Kumogakure Ninja
Posted: 19-04-11
Updated: 28-06-11
CH22: Ants & Dragons Part II
(Forest of Death)
In the Forest of Death standing in a newly created clearing surrounded by softly flicker flames Orochimaru loomed over the unconscious forms of the Kumogakure genin. The Snake Sannin gripped the legendary sword Kusanagi loosely in his hand as he eyed the teenagers, tilting his head as if wondering how he would kill them. "Quite a pair," Orochimaru mused out loud. The young jinchūriki had surprised him with his resilience and power and remarkable control of himself.
The Sannin smiled, a sinister idea coming to mind. "Shippū Shūren."
Wind picked up around the Sannin's arm and quickly formed into a rather wickedly looking form of the Hurricane Drill the jinchūriki made us of. 'For a youngster to have such mastery over this technique. Quite impressive.' Orochimaru raised the Kusanagi enchased in wind.
To kill the boy with his own technique, how… fitting.
"You are too much of a threat, Kyūbi. Don't you worry; I will make good use of you back in my laboratory." Orochimaru held up the jinchūriki by his collar and took in his unconscious form for a moment. 'So young yet so powerful. Kumogakure would make a true monster out of you with a few more years… it would have been interesting to face you. But… if I allowed you to live, there would undoubtedly be a day you would come for revenge and I can't have that, now can I?" Orochimaru smirked ominously. 'If those Akatsuki pests come for my head with a greater vengeance so be it.'
A swift movement later, Orochimaru made a stabbing movement with his Shippū Shūren encased Kusanagi and ploughed it through the unmoving genin's chest.
Fffszzht!
The jinchūriki arched and convulsed under his grip for only a moment; flailed his arms uncontrollably before he was dropped face-first into the dirt, blood oozing out a gaping hole in his chest.
Blood stained Orochimaru's garb but the Sannin paid it no heed.
Uzumaki Naruto moved no more.
The deed done, Orochimaru's eyes rested on the brown-haired genin that had fought alongside the Kyūbi's container. The youngster had wielded a chikutō, no doubt taken of Uchiha Sasuke, and made us of its chakra tempered steel to use a rather impressive kenjutsu style. Orochimaru would have sought after the technique, perhaps, if it ever came to completion. The serpent was tempted to place his Curse Seals on the Kumo genin but decided against it. He had come for only one genin and the Cursed Seals took a lot out of him.
"Such a waste of a fine kenjutsu," Orochimaru drawled as he turned to Hari. The Sannin cancelled the Hurricane Drill and gripped the Kusanagi in a reversed grip for easy impalement. "Unfortunately we will never see it come to completion."
In an instant many things happened.
As Orochimaru moved to impale the fallen genin, the earth under his feet formed into locks around his ankles, firmly immobilizing him as Naruto and Hari sunk through the earth. A split second later Orochimaru was forced to move his blade to deflect a bolt of lightning. Before he could move his arm, ninja wire wrapped itself around his limb to immobilize him. Two young genin appeared from both sides and simultaneously brought their blades down in a decapitating swipe of their blade.
"Kumo-Ryū! Kakū Kibukiri Giri!"
Orochimaru swiftly retracted himself in a fluid motion only a serpent could be capable of. The snake summoner sliced towards his right with such power he broke the ninja wire with ease. Hearing a feminine as he drew blood, Orochimaru extended his neck out of his garb, his eyes flickered around him.
Two genin teams from Kumogakure had joined the fray. The most prominent out of the two was the team of sixteen year old genin. Judging from the emblem the tallest of the senior genin team, Orochimaru knew he had run into a Saito. The Saito spotted an eye-patch fashioned out of strips of gauze and medical tape over his left eye; the genin his right standing in a hunched back manner was no doubt the Doton specialist as he still had his fingers entangled to form the serpent hand seal; the medium for earth ninjutsu. The other team was rather unimpressive, likely fresh out of the academy the Sannin assumed judging by their youthful appearances. No matter, they were no challenge for him. He highly doubted they had anything they could throw at him that would scratch him.
"Kukuku, what do we have here?" Orchimaru's tongue flicked before him excitedly. "Little over a handful genin are to face me? You… Saito, you know who I am do you not? Yes, those horrified expressions… you all know you are facing an enemy that far surpassed anything you have ever encountered." Orochimaru allowed a moment for the fear to set in. He had hoped to avoid killing any Kumo genin in particular as it was the only village of the Great Five that he had not wronged. Their council had been amiable to say the least. Well… some of them had. Those that did had taken care of those insufferable Akumu Shokō that had stolen his plans to retrieve two legendary blades. It no longer mattered now… those blades had become useless; weakened by time to the point it would take considerable resources to restore them.
Orochimaru almost shook his head, realizing he had gone off track. "Stand aside and leave or I will kill you."
Kenji gripped the hilt in his hands tightly. "We will not, Orochimaru of the Sannin. I know we have no way of defeating you, but do you really want to anger Kumogakure?" Kenji called out to the other genin. "Tokashiji, Nobori, get out of the way." As the genin hurried to the side, Kenji turned to Kenichi and nodded. "Do it."
Tomaro Kenichi grumbled, "This is harder than it looks," and entangled his fingers into a serpent hand seal. "Doton! Tsuchi Engai!" The earth around Orochimaru sprang to the sky, reaching ten feet in height as it mashed together and formed a dome above the Snake Sannin whom merely smiled sinisterly, seemingly content with letting it happen. Kenji held up a fist, calling all the genin to him and reached for his explosive tags. "Now, Kenichi!" The Earth Dome's textured shifted and created tiny slits in the earth, openings the genin used as they hailed a storm of kunai with explosive tags tagged to them.
BOOM!
Following an earth shattering explosion, rubble propelled in all directions; chunks of earth in all shapes and forms lodging in the environment as a humongous serpent came forward. Orochimaru cackled in amusement, spreading his arms in a grand gesture. "Impressive use of tactics, but not good enough," the Sannin voiced. "I have no desire to stain my hands with the blood of Kumogakure's genin. I will say it only once more, step aside and leave. None of you are a threat, not by any stretch of the mind."
"We'll see about that," Kenji said with false bravado, reaching for his sword hilt. A cry alerted Kenji, prompting him to look over his shoulder to Taiko. His eyes widened at the sight of the kunoichi propping up a bloody, pale-skinned Naruto.
"Naruto!" Taiko sounded almost hysterically; she was covered in the blonde's blood. "Ken- Kenji he's- look at him! He's dying!"
It was too late. The gaping hole in his chest was barely visible as the blood oozed out of him. Naruto's usually tanned skin tone was now incredibly pale. It was as if he was teetering on the edge of life and death. Kenji clenched his fists so tightly he dug his nails in the palms of his hands deep enough to draw blood. Without medical treatment the blonde would soon succumb to his wounds and die.
"Kenji!"
Kenji called out to the genin of team Hitaro, "You guys, thank you for help but we've got it from here. Get out of here and call for help… take Taiko and Hari with you," Kenji added almost as an afterthought. If he was going to die here, the least he could do was make sure those two could get away. As harsh as it sounded, Naruto would die soon regardless of what they did. In other words: the blonde was deadweight they could not take with them. "GO! Kenichi and I will hold him off!"
"No way…" Miyabi almost whispered, dropping the blood-stained ninja wire in her injured hand. The pathetic, bloody mess that was Naruto had no resemblance to the usual vibrant and lively genin she knew in her academy days. "H- Hari!" Miyabi rushed forward, seeing the unconscious form of Hari lying next to Taiko. "Hari!"
Tokashiji jumped in front of Miyabi and restrained her. "Miyabi we need to go." Every fibre in his body screamed in outrage but the genin knew he would only get in the way in a fight against an S-ranked shinobi. Hell, he doubted even Kenji and Kenichi combined stood a chance but he wasn't going to hurt their chances ever further. "Nobori, let's go!"
Whilst team Hitaro retreated, Kenji turned to his best friend and slapped him on the shoulder. "Kenichi, what I'm going to ask you next… it's not something I-" Kenji paused momentarily, "I need you to stay with me to hold off Orochimaru."
Kenichi placed a hand on Kenji's shoulder. "Don't sweat it. We'll pull through," Kenji smiled wryly, "We always seem to, somehow." His smile hid his solemn awareness of what he was committing himself to. Orochimaru of the Sannin was no pushover by any means for other S-ranked ninja. A handful genin would have as much chance of winning as Hell freezing over on the same day.
"Taiko get out of here!" Kenji bellowed at the straggling kunoichi. He knew she was stalling by lying down Naruto delicately (Nobori had taken Hari). "I love you too, now go!" That seemed to do it as Taiko nodded, blinking away the tears as she set off after team Hitaro.
"Damn that thing is huge…" Kenichi whistled as he eyed the giant snake summon Orochimaru was riding. The Snake Sannin was rather patient with them; perhaps he wanted to see what else Kumo's next generation had in store.
"We need to hold him off for a minute or two, that's all I'm asking for," Kenji said as he unsheathed his prized possession: a chakra tempered katana with the clan coat of arms embedded on the hilt. "After that, feel free to run. I'm staying here till the end." Kenichi punched him rather hard in the shoulder. "Ouch, what was that for?"
"Don't be stupid, Kenji. I'm staying here with you and we're going to see this through to the end," Kenichi grinned, "Besides, I wouldn't trust myself around Taiko-chan."
The best friends looked at each other and then turned to Orochimaru. "Let's go!" They shouted simultaneously as they rushed forward. As they neared the snake summoner, Orochimaru reared back the serpent for a biting attack. The snake hissed and went to bite the genin as Kenji charged forward; Kenichi fell back to form another earth jutsu when a sudden flash of lightning struck giant summon under its head where the scales were considerably softer.
BOOM!
'What the-!' Kenji propelled backwards with the sudden impact of a thick lightning wave that pierced through the summon's skull, killing it instantly; forcing Orochimaru to attach himself to another tree only to have to dodge an ball of lightning that ploughed through the thick bark effortlessly.
Orochimaru flipped midair and blocked clenched fist with the flat side of his Kusanagi. "Oh my, I thought I gotten rid of you already, Nibi." The remark clearly intensified Yugito's anger as she called forth the Nibi's chakra and overpowered the Sannin; pushed him back with enough force to launch him into a branch. Orochimaru was clearly unaffected by the impact, his thick scales protected him from brutish attacks.
"What have you done to my teammates?" Yugito growled, stuck to an opposite tree of Orochimaru. Her eyes were shifting into dark, light blue and black slits and glowed eerily.
"Yugito!" Kenji shouted to her.
The kunoichi did not take her eyes of Orochimaru. "Kenji, Kenichi, get out of here." Now was not the time to be respectful of her seniors. Neither of them would stand a chance against the Sannin and they would simply get in the way of her destructive chakra. "Find Naruto and Hari."
"Naruto's… in bad shape Yugito."
Yugito, despite having prepared not to take her eyes of Orochimaru, turned to look at Kenichi and her eyes widened at the sight of a seemingly dead Naruto. "What do you- N- NO!" Yugito screamed at the top of her lungs. For an instant she forgot who she was facing as tears welled up and began flowing down her cheeks. "Naruto!" Yugito dropped her guard and went to move towards Naruto, ignorant of Orochimaru's satisfied smirk.
Seeing an opening, Orochimaru took it and launched himself towards her with his sword-brandishing tongue. "Don't you worry, you'll be joining him soon enough!" The Sannin was about to bring down the Kusanagi on the distraught kunoichi when Kenji intercepted his blade midair and tried to push him back.
Clang!
Orochimaru swiftly pushed back the genin with a mere stroke of his blade and raised his left arm towards Yugito. Calling forth snakes, the serpents sprang out of his sleeve and flew towards Yugito was simply too distracted and distraught with the apparent death of her teammate, her senses were dulled to the point she had become easy pickings. Orochimaru smirked with satisfaction, sure of a clear kill when a gush of fire swept over his serpents and killed them.
"Chidori Senbon!" The barrage of lightning bolts missed narrowly as Uchiha Sasuke appeared to Orochimaru's side and stabbed at him with his sword-brandishing hand. The Sannin coiled effortlessly and settled on the ground, twenty feet below the genin perched in trees.
"Uchiha Sasuke…" Orochimaru called out to him. "Gotten over your fear, have you?" the Sannin mocked.
Sasuke gripped his spare chikutō and charged with chakra, coating it with his Raiton chakra and jumped out of the tree, directly at Orochimaru. "Stop!" Kenji shouted at him, to no avail and so the Saito Clan member followed suit, coating his own blade with regular chakra to increase its sharpness. The duo engaged the Sannin in a two-to-one duel but were still hard-pressed; the serpent simply moved in fluid movements to avoid their thrusts and cuts and returned vigorously in kind. The duel gradually gained speed and ferociousness as Sasuke's Sharingan spun wildly with aggression and Kenji attempted to shield openings Sasuke left for Orochimaru. It became blatantly obvious the two were not meant to work together as Kenji's Saito-Ryū and Sasuke's unknown style were incompatible to the point they both suffered needless injuries. All the while Kenichi was incapable of aiding them as his earth jutsu could not isolate their target in close quarters.
Meanwhile Yugito dashed across the tree and channeled enough chakra to her legs to jumped roughly sixty feet in the air and land beside Naruto. Upon touching down, she rolled over her shoulder and hurried over to him. He was laid on his back, unmoving and covered by deep cuts, brushes and gashes. Yugito's heart skipped a beat upon expecting the gaping hole in his chest. "No… Naruto!" Yugito propped him up and embraced her unconscious teammate, checking to see whether he was breathing.
Yugito's breath hitched… he wasn't breathing, or so it appeared. His breathing was slow and shallow, almost inaudible. "Come on, Naruto," Yugito shook him worriedly, tearing welling up. "Naruto, wake up." Her voice was now barely a whisper. Naruto remained perfectly still, unmoving and unresponsive. "Naruto," Yugito whispered with desperation. Why wasn't he responding? Why wasn't he healing like he should be? What the fuck was the Kyūbi doing? 'I need to get you out of here.' Yugito went to shift his weight so she could carry Naruto when suddenly a hand gripped tightly onto hers.
"R- run…"
Yugito's eyes widened looking down, meeting Naruto's barely open eyes. "Naruto?" She whispered. How he had regained his consciousness didn't matter at that moment, what mattered was to get him to safety and find Hari. "Save your strength, Naruto. I'm going to get you out of here."
Naruto merely shook his head. "I'll only sl- slow you down, Yu- Yugito," he managed through painful blood coughing. "Get out of he- here…" Naruto groaned in excruciating pain. Even breathing was completely taking it out of him. He didn't need to look down to know he had a gaping hole in his chest. 'Looks like the Kyūbi can't save me this time…'
"Shut up!" Yugito said forcibly. "I'm not going to leave you behind here. I won't abandon you, I'll rather die here… with you. As I know you would do for me," she uttered the last of it in another whisper, knowing full well had the roles been reversed Naruto would have never abandoned her. "Come on, let's get you-" Yugito nearly recoiled as Naruto placed a hand on her stomach and traced his fingers over her scar.
"How did you get that scar, Yugito?" Naruto wheezed out. "You need to get out of here, you can't possible sur- survive against this guy. He's on a whole other league," Naruto rested his hand on her S-shaped scar. It was a newfound intimacy between them. They had never been this close aside from that kiss… "Listen, Yugito. I want you to know… when I kissed you, it wasn't be- because of the reasons you th- thought they were." Naruto's hand trailed upwards and cupped her cheek and he smiled in the same goofy way he always did. "I really en- enjoyed kissing you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earl- earlier."
Yugito froze in her movements for a moment. The way he was looking at her, the way his eyes were looking far beyond hers… as if they were looking right into her heart, her very soul. He was saying goodbye. "Na- Naruto, you need to conserve your strength. And you're not going to die here," she added, gently cupping his cheek to comfort him.
An explosion caught their attention. By the looks of it, and to Yugito's tremendous relief, more genin teams had gathered and were joining the fray. One of the genin she recognized as Chōji had expanded his arm to the size of a tree and was brandishing an actual tree and swinging it towards Orochimaru who summoned three large cobras. Yugito looked over to her right and with another grand sense of relief teams of Kumogakure; team Shikūyo, a team of Kenji's year, and team Kodama, another genin team of their year. Yugito could hear Kenji shout at them in frustration, telling them to leave as Orochimaru became increasingly aggressive.
The ants were uniting to slay the dragon.
Yugito had never been quite this relieved. Genin from all over the forest, from all different villages, were heading their way and were all targeting Orochimaru. Being an internationally despised S-ranked criminal, Orochimaru had made himself countless enemies and now genin from different villages were joining the attack. Yugito's attention was caught my movement to her left as a lone figure, a kunoichi their age, was coming their way at an breakneck speed. Yugito reached for a kunai but was stopped in her tracks by Naruto, to her great surprise, who weakly held onto her wrist and nodded reassuringly. Even in near death his nose was still as sharp.
Upon coming close enough Yugito spotted the Kusa headband and the familiar features of Karin, the Grass kunoichi Naruto had saved from her former allies. "What are you doing here?" Yugito gripped onto the kunai anyway. "Answer me! I asked what you were doing here!"
Karin ran towards her, narrowly avoiding the kunai that soared past her and cut of a good chunk of her bangs. "I'm here to save Naruto-sama!" Karin slid over the ground, completely setting herself in a vulnerable position; indicating Yugito could kill her if she wanted to. "I can save him!"
Yugito narrowed her eyes. "Are you a medical ninja? I don't see any tools on you," she pointed out, pulling Naruto's body closer to her. "How can you possibly save him?"
"I'm not a medic but I have this!" Karin pulled down the zipper on her flack and unbuttoned her blouse, giving Yugito a full frontal view of her mauled body. "He simply needs to bite me and suck the healing chakra. It's a special technique passed down in Kusagakure to only a few. I was lucky to be one because of my perfect chakra control."
Yugito then quickly remembered what she had told them when she tried to convince Naruto to take her.
"Take me with you. I can be of use!"
"We already have a sensory ninja."
"I can cook!"
"So can we."
"I- I got another special ability! If you bite me in my neck or chest, you can suck healing chakra!"
'She can heal people by letting them bite her...' Yugito looked down to Naruto and he nodded weakly to her. "… If you make one suspicious movement, if make him so much as wince… I'll kill you. Slowly." The threat was by no means an idle one and from her sudden spike of killing intent and the way Karin reacted to it through stammering and cold sweat, she knew the kunoichi knew she was serious.
"I- I promise you, Naruto-sama will be perfectly… after… this…" Karin leaned into Naruto and moaned as he bit into her.
Sure enough, green chakra (similar to what Hari used Yugito noted) began flowing out her and into Naruto. The blonde groaned as the skin tissue around his wound began to grow and the blood stopped flowing. Yugito watched wide eyes as the wound began to close and colour returned to Naruto's skin. However, as Naruto's wound closed Karin abruptly collapsed on top of him, drained out from chakra. Naruto grunted painfully under the weight off her but wrapped his around her and hugged her. "Thank you," he whispered to her but shoving her off him as gently as he could.
"Na- Naruto, don't move. You're still injured," Yugito straightened Karin out on the floor and then walked over to Naruto to keep him on his feet. "Here, let me help you."
"Yugito," Naruto caught her hands and held him in his own. "I'm going to finish what I started… You go find Hari, and take her with you." Naruto anticipated her protest and gripped onto her hands and pulled closer. "You already nearly died for me and scarred yourself in the process," Naruto whispered into her ear, placing his right hand on her hip and tracing his fingers of her smooth skin, noting how the scar felt like leather compared to the rest of her silky smooth skin. "Now I'm going to repay all those guys there that came to help us."
"Naruto… please don't." Yugito stepped in closer to him, allowing herself to be embraced by Naruto. "You're planning on using the Kyūbi… aren't you?"
Naruto didn't answer her and instead cupped her chin and made her look him in the eye. And then he kissed her.
It was soft and innocent but it bared more emotion than he could ever relay to her in words. Yugito leaned and craned her neck as she deepened the kiss to show him she understood. The kiss ended as abruptly and it started.
"Don't you die," Yugito said upon breaking their lip lock. "Whatever you do… just don't die."
"I won't," Naruto smiled at her. He couldn't tell her he couldn't use the Kyūbi even if he wanted to. "Now go."
Yugito pressed one more kiss to his lips and then turned to Karin. "I need you to trace our teammate. Can you remember what his chakra felt like?"
"Yes, of course. I never forget how a chakra signature feels," Karin said rather haughtily. She wasn't quite pleased Yugito had just kissed her crush but she would not falter right now. "His chakra felt strange. Gentle but in a cold way. As if he's harbouring a lot of anger."
Yugito narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You can explain that on the way. Let's go."
-ooo-
Naruto looked for a moment as they ran off to find Hari and then turned to battle going on a hundred yards or so away from them. 'I need to get rid of the Gogyō Fūin that snake bastard put on me,' Naruto thought.
The question was how and the answer was far from easy. The Gogyō Fūin was a particularly nasty piece of Fūinjutsu that disturbed the flow of chakra through tenketsu. Naruto could still feel the searing pain of Orochimaru's foul chakra flowing attacking his chakra coils. The only way to get rid of the Gogyō Fūin's chakra interference was by using its countering jutsu, the Gogyō Kaiin. The problem with this was that the technique not only required a lot of chakra but also a lot of chakra manipulation skill. Seeing as he now had neither, Naruto was in a tough bind.
'There is one option,' a voice in the back of Naruto's mind said.
Naruto swallowed thickly and nodded and reached inside one of his four large pouches attached to his utility belt. Even unsealing the brush, ink and mirror took significant effort with what little chakra he could concentrate. Naruto gritted his teeth, 'This is really a bitch!'
An explosion nearby alerted the blonde. 'No time to be bitching, Uzumaki. Focus and get this bastardly seal of you!' Naruto had pulled the remains of his tattered shirt over his head earlier, leaving him in his black shinobi, ANBU-styled trousers and sat on his knees, holding the mirror in front of him.
Naruto willed himself to focus on the design of the Gogyō Fūin. As expected the elements of steel, wood, water, fire and earth were present in a five-prong circle going clockwise. Due to its chakra interfering nature, Naruto's other seal was now visible as well, thus making it significantly harder to tell them apart. Yet, Naruto was determined to do something about it. The Gogyō Fūin worked on the principle of closing off several tenketsu within the body's Chakra Pathway. This in effect would make it nearly impossible to mould chakra for a regular person but for a jinchūriki it was a much bigger problem because it would make the host's and tenant's chakra fight for dominance and completely obstruct even the tiniest of chakra manipulation.
Now here was the problem: because the seal prevented chakra circulation, moulding chakra or manipulating it any way would be difficult to say the least. Naruto however theorized a temporary solution and so quickly unfurled the scroll and dabbed his brush in ink and set himself on creating a replica Five Pronged Seal in counter-clockwise order. In theory, his chakra would flowing two directions now: clockwise and counter-clockwise. This would hopefully open up a few more tenketsu in his Chakra Pathways to draw more chakra. If it backfired, he would have even less open tenketsu which meant even less chakra to draw on and considering the chakra he could draw on now was not even close to genin level, it was a risk he did not easily take. Still, it was better than nothing. At this point he didn't have much to lose.
"Okay, here goes nothing." Naruto held up the scroll and pressed it to his abdomen and gathered as much chakra as he could. It wasn't a lot and he doubted he could form even a Bunshin with it but it was enough to perform the D-rank jutsu that drained the parchment of its ink and seeped it into Naruto's skin where it formed on top of the Gogyō Fūin. Blue fire seeped into his skin, momentarily grew out to cover his entire body and then retracted into a smaller circle around his naval.
Naruto released a breath he did not know he was holding. 'It worked… It actually worked!'
He could gradually feel more chakra flowing through his body, more of it slipping through the Gogyō Fūin and available for him to manipulate. It was a far cry of what he usually had to his disposal but it was enough. Not enough for prolonged battle but certainly for what he was planning. One attack was all he could afford.
An ear-splitting explosion alerted him once again.
BOOM!
The fight was still raging on and from what he could see it was going to end soon.
-ooo-
"What is your relationship to Naruto-sama?"
Yugito nearly slipped off the branch she stepped on but quickly regained her composure. "That's none of your business, Karin. Concentrate on finding Hari."
Karin abruptly stopped midair and set down on a branch and waited for Yugito to do the same. "Actually, it is my business. I see the way you look at him and I know you want to be with him."
"What does it matter to you?" Yugito said through gritted teeth, feeling rather impatient. "My friend- Naruto's friend too, may be in trouble. He won't ever forgive you if he finds out you jeopardized his safety."
That seemed to work. Karin promptly continued to lead the way with a disgruntled snort. "I love Uzumaki Naruto more than you do." There was no real point in saying it but she did nonetheless. "His aura is magnificent and raw. So powerful. It's as profound as all the oceans combined and resilient as the mountains. Uzumaki Naruto is the man of my dreams."
Yugito bit back a snide remark, reminding herself she needed this crazy kunoichi to find Hari. "You don't even know him. How can you say you love him? How can you feel anything for him at all?" It irked Yugito to no end to hear Karin proclaim her love to Naruto without so much a hint of embarrassment.
"Are you asking me or are you asking yourself?"
Good question, but Yugito decided not to answer. "Earlier, you said something about my teammate Hari's chakra. You said it was cold." For the moment she decided to change the subject. If she didn't ask now, the question would haunt her forever.
"My chakra sensing abilities are different from any other sensor type shinobi I've heard off. It allows me to sense things other sensor type shinobi can't. Your friend… his chakra feels vaguely like Orochimaru-"
"What?" Yugito hissed with outrage.
"No, don't misunderstand," Karin quickly told her. "It's nowhere near as dark or foul but it feels cold. Orochimaru's chakra is cold because he is full of anger. I don't feel the same evil in your teammate as I do in Orochimaru, but if I did it would have felt dark. Allow me to explain. Those that commit horrendous activities will sooner or later dabble in kinjutsu and this can affect their entire being, making their chakra feel odd. Out of place. Foul like Orochimaru's. Coldness and darkness are two separate things entirely and they depend on-"
"Get to the point," Yugito said dismissively. "Why does Hari have 'cold chakra'?"
"I was getting there... And I must say, you are rude and I don't-" Karin fell silent once she saw Yugito's death glare. Gulping nervously she hurriedly explained. "He's angry. Well, to be more accurate, he has a lot of anger within him which he hides behind a gentle exterior."
"Aha," was all Yugito could come up with. 'That can't be true, can it? Why would Hari be- of course, his father left his family with a lot of grievance when he was arrested.' Yugito clenched her fists, making a note to speak to Hari about this.
"Do you have any idea if something happened to your friend in the past that may have given him reason to hide anger?"
Yugito's eyes narrowed at the red-haired kunoichi. "No, I don't. How far is he from here?"
"Not very. Let's pick up the pace my rival for love."
"I'm not your rival!" Yugito snapped at her with a faint blush.
-ooo-
Orochimaru was fuming with anger. No, he was absolutely furious. His plans for infiltrating the Chūnin Exam and planting his Juinjutsu on Sasuke had intended to be a quick 'in-and-out' mission. He would kill no one, alert no one. Simply disappear in the forest and leave. By the time his presence had been found out, it would have been too late and Sasuke would be under his control.
No, instead he had been confronted by the blasted jinchūriki of Kumo, Uzumaki Naruto. The boy had foiled his plan and forced him through a series of events that ended up with him fighting against well over thirty genin. They were no match for him, surely they all knew that, but with their combined force they were formidable. This year's chūnin hopefuls certainly were talented. He had even spotted a few jutsu he knew were A-ranked jutsu and some more he had yet to encounter.
"Hakke Kūshō!"
Orochimaru backhanded the wave of energy with ease. 'How quaint, now a Hyūga had to fall in the mix. A branch house member no less,' Orochimaru snarled. Enough was enough, he had for too long indulged these genin. He could no longer afford to not attack indiscriminately. The ANBU operatives would surely be soon upon him and that was not something he could afford.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
POOF!
A burst of smoke of enormous height and width was followed by a loud and deep serpentine hiss.
"I have come to serve!"
Orochimaru nestled on top of the largest serpent he had summoned so far. It was chrome and black python, easily over hundred feet in length and raised its head to sixty feet. The python was absolute magnificent and just screamed 'danger'. "Kurome, firstborn of Manda, I need your assistance."
"What is this, Orochimaru of the Sannin fighting it out with some urchins? What are these, genin?" Receiving no reply Kurome began to hiss with laughter.
"Know your place, Kurome," Orochimaru hissed with a spike of his ominous chakra, full killing intent focused upon the eldest son of Manda. "Your father and I have an understanding. Do not overstep your bounds again, whelp or I will kill you myself."
"Very well, Orochimaru. I will aide you in this battle and I shall consume these genin as my payment of fifty souls. You may offer the deficit on a later date."
"Perhaps," Orochimaru sneered. "Now, annihilate these fools that dared to face me. Kill all but the raven-haired child. He is mine to take."
"As you will."
The genin all looked up in absolute fear and terror. Many began to flee, fearful of their lives. Their unity and camaraderie no longer mattered. They had angered him and now they would pay for their arrogance. With their own blood.
"I will annihilate all!" Kurome left his enormous fangs open in preparation of his attack. Acidic fluid began to drop from his fangs into his mouth rapidly. Once he had enough, the serpent king's son reared back and spat a rain of acid. "Sanseiu!"
Orochimaru laughed darkly with a sense of deranged glee. The screams of pain and misery were like beautiful symphonies to his ears. 'Now, to get what I came for.' Orochimaru jumped of Kurome's head and slid down its scales towards his target.
Uchiha Sasuke saw him coming and went through a string of hand seals so fast Orochimaru could see the resemblance to Uchiha Itachi. "Katon! Ryūka no Jutsu!"
"Oh, Sasuke, you really need to do better than that!" Orochimaru shifted into his serpent form and abandoned his garbs as he took flight. His tough scales protected him from the heat of Sasuke's fire. "Now. You. Are. Mine!"
Orochimaru's fangs sank into the nape of Sasuke's neck. The boy screamed and convulsed, shaking uncontrollably as Orochimaru's foul chakra slithered through his body. The boy slumped into unconsciousness moments later. As he fell to the ground, Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction, counting three tomoes on the boy's shoulder.
Meanwhile the screams of horror still ensued as Kurome spat another acid wave, this time picking his targets deliberately. Orochimaru smiled wickedly. 'Yes, Manda's firstborn is a wicked one indeed. In time, perhaps, he will be my new familiar. Once he has eaten Manda, of course.'
As he dressed himself once again, Orochimaru's smile faltered as he saw the boy he had killed early climb up Kurome scales and launch himself into the air with an enormous air drill around his arm.
"No!"
(Jutsu: Sanseiu – Acid Rain!)
-ooo-
Naruto leapt into the air with the Shippū Shūren around his arm quickly growing longer, thicker and sharper.
"What is this? Human you have made a grave mistake-"
"DAI GIRI!"
With one powerful lunge, the enormous drill sank through the scales of Kurome and pierced his entire head. It was truly gruesome. Blood, flesh and shredded bone sprayed out of the serpent's cranium in a storm of gore like water out of a whale's blowhole as Naruto pushed the Shippū Shūren further down Kurome's skull. It became increasingly easier and within moments the snake was dead and fell forward with a foot wide hole between its eyes.
The enormous impact easily threw Naruto of its head and made him skid across the ground painfully. "Ugh, gross. Not going to do that again." Naruto wiped some meaty substance out of his hair that was most likely a portion of the now dead serpent's brains. Naruto would have vomited normally, but at the moment pain coursed through his body. His vision became blurred and shaky. His breathing was ragged and laboured. His entire body ached with pain and-
"You have crossed me for the last time, Kyūbi!"
Naruto attempted to make a serpent hand seal to raise an earth barrier but Orochimaru was too fast and launched himself at Naruto with such velocity the boy could hardly blink before he felt himself held up by an iron tight grip. Through the gaps of Orochimaru's hand he saw the enraged glint in the Sannin's yellow slit eyes.
"I don't know how you undid the Gogyō Fūin but you have crossed me for the last time. Now die!" Orochimaru regurgitated the Kusanagi and poised it, aimed for Naruto's heart.
Naruto knew this was it. The others had probably escaped by now. Orochimaru wouldn't bother to go after them. Naruto chuckled mirthlessly and raised his middle finger to the Sannin. "Fuck you."
Orochimaru gripped the Kusanagi tightly and plunged it through the boy, not once, but four times.
The first plunge went through the boy's stomach.
The second in his right lung.
The third in his left lung.
The fourth and final stab was in the boy's heart.
"No one will save you now, boy. You will die alone as those you saved retreat without even thinking of looking back." Orochimaru cast the genin aside and dropped him in the dirt where he lay, drowning in his own blood and struggling to breathe.
Orochimaru moved to deliver the final blow when a new voice shouted in rage. The Sannin distanced himself from the Uzumaki boy, backpedalling fast enough to avoid a diagonal pillar of fire.
"ZANGEKI!"
Orochimaru growled darkly. 'Not this one again. These Kumo genin are far too persistent.' The Sannin scowled at Hari as Yugito and Karin joined him, standing behind the boy. "What is it with you blasted Kumo genin? Do you know not know who you are up against?"
"Shut the fuck up!" Hari shouted at him. "What kind of S-ranked ninja infiltrates the Chūnin Exam to fight a bunch of genin?" The brown-haired genin reached into his pouch and withdrew a container of soldier pills. It was nearly empty, save for two pills so he chugged it and cast it aside.
"Tche, it's your funeral, as they say." Orochimaru then saw something he hadn't ever encountered before. The red-haired kunoichi with the Kusa headband knelt down by Uzumaki and pulled down her shirt. As the boy bit into her flesh, green chakra emitted from her body and into the boy.
"Oh? The famed Kusagakure's Iyashu Kajiru. I can't have you save the Kyūbi from certain death, now can I?"
(Jutsu: Iyashu Kajiru – Healing Bite!)
Orochimaru saw he look up in shock and leapt forward predatorily. He moved at such speed Hari could only land a glancing blow with his Iaidō, and even that did not affect the Sannin for he had iron hard scales. Yugito attempted to put up some resistance and threw a Raiken towards him but he caught her wrist and snapped it like a twist. Her cry of pain was followed with a yelp as he threw over his shoulder.
"I'll be taking you now!" Orochimaru reared back his head, widening his mouth to a monstrous size rivaling his summons and struck out with his tongue. Karin screeched and kicked violently but her cries were fell silent as Orochimaru bit down and swallowed her whole.
"No, KARIN!" Yugito screamed desperately.
Hari attempted to dash towards the Sannin but fell to his face quickly. His body had been running solely on soldier pills and had reached its limits. There was nothing he could do but shout, "YOU MONSTER!"
Orochimaru's stomach bulged like a hot air balloon but only for a moment. As quick as it happened his body returned back to normal proportions. "Now then… This where you meet your end alongside with your teammate."
"I'll kill you!" Yugito screamed with fury. Tears ran down her cheeks, her shoulders shook uncontrollably and her visage slipped changed as she changed into her initial jinchūriki mode. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
Yugito charged forwards but stopped dead in her tracks. Orochimaru locked eyes with her the moment they turned slit and subdued her with a genjutsu. In her distraught and vulnerable (and depleted) state, she was an easy target.
"Now to finish you off-" Orochimaru closed his eyes with a smirk. "It appears we are no longer alone."
Jumping out of trees and emerging from the ground multiple ANBU operatives appeared, surrounding Orochimaru who merely held his arrogant sneer. An entire squad of ANBU operatives, twenty in number, reached for their weapons and slid into their stances, preparing to take the Sannin down.
"Well if isn't Konoha's finest."
One of the ANBU officers stepped forward and aimed a hand at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru of the Sannin, for your countless crimes against Konoha, you are hereby under arrest. Come quietly or we will use force. We have clearance to kill on sight, now come quietly. I will not ask again."
"I think not!" Orochimaru made a ram hand seal and bellowed a purple haze towards the ANBU officer. One of them shouted "Dokugiri! (Poison Mist)" upon which the other scattered. Orochimaru took the opportunity to escape, seemingly unfazed by the poisonous mist. The ANBU were quickly upon him and followed suit, leaving the Kumo genin team to deal with the poison on their own.
Yugito quickly acted once she saw the cloud enveloping Naruto and so channeled a good three-quarter of her remaining chakra into her jutsu. "Fūton! Daitoppa no Jutsu!"
The purple haze quickly disappeared; Yugito and Hari dashed to Naruto. "He's not breathing," Hari leaned in close by Naruto's nose. Snapping into his medic mode Hari spoke to Yugito with authority and assertiveness. "Yugito, I'm going to give him a heart massage. I haven't got enough chakra to use any of my techniques so you have to give him CPR. Do you understand?"
"Ye- yes!" Yugito parted Naruto's lips and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, I g- got it."
"Count with me. One… two… three!"
Yugito took a deep breath and leaned in on Naruto, pressing her lips on his and blowing mind into his mound.
"Okay, good, now stay with me Yugito. One, two, three!" As they repeated the procedure multiple times, Hari could still not get a heartbeat. "Fucking come on! COME ON!" Hari began pushing with more force.
Yugito faltered momentarily, looking at Naruto's unmoving form and realizing how much blood he had lost. Hari himself was going into the panic and she could feel the fear gripping her heart.
"NOT now, Yugito! Snap out of it!" Hari shouted at her. "Keep going! One, two, three!"
"One, two, three!"
"One, two, three!"
"This isn't working Hari! You're not putting enough force!" Yugito screamed at him,
"If I put in anymore force I'm going to break his ribs! I don't have defibrillator on me in case you didn't- HOLD ON!" Hari stopped his heart massages. "Use your Raiton jutsu. Do it, send a current through his body into his heart!"
'Why hadn't I thought of that?' Yugito held her hands together and with practiced ease lightning sparked between her hands.
"Good now. Now on three, push your hands on his chest with force, Yugito. You'll have to generate a bit more than that."
"How big?"
"A voltage of 150, do it!"
"Are you sur-"
"YES! Now come on, he's not going to last much longer Yugito!" Hari shouted at her. "I'm the medic here, just follow my lead!"
And she did, generating a field of electricity around her hands. "One… two… three!" Yugito pushed down her hands with sudden force and aimed for Naruto's hand. She could barely hold a scream as Naruto convulsed violently.
"Okay, get back!" Hari leaned in, placing his ear on Naruto's chest and placing a finger on the boy's neck. "Ye- yes! We've got a pulse! I can't believe it!"
Here Naruto was with a stab wound in his heart, yet with a pulse!
Yugito sighed with such relief she could almost cry. Hari quickly reached for his medical equipment scroll and unsealed a laryngoscope, an endotracheal tube and a purple cuff. The medic worked quickly and skillfully having learned how to do this procedure from Shi, as he went through the motions of sliding the tube down Naruto's mouth and into trachea.
"Okay, Yugito, are you with me? Good, now keep squeezing this purple balloon. It's called a cuff and it'll help Naruto breath. He's got a collapsed lung. See the blood oozing out of his mouth? His lungs are full with it. Naruto needs you and I need you too. So snap out of it, taichō."
"H- how can you be so calm?" Yugito asked with a trembling voice as she squeezed the cuff every three seconds. It amazed her Hari could stay so calm. It made her resent him and herself for her own weakness.
"I'm the medic. I have to be. Now don't forget to count to three out loud." Hari went through routine check of Naruto's body, following Shi's dictated procedures to the letter. First he needed to detect the most critical injuries and then treat them in the order of severity. Cleaning the wounds would be next before he could move on to the graver wounds.
"One, tw- two, three… Is he going to be okay?" Yugito whispered the question as though terrified of the answer, which she truly was.
"I hope so." Hari then quickly added with a reassuring smile. "It's Naruto, he'll be fine. We just need to believe in him to fight."
Yugito opened her mouth to reply when they heard screams for help close by.
"SASUKE!"
"This can't get any worse," Hari said darkly.
-ooo-
(Location: ?)
Drip! Drip! Drip!
Naruto's eyes fluttered open to a wet a sensation on his face. Opening his eyes he saw the familiar grimy ceiling of his mindscape. Looking to his right he saw he was laying down in sewage, yet the water was not wet. Naruto got up and looked down and noticed he was dressed in his regular black shinobi trousers and sandals, however he was shirtless and he was bleeding profusely bleeding from a gaping hole in his chest right to where his heart would be. A searing pain shot through the genin causing him to fall to his knees. The Kyūbi was punishing him, he figured. Forcing him to feel the pain he was experiencing in the real world in this wretched place.
The blond saw the cage in front of him and staggered forward as though a drunk man legless as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. "Kyūbi!" he called out to the cage. "Come out you fucking fox! KYŪBI!" Naruto fell to his knees in front of the cage in a coughing fit, "Ky- Kyūbi come out you son of a b- bitch!" Naruto supported himself with his arms seeing his reflection in the sewage water become obscured by the blood trailing from his mouth that ran down his chin. "COME OUT!"
A gigantic paw the size of a house shot out through the massive bars and stopped inches away from Naruto's face. Within the cage two enormous red orbs illuminated through the darkness.
"UZUMAKI NARUTO, HOW GOOD TO SEE YOU. KUKUKUKU." The Kyūbi's giant visage closed in on Naruto and stopped mere feet away from the bars. The Kyūbi's razor like teeth gleamed sinisterly. "YOU HAVE NOT COME TO SEE ME IN MONTHS, YET WHEN YOU ARE INJURED HERE YOU ARE, DEMANDING MY POWER TO HEAL YOU."
"Shut the fuck up!" Naruto shouted at beast, supporting himself on the gigantic claw as though it was a crutch. "Whatever the fuck you think you're doing, you're going to stop it and you're going to heal me- did you hear me?" Naruto coughed blood, speaking an entire sentence without breathing was killing him.
"NO, UZUMAKI NARUTO, YOU SHALL LISTEN TO ME!" the Kyūbi bellowed, it's voice echoing so strongly the sewage water began to form into small waves. "TIME AFTER TIME YOU RECKLESSLY ENDANGER YOUR LIFE AND BY PROXY MY OWN EXISTENCE!"
"If you're so afraid of dying, why do- don't you fix me up you da- damn fox!" Naruto practically vomited blood now. "Wh- why are you- ugh!" Naruto fell forward and grasped for his heart.
NARUTO? NARUTO CAN YOU HEAR ME?
"HAHAHA! WHAT IS IT, UZUMAKI? ARE YOU EXPERIENCING THE SUBLIME PAIN OF HEART FAILURE? IT APPEARS YOUR LUNG, TOO, HAS COLLAPSED ONCE AGAIN. PERHAPS YOUR FRIEND SHOULD LEARN HOW TO FIX SUCH DELICATE INJURIES PROPERLY? CURRENTLY, YOUR BODY IS SHUTTING DOWN ON ITS OWN DUE TO COMPLICATIONS. YOU ARE DYING, UZUMAKI NARUTO!"
Naruto began to shake violently and uncontrollably before the Kyūbi no Yokō, feeling his body shut down on him. "If I di- die, you di- die with me Ky- Kyūbi!" he managed to shout out.
SASUKE-KUN!
SHUT THE FUCK UP! HE'S NOT EVEN DYING! COME HERE AND HELP NARUTO INSTEAD OR I WILL KILL THAT UCHIHA BOY MYSELF SO HELP ME!
YUGITO!
"INDEED, MY FATE IS IN YOUR HANDS, UZUMAKI NARUTO! DO NOT FORGET, IF YOU DIE, I SHALL PERISH WITH YOU. AND LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR, I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOUR CARELESSNESS. REMEMBER THIS, UZUMAKI NARUTO, I WILL NOT WITHER AWAY! I SHALL NOT PERISH HERE!"
NO, WE RISKED OUR LIVES FOR THE UCHIHA BECAUSE NARUTO WANTED TO AND NOW THEY WILL RETURN THE FAVOUR! NARUTO IS DYING, HE ISN'T. STAY OUT OF OUR BUSINESS, TAIKO!
HARI, IS HE GOING TO BE OKAY? YOU SAID HE WAS GOING TO BE OKAY!
"Wh- what did that snake bastard d- do to me?" The pain had become unbearable by now. Naruto reached for his chest with both hands, clawing at himself as if wanting reach his own heart.
NARUTO OPEN YOUR EYES! COME ON BUDDY DON'T GIVE UP NOW! NARUTO!
IS HE DYING?
I DON'T KNOW – WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT LOOK LIKE, HUH?
"THE SERPENT INFECTED YOUR BODY WITH HIS OMINOUS CHAKRA. ITS FOUL ESSENCE BLED INTO YOUR CHAKRA PATHWAYS AND SO HAS MADE OUR CHAKRA CLASH. I AM POWERLESS TO STOP IT. THE SEAL THAT BLASTED YONDAIME PUT ON YOU DRAWS MY CHAKRA OUT ON ITS OWN. DUE TO MY CHAKRA FLOWING THROUGH YOUR BODY, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HEAL YOUR INJURIES IN THE PAST. NOW THAT THE SNAKE HAS MEDDLED WITH IT, THERE NO LONGER IS SUCH AN OPTION. FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, UZUMAKI NARUTO, YOU ARE NOW DEAD."
WE'RE LOOSING HIM! HARUNO COME HERE!
STOP BEING SO TROUBLESOME LISTEN TO HIM!
EVERYBODY CALM DOWN. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO PANICK!
KENJI IS RIGHT. WE NEED TO STAY CALM.
"Why am I hearing all these voices if I'm dead?" Naruto managed to wheeze through the coughs and grunts. "I can hear my teammates and my friends and a few others."
WHO ASKED YOU ONE-EYE? SASUKE-KUN NEEDS JUST AS MUCH-
NO HE DOESN'T. LOOK, I KNOW YOU'RE SCARED OF LOSING HIM BUT NARUTO NEEDS YOU.
"I DID NOT SAY YOU WERE ACTUALLY DEAD. FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, YOU ARE CLINICALLY DEAD, YET HERE YOU ARE. YOUR BODY MAY VERY WELL REPAIR ITSELF. HOWEVER, THERE IS A COST FOR YOUR SURVIVAL, UZUMAKI."
"I don't like the so- sound of this..." Naruto lurched and vomited blood. Strangely enough it did not mingle with the water. In fact, it just passed through it, not even making a sound.
OH FUCK, HE'S VOMITING BLOOD. PUT HIM ON HIS SIDE AND HAND ME THAT NEEDLE!
THIS ONE?
YES, HAND IT OVER!
"A COST MUST BE PAID, UZUMAKI. YOU WILL FIND IT MUCH MORE DESIRABLE THAN THE ALTERNATIVE."
"What did you ha- have in mi- mind, Kyūbi?" Naruto rolled over onto his back, too tired to voluntarily grip his chest anymore. It was futile. He simply would have to endure the pain.
"YOU MUST RIP THE SEAL ON MY CAGE BY HALF. IT WILL ALLOW ME TO CHANNEL MORE CHAKRA THROUGH YOUR PATHWAYS. IT WILL BE UNPLEASANT AND IT WILL HURT BUT IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE AS WELL AS MINE."
"I'm not ripping up that se- seal," Naruto wheezed, "I'm not that stu- stupid, Kyūbi. The second I weaken the seal, you'll try to escape."
"FOOL! DO YOU THINK THIS A BID FOR FREEDOM? MY VERY EXISTENCE IS TEETHERING ON THE LINE OF LIFE AND DEATH. DO AS I SAY, I WILL NOT DIE HERE. I WILL NOT DIE AS THE TENANT OF ANOTHER JINCHŪRIKI!"
"Another?" Naruto almost forgot about the pain. "What do you mean another, Kyūbi? Answer me!"
A feral grin crept unto the Kyūbi's visage. "WE WILL SPEAK OF THIS MATTER ONCE YOU HAVE SURVIVED THIS ORDEAL. NOW, UZUMAKI NARUTO, DO AS I SAY AND RIP THE SEAL IN HALF. IT IS THE ONLY WAY FOR ME TO CHANNEL MORE OF MY CHAKRA WITHIN YOUR BEING."
The facts were crushing Naruto. As much as he hated it, as much as he despised the Kyūbi… it was right. He was dying- no, he was already dead. And it wasn't as if the Kyūbi asked him to remove the seal entirely.
With a heavy sigh Naruto gave in, his pride be damned."I must be stupid but I'll have to be- believe you, Kyūbi." Naruto slowly got to his feet and staggered towards the gates. "If you try to screw me over, know that my teammates can subdue you Kyūbi. And once I ge- get my body back I will fuck you up so bad you'll regret it."
"YOUR ARROGANCE OFFENDS ME. HURRY, IT WILL NOT BE LONG FOR EVEN MY POWERS CANNOT SAVE YOU."
"OK… I'll do it, Kyū- Kyūbi…"
Naruto's hand reached out slowly for the seal stuck unto the cage, his entire body was aching and screaming in pain. At the very moment he couldn't breathe, the concentration required for the simple task of reaching up and ripping off the seal took more effort than any training he had ever done.
As Naruto's hand reached the seal, tucking his fingers under it to rip if off, another hand, larger than his own, reached and grabbed his wrist and halted his movements.
"What the-"
"YOU!" the Kyūbi bellowed in fury as Naruto turned around.
Naruto's eyes met those of a man in his mid-twenties with long shaggy blond hair, jaw length bangs and vibrant blue eyes identical to his own. It took Naruto no less than a second to recognize the figure in Konoha jōnin garb and a white coat with flames on the back. This was a man he had seen before many times as he looked up to the Hokage monument.
"Yo- Yondaime?"
Namikaze Minato smiled kindly. "Hey there… son."
Author's Notes
Wadduup people?
Not gonna take a lot of your time, I just want to make two quick announcement. One, thank you for being awesome, cool and bloody brilliant for reviewing. I got thirty reviews in two days, that is a record! It's not a lot compared to what some stories out there get but it means so much to me. I'm a walking wicket basket of kittens sliding down a double rainbow since Kumo Nin has broke the 500 reviews barrier. My dream of achieving 1000+ reviews actually seems possible, so, again, thank you.
My second announcement, I will henceforth cease with long-ass notes (this being the final one). I give way too much away and it's like I'm trying to convince you to keep reading. So y'all just need to sit tight and see where this crazy ride takes you. If you like what's happening: great, if not: I hope you don't give up on this story straightaway. Everything, and I mean everything, that happens in this story happens for a reason. I know some of you may not like it at the time, like now with Naruto facing Orochimaru, you'll soon realize why I did. It's all for the sake of development, which you will see starting the next chapter.
Leave me a line or two help me to realize that dream, people!
…
Jutsu Used:
(Jutsu: Shippū Shūren! Dai Giri – Hurricane Drill! Great Slash!) - B rank, offensive, short to mid range. This jutsu is derived from Naruto's Shippū Shūren and was made up on the spot. Naruto will channel additional chakra into his Shippū Shūren to temporarily increase its length and sharpness tremendously for a swift cut. Parent jutsu: Fūton: Shippū Shūren (Hurricane Drill).
(Jutsu: Fūton! Daitoppa – Great Breakthrough!) - C rank, supplementary, mid to long range. The Daitoppa is a ninjutsu technique which utilizes wind chakra. After bringing his hand to his mouth, the user will blow a large blast of wind capable of leveling almost anything in its way. A variation of the technique involves a smaller blast of wind which gets ignited with flame. This variation is often used in sabotage and demolition missions. Naruto has created a new variation, in which he 'pulls' the collecting air pocket to both hands and expels it in front of him. This variation is far more powerful than the standard Daitopppa.
(Jutsu: Sanseiu -Acid Rain!) - ? rank, offensive, mid range. Kurome leaks his acidic venom into the back of his throat and rains it down upon his enemies. The acid in his venom can melt through steel and thus is highly dangerous. Even the smallest amount can kill.
(Jutsu: Iyashu Kajiru – Healing Bite!) - ? rank, supplementary, short range. The Healing Bite is a special jutsu of Kusagakure that aided it greatly during the Great Shinobi Wars and its skirmishes with other villages. The jutsu is implanted within small children aged four to eight once near-perfect chakra control or, in some cases, perfect chakra control has been established. Not much is known about the jutsu as it is a highly kept secret but it essentially makes the muscles of the container generate healing chakra that can be used to save others from otherwise certain death.