of the reasons why there are so few ninjas in the Leaf at the moment, because most of them are out trying to help stabilize the nearby regions. We specifically, are trying to prevent a seal that's trapping a demon from coming undone."
"A demon?" Naruto asked surprised.
"Something like that," Shikamaru told him, "In any case, no matter what it is, if it gets loose, it'll wreak havoc and no doubt be a huge pain for the nearby villages to deal with. And considering the threat of the Akatsuki is looming over us, we have even more reason not to waste resources on a battle with it at full strength. So we'll be escorting a preisties from the Land of Demons who's sealing technique should be more than powerful to repower the seal located in the Land of Swamps."
Naruto nodded his head in understanding, "Ok, but who exactly would we need to protect this person from?"
Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders, "Who knows? People who stand to gain from having it run amok, power-hungry-franatics, maybe even the Akatsuki."
Naruto gritted his teeth at the mention of the last one.
"If we do run into them, try not to act reckless." Sai said, his voice directed at Naruto.
Who in turn, didn't seem to appreciate that tone, "What's that supposed to mean?" He growled back at his 'teammate' .
"You're impulsive, brash, and most of all, idealistic." Sai listed off, "I've read your reports, and honestly, I wonder how much luck you've had to make it this far."
"Why you," Naruto stopped in his tracks to give Sai an angry look, who in turn stopped to look at him with an impassive face.
"Hey you two-" Ino tried to cut in, only to be stopped by Shikamaru placing a hand on her shoulder. Ino looking back to see him shaking his head in a manner that told her not to get involved.
There was a clear air of tension around these two. And the sooner the two talk and say what they wanted to the other, the better. That was Shikamaru's logic.
And Sai was ready to give his own, "During the Chunin Exams when the Akatsuki attacked, instead of getting help, you decided to charge after the Hyuuga they took. Falling right into their trap that you were unable to escape on your own. Not to mention your influence on Hanabi isn't very beneficial to the Leaf."
"What are you implying?" Naruto asked through gritted teeth and clenched fists.
Sai continued to look at him with an stoic face, "If she wishes to be a ninja, that's fine, however, as heiress of the Hyuuga clan, she must know just how much value her life has in keeping stability in one of the leaf's most vital clans. If she were to adopt more tendencies to jump into a situation, then she'll be putting her life in danger more than it should be."
"You listen here!" Naruto shouted at Sai, "You don't know who we are! We're free to make our own choices, Hanabi shouldn't be tied down by her clan, she should be able to live how she wants!"
But Sai didn't seem to share that notion, "Choices?" He repeated in what almost sounded like a confused and slightly mocking tone, "There is your idealism. We are ninja, we don't have choices, we don't choose what we want. All we do is complete the mission we are given at any cost, to protect our village and serve its best interests above all else."
Sai tone didn't waver as he finished, "We are tools for the village to use for its benefit, nothing more, nothing less."
Naruto felt a bit stunned at his answer, yet his anger at Sai didn't dissipate, infact, he believed it only increases.
And in the back, Shikamaru couldn't help but sigh.
Kushina and Minato sat down at the table, silently ending dinner, the latter needing to take his time due to his injuries. Though eventually, his wife suddenly broke the silence and said, "Why did you let that root ninja on Naruto's team."
Minato sighed, dropping his utensil to focus his energy towards his wife, who was giving him a hard look.
"For Naruto to find out what he's true intentions are," Minato simply stated.
"True intentions?" Kushina repeated, her tone begging him to clarify.
"When Hiruzen told me of Danzo's request, of course I was skeptical, why wouldn't I be of that man," Minato told her, doing his best not to let his disdain for the one-eyed man show in his tone, "But I knew there must be a reason. Danzo's playing some kind of long game, but I don't know what. I've known that eventually, he'd make a move on either Naruto or Naruko, but the specifics are still unknown."
Changing his look into one of determination, Minato simply said, "I believe Naruto might be able to learn some of those intentions from this 'Sai', in fact, I believe it'll be good for him to get some actual experience with some of the root ninja and understand just how differently they operate, I'm sure it'll be a shock to him, but I think it'll be good for him. He needs to learn that even our village, his home, has a place where the light doesn't shine, so he can prepare for it when he grows up."
"That's all?" Kushina asked, sounding unconvinced.
Minato simply shook his head, "No, for part of me believes Naruto can help Sai."
"Help him?" His wife asked confused.
"When reading his files, and personally interviewing him myself before you and Naruto came home from your mission, I think there's still a chance for him. He's young, and the roots of darkness are deep in him, but there's still a small ray of light shining through, and I think Naruto can make it shine a bit brighter." Minato stated with firm belief.
Kushina simply blinked at her husband, before letting out a sigh, "Real optimistic of you, Minato," She told him with a tone of disbelief mixed with doubt and praise, "I'll trust you for now. But if he, or Danzo do anything to our children, nothing, not even you will stop me from rampaging through his organization." She finished with a threatening tone, her hair briefly splitting into 9 thick tails as the residue of powerful aura left in her from a chakra long gone flared up.
Minato simply laughed at her remark, "Who says I won't join you?" He joked.
And Kushina couldn't help but give him a small smile.
Naruto sat up against a tree and atop its branch, looking out into the setting sun. A bit away from the camp he and the others had set up, but not far enough that he couldn't see them if he looked back.
He couldn't help but think about Sai, and what he said.
"You don't seem like the type to sulk,"
Naruto turned his head down to look at Shikamaru, who was looking up at him with a slightly concerned look over his usually tiredly impassive face.
"Than again, I could say the same about your sister, but I've seen her sulk like this more than a few times." The Nara continued with a small movement of his arms.
"Hey Shikamaru-Nii" Naruto greeted with a small grumble of his voice.
The jonin exhaled another sigh, feeling as though he had done so too many times today, even for him. Hand behind his head, he looked up at the genin, "Sai?"
Naruto nodded, "I don't get what's his deal, Ninjas as just a tool? What kind of meaning is there in that?"
"To follow the system that's in place for the world.." Shikamaru simply stated, causing Naruto to looked down at him confused, the Nara leaning against the tree-trunk, "How much do you really know of root?"
"I know their similar to the anbu, albeit a darker version."
"And how do you think they cope with their actions?" Shikamaru questioned, Naruto staying silent at the question as he didn't have a good answer.
"Root Ninja don't have pleasant lives, they don't do pleasant things, and most are chosen to join from a young age," Shikamaru told him, "I've worked with them a couple of times. They're not evil, they don't have any sort of pleasure from what they do, in fact, it's like they can't feel anything. They just have to do it."
Crossing his arms, the Nara gave a sigh, "I'm not here to tell you whether or not you think they're justified in what they do, that's for you to decide, but ask yourself this. Considering what they have to do, what type of environment do you think they grow up in?" And with that, the Nara walked away.
Naruto stayed silent as he pondered the questions, his speculation not looking pleasant.
Sai's brush moved with careful movements as he painted a picture of the flames that lit the area blanket by the night's sky. Providing light and heat around it.
Only to stop from the very noticeable presence of the person standing behind him.
"Is there something you need?" The root-ninja asked, turning around slightly and glancing up towards Ino, who was standing over him, a look of curiosity directed at his drawing.
"Oh, sorry," The girl told him with a slightly embarrassed tone, "I just got curious about what you were doing," She answered truthfully before turning her attention back to his art, "You're a good drawer."
Sai returned back to his canvas, not responding to her compliment.
Ino sweatdrop at his silence, "Do you like drawing?" She asked.
Sai paused in his movements, seemingly pondering the question before speaking, "Not particularly," Sai answered simply, "Though I don't really know what liking something feels like, so I wouldn't really know."
Ino felt a bit surprised by his answer, "You don't know what liking something feels like?" She repeated his statement, "Do you not feel happy? Or even sad?"
Sai simply nodded his head, "I would say no, as a ninja, I've been taught not to feel anything," The boy told her, "Emotions affect logic, and for us ninja, we must preserve logic at all times in order to complete our mission."
Ino blinked at him a bit surprised, before giving him a slight look of sympathy, "Is that why you seem to have such a low opinion of Naruto?" She asked
Sai nodded, "He's not just some genin, he's the son of the Hokage, and much more," Ino didn't need for him to clarify, knowing exactly what else he was referring to.
"His very status has the power to affect our village, its inhabitants, and the system keeping it at peace in a way I don't think he properly understands." Sai continued, "Yet it's clear he's very emotional, and as history has shown us, emotions tend to make most ninja, die young, in an avoidable death. All because their feelings told them something, while logic said another, and the mission becomes lost."
He placed down his brush and canvas before finishing, "But in the end, the village suffers the most."
Ino continued to look at him sympathetically, this type of opinion, ideals. The environments needed to create them were not usually pleasant, and she couldn't help but pity what must've been a sad childhood.
But she decided to at the very least, leave him with something to ponder with.
"You said, you don't feel emotions, but you seemed very firm in your worlds, you seemed to believe in them." Ino stated, her words causing the boy to look at her with a slightly confused but mostly stoic look as she continued, "I think you do feel, feel that the mission, the village and its people mean a lot. You value them so highly that you'll do what you can to protect them. And in that regard, you and Naruto might not be as different as you think."
Sai blinked at her statement, and before he could respond, she spoke again.
"Oh, and by the way, this is just coming from me, but ask yourself, if you choose to draw something, even when it doesn't help you significantly in any way, I think that means you find it pleasing, meaning, you like it."
And with that, the pale-haired blonde walked away. Leaving Sai to think about her words.
Naruto found himself still thinking about Shikamaru's words, so deep in thought that he didn't notice another blonde walking up the tree.
"Ahh!" Naruto gasped a bit surprised by the sudden tap on his shoulder, turning to the side to see Ino looking at him, her feet against the side of the tree along with one hand to keep her up.
"Sorry," She apologized.
Naruto let out a sigh, "No worries," He expressed as he turned back to look at the night sky.
Ino looked at him with a somewhat sympathetic look, he was clearly still thinking about Sai.
So she decided to help him take his mind off it with a little teasing.
"Thinking about Hinata?" Ino asked.
That snapped Naruto away from his thoughts, "What?" He replied flusteredly, his face a tinged red.
Ino giggled at his reaction, "Well I mean, it would only be natural considering you two went on a date,"
Naruto blinked at her, "How did you know?"
The girl chuckled, "Who do you think helped her get ready? Not to mention considering how happy she seemed after it was enough to tell me it went well."
Naruto was too embarrassed to reply, looking away.
Ino couldn't help but take some delight in his reaction, "So how did it go? Try as I might, Hinata just wouldn't give me the juicy details. So what happened? Where'd you go? What did you two do? Were you a gentleman? Anything naughty happen?" She cooed the last part, smirking as Naruto's body slightly jumped at her words. She already knew most of what happened on their date, considering she was spying on them from a distance with Naruko and Sakura. But she was curious what else occurred.
Naruto turned to her with a bright red blush across his cheeks, "Why would you ask something like that?!" He almost screamed flustered.
"Not denying it?" His fellow blonde replied delightfully, "What was it? A kiss with some tongue? Maybe some body pressing? Did she let you feel up her breasts or get a peak? Did she peak down there?" She gestured towards his lap, "Come on I promise not to tell your sister!"
Naruto's face became brighter by the second, "That's none of your business!" He stated, 'Not to mention if I did tell you what we did, I'm not sure you would look at me and Hinata the same ever again.'
Ino laughed, "Alright alright I'll drop it, for now." She assured him, though her tone on her last two words told him she would wait for another chance, "Anyways, I'm gonna head off for some sleep, and I know I don't need to tell you not to stay up too late, but I feel like I owe it to Naruko to remind you." She informed him, ready to make her way down the tree.
Only to turn back towards him, "Oh, but before that."
Naruto's eyes widen in surprise at the feeling of a soft pair of lips pressing against his bright red cheeks, leaving his skin with a wet smack. Turning towards his side, he looked at Ino with a confused look.
The girl smiled brightly at him, "Consider it thanks, for making Hinata really happy."
And with those words and a quick wink, she went down the tree. Leaving Naruto alone once again.
"Oh for the love of, don't think lewd thoughts again!"
"AHhh!" Naruto gasped, jumping up slightly from the sudden voice, before relaxing and responding back, 'Really?'
"Yeah, I don't need to be feeling fuzzy while trying to take back my chakra from that mindless version of me!" Ku spoke to him, "I decided to not say anything back when you and that Hyuuga were together in the village, cause hey, I thought I'd owe you since you've been nice and you finally got the girl. But that was then, and this is now, and I don't know about you, but I've learned teenage hormones can be pretty distracting, so at the very least, try to keep it contained."
'Not easy to stop a somewhat mostly instinctual reaction,' Naruto grumbled back to her,.
"Learn to! Least you want me to take even longer to reseal this chakra of mine so you can call upon my power safely!" She shouted back
Naruto was curious about the progress of that, 'How's that going?'
He heard Ku tsk, " On track, but, I'm about to hit a bit of a snag,"
'What do you mean?'
"This mindless version of me, isn't an idiot, it runs on instinct, but the instincts of a tailed beast are pretty smart. I can't just sit in this cage forever and take drain back my chakra from here, its gonna eventually follow the path of where its chakra is being taken from, and open that seal of mine, so I'm gonna have to fight it personally a few times to take out a chunk of chakra before laying low for a bit" Ku informed him.
'Do you want me to help then?' Naruto questioned, only to flinch as Ku practically screamed at him.
"No! If it has the chance, that version of me will pretty much kill you! I'm not taking that chance!"
'But-'
"I said no!"
Naruto went silent, looking a bit dejected. But he then heard Ku sigh.
"Look, I appreciate the gesture, but I can't risk it. This thing, it's unlike anything you've faced before, not in terms of power, but in goal and drive. That thing, wants to reunite with me at any cost, it'll do anything, risk anything to accomplish that goal after being so close."
"Besides, this is my fight, not yours."
'But, I want to help you, you're my friend.'
Even though he couldn't see, Ku smiled, "Your thoughts are enough." She informed him, "But anyways, don't expect any communication with me for a few days, ok?"
'Alright,' Naruto understood, 'Be safe, ok?'
Ku, chucked, "You too."
And with that, Naruto's mind went silent.
Naruto and the group continued to move towards their destination, Naruto and Sai still keeping their distance from each other, but otherwise, haven't insulted the other yet. Most likely due to the talks they received yesterday.
However, Ino suddenly stopped, gaining the attention of the rest of the team as they looked at her.
"Smoke," She simply stated, pointing her hand up and past the trees. The other following its direction as they also saw a large plume of smoke rising in the distance.
Right in the direction of their destination.
"Move it!" Shikamaru urged as he and the team suddenly bolted towards the smoke.
"Shoot," Shikamaru muttered under his breath as he, Ino and Sai arrived along a cliff's edge, looking down at a ruined compound, countless bodies lying motionless among the debris. With what appeared to be around three people making their way through it towards where he could see the remaining batch of guards were heading to, most likely towards the Priestess. And worse of all, Naruto had already gone far ahead of them, charging straight at them.
Naruto ran through the still bodies under him, saddened that he couldn't stop to make sure if any of them were still alive. But right now, he had to protect those he knew were still alive. Seeing the group of three breaching through the building's roof and hearing a cascade of screams, they must have been enemies.
Not wasting time, Naruto ran up the steps and burst through the door.
Finding the trio of intruders standing a few feet away, backs turned to him. Unsheathing his blade, Naruto jumped and swung right at the person standing in the middle. Who simply took a kunai in hand and spun around, using the tools metal blade to block Naruto's attack as he used the opportunity to jump over them. Putting himself between the intruders and glancing quickly back, what appeared to be the priestess due to her clothing and another guard,
Turning back to look at the intruders, Naruto's eyes widened as he saw their faces.
"You-" He simply stuttered in disbelief, he's gaze focused on the girl in the middle of the group. Her headband signifying her allegiance to the Hidden Rain, onion-like bun hair on her head as her green eyes focused on him. Ones that he remembered carrying much disdain during their last confirmation.
Ajisai and her team looked back at him with a similar gaze of disbelief. The Hidden Rain trio not having expected to see the jinchuriki they had identified back during the Chunin Exams again, especially not here. Their battle at the tower during the second stage ringing through both their minds.
And it had Naruto gave a slight growl as he gripped his blade tighter, "I've got a lot of questions for you." His thoughts going back to the black rod Ajisai had pierced him during the exam, one that had him out for a few days as he and Ku fought an intruder in his mind.
Snapping out of their daze from his threat, Ajisai got back into a fighting stance, her comrades mirroring her as well.
Glancing back at the priestess, Naruto noticed how she seem unresponsive, stoic through the light veil that covered most of her head, as though these people who were coming to kill her were of no real concern despite the damage they had already done. Her guard meanwhile was standing ready at her side, prepared to act and get her out of here the moment Naruto provided a chance.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto decided to to just that. If he was gonna protect them, he would have to focus on these Rain ninja advisories. And remembering their battle during the Chunin Exams, Naruto knew he couldn't hold back.
"Multi-Shadow-Clone Jutsu!" Bringing his hands into the signature seal, a row of clones on either side were poofed into existence, each taking out their own projectile of either shuriken or kunai.
Quickly understanding his intent, Ajisai brought her thumb to her mouth and bit into it, drawing blood that she then used in her jutsu as she slammed her hands down and declared, "Summoning Jutsu: Rainwater Gate."
A single gate emerged from the ground in front of her and her team, shield them from the barrage of projectiles Naruto and his clones threw. The sound of metal hitting wood ringing in their ears before stopping.
But just as Ajisai was ready to signal her team to counter-attack, she realized she wasn't done being on the defensive. As a single crack under the floorboards under her had the girl jumping back. Just in time as a Naruto emerged from under where she had just been, blade swinging it hand as it cut through the floorboards.
Ajisai tried to prepare herself to summon once again in an attempt to aid her, but Naruto was gonna give her the chance. As a pair of clones appeared on either side of her summoned gates, kuani in hands as they threw them at the girl, revealing the explosive tags they had attached.
Luckily for Ajisai, her teammates came to her aid, bringing up their metallic umbrellas and opening them up to use as shields, protecting them from the blast created by the tags as they were sent out the gate and into the courtyard.
Back in the building, the original Naruto stood behind the gate, looking back at the still stoic priestess and her concerned guard and shouting, "Get her out of here! I'll hold them off!"
"Ri-, Right!" The guard answered back, looking towards the priestess and saying something Naruto couldn't hear. Before pulling her up and onto his back, the priestess saying nothing as Naruto watch the guard open a latch on the wall behind them, revealing a secret passageway that they enter through before disappearing.
Naruto breathed a slight sigh of relief, with them gone he could focus on the battle. And gripping his blade, he charged out into the courtyard to have a rematch he's didn't know just how much wanted.
Author's Note: Trivia time about the chapter!
So yeah, Sai, he's a slightly younger version of his canon-self to fit with Naruto and Hanabi, as I stated last chapter, I planned on making Danzo into a antagonist, and of course, Sai would've been an easy link for Naruto to connect himself with Danzo. Allowing him to learn more about Root and some of their motives and missions. With Naruto and Sai of course, eventually becoming closer to friends with each other during the story. I'll give more insight into what his character arc would've been in a future chapter though.
Also, might as well state it since I'm sure a good number of you guys can guess, this arc is based on the first Naruto Shippuden movie, with a few plot tweaks that have already become evident if you watched the movie, such as the leaf group this time being Naruto, Sai, Shikamaru, and Ino instead of Naruto, Sakura, Neji, and Lee in the movie, also the main antagonist are different as well, which actually wasn't the plan at first. Something didn't feel right about straight up using the movie villain, but than I remembered, I got some other characters I've already introduced in the story to pull from, I'm sure some of you guys remember these rain ninja from the chunin exams in "The Genin Blues", they helped to give this arc and its story a connection to the Akatsuki threat looming in the background.
Some other things, Ino's scene with Sai was suppose to be a nod to how they end up with each other in canon, also, Ku's scene was suppose to elude to the fact she won't be appearing for the rest of this arc, like Sai, I'll give more detail to what her character arc would've been in a later chapter.
And that's about it, see you net chapter.