Man oh man, what a day. I just finally got onto the computer, and then FF was being evil with me for some reason. After a while of waiting and waiting, I was able to get this chapter up. HOORAY. Not much more to say here, but that as you all know (or most of you anyway) I'm going to make the Narutoverse no Jutsu movie and I'm probably going to start the long process of drawing everything out soon. I've already got one of the canon characters chosen; our very own...UZUMAKI NARUTO! I won't elaborate now, since that'd just take up a lot more space than needed, but I will on the website. Just a little bit of info that you folks might be interested in or not. SO ANYWAY. ONTO THE CHAPTER!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Kyoko, what—" Naruto said. He noticed the needles falling to the ground and turned his gaze to question the kunoichi, but he was cut off by a punch in the gut that sent him flying. "Omf!"
"Nice save, Itachi," Kisame said gruffly as the many clones stacked on him disappeared. He brushed himself off. "So what're you gonna do with that one?" He gestured towards the lifeless Kyoko who had collapsed in a daze. Sweat was running down her face and she was shaking as if having a bad dream. And she was. After all, the Mangekyou Sharingan did that to you, especially if you caught a glimpse up close.
Itachi had appeared out of nowhere and startled the life out of her. Now she was trapped in her own horrid nightmares.
"I suppose I should kill her…As well as her sensei."
"Eh? You didn't kill the woman yet?"
"When I heard the explosion I came to investigate," Itachi said.
"Then you left her?"
Itachi nodded. "She'll die either way. And this one probably will too." He turned his head so that Naruto was in full view. "We should take the jinchuuriki and leave now, Kisame."
Kisame nodded, but inside he was feeling quite uneasy. Itachi used it twice in one day. He's probably exhausted. "Itachi, maybe we should take this girl along too."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"
"There's something strange about the girls on that woman's team," Kisame explained. "Don't you remember the report Zetsu gave us about his findings on Orochimaru's recent plans?"
"The girls with the power of divination? Yes, I do. And you think these are the ones?" Itachi reasoned.
"Yeah…"
"And you believe in that nonsense Orochimaru spouts?"
"Well…Leader-san would get angry if he knew we fought the so-called fortune-telling girls and not bring one for experimentation."
"Now you're starting to sound like that devious snake," Itachi sighed. He didn't forget what he had heard long before when he and Kisame had visited Konoha. He realized that this girl was one of the girls sitting a distance away from them at the sweets shop. Although at that time he didn't think much to listen too intently to their conversation, he had still caught several words that seemed to link with his knowledge of the rumored fortune-telling girls. "Fine, then. We'll bring the girl."
"No you won't!" Naruto, who had finally recovered from the blow Itachi had given him started charging half-drained towards the Akatsuki members. "I'll ki—GACK!"
Kisame raised an eyebrow. One moment the jinchuuriki was running blindly into defeat and the next minute he was being dragged back by his overly large collar.
"What the he—!"
"Let us help with these guys, Otouto," Nami said confidently. Her hand was clutching Naruto's collar, and the boy was now sitting at her feet.
"But—"
"You need it," Midori said seriously. "You're down to at least half your chakra and we can't afford you zonking out." She turned her attention back to the partners and glared. "What did you do to Kyoko?"
Kisame looked amused. "We just put her to sleep, is all."
"I don't remember you doing anything."
The fish-like man frowned at the younger ninja. "Thanks, Itachi."
"We have to get her back from them," Naruto muttered so only the girls could hear. "Here's the plan…"
"You kids gonna just stand there, or are we gonna have more fun?" Kisame taunted.
"Okay guys...Go!"
As quick as a gunshot, Nami and Naruto darted in two directions, left and right. Naruto generated a few clones while Nami finished a chain of hand seals.
"Time for our secret weapon, Otouto!" she called.
"You got it!"
"Double Ninja Art: Three-Strike Shock!" the two bellowed.
Itachi narrowed his eyes.
"I've never heard of anything like that," Kisame said as his brow furrowed. "What is it, some kind of a joke?"
At that moment, Nami whipped out her fiery blade and slammed it into the ground halfway, creating a large crevice that snaked its way towards Itachi and Kisame. The pair automatically leapt into the air only to be mobbed by Naruto clones. "Strike One!"
Itachi dodged the many attacks from the clones gracefully. "Kisame. Dispose of them."
Kisame reached for Samehada but found it to be missing. Surprised, he saw two orange-clad ninja standing to the side, one mocking him by slapping his backside and the other grinning cockily while using Samehada as a post. That got him started.
"You're gonna regret that!" Kisame hollered.
"Kiss my—OW!" the kage bunshin Naruto yelped as he was stabbed by sharp scales that protruded from the sword. He, along with the other clone vanished before they could start to bleed.
"Fool," Kisame smirked. He swung his arm and spun in the air, crushing the clones around him, clearing the space for Itachi and himself. He pushed off of one jagged side of the crack Nami had made earlier and retrieved his sword while Itachi slipped to the other side. However, Itachi was soon off the ground when Nami appeared in front of him and shouted, "Strike Two!"
Nami made a winding motion with her sword and fire was sent barreling toward the Uchiha who quickly countered with a "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" The two fierce attacks collided, and Itachi was able to drop down low enough for the attack to skim over his head several inches. As he regrouped with Kisame, Nami dropped down next to the original Naruto, which wasn't hard considering his clones had all disappeared.
Itachi noticed a shocked expression on Kisame's face. Wondering what had his teammate so spooked, he said quietly, "What is it?"
"I…I already soaked up her chakra earlier before," Kisame answered, "How is it possible that she can pull of that technique? It should use a large amount of chakra…I don't get it…"
"Last strike," Naruto muttered. "If this doesn't take them out, we're in big trouble."
"It will," Nami assured him. "We've been working on this for ages. We can't miss."
Nodding, Naruto bent his knees in a ready position while Nami reached into her back pouch. With a fast snap of her hand, smoke billowed everywhere, sufficiently cloaking the area.
---
Midori sighed. She had managed to get away from the raucous battle in process along with her injured teammate like the trio had planned, but she was still doubtful of leaving Nami and Naruto to take care of those guys. Of course, if she had stayed, Nami wouldn't have been able to borrow her chakra anyway.
They had performed it while trailing after Naruto and Kyoko, the Chakra Transfer no Jutsu.
A while ago, Midori had offered to help Marieke with some house-cleaning and stumbled across a scroll of jutsu. Intrigued, she started to search for some jutsu that would be able to assist her in getting herself (and more importantly, her teammates) out of tight spots. She had come across a jutsu that caught her eye, Chakra Transfer.
Flashback
"Chakra Transfer no Jutsu?" Nami and Kyoko repeated.
"Yeah!" Midori nodded enthusiastically holding up the scroll she had found the jutsu in. "It allows the user to connect with another person and transfer their chakra directly to them. Just think, if one of us runs out of chakra, all we'd have to do is borrow from the other person!"
"That would be useful," Kyoko admitted. "But I'd rater not have Nami leech off of my chakra for devilish purposes."
"What's with the look?" Nami said innocently. "And who says I'll ever need your chakra?"
"This is all a matter of trust," Midori said. "Both people will be aware of their chakra's flow anyway, because it takes both of them to make the correct hand signs at the same time. Plus, you can always stop the chakra with a simple chain of seals, so there's hardly any risk for us if we're careful."
"Eh? Does this say blood pact?" Nami said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't approve of those kind of things."
"I don't," Midori said. "But this is for a good cause, and we only have to emit our chakra through a tiny cut into the other person's body so the chakra will be familiar. It's really quick and doesn't hurt a bit! Trust me!"
"Well…Okay…"
End Flashback
"Okay, so it hurt a little…" Midori sighed, wincing from how sensational the first chakra transfer had gone. Now, Nami was using Midori's chakra in battle, and Midori was supplying here immensely with the help of the Hikari Suishou glowing faintly around her neck. She knew that Nami would be complete with chakra for quite some time, at least, until the constant chakra transmittance from crystal to her body then to Nami starts to tire her.
Midori glanced at Kyoko expression was pained. Her breath was heavy, and she had been breaking out in cold sweat ever since Itachi had hit her with the Mangekyou Sharingan. If she remembered correctly, (her real-world memories were still a bit fuzzy) Kakashi had been forced to lie in bed for weeks until he was able to move again when Itachi and Kisame had appeared in the village. If Kakashi, an elite jounin was defeated to such a level by the Mangekyou, she couldn't imagine how Kyoko was feeling now, and she didn't want to.
"Sorry, Kyoko," Midori muttered regretfully. There was no way she'd be able to help her teammate out, especially since her mind was the part that was injured the most. The only thing she could do was heal her physical wounds and hope that the back-up she sent for would come as quickly as possible and with a few more experienced medics at hand.
And if the thoughts of everything happening around her weren't burdensome enough, one thought was plaguing her mind now. She had been aware of it since the attack on the camp, but had been too distracted by the action to actually address it, and she was sure that held the same with her teammates. Where in the world was Marieke?
Midori quickly made a few hand seals and touched the natural floor. For the second time that day, a puff of smoke sprouted and an animal appeared. Due to her chakra being currently drained and replenished, the outcome of her summoning was smaller than before. The bird that appeared now was considerably miniature with a petite head and brown feathers; a juvenile Sharp-shined Hawk.
"Who's summoned me, the great Surudoi?" the hawk demanded in a high voice.
"Hikari Midori," Midori answered. "Surudoi-san, I'd like you to scout the area for signs of my sensei."
"Me on scouting? Ridiculous, I say!" chirruped Surudoi.
"It's of utmost importance," Midori said, a bit annoyed with this summoning.
"It is, is it?"
"Oh yes. As soon as she comes, you'll be the one rewarded for bringing back the captain of this mission."
"I'm retrieving a captain, hm? All right. I'll do it!"
"Great. She's about five-foot nine, auburn ponytail, dark blue and black kimono-like dress, and a mask."
"Roger!" A quick flit of wings sounded and he disappeared into the late night.
---
The smoke bomb had temporarily blinded the Akatsuki members, but they were more skilled than that. They would easily be able to sense the movements of the genin if they tried a sneak attack, even without the luxury of sight.
Suddenly, the sound of speedy footsteps resonated from all sides.
Of course…they had to take Naruto's signature jutsu into account.
Once again, the two were crowded. The smoke had not yet cleared, for Nami had set a chain of smoke bombs in the area that activated at will. Fresh smoke spilled from these bombs as the kage bunshin team attacked Itachi and Kisame.
Itachi ducked from as many clones as he was able, but with so many it was difficult. However, the only contact he had felt from the clones was what he figured to be a few brushes of the face. It was then he decided that he had had enough of this and escaped the smoky haze, Kisame close behind. However, as soon as Itachi stepped out, he sensed danger and immediately dashed ahead several more meters. It was a good thing, too, because Kisame was utterly surprised when he felt something cold and mucky fall on his head.
"What the—!" Kisame hollered as leaves of all shapes and sizes started to rain down upon him. The flaky foliage was followed by long strands of green and brown vines that twisted around him, sticking along with the leaves to the mud.
Another number of smoke bombs exploded, and Itachi heard Kisame curse loudly. By the time the polluting smog cleared, Naruto and Nami were gone.
"Strike Three," Naruto grinned at Nami as the two slapped five while they flew through the trees. They were a good distance away from the Akatsuki pair now.
"And they're out," Nami smirked, giving Naruto a wink. "Well, I'd say we distracted them adequately, wouldn't you?"
"Yeah. They'll have a hell of a fun time when they've figured out what we did."
"Most definitely."
---
Midori had noticed the chakra transfer cease minutes ago, and she was dying to wonder how the fight ended, hoping it was in her favor. After all, she had warned them not to go all-out, and to keep the mission's focus first and to retreat as soon as possible. Naruto had said himself that he promised not to, and Nami had agreed with some annoyance.
I shouldn't be worrying, the young kunoichi thought. It's Naruto and Nami…after all.
"Oi! Midori! Midori!"
Midori felt a small weight on her shoulder and glanced at the Sharp-shined Hawk perched there. "Did you find my sensei, Surudoi-san?" she asked.
"Yes, but I don't think you're going to be happy when you see her."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, during this time only the Sannin and maybe a few of the elites knew about Akatsuki, right? I'm not sure myself, and if I'm wrong I'll probably just screw up in the next chapters, so if you know, kindly tell me. Thanks!
After I wrote about the Chakra Transfer, I felt like I knew it from somewhere. Then, late at night I suddenly remembered a certain "Blood Brotherhood" chapter from Shang's Naruto: Next Generation fic. He has pretty much the same jutsu only its for a bloodline limit for twins and triplets in a clan (which probably makes more sense than my own) and I must have so subconsciously remembered it that I kind of used it...a little bit...So if anyone asks, the original wasn't my idea (haha, as usual) but Shang's. Oopsies.
Until next time...
-HM