Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I own none of it.
Summary: A more rational Danzo takes on team 7. The world changes accordingly
Chapter 3 - Battle for the Bridge
They'd been outplayed. Obviously they'd somehow known about Naruto's clone and somehow or another fooled it. It probably had a hard time keeping constant vigil on the hideout for days on end. It would be a lesson learned if they survived.
A very big if seeing as they had just arrived at the bridge, and already Zabuza had engaged their sensei and they were down a teammate. Naruto was still back at the house, or, well he won't be for long. The fake hunter nin rushes to engage them, and Sasuke rushes back. A quick kunai flick goes right next to the hunters ear, they didn't even try to dodge.
"You didn't even aim at me. You and your team will die if this is how you fight." The hunter taunts as they go round and round in a taijutsu battle.. Danzo was not a fan of combat banter, but Sasuke couldn't totally resist.
"Didn't need to aim at you." And just as the Hunter's eyes widen they're grabbed around the ankle by a Naruto clone, where a kunai had previously laid. The clone is quickly dispelled, but now Naruto knows for sure what's going on. Hopefully he'll back them up soon.
He lashes out, sending the foreign hunter flying towards Sakura in the moment of surprise with a well placed kick.
The overhead kick they fly into courtesy of Sakura can't have felt good, the hunter bounces off the concrete bridge, the sharp crack of their mask nearly drowned out by Sakura's resounding "CHA!"
The moment they take to breath is their mistake. One hand concealed beneath them the hunter must have somehow formed a seal "One handed seals aren't possible!" Sasuke's mind oh so helpfully provides even as he barely manages to Shunshin-tackle Sakura out of the way of the forming ice needles.
When they've regained their footing the hunter looks haggard, her left shoulder seemingly broken by Sakura's kick. Regardless they've regained their feet, and the initiative.
"The Sharingan. No wonder you kept up with my attacks. Though if it's a battle of bloodlines you want, I'm afraid you'll lose."
"Sharingan?" No he didn't even have time to think about it. Didn't even have time to process the pure terror that he felt the moment his eyes showed him what would have become of Sakura if he hadn't moved. The air was cooling alarmingly fast and all the water was forming into another jutsu already. Kunai do nothing to whatever is forming. He puts his back to Sakura's and can only watch as the jutsu forms into a dome of mirrors surrounding them. Mirrors which suddenly all bear the image of the Hunter.
"My Demonic Ice Mirrors are my ultimate jutsu. None have survived."
And just like that, Senbon from every direction. Him and Sakura dance, deflecting every needle they can. But Sakura doesn't have Sasuke's eyes, and she's taking hits. He can only cover for her so much and if this keeps up-
"NO!" He screams in his own head. Never again. Never again would he lose his family. Heat builds in his chest, and he only bothers with a single seal as he brings his clan's chakra to bear in defense of his new family. The Uchiha Great Fireball jutsu blossoms forth and it seems as though the intensity of his flames might even burn him and Sakura. As much chakra as his young system can handle he can't hold the jutsu long, and when he lets it go, as the last wisps of flame die out he thinks he might have done it.
Only to see Haku once more in the mirrors, one leg burned certainly, but his timing hadn't been perfect. Even worse the mirrors didn't even seem phased.
"Is this what the legendary Uchiha clan amount to? A flame like that could never hope to melt my ice." More taunting, she wants them angry. They're less dangerous when they're predictable.
Unluckily for the hunter, unpredictable was their third teammate's middle name. And at that exact moment an explosion went off above the dome. As everyone looked up, Sasuke felt his chakra enveloped by Naruto's massive chakra presence as one of his clones used the replacement technique on him. Sakura received the same treatment of course.
And just like that, outside of the dome team 7 was back in formation. Naruto seemed okay, but Sasuke and Sakura were pretty worn out and in Sakura's case somewhat injured. Just like that it seemed like everything was gonna be alright.
Until it wasn't alright. In a way no one else could see Sasuke had to watch the dome explode, watch the fragments of ice turn to weapons and fly towards them. Watch Naruto's wind jutsu rise to stop it. And watch as they all realized it was just a distraction and Haku was about to put a spear of ice through Naruto's heart. The Shunshin took him before he even thought to pull on his chakra. He met the spear with his shoulder and the hunter with his head.
And then he was on the ground, and the world was fading away.
The last thing he heard was Naruto scream. Only it didn't sound much like Naruto.
The Kyuubi no Kitsune is a creature not many understand. But at its core were a few simple facts. The Kyuubi is a sentient, living creature with thoughts and feelings. The Kyuubi can sense the darkness in any and all humans. And the Kyuubi is the single most concentrated point of chakra that currently exists.
Naruto never thought much about the Kyuubi. If it was affecting him he didn't really know how. He'd had it since the day he was born so… It was just sort of natural for his chakra system to twine around the beast, restraining it and keeping it separate from the host. Not something Naruto was ever really aware he was doing. But suddenly he realized EXACTLY what the Kyuubi was within him. Because for the first time in his life Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. For just a moment his CONSTANTLY pressurized chakra slipped from his grasp.
He screamed. A wail of agony and sorrow he'd never known from watching Sasuke fall. This was supposed to be his family. This was supposed to be his future. They were supposed to stay together. He had finally found something that drove away the loneliness and it was being taken from him.
And Kyuubi felt all of this. And it's howl heralded doom to all that would stand before it.
Little was Naruto aware his scream was literally forcing everything away from him. A shockwave of chakra swept what ice remained to sea, cleared most of the mist around them, but more importantly it sent Sakura skidding away.
From her new vantage point near Tazuna, she saw Naruto on his knees. The hunter somewhere behind him picks herself out of the dust.
For just a moment everything is still, the air heavy with anticipation. Laden with ancient chakra and the grief of a young man. Suddenly the hunter was lunging and the moment shattered.
Naruto's eyes focused, and you could watch the red drown the blue in his eyes as they formed into slits. Narrowing in on the object of his wrath. And then the damn broke.
Naruto let out a breath, and let go of his chakra.
Sakura passed out from the sheer enormousness of it laying across her.
It's not a fight. The Hunter lunges forward thinking to end this before whatever is happening finishes. But they can't cover half the distance before three tails of malevolent red chakra burst forth from Naruto and his eyes focus on her. The rage and grief she sees are the last thing she'll ever know, before the tails grab her mid-lunge and whip her into the concrete. She bounces off just in time to look up to see the monster she'd awoken swipe to remove her head. Her last thought is that Zabuza needs to run from whatever this is.
The moment the Kyuubi's chakra roared across the land, Danzo seemed surprised. Evidently he'd miscalculated this situation and should have allocated more resources to tie this up.
"I'm afraid Zabuza, I'll need to be retrieving Konoha's asset so I'd appreciate it if we could cut this short." Danzo stills, letting out a small burst of wind chakra to make himself extra visible to the opposing Jounin.
Zabuza thinks the man's gone mad but he can't not take this shot. He's SURE that's the real Danzo, and he KNOWS he's not in a genjutsu this time.
"Gladly!' The demon of the mist exclaims as he cuts Danzo down. And Zabuza can't believe it, that's real blood. The man's corpse is right there! He turns towards the raging bijuu chakra to try and figure out his next move. The moment his eyes are turned though he feels the slightest pinprick, before everything goes black.
Danzo's corpse fades to nothing, and the impossibly sharp blade of wind neatly slices through Zabuza's brain. The quietest whisper of "Izanagi" fades away with the mist, heard by none.
Tazuna isn't really sure what's going on. He's not chakra sensitive so to him Sakura just passed out. Whatever was going on with Naruto was pretty scary.
But then it all got real quiet and when the mist cleared Naruto was being held in place by… Wood? And that weird old sensei was holding him by the chin and staring into his eyes. Whatever he was doing seemed to be working though cause Naruto was starting to look normal again!
Within the seal, the infinite darkness that surrounded the Kyuubi was suddenly filled with Sharingan eyes, and the ground beneath its feet rose up in vines to entangle the great beast.
Suddenly before the bars he could see an old man, swathed in powers that naturally bent him to his will. Powers that were not rightfully his.
"Sleep. He's not ready for you yet."
And then the world faded to nothingness yet again.
A few minutes later found team 7 huddled around each other. Sasuke had lost a lot of blood but was stable and conscious again. The jutsu Danzo used to put him back together, the same as he used for Sakura, would leave a scar. But he'd live. Naruto and Sakura were both awake, but severely chakra depleted. Sakura had some minor injuries as well but… Well they had won right?
The colour drained from all of their faces when, as the mist cleared, a figure was revealed. Gato's mocking applause echoing across the bridge.
"Well done konoha-nin! You've just saved me quite a bit of money! Unfortunately for you I'll be needing that bridge builder dead, and it doesn't look like you'll be in much of a position to stop me."
With his piece said, the man cackled ominously and raised his hands as the mist continued to recede, revealing his mercenary forces.
They knew this would happen. They knew he'd attack the bridge directly if Zabuza failed.
What they failed to realize is that Gato would betray Zabuza, and come at the same time to kill them all while they were weak.
A single ninja, well rested and with chakra to spare could slaughter a contingent such as this with relative ease.
But between the four of them they had basically nothing left. Zabuza was the most challenging fight Danzo had experienced in years, and Haku left his Genin all but shattered.
They ready their weapons, and prepared for the sluggish and brutal brawl that was to come.
Dealing with the mercenaries was a gruesome affair. The enemy host didn't understand what it was they were fighting. Couldn't understand that three children and an old man were systematically slaughtering them.
No flashy jutsu, no mist to hide behind, none of a ninja's preferred hit and run tactics. Just one simple truth.
Kill the enemy, or die.
Gato's forces charged forward, certain of victory. As the front lines were felled with well placed kunai and shuriken, the men behind them took this as expected.
When those men fell, the men that took their place were certain that would be the last of the ninja's momentum.
Gato could see only the backs of his own men charging forward, and their battle cries. As smugly assured of his victory as the moment he stepped onto the bridge.
When the charge slowed the men in the back assumed they had already won.
They could never have imagined the 12 year old girl mangeling the bodies of their comrades with well placed punches and grapples, aided by both chakra and the heavy knuckledusters she fought with. The blur that was a young Uchiha, never staying in one spot long enough for someone to properly respond to his threat. And every time it seemed like they were finally going to land a decisive hit on one of the young ninjas? Suddenly they were replaced by the blond one, who just went up in smoke when struck. The blond one that was haunting the outer edges of the melee, sneaking into opening his teammates provided, and covering theirs.
The longer the battle went on the more it favoured the Konoha forces, the bridge slick with blood and littered with corpses less of a hindrance to ninja that could use chakra to aid their footing. Their teamwork covering them as they maneuvered over and around corpses in a way the barely trained mob of thugs couldn't hope to achieve.
When their lines broke, the living that remained fled. Gato was left speechless, and in shock. He would have tried to flee, but he couldn't break his gaze free from the old jonin.
When it was all over, he tried to beg for his life.
Danzo just looked at him, and let Gato walk away. Strangely, Gato was never heard from again, and "Gato's Shipping Corporation" became the "Wave Shipping Alliance", owned half by the Wave country council, and half by the Land of Fire.
Team 7 returned to Tazuna's on the backs of Naruto's clones. Sasuke lost consciousness the moment the battle was over. Sakura was awake, covered in small injuries, and bearing more than a few torn muscles.
Naruto? Naruto was seemingly fine. Tired sure, and his chakra pathways burned like he'd poured acid through them. But he couldn't make eye contact with anyone. Couldn't speak. Could barely even think.
With his sensei's help he got his teammates cleaned, bandaged, and into bed. But when he went himself, despite the exhaustion wearing him to the bone… Well he spent the night staring at the ceiling.
You would hope that after such an ordeal the young ninjas could rest peacefully. But for one Uchiha Sasuke this wasn't possible. An old dream, a nightmare bestowed upon him by his brother. Only this time it was different. This time when the streets ran red with blood, it was his blade that spilled it. Only this time it was his spinning red eyes he saw reflected in the windows.
His scream woke the house. Naruto, who apparently couldn't sleep either sat down with him. The look he gave Sasuke told him everything he needed. He's not doing any better than Sasuke. Sakura joined them next, sleepily giving each of the boys a snack before falling back asleep propped up in between them.
Naruto couldn't meet his gaze, but reached a hand across Sakura to hold onto Sasuke's.
Sasuke eventually fell back asleep, his team's presence helping him stay grounded.
Naruto stares across the ocean as the sun rises. Entangled in his team, but unable to process any of what's going on he cries silently as light crawls across a world he's not sure he understands anymore.
Author's Note:
Team 7 check in: Naruto's dissociating because he does NOT know how to deal with any of this. Sasuke struggles with his Itachi self image, and Sakura's actually pretty okay for the time being. My version of Sakura does well in a bubble, we'll see how she holds up when she re-integrates with family and friends in future chapters I guess.
I could use some feedback at this point I think. There will be a few character dev chapters between this and the chunin exam and ugh they're hard to write.
Thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed the wave arc.