Disclaimer: The Naruto Franchise belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, 'Shounen Jump' and other affiliated companies with intellectual property rights over the franchise.
A/N:
1) Thanks once more to DarkHeroOrion for his diligent and hard work on beta-approving and tweaking this chapter. Hopefully he'll be posting the first chapter of his new story soon so we can all enjoy his work itself and not just his beta-work.
2) Also Special thanks to rasengan86, DarkHeroOrion & LD1449 for helping me smooth out the kinks in the plots and brainstorm to find ideas to overlap and sit upon the skeleton of this fic so far.
3) I hope you readers approve of the chapters being short and more frequent. My schedule is very busy so I usually try to put 4-5 scenes a chapter instead of the 6-7 of story one. Also as you've seen,I'm pacing the story differently than story one and am trying to improve the characterization as well as add touches of humor here and there when possible.
Thanks to all you reviewers (regulars and sporadic ones), your support helps inspire me to write despite undergoing this hectic senior year of mine. So...whether you think my work is good or bad, your reviews and feedback help. (I've personally changed some scenes or fixed future plot ideas based on reviews befor).
4) Also just so everyone knows, I've mellowed some of my original plot ideas for stories two and three due to having to smooth over the kinks in characterization from story 1 or rather justify or describe their consequences in the long run. I hope you all approve of my changes in writing and different updating pace (+the newfound insistance on beta assistance by DarkHeroOrion before posting unlike the settling for the draft version in story one) because I'm trying to find original idea fitting of the new timeline and which aren't as soul shattering and mind numbing than the Edo tensei galore of useless volumes of the current canon.
Anyhow, enough babbling on my part! Read, enjoy & review plz!
Japanese Word Glossary
Hachimon – Eight Gates
Youton – Lava Release
Kage – Shadow / Shinobi leader in the Narutoverse
Tenketsu – Chakra Points
Bijuu – Tailed Beast/s
Youki – Evil energy / Demonic energy
(name)-dono – honorific for royalty of leadership
Baachan - Grannie
Ero-Kyoufu – Perverted Godfather
Ichibi – One Tail
Yonbi – Four Tails
Gobi – Five Tails
Rokubi – Six Tails
Nanabi – Seven Tails
Kyuubi – Nine Tails
Konohagakure – Hidden Leaf
Konoha - Leaf
Suna – Sand
Kumo – Cloud
Kiri - Mist
Hokage – Fire Shadow
Raikage – Lightning Shadow
Mizukage – Water Shadow
Kirigakure – Hidden Mist
Iwagakure – Hidden Rock
Kumogakure – Hidden Cloud
Jinchuuriki – 'Power of Human Sacrifice' / nickname for Bijus containers
Godaime – The Fifth
Yondaime – The Fourth
Kekkei Genkai - Bloodline limit
(Later that evening, Streets of Konohagakure)
"Ino-chan, c'mon," Naruto audibly whined. "Will you stop this bullshit already? I told you I was sorry!"
He rolled his eyes at the cold shoulder and dramatically loud huff his paramour gave him. They had dinner plans with their friends after they briefly paused at their respective homes to freshen up and change. However, Ino hadn't changed, nor had she waited for him. He had to track her down and she refused to look or talk to him.
"It's not that you aren't important. I was there on business, and you told me you didn't approve of public displays of affection," Naruto reasoned with her in a controlled tone, jogging a bit and walking backward a foot or two in front of his girlfriend.
"You ignored me!" Ino frostily exclaimed his sin in one simple phrase.
He blinked, his brows furrowing slightly. "You and all of my sensei keep on pounding it into me that I have to act polite and according to decorum and that shit. So what was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to ignore Gai and interrupt your training session by kissing you in front of everyone?
"You could've waved, smiled, nodded, or done something, but no, you didn't! You go kissing up to Tenten, and then you go agreeing to a suicidal spar with Gai-sensei. And then…once you're free, you decide it's time to say hi to you girlfriend. You expect me to be all hunky-dory about it?"
Naruto winced on every word she harshly stressed, her voice gradually raising an octave. "I-Ino-chan, gimme a break, will you? I didn't mean it like that. You know how much it meant to me…"
"Save it! I don't want to hear your excuses, Naruto!" Ino spat out and shoved by him, nearly knocking him off his feet. "It's always about you, you and your training, or you and your schedule and you forgetting this or not meaning that!"
"Hey, that isn't fair, Ino!" he barked in protest. "I know I'm not the perfect boyfriend, and I screw up from time to time, but I do care about you! You, of all people, should know how hard I try and how little I know about these things! Hell, I had to beg Kakashi-sensei all week for him to give me the day off so I could take you out for dinner and hang out tonight, but now, you blow me off."
Her jaw tensed and she stubbornly lifted her chin, purposefully avoiding eye contact. "It hurts, doesn't it? Good! It's about time you get a taste of your own medicine. So, no, I don't give a damn how hard you begged or tried earlier!"
Her eyes were moist but she played it off while sniffing, shutting her eyes. "I need time to think, and you need to go get your act together, idiot, because if you don't man up soon…" She left the threat hanging and briskly brushed past him.
Naruto watched her march off, heavily sighing in exasperation. His shoulders slumped as he bowed his head. He stood there dejectedly for a moment before he pursed his lips.
'Being a boyfriend's really tricky and hard work! Now, what am I supposed to do? And I had this really awesome surprise for her, too!' He scratched his head and turned around while reasoning with himself. 'Damn, I'll have to ask baachan or Shizune-nee. I'm sure they'll have better advice than Kaka-sensei or any of my other friends…'
"Uzumaki Naruto." He heard a familiar voice and started slightly from out of his reverie. He gave off a slight smile and nodded at the newcomer, trying to push his morbid thoughts and worries aside.
"Gaara? Wow, it's been a while!" Naruto greeted and weakly grinned, though his heart wasn't really in it. "H-how are you?"
The red head scrutinized him with narrowed jade eyes and tilted his head quizzically. "I've been well. Jiraiya fixed my seal so I can no longer hear my bijuu," the Ichibi container coolly responded, but his eyes lacked the bloodlust and violence of the past.
"Heh…Ero-Kyoufu is pretty cool, isn't he?" Naruto commented, his smile not reaching his eyes. 'I miss him. I wish he were here….'
"I still don't understand," Gaara declared in a bland manner, his eyebrows furrowed. "I was…your enemy. I am…was a monster made flesh. Why did you…? Why does your village not kill me…kill us?"
Naruto shrugged and waved off the tally of the debts between them. "It's nothing, Gaara. We're alike, you and I, and we fought together against that crazy bastard. If anything, we're even."
"I still don't understand," Gaara declared in a bland manner, his eyebrows furrowed. "I was…your enemy. I am…was a monster made flesh. Why did you…? Why does your village not kill me…kill us?"
"I spared you…helped you…because nobody else would." Naruto cut him off before his fellow demon vessel got in a word edgewise. "We may be called 'the power of human sacrifice' but we need support just as much as anyone else with our burden. You can lean on me when you need, Gaara. Well…as long as you don't go killing me or my friends' 'n all…"
Gaara's stoic face remained confused and his non-existent eyebrows furrowed as he glared at Naruto deeply to the point he made Naruto fidget uncomfortable. "I-I owe you a debt, Uzumaki Naruto. One that can never be repaid. I will...try and learn from you and find some precious people to protect." The redhead paused to think. "However, You and I...You will keep on proving my existence every time we fight."
Naruto's eyebrow briefly twitched and he let loose a shaky sigh, dolefully bowing his head. 'Why does everyone want to kill me? Do I have a bull's-eye tattooed on my forehead? Or maybe I have a sign inviting all the psychos of the world to take a free shot!'
He forced a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's fine with me…I think, and you're welcome, I suppose. Anyway, umm…I was going to head for some dinner. You want to join me?"
"That is acceptable."
'I guess this night can't get much worse, can it?' Naruto figured forlornly as he led his fellow Jinchuuriki toward a small hotpot restaurant several streets away. They walked shoulder to shoulder, people moving aside to give them room as they walked.
Whether it was because they feared Gaara or worshipped Naruto was anyone's guess, but everyone was whispering curiously and shooting them curious glances as they passed.
The son of the Yondaime paid them little heed. His mind still whirled with thoughts of his actions regarding Ino. The moment he stepped into the restaurant with Gaara at his heels, the bustling establishment quieted down for a moment.
"Hey, Naruto, over here!" the Uzumaki heard a familiar voice call out and he nodded, noticing the other patrons resume their previous activities.
"C'mon, Gaara. I'll introduce you to some of my friends," Naruto promised and instinctively grabbed the other boy's wrist, guiding him. Only belatedly did he realize no sand reacted to his gesture and he shot the redhead a cursory glance as he let go.
The other boy flinched at the touch at first, but then eased down but offered no explanation to the phenomenon.
'Strange…' the blond observed. 'I remember anything within an inch from him being pushed away by his sand…'
Naruto joined the table where Neji, Shikamaru and Chouji sat. He gestured Gaara to sit in front of him and the green-eyed shinobi silently obeyed. The other Konoha-nin placed their conversation on hold and quietly surveyed Gaara.
"Gaara, these are some of my classmates. You know Shikamaru from the exams, and these are Neji and Chouji. Guys, this is Gaara. He's had it rough, and he's my friend, so give him a chance, all right?"
"Only you, Naruto…" Shikamaru murmured in an exasperated manner and shot Neji a somewhat suffering look.
The Hyuuga shrugged and sighed. He nodded once and captured a piece of shrimp with his chopsticks. "So, Gaara-san, has Naruto tried to blow you up, yet?"
Naruto blinked and sputtered in objection, but failed to utter a coherent sentence.
"I know you have that sand shield of yours, Gaara, but you should watch your back around Naruto, anyway," Shikamaru agreed and nodded in a sagely fashion. "He may look gullible and harmless enough at first, but the moment you drop your guard, he goes off and…well, he's quite destructive."
"Hey!" Naruto snarled, watching Gaara, who seemed to curiously gauge the banter.
"Look on the bright side, Naruto. At least destroying stuff is better than wearing that 'kill-me-now' orange jump suit you used to wear," Chouji cheerfully piped in, obviously catching along to the 'abuse Naruto's ego' rhetoric.
"Will you guys cut it out? What're you guys trying to do?" Naruto raged, blood rushing to his cheeks and skin feeling a bit warmer as Gaara's lips twitched faintly. 'Is he…smiling?'
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and pushed a small piece of beef into his mouth. He chewed a bit and swallowed before explaining himself. "Well…if Gaara is going to be part of the gang, he should know what he's getting into. You're a great guy and all, Naruto, but we all know you can be…troublesome."
Naruto glared at his friends and shook his head before pleadingly looking at Gaara. Surely, the redhead that respected him and owed him would come to his defense. "You believe in me, right, Gaara? They're embellishing! I'm not that bad. I don't demolish everything around me!"
The former Suna-nin shut his eyes and looked to be meditating. "You comrades raise a compelling argument," he flatly deadpanned.
Naruto gaped at his 'friend' in betrayal and slammed his forehead, hard, against the table and whined. "None of my friends or teachers respects me…"
He cursed himself for jinxing the evening earlier and huffed as he sat up. He glared at the assorted shinobi and moved to order some more food. 'And to top it all, Ino's still mad at me, and baachan's gonna beat me down for being a jerk.'
(Two days later, Kumo weapon's testing grounds, outside Kumogakure)
Ei frowned as he examined his body. The metallic chrome armor his lead scientists developed constricted his muscular frame. The yin-yang symbols hummed, pulsating in lighter shades, and he could literally feel an external force pushing against his chakra.
"Even I wouldn't wear this!" the Raikage snorted icily. The black and blue coloration was an eye sore, and the peace-mongering Buddhist shapes that decorated it made it that much worse. 'The first thing this piece of rubbish needs is a better paint job...I ain't no wishy-washy tree hugger!'
"R-Raikage-dono, p-please be reasonable…The design is practical," a mousy-looking man with glasses anxiously implored.
His head scientist, Hajime Jiro, never disappointed him with the end results; it was the trial and error process which usually vexed the dark-skinned Kage.
Ei glared at the diminutive man with a cloud of doubt. He closed his eyes for a moment and reached for his chakra. When his eyes snapped open, his irises flashed and glowed iridescently as he activated his legendary Lightning Armor.
All around him, the machines regulating the armor warningly beeped and whistled. He looked at the armor and watched the symbols rapidly palpitate, obviously trying to keep up with his chakra output. He smirked wryly as the machines around him short-circuited, and some of them even exploding violently.
"This thing can't handle me," he declared offhandedly and coughed as black smoke, which smelled of burned plastic and melted metal, filled his lungs. He snarled, his face contorting angrily as he hit the breastplate, causing the armor to disengage and unceremoniously fall to his feet.
"This is the fourth time we've tried this worthless technology, Jiro. Do it over, and do it right this time!" he barked and started stomping away.
He glanced over his shoulder and watched the spectacle-wearing man mope and look sadly at the smoldering pile of dismantled armor. "Make it look badass while you're at it. Even if it works, I won't be caught dead looking like some pansy-ass in that crappy-looking armor."
"B-but Raikage-dono!" The man griped, causing the leader of Kumo to pause and bristle impatiently. "Building and fixing these is costing us a fortune!"
Ei's lips parted to reveal a small smirk. He would motivate his subordinate—properly, this time. "Congratulations, for your next paychecks are going to be invested for the good of Kumo. Hopefully, you'll develop it and finish the project quickly before your grandchildren sink in your debts, Jiro."
The man's wails did not deter the Raikage as he left the laboratory and inhaled the crisp, cool air with a grim expression. 'At least the manufacturing of the lightning towers is proceeding well. Though, that stingy bastard's sanctions are beginning to piss me off! Doesn't he understand we're on the verge of war?'
He rubbed his chin and beard in contemplation. It was fortunate the Lightning Country was rich with natural minerals and steel. Trying to import the necessary alloys and minerals would've bankrupted his treasury.
"Yo, bro! What's a shakin'?" He heard a voice and his downcast expression shifted to an angry one as he spun around. However, his fury quickly shifted into confusion at the spectacle he witnessed.
His brother was using his youki to create massive octopus arms which suspended him above the ground. Kirabi was in a muscle man pose. "I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Gather around ladies, come coo and see the mighty Jinchuuriki-sama, Kirabi!"
Ei's eyebrow violently twitched as his brother finished his horrific entrance by lifting his arm and howling. 'W-what the hell is this? He's gotten even more eccentric! I have to stop this before he gets used to it!' He leaped upward and planted his fist into the jinchuuriki's head, hard.
"Where the hell are you doing and where the hell have you been, you idiot?"
Kirabi was hunched over, rubbing the back of his head with a comically pained expression on his face. "Ow! Hey, that ain't nice bro! I told Darui to tell ya I'd be back before you know!"
'One of these days, I'm going to get an ulcer because of you, Kirabi…' Ei thought and glared evilly at his kid brother. "Answer my question before I lose my temper for real!"
"Geez, bro, chillax! I got a good thing to pay as tax!"
Ei balefully glared at his little brother and shook his fist in a threatening gesture. "Then, stop your rapping and start talking!"
"I met this old dude with long white hair, and he gave me a tip he wanted to share!"
The raikage's rage abated as interest and suspicion filled him. He felt his earlier headache grow to migraine levels and slapped his forehead. 'Jiraiya…? What's could that perverted idiot possibly have for me…?'
(Four days later, gender-separated onsen, Iwagakure)
Sumiko painfully winced as she sunk into the waters of the onsen. Her lithe body was covered with black and blue bruises and there were patches of skin which were burned or chafed.
'I hate my life…' she mentally groaned in anguish.
Her grueling, painful training sessions with her cousin Kurotsuchi and Roushi were wearing both her body and her sanity. She loved her cousin greatly, but she was insane and a slave driver. In conclusion, this was hell on earth for the kunoichi.
As for the bitter and surly Jinchuuriki, they had an unspoken agreement that he wouldn't spar or fight her directly, anymore. Instead, he had started teaching her Youton manipulation and jutsu to supplement the ones Kurotsuchi was teaching her.
"There you are, Sumiko-chan!" the cheerful, happy-go-lucky sound of her cousin's voice snapped from behind her. In the blink of an eye, the older female ninja dropped the towel covering her nude body and dived, cannonball-style, into the water in front of Sumiko with a whoop.
The proud princess of Iwa spat out the lashing liquid that ended up in her mouth, on accident, and wiped her dark-brown hair out of her face with her left hand as the hot water splashed all over her. Her right eyebrow ticked rather uncontrollably in stewing anger. 'Sometimes, I wonder if I'm the only sane person in my family.'
Her cousin surfaced with an ear-to-ear grin on her visage when she noticed the blank expression on her face. The brunette proceeded to lazily swim toward Sumiko, coming to a pause beside her and eyeing her quizzically.
All amusement drained from the older kunoichi as she tenderly poked Sumiko's shoulder. "Hey, what's with the long face? Did that old goat, Roushi, piss you off again?"
"N-no, it's just…" Sumiko stammered, unsure how to describe the surreal experience she had undergone when the Yonbi-possessed Roushi had nearly mauled her several weeks ago. She hadn't told a soul of the ordeal, and apparently neither had Roushi, as not a single question was raised by her father on how she managed to subdue a raging Bijuu.
Thankfully, Kurotsuchi wasn't in a pushy mood and allowed her thoughts to wander. 'It couldn't have come from dad's side of the family. In fact, nobody in Iwa's history has ever manifested such a strange ability. If anything, the stories all regale the awesome power of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, who could subdue and control the Bijuu…'
After a brief pause in which silence fell between them, Sumiko blurted out a question she had never dared ask anyone. "Who was my mom, cousin?"
Kurotsuchi's body considerably stiffened beside her and dread filled the green-eyed princess. She stole a glance and saw her cousin's lips purse and eyes narrow dangerously.
It was now that she dared to voice her inquiry for the first time in over a decade, and there was nothing to stop the torrent of mysteries she wanted to have answered. "There are no pictures of her anywhere. I know it's supposedly because Father is too pained to talk about her or look at her picture, but how come there isn't even one picture in all of Iwa? I've never been told anything about her; who she was, where she's from, or even her surname! Besides, there's no register of a woman named Kagami in the right age range in the records anywhere. All anyone has ever told me is that supposedly the Yellow Flash murdered her…"
The older kunoichi, usually jovial and outspoken, was surprisingly dismal. "Stop, Sumiko. I know it's frustrating, but I can't help you."
Sumiko's breathing quickened as adrenaline pumped through her veins. "Why? Was she so despicable a criminal or monster nobody is willing to talk about? Why won't anyone tell me anything?" She asked desperately. The royal kunoichi gnashed her teeth, her eyes flaring with frustration and indignation.
"That's enough, Sumiko! You're going to boil us alive!" Kurotsuchi hissed in a commanding tone and struck her to shake her out of her fury. Unwittingly, her lapse of emotional control had accidently invoked her Youton ability, which, in turn, rapidly heated the water.
Sumiko lifted a hand to her cheek, but her eyes widened as she noticed the water around them beginning to unsteadily froth with the rising heat. Her hard expression melted into a somewhat remorseful and woeful one.
Kurotsuchi shook her head slightly and flashed an honest, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything. It is forbidden."
"What?" Her mind raced with the possible implications, each seeming less appealing as wild scenarios played from within.
A dangerous gleam suddenly replaced the usually playful and soft shine in her cousin's eyes. "That's all you'll get out of me. I can't say anymore, so don't ask me! If you really want answers, then go ask your father, and don't tell him I sent you!"
The Iwa princess frowned thoughtfully and the two kunoichi fell into a pregnant silence. 'It has to be connected to what happened to me.'
She was about to leave when she heard a strange sound, the sound of wood creaking ominously from a nearby tree—one of the few Iwagakure had used to decorate the onsen. It was as if something pushed against one of its branches.
She whirled around, eyes focused and tried to feel around if someone was there, be it a spy or a pervert. She sensed and saw nobody and eventually eased back down into the water and made a silent vow to herself.
'This time, I'll find out the truth about you, Mother, even if it's the last thing I do! Though, I should try to approach Dad about this when he's in a good mood. Considering lately, he's been even more detached and temperamental than usual…'
(Meanwhile, Private Kage training grounds, Kirigakure)
Terumi Mei folded her hands together, her lips pursed into a thin line. Her green eyes were closed and she concentrated on the nature around her. She spread her senses outward and patiently waited.
She stood in a loose stance. Clad in a navy blue training gi, the thin material struggled to hang a bit loosely over her voluptuous figure. Black metallic arm guards and leggings dimly gleamed in the moonlight and a single, sheathed ninjatou was strapped against her lower back.
'There!' she thought and her eyes snapped open just in time for the Godaime Mizukage to bring two fingers to her lips and sharply exhaled. A massive, scarlet plume of hot substance erupted from her mouth, just barely missing a blurry shape.
She heard the sound of a blade being unsheathed and immediately ran through some lightning-fast hand seals. She turned to her left, unleashing a massive cloud of corrosive mist at the approaching figure.
The silhouette vanished and her eyes widened in realization.
'Damn it! Genjutsu!'
She bent backward, pressing her palm against the cold soil beneath her feet. The motion allowed her to barely dodge a gleaming blade. She spun her body around and landed in a crouching position on all fours.
'I've had enough of these games! I'll flush you out…' she promised, and her full lips twitched into a smirk as she ran through some rapid hand seals. She shut her eyes once more as the air condensed around her, the air particles forming a thick mist as she invoked the 'Kirigakure no Jutsu.'
She saturated the air with her own chakra and reached back for the hilt of her blade. The mist shifted and she stepped back, dodging a dangerously close slash that nearly chopped her in half. She proceeded to draw her weapon while quickly taking in oxygen.
The sound of steel meeting steel rang out loudly as she blocked a wide slicing motion. She gritted her teeth and pressed her palm against her blade to try and steady the cutting edge, but her foe's physical force forced her back several steps.
She slashed her miniature sword across her body, invoking raw fire manipulation and drawing a long wave of flame with her chakra. The area was illuminated briefly just in time for her to watch a blade sink out of her gut from where she was stabbed from behind.
She smirked, her body melting into a thick magma and forced her enemy to retreat hastily several steps back. She reformed behind him, rising from the earth, but spun around instead of stabbing him, stopping her blade an inch from her enemy's jugular.
"Well, Mei-chan, it seems like you're back in shape! Though I still wonder how you can move so fast when you've got those huge knock—"
Her eyebrow twitched and she sharply cut him off by planting her fist into the offending man's cheek.
'You pig!'
…Well, at least she wanted to, but he intercepted her punch with his open palm.
"Heh, you've really got to work on that temper of yours, girl."
She tilted her head upward, glaring icily into the man's bluish-gray eyes. He towered over her, his muscular frame bulging out of the Kiri ANBU gear in which he was clad.
His wolfish grin made her blood boil, and it took quite a bit of restraint for her to wear a pleasant smile as she spoke in a calm, jovial manner. "Mashashi-kun, you do know that if you sexually harass me one more time, I'll kill you."
The blade master shrugged his shoulders. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Mei. You couldn't handle a man like me, anyway."
'Why you arrogant son of a…' Her eyebrow jolted violently, but, before she could retort or attack him, another voice interjected, causing her to subtly complain on the inside. 'If I didn't need you to train the six new swordsmen of the mist for me…'
Ao's deep voice shook her out of her mental tirade. "Godaime-sama, I'm sorry to interrupt your training session, but I'm afraid I have some bad news."
She pulled away from the older shinobi and crossed her arms under her supple breasts, assuming a calm expression with a faint smile. "It's all right, Ao. Give me your report."
"We haven't been able to locate Utakata anywhere. It's as if he vanished off the face of the earth. It also seems the destruction we found at his last known location was not of his own doing. Our ANBU took soil samples and found traces of highly explosive clay saturated in the soil."
Mei frowned and scrunched her nose in deep thought. 'Explosive clay? That's one of Iwagakure's trademark jutsu. Did Ishimaru try to compensate for losing his Gobi by taking the Rokubi? Though, the last I've heard, the last wielder of that particular kekkei genkai turned rogue…'
"What about Yagura?" She opted to change the subject, deciding to mull over Utakata's disappearance at a later date and decide what actions to take in reaction.
Ao sighed and Mei felt her temples begin to throb with the telltale signs of a headache. "We lost his trail around Iwagakure's territory, but we did learn something interesting…"
The Fifth Water Shadow kept her calm façade. "Oh?"
Ao glanced briefly at Mashashi as if to assess the threat the former nuke-nin posed. Mei waved her hand impatiently, signaling him to proceed. "He's not alone. He's travelling with a companion; a female of moderate height. Witness reports claim she's got shoulder-length green hair and reddish eyes."
"So, it's been confirmed. He's moving around with the Nanabi, then…" Mei realized while her lips' movements cut through her poker face. 'This is good…We might be able to kill two birds with one stone, after all.'
Ao nodded and Mei inhaled through her nostrils, bowing her head momentarily before she snapped her gaze up with a small grin spreading over her lips. "Ao, give me your forehead protector, change your clothes and hide the seal over your Byakugan eye. This is an off-the-books, covert operation! Find the Yondaime Mizukage and his protégé…no matter what cost, and no matter where he is!"
"There's something else…" Ao interjected before Mei could dismiss him. "We have received an encoded message from one of our hunter-nin. She tracked down Hoshigaki Kisame and the Samehada to the River country. Kisame apparently passed through after the recent slaughter of an entire Yakuza clan in the Tea Country. Our intelligence reports have his fingerprints all over it…but…"
"But, what…?" Mei grimly asked, a chill running down her spine as a bad feeling invaded her body and left a foul taste in her mouth.
"We lost contact with her several weeks ago. Our dispatch team of hunter-ninja found her decaying body last week…her body punctured all over and something had ripped out her heart."
Mashashi's eyes narrowed a fraction and she quizzically raised an eyebrow. The exemplary swordsman shook his head. "Mei-chan, I suggest you double the bounty on Kisame's head…"
Mei's eyebrows flew to her bangs. Did he even realize how much money was at stake?
"It seems that Kisame is being tracked by Kakuzu the Undying. Trust me. If you offer enough money, Kakuzu would sell his own mother if she were still alive. That son of a bitch will do anything for a ryou."
(The Following morning, training ground six, Konohagakure)
Naruto sorely grunted as a bandage-covered fist smashed into his cheek and sent him staggering backward. "Naruto-chan, you've gotta keep your right hand up! Stop abusing that boy's fists with your face!"
'You're not helping, Fukusaku!' Naruto hissed out through gnarled teeth. He shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears and narrowed his orbs at the blurry shape approaching him at an alarming velocity.
He couldn't follow his silhouette with his eyes, but he had been knocked around enough today in the strictly limited taijutsu match by Lee to have familiarized himself with his preferred attacks.
'Not so fast…'
He lifted his right hand, and, despite knowing it would hurt like hell, he captured Lee's shin. He felt the bone and cartilage in his fingers scream in protest and reckoned he broke a finger or two and, perhaps, fractured his palm.
He took a quick step, capitalizing on the spandex-clad opponent's surprise and quickly rammed his forehead into the bowl-cut genin's face with bone-crunching force. Before Lee could recover, Naruto lifted his captured leg a bit and swept his other foot.
As Lee twirled and prepared to kick him off, the last Uzumaki grabbed his ankle with his good hand, while keeping hold with his damaged hand and pivoted his body, using the momentum and his strength to swing Lee around and slam him, hard, into the ground.
"That'a boy, Naruto-chan!" Fukusaku crowed excitedly.
Lee sprang back into action in the blink of an eye, undeterred by the physical pain. Naruto was one step ahead of him. He had surmised his retaliation would do him little good.
He reached backward with his good hand, and, rummaging through his weapons pouch, he found a proper solution for his trouble. As the distance between him and the genin cut dangerously close, he shut his eyes and tossed something on the ground in front of him and quickly covered his ears.
He waited a moment and then charged, snapping his eyes open. Lee was staggering, his hands clutching his eyes. Naruto brandished a kunai and touched it lightly against Lee's throat as the taijutsu genius fell to his knees and vomited hard, the blow the flash bang had inflicted to his inner ear most painful, no doubt.
Naruto quickly pulled back the ninja tool as Lee pushed upward and shoved him back when he wobbled to his feet. The genin clutched his stomach, his eyes tightly shut as he recovered from the vertigo.
"Naruto, that was…a most un-youthful choice of victory, but…I suppose you did refrain from using ninjutsu," Gai commented from his vantage point where he watched the match.
Naruto glowered at the jounin and crossed his arms under his chest. 'Really, Gai? How else am I supposed to win without using ninjutsu or genjutsu?'
He felt a bit sorry for Lee, on the other hand; it'd take him a few minutes to regain his bearings.
"Leave Naruto-chan alone," Fukusaku commanded in a warning manner, landing on Naruto's head with a light plop. "Your boy here knocked the stuffing out of him for most of the battle. But, Naruto-chan has guts and a diehard attitude, and he finished the fight, and that's what counts!"
"Well, Lee's flames of youth were also being held within! He could not use his more powerful abilities against his cute and precious comrade, Naruto, in good faith," the jounin argued.
"Naruto-chan can take on anything you throw at him!"
Naruto blinked, and his eyes widened. He felt dread fill him and he shook his head quickly. He hesitated to speak on his own behalf, but the toad sage's fist smashing into his skull silenced him.
"Ow!"
"Oh ho! I sense a challenge! Then so be it! I will pit my team of youthful genin against Kakashi's apprentice!" Konoha's Noble Green Beast bellowed as he staunchly pointed at said target.
"Hey, hey, now, you wait a minute! I don't recall agree—ow! Stop it, you miserable old—ow!" Naruto spoke, glaring upward at the bearded amphibian that kept on punching him whenever he dared to open his mouth.
Naruto felt his eyes tear a bit as the toad pulled on his hairs and grabbed at him to make him stop. "All right! All right! I'll do it…just stop pulling my hair, damn it!"
'Damn it! I thought Kaka-sensei and Yamato-sensei were cruel! I hope Ero-Kyoufu comes back soon, before I go bald. Fukusaku's harsher than all three of them combined!'
The last Uzumaki visibly winced as the toad leaned over to whisper in his ears. "This is for the pride of the Toad clan, Naruto-chan. If you lose…I'm pretty sure Bunta-chan won't be pleased with you…"
He paled and gulped. 'As if I didn't have enough motivation, you pushy old bastard! Wait a minute. Aw, kill me now! Ino's still pissed off about last week! She'll probably go overboard…'
The elder toad sage leapt off his head and the blond rubbed his head. He looked ahead and watched as Ino and Tenten approached Lee. The spandex-clad shinobi seemed less shaken, pale and ill as he cleaned out his ears with his finger.
Team Gai converged and huddled, whispered in a conspiring manner, and glanced at him from time to time.
Naruto glimpsed at his damaged hand and frowned. He screwed his eyes shut and pulled some of the excess youki he could feel lurking in his tenketsu. He bit his lower lip to cover his grimace and looked away. The popping sound of his bones fusing back into place sent a shudder down his spine.
Gai summarily explained the rules of engagement. "Naruto, you are allowed to use anything in your arsenal except the Kyuubi. Lee, if you are going to use the Hachimon, then don't use more than two."
The son of the Yellow Flash stole a quick look at his girlfriend in an imploring manner. She, however, seemed intent to be stubborn and returned a cool, haughty gaze. 'Geez, cut a guy a break, why don't you? It's been a freaking week!'
Lee shot him a very angry glare, obviously not quite appreciating the earlier way their spar ended and lifted his leg warmers. Naruto tensed up and watched Tenten and Ino begin to walk away from Lee. 'So…they're going to try and flank me, are they?'
In a fraction of a second, Lee ripped off his weights and tossed them forward. Naruto watched the taijutsu specialist literally vanish from sight as he was forced to leap sideways to avoid being crushed by the obscene amount of weight rushing toward him.
The blond chuunin nimbly landed on his feet and immediately ran through some lightning-fast hand seals, catching the approaching projectiles in his peripheral vision. 'Fuuton…'
He didn't finish the sequence as Lee's foot smashed into his face with mind-shattering force. He didn't have much time to react, so he acted on instinct and spun his body like a top while expelling wind chakra.
He smirked as he heard Lee's grunt as his shin met an impenetrable barrier. The momentum and force propelled Lee off balance and into a nearby tree. Naruto stopped his rotation.
His sixth sense beckoned him to shift his position, and he obeyed. He heard the thud of steel sinking into wood and grass around him as he landed roughly on his feet, only to hear a sizzling sound surrounding him. 'Now…that's a bit extreme!'
Naruto shut his eyes and hastily blazed through several hand seals. He felt his chakra rush to his legs and propelled himself forward, literally bursting in one direction at an extreme speed via the Shunshin no Jutsu.
'Kakashi-sensei wasn't kidding when he said it can come in handy…'
He summoned two shadow clones the moment his propelled motion stopped and ducked, allowing one of his clones to dispel when a frighteningly accurate kunai sunk into its groin. 'Damn it, Ino! That was close!'
Naruto blinked and noticed that no explosions erupted. 'So, you tricked me and flushed me out… now, what are you going to do …?'
He watched his surroundings morph and quickly made a single hand seal 'Kai!' He blinked and his eyes widened as the surroundings didn't stop. 'Multiple layer genjutsu, is it?'
He clapped his hands together and gathered his chakra into a tight ball in the center of his being before expelling it fiercely.
'KAI!' he thought in fierce anger, and, this time, the illusion abruptly vanished, only to reveal a most distressing sight.
Chains wrapped around his body, tightly constricting him.
"Do it, Lee!" he heard Tenten cry out with urgency.
'Omoto Renge, is it?' Naruto dishearteningly mused and his lips jerked as Lee's foot crashed into his stomach with titanic might.
He felt bile rise in his throat and shut his eyes as he was catapulted into the air.
'Gotcha…' Naruto thought as his body, which was that of the Kaze Kage Bunshin he summoned earlier, exploded with into a wild gust of wind chakra. His thoughts melted into the mind of the original Naruto whom had until then remained hidden underground in waiting, thanks to the use of Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu.
Naruto burst from the earth and made a single hand seal, summoning a single clone. The two Naruto made two different hand seal sequences. One of them unleashed the 'Suiton: Mizuame Nabara,' covering Lee and the surrounding area around him in highly sticky, chakra-enforced water.
'Thanks, Izumo-senpai! Lee'll never break outta that without chakra to repel the chakra in the water.'
The original Naruto, on the other hand, finished his seal sequence with the Snake hand seal and pushed his right palm forward, unleashing the high-velocity 'Suiton: Hahonryuu'. The torrent of liquid smashed quite painfully into Lee's body, forcing him with unyielding force into a nearby tree.
He ignored Lee and heard strings being cut. He heard it, a massive wave of metallic death being unleashed in every direction around him. His lips parted to reveal an almost evil grin. 'Neji, eat your heart out!'
Naruto spread his arms across his body, converting his life force into wind chakra before expelling it with all he could muster. He started spinning rapidly as the howling winds began to stir from the imbalance.
"Senpuu Kaiten!" he cried and the wind chakra around him furiously screeched.
A massive, tornado-like gale formed around him, repelling the projectiles. He stopped spinning and looked around him. He blinked as his surroundings blurred and he felt vertigo strike him. 'Shit…I guess the Byakugan is what makes sure he doesn't wanna puke once he's done!'
Naruto cursed and started running through several hand seals.
'I need some space!' He made four quick hand seals and pushed both of his hands forward, his wind chakra exploding forth via the 'Daitoppa.'
He fell to his knees, clutching his head to try to make the spinning sensation stop. 'Kakashi-sensei told me not to try experimental jutsu on the fly! Ugh! Why do I always pull this crap?'
He vaguely heard some trees toppling over. 'Crap, I think I may have overdone it a bit…'
His body stiffened and he felt a foreign chakra invade his own. 'W-what is this?' he wondered as the presence gripped his limbs, his arms moving on his own. 'So, this is one of the Yamanaka ninjutsu…?'
Naruto's eyes narrowed and watched helplessly as Tenten came charging at him, hefting a club that was almost as big as she was. 'Sorry, Ino-chan…but I'm pretty skilled at repelling invaders!'
He overlapped his chakra over what he sensed was neither his nor the fox's and felt sensation returning to his limbs. He coated his palm with wind chakra and simply outstretched his arm, blocking the offensive weapon.
He pushed some chakra into the soles of feet and legs, and, before Tenten could blink, he hit the back of her head in a chopping motion, knocking her to the ground.
He suddenly lifted his hand, gripping Ino's wrist as she materialized behind him from the shroud of genjutsu, stopping her from 'killing him.' A random notion hit him and a foxy grin spread over his face.
'I'll show you what you get for a week of acting bitchy and ignoring me and then trying to castrate me with a kunai!'
He whirled around, dipping her low. He sighed as he tasted her soft, inviting lips, a flash of pleasure rushing through him. She momentarily stiffened in his arms before her soft lips parted and he felt her tongue plunge into his mouth. 'I've missed this…it's almost not worth it…almost!'
His hand reached behind her head, as if to hold her in place before he pressed the pressure point on her spine and caught her limp body in his arms. 'Most creative win ever!'
Fukusaku whooped and whistled as he landed on his head. "You're a chip off the old block! I remember how Minato-chan used that on your mother on Myoubokuzan!"
Naruto fell flat on his face. "I don't know if I should be flattered or embarrassed…" he muttered under his breath. As he laid face-down, the mental image hit him and he quivered, cringing and shutting his eyes tightly.
'Damn you, you wrinkly old toad! Why'd you have to kill the mood like that?'
Jutsu Glossary
Kirigakure no Jutsu – Hidden Mist Technique - This displacement technique is a specialty of the Ninja from Kirigakure, where one causes a mist to spring forth by lifting up some water, then goes in and out of sight at will from within the pearly-white realm. The mist's thickness is controlled by the amount of chakra kneaded into it.
Shunshin no Jutsu – Body Flicker Technique - This jutsu is a high-speed movement technique, allowing a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed.
Senpuu Kaiten - Whirlwind Rotation – An experimental ninjutsu (at this stage) created by Naruto. Which is essentially a use of pure elemental manipulation to bastardize the Hyuuga's Hakkeshou Kaiten. Instead of a sphere, Naruto's rotates while expelling wind chakra, creating a tornado like vortex that's speed can repel projectiles.
Suiton: Mizuame Nabara - Water Release: Syrup Capture Field - The user spits out high-viscosity, chakra-mixed water, aimed at a surface of wide scope. This is a stream of sticky liquid which can be used to form an adhesive trap that can inhibit a person's mobility. One can effectively reduce their enemy's area of activity with this technique, and has the effect of being able to take complete control over the battlefield.
Fuuton: Daitoppa – Wind Release: Great Breakthrough - This is a relatively simple technique that creates a sudden gust of wind, but its scale varies greatly depending on the user. If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight
Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu – Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique - A ninjutsu where the user conceals themselves underground and drags the object of their attack down into the earth, robbing them of their freedom. In addition, they can start another attack. This technique was originally used for torture, by cutting into the enemy's neck
Suiton: Hahonryuu – Water Release: Tearing Torrent - This technique creates water that spirals in the user's hand and fires at a high-speed burst at the enemy. The overall amount of water formed is large enough to help extinguish even large-scale fire release techniques
Omote Renge - Front Lotus - This taijutsu technique requires the opening of the first of the Hachimon, giving the user five times their normal strength. The user launches the opponent into the air and then uses Shadow of the Dancing Leaf. Once behind the opponent, the user restrains them and piledrives them into the ground headfirst while rotating at a ferocious speed.