This is Ryu Kotei apologizing for the very long wait as I haven't been able to do much writing since I got my job, but I will update any of my stories when I can and I may not be on Fanfiction as much.
On a final note, I do not own Naruto or Steven Universe.
"Believe in Steven!" normal speech
"Believe in Steven!" thought/mind speak
"Believe in Steven!" demon speech
Chapter 31: Snake Den
*Forest*
Trees blurred past Yamato and the Crystal Gems as they continued their pursuit of Kabuto and Peridot, knowing that there was a possibility of finding not only one of Orochimaru's hidden labs, but the very person as well.
"Keep them in your sights!" Yamato ordered as pressed on ahead of the group, "We can't let them escape!"
"We don't have to worry!" Garnet said as she carried the still unconscious Naruto on her back, "We shouldn't be too far away from one of Orochimaru's labs."
Before another word was said, the group managed to see shuriken fly through the air before having to dodge them.
"Are you sure you're alright carrying Naruto?" Yamato asked after he and the others regrouped before stealing a glance towards said person.
"This is nothing." Garnet said with professional confidence in her voice while keeping her focus on the retreating duo in the air.
With Peridot and Kabuto, the Gem growled in anger as she said, "Our escape would have gone better if that freak hadn't destroyed my arm enhancer; Those primitive weapons are hardly useful!"
"Perhaps YOU could do any better than I can?" Kabuto argued in agitation before throwing more shuriken along with a few kunai towards their pursuers.
"Perhaps I can!" Peridot growled back as she saw light at the end of the trees, "But I have more important orders from Lord Bloodstone and those orders also coincide with the orders Orochimaru had given us."
Kabuto remained silent, but he was still seething at how Peridot acted and how she was treating Sasuke in comparison to Orochimaru. But he was smart enough to not act at the moment after witnessing the kind of power that Sasuke had along with what he had just seen from the Crystal Gems.
He can wait…for now.
*Konohagakure; Namikaze Estate*
Tsunade stood in front of the door just outside the Crystal Gems' home with a nearly disheartened and nervous look on her face.
"Alright, you can do this…" the woman said to herself in hopes of easing her own tension at what she was about to do before bringing a hand to the door and knocked a few times.
The door opened to reveal a now suddenly surprised Greg who held a guitar in his hands.
"Ms. Tsunade," Greg addressed with raised eyebrows, "what brings you here?"
"I was wondering if Steven was around, Universe-san." Tsunade asked with slight evidence of nervousness in her voice, "I…wish to talk to him."
Steven suddenly appeared from behind Greg as he looked up at Tsunade and said, "Sure, come on in!"
The young boy grabbed the woman's hand and lead her towards the backyard where Connie was going through some of the stances Pearl had taught her over the years, with Rose's sword strapped to her back, while her own mother wasn't too far off supervising.
"Doing great, Connie!" Steven said as said girl turned and gave the boy a small smile.
"Thanks!" Connie said before she saw Tsunade and gave the woman a quick bow after sheathing her sword, "Lady Hokage."
Steven then saw Connie's mother approaching before he turned to Tsunade and said, "This is Connie's mother."
Dr. Maheswaran gave the woman before her a respectful bow as she said, "I'm Maheswaran Priyanka; I'm a doctor in Beach City."
"It's an honor to meet another person in the medical field." Tsunade said as she returned the bow, "I'm Tsunade Senju and aside from being the Godaime Hokage, I'm also one of Konohagakure's best medical ninjas."
"And a well-deserved title if I may say so myself." Dr. Maheswaran said with a professional smile on her face, "Considering that you had healed career-ending wounds on a teenager is actually quite impressive."
Tsunade slightly chuckled in modesty before she then said, "I was acutally quite nervous as the procedure would have left Lee more than just career-ending injuries. While I wish to compare notes, I actually came here to have a chat with Steven."
Nodding, Dr. Maheswaran led her daughter into the estate to look her over for injuries while also giving the Hokage and Steven some privacy.
Wind drifted across the grass as the silence between the two hung awkwardly until Steven asked, "So…what did you want to talk to me about?"
Tsunade was quiet for a few seconds before she let out a sigh and said, "I…I wish to apologize for that incident."
Steven swallowed a bit as he knew what the woman before him was talking about.
"I forced you and Naruto to do something that you both were clearly uncomfortable with and had even warned me of what could happen." Tsunade continued as guilt covered her face, "I thought that by helping you both get control over Zircon, Naruto would be the same as I've remember him: a happy-go-lucky goofball that has that 'never say die' attitude."
Tsunade then turned her attention to the bright blue sky while her own mind was clouded by past pains as she then said, "I remember that look of fear on Naruto's face when he had discovered that I had to amputate his hands…it was heartbreaking as he reminded me so much of both my own little brother and my lover, Dan. And after years of wondering just how he was, Naruto just completely changes from the reckless idiot that I love him as to someone who was completely frightened of his own power. I…I couldn't accept that; I wanted the Naruto that I have always known. I was so damn blinded selfish desires that I would have unleashed a monster just so I could have the one I've loved so much back to me."
Tears soon began to roll down her cheeks as Tsunade fell to her knees, causing Steven to rush up to her, before she finally said, "I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…*sob*…that I made you and Naruto both go through all that for something so selfish."
Steven then wrapped his arms around the crying blonde and let her cry some pain out while lightly patting her back in a comforting manner.
Once Tsunade had calmed down some, Steven then said, "It's alright, Tsunade, we all make mistakes that seem to be so big despite how small the decision was. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten myself or the others into so much trouble that I'd thought they wouldn't want me anymore. But they still love me and help me understand what I've done wrong so that I can try to avoid that same mistake. I know that it takes time, but things will work out in the end. I'm sure that Naruto also forgives you as well considering that you done it out of love."
Tsunade nervously smiled as she then said, "I've honestly been nervous about approaching him or the others considering that Naruto has such a powerful bond with the Gems. I wanted to talk to him before he had left, but…"
"LOOK OUT!"
Connie's cry caused Steven to quickly bubble himself and Tsunade as Sai's blade had bounced harmlessly off the protective dome.
Connie and her mother had just rushed out of the estate before they found themselves pinned against the ground by two of Sai's ink beasts while one of them ripped the young girl's swords away from her.
Once Steven's bubble had dispersed, Tsunade got to her feet as she threatened, "What is the meaning of this Sai!?"
Sai remained silent as he tightened his grip before rushing towards them.
*roar!*
Sai jumped back in time to avoid a sonic attack by Lion as the pink beast stood in the shinobi's path.
"If you wish to fight Steven," Lion said with a deep growl as he widened his stance, "then you'll have to get through me!"
At that moment, the Lion jumped towards Sai but was intercepted when the pale teen summoned more of his ink-made beasts. Lion faced his opposition with wild ferocity, but he knew that he was outnumbered three to one with two more ready to jump in at a moment's notice.
"Wind Style: Sonic Burst Jutsu!" Lion called out as his body began to inflate while he drew in a massive breath before letting it all out in one attack.
The attack had launched one of Sai's beasts into a nearby wall, causing it to become a huge ink blot, before it regained a new form with two heads. Unfortunately, Lion couldn't defend himself when one of the other beasts tackled him and dug their claws into his side.
"Lion!" Steven called out as he bit his thumb and performed the hand seals he needed, "Summoning Jutsu!"
Slamming both hands on the ground, two plumes of smoke erupted from the ground to reveal Chimamire, who was now sporting a few new scars, and Kusabue, who also sported clawed weapons that were specially designed to fit on his paws.
"What do you wish of us?" Kusabue asked as he looked at the fight, "Should Master Chimamire and I assist the young prince in his battle?"
"Yeah," Steven said as he looked over towards the Maheswarans, "and could you also get my friends freed?"
"No problem, laddie!" Chimamire said with a smirk on his face as he looked at the green-furred Lion, "I'll help the prince, Kusabue, while you go help the lassies!"
"By your orders!" Kusabue said as he turned around and dashed towards the two ink beasts while Chimamire jumped towards Lion's rescue.
Sai was about to summon more of his beasts when a flash of light caught his attention. The ninja performed a quick backflip to avoid a pink shield that had been thrown in his direction.
"Why are you doing this?" Steven said as he grabbed his shield and held it in front of him, "Aren't you with Konoha?"
Sai continued to remain silent and charged towards Steven before sidestepping around Tsunade when she jumped into his way. The pale shinobi then tossed a small sphere that quickly exploded into a bright and powerful light, blinding everyone.
"Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll!" Sai then said while everyone was still blinded when the light faded.
Steven felt something grab him and yank the shield away from his grip before his sight had returned to reveal that he was high into the air in the clutches of a great bird.
"Steven!" Connie cried out when she heard said person cry out in fear.
"Dammit!" Tsunade growled out as her vision returned to see that Sai was a good distance away.
Before another word was said, Sai's previous beasts were destroyed by a powerful swing from Chimamire's ax and a familiar trident that had impaled two of them.
"What happened?" Lapis asked as she had grocery bags in her hands, surveying what had happened, "Where's Steven?"
"That boy took him." Dr. Maheswaran said as she and Connie got to their feet, "I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure that it's not good."
"We have to save him!" Connie said as she rushed towards Lion and jumped on his back, "C'mon Lion, let's go!"
"Connie wait!" her mother called out as she approached Lion, "It's really dangerous!"
"Yer mother's right, Little Lass." Chimamire said as he approached the girl, "Something's tellin' me that that laddie isn't a pushover."
"It had also came to my attention that he wasn't fighting as much." Kusabue said as he looked to where Sai had flown off, "No, I believe that he was after Steven."
"We can discuss the reason later," Tsunade said as she turned towards the blue Gem, "Lapis Lazuli, I'm giving you orders to chase after Sai and rescue Steven. I want both of them back here as soon as possible. I'll send in reinforcements considering that Sai was once a member of Danzo's ROOT organization."
"Yes Ma'am!" Lapis said as her wings sprouted from her back before she took off into the air.
"Wait for us, Lapis!" Connie said as she held onto Lion's mane before she felt a hand on her arm.
"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Dr. Maheswaran asked with a stern tone, "You saw what that boy is capable of, and who's to say what else he can do."
"But what about Steven, Mom?" Connie countered as she tightened her grip, "We can't just leave him!"
"I know," Dr. Maheswaran said as she pointed towards Kusabue, "but wouldn't it be better if you took Kusabue instead?"
"That'd be a wise choice." Chimamire said as he sat down, "While the young prince can create rifts that allows him to travel faster, the reinforcements will need to get to Steven a lot quicker and I don't think Kusabue might be able to slow down for them."
"My speed alone would allow us to easily catch up," the green furred lion said as he focused his attention on Connie, "even if the ninjas Tsunade select could keep up with me, I doubt that they might catch up soon enough."
Connie looked at everyone before she decided to jump off Lion and got on Kusabue's back.
"Please be careful," Dr. Maheswaran said as she gave her daughter a kiss on her forehead before turning her attention to Kusabue, "and please keep my daughter safe."
"In the Sun Gods' honor, I shall protect her with my very life." Kusabue said as he tensed his body, "Hold on tight, Connie, as I'm one of the fastest Lions in our pride."
Connie quickly tightened her grip as the green Lion dashed towards the edge of the yard and jumped onto the side of the house before jumping over the small wall.
"ANBU!" Tsunade called out as members of ANBU suddenly appeared, "I need some of you to gather any available chunin while some of you are to investigate Sai's apartment or anywhere that he had been for any clues as to where he might be heading!"
"Yes Ma'am!" each masked ninja said before they vanished in a blink of an eye.
"Chimamire," Lion said as he approached the battle-scarred Lion, "please report this to my father and have him send any of the sphinxes to Steven's location."
"By your orders!" Chimamire said before he vanished in a plume of smoke.
"Let's get you to the hospital to see if you sustained any injuries." Tsunade said as she and Dr. Maheswaran rushed out of the yard.
*Forest*
Lapis flew as hard as she could as she finally caught sight of a large bird that had Sai riding on top while Steven was in its talons.
"Hang on Steven," Lapis said as she summoned her trident, "I'm coming to save you!"
"Lapis!" Steven called out as he struggled against the bird's sharp claws.
Sai stole a glance behind him before summoning more of his ink-made birds that soon charged towards the pursuing Gem.
Lapis let out a growl as she tightened her grip before she charged towards her target. She spun around avoid two of the birds before having to block an attack from the third monster. Lapis quickly turned around and impaled the bird as it turned into ink, giving the Gem an idea.
Lapis used her hydrokinetic powers to rip the water out of the ink as it formed into a large bird of her own.
"Now let's go save Steven!" Lapis as she and her own bird quickly dodged an attack from Sai's birds and charged towards their main target.
Sai looked back to see Lapis still chasing him with a bird made of water following him while his own tried to stop them.
This could be slightly more difficult than I had anticipated, Sai thought as he had his bird increase its speed before he saw something running on the forest floor, I must lose them.
On the ground, Connie and Kusabue continued the chase as wind whipped across their faces.
"Do you think you can get closer?" Connie asked as she saw Lapis turning around and destroy one of the ink-made birds.
"I can try!" the green furred Lion said before he launched himself onto the side of a tree.
From there, Kusabue then jumped from one branch to another before reaching the top of the trees. Once there, the Lion then leapt high into the air but quickly fell far too short.
"I fear that they are too high up!" Kusabue said as he jumped from one treetop to the next, "I also fear that any jutsu I use may hit Steven!"
The duo then saw Sai lowering himself before seeing him send out more ink monsters towards them.
"Brace yourself!" Kusabue said as he jumped to the forest floor with some of the pale teen's beasts following him, "We don't stance much of a chance with those beasts of his after us!"
"Focus on getting to Steven!" Connie said as she drew out Rose's Sword, "I'll handle the monsters!"
The green Lion nodded as he continued to dash through the forest with Sai's beasts chasing after him and Connie.
Seeing that one of the beasts was attacking, Connie quickly swung the large sword and sliced the monster in the face, causing it to turn into a puddle of ink. The girl then ducked to avoid an attack from another beast before she stabbed it in the stomach, making crash into a tree and becoming a huge mess of ink.
Hang on Steven! Connie though as she held on when Kusabue gave his dash a short, powerful burst of speed, We're coming for you!
*Orochimaru's Hidden Lab*
The Gems and Yamato had finally followed Peridot and Kabuto to an area that had huge boulders planted in small parts of the field.
"Over there!" Yamato said as he saw the two fugitives dash into one of the boulders, "Hold up!"
"What's wrong?" Pearl asked as she kept her attention on the boulder.
"We're about to head into one of Orochimaru's labs." Yamato said as a sound had alerted them to Naruto.
"Engh…What…" Naruto said as he was coming to, "What happened?"
"You passed out." Garnet said as she helped her son onto the ground, "We chased after Peridot and Kabuto to this location."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Naruto said until Yamato held up his hand.
"Hold on a minute," the ANBU captain said as he looked over the team, "we are about to head into territory where the enemy will have the advantage; we have to stay on guard as who knows what Orochimaru has planned for us."
The team nodded as Yamato handed them radios before he then said, "We must maintain radio contact and watch every single corner. Garnet and I will be one team while the three of you are together. We must also gather any intelligence while destroying whatever is hidden in this lab; Orochimaru was well-known for crossing numerous lines for the sake of his research."
The team nodded before the dashed inside the lair, each of them prepared for whatever is to be found.
In one of the deeper rooms, Sasuke stood in the room where one of the female prisoners was being held in place by Haku and Kimimaro.
"You can sense them right now, can you?" Bloodstone asked as the former Uchiha injected the woman with blood before injecting her again with a glowing liquid while shoving a diamond into her hands.
Of course, Sasuke thought as he began the seals of his jutsu, but I must do this if we are to have a true advantage over our enemies.
"That was the last of the blood and energy that Orochimaru would allow us," Bloodstone noted as the two resurrected ninjas held the panicking woman down, "and even thought our little spy should be on his way with the package in hand, it will still be some time before we can do this again."
I only need to do this just one last time, Sasuke thought as he focused a huge amount of his chakra into the final seal.
"Summoning Jutsu: Kindergarten Ressurection!" Sasuke called out as the woman was soon enveloped in a bright light before she shifted into an orb and smashed into the floor.
I must have her…
After splitting up, Pearl, Naruto, and Amethyst dashed through the halls until they stopped at a large room. Inside, there were shelves that had many jars filled with preserved organs and small animals while tables were up against the walls with papers scattered over them.
"This place gives me the creeps," Amethyst said as she summoned her whip, "let's wreck this place quickly and get it over with."
"Now hold on, Amethyst," Pearl said as she approached a table and gathered some of the papers, "Captain Yamato said that we need to gather whatever information that we can find before we destroy anything."
After reading a few pages, Pearl suddenly let out a horrified gasp while letting the papers fall to the ground.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked as he gently placed his hands on his girlfriend, "What did you find?"
Picking up the paper and reading it a little bit, Amethyst had a look of pure horror as she then said, "Oh my god…This…This is beyond sick and twisted!"
"It's a jutsu created by Sasuke…" Pearl said as she quivered in fear and disgust, "…it's…it's meant to bring back dead ninjas to life…as Gems!"
"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted out as footsteps were soon heard approaching them.
"Well, well, well…" said a gruff, yet familiar voice as the trio looked to where the footsteps were coming from, "Haven't seen ya since I died on that bridge."
It…It can't be! Naruto looked to see a face that he had only seen in his dreams and memories with attire that was both similar and different on its person.
"Nice to see ya again, brat!" Zabuza said as his jagged smirk could be seen as he no longer had bandages covering his face.
Seeing the green gem on the ninja's shoulder, Pearl said, "You're…You're…!"
"That's right," Zabuza said as he rolled his shoulders a bit, "I was resurrected back to life with this gem in my shoulder. I can feel power from it and I follow new orders."
The ninja reached towards his gem before pulling out a long staff that soon had a large blade was adorned on one end.
"While I'd normally use the Kubikiribocho," Zabuza said as he spun the zanbato in his hands, "Peridot-san told me that I needed practice with my powers…so I'll start with you three!"
The trio drove to the sides to avoid a slash from the massive blade before Pearl and Naruto had to jump away to avoid another attack by Zabuza. Amethyst quickly recovered before going into an attack with her whip. Seeing the attack, Zabuza caught the whip with his forearm, allowing him to grab the vine before pulling it along with Amethyst towards him. Before the giant blade could be swung, Amethyst shapeshifted into her Purple Puma form and collided with the resurrected ninja knees first, somehow knocking her opponent back from the sudden amount of force.
"Amethyst!" Pearl called out as she and Naruto were about to summon their weapons until the purple Gem stopped them.
"I'll handle him!" Amethyst said as she tightened her fists as she kept her sights on the destroyed shelves where Zabuza had crashed, "You guys just keep going and find whatever you can of Orochimaru's. I'll be fine…"
"But-"
"Just go!" Amethyst roared out, startling both Pearl and Naruto with how vicious the order sounded.
Nodding in agreement, Pearl and Naruto turned to leave when the blond looked back and said, "Please be careful, Ammy-nee."
"I always am." the purple Gem said as she watched her friends leave the room before turning around to see that Zabuza had gotten free from the rubble.
"You should have let them stayed." Zabuza said as he had a wild smirk on his face while his zanbato gleamed ominously, "Am far stronger than I was before!"
"We'll see about that!" Amethyst as she pounded a fist into her hand, psyching herself for the upcoming battle.
With Garnet and Yamato, the duo had already reached a chamber that looked similar to a hospital room.
"Be on guard…" Yamato said as he kept himself alert for anything, "who knows what Orochimaru has hidden for us."
"I'm more concerned about what Sasuke has planned for us," Garnet said as she summoned her gauntlets, "and we're already not liking the possibilities shown."
"H…help…"
Both Gem and ninja tensed up at the sound of the voice before Yamato gave Garnet a silent signal to follow him.
"…help…some…one….help me…"
The duo finally reached a table where a person that was completely covered by a sheet. Yamato grabbed the sheet where the person's head was a pulled it back to reveal a horrific sight.
"Please!" the now revealed man begged as tears rolled from his lone eye, "Please….kill me!"
Garnet gasped at what she saw before she then unfused back into Ruby and Sapphire, both smaller Gems having looks of pure horror and disgust on their faces.
The man strapped to the table had robotic limbs that replaced most of his body with half of his face covered in machinery and operation scars. The machinery attached to his body was crudely, yet expertly done to the point it was easy to tell that whomever had performed such an operation had the knowledge and know-how while also not having the needed materials.
"Who did this to you?" Yamato asked as he professionally hid his fear.
"It…It…" the man said as he seemed to be struggling to talk, "It was…some green…green woman…"
"Peridot!" Rudy said with a voice that was conflicted with rage and horror, "She did THIS to you!"
"…not…only one…" the man said as he pointed a robotic finger to a door, "…more…before…"
Ruby was about to investigate until Sapphire grabbed her hand desperately before she let her stomach contents out on the floor.
"What can you tell us about Peridot or Orochimaru?" Yamato asked as he ignored Ruby taking her lover to the side in hopes of comforting her.
"I…I…" the man said with pain in his eye, "I was…promised a new life…with power…I never wanted this! That woman wanted soldiers that…that would obey her…as her servants! Please kill me! I can't take the ticking in my skull anymore!"
After looking over the man, Yamato then pulled out a kunai knife as he then said, "I'm sorry that it had to come to this."
Ruby and Sapphire ignored what was happening as the red Gem said, "Will you be alright?"
The blue Gem was silent until she said, "I…I think so, but…"
Sapphire looked at Ruby with a horrified eye that was pouring with tears as the red Gem's heart sunk at what her lover had finally said.
"Steven's here."
What harrowing sights await everyone as they travel deeper into Orochimaru's Lair? Will Sasuke's plan succeed? Don't forget to rate and review!
Ja ne.
