Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, go figure.
Posted: 11/19/08
A/N: Well, here it is, the end of the beginning. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading the Rain arc as much as I've enjoyed writing it, but I know that many of you are wondering to yourselves "just where is this story going?" You'll find out soon enough.
Chapter Title: Achilles' Last Stand by Led Zeppelin.
Naruto looked out from his high perch on the wall of one of the many monolithic towers littering Amegakure. From here he had a clear view of both the massive lake at the center of the city and a perfect line of sight down one of Ame's largest thoroughfares.
The only word he could use to describe the view was pandemonium.
The roads were packed with panicked villagers desperately trying to escape the center of the city where one of its largest buildings had just fallen into the reservoir. Naruto didn't think too much of them, knowing that anyone who exited the city would be picked up by Pain's forces holding positions around Amegakure for just such a purpose. Naruto watched solemnly as more buildings had their facades torn off and dumped into the streets as a result of the ongoing battle between the ninja of Ame and Naruto and Konan's interference.
As his clones were dispelled by hostile action or through their own intent, Naruto received constant updates on the situation at large. Fires had been set throughout the city by resident ninjas loyal to Pain's cause. There had been some indications early on that contact between loyalist Ame ninjas and Pain's followers had erupted into a number of small skirmishes as Pain's men fled the city.
Naruto had been quick to capitalize on that fact.
He currently had fifty-seven shadow clones in operation – only three of which were by his side. The others were operating in small groups to harass and confuse the resident Ame forces. They were all transformed into adult ninja of various builds sporting the markings of loyal Ame ninja.
Naruto's job was to stall and run interference for Pain, not to fight the entire city. If he could coerce Hanzou's men into doing his job for him, then all the better.
Most importantly, Naruto's clones were to be on the lookout for groupings of Ame ninja that appeared to be trying to make a push towards the center of the city to aid their leader. As far as Naruto could tell Hanzou liked to fight his battles alone, but he couldn't let that assumption rule out the possibility of loyal ninjas trying to push through to aid him in defending their home.
So far confusion and discord had been the words of the day, but Naruto refused to become complacent while his pseudo family's lives were at stake. The Ame ninja would regroup and they would come. The question was when.
"God damn."
Naruto turned his head and followed his clone's eyes to the massive lake in the city's center.
That was a big summon, alright.
"I had wondered if you would be calling on me today." Pain watched silently as the massive creature tilted its glistening head back and sniffed the air. Satisfied, the Salamander King turned its focus to the Six Paths of Pain, scrutinizing the figures with his dark, beady eyes. "These ones banished the storm, then?"
Hanzou kept his dark gaze on the figures below him. "So it would seem."
The salamander shifted slightly, its eyes panning across the water to take in the billowing smoke and wreckage of the city. "Your subordinates?"
"Indisposed, or so I am led to believe."
"They are absent, are they not?"
Hanzou finally looked down at the summon beneath him, treating it to an icy glare that it either didn't see or ignored. "They will not be assisting us. Not that their presence is necessary."
"Very well. It is most likely better this way. Their participation would only endanger them."
"It is irrelevant."
"Do you truly wish to fight here, Hanzou? The danger to the city…"
"There is no better stage for this battle. The city can be repaired, as you are no doubt aware."
The great salamander's eyes rolled then to stare at his rider, though his expression was unreadable. "I was not speaking of paltry concrete and rebar, child." Beady eyes shifted back to the cityscape surrounding them.
"It's too late to change venues now, Ajisuke. It's time to fight."
Pain had grown weary of their byplay. Taking advantage of the salamander's apparent distraction, a tall, bald figure stepped forward and quickly pointed his fisted hand at the summon's head before bracing his forearm with his opposite hand.
Hanzou's eyes followed the movement, but showed no obvious signs of acknowledging it or giving any warning to the summon below him - who still seemed intent on taking in the sights of the besieged village.
Even with five sets of eyes trained on Hanzou, Pain could barely make out the shift in Hanzou's weight as the fist of Demon Realm fired off towards the beast.
The moment Pain's attack was launched Ajisuke was already in motion. It seemed almost impossible that a creature so large could move with such agility, but a moment later Pain had resigned himself to fighting a hard battle here. The monster easily avoided the rocket fist and scampered with blinding speed to the side.
Pain met the inky black eyes of the great summon, who was watching him intently. Hanzou, however, stared back behind him across the reservoir, having followed the flight of the detached fist and its resultant damage.
The fist had punched a ten-foot hole through the side of Hanzou's command bunker. It was a respectable amount of damage in anyone's estimation.
The older ninja's head whipped around as the fist flew from the wreckage almost as fast as it had entered it and seamlessly reattached itself to the bald man's arm.
"Not clones then."
"Some form of construct?"
"It seems likely. Almost like a puppet."
"That was not a mechanical attack."
"Chakra aided?"
"Most certainly."
"A human puppet perhaps? I had heard rumors…"
"Then where is the puppeteer?"
"One of them, obviously."
"There is more at work here than just a clever puppet master."
"Perhaps we should test the water?"
Ajisuke wasted no time, spinning on the spot and digging a deep trench with his massive tail into the surface of the lake as he turned.
Pain simply stared as the din of rushing water swept across the battlefield, followed by a veritable tsunami nearly sixty feet high and moving at incredible speeds.
Hanzou watched carefully at the wall of water pushed on to the fallen tower and his foes. His eyebrows knitted together in a half scowl as the base of the wave bulged out unnaturally - right where the six puppets stood - and broke apart – the top of the wave crashing down behind them and then continuing on to wash over the high embankments that contained the reservoir and into the streets of Amegakure.
The body that had spoken earlier – the one that seemed to be the true enemy – stood before its companions and slowly lowered its outstretched arms even as another body – this one with long hair in a high ponytail – rose from its crouched position, completely ignoring the water retreating between their feet and back into the lake from Ajisuke's attack.
"Two of them acted, at the least."
"The first broke the wave somehow… a wind technique perhaps. The second…"
He was interrupted by a horrible roar from the Salamander King, who scampered across the water and turned to look back at its attacker. Hanzou reacted quickly as well, taking in the jagged gash on his partners rear left leg. It looked painful, but not severe.
"A summoning!"
Sure enough, out of the water rose what looked to be a large, sickly gray-brown rock followed by an ugly, beaked head. It was a massive turtle, though nothing as noble or appealing as those called on by the Turtle Contract. This monstrosity had a shell of rough, broken bumps. It was cracked and worn, and in some cases impaled by massive black spikes that seemed to reach deep within the creature's carapace. A similar spike stuck in through the creatures lower jaw where it could be seen jutting into the summon's fetid maw. Lifeless, metallic blue eyes regarded them impassively. Though slightly smaller than Ajisuke, its sinister appearance put both ninja and summon ill at ease. How it could even be alive was a mystery to the two seasoned warriors.
"How unsightly."
The turtle began to sink back into the depths, but Hanzou wouldn't have it. Before its head had even fully submerged the salamander ninja had finished his hand seals and narrowed his eyes in intensity.
No beast's carapace could stop Hanzou's thrust.
With a horrific groan the turtle rose out of the water as the top of its shell burst open to reveal a massive spike of ice impaling it through the middle from below. The summon disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a torrent of falling water. Relieved of its heavy burden, the ice spike - which was more of a tower on its own at over a hundred feet in length – bobbed up towards the sky like a cork and slowly, painfully fell over.
Right on top of Pain's makeshift bridge.
The six bodies scattered out onto the lake as the remains of the tower crumbled and groaned under the ice pillar, which came to rest propped up by the wreckage at a forty-five degree angle. Though Hanzou's attack was not enough to break the fallen tower completely, it had forced Pain to disperse for the moment. It was time to act.
"Left three."
"Of course."
Hanzou flashed through even more seals, causing the water about Ajisuke to roil madly before leaping out towards three of Pain's bodies - who had abandoned their perch for the water's surface - in massive torrent of liquid - as if a giant fire hose had been brought to bear against them. At the same time, the Salamander King let loose a mighty roar as bright lightning arced from his body and onto Hanzou's geyser, causing it to boil and crackle with angry electricity even as it rushed towards the recovering figures.
The old ninja watched intently as one of the three – the fat one – leapt forward into the deadly stream. No one had ever survived this combination attack without avoiding or, in the one case, neutralizing it. Hanzou disliked advanced bloodline users.
To his shock, instead of granting the fat figure electric death, the attack seemed to stop in its tracks and disappear. Hanzou once again found himself looking into the cold gray-blue eyes of his opponent as the large man lowered his outstretched hands…
Just before the figure crouched low as Hanzou burst from the water behind him and swept his leg viciously over the man's head.
The real Hanzou watched impassively atop Ajisuke as his shadow clone was quickly set upon by the other two nearby bodies – the long haired summoner and the bald man with the rocket fist technique.
"The fat one managed to banish our attack."
"He sealed it away. I've never seen an ability like it before."
The shadow clone had drawn a ninjatou shortsword but was quickly pressed by the three cloaked figures who had produced their own crude, black blades. A strong blow from the shadow Hanzou sheered off the end of the summoner's blade and forced him to duck low and stabilize himself with his hands on the water's surface to avoid losing his head at the neck.
"He summoned again."
"I saw it."
The shadow clone was finally stabbed by the bald body and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Overextended as it was from giving the finishing blow, the bald body could not hope to pull its arms and weapon back in to block the ninjatou that pierced up from just below its feet, propelled by another Hanzou clone.
The figure's cloak ripped open as two more arms tore through the fabric and caught the blade just before it pierced the underside of the Demon Realm's jaw. The clone only had enough time to widen its eyes in surprise as a wide, serrated, and razor-sharp tail sliced through the remains of the man's cloak and tore a massive gash in the second shadow clone's side before it too disappeared.
Hanzou grimaced as he watched the clearly mechanical man remove the rest of his ruined cloak to reveal six arms, three strange faces, and a long, flat tail.
He was distracted by a sudden rush of information from yet another submerged shadow clone dispelling itself. "Move!"
Ajisuke leapt to the side with his usual impressive agility but was still too slow as a twenty-foot-long serrated blade shot from the water and tore a long gash in the salamander's side.
Hanzou ignored his partner's loud hiss of pain and followed the form of a massive swordfish as it fell back into the water and disappeared into the depths.
As Hanzou contemplated this new summon and ways to dispose of it, Pain spoke again using his God Realm as his mouthpiece. "Don't become too distracted, Hanzou."
The Beast Realm placed his palms to the water once again, bringing forth a multi-headed dog that sported the same black spikes and cold, lifeless eyes to stand on the water. "It's over for you."
"What sort of contract is this?"
The strange dog's body contorted and stretched until it ripped apart, many bodies emerging from the one. Now eight dogs spread out on the glassy lake's surface to surround the massive salamander as the Six Paths of Pain regrouped on the soaked rubble of the fallen tower.
A deep cry once again sounded as Ajisuke was assaulted by the massive fish's deadly nose for a second time. This time the serrated blade sheered off the tip of the salamander's tail before disappearing from view - barely avoiding an angry swipe from what was left of the Salamander King's tail. Ajisuke stomped and growled while tossing about ten foot waves every which way and further disrupting the calm waters.
"I grow tired of this! Hanzou! Prepare yourself!"
Pain could only blink as Hanzou jumped off of the beast's back and onto the water. The enormous salamander dove quickly and fluidly below the water's surface - barely causing any disturbance to mark his passing.
Hanzou stood calmly on the water and turned to address Pain, ignoring completely the summons surrounding him. "I think you'll like this. He gets temperamental when he loses his tail." Shifting his gaze to the now still surface of the lake he took a wide stance, still ignoring his audience. "I suppose this is goodbye, then. I'll tell you, at least, that your techniques were impressive." He finally brought his black eyes up to meet Pain's own. "But no one has survived Lord Ajisuke's rage. It will be over quickly, which is more than I can say you deserve."
Pain turned eight sets of eyes to observe every conceivable point of attack. There was almost no way that the amphibian could come from below when there was a whole building between them. He moved his bodies close together, preparing to take action no matter which direction an attack came from.
That's when he noticed a bright light emanating from below the water's surface, deep in the lake below Hanzou. Pain furrowed his brows and quickly looked down at his feet.
The ruins of the fallen building were still soaked from Ajisuke's tsunami.
"Farewell, Pain."
"What the hell is that?"
Naruto once again followed his clone's gaze to fall on the lake at the city center.
So far he hadn't run into any major problems. The Ame ninjas were thankfully slow to regroup today, in part thanks to Naruto's efforts to sow dissention amongst their ranks. His clones had run across a few small groups pressing towards the city center, but it was usually just a matter of firing off a few jutsus and coordinating his clones to force them into a retreat.
He hoped that his luck held.
Focusing on the quarantined battlefield, Naruto first noticed that Hanzou's massive summon was no longer visible, but that a number of large canines stood atop the water's surface in a rough circle. At the center he could barely make out a lone figure. It was probably that bastard Hanzou.
But that wasn't what his clone was pointing out. A bright glow was slowly building from deep within the reservoir, increasing in intensity with every second. He was about to reply to his clone when the world exploded in white, painful light and a horrible din of thunder assaulted his ears from every conceivable direction. It was easily the loudest thing he'd ever heard.
Once again Naruto was thankful that his eyes could rapidly adjust to changes in light levels, as it gave him the opportunity to see what others could not. White lightning was arcing over every inch of the lake and even bled into and down every canal in Amegakure. Naruto could tell that nearly anyone who came in contact with that attack on the lake was dead, and for a brief moment fear welled up in his chest – not for himself, but for Pain.
He fought the feeling down. Pain wasn't about to lose any time soon.
His vision of the lake was partially obscured by massive amounts of steam rolling off of the water throughout the city, but Naruto could tell that the dog summons had been destroyed. He couldn't make out any other figures, however.
"Shit."
Naruto's head snapped around to see another of his clones pointing down to the canal running alongside the building he was perched on. "Shit."
There were bodies in the water – ninja bodies. All dressed in Ame garb. Naruto could make out about twenty figures below him on the water's surface. Many were still. Some floated face down while others drifted lifelessly along with the currents. Some were twitching horribly while a small number – maybe three or four – struggled valiantly to reach the edge of the canal.
One man was even dragging one of the twitching bodies along with him.
These Ame ninjas all used underwater breathing equipment! Naruto had completely neglected to post sentries to keep a watch on the canals for ninjas trying to sneak by underwater. He had been very lucky - and the men below him very unlucky - that they had been caught in what Naruto could only assume was one of Hanzou's jutsus.
He'd killed his own men with that one, not that he could have known. Naruto wondered if the militant man would even care.
Quickly he dispelled one of his clones, alerting all of his copies in the field to the possibility of a submarine strike, and made his way down toward the surviving Ame ninjas.
They would need to be taken care of.
Hanzou relaxed his focus as Ajisuke's jutsu ran its course. It had taken many months of intense training to learn to properly channel that much external lighting energy through his body without suffering any ill effects.
It was a feat that only a true master of the lightning element could achieve.
Opening his eyes, he scanned the lake surface quickly and expertly. There was no sense in leaving himself open to attack if by some fluke his enemy had survived.
The odd dogs were gone – destroyed by the lightning – as was Pain's monster fish. Ajisuke would have made sure to remove it first and foremost for its attack upon him. Finally his eyes traced over to where the tower had fallen and Pain's puppets had last stood.
He could not yet make out the dead forms of his opponents through the thick steam, but he was sure that they were dead. The wreckage had been completely soaked through the clever tactics of the Salamander King. So few Grand Summons existed in the world, and they were so coveted, that most opponents simply looked at them for their size and brute strength rather than their cunning and resourcefulness.
Hanzou knew better than most what an advantage having a being older than any living human on his side could provide. Ajisuke had taught him just as much about battle tactics as his old master had when he was still a small boy.
He didn't need to turn his head as he heard the sound of water flowing off of the back of his old ally. Ajisuke rose smoothly from the depths to stand on the water's surface once again and began looking, along with Hanzou, for any sign of their quarry.
"Did you see the summons' eyes?"
"They were unsettling. I didn't pay them much mind."
"They were all the same, a ripple-like pattern on metallic blue."
Hanzou shifted his head to look up at the large amphibian. "Those are the same eyes that the human puppets had." While Hanzou generally appraised an unfamiliar summon by size, type, and intelligence, he knew just how much a ninja's eyes could give away. His clones had sent him back memories of Pain's strange eyes from up close.
"It is difficult to remember… but I believe their eyes hold some significance. A story I heard in my youth."
Hanzou leapt to Ajisuke's head and continued to gaze through the steam, hoping to catch a glimpse of his fallen adversaries before risking an approach. "Do you see any of those six bastards yet?"
"Six! That was it. The Sage of the Six Paths!"
"What of him? He's been dead for centuries now - nothing more than a tall tale that ninja parents tell their children as a bedtime story."
"Those eyes are the eyes of the Rinnegan – the greatest eye technique in all history. I'm sure of it!"
"You expect me to believe that this man is a descendent of the Sage and that he possesses the bloodline that created ninjutsu? You'll excuse me if I seem a bit skeptical."
Hanzou was torn from his discussion by a third voice cutting in – one that made his blood boil.
"Ah. Found out am I? I'm impressed by your knowledge, Lord Ajisuke, though it will do you little good."
Both summon and summoner raised their eyes to the voice, high above the water. Hanzou let out a snarl of fury as he gazed upon his ice spear – still pointing high above the lake's surface – and the six figures affixed to it having stabbed their dark blades deep into the ice for leverage.
Ajisuke spoke in an abnormally subdued tone. "I have little energy left, Hanzou. This foe may very well be beyond us for now…"
Hanzou's furious eyes bore down upon his summon and he snarled again, this time directing his ire upon the beast below him. "I will not retreat, Ajisuke! I will triumph! I refuse to flee like a coward again – like a whipped dog! You convinced me, against my better judgement, to do so in the past and I've regretted it every day since then!" The master ninja paused to catch his breath and stomp down, hard, on the salamander's head.
"I will not live with that shame again!"
The Salamander King let loose a growl of his own and with a quick toss of his head sent Hanzou to the lake's surface where he landed lightly.
"Then you will die with that shame, fool! Time and again I have warned you against your love of battle – of your obsession with reputation and infamy – yet you refuse to listen! We were lucky in the beginning, boy, but your luck will eventually favor another and what will you have left to you then? Nothing!"
"I make my own luck! I am the greatest ninja there has ever been, and I'll prove it today by defeating this upstart, Rinnegan or no!"
"One does not live to be as old as I am by taking undue risks. I will not fight a battle that we stand little chance of winning. What do you know of this man's powers, Hanzou? Of his limits? Look at him! He stands there, content to listen to us argue like children while already assured of his victory. I will not give my life here for your pride!"
Hanzou gave one last murderous look to his companion of old before turning to face the cloaked figures of Pain with madness in his eyes. "Then I have no use for you. Leave me."
The Salamander King appraised Hanzou with what might be considered a mournful expression before speaking one last time. "Then farewell, old friend. Perhaps in the hereafter you will finally find your humility."
And with that Ajisuke, Lord of the Salamanders, was gone.
Naruto was finally moving.
A moment ago one of his clones had dismissed himself, sending Naruto the information that he knew was coming but did not want to get.
The Ame ninjas were organized and ready to move. Nearly forty of them.
Naruto had to break them up before they tried to push through to the city center or he'd be lucky to stop them at all.
He landed with his three escorts on a high building overlooking a wide plaza built alongside one of the city's major canals. The Ame ninjas were gathered below in the center of the plaza counting weapons and checking gear. From here they had a straight path along the canal to the central reservoir.
Naruto created three new clones and sent them on their way - transformed to look like Ame ninjas once again - with the added small cuts and bruises that were characteristic of ninjas just coming from combat. It would be best to see if he could glean any tricks they might be planning before he attacked in force.
The clones landed twenty feet away from the edge of the group and approached slowly. The one that Naruto had designated to take the lead stepped forward. "Thank God we found all of you. There are shadow clones all over town disguised as Ame ninja. We just barely made it out of the western district." The clone paused as a man garbed in the familiar battle dress of Hanzou's Guard stepped forward to address them.
"We know about the clones."
The lead clone looked back to his comrades, who gave him small nods. It was only for show, of course, but Naruto had learned quickly that even though his clones did not often need to confer with one another over planning issues - they were all of the same mindset, after all - others still expected them to behave like normal, autonomous individuals. Turning back to the Guardsman the lead clone spoke again. "You're in charge here?"
"That's correct."
"What are you planning? Lord Hanzou is fighting at the city center as we speak."
"We will be aiding him of course." Pulling a kunai swiftly from a pouch on his waist, he flipped it easily to the first clone. "I need to see you bleed. You understand of course."
He did understand. He'd been found out by such a simple method it was almost unbelievable. Even a small cut would destabilize his chakra structure and force him to burn through his reserves at alarming speed, and the Ame ninjas knew this. They were probably having all new arrivals give themselves a small flesh wound just to confirm that they were actually people.
The clone couldn't hold together for more than a minute after being cut. The real Naruto hadn't expected this and hadn't had time to prepare for an attack as far as he knew. All the clone could do was stall for as long as possible and hope that Naruto would be ready to let loose an attack by the time he dispelled and informed the Ame ninjas gathered here that they had been found out by a shadow clone and that an attack was likely imminent.
He stared at the kunai for a moment, stalling for time. Then inspiration struck and he sniffed it before giving the Guardsman an odd look. The Ame ninjas nearby tensed up a bit at the reluctance of the clone.
The green-cloaked man tensed up a moment while scrutinizing the clones. "Well?"
"We'll use our own kunai, thanks. No telling what manner of nastiness you put on yours." The clone tossed the kunai back easily before turning his head sideways and giving a small nod to the other two clones.
He received a frown. "It's not poisoned, if that's your worry."
"You don't mind if we use our own, do you?" The three clones pulled out kunais of their own from their packs.
"Just hurry up already!" This came from a younger man standing behind the leader who appeared to be on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. Probably a green chuunin who'd never experienced a situation like this before.
The lead clone made a discreet signal with his empty left hand and the three clones leapt into action, slinging their kunais hard into the crowd. They weren't thrown at anyone in particular, but scoring a hit wasn't the point.
When the small explosive tags wrapped tightly around the handles of the weapons detonated the three clones were already in motion - ignoring the smoke and yells coming from in front of them. They followed the kunais into the panicked crowd, prepared to cause as much discord as possible.
The first clone met its end on the tip of the Guardsman's ninjatou, though its last thoughts were of the priceless expression on the cloaked man's face as the clone exploded not more than a foot in front of him.
At first glance, the Clone Explosion technique appears to most untested ninja as a brilliant and versatile ability. Allowing one's clones to cause damage even in death, as a diversion, or an attack should be the envy of every shinobi. Unfortunately, the technique was anything but perfect. Not only did it require a shadow clone with a good deal of chakra to initiate but it was extraordinarily wasteful and not particularly powerful either. In essence, the Clone Explosion took all of the chakra in a shadow clone – chakra that would normally return to the user with the clone's demise – and dispersed it in a violent explosion. The chakra wasn't molded in any complex fashion and therefore did not transform power to purpose well at all.
In short, it was a desperation technique – or one that you wouldn't ever use if you expected to be in an extended fight afterwards.
The other two clones dashed in behind the leader, ignoring the spray of gore that splashed over them from the first clone's attack. Finding two more targets deeper in the ranks, the clones moved in just as quickly - one managing to detonate on top of a clearly shell-shocked man while the other exploded after taking four kunai hits to the torso from various Ame ninjas who had managed to regain their wits.
Naruto's main attack came only moments later as literally hundreds of kunais rained down on the multitude below, but not before nearly half of them could leap away in small groups. The stalling actions of the first three clones had set many of the ninjas on edge and the explosive attacks had set them moving.
Fifty new Naruto clones looked down on the smoky scene is dismay. He had thrown away the element of surprise he had been counting on and was now facing nearly twenty uninjured enemies with possibly ten more suffering from kunai and shrapnel wounds of varying severity.
That was a problem.
The Ame ninjas were already moving up the buildings and engaging his clones at every turn. They must have been fed up with his deceptive tactics and wanted to really cause some damage. Jutsus began flying from every direction and Naruto was assaulted by the memories of his clones being destroyed in rapid succession. He could tell that a number of his clones had managed to knock some opponents back down to the plaza far below with more large area wind techniques, but keeping up so many clones for so long had already taken a toll on even Naruto's large chakra reserves and he was beginning to consider taking a more conservative tack, lest he find himself in trouble due to chakra depletion.
Using Kyuubi's power here just wasn't an option. Not only did it damage him constantly, but after it had run its course it always left Naruto horribly weakened and defenseless - which was not a situation he wanted to find himself in in the middle of a city full of hostile ninjas.
Naruto was so distracted by the pandemonium below him that he barely had time to notice a slight disturbance in the air before a kunai lodged itself squarely in his side. Through the pain he could hear his three escorts vaporize into puffs of smoke as he quickly leapt from the side of the building he was perched on to one directly across a narrow alleyway from it.
He found his assailants almost immediately – three more of Hanzou's Guardsmen that had ambushed him from above. They hadn't been down in the plaza just a moment ago.
The three looked nearly ready to attack again when a rogue kunai flew towards them from below and causing them to scatter before it exploded in a bright ball of fire.
At least one of Naruto's clones was looking out for him – even if it did have its own fight down below.
Naruto quickly made three more clones and stopped to gasp in surprise.
He really felt that. His chakra levels were even lower than he had feared.
With a grunt he jerked the kunai out of his side and threw hard at one of the scattered Ame ninjas, who parried it with his own kunai rather easily. A bright light drew his attention around to see a massive ball of fire flying towards him from another of the Guardsmen, but he quickly noticed that the course was off – it would hit almost fifteen feet above him.
He was surprised when one of his clones had to pull him out of the way of the falling debris from the resulting explosion. He hadn't even thought that the enemy ninja's aim might have been intentional.
In the back of Naruto's mind he reluctantly acknowledged that the fatigue and chaos of battle was quickly diminishing his better judgment and reflexes.
One of his clones jumped in front of a brace of kunais, preventing them from causing serious damage to him, while another was beheaded by one of the charging ninjas.
The final clone joined him in unleashing as many kunais as possible at their opponents but they were easily thwarted by their skilled foes. These were no standard ANBU agents who performed all sorts of menial duties and patrols – Hanzou took his safety very seriously.
The nearest ninja landed not ten feet from Naruto on the same face of the structure that Naruto had found purchase on, ninjatou drawn to deliver the killing blow.
It was too late to even draw on Kyuubi's chakra now. At very best the ninja might miss a vital point and Kyuubi could heal through the damage before Naruto succumbed to further attacks, but given Naruto's state and his opponent's level of skill that would be a miracle.
The man would probably put his sword through Naruto's head.
The Guardsman crouched low to build power for his final leap, but suddenly let out a gasp of pain and horror as he lost traction on the wall and began to fall to the plaza far below, screaming in a decidedly undignified manner all the way down.
Naruto could just barely see the bloodied backs of his ankles where his tendons had been cut through.
The other two Ame ninjas paused for a brief moment in surprise before the sound of rushing wind drowned out the din of the ongoing battle far below and their wide eyes were obscured by a cyclone of purest white.
Naruto didn't even hear them scream as they were shredded and their lifeless bodies dropped to join their fallen comrade on the ground below.
"Bite off more than you could chew?"
Naruto sighed in relief and a bit of exasperation. "Could you help the clones down there?"
Konan's floating head nodded and turned to observe the ruined plaza below. Most of Naruto's clones were dead now, and many of the victorious Ame ninjas had returned to assist their wounded comrades in the center of the square.
Konan closed her eyes for a moment and the cyclone of paper that had so recently cut down three men reformed into her original body. Instead of legs and feet, however, the excess paper had come together as two enormous white wings sprouting from the blue haired woman's back.
Opening her eyes, the wings broke apart into their component sheets of paper and raced to the plaza below, folding themselves into more aerodynamic shapes as they fell.
Konan's Paper Kunai Downpour covered nearly the entire plaza in hundreds upon hundreds of razor sharp projectiles, killing nearly all of the oblivious Ame shinobis.
Naruto grimaced as he took in the sea of corpses littering the ground below. "How is Pain doing?"
Konan looked at him and a small smile graced her lips. "He's winning of course. Hanzou's summon just abandoned the battlefield and the old man is livid." The smile fled her face as she turned in midair and looked down the canal to the reservoir. "Find someplace where you can rest a bit and watch the battle. You've done enough for today."
Naruto nodded. "Alright."
"Hanzou is very dangerous right now. Don't let him see you and no matter what happens, don't join the battle and don't go near the water. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Konan."
She nodded, and with a rushing of wind and a flurry of paper, she was gone.
The Six Paths of Pain dropped down from the ice pillar to the battered wreckage of the tower once again and gazed at Hanzou impassively. "You've even managed to estrange your staunchest ally, impressive."
"Be silent, boy. You know nothing of me, nor will you ever. After this day, you will know nothing altogether! I don't need help to defeat a whelp like you, nor do I need to hide behind puppets for fear of my life! I am feared above all for a reason!" He crouched low and took a wide stance, his arms hung loosely at his sides and his dark eyes shook with his madness. If not for Hanzou's re-breather, Pain imagined that the man would be frothing at the mouth. His voice was little more than a snarl now. "And before this day is through you will know it!"
Pain readied himself for an attack, but could only narrow his eyes as the older man began to sink into the water. After a moment, he was gone.
Pain was wary. Hanzou was always said to be unbeatable in the water, and it looked like Pain would have to disprove that notion if he were to emerge victorious in this fight.
For a while, nothing seemed to be happening. It was only the innocent sloshing of water washing up against the side of the wreckage that hinted that something had changed. The seconds ticked by and the sloshing increased.
The current was picking up, sending larger and larger waves against the side of the fallen tower - which was only a few feet above the water level to begin with. Soon the water was washing over the side of the tower to run over the sandals of Pain's Six Paths. Still, there was no imminent danger and not much to be done.
A set of blue-gray eyes trailed out over the water and came to rest on a small disturbance forming a short ways from the end of the tower-bridge. Pain recognized it immediately as a small whirlpool – one that he was sure promised to become a large problem. It grew in size at a rapid pace - sucking down water into the depths of the reservoir and causing a powerful current to pick up. Soon the waves breaking up against the fallen wreckage were washing over the entire width of the bridge.
Pain would have to move soon.
A horrible smashing was the only warning that Pain had before three more enormous ice spears broke through the wreckage of the tower from below – though none were close enough to do Pain harm.
That didn't matter though, because now the tower was shattered and the current was slowly taking it away – a piece at a time. The ice spires fell into the water and drifted along as the concrete, glass, and steel of the building was swallowed by the gaping maelstrom.
Weighing his options quickly, Pain relocated his six Paths to two of the bobbing ice pillars that floated along like enormous, frigid logs in a river. At least they would float.
Another spear of ice broke the water's surface at the God Realm's feet, lancing upwards to tear his body in half.
Time stood still as the spear buckled and cracked. In an instant it had disintegrated – the only evidence of its passing was the massive crater formed in the water's surface that was quickly replaced by the turbulent currents.
Making his decision, Pain went on the offensive. The stern-faced Hell Realm, the corpulent Hungry Ghost Realm, and the tall, impassive Human Realm leapt without hesitation into the dangerous whirlpool.
It was just what Hanzou had been waiting for.
He had been treading water near the bottom of the reservoir only feet from the base of the whirlpool waiting for Pain to either make a move or be drawn down into the depths. His jutsu took a great deal of power to initiate, but only a small trickle of chakra and concentration to maintain once it had reached its full effect.
Three of the puppets had jumped into the water and were being sucked down by the swirling current. Despite their best efforts, they were being pulled and spun by the maelstrom and constantly drawn in towards the center.
Understandably, they stayed near the surface of the lake. After floundering for a moment or two, the three figures began to swim together with the current, doing their best to fight the pull of the water from sucking them towards the center.
Hanzou could handle three of them in the water, he was sure. Using a simple trick to move swiftly through the liquid by infusing the thin layer around his body with his chakra, he sped like a torpedo up towards the three, cloaked men.
Seeing him approach, they grouped together and slid out their strange, black blades.
Hanzou didn't bother drawing his weapon. He didn't plan on a clash of blades here - not when he held such an advantage.
Without slowing, he pushed with his chakra sending a compact bubble of water at the three and knocking them apart. Struggling against the current, Pain's bodies had no way to regroup before Hanzou set upon the Human Realm.
The longhaired man raised his blade in defense, but could only narrow his eyes as Hanzou stopped not ten feet from him, his right hand stretched towards the lone figure. The older man slowly closed his fist, angry lines adorning his visible face, and the Human Realm's arms snapped in against its body as its hair and cloak did the same.
Hanzou savored the moment as he viciously crushed the life out of the body before him despite the indifferent expression on his opponent's face.
Then with a quick pop and a rush of water, the Human Realm was gone.
Hanzou whipped around in fury - trying to find his lost quarry - only to notice that both of the other puppets were absent as well. It had been a space/time ninjutsu. He truly hated those.
That was when he heard a dozen small splashes from twenty feet above him at the surface. He widened his eyes in shock as the metal canisters sunk quickly to his level, practically surrounding him.
They exploded.
Pain watched impassively atop his icy raft as a dozen geysers shot skyward and gave himself a mental nod as the swirling waters of Hanzou's whirlpool slowly settled back into a glassy sheet. The Demon Realm fiddled with one of his arms – rearranging it so that it functioned normally once again.
He doubted that Hanzou had been prepared to deal with that level of concussive force underwater.
Sure enough, after only a minute's wait the mirror surface of the reservoir was broken as Salamander Hanzou clambered unceremoniously to stand face to face with Pain once again. He ripped off his re-breather – no more than a twisted hunk of metal now, mangled as it was in the explosion – and gasped for air, blood dripping from his pale, thin lips and sliding down the sides of his neck in thin rivulets from his abused ears. He had only survived due to the shell of water around him that he had seized control of and held back the majority of the pressure with.
Hanzou's head spun and his vision blurred. He had never been this injured before – this beaten. It disgusted him.
The sounds of footfalls on the water around him confirmed that Pain had finally moved in after fighting nearly the entire battle at a distance. He was very clever – Hanzou would at least say that of the man.
"It's over, Hanzou. You've run your race, and now it's time to die."
Dark eyes swiveled up to meet those of his opponent. The same young man who had first appeared before him stood not twenty feet away while the others spread out evenly around Hanzou in a circle, ready to give the final blow.
His voice was raspy and choked, but his words rang across the lake like a death knell. "As confident as ever. I suppose it's to be expected of a self-proclaimed god, but if pride is my weakness, then surely arrogance is yours. Perhaps you will find your humanity when faced with a true deity."
Like the lightning jutsus he was known for, Hanzou's hands came together at incredible speed and flashed through seal after seal.
Pain had only a second to react before thick streams of super-heated plasma leapt from Hanzou's body and into the air around him in an explosion of electricity.
"There's no escape for you. This is the end!"
Naruto gasped at the sight before him from atop a tall building overlooking the reservoir. A web of white lightning branched out in every direction from Hanzou for over a hundred feet, but surprisingly didn't charge the water.
This had been the technique that Hanzou had used to clear his shadow clones during their first encounter, he was sure of it!
Pain was caught in that blast though, and would be hard pressed to overcome such a jutsu.
Especially since the lightning hadn't receded. Instead the bolts of searing light licked the air in a wide dome on the lake's surface, as if Hanzou had become some high-powered electric dynamo that wouldn't shut off.
How could anyone even touch a man surrounded by that?
He couldn't make out anything through the lightning storm.
Where was Pain?
He reacted quickly.
It was all he could do.
He had only one body that could withstand this technique.
So he put it to good use.
Quickly he summoned all of his bodies to Beast Realm, at Hanzou's ten o'clock.
The man's black eyes tracked him with a hint of surprise, but he didn't let his technique up. It was all he had left.
Hungry Ghost Realm leapt forward, hands outstretched, and sealed away the vicious plasma while protecting his five brethren behind him. He slid out his black blade and advanced.
Hanzou smiled.
Both knew who would come out on top of a one on one melee.
Hungry Ghost Realm crouched low, ready to spring. His arms were still outstretched above and in front of his body, shielding those behind.
Hanzou's dark eyes flicked up and over the fat man's head.
God Realm pointed with steel in his eyes.
Come hither, old man.
And Salamander Hanzou - renowned the world over for his power, his ruthlessness, his prudence, his resolve, and, strangely enough, even sometimes for his mercy - found himself stuck on the dark blade of Pain.
Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.
In the end, his pride had killed him.
"Come with me."
Naruto followed Pain through the winding, dreary gray hallways of Hanzou's bunker, trusting that the rusty haired man knew where they were going.
Naruto had absolutely no idea.
They were going down though. By now they were certainly below the reservoir.
After nearly ten minutes of walking they finally turned a corner to find an open door leading to what looked like a library and office. There was even a small yet comfortable looking cot in a corner. Naruto wondered if every ninja of note had his own library.
Pain walked to join his Demon Realm incarnation who was standing silently next to a bare wall.
As he passed the shelves, Naruto's eyes traveled over row after row of simple notebooks with scratchy titles that seemed to be handwritten. On each shelf was inscribed the insignia of a ninja village – some taking more than one shelf.
"Go ahead. Their author won't mind."
Naruto glanced at Pain for a moment before reaching out and taking the first notebook that caught his fancy from the shelf marked with a spiraled leaf.
"The Sannin of Konoha?" He put it back and took the next. "Orochimaru of the Sannin" The next. "Jiraiya of the Sannin… Tsunade of the Sannin." He pulled another from the right. "Hatake Sakumo – Konoha's White Fang." All of the notebooks were handwritten in the same, ugly scrawl.
"They're Hanzou's notes. Every ninja worth his notice that he ever met or heard of has a notebook about him here. I suppose you could say it's the world's most comprehensive Bingo Book. Hanzou was always very thorough."
Naruto's eyes slowly panned to the left – to the notebook that came after Tsunade's. "Then…" Slowly he pulled it off the shelf and turned to look at the simple cover.
Namikaze Minato – Konoha's Yellow Flash.
Then, a few inches below it, in the same writing though clearly written at a later time, read:
Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure.
Naruto smiled.
"You can read them later. For now we have other matters that require our attention."
Pain turned to scrutinize the bare concrete wall for a moment, before stepping back and allowing the Demon Realm to take his place. The strange figure – still bare-chested without his cloak - drew back all three of his right arms and drove them into the wall, shattering the concrete and prying away the rubble to reveal a hidden chamber not much larger than a broom closet. Pain stepped forward and withdrew a long cylinder - nearly three feet across - from the space and held it out to Naruto.
It was a scroll – beautifully decorated with all shades of blue and vibrant yellow in the likeness of a raging storm. Naruto took it slowly before looking up to Pain for instruction.
"Do you remember what I taught you about summoning contracts?"
Naruto blinked. "They are a pact formed between nin-animals and ninjas to call on one another to aid in battle. Is this a contract?"
"You hold in your hands the infamous Salamander Contract. Now open it up and sign your name in blood next to Hanzou's, then come with me to the surface."
Fifteen minutes later they stood together on the Great Reservoir staring out at the fallen city. It was relatively quiet now thanks to Pain's forces finally moving in and easily overcoming the feeble resistance that remained.
After seeing their invincible commander fall, few were willing to continue the fight.
Now the city was quarantined and patrolled heavily by the victorious ninjas. Reports had come in that a number of loyal Ame shinobis had broken the blockade around the city and escaped, but they would be taken care of in due time.
It was time to start rebuilding Rain Country.
"Do you remember how to perform the summoning?"
Naruto regarded Pain carefully for a moment. "Show me the hand seals again?"
Pain's hands flashed through the short sequence, but Naruto's trained eyes caught the seals as they were formed – mostly because he was expecting them. The black nail polish that Pain and Konan both wore always threw him off a bit – but that was the whole point. Instead of allowing the eye to focus on the seal as a whole, the flashing black would draw the observer's attention to the swift movements of the fingertips. It was a basic - but clever - trick.
"Alright."
"You should draw on some of Kyuubi's chakra for this, it is a grand summoning after all."
Naruto concentrated hard on drawing forth a bit of Kyuubi's power into his chakra coils, being careful not to let it escape his body and form a malignant shroud. Drawing some blood with his ungloved hands and flashing through the hand seals, he slammed his charged hands to the water's surface and hoped for the best.
He was not disappointed.
In a rush of wind and smoke the Salamander King appeared once again in Amegakure standing tall, if a bit beaten, before Naruto and Pain.
The old Salamander King said nothing for a moment, and like the first time he was summoned he took his time scanning his surroundings, pausing to note the five Paths standing in a silent row atop Hanzou's bunker before turning his attention to the small boy and the sixth Path before him.
"It is done, then?"
"Hanzou is dead, yes."
"And why have you signed my contract without my consent? Did you call me here simply to gloat? To destroy me as well? You already have a perverted contract of sorts, do you not?
"It was not I who called you."
"Then who?"
Pain's head turned to regard the boy standing silently yet defiantly beside him.
"This child? Surely you jest?"
This caused the blond boy to narrow his eyes dangerously. "I did summon you, you overgrown tadpole!"
The summon's beady eyes stared at him impassively. "What is your name, boy?"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Uzumaki? How disappointing. I had begun to think that perhaps you were the child that escaped Hanzou not so long ago. It was the first time in a long while that I had to listen to him complain about the Namikaze clan, and to be honest, it was rather irksome."
"That was me!"
The salamander replied quickly, as though expecting such a response despite the boy's earlier claim. "Then why do you not use your father's name, boy? Is that not the way with you humans?
"He gave me my mother's name to protect me."
The summon cocked its head to the side. "You still rely on your parents' protection then, do you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then why hide your heritage, child? I can only imagine that you have called me here to offer an alliance between us, yet I will not aid a man who cannot stand proudly on his name of all things."
"Then I will call myself Namikaze. It makes no difference to me."
The massive creature turned its head away and stared off into the distance. "No difference, you say? A name is who you are from the moment you are laid bare to the world. Your name is your birthright, not a shield of convenience. Your name, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, has been, and always will be, Namikaze. It is a reality that you should embrace, not feign indifference to."
Naruto frowned as he contemplated the salamander's words. "I think I understand. A name isn't everything, but it is important."
"You are still young - even younger than Hanzou was when he stumbled upon my home - which is a blessing on you and perhaps on me as well. Understanding will come later, I think. I will aid you if you agree to the same terms I made with Hanzou all those years ago. Protect my home of Rain Country with all your heart and soul and I will lend my aid in every endeavor, so long as your aims are true. My family is small and precious to me, so you will be unable to summon them in battle as you would with a similar contract. Only I will answer your call. You will meet with me within one month's time so that we may learn more of one another."
"Um, what is your name, sir, if you don't mind my asking?"
"I am Ajisuke, King of Salamanders and Guardian of the Stormplains."
Naruto smiled widely. "Pleased to meet you, Ajisuke."
"And you as well, Namikaze Naruto." He closed his eyes in concentration to unsummon himself, but seemed to think better of it and opened his eyes once more.
"One last thing. If you happen, by chance, to come across the Grand Summon of the Toad Contract, by all means call me. Our last meeting was a bit embarrassing for Hanzou and myself, and I worry that the whelp may be gaining a big head. Of course I'll be sure to introduced my new partner as well."
"If you say so."
"Farewell for now, Naruto. When next you see me we may not part on such amenable terms."
Naruto was almost sure he saw an evil grin spread across the old salamander's face before he disappeared in an ocean of smoke.
"A memorial to the dead?"
"A brilliant façade, is it not?"
"You don't think that it's a bit too much?"
Pain turned from the impressive foundation below them to face Naruto. "It is simply a symbol to them – no different from any other memorial. It will also serve as a perfect location to situate ourselves. Were you not the one complaining about the cave?"
"It just seems a bit weird is all."
"Perhaps, but it is the best option." Pain turned his head up to look at the blue sky above - obscured only by a few wayward clouds. "We've won a great victory here in Rain Country, but we still have much work ahead of us. This was only the first step. I hope you are ready, Naruto."
"I am, Pain. You'll see."
Naruto squinted his eyes as he pored over the paper before him, his mouth pulled down into a grimace.
"This can't be right, what sort of moron drew up this list?"
Pain turned to stare at him for a moment, before returning to many similar sheets of paper laid before him.
"I did."
Naruto's face bore a look of confusion that Pain dutifully ignored.
"What do you mean? Some of these people… age eighty-four? Eighty-eight? This one is only six!"
"They are part of the old regime and must be eliminated."
Naruto blinked in stupefaction.
"Naruto, listen to me. I understand your reservations. These people have done nothing wrong. But you have to understand that this isn't about justice. It isn't about feelings, or fate, or any other idealistic nonsense. It's about making a point."
Naruto just stared.
"These people benefited, either directly or indirectly, from Hanzou's regime - a regime that drove this country into the ground. In order to achieve legitimacy I have two options – either take Hanzou's place and become a new tyrant or be seen to take action against each and every thing that that man stood for and become something more than just another monster. I can kill one man – Hanzou – and be called a murderer, or I can kill a thousand and be called a god. That, Naruto, is the reality we live in. One man cannot keep peace in this country – any country. I cannot be one man. Do you understand?"
Naruto stayed silent for a long while as he digested Pain's words. This was part of being a ninja too, wasn't it? Doing things that you didn't particularly like?
"You told me that you were ready, Naruto. Are you ready?"
A/N: This chapter was extraordinarily difficult to write not only because making an interesting fight is hard in and of itself but because I wasn't too sure of how much of the fight I wanted to show.
Initially, I only wanted brief glimpses to shine through and to focus on what Naruto was doing more, but as I got more and more reviews for chapter six it occurred to me that people really, really wanted to see this fight.
Now that it's over, I can tell you that there won't be a fight like this for a very long time. It was honestly exhausting to plan it out. If you liked it, then I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. If you didn't, then I hope you stay with this story anyways as, like I said, there won't be another one of these monsters for a long time coming.
I kept putting off starting to write this until I was at the public library a few days ago, looked up, and low and behold saw a book on salamanders staring me right in the face.
No kidding, right?
Anyways, that's it for the first arc of Houses of the Holy. I hope you all enjoyed this somewhat original take on the untold history of the Narutoverse. In the end, it was my compromise between typing pages and pages of training and other boring development and skipping straight through to his return to Konoha as a super ninja.
Arc 2 is coming right up, and Naruto is off to Wave Country to battle the evil Demon of the Mist!
Will Naruto triumph? Will he make his first friend? Have his first crush? How will he like Sasuke? Will Kakashi beat him like a drum and call him an evil demon monster thing? Will Naruto teach Inari to never give up? Will Haku teach him an important lesson that I can reference again and again later in the story?
Find out next time in Wave Country – where Naruto fanfiction goes to die!
…Or maybe we'll just skip it.
Next chapter begins the main body of this story, so look forward to:
Chapter 8: Twilight Zone by Golden Earring.