Greetings everyone! This is a relatively short chapter, but I think it is a fairly decent one. I'm certain you won't be disappointed.
-bakagaijin
Chapter 8-
"Fuuton! Tatsumaki Bōgo no Jutsu!" (Wind Release! Whirlwind Protection Technique)y
Everyone in the vicinity froze. Out of nowhere a great blur of black and orange passed through the top of the chakra barrier, smashing it like a hammer dropping down onto crystal glass. As the blur began to slow its descent and shift into a more recognizable shape, a great wind followed in its wake. It blew countless ninja off their feet, and inside the formerly barred-off region where the battle had been taking place. This same wind, rather than dissipating, shifted in direction and began to blow in a giant cyclone surrounding Uchiha Sasuke.
Instantaneously it gained all the power of a tornado, and deflected the many needles which were targeted at the young ninja in the center of this whirlwind. Sasuke was saved. With a final swift movement he captured the clothing of one of the remaining ninja capable of causing harm, and deftly threw him into his other two comrades. The three of them were knocked out of the center and into the wind, which subsequently sent them flying for miles outside of Konoha. Then he looked up along with everyone else in the village, to see his savior.
There standing on the tallest of the buildings in the block, right in front of Kanaye, was a ninja roughly Sasuke's age. He was quite tall-over six feet in fact- and very imposing. He wore black pants with an orange streak starting from the base of the left leg swirling around and upward, a simple orange shirt without any identifiable markings, a somewhat weathered and scuffed black leather jacket with an orange diamond outlining the shoulders and three red swirls at each corner worn open. Around his neck was a lavender semi-opaque, obelisk-shaped, crystal pendant. He wore a hitai-ate with large pointed ears projecting from the corners at the temples and an emblem that read "will of fire," which also served as a half-mask signifying ANBU status.
His cheeks which weren't covered by the mask, had three identical whisker marks on each side. His spiky blonde hair was slightly over grown and fell down to the sides and flowed back just missing his shoulders. His eyes were an icy sky-blue. They shone through the holes in the mask and pierced the very heart of whatever they fell upon. Far below, and all around him, the defending ninja began to whisper and then scream his name, despite his mask.
"Uzu..." the people began to whisper.
"...maki..." spoke some rather familiar ninja, smirking when they did so.
"NARUTO!" came the unanimous scream of several friends, happy to see him. Namely- Sakura, Konohamaru, Shizune, Guy, Lee, and Tsunade.
"Well, well, flashy entrance as usual." Kakashi mused.
Sasuke stepped forward once the wind had died down, and called out, "You're late, dobe!"
A loud "heh," was all that Naruto gave for a reply. He didn't take his eyes off of Sasuke, though he heard the Chidori Nagashi short out.
Naruto stood there, his attention solely fixed upon Kanaye, staring him down with a mean look in his eyes. With a sudden flick of his thumb, Naruto sent a projectile straight towards the chief conspirator. With a loud "crack" a lead shot shattered the white mask on his face revealing his identity to all. Kanaye stood there dumbfounded. Completely and utterly in shock.
'Shit.' Was all Kanaye could think. Over and over again.
'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! What the hell do we do now? The damned fox wasn't supposed to be here in the village. Reports had him away training. Where the FUCK did he come from? If we get out of this I'm going to kill whoever is responsible for this fuck-up!'
IF he got out of it. From the way things looked, he could very well be facing his end at this point. They weren't ready to deal with Naruto. Not this Naruto. Not an ANBU Naruto. And things were getting worse. Victory had been snatched away at the last second. Sasuke was alive, and now all the village was ready to come down on them like a hammer on an ant. The only reason they hadn't yet was because they wanted to see what Naruto would do.
'Naruto...' Kanaye had an idea.
He brought up his blowpipe, and the others soon followed. They readied to blow once more into their weapons, and shoot at their new target. It was their only real hope of escape. Kanaye's face twisted into a smile as he watched Naruto catch his dart. Just his dart. Naruto didn't catch the others. Then Kanaye realized what had happened as he started to back away for his escape. Naruto didn't need to catch them, Kanaye was the only one to fire off a shot.
Surrounding him were roughly sixteen Narutos. Fifteen Bunshins and the original. Each clone carried over its shoulder a single man; the other dart-men who were aiming at the original. Naruto grinned from behind his mask as the clones launched their captives into the hands of several ninja waiting below, and then dissipated in a cloud of smoke. When that smoke cleared, Naruto was joined by something else. Two men; Jiraiya and Yosei (though he couldn't be identified with his mask on).
"Give it up Kanaye." Naruto ordered. "It's hopeless."
"Quite the display, Uzumaki."
The four men turned to see where the voice had come from. Hiashi Hyuga; a man who had been noticeably absent from this fight, along with his entire clan. Gone was the standard dress of a yukata. gone was the dismissive indifference. Hiashi's coldness truly showed itself this night. He was dry, harsh, and deadly.
Naruto looked to him from the corner of his eyes. "Koru-sama."
"Stand down, Uzumaki." Hiashi kept his eyes firmly on Naruto.
"Eh?"
Kanaye began to smile. 'Maybe I was wrong about the Hyugas.'
Hiashi looked away from Naruto and stared dead-on at Kanaye. "This one is mine."
"They're WHAT?" Gaara and Kankuro were equally loud. A rarity, but it definitely did happen.
"We believe the five unidentified shinobi are in Konoha. They have managed to sneak in during the in-fight currently happening." Baki repeated.
"Shit." Kankuro ran out the door to gather his things.
"Alert Konoha and the other villages immediately. I want a strike force ready and departing for Konoha five minutes ago."
"Hai. Gaara-sama." Baki was about to leave when Kankuro came back into the room.
"Hey, Gaara... I think you should see this."
Kanaye sat at the fore of all his men. He was the only free man of the lot. The rest were tied down, and like him, facing the entire village. At the head of this group was of course, Tsunade. Behind her was Naruto, and Sasuke. Behind them was Konohamaru, Kakashi, and Sakura.
Kanaye, while unbound, was restrained by two unknown members of the Hyuga clan. He and his men were facing punishment. They would spend years in prison. Perhaps the rest of their lives. Kanaye was certain to receive that punishment; as the leader of his little troupe, he would take the most responsibility. He would be made the example.
The self-proclaimed protector of Konoha knelt silently with his head bowed. He sat there and endured the berating from Tsunade and the village. He did not listen to them. His mind ceased to register any outside noises. He was much more focused on inward thoughts.
'Damn these idiots. Can't they see? This will ruin them! Those two are exploding tags still sizzling away. They haven't even considered what will happen when they they stop burning away. I can't even imagine what they'll do. They have to be stopped!'
He looked up at Sasuke. He nearly burned a hole through his chest. He looked at Naruto. His head would've burned off. He lowered his head again.
'I hate them. I really hate them now. They're all so stupid! Damn them. If they want to die so badly... but Konoha. Konoha would be destroyed. If that were to happen...' Kanaye ended his thoughts there. His decision was made.
Hiashi was the first to catch it. He moved to stop him but he wasn't quite fast enough. Kanaye managed to break free and throw his two guards at Hiashi and Naruto, who caught them for their safety. Kanaye pulled out a bottle of clear liquid. Naruto recognized it immediately; The Hero's water.
In a dark cavern, hidden from the world, stood five men. They were surrounded on all sides by their victims which they had chained to the wall. Staring into the globe of pure darkness which they in tun surrounded they could see the events of the world unfolding around them. They watched as their time drew ever nearer. That's when Sai spoke to them.
"I remember."
"What?" One of them turned around. He was slightly amused by this captive- a rare thing.
"I said, I remember. Most of my life is gone. I can't remember much. My whole childhood is hidden from me, concealed by a fog. But occasionally, I remember something. Small flashes... things I've done... things I've seen... or heard."
"Interesting." Itami, the man clad in purple strode over to him. Tell me more. I can feel the pain in your voice.
Sai smiled. "Yes. Just like that. I remember little things like that. I used to hear stories from... someone. Stories of shinobi. Men with abilities... beyond imagination."
Now Zōo looked up. His interest was now caught. He removed his hand from the orb which closed off the world outside. The others began to take interest as well. "What kind of things? How did they speak of them? With Hate?"
"With fear?" Spoke the next.
"With sorrow?" Setsuna wept.
"With rage?" The red clad ninja grinned.
Sai looked at all of them. "Yes. They spoke of them... of you. 'The Dark Five.'"
"Oohhh. I'm afraid you're right." Osoru quivered as he spoke."
"I didn't believe it at first." Sai spoke up. "It shouldn't be possible. You're..."
"What?" Zōo asked. "Phantoms? Stories? Legends? DEAD?? I hate other people's preconceived notions. It makes them look like idiots."
"...Hundreds of years old." Sai finished.
They all looked at him. They gathered around him once more. They raised their hands... and clapped.
The treasured artifact of Taki. Naruto didn't know how Kanaye had gotten a hold of it, but he knew what it meant. It was too late to stop him. Kanaye already drank the bottle. The whole bottle. He was willing to throw his life away. Naruto knew there were still people in the village who hated him. But he never imagined someone could hate him this much for something so... stupid.
All at once Kanaye's chakra flared. It erupted beyond anything the people around had ever seen. They were pushed back. Every last one of them. From Tsunade to the weakest of ninja; they were all blown away by the now visible copper colored chakra.
Most of the ninja cleared out. They knew that something like this was beyond their abilities. The Genin moved away quietly to a safe distance, as did many chunin. Some of the stronger Chunin threw down their smoke bombs. It gave everyone else the cover that was needed. The chunin were the first to strike, but they were once again repelled by Kanaye's chakra. Several of them were burned this time around, and were unable to move the parts of their bodies which had been exposed.
Next came the Jounin. They moved in. Kunai flashing in flight, directed at Kanaye literally melted and evaporated in mid-air. Several Jutsu were thrown at him. Special nature based ninjutsus, typical average taijutsus, even a standard genjutsu. All of them failed. Kanaye burned with rage. His chakra kept burning and bursting, and in the center of all that raw power was Kanaye himself; burning in a stubborn rage and pain.
"Everyone stay back!" Naruto Screamed. "His chakra's flaring out of control. He could go any second!"
Tsunade turned to Naruto. "Get out of here! Take Sasuke with you!"
"But Baa-chan-"
"Go, you two!" Jiraiya flew to Tsunade's side.
Hiashi stepped forward and began to lead the two away. "If he survives the process he'll come for you two. You'll need room to fight Naruto, and Sasuke is out of chakra."
Sasuke looked up at Naruto, and held out his hand. "I don't like it either. But they're right."
"Try not to slow me down, teme." Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulled him to his feet.
"What's wrong? Not strong enough?" Sasuke retorted. With Sasuke leaning against Naruto, they leaped away.
Hiashi left them to their own devices as he returned to the fight.
"What's our current status?"
"So far we've been lucky. Your Grand Sand-barrier technique is keeping them at bay."
"But?" Temari asked the nameless shinobi.
"... but we don't know how long it will last. These... things... aren't human. Not anymore. Gaara-sama... they aren't going to get tired."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
From outside the commotion of the invading monsters echoed through Gaara's epically-scaled defense. He had not had to work on so grand a scale since the Akatsuki attack almost two years ago. Back then he still had the added chakra of Shukaku. Now on the other hand, It was Gaara alone. It had taken some time for him to reattain his kage-level jutsus. He had to put more thought, energy, and control in them than he used to; and they definitely took a greater toll on him than before.
Even if he did have Shukaku he still would not be able to hold out forever. Eventually, after days or even weeks, his chakra would run out. They would still have to deal with this problem. So Gaara did what he knew was the only thing he could do. Which, fortunately for him, was the thing a Kage should do. He trusted in his people.
"Temari, is Baki finished with the preparations?" Gaara looked at her with strain showing on his face.
"Nearly. He still needs a little more time. Some civilians have yet to evacuate the areas." She turned to the one in charge of that. The only person in the room who was more pained than her to see Gaara in such a state.
"Matsuri?" Gaara inquired of her.
"We have nearly finished that as well. Kankuro is escorting the last of them as we speak. He knows to hurry."
Gaara closed his eyes and nodded. His eyebrows then knit themselves together as he put more focus on keeping the barrier over the city. Sweat poured out his body, and he grunted with each little exertion of Chakra that he forced from his body. He'd been at it for an hour. He wasn't sure how much longer he would last. It was then that he felt a hand slip around his and hold tightly to it. A soft warm hand that made him tingle, and gave him strength. He opened his eyes to Matsuri standing by his side, as the owner of that hand.
"Hold on Gaara-sensei. I believe in you." She then used her other hand to cup Gaara's, and knelt before him.
Temari smiled at her. She cupped Gaara's other hand. "We all believe in you, Gaara."
Gaara smiled at both of them, and returned to his task with renewed strength. Matsuri ripped the sleeve of her shirt and dipped it in a nearby glass of water. She applied the damp cloth to Gaara's forehead.
Sasuke couldn't help but think of Gaara as they leaped through the village. His arm was over Naruto's shoulder for support. Naruto himself was doing most of the leaping, while Sasuke did everything he could to ease the weight off of Naruto with each jump. Kanaye would likely be following them soon. It was far too similar to time Sasuke himself had been pursuing their red-headed former enemy.
"Hey."
Sasuke looked at Naruto. "What?"
"Remember the first experience with Gaara?" Naruto smirked.
A hint of a smile twitched at the corners of Sasuke's mouth. "Yeah. I do."
Just then a blur came into their field of vision. Naruto was about to wheel around and fend off his new pursuer when a scent came across his nose. Lovely and sweet. Honeysuckle, lavender, and green tea. He opened his eyes and pulled his mask up to the top of his head. He smiled brightly as that blur moved to to a position alongside of him and came into clear view.
"Hey, Hinata." He greeted her as casually as if it were a nice spring day.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke looked at her.
"I-I... I'm here because I...I-I promised Naruto."
Hinata blushed, as Naruto flashed the foxiest of his grins yet. "Glad to have you with us."
That was the end of their pleasantries. At that moment a bright coppery explosion of light burst forth, from ground zero. They weren't sure what had happened at first. Then they saw everyone from the fight go flying. Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiashi, and all the Jounin Elite.
Then the light faded to a more stable glow, and it began to move. Kanaye burst forth from the scene and made a B-line straight for the three of them. It was like watching a meteorite rocket through the night sky. The man at the center came racing forth with a trail of light following behind and then fading. Kanaye had managed to withstand the changes to his chakra systems, and was now completely transformed.
He not only emitted a constant flow of chakra, but his physical appearance had changed as well. His clothes had all but burned off from the surge of power, and were now tatters hanging off his body. His hair continually waved about from that same surge, and reflected the coppery glow. His eyes were the scariest of all the changes. His eyes were no longer. You couldn't see them. He had no pupils or irises, just glowing orbs of the same copper colored light that was his chakra. You couldn't actually see where he was looking; only feel it
And they felt it. Oh my, did they feel it. The expression of a burning gaze was no longer metaphorical. It was now true. From miles away, they could all feel the heat in Kanaye's stare. His eyes were the copper colored flames of death, and they were fixed upon the trio.
"What do we do?" Hinata asked. She was a little frightened, but her question was one of tactics- not panic.
"That was the hero's water wasn't it?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah." Naruto affirmed.
"What is that?" Hinata asked, having not been present at that particular mission.
"It's a special kind of water that increases your chakra ten fold proportionately to the amount you drink. If you survive the initial eruption, you become... well you can see for yourself."
"Kami!" Hinata was amazed. "He drank that whole bottle. He's practically invincible now!"
"No..." Sasuke replied. "He's not."
Hinata turned to them with a questioning look.
"Everything has a price. Especially power." Sasuke had a very dark look in his eyes, and they all knew he wasn't just talking about the water.
But the water is what they were focused on at the moment. "It cuts your life away by the amount that drink as well. He drank the whole bottle."
"So we just outrun him, until he drops?"
"We're not fast enough." Sasuke replied.
"We can't outrun him, but we can try to outlast him." Naruto picked up speed. He wanted to be at least a mile away before he had to fight. That way the collateral damage would be minimal.
"Okay. So we just need to buy more time." Hinata nodded to the plan.
Kanaye flew through Konoha with speed unfathomable. He left behind the original battle zone to pursue his ultimate targets. Naruto and Sasuke had never left his sights. They were far away now, leaving through the gates and making their way into the wilderness. This was perfect for Kanaye. A battle where Konoha would not be at risk by his power.
'Uzumaki Naruto. Prepare yourself. If your power is a volcano, mine is now an earthquake. We shall see which is stronger.'
He was moving so fast he barely had time to dodge the wooden beam that was aimed straight at his head. He skidded to halt, bending backwards to allow the large piece of timber to fly right by him. He stood up, and saw in front of him the source of the offending debris. Tsunade stood in his path, carrying another support beam from one of the ruined buildings. A look of death in her eyes.
She stood there with all the fury of the Hokage; all the fury of one of the sennin. Kanaye stood there for second, fixing her with a glare of his own. He was certain he could withstand her fury. The second passed and Kanaye rushed his former leader. Tsunade swung her weapon.
Without first thought, let alone a second, Kanaye brought up his forearm to block the oak timber. It shattered, against his chakra shielded body and left Tsunade weaponless. He continued forward with a jab right to Tsunade's face. She dodged by stepping to the side, and retaliated with a heel-palm strike to the back of his head. It failed to connect.
Kanaye ducked his head and swung his right foot back. Now inside the Hokage's defenses he moved his torso to follow his feet, and with that extra torque he jabbed his elbow straight into the her gut. Tsunade didn't have the time to dodge, and so she was forced to absorb the blow. She felt as though all of Konoha had brought itself down on her abdomen, the pain was incredible. Tsunade's eyes widened as her organs which received the blow all quivered inside and began to rupture. She coughed up blood, as she was sent flying into a food stand; ramen noodles were scattered all over the place.
'Gomen, Naruto.' She thought to herself.
She threw the debris off her and took a step back onto the street. Kanaye stood there waiting for her. He knew that wasn't going to finish her off. But also knew, as she now did, that he could in fact finish her off. This time she rushed him.
She feinted a punch, but at the last second she brought her foot down. The resulting impact ruptured the ground beneath them and pieces of earth were flipped skyward. One of those pieces had been directly beneath Kanaye. It flipped back and he lost his footing. She punched straight through the unearthed bedrock, and grabbed Kanaye by his tattered clothing.
His chakra burned her with every second of contact, and she winced at the pain. Yet she endured, and using Kanaye like a hammer-throw, she launched him into another building. However this building was not a concession stand like Tsunade had been thrown to. This building was one of the forges where Konoha's weapons and tools were constructed.
She could only hope a smith was at work before this whole mess had gotten started. The building collapsed on itself, and smoke vented through the debris. Tsunade was only allowed a single restful breath. When that breath was released, Kanaye burst from the debris as Tsunade had from hers. Unfortunately he had also released the seal on a Jutsu.
"Doton! The Ring of Burning Earth Technique!"
The coals of the forge shot upward and out towards Tsunade. One after another she dodged them, but they didn't just fly past her. They flew around her; levitated by Kanaye's chakra. They continually target her, eventually forming a large ring that constantly shifted broke apart and reformed. Tsunade was on the defensive now, and little by little these burning coals were connecting.
She felt their searing heat even on a glancing blow. Kanaye didn't smile; time was of the essence and he had to get to Naruto and Sasuke. To do that he would have to get through everyone in his path. Tsunade smiled. She wasn't going to make it that easy for him. She danced and maneuvered around the street avoiding Kanaye's attacks until she was finally in a position to counter it.
Just when Kanaye was about to bring the searing coals down on her from all directions and burn her to ash, she struck down on the ground below her. Suddenly a geyser of water burst forth, showering all in the area and dousing the instruments of Kanaye's attack. She had broken the water main beneath their feet; and that wasn't all. She grabbed the section of pipe, and yanked it from the ground. Ripping the line out, she used it as a fire hose and directed it at Kanaye to knock him off his feet.
Things didn't go quite as she planned. The young man simply deflected the water with a chakra filled chop to the air. The stream burst in two, and he charged up the middle. Taking the end of the pipe in his hand, he crushed the opening, and shut off the water flow. He wasn't done there.
Moving far too quickly for Tsunade to do anything, he grabbed Tsunade by the throat. Reaching down and grabbing her thigh, he lifted her slightly off the ground with his burning iron grip. He rushed forward. Running with a tremendous burst of speed he used her body as a battering ram. He forced her through fences, buildings, telephone poles, anything that was in their path.
Eventually he came to a sudden stop. Following through with his rush he pushed her through the air and embedded her in the reinforced wall of the Hokage tower. She coughed up more blood. It spilled down her front and onto the street beneath her. She didn't have the time to recover either.
Kanaye ran forward again, and stood before her with his hand around her neck. He leaned in close staring her right in the eyes. "I don't understand any of you. Fighting to protect those monsters."
Tsunade used what little strength she had left to strike at him with the Shosen Jutsu. He grabbed her wrist and twisted it around forcing her hand into her own chest. The green chakra pumped back into her body shutting down entire nerves and stopping her heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Before losing consciousness, she managed to whisper to him. "You're the only monster that I can see."
Her body went limp. Kanaye released her and she fell forward, hanging in the wall by her feet, and left hand. He disregarded any further thoughts of her, and ran down the path to find Naruto; leaving her there to keep hanging from the wall.
Author's Section
Well there you have it. Chapter 8. Please review. I spent a lot of time on this one. So much research! So please tell me what you think, and tell your friends about this story. Thanks again.
-bakagaijin
