A/N: MoonbeamsUnicorn: Check your PM's.
WhoAskedYou: Who Asked You?
Fritter: by 'just barely', he meant she'd only recently mastered it, which is how I use the phrase in that context. As in 'just barely' in time for the match. And about the fight being longer, honestly? I'm not good with action scenes. There, I said it. I'm better with character and world-building. Interaction and the give and take of society. I can describe a hundred different versions of Naruto, each unique and complex, all about his looks. But him fighting? I need work.
MysticalLights: like I said, I an't perfect. I make mistakes, and I forgot to add the 'a' to Maito.
Chapter 50: Assault of Awesome
"I'll give you a free shot," Naruto grinned across to his opponent. Kirotsuchi looked at him quizzically. In the three minutes since Hinata and Neji had been carted off, she and the blond had just stared a teach other. Naruto tapped his finger on his jaw invitingly. "C'mon. Really haul off and slug me. I wanna see what you got."
"You really are an idiot."
"That depends on your point of view," Naruto shrugged. "Some might call a Shinobi allowing a free shot stupid. Others might call it gauging an opponent's strength. I call it an exercise in futility." without another word, but a grin on her face, Kirotsuchi barreled forward, her fist cocked back for a full-power slug. Her pinkish-red eyes gleamed with glee. As her fist connected with the right side of Naruto's face, his head was thrown to the left, and he staggered back a few steps as his hand rose to his jaw, before he snapped his gaze to the girl.
"Very well," he said seriously, all trace of mirth or joke gone from his face. "You have my attention, Kirotsuchi of Iwagakure."
Spectator's Stand
"Oh shit," Asuma groaned as he leaned sideways, placing his face in his right hand.
"What?" Honoka asked, slightly alarmed.
"Naruto's taking it seriously," Kakashi said grimly.
"Isn't that a good thing?" the red-headed woman queried.
"You don't understand," Jozun said, is face set in a scowl as he leaned forward, his hands clasped together, his mouth resting behind them. "When Naruto stops goofing around, nothing good can happen."
Kage Booth
"Tsk," Onoki grunted. "What an imbecile. No-one should allow their enemies to pull off an attack, no matter how cocky they are. Although I'm surprised he didn't go flying. Kirotsuchi has a hell of a punch."
Hiruzen, meanwhile, was slightly pale, and gazing intensely at the duo in the ring.
Don't do anything drastic Naruto.
In the Ring
"Oh, so you're done being a child?" Kirotsuchi taunted. What she didn't expect, was to suddenly have a black gloved hand resting on her shoulder, griping it painfully, as the blond in question leaned in and whispered in her ear menacingly.
"I haven't been a child for years, girl." before she could respond, the wind was knocked from her as a foot buried itself in her gut, launching her across the ring, and into the wall.
"You wanted me to fight you seriously?" Naruto asked rhetorically, his arms spreading slightly in a show of aggression. "Fine. Wish granted. You have my undivided attention for the next five minutes."
Kirotsuchi struggled to her feet, clasping her stomach and wheezing, before slipping into a slightly hunched battle stance. As Naruto took his Uzuken stance, she sprinted forward, blasting through hand-signs.
"Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu! (Lava Release: Quicklime Jutsu)"
"Suiton: Teppodama! (Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu)" as the seal-less bullet of water tore through the ball of liquid, hardening it, Kirotsuchi found herself internally screaming.
He HAD to be a suiton user! She was even more surprised when she was suddenly showered by cement dust, and looked up to see her foe looking as though he had just punched her jutsu... with the effect nowhere in sight.
"Funny thing about lava style," Naruto began as he eased back slightly. His face was intense as he glared at the girl before him. "All the techniques are easily stopped by a water jutsu. Unless you have something more to show me, I think we're done here."
Competitor's box
"I Don't think I've ever seen Naruto so tense..." Shikamaru muttered.
"How often does someone stagger him?" Gaara responded.
"I've never seen it."
"Nor have I, and that is why I'm... worried? Yes, I believe I am feeling worry."
"Jittery and feeling like running?"
"Yes, very much so."
"That's not worry, that's fear."
"Oh."
In the Ring
"Like hell we are!" Kirotsuchi shouted, flipping through handsigns once more, before crying out as her hands were crushed in an iron grip, and she was lifted from her feet.
"You think being a Shinobi means flashy jutsu and never retreating? Grow up. There's nothing flashy about what we do," Naruto hissed angrily. "We're assassins. If they know we're there, we aren't doing our jobs. And sometimes we have to step back to move forward. I'd have expected a Kage's grandchild to know that."
"L-let go of me!" Kirotsuchi shouted, trying to free her hands, fear setting in on her features.
"[Oh, Very poor choice of words]." Naruto released the girls' hands, but whipped around in a snap-kick, planting his heel in the girls' side, bending her unnaturally and launching her into the wall to his left. And there she stayed, buried a good three feet into the concrete. As Hayate moved to call the match, Naruto appeared in front of the girl, grabbing her neck and pulling her from her hole, a groan escaping bloodied lips. He held her up and turned to the Kage booth.
"DO YOU SEE THIS ONOKI?! I HOLD YOUR GRANDDAUGHTERS' LIFE IN MY HANDS, AND THERE IS NOT A DAMN THING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!"
"Naruto, that's enough!" Hayate barked. "The match is over!"
"But the fight is just beginning," Naruto growled, still glowering up at the old man. He loosened his fingers just enough to let the girl drop lifelessly.
"What are you talking about?!" just as Hayate shouted at the blond, a loud BOOM echoed forth from the direction of the north gate.
"He's talking about me disintegrating his insolent face," Onoki growled, suddenly in the arena, holding his hands up with a white glowing cone in between the wrinkled fingers.
"Let me guess, you, Oto, and Kumo teamed up to wipe us off the map."
"Good guess, boy," came A's gruff tone as he appeared in a flash of blue, his lightning armor active.
"Oh, two Kage's for little old me," Naruto spat, hawking his sputum at the pair's feet. "You two would use an event of peace to murder innocents and people who have done no wrong."
"YOU WIPED OUT HALF OF MY FORCES!" Onoki screamed.
"And you would have done the same in our place. It was a war, get over it you fucking codger."
"THAT'S IT! PARTICLE STYLE: ATOMIC DISINTIGRATION!"
As the cone of light expanded into a cylinder, Naruto prepared to activate his Rinnegan to absorb the jutsu, but a shadow landed in front of him, and the blinding brilliance dissapeared into the figure, which resolved itself into Nagato.
"I had it, you know," Naruto said calmly as he stepped even with the red-haired man.
"I know, but what sort of vassal would I be if I let you take the blow?
"The kind that has faith in his leader."
"Kami, do they ever shut up?" Kisame chuckled as he and the rest of the Akatsuki guard appeared in Sunshins.
"Not likely," Zabuza grunted.
"What is this?" Onoki growled. Naruto stepped forward, putting the group in a loose arrow formation.
"This, you doddering old fool, is the beginning of your worst fucking nightmare," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "Behold, the honor guard of the Uzumaki," with a flourish, he bowed sarcastically low. "Godaime Uzukage, Uzumaki Naruto at your service."
"Konan," Nagato spoke, his baritone ringing forth from his position to the immediate right of Naruto, mirrored as he was by Itachi. "Take Sasori and Kisame to the North Gate and aid the defense. Itachi, you and Zabuza go aid evacuation efforts."
"What about you?" Zabuza snarked as the others left at the Uzumaki Spymaster's orders.
"I stay to fight with my cousin."
"Your warriors are well prepared for this attack, Naruto-kun," came Hiruzen's voice, as he appeared alongside the other two Kage, Asuma, and Gaara.
"They always are, Jiji."
"Kukukukuku, oh Naruto-kun, you naughty boy. You've known about my plans the whole time, haven't you?" Orochimaru rose from the soil to stand beside A and Onoki.
"More or less."
"Kazekage, I'm disappointed in you," the snake Sannin purred. "Turning on me like that, when Konoha's destruction would have benefited you so."
"Betraying allies benefits no-one," Rasa rasped. "And I have my son Gaara to thank for that revelation."
"Enough chatter," A growled, flaring his lightning armor again. "I came here to fight."
"Really now?" Naruto put on a show of exaggerated surprise. "Let's see here, it's you three, two Kage and a Sannin, against four other Kage, an S-Class Shinobi with the Rinnegan, an A-Rank Shinobi member of the Guardian Twelve, and a Jinchuuriki. You're prospects don't look good. We outnumber you by four, you idiots."
"Oh, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru chuckled. "You should know I always have a back-up plan." with that, he flipped through seals, and slammed his hands into the ground, which started rumbling, as four coffins began to rise.
"Jiji.. is that...?"
"He completed that horrendous jutsu!" Hiruzen seemed appalled. "How far you've fallen Orochimaru!"
"Play nice now," the pale man chuckled as the caskets popped open with a hiss each, revealing the contents: four shinobi who shouldn't have been brought back from the dead.
"Wha..." the first, a tall, tan man in red armor with long black hair mumbled as he looked around in confusion.
"Where am I?" the second asked, looking fairly odd with his pompadour haircut, wispy moustache, and lack of eyebrows, brought together by his high-collared pinstripe jacket.
"Is this Konoha?" a feminine voice asked, drawing a look of pure shock from Rasa's face.
"No..."
"Oh, lovely," came the sardonic voice of the last person, a blue-armored man with silver hair and red markings on his face. "My mistake of a creation is used to resurrect me."
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Naruto groaned as he pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.
"Saru," noted Senju Tobirama, looking around and seeing his student in his black battle armor. "You have aged. And who are these others?"
"Now, now," Orochimaru chuckled, pulling out four Kunai with special tags on them. "None of that."
"NOPE!" Naruto shouted, making only the half-ram seal with his left hand, before stomping the dirt. A massive seal array lit up around the arena, before a curved dome of blue light materialized over the battle section, cordoning off the fourteen combatants... plus the unconscious Kirotsuchi. As soon as the barrier fully erected itself, Orochimaru's sealed kunai began to melt, along with every other bit of metal inside. Naruto tossed off his useless tanto and katana, and removed his quickly deforming arm guards. The Senju brothers stared in fascination as their armor melted and reformed repeatedly, and the Snake Sannin glared at the blond teen. Naruto cocked a smirk at him.
"I'm guessing you know what will happen if you pull the Kusanagi out inside this barrier, huh?"
"The Kusanagi is a legendary weapon."
"Forged by the Uzumaki," Naruto pointed out. "As most legendary weapons nowadays seem to be, aside from the five holy tools, but they've been lost for generations. Odd how the stamp of my clan is on so many products that people swear their lives to, and yet no-one thought about what they'd keep if that was what they gave away."
"An Uzumaki?" Hashirama grinned brightly. "Hello cousin! How fares our sister clan these days?"
"We've been mostly wiped out, if I'm honest, Shodai-sama," Naruto said politely. Pure shock blasted across the man's face. "In fact," Naruto added with a sly grin. "IT was attacked by the very people you've been summoned to fight beside."
"Oh shit..."
"What are you concerned about, snake?" Onoki asked.
"Uh... I... may not be able to control Hashirama if he decides to fight against us."
"What?"
"Without the override seal, I don't have a mindless zombie, but a fully functioning shinobi in his prime, with endless chakra."
"You're shitting me," A growled. Then all three flinched violently when Hashirama turned around, fury on his features.
"Tobi," he snarled, his younger brother snapping to attention. "Break your contract, as well as the other two. Dispel all three of you."
"But..."
"Now!" the dark-haired dead man roared, causing his silver-haired counterpart to cower, then flip though handseals, before planting his palms on the other two summoned shinobi, causing them to crumble, before he himself fell to ash.
"Hashirama-sensei?" Hiruzen asked cautiously.
"Young Uzumaki," Hashirama said quietly without turning around, his glare fixed on the three before him, who were sweating. "What happened to my wife?"
"Mito-sama passed some time ago, sir," Naruto said delicately. "She lived to a grand age of one hundred and fifty-two, before she... chose her successor."
"I see... then, pray tell, what are you capable of, young man?"
"I am adept in all seven nature releases, I utilize the Uzuken,"
"To devastating effect, I might add," Hiruzen added.
"Thank you, jiji. And I have the Uzumaki Manifestation Kekkei, as well as being a tier twelve seal master, with the added note of being the fourth fastest person alive today."
"And how are you able to use all nature releases?"
"I hold the Rinnegan, sir, as does my cousin Nagato here to my right."
"What can you do with those sacred eyes?"
"I can mechanize my body, repel or attract items at will, absorb chakra and jutsu to replenish my own reserves, summon animals who also carry the eyes, and thus share my field of vision, extract somone's soul to gain intel, and resurrect the recently dead."
"Why is he saying all this in front of his enemies?" a whispered-growled to onoki, who went pale.
"Because he knows he won't lose."
"Anything else I should know?" Hashirama asked calmly.
Naruto shifted nervously, then stepped forward and tugged on the taller man's sleeve, asking him nonverbally to lean over to have his ear whispered in. Hashirama obliged, his stare never leaving the nervously sweating trio before him, who were trying to figure out how to GTFO. A moment passed before Hashirama stood straight.
"You carry a great weight for one so young, child. I understand your desire for secrecy." Naruto sighed a bit. "However, I will need you to utilize those... particular abilities here in a few moments, with consent, of course."
"But, sir..."
"Young man," the Shodaime Hokage cut him off sternly. "Would you rather face ridicule or death?" Naruto sighed dejectedly.
"Yes, sir. I'll lower the barrier so I have room." Hashirama merely nodded as the blond formed a tiger seal, then stomped his foot once more. "If I may have moment?"
"AS IF!" all three of his foes shouted, moving to rush the boy, only to be winded as rods of wood slammed into their guts, propelling them back. As they landed, more wood sprouted, wrapping their wrists, waists, necks, and ankles, lifting them from the ground.
"The boy asked for a moment. It's rude not to grant a childs' last wish in his home," Hashirama said darkly, shadows falling over his face.
"Jiji, take the others and go help the defense..."
"But, Naruto-kun..."
"Please, Jiji. Shodai-sama and I can manage here." Hiruzen stared at the boy a moment, before nodding gravely. He strode up to his grandson, knelt to his height and hugged him, joined quickly by Asuma.
"Stay safe, Naru."
"No promises, tou-chan." with that, and a grave salute from Nagato and a nod from Gaara, the group vanished.
"Are you ready, young man?"
"Yes, sir." without another word, A, Onoki, and Orochimaru were released, looking as though the were about to flee.
"I wouldn't," Hashirama said. "We all know the boy and I can catch you. Might as well stay and fight."
"Let's do this," Naruto said grimly, slamming his fists together as golden light expelled from his body, illuminating and blinding the three before him. When they gained back their sight, before them stood a golden sun-god, black markings thick as a kunai is wide, covered his body as golden flames flickered in a wreath about his person. They looked to his face, seeing his whisker marks had darkened and thickened, and his crystal blue eyes were replaced by a hateful red, his pupils in the shape of slits as he glared them down. They looked stunned, then panned over to Hashirama, hoping to beg for mercy, only to find him with black lines around his eyes, signifying his use of Senjutsu Chakra.
"How long can you maintain that form?"
"Not very long, sir. I don't have much practice, and Kura is loathe to share even enough for five minutes."
"I thought you said you were friends."
"Even friends disagree sometimes." the first Hokage went misty-eyed for a moment, a grim smile spreading across his face.
"Indeed they do."