A/N: I have been completely blown away by your reviews. 48 reviews for one chapter! That's more than I expected the complete story to have at this point! It's the most I've ever received, so I'm very happy that you guys enjoyed the chapter. I apologize for the late update, but I've been a little busy these last couple of months. I can't promise that the next chapter will be posted sooner though, but I will try.
This chapter is dedicated to DuHSPaZZiNGFeL, for giving me the inspiration with an absolutely amazing review to finish the chapter! Thank you!
And now, on to more important matters: the story itself.
Enjoy the chapter! ^_^
Hidden Sunray
Chapter 6
Kushina stared at her surroundings, her hands resting angrily on her hips. Her grey eyes looked down one corridor for a couple of seconds before she turned her eyes to another corridor, staring down it as well. The small scowl on her face intensified slightly before she turned her gaze to her companion.
"I think we're supposed to go this way," she said with a challenging hint in her voice and pointed at the corridor to her left. Tsunade frowned slightly before she too scanned the entrance of the corridors. She shook her head when she finished.
"No, we're supposed to go this way," the blonde disagreed and pointed to the right. "I'm pretty sure that is what this map is showing," she said and pointed at the map in her hands. Kushina and Tsunade locked gazes for a couple of seconds when neither one of them wanted to give in to the other before Kushina's eyes softened slightly and a small smile slipped onto her face.
"Fine, let's try going your way first," she said and walked into the corridor on her right, Tsunade following her with a grin. They walked through the corridors in silence until they reached another fork in their path. Kushina blinked a couple of times and stared blankly at the fork for a few seconds before she finally responded. She grabbed a fistful of hair in her hands and held her head in frustration.
"Argh! Why is this stupid place so damn confusing, dattebane!" she exclaimed in frustration. Tsunade twisted her head slightly as she examined the map again.
"That's odd," she murmured softly. "This corridor isn't supposed to fork here," she said with a confused tone in her voice. Her words broke Kushina out of her frustration and the redhead approached Tsunade.
"Let me see," she ordered and gazed over Tsunade's shoulder at the map. They both stared at the map for a couple of seconds before Kushina broke the silence.
"Uhm, we're on the right place. See?" the redhead said and pointed with her finger at a spot on the map. Tsunade shook her head and pointed at another spot on the map.
"No Kushina, we're supposed to be here," she told her friend. "We left that spot about half an hour ago." Kushina blinked in confusion and frowned while she regarded the map.
"Are you sure? I don't remember passing that," she said and pointed at another spot on the map. Tsunade blinked in surprise and regarded the map a little closer for a couple of seconds until her eyes widened.
"You're right! We didn't pass that! It means we're still on the right track!" she declared happily, causing Kushina to snort.
"I'm seriously starting to doubt your map-reading skills, Tsunade," the redhead said with a hint of amusement in her eyes. Tsunade merely shrugged and folded the map before she took a step to the corridor on her left. Kushina threw a sceptic eye at the corridor.
"Are you sure that's the way we need to go?" she asked the sannin. Tsunade sighed heavily before she turned her eyes to Kushina.
"Yes Kushina, I'm sure. Now would you please stop doubting my leading skills and get going?" she asked with exasperation in her voice. Kushina lifted an eyebrow questioningly and opened her mouth to retort to Tsunade's question, but seemed to think better of it, shrugging noncommittally and walking towards the corridor. She stopped when she entered the corridor and stared at something. Tsunade followed after Kushina, but also came to a stop immediately after entering the corridor.
"Tsunade," Kushina said conversationally without looking at her friend. "Previously, I told you that I doubted your map reading skills. I'm sorry, I was wrong," the redhead said and met Tsunade's eyes. "They suck. In fact, they're nonexistent," she continued and gestured at the corridor to prove her point. The corridor stopped a couple of metres in front of them, blocked by a wall.
A vein popped in Tsunade's forehead and the slight scowl on her face deepened. She stared angrily at the map for a few seconds before she sighed heavily and refolded the map.
"You know what? I simply don't care anymore," she muttered darkly under her breath. Kushina smirked at her friend when she heard the mutterings, her face assuming the typical I-told-you-so look. She reached out with her hand and neatly tried to take the folded map out of Tsunade's hands.
"Then let me try: seeing that at least I know where we are on the map," the redhead said, sticking out her tongue at the blonde. The scowl on Tsunade's face deepened even more, but she relinquished her grip on the map and allowed Kushina to take it. The smirk on Kushina's face broadened when she opened the map.
"Right, now let's see where we are," the redhead muttered and followed a route on the map with her finger. She studied the map for a couple of minutes before she folded it up and smiled at Tsunade.
"Right, let's go," the redhead said and led the way. Tsunade threw a sceptical eye at her friend, but followed her nonetheless.
They followed another corridor for a while, both of them silent, attend on their surroundings. They turned a corner and stopped, staring at the sight in front of them. A wall. Another wall. In other words, another dead-end.
Kushina felt the anger rise in her at the sight of the wall. What were they doing wrong? The map clearly told her that she went the right way, so why was there another damn wall in her way?
"Kushina?" Tsunade enquired with a tone of amusement in her voice. Kushina turned around slowly and looked at her friend with an angelic smile on her face.
"Tsunade?" she asked sweetly. "Would you mind breaking down that wall for me?" The expression on her face turned sinister as she stood to the side to make way for Tsunade.
"Kushina, the point of a map is to lead the user away from obstacles, not to lead the user to destroy said obstacles," Tsunade tried to reason with the redhead radiating pure evilness. Kushina merely shrugged at Tsunade's words.
"I don't care," she replied indifferently and pointed at the wall. "Now break it down," she ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument. Tsunade crossed her arms beneath her generous chest and shook her head.
"Oh no, Kushina. If you want the wall to be broken down, then you will have to break it down on your own," the sannin replied. Kushina flipped a lock of her hair over her shoulder and walked closer to the wall.
"Fine," she grumbled and laid her hand on the wall, forcing chakra-guided water into the wall until the wall was completely saturated. She took a few steps back and flashed her hands through a couple of hand-seals, ending at the tiger seal. Tsunade grew pale when she noticed the last seal and jumped a couple of metres back, trying to get out of the way of the monstrous jutsu the redhead was planning on using.
Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu! A stream of fire suddenly sprouted from the redhead's mouth, crashing against the wall with a force. Tsunade shielded her face from the sudden torrent of heat, steadily cursing Kushina under her breath.
Kushina stopped the jutsu after a couple of seconds and walked to the badly cracked wall. She lifted her leg and shattered the weakened wall with a well placed, chakra-enforced kick. She turned back to Tsunade and gave her another sweet smile.
"Broken down. Now let's go," she said and turned to look at the broken wall. "Let's see what's behind this stupid wall," she continued and cautiously stepped over the rubble, disappearing into the room. Tsunade continued to swear under her breath at the recklessness of her friend, but quickly followed after the redhead. After all, what chaos would the woman cause if left to her own devices?
She stepped over the rubble and lifted her head to look up at her surroundings. She stopped moving when she noticed the narrowed eyes staring at both her and Kushina in suspicion. The owner of the eyes held a kunai in his hand, ready to move at the slightest provocation and a couple of other people dressed in the fighting wear of Iwa shinobi also stared suspiciously at them. Tsunade sighed and turned her head to Kushina while keeping her eyes on the enemy.
"Kushina? I hate you," she told the redhead. Kushina merely smiled at her words.
"Yeah yeah Tsunade, I love you too. I'll make it up to you," she told her friend before a sinister smile slipped onto her face and she cracked her knuckles. "Now let's get this party starting," she declared and jumped into action, casting the room into complete chaos.
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Kakashi and Hizashi both stared in silence at their Hokage, allowing him to be reunited with his son without any interruptions. Minato continued to hold Naruto, simply revelling in his presence. Naruto clung to his father, sobbing loudly while tears streamed down his face. Minato held his son, soothingly stroking his back in a quiet reminder that he was there.
"Shhh Naruto. It's okay, I'm here," he soothed the boy, only barely keeping his voice steady. Naruto showed no indication that he heard him, but his sobs gradually grew softer, although his grip on Minato's robe did not loosen. It was fine with Minato: he wasn't willing to let go of his son anytime soon, either.
Hizashi cleared his throat from outside the cell. "I don't mean to interrupt you, Hokage-sama, but I believe it would be best to move on, before we are interrupted by unwanted company," the Hyuuga suggested. Minato felt his body grow cold at the thought of losing his son when he had just found him. Hizashi was right. It would be best to move on.
He tried to pull Naruto away from his cloak so he could look him in the eye, but Naruto's grip merely tightened at the movement. Minato sighed and stopped struggling, gently stroking the boy's back again.
"Come on, Naruto. Let's go home," he told the boy gently. Naruto's sobs halted for a second before he hesitantly nodded in his father's chest. Minato felt a smile slip onto his face at the thought. Home. A home that wouldn't be empty anymore. A home that would finally be complete again.
He slowly stood up from the ground, gently lifting the malnourished boy with him. He was light; too light. A boy his age shouldn't be so light, but by his obvious malnourishment, it was quite understandable that the boy was so light (and short). Naruto's sobs slowly grew less when he laid his head against his father's shoulder, tired by the outbreak of emotion and tears. Minato stood still for a second, waiting for Naruto to adjust in his arms, but he quickly realised that the boy was dead-asleep in his arms. A gentle smile slipped onto his face and he gently smoothed the boy's dirty hair before activating the wireless communicator in his ear.
"This is Team Hotel to all teams. Target acquired. Meet at Point Alpha. Out," he ordered into the communicator and turned to his companions. "Let's go," he ordered and stepped out of the cell. They entered a faster pace when they exited the cell, trying to get out of the building before being interrupted.
Minato focused on the path before him, listening absently to the reports coming in through the communicator. All teams rogered his order and were allegedly on their way to the meeting point. That was, all teams except one. Kushina and Tsunade haven't answered yet.
He activated the communicator again. "Team Hotel to Team Sierra. Team Sierra, come in," he ordered with a frown on his face. He waited for a couple of minutes, concern at the two reckless kunoichi growing in him, before an answer came in.
"Team Sierra to Team Hotel. Order received. Currently in a tight spot, so cannot meet at present time," Tsunade's voice sounded over the static of the communicator. In the background, Minato could make out faint sounds of fighting. The communicator sounded in his ear again.
"In fact, back-up would be very much appreciated right now," Tsunade hurriedly informed him, her voice sounding kind of stressed. "Over." Minato tensed at her words, immediately at attention.
"Where are you right now?" he asked anxiously. "Over." There was a second of silence before Tsunade's voice sounded hesitantly.
"Truth be told, I have no idea. Your crazy idea of a wife broke down the wall somewhere and landed us in this mess," she told him truthfully. "Over." He stopped in surprise at her words before he face-palmed.
"Of course," he muttered. "They've got no sense of direction whatsoever." He closed his eyes and focused on his wife's chakra. Long ago, after the first time he noticed her tendency to get lost, he had grafted a seal onto her body to alert him where she was at all times. She had argued with him and declared that she refused to be treated like a prisoner unless he also sported the same seal, so the two of them were always aware of where the other was. Not for the first time, he was very grateful for that seal.
There. He opened his eyes when he fixed his wife's position in his head and activated the communicator again.
"Team Hotel to all teams. The team closest to Area 7, go assist Team Sierra in their battle. Over," he ordered and waited for response. He didn't have to wait long before he received an answer.
"Team Alpha to Team Hotel. We're currently in Area 6, so we'll be able to reach Team Sierra in a minute. Over," Nagato's voice sounded over the communicator. Minato nodded, even though he knew they would not be able to see him.
"Team Hotel to Team Alpha. I'm counting on you. Out," he replied and contacted Tsunade again. "Team Hotel to Team Sierra. Meet up at Point Alpha whenever possible. Over," he told them. There was another second of silence before Tsunade answered him.
"Team Sierra to Team Hotel. Order received. Out," she acknowledged his order. Minato turned his attention back the rest of his team.
"The sooner we get out of here, the better," he told them. "Let's go." The other two shinobi nodded and they started moving upwards, closer towards the exit. They continued moving for some time until Hizashi halted them.
"Hokage-sama," the Hyuuga started softly, "the intersections to the corridors surrounding us are all blocked by shinobi," he informed his Hokage. Minato cursed under his breath at the news. He knew the mission had been too easy. He carefully shifted Naruto to his side, freeing one of his arms for fighting.
"How many?" he anxiously questioned the Hyuuga. He should have suspected a trap: they had found Naruto too easy with far too little resistance. Hizashi activated his Byakugan and focused on enemies only he could see.
"There are altogether about twenty shinobi, Hokage-sama," he answered respectfully. "Their chakra signatures are common to Iwa shinobi." Minato bit his lip softly while he devised a plan in his head. He took a deep breath before he turned to his companions.
"Alright, here is the plan. First, we need to..." He discussed the plan with them, sketching in the dust on the floor to explain the plan to his companions.
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Awasegaya Katsuki stood in the corridor along with seven other shinobi, his heart beating furiously. They were waiting for the intruders to spring their trap, but he could see that almost all of his fellow shinobi had slight fear in their eyes, just like himself. After all, it was expected of them to defeat Konoha's Yellow Flash, the Konohan Hero of the Third Shinobi War. Katsuki felt his heartbeat increase and he fought off the desire to turn around and ran away as far as he could. What was he doing? What was he doing even thinking they would be able to defeat the Yellow Flash?
He swallowed heavily and wiped a little sweat away from his brow. He didn't want to do it. He really didn't want to do it. Unfortunately, that was the fate of a missing-nin, especially one of his caliber. He had been only a Chuunin when he left the village to follow his sensei, so he didn't have the freedom to refuse any mission from his employers. He flitted his tongue over his lips, trying to relieve the dryness, and looked at his fellow missing-nin. Judging by the looks on their faces, they were all experiencing similar thoughts.
The lookout posted at the entrance to the corridor raised his hand, signalling the approach of the enemy. Katsuki clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to still his nerves. The moment he had been dreading had arrived.
Soft footsteps echoed in the corridor, steadily drawing closer. Katsuki focused his hearing on the footsteps, listening intently. Judging by the footsteps, their target hadn't spotted their trap yet. Slowly and seemingly nonchalantly, the footsteps drew closer to them.
A figure stepped out of the shadows, right into their trap. Katsuki barely noticed the blond hair and white jacket (sporting red flames at the hem) of their target before his fellow missing-nin rushed towards the figure. Katsuki took one last deep breath before he also rushed forward towards their target.
Their target stopped in the middle of the intersection and extended his left hand, palm showing outwards while bringing in his right hand to his side. Katsuki barely noticed that detail (that's not the Yellow Flash's fighting style!) before the person in front of them started his technique. The first of the attackers who had been rushing towards him fell to the ground with a resounding thud, thrown back by the sphere of chakra surrounding their target. Almost instinctively, the remaining attackers hesitated for a split second at the irregularity. Unfortunately, that split second prove to be their undoing.
The transformation on the enemy became undone, revealing a man with long black hair and white eyes. Katsuki knew enough of the noble clans of Konoha to realize that their enemy was a Hyuuga and thus, definitely not the Yellow Flash. The Hyuuga had changed his stance, flinging his right arm back into the air and his left arm forward close to the floor.
"You're in my divination range," he said softly and unleashed his attack, his fingers flying through the air and attacking the missing-nin trying to attack him. Katsuki received a couple of strikes himself, feeling his chakra being blocked off. He swore loudly, jumping back to get back out of the Hyuuga's range. The other missing-nin weren't that lucky, receiving the full brunt of the Hyuuga's strikes.
Katsuki's fellow shinobi finally scraped together enough courage to fight again and started to fight in more earnest, using ranged attacks to stay out of the Hyuuga's range. Slowly but steadily the Hyuuga was pushed back into the corridor, the missing-nin slowly getting the advantage their numbers provided them.
They pushed the Hyuuga back to a bend in the corridor, fighting all the while. The familiar rush of adrenaline filled Katsuki's veins, spurring him on to fight more viciously. The shinobi continued pushing against the Hyuuga until he suddenly disappeared.
Katsuki blinked in confusion and looked around him, trying to find the Hyuuga. A cold shiver ran down his spine when he noticed the strange, yet oddly familiar, pieces of paper with symbols written on them stuck to the walls. The seals on the walls started to glow slightly and Katsuki jumped back out of reach, just in time to see enormous hands shooting out of the walls and slamming his fellow missing-nin into the opposite wall. Tendrils of stone reached down from the ceiling and grabbed some more of his companions, pulling them up into the ceiling and suspending them by the neck and upper body. Chaos ensued as the stone tendrils increased in volume and speed, causing the missing-nin to fight more ferociously for their lives, being grossly outnumbered by the various seemingly indestructible tendrils of stone.
"Fall back!" Katsuki's commander ordered the remaining shinobi. As if released by those words, the remaining shinobi turned around and fled, trying to get away from the sentient walls. Tendrils of stone continued to follow them, pulling more shinobi into the walls and ceiling until only a handful was left. Katsuki, being the furthest away from the scene, managed to escape the chaos by turning down the left corridor and hiding in one of the empty rooms. Leaning against the door, he tried to catch his breath without giving his presence away. The panicked screams of his companions slowly decreased until a heavy silence consumed the area.
Heart beating furiously in his chest, Katsuki waited in the room for any sign that it would be safe to exit. A couple of seconds passed before he heard footsteps coming his way; footsteps he was clearly aware wasn't his companions'. The footsteps came to a stop in front of the room Katsuki was hiding in. With a deep breath, he looked cautiously out of the small barred window, praying that the shadows would hide him.
A couple of people stood with their backs to the room in a small half-circle, looking at each other. Katsuki felt his heart stop when he recognized most of the people, especially the Yellow Flash who was holding a child, covered with his signature cloak. Katsuki felt a flash of curiosity. Why would the Yellow Flash and his companions bring a child along? Wouldn't that just inhibit them from whatever they were doning? Katsuki's heart continued to hammer in his chest when the Yellow Flash and his companions didn't move, seemingly staring at something at the end of the corridor.
"I see you finally managed to find us," the Yellow Flash called out to somebody. Two figures stepped out from the shadows towards the Yellow Flash. Katsuki felt his breath catch when he recognized the newcomers as well.
He sat down on the floor, holding his breath, and prayed that he would not be found. With the new arrivals, he didn't have much hope to escape undetected. He only hoped that his end would at least be swiftly.
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Minato stared at the end of the corridor, recognizing the figures standing there, especially the familiar chakra radiating from the one. He was a little surprised that they had managed to find their way to him, but he supposed they got a little impatient and went the...direct way. In other words, breaking and crushing anything that stood in their way. He grinned a little. He had known that seal had been a good idea.
"I see you finally managed to find us," he called out to them, watching them coming closer. Minato could faintly see Kushina wave off his comment, mutely acknowledging his point. Tsunade scowled at his comment, but didn't say anything.
Minato turned slightly and allowed his cloak to slide off Naruto. The boy was still lying with his head on his father's shoulder, but his eyes were drifting around, trying to take everything in. He turned his head slightly when the cloak slipped off him, trying to see what his father was looking at. The instant he noticed the two newcomers, he buried his face in Minato's shoulder again.
Kushina's breath caught in her chest when she noticed the blond head on Minato's shoulder. Eyes wide, she stared at them, trying to determine whether her eyes had deceived her or not. Minato noticed her indecision and gave her a gentle smile.
"Come here, Kushina. Don't you want to see him?" he asked her. His words had the effect of releasing a spring, causing Kushina to run towards him, stopping in front of him. Naruto whimpered softly and buried his face deeper in Minato's shoulder. Minato smiled gently at him and stroked his head.
"Hey, don't hide your face. Your mom wants to see you," he told the boy in his arms with a gentle and loving tone. Naruto tensed up slightly before he hesitantly turned his face towards Kushina, looking apprehensively at her. Kushina gave a step forward, yearning to touch her child.
"Naru-chan?" she whispered softly, hope and fear in her voice. Naruto continued staring at her until recognition lit his eyes.
"Mommy?" he asked timidly with disbelief prominent in his voice. Tears sprang in Kushina's eyes as a smile appeared on her face and she nodded. Naruto weakly lifted his head off his father's shoulder and looked at Kushina with hope in his eyes. "Mommy," he repeated and struggled, trying to get down. Minato gently placed him on the floor and helped him stand.
Kushina sank on her knees and took him into her arms, tightly embracing him. Tears streamed in equal amounts from their faces as they rejoiced in their reunion. Naruto's sobs started again as he continued to hold onto his mother with no intention of letting go. Kushina kept stroking his filthy blond hair over and over again, trying to comfort him and marvelling at the feeling of holding her son again. Minato smiled at the scene in front of him with gentle eyes, happy to have his family whole again.
Kakashi clearing his throat brought Minato back to earth again. "Sensei, we should get going," the jounin said anxiously, glancing at the empty corridors. "We don't know when reinforcements will arrive. I'm sure it would be better if we can get out of here without being delayed too much," he emphasised. Kushina lifted her head from Naruto's shoulder and stared at Kakashi with apprehension in her eyes before turning her gaze to the dark corridors surrounding him.
"Of course," she whispered. "We're not in a safe place," she whispered softly to herself and looked at Naruto again. She kissed him on his forehead before pulling back. Just like with Minato, Naruto held tighter onto Kushina, refusing to let go. "We have get out of here, sweetie. Don't you want to go home?" she asked him gently with soft eyes. He looked at her from beneath his filthy tresses before he nodded hesitantly and allowed Kushina to pull away. Minato knelt at Naruto's side and smiled at him, encouraging him that everything would be fine.
"Will you be able to hold onto my back?" he asked the boy. He could not continue holding Naruto in his arms the entire time, since he was pretty sure that they would reach a stage where he needed both of his arms. Naruto hesitated slightly before nodding and climbing clumsily on the broad back Minato offered him. Minato settled the boy's weight on his back before he stood up, making sure that Naruto was secure. He turned towards his companions, nodding at them.
"Let's go," he ordered them and turned around, ready to lead the way. His companions all nodded and surrounded him, ready to escape for once and all from the place, but everyone turned around when they heard a strange voice.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," the voice told them nonchalantly. Minato felt Naruto's grip around his neck tighten and his heartbeat rising at the voice and immediately knew that the boy's nerves were starting to run thin. Slowly, he turned around and looked into the eyes of the newcomer, immediately recognizing him. According to the picture Bear had included in his report, the person in front of them was Yamauchi Takeo, the very same missing-nin who was in charge of the building they were in and also the very same person who had kept him from his son for five years. The person responsible for that was standing cockily at the entrance to the corridor leading to the exit, accompanied by two other missing-nin, confidently blocking the exit.
Minato felt his eyes narrow at the sight in front of him. How dare they? How dare they? After everything they had done to harm him, how could they try to stop him? Next to him, he could hear Kushina crack her knuckles. He allowed the anger to rise up in him, allowing it to assist him in the battle soon to come.
There would be hell to pay.
_~...end of chapter...~_
A/N: And that's the chapter! I hope it explains a couple of things to you, but if it didn't, then at the very least I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Please review! I think the fighting scene in this chapter flowed a bit better than the previous chapter, but that's up to you guys to decide!