AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys! It's been a super long time sice I've updated, so I'm giving you guys a longer chapter. Im not so proud of this chapter, though, beause I kinda rushed it. Enjoy!
Warning bells sounded everywhere throughout Konoha, causing distress to both civilians and shinobi alike. Everything was getting out of hand, causing great stress for the Sandaime. He wouldn't think that Ame would actually attempt to march through Konoha's gates.
The Sandaime cursed his naivety. Why would he believe that Hanzo would back down from the war just by giving his students a title? He clenched his fists, slamming them onto his stacks of paper.
The Sandaime, who thought the war would be over in a couple of months, had fallen so low that he, with that mindset, was vulnerable to Hanzo. Hiruzen groaned in agony as he himself was to blame for this unfortunate outcome.
How did Hanzo have enough men that would be three times greater in size than before? It astounded and worried Hiruzen at the same time. From what he saw, Ame was a small and poor country, haggard with war.
Maybe the men Hanzo would bring were more in quantity and less in quality. However, even if that were the case, Konoha would still lose a lot of its force. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if that weren't the case.
Betrayer of Konoha.
Betrayer to what exactly? From the scribbled handwriting of Jiraiya, Hiruzen concluded that Jiraiya was in a rush or possibly in danger when sending the message. However, his white-haired student wasn't specific enough to say what the betrayer acted upon to actuallybetray Konoha.
But, despite the brief note, a betrayer was a betrayer, and that wasn't tolerable in Hiruzen's book.
Again, the simple line rang into the Sandaime's ears like a bell. Naruto. Hiruzen cocooned his face with his hands as a sign of distress. What could she have obtained to help weaken Konoha into thinking that the war would be over soon? What if her attack on Iwa was just a farce to open Konoha's weakness, letting Ame take the tide of the war, and (Konoha) to be soon-to-be defeated? The idea seemed too far-fetched and complex, though.
The aging leader rubbed his head in frustration. He was acting irrationally, going as far as to blame Naruto, a new citizen of Konoha, just because she previously had ties with Amegakure. He couldn't just jump to conclusions as easily as he did, for his title of Hokage would be in jeopardy.
He thought deeply. Naruto had already declared before that she lived on one of the small islands of Ame, not the main one, where Hanzo lead strictly. Hiruzen pinched his goatee in thought, briefly thinking what he would do if he was Naruto, a battle-hardened warrior who came from a foreign country, starting anew, and living in the fear of one day being a scapegoat to Konoha if Ame were to ever attack.
But if Naruto were the culprit, then Konoha would be in grave danger. A strong opponent like Naruto would be difficult to deal with. With her amazing prowess, there would be no doubt in mind that she could annihilate a village.
He took a whiff of his pipe until it hit him. Ame wanted territory. He froze with eyes as grave as death. The reason that the Second Shinobi World War started was because of the five major hidden villages wanting to obtain territory by force and manpower.
The Sandaime gulped unconsciously, feeling as if his blood ran cold. He chuckled darkly at the realization. "Hanzo, you scheming salamander."
If Hanzo were to just give his whole country from a decree, like before, then everything would have been too easy. How could Hiruzen be fooled that by making his students keep the title, the Sannins, Ame would back down completely?
In a flurry of movements, Hiruzen ran from his quarters and went to the vault, where he took out the decree given by Hanzo. He stared at it, looking at the crest stamped in blood, then slammed it on the desk, causing more papers to fly.
He contemplated how Hanzo would attack Konoha. Hanzo knew better than to make a frontal attack on such a powerful hidden village, which brought him to the conclusion that there was more that just an army marching down to Konoha. What if troops were already on Konoha's boarders? An inside attack—however, this was impossible because the attacker would be detected foreign right away, unless the person had been among the citizens of Konoha for so long to be trusted...
Six months... It's been six months since Naruto resided in Konoha—long enough to be trusted. To make matters worse, Naruto knew that the Uchiha were tailing her. Hiruzen couldn't take caution anymore, but make action. "ANBU! Go tail Naruto-san without being noticed, and if she tries to do anything that could possibly harm Konoha, then stop her at all costs!"
Naruto recognized the loud, buzzing alarms as warning bells, signaling to every man, woman, and child to head to a safe area. She gave a grim look to Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko, mouthing out the words, "Let's go!"
"Nee-san! What's going on?" Nagato questioned with fear embedded in his eyes. He grabbed onto Naruto's hand.
"They're warning bells signaling that there'll be an incoming attack," she said as calmly as possible.
"An attack in Konoha?" Konan worriedly repeated, covering her mouth with a trembling hand.
All three children had identical looks on their faces, all traumatized from when they experienced the tragedy and harshness of the war that took place in Ame. "It's okay, guys. Before anyone or anything can touch even one hair on your head, nothing's gonna harm you in any way with me around," Naruto encouraged.
Even with her efforts to comfort them, the three children still had weary looks on their faces, "C'mon, guys. I didn't teach you all ninjutsu for this kind of result! You need to learn to protect yourselves and the ones you love."
"All civilian men, women, and children, retire to the Hokage Monument as there might be an attack taking place soon! Be aware of your surroundings and remember to protect the children!" A shinobi repeated this with haste.
"Wait, stay here guys," Naruto ran to the shinobi shouting and warning people. "Who's going to attack, Shinobi-san?"
Recognizing Naruto as a fellow shinobi, the warner told her, "The Hokage held a meeting to all shinobi stating that the Sannin were captured in Ame, and now Ame, with Hanzo leading the army, will be attacking Konoha with twice as much shinobi as in the war at Ame last time."
"An attack from Ame? But that isn't possible! They should be too weak to initiate an attack with Konoha!"
"Apparently not. Jiraiya of the Sannin had informed us with one of his messenger toads that there would be an incoming attack from Ame."
"Oh." Naruto replied, feeling as if her heart had dropped. "And what's become of the Sannin?"
"I'm not sure, the Hokage only told us in a rush. He must've forgotten to say, or maybe didn't want to say..."
The blond paled and wavered, "Th-thank you, Shinobi-san." She gave him a small bow and ran back to the children. "We need to head to the Hokage Monument right now."
"Is that why everyone is moving this way right now?" Konan questioned.
"Yeah," Naruto thinned her lips. Briskly walking, Naruro thought about the three Sannin, if they were all right, and most importantly, if they were alive. If they, for any reason, happen to be spirited away, only God knows what would become of the future.
Naruto felt knots forming in her stomach at such horrifying thoughts. She brought her palm on her temple in frustration and tugged on her clothes to smooth out its wrinkles. The blonde then remembered the first time she met the three Sannin in the new timeline, particularly Tsunade and Jiraiya.
She barely knew their younger forms – practically strangers – but Naruto could still see their old personalities in them. Tsunade still criticized Jiraiya due to his perverse behavior, and Jiraiya was as perverted as ever although Tsunade kept hitting the hell out of him. Naruto barely formed a smile when she felt a lurching flip in her stomach.
If she lost Jiraiya again, after coming all the way to the past to prevent that, Naruto would lose herself from distress.
"Nagato, Konan, Yahiko, please head over to the Hokage Monument," Naruto slowly said in a no-questions voice. "I'm going to be heading somewhere for a little while—"
"Nee-san, you're coming back, right?" Nagato squeezed her hand tight.
"Yeah, wait for me, kay?" Naruto engulfed the three children in a hug, "And if you guys get in trouble, remember what I taught you during training. Stick together, okay?" With a kissy face, Naruto stood up and pinched their cheeks. She needed to put on a brave face for them.
"Hey—" they muffled.
"By the way, when I come back, you all better hope the apartment's clean."
Yahiko put his hands on his hips, "I can't promise you anything—"
"We know, Nee-san," Konan and Nagato punched Yahiko lightly on the arms.
She smiled, feeling the comfort of her sibling-like figures and left to the opposite direction.
"Stay in an orderly fashion when heading to the Hokage Monument, folks! Remember, this is only a precautionary measure taken for an incoming attack!" Sakumo shouted with hands clasped in between his mouth to remind the Konohan citizens. He repeated his instructions and headed to another location.
He looked to the side and sighed when the citizens, blinded with fear, scrambled like ants tending to their queen.
Sakumo looked at the many children crying and tugging at their parent's clothes for comfort and frowned. He, as a father, worried immensely for his only son, Kakashi. He wondered if Kakashi was already inside the Hokage Monument, safe and sound with the rest of his classmates.
"Please be safe," he whispered to himself.
Walking through an engulfing amount of villagers and shinobi alike, Sakumo caught the sight of Naruto sprinting from roof to roof, heading towards the village entrance. It was prohibited for shinobi to exit the village with the Hokage approval, and at most cases, shinobi who were to ever leave the village would be in groups with others shinobi, not solo.
Sakumo frowned deeply. As a teacher, wasn't Naruto supposed to be inside the Hokage Monument, tending for the nervous children who had never been exposed to an invasion?
Looking back, Sakumo saw five of his fellow shinobi warn and instruct the villagers. He, despite his fighting conscience, ran towards the direction Naruto was heading and followed her.
Naruto, sprinting cutting through the wind as she ran, had lithe steps, making no sudden and clanking noises as she glided and leaped through the creased, metallic roofs. Her speed picked up once she sighted the entrance clearly, seeing that there were many Konoha shinobi outside the village, preparing for any incoming attacks.
She cursed and turned to another direction, left from the entrance and hopped up to the steep and thick walls of the protective Konoha. Once atop the massive barrier, the woman put her flat hand over the crease of her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes for any clear routes she could take.
Breathing a deep breath, Naruto ran to one of the clear corners of Konoha's barrier that overlooked a lush-green forest of Konoha-only grown trees that stretched over Naruto's line of sight.
As she smelled the lush-scented air, out of all its naturalness, she recognized the familiar scent of hair product. She spun around to face her offenders, clearly seeing three ANBU with masks concealing their facial features.
Naruto growled out in annoyance. She had suspected that something like this would happen. Through years of knowing him, Naruto knew that her old jiji was kind and generous—and also rumored throughout the elemental nations to be quite soft—his trust came at a massive price.
"A rookie mistake there, ANBU-san. Couldn't you at least diffuse your scent?" Naruto was greeted back with a sharp incoming kick to the face. Naruto hummed in annoyance and thrust back a power-filled punch back to the ANBU.
Naruto jumped backwards in two quick motions and wiped her brow sweat. She looked at the ANBUs' masks and recognized their animal personas—owl, lizard, and bear.
The blond got into her unique fighting stance and gave the first line of attack, gifting the trio with painful advances of kicks, punches, and everything between. She smirked when she saw their clenched fists, successfully stimulating their anger.
The ANBU gave back her attacks more effectively, surprising Naruto, even giving her quite the daze when one—the most bulky one out of the three—took the ring of their kunai and slammed it down Naruto's cranium.
Naruto panted heavily. She cursed herself for underestimating them. The one ANBU who wore the hair product—Owl—must have used the scent to look unprofessional and rookie-like to faze Naruto. The Jinchuuriki growled out, "Oh, you're getting it, dattebayo!"
The blond front flipped towards Bear and kicked him on the torso him as she landed. Lizard ran towards Naruto with a short, curved sword and threw it towards her like a boomerang. Naruto, as she was still initiating to attack Bear and Owl at the same time, Lizard's attack almost caught her off guard.
She kicked the sword from the air, and jumped up for it, grabbing the weapon's handle tightly. The blond cut through her offenders with homicidal intentions and hurled back Lizard's sword back to him, effectively inflicting a gaping wound on his right bicep.
Lizard grunted in pain and covered his wound with his left hand, leaving him vulnerable. As Naruto was about to run up to Lizard, Bear was in a defensive stance while Owl was crouched down with the kanji of Tiger on her hands. Owl then put her fingers up to her mouth and with inflated cheeks, created a massive fireball within nanoseconds of finishing her hand seals.
The gigantic mass of fire hurled towards Naruto, disintegrating everything in its reach. The fireball, which was insanely quick, was about to engulf Naruto, and with so little space, Naruto was almost at a disadvantage. Naruto, still facing the fireball, dodged the flames in the last second by jumping to the right into thin air, then attacked the incredulous Owl with a flurry of kunais.
She landed back into the solid ground, facing Owl, who sustained Naruto's attack with a fighting stance.
Naruto's eyebrows creased unpleasantly. In her fury, Naruto had forgotten that she couldn't kill anyone from Konoha, or else she would face the consequences of being untrusted from the Hokage.
In an eye lock, Naruto stared at Owl with a menacing glare. She advanced towards Owl and was locked into a taijutsu battle. The blond saw the immense skill Owl had for taijutsu. In some instances, Naruto was at the short end of the stick. However, the Jinchuuriki fought her way up, and in an impossible fast flurry of movements, Naruto had a kunai pointed at Owl's head.
Naruto smirked, and turned over to the kunai's ring and slammed it on Owls head, effectively making Owl go unconscious.
Naruto then stared at the two last ANBU and licked her lips and crossed her fingers in a cross, "It's time I ended this."
The clone Naruto made stood next to her with their hands placed in between Naruto's. The clone then started to infuse chakra, making a winding sound. What the two ANBU saw shocked them completely—the Rasengan.
Naruto struck Bear, who was thrown towards the already injured Lizard, defeating them completely.
The blond crouched down on her knees with exhaustion written all over her face. She had thrown even more fuel to the fire as she had caused the civilian's panic to grow from her latest attack.
"Ahh!" She groaned, "Sucks to just start fighting after six months..." Naruto looked back at her work and smiled, "At least I haven't lost it yet." She then jumped from the barrier, landing, then jumping from tree to tree.
"That girl... What is she up to?" Sakumo said from the side of the barrier. He jumped and landed right side up, meeting the three ANBU. "What did the Hokage tell you guys?"
Owl, at the brink of total darkness said, "To destroy her on spot if she were to harm Konoha in any way."
"Destroy Konoha, eh?" He was in his serious mode, but felt a bit melancholic at the revelation. "Would she do that?"
"Please find her and do our deed." Owl whispered in a hushed tone. "We cannot risk it."
Sakumo hummed, "Ok." He swallowed a lump on his throat, "For now, I still need to confirm Naruto's actions." He exhaled a deep sigh while putting on his fingerless gloves, "And if her actions are against Konoha..." He let Owl's imagination go wild as he jumped from the steep wall, and into the forest.
Naruto wasn't surprised when she saw rain pouring down Ame like a hose. "I hate the rain," she muttered to herself. The woman stopped to catch a breath. After sprinting for four hours straight, the blond was exhausted.
After heaving deep breaths, she stood straight and made a solid henge into a male persona with brunet hair and a taller stature. She tested her voice accordingly, resulting in a completely deeper tone. Lastly, Naruto removed her forehead protector.
She then cleared her mind and summoned her demon, "Hey, Kurama?"
"Yes?"
"Good, you actually sound awake." Naruto sighed in relief, "Would it be too much of a hassle to ask for your "wisdom?"
"Are you trying to fool me, Brat?"
"No!" She crossed her hands unconsciously, "I just wanted to ask you if you held any knowledge about Hanzo?"
"Hanzo, huh?" Kurama purred in thought, "When your mother was my Jinchuuriki, I had heard many rumors of Hanzo of the Salamander. It was said he was one of the strongest shinobi to have ever lived. He…" Kurama paused in thought, "He was a private man, I suppose you could say. Usually, the ones who ever fought him never lived to tell the tale, and the ones who did live were also a bunch of private fools."
Naruto gave Kurama a quizzical look, "So what?"
"There's nothing else to it. All I could tell you, Naruto, is good luck." Kurama raised a brow and then sniffled and reminded, "And don't forget to hide your head protector." He gave her a contemplating look, and added, "Also, in that form, don't give anything away that could reveal your identity as much as possible. That means no Naruto-only jutsu."
"Already know it. Anything else to enlighten me?"
"No. It's not like you can get anything else through that thick thing that you call a head."
"You..." Naruto growled, then sighed to herself. "Ugh. Now's not the time for this shit."
Naruto then agreed to what Kurama had insisted and pulled out a full-body cape from her backpack, successfully concealing her identity and sheilding herself from the rain.
When she neared the village, Naruto slowed her pace to think. Would Hanzo know she was in his village from the rain just as Pein had before? She couldn't risk it. The Sannin would be the ones getting the brunt of her mistakes. Having come this far already, there could only be a matter of days until the inevitable would come.
She then decided to settle inside a bar just outside of Ame. Going up the path to the bar had been uneventful, walking only to see rainy landscapes. When inside, Naruto sat on one of the single seats right in front of the bartender. "Your weakest saké, please?" The woman grunted in a deep voice.
The bartender gave her a quizzical look and shrugged his shoulders. Naruto looked behind her, counting only about eight people in the bar, most of them being shinobi. Luckily, one shinobi and his acquaintance came and sat beside Naruto.
"Finally, this hellish day has ended! I seriously thought we were gonna die today, Lori."
Naruto listened in, pretending to be immersed in drinking her saké.
"Tell me 'bout it. I've been sleep deprived this whole week, add work on top of it, and I'll be sure to be dead by the end of this month, Kizi. Heck, when I was on the fronts, I had insomnia!" Lori joked.
"Least we're lucky to be on boarder patrol. Others are on the front lines." Kizi shivered, "I don't think I would be able to sleep with both eyes shut if it were me!"
"Yeah, Hanzo-sama was generous." Lori patten the left side of the bottom of his torso, "When I was on the fronts, I thought I was a goner! When I got this injury, Hanzo-sama let me off and thought I would be of more use in border patrol."
"Heh," Kizi laughed without amuse, "tough."
Naruto analyzed the two at the corner of her eye. Lori and Kizi were still young. The blond estimated them to be at least sixteen years old, if not older. The two boys only sounded mature, however, their appearances said otherwise. Still under aged, Naruto saw that the two were only given alcohol from shinobi benefits.
This must have been the first war of their generation. Naruto frowned in pity for them. She wasn't any older when she participated in her first war. Wars sucked. All wars did was bring calamity to the world.
The two boys only tried to act tough, but deep down inside, Naruto knew that all they wanted to do was curl up to their mothers—if they had any. Especially since the war's battleground was dead-center in Ame, there was no way for them to think that everything was fine.
She looked around her surroundings and saw that many in the bar had solemn expressions littered on their faces.
Naruto narrowed her eyes and drank the rest of her drink in one shot—something was stirring up.
The drink burned through her throat as she wiped her mouth. "Hey, Man, I'm off. Better get some rest," Kizi joked.
"Yeah, me too. Better get going," Lori slapped Kizi's back and waved before heading out.
This was Naruto's chance. She slapped the given amount on the bar and slowly followed Kizi out, who left soon after Lori. Out the door, Naruto noticed the slightly staggered movements Kizi performed while walking down the straight slope. She smirked—this was going to be easy.
As Kizi walked in an isolated area, Naruto took her chance to swipe her elbow to Kizi's neck, successfully knocking him out.
She took him into one of the many abandoned buildings in Ame and waited for him to wake up.
After time's wait, Naruto was sitting across the woken Kizi, who had the same dazed look on his face. Good, Naruto thought. Kizi was still drunk.
Kizi, who processed everything in his sight tried to sit up from his chair, but was restrained from the tight bonds on his hands and legs. "Wha-what's goin' on!?" He shouted as he started to shake from his secured chair.
Naruto stared at him with analytical eyes. Due to Kizi's young age, he was an easy target for information. Added that he was still drunk, he was even easier prey. His immature brain will inevitably cause him to be impulsive, and with that, Naruto could weed information from him easily.
"Don't do that. The only thing you will get from struggling is senbon on your body." Naruto jingled her cup of senbon in a hand. The metal pines clattered in the cup like a melody of unsavory death. Kizi visibly shuttered, thinking of possible scenarios in his head.
"He-hey, weren't ya that person next to me?" Kizi sat with widened eyes of realization.
"Are you simple-minded? Even after the war trampled on your village, you dare not watch your back, especially to even be drunk?" She was cruel in her words.
Kizi frowned at Naruto's male persona as his eyes shown gleamed through the darkness. He was provoked, and shouted out, "Shut your-"
A senbon whooshed past his ear, successfully cutting a few strands of hair, and shutting him up completely. "Now you're quiet?" She paused before continuing. "What is Hanzo planning with Konoha?"
"Ple-Ple-please! I-I don't know a thing!"
The blond gave him a blank stare, "Judging from your reaction, you do know something, do you?"
"No!" Kizi insisted.
"Suit yourself," Naruto walked up to him slowly, letting him to feel a building anxiety. She took a senbon from the metal cup, purposely holding it out in front of her and poking herself with it, causing a stream of blood to leak from her index finger. "It's pretty sharp, you know?"
He was visibly shaking by now with cold sweat running down his face. "Wher' you gonna stick that?" He slurred again.
"I don't know, you tell me." She was devious, looking at Kizi with a darkened expression.
"Please," he begged again, "I swear I kno' nothin'!"
She then struck him on the shoulder, causing him to rattle in his seat. The boy, although young, lifted his head while biting his lip from crying out loud. He groaned as the pain deepened.
"The next one goes though your fingers one...by...one…if you're not careful in your choice of words." She advanced towards him, locking a senbon on the tip of his index finger. "So many nerves on such a little thing like a finger, if I were to penetrate you right here, who knows how much it would hurt?"
When Kizi kept his mouth shut, Naruto started to move downwards, until she felt the penetration of skin. He struggled in his seat, as tears of pain ran down his cheeks.
With the pressure building up, Kizi finally shouted in surrender, "Okay, okay, I'll tell ya!"
Naruto stopped her latter actions and released her hand. "Good," she said blankly. She instantly got into business, "What is Hanzo planning on doing with Konoha? Give me a detailed answer."
With a hesitant look, Kizi explained, "Ev-everyone that's a shinobi in Ame knows 'bout it, but most are worried 'cause it's a far-fetched plan."
Naruto raised a calculating eyebrow, "Because?"
"Because an army 'ill march down to Konoha soon, and when they get there, they'll attack. The army's created with two-hundred and four able-bodied men and women, with twenty medic-nins who're extremely capable. The army is led by four captains, Kitama-sama, Kinoshi-sama, Matsuri-sama, and Tonzo-sama."
"Where's Hanzo in all this?"
"Hanzo-sama, he'll go down later to Konoha after the fighting is finished. When he arrives, all surviving Ame-nins 'ill retreat while Hanzo-sama 'ill create a poisonous fog that'll cover all of Konoha. This particular fog, if ya know, is used in large quantities of enemies and is extremely lethal. After an hour of inhaling, one can drop dead on the floor."
Naruto froze at the news that was much worse than she had presumed. "Tell me where Hanzo is right now, or else I'll remove your eyes!" Naruto then had a no-nonsense expression on her face. If she found Hanzo, she might have a clue as to where the Sannin were at.
Kizi became pale and stuttered, "He-he's at the tallest building in all of Ame—everyone in Ame knows it—you won't miss it."
Naruto relaxed her features, "Good, then. Thank you." She cast a memory fading jutsu on Kizi, who slumped on his seat, and ran off to find Hanzo.
When Naruto first entered Ame, Sakumo was about to strike, until Naruto went and kidnapped a man. It was puzzling to Sakumo to see Naruto act tremendously harsh to an Ame-nin. If his memory served him correctly, Naruto was also an ex-Ame shinobi. He sighed and looked down in thought.
Nothing was making sense. If Naruto was under Hanzo, then shouldn't she know where to meet up with him? Also, why did she need a henge, it was almost as if she was a stranger to Ame.
He stopped on his tracks and had a contemplating expression.
Just who was Naruto?
It wasn't far, the tower. Like a skyscraper, the tower touched the skies at a magnificent height. Even though its height, the tower had only a few windows scattered around. Naruto frowned and ran towards its entrance, being greeted by a dim darkness.
Looking her way though, Naruto found herself in a deep and eerie hallway. She took a kunai and focused on her surroundings, ready to strike if things were to go unexpectedly.
Naruto's steps were silent as she walked on the marble floor. The building itself looked like it wouldn't belong in Ame as all of Ame's other constructions were simple and cheap.
She narrowed her eyes in disdain. Was Hanzo such a corrupt leader that he would live in luxury as his village collapsed to the floor? He was a more selfish man than she had thought.
Then, as she neared a staircase, Naruto heard mutters coming from the upper story. When she reached the top, Naruto hid behind a wall and heard a clear conversation between two men.
"Yes, Hanzo-sama. The army is about two hours away from Konoha," one said.
"Good, that means I have about a day's wait left."
"Yes, but one more thing Hanzo-sama..."
"Of course, Shimeru."
The one known as Shimeru landed in front of Naruto and slashed a kunai at her. Naruto dodged it and sweep kicked him, though he easily parried it by jumping over it. Unperturbed, the blonde took out a kunai and locked blades with the man's kunai.
Naruto knocked Shimeru's kunai off with ease and plunged her kunai in his bicep. Shimeru held in a wince and shouted, "Wind Cyclone of Lightning!"
Naruto widened her eyes, remembering that this was the name of the lethal technique used by Kakazu. She could only lift her arms to block the attack due to the lack of time, causing her to be covered in burn marks and blisters.
"Lightning Release: Serial Strikes!" Shimeru quickly added.
Although the building now was a complete mess, Hanzo hadn't even batted an eyelash. She stood up in anger and barked, "Typhoon Water Vortex Technique!"
Naruto's technique easily countered Shimeru's technique, and hit him straight in the chest. She then sprinted towards him and struck his shoulder with a roundhouse kick. She punched the bodyguard in the stomach, causing him to cough blood.
The one-sided battle continued on until Shimeru was unable to stand.
Naruto turned her head to look for Hanzo, only to find out that he wasn't there. She cursed and ran towards the exit, where she felt a tremendous amount of power. Naruto advanced towards Hanzo with a kunai at hand. Closing in, they both clashed.
Hanzo and Naruto's hands clashed in raw strength. However, although strong, Naruto lost as Hanzo pushed his sickle down further.
"Don't you dare do anything to could harm Konoha!" Naruto barked in a steep voice.
Hanzo stared at her, "And what makes you think that I won't? Konoha has threatened me first by bringing their 'Sannin' to my territory. I'm only doing what's right for Ame."
They dashed towards each other again with their weapons at hand. "Dance of the Sickle Blade: Falling Descent Blade!" The chain on Hanzo's sickle elongated and tightly latched on Naruto's arm, causing her grip on her kunai to loosen, ultimately causing it to fall to the stony ground.
"What is your name, Boy?" Hanzo questioned, still under the impression that Naruto was man.
Naruto let her hand free from the chain's hold and the light blond-haired man, "That's not what's important right now." Naruto took another kunai from her pouch, and in a quick motion, ran up to Hanzo and aimed for his sickle. "What I need to know," Naruto slashed again, "is where the Sannin are at!"
Hanzo smirked behind his breathing mask and in a raspy voice said, "So the title is picking up already, huh?"
The Jinchuuriki stayed silent, only responding with a plunge of her kunai at his body, which he swiftly dodged.
Naruto jumped backwards twice, then gave a battle cry and charged towards the light-blond haired man. "Erupting Propulsion Fist!" Naruto didn't hold back, letting her chakra flood the air.
"Who are you?" Hanzo questioned calmly once again, looking as if he wasn't startled at all from Naruto's killer intent.
Naruto glared at him, her face scrunching in disgust. "Just your average shinobi," Her male persona said in a deep voice.
Her maneuvers noticeably quickened, as did her moves and attacks. She kneed the man on his stomach and punched him directly on the cheek. She rolled backwards to produce more room for her taijutsu match with Hanzo.
Their arms looked nonexistent from the naked eye as they met in combat. Naruto panted as her seemingly endless chakra was emptying at a quick rate. She punched Hanzo on the left side of his stomach, causing him to stumble from behind. Naruto body flickered behind Hanzo and thrusted her flat foot on his back until she heard a sickening crack.
Hanzo front flipped to remake his pace on the fight. He sprinted towards her and side swiped her face, only for it to be blocked by Naruto's hand. In a series of Taijutsu moves, Hanzo broke Naruto's left arm.
Naruto gulped and looked straight at Hanzo's eyes and gave him a roundhouse kick, only for her leg to be caught. Hanzo took this as a chance and hurled her harshly towards the solid and uneven floor. Naruto's breath was knocked from her.
After making a series of hand seals, Hanzo shouted out, "Water Release: Rain Downpour!"
The rain around Naruto grew heavier and heavier by the millisecond, until the minuscule drops of water began to bruise her skin. Naruto countered the attack with a wind technique that sliced through the air and rain until it stopped.
"Water Release: Hand Spear!" Water enveloped Hanzo's right hand like a glove until it became spear-like.
Hanzo rushed towards Naruto in her daze. Naruto took out a kunai and tried to block the spear, but it was to no avail, as the transparent weapon cut through hers like butter and made a gaping wound on Naruto's left torso.
Naruto winced and almost lost her balance as she jumped back to put some distance between them. She panted out heavily and nodded in satisfaction when as she was still concealed in her cloak.
She relaxed her muscles through the pain then gave Hanzo a menacing look. "Wind Slicer!" She focused on Hanzo's right hand, which was holding the spear. The woman finally threw the kunai at Hanzo's blind spot, and when impacted, heard a sickening crack. Hanzo's face was now visibly pained.
His water spear finally dispersed to the floor. Naruto took this as a chance to attack. She ran towards the man and gave a powerful roundhouse kick, aiming for his head. He stumbled backwards, and Naruto jumped up and pounced on the pale-haired man.
However, even at his immobilized state, Hanzo threw Naruto off him and slammed his left hand to the floor whilst shouting, "Fire Release: Exploding Flame Formation!"
Naruto widened her eyes, surprised that Hanzo could use fire release without hand seals. Her surprise was short-lived when exploding tags emerged from the stone ground, quickly following Naruto as she dashed towards a safe distance.
Though the Jinchuuriki avoided most of the tags, some latched insidiously on her leg. All she could do was watch until the tags detonated onto her leg. The woman sucked in her breath when she took a direct and painful hit from the tags, milking out a pained cry from her.
Hanzo then slammed his palm to the ground as he called out familiar space-time ninjutsu, "Summoning Technique: Ibuse!"
Taking advantage of her momentary paralysis, the summoned salamander dug underground and shortly emerged to the surface, swallowing Naruto completely.
Hanzo sighed as he finally finished his deed, "And I thought he had potential."
However, just as the salamander swallowed Naruto, it bloated to twice its size, then exploding to a cloud of dust to return to its realm. When the smoke cleared, Hanzo did not see the shinobi he was once facing, but the face of a whiskered-marked, blonde, woman—a woman—with perhaps a hundred clones of her.
"Hmmm, a woman, huh?" Hanzo suspected.
The blond haired girl grinned, and ran towards the man with the intent to kill. "Where are the Sannin?"
Hanzo narrowed his eyes and denied her the answer. The woman looked familiar, like he had seen her somewhere before. All thought were put aside as Naruto was closing in. She then enhanced the strength of her right hand and punched Hanzo square on the face, causing his mask to break.
Naruto widened her eyes. A poisonous mist was protruding from his mouth. Naruto, on instinct, jumped backwards and covered her nose and mouth until she was at a safe distance.
"You have poison inside you?"
"Yes, when I was younger, I was injected a poisonous sac from a salamander, hence my name." He advanced towards her and commented, "Unpreparedness is one's greatest enemy."
The blond frowned and readied herself into a battle stance. Hanzo rushed in and punched her square in the arm, then jumped backwards and got into a defense position, blocking the hoard of kunai and shuriken coming his way.
Naruto, however, had to stop when the sharp pain from her left arm and right leg deepened from her movements. She stumbled to the ground from the shock of pain.
Hanzo took this as a chance and dashed towards her, but despite his coming effort, Naruto jumped up, enduring her pain, and plunged her kunai on the bottom left of his torso.
The blond man's eyes widened as an intensifying mist of green poisonous mist darkened the foggy air. Naruto, in surprise, gasped and inhaled the mist, causing her to hack.
Hanzo collapsed on the floor and breathed out, "You're strong. But even with your strength, woman, the poison will kill you in two days. As will I-I will die from my own poison."
She crawled to where the man was at and brought him to a clear spot where the air was clear.
Naruto put the blade of her kunai on his throat and threatened him in a raspy voice, "Tell me where the Sannin are or I will kill you."
"You're faith for the Sannin is also strong. What makes you think that they are alive?" He groaned out. The poisonous mist Hanzo engulfed was taking a toll on him.
"Where?" The blade pricked his skin slightly.
Hanzo closed his eyes and then submitted, "Inside the tower's basement. They are deprived their chakra."
Naruto then removed the kunai from the man's throat. "I'll take your word for it." She frowned, "This is your resting place," although cliché, Naruto inquired, "Any last words?"
Hanzo settled his hand on his heart and muttered, "People don't end when they die. It ends when they lose their faith."
The whiskered blond looked at him as his quote inspired her. "Then I'll take your word for it, Hanzo."
Sakumo closed his eyes and lifted his mask to his face to cover himself from inhaling the poison. He frowned and slumped behind a pillar while contemplating that Naruto had just defeated one of the Elemental Nation's greatest.
He gulped and looked up the rainy sky. Why did Naruto want to find the Sannin? The silver-haired shinobi was then startled from his thought when a familiar voice muttered, "Don't follow me anymore Sakumo." She was shocked when she saw his appearance.
The masked ninja came from his hiding place and faced Naruto, "What are you doing, Naruto? First you break through Konoha's ANBU, then you come suspiciously back to Ame and defeat your once-leader, Hanzo." He then glowered at her, "Why do you need to retrieve the Sannin? The Hokage hadn't sent you to do it."
Naruto stared at him with her mouth half opened. She couldn't tell him her connections with the Sannin. She then concluded, "Look, Sakumo. I'm tired of people giving me that doubtful stare like I'm connected with the happenings going around Konoha." Sakumo crossed his arms on his chest. Naruto sighed and continued, "I don't care if you trust me or not as a person Sakumo, but I need you to trust me on this one right now. The Sannin need my help." She pushed him from her view and began to walk away.
"What is your ulterior motive?" Sakumo slammed Naruto hard on a stone pillar, causing parts of the pillar to crumble.
Naruto coughed and groaned in pain as she tried to push Sakumo off. However, despite her strong efforts, Naruto was weakened from the pain from her left arm and right leg. There was no way to push him off unless he was willing to let her go, so she settled with glaring at him, and with eyes filled with hurt and anger, she spat out desperately, "I have no ulterior motive, Sakumo. Now keep your hands off of me. Please."
He loosened his grip enough for Naruto to finally push him off. She started to trudge down the path towards Konoha with a limp leg as she rubbed her now-bruised back.
Sakumo widened his eyes and opened his mouth to stop her, only to feel guilt engulf him. "Wait, Naruto!" He ran up to Naruto and snaked his arm around her waist and lifted her arm around his shoulder to give her support.
She stared at him with her brows knitted together and quietly growled, "I told you to get away from me."
Naruto then sighed at the unmoving shinobi. "Look, I already said I'm fine. It's okay, I don't wanna waste your time any more than I already have."
Sakumo grimaced at the way she put her words, as if he'd been treating her like a nuisance. His guilt grew tenfold when he saw Naruto's hurt and tired expression once again. "Could you please take it as a form of an apology for doubting you? Please Naruto. I was out of it for a second." He thinner is lips, and Naruto could feel his posture slouch, "Just- sorry."
Naruto turned to look at Sakumo again. She stayed silent as she searched his face. For what, he didn't know. But she soon broke the silence when she opened her mouth to speak again. "…You know you look a lot like Kakashi with that mask on?"
Sakumo placed his free hand on the back of his head and eyesmiled, wanting to take on a lighter subject with the blond enigma, "Yeah, I get that a lot, but usually it's the other way around."
The blond thinned her lips and looked away from her support. Who was she kidding? He looked too much like Kakashi to her own liking that it was nostalgic. Just like when she was in her teenage years, Naruto couldn't stay mad at her past companion, even though he was a useless teacher.
"Let's go?" The silver-haired shinobi gave Naruto a hopeful look.
The woman's lips twitched downwards. And like Kakashi, she couldn't stay mad at Sakumo. After all, even though she partially struggled with admitting it, Sakumo was her first friend when going back to Konoha.
Naruto hooded her eyelids and sighed, finally giving in to the persistent silver-head.
"Let's go."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for any disappointments, but I'll try to update a better chapter next time. Until then, have a nice day!