And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 17!
When the lazies hit, they hit hard. It took me a little bit to get off my ass and write this.
Thinking back, Red Like Roses Part II by Jeff and Casey Williams would have also worked last chapter. Maybe even better…Oh well. I like Simple and Clean too. Plus, I've never heard an acoustic version of that. Also, Naruto technically didn't know about Kaiza yet.
New word count record!
Adjuster: Sorry, this has been the plan for a while. Plus, I couldn't exactly have them suddenly ignore Naruto after expressing that they won't, right? Also, it wouldn't fit in their personalities. There were three guys. Aoi, Metoro, and Etoro. I thought they were necessary because there were more people on the mission. Yūgao could take someone on by herself, and I wanted Naruto to fight someone on his own too. That meant I needed three people.
HeartlessNobody13: Glad you like it :) To answer the only thing I am willing to answer, yes. Naruto will have companions that travel with him between worlds. I think I have them already picked out. I have for a long time. The only reason I say "think" is because I may still think of better people, but I doubt it.
plums: An emo song to soothe the emo boy. But even then, Simple and Clean is a fantastic song. The guitar may be silly to you, but I like it. Unfortunately, I plan to go along with canon and alter it as I continue. So yeah, this early in the story is a guarantee for things to be similar, if not the same. And didn't I already tell you he isn't leaving the village? That he already has bonds there? Also, I never indicated that Ichigo made it off the world or not. Only that he wasn't there to do Urahara's bidding. You say "survivors" as if they die when they don't make it off the world. That isn't the case. For example, Simba's world in was swallowed by the darkness in Kingdom Hearts 1 and yet everyone was there in Kingdom Hearts 2. It isn't like they die if they don't make it off. I plan to get to that later. The arrancars? I'll admit adding them to the story has crossed my mind, but I still need to decide where in the Bleach timeline that world is. I haven't really indicated much about that yet.
Drakon45: :P Sorry. Not answering that.
Kavell Anderson: Please refer to the previous response.
SoraNoKitsune24: Darkness :P
LazyAssassin24: I like it! I may just do that. I had totally forgotten I could do that. Props to you. And I plan to add content to the time skip using the Kingdom Hearts story.
Red Eyes. B God: Sorry. Not answering that.
Anon: That would qualify, yes.
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
Last Updated: 12/18/17 (Minor wording alteration)
Nearby Woods (The Next Day)
After a good night of rest, the group left Tazuna's home in order to go to the forest nearby to train. Kushina opted to leave a few clones behind in order to guard Tazuna and his family. This way, they had some basic protection and the shinobi could focus on the training. Although they did this, Kushina and Yūgao weren't worried about the enemy showing up this soon based on their reluctance to fight them without Zabuza.
Menma was practically skipping along during the entire walk. You can just tell with a single glance he was excited to be learning some "badass technique." He had been incessantly questioning both Yūgao and Kushina what they would be learning ever since they had gotten up that morning. Speaking of which…
"Now will you tell us what we're gonna be doing? We're practically there already!" Menma pleaded. Naruto rolled his eyes when he heard this. If they hadn't told him yet, then they weren't going to until they felt like it.
Yūgao shook her head in amusement. "You don't even know where we are going." She pointed out. "Plus, if we are that close, you shouldn't mind waiting that little extra bit until we get there." She said with a grin. Hearing his request get denied, Menma huffed and crossed his arms. This action caused amused smiles to come to most of their faces as they kept walking.
Soon, they came upon a river in the middle of the forest. A little ways away, they could also make out a small clearing. Once they had reached the river, Kushina and Yūgao stopped walking and turned to face them. Kushina was the one to address them. "We found out about this place last night when we asked Tazuna-san. It is perfect for what we are going to have you guys be doing."
Menma was bouncing up and down again. "So now we finally get to know what we're gonna be learning? What is it?! What is it?! Oh. I bet it is something awesome like some S-rank jutsu, isn't it-ttebasa?!"
Naruto sweat dropped at this. As if they would really teach some genins something like an S-rank jutsu.
Kushina grinned and shook her head. "No…you and Narumi will be learning…" Once she heard her name, Narumi also started to look more and more excited. She paused as she took in their excited looks. "Water walking!"
Dead silence.
Menma looked like he had just been told that Christmas was cancelled for the next ten years. "…Water walking? That's it? No super cool jutsu? No badass technique? Just water walking? A semi-basic exercise?" Even Narumi looked extremely put out by this revelation.
Kushina shook her head with an amused smile. "You really think that either you or Narumi is ready for a high level jutsu? With your levels of chakra control? Really? The two of you would never be able to learn anything in time!" Both of the younger redheads flushed when they were reminded of how poor their chakra control was. Being an Uzumaki already made it harder. But being a jinchuriki on top of that? It was pretty much guaranteed that they wouldn't have the best chakra control.
Narumi tried to throw up some level of defense for themselves. "But…it's not like we could really help it…" she said weakly.
Kushina gave her a small smile. "I'm not saying it is your faults. It isn't surprising, really. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be working on it. You two will eventually get good control if you keep working on it." This seemed to pick their moods back up. But they froze when Kushina gave them an evil grin. "But for now, time to go walking in the freezing water!" Menma and Narumi both sighed in a dejected manner and trudged after the grinning Kushina as she walked over to the nearby river.
Yūgao shook her head at Kushina's antics. She then turned to face her own genin team with a smile. "Well, now that they have gotten down to business, we should too. Sit down for a bit while we talk." She motioned to the ground as she sat on it as well. The three genins complied and sat on the floor, wondering what they were going to talk about.
Yūgao nodded once before speaking up. "First thing is first. Knowing Zabuza's personality, he will want a rematch with Kushina. And my own opponent has expressed a desire to fight me again to finish our battle. Assuming he remains truthful to his words, that leaves the other three. Etoro, Aoi, and the fake hunter-nin."
Naruto chose that moment to recall how he and Aoi finished their battle. "Right before he left, Aoi stated he would 'pay me back' for hurting him. He will probably come after me when we meet again.
Sai nodded. "Etoro has also expressed a desire to continue the battle between himself, Yakumo, and I. If he did not lie, it is safe to assume that he will be challenging us again."
Yūgao nodded. "That all works out." She gained a serious look, causing Yakumo and Naruto to grow slightly worried. "I know that this is your first mission above D-rank. And you shouldn't have to do something like this so early in your shinobi careers…but I need you three to continue your fights without Kushina or myself helping you, at least until we can finish our own opponents. Kushina will be taking on Zabuza again and I will be continuing my fight with Metoro." She looked at Naruto. "Based on what we were told, you and Aoi walked away on even footing…But he was the one who managed to draw first blood. Do you think you will be able to hold off long enough for some back up to come and help you?"
Naruto thought back on his fight with Aoi. While it was true that he was the first to get hurt, he also wasn't using his full arsenal…and he was extremely reluctant to use it. But if he had to, he would. But he wasn't sure if Aoi was also holding back. After some more thought, Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah, I could do that."
Yūgao nodded in return and turned to look at the other two. "What about you two? Could you hold out long enough for someone else to finish their fight and come to help you?" She asked them.
Yakumo looked worried for a few moments, but then a steely determination entered her eyes. "Yes, we can do that." She said. Yūgao smiled at her resolve.
It was then that Naruto remembered something. "Yūgao-sensei…" He began, getting her attention. "What about the last enemy? The fake hunter-nin? Who will fight him?" He still wasn't completely sure of the gender…But for now, he would assume it was a male.
Yūgao motioned towards the river. "We will leave the fake hunter-nin to Narumi and Menma. They might have the easiest battle."
This caused all three genin to look at her questionably. "How so?" Yakumo asked.
"The fake hunter-nin didn't join the fight. Only choosing to appear in order to rescue Zabuza. That could mean two things. Either that their plan was to hold him as a surprise reserve to rescue those that couldn't get out of there, like Zabuza. Or…"
Sai interjected. "Or they are not completely suited for combat." He finished.
Yūgao nodded. "Yes. We are not going to completely assume right away that is the case, but it is a definite possibility. It would be fortunate if that was the case, though." She shook her head. "Anyways, let's focus on your opponents." She looked between Sai and Yakumo. "Your opponent uses the lava release. A mixture of fire and earth release." She smiled at them. "But you lucked out a bit. He uses the flame version of the lava release."
Sai nodded. "Meaning that we can combat him with water release. Although it may not be enough to completely nullify his flames, it would help."
Yūgao grinned. "Exactly. And luckily enough, I know a simple enough water release jutsu that you can probably learn well enough in a week. Although, as Sai stated, it will probably not be enough to completely subdue his flames. But that isn't the purpose here. You only need to buy enough time for someone to come and help you finish him." Hearing this, both Yakumo and Sai nodded.
Yūgao then turned to Naruto. "You may have one of the tougher fights. Only someone with enough experience with a sword will be able to completely block and counter all of Aoi's attacks. Meaning only Kushina, myself, or you will be able to fight him. But as the two of us are busy with Zabuza and Metoro, you will need to fight him on your own. There isn't much I can do to help you there besides spar. I will ask you again. Do you think that you will be able to handle him long enough for the back up to get there?" She asked him.
Naruto nodded. "Yes. I am sure I will be able to hold him off long enough for help to arrive." He paused for a moment. "I may even be able to defeat him. He was arrogant in his weapon, and that could be his downfall. He wasn't even that good with it. The hardest part was keeping up with him. I wasn't really allowed many moments to breath and collect my thoughts. All of my focus had to go into the fight." His eyes lit up as a thought came to him. 'Actually…I think I may have something that can give me an edge…'
Yūgao nodded. "Yes, that fits with what we know about Aoi. He has always been slightly arrogant. He likes to toy with his opponents and mock them. Like you said, that could be what you use to take him down." She looked at each of her genin again. "So. We all know what's going to happen and who we will fight. We have about a week before Zabuza should be up and running again, so we will train in that time." She then stood up and grinned down at them. "Let's get to it!"
All three of the genin quickly followed her example and stood up. "Right!" They chorused.
Nearby Trees
Hiding behind some trees nearby, was Inari. He had been growing increasingly curious about the shinobi ever since he had met them the day before. Although, most of his curiosity was directed towards Naruto.
Hearing their plans of battle, he wanted to scoff and walk away. But he couldn't. Not even two days ago, he would have done exactly that. He would have called them fools and walked away, believing that they didn't have a chance. That it was all for nothing.
But now…
'Could they really do it? Could they really beat Gatō and his men? He died fighting Gatō. Could they actually win?' He recalled Naruto's words from the night before. He sounded so sure of his words that Inari really wanted to believe that they could help change things around here.
With a troubled expression, Inari silently turned and walked away. It seemed like such a strange idea at this point.
Actually having hope.
Bridge Construction Site (A Few Days Later)
"It's too early for this…" Naruto stretched as he released a huge yawn. He would much rather be sleeping right then. Or training. But because he was probably the one who needed the least amount of training, he was the one chosen to guard Tazuna as he worked on the bridge.
It's not that he really minded, he could train in the Station of Awakening while he slept if he really wanted to. It was just that Tazuna got up so freaking early to work.
Naruto looked around. There wasn't really much for him to do. All around him, there were only men who were hard at work on the bridge. Also, not that he would while on the job, but he couldn't even take a nap if he wanted to! It was too noisy with all of the hammering and sawing from the workers. Naruto let out a sigh of disappointment. But hey, it was an important job.
"You seem to be pretty bored." Naruto looked over to see Tazuna standing nearby with a large piece of lumber slung over his shoulder. "What happened to the other brats?" He asked.
Naruto shrugged. "They're all training in the forest near your place."
Tazuna sent Naruto a curious look. "And you don't have to?"
Naruto smirked. "I would love to be out training or napping right now. But if I wasn't here, then who would pull your ass out of the fire if you were attacked?" Tazuna huffed. But there was still an undercurrent of nervousness in his face. "But really, I'm here because I need the least amount of work. The others are going to be fighting people who they aren't completely suited to fight. I'm just going up against another kenjutsu user. I can handle that."
Tazuna hummed noncommittally as placed the lumber in the desired spot. But his attention was soon drawn away by someone calling out to him. "Tazuna! You got a minute?"
Tazuna looked up towards the approaching man. "Sure. What do you need, Giichi?" He asked the approaching man.
Giichi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Listen. I've been thinking a lot lately, and I've decided…I want to stop working on the bridge."
Tazuna seemed stunned. "Wait…What? That's it? After all we've done and how much progress we've made, this is it? You're quitting just like that?!"
Giichi shook his head. "We've been friends for a long time now. I value that friendship. It's why I've stayed with you on this project so far. But let's be realistic here. If we keep this up, then we will all be killed. It is only a matter of time before Gatō gets fed up with us enough to send his goons after us. And if you die, then the bridge will remain unfinished anyways." He shook his head. "We should just quit now, while we can still get out of this with our lives." Naruto just watched the scene in silence.
Tazuna's head was lowered. You couldn't make out his expression. The silence stretched on for a while. Looking around, Naruto saw that many of the other workers had stopped working and were standing around to watch the confrontation. Looking at their faces, Naruto saw that many of them had nervous expressions as well. Although, looking closer, there were also some who looked like they were with Tazuna and were willing to put their lives on the line. Naruto tuned back into the argument when Tazuna started to speak again.
"No way. I won't do it. This bridge is our country's last hope. We need it in order to break free of the depression that Gatō has forced us into. I refuse to just give in and let him win." Tazuna shook his head. "There is no way you could ever convince me to just give up and walk away from this." Tazuna then walked past Giichi. "You can go ahead and quit if you want to. If you wish to walk away from this, I won't stop you." And with that, Tazuna got back to work.
Marketplace (Later That Day)
"We getting stuff for dinner?" Naruto asked Tazuna as they walked down the street. Following Giichi's declaration, only a couple more workers approached Tazuna with the desire to quit working on the bridge. Although he didn't agree with it, Tazuna understood their desire to quit working on the bridge. It was extremely dangerous to openly defy Gatō as he was doing.
"Yeah. Tsunami is cooking again. She gave me a list of the things she needs. So all we gotta do is grab the stuff."
Naruto nodded silently. Looking around, he hid his disgust at the state of the village. There was blatant poverty all over the place as people struggled to get by. Once or twice, Naruto even heard shouting about thieves and saw people running away from stands and shops with some food in their hands. The thing that really got to Naruto though, was the fact that each time, it was a child that did it. Every once in a while, there were children huddled together on the sides of the street. It was obvious that they were orphans and didn't have a place to go home to. The more he saw, the more he hated Gatō.
"Here's the shop." Naruto was pulled from his thoughts as Tazuna spoke as he entered a store. He silently followed the head bridge builder in. Looking around, Naruto observed that there wasn't much of a selection. Each of the shelves were sparse with food. Suddenly, Naruto stopped as he felt someone shifting through one of his pockets.
Faster than they could react, Naruto lashed out and grabbed the wrist of the would-be thief. He glared at the man, who had stilled in surprise. "Sorry. But that's not happening." Naruto then ended the short exchange with a swift punch to the man's gut. The man stood no chance as he crumbled to the floor in pain.
Tazuna watched as this happened before shaking his head and paying for the food he had collected from the meager selection. The two of them then walked out of the store. Tazuna shot Naruto a sidelong glance. "You sure don't hold back, do you brat?"
Naruto shook his head in disgust. "While I understand that his situation may not be the best, resorting to stealing from a twelve year old isn't how you should do things." Suddenly, Naruto stopped as he felt someone else reach for his pockets. Naruto growled as he turned around. But when he got a look at who was trying to steal from him, he froze.
It was a little girl.
She had shaggy, shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes that were wide with surprise. She had on something that could only be called rags. After a moment, she smiled up at him and raiser her hands with upturned palms. "Please?" She asked him.
Naruto took a moment to study her further. "Where are your parents?" He asked her. The depressed look was all the answer he needed. Naruto sighed. Reaching into one of his pockets, he took out a small sealing scroll. He opened it and pushed some chakra into it. Poof! In a puff of smoke, some fruit appeared in his arms. It wasn't much, just some apples and the like. He had them for when he wanted a snack while on the road or while guarding Tazuna. He gave them to her. She seemed shocked that he was willing to give her that much. "Here. It's pretty much all I have on me. Be sure to share it with your friends."
She beamed at him and nodded. "Thanks, Nii-chan!" And with that, she turned and ran off down the street.
Naruto simply watched her run off before turning to Tazuna who had remained silent throughout the exchange. "It's been like this ever since Gatō showed up." Tazuna began. "The adults are too scared to stand up for themselves and fight back. While the children suffer and live in the streets." He shook his head. "That's the reason I won't give up. I've said it before and I'll say it again. That bridge is our last hope. And I refuse to let it die."
Naruto gave him a small smile. "You shouldn't. These people need something like that. Something to give them hope. Right now, you and the bridge is that hope." Naruto grinned at the old man. "And I'm behind you all the way. I know you can free this country."
Tazuna's Home (A Few Days Later)
"We're back…" Two tired voices said together. Naruto looked up from the meal in front of him to look at the two who said it. When he saw the state they were in, he couldn't help the snickers that escaped from his mouth.
Both of his siblings stood in the doorway. Each one of them were shivering from the cold. But that wasn't surprising as they both were soaked to the bone. Despite this, they both had massive grins on their faces.
Naruto knew what those grins meant. "Oh? Did you two finally master water walking?" The grins grew even wider as the two shivering redheads nodded their heads. Naruto shook his head. "It's about time." He motioned towards the hallway. "Both of you should go and get changed before you catch a cold." They nodded again and moved off to get changed.
After about ten minutes, the two of them came back in. They quickly plopped into their seats. Menma let out a sigh. "I'm beat. It took us so much longer than I would have liked to get that down…"
Narumi nodded with a smile. "Yeah, but we did manage to learn it. That means we have definitely improved."
Kushina smiled at them. "Now that the both of you have mastered water walking, you should see that your jutsus will be easier to use and will take less chakra to perform. But it's mostly the first thing that was important for you two. You two have done well." She then went back to her meal.
Narumi and Menma soaked up the praise with wide grins, but they also shot Naruto discreet glances. Naruto saw this and knew what was on their minds. He gave them a small smile and shook his head. Their expressions seemed to dim, but they nodded minutely.
Once they were finished eating, Yūgao spoke up. "It is about the time that we can start to expect Zabuza and the others showing up." This immediately sobered up the other people in the room. "Because of this, we will all start to travel with Tazuna to the bridge." She looked at each of the genin. "You all know who you will most likely be fighting. And you know that all you need to do is hold off long enough for either Kushina or I to come to your aid. Each of you have some sort of plan for the fight." She smiled at them. "I know you can do it. Each of you is strong."
"How?"
Off to the side, Inari had been silent as he watch the scene play out before him. He had a conflicted look on his face. He just couldn't understand how these people could be so calm about it all. It seemed to defy all sense of logic to him. Gatō was an unstoppable force. How could they expect to actually go up against him and win? But he paused as he remembered Naruto's words. Did he really think it was that easy?
"How can you be so calm about it all? Aren't you nervous? Scared? You are going against Gatō! How can…" He lowered his head, shadowing his face. After a moment, he raised it again to show tears in his eyes. "…How can you be so brave?" Although the question was directed to the entire group of shinobi, it was clear that he was mostly talking to Naruto.
Naruto was silent as he looked back into Inari's eyes. After a few moments of silence he answered. "We are brave because we have to be."
This answer stunned Inari. "What?" He asked weakly.
Naruto pressed on. "What's the alternative? To just quit and go home?" Naruto shook his head. "Never. I would rather die right here and now than do something like that. To just abandon these people to their fate and go back to save myself. That is something I would never forgive myself for doing. These people need help. I'm going to give it. Wouldn't you rather go down fighting for what you believe in than wallowing in despair like a coward? Would you really just let someone as dark as Gatō win that easily?"
Inari sat there for a while. And like the confrontation before this, he silently left the room after a minute. Although this time, he had on a look of deep thought. They simply watched him go.
All was silent for a moment. But eventually, it was broken by a voice. "Thank you." Naruto looked over at the speaker and saw it was Tsunami.
Tsunami was a woman with long, blue hair. She often wore a pink short sleeved shirt with the end of the sleeves and collar being red in color.
She was looking at Naruto with a small smile. Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "For what? That?" He motioned towards the door Inari had just walked through.
Tazuna nodded. "You're giving him hope. That's something he hasn't felt in a while. Not since Kaiza died…" He finished quietly.
Naruto frowned in confusion. "Kaiza?" He asked.
Tsunami nodded. "Yes. Kaiza was someone who came here a while ago. He was a very brave man, always working as hard as he could. If he had a goal in mind, he never gave up until he managed to achieve that goal."
Tazuna continued when she stopped talking. "Kaiza became something of a father to Inari. You often saw Inari following Kaiza around…Inari often had a huge grin on his face when he was with Kaiza…"
Yakumo frowned. "What happened to him?" She asked.
Both of the Land of Waves inhabitants became more downcast. "Gatō happened." Tazuna answered. "Kaiza was against Gatō from the beginning. Always right up there in his way, trying to stop him from coming in whenever he could…" Tazuna shook his head. "Eventually, Gatō got fed up with Kaiza and how he kept on getting in the way." He stopped talking.
Sai spoke in the silence that followed. "Gatō killed him."
Tsunami seemed to begin to tear up. Tazuna heaved a heavy sigh. "Yes…Kaiza was executed in the middle of the village during the day. Most of the village saw it…including Inari."
Both Yakumo and Narumi gasped as their hands flew to their mouths in horror. Naruto and Menma gained dark looks.
Tsunami continued. "After Kaiza's death, the cheerful Inari seemed to just stop existing. He never smiled anymore. And he became extremely quiet. He withdrew on himself, unwilling to let anyone in."
Tazuna took a long swig of his sake. "He was such a super bright and happy boy." He gained an extremely angry look. "Gatō took all of that away from him. I want to bring that smile back. And I will. Once we break free of Gatō's control, that bright smile will return." He grinned at Naruto. "So I want to thank you. You have started to give him hope again. Something that most of us had already lost a long time ago."
The rest of the time at the table was spent in silence.
Outside Tazuna's Home (The Next Day)
It was the next day, and the group of shinobi plus Tazuna were standing outside of the house as they prepared to head to the bridge. Although there was no guarantee of a battle that day, they wouldn't be surprised if there was one. The enemy should have had enough time to recover by now.
Tsunami hugged her father. "Be safe. Don't do anything stupid." Even with all of the shinobi protection, she was extremely worried for everyone working on the bridge. Especially her father.
Tazuna grinned down at her. "Don't worry! I have these super shinobi with me!" He said with a laugh.
Tsunami smiled at him. "Of course." She turned to the shinobi. "I apologize for all of the trouble my father has given you, but please continue to look after him."
Kushina ignored the indignant yell Tazuna gave and smiled back at her. "Of course! We'll protect him. Don't worry about it!"
Tazuna huffed at being ignored, but there was a smile on his face. He turned towards the road. "Alright, let's get a move on, people! I want to finish this bridge sometime this century!"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Probably because your old drunken ass is going to kick the bucket any day now from old age or alcohol poisoning…" He said quietly. But his siblings and Tazuna still heard him. And while both of the younger redheads snickered, Tazuna shot him a dirty look.
With that, the group started to head to the bridge.
The Bridge
"W-What the hell is this?!" All across the bridge, bodies were strewn out. They were all the bridge workers that were working under Tazuna. This was the sight that the group arrived at the bridge to see.
Tazuna ran up to a nearby worker on the ground, and upon seeing that he was alive, kneeled next to the man and lifted his upper body up gently. "What happened here? Who did this?!" Tazuna asked him.
The man weakly look up at Tazuna. "It…it was a monster…" He said.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'Those wounds…They were done by a large blade…Zabuza was here…' Suddenly, a dense mist started to form on the bridge. While this may normally have not been a problem, the chakra flowing through the mist gave a reason for alarm.
Kushina was the first to react. "They're here! Converge on Tazuna-san!" They swiftly did as they were told and surrounded Tazuna.
"I'm back for round two, Habanero…" A bodiless voice said. They were unable to pinpoint the exact direction it came from.
Kushina smirked. "I knew you would be. Why don't you come out so we can talk face to face?"
The voice chuckled. "Well, if you insist." And just like that the mist cleared a bit to show their surroundings. And when it did clear a bit, they were able to see that multiple figures appeared around them, surrounding them from all sides. Naruto wasn't too surprised, that was the obvious move to make in this kind of situation. Looking closer, Naruto saw that they all looked like Zabuza. But his attention was drawn to his brother and sister when he noticed how their hands holding the kunai were acting.
They were shaking.
Zabuza had noticed it too. "It looks like two of your genins are shaking from fight."
Kushina's smirk grew wider. "I wouldn't be too sure of that…" She said.
"What do you mean by that?"
Menma gained a smirk of his own. "It's simple, really…"
Narumi mirrored his smirk. "We're shaking from excitement!" And with no further words, the two of them blurred into action, swiftly slashing into all of the clones. Within moments, all of them were gone, leaving pools of water on the ground.
"Well then, that was impressive." This time, they were able to clearly pinpoint the voice. They all swirled around to get a look at where it came from. A little ways down the bridge stood five figures. The mist cleared to show them more clearly. "Wasn't it, Haku?"
"Indeed. That was fast." Haku responded.
Yūgao looked over at them. "How nice of you all to join us."
Etoro grinned. "No problem! We wouldn't want to miss this, would we?" His grin gained that psychotic look again. "After all, you only get killed once!" He focused on Sai and Yakumo. "I've been looking forward to this, brats. I really want to finish killing you."
Aoi smirked as he zeroed in on Naruto. "You as well. I want to make you pay for what you did."
Naruto smiled innocently at him. "You mean when I sent you back with your tail between your legs? If you really want to repeat that, I would be happy to help you with that…" The dark look he got in response was all he needed to feel satisfied with that statement.
Zabuza shook his head. "Enough. Haku, start us off."
The masked shinobi nodded. "Right." He then blurred of towards Tazuna.
Menma rushed forward to meet him. "Not gonna happen!" Clang! Kunai met senbon as the two of them clashed.
Haku looked at Menma. "You are fast. But…" He blurred out of sight again, only to reappear behind Menma. "…are you fast enough?"
"He doesn't have to be, I'm here too!" Haku was forced to jump back in order to doge the kick that Narumi sent his way.
Haku looked at his two opponents. "Two on one? Going to try and corner me with numbers?" He paused for a moment. "Very well. Let us see you corner me with this!" He brought his hands together in a hand seal. "Ice Style: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" He stated. Suddenly, all of the water on the floor rose up, and formed some kind of ice constructs. Going by what the technique was called, Naruto guessed that they were ice mirrors.
'Another bloodline…' He was pulled back into focus when a shout reached his ears.
"You should focus on your own opponent!" Knowing what this shout meant, Naruto swiftly brought his blade out. Clang! Just in time too, as if he was only a moment later he would have been impaled on the Sword of the Thunder God. His line of sight was suddenly filled with a grinning Aoi. "That was dangerous, what if you looking away had gotten you killed?"
Naruto grinned. "Then I guess it is a good thing that you absolutely suck then, huh?"
Aoi's grin immediately fell off of his face. "I'm going to kill you, brat. And I'm going to enjoy doing it!" Aoi pushed harder with his blade, forcing Naruto to jump back.
Naruto got into a battle stance. Quickly glancing to the side, he saw that his teammates, Kushina, and Yūgao were all engaged in battles already. It seemed that they had started when he did. Naruto looked back to Aoi. "Well then, shall we begin?" He challenged.
Aoi grinned again. "Yes, we shall!"
Play Naruto the Movie 2 OST-Sandstorm
The two rushed at each other. Clang! Their blades met for a moment before they both side stepped one another. As one, they both swirled back around to hack at their enemy, and their blades met once more. This time, they struggled with one another to overpower each other.
After struggling with each other for a moment, they broke away once more as they both jumped back. Aoi was the first to rush in again as he made a swipe at Naruto. Naruto jumped back again to dodge, but Aoi was still coming at him. Naruto made a slash at him, but Aoi jumped over and brought his blade forward.
'Oh Shit!' Naruto was still extended from his attack, he wasn't able to bring his blade forward to block, and it was too late to move out of the way. Acting quickly, the most Naruto was able to do was tilt his head to the side.
Naruto hissed in pain as he felt the thunder sword cut a gash into his cheek. Like the previous time he was cut with this blade, it wasn't terrible, but still hurt.
Naruto took this chance to take his own sword and use it to bring it down upon his enemy's sword. This forced the Sword of the Thunder God to be driven into the ground.
However, this had the adverse result of causing Naruto to lower his blade as it pushed Aoi's down. Aoi used this chance to kick Naruto. Hard.
"Gah!" Naruto felt a rib crack at the impact as he was sent flying away. He rolled on the ground for a good distance as there was that much power behind the kick. Naruto was able to gain control of his momentum as he heard the sound of a blade being pulled from the ground.
Looking up, Naruto was surprised to see that Aoi was already upon him with his blade coming down. Naruto immediately jumped back in order to dodge it. 'Holy shit! He isn't hold back nearly as much!' When it came to his skills with a sword, Naruto was able to match him. But he was hard pressed to keep up when it came to things such as speed and strength. Aoi was older and more experienced than Naruto was. And as such, could even the gap in sword skills with pure muscle power and speed. Naruto was extremely strong for a genin, but he was still fighting a jōnin.
Naruto was broken from his thoughts again as he had to duck in order to dodge another slash that would have taken off his head. He rolled back and quickly returned to his feet to parry another blow. This repeated for a few moments as Aoi was unrelenting in his attacks.
Soon, Naruto's back was pressed against a wall. With no time to think any further as another strike was coming down at him, Naruto jumped up onto the thing that was behind him. It was then he realized it was a stack of lumber that was as tall as he was.
Aoi didn't let Naruto getting the high ground deter him as he brought his blade forward and obliterated the stack. Naruto jumped up and into the air to dodge. It was then he got a good look at Aoi's face.
He was smiling.
The sight of Aoi's smile irritated Naruto, but he tried to keep a cool head as he planned out his next attack now that he had a moment to breath. 'Damn it all! I'm not going to let him win that easily. Time to fight back!' With that thought in mind, Naruto landed on the ground and rushed at Aoi.
Aoi blocked the first blow, but Naruto quickly jumped back in order to try again. Rushing at the enemy, Naruto sent a slash that was dodged with a duck. Not giving him any time to get back into a position to attack again, Naruto kept the blows coming as he sent more and more attacks at Aoi.
Aoi's smile had slid off his face and was replaced with a snarl. He brought his blade forward to hack at Naruto. Naruto, seeing a chance, used his own sword to deflect the blow to the side and create an opening. Aoi's eyes quickly went wide with surprise.
Not wasting a moment, Naruto lunged at Aoi, only for the man to try and turn his body out of the way. However, like Naruto in their previous fight, he was unable to move out of the way completely and had his arm cut into.
Aoi jumped back as he seethed with rage. "Once again, you manage to wound me." He began to stalk forward as he leaked killing intent. "I'm going to enjoy killing you painfully." He said quietly.
They rushed at each other once more, and their blades quickly met. They struggled to overpower one another. Aoi was grinning in malicious glee. "Yeah, I'm going to kill you alright. A little brat like you, who dares to go against someone like me who is invincible with this blade. You are too foolish to live." He applied more strength, and Naruto was forced to roll out of the way.
Almost before he could recover, Aoi was making another stab at him, followed by a kick. This one was then followed by another slash. He moved at a pace that Naruto had even more trouble keeping up with compared to before.
Slowly, more and more wounds started to appear on Naruto. Cuts on his arms, slashes on his chest and back, it all started to add up. Naruto was huffing from the exertion that this battle forced him to be under. 'He really wants me dead…And he is trying even harder from before…' He grit his teeth. 'I was stupid for trying to fight a jōnin head on like this…'
Aoi started to laugh again. "Are you done already? Ready to admit defeat and give up?" He said.
Naruto smirked as he got into another battle stance. "This isn't over yet. I still got a trick or two up my sleeve."
Aoi smirked in a mocking manner. "Oh? Is that right?" He gestured for Naruto to continue. "Then by all means, go ahead."
Naruto's smirk grew wider. "You asked for it." His grip on his sword tightened. Then he opened his mouth. "Aero!" Suddenly, a whirlwind picked up around Naruto, surround him in a gale of wind.
Aoi raised an eyebrow. "A little gust of wind? Seriously? That's it?" He shook his head. "And here I thought you actually had something worthwhile. Admittedly, it is impressive that you are able to do that without any hand seals, but it still isn't enough."
Naruto just kept on smirking. "Is that so? Well then, by all means, let us continue."
Aoi grinned darkly. "Yes, let's!" And he rushed at Naruto again, but he was jumped back when he felt himself get slightly hurt. "What?!" He couldn't see what it was. It wasn't all too strong, but it caught him off guard and caused a bit of damage. The only thing it could have been is, "…The wind. It causes damage." That couldn't be right though! It was easy to identify attack based wind from those that weren't. The ones that were meant to cause damage always had a sharp and razor-like look to them. But he couldn't see anything of the sort on this one!
But Naruto's grin confirmed this statement. "It was kind of obvious, wasn't it?" His grin turned mocking. "What's the matter? Scared off by a 'little gust of wind?'"
Aoi snarled. "Not on your life!" And with that, he rushed back in. All he needed to do was finish this before he took too much damage. With this thought in mind, Aoi ignored the slight damage he was taking as he engaged Naruto in another clash of blades.
Like before, Aoi was able to get in some additional hits on Naruto. But unlike before, he was taking just as much damage due to the whirlwind. And that wasn't all, it seemed like he was somehow dealing the crimson blond less damage than he was earlier. He grit his teeth in anger at the knowledge that some genin was matching him in a battle.
After a few more blows, Aoi saw that the smirk was back on Naruto's face. The sight of it made him growl. "What so amusing, brat?"
Naruto only chuckled. "Oh nothing. Just thinking about how surprised you will be." He shook his head. "Knowing how much of a loser you are, you will probably be too shocked to continue."
Aoi snarled as he lunged at Naruto. Clang! Their swords met in a shower of sparks as they struggled against one another again. "And what will I find so surprising?"
Naruto's smirk grew. "You know. Just the fact that I can do more than just a whirlwind with that move." Aoi's eyes widened. He was about to jump back, but it was too late.
"Aero!"
A large blast of wind slammed into his gut. Because his sword was still locked in battle with Naruto's sword, he was unable to block it. He was launched backwards as blood leaked from his stomach area.
"You lose." Aoi's eyes widened even further, but before he could do anything, a black sword slashed him across the chest. A deep gash was formed as blood sprayed everywhere.
Aoi glared weakly at Naruto as he fell to his knees. "Damn you…brat." He fell forwards onto the ground.
End Music
Naruto simply stood there for a minute, panting. The whirlwind had also died down. That battle had taken a lot out of him. And on top of that, he was forced to hold up Aero for the duration of that final bout. That also took some of his energy.
After another minute of rest, Naruto walked over to Aoi. He checked for a pulse. It was there, but extremely weakened. He would probably bleed out soon. That knowledge caused Naruto to freeze. He felt sick knowing that he might have just caused someone to die, but shook his head to clear his head of such thoughts. There was time for his potential first kill later, for now, he had to help the others.
"Naruto!" Someone calling his name claimed his attention. Looking over, he saw it was Yūgao who was approaching. She stopped when she reached him and looked down at the fallen form of Aoi. She seemed extremely surprised. "You did this? On your own?" She looked back at him.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "Yeah. He underestimated me for a bit. I was able to surprise him in the end and create a big enough opening for me to do that."
She nodded. "That is impressive." She then glanced over at the bridge. Naruto followed her gaze to see the other battles going on. It seemed like they were the only two finished. Naruto wanted to go off to help, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked back to Yūgao in question. "You need to go and guard Tazuna-san." She instructed.
This shocked Naruto. "What? But why? The plan was for those who finish their battle to go and help those who were still fighting. I would get in the way if I went to fight Zabuza, but I can still help with the other two!"
Yūgao shook her head. "Change of plans. I checked in on both battles on my way over here. Your siblings are holding their own well enough while Sai and Yakumo will need some help soon. I will go help Sai and Yakumo while you go and guard Tazuna-san. He should be over there." She pointed in a direction. "The reason you need to do this is because we left him unguarded and besides Sai and Yakumo, the others will win their battles soon enough." She looked him over again. "Besides, you look like you need some rest." She stated.
Naruto scowled but nodded his head. He knew that she was right. After another moment, he heaved a deep sigh. "Fine. But I don't like it."
She smiled at him. "Noted. Now go on. I need to help your teammates." And with that, she sped off to intercept the cackling form of Etoro as he spewed more flames from his hands.
Naruto sighed again, but shook his head. He had his orders. He sped off to where Tazuna was supposed to be. Once he spotted the old man, he ran over. Tazuna, who had been looking extremely nervous before then, looked slightly relieved at the sight of Naruto. "Good to see you're okay, kid."
Naruto smirked, "It would take more than that to finish me off."
Tazuna looked him over. "But you still super look like you got your ass kicked for a bit."
Naruto scowled up at him. "Screw you, old man. I won, didn't I?"
Tazuna opened his mouth again to respond, but was cut off by an evil presence suddenly bearing down on them. The two of them froze as Tazuna's knees became weak. "W-w-w-what the he-hell is t-t-this?"
Naruto had froze the moment he felt it. He recognized this. He had felt it six years ago. He would never forget this feeling. As if to remind him of the reason he would never forget it, the large scar on his chest started to tingle.
'The Kyūbi.' That thought terrified Naruto. Not for the reason that it could be breaking free, but for the reason of what that meant for Narumi and Menma. He could still clearly recall how the last time one of them used this power, it caused them damage as well.
Naruto swirled around to look at the dome of ice. And not a moment too soon.
BAM!
A figure exploded out of the side of the dome and went skidding across the bridge. Although he couldn't make much out due to the dense mist. Soon following the first person were two others. Both of their outlines were tinged in red. This instantly alerted Naruto to what was going on. 'Not just one of them, but both! This is bad!' He watched as the first figure got to their feet as the other two closed in on it. But then something odd happened.
Narumi and Menma stopped.
The two of them seemed to just stop moving all of a sudden, only a few feet away from the one Naruto could only assume was Haku. After a moment, the feeling of evil and death faded, leaving behind only the normal tense atmosphere of a battlefield.
Naruto was surprised at this turn of events. They stopped? But why? He was pulled from his thoughts as Tazuna spoke up. "Holy crap. I super felt like I was going to die there…That was intense."
Naruto only smirked at him. "You sure it wasn't because you finally felt your old age catch up with you?" This earned him another glare. The two of them then looked back as the two figures moved towards the lone one again. But Naruto frowned as he noticed something strange. He couldn't make it out that well, but it almost looked as if the lone one was just standing there, not going on the defensive.
But at the last moment, it moved, and the other two froze when they made contact. Naruto was growing increasingly frustrated that he couldn't see what was going on. But before he could do anything to get a better look, one of the figures vanished, only to reappear in the middle of the battle that Naruto thought was between Kushina and Zabuza.
It jumped into the path of one of the figures as it charged at the immobile one. Halting the advance. It was at this point that the mist finally began to clear. Naruto squinted his eyes to get a better look, and he was surprised at what he saw.
Zabuza was restrained in his position by numerous glowing chains. Naruto recognized them as Kushina's Adamantine Sealing Chains. Standing a foot away from the chained form of Zabuza were two people, Kushina and Haku.
Haku was impaled on a katana that Kushina held up to the hilt.
Kushina's eyes were wide with surprise, no doubt from the fact that Haku had suddenly jumped in the way of the blade.
Naruto was shocked by this turn of events. "He actually sacrificed himself to save Zabuza…" Hearing a gasp, he looked over to see both Narumi and Menma standing nearby.
Zabuza chuckled a bit as the chains began to fade. "Great job, Haku." He gripped his sword.
Naruto's eyes widened at the sight. 'He's actually going to cut through him to get to her!' Kushina, seeing this, quickly grabbed Haku and jumped back. Once she landed, took back her blade. She gazed sadly down at the boy. After a moment, she used her free hand to close his eyes.
Zabuza grunted. "Tch. With him dead, you were able to move out of the way…"
Menma was growling. "He just gave up his life to save you, and that's all you have to say?! You-"
"Menma!" A shout from Kushina halted his advance. She never looked over at him as she kept her eyes on Zabuza. "Do not interfere. This is my fight." She instructed.
Menma seemed to battle with himself for internally for a moment before he reluctantly stood down. It looked like Narumi was facing a similar struggle.
Naruto looked back over to Kushina as she rushed back at Zabuza. It was obvious that this fight was over. Zabuza was incredibly injured, and while Kushina had just gone through the same battle, she was in much better condition as she dismantled him in the fight he was watching. After failing to land a blow with his one good arm, Zabuza grew increasingly frustrated. He rushed at Kushina.
Naruto winced as he watched Zabuza's remaining arm get stabbed into.
"Gah!" He cried as he jumped away.
"Now both of your arms are useless." Kushina said. "There is no way you can realistically keep on fighting." Kushina looked around. "All of your allies have been defeated as well. This is the end."
Hearing this, Naruto looked around. Off a little ways away was the rest of team 12. It seemed like Sai needed some support to walk, but besides that, he couldn't spot anything that caused significant worry.
"Oh. You all lost. I must say, you were the biggest wastes of cash I have ever spent a cent on."
At the intruding voice, they all looked over. Standing a distance away was a man. He was an extremely short man with puffy brown hair. He wore a small pair of sunglasses on his face and a black suit with a purple tie.
Behind him were at least a hundred men. All carrying some sort of weapon on them.
Naruto didn't need more than one guess to identify who this was. "Gatō…" He said quietly.
Gatō smirked. "In the flesh, brat." He looked back over to Zabuza. "So much for the coveted demon of the mist, eh?" He looked around. "In fact, all of you were a huge waste of money." He grinned evilly. "Good thing I'm not paying any of you."
Zabuza glared at him. "What was that?"
Gatō smirked. "Did you really think I would dish out all of that money for any of you? What an idiot you must be!" He shook his head. "It's simple, really. I hire you missing-nin for some of my grunt work. Then, when you are all tired from fighting, I kill you. Simple as that." He motioned to the men behind him. "That's why these gentlemen are here."
Zabuza stared silently for a little while. "Habanero…It looks like out fight is over." He said.
Kushina regarded him for a moment before nodding. "Looks like it." They both looked back over to Gatō as he suddenly strode forward.
"That right…" He said as he came to a stop next to the body of Haku. "I still owe this one, don't I?" His grin grew wider. Suddenly, he lashed out with a kick. "You piece of filth! Injuring me like that! You're lucky you're dead!"
This sight infuriated Naruto. Haku gave his life to protect the person he cared for. That earned him Naruto's respect. But here this bastard was, pissing all over that as he kicked Haku's body.
Menma and Narumi seemed to get angry as well. Menma began to walk forward. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He was swiftly stopped as Kushina grabbed onto the back of his shirt.
She gave him a stern look. "Don't just jump in like that. We're outnumbered here."
Narumi glared at Zabuza. "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you just going to stand for that?" She asked him.
Zabuza didn't even look back. "Haku was simply my tool. Nothing more. He served his use by protecting me." All was silent for a moment. But it was then broken by a voice.
"You're lying." Everybody looked over to Naruto. "You're lying right now. Both to us, and to yourself. Haku cared about you. Just like you cared about Haku." He pointed at Zabuza. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be crying right now, would you?"
And it was true, a few tears were leaking out of Zabuza's eyes. The man sighed. "Shut up, kid." Zabuza shook his head. "You may be right. Maybe as humans, we just can't completely get rid of our emotions." Sai jolted a bit as he said this. Zabuza then began tearing away at the bandages covering his mouth with his teeth. "Kid, you got a kunai you can lend me?"
Naruto was silent as he looked at Zabuza. After a moment, he sighed. "Yeah, sure." He took a kunai out and tossed it at Zabuza.
Zabuza caught it in his mouth. "Thanks." He said around it. And without any further words, he rushed off towards Gatō.
Gatō screamed a bit at the sight. He quickly turned and fled back towards the goons he brought with him. "Kill him! Kill him quickly!"
"Sure thing!"
"One injured shinobi against all of us? Easy!"
Despite these assurances, Zabuza would not stop. Naruto watched as they were all cut down as they got in his way to Gatō. Even though he had numerous weapons sticking out of him, Zabuza refused to stop. Eventually, he broke through the crowd and made it to Gatō. Zabuza stuck the kunai into Gatō's chest. He seemed to say something more, but Naruto couldn't hear from where he was. Zabuza then backed up, and then brought the kunai back, cutting off Gatō's head.
Gatō's body fell lifelessly down. They all watched as it did so. Soon after, Zabuza's body did as well.
All was silent for a while. Naruto wanted to look away, but he couldn't. He owed Zabuza that much. Narumi, Menma, and Yakumo all tried to look away, but were stopped by Yūgao. "Don't look away. This is the end of a powerful shinobi who lived a difficult life. Think of it as some sort of final respect." They nodded and reluctantly look back.
But that was when they noticed something. The crowd of thugs were growing restless. Eventually, a shout was heard above the crowd. "That was my paycheck!" Similar shouts were soon following this one. Soon, malicious looks were sent their way. "You think it's over just because Gatō's dead? It ain't that easy!" One of the men in the front shouted. Another stepped forward. "We will just go to the village to find our meals!"
Naruto scowled at this. He was tired of fighting and wanted to rest. Plus there were a lot of them. But before anyone could move any further, another party announced their presence.
With the whoosh of an arrow cutting through the air, a crossbow bolt imbedded into the ground in front of the bandits. They all looked back to see where it had come from. Everyone was surprised at what they saw. Tazuna was the first to speak. "Inari?"
Indeed, Inari was standing there with a crossbow in his hand. Behind him was a large crowd of villagers. Each of them held some sort of household weapon. Whether it be a pot, kitchen knife, or in some cases, even a broom. Inari grinned. "The hero always shows up late, right?"
Naruto smirked. "Oh? Are you willing to fight for what you believe in now?"
Inari grinned even wider. "Yeah! This is our village, and it's about time we made sure it stayed that way!"
"Pfft." A laugh was heard coming from the crowd of goons nearby. Looking back over, they saw that many of them had humorous expressions on their faces. One of the men in the front spoke up. "You think that a bunch of people wielding pots and pans is gonna scare us?"
"That's pathetic!"
"No way are you going to drive us off!"
Although they stood their ground in the face of the jeering, many of the villagers started to gain slightly nervous looks. It was then that Naruto heard it.
"We should just tie up the men and make them watch as we have some 'fun' with the women! The shinobi too!" This was met with a large amount of cheering.
Naruto froze. 'He just said…' Blood started to pump into his ears. This man. This scum. This filth. This piece of trash had just threatened to do something like that in front of him?
Slowly, a whirlwind started to pick up around him. Naruto's eyes were shadowed by his bangs. People started to notice his trembling form.
"Nii-chan?" Narumi spoke quietly.
The wind started to pick up. Soon, a light began to form around him. "You dare?" Naruto spoke quietly, but everybody still somehow managed to hear him. "You dare to threaten these people like that in front of me? And the people I care about too?" He shook his head. "I can't forgive that."
The light exploded out as the wind picked up even further! Naruto lifted his face as he glared at the crowd in front of him. His eyes were glowing. Everyone on the bridge was frozen in shock. "I won't even let you get close to them!" And with that, Naruto shot off.
At speeds that he surpassed anything he has moved at before, Naruto shot towards the men. He stopped in front of them. He brought his arms back. A silvery-white glow came into being in one of his hands while a purplish-black glow formed in the other hand. "Get lost!" With that shout, Naruto brought his hands forward and the two lights combined to form an intense blast of energy. It was a mixture of both silvery-white and purplish-black. Although, there seemed to be more of the purplish-black substance in that attack. With a single attack, he had managed to decimate two thirds of the enemy forces.
This sight shocked everyone even further. After a moment, a shout was heard. Then another, and soon more followed.
"Demon!"
"Monster!"
"I'm not fighting that thing!"
Similar shouts rang up throughout the remaining enemy forces as they fled from Naruto. Naruto just stood there, panting. After a moment, the glow faded from his body and eyes as he slumped from fatigue. He looked back up. He was shocked at what he saw. He stumbled back. "Did…Did I do that?" He was slightly sickened by the fact that he had just killed all of those people. He sank to his knees as another wave of fatigue hit him. He ignored the cheers of the villagers as they celebrated the fact that he had just killed all of those people and saved them.
"Nii-chan?" He jolted as he felt someone place a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked over to see the concerned face of Narumi. "Are you alright?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but found that he couldn't. Instead, he opted to simply shake his head.
Narumi hugged him. "It is okay, Nii-chan. You did nothing wrong."
"I…I killed all of those people. And I feel sick for it, but I know they were scum. Nothing but rapists and murderers."
"You're right, Aniki. They were nothing but scum." Naruto looked over and saw that Menma was there too. "Think you can make it over to the others?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I can do that." And with that, he hefted himself to his feet. The three of them walked over to where the others were. They were standing with Tazuna and his family.
Yakumo looked at Naruto with awe. "Naruto…That was…"
Naruto shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it." He couldn't believe he lost his cool like that and used his twilight powers in front of them. He knew that he couldn't keep it a secret forever, but he didn't want to reveal it this soon…
Yūgao frowned at him in a thoughtful manner while Kushina regarded him with a pained expression. Although Naruto couldn't tell the reason.
In order to change the subject, Naruto looked over to Inari. "You gathered the crowd?" He asked.
Inari nodded with a grin. "Yeah, after your clones rescued us, I went to everybody and gathered the people who were willing to fight!"
This surprised the others. Yūgao was the one to speak up. "Rescued them? From what?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "I was worried that Gatō would try and pull something while we were away, so I left some clones back at the house just in case. They popped a while ago and informed me that Gatō had sent some of his men to kidnap Tsunami and Inari."
This seemed to shock the others. Yūgao smiled at him. "Nicely done, Naruto. I hadn't even thought of that."
Kushina gave a hesitant nod as well. She then looked over to Zabuza. After a moment, she walked over to him. It seemed that he was still alive, as he moved his head slightly to look at her. After a few quiet words that Naruto couldn't hear, Kushina moved to remove the weapons from his body. She then picked him up and carried him over to Haku. When they reached him, Kushina placed Zabuza down next to him.
They all remained silent as Zabuza gave his final farewells. A moment of silence was given for the two once Zabuza had passed. After a minute, one of the villagers walked over to Tazuna with a grin. "Tazuna. We're going to go back and spread the news. You coming?"
Tazuna sighed and nodded. A smile was tugging at his lips. "I'll be there soon. Go on without me." As the man nodded and left, Tazuna turned back to the Konoha shinobi. "What now?"
Yūgao smiled at him. "Now, we rest and recover from our wounds. Our job isn't done until the bridge isn't complete, so we will be sticking around for a little while longer."
Tazuna smiled at them. "Right." He then turned towards the village. "Well then, let's go! It's time to celebrate!"
Yūgao shook her head in amusement. She turned to the genin. "Go ahead and go with him. Kushina and I will take care of the clean up here."
They all nodded and began to follow Tazuna. But after a moment, Naruto paused. "Hold on a second." He said. "I wanna go grab something." Before they could question him, he ran off.
He soon came upon the bloody form of Aoi. He ignored the prone man and moved towards the Sword of the Thunder God that was nearby. The blade part of it had retracted into the hilt, so he nearly overlooked it. He picked it up and turned around to move back over to the others. But his eyes caught sight of something.
It was a small bolt of lightning attached to a chain. Naruto frowned in confusion at it as he picked it up.
"A Keychain?"
There we go! All done with Chapter 17!
Holy crap. This was so much longer than I expected. Like really, what the hell.
For some reason, I find it really hard to remember to add Tazuna's "super." For whatever reason, it was just easier for me to remember to do the things like "ttebayo."
I should've saved that Kingdom Hearts quote for this chapter. You know, the one I had Naruto say last chapter about the heart? It would have fit in either place, but I think it would have been better here.
Now obviously, as Naruto hasn't even started to use his keyblade out in the open yet, he won't be using the keychain for a while. I just wanted him to have that one and couldn't figure out where else I could give it to him.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!
Until next time,
Kog6943