NARUTO
Forbidden Chronicles
The Battle of the Eastern Winds
Hiding in an alleyway just outside of the large, red wooden gate threshold of the Imperial Castle of the Kingdom of the Eastern Winds, both Naruto and Konoka stood in the shadows. Crouching low, Konoka was looking round the building towards the massive doors and white bricked walls, seeing the guards standing by at attention, and a couple more patrolling on the balconies high above. She murmured in frustration and worry as she analyzed the aspects of their main point of entrance.
After a few minutes of scouting, she pulled her head back into the alleyway and looked up at her protector standing slumped up against the wall, hands in his pockets and straw hat worn low, casting a shadow over his face and hiding it from view.
"There are too many guards…"
"I figured that much, seeing as that your kingdom is under new management now," Naruto replied, voice low and tone surprisingly set on bored rather then enthusiasm.
"How could they recruit so many new guards in just a couple of months? The invaders killed most of my mother's guard when they raided our palace…"
"I'm pretty sure there aren't that many of them," Naruto said, looking up in the direction of the castle, even though he couldn't see it from here. "Like you said… there are only a few small fry at the front gate. As far as any other opposition I will be encountering when I storm the place, include four Jonin who are immune to pain and ninjutsu, and a supposedly supernaturally powerful businessman. In conclusion, we have an unknown number of regular guards but a definite number of really dangerous foes on the grounds… which make this job all the more annoying, and a sure sign that I'm going to be sore by the end of the day."
Konoka looked up at him oddly when he finished, causing him to look down at her in response. When she said nothing, he shrugged and rubbed a finger under his nose casually.
"I'm a ninja… I do this stuff a lot, which is usually followed by a string of optimism and complaints…"
"Do all ninja act like you?"
"Nope…" Naruto replied, giving her a small smile. "I'm the only unique ninja you've ever met."
"So what are you going to do to get in there? There are like 20 or so royal guard at the front door… how do you plan on getting past them, huh?" Konoka asked in a frantic manner, causing Naruto to rub the back of his neck at the 'figurative' pain she was giving him.
"Even though she's a pretty flower, she's covered in bees…"
Chuckling, the blonde ninja got off the wall and cracked his neck to the right, smirking down at the red headed girl before thumbing his chest in an egotistical way.
"You're going to find out why I'm the most unorthodox ninja you've ever met. We're going in through the front door!" Naruto proclaimed.
"Eh? Really? How?"
"Tsk, simple… knocking hard and carrying a present for the trouble…"
With that said Naruto unexpectedly scooped the girl up with his right arm and flung her over his shoulder, Konoka letting out a shriek as she was shanghaied by the boy. Then, like a rucksack, the ten to eleven year old ninja then marched out of the alleyway and down the road towards the front gates of the kingdom's Imperial Palace, smiling all the way, while Konoka kicked, clawed and screamed at him as they proceeded towards the guards.
"Just play along with this. Pretend I'm a bounty hunter and I have just captured you for a huge ransom…"
"WHAT? PUT ME DOWN YOU BASTARD! LET ME GO! THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE! I'M A PRINCESS, NOT A GARBAGE BAG! AAAAARRRGH! I SAID PUT ME DOWN! AAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Beautiful! Your acting skills are amazing! Keep it up," Naruto chuckled.
"WHO SAID I'M ACTING! PUT ME DOWN AT ONCE! GAAAAAHHHH! NARUTO! PUT ME DOWN NOW! AAAAARRRGGGHHH!"
People on the street watched in shock and puzzlement as a strange boy carried a girl swearing profusely down the street towards the palace gates, having not the slightest clue as to what was going on. All they knew was that they were going to be in a heap of trouble if they didn't stop.
The racked of course, drew the attention of the guards at the front gate, whom stopped what they were doing and looked in wonder at the boy walking towards them, and the girl who was screaming over his shoulder, screaming out a number of swears, some of which were completely inappropriate for someone of her age. Eventually, the boy and his passenger stopped at the foot of the gate, and the guards towering in front of Naruto looked down at him oddly as he smiled up at them.
"I have a package for High Princess Hirano. I read on a flier in my village that she had lost her pet banshee of a daughter, and I'm here to hand her in and collect the reward!"
"PET! BANSHEEEEEE! THAT'S IT! YOU'RE SO DEAD! I'M FUCKING KILLING YOU!"
"As you can see, she's in fine condition, and in no physical or mental way harmed," Naruto said, wincing when a particular kick from the girl hit him low.
The four guards, dressed in samurai robes and red, yellow and green battle armor, and armed with katanas and lances, looked down at the pair oddly. Looking up at each other in confusion, they then looked back down at Naruto with raised eyebrows.
"Umm… I'm afraid there has been some mistake, young man," the guard, obviously the highest ranking looking of the four, said. "Lady Konoka isn't permitted to move outside of the palace walls. In fact, she isn't even permitted outside of the Kingdom's Palace even under guard! For that matter, there has been no such news of her disappearing, or her missing! Sorry, but you'll have to leave."
"Just as I thought…" Naruto thought. "Oh well… guess I'm going to have to knock a little harder…"
"Well… that's all well and good… but…" Naruto walked forward, gently shoving past the guards, who were a little too overwhelmed with surprise to do anything else but watch as he strode up to the gates, the girl on his back giving him the finger, and still spraying swear words from her mouth. "I'd rather see the High Princess herself! You see, it is her highness who hired a private sole-trader like me to go out and find her when she decided to run away! So, if you'll excuse me…"
Raising his left hand out to his side, Naruto concentrated and within seconds, a swirling blue ball of pure wind chakra suddenly appeared. The guards all leapt back in surprise, grabbing their swords or propping their lances on their hips and pointed towards the boy in preparation. Konoka's eyes widened in response when she came eye to tip with the pointy ends of their weapons.
"YOU BOY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
"STOP RIGHT NOW OR WE WILL ATTACK!"
The guards shouted at him simultaneously, all of them sweating nervously, as neither of them knew any form of ninjutsu or energy wielding techniques. Looking over his shoulder briefly, Naruto smirked and shrugged.
"Yeah… and?"
Turning away from them, Naruto raised his arm higher, the orb spinning in his hand growing to the size of a basketball. With a grin on his face, the boy thrust his attack arm forward, driving it straight into the crack between the two doors.
"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted.
A shockwave rebounded off of the door, followed by a huge blast of wind and a prolonged explosion, as spinning winds with the force of a tornado or hurricane went plowing through the gates. The attack literally blasted the massive ten story doors off of their hinges, and sent them flying across the massive courtyard beyond the wall. They landed about fifty meters away from their launch point.
When the dust and debris settled, Naruto simply strolled on through, the girl slumped over his shoulder gawking at the sheer magnitude of his attack, and the guards… well… they were about as far gone in shock, awe and fear that they dropped their weapons and collapsed to their knees.
Naruto hummed to himself as he walked down the crazy-paved stone road leading up towards the large staircase of the palace. The guards on the surrounding walkways of the wall of the courtyard, and for that matter any guards in the courtyard, simply stood and watched with wide-eyes as the boy and the girl over his shoulder strolled on through.
When he reached the staircase, Naruto looked up towards the castle, analyzing it from his perspective. It was nice. Great color, solid structure, perfect for coastal areas, solid roof, statues, and artistic carvings. As far as architecture went, he had no complaints. After checking out the huge building, Naruto put Konoka to her feet, whom immediately dropped to her knees, clothes, hair and outlook all disheveled as she was still dazed from what had happened. The spiky haired blonde smiled down at her before looking up towards the imperial stronghold once more.
Taking in a deep breath, Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted as loud as he could. Well, it wasn't the brightest plan he had come up with, but he was getting some progress.
"HEEEELLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IS ANYONE HOME? I HAVE A SPECIAL DELIVERY FOR HIGH PRINCESS HIRANO! WHY DON'T WHOEVER'S HIDING IN THERE COME ON OUT, INCLUDING YOU GUYS HOLDING HER HOSTAGE!"
There was silence, as both Naruto and Konoka waited for a response. Slipping his hands into his pockets and standing up right, Naruto stood and waited patiently for the show to start.
As if right on queue, the front doors to the palace opened up, and immediately the official stars of this 'show' poured out into the open. At the head of the group that walked out into the open was a woman dressed in a fine kimono, colors of royalty and face painted with her hair done up. She was a striking woman with brown hair in a top bun, and wearing elegant clothing with fair skin coloration. Naruto immediately deduced from her getup that she was the High Princess. Flanking her on her left and right were four cloaked figures dressed in white and wearing masks and straw hats, similar to the rogue ninja Naruto had encountered before, only they ranged from different sizes, and had their identities hidden. Flanking them in turn, of course, were ten ninja, dressed the same as the small fry at the temple incident, and all decidedly Chunin in rank from where they hailed from.
However, out of the entire flock, there was still no sign of the leader behind all this.
Naruto smiled to himself, and Konoka edged back slightly when she saw the crowd at the top of the stairs, specifically the presence of the four cloaked ninja.
The High Princess looked down at the two kids at the bottom of the stairs, one unknown boy dressed in a red trench-coat and wearing ninja body armor, as well as being armed with an assortment of weapons, and wearing a straw hat. She didn't know who he was. However, the moment her eyes fell on the girl kneeling beside him, a gasp escaped her lips and she stepped forward frantically, beginning to move down the stairs.
"KONOKA!"
"MUM!" Konoka shouted back.
However, just as the Hirano was starting down the stairs, one of the ninja in the white cloaks suddenly blurred out from the group escorting her, and flickered into view in front of the kingdom's leader. The movement was fluent and fast, and Naruto knew instantly that that particular one would be the most difficult to deal with.
The cloaked figure wore a straw hat and a white robe like the others, as well as wearing a more distinguishable mask, much like an ANBU hawk mask with a unique yellow and red swirl pattern. Whoever it was behind it was notably the shortest of the lot, and had no visible weapons in sight. The moment the Jonin reappeared in front of the older woman, began nudging her back up the stairs.
"I'm afraid we cannot allow you to go that easily, ma lady," a cold, slick voice exclaimed from behind the crowd of Jonin.
As the High Princess was gently nudged back into the previous formation, she was suddenly pushed aside as the owner of the voice pushed his way into view. The Jonin who were standing at attention bowed as he entered into the sunlight. Naruto immediately sized him up the moment he appeared at the top of the last set of stairs, and Konoka audibly whimpered and slid behind Naruto grabbing hold of the tails of his trench-coat from fear of looking up at the man.
Instantaneously, the blonde could see that this man meant business. Of course, he wore full white formal wear with a red tie and black, wing-tipped shoes on his feet. He also wore a white coat draped over his shoulders, and a white fedora, covering long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Furthermore, he wore black gloves with metal guards on the backs, inscribed with strange symbols and seal marks Naruto had never seen before.
The moment the man saw Naruto and Konoka, he grinned and bowed his head respectfully towards his guests.
"Young lady Konoka… what a pleasure it is to finally meet with you. Oh… and you've brought a guest," the man dressed in full white exclaimed, looking up. However, the moment he did look up, his expression changed from sinister, to more of an annoyed look. "A rather… unexpected and unwelcome guest… who just destroyed my front gates of my palace!"
"Yeah… well…" Naruto began, rubbing the back of his head in a very casual sort-of habit. He yawned a bit in a mocking way, showing that he could care less about the man's property then anything else, which seemed to tick him off a little. "Take it out of petty cash…I bet insurance will cover it."
The man clenched his fists slightly, but then unclenched them and smiled down at the boy. This smile particularly sent chills down the spines of whoever looked upon it, since his face, though handsome and charming as it was for a man of such medium built stature, it was really creepy.
"Ahh… where are my manners? Of course… let me introduce myself," the man said, making a rather breathy gesture as he looked down upon the two kids at the foot of the staircase. "My name is Von S. Heinkel, Lord from the land to the far East. I am the new owner of this estate or… what the people of this village like to call it a… Kingdom… and I humbly welcome you to my home. It truly is an honor to be graced with the presence of such a young lad, and the young… former princess of this here palace."
Konoka, frowning stood up, pulling herself up by Naruto's clothes, who seemed more interested in staring at his opponents more then caring about the girl using him as a rope to get back up.
"Listen you… GIVE ME BACK MY MUM AND MY KINGDOM! You have no right to take it from us!" Konoka shouted, mustering up all the courage she had in her. Naruto smiled slightly.
"Think you have the muscle to wrestle it back from this guy?" he whispered. The red-head frowned and glared back at the boy.
"That's why I brought you, wasn't it?" Naruto shrugged.
"I guess so…"
"Hahaha…" Heinkel chuckled, rubbing his forehead and grinning down at the girl who addressed him. Adjusting his hat, and sneered. "Ma lady, I'm afraid you are mistaken. With your mother in my grasp, and you returning to fall into it as well, I now wield all the pieces necessary to rule this land and its people! You see, you can't rule without royal blood, and since I don't have any myself, I simply claim it as my own property!"
"Tsk… what a load of crap…" Naruto spat, surprising Konoka and catching the ears of Heinkel.
"What was that, kid?"
"All you do is yap-yap-yap! It's boring the crap out of me!" the boy complained, looking up at the man. "Listen, all I came all the way down here for was to fight, have some fun, kill you and make a pretty young girl who made me lunch happy!" The last comment made Konoka blush, and she looked away in a bashful state. "I didn't come down here to listen to your pitiful life story, or know what your plans are. Now which of you bastards am I going to fight first?"
Heinkel growled, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists angrily. "You brat…" He spun around, glaring at his trusted aid and backup. "Don't let another word spill from that boy's mouth! Kill him!"
In a blink of an eye, the ten rogue Chunin reinforcements to the four Jonin shimmered out of sight, and reappeared, surrounding Naruto on all sides. Konoka gasped and clutched onto the by's arm tightly, looking around at all the ninja surrounding them fearfully. Hirano was about to call out, but her movements prompted the tallest of the cloaked figures behind her to take her by the shoulder and hold her back.
Konoka, trembling from head to toe, looked up at her bodyguard desperately.
"W-What… should we do…"
"Just hang tight…" Naruto exclaimed, looking up. His eyes suddenly flashed blood red and the pupils becoming slits, the sight causing Konoka to gasp. This time, when the blonde spoke, his voice was suddenly mixed with the echo of another deep voice, but this one being slightly higher in pitch from the booming voice of a troll, mixed with a vibrant echo. "I'll also show you why they call me the Demon of Mount Myobokuzan!"
Suddenly, just as the Chunin were preparing to attack, red flames suddenly materialized around Naruto, bubbling slightly as they whipped through the air with a white hot sensation. Konoka gripped the boy's sleeve tighter as she watched the flames surround them. The High Princess, Heinkel, and the Four Jonin watched with shock, awe and interest as the sudden transparent red flames spread out even more and, like the susanoo, encase and surround both Naruto and Konoka protectively.
Gasps, murmurs and shouts were heard when the fire surrounding the two kids suddenly formed into the outline and shape of a fox covered in fire. Bright eyes shone from the black imprints of eyes, along with elongated teeth, a number of tails, and razor sharp claws protruded from the shapely mists of red. However, the more the being took shape, the more it became just as real, and as soon as it reached a size many times bigger then Naruto and the ninja surrounding him put together, the claws that had formed from the mist, when they touched the ground they craved nice gashes into them, cracking stone and literally melting the ground around it from the heat produced.
Konoka looked around her, seeing the effect the demon visage was having on the enemy, before looking up at Naruto. The boy was smiling normally, eyes back to blue and shining in a warm, orange hue produced by the chakra surrounding him. The red headed girl's eyes shimmered as she gazed up at the boy, whose handsome features and confidence seemed to glow with the radiance of his strength. And even though they were surrounded by danger, the girl couldn't help but move in closer to the boy, as he protected her from the ninja surrounding them in the courtyard.
Once the blood red mist-fire took full shape, the giant fox growled and let out a loud bark, a terrifying echo of that of a spiritual entity that rebounded off the walls and shook the foundations of the palace itself. As soon as it did so, the image of the Kyuubi leered down at the surrounding ninja, baring its fangs and growling threateningly. Not wanting to tangle with the fearsome beast, the Chunin ran for it, leaping over either the walls or… going through what remained of the entrance to the Kingdom, screaming and running in terror.
The moment they were gone, the Kyuubi cloak surrounding Naruto and Konoka dissipated, leaving the two standing amidst the burnt and melted stone unscathed. Having witnessed with unexpected turn of events, Heinkel rubbed his chin thoughtfully, giving Naruto a very considerate class of stare, and analyzing the boy more carefully.
"Hmm… you intrigue me, boy," the tailor dressed man exclaimed, smiling positively. "You've got some interesting potential."
Naruto smirked. "That must have been what your other lackey thought before I crushed his neck under my elbow." Reaching into his trench-coat, Naruto pulled out the vial of berries he was carrying with him, showing them the contents. "I've figured out the secret behind how you guys do battle. Using nature's fruit to make you feel no pain eh… that's kind of a cheat don't you think?"
One of the cloaked figured moved forward, but was stopped by one of his comrades, and Heinkel blinked in surprise. "You defeated Mao?"
"Oh… so that's what his name was. Well… I don't think it matters to him anymore. But I must say; he was pretty tough…"
"For someone to be able to defeat Mao… is truly a feat very few could pull off," the white cloaked figure that stopped one of the others said, walking forward. Reaching up through his cloak, the figure with the rough, gravely voice removed the straw hat he wore, tossing it aside along with his mask and cloak. When these items were removed, the figure was revealed to be a middle-sized man, about the same height as Heinkel but around his late sixties, dressed in strange battle armor of blue and grey, and had his black hair tied up in a high bun and three long dreadlocks hanging down his back. The armor he wore resembled an old warrior outfit similar to the Terracotta warriors Naruto had seen, with gold and black being the main colors.
The man grinned down at the boy as Naruto looked him over. "I'm curious… as to just how strong this boy is to be able to defeat someone like Mao!" Reaching behind him, the man drew a bundle of sticks wrapped in robe, which he then unveiled to be a three section staff with hooked blades on both ends of the weapon. Loosening his grip, the man spun it around him and then snapped it to the side, where the two sections of the center piece tightened around the middle, and became a duel bladed, single staff. "The boy will be a very prestigious kill for me. If you will permit me, Heinkel-sama?"
The man dressed in white chuckled and nodded his head. "Of course, of course… go ahead, Saji. But don't kill him just yet. Make sure there is enough left in the boy afterwards so that we can torture him!"
"My pleasure!" With a yell, the man launched himself down the stairs at such speed he literally shimmered in between steps. Hirano's eyes widened.
"No! Konoka!" she shouted.
Naruto, frowning, raised his right hand and bit into his thumb, slapping his hands together and dropping them to the ground in a quick summoning motion, smoke exploded around him and Konoka. The next thing Konoka knew was her being carried off by the collar by a large, horse-sized Seven-tailed white fox. The fox leapt away, carrying Konoka to safety, with its summons' orders following her.
"KEEP HER SAFE, MOKA!" Naruto shouted, leaping out of the smoke himself to the left. He was quickly pursued by Saji, staff held back and ready to strike.
Falling back, Naruto took a stance, drawing two kunai from behind and readying for combat. The rogue warrior came in swiftly, striking out with a flurry of movement the boy did not expect. The first strike forced the blonde to roll under, but that was followed by a series of slashes, strikes, stabs, jabs and thrusts that forced Naruto to defend each and every one. He knew that the staff was bladed on both ends, and with this man's speed, might have him lost an arm if he attempted a strike of his own at this point.
Gritting his teeth, Naruto slid under another slash, only to have him stop in mid-slide and spin on his back, kicking out at the man's feet as the other bladed end of the staff soared just centimeters above his face. Saji tripped up a little, but quickly recovered and detached one end of his weapon. The chain attached to the other section allowed him to spin it, and slash in an unpredictable way at his opponent. The boy leapt off of the ground as the weapon carved a nice gash into it, and he dashed away quickly, putting distance between him and his opponent.
However, this case of distance came with a sudden twist when the second of the man's staff extended quite a way when he swung out at Naruto. Moving his kunai to block, the man's staff struck, and the blade sliced across his arm, the boy letting out a wince as blood was drawn. Saji grinned and charged at him again, spinning the section of his staff that was detached like a kusanagari, and began slashing out with the chained weapon.
Naruto retreated backwards, ducking, rolling, sliding, and jumping over and under attacks made at a distance by his opponent, attempting to lose him when he maneuvered through a long isle of statues moving through the courtyard. Saji struck out relentlessly, chopping the statues and their foundations down into rubble.
Hiding behind one in particular for cover, Naruto furrowed his brow and ducked when another attack sliced the statue he was hiding behind in half from the waist, before leaping into the air and kicking some of the rubble at his opponent in mid-flight, testing his defenses. The flying marble caught Saji by surprise, a lot of it hitting him in the head and torso, but spinning his three section staff around him expertly, blocked a lot of the larger pieces. After which he extended the loose end of his staff more so, and slashed out at the still airborne shinobi.
Naruto brought both his kunai around, twirling them in his fingers before tossing them both downwards, the first one knocking the staff end slashing up at him in mid-strike, knocking it out of momentum, while the other was aimed at Saji. The warrior, leapt to the side, slicing his chained weapon around and bringing the other staff-end around, before slashing out at Naruto again in response. The blonde landed, leaping to the side as the attack came, tearing up the stone floor and statue remains.
Naruto rolled upon landing, getting to his feet and leaping backwards through the air. Bringing his arms around, he flung them outwards, unleashing a shower of shuriken down upon the attacking warrior. Saji saw it coming, and with fluent motion, zigzagged through the shower, avoiding each and everyone, and shimmering as he moved. The next thing Naruto knew upon landing was the next attack flying towards him. Slashing his blade out, the armor clad rogue ninja lashed at him, only his attack suddenly became blurred, flashing with an unidentified energy cloak. Eyes widening, the young blonde only had a split second to step back before the curved blade of the staff end slashed across his chest. It penetrated the armor, and gashed the skin, Naruto letting out a yelp and coming to kneel on the ground, clutching the wound across his chest.
Gritting his teeth, Naruto sweated nervously as he watched the man twirl the weapon around him through the air, before withdrawing it back into a single staffed weapon.
"What the hell was that…?"
"NARUTO!" Konoka cried out from behind the fox guarding her on the sidelines near the inner great wall surrounding the courtyard. "DON'T GIVE UP! COME ON! YOU CAN BEAT HIM!"
"I'm working on it!" Naruto shouted back, before looking back at his opponent.
Saji grinned maniacally down at him, raising an eyebrow and his weapon in front of him as Naruto slowly got to his feet, resisting the pain from the deep wound he just received from the Jonin.
"This man is much more powerful than the last one I fought. He channels chakra into his weapon, and mixed with his great speed and pain immunity… can produce unorthodox attacks…"
With an animalistic growl, the man charged at Naruto spinning his staff around to throw off the boy for this next attack. Swiping his thumb under his nose, the spiky haired blonde crouched low and charged as well, drawing one of the elongated kunai he took from his last opponent. Saji swiped at him, Naruto leaping over him in a flip, striking down at the man as he sailed over him. He struck the Jonin right across the flesh between his shoulder and neck, cutting in deeply and drawing a spray of blood.
Landing behind the man, whose movements were staggered only briefly, the armor clad warrior spun around and slashed at Naruto again, who rolled forward and slashed at the man with his kunai, only for him to leap back and slash down at him again. The young ninja expertly shuffled and pivoted around the man, elbowing him in the side and knocking him stumbling over. However, Saji returned this with an outward slash, which Naruto barely avoided himself, and got a small cut across his cheek.
Sliding to a stop several meters away, Naruto reached into his trench-coat sleeve, and throwing his arm outwards, sent a couple more shuriken his attacker's way. Saji blocked the first two, but was struck by the three to follow, all of them impaling the right side of his chest, and the space between his arm and shoulder armor. The man laughed and dashed forward, uncoupling the two staff ends connected to the center one, and lashed out furiously at the boy.
Naruto was once again forced to avoid and block Saji's strange attacks, the blurs his furiously spinning staff ends making it incredibly hard to predict when the next strike would come. After shifting round and kicking out at his attacker, Naruto unexpectedly hit an afterimage of the man as he suddenly appeared behind him. The spiky haired boy spotted him, and managed to duck, bending over backwards to avoid the man's next attack, the blade cutting only a few strands of hair as it went straight over him.
The young ninja, using the strength in his legs and body, spun to his right from his bent over position, sending two kicks up into Saji's face, breaking his nose and staggering him. The man laughed it off and sent another strike at him, only for his pole to be blocked by a jab from Naruto, who then punched Saji across the face with the same fist, knocking him over. But the balance lost by the man was then reacquired, and pivoting round, slashed at Naruto at the chest. The boy crouched low to dodge, but then saw a kick flying straight at his face. Crossing his arms, he blocked it, pushing off the ground for extra leverage and sliding along it on his side.
Slapping his hands together, Naruto formed several hand seals, and taking in a deep breath, unleashed his technique.
"Fire Style: Grand Fire Ball Technique!"
A gush of hot wind, followed by a ball of red-hot fire infused with his chakra shot out from Naruto's mouth, propelling him further across the ground, and immediately engulfing the attacking warrior whole. Saji gasped as he was quickly enveloped in red hot flames, shielding his face as he was torched alive by the massive fireball. Quickly followed by being enveloped by the wall of flames, came an explosion of such magnitude, it carved a trench and crater the size of a football field, with the shockwave knocking Naruto flying and to the wall, as well as prompting his summoned fox to shield Konoka from the blast radius.
Soon enough, the explosion died out, and Naruto, smacked bang against the wall, slowly got to his feet, looking towards the smoking ash clouds of his attack's aftermath.
However, just as he was beginning to think his opponent got disintegrated in the fire, the clouds suddenly parted, and out shot and still very much alive Saji. The man let out a mad-man's laugh as he charged, spinning his weapon in his grasp and readying to strike. Within two seconds he was upon Naruto, covering a distance of about fifty meters, and the attack he struck out at him with carved a huge gash in the side of the wall, literally making it crumble into rubble. Naruto on the other hand had leapt clean over him, tossing several kunai his way.
Impaled in the back several times, the still fighting, burnt rogue ninja turned around and grinned, watching Naruto land a good distance away from him.
No man could have been in a worse state. Not only was the man only wearing a third of his armor left, mostly the bottom half of it, but the right side of his body was completely burnt to a crisp, blackened and crumbling like coal, while his other half was burnt red, with huge skin inflammations and scars. He wore the torn remains of his armor, and his hair was singed away on the right hand side, while the left remained frizzy and smoking. His weapon was still intact, his body still held a descent shape, and on top of that, he was still on fire, his back literally a lit with flames.
"Oh yeah, this just keeps getting better and better," Naruto thought.
"Pain is but a stranger to me!" Saji exclaimed, swinging his weapon around him, some of his skin falling off from his left side. The sight of the roasted, yet still standing warrior made Konoka quiver, holding her hands up to her mouth as she stared at him with wide eyes. The rest of the crowd watching from the top of the stairs were either very intrigued or a little shocked themselves. "Come on, boy! You can do much better then that! FIGHT ME RIGHT!"
Naruto gritted his teeth and took a stance. "Alright then! COME!"
"RAAAARRGGHH!" the man roared, charging Naruto down. He slashed out at him, with the same speed, agility and strength he had before. The young boy leapt and dodged the first strikes, before clashing kunai with the man's own weapon. Having watched his opponent fight long enough, he knew how the three section staff worked, and proceeded to attack inside the man's range and defenses.
Drawing another kunai, and spinning it between his fingers, Naruto stepped around and ducked under the man's attacks, before bringing his weapon to bare, slicing into the man's chest and torso. Saji staggered, swinging his three section staff around to full extent. Naruto smirked and leapt back, avoiding the strikes and tossing kunai enflamed with his own wind chakra straight at the man. He blocked the first to be thrown, but was struck full on by the second to the right side of his chest. It punctured his lung, and flew straight through him, and going straight through the wall behind him.
Dropping to his knee, Saji bent over and coughed up blood, choking on air before looking up through a blurred vision at Naruto, a grin spreading across his face.
"IS THAT ALL YAH GOT!" he screamed charging at the boy, tightening the weapon so that it became a staff again.
Naruto frowned and leapt backward again in retreat, forming a few hand signs and sucking in air.
"Wind Release; Dragon Tornado Ball!"
The attack blasted from the boy's lips, shooting across the courtyard and striking the burnt warrior full on, extinguishing the flames, and stopping him in his tracks. Saji met the attack full on, crossing his arms over his chest to defend himself against the harsh winds, as they cut clean scars into his sides, arms and legs, and ripped the remains of his armor off, leaving him in tattered shorts and burnt mesh. Once the shockwave of the winds died ut, leaving a nice trench carved into the ground, the man got back up right and continued his charge, blood dripping from his mouth, eyes, nose and ears, and coughing up a whole lot more. Laughing, the warrior who could feel no pain leapt through the air, and brought his weapon to bear, bringing it around to strike down at the boy.
Witnessing the man take the full force of his second technique, Naruto gritted his teeth and took a stance, grabbing his tanto blade and bringing it around, the small blade flashing as he swiped out with it. Crouching low, Naruto leapt through the air at Saji, meeting him half way. As they both struck out with their attacks, both of them yelled at the top of their lungs as they struck.
"DIEEE!" Saji roared.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" Naruto returned, ducking underneath the strike the burnt man sent at him and slashing across the man's torso.
In that instant, the boy's blade never touched the man, but the blue wind chakra enveloping and extending out of his blade did. With the length of a katana, and even sharper still, Naruto sliced straight through the man with ease, the spray of blood filling the air as he sailed past the warrior, and Saji seeing only the stone cold floor before both halves of him fell to the ground, lifeless. At the same time, Naruto landed, performing a roll before ending it with a finishing stance, sheathing his weapon back into the sheath on his back.
Konoka and Hirano gaped in shock, as did Heinkel as he watched one of his most trusted and strongest guard fall dead. The other Jonin looking on were all the more interested, yet were surprised themselves when they watched Saji die, joining Mao in the afterlife.
Frowning, Heinkel turned to the three remaining cloaked Jonin, pointing at the tallest one and second tallest, both of which were standing on either side of the shortest one, who was holding High Princess Hirano by the arm.
"Fuugo… Kinako… kill that boy!" the man ordered. "I'll pay you Mao and Saji's share if you do!"
Nodding, the two he addressed removed their cloaks, masks and hats, and started down the stairs, leaving the smallest of the guard holding onto the High Princess. Even so, the one who was reached up and removed the mask, but his or her face was still hidden beneath the shadows of the straw hat. When the silent warrior did, he turned to watch the next fight with great interest.
The taller of the two cloaked figures proceeding down the stairs was a man around his early thirties dressed in royal battle robes, similar to the outfit worn by a Chinese Soldier serving under Emperor Qianlong, only he didn't wear a helmet, wore a yellow beaded necklace, and had his long brown hair tied back into a long ponytail, a long mustache and goatee. Furthermore, the man was armed with a jian, crafted of his own design. The other figure joining him was much shorter, and a woman at that, around thirteen or fifteen years of age. She had blue hair, the top tied up into a bun with hangs hanging over a beautiful, flawless skinned face. To top it off, she wore light red and brown armor, with ninja mesh spandex, and was armed with duel knives or small swords.
Once they reached the foot of the stairs, the girl named Kinako smirked and charged immediately into battle, drawing her swords as she dashed across the courtyard at a surprising speed. She sprinted towards Naruto, who was also walking towards them in turn, and was forced to take a defensive stance when he aw the first of the two running at him.
Drawing a kunai, Naruto ducked and blocked the strikes Kinako sent at him, maneuvering around her as the young girl attacked with amazing fury. He slashed out at her as well, their blades clashing loudly and sparks flying between them as they engaged in close-quarter combat.
Ducking a slash, the boy elbowed the girl in the stomach, whom leapt back with a grunt and thrust both blades forward, slashing them across with speed and accuracy. Naruto blocked one blade descending upon him, but the second one streak across his left shoulder, carving a nice gash in it. He yelped at the blow, but then retaliated with his own attack, slashing across the girl's abdomen, only to miss when she leapt back to avoid.
Kinako retaliated, leaping at him and slashing out at his head, her attacks blocked by his kunai as he backed away. As she pressed on with her assault, Naruto spotted a opening in her swing, and managed to catch her wrist in his free, left hand. Twisting it around, he forced her to relinquish her sword, and tried to bring her to her knees. Growling, the girl attempted to break his grip, pushing him back so that his back hit the side of a remarkably still standing statue. She then leapt over him, reversing the hold he had on her and kicking him in the back, sending him straight into some rubble.
Naruto winced when he fell face first into the rubble, but quickly spun on his hands, and leapt back to his feet, avoiding another strike from the girl, whom had both her swords back in her grasp. Growling, the wounded boy leapt back, putting distance between him and the girl. However, he soon realized that this girl had a trick up her sleeve.
Chuckling, the girl leapt to the side and threw her sword spiraling at Naruto. The boy, caught by surprise, brought his kunai up to defend. The blade clashed with his, sparks flying, and the force of the throw sending him flying back into a statue sitting behind him. He smashed it to bits as he flew through it, and landed hard in the remains and rubble, groaning in agony. He looked up to see the girl's sword return to her, realizing that her weapons are attached to thin cables linked to gauntlets under her forearm guards.
Twirling her weapons, Kinako chuckled and took a stance, her swords flashing from the sun.
"You're good, kid. Come on… I'm having a lot of fun!"
Naruto grinned as he sat up in the statue remains. He was exhausted and aching all over, but he too was enjoying himself.
"Glad to make people happy," the boy replied.
A shadow over him caught his attention and he looked up, seeing the other Jonin flying threw the air and descending straight down at him, jian held high above his head. Naruto gasped and pushed off the ground to the left, the big man's blade crashing straight down onto the stone floor where he was once laying, creating a massive crack in the ground when it impacted.
Back-flipping to a stance, Naruto flicked his left wrist to his right, a cluster of five shuriken appearing. He threw them at once at the man, hoping they'd hit. But the girl leapt in front of her comrade and blocked them all with her blades, grinning as she did so before charging Naruto down, her partner following close behind.
Growling, the young blonde charged as well, meeting the two rogue warriors head to head, a kunai held in each hand. He attacked them, his blades clashing with theirs as they both struck at him in unison. Breaking away to surround the boy, Fuugo and Kinako both moved in and out of attacks as they exchanged blows with the boy, sparks flying as their blades connected with his, him defending and in turn attacking at each opportunity as he leapt over, and rolled and slid under each and every attack they made. Taking the initiative at every point, Naruto would attempt to inflict damage on his bigger opponent, knowing that he was posing the most trouble with his superior strength and speed.
Lashing out at the boy, Fuugo attempted to slice the boy in two at the waist, only to have him leap on top of the flat side of his blade and flip over him. In mid-flip, Naruto slashed at the man's arm and shoulders, slicing away the man's robes and carving nice gashes into the warrior's upper body, drawing blood. The man chuckled and spun around, lashing out again, only to miss as Naruto ducked under it just in time upon landing. The boy charged in, clenching his right fist and driving a punch straight into the man's side, striking a soft point he knew existed.
The blow shook the man's body, but didn't pain him at all. All Fuugo did was cough up a whole cup full of blood, before returning the boy's blow with an attack of his own. Naruto gritted his teeth and crouched under the next attack, leaping through the space between the man's legs, bringing his kunai to bear as he slashed at his inner thighs, cutting them open and drawing more blood. The jian wielding warrior stumbled forward, getting to his knees and turning, smirking as the boy reengaged Kinako, both of them engaging in an amazing display of attacks and strikes.
Kinako growled as she attempted to hit the nimble boy, whom leapt and shuffled around her attacks easily, doing his absolute best not to be hit by her attacks. However, in the flurry of the attacks he was avoiding, Naruto spotted a wide strike she made, and pivoted around her thrust, slashing his kunai across her upper arm and shoulder. The girl let out a cry of pain and stumbled forward, dropping the sword in her left hand and clutching her shoulder.
The blonde paused for a moment, taking a defensive stance as she watched the girl wheel around and glare at him. He blinked.
"She can still feel pain, eh?"
He didn't have much time to dwindle on it, as the other warrior suddenly appeared behind him and, holding his jian over his head, thrust it straight down on top of him. Naruto rolled out to the side, crouching and charging back at the man, clashing kunai with his lance like weapon. The older man chuckled and forced him back, sending him into an attacking Kinako. The spiky haired blonde growled and maneuvered under a neck-aimed slash from the girl, sliding clean under it. He quickly slid to a stop, now standing several meters away from his opponents.
He panted heavily, knowing that this close-quarter fighting was more fatiguing on his body then using his ninjutsu.
Shaking his head to recover, Naruto formed his familiar hand seal, and suddenly, puffs of smoke exploded around him, and when they cleared, was joined by twenty or so copies. The multitude of copies smirked as the two rogue warriors backed away a little at the sight of them.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" they all said at once, before all of them charged at once.
Soon, both Fuugo and Kinako were forced into close-quarter combat with the twenty young blondes, clashing against a hail storm of kunai and physical attacks. The two warriors plowed through the flocks with their weapons, slicing the clones in half with each one they managed to take out disappearing in puff of smoke. When the numbers were thinned down to around five of them, the two Jonin were still left wondering which one was the real one.
Eventually as Fuugo was making an attack on three that decided to single him out, two hands suddenly shot out of the ground and grabbed his blood covered ankles, and he looked down in surprise to see the real Naruto grinning up at him. In a blink of an eye, the warrior was bombarded by punches, kicks knees and elbows from the three other clothes, along with a few stabs from the kunai. Growling in frustration, he slashed out at his attackers, his large bladed staff meeting the defenses of the three clones.
Kinako growled as she was forced back by the two clones attacking her with kunai, finding that these two had the same capacity of fighting as the original. Growling, she dashed forward, slashing the two in half simultaneously. However, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted on the pair's backs that they had two pieces of paper stuck on them with strange markings. It was only till both her blades sliced through them and ignited them did she realize exactly what they were. The whole thing came to her in slow motion.
"Shit! Paper bombs!"
BOOOM!
The explosion that engulfed Kinako knocked Fuugo off of his feet, Naruto releasing him with the opening of his surprise attack. The blast knocked he jian wielding warrior flying, scorching his left side. Kinako on the other hand, in the midst of the fiery explosion of the two paper bombs, was thrown out of it, bruised, scarred, her swords snapped from their cables and clothes burnt. The girl flew through the air with a scream, and crashed into the far wall. The rubble that crumbled to the floor from the imprint she made was soon joined by the unconscious girl.
Fuugo on the other hand was still standing, and when he was up, took a defensive stance. Just then, Naruto shot out of the earth with a roar, sending a fist up to his face. The man staggered back, bleeding heavily from the mouth. Chuckling, he charged forward and lashed out at the boy, who skipped back across the stone floor, evading the man's strikes.
Skidding to a stop just outside of the small crater made by his paper bombs, Naruto drew his tanto and leapt at the man, pumping chakra into it and creating a wind blade. Ducking underneath a thrust, the boy then slashed upwards, slicing off the man's left arm. Fuugo leapt back chuckling and lashed out again with his blade, with Naruto blocking the strike. However, the taller man leapt forward, and kneed him in the face, sending him to the ground in the middle of the crater.
Naruto was about to get up, but the now one armed Fuugo slammed his foot down on his chest, and held him down. Laughing, he brought his jian blade right above the by's head, pulling back, and thrust straight down, intent on impaling the boy once and for all.
Gritting his teeth, the young ninja pinned to the earth fumbled around blindly with his hands for something to defend himself with. His fingers tapped something, and the boy raised an eyebrow, finding the handle and half of the remains of one of Kinako's sword. Smirking, he picked it up, and just as Fuugo was thrusting down with his weapon, suddenly found his weapon stray of course, and a splash of blood streak across as his hand was sliced clean off. Stumbling back, the Jonin growled as now both his hands were cut off.
Grinning, Naruto leapt off the ground and straight at his opponent, landing on the man's chest, the blonde stabbed his blade straight down into Fuugo's skull, penetrating straight through to his lower jaw. Blood spraying everywhere, the boy leapt off of Fuugo, at the same time the staggering corpse of the man fell to the ground.
Landing, the boy let out a sigh as he watched his next kill bleed on the ground. Shrugging, he tossed the broken sword he was using to the side, before turning towards Kinako. The girl was still lying unconscious on the ground, and seeing her in that state, chose not to finish it with her. After all, it was against his person and heart to kill a woman.
Staggering a bit, the boy turned and looked up at Heinkel, High Princess Hirano, and the last of the Jonin. But what he met a few seconds later upon landing his eyes on them was not just them, but a sudden fireball that shot up out of nowhere and right in front of and around him. Shortly following, a fiery explosion consumed him and instantaneously, Naruto was sent flying…
TO BE CONTINUED…