Fury Protocol I - In the beginning

Land of Fire

11:45

The Land of Fire was by far the most powerful and prosperous of the Five great nations. At the core of that power was Konoha, the first and most prominent ninja village in the world. The Third Hokage had built on the foundations of his predecessors and created a juggernaut that dominated the continent financially and militarily.

It was an old pact indeed that bound Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves, and the Fire Lord, ruler of the land of fire. Volume upon volume of detailed ledgers and treaties governed the Fire court's relationship with what was almost a country within a country. When the first Hokage approached the Fire Lord of the time with his radical idea of a symbiotic ninja village within his domain, the fire lord almost laughed him away. But one did not laugh at a god, for that what Hashirama Senju was. The God of Shinobi. A man without equal.

The fruit of their alliance changed the world forever. Seemingly out of nowhere the era of warring shinobi clans ended. Those who were smart enough were welcomed in with open arms, the clans that didn't, most of them didn't survive the reprisals of the newly minted Konoha.

Some clans however had long lasting relationships within the Fire Lord's court. Relationships that allowed them to carve out a living in this new era.

The Tsuchigomo were one such clan. A distant relative of their had found his way on to the Fire Lords council. It was he who founded the Twelve Ninja Guardians, the Fire Lord's elite bodyguard. Their Clan was allowed to retain their independence and work directly with the Fire Lord. This lasted for generations, but Konoha was canny to this and the third Hokage undermined the Tsuchigomo to the point of irrelevance. What was once the sword and shield of the Fire Lord was now a backwater village with a handful of mid-level shinobi and a dwindling population.

This is what made Naruto's mission even more strange. The assignment was rudimentary, Konoha intelligence had reason to believe the Fury Technique had come into the possession of the leader of the Tsuchigomo clan, an elderly man named En no Ryu. He was said to be in his late seventies, this meant he had probably already passed it on. Naruto's task was simple, eradicate the Fury Technique by any means necessary.

There was a slight pulse of chakra around him and Haku that rumbled through the fleshy lining of Gamanami's stomach. That was the signal. He reached one hand out into the nothingness and grabbed Haku, the other stretched into the dim light above. It was a moment later that they emerged, slowly, cautiously from the stomach of the tiny toad and into a sewer fed by the lone river that ran through the heart of the Tsuchigomo village. Gamanami gave a slight thumbs up before disappearing in small puff of smoke.

Naruto checked the summoning seals drawn on his arm to see one of them fade away into nothingness. Two remaining. Haku looked a shade green as she crouched and readied for his orders. She hated the Hidden Toad Technique; he couldn't blame her.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes" she said in reply. Her jet-black hair was tied into a tight bun with two long bangs to frame her face.

They had both tried to garb themselves as civilians for this mission. He had opted for an orange hoody and black cargo pants. Haku chose similarly a dark woollen jumper with cargo pants to match.

"Okay, let's go" He said and with that they slowly made their way up a set of stone stairs into the village proper. A rusted old door stood between them and the light outside. It was slightly ajar, allowing a thin, golden, sliver of light to intrude on their dark surroundings. They could hear the commotion of footsteps and rushed mummers just outside. It was just about midday, now there was a dull bell that rung out and vibrated the world around them whenever it struck.

As the crowd blew past, they snuck out and blended seamlessly into the raging mass. The first thing that struck Naruto was the general state of the village and its people. Muddied and tattered. it had rained earlier in the day and the earth was soft beneath their feet, churned and loose by the crowd atop it.

Most of the young people shuffled ahead with fear in their eyes, caked in the brown mud with rags for clothing. He could see the crumpled remains of a large building that showed the tell-tale signs of a fire technique exploded from the inside. Next to it and for almost the length of the street, all other buildings had smash windows and varying degrees battle damage. It was as if a war had been fought here. The over-growth of plants along the buildings present told the blond that it happened a while ago.

The bell continued to ring as they approached what looked to be the town square. He knelt and scooped a handful of lose mud and wiped it across his jumper and trousers, what remained was smeared across his face. He paid particular attention to the whisker like marks that ran across his chubby cheeks. He spied Haku doing the same to her clothing. It was important that they blended in, in every way.

Ahead of them and the rest of the crowed was a wooden stage. It was high enough for even Naruto to see it clearly. The great bell rang one last time from a tower just behind it. Atop the stage stood four people at the head of them was a tall, well-built man with black shaggy hair around bangs that hung over his eyes to frame both sides of his face. They stood over pronounced creases underneath his cruel, coal black eyes. He wore a high-collared blue cloak, and a black top that ended at his mid-chest with dark pants underneath. Shiranami, Naruto thought. He was included in the mission briefing. According to intelligence he had left the village after his father died eight years ago. He had seemingly returned.

The others had their heads covered with brown sacks. They trembled and shook, and their bruises became apparent to the blond as he watched on impassively. It seemed the whole village had gathered on the bells command. Around three hundred people, if Naruto guessed correctly. Even without using his sensory techniques he doubted there were any shinobi in the crowd.

On the stage the man, Shiranami, began to speak when things had settled.

"My good people" He spoke smoothly and loudly "We have endured much at the hands of these rebels, we have lost friends and family, our entire way of life has fallen to their cruelty and lies" He stuck out an accusing finger at the three prisoners. "But our trials are near their end. Our enemy is exhausted, before you stands almost all they have left. They are pitiful and weak. I only wish I could have driven them out sooner, that is my failing. I wish I could have saved my own father and dear mother from En no Gyōja's madness." He sighed and a pained expression took him over as he exaggerated his features to sell his supposed pain "So many of our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers have fallen, please accept my humble sacrifice as a salve for torments you've endured".

The crowd did not stir. If anything, they looked anxious. A look of resignation began to infect the onlookers. Naruto readied himself.

Haku clenched her fists and steeled her dark eyes on the man. She had told him about the public executions she had witnessed in Kiri and this had all the signs of one.

Naruto could hear muffled pleading and begging, yet none of the prisoners moved. They were not bound in any way he could see but they did not move beyond the occasional shiver.

Shiranami began to move his right hand slowly. A solemn look on his face as he began to write a Kanji in the air. He traced and carved black markings into life, a moment later the word Manipulate floated for all to see. The three captives then moved as one, sluggish and resistant, they took two steps forward then fell to their knees. Shiranami then traced another Kanji. This time it spelt Fire. Slowly, then all at once bright orange flames ignited on the captives and began to crawl up their bodies. Their muffled screams only lasted so long before they lit up the midday like bonfires.

The people around him recoiled and looked away. Some cried, some cursed under their breaths. A few fell to their knees in despair. Young children were in the audience, a few heaved and emptied their stomachs when the acrid smell of burnt human flesh offended their senses. Haku remained stoic but Naruto knew her well enough to know that she was greatly bothered by what was happening. He knew what was going through her head. Naruto kept his thoughts on the mission. They were not here to play hero.

When the last body was naught, but a burnt husk Shiranami spoke once more.

"Harrowing, I know but we must make an example of our enemies, lest they sow further disunity amongst our people. Though, I fear it may be too late." He motioned to his left and Naruto saw three men and a woman approaching with another, older man, this time bound by the arms with rope, was being shepherded ahead of them. He was forced onto the stage.

"Our glorious leader!" Shiranami shouted to the crowed as he stood in front of the older man. He was also in the mission dossier. His name was Bando, he was the head of the village council. A chunin in his younger years, before a Kumo shinobi almost crippled him during the third shinobi war. He stood tall before Shiranami, brave and proud with long brown hair and brown eyes to match.

"What is the meaning of Shiranami!" The councilman spat "We have an agreement, you overstep".

"I overstep?" Shiranami responded seemingly offended by the question. "No old man, you have betrayed our people, our ancestors. You are accused of collusions with the enemy."

"Nonsense!" Bando yelled "Your greed has blinded you, boy!"

Shiranmi laughed and reached into his cloak to produce a small piece of paper. The kind of paper one would attach to a messenger hawk. The kind of hawk Konoha was fond of using.

"The old enemy, the great enemy. Not only do you betray us to the old man and his sycophants but The Leaf?" He sounded scandalized. "They did this to us" now he spoke to the crowd "Took everything from us. Made us paupers when we used to be kings. We had the Fire Lord in our thrall and now we beg and scrape as our once great village becomes a rotting corpse!"

Bando for his part listened patiently with defiance etched into his features. "The old way is dead" he finally spoke "The sun has set on the Tsuchigomo clan, it is time we accept the reality that we are no longer shinobi it is not ours to covet power. That damnable technique is a relic we should be rid of."

"That is not your decision to make!" Shiranami lashed out with a backhand that rocked the old man from his feet. "You have only served to speed up the inevitable".

"That I have boy" There was resignation in his voice "The death knell has been rung".

"Don't listen to him!" Shiranami yelled "Konoha will not come. They fear our power. Take him away." He said as his enforcers grabbed Bando roughly and dragged him off the stage "He served his people well for a generation, I am not a cruel man, Bando, you live out your days under house arrest."

"No!" A young man yelled from the crowd. He couldn't have been older than ten. "Leave him alone!" He was quickly shushed by an old woman next to him. Se covered his mouth as he screamed and kicked to get away from her.

"Please, no, be quiet, Tani" She pleaded.

"Why" He screamed "I'm not afraid of him. We can stand up and beat them if we all work together".

"Forgive him, I beg you Shiranami-Sama, he's just a child, he doesn't understand" The old woman pleaded.

Shiranmai smiled, almost pleasantly as he walked over. When he was in front of the boy, he placed a hand on his shoulder and knelt to meet him at eye level. "I am not a cruel man" He spoke to the old woman but looked straight into the boys eyes. Naruto made out the subtle movement of Shiranami's right hand as he traced a seal into the air inside his cloak where no one could see. The boy stiffened instantly as the energy seemingly drained from him. "I would never harm a precious member of our clan. I think there's a big misunderstanding here. I know, how about I show you exactly what we've been doing to keep us all safe. It's actually wonderful work. You also look like a strong young man; you probably have latent potential to be great shinobi." He laughed good naturedly "I might even teach you an awesome technique if you're good." He made a show of it all " What do you say, Tani?"

The boy did not answer but he nodded, robotically, his acceptance.

"Fantastic!" Shiranami exclaimed "I'm sure you won't mind if I take him off your hands, would you?" He asked the old lady. She was pale with terror. She began to beg.

"Please, Shiranmi-Sama, he's a good boy, just rash with youth. I will take him away, hide him, you'll never see him again" She was crying and sobbing now.

"Nonsense" Shiranmai said with a warm smile "Such an energetic boy, I'm worried he'll get himself into trouble if we just leave him be. Besides what a gift it is to be given a personal tour of our headquarters by your protector." He paused and sighed "Well…I'm feeling generous today, so if it can't be your darling boy then maybe I'll take two others. What do the rest of you think?" He grew menacing and turned to the crowd "Him or two others?"

He let the question hang and within a moment a handful of people from the crowd grabbed the old woman and pulled her into the mass, they made sure to cover her mouth.

"What an honour" someone stuttered out "I'm sure his mother just doesn't understand, feel…feel free to do as you please, Shiranami-sama"

"Good" Shiranmi purred. "Come now, Tami-kun" He walked away and a moment later the boy followed.

When they took a left turn and disappeared into the rows of crooked buildings that lined the road it was as if the flood gates opened. Great wails and cries filled the air. The tension had become so thick that it was If a bubble had burst when the shinobi left.

Naruto had seen enough, he gestured to Haku and they slipped away from the huddled masses and into a side street. They walked awhile, scanning the walls next them. Naruto traced his gloved hand on a nondescript building in the ally and paused when he felt what he was looking for.

He raced through hand-seals that ended on Rat. His hand began to glow blue and when he opened his palm the kanji for open was displayed in large black print in the centre of it. He placed it on the wall and a great seal spread from his palm to create a doorway. He stepped aside and Haku ducked in, he was quickly behind her as the seal slowly closed.

They stood in what used to be a safe house. They were not the first shinobi sent by Konoha. With a snap of his fingers, he created a small flame on the tip of his thumb to illuminate the room. There was an old lamp on a dusty table in the centre of the small space. He lit it and held it up to the far wall. A map of the village hung there with key infrastructure circled and little details squiggled out in red marker around them. It was all pretty much useless now. Prevailing wisdom was, a map was outdated the moment it left the press.

There was an old crate and what appeared to be a sleeping roll on the floor to complete the decor. It was more than he expected but still not a great deal.

"This will do" He said, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" She replied quickly.

"I'm sure you are." He understood without her saying "We've got a while before nightfall. May as well get some rest."

"I'm not tired" She whispered absently.

She was obviously not okay.

He sat down and patted the roll next to him. A cloud of dust exploded out into his face and he coughed heartily while fanning it away. Haku looked over and shook her head.

It had been a long while since their last mission together and this was their first time in the Land of Fire together. When Jiraiya had presented this mission directly from Hokage, he knew he couldn't say no and was happy to go it alone, but Haku had insisted to join him. She did not trust the mainland. Though the chances of running into missing-nin on one of the hundreds of islands surrounding Sea country was high, the likelihood of them being anything more than a chunin was remarkably low.

On the mainland that was not the case. Just surviving as a missing-nin in the Land of Fire required a degree of cunning and strength that gave most hunter ANBU pause. Haku didn't want him facing such a foe alone.

"I didn't expect to come across him so soon" she said as she too sat down on the hard floor, her back against the wall.

"Yeah, usually its some underling carrying out the dirty work while the leader lurks in the shadows."

"Shiranami's ego betrays him" she said.

"His ego isn't our concern; The Fury Technique is. Intel seems to be on the nose for once. He's displaced En No Gyoja as the de facto clan head, possibly even killed him and has made puppets of the council" Naruto deduced.

"Using brutal suppression methods to keep the people in line."

"He headed northeast that means they're operating out of the old warehouse at the edge of town" He pointed to the map as reference. "That's as far as intel goes. We're improvising from here on out".

"Didn't they have a mountain fortress?"

"Yeah, but Konoha never found it. We have mountain ranges on three sides that go on for hundreds of miles. Not to mention the thick foliage. We'd never find it. Safe to assume they'd have some kind of barrier defence even if we did."

"You're right. So much for a civil war. Shiranami has won. He has the village, the council, the people, maybe he also has the technique."

"And yet, something seems off." the blond said, "We need more info, we'll continue on as planned and formulate our next move once we have some answers."

-0-

Darkness had settled quickly over the village. They barely cast shadows as they raced across the old rooftops that lined the dirt roads beneath. The warehouse came into view quickly, it was three stories with a flat roof and giant windows all along it. Two massive sliding doors sat on either end with a few auxiliary doors dotted along its sides.

They came to a stop a few buildings away. There were four guards atop the building. Each with a field of view that blocked ground ingress. Naruto launched two kunai that flew in high arcs and began to fall directly over the heads of the sentries on the far side of the warehouse. When close enough they silently transformed into two perfect copies of the blond. The cloud of smoke that their transformation created was hidden well in the darkness of the night. Both clones pulled out kunai and landed sharp end first as they buried their blades into the heads of the shinobi below.

The remaining sentries were too far away to hear and faced away from his clones. The two Naruto's darted quickly to the guards with their blood slick kunai and drove the blades into the base of the enemies skulls. The version of him with Haku faded away into a cloud of smoke before she leapt onto the roof to join him.

Naruto reached down to the closest body and with a quick set of hand signs he pumped his chakra into it and watched as a moment later the drab green, metallic texture of the roof spread across the corpse, causing it blend in perfectly. He did the same to the other body while his clone took care of the other two. With a single hand-sign he created three more clones and they henged to look like the men he had killed. It wouldn't do for someone to walk by and notice the guards weren't at their stations.

There was a lone hatch on the roof that lead to into the storehouse below. Before approaching he again raced through hand-signs and then placed his hand on the floor. "Sealing Art: Divine Sight of Kaguya" He whispered. It was bad form to say technique names out loud but he, like many shinobi, found that it focussed the mind when using techniques that required a lot of concentration.

An inky black line raced from his palm and wrapped around the hatch, the old metal shimmered as if an illusion had been lifted. The paint was replaced with a sealing array. Naruto's technique began to wrap around the existing seal before pulling it apart slowly, methodically as if it were a key unlocking a series of ever more complex locks. When the last of the seal gave way the hatch sprung open.

"Good" He thought. Sealing was never his speciality. In fact, he tended to struggle with it. He was sweating beneath his mask from the exertion of the technique. It was like threading a dozen needless all at once while some one juggled the needles. It wasn't an overly complex seal he had disarmed. It would have simply alerted someone to their intrusion. It was the protective seals around it that caused issue. They were levels above the alarm seal.

He and Haku had swapped their civilian clothes for their operational gear. Naruto had enough favour within Konoha ANBU to have been gifted an ANBU mask, he had to pay for the second that he gave to Haku. They were by no means on par with the modern variants used by the leaf's operatives but they did their jobs all the same. They were pure porcelain white on the outside. Naruto had to be careful he did not look too much like Konoha ANBU so he opted not to paint his mask but Haku had added two slight red waves to the left side of her mask.

They wore armour that he had commissioned separately, ocean blue flak jackets with arm and shin guards to match. Over them were draped two deep blue cloaks. ANBU field grade, pilfered from a Kiri weapons convey and sold on the black market.

They disappeared into the hatch quickly and landed in an auxiliary room. Naruto opened the door quickly and stepped out into the darkness with Haku close behind. He could hear the sounds of muffled screams and what sounded like ninjutsu. As they came into the war house proper they were greeted by a grim sight. From the third floor where they stood it was an open space below, bar one sectioned off room. On the walls were great painted murals depicting a yellow dragon racing through the clouds. In the middle of the open space was a slab of stone and chained to it was Bando. He hung limply with both arms locked in hot steaming iron. There was the smell of ozone in the air. It was apparent by the burn marks that criss crossed the old man's body that he was being tortured. His breathing was ragged and both eyes were swollen shut.

In front of him stood three men and a woman. They varied in size but Naruto knew could see from their musculature and stances that they were combatants. The blond pointed to a dark corner in the ceiling and Haku leapt up into it, completely fading into the shadow of the hanging lights below them. Naruto did the same on the opposite side.

One of the men on the floor walked up to Bando, he was slim and lanky with a gaunt, pointy face in a dirty brown top that was open down the middle. Strapped to his back was a large fuuma shuriken.

When he spoke Naruto could see his dirty, broken, yellow teeth.

"Thank you, old man" he said with a wicked smile. He reached out to grab Bando's head and jerked it up so he could look into his eyes. "It's been so long since the boss let me cut loose. So please, don't speak. I'd rather hear you scream." he laughed sharply as his hands began to spark with lightening chakra. He rose them up and put them on the side of the old man's head.

Bando let out a guttural scream as the lightening burnt his hair and sizzled across his face leaving painful looking lesions across his jaw. A few seconds later the dirty man pulled away. He licked his pocked lips and groaned strangely. The bulge in his pants was apparent. He shivered and arched his back "Oh, that's the stuff" he said after a deep breath.

Behind him the others looked on impassively. Naruto knew who they were, The Magaki they called themselves, a low-level mercenary group known to operate in Tea Country. How they got wrapped up in this was a mystery.

"He's not gonna talk, Chushin, just wrap it up and let the boss do his thing, it's a lot cleaner" one of them said, Naruto had thought it was a woman, but his deep rumbling voice put paid to that thought. He had black hair with pink highlights framing his feminine face.

"You don't know that Benten" Chushin said" Just a little bit more. It's a battle of wills, you see. His will to defy, my will to learn the truth. "

"Bullshit" The now named Benten replied. "You get off on it"

Chushin shrugged him off with a devious smile. He then walked back to the group when a door to the sectioned off room. Shiranami stepped out, hands black with an inky substance that dripped on to the floor beneath him as he strode towards his men.

"Nothing?" Shiranami asked.

"Nothing" The largest of his men responded. He was square jawed with with spiky black hair and a barrelled chest under his purple vest.

Shiranmi nodded knowingly "You are strong, Bando, a credit to our people. But the time of En No Gyoja is at an end." He ran through a series of hand signs and then raised his right palm towards Bando. A kanji formed in the air and lazily wafted over to the older man before burning itself into his flesh. It glowed red for a while before settling into an onyx black. "Now, where is the girl?" When Bando didn't respond the seal within the Kanji activated a brilliant blue "Speak" Shiranami said with finality.

Bando's head rose slowly. He looked defiant but his lips began to move and though he strained he gave the young man what he wanted

"M…Mount Katsuragi, north of Heaven's Rift gorge" The old man breathed out before he went limp. The slight rise and fall of his chest was the only sign of life left to him.

Naruto made a signal with his hand to Haku to exfiltrate. She began to move out but froze a moment later when the eyes of the painted dragons in the murals began to glow a bright yellow. Only then did Naruto notice that the eyes had shifted and were now staring at them.

"Oh, you're good" Shiranmi said without turning "Even my dragons had a hard time spotting you up there. If you hadn't moved I wouldnt have even noticed. Konoha has finally played its hand, eh?"

Naruto's adrenalin spiked as Shinarami began to speak and he raced through hands signs, Haku did the same. A moment later he was forced to abandon his position and there was a loud crack as a wild lightening technique tore thought where he was perched on the ceiling. The metal groaned and shifted as it became superheated and shed massive chunks of itself that began to fall to the ground below.

"Secure Bando!" Naruto shouted to Haku "I'll get you an opening!" Still airborne, he held a single hand sign against his chin and spat out a series wind bullets with pin point acurassy. The man who had cast the lightening technique was forced to dodge away with the rest of his team, creating some distance between them and their leader.

The wind bullets carved out large divots in the ground below as they trailed after the retreating shinobi. A dozen thoughts ran through Naruto's mind as his training kicked in and his tactical brain took over.

Five enemy shinobi

Shranami has shown previously unknown fuunijitsu that allows him to use solid script seals to manipulate others

One other Shinobi capable of at least B-Rank offensive lightening techniques

Capability of the other three unknown

Battle in closed space, inadvisable

New mission parameter; secure VP and escape the village.

Those thoughts ran through his mind in less than a second. The fact they were in such a closed space meant that most of the blonds more destructive techniques were ruled out. But it also meant that so were the enemies, if he got in close. With a thought two other versions of himself shifted into existence on either side of him in mid air. One grabbed his left arm and rocketed him towards Shiranami, not a second too soon as a stream of bright orange flame raced through its chest. The other clone launched a handful of kunai at his attackers and then formed a hand-seal and watched as his single kunai became hundreds an instant later. A steady rain of kunai barraged his foes, forcing them even further away and taking away their opportunity to form hand-signs when they were forced to bat away the knives.

The real Naruto landed deftly right next to Shiranami and lashed out with a Kunai the moment he was in range. Shiranami leaned away using his height advantage and snapped off a jab that Naruto ducked under and pursued the older man with a series of rapid strikes that were easily parried. They engaged in a fierce taijutsu exchange for a moment. Naruto lashed out with a whipping kick at the man's mid-section that was quickly blocked and was forced to duck under a right cross aimed at his head. He used his forearm guard to parry away the follow up left and sent an open palm strike at Shiranami's solar plexus. He was sidestepped readily by the man who responded with a low kick. Naruto leapt up slightly and grabbed the extended leg with his right hand, using it for purchase he sent a roundhouse across his enemies face that rocked his head to the side. Naruto sprang away and as soon as his feet touched the ground he slashed at Shiranamis' face with his kunai, he leapt back at that moment only allowing shallow wound but in moving back he gave Naruto the angle he had been waiting for. He held a hand-sign and slammed his foot into the ground, earthen spikes ran from his position towards Magaki group.

The clone that was raining Kunai down on the rest of the Magaki group from his position paused and launched a giant fireball from his mouth the moment that Shiranami jumped backward. Now that Naruto was between them and the VP two things happened at the same time. One of Shiranami's men raced through hand-signs and slammed his hands to the floor creating a think dome of earth around them to fend off the flames and spikes. As he did this Haku dived down from the ceiling, broke Bando's chains and vanished away in a clean body flicker.

Naruto pumped chakra into his legs and leapt from the building and disappeared into the shadows.

A second later the fire technique exploded out in an all consuming flame that raced across the warehouse with force enough to tear away at the sides and what was left of the roof.

He caught up with Haku quickly and they made a beeline for the walls of the village. The bells began to ring and in an instant the village was awake. He bounded quickly along rooftops and was forced to grab Haku mid-air and throw her over a fuuma shuriken that came racing from their left. He made a single hand-sign and twelve copies of himself appeared. They then got into groups of three and two in each group henged themselves to look like Haku and Bando before racing off in different directions.

A moment later he could hear Jutsu ringing off in the background as the first set of clones were destroyed by a lightening technique. In a leap he was over the wall and into the treeline of the forest that surrounded the village.

-0-

A few minutes later Haku turned to him and said "He's going into shock. I need to treat his wounds or he won't last much longer"

Naruto grit his teeth under his mask. They couldn't afford to stop. Not this close to the village. It wouldn't take long for them to be found if not surrounded. But he weighed his options. They knew roughly where the resistance was located so they really didn't need Bando. He would also hinder their fighting capability, another strike against him. The enemy also knows the location of the rebels. But he also knew that mount Katsuragi covered a vast area and even with his clones, the right concealing seal might mean he'd never find them. He didn't want to conduct this operation even more blind that he already was.

He held a signal with his right hand, and they came to a quick stop.

"Do what you can to stabilize him. Only do what you need to, I'll give you as much time as I can" He said to her.

"Three minutes" she replied. Naruto nodded sharply in response. Three minutes. That was standard battlefield medic procedure. If someone couldn't be saved in three minutes in an active combat zone, military doctrine dictated it was best they were either left behind or asset denial protocols were to be activated. A shinobi's body still housed many secrets.

With that he turned he turned to face the oncoming enemy. Reaching deep, Naruto found his centre and with it focus washed over him. His dense chakra began speeding through his tenketsu as he flexed his chakra network. Pressure radiated out from him and made the air around him hazy. He bent down and placed his palm on the ground. He was not an adept sensor, but Jiraiya had taught him enough to be able to use one of the second hokage's most treasured area scanning techniques. His potent chakra raced through the ground faster than most shinobi could comprehend. It took him a moment but his innate sensor abilities activated and in his mind's eye created an image of the surrounding area.

His plan had worked, Shiranami's shinobi had separated to give chase to his clones. Two of them were speeding towards his location. His technique was not as refined as he would have liked, he couldn't tell which two, but it didn't matter.

Rousing his chakra, he launched himself in their direction to intercept them as far away as possible to buy Haku some time.

The trees around him blurred into a stream of green hues as he crossed three kilometres at breakneck pace. What he lacked in physical strength compared to the average shinobi he more than made up for in sheer speed. He had trained extensively to take advantage of that speed. His overall strategy was to use his quick reflexes and potent chakra to bombard more physical opponents with long and mid-range jutsu to either overwhelm them or to create openings for him to get in close and finish them off.

Spotting the two shinobi in the distance Naruto used the slim element of surprise he had to create four copies of himself that dispersed in different directions.

He followed alongside, just out of their view as they sped into the trap he had set.

The vile man, Chusin, barrelled into the ninja wire made almost invisible in the dark forest. As soon as he made contact with the taught, razor-sharp wire, it snapped around him in a tight embrace and threw him off balance in his surprise. He careened to the ground below with a yelp as the explosive tags stuck to the wire began to sizzle in the night air. As this happened shuriken burst from the treeline, hundreds from all directions, destined for the other member of the Magaki Group to keep him away from his tumbling team mate. He leapt quickly behind one of the thick, imposing trees, using it to protect his back while he deflected the others furiously with a kunai in his hand as the bark behind him was peppered with shuriken.

His partner braced himself for impact with the floor, but the surprise was evident on his face when he realised that it was not hard forest floor that awaited him but a flowing pool of mud. Watching him disappear into the thick muck Naruto and his clones began racing through hand-signs from their hidden positions in the trees. Four great balls of fie burned through the forest directly at the shinobi as a clone broke high into the sky and spat a furious gust of wind from his mouth.

All five jutsu combined in a great roar of fire and fury as the night sky lit up in a great explosion with force enough to decimate the forest below. Hurricane gales blew all around him whipping his cloak in all directions and almost taking him off his feet. The burning heat of his combination jutsu licked at his skin but he held on.

A bit showy, a lot showy, Naruto knew he was giving away his position but that was by design. If he could lore them all here then they would be less likely to run into Haku. If he could take out one or two of them in the process before escaping then that would be a bonus.

He was broken from his thoughts when he spotted two distinct glowing shapes in the carnage. They grew in intensity while his technique died down.

As the last of the smoke cleared he peered into what was now a charred and blackened clearing. Standing at the centre of the glowing shapes were the two members of the Magaki group. They had created pink, glowing, pyramid shaped barriers around themselves that seemed to have absorbed what was an B-ranked technique with little resistance. Naruto noted that.

"That was intense!" One of them said loudly to the other. He had big, thick, black sideburns running down the side of his large square head.

"What a technique!" Chusin said from the floor. He pink barrier did a good job of obscuring them, but Naruto could see the hardened mud that had been baked into his skin on his left shoulder, it still glowed a dull orange.

Both men's hands were locked together in the seal that maintained the technique around them.

"I don't know who you are, kid, but you have no idea of the forces at play here" The man with the sideburns said. His voice was deep and gruff. There was a calm look about him. "Let's end this, Chusin, the master is ever watching."

"I would have like to play with him some, Akaboshi, but you're right."Chusin said "If he finds out we've been delayed…Well, its not worth thinking about" There was a tinge of fear in the man's voice. Who were they working for?

As one, both men began running through hand-signs. An instant later both pink pyramids began to glow brightly before fracturing with a loud cracking noise into thousands of pieces that exploded out in all directions at rapid speeds. Razor sharp shards of chakra tore through the trees around him and forced Naruto to backtrack furiously. He dodged and dived acrobatically, narrowly avoiding the technique but did wince as a shard of light lanced across his thigh.

Memories flooded back to him from his clones as they were unlucky enough to be caught in the flurry of shards.

A moment later the assault was over. The gash on his leg bled freely but he was largely unscathed. Unfortunately, with the trees around him shredded, he was left exposed to the two enemy shinobi.

"There you are" Chusin said with wicked glee. Before he finished his sentence he blurred away in a burst of speed and appeared right in front of the blond. He lashed out with a kunai aimed at Naruto's head. It was neatly dodged as the young shinobi dropped low before rolling out of reach and back peddling to create more space. As he moved away two kunai popped into hands from the spring-loaded holsters hidden in his sleeves.

He settled into a defensive stance with his Kunai in a reverse grip and scanned for Chusin, who had vanished as Naruto manoeuvred. Naruto turned quickly to parry away a kunai swipe from the skinny man that sent sparks spiralling into the air.

A fierce close-range battle ensued as Chusin pressed at the blond with wide swipes of his kunai. He was relatively quick but lacked in strength and technique. He came wildly at Naruto's left, shifting his weight Naruto parried his strike upwards before stepping into his opponent's guard and raking his right-hand blade across the man's chest in a sharp motion. Chusin brought his other hand down on Naruto in hopes of landing a chop but again the blond was too quick. Side stepping the blow and launching a brutal stab into the man's kidney.

He felt the slim resistance of flesh before he was forced to vanish away as a dropping heel landed with force where he once stood. Dust was kicked up by the force of the blow. Reappearing at the new treeline Naruto moulded his chakra into three clones and eyed Akaboshi as he stood upright.

"You are careless, Chusin" He said to his teammate "He's well trained, he would not be here if he wasn't" He looked over to Naruto, black eyes stern and discerning "We must work together".

The skinny man winced and held his side. Blood pooled between his fingers and dripped freely to the forest floor. Naruto's stab was not deep enough to pierce his kidney, but it would slow him down.

Naruto weighed his current situation. Chusin was obviously at least Chunin level. His speed was decent and he had a vicious streak to him. He also knew high level barrier techniques. He didn't seem very intelligent but made him all the more dangerous.

The other man, Akaboshi, seemed more reserved and calculating and yet to show much of his skill set.

Naruto's clones charged forward as he created two more and observed what unfolded. Chusin met them in close range combat while Akaboshi stepped back to create space and formed a hand-seal.

"Shadow rope technique" Akaboshi said and slammed his palms out into the air. Dark ropes of chakra writhed out of his palms, lashed out at the nearest clone dispelling it quickly and then racing through the smoke towards the original Naruto.

One of his clones stood in front of him and clapped its hands onto the floor summoning a thick wall of earth in front of them as the other clone blasted out a thick stream of flame at the oncoming ropes. It had little effect as they ran through the flames and the clone and broke through the six foot of solid stone that had been erected before them.

Naruto jumped away just in time as they narrowly missed him. He then launched a kunai and held a hand-sign. Shadow Kunai Technique! That one kunai became hundreds that rained across the battlefield forcing both enemies to break away in different directions.

Naruto tracked Chusin and made a beeline for him. Before the man's feet could touch the floor the blond was upon him. A devastating spin kick slammed into his injured side, sending him tumbling over himself and into the bark of a tree. A kunai raced after him, he rose up quickly and batted it away but the other kunai that ghosted behind it lodged itself in his shoulder.

He let out a scream that was cut short by the wind bullet that slammed into his chest and took him through the tree behind him. He brought his arms up at the last moment to block the full force of the technique but the wicked snap that resounded out gave Naruto a sense of satisfaction.

He would have finished him there but he turned quickly to see Akaboshi charging at him. Two clones came into existence next to him and met the man with blades drawn. Naruto slipped into the fight when the first clone fell. He ducked under a blow and lashed out with a snap kick aimed at the tall man's thigh, he stepped back to avoid it but was caught with a swipe of the clone's kunai across his face.

A look of annoyance took him as he drove a fist through the clone and roundhouse kicked the original away. Naruto rolled with the momentum of the blow and came to a crouched halt a few feet away. He was already racing though hand-signs.

Blue electricity arced between his gloved fingers and raced across the ground in large waves when he slammed his hands into the dirt. Large chunks of earth were gauged out as his lightening chakra streamed at the man. Akaboshi formed his own technique and leapt into the air. Again, he created his shadow ropes and sent them crashing after the blond. Naruto was forced to dodge as they whipped at the floor with force enough to crater it.

Those things were dangerous, and he didn't really have a counter. Sending a handful of clones to distract Akaboshi was all he could do until he had a strategy. That barrier technique meant his more potent long range jutsu were useless, but if he got in too close those ropes would make short work of him. Naruto created space and readied his next move as he began to form his technique a rope of chakra burst from the ground beneath him. He narrowly avoided it by bending backwards and made to move away but Akaboshi had closed the distance between them and sent a sharp uppercut into Naruto's gut. The air was knocked from his lungs as he was sent from his feet by the force of the blow and went careening into the forest when a chakra rope collided with his flak jacket and sent him flying. He had shifted enough to make it a only a glancing blow but the force of it still rattled every bone in his body.

An instant later he collided with ground. Hard. He skidded to a stop and was unmoving. His head rung like a bell and the world around him span. He lifted his head and watched as Akaboshi began to run at him. He summoned what adrenalin he had to launch himself to his feet and pull a spherical object from his pouch. He launched it at the approaching man and when a chakra rope lashed out to destroy the sphere it exploded in blinding white light and an ear-splitting screech.

He closed his eyes slightly knowing that the advanced seals in his mask would protect him from most of the dazzling light. It still stung though. Akaboshi was quicker and stronger that Chusin, he also prioritised using his chakra ropes to into Naruto's guard to stop him using jutsu.

He used the flash bang to disorient his opponent and got ready to strike. With a single hand-sign he waved his hands through the air and launched dual wind blades at Akaboshi. They rocketed through air with a resounding woosh and crashed into his chakra ropes that the man had brought up into a defensive position and slicing clean through them, taking the tips of three of the man's fingers on each hand, dispelling the technique.

Akaboshi let out a gruff cry as blood sprang from his hands like a fountain and he began to back peddle away from the blond when began he regained his senses.

Before his wind blades had even connected with Akaboshi, Naruto raced to form another technique.

Lightening Release: Electromagnetic Murder!

Vibrant, crackling blue lances of electricity raced out from his palms along the ground fracturing it along the way before slamming into the man. A pained scream escaped him as he sizzled and burned under the electrical assault. Agony etched across his face and the smell of cooking flesh filled the clearing.

Naruto pumped more and more chakra into the technique when Akoboshi fell to his knees and twitched and jerked as his scream died to a mournful whimper before he was quiet entirely. His blood boiled in his body and seeped through his eyes, nose and mouth in foul black liquid that steamed into the air.

Naruto released the technique with a heavy sigh. His adrenalin pumped rapidly through him and set him on edge. He waited a moment to confirm his kill. One could never be too careful with shinobi. When the man didn't move the blond approached slowly. His own blood dripped down the side of his mask in a warm cascade and the laceration in his let out a stinging feeling with every step.

This close to the enemy shinobi he could see the devastation he had wrought. What was left of the man was a burnt husk, his skin shrivelled and cracked, black, burnt bone revealed itself from beneath what used to be flesh. His eyes had exploded in tier sockets, he stared up at the blond with a look that sent shivers running down his spine.

A quick application of fire chakra later and there was naught but ash left of the man. He made his way over to where he had left Chusin. Chances were he was still alive. He had taken the Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet at centre mass, even with his hands to defend himself his chest had still caved in. Naruto stood above him and watched as he struggled to breath. His beady eyes were frantic.

"Do it" He croaked out between rapid rattling breaths.

Naruto complied. He too faded away as ash on the wind.

Two minutes and fifteen seconds. He had promised her three minutes hopefully Haku had also made short work of her task. He roused his chakra and vanished away towards her.

A/N

A decent enough place to leave this chapter, I think. I took a massive hiatus from this story but it's still very much front of mind. Hopefully it translates but I wanted to try a more serious shinobi world.

Naruto is essentially a Shinobi for hire. One that Konoha is more than happy to use when and where necessary for missions that maybe too politicly sensitive for their own ANBU.

I want to focus on the growth if the Uzumaki clan and how they navigate the world around them. This AU so I will be introducing some new concepts based on the ground work laid in the series. There's a lot of threads that lead nowhere in the manga/anime/movies that I've always found super interesting.

Also, the Fury Technique is a weapon of mass destruction created by the Uzumaki as a last resort. It's based on the technique of the same in the anime filler arc Six-Tails Unleashed

Anyway please R&R.