Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, writing in phone and this is extremely hard, but I'm going through with it.
A few 'quick' notes before this chapter starts:
I won't have Naruto called as 'Naruto-kun', I hate it. It just feels… wrong. I also won't have Naruto using 'chan' frequently. People of the Naruto series rarely use that suffix at all, few exceptions like Orochimaru, Hiruzen, Naruto, Hinata, Sakura and Ino. With the first two it is that of a older person talking with a child and the remaining three are completely head over heels. Sure suffixes like 'sama' and 'san' are use commonly, but 'chan' and 'kun', not so much, in most cases they just call themselves by the name.
To compensate for the late update, I'm going to try even harder in writing more! So I made this chapter much larger than I intended to do, I may keep this size depending how people like it and how the story goes.
Three days had passed since their arrival to the Land of Water. Despite their first encounter with the shinobi of both sides, the rest of the voyage was surprisingly un-eventful. During the trip to the western side of the Land of Water they didn't encounter a single ninja from either side. The 'silence' was something that bothered them greatly, it was like both of the forces came to a standstill and were regrouping.
The place that Ringo suggested to make base was a cave inside a waterfall, a kilometer away from the western gates of Kiri. The cave in itself wasn't really big, but with a few modifications here and there with the Wood Release. Using wooden branches, he penetrated into the cave and carved out new tunnels and escape routes, as well as leaving branches with luminescent orbs spread around its entire structure, creating a skeletal structure for the cave in case of a attack, so that it wouldn't suddenly crash on top of them.
During their trip, Naruto took his time to recover from the 'massacre' that he did on Yagura's forces. The whole event didn't keep his spirit down for long. Instead, it only helped him gain even more determination to stop the bloodshed that was happening. He was more determined than ever to stop the purges, and do that as soon as possible.
All the while he had kept a certain white-haired woman inside his mind. He didn't know why, but he was worried about her. He couldn't finish healing her, he managed to stabilize and revert the most serious problems, but it still wasn't enough. However it wasn't her physical health that was making him worry about her. It was her eyes. As a specialist in seeing how someone's soul is, he saw right through her eyes. The eyes of someone empty. Someone without a purpose, and he hated how someone could have such a look. Everyone should have a purpose, a dream to achieve. A person's will to live only went as far as their dreams and ambitions.
We now find our protagonists in a nicely lit room, illuminated by glowing orbs of various colors that were growing out of the branches spread across the room. The three were currently seated around a nicely made wooden, oval desk with around two-meters in diameter. Their chairs were a simple, yet comfortable wooden chair that gave them ample space to lean into, perfect for meetings.
In Pakura's hand was a small red scroll with an emblem of a snarling black wyvern breathing fire. It was a scroll of the wyvern clan, most precisely, Naruto's personal summon and spy, Kurogane. The wyvern had been sent to Kiri's base to steal and gather as much information about their situation and how they currently found themselves, while also gathering as much as he could about their current shinobi's.
According to the scroll, Yagura had ordered to regroup two days ago, as to recover forces and prepare to move out once again at any time now.
''So they regrouped… What do you suggest we do?'' asked Pakura while she placed the scroll upon the table.
''I say we go in and wreck them just for the heck of it. Then when Yagura or the Hunter-nin come out, we make a run for it'' Ringo said with a pointy grin on her face.
''I wasn't asking you, washboard.'' Pakura said while sending an annoyed look towards the woman.
Ringo's grin turned into a scowl as quick as the lightning from ''Stuff it you cow! You are no fun! What do you suggest, Naru? I am still all up for an attack directly to their tower.''
Naruto hummed in thought for a few seconds before sighing ''It wouldn't be a good idea. I don't think we can handle an entire hidden village like Kiri. And if we do attack, it will make them raise the city's vigilance even higher than it already is, so no nin-hunting for you Ringo… For now we will let the rebels deal with Yagura, they have been doing a decent job fending off his forces thus far. I say we go out and recruit, we are in the need of more members to our group, I'm sure we can find some to join our cause.''
Ringo gave a pout at having her idea turned down. She was looking forward to having a decent fight with them. Sadly her leader didn't share the same lust for battle that she had.
''What about that woman from before? She has the Dead Bone Pulse and is very proficient in using it.'' Asked Pakura while leaning back into her chair, arms crossed and eyes closed in thought.
''Dead Bone Pulse? So that's the name? A Kekkei Genkai I suppose… I don't think she would join us, she seemed loyal enough to the rebels if she is willing to stay behind for them. It would be good if she would, from what I could tell, she is at least high-jonin, probably mid-kage when in top condition. I couldn't fully heal her, her anatomy is complicated and I couldn't find the cause of her illness, she will be fine for now, but I can't tell for how long.'' Naruto said with a frown, he was sad that he couldn't completely cure the woman. He had done his best, but her anatomy was different from that of normal people.
''Pfft, speaking like that doesn't suit you, Naru. At least she will live to fight another day.'' Ringo said in what was her attempt to cheer the blond. It seemed to work as Naruto's frowned lessened as he gave a sigh.
''I know Ringo, it's just that… The look in her eyes… It is like she has nothing to live for, I hate it! No one should have such eyes!''
The two kunoichi's eyes widened at the passion of which he spoke, a light smile graced both of their faces, he was just like that, always doing his best to help those around him. ''I guess it can't be helped then eh Naru? If we stumble across her again, then we see what we do about it.''
''Hai Pakura. For now we will focus on other things, winter has just started and we have much to do. Ringo and I will go around scouting while you will stay here in base. One of us needs to stay here and watch over the main base and those that we may possibly bring. That and I will NOT risk you here. Your Scorch Release is at a serious disadvantage in an open area against multiple opponents, much worse if they use the Water Release. We will be returning once every week and a half if possible, maybe less, maybe more, depending on the situation.''
Pakura nodded, one of them needed to stay in base, and it happened that the best one for that was her. It didn't mean that she liked it and the smirk on the red-haired woman wasn't helping one bit. However warm feeling made its way to her heart, he was thinking of what was best for her. Unlike those from Suna, he didn't want to her to take unnecessary risks. It was a nice feeling to have someone care for you, even though she was sure he himself didn't know exactly what he was doing.
''You two will be going now?'' Pakura said while giving a sigh and folding her arms under her chest.
It was a rhetorical question, she knew him long enough to know that when he announced something, it was because or he already done it, or he will start doing it now. Otherwise he would never say it.
''Hai, we will be going as soon as she loses her patience. I'm already ready and Ringo doesn't need anything that she doesn't already carry with herself or that I don't already have in my scrolls.'' He said while pointing at Ringo, she was the one who would decide when they left, knowing that her fuse was just as short as she was, they would be going soon.
Pakura seemed to accept his answer. She already expected something along the lines.
''Finally! Can't wait to hunt, if we are lucky then we can find some members of the newer generation of the swordsman. I'm going to wait at the entrance, got to stretch myself.'' Ringo said while getting up and stretching herself overdramatically.
Naruto and Pakura watched as the somewhat excited red-head left the room. Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm towards the chance of fighting one of the strongest groups of Kiri.
''Spending time in Uzu didn't do anything to calm her lust for battle. Dare I say that it is worse now.''
Pakura giggled at his statement, the red-head loved battle, much more when they gave her a good chase or when they had enough courage to take her head on. All that the swordswoman had for entertainment was her constant spars with herself and the blond. Needless to say, Ringo didn't get many chances to enjoy a hunt. Both of them wouldn't give her the taste of a chase. Pakura because she wouldn't back down from the woman, and Naruto, because he is to hard headed to run from anyone.
''Ne, Naru. How are you really going to do this? How do you plan on bringing peace? What to do after?'' A certain 'something' in her voice that Naruto couldn't place his hands on to find out what it was.
''Heh, I really don't know. I will start in here, and bring peace city by city. What I do after? I should start by fulfilling that promise that I made, Dattebayo!'' his verbal tic escaping in the end as he rubbed the back of his head with his ever-present goofy grin in place.
Pakura's eyes widened slightly at the mention of the promise that he made to them, 'So he still remembers…' giggling into her hand, she slowly got up from her wooden ''Such a bold statement, Naru. We will see if you really can.'' She said while giggling slightly in a slightly teasing tone.
Naruto was no stranger to teasing, ''Yes, we will. I meant every word that I said that day, even if I didn't understand them fully. If I were to be honest with myself… then I still don't fully understand them even now. Complicated words never were my strong point'' Naruto said with a chuckle as he got up from his chair.
Turning to her, a mischievous smile graced him ''You know… We better get going, the original just arrived and is waiting in the entrance with Ringo.''
Her eyes narrowed at that, 'A clone? When?'
''Since we arrived…'' The now identified clone said with a certain twinkle of amusement in his eyes while slowly making his way towards the woman. ''I'm a new creation, after examining the overgrown plushy, I got an idea came. The Bijuu are creatures made from pure chakra, technically all types of clones are as well. However they all lose their structure when stricken with enough force, some needing more than others. In the case of the Shadow clones the remaining chakra returns to the creator, unlike other clones, and the Shadow clone. My structure is exactly that of the original, but with everything made of chakra and if I am destroyed, then my chakra will regroup nearby shortly after, instead of going back into the creator, like a bijuu. Since I'm no hundred meter tall plushy, I will only have to wait a few seconds to reform. The original calls me a 'Bijuu clone'.''
Pakura ignored how he would refer to the Kyuubi, while idly noting how he referred to the original as himself and not by calling him 'boss', like the other clones do. The fact that she would have never found out that it was actually a clone was slightly disturbing.
''So you will reform huh…?'' Her tone earned a fearful nod from the clone as the woman approached him with a certain glint in her eyes ''So useful, then you won't have a problem in volunteering as a target for my newest jutsu. There are some things that I have yet to perfect in it.''
The clone knew he was doomed, his body freezing as the woman walked around him, seemingly 'inspecting' him. ''We won't see them leave. I rather not seeing him leave, I rather seeing you as if you are him.'' Taking a slight pause, the ex-suna-nin continued, now directly in front of him, herself being only a few centimeters shorter than him ''As a clone, what else makes you different from the other clones?''
''I can communicate with the original, pass and get intel from him directly, I got seals on myself that aid me in gathering and converting Nature Chakra, so that I can recover whatever I use. Clones are incapable of recovering chakra, we are born with a set amount and I take much, much more chakra than normal clones, to keep up my structure. So to counter that, I use several seals to keep myself always fueling myself. I am just like him, the only difference is that I don't eat or sleep, and that I cannot die.'' He said, every time the clone mentioned the original. It would seem as if it were something alien to him. Pakura credited it to that the clone was different, made to act like him and think like him, and not think of the original as a separate entity.
The woman nodded to the man in front of her, it was better than nothing. At least the thing wouldn't call him 'boss', it made accepting it much easier. In truth, she was a bit saddened at the fact that she would be staying behind, in that place she was mostly 'get in the way'. She was a great deal stronger than what she was since the last time in the Land of Water, but it didn't change that unlike her other two companions, she was specialized in a one on one, and not against multiple opponents, especially if said opponents used the Water Release.
Shrugging those thoughts aside, the woman placed her right hand on Naruto's chest and slowly trailed circles on his shirt. It wasn't that bad, she would have 'him' all to herself and with no red-haired midget getting in the way. Even if the blond was oblivious to her, though that was just a small detail for the woman, she would get him to notice her.
Of course, Naruto knew nothing about what was possibly passing by her head. While he already had The Talk 'where babies come from', he was completely oblivious to those that surrounded him. It wasn't his fault, and she couldn't blame him. The blond didn't really have that much human interaction that didn't include them. That didn't bother her. In fact, it only made her more determined to get the blond to notice her in a more than just a friendly way.
As Pakura's mind wandered around thinking about what to do with the clone, said clone's head snapped to attention as if suddenly waking up and said with a chuckle ''Heh, they have already left. Ringo got impatient and rushed out.''
Giving a low inaudible growl and a mock slap to 'Naruto's' chest, Pakura turned away from him with a huff. He wasn't even paying attention to her! Taking a calming breath, she did the best thing that a woman could do in that situation, she pouted. Getting angry at him would do her no good whatsoever.
'Naruto' for his part was confused, part for him not noticing when she had gotten that close to him, and part for him not understanding what he had done wrong. Though in his confusion he briefly noticed something, it wasn't the first time that he had seen it, she was beautiful. It started happening recently and he never truly understood why, the two residents in the seal never were helpful in that matter.
''So… what do we do now?'' He said in a weak attempt to defuse the situation and hide the small blush that was making its way towards his face.
His attempt seemed to work as Pakura stopped pouting and looked back at him, a certain thoughtfulness in her eyes ''We already talked about what we are going to do. I'm hungry, going to make something for… me to eat, then you are going to help me perfect something.'' She said, almost forgetting that he didn't need to eat. It was strange for her, he was so much like the original, yet he was different. 'Perhaps I should give him a name, will help keep my sanity'
The doppelganger didn't seem to like the idea about the last statement, but nonetheless nodded. If it was to help her then he would do it all with a smile on his face. A test was made with a clone that couldn't feel pain, and in turn, didn't feel anything on the body and went insane. So till a 'switch' was developed, he would just have to endure it, something that he would do with a smile on his face and she would never know. '' I will join you, I don't need to eat, but I know very well that food taste bad when you eat alone.''
She gave a sad nod, during her time with them she had forgotten how it felt to be alone. Even when she was hailed as a 'hero' to Suna, she never felt at ease in there, a fact that was further proved when they backstabbed her. With Naruto and Ringo (Not that she would ever admit it) she was at ease, when with the blond, she felt that she had a home, a place to return to, a place to be safe and someone worth fighting for, while with her fellow kunoichi, she was someone that she could trust to keep her back. A fact in itself that was impressive, once you are backstabbed once, it is hard to go back into trusting people.
Meanwhile With Naruto and Ameyuri, the blond smiled inwardly as he watched the interaction between Pakura and his super clone, he felt bad leaving her behind, but someone needed to stay to keep order and guard over the place. He could have just let the clone behind, but he really didn't want to risk Pakura, her style was at a severe disadvantage when against water users, and in the middle of a large conflict, he would have trouble keeping her safe. She was one of his precious people and he would be dammed if something happened to her.
Ringo was slightly different in that case, she was already used to the mist and the territory, fighting with multiple opponents was something that she excelled at. So he wouldn't have to worry with her as much as he would with Pakura. He worried about her, that there was no doubt, but his trust in her was greater.
It had been an hour since they had left the base, and they were nearing one of the first nearby villages. The path that they were going through was hidden by a mixture of mist and a thin layer of snow.
They didn't really have any particular destiny, the plan was simple, go around the smaller villages and see if they find anything intrusting. If his luck was anything like that of Hashirama's, then they would surely run into something worth awhile.
The village that they were going to was relatively simple, composed mostly of farmers and fishermen with little to no shinobi inside it. Ringo herself only knew of that particular village because it was where she was born and spent most of her childhood in.
As they continued their path towards the village, both of them felt a huge chakra spike in the direction that they were going to. The burst was brief, but in that little time, they managed to catch a feel to the chakra, large, vile and very disgusting.
Ameyuri grinned, ''I love your luck. I knew we would find something fast, didn't think it would be this fast'' The grin on her face showed all too well that she was excited about the chance of fighting a strong opponent and for some reason, Naruto found that grin to suit her well, perhaps living with her for so much made him used to her antics, perhaps it was the 'cute' pointy smile that she would make whenever she found a target.
'Hey Naruto, I know this chakra signature.' Spoke a voice inside Naruto's mind that he quickly recognized as Hashirama's, not that it would be hard to make difference between the two residents inside the seal 'The Snake Sannin, a student of my little brother's student. S-Rank criminal and traitor to Konoha, don't take him lightly and don't show what he doesn't need to know. Getting interest from someone like him isn't worth it.'
'Hai… But what could have brought someone of his caliber to a small town in a village… In the middle of a civil war… he is taking advantage of it, were he participating then he would be in a place of more significance. Whatever it is I need to hurry, I got a plan.'
Approaching Ringo even more to the point that there was barely a meter of distance between them, Naruto spoke in a low voice, ''The chakra belongs to Orochimaru, the fact that we only noticed briefly means that he used a jutsu. There was only one chakra spike, so it means that he wasn't in a battle with another shinobi. Whatever it was that made him do the jutsu, it wasn't because of a battle. Considering that he is a missing-nin, then don't expect to find anything from your village when we arrive.''
Ringo nodded, it was the same conclusion that she had. The fact that her home village was now destroyed didn't faze her in the slightest, ''He could be a good bounty for us, we need a plan. Anything in mind, or we do it my way?''
A smirk made its way to Naruto's face as he whispered some almost inaudible words to his partner, and as if his smirk was contagious, Ringo soon gained one identical to the one that he had.
It was a relatively good year for Orochimaru. In all his life, he never had a better opportunity of acquiring bloodline users. The Land of Water was in a civil war between the Mizukage and them, a perfect chance for him to sway some of them to his side. His greatest acquisitions being a Kaguya, a Uzumaki, and a Hozuki. Indeed a great year for him.
The Kaguya and the Uzumaki had joined him willingly, the Hozuki… Not so much. If he had a chance, he would personally greet the Mizukage and give him his thanks. But, fortunately for Yagura, he had more important things to do, like kidnapping and convincing children to join him. Not one of the most honorable things that one could do, but he was a ninja, a renegade, he already had no honor.
In his search for young talents, he came across a small village, of which he heard rumors about a demon girl transforming things into crystal. Such a thing couldn't be left unchecked, as a ninja and a scientist. His pride wouldn't allow such an opportunity to escape. And so he searched for the source of the rumors, a little girl named Guren, no older than ten years old.
Seeing the curiosity in the girl and the fact that he was seen in the village and didn't want rumors to spread of him being there, he decided to show her a little bit of his power and destroyed the entire village.
Which brings him to his current situation, turning himself to the girl, he was about to start a speech and attempt to sway her to his side. Though just as he was about to open his mouth, years of experience kicked in and he spotted something going towards him, easily bending backwards in an impressive show of dexterity and flexibility, Orochimaru watched as a single shuriken sailed above the girl and missed him by an inch.
As the shuriken passed by, he did several back-flips in order to gain some distance between himself and the attacker, all the while silently thanking his instincts on dodging instead of catching them as he normally would. The shuriken passed through several of the ruined houses as if they were made of paper, a fact that he attributed to wind type chakra.
Narrowing his eyes but keeping a relatively calm posture, he cursed under his breath as two figures appeared on either side of the girl. The first figure he recognized as a slightly older version of one of the strongest shinobi ever produced in Kiri, the two swords cracking in electricity only served to prove that she was the real deal, Ameyuri Ringo. What most caught his attention of the presumed dead woman was the slash across her headband that she had hanging loosely around her neck.
The other person was someone that seemed quite familiar, like a mixture between Minato and Madara. Maybe because of the color of his eyes, hair and that damn stylish coat. KAMI how he hated that coat, stupid stylish blonds… The boy reminded him slightly about Madara in the way that his hair was style and the presence that he was giving, the presence of someone that held power and that shouldn't be taken lightly, or perhaps he was mistaking the presence with Hashirama, he couldn't know, he didn't meet either of them, yet.
Another thing in the blond that called his attention was the scroll on his back, scrolls like those were rare to find and extremely hard to make. It also as oddly familiar to him, not like Jiraiya's scroll, but he was sure that it was very familiar if it wasn't the Hokage's scroll, though it was impossible for him to have that scroll, Hiruzen would never allow it to be taken without at least adding the person to the bingo book or doing something that would alert the other Villages. If it was stolen, he would know.
Unfortunately for him, the Sannin was forced to end his trail of thought due to an incoming red blur, A.K.A Ringo, the one that he was looking at dissolving in a puddle of water.
However he wasn't a legendary shinobi for no reason, his instincts had kicked in right in time for him to dodge the slash and bring out the Kusanagi no Tsurugi to counter the vicious slash from the grinning woman.
While Ringo exchanged blows with Orochimaru, Naruto turned slightly towards the child. She was paying so much attention to the clash between the two ninjas that she had completely forgotten about him. A young child of around ten years old, blue hair with a spiky pony-tail and strands of hair framing her face, a short teal kimono with a grey turtle neck and short sleeves with a jade-green robe belt around her waist and red shorts.
One thing that he noticed on the child that brought his attention was the way that the girl observed the fight, her eyes filled with something that he didn't know if to classify it as 'awe' or 'envy'. Scooping her up bridal style, an action that earned him a 'squeak' from the child who had forgotten about him being there, and jumped backwards avoiding a stray thunderbolt.
Landing on a medium-sized pile of snow, Naruto gently placed the girl onto the ground while holding onto her hand. ''What's your name Hime-chan?''
The little girl looked up to him, slightly shivering from cold winter breeze, and responded ''It is rude to ask questions without giving your name first'' a light smile gracing her face as the older teenager's shoulder slumped and a gloomy cloud hovered above him.
After mumbling some inaudible words and crying anime-tears, he suddenly sprang up as if nothing happened, seeing that the snake was too busy dodging and evading Ameyuri to possibly listen to his conversation. ''I'm Naruto Uzumaki, keep it as our secret'' he finished giving the small girl a playful wink. Ruffling up her hair and giving a slight chuckle at her glair, ''Now can I know your name, Hime-chan?''.
Now it was the little girl's turn to pout, something that Naruto found simply adorable, though nonetheless she quietly mumbled her name in an almost inaudible whisper, 'Guren, so that's her name. Seems like a good kid, her chakra is strange…' ''Crimson Lotus… hmm… Somehow it seems fitting for you. Ne, it's too cold out here, you will catch a cold, use this.'' He finished while taking out his coat and handing it to her.
She looked at the coat in her hands for a few seconds with mixed thoughts, one was that the thing would swallow her, the other was that it was one of the few times a stranger had actually showed any type of kindness towards her. Her mother told her that she was special, and because of that, people from the village didn't like her. Things never went past glares, and isolation, they avoided her out of fear and treated her like a pest.
Putting on the overly large coat around her, she marveled at how deceptively warm it felt on her. Then the coat started to glow slightly and shrink itself to fit her size, the girl's eyes widening in childish surprise at the ingenuity, momentarily forgetting about the fight that was happening not very far from her.
As Guren inspected the coat, Naruto turned his focus back into the fight. The two of them were almost even, though every time Ringo seemed to get an edge, it turned out to be a Mud Clone or the man somehow managed to switch places with a log. She was doing well, couldn't get any clean damage on him, he also was having a hard time getting to her. Naruto was taking his time observing his fighting style, he wanted to jump into the fight but he held back for a few reasons.
The main reason being that Ringo was having the time of her life, she trained damn hard in her spare time and now she didn't have any illness holding her down, she was sure she was stronger, just couldn't know by how much. When you train with the same people all the time, you lose track of how much you improved, so now was her chance to test her strength against a S-Rank shinobi.
It was at that moment that Orochimaru decided to get more into the offensive and used the same jutsu that he used to destroy the small village, a technique that Naruto recognized as an overpowered Great Breakthrough. Strong enough to overwhelm Ringo's lightning but not enough to take the red-head's footing, a few cuts of varying sizes appearing on her body and clothes.
Restraining himself from jumping into the fight, he crossed his arms stubbornly and stood protectively next to the younger girl, his hands twitching ever so slightly.
Ducking dodging and slashing towards the pale man, Ringo tried to score a deciding blow, but Orochimaru's skill proved to be more than a match for her.
Neither of them were giving it their all, but they weren't holding back that much. The man would always parry one of her swords and then duck under the other, they were on a standstill, she couldn't reach him, and he couldn't counter her. To both of them the option as very clear, they would have to stop holding back and see who makes the first mistake.
Locking blades with the Sannin, she kicked the flat of her blade in an attempt to gain some space from him. It worked and they both made a good ten meter distance between each other. With her landing with both of her blades implanted onto the ground while Orochimaru landed in a crouching position.
Much to her disgust, from the man's mouth came out a wave of snakes, each of them coming out with their jaws wide open and a blade coming out of each mouth.
A smirk made its way to her face as the wave of snakes approached her, charging up her blades, a blinding light manifested itself as large thunderbolt surged from the sky landing on the area between them, the snakes vaporizing in the instant that they were hit.
As the light dimmed down to reveal a somewhat completely fine Ringo with and a downed Orochimaru with his body completely burned, Ringo's battle instincts took over and she rolled away to her right, a large blade poking out of the ground a second later, followed by an overly extended neck.
The large blade continued extending while cutting the area that she was previously in half. Taking a opportunity, she sent a thunderbolt towards the base of the man's neck, hitting him straight on.
What happened next would forever disgust/scar those watching. The man's mouth stretched open and a pair of hands crawled out, followed by a head, torso and eventually the entire body of the Snake Sannin crawled out from it in all his slimy glory, completely unharmed, his infamous sword wielded in his left hand.
It was a useful jutsu, sickening, but useful. Her attack was supposed to kill him, then again if a S-Rank nin was that easy to kill, then something was wrong. Pushing away the shivers in her body, she charged her Kiba blades and sent a 'X' shape wave of lightning natured chakra towards him.
Reacting quickly to her attack, Orochimaru coated his sword with Wind natured chakra and dissipated her attack, silently cursing under his breath. He subtly glanced towards where his opponent's partner was. The teenager seemed to be waiting for a chance to join her. He also now knew that the boy was no pushover, sometime during the fight he had sent a wave of KI towards the boy's direction, but it was simply shrugged off as non-existent. His KI was nothing to scoff at, even if he barely managed to send it because of the swordswoman, it was still supposed to get a reaction.
Things weren't going well for him, he was debating if he should summon Manda, the girl was more skilled than he gave her credit to be, if he were to continue fighting her like he was, then he would just be exhausting himself and be taken by the blond. However something in his gut was telling him that bringing out the big snake would be a mistake, and as a ninja, he trusted his gut, it was what kept him alive for so long.
Calmly calculating his options, he leered at the woman. Escaping via smoke or anything similar wouldn't work on her, every swordsman of Kiri were known for Silent Killing, she in particular was one of the best trackers the village ever produced, running from her was going to be difficult if he had to appeal to it.
Making up his mind and jumping towards Ringo in a burst of speed, he found his clashing directly with her, Kusanagi clashing against the Kiba blades. Orochimaru's wind chakra canceling the Kiba's lightning.
With somewhat difficulty, Orochimaru overpowered her and gave her a roundhouse kick to her mid-section, the force behind the kick being enough to send her sailing through the air, straight to Naruto.
Catching her mid-flight, he immediately started giving her Yang chakra, his eyes never leaving Orochimaru as he gave a Cheshire-style smirk.
Orochimaru looked somewhat confused at the smirk on the boy's face, which was when he heard a sizzling sound around and saw several paper tags burning on the ground. As he was about to substitute himself, several puffs of smokes occurred around him as several of the piles of snow around him 'poofed' and reveal copies of the blond boy, some of the doppelgangers already appearing with a hand-sign ready for a jutsu that he really didn't want to find out what it as. 'Fuck! Crafty brat, used her last jutsu as a cover to set this up.'
As the clones nearest to Orochimaru jumped to dog-piled him, the four clones brought up a square, orange barrier, leaving Orochimaru to be bombarded by the mixture of the clones that remained and exploded inside the barrier along with the explosive tags.
The barrier provided by the clones held strong to the relentless attack, kicking up dust as each tag and clone exploded, until after a minute of waiting, it finally ceased, smoke and dust covering the area inside the barrier.
Placing Ringo onto the ground as the smoke ceased, Naruto glanced behind him to see Guren looking at the barrier with wide eyes.
Glancing back at the barrier, the smoke already dissipating to reveal a badly burned Orochimaru, observing more intently, he noticed a few scribbles on the ground, proof that Orochimaru now found out one of the fail-safes that he left for him. It came with the jutsu, 'Secret Uzumaki Technique: Lost Dimension. The epitome of the Uzumaki's sealing jutsu, a jutsu capable of sealing an area into a dimension where time and space couldn't be bent, while keeping a 'mirror' of the sealed area so that the casters could know what was going inside. The ultimate sealing jutsu, one that he had studied in the case that he ever found an opponent that had the skills of the Second and Fourth Hokage, sealing the area into a place where their time-space jutsu was nullified.
And now came the fun part. Orochimaru looked around in horror as 'blobs' of chakra started to appear around him and form into copies of the blond once again. Naruto's new favorite jutsu 'Infinite Exploding Shadow Clone Barrage.'. Using the same concept behind the 'Bijuu Clones', the chakra used in the Shadow clones would regroup and reform it with almost no waist of chakra, coupled with the fact that the area of which the clones were in didn't allow their chakra to stray too far when they exploded.
The Sannin was defenseless against what came next, the clones swarmed him one by one, exploding every time one came near him, the ones that he managed to destroy simply restarting the process.
Fortunately for the snake, the barrier required too much chakra, chakra that the clones holding it up couldn't spare. So after five minutes of being 'bombed' by the clones, the clones 'popped' out of existence, undoing the barrier.
The second that the barrier came down, a large snake came out from the ground underneath a horribly damaged Orochimaru, swallowed him whole, but not before the Sannin wheezed out one last curse and a blast of KI towards the blond who had ripped his arms and burned his body whole with explosives. He would never forget that face, he was played during the entire fight! Walked right into their trap like a rat! He would have revenge!
And so the snake vanished in a 'poof' of smoke, right before the clones that were previously assaulting the pale man, reformed.
Releasing the now reformed clones, Naruto turned towards the two girls in there with a big grin on his face, not at all affected by the wave of KI that was sent towards him previously. He had seen things worse than that, the big fox had more KI in his sleep. The snake would never be half as scary as the fox, creepy? Yeah, he won in that aspect, but scary? Not a chance.
''Well… that went better than I expected.''
Ringo nodded at him with an equal grin, she was satisfied with the damage caused. Not enough to kill the Sannin, but she doubted that he would be up and running anytime soon. One doesn't simply recover from a lost arm and several third degree burns, fast. It was a shame that they couldn't get the bounty on his head, he had a very, very juicy price on his head.
Turning towards the tiny girl that was using Naruto's coat, Ringo casually pointed her right hand, which was holding one of the Kiba blades, towards the girl, an action that caused the poor girl to 'squeak' and cower under her stare and give a failed attempt to disappear inside the coat. ''Who's the kid?''. It was a simple question, Ringo didn't really mean any harm towards the girl, but after seeing such a fight it would only be normal for her to be somewhat scared of them.
''Her name's Guren, don't know anything else about her.'' Naruto said while rubbing his chin in thought.
''So what do we do with her?'' Ringo said while placing the Kiba onto her back.
''I don't know… We can't leave her here, winter is starting and this place is in ruins. I also have an impression that she wouldn't be liked in any village near here. I was thinking of bringing her into the group, but that is up to her.'' Naruto said with a slight frown as he looked at Ameyuri.
''You can't save everyone, Naruto. We don't know if she even wants to be a ninja.''
''I know I can't, but we are looking for potential, and I can't just ignore her. How about we ask her and she decides what to do.'' Naruto said now turning to the girl, who started to shift uncomfortably under his stare.
''Hey Guren, do you want to be a ninja?''
His tone calmed down the little girl as she stared back at him, thinking her reply. She wanted to be strong, seeing the Pale man destroying the village that she hated so much, made her envy that power. She wanted to be strong, then people wouldn't look down on her, then she would be capable of defending herself against them. It also was a plus that the blond seemed to be a nice guy, he worried about her, and what could happen to her, a stranger that she had never seen on her life was worried about her safety, it was a nice thought to the little child that someone in the world cared for her.
Steeling her nerves, the little girl looked up to both of them with her eyes filled with determination and answered, ''H-hai! I want to become a ninja, I want to be strong!''
Ringo grinned while Naruto chuckled. It was refreshing for him to see such a young child with so much determination. It reminded him a bit about himself, ''Very well then Guren-chan. I guess it is settled then, you are part of the family, dattebayo!''
The little girl's eyes widened at the thought of a new family, a few tears falling down her face, a scene that made Naruto's heart cringe. He was a sucker for when it came to such things, and seeing her cry made him think if he had said something wrong? Did he hit a sore spot to the little girl? The look in her eyes made him know that she was happy, but he was a master at reading people, and he saw something else in there, doubt, fear.
And then it hit him, Orochimaru, the fact that Kiri was in war with Kekkei Genkai users, her special chakra. It all clicked in his mind, she had a Kekkei Genkai and Orochimaru was after her, she was reacting like that to the prospect of having a family because something could have happened to hers.
Walking up to the girl, he slowly brought her into a hug. It saddened him to see someone in such a situation, he had the 'problem' of bonding with people and feeling their pain, so he understood her. He didn't know anything to say or do in such a situation, so he opted what he thought to be the best, nothing. He simply allowed the girl to have her moment and cry it all out, as he gently rubbed her head in a soothing manner.
Silently creating a Overloaded Shadow Clone. Naruto subtly passed the girl to his doppelganger and nodded to it. The clone was a copy of him, it knew what he wanted to be done, so it gave its creator a salute, picked the bridal-style, and vanished in burst of speed.
With the little girl now gone, taken to the base where Pakura and his 'Bijuu Clone' were at, Naruto's eyes hardened as he looked ahead, he felt the platoon coming from several miles away, sensing was one of his abilities that he took great pride in, according to his grand-father figure, he was as good as Mito and Madara, both of which were incredible sensors. It also didn't help that among the platoon was a specific type of chakra that he recognized anywhere…
Wow, there we have it, sure took this one a while, sorry guys. But there it is
As to avoid complication, this is in between the time that Orochimaru defected and joined the Akatsuki. It is hard to pinpoint when exactly it was the he left. So due to having problems dealing with all this and other age related stuff, I am making my own time-line of events while accounting the possible consequences. It shouldn't surprise anyone that I changed the timeline, so this shouldn't be THAT much of a problem.
Hope you guys like this chapter. About the fight with Orochimaru, I know I made it seemed a bit too easy, but it is also to show where Naruto and Ringo stand in a level of power.
Both the new jutsu that I added are S-Rank, since there is no rank higher than that. The clone one basically works in a recycling method. Instead of the chakra going back to the creator, it will condense, gather, and reform. Some chakra is lost? Yeah, there is a drain to each 'cycle', though that drain is practically null when inside the barrier, because it will be easier to gather back, and will have nowhere to go since it is a closed area.
The barrier ninjutsu was something I thought when I was thinking about the Uzumaki, most authors state them as masters, but they hardly make something that is truly innovative, creatively? Yeah. But still not something that would require such a great level of skill, just imagination and creativity. This jutsu is what could be considered the Epitome of fuinjutsu mixed with ninjutsu. Sealing an entire area in another dimension where nothing can get in and nothing can go out, while turning ineffective the use of any type of jutsu that would normally bend space, such like the Flying Thunder God.
Thanks to my friend MetalGearMantis for agreeing to help me add more details in stuff, this chapter has not been edited by him yet, so blame the lack of details on me. I'm really bad at expressing myself and getting into details