And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 29!
Winter break! Hell yes!
If you haven't noticed, I reposted the AN as chapter 28 and moved the actual chapter 28 to 29.
You guys are way different from the people who read Embers of a Shinobi. For the most part, they were all for trashing "-ttebayo."
Ugh, I have another plot bunny stuck in my head, but I refuse to act on it. I want to focus on Twilight Key and Embers of a Shinobi.
Kairitrion Cerulean: Well…I wouldn't say "couldn't…" And that's what I was thinking, but I couldn't incorporate the Naruto involvement as well as I wanted to, so I scrapped it. I like what I have, though.
DarkLord98: I chose Guard Armor because it is the first boss you fight in Kingdom Hearts 1 after the prologue. With this in mind, I chose to model it after that fight, where it didn't do much.
rinsegaku: Sorry about that. I have PMs turned off because of something that happened a while back. As for the moves, you're using game logic. I'm not. I'm thinking of them as moves that anyone could come up with. And I stated a while ago that Hikari and Yami didn't know that much when it came to swords. It was the whole reason I introduced Urahara. He didn't get those skills from them. You should read this chapter. And thank you for the songs! I have a playlist of OSTs and other music on both Spotify and Youtube, but finding songs that fit can still be annoying.
redlox2: I've avoided answering this question in the past, but fuck it. I do have something planned pertaining to that, yes.
Guest: I consider them to be kage level. They are two incredibly powerful people, so I think it's fair. As for the overpowered…well, I can see that. I tried justifying it in this chapter.
The Sith'ari: I am afraid to say I never tried that series. I considered it, but just never got around to it…But it is definitely something I think I would like. As for the light based heartless, I don't remember who brought it up in the past, but it has been mentioned in a review. I am considering doing something with it, but not right now.
prototype gear: If I give him that ability, it will most likely be splitting it. And the FF universe is so freaking big. I still have to decide who is making an appearance.
YuNaru19: I can see that, yeah. It's actually something I've thought about in the past. I actually do plan on fixing that a bit in the future.
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/Deity Talking: "Insert witty remark here."
Biju/Deity Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'
Scene Change: Insert Place Here
Jutsu/Magic/Technique: Insert Jutsu Here
Hokage Tower (After the Invasion)
"Status report. First tell me of our losses." Minato looked over the assortment of people in front of him from behind his desk. The invasion had ended and it was time for a war council to be held where the shinobi would report the losses sustained and other critical information. Minato had not even had the chance to make sure that his kids were unhurt before starting the meeting. In the large room were the those who held leadership positions in the village, advisors, and some jōnin.
Tsunade stepped forward. "Nothing too bad. It definitely could have been worse. Although we have some injured, we have few deaths. As expected, the hospital was targeted, but invaders were repelled." She stepped back.
Nodding, Minato turned to the ANBU commander. "Were there any other attacks held while the main attack acted as a distraction?"
The masked man nodded. "Yes." As always, his voice was monotone. "There was an attempt to break into the Hokage tower, but it was prevented."
"Good. What of the enemies we captured?"
This time, Ibiki stepped forward. "A total of nineteen enemy shinobi were subdued and apprehended during the invasion. Twelve from Oto and seven from Suna. All of them are currently being held under constant surveillance. We are awaiting your permission to begin interrogation."
Minato considered it for a moment. "I will come to a decision regarding them after I have all the facts." Ibiki nodded. "What is the extent of damage done to the village?"
Tsume stepped forward. "Superficial damage done to the interior with the exception of a training ground and the stadium. The eastern wall of the village has taken the most damage after getting attacked by giant snake summons." She stepped back when Minato nodded.
"Is there any other critical information that should be brought to my attention before we begin the general debriefing?" Nothing was said. "Good, then let's begin. I will be starting the debriefing with my account of the events before asking for others to report what happened on their side if they think it is important." His eyes roved over the small crowd again. "As you know, a few weeks ago we received a warning that Suna and Oto were going to join together to attack during the chūnin exams. Not only that, but Orochimaru would be involved. It was decided that it would be best to pretend to be oblivious to the danger and act normally as to not alert the enemy. At the same time, other preparations would be made to minimize losses and eliminate the enemy." There were nods throughout the room.
"The jōnin, ANBU, and other necessary figures were told of the situation and were instructed to also prepare themselves. On the day of the final exam, I was waiting in the kage booth for both A and Rasa to arrive. Once they had arrived, the exam began. It is important to note that genin Sasuke Uchiha as well as genin Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze were the last of the competitors to show up, although Naruto did make an appearance shortly before the matches began. Once half of the matches were completed, a short intermission was decided to be held.
"Throughout the course of the matches, I was sure to keep my guard up around Rasa and to be prepared for anything. I was also observant of his body language and attitude, taking special note of things that seemed to catch his attention. There was one thing that struck me as odd throughout the matches. He kept attempting to have me postpone the match between Sasuke and Gaara. It escalated to the point of reluctance to disqualify Sasuke when he still failed to show up after the intermission, which caught my attention even more. At this point, I was becoming increasingly suspicious of his motives, so I decided to act on a hunch I had…I decided to call him out as an imposter. This worked."
Genma chose this time to speak up. "That was when the explosion happened…" Although it sounded like a request for confirmation, it was more of a statement.
Minato nodded. "Yes. Orochimaru had been disguised as Rasa from the beginning. When he knew that I had caught on, he attempted to blow up the occupants of the kage booth. I was able to transport myself, Raidō, and Kumo's Darui-san to safety on a nearby rooftop, with A and B-san quickly following behind. After sending away the ANBU who had arrived, Raidō, B-san, and Darui-san, Orochimaru summoned four coffins." An angry look flashed across his face before settling back to a blank expression. "The coffins held the first, second, and third Hokage as well as the third Raikage." Soft curses and expressions swept through the room. Tsunade looked like she was only a second away from throwing a small fit of rage.
"Orochimaru had used a modified version of the second Hokage's forbidden reanimation technique to revive the four of them to fight A and myself, although he failed to revive the third Hokage. I speculate that this is due to the fact that the third had used the Reaper Death Seal to seal away the Kyūbi, meaning that his soul was inaccessible. It was at this point that A decided to have those of Kumo present in the village at the time aid us. This was due to seeing that Orochimaru revived his father to fight. With me so far?" Soft murmurs of confirmation and nods were given in response. Many of those in the room had disgusted looks on their faces.
Nodding again, Minato continued. "It soon became apparent that Orochimaru still had other resources in mind, because he also summoned these strange creatures he referred to as 'The Heartless.' I'm sure many of you know what I am referring to…" Most of the people nodded. "After he sent the creatures off to fight in the invasion, A and I started to fight with Orochimaru and those he revived. The fight seemed to be an impossible one as the revived kage were able to heal any wounds we managed to inflict on them and Orochimaru was able to shed his body to get a new one whenever he was hurt. While we fought, I was vaguely aware of other fights and explosions throughout the village. I also saw what appeared to be the one tailed bijū fighting the toad and slug summons…" He glanced to Tsunade for confirmation.
Knowing what he was asking, Tsunade nodded. "Yes, Katsuyu told me that she and Gamabunta were summoned by Narumi-chan and Menma-chan to fight the one tail, although they wound up facing clones of the bijū instead."
Minato frowned minutely when he heard this. "I was not aware that bijū had the ability to clone themselves…Nevertheless, A and I continued to fight for a while, with no progress being made besides the fatigue wearing away at Orochimaru. Partway through the fight, the one tailed bijū was defeated and a large explosion of unknown origin resounded throughout the village…" He paused as a thought came to him. "A large amount of heartless seemed to appear as a result of the explosion, as if they were attracted by it…Orochimaru used this as a chance to get more of the heartless to help him.
"We continued the fight, but there was still no progress being made when in terms of defeated those who were revived." He allowed a small smirk to appear. "It was at this point that the heartless turned on Orochimaru and began to attack him." Surprise rippled through the room when he said this. "Due to a combination of fatigue, the invasion failing, and the heartless turning on him, Orochimaru chose to flee from the village to make his escape." Many of the people in the room were now smirking by this point.
"A and I were unable to pursue him as the revived kage wouldn't give us a chance to…I was starting to get desperate." He admitted. The smirks in the room were immediately wiped away. "There were three powerful undead shinobi in the village that wouldn't stay down no matter what we did…It was getting to the point that I was going to resort to using the Reaper Death Seal to seal them away." He could practically feel the sense of panic rise in Kushina when he admitted this.
"But you didn't." It was Raidō who had spoken. His eyes were sharp as he stared at Minato. "You found a way to seal them away without resorting to that technique."
Minato nodded. "Yes, but not on my own…An ally chose that moment to jump in and do it." He wasn't going to tell the entire room that some unknown person with enough skill to catch them all of guard and act quickly enough to trap three kage had appeared to seal them away. That information would be limited a small group of people who needed to know.
"Who was it." All eyes turned to Danzō. "Who was this 'ally' that was able to do what two kage were unable to?" He asked.
Minato had a small flashback to a near identical situation twelve years ago on the day after the Kyūbi attack. "An ally. That is all I will be saying on the matter." The order was clear.
Do not pursue this topic.
The old war hawk nodded in response. Seeing that Danzō had relented, Minato continued. "Following this, A and I left to go help finish whatever left over fights remained." He looked to the group of jōnin sensei in the room. "Now, what happened in the stadium during the invasion?"
Asuma responded. "The stadium was under siege the moment the explosion occurred. It had been suspected that there were enemies hidden throughout the crowd, and it turned out to be true. The Konoha shinobi in the crowd quickly reacted and started to repel the attacking forces. Kakashi soon arrived to help us, as well as B-san. When we saw the Suna jinchuriki leave the stadium with Sasuke soon following, it was decided that we would send a team of genin to follow." Minato nodded.
"The team consisted of Misa, Narumi, Menma, and Shikamaru, correct? And they were to catch up with Sasuke, right?" He got a nod in return, but Yūgao was the one to speak up.
"Yes. I first ordered the present Konoha genin in the stadium to help in the evacuation of the civilians and VIPs before I went to order the specified genin of their mission. Following this, I returned to the fight. The…heartless soon joined the fight, but we were eventually able to defeat all of the enemies." She concluded, but she then remembered something. "But we did have some help." This remark made the other jōnin that were there nod in agreement.
The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'help?'" He asked.
A small frown came to Yūgao as she thought back to the woman who showed up. "Partway through the fight, an unknown woman suddenly appeared and assisted us with eliminating the rest of the enemies. None of us present at the time recognized her."
"What did she look like?" This woman might be connected to the man who sealed the kage…
"She had dark skin, purple hair in a ponytail, and golden cat-like eyes. Her outfit was predominately orange and black and she seemed almost…casual despite the situation. Her abilities seemed to revolve around taijutsu at high speeds. She disappeared immediately after the fight ended."
"And none of you recognized her?" Minato clarified.
"No, sir. It is possible that she is someone from Kumo, given her skin tone, but we didn't see her later with the other Kumo shinobi."
Minato absorbed all of the information given to him as he tried to paint a picture in his head of what happened in the village during the invasion. "We will return to this topic at a later time. Do we know what happened with the genin team during their mission?"
Kakashi stepped forward. "I had sent Pakkun with the team to aid them. Would you like me to summon him?" He got a smile in return.
"Please do so."
After nodding, Kakashi made a small cut in his thumb with a kunai and flashed through some hand seals before slamming his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" A small puff of smoke gave way to the requested ninken.
Pakkun looked at the room and noticed the serious atmosphere. "This still a bad time for pleasantries?"
Kakashi nodded. "Can you please recount what happened after the team of genin left the arena?"
"Sure. The mission was to catch up with the Uchiha boy and continue in the pursuit of the three kids from Suna. Along the way, we were repeatedly attacked by some weird creatures. They weren't any kind of summon animal, so they must have been someone's jutsu." He got nods in return.
"Eventually, we stopped when I picked up another scent traveling with Uchiha. It belonged to Naruto."
Kushina spoke up with a surprised tone. "Naruto was there? He caught up with Sasuke and travelled with him?"
"That would explain why he wasn't there when I want to the competitor's booth…He must have seen Sasuke leave and decided to aid him." Yūgao mused.
Pakkun nodded. "Yes, that is what happened. We were soon able to catch up to the two of them before we all caught up to the sand trio and confronted them after they stopped on a rooftop." The dog paused with a grimace.
Kakashi was the first to notice the expression. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"The redhead jinchuriki…Something was wrong with that kid…He definitely wasn't stable."
Minato's eyes sharpened when he heard this. An unbalanced jinchuriki is never a good thing. "Elaborate."
"He…The blond and the makeup wearing kid were trying to convince him to keep moving, but he seemed unwilling to listen. He had an unnatural fixation on Naruto…" Kushina, Minato, and Yūgao all tensed. "The plan seemed to be to head to a designated location and let loose, but he abandoned the mission so he could attempt to kill Naruto."
"But he didn't…" Kushina said in reassurance, but it seemed like she was trying to reassure herself.
Pakkun shook his head. "No, he didn't. Naruto noticed that the jinchuriki was fixated on him, so he decided to lure him away from any populated areas and into a training ground."
"That was a good idea." Shikaku mused. Kushina immediately glared at the Nara head. "Lead the threat from any areas where any major damage could be done before taking it out. That was sound thinking." Kushina was scowling by the time he finished speaking, but didn't argue with what he said.
"Following this, that Misa girl ordered for everyone but her and Shikamaru to follow Naruto and provide him with back up while the two of them fought the other two Suna genin. We did so and soon caught up to Naruto and the jinchuriki. When we got there, Naruto was nowhere in sight and the jinchuriki was attempting to find him. The Konoha genin used this chance to launch a surprise attack, but it didn't work. We regrouped with Naruto and proceeded to fight the jinchuriki. You should probably know that the jinchuriki was becoming increasingly unstable as the battle continued. Eventually, an attack landed…but that's when things got really bad."
Minato nodded. "I assume that is when he resorted to using his bijū form? Or did he completely unseal the one tail?"
Pakkun sighed. "I have no idea, to be honest. After he was hurt, he was suddenly shrouded in that dark stuff that the creatures seemed to be made of. It was at this point that Misa showed up. The next thing we know, he was replaced by a dark version of the one tailed bijū. Menma and Narumi resorted to summoning the toad and slug bosses, but the one tail responded with cloning itself."
"Right." That fit with everything else they knew. "There were two clones and the original, right? I'm pretty sure that the clones were fought off with the summon bosses, but what about the third?"
Pakkun smirked. "The rest of the kids fought and beat the thing."
"They did?"
"Yes. Although a lot of the damage done was due to Naruto and his summon." That made Minato, Kushina, and Yūgao all freeze.
"N…Naruto has a summon?" Yūgao asked.
The ninken raised an eyebrow. "Yes, he does. He summoned some sort of strange dragon and used it to move around quickly. He was even able to do some kind of collaboration attack with it before he finished off the bijū." Whispers broke throughout the room. He tilted his head. "You're his sensei, didn't you know?"
Yūgao shook her head and sighed. "Recently, I'm learning that Naruto may have some secret abilities and techniques that he likes to keep as a hidden trump card…"
"Hm…Well, anyways. We finished the bijū and the clones disappeared. It seemed like everything was going well, but we were caught off guard when a huge amount of that dark stuff gathered in the sky before creating a large explosion."
Minato thought about it. "That must be the explosion that everyone else heard."
"I guess so." Pakkun agreed. "Soon after, a lot more of those weird creatures started to pop up around us, so we decided to leave the area. I only stuck around long enough for them to group up with Shikamaru and -for some reason- Shino before dispelling myself after the other two Suna genin left with the jinchuriki."
Danzō spoke up. "They allowed a known enemy to leave without any comment?" He asked.
Pakkun eyed the old man. "Misa allowed it after it was determined that they were no longer a threat. She said that it was better to focus on the still active threat in the village." He shrugged again. "Not much I can tell you after that besides the genin deciding to split up to help in different areas."
"I understand. Thank you for the help." He had partly expected it after seeing the symbol on the one tail's forehead, but now they knew for certain that the defeat of the bijū led to the sudden increase in the number of heartless. Pakkun saluted Minato before nodding to Kakashi and dispelling. "That shed some light on things. I expect that the Suna trio decided to cut their losses after Gaara was defeated and other Suna shinobi started to retreat." He looked to Tsume. "What happened around the village perimeter?"
"We faintly heard the first explosion from the stadium before we were under attack from Suna and Oto. We had little difficulty fighting them off thanks to the prior warning, but we began to have some difficulties when snake summons were added and the…heartless joined. But it became less of a problem when Jiraiya-sama entered the fight. After the loud explosion, many of the Suna shinobi began to retreat. There isn't much else to say. We pursued them until we received orders to desist."
Minato nodded. "Thank you." He looked around the room. "Did I miss anything?" No one responded. "Good. Now, we need to decide how to proceed."
Danzō was the first to speak up. "This was obviously a declaration of war by Suna and Oto. We need to respond in kind and strike back." He declared. Many of the people in the room nodded in agreement with frowns on their faces. Minato frowned, but knew what he said was true. This was an act of war.
"Now hold on there. I think you may want to reconsider that proposal for a moment." Everyone turned their eyes to the door of the room where a serious looking Jiraiya was standing. "I just received some information that you will want to hear."
"What information could you possibly have that will make us reconsider going to war?" Homura challenged. "The Kazekage allied himself with Orochimaru to break our alliance and invade the village."
Jiraiya looked him in the eye with a frown. "How about the fact that the Kazekage was killed by Orochimaru weeks ago?" This instantly silenced everyone in the room.
Minato leaned forward. "What do you mean, sensei?"
"Rasa was killed weeks ago by Orochimaru. I am unsure if he was killed for refusing to work with Orochimaru or because it was convenient for the snake, but he's dead. Suna has been acting on false orders."
"But as you said, Suna may have been working with Orochimaru, only to be betrayed." Koharu pointed out. "They still broke the treaty."
Minato was silent for a moment as he considered the information he was just given. "What is the situation with Suna, sensei?"
"Suna has retreated and is on their way back to their village. I also confirmed that they have surrendered. It seems that they were unaware that they had been acting on the orders of another."
"…We will respond to their surrender soon. I want you to be the one to take care of negotiations." Jiraiya nodded. Minato turned to Ibiki. "This means that you cannot torture the captured Suna shinobi. I'm giving you the go ahead to interrogate them, but hold off on anything extreme. You do however, have free rein over the Oto shinobi." The cruel smirk that appeared on the scarred man's face made some in the room shiver.
"You can't be serious, Minato." Homura protested. "They are enemies now!" Koharu nodded in agreement.
Minato shook his head. "While it may be true that they had been intending to betray us, they were still betrayed first. Instead of going to war and increasing our losses, I would like to use this surrender to turn things into our favor. It will throw Konoha into a bad light if we torture war prisoners after the enemy surrendered." He looked the advisors in the eyes. "Do you have a problem with that?" He asked. They wisely kept quiet.
Jiraiya smirked. "Just leave it to me. I'll take care of it."
His student smiled in thanks. "Good." His smile was replaced by a frown when a thought came to him. "Were we able to capture any of the heartless?" He looked over to Ibiki for the answer, but was given a shake of the head.
"No. Any and all attempts to capture the creatures known as the heartless were met with failure. While they are not particularly hard to subdue, they have the ability to phase into the ground or warp out to escape capture. It is currently unknown if it is possible to render them unconscious."
"I understand…Have they all been purged from the village?"
Hiashi nodded. "Yes. There are no longer any traces of heartless within the vicinity of the village…" Before anything else could be said, Tsume spoke up.
"Hokage-sama, if I may?" She received a nod. "While the heartless have been removed from the village, I am unsure if it will remain this way." She said, immediately catching all attention in the room.
Minato focused on the Inuzuka head. "What do you mean?"
"While we were pursuing the enemy shinobi, we noticed the presence of heartless scattered throughout the area. These groups of heartless attacked both us and the shinobi we were pursuing. I believe that they have stopped appearing only when Orochimaru calls for them and started to appear on their own…" That wasn't good.
"I have to agree with her, Minato." Jiraiya commented. "I have received information from multiple contacts that were able to tell me quickly that a few heartless have been spotted in their areas. While it seems it is mostly around Konoha, I think that they will soon spread. Like I said, this is just from the nearby contacts, so I will get to my more distant ones when I can…"
Minato sighed. "That would be a great help, thank you." If the heartless started to appear on a mass scale throughout the elemental nations, then things will get really ugly." He glanced around. "Is there anything else?" Nothing was mentioned. "Very well. We will now move onto other topics. First, the repairs…"
Urahara Shop (Later)
Naruto stumbled into the shop later in that day. After the invasion ended, he and the other genin were deployed to various places as a village-wide lockdown was initiated. The lockdown was eventually recalled, but the village was still on high alert. By this time, Naruto was dead tired. Between the chūnin exam, the invasion, and running around the village, he was nearing the point of complete exhaustion.
The sound of a door opening made him look up. Soifon was standing in the doorway leading deeper into the building with a concerned look on her face. She quickly made her way over to Naruto and looked him over. "Hey, how you holding up?" She asked.
He just blinked at her in surprise for a moment before smiling tiredly. "I'm fine, just tired."
She nodded with a smile and gestured towards the door. "I understand, but you will need to hold off on that nap for a little longer. Kisuke and I would like to hear about your side of the day." Naruto groaned internally, but didn't argue. He figured it would be a good idea to do this now.
"Lead the way." Soifon grinned at him before turning and walking through the door. The two of them soon entered the tea room and found Urahara sitting there with a frown as he looked over some notes he had. He looked up when they entered the room.
"Naruto, good to see you in one piece." He greeted.
With a sigh, Naruto sat down as Soifon did the same. "Thanks, the same to you." He looked between them. "So, I tell you about my day and you do the same?" He asked with a small smirk.
Urahara grinned. "That sounds good."
With a nod, Naruto began speaking. "I'll just skip to the invasion and mention the important parts. I was separated from the others when the invasion began, so I didn't receive any orders. I took this chance to go after Gaara when I saw him and the other two Suna genin leaving the stadium. While on the move, I was attacked by heartless repeatedly. I caught up with Uchiha, who was also following them, before another team of genin caught up to us." They nodded. "When we managed to reach the Suna team, Gaara was…losing control."
The candy shop owner frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that he was starting to grow increasingly unstable. I was worried he would self-destruct at any second. The moment he saw me, he lost himself to the bloodlust and attacked me. I used the chance to lead him to an empty training ground. Some of the others caught up and we were able to harm him after a while. That's when things got really bad…"
Soifon nodded. "I assume that was when he turned into a giant heartless bijū hybrid?"
"Yeah…The toad and slug summons were called to help, but they had their hands full. The original bijū was fought off by Misa, Uchiha, and myself. I had to resort to summoning a dream eater."
"Oh, is that right? Well, I guess it's a good thing I reminded you to take it then, huh?"
Naruto sent a light glare at the smirking Soifon. "Moving on. The bijū was defeated, the clones dispelled, and I finally got a chance at Gaara with my keyblade." He sighed again. "But then things got bad again."
Urahara nodded. "I'm guessing that was when the heartless started to show up in greater number?"
"Yeah. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. All of that darkness released by the bijū heartless thing resulted in a massive explosion that spread darkness particles throughout the area." A worried look formed on Naruto's face. "I'm pretty sure of what that means." He looked to Urahara in confirmation and received a tired sigh in return.
"I conducted some preliminary searches of the area. It is as we feared, the heartless are now spreading throughout the elemental nations…" Naruto scowled. He already figured that would be the case, but he was still hoping that wouldn't be true! "I'll monitor their behavior as best I can. If they start to converge on one location, then we can conclude that something important is there."
"Like the keyhole…"
"Like the keyhole, yes. But we have to act quickly. There is no telling how much time we have until they find it."
Naruto nodded. "It could be days, it could be months…Heck, Hikari and Yami told me that some worlds even have years after the heartless begin to show up…" He shook his head. "We will talk about that later. After the heartless started showing up, we decided to regroup with the others. The Suna trio left at this point because we decided to focus on the active threat." He glanced at the other two in the room. "Misa made the decision and I thought it was a good idea…what do you think about it?"
Soifon smirked and Urahara grinned. "That was a wise decision. At this point, I'm pretty sure Suna was starting to retreat. It was more important to make sure the heartless were repelled." Urahara said.
"Right. Anyways, we soon split up into two groups. My group went to the academy where we found it under attack. We got rid of the attackers, only to be confronted by a heartless leader. That was a whole thing." Soifon grinned.
"But hey, you survived, didn't you?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Apparently." He shrugged. "There isn't much else to say. We got rid of it before moving on to help around the village. I just got released from duty for the day."
Urahara nodded with a grin. "Well, that sounds like a fun day." Like always, he acted oblivious to the glare sent his way. "How far were you pushed?" He asked.
"Well…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I used some magic, but I've been doing this for a while. I used my keyblade, but people saw that already. The biggest reveals had to be the dream eater and a couple new moves…"
The two adults simultaneously quirked eyebrows. "Which moves? Spells?" Soifon asked.
Naruto shook his head. "No. They are the moves you two helped me make and refine. Ars Arcanum, Sonic Blade, and Meteor Crash." He grinned widely. "All three were massive successes. Especially the third."
Urahara puffed out his chest with a massive grin. "Of course! Who do you think you're talking about? Such a thing like creating new moves is nothing for someone as great as Urahara-sama!" Naruto allowed him his moment. It was Urahara's idea to incorporate his magic and twilight abilities in the way he did to create some of his attacks. Naruto was sure he would never have been able to create something like Meteor Crash as quickly as Urahara did. All it required was a little studying of his magic and twilight before he started to rapidly write up theories and ideas. According to Urahara, it was a little like kido in some areas.
Shaking his head, Naruto cleared his throat. "I told you about my end, what about you two?"
Soifon smirked. "Nothing too exciting with me. I showed up partway through the invasion to help out around the arena before leaving so they couldn't ask me any questions." She looked over to the other occupant of the room. "I think Kisuke has a much more interesting story…" Said man grinned again and fanned himself.
"Well, I don't know about that. I didn't do any fighting…"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "Then what did you do?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just rushed in at the last moment to stop your father from sacrificing himself to seal away three undead kage by sealing away the same kage."
Dead silence.
Naruto gaped slightly at the man. "…You…what?"
"Oh, did you not understand me?" Naruto couldn't even bring himself to respond to that. "Well, I guess it will be easier if I show you, eh?" He promptly stood up and pointed his fan towards the door. "Follow me!" He left the room, Soifon a step behind him. Naruto just stared after them.
"…What?"
Urahara's Training Ground
Naruto closed his eyes and rubbed the bridged of his nose as he tried to process what he just heard. In front of him were three figures completely wrapped in white fabric with numerous rods sticking out of them. Eventually, he gained control of his thought process. "How did you do this?" He hissed. "If two kage couldn't manage it, then how did you do it in under a minute?"
Urahara smirked. "It was easier than you would think once I completely hid my presence from their senses."
"You hid your presence." Naruto got a nod in return.
"Yep!" Why was this bastard acting as if hiding his presence from five kage level shinobi was no big deal? "I don't know if I've told you this, but I used to be a part of the stealth force back in my world, so I know how to sneak around if I need to. Sure you guys are shinobi, but it gets a lot harder to keep track of your surroundings while under fire from your enemies."
"But…How could they not sense you preparing your seal?"
"I think you're forgetting one key thing, Naruto-kun." The grin on his face grew. "I'm not from this world!"
And just like that, it all clicked. "You were able to get so close because you don't have chakra and were able to be completely silent. No one was able to detect your technique approaching them from beneath their feet for the same reason…"
"Exactly. They were caught completely off guard by my kido spell." He shook his head. "But anyways, I went in, sealed the kage, moved them away, and got out. Just like that. I've been studying them ever since."
Naruto nodded in understanding. "And? What did you find?"
The playful expression was instantly wiped from Urahara's face. "I found that this is one of the most twisted and vile techniques I've ever come across." He looked at the bound figures and the others followed his gaze. "The souls of these three were forcibly ripped from the afterlife and stuffed into false bodies where they were then subjected to the will of another. To add to this, darkness was pumped into them to 'improve' the technique." He looked almost angry at what he was saying.
The crimson blond grimaced. "Why haven't you undone it yet?"
"Because I haven't had the means to."
Naruto froze. "What? You can't undo it?"
Urahara sighed. "Only the caster of the technique can just will it away. I don't see Orochimaru doing so willingly."
"So they are going to stay like this?" Urahara shook his head.
"I didn't say that."
Naruto's eyes snapped to his. "But you said you can't undo it."
Urahara nodded as he locked eyes with Naruto. "You're right. I can't undo it. But you can." Naruto blinked in surprise.
"And how the hell do I do that?"
Soifon rolled her eyes with a soft smile. "Weren't you listening to what he said? How did Orochimaru 'improve' the technique?"
"He…" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "He added darkness to it." He quickly looked from them to the three figures. "You don't think…"
Urahara smirked. "Orochimaru infused darkness with the technique to the point that it became a fundamental aspect of it. And like any other technique, if you disrupt the base, then the entire thing falls apart. I don't think adding more darkness will help, but adding the opposite to it…"
"Adding light should unbalance the technique to the point that the entire thing just self-destructs." He smirked. "Leave it to me-ttebayo!" Urahara nodded.
"Good! Soifon and I will give you some room to work. Start whenever. The entire training ground is protected by a barrier, so don't worry about anything bad happening!"
"Right." Naruto waited for them to gain some distance before forming a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Poof! Two identical clones appeared on either side of him. They glanced to each other before each one of them walked up to a figure and place a hand on them. Instantly, Naruto felt the current of darkness running through it. He couldn't believe how much Orochimaru pumped into the bodies!
He took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing." He closed his eyes and focused on his light aura. Just like all the other times, it instantly answered his call. With extreme care, he began to channel it down his arm. When he felt that he had enough, he opened his eyes again before nodding to both of his clones. "Well, here we go. On three. One. Two." He tensed. "Three!"
Whoosh! At the same moment, all three of them began to channel light into the three kage. Naruto grinned when he felt the flow of darkness get disrupted by the injection of light. Whoosh!
Play Final Fantasy X Music - Hurry
"Whoa!" He did not expect the darkness to push back! Wind was starting to pick up around them. Gritting his teeth for a moment as he braced himself, Naruto spoke up. "Push harder! Don't let up for a second!" He had to shout because the wind was growing stronger by the second.
"Right!"
"You got it!"
Soifon frowned at the scene before them. She was starting to lose sight of Naruto because the wind was created a cloud of dirt and dust. She glanced to Urahara. "Did you expect that to happen?" She asked.
Urahara didn't even look her way as he responded. His eyes were fixed solely on the source of the wind. "I can't say I did…" He frowned.
'Damn it! It just won't give in!' Naruto's clothes and hair were flapping in the wind as he and his clones continued trying to dispel the darkness. Whoosh! "Crap!" Another pulse of darkness pushed back at him, nearly making him lose his balance and stumble back. He grit his teeth and closed his eyes. "Like hell!"
The three bound figures were now coated in an aura of darkness while Naruto and his clones were bathed in light. The two auras were mixed together with the light and darkness split down the middle. Naruto was attempting to push his light to take over the darkness, but was met with heavy resistance the entire way.
Suddenly, Naruto's eyes snapped back open when he felt something begin to encroach on his light. He immediately looked down to his hand, and saw that some darkness was beginning to seep onto it. The entirety of his hand was bathed in a feeling of ice. 'Oh, like hell!' "It's trying to reverse the process! Don't let it!" Closing his eyes again, Naruto dug deeper. Gathering as much light as he could, he pushed back against the darkness.
Slowly, the darkness began to retreat from his hand and warmth returned to it. 'Just keep pushing…' Sweat was beginning to gather on his forehead and the winds were still picking up. Soon, Naruto felt that he had repelled all the foreign darkness from his body. When he was sure he was in the clear, he began to push more light in.
'Almost there…' Naruto eventually felt the darkness begin to weaken from the force of the light. Thin wisps of darkness were starting to come off the body after a minute. "Come on…" Naruto muttered. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. After a few more moments, he felt the darkness lash out again. "Guh…Oh no you don't…One more push!" He took a deep breath. "Now!" Boom!
"Gah!" Naruto and his clones were blasted back as a large pulse of darkness expelled from the three bound kage. His clones dispelled, but Naruto landed on the ground a few feet away.
"Naruto!" Immediately, Soifon was by his side. "You alright?" She asked.
Naruto weakly nodded while gasping for breath. "Yeah…I'm fine…" He struggled to get to his feet, but had to have Soifon help him. "What happened?"
"An unexpected reaction…" Hearing Urahara's voice in front of him, Naruto looked up. He was shocked at what he saw. The three kage were still completely bound, but a large whirlwind of light and darkness was surrounding them. "I did not anticipate such a reaction…" Urahara muttered.
The three of them watched the whirlwind pick up speed, but it soon began to change shape. The two auras began to spiral into a condensed sphere that rose into the air. Naruto noticed that the three undead kage were left behind and seemed to be breaking down into dust and ashes. Looking at the sphere, he saw that it was condensing more and more, becoming increasingly small in size.
Deciding to voice his question, Naruto spoke up. "What's going on-ttebayo?!" He had to shout in order to be heard over the wind.
"The light and darkness are fighting each other! You adding the light unbalanced the darkness as expected, but instead of dissipating like we wanted, they are fusing!" Urahara responded.
"Fusing into what?! Twilight?!"
"I don't think so! It looks like the properties of the darkness makes it create something new! But I don't think the end product will be an aura like twilight! It seems physical!" He pointed. "It's about finished!"
The three of them watched as the sphere condensed even more. Boom! A large blast of energy exploded out, forcing them to shield their eyes from the flash and harsh winds.
End Music
When they looked back, they were surprised at what they saw. In the place of the sphere was a small cube. It was hard to tell if it had one color as the base and another on top of it because it was an even a mixture of purplish-black and silvery-white. Arcs of electricity was coursing over the cube for a moment before it died down. The cube soon fell onto the ground.
Urahara was the first to gather himself and walk over to the cube. After looking it over for a moment, he muttered something. The moment he finished, an orange cube of light appeared and encased the smaller cube. Once it was completely formed, Urahara picked it up. It was at this point that Soifon and Naruto reached him.
"What is that?" Naruto asked.
"I'm not sure…It was obviously made from the mixture of light and darkness, but I can't tell anything more than that without conducting some tests…" He pocketed it and looked over to where the three kage were and grinned. "Regardless, you managed to undo the technique. Good job."
Naruto blinked in surprise and followed his gaze. A small smirk appeared on his face. "Well, at least something…went…right…" He trailed off as the fatigue he accumulated throughout the day finally caught up with him.
Knowing what was about to happen, Soifon immediately reached out and caught him when his eyes drifted shut and his body stopped supporting itself. She had a small smile on her face. "I'm not surprised."
Urahara shook his head in amusement. "Neither am I. He was already on his last legs when he got here."
She shrugged. "I saw." She glanced down at Naruto. "I guess I'll put him in his room…"
"Sounds good. I think I'll be busy for a while…"
Soifon smirked at him. "You just can't wait to play with your new toy, can you?"
"I have nothing to be ashamed of."
"Damn him! Damn those cowards!" Crash!
"Sir…"
"Silence!"
"…"
"How did Namikaze live? How did he undo the jutsu?! It was impossible for him to undo it without resorting to the Reaper Death Seal!" Crash!
"…"
"Next time I will be sure to watch the light leave his eyes! And then the heartless! Forcing me to flee and suppress my darkness to near non-existence!" Boom!
"…"
"What do you have to report?"
"The Hokage claimed that an anonymous ally arrived to seal the revived kage."
"No indication as to who?"
"None, milord."
"…Very well. I will find them and make them pay for this at a later time. And what about the boy?"
"According to your agent, he left after the invasion began to go fight the one tail jinchuriki. He helped in defeating him, showing a strange summon…"
"I'll go over that later. Anything of interest?"
"Yes. Once Gaara was defeated and he thought no one was nearby, the boy pointed his strange weapon at Gaara and shot a beam of light at him. The light did something, but I'm not sure as to what. It was reported however, that the sound of a lock echoed through the immediate area. It may have something to do with the fact that the weapon is shaped like a-"
"Key...Anything else?"
"Nothing more than fighting some heartless and the appearance of one of the larger ones. The boy never noticed he was being watched when he did whatever he did."
"Good. It won't do for him to suspect something…Leave, I have some research to do."
"Of course, Orochimaru-sama."
There we go! All done with Chapter 29!
I am pretty sure I am breaking some rules, but I'm doing it anyways. It isn't hard to guess what that cube was. I have an explanation as to why this resulted in the way it did, but won't be going into that until later. So don't get too mad, please. At least not yet.
I can't claim that there is a lot of actual progress in this chapter, but there is still progress to be made!
Getting closer to the time skip! I am so looking forward to this.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!
Until next time,
Kog6943