Well, it has been a month since my last posted update. A severe case of writers block set in and finding I had written myself into a corner had me scrap over 6000 words. My much more ambitious Part 2 finale is now going to be in Part 3 as I do not want to stall any longer. My other 2 stories will likely not be updated until after chapter 24 of this is posted.
Chapter 23: Invasion and Loss – Part 2
Recap: Konoha has been invaded by the forces of Sound and Sand. The late arrival of Jiraiya has allowed the Sound to push deep into the village but a timely counterattack against the Sand kept those forces at bay and mostly outside the walls of the city. Team Apprentice is in pursuit of the Sand Siblings who are attempting to retake the gates.
Tsunade has brought down the barrier around Sarutobi and Orochimaru only to find herself attacked by summons of her dead relatives
Things look bleak for Konoha as they attempt to move to Stage 3 of their defense.
Ibiki looked up as a runner came in with a new message. The daimyos had reached the southern shelter. All shelters had reported secure at close to 90 percent capacity in all but the northeastern sector 'Finally. Now we can do something.' "Send the hawk up. Initiate Stage 3, Eliminate the invaders, at all costs."
Tsunade and Jiraiya rushed at Orochimaru but the golems of the First and Second Hokage intercepted them. Sarutobi was engaging Orochimaru in a jutsu battle and the pair were locked in a stalemate. Tsunade tried to get around the forms of her dead relatives but the pair continued to assault the healer. "The only way past us is to destroy us, Tsu-hime," came the voice of the First. "We cannot resist the compulsion of our summoning."
Tsunade had tears running down her face as she defended against her grandfather's wood jutsu. Jiraiya fought against the Second and his water jutsu. "So, the incompetent boy who was last in his class thinks he can oppose a Kage?" asked the Second.
"I am far beyond that Senju-sama. Much has changed since your death." Jiraiya sent a small earth jutsu at the Second but the golem merely batted it aside.
"No, not much has changed at all."
"It is a shame you had to disrupt my jutsu, Sarutobi-sensei," crooned Orochimaru. "The Fourth was so looking forward to seeing you again. He wanted that brat, Naruto, treated like a hero, but even so he was shunned by most of the village. Such a failure for the Professor." Orochimaru did not show it well but he was highly disturbed by this situation. He was supposed to be sitting back watching Sarutobi get torn to shreds by his summons. His Sound Four had failed him.
He could see past his former teacher at the ANBU forces subduing his minions. Even with second stage curse seal, the Sound Four were no match for seasoned ANBU. Coughing slightly, Orochimaru spit out his sword, Grass Cutter and swung at Sarutobi. Sarutobi replied by summoning Enma, the Monkey King in the form of a large staff. Orochimaru found he was not a match for his former teacher in weapon use and tried to fall back only to find his way blocked by ANBU.
Sarutobi closed in on his former student and swung his staff again. Orochimaru parried and leapt back to the center of the rubble that used to be the roof. The ANBU kept their distance from there. It appeared they were more interested in keeping him confined than taking him down.
Tsunade backed away from another attack. No matter what, she could not bear to strike back at her own grandfather. She struck down more wooden spears aimed for her heart. Being solely on the defensive was going to get her killed at this rate. She needed to do something. Tsunade decided a disabling wound could be acceptable. Just like it was a spar. Yes, she could handle that. She ran at the summons and swung as the golem leapt away from her. Her punch impacted the leg of the First and she felt the bones shatter. The First landed awkwardly and looked at its leg. "Ah, Tsu-hime, you need to do better than that." It shook its leg as the bones repaired and reformed. "Small wounds like that will not stop this form of mine. To stop me, you must utterly destroy me."
Jiraiya was tired even before he had arrived to help his teacher and Tsunade. Now, facing off with the image of the Second, he was draining quickly. 'His water jutsu are defeating my earth jutsu too quickly. I spent too many years working on my writing and my spy network and not enough on keeping at my skills at their peak. Even Sensei's earth jutsu are stronger than mine are now.' Jiraiya dodged another water bullet from the creature facing him. The Sannin noticed that the golem was striking out at random ANBU that tried to interfere in the battle. 'It is toying with me for some reason. Since the Second knew me even as a youth, he must be holding back against me for some reason. His strikes are crippling the ANBU that try to aid me.'
"ANBU, Keep back! They are holding back against Tsunade and me because the spirits inside the bodies remember us and truly don't want to hurt us. Whatever is making them fight their compulsion does not apply to you!"
The ANBU closest backed off to form a perimeter and guard rather than try to help.
Hinata tried to close in on Temari but the fan user managed to keep her distance by pushing Hinata away with wind jutsu. 'This is not working. I am too light to get close to this girl and I lack long distance jutsu.' She noticed Sakura in a similar situation. 'Sakura can dodge those puppet arms well enough but she cannot get in close to the puppeteer to finish him.' "Sakura! Lights out in 5!"
"All right," Sakura replied.
Five seconds after Sakura responded, the pair switched who they were attacking. Sakura picked up a soccer ball sized piece of shattered masonry and hurled it at close to 100 miles per hour at Temari. 'Dodge this, blondie,' she thought. Hinata dove into the whirling mass of puppet parts slicing chakra strings with her own chakra. The Sand genin were surprised by the switch and were immediately on the defensive.
Sakura continued moving and hurling large pieces of rubble at Temari at incredible speeds. The fan wielder could only dodge as her wind was not strong enough to push the missiles aside. Sakura kept closing the gap with her new opponent and getting closer to nailing Temari with her throws. Temari found herself pushed back against the wall and forced to block a punch with her fan. The weapon shattered under the blow and pieces of the broken weapon cut Temari. The blonde girl cried out in pain before a second blow knocked her out.
Kankuro heard his sister's cry and sent several bladed arms at Sakura's unprotected back. His attack was short lived as without the pressure on herself, Hinata closed the gap to Kankuro and hit chakra points in his arms. This shut down the chakra in his arms and he lost his ability to make chakra strings for his puppets. One arm had grazed Hinata's arm, cutting it and leaving a burning sensation.
Kankuro smirked, "You had better surrender now or I will not give you the antidote for the poison."
Hinata glared at the hooded Sand genin and attacked the boy with a dozen hits within seconds. Kankuro slumped back against a broken wall unable to defend himself. Hinata casually bent over and lifted the bladed arm of the puppet.
"Antidote, huh?" She had an eerie look on her face as she lifted Kankuro's motionless arm and drove the blade through his palm into the wall he was leaning against. The boy cried out in pain. Hinata leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Then you had better have it on you or close by or we are going to die together."
Kankuro whimpered, "Left hip pocket in my weapons pouch."
Hinata pulled out the antidote and lightly patted the boy on the cheek, "Good boy."
A large group of Leaf reinforcements came running up to secure the broken gate as Sakura tended to Hinata's wounds and administered the antidote to Hinata and Kankuro before heading off after Naruto.
Naruto got to a familiar training area a short distance outside of the village walls. The sand coated form of Gaara landed before him. "Not running anymore? Good, you will be a fitting sacrifice to Mother. Your blood will make her happy."
"You are plain crazy, Gaara. The thing you call Mother is some kind of monster. You do not have to listen to it," Naruto pleaded.
"Sand shuriken," Gaara called out and shot blasts of sand at Naruto. The blonde was forced to dodge and counter what he could. One shot hit him in the chest and threw the boy back into a tree. The trunk cracked under the impact. If Naruto had not used chakra to reinforce his body, he would have been dealt several broken ribs. Naruto rolled off the tree branch to avoid a follow up shot. 'This guy is way too tough. I am not going to get in close enough to use my best tricks.' Naruto conjured up a dozen shadow clones and had them scatter into the trees around Gaara as he tried to think of a strategy.
Hiashi looked at the carnage in the Hyuuga estates. Dead and wounded ninja lay in the ground at his feet. The Sound had retreated to regroup once more. Older members of the Hyuuga clan came out of the safety of the estate bunker to help recover their wounded and dead clansmen. The older children brought out soldier pills and water to the defenders. Those Branch family members on watch were calling out enemy numbers and positions as the clan members scurried about.
Hiashi leaned heavily upon a broken wall and noticed Neji doing the same. Neji had refused to stay at the arena to guard Hanabi, leaving that job instead to Hinata and the members of the clan not skilled enough to break through the enemy lines. The boy had exceeded his expectations. Neji had been instrumental to Hiashi in sundering the line blocking the estate. During the battle, Neji had remained near Hiashi guarding the leaders back from attack. In spite of their claims to see everything, turning fast enough to do something about it was always a problem.
Three times the Sound tried to storm the bunker and three times the defenders had held. Barely a dozen effective combatants remained for the Hyuuga out of nearly fifty trained ninja including the ones Hiashi had brought from the arena. The cost was terrible but more so for the Sound. Nearly two hundred bodies of Sound ninja littered the grounds.
A murmur came from behind Hiashi. He looked back to see an elderly woman step out of the bunker. Hiashi stepped over to her speaking softly, "Kaa-sama, you should remain inside where it is safer."
"Nonsense, my Son. I needed to stretch a little bit. The air in there is too close for an old lady like myself." The Hyuuga matron looked over the few remaining defenders. "I can see Neji here. I assume my granddaughters are safe?"
"They were when I left them in the hands of the Sannin at the arena. Hinata, Hanabi and several Branch members will get through this even if we fall here."
Hiashi's mother nodded slowly. "It does not look promising, does it Son?"
"We shall see, Mother. Konoha's forces are getting closer in a counter attack. I saw the hawk signal for Stage 3 go up."
A Branch member hurried up, "Hiashi-sama, the Sound forces are closing in again. We count nearly 100 ninja in this wave."
"Hiashi, come inside! Please, son. Save yourself! I cannot bear to lose my last child," the Hyuuga matron begged.
"Mother, I know the Branch members are sworn to protect us but in turn I must be worthy of that protection. They are my clan, my family. I am the leader of the clan. I cannot run or hide. I could not lead or respect myself if I do so. The bunker door should be able to hold out long enough for the counterattack to reach here. We shall hold back the enemy from assaulting it as long as we can. Neji, escort your grandmother into the bunker and seal the door behind you. Protect the young and wounded."
"Hiashi-sama, my place is defending you," Neji protested.
Hiashi looked directly at Neji, "I would consider it a favor if you stay with your grandmother, Nephew."
Neji understood and nodded, "Yes, Uncle."
Neji gestured to his grandmother to re-enter the bunker. The older woman bowed to Hiashi and did as instructed. Neji pulled the heavy door closed and set the bars in place. Neji looked at his grandmother who suddenly looked much older, "Hiashi-sama was saying good bye, wasn't he?"
The old woman nodded slowly with tears falling from her eyes.
Sasuke groaned as the curse seal throbbed again within its containment. He stumbled along the road towards the western gate. The Loser was going to pay for his humiliation. He had awakened on the dirt of the arena floor where the referee had left him. He had seen the Loser and his wenches head west and followed in the confusion. They would all pay.
Sasuke rounded a corner to find a trio of Sand chunin searching for victims. The Sand ninja spotted him and threw weapons at the Uchiha. Sasuke dodged sideways and ran toward the invaders as he drew his own weapons. The nearest Sand chunin tried to engage but was cruelly cut down. The second sparred briefly but fell with a kunai buried in his stomach.
Sasuke sped over to the final Sand ninja. The desert ninja found himself pressed back against a wall with a hand clutching his throat. He gasped for air and clawed at the hand but to no avail. He slumped over with his windpipe crushed. Sasuke tossed the body aside and grunted, "One less blonde to worry about."
Orochimaru knew things were not going well for his plans. The Sand part of the assault never really got going. He had yet to see the jinchuuriki do anything on that front. His Sound forces had numbers but most barely ranked as chunin. His former teammate had disrupted his summon and taken away the most powerful weapon on that front. The Sound Four had failed to keep out the ANBU thanks to Tsunade's help. It was time to cut his losses and escape to fight another day.
"Well, I can see things are not going as I had planned today. No matter. I can deal with this minor setback. I will get what I want eventually, Sarutobi-sensei. After all, I have all the time in the world. Oh, and do enjoy my pets. They cannot be destroyed as long as I still live." Orochimaru laughed then ran past the sole ANBU there who merely let the traitor pass by before turning to follow. He pulled off the mask to reveal a smirking Kabuto before vanishing. Several ANBU began chasing after the pair.
Sarutobi turned to see his remaining students hard pressed by the reanimated forms of his predecessors. Each ANBU that tried to intervene was swatted aside by wood based jutsu. The golem was relentless. It continued to bear down on Tsunade. He saw that the strong woman could not bring herself to strike down her own grandfather. Sarutobi moved in pain from his battle with Orochimaru to help his precious students.
Naruto cursed as all of his clones were dispersed once more. Gaara was destroying them as fast as Naruto could create them. Shattered trees were strewn around the area as Gaara's sand shuriken were destroying all the close cover. Naruto was hit several times more as he kept dodging Gaara's blasts.
Sand covered the red head down to the shins. A tanuki head, clawed arms and a tail were plainly visible. "Come Uzumaki, fight me! Justify my existence!"
Naruto noticed some motion in the trees nearby. Sakura stopped a few yards inside the tree line. Naruto made a hand sign to her that she should remain hidden. Naruto made another batch of clones and then used a substitution to get over to Sakura while Gaara was destroying clones.
"Sakura, you need to get out of here. This guy is more nuts than Sasuke," he spoke in low tones so they would not be overheard. "He is dangerous."
Sakura nodded "I know he is. That is why I came to help. Hinata got wounded with poison and had to wait behind. She'll be ok."
Naruto panicked for a moment hearing Hinata had been hurt but relaxed again at Sakura's assurance she would be fine.
Further discussion was halted when a shout of 'Sand Shuriken' was heard and the branches around them shattered under the sand attack. Naruto and Sakura both leapt away only to find Gaara in their path. A sand arm slammed Naruto to one side. The other grabbed Sakura and held her tightly. Gaara chuckled in an insane fashion as he began to squeeze the life out of Sakura. He stopped when a wave of chakra and killer intent washed over him.
Naruto stood wrapped in a blue aura of chakra that had tiny bursts of purple appearing and disappearing. "LEAVE HER ALONE!!" Naruto shouted.
Gaara's sand cover face grinned wide as he spoke, "You are finally going to fight me, Uzumaki? Mother wants your blood. She says it is like hers. You will validate my existence when you die!"
In the northeastern sector of Konoha, Anko was running amok. She had summoned a dozen horse sized snakes and was cutting down every Sound ninja in sight. On one flank, an ANBU team led by a woman in a Cat mask was fighting just as hard. On Anko's other flank, the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio was doing the same.
Their goal was clear. Relieve the Hyuuga estate. Additional teams of jonin and chunin were arriving and pressuring the Sound forces heavily. The more numerous Sound ninja were being pushed back by the more experienced Leaf. The relief force had only a half mile to go but judging from the noise ahead of them, they might be too late.
Sarutobi shook his head slowly as he saw the forms of the First and Second Hokage close in on his students. The First backhanded Tsunade through a pile of rubble, leaving her stunned and helpless. It walked over and began to strangle the woman. The Second had Jiraiya trapped in a sphere of water. The golems were speaking to the Sannin and telling them they did not wish this but neither one stopped.
'Damn, they cannot be destroyed by any means I can think of except one.' "Shadow Clone," Sarutobi whispered. A clone of Sarutobi appeared and in unison with the original began a long seal sequence, their hands blurring. "Shiki Fuijin, (Reaper Death Seal)"
The jutsu completed both Sarutobi and his clone leapt forward to grapple with the golems of the First and Second. A pale white form appeared behind Sarutobi as the golems were held. Then, a hush fell across the whole of Konoha as the presence of Death was felt.
In the southern shelter, the Raikage and Yugito both felt it strongly. "Raikage-sama, the Nibi can sense the power of a tailed beast nearby being released, and possibly of a second. With this feeling of death so close by, it will make the other beasts rage and possibly make the vessels lose all control. Since I am essentially the Nibi I can keep it under control and calm or subdue the others."
The Raikage nodded, "Then go do what you must to help the situation."
The Dragon masked ANBU that had remained near them stepped up, "I shall accompany her and insure she is not attacked by Leaf forces.
The Sand forces felt the presence of Death and flinched but held in place.
The Sound forces felt it, broke and ran.
Next: Invasion and Loss, Part 3 : Battle of the Jinchuuriki
End Notes: Not a lot to add from the reviews of the previous chapter.
Yes, the boy with the senbon in Part 1 is Haku.
Hanabi is mentioned because she is a 'named' character who shows up in the canon Chunin Exams. She has no part other than to be rescued and joins the other people being protected within the arena.
Parting Shot: I realize the whole 'lets go beat Naruto to death' is a very convenient and overused plot device but I really dislike it. First there is no basis for it in canon. I really cannot see civilians and ninja disobeying the orders of Sarutobi and attacking a child. Pointing at Mizuki as being a common example makes no sense. If more than a handful of people felt that way, Naruto would have been dead as a toddler. A simple kunai dragged across the throat and no more Naruto. Even if he had supercharged regenerative healing, you cannot regrow a head.
In the manga and anime, Naruto is focused on people 'acknowledging' him. All this means to me is he was shunned or ignored by people who did not have to deal with him. This results in his pranks, loud behavior and eye searing orange jumpsuit. All are a means to attract attention and when you are routinely dismissed or ignored, even negative attention is better than none.