And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 16!
Ugh, I go in for training tomorrow. Not looking forward to it. I would rather sit around and read fanfiction. But hey, I want the stupid job.
Another long chapter is here.
Wait…when did we pass 100k words? That's awesome! Let's shoot for 200k!
Listening to Kingdom Hearts Music is a good way for me to get pumped enough to write this thing.
digreg: No big spoilers here, sorry!
The Sith'ari: I will probably do something like that, yeah.
erneymatt: I really am unsure about a pairing. It is kind of like the catchphrases such as "ttebayo", I don't really care either way. I can do with or without them. The only thing that would really stop me is I don't know how well I can write romance. If I suck at writing fight scenes, I shudder to think how I do in romance. I plan to fill the time skip with the world jumping. Xehanort influencing Kyūbi? Pending. Will the family ever figure out what is going on? Probably some parts. The entire thing? Eventually, I guess. But not all at once.
OmegaDelta: Sometimes, I do too…
itwasadarkandstormynight: For something so simple, your username is surprisingly annoying to type. Anyways, keyblade use? I know when I want to reveal the keyblade. But I won't be doing it until then.
LazyAssassin24: Pending. But leaning towards forms.
Anyways, on with the Story!
I don't own Naruto, Kingdom Hearts or anything else, I'm just a broke college student...
Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."
Normal Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'
Biju/Diety Talking: "Insert witty remark here."
Biju/Diety Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'
Scene Change: Insert Place Here
Jutsu/Magic/Technique: Insert Jutsu Here
Edge of the Land of Waves (Two Days Later)
It has been two days since the encounter with the Demon Brothers, and the group has yet to find any more opposition on their way to the Land of Waves. However, they know it is unlikely that the trip will remain this easy.
Following the scuffle with the Demon Brothers and the decision to keep the mission going, the group picked up the pace and headed towards the Land of Waves. They were now in a boat belonging to a contact of Tazuna's and were crossing an extremely foggy body of water to reach the shore of the Land of Waves.
After a while, the man rowing the boat spoke up. "We're nearly there. The bridge should be in sight soon."
Soon after he said this, the silhouette of a giant bridge came into view. Although it was obviously unfinished, it still managed to impress the foreigners there. Menma whistled lowly at the sight. "Wow, old man. Nice bridge you got going there."
Tazuna twitched at the old man comment, but he grinned widely when Menma finished his sentence. "I know, right? It's such a super bridge!"
Yūgao nodded with a smile. "Yes, it is impressive. You should be proud of it."
Tazuna smiled even more. But after a moment, the smile became more subdued. "I am proud of it. But I will be even more proud when it manages to free my country." He seemed lost in thought for a few minutes. Eventually, a determined expression worked its way onto his face. "Listen…" He began, getting their attention. "…I want to thank you again for doing this. I get you didn't have to agree to keep the mission going, especially because I lied about it, but you agreed to anyways. I'm extremely thankful for that."
Yakumo smiled at him. "We're happy to help."
Tazuna smiled back, before becoming serious again. "And because you agreed to do this, I would like to give you the rest of the details surrounding the situation."
Instantly, everyone else gained serious expressions too. Nodding, Kushina motioned for him to keep speaking. "Go on."
Tazuna nodded. "I know who the identity of the person who wants me dead." He began. Although he also knew, Naruto kept quiet and let Tazuna do the explaining. "You've probably heard of him before."
Yūgao tilted her head. "Who is it?"
"His name is Gatō, a shipping magnate."
This drew wide eyes from the rest of the group. It was Kushina who found her voice first. "Gatō? As in the guy who owns the Gatō shipping company? That Gatō?"
Tazuna nodded grimly. "That's him. Officially, he is only the person who runs a super shipping company. But in reality, he is a terrible man. He secretly sells drugs and other things that are illegal while using shinobi and gangs to take over other businesses and small countries."
Sai tilted his head. "Small countries such as the Land of Waves."
It wasn't really a question, but Tazuna answered anyways. "Yes. About a few years ago, he set his eyes on the Land of Waves. By using his vast wealth and underhanded tactics, he quickly managed to take over the entire shipping industry. Gatō has a monopoly on all business and traffic going in and out of the country. There is only one thing that is standing in his way."
Yūgao voiced her thoughts. "The bridge."
"And since you're the head of the construction, he would want you out of the way. By any means." Narumi added.
Menma finished the line of thought. "That's why he sent those shinobi after you. He sees you as a threat, and wants you out of the way."
Tazuna nodded. "Yes. That's exactly it. This bridge is my country's last hope of digging ourselves out of this mess. If I fail, then that's it. Gatō wins."
A depressed silence descended upon the group. Eventually, the silence was broken by Tazuna's contact. "Tazuna, it looks like we have managed to get this far without being noticed…but I am not sure how much longer it will last. We should hurry and head for the shore."
Hearing this, Tazuna nodded. "You're right. Let's go for it." The man nodded and turned the boat towards the desired direction. After a few more minutes of silent travel, the boat entered a tunnel. They were quiet with the anticipation of finally reaching their destination after days of travel with their guards up.
Soon, the boat emerged from the other side of the tunnel. The Konoha shinobi silently marveled at the peaceful looking village that they encountered on the other side. On either side of the river were houses that were set up on stilts that led into the water. And spread out in the area were trees that complimented nicely with the surroundings. Overall, it looked like a serene place to live. But they were not fooled by the looks alone. With the description of the living situation and the oppression just given, it was easy to spot that the village had fallen upon hard times.
Once the boat was ashore, they exited and turned back to Tazuna's contact. Seeing he had their attention, he spoke up. "This is as far as I go. I wish you the best of luck."
Tazuna smiled and nodded at the man. "Thank you for taking this risk." The others voiced similar sentiments. The man nodded, and started up the motor in the boat. With a final farewell, he left. After he was gone, Tazuna turned to the shinobi escorts. "Ok. Get me home safely!"
Kushina nodded. "Sure thing. We should head out right away." She looked over the group. "Be on your guards. The next person to come after us will be tougher than a couple of chūnin." When she got nods in response, she turned and led the way.
For the next fifteen minutes, the group travelled in silence. They all were aware that they could be attacked at any moment, and that fact put them all on edge. Although Tazuna seemed to be taking it the worst as he was constantly looking around and jumping slightly at every little noise. At one point, he even got annoyed with Yakumo when the girl stepped on a twig.
While it was understandable for Tazuna to be jumpy about every little thing as he was a civilian, it didn't explain why Menma was also attempting to look in every direction at once. Eventually, as they were passing a nearby lake, Naruto let his curiosity get the better of him. "Menma…" he started, getting his attention. "…what are you doing?"
Menma smirked in return. "If we're going to be attacked, I'm going to be ready for it!" He whirled back around to look at his surroundings. "I dare anyone who wants to attack us to do it. We'll kick their asses!" Suddenly, there was a rustling sound off in a nearby bush. Before anyone else could react, Menma pulled out a kunai and launched it in the direction of the noise.
In response to this, all of the shinobi immediately readied themselves for a fight as well. When a minute passed with nothing happening, Menma stomped over to the bush. After pushing aside the leaves, he froze. "Oh…whoops." They heard him say quietly.
Curious at what he found, Narumi followed him over to the bush. When she reached him, she peered over his shoulders to see what he was looking at. When she saw what it was, she gasped. This gasp was immediately followed by a hit to the back of her younger brother's head.
"Ow! What was that for?!" He questioned her.
She shot him a glare. "That was for scaring this poor rabbit." She scooped it up into her arms. Cradling it to her chest, she started to pet it in an attempt to soothe it. "Look at it. It actually fainted out of fright."
Naruto frowned when he got a look at the white rabbit. 'Isn't that a snow rabbit? Why would there be a snow rabbit in this region?' There wasn't any snow anywhere near this region. It just didn't make any sense. 'That must mean it was brought here by someone. But what for? Is it a pet? But then why would it be out here on its own? Unless it ran away, it must have been released…' But why would someone bring it here just to release it? The only useful thing it could probably do is be a good emergency replacement…
Naruto nearly facepalmed right then and there. 'I am so freaking stupid.' While he would have like to continue belittling himself for not realizing the situation sooner, he decided to examine his surroundings again. Off to the sides, Kushina, Yūgao, and Sai were doing the same.
Naruto frowned to himself as he surveyed the area. 'That rabbit was brought here for the specific reason of being a replacement. The fact that it is here means that so are the people who brought it. We are probably already being watched. They can attack at any moment now. But when? And from where?' That was when he heard it. The sound of a blade cutting through the air as a projectile hurtled towards them.
He was about to warn the others, but Kushina was a step ahead of him. Before he could even open his mouth, she was yelling out to them while pulling Tazuna to the ground. "Get down!" The others immediately complied and threw themselves to the floor.
They were able to narrowly dodge a huge sword that was going to decapitate them as it hurled over their heads and imbedded in a tree nearby. By the time Naruto bounced back to his feet and looked at the sword, there was already a man standing on it.
It was a tall man who seemed to be muscular and had pale skin. His hair was a black and was cut in a short, spiky style. The bottom half of his face was covered in bandages like a mask. He had on a Kiri headband that was facing sideways. He was currently shirtless but had a belt that crossed in the front of his chest that probably acted as a holster for the sword. His pants were baggy and colored blue with vertical stripes. To complete his outfit, he had on wrist warmers that went up to his elbows.
Naruto instantly froze when he saw the man. Ever since he had begun learning how to use a sword, Naruto has grown interested in who the best swordsmen in the world were. This of course led him to the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He has seen pictures of all the members in the recent years, and this man was easily recognizable as one of them.
Naruto tensed. "Zabuza Momichi…" Things had just got a whole lot more difficult if one of the Seven Swordsmen was their enemy.
Zabuza glanced at Naruto. "What's this? My reputation precedes me. This brat actually knows who I am." He zeroed in on the sword on Naruto's back. "Although, I would be severely disappointed if an up and coming swordsman didn't know who I was…"
Menma grinned. "It doesn't matter who you are! We're going to take you down!" He made to move forward but was restrained by Kushina.
"Menma! This isn't the time for your arrogance to get the better of you! This guy is own a whole different level compared to those chumps from earlier." She scolded.
Zabuza looked at Kushina. "It looks like I'm not the only big name here right now. Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero is here too." He then looked at Yūgao. "I don't know who you are, but I can tell you're up there in strength too." He chuckled. "Well, while I do love bloodshed, this time I would prefer it if you would just hand over the old man."
Tazuna, who had been shaking in place up until this point, started to tremble even more. Yūgao shook her head. "Sorry, we can't do that." All of the Konoha shinobi got into battle stances. It was at this point that Yūgao spoke again. "You can't seriously be thinking that you are able to take all of us on by yourself, can you?"
Zabuza seemed to smirk under his bandages. "I admit. I wanted to come here alone at first, but seeing who the opposition is, I'm glad to have some backup."
Their eyes widened. "Backup?" Kushina repeated.
"Indeed. Zabuza-san did not come alone." A voice said. The Konoha shinobi glanced to the side where another figure was walking out of the line of trees.
It was another man who appeared. He was a man with crimson eyes and dark hair that was cut short. He wore a blue long sleeved shirt that had grey stripes near the wrists. His pants were a dark brown that were tucked into his light brown boots. He also wore light brown gloves and a leather breastplate. On one of his fingers, over the glove, was a flashy ring.
Kushina frowned when he saw him. Glancing to Yūgao, she spoke up. "I don't recognize him, do you?" Yūgao shook her head in response.
Hearing this, the man quirked a small smile of amusement. "I'm not surprised. I'm not a famous missing-nin like Zabuza-san. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Metoro Konjiki. And it would appear that we are enemies today." And without any further ado, he thrust his hand forward and launched some kind of small projectile at Yūgao.
Acting on her instincts and reflexes alone, Yūgao to block the projectile. Although she barely made it in time. She narrowed her eyes at what she just blocked. 'A ball of steel? And it seemed to form from his hand…' But she didn't see him pull it out at any point, so where had he gotten it from?
Seeing that the fight was starting, Kushina called out to the genin. "We'll take care of these two! You all protect Tazuna-san!" And with that, she raced off to meet Zabuza while Yūgao was busy with Metoro.
The genin immediately complied and surrounded Tazuna. Seeing that Tazuna was shaken by what was going on, Narumi grinned at him. "Don't worry about it, old man! Nothing bad is gonna happen with us here-ttebane!" She assured him.
"Wow, you sure are confident, aren't you?" Came a voice from nearby. Immediately, the group tensed further and those who weren't facing the right way whirled around to see who had spoken. They were slightly confused at what they saw.
It was another man. He looked identical to Metoro. Right down to the outfit. The only difference was that instead of wearing a ring, he had on a gaudy earing.
Yakumo looked back and forth between the man that Yūgao was fighting and the one in front of them. Eventually, she voiced what she thought was going on. "You left a clone here to kill the client?"
The man chuckled and waved a dismissive hand. "Nah. That over there is my little brother." He flashed them a grin. "Hey there! You've already met Metoro. My name is Etoro!" He smirked at them. "Sorry, but I need that geezer you have there. Would you please hand him over?"
Naruto smirked back at him while shaking his head. "No can do. We've sort of grown to like him. We would prefer his continued health."
The man gave a dramatic sigh as he slumped his shoulders, but there was a smile on his face. "Ah, that's too bad. I was hoping this would be a simple mission where we can just walk up and kill him." His smile turned bloodthirsty. "But I guess this can be more fun…"
Naruto turned serious. Without looking at them, he spoke to Narumi and Menma. "Narumi, Menma." He began, getting their attention. "Let my team handle this."
Protests immediately shot up. Menma scowled. "How come, Aniki? We can fight too."
Naruto shook his head as team 12 stepped forward. "We still need to protect Tazuna-san. I'm not doubting your abilities, but we shouldn't all leave the client just to get into a fight. We need to remember the mission. My team has a better chance of overwhelming an enemy due to having a third member."
Narumi scowled as well, but conceded to his point. "Fine. Just be careful, Nii-chan."
Naruto smiled. "Of course. No need to worry."
Etoro's smile grew even more bloodthirsty. "You're a confident one as well! Oh man, I can't wait until I can see that smile fall off your face as you drown in your own blood!" And with that, he created flames in his hands and hurled them to where team 12 was standing.
Naruto immediately flew into action. "Scatter!" They did so, and not a moment too soon as the flames struck the ground where they were. But then something unexpected happened. While the flames certainly looked hot, they completely incinerated the area! In the immediate vicinity to the point of impact, everything was a molten mess! It even melted part of the ground!
This sight set Naruto on edge. 'Something is up with those flames! They shouldn't be that powerful…And he created them without and hand seals as well…' Comprehension came to him quickly. "A bloodline…" He whispered.
Etoro seemed to hear him, because after Naruto voiced his thoughts he started to laugh. "You're pretty smart, kid! That's right, I have the Lava Release bloodline. My flames can melt anything in their path!" He conjured more fireballs. "Especially people!"
The next few moments was spent with team 12 jumping and dodging all of the flames that came at them. It seemed impossible for them to get close as whenever they tried, Etoro would simply surround himself in a ring of fire to keep them away.
Soon though, Naruto came up with a plan. As he dodged another shot of fire, he leapt closer to Yakumo. "Yakumo, how long would you need to create a genjutsu that would allow us to get close and finish this?"
She frowned as she looked back at the cackling man that Sai was currently distracting. "He seems slightly unbalanced in the mental aspect. So I would probably only need a minute or two." She assessed.
Naruto smirked. "Is that all? That's easy." Seeing her smile in return, Naruto leapt in to help Sai. Knowing that he couldn't get close to the pyromaniac, Naruto decided on his next course of action.
Why not fight fire with fire?
With this train of thought, Naruto thrust his hand forward. "Fire!" He yelled. A fireball promptly appeared and shot towards Etoro. This seemed to momentarily stun the man, but he recovered quick enough to block it with his own flames.
After the flames subsided, the man sent a grin at Naruto. "Well, what do you know? That's a pretty cool trick, kid. Although they don't hold a candle to my flames, it is still impressive that you can manage that much…"
Naruto smirked back. "Oh yeah? Let me show you how strong my flames are when I really get fired up!" He knew he would eventually be overpowered. He was fighting the man using something similar to his own skillset. But all he needed was buy two minutes for Yakumo. That much he could do.
Etoro laughed again. "Fine then! Let's have a little firefight!" He followed this declaration up with another shot of fire.
Naruto leapt to the side and shot a couple more fireballs in return. The area was soon scorched even more.
Over with Narumi and Menma
The younger two of the set of triplets were both gaping at the scene in front of them. Because they were guarding Tazuna, they were forced to do nothing more than watch the different fights going on in the area. While they were awed by the jōnin level fights going on nearby, they were completely stunned by what their older brother was doing.
"Menma…Did you know that Nii-chan could shoot fireballs?" Narumi said quietly.
Menma numbly shook his head. "No. I had no idea he could do that." Come to think of it, he wasn't really sure about what Naruto was able to do. Sure, he knew that he could use a sword, but he had never even seen Naruto use it.
Narumi was travelling along the same train of thought. As much as she hated to admit it, she had long grown used to Naruto not training with the rest of the family. In the past, she was more aware of it. She used to try and get him to join, but that had started to die off at some point a few years ago. Because of that, she did not know what Naruto was good at. Sure he was the rookie of the year, but that just meant that he was the best at the things taught in the academy.
After a few moments, Narumi's eyes widened further. "Menma, look! Nii-chan is doing that without any hand seals!"
Menma gaped when he noticed. "What? But how?! I'm pretty sure the guy they are fighting has some kind of bloodline, but what about Aniki? He shouldn't be able to do that! We're only genin!"
Narumi shook her head in wonder. "I don't know…" A wide grin appeared on her face. "…but that's totally awesome!"
Menma's face quickly broke into an identical grin.
Back with Naruto
'Duck!' Naruto quickly ducked out of the way from a wave of flames that shot at him. 'This guy is seriously tough!' Even with the support Sai was providing through his ink animals, they were unable to land a single hit on Etoro. He just burned everything that got even remotely close to him to a crisp. 'Come on Yakumo, hurry it up!' While he had vastly improved his stamina when it came to casting spells from when he started, it was impossible to keep it up forever. Eventually, he would need to take a break from firing spells.
It was then that Etoro's eyes grew wide with horror. "What? No! No!" He became frantic as he started quickly swiping his arms as if trying to get something invisible off of him. "Why aren't you listening to me? You're my flames, so you can't burn me!" He was growing increasingly distressed by the moment.
Naruto was seriously confused by what was going on. He lost control of his flames? But…there was nothing there…
After a moment, Naruto's eyes widened in realization. 'Yakumo! Her genjutsu made him believe he lost control of his flames!' Not wishing to lose this chance, Naruto swiftly unsheathed his blade and dashed at Etoro. Within seconds, he was within striking distance with his blade swinging down to behead him. 'Yes!' Clang!
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise when his sword was blocked a second before it could cut into the enemy. Looking to see who had done it, he saw someone new.
It was a man with dark green hair that went down to his shoulders and spiked at the bottom. Two long bangs framed his face and he had purple eyes. He had on a navy blue, sleeveless jumpsuit that was white on the sides. He also had on open toed sandals that went up to his calves and a warmer on his right arm. On his left hand was a black glove. Strapped to his back was some kind of umbrella. Partially obscured by his hair was an Ame headband. But it was the sword that really got Naruto's attention.
It was a blade that appeared to be made out of solid yellow lightning or something similar. The hilt was an odd shape as it resembled something that, to Naruto, looked like two horns curled towards one another. Naruto instantly recognized the sword.
"The Sword of the Thunder God." He said quietly in awe.
Hearing this, the man smirked. "Oh? You know about this blade." He applied more force, pushing Naruto back. "Then you know that I am invincible with it!"
Not wishing to get forced into submission so easily, Naruto jumped back to regroup. "If you have that sword, then that must mean you're the traitor, Aoi Rokushō."
In return to this, Aoi only smirked. "Indeed I am." He turned to the still panicking Etoro and whacked him upside the head. "Snap out of it, moron. I can't believe you let yourself be forced into such a position that I had to come out and save your ass."
Etoro looked around in confusion for a moment before comprehension came to him. A fierce scowl quickly worked its way onto his face as he snarled at team 12. "You damn brats! I'm going to kill you for that!"
Aoi swiftly held out his hand to stop him. "Wait." His eyes zeroed in on Naruto. "I want the kid with the sword." He smirked as he pointed the Sword of the Thunder God at the crimson blond. "I want to fight him with our blades."
Etoro growled, but nodded. "Fine, whatever. I owe you one for pulling my ass out of the fire just now. But consider us even."
Aoi smirked. "Fine. Easy enough."
Naruto, who had been listening to the entire exchange, grew more apprehensive. 'Ok, what do I know about this guy? He defected as a chūnin a couple years ago and fled across the border. Apparently went to Ame and was allowed refuge there and became a shinobi for them. If I had to guess, he has been relying on that blade to get by in the last couple years. Because of that, he probably hasn't really improved that much overall from when he was in Konoha. If I had to guess, he would be high chūnin to low jōnin.' He took a deep breath. 'I can do this. Especially in a battle of blades.'
Aoi, seeing the determination blossom onto Naruto's face, grinned sinisterly. "Oh good. You're ready to die." He crouched low. "Well then, let us begin!" And with that, he charged at Naruto.
Naruto dashed forward as well and met him partway. Clang! Their swords clashed together as they struggled for dominance over one another. After a moment, they broke away before bringing their swords back to try and cut the enemy.
Clang! Over and over again, their swords met as they both tried to get in a hit. But neither one was able to land anything on the other person. While Aoi was reportedly jōnin level, he simply did not have the skill with a blade that Naruto had.
After another clash, they both jumped back again. But this time, instead of rushing each other again, they both dashed to their respective sides, making a circle. After a few seconds, Aoi smirked. Acting quickly, he threw a few kunai at Naruto. "There!"
Naruto saw the incoming projectiles and acted accordingly. "I don't think so!" He swiftly brought his blade up and deflected each of them.
With Narumi and Menma
"Oh, wow." Narumi feebly said.
Menma gulped. "Ok. So he does know how to use that sword after all." He should never have questioned his brother's ability to use the sword. It was now obvious that Naruto was very good with the thing.
Narumi was practically vibrating in place. "Oh, I so want to learn how to use a sword now! It would be so awesome-ttebane!"
Menma grinned as well. "It so would-ttebasa! Aniki is freaking amazing with that sword!"
Even Tazuna, who was previously too shaken to do much of anything, was awed by the skills that the boy was showing.
Back with Naruto
Aoi was cackling a bit as he fought Naruto. "Come on! Is that all you got? You can do better than that!" He called out as he repeatedly swiped his blade in an attempt to get at Naruto. But like Naruto himself, he was yet unable to land anything.
'Swipe from the left. Block and return with a thrust. Missed. He's countering with a blow from the right. Still stretched out from the thrust, roll forward. Spring to your feet and dish out a cut to his back. Dodged again. DUCK!' Naruto narrowly missed having a thunder sword digging into his face as he ducked down just in time. Throughout the entire fight, Naruto hasn't had much of a chance to focus on anything but the fight. The only times he had room to breathe was when they temporarily broke away from one another.
After another exchange of blows, they jumped away and began to run in circles again. 'Man, he isn't that good with a blade, but he is still low jōnin level.' In fact, Naruto wasn't too eager to see how this fight would go if it wasn't a sword fight.
He broke out of his thoughts when Aoi dashed at him again. Naruto was beginning to get used to his movements and predicting his moves. 'A one handed thrust.' Whoosh! Naruto tilted his head to the side to dodge it, the buzzing of the thunder blade in his ear. The blade quickly pulled back. 'Next, a side slash.' Naruto jumped back to dodge this strike. Aoi wasn't to be deterred however, as he followed after him. 'From there, a straight slash down. Time to break his stance!'
Naruto quickly reversed the sword in his hand so the pommel was facing up. Using that side, he met the Sword of the Thunder God head on. Clang! This caused the lightning sword to bounce back and Aoi to stumble a bit with it.
"What?" Aoi gasped as he stumbled.
'Now!' Seeing the opening, Naruto lunged forward to finish the fight.
Despite being surprised, Aoi was quick to recover. Using the momentum of his sword bouncing back up, he quickly pulled it behind his back and kept it going as he switched hands. He smirked viciously. He quickly brought his blade back out in the other hand and made a stab at Naruto.
Naruto, seeing this at the last moment, was unable to completely alter his course and was hit. As he tried rotating out of the way, the blade cut into his arm, causing him to tumble onto the floor as blood seeped out of his wound.
"Nii-chan!"
"Aniki!" He heard his siblings cry out together. He gripped at his arm. It wasn't a terrible wound, but it still hurt like hell. He glared up at his opponent as he started to laugh.
"You're good, kid. No denying that! You put up a wonderful fight, but with this blade I am invincible! Nobody can stand up to the might of the Sword of the Thunder God!" He began to stalk forward to finish Naruto off, but stopped when he heard a cry of pain off a little ways away. Both he and Naruto turned. And while Naruto stilled at what he saw, Aoi's smile grew wider.
Etoro was now standing above the prone form of Sai, who looked slightly singed even from where they were. Etoro's manic grin was back as he taunted his opponents.
Seeing this scene, Aoi grinned down at Naruto. "Well, it seems like one of my partners sure is enjoying himself. Such a shame that your teammate can't say the same." He began to laugh again.
Naruto glared at him. Furious that he and his friends were put into such a situation. But then he noticed that Aoi completely left himself open. Probably because he thought he would notice any attacks before they hit him. Quickly, a plan formed in his head. He hadn't tested this version of the spell in the field yet, but he really wanted to get that stupid grin off of the bastards face.
Discreetly, Naruto brought his uninjured arm forward. He smirked when Aoi didn't notice. Now was his chance. "Fira!" He called, shooting a blast of fire that was bigger than the others at Aoi.
Aoi, caught off guard, was unable to dodge or block the attack. "Argh!" He cried as he was launched back.
Naruto grinned. Fira was currently his strongest fire spell. And although he could definitely feel the drain of using it instead of Fire, getting a hit in on this bastard was worth it. He turned serious again as Aoi pushed himself to his feet.
The man's jumpsuit had a hole in the front where his chest was exposed. And Naruto could see exactly where his attack had hit as that was where there was a big burn wound. There was some blood oozing out of it and onto the floor.
Aoi looked absolutely murderous. He was shaking from his rage of actually letting his guard down to the point where Naruto was able to wound him. He had even seen the kid launching fireballs earlier! He shouldn't have forgotten about it.
He started to stalk back over to Naruto. "You little bastard. I'm going to kill you!"
"Etoro!" However, before he could walk any further than a couple feet, a shout rang out throughout the clearing. Looking over, they saw it was Metoro. It was obvious that he had just been through a battle. There were numerous cuts all over his body and he was favoring one side. In his hand was a steel sword.
Naruto frowned when he saw it. 'Where had that come from? He didn't have it on him earlier…' Most sword users kept their swords on them in order to be able to draw it out quicker. It was extremely inconvenient for a sword user to have to unseal their blade in order to fight.
Metoro landed next to his older brother. "Zabuza is about to go down. I don't want to be here when he does. We should leave and try again later."
Hearing this, Naruto looked back over to the lake. Kushina and Zabuza were still fighting, but it was obvious that Zabuza was being overwhelmed by Kushina. Hearing someone land beside him, Naruto looked over to see a slightly battered Yūgao standing there.
Etoro frowned, but nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to fight the Habanero. Let's bail." He turned to the Konoha shinobi. "Well then, it looks like our time has been cut short. We'll have to do this again sometime." He looked over to Aoi. "You coming?" He asked.
Aoi scowled. And while he really wanted to pay Naruto back for that damage he had just been forced to take, he too feared the Habanero. And without the Konjiki brothers there as well, he would be forced to fight the other jōnin as well. He sighed and sheathed his sword. "Yeah, I'm coming…" He turned back to Naruto with a glare. "I will pay you back later for this. Remember that." And with those final words, the three of them left the area.
Naruto began to get to his feet in order to pursue them, but was stopped by Yūgao. "Don't. Our mission is to get Tazuna-san home safely. We aren't about to go looking for a fight with an enemy that may know the area better than we do."
Naruto frowned, but nodded. That was the right choice, as much as he hated to admit it. He got up and walked towards his teammates. By now, Sai had gotten back to his feet. "You alright?" Naruto asked him.
Sai seemed slightly surprised that Naruto was asking if he was ok, but nodded his head. "I am fine. I was only lightly burned. Now that I have had a chance to see his move set, I believe I can better fight him the next time, given the chance to recover my energy and prepare." He reported.
Naruto nodded and looked over to Yakumo. "What about you, Yakumo? Are you hurt?"
She shook her head. "No, I had some area wide genjutsus up so he couldn't get close. I was trying to get him under another genjutsu, but he kept on breaking each one I threw at him." She seemed frustrated that she couldn't do more.
Naruto grinned at her. "Don't worry about it! We'll get them next time!"
After a few moments, she smiled back. "Of course. We'll beat them back to wherever they came from if they dare show their faces again." Naruto grinned in response.
They then walked over to the group guarding Tazuna as they kept an eye on the fight between Kushina and Zabuza. It was obvious to all of them that Kushina was dominating the fight, so there was no need to interfere.
Once they got close, Narumi ran over to Naruto, Menma only a step behind. "Nii-chan! That was totally awesome!"
Menma decided to put in his own bit at this point. "Except for the part where you got cut." He said.
Narumi didn't miss a beat and immediately nudged him in the side. "Shut up, Menma!" She turned back to Naruto. "But…well, yeah…the fight was awesome except for that part." She said apologetically.
Naruto smiled and waved them off. "Don't worry about it. It isn't a terrible wound, and I managed to hurt him in return." He then frowned. "But I won't be letting him cut me again."
Yūgao grinned at him. "That's probably a good idea. I know I hate it when the enemy manages to cut me. You should try to avoid that in the future."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Thank you, sensei. As always, your words are filled with encouragement and drive me to improve." He said sarcastically.
"Gah!" They all turned to look at who made that noise. Zabuza was up against a tree with multiple kunai sticking out of his arms and legs. Kushina was kneeling in a branch above him.
She gave him a dark look. "You're finished." She said.
Zabuza glared up at her. "Damn it all. I won't let it end here!"
Kushina shook her head as she pulled out another kunai. "Sorry. But you will die here." But before she could do anything, two senbon shot out from the nearby trees and stabbed into Zabuza's neck.
"Geh!" Zabuza stiffened for a moment, before falling forward onto the ground. The genins gasped in surprise while the jōnin stiffened. They all looked over to see where the senbon came from and they saw a person standing in a nearby tree.
They had long black hair that was done into a bun with two locks framing the face and pale skin where it was visible. They wore a standard Kiri pinstriped outfit that stopped at the knees. Over this was a green haori with white trimmings. Around the waist was a brown sash with a fringed tail that was wrapped around twice. The footwear choice were light brown platoon sandals with straps that were also green. There even appeared to be nail polish that matched the green color. On the person's face was a white mask that had curved eye holes and a red wavy design in the place of the mouth. The Kiri symbol was etched into it.
Given the mask, Naruto identified the person as a hunter-nin in his head. But still… 'Is that a guy or girl? I really can't tell. Some of that build says guy, some of it says girl. I wish I could see the face, it would probably make it easier to tell…'
Naruto tuned back into the world as he/she began to speak. "You were right. He did die."
'What the hell. I can't even tell with the freaking voice…'
Kushina jumped down next to Zabuza and began to check for a pulse. After a few moments, she shook her head. "He's dead alright." She looked back over at the hunter-nin. "Judging by your mask, I guess you're a hunter-nin from Kiri."
The hunter-nin bowed slightly in greeting. "Yes. I must thank you for your assistance. I have been tracking Zabuza for a long time, waiting for such a chance to come by." He/she disappeared in a swirl of mist and reappeared crouched next to Zabuza. Kushina, by now, had already moved off to the side. He/she looked back over to the Konoha shinobi. "Your battle is now over. I must leave to dispose of the body." He/she nodded again. "Farewell." And with that, the two left in another mist Body Flicker.
Kushina seemed to sag for a moment and sigh, but quickly bounced back. She whirled around to face the others. "Well, we lived through the fight and the client is safe! That's a win in my book!" She said with a grin.
Yūgao shook her head in amusement. "Yes, but we aren't done yet. We should head to Tazuna's home now."
Hearing this, Tazuna finally recovered from everything he just saw. "Hahaha! You guys have my super thanks!"
The genin also relaxed soon following this. But Naruto was still thinking about the scene that just played out. Something about it seemed…off to him. Like something happened that shouldn't have. He just couldn't figure out what.
"Should that hunter-nin not have disposed of the body right here?" A voice said from next to him.
Naruto quickly looked at Sai, the one who had spoken. That was it! That's what was off about the situation! Hunter-nins are supposed to dispose of the body right away, but that one took it.
Yūgao and Kushina stilled. After a moment, Kushina cursed. "Shit. You're right. We just got tricked."
Yakumo tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Yūgao was the one to answer. "Hunter-nins don't take the body to a different location to destroy it. It is procedure to do it right away. For proof, all they would really need is the head. Keeping the body around for any longer would risk the mission, so they don't. But that one didn't dispose of it right here and now."
Menma tilted his head to the side. "So? Why does that matter?"
Yūgao looked at him. "It matters because that could mean that what we just saw was only an act to get Zabuza to safety."
The ones who hadn't figured that out yet jumped a bit. Tazuna quickly refuted that. "What? But she said herself that there was no pulse! He was dead!"
Kushina frowned. "The senbon…" She said quietly, then repeated it louder. "The senbon. That isn't a typical weapon to use to assassinate someone. But it is a medical tool." She shook her head. "If you knew the body well enough, it wouldn't be impossible to put someone into a death-like state."
That statement threw the group into silence. It was eventually broken by Yūgao. She turned to face Tazuna. "Tazuna-san, how long until we reach your home?"
He shook his head. "Not long now. Only twenty minutes or so. Maybe a bit more."
Kushina nodded. "Good. We'll head out right away." She turned to face the genin. "Get in formation around Tazuna-san. Our mission isn't done, yet!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Tazuna's House (45 minutes later)
Team 11, Team 12, and Tazuna were now seated in Tazuna's home. They arrived as the sun was setting, and after being greeted by Tazuna's daughter, they moved on to the tea room. The two jōnins ordered the genins to report on what had happened to them during the battles. They were now going to discuss future plans.
Yūgao looked over to Tazuna. "It is safe to say that Zabuza is alive. But he probably isn't in any condition to fight. We most likely have about a week before he returns. We will prepare for that."
Tazuna was surprised, but then he gained a hopeful look. "You mean…you're going to stay? Even with those super strong guys as opponents? You are willing to take on the mission still?"
Kushina rolled her eyes. "I hate this situation. A lot. But we already said we would keep going. While it would have been acceptable for us to turn back after the Demon Brothers, we didn't. Now, it would reflect terribly on Konoha if we left. It would give us the reputation of abandoning missions when some danger came around. Nobody would pay attention to the fact that we have a bunch of genin with us." She sighed and shook her head. "No, we are going to stay." But then she gained a predatory look. It was quickly mirrored by Yūgao. "But we are also going to train."
Menma looked excited at this. "You mean you're going to teach us some badass technique?"
Yūgao shrugged her shoulders with a smile. "Well, who knows? It could happen. But not right now. Starting tomorrow." She looked over at Tazuna. "You're not going to the bridge tomorrow, right?" A nod. "Good. Then we will use that chance to get them started on a little training." She then looked back over to the genins.
Kushina looked over to the genins. "We will take turns with keeping watch. I will go first. Followed by Naruto, Narumi, Sai, Menma, Yakumo, and Yūgao. Any questions?" None were raised. "Good. Then rest up for training tomorrow."
"It won't do you any good." A voice said from the doorway. They all looked over to see a boy standing there.
He had spiky black hair and dark eyes. He wore green overalls with a yellow shirt and a pair of simple sandals. On his head was a blue and white bucket hat.
While Naruto was twitching at the sight of the hat, Tazuna called out to the boy. "Inari! Come over here and give your grandpa a hug!"
The boy promptly walked over to the old man. "Welcome back." He said.
Tazuna placed a hand on Inari's head. "Inari, say hello to these people. They are the super ninja who protected me on my way home.
Inari regarded them for a moment. "They're all just going to die." He said blandly.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as Yakumo and Narumi gasped. Menma shot to his feet. "What was that?!" He tried walking over to the boy, but was held back by Kushina.
"There's no way you can win against Gatō." Inari replied.
"What?!" Menma tried to get to him, but Kushina wouldn't let go.
"Calm down." She told her youngest son.
Menma glared at the boy. "Listen up! We're awesome shinobi from Konoha! We're gonna send all of the bad guys packing! I don't know what your problem is, but there isn't anything that's going to stop us-ttebasa!"
Inari was silent for a minute. They couldn't see his expression well because his head was dipped and the brim of his hat was blocking it somewhat. But after a bit, he looked back up. "What? You must be stupid. There's no such thing as heroes. I'm warning you now, just give up."
"What?!"
"I said calm down-ttebane!" Bam! Menma was subsequently silenced with a fist to his head. Inari shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted.
"Inari-san." Everyone looked over to Naruto. "You should remember that no matter how dark the situation is, there is always a light." Some of the people in the room frowned in confusion, but Naruto kept on talking. "The heart may be weak, and sometimes it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out." Inari's eyes widened. "The situation might never be perfect, but if you just give in, it can't get any better. There is always hope. What you're doing right now, is giving up. And that's what Gatō wants. You're playing right into his hands by simply giving up and not fighting for what you believe in." Naruto shook his head. "If you're not willing to go that far, we will do it for you."
Inari stood there for a moment, simply staring at Naruto with wide eyes, but after a minute, he turned and fled the room. The rest of them sat there in silence for a few moments. But eventually it was broken by Yūgao. Naruto was quickly learning that she was often the fastest to shake off her surprise. "Well then. Remember the sleeping order. You're dismissed for the day. Again, be ready for training in the morning. The future is a little worrying right now."
The genins and Tazuna nodded and left the room to go and get prepared for bed or whatever other things they needed to do. Soon, it was just Kushina and Yūgao in the room.
Hallway
Naruto was now walking through the hallway after stopping by the restroom. As he passed by a bedroom, he paused as he heard a noise. Standing closer to the door so he could hear better, he stilled at what he heard.
The sound of crying.
Bedroom
Inari was crying over an old picture. The picture was a partially torn one of a friendly looking man. They both had huge grins on their faces.
'Why? Why am I crying? I don't want to!' But he couldn't help it. That boy, Naruto, sounded so much like Kaiza, it just hurt to listen to him. It brought back so many painful memories. Both happy and sad ones.
Inari paused as he heard something from outside his window. It sounded like…a guitar? Curious, Inari headed over towards it and looked outside. His eyes widened at what he saw.
In front of the House
Naruto was sitting outside in front of the house. He had found a stool on the porch and dragged it out to the front yard. With his back to the house, he unsealed his acoustic guitar. It was a simple black one with a white flame design on it.
He started to strum a few chords. After doing this for a minute, he began to play.
Simple and Clean (NateWantsToBattle Cover)
When you walk away
You don't hear me say
Please, oh baby don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
You're giving me
Too many things, lately
You're all I need
You smiled at me, and said
Don't get me wrong I love you
But does that mean I have to meet your father?
When we are older you'll understand what I meant when I said no
I don't think life is quite that simple
When you walk away
You don't hear me say
Please, oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
The daily things (like this and that and what's what)
To keep us all busy
Confusing me
That's when you came to me and said
Wish I could prove I love you
But does that mean I have to walk on water?
When we are older you'll understand it's enough when I say no,
And maybe some things are that simple
When you walk away
You don't hear me say
Please, oh baby don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go
Hold me, whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings
The future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before
Hold me, whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings
The future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before
End Music
And with that, Naruto finished playing. He sat there for a moment, but then jumped when he heard some clapping coming from behind him. Whirling around, he was surprised to see Narumi, Menma, Sai, and Yakumo standing there. Narumi and Yakumo were clapping while Menma stood there with a grin. Sai was just standing there, but Naruto could've sworn that there was a small smile on his lips.
He was promptly glomped by his sister. "Nii-chan, that was amazing! I didn't know you could sing and play guitar!"
The others walked over to them as well. Yakumo smiled at him. "You've played a few notes or chords before practice a couple times, but I've never heard you play an actual song or sing before."
Narumi shot Naruto a look. "She knew? Why would you tell her and not me?!"
Naruto shrugged weakly. "It just never came up."
She glowered at him. "Well, now you're going to have to play for me sometime!"
Naruto sighed, but didn't argue. It just wasn't worth it. Menma smirked at his older brother, but then a thought came to him. "Aniki…I've never heard that song before. Where did you hear it?"
Naruto froze. After a moment, he began to look a little uncomfortable as he averted his gaze. He mumbled something they were unable to hear. Menma frowned. "What? Speak up."
Naruto mumbled again, this time louder, but they still couldn't understand him. Yakumo shook her head. "Naruto, you need to speak louder than that."
Naruto sighed. A red tinge invaded his cheeks. "I…wrote it myself." He said quietly. He glanced at them again before quickly averting his eyes once more. What? This was the first time anyone has heard him sing a song he wrote himself. He was nervous!
All was silent for a few moments before Narumi backed up from him. He nervously peeked at her face, and was stunned to see the stars shining in her eyes. "You wrote that?" She asked him. He nodded minutely. She immediately tackled him to the floor in another hug. "That's amazing! Oh Kami, I can't believe you never told me you could do that!" The others soon backed her up with similar sentiments.
Hearing this, Naruto finally allowed himself to relax. It was nice to know he wasn't about to get ripped into over the song he wrote. He grinned back at them and thanked them. But after a minute, he paused. He sent them all annoyed looks. "You guys should be going to bed. We all have training tomorrow and we will need our energy."
Menma shot him his own annoyed look. "Oh yeah? What about you?" He challenged.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "I have the next shift for watch, so I won't be missing much anyways. Plus, playing the guitar is soothing to me." He pointed to the door. "Now scram. All of you. I'm serious." There only one or two more weak protests before they went back inside to go to bed. Once they were finally gone, Naruto slumped his shoulders.
He only hoped that he got his point across. Glancing up to a second story window, he managed to see a bucket hat quickly duck out of view in order to not be seen. Naruto smiled to himself.
Yeah, he was pretty sure he managed to get his point across.
Back in the Tea Room.
Yūgao turned away from the window to face Kushina with a small smile. "You must be proud." She said.
Kushina was surprised at this. All she could manage was a small, "What?"
Yūgao shook her head as she headed for the door. "I said you must be proud. Naruto is a wonderful young man. He has a kind heart, good beliefs, is talented in music, fantastic at kenjutsu, and is even able to use those jutsus that don't need hand seals. He is a wonderful person." She couldn't see it because her back was turned, but Kushina's eyes widened as she gave a small start of surprise.
Kushina raised a question in a small voice. "How skilled do you believe he is in kenjutsu, right now?" She asked.
Yūgao turned to her with a small frown as she thought about it. "Considering that he just faced off a reported jōnin in a sword fight and manage to finish it with a draw, I would say extremely skilled." Yūgao shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, he was injured, but so was the other guy. The fact that he was able to keep up at all amazes me. Granted, the guy was probably low jōnin, but he still had the speed and strength of at least a high chūnin. As a genin, that's impressive for him to match." She smiled at the redhead. "You and Minato have raised him so well. So again, you must be proud." And with that, she left the room.
Kushina sat there for a few minutes, going over what she just heard. Half of what she was just told she only learned about Naruto today. She scrunched her face up somewhat as she thought harder and harder about what she knew about Naruto. Has he always been this skilled? Did he hide it? And why wasn't she able to answer these questions?
"Ugh!" Kushina gripped the side of her head as pain shot through it. Unseen to anyone, her eyes flashed a darker purple for a moment, before dying back down. Recovering, Kushina shook her head. "What was I thinking about?" She tilted her head in thought. But after a minute of silent thought, she shrugged.
Must not have been important if she couldn't remember it.
There we go! All done with Chapter 16!
People! I've got reasons for the crap I pull. So don't shit on me until you see the entire scope of things. Then you can ridicule me for the stuff I write.
Sure Kog, you can totally fit the entire Wave arc into two chapters. Hell, you can probably just make one long chapter!
God, I'm such a dumbass. Everything is smaller in my head.
I have no idea what the Konjiki brothers look like. They aren't OC characters. They are from Gaara Hiden: A Sandstorm Mirage. I do not believe that their appearance was ever covered, so I just tried modeling it after the beginning outfit from Sword Art Online. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hate making up outfits.
I modeled the fight between Naruto and Aoi after the one in Rurouni Kenshin episode 7. The one between Kenshin and Jin-e. What you've got to remember is that Aoi is still a jōnin. I'm willing to call him a weak one, but he is still a jōnin. Naruto and Sasuke tag teamed him in canon and got their asses kicked, for the most part. I'm also willing to say that both Naruto and Sasuke were low to mid chūnin in skill at that point. I call semi-bullshit on that fight.
Hm…do I want Haku and Zabuza to die…?
I semi-try to portray Menma as canon Naruto. Not completely, but when I need a canon Naruto moment, I give it to him.
If you would like to hear an acoustic cover of Simple and Clean, check out NateWantsToBattle. That's actually what I listened to as I wrote that part.
I wanted to get rid of this song, but it would take more re-writing than I feel like putting up with right now. I promise you there are no more moments like that in the story though (1/17/19)
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!
Until next time,
Kog6943