A/N: Back to the main story. The story will be rather short but will develop secondary characters more and show that they've improved during the time skip. I don't buy canon Shikamaru going from barely able to catch and hold Hidan to suddenly winning the fight solo, even with all the prep in the world, while destroying one of Kakuzu's hearts. Way to kiss Nara's ass.
I don't intend to make grandiose fights where characters draw the battle for 5k words. The fights will be used for character development and to confront the characters' ideas.
Naruto at this point is beyond powerful, as his exposition of abilities to Kakashi has suggested. He is clearly Kage level without even counting Kurama (imperfect sage mode basically replaces four to five tails and his abilities used when in sage mode are simply what you'd expect from a weapon of mass destruction, next to that Minato's Hiraishin is garbage because he needs to kill each one of his enemies individually while Naruto can simply blow up the whole area like Deidara, only he can shoot his attacks like a machine gun while Deidara can do it once, then has to blow himself up to get the same result a second time). With Fuu as his flying fast mobility with supportive abilities, there's no way they can lose in a power clash.
The question is, if this is not about Naruto winning against Akatsuki, what is this story about? This story is about people who have derived from their path, people who are lost on a path of destruction. It's about finding a new path or watching the world burn. A story about restraint or lack thereof. Just like One Punch Man, it's not the result of the fight that matters, it's what the fight means for the characters and their lives. How this will affect them and the world.
Now, read and enjoy.
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Chapter 3
Team Kakashi found Temari on the way. They caught up to her and stopped for a moment.
"Temari of the Sand," saluted Kakashi.
"Hello, Kakashi of the Leaf. Is there a reason for you to come to me? I was on the way to Suna to…"
"Sorry, but we don't have time for courtesies," cut Naruto. "Gaara has been kidnapped by Akatsuki."
"So that's why I had a bad feeling…it's a three day trip to Suna, we're going to be too late to rescue him…"
She curled her fists and stomped the ground in frustration.
"Don't worry, Temari," Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're gonna fly to Suna. We'll be there in less than a day, right Hikari?"
The seven tails Jinchuuriki walked to Temari's side and placed her own hand on her other shoulder in moral support.
"Less than a day? Don't underestimate me, Naruto! We'll be there in a few hours! Temari, we're gonna save your brother. Gaara is like us, we're all in the same boat. Just like Naruto and Jiraya rescued me when my village sold me to Akatsuki, I'll help rescue your brother from them!"
"Thank you Naruto, Hikari," replied Temari, her eyes wet from unshed tears. "I never want him to feel lonely, abandoned anymore…let's go rescue my little brother!"
She clenched her jaws and extended her fist in a sign of oath. They joined her with their own fists.
"Let's go save Gaara!" Naruto, Fuu and even Sakura exclaimed.
Fuu's wings appeared and she called upon her tailed beast's chakra, sending a wave of energy around. Power was radiating from her. She made three shadow clones and the four of them spat a sticky substance on each member of the group. They grabbed the cocoons with a whole for the face and took off.
Naruto was enjoying the trip. The speed at which they traveled was exhilarating. Kakashi was more reserved, trying to reign in his emotions. Temari was used to hovering on wind currents, but this was a completely new experience for her and she enjoyed it as much as she was terrified. Sakura, on the other hand, was strictly terrified. These were the six longest hours of her life.
X
When the group approached Suna with that absurd travel speed, they were welcomed by ninjutsu flying at them. Fuu and her clones spun and made loopings in the air to dodge the projectiles before landing in front of the Kazekage Tower.
The Jinchuuriki recalled her beast's chakra and canceled her clones. She freed her passengers from their cocoons and they stretched under the flabbergasted looks of the ninjas from Suna. Temari held her hand up to stop any questions from rising.
"Follow me, Konoha ninjas. I'll lead you to the bathroom first."
The five travelers started to squirm, unable to hide their natural reaction to their full bladders any longer. Temari led the way inside.
X
Ten minutes later, their dignity back, the group was met by Baki, Temari's former team leader.
"Lady Temari! Are these Konoha ninja and the girl who carried you the ones sent…?"
"Yes! They got your message and came to pick me up while I was on my way here. Now explain the situation."
"Two members of Akatsuki showed up yesterday. They got rid of the security on the outer wall without sounding the alarm. Lord Kazekage went to meet them and fought against the one who could fly and use explosives. Our leader was winning the fight, but the enemy tried to blow up the whole village with a giant bomb. Lord Kazekage protected the village with his sand. After that, he protected himself from an explosion, but it seems to have come from inside his sand cocoon.
"Then Akatsuki took him and left the village. Kankuro followed them and was struck by one of them. He is currently being carried back to the village. He has been poisoned and the medic sent couldn't cure him."
"Kankuro too…?" Temari's expression turned even more worried.
"I'm Lady Tsunade's apprentice," said Sakura, one hand on Temari's shoulder to comfort her. "If someone can find an antidote to this poison, it's me!"
"Prepare a room in the hospital for my brother, high security procedure. Bring Lady Chiyo's old bones in, she's the village's expert in poisons. She will work with Sakura of the Leaf to cure my brother from this poison. He's the last one to have seen the enemy…"
"Sorry to interrupt, but I can track Akatsuki from the last place Kankuro has seen them at," cut Kakashi. "We should meet with the team recovering Kankuro on the way and ask them to bring us to the spot they found him in. From there, Naruto and…Hikari? Can come with me to retrieve the Kazekage while the trail is fresh. Sakura will stay here to cure Kankuro when he reaches Suna and she will join us after resting. When we know where the enemy went, we will contact Suna and Konoha to ask for reinforcements."
"Alright, then prepare to go. Suna will provide you the necessary supplies. I will stay here until my brother is safe, then I will join your team with Sakura and every Suna ninja able to help in this high level mission. Baki, once the preparations are done, go with team Kakashi and help rescue my little brother!"
"Yes, Lady Temari!"
Baki left them to transmit her orders. Despite his rank being higher than hers, she was the closest Suna to the Kazekage at the moment. In times of crisis, emergency measures and backup leaders were needed to keep everything together.
"Team Kakashi, you should use this time to rest and eat before the mission starts. After that, who knows when you will be able to eat or rest?"
"Indeed," acquiesced Kakashi, "and Hikari has been using a lot of energy on the way, she must be…"
A snore interrupted him and he looked towards Naruto. The seven tails Jinchuuriki was resting on his shoulder, sleeping with a dribble of saliva beginning to run down her mouth. The boy's hand was keeping her standing.
"Are you two…?"
"They pretend they aren't," answered Sakura to the question in suspense on his lips. "I guess they're like foster brother and sister…unless they just don't want to admit…"
"We're not a couple!" cut Naruto while wiping the saliva before it could stain his sweater.
"But you're so cute…" teased Kakashi.
Sakura high fived him and they got out of the tower, Naruto carrying Fuu on his shoulder like a potato bag just to avoid their teasing.
X
Thirty minutes later, they had eaten in a local restaurant and Fuu had gotten some energy back when Baki came to find them with the supplies and led the way out of the village. They ran for an hour, Naruto carrying a sleeping Hikari before meeting the team carrying Kankuro back home.
"Jounin Commander Baki," saluted the Suna team.
"One of you come with us, show us where you found Kankuro. We will follow the trail before the sand can erase everything."
"Yes, Commander! Please follow me!" exclaimed one of the shinobi as the others resumed their rush towards their village.
Team Kakashi, Baki and their guide took two hours to reach the point where Kankuro had been found in the morning. It was getting late, so Baki thanked the Suna chuunin and sent him back.
Kakashi summoned his dog, Pakkun, to follow the trail. It was already getting weaker by the minute, they couldn't lose it by taking a break in the sand desert. Their desert clothes provided by Suna wouldn't cover them from the freezing nights in the open.
They reached the forest of the Land of Rivers while the sun was starting to disappear under the line of the horizon. Kakashi sent a message to Konoha through messenger dog while Naruto was waking Fuu. They took a short break to eat while Pakkun went ahead. After that, Fuu carried them so that they could get some sleep before reaching the enemy.
X
The group woke up when something came from the forest underneath and dispelled Hikari's clones, making Kakashi and Baki fall into the forest. Someone wanted to cut their numbers.
"Continue! We will occupy them!" shouted Kakashi in free fall.
"Okay!" replied Naruto quickly, signaling his partner to resume her flight.
Hikari made two clones and let them transport Naruto and herself so that she would be well rested when they would encounter Gaara's kidnappers.
X
Kakashi and Baki controlled their fall when they reached the treeline. They landed on the lower branches once they had managed to cut their momentum.
"Kakashi Hatake and…Suna guy," welcomed a raspy voice.
"Kisame Hoshigaki," saluted the Konoha jounin. "Where is your boyfriend?"
"Hahaha! It's not like that, you joker! Behind you," he pointed a finger in that direction.
Kakashi uncovered his sharingan and kept Baki from turning towards Itachi.
"Good evening, Kakashi Hatake," saluted the Uchiha traitor.
"Let's test the results of my training," declared the gray-haired man. "Baki, I leave you the shark monster. Be careful, his sword seems to absorb chakra and he's incredibly strong and fast on top of that. His reach is scary and he has the terrain advantage."
"We won't kill them here anyway," replied the Suna shinobi. "All we need is to hold them for a bit."
"Ha! As if a no name like you could hope to hold me back!" mocked the shark-like man. "Come at me with the intent to kill if you want to even have a slight chance of scratching me!"
With these words, Kisame attacked Baki savagely. The Suna ninja took the fight away from Kakashi. The Konoha ninja would need all his attention focused on his own opponent if he wanted to survive.
Kakashi didn't look his enemy in the eye. He broke a genjutsu cast by Itachi's finger and set himself into motion. They traded blows, broke away from each other. The Konoha ninja broke another genjutsu and looked for any sign of still being trapped inside another one. How many layers had that guy put?
X
Baki's fight was mostly consisting in evading from Kisame. His wind blade had been sucked by the sword, so he stopped emitting chakra externally and kept all he could to survive. Honestly, he guessed that he had absolutely no chance of surviving if he couldn't find a weakness in Kisame. The shark man was very tough and seemed to have unlimited stamina. If he hit him with his blade, Baki would be drained of his own, making it an automatic loss. It was a completely unfair fight. But all he had to do was evade and survive…
X
While the grown-ups fought impossible match-ups, Naruto and Fuu were still following the scratches Pakkun had left on the trees to mark the way. The clones were flying low to avoid the branches and follow the marks. At some point, they reached a clearing. In front of them was a cave and in front of that cave were two caped figures with a human load.
"Deidara, take care of them. I'm going to proceed to the ritual…"
The cocoons dissolved and the two Jinchuuriki came out of them. They shook their heads and drew the attention to them.
"Found you!" exclaimed Fuu.
"We're so gonna wreck you!" shouted Naruto, cracking his knuckle joints.
The two clones quickly flew over the cave and Naruto swapped himself with one of them.
"Rasengatomic!"
A small ball of chakra shot from his hand towards the cave entrance and Sasori jumped back. The ball exploded on contact and the cave was changed into a rock launching trap.
Naruto swapped with the real Fuu and summoned his own clone horde. He made them set up the barrier and a clone started collecting nature energy in the middle of the clone crowd, hiding it from his enemies.
"I see you and I have the same idea of art!" exclaimed the blond-haired Akatsuki member with a crazy gaze. "Let's fight in a display of art!"
"Nope! You kidnapped Gaara and were going to steal his Tailed Beast! I don't want to play with you!"
Deidara felt something come from behind and dodged. A ball of spit landed on the ground, dissolving the landing area.
"Hey! That's some dangerous toys you're playing with, Seven Tails!"
Feeling the nature energy growing inside him, Naruto used the distraction his partner provided to stay immobile just long enough to reach sage mode. Then, he burst into action.
Swapping places with Fuu's bag, the boy sent a barrage of weak rasengatomics towards their two opponents, trying to avoid killing Gaara in the process. His clones swarmed the opponents in the resulting dust cloud and a clone managed to swap with a Fuu clone she had just made, Gaara in hand. Another flying clone put the fallen Jinchuuriki inside a cocoon and launched it to the real one. The clones stayed to assist Naruto.
Deidara escaped from the dust cloud all bruised and made a clay bird while a hundred of puppets came out of the dust between the two blondes.
"I won't let you chase him," declared Sasori with his raspy voice.
"Did I ask you for permission? I don't think so. Ciao!" waved Naruto, swapping places with a Fuu clone high in the sky who darted after Deidara.
"Don't worry, freaky guy! We will keep you company!" reassured the hundred Naruto clones, some of which were held by flying Fuu clones.
A hundred puppets confronted a hundred clones.
A gigantic explosion blew everything up in the vicinity.
X
"I won't let you flee with my prize!" shouted an angry Deidara at Fuu.
"And I won't let you call one of us a prize!" shouted Naruto behind him.
Now that they were far from the fight against Sasori, he wasn't benefiting from sage mode anymore, so the boy used the Kyuubi's chakra. With two tails, corrosive rasengan rained on Deidara. He tried to use his microscopic explosives to get Naruto, but when the boy noticed explosions without anything visible against his rasengan rain, he sent an explosive one.
When the explosives entered in contact with each other, a big explosion detonated thousands of small ones. The Fuu clone transporting the real Naruto flew as far away as possible from the explosions and flew even faster towards the bomber with unpredictable mid-air movements.
"Rasengatomic!" Naruto shot.
"Shit! I'm out of clay after all these fights!"
Deidara jumped from his clay bird, but was caught in the gigantic explosion before he could be in the pretty safe area. He fell and hit the ground hard. The Konoha shinobi rained corrosive rasengan on him. The Akatsuki member was to stunned to dodge. He went in an explosion. The Fuu clone popped and Naruto was blown away. Thankfully, he landed on something soft, bounced off of it and landed a little further.
"Look! It's Naruto!" shouted a feminine voice.
"Ino, heal him!" ordered a man's voice.
"I'm on it!"
"Was that Naruto fighting?" asked a boy's voice in awe.
"Why does he always make things troublesome?" whined a fourth voice.
"Hey guys…you came fast…"
"We were ready to leave," explained the man. "We didn't come alone. Team Kurenai spotted another fight somewhere else."
"Hikari and I…rescued Gaara and…fought two members of Akatsuki…I blew them up…if they survived that…they're immortal…but they weren't the immortal duo…so I think they're dead…
"Kakashi and Baki…stayed behind to fight…the distraction…"
X
Baki was done for. His opponent's greatsword was going to hit him. The time seemed to slow down while he looked at the massive thing reaching his head…and suddenly, something tackled him out of the way. The flow of time went back to normal while he felt something drill into his side. It was painful, but he was…alive.
Three Konoha ninjas, two boys and a girl, had come to help rescue them. Baki collapsed from exhaustion.
X
Shino's bugs drained Kisame of his chakra, but he used a water jutsu to wipe them off of him. He felt something someone hit him from behind. He tried to turn around, but his body refused to obey. Two giant drills came from the front. One directed at his head, the other at his heart. Both hit their target. The shark man's head and chest were torn apart and the jutsu was released.
"The body is not Kisame Hoshigaki's. Akatsuki seems to have a jutsu allowing them to change a body into one of their own, using their own techniques and with their own chakra signatures. Interesting."
"Let's go help Kurenai sensei, Shino!" exclaimed Hinata. "I can't keep the second gate for very long! I'm not Lee!"
"Let's go wreck Sasuke's big brother!" shouted Kiba.
X
The moment Kurenai came to Kakashi's help, the fight evened out. She disrupted every genjutsu from Itachi while trying to put him inside one of her own. Both negated each other's abilities and Kakashi was pressuring the Uchiha in close range combat.
Suddenly, Kurenai appeared in Kakashi's place and the sound of a thousand birds echoed from behind Itachi. The next second, an unknown corpse went limp over Kakashi's bloodied arm.
"These weren't the real ones?! But…how…?" asked Kurenai to no one in particular.
"If only I knew…thanks for coming to our rescue, Kurenai. Now, if it's okay with you, I'm going to get some sleep. I'm counting on you for the rest."
"It's okay, I'll carry you."
"Sensei! Did you already beat Itachi?" asked Kiba when he arrived.
"It wasn't really him, but yes. The corpse is lying there. Seal him, we have to bring them back to Suna. They have Suna symbols on their foreheads."
"Yes, sensei!"
"I'm glad I took a trick from Naruto's book. The clone techniques are really useful. It allowed Kakashi to swap with my clone while Itachi was distracted fighting the two of us. Kiba, Shino, Hinata, remember today's fights and analyze them to improve yourselves."
"Yes, sensei!" exclaimed all three chuunin of team Kurenai.
X
A/N: Alright. This fight wasn't really a fight of philosophies or wills, because the goal was to save Gaara. Still, it was a fight of monster hosts against human monsters. I like that theme. Get ready for the next one. I don't know yet if chapter 3 will be about another fight or more world events, after all there were supposed to be chuunin exams in Suna. I can imagine a three Jinchuuriki, team Kurenai, team Asuma, Kakashi, Sakura and team Baki against two Akatsuki teams…seems promising, what do you people think?