Story written following "Superpower wiki" definition of "Necromancy" it takes place in Suna.
One or two "Franken Fran" Elements (appearance and overall concept only, STRONGLY OOC).
Pairing: Naru/fem Gaara (Sahara)/ Temari/ Fem Kankurou (Kankuo).
Up for vote: Adding Anko or Tenten or Both.
"You bastard" - demon talking / jutsu.
"Let's finish this" – dialogue.
" Can it get any worse? " - during flashback/Thoughts.
Disclaimer: I don't own and NEVER will own the material I use/used/ will use and I will NEVER take money for this or anything else I write so leave me alone, lawyers!
Black Baron of Suna Chapter 3: Dawn of the invasion.
Konoha – Shop Near the Underworld – night before the Finals -
The three Suna sisters were sitting in front of Naruto as the boy moved from the crystal ball to the cards in front of him with a frown on their faces, the poisonous snakes behind the blond boy's seat hissing dangerously at every movement of the Necromancer.
"No matter what method I use I always have the same result, your father has reached his Death, he died few hours ago" the boy said moving to grab a mirror to position it in the middle of the table.
"Are you sure?" Temari asked as he lightened some incense.
"Yes..." the boy answered cleaning the desk to adjust the mirror's position and drawing a circle around it with a chalk and adding inscriptions around it, lighting two candles at both sides of the object he made every other light source die down before sitting in front of the completely black surface of the mirror.
"Check again, please, I need to know why he still has to reach the village," Sahara asked with a low voice.
"I am doing just that," he answered before falling silent, as his eyes dulled in colour he looked transfixed at the mirror.
Images flashed in front of his eyes as a snake, image that he finally reconnected to the Traitorous Sannin Orochimaru, moved to strike at the Kazekage's back before becoming a double of the man, smiling evilly at the boy as the image faded.
"The same result...I am sorry, Sahara, the man coming here is not your father," Naruto said shaking his head as the dim light of the various candles returned in the shop.
"So I won't have my revenge?" the red-haired girl asked with a low growl.
"If it is of any consolation, I also predicted the killer's death during the Invasion, even if I don't like to act 'directly' on things, I can help you becoming the Cause of his demise," the boy answered putting the mirror back.
"Can you do that?" the girl asked with wide eyes.
"I saw his Death, in a way or another he will die during the invasion, the How or the by Who are not important, even if I don't like seeing you so engrossed in your desire for revenge, I'll help you to find your peace no matter what," he answered.
"Thank you," she answered moving around the table to sit on his lap.
"What about you? We heard that they tried to enter here by force," Kankuo asked worried.
"Some of those Root tried to wait for Baron Shi here to kidnap him, apparently their Master didn't like the fact that I took liberties with the first ones he sent here...not that those idiots went wasted as materials once I finished extracting informations from them of course," he answered pointing at the new group of shrunken heads resting on the wall.
"And about you?" Temari asked again.
"Voices about my 'peculiar' chakra are still a secret between the civilians, but said Root Master is apparently between the Shinobi side of the Council or even an Elder since he also want dear little Naruto to visit him to undergo some 'researches' to see what all is about" the boy answered smirking.
"You know who he is, don't you?" Kankuo said with narrowed eyes.
"Of course I know, but since he is my prey, forgive me if I want to be the only one having fun with him," Naruto answered as a blue candle on a near shelf lightened up.
"Kukuku! Interesting!" Naruto said chuckling darkly.
"What is that?" Sahara asked curious.
"A Special Candle I prepared when I opened the shop the first time, when an 'appointment' with Baron Shi is requested the purple candle near that one light-up to alert me, but when the blue one also light-up it means that Naruto is part of the request, I made it so to know when someone wants to ask Me to find or talk about Myself," he answered grinning.
"And who is looking for you?" Temari said with narrowed eyes.
"...The strange proctor of the second part of the exam, dear Anko Mitarashi!" Naruto answered chuckling after looking at the small flame for an instant.
"SHE FLIRTED WITH YOU! KILL HER!" Sahara roared.
"Now-now, let's first hear what she want, THEN we will decide," the boy answered kissing her neck few times to calm her down.
"Can't we kill her now and later ask her why she wanted to see you? You can talk to the dead after all," the red-head said hugging him tightly.
"My poor little Yandere Sahara-chan is scared that I will break up with her? You know I love you!" he answered hugging back.
"I am not a yandere!" Sahara said scandalized.
"Then he is ours as well, right? I knew you would have seen reason in the end!" Kankuo said smiling.
"NO!" the girl roared in anger.
"Too late, he is now property of the Suna Sisters," Temari said smirking in triumph.
"I WILL-GUUUH!" Sahara started yelling before the boy kissed her shoving his tongue as deep as he could.
"Calm down now, please refrain from destroying my office," the boy asked with a sweet smile.
"...Okay..." Sahara said snuggling closer to him.
"Just to be clear, I too want a kiss like that later," Kankuo said.
"Me too!" Temari added nodding.
"He is mine..." Sahara said with a low voice.
"The three of us can keep others away, we only want our fair share...please?" Temari asked.
"No..." the girl muttered.
"It's your choice, whatever you want I will do it," The boy said caressing her head slowly.
"At least consider it!" Kankuo said.
"...I'll think about it," Sahara answered sighing as Veronica neared the desk.
"Shall I go take the client, Master?" The Doll asked.
"Yes, my dear, let's hear what our sweet Anko-chan wants," he answered nodding.
"Come with me, Minato-san, better move! Master's time is precious and we can't waste it!" the girl answered hurrying out.
"Talking about devotion..." Minato said surprised as he covered his face with the skull mask and running out to follow the Human Doll.
"You three should hide, she will be here any moment and we can't have her find you here," Kushina said pushing the girls in another room.
"She won't sense you, just stay quiet and watch if you want," the boy instructed as he covered his face with the hood of his black robe.
Few minutes later -
"She is here, Master!" Veronica said guiding Anko towards the table and on her seat.
"I would like to say that it's a pleasure having you here, but giving you such an 'easy way' to make a joke and 'break the ice' would be not appreciated I presume?" Baron Shi said with a cold chuckle.
"You do know that I don't believe to a single thing of what you do here, right? So let's cut this crap short!" the woman answered with narrowed eyes.
"You don't believe in my abilities...and yet, here you are asking to see me, but why asking me for the blond boy? You are part of the T&I Department of Konoha, finding a civilian shouldn't be too hard for someone like you," he asked to the surprise of Anko.
"Now that's interesting, I didn't tell anyone that I was coming here nor what I wanted to ask so how did you know why I am here?" she asked curious.
"Do you see this shop?" he asked moving a finger to point at the ceiling "Knowing what you others want before you even set foot here is part of what people expect from someone like me," he said shrugging.
"Then tell me, what do I want to know?" Anko asked leaning on the desk to show some cleavage.
Chuckling again the hooded boy got up from his seat to grab one of the snakes in the glass containers behind him.
"Do me a favor and cover your breast, I am not a fool that can be swayed by some display of mammary glands so to spit out my secrets...about your request instead, you lost your Cursed Seal, little souvenir of your late teacher Orochi-kun, and you think that little Naruto is in part (or even completely) responsible of its removal, but not only that, you also heard about my predictions like the ones I told to your friend Kurenai Yuhi and the girl Tenten...you want me to answer your questions and to see if the boy really removed that thing when even a Seal Master like Jiraiya couldn't," Naruto said turning fast and 'pointing' the snake at the woman that was attacking him, the animal hissing angrily at less than an inch from her face.
"You...how do you know that?! Are you spying on us?" Anko asked glaring at him with Kushina and Minato grabbing an arm each with Veronica pointing her guillotine blade at her throat, she was just ignoring all of them in order to focus only on the cloaked figure in front of her.
"I am a Necromancer, Mitarashi Anko, believe it or not...I can talk to the spirits of the Underworld and can use Death Itself as my weapon and ally..." he answered caressing the brownish snake's head that seemed to Hiss in contentment at the attention it was getting as it coiled tighter around his hand.
"So what? Do you expect me to be all scared? To ask for mercy and call you Baron shi-sama?" she said challengingly with a sneer.
"First of all, stay calm and sit down, then we will talk about your problems since apparently with or without the Seal on your body people still don't trust you enough to not slit their throat in their sleep," the boy answered unconcerned as he moved back on his seat.
"The thing you are petting is a Taipan, baka, that's..." Anko said.
"It's one of the most venomous snakes on the planet, I know, ranking between the First and the Second place actually...depending on who you ask," Baron Shi said as the little animal rested its head on the back of his hand.
"What now?" the woman asked huffing as Kushina kept a firm hand on her shoulder to force the woman down on the chair and almost crushing it in her grip.
"Now we'll just do what I do with any other man or woman coming here, you make your request and I see if I can help you with the two of us talking like civilized humans," he answered calmly.
"FINE! Tell me then, where is the boy? I looked everywhere for him but I couldn't find him, those three girls he hangs around with are guarded heavily so when with them I can't get close, I want to talk to him, NOW!" Anko asked with a glare.
"You really think he is the one that removed your Cursed Seal? And even then, once I point you towards him, what will you do, kill him? Demand him to put it back? Or why not, present yourself to him as a Thank you gift of sorts?" Baron Shi asked amused.
"Jealous, aren't you?" She answered smirking "Does the idea of me sleeping with the boy to thank him disturbs you that much? Then you should have been the one removing the Seal," Anko then said.
"As if I believe the stories about you being the so called Snake Slut...especially since you are still a virgin, isn't it strange to have that moniker being spat in your direction at every given opportunity when you have never even had a real boyfriend to begin with?" he answered, secretly amused by her shocked and pained face.
"I HAVE A BOYFRIEND!" she yelled in anger.
"You Had a boyfriend, dear Mizuki used you to try and steal the Forbidden Scroll, you were not happy when he admitted that, I know you were plenty sadistic in your punishment before he was finally executed...thing that He himself asked on bended knees and in tears just to escape your wrath," the hooded boy corrected.
"Now that's creepy, are you stalking me? How many spies do you have in the village to know that? Hokage-sama is the only one that knows that I was the unknowing source of info for that bastard!" the woman asked surprised.
"I have my secrets, Mitarashi, can't expect me to divulge them, but know that information leaks are not hard to find if you know where to look, Your request? I am starting to get annoyed by all those delays so let's cut this meeting short, do you want me to point you towards the boy or not?" Naruto demanded with his tone getting even colder.
"YES! YES, okay? I want to talk to that brat, the Seal was there before I reached the Forest of Death, then after talking to him it simply vanished, I want to know how he did it and why," she asked glaring at him.
"That's it? That's all you want? No need to hide the whole truth from me..." he asked curious.
"And I want to tell him that I appreciated it and I owe him a lot, more than what he can imagine," she finished with a low whisper and a subtle sob.
"To tell you the truth...I did that just to sate my curiosity, I could see your soul being almost crushed under it so I thought that it could have been a good idea, I got some knowledge out of it and you got your freedom, some people call it a Win-Win Situation," Baron Shi answered shrugging.
"You did...you...YOU?!" the woman said with wide eyes.
"Nice to meet you, I am Naruto Namikaze, but when I am here people call me Baron Shi," the blond said taking down his hood as Minato slapped a seal on the back of Anko's neck.
"AGK!" she screamed as the seal sizzled a little before disappearing under her skin.
"A little precaution, it will stop you from telling to the others whatever happens here, we took the idea from the Root ANBU we met some time ago, sorry, we can't have people going around knowing who my son is or that we are alive...almost-alive actually," Minato said moving with Kushina at Naruto's sides, both taking away their masks to the further shock of the woman.
"The-the-the..." she said pointing at him with a shaking finger and wide eyes.
"Nice to see you again Anko, you grew up into a wonderful woman, I missed you a lot!" Kushina said with a gentle smile.
"I...you...he...the Fourth..."
"I think we may have broken her," Minato commented as she slumped forward unconscious.
"You sure we can trust her?" Naruto asked.
"I know her since she was little, we won't have problems and now she also owes you for the Seal, she may appear like a crazy woman, but she has an huge sense of honor," Kushina answered.
"And we blocked her ability to tell anything about us, that's also a plus in security," Minato added.
"If you say so, Veronica? Take her in one of the spare rooms," the boy said sighing.
"As you wish, Master," the girl answered hosting the fainted woman on her shoulder to carry her.
"I expect you to talk to her, no risk having her going crazy at the revelation," the boy asked looking at his mother.
"Leave it to mommy, she will be our ally in a flash!" she answered smirking.
"The infamous Talk no Jutsu, I feel so much pity for poor Anko," Minato said sighing as the woman moved towards Anko's room.
"It's funny using it, I am getting quite good at it myself," Naruto answered.
"Yes...let's spread the Horror, what could possibly go wrong?" The Undead Yellow Flash muttered shivering.
"We'll go for now, it's getting late and we have an Exam and an Invasion to take part to," Temari said dragging out a growling Sahara.
"We can't let that woman here!" the red head muttered glaring in the guest's room direction.
"I will be fine, mom will watch over her as an hawk, don't worry," Naruto said hugging her.
"I don't trust her!"
"And me? Do you trust me?" he asked.
"...Okay..." she said hugging him back.
"Good night handsome! We'll see you tomorrow!" Kankuo said with a wide grin before grabbing the front of his robe to give the boy a smoldering kiss.
"KANKUO!" Sahara bellowed in rage.
"Goodnight, Naru-kun" Temari said doing the same.
"STOP THIS INSTANT OR I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!" Sahara said glaring at her two sisters.
"Just go already," the boy said sighing as his girlfriend started chasing her sisters out of the Shop while guiding her sand to crush the two.
"Women..." The Kyuubi Doll said chuckling as the boy carried it towards his bedroom.
"In the immortal words of the Nara Clan...they are too much Troublesome to understand," the blond boy answered shaking his head.
"Are you sure that the Kazekage had to die?" the Fox asked curious.
"He was a 'Risk' we could not leave unchecked, his thirst of Power was making him blind and too daring...knowing this it's not so hard to understand that his removal was necessary to bring Suna out of its stalling, have Konoha sign a new alliance with us and re-establish an acceptable Status-Quo between the villages, we are risking to lose an huge part of our military force and have what is considered THE strongest village of the 'Great Five' to permanently put us in their Enemy List, adding more troubles to our already crippled state," Naruto answered.
"I see...politics are never easy, we NEED this alliance with Konoha...Kumo is too far to send eventual support just like Iwa while Mist is slowly crumbling to dust with their 'Bloodline War' reaching its final stage, even if the Leader of the Rebels win, it may take them too much time to recover, leaving us Alone against a vengeful Konoha," Kurama answered.
"Exactly, and even if they let us continue be their ally after we attacked them, the leash around our neck would just get tighter...no, we need to help Konoha during the Invasion and only THEN I will personally see to make things 'easier' for us...whatever the two Daimyos like it or not," the boy answered.
"It would have been better for them if I was still free and rampaging...I would have made less damages..." the Fox Doll muttered.
"You'll make me blush, Kurama..." he answered with a cold laugh.
The next day – Konoha – Chuunin Exams Finals – Arena -
"Why are you following me?" Naruto asked without looking back.
"Well...I owe you for the Seal and..." Anko answered before falling silent.
"And my mother talked you into joining us? What about the village?" the boy asked.
"Other than the Hokage and Ibiki I have not a lot of 'friends' here, Kurenai is the only one other than Yugao to be my friends, I fear that as you said somehow the news of my involvement with the Forbidden Scroll became knew and that did not help, and if I join you it won't mean cutting off any tie with them either, right?" she asked worried.
"I won't force you into following me, but know this, your Hokage is planning to seal away whatever ability I have as a Necromancer and forcefully keep me here until he can be sure I will be loyal to this village, all because I was born here and my father was the Fourth Hokage, he is so inside the idea of 'Protecting the Village' that he can't accept my being happy elsewhere".
"They can seal you abilities away?!" the woman asked with wide eyes as the arena drew closer.
"No, those are powers of the Soul, a realm humans can barely understand let alone influence deeply, you all know how to seal Biju's inside someone but you can't stop them from having their chakra, even if they seal me somewhere I won't lose my powers...luckily my sensei overcame that 'weakness' too before leaving, my soul can't be sealed anywhere anymore," Naruto answered as they entered.
"Then what will happen?" she asked.
"Jiraiya is giving me a wide berth since after his meeting with Baron Shi that made him unable to stay close to me due to his doubts, should they still try something I will just leave, I don't let humans bother me".
"Humans? You don't consider yourself one?" she asked surprised.
"Considering what I can do? No, I don't see myself as an human, right Kurama?".
"Way more than a dirty human, boy...MORE than that," the Kyuubi Doll answered in pride.
"The greatest Biju of them all sealed in a plush-toy and unable even to move by himself, I still can't believe it!" Anko said grinning.
"You can press me between your tits again if you don't believe, I am just a toy and can't move," Kurama said casually.
"Stuffed Pervert!" she answered glaring at the toy making the boy chuckle.
"To put your mind at ease, today Orochimaru will die and Sahara will be the one killing him...with my help of course," Naruto said as a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders.
"HOW? WHEN? WHERE?" Anko yelled at an inch of his face as Veronica appeared near her without her gloves, a purple liquid dripping from the syringes-like tips of her fingers melting the floor.
"Calm down," the Human Doll said coldly.
"Sahara will try crushing his body, to stop him from running I will just..." Naruto said whispering something in Anko's ear.
"...Y-You can do that? REALLY!?" she asked with wide eyes.
"Uh-hu, nothing too diffCHUUUU!" Naruto tried answering before a foreign tongue invaded his mouth.
"Let me watch as he die screaming in ungodly pain and consider me your new bodyguard...and more," she said with a wide smile.
"...Okay..." the dazed-eyed boy answered as she guided him to his seat near the Suna Sisters.
"See you later!" Anko said walking towards Kurenai with a deliriously happy smile and a spring in her steps.
"She is planning something," Sahara said sitting on Naruto's lap, uncaring of the others watching.
"She won't have him, he is ours," Kankuo said glaring at Anko who stuck out her tongue as answer.
"...mine," Sahara muttered.
"Sahara?" Temari said with narrowed eyes.
"...Sigh! Ours," the other said sighing in defeat.
"You decided to share me? What am I, an object?" Naruto asked offended.
"I had no other choice," Sahara admitted.
"Why?" he asked.
"Between them and Mother inside my seal I had to relent as Shukaku too had to surrender, it was either this or killing them all...and then you would have hated me and left me, and I would have been alone and..." Sahara said before stopping as the boy hugged her closer.
"Sssh! I won't break up with you, not after all this time with you, you are addicting and sadly I am too much hooked now," Naruto said kissing her forehead.
"Sadly?" she asked curious.
"Sadly for whoever will try to come between us," he answered smiling.
"That's better," Sahara answered snuggling closer to his chest.
"Don't worry, with the three of us you won't need anyone else," Kankuo said kissing his cheek.
"I am not as dirty as Kankuo, but I admit that she said the truth, you don't risk falling in love with someone else with us guarding you," Temari said smirking.
Kage booth – with Hiruzen, the Fake Kazekage and the other dignitaries -
"I am happy to see you joining us, dear Kazekage," Hiruzen said with a formal tone and a nod.
"The trip here was fairly uneventful, I hope that my daughters will pass, I will be displeased otherwise," the man answered.
"They passed the preliminary fights with flying colours, I say they trained hard," the old man answered, glaring discreetly at the three girls surrounding Naruto.
"I was surprised to see young Sahara bring here her boyfriend, the two must be very close," Hiruzen then asked with a slight edge in his voice.
"How much I can't say," the masked Orochimaru answered bored as Neji Hyuuga moved in the arena to fight against Rock Lee.
"Two of Gai's pupils fighting each other, I wonder how this will turn out," Hiruzen said as his mind kept returning with his earlier meeting with Jiraiya.
"I talked with Baron Shi, he won't cooperate no matter what we do, I couldn't do anything more than go away, any attack and things can spiral out of control with Suna, he didn't answer questions about Naruto, he just treated me like a regular visitor of his Shop before practically kicking me out of the place," the Toad Sage had answered sighing.
It had troubled Hiruzen immensely as had the notion that none other than the daughter of the Kazekage had took a liking for the blond boy making his "recovery" even more difficult, but the old Hokage was not excessively worried; he had not survived siege attempts, assassination attempts, shinobi wars, Tax Inspectors and a divorce with his wife only to be scared by the notion of taking back a wayward member of his village.
With Naruto and the Suna Sisters -
"He is planning something," Naruto said watching as the old Hokage kept looking towards them.
"Not surprising, he is probably trying to figure out how to have you return here," Temari answered.
"About the invasion?" he then asked whispering in Kankuo's ear.
"Talked with Baki, we gave him enough proofs about dad's death and Oto setting us up to have both Suna and Konoha to cripple each other out so we will now help the Snake Hunt and come out as the 'good ally', then we'll ask for a meeting with the Wind Daimyo and use the attack as an excuse to once again ask to let us have our share of missions," she answered.
"Helping Konoha in their time of need should move the Fire Daimyo enough to accept the thing, if he is still not totally convicted I'll just remember them how many debts both have with Baron Shi," Naruto answered nodding.
"Won't this put him on their 'Bad Side' and have the two possibly seek out for revenge?" Temari asked worried.
"To them he is just a guy reading cards and predicting the Future, they have no idea how dangerous is to antagonize a Necromancer when he is pissed off, and with the way they are acting I am sure he will gladly show them what happen to the ones stupid enough to attack him, I bet the shrunken heads of their best soldiers would be a delightful decoration for their throne room," the boy answered.
"I don't think that we will reach that point...or at least I hope that for their sake, when you are motivated you are terrible," Kankuo said shivering.
"Oh my! Thank you!" Naruto said smirking as the fight between the Hyuuga and the Taijutsu fanatic reached the apex.
Arena – Rock Lee VS Neji Hyuuga Fight -
The two gennin were looking at each other and panting slightly, Lee with an amused smile on his face that was mirrored by the scowling glare on Neji, both had several bruises on their bodies with Lee holding his paralyzed arm after a fierce hit from the Hyuuga boy.
"We will finally settle down if hard work can beat natural prodigy, Neji-kun, and I won't step back without winning!" Lee said in determination.
"I admire your tenacity, but the chances for you to win are slim to none, you would better surrender," Neji answered smirking.
"After seeing you and your cousin viciously beat each-other to death I am surprised I lasted this long, but I WILL WIN!" the other said preparing to open the chakra gates.
"As if I will give you the time to do that!" Neji answered moving forward.
In the Sensei's boot – in the meantime -
"Lee! Stop doing that, Neji won't let you open the gates!" Maito Gai yelled as the Hyuuga moved closer.
"What do you think, sensei? Who will win?" Tenten asked worried.
"I don't know..." the man answered.
"You will soon be called to choose, Gai...who do you want to see succeed, Rock Lee or Neji Hyuuga? Who has a deeper meaning for you? Who is your pupil? Your Star?" the words of Baron Shi echoed in his head.
"I love my students the same way, I won't 'choose' one of them over the others, never!" Gai had answered.
"Ooh-hoo! You can try to fool yourself all you want...but in the end you WILL choose one, whatever you like the idea or not...you will find yourself 'preferring' one over the two, it's just a matter of time, every human makes that kind of choice, no matter how 'Pure' their soul and heart are...you'll tell me next time we see each other, Gai, I know you will!" he had said chuckling as the Taijutsu Master had stormed out of his shop with a deep scowl.
Now the man was finding himself 'battling' with his moral and conscience to not admit how he wished it would be Lee the one to win the match.
Back to the fight -
"AAH!" with a burst of chakra Lee had barely the time to open the last gate before Neji's palm-thrust hit his stomach, the spandex-wearing boy managing to lower the damages by rapidly jump back to accompany the hit.
"This will soon be over, Lee, you still have time to accept defeat, I won't stop until I will prove everyone my strength," Neji said glaring at the boy.
"No, Neji! I will never lose!" Lee answered disappearing thanks to his empowered speed.
"Kaiten!" the Hyuuga boy answered rapidly spinning on himself, creating a spiraling dome of chakra around his body to protect himself.
With a Wham! Sound Lee's fist impacted with the defensive jutsu before getting blown away by the energy behind it, making him tumble back several time before gaining again his balance.
"I won't...stop...I will show...everyone...how hard work...triumph over every obstacle!" he said with a tired smile while giving a thumbs-up with a shaking hand.
"Suit yourself," Neji answered running towards him.
"AH!" with a renewed battle-cry Lee disappeared again, this time hitting Neji with a flying kick to the face, shooting the Hyuuga prodigy to the opposite side of the arena.
"Not bad...but victory is not in your future, not against ME!" the other answered activating his Clan Bloodline, The Byakugan, at full power, focusing as much chakra as he could in it.
"Konoha Sempu!" Lee said disappearing to move at blinding speed towards Neji in another flying kick.
"Useless!" Neji said barely dodging to hit the other on the chest with the tip of two fingers, launching him back and on the floor.
"Ah!" Neji said hitting Lee again and forcing him out of the empowered state he was before taking a new stance.
"For all that is worth, you did good...just not good enough," Neji muttered.
"LEE!" Gai yelled in fear as the Hyuuga boy started his technique.
"You are within my field of divination! Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Neji called out hitting Lee.
"Two Palms!" he said before rapidly moving behind the boy.
"Four Palms!" once again moving at blinding speed he kept attacking with strong precise blows
"Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty-two Palms!" Neji said before moving to face Lee again
"SIXTY-FOUR PALMS!" with a last scream he gave a last attack that launched the other back and down on the floor.
"Winner of the fight, Hyuuga Neji" The proctor called out seeing Lee unable to move.
"Lee!" Gai yelled as he joined the medics in escorting the boy out.
With Naruto and the Suna sisters -
"I told you Gai, you would have made a choice between the two, it doesn't need a Necromancer to see that you 'prefer' Lee over Neji, it's literally written in your eyes," Naruto said sighing.
"I'll be the next one fighting," Kankuo said.
"We need all the strength we can save for the Invasion, forfeit your match," Temari said.
"Ow, come on! I want to show how awesome I am!" the girl said whining.
"No, if we want the plan to succeed we need to be ready," Sahara said.
"FINE!" she answered glaring at the two.
"Will Sabaku no Kankuo and Shino Aburame come down?" Genma the proctor asked aloud.
"Proctor, I forfeit" Kankuo answered sighing.
"Winner by forfeit: Shino Aburame...can Sabaku no Sahara and Sasuke Uchiha please come down?" the man then asked.
"I need to go," Sahara said.
"Why she can fight while I had to forfeit?!" Kankuo asked with a whine that went ignored.
"Have a good fight and pay attention," Naruto said kissing Sahara a last time as she moved down near the proctor in a swirling of sand.
In the arena -
"Have a clean fight, you two, you won't like me otherwise," Genma said.
"Hai, don't worry," Sasuke answered nodding.
"Good, now FIGHT!" the man said disappearing.
"I hope you won't have it against me if I get brutal!" Sasuke said dropping in his fighting stance.
"That's what I want, entertain me and my mother!" Sahara answered launching a sea of sand towards the Uchiha boy.
"YEEOOOW!" the boy shrieked jumping away before charging towards the girl.
"Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu (Great Fireball technique)" Sasuke yelled shooting an immense fireball.
"Sand press" Sahara muttered clapping her hands together, in answer two huge hands of sand appeared in front of her, squashing the fireball in their grasp in an immense explosion.
"Sabaku No Tanjou" (Birth of the desert) rapidly spinning on herself she summoned a sandstorm that rapidly covered everything and turning the arena in a miniaturized desert.
"Not that I don't like the change in the scenery...but does it have a reason?" Sasuke asked.
As Sahara gained a devilish smirk he understood that she was indeed planning something.
"Suna bushin no jutsu!" she said making few dozen clones appeared around her.
"At least you have no more sand directly protecting you," he answered jumping down to evade a charge of a couple of sand-made red-heads to launch several kunai towards the original and plunging one of the blades in her forehead.
"SHIT! I thought she would just dodge!" the boy said as she slumped down before puffing out of existence.
"Wha-?" Sasuke managed to say before Sahara came out from behind him to block the boy in a bear-hug with the sand covering both immediately after.
"My boyfriend taught me your village's Kage Bushin Jutsu, don't worry, other than me no-one else in Suna knows it, I promised to keep the secret," she whispered adding more pressure with both sand and her arms.
"Okay, but I have...more 'pressing problems' now..." Sasuke answered with a strained voice.
"Very funny...Suna no Otome!" (Sand Maiden) she answered as two Wings of sand formed around them.
"What's that?" Sasuke asked confused.
"A sand-made version of the torture device called Iron Maiden...not the musical band," Sahara answered as spikes surfaced on the inside of the wings.
"Wouldn't this 'improvised' acupuncture damage you too?" Sasuke asked with a little tremble in his voice that he too found surprising.
"Me and Naruto practiced this once or twice already...it's really exciting," she answered stealing a glance at the boy on the stands to wink at him.
"Sexual preferences aside...you DO know that I won't surrender, right?" Sasuke said smirking as he slammed his head back and on her nose, distracting her long enough to move through hand-seals.
"Chidori!" Sasuke yelled as the sand constricting him went blown away in the short burst of lightning chakra as he got free.
In the stands – with the senseis -
"You taught him that jutsu?" Kurenai asked incredulous.
"He was going to fight that girl, I decided to give him some edge," Kakashi answered shrugging.
"Well...your 'Edge' was not appreciated by her boyfriend..." the Genjutsu mistress said pointing at young Naruto glaring in hate at Kakashi.
"Well...he is just a civilian...right?" the masked man said chuckling nervously.
"Tsume was rather nervous when I asked why Kiba kept evading the boy as if he was death incarnated and refused to answer, whatever it is, it's not something one should ignore, especially if Inuzuka and Aburame clan members make a point of giving him a wide berth when meeting him," Kurenai answered.
"Oh joy..." Kakashi said trying to meet Naruto's glare and ultimately failing when the third shiver ran up his spine, making him once again focus on the fight to evade the boy's gaze.
Back in the arena -
"COME! We barely started!" Sahara said opening her arms wide and making the sand covering the arena ripple in anticipation.
"As you wish, I'll do this properly then!" Sasuke said running up the wall and once again gathering lightning in his right hand.
"CHIDORI!" he yelled running at max speed towards her, Sharingan spinning and focused on her.
"Sand Cocoon!" Sahara said covering herself in a dome of sand.
"Faster! Faster!" Sasuke yelled moving as fast as he could, thrusting his hand forward piercing the dome.
As the attack collided with the sand defence an explosion rocketed the arena and a cloud of dust covered everything.
"Explosive notes...useful tactic," Sahara said from the second sphere of sand that appeared once the dust settled down.
"You...used the first dome to store the notes...the second protected you from the blast, smart move," Sasuke said panting, holding his bleeding arm with a pleasured smile on his face.
"Thank you, but I already have a boyfriend," the girl answered.
"Yes...and if he starts thinking that I am trying something with you I have no doubts he will skin me alive, shinobi or not," he answered chuckling.
"Then we can finish this fight," Sahara said.
"I am sorry, but this is not possible!" the Kazekage said as a second explosion, this time from the Kage Booth, signaled the start of the Invasion while feathers started falling on the arena.
In the stands – in the meantime -
"Oh well, I guess the exam will be suspended until this will be sorted out," Naruto said calmly as chaos exploded around him and the three sisters as Sahara joined him and the others.
"Apparently you were right, Orochimaru tried to take the Kazekage's place to drive us all on a suicide attack, orders are changed, destroy whatever Oto shinobi you cross!" Baki said appearing near the quartet.
"And Konoha?" Temari asked.
"Not our problem as we will just defend ourselves, if in the meantime the Leaf is crippled or even, Kami permitting, destroyed then it's even better!" the sensei answered.
"Beats getting damaged too, maybe the problems with those bastards will be over if they too can't afford taking all our missions," Kankuo said.
"You are right, you have your orders, Naruto-san instead will come with me, this is no place for a civilian," Baki said nodding.
"That won't be necessary as I will personally defend him, Baron Shi-sama has already packed and is leaving the village as we speak, you just follow your orders," Veronica said moving between the boy and the adult.
"If you say so, move you three!" the man ordered before joining the fights.
"If you three lovely ladies will follow me, I will guide you to our Dear Orochimaru," Naruto said smirking as Minato and Kushina too appeared to flank him.
"Show the way!" Sahara said with a blood-lusted grin.
"This way," he answered while calmly walking out.
Konoha – with Anko and the Konoha forces -
"Come on! Let's push those bastards out of the village!" Anko ordered as she and a group of jounin moved to attack the thickest group of enemies.
"It's all your fault! It's your sensei attacking the village and guiding the invading forces, just like with the Forbidden Scroll, you are trying to destroy us!" one of the men yelled in anger.
"WHAT!? Don't try to pull that bullshit on me now! Among all of you I am the one that always gave the fucking best of my abilities to help the village! I am not the bastard and you all know that!" she yelled in answer.
"LIAR! Who else could have helped him prepare everything? Only an insider could give him enough informations to have this plan succeed!" another said trying to attack her.
"You were waiting for this, don't you? For the right excuse to attack and maybe kill me, right?" Anko said glaring at the group.
"What one can expect from a Snake like you? Just like that Orochimaru, A TRAITOR!" the men said moving closer to her.
"You know what? FUCK YOU! Fuck your village and fuck you all hypocrites! I already had doubts but if I have to choose between staying here and keep listening to you bastards yell insults at me and going away then I will leave this hell-hole!" Anko answered barely keeping rage and tears suppressed.
"I knew it! You are working for Oto!" one of the men said.
"Actually...she works for me," an hidden Naruto said as Minato moved to kill the men from Oto while Kushina and Veronica restrained the ones from Konoha.
"Who are you?" the leader of the group asked trying to find the source of the voice.
"Baron Shi, I came here to take my new bodyguard," the boy answered while Veronica was giving to Anko a skull mask similar to the one used by the boy's parents.
"It's a pleasure to work with you...Boss," Anko said accepting the gift.
"So you are defecting to Suna then?" one of the others asked glaring at her.
"No, I am defecting to Baron Shi, if he lives in Suna or Kumo or even in Iwa I don't care, as long as I am out of here I am fine!" Anko answered.
"Good, now my friends, please knock those gentlemen out, we have a tight schedule and we can't waste time," Naruto answered.
"As you wish," Kushina answered nodding.
"Perfect! Kukuku! Now let's move to the next voice on the list, I have a young soul to stop from departing from this world before I can finally taste some Snake's Soul," the boy said from his hiding spot in the shadows.
"Hai, Baron Shi-sama!" the group answered as one before following him.
Konoha – with Hiruzen and Orochimaru -
The old Hokage was trapped with one of his former students inside a purple-colored barrier, while the two kept battling with ferocious might both couldn't stop stealing glances at the small war taking place outside their confinement, one feeling proud at seeing his own village standing up to the foreign challenge while the other was seething at seeing his plan not going as he wanted.
"What's happening? Why Suna is not fighting against Konoha?" Orochimaru hissed angrily as he went once again face-to-face with Hiruzen, the sword in his hands stopped by the old man's staff in a shower of sparks.
"You underestimated the alliance between our two villages! That's what happened!" Hiruzen said pushing the man back.
"Alliance? Stealing the greater part of their missions leaving them with mere crumbs is what you believe is an alliance? What an old fool! It doesn't matter though, I only needed them to add more chaos to the invasion, but apparently someone discovered the truth and alerted them..." the Snake Sannin said sneering.
"It doesn't matter why you are here! My only goal is to finally stop you!" Hiruzen answered charging at him.
Konoha – with Naruto and the undead group -
"Naruto..." Jiraiya said appearing in front of the boy.
"Jiraiya," the boy answered with a tiny nod of his head.
"I need you to...well, I need to..." the man trailed off.
"You are torn between using that seal in your hands to Trap me here and letting me go, don't you? You are really considering taking away my freedom just because Sarutobi considers me Property of Konoha and ordered you to capture me," the boy answered calmly.
"You are from Konoha! Your parents were from here! You can't just forget your origins," Jiraiya answered nervously.
"And tell me...who is my father? And my mother?" he asked.
"I...I don't know, sensei never discovered it," the Toad Sage answered looking away.
"Liar." Naruto said calmly "I see that Baron Shi couldn't take your head out of Hiruzen's ass, you still blindly follow your orders while ignoring your own heart and instinct," he then said.
"You don't know what you are talking about!" the other yelled.
"I know who my parents are, you know? But that's not important, I see that Turning Off your brain and just follow orders is your method to cope with the shinobi life, isn't that right? You can't have remorses if you just act like a Tool of the Village. Screw justice, screw ideals and screw what a young boy may want! Konoha ask something snapping its fingers and its precious Dogs hurry up to obey! This is how a shinobi village works, right?" Naruto said with a crazed smile.
"SHUT UP!" Jiraiya yelled charging him.
"Stay put, old man!" Minato said intercepting Jiraiya's hand with the seal, breaking the old man wrist to have him drop the sealing tag.
"What?!" the Toad Sage said looking at the masked blond.
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that," Kushina added kneeling Jiraiya in the stomach making him double over.
"I hope you are proud of yourself, you just tried to kidnap the son of you former student using the worst kind of Sealing Technique possible, if Minato was here, he would have just crushed your head for treating his boy like a criminal...you are a disgrace as a sensei and as a man, an human at least recognize to have doubts, you instead, you low-life just ignored that to choose the 'easy way' to resolve your problems, you are a coward...a beast," Minato said in disgust, recognizing how Brutal the seal would have been in capturing his son by looking at the tag.
"The same sealing used on the village prisoners waiting for execution...you really tried hard to save me from Suna, thank you so much for your consideration for my well-being," Naruto said sarcastically while the group moved away.
"Guh!" Jiraiya muttered moving on all four, his forehead resting on the dirty road as he cried for the first time since the Kyuubi attack, to him the masked man's voice had sounded so much similar to Minato's own that for an instant he believed his former students was there in front of him, berating his choices and disowning him as a sensei and mentor.
Looking at the boy's retreating back he could not find in himself the strength to chase the group, the guilt he had suppressed in order to carry out his mission flooding his body and stopping him from doing more than just watching the results of his new mistake.
"If you are wondering..." Naruto said loudly so he could listen.
"Yes?" Jiraiya answered.
"You would have failed all the same with that seal, those kind of things don't work on me, special chakra remember? My energy is technically dead, there is no Life for you to suppress, is not too late to save yourself, old man, remember, I know that Baron Shi talked to you and whatever advice he gave you is still valid, that man can see far, don't forget," the boy said.
"Thank you," The Toad Sage muttered standing up while nursing his broken wrist, after using a small Katon Jutsu to burn the seal he walked away.
"See to be happy in Suna because I'll keep an eye on you, at the smallest problem I'll be there to take you back here in Konoha," Jiraiya said.
"Mission?" the boy asked smirking.
"No...godfather's duties...village be damned!" the man answered sadly.
"See? You still are worth something, but don't think I will leave Suna just to live here because you are my godfather, I don't trust you,".
"We'll see about that..." Jiraiya muttered before disappearing in a shunshin.
"Will you really considering moving here?" Kushina asked.
"No, I have nothing here that links me to Konoha, I am a citizen of Suna, now and forever," Naruto answered shaking his head.
"Let's have a stop to our former house then, at least we won't leave behind anything," Kushina said hugging the boy.
"As you wish, kaasan" he answered.
Konoha – with Tenten and Gai -
"We need to escort the civilians to the shelters, pay attention," Gai ordered hosting a young girl on his back.
"What about the others, sensei?" Tenten asked.
"The other gennin are helping too, the ones wounded during the finals are already been moved in the shelters as well," the man answered.
"Okay, come little one, let's go find your mommy," Tenten said taking the hand of a young kid to guide him away.
"Move people! It's too dangerous here!" Gai yelled while battles erupted around the small group of civilians.
"My husband! I can't find my husband!" a woman yelled between tears.
"He will be okay, we will find him once you all will reach safety," Tenten said trying to calm her out.
"KONOHA SCUM! DIE!" a jounin from Oto said charging the group.
"RUN! Tenten will guide you to the shelters! I'll buy you time!" Gai said tackling the man before grabbing his arm to use it as a leverage to send the Oto nin flying out of the way.
"THIS WAY! FOLLOW ME!" the girl answered prompting the group to stick close and follow her.
"MOMMY! MOMMY!" a little girl called out as she saw her mother get captured.
"AH!" with a thunderous yell Gai charged the kidnappers freeing the woman.
"Go! I'll take care of them!" the Taijutsu Master said moving between the woman and the invaders.
"Thank you!" she answered before joining the fleeting group to lift her daughter in her arms.
"Where are the ANBU? There are too many enemies!" Tenten hissed looking around worriedly, even with Suna unwillingly helping them by fighting the shinobi of Oto the situation was desperate.
"Well, well, well...a lone kid playing adult by defending some poor civilians...how brave!" a large man wearing an Oto forehead-protector said amused while the three men with him moved behind the small group of Konoha.
"I may be a gennin, but it doesn't mean that I will surrender to you!" Tenten answered glaring at him.
"Aah! It takes me back to when we too were gennin, do you remember, Aishin? We too used to be that cocky," one of the man said chuckling.
"I know, Renzuo! But you had not that pretty ass she has! Hahaha! Do you think she will mind if we take care of those pigs she is defending?" the leader of the group, Aishin, answered with a little laugh.
"Who knows? Hahaha! Come on, brat! Step aside or we will be forced to spank you and send you to bed without dinner!" another said making the group burst into laughs.
"I wouldn't laugh if I were you!" Tenten said glaring at the group.
"Listen, pipsqueak, you are lucky WE are the ones that crossed your path, the others would have just killed those bastards and then spent some time using you," Aishin answered with a grave tone.
"And you won't kill them? As if I believe you," the girl answered.
"No-no, we WANT to kill those men and women, the only difference is that you will just return home with your...let's say innocence still intact and few bruises here and there, there is no fun in killing a gennin, you brats can barely clean your nose by yourselves let alone fight properly," the group's leader answered.
"Then attack me, I won't just walk away and leave those people die," Tenten answered glaring at him.
It was a moment, as she parried the leaders' kunai with hers one of the other men threw a volley of blades towards her back, barely dodging by rolling to the side she felt an hand grab her ankle to pull her back, a rapid movement of her hand and the Oto shinobi dragging her found himself without fingers on his left hand, as she managed to get up she saw the members of the group taking few civilians hostage.
"NO! Wait! Don't..." she tried saying before she felt a long blade pass through her stomach and something warm flow out of the wound.
"Sorry kid, we both have to do what we are asked, this is the life of a shinobi, short lives one must spend to its fullest before dying young," Aishin said sadly as with a gentle pull he removed his sword from Tenten's stomach.
Before any of those men could move several little spheres were thrown at the civilians feet, the pale-yellow gas emanating from the breaking of the little objects making them fall asleep.
"I find the description quite fitting, a pity though that I need that girl alive and you lot dead, I would have loved to talk about this thing with you," Naruto said simply as Minato and Kushina beheaded two of the Oto group's members.
"I have to kill you, I am sorry," Veronica said piercing a man with her blade while cutting another in two vertically with her guillotine.
"Barely started working for you and I am already killing bastards...best job ever!" Anko chirped while breaking the neck of the last men.
"Who are you people?" the Leader asked getting on the defensive.
"My assistants, shall we say," the blond bot said appearing behind the man.
"Wha..." as he rapidly turned to look at who was talking he saw a boy's hand pierce his stomach without letting out a single drop of blood.
"I'll take your soul if you don't mind, I kinda need some extra energy for what I am about to do," Naruto said taking out a blueish flame from inside the man's chest.
"NO! Wait! I am..." Aishin said before falling face-down on the street with a scared expression forever frozen in place.
"Am I...dying?" Tenten asked.
"Technically yes...luckily for you your dear mother Pai-ten managed to talk me into helping you," a cloaked Naruto answered kneeling besides her with a gentle smile and making sure the others were either dead or just sleeping.
"Mom?...you are...Baron Shi-sama?" the girl asked with half-lidded eyes and finally see who was under the hood thanks to them being close.
"-Sama? Kukuku!, yes I am, now stay still, I need to stop your soul from leaving and your life-force from stop flowing," the boy answered using the free hand not holding Aishin's soul to pierce the girl's stomach to grab her spirit.
"A soul for a soul...a man for a man...Life works like this after all, for every death a new life begin, yours will just start once again," Naruto said crushing Aishin's soul in his hand while forcing Tenten's back down inside her and making the once again alive girl gasp for breath.
"Patch her up and bring her somewhere safe with the others!" the boy ordered.
"And you, Master?" Veronica asked while Kushina hurried up to heal the girl the best she could.
"I have a Snake to catch, part of my visions showed me something I found really interesting, before the end I want to see what that was about, come with me Anko, I promised you to watch him die when you joined The Shop Near the Underworld, and I am a man that likes to keep his promises," Naruto answered moving towards the area where he felt Orochimaru was.
"Coming right away, Boss! But...what about the civilians?" Anko asked.
"Once the others will wake them up they will be too confused to remember any detail, I can't let people get too curious about my powers, the longer I can keep people away from the Truth the better, like that I'll have more time to prepare to defend myself," Naruto answered.
"WAIT! Does this means that I owe you my life? Does this makes me your servant?" Tenten asked while leaning on Minato to walk.
"No and No...I followed your mother's request, nothing more and nothing less, feel free to live your life as you wish, I don't mind," the boy answered.
"And you? You always ask for something in exchange of your services, what have you took for saving my life?" she asked worried.
"When your time will come, for real this time, your soul will return to me and I will be the one to decide if you Move On or remain in the world of the living, I won't decide if you will go to Heaven or Hell, I like to leave the choice to the Ones that have more experience in that field, unless you piss me off in some way, then I will gladly tear off your soul of your body and exile it in the deepest pits of Hell, uncaring of whatever good you did in life," Naruto answered.
"So I am your slave?" Tenten said paling.
"No, I am just the new owner of your soul and you can do whatever you want with your life, I won't force you into anything, now go, you need to rest," the boy answered.
"Thank you," she said letting the two masked undead guide her to safety.
"She may tell everyone who you are, you know?" Anko said as she and the boy sprinted towards Orochimaru.
"That's the good thing to own her spirit, I can stop her from telling the truth, not even the Yamanaka Clan will be able to extract information out of her," Naruto answered smirking.
"Cool!" the woman said.
"Dark Arts, they give you a lot of freedom," he said chuckling.
Konoha – with Hiruzen -
The old man was watching in despair as three coffins rose in front of his ex-student Orochimaru, the writing of First, Second and Fourth making him momentarily back off in realization.
"What's wrong, sensei? Scared of facing some 'Old Faces'? You should be happy to see them once again!" the Snake Sannin said with a laugh as the three lids opened.
"So someone used my jutsu..." a man with grey hair and blue armour said with only a bit of surprise marring his voice.
"Yes, brother, but whoever used it he failed to call one of us," the man near him with the brown armour said watching as a corpse fell from the third coffin.
"I don't know why I couldn't call the Yondaime, but I think that the First and Second would be more than enough keep you occupied, isn't that right Sensei?" Orochimaru said showing two seals.
"Hiruzen...you look old, has life treated you well?" Hashirama, First Hokage, asked with a sad expression.
"Yes, I am sorry to see you and your brother used like this," the old man answered.
"It's not your fault, now pay attention as we won't be able to hold back, I am sorry," Tobirama said as the seals were plunged in both men's neck.
"Enough chatting, show him why you two were so feared and respected!" the Snake Sannin ordered as the two summoned Hokages charged forward.
"I am sorry...ENMA!" Hiruzen said twirling the Monkey Summoning Clan Boss' staff form to stop a kick from Tobirama that still managed to send him flying back.
"Gah!" the old man said struggling to stand up.
"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Koutan! (Wood release secret technique: Nativity of a world of Trees)" Hashirama called out summoning from all around him roots and plants that rapidly grew into a dense forest, each branch moving to restrain Hiruzen and immobilize him.
"Damn it!" the old man cursed jumping from a branch to another, trying to dodge both plants and Tobirama's attacks.
"Suiton: Daikodan no jutsu! (Water release: Great Shark Bullet Technique)" Tobirama said thrusting both hands forward and launching a massive shark of water towards Hiruzen destroying everything on its path.
"AAAAH!" the old man screamed as a series of roots blocked his feet and leaving him at the water technique's mercy as the shark destroyed everything on sight washing him away.
"There!" Hashirama said kicking one of the trees and reducing the huge plant to splinters and meeting with his knee the staff in Hiruzen's hands.
"I barely managed a substitution...I need a plan and fast!" the old man said jumping away.
Outside the barrier – in the meantime -
Both Necromancer and Snake Mistress were watching the battle unfold from a near rooftop, conscious that the battle between the Hokage and the traitorous Sannin would attract enough attention to not have their presence being discovered.
"So that is the infamous Edo Tensei Jutsu (Impure World Resurrection Technique)...such a poor attempt at summoning, but it's a wonder in itself Tobirama could create such a thing without being a Necromancer, admirable," Naruto said looking in interest.
"What should we do?" Anko asked curious.
"Hoping that this won't derail things too much I'll try a Summoning Ritual myself and help the old man, last thing I want is Hiruzen becoming a Martyr, God forbid his successor decides to move war using his death as an excuse, what I need is him to legally step down and THEN die quietly and out of the lime-light, it sadden me to do this, but he is Idolizing the Village and its ideals too much, if not dead I need him in a position where he won't be able to make further damages" the boy answered while drawing a circle of runes around himself before sitting cross-legged in its middle.
"You sure? What about the next Hokage then?" Anko asked taking a ready stance to protect the boy.
"I already have few candidates in mind that I will 'suggest' to the Fire Daimyo while talking to him as Baron Shi, off-hand comments are normally dismissed, but those still leave traces in the subconscious that then are twisted into ideas the one listening will believe being their own, one only needs to know what to say and How to say it to make it happen," Naruto answered as the runes started glowing in a pale purple light.
"You sure? Who are those candidates?" Anko asked shivering at the cold air that started circling around them.
"The first one I have in mind is Tsunade Senju, she is not interested in the position if I traced the right profile of her, but I am sure that once I am done SHE will personally demand the position, she is a woman with heart and head in the right places, detractors and conspirators will have an hard time treating her as a pawn and since I am aiming at maintaining the Status-Quo of the Elemental Nations I will also be forced to be more Direct in my interventions very soon, but I already accepted this as my mission," the boy answered as his eyes dulled in colour and his head leaned back once he entered a status of trance.
"Normal people move wars to 'Change Things'...he instead will be the only one to decide who is in power and who dies while acting as a Puppeteer from the shadows...I don't know which one is the creepier option," Anko muttered shivering again.
Back to the fight -
"Katon: Karyū Endan! (fire dragon flame bullet!)" Hiruzen yelled launching several huge fireballs around him and covering the area around him in fire.
"Good, like this I should be able to slow down the trees and at the same time stop Tobirama from using the air's humidity for his Suiton Jutsus thanks to the heat...I just hope that this will buy me enough time to stop them," the old man said as the two resurrected Hokages jumped him.
"Mokuton: Sashiki no jutsu! (Wood Release: Cutting Technique)" Hashirama yelled thrusting his hand forward to launch a long spear of wood towards Hiruzen.
"UGH!" the old man said growling as the wooden attack clased with his staff in a shower of splinters, before he could react though Tobirama appeared running on the spear, hitting Hiruzen with a flying kick disarming him.
"Damn it!" he cursed watching Hashirama create a short blade of wood to attack him.
"Well, sensei...I guess it's time for us to say farewell!" Orochimaru said laughing as the wooden blade drew closer to Hiruzen's heart.
"Uhn! And you two are the First and Second Hokage? Pitiful!" a voice said as a chained sickle came flying out of the trees cutting off the whole arm of the resurrected man.
"A Kusarigama?...that voice!" Hiruzen said with wide eyes as the blade was pulled back towards its owner as he walked out to show himself.
He was a rather muscular man of average height with long blond hair reaching down to his back and a prominent scar on his right cheek, he had unusual eyes that displayed dark sclerae and light coloured irides, he had a dark hat on his head and his lower face was mostly obscured by a helmet-like respirator that featured two filter cartridges.
The upper portion of this mask bore the symbol of Rain village and was mirrored by four indentations on the part covering his mouth.
His attire consisted of a loose wetsuit-like outfit accented by bandages wrapped around his wrists and lower legs, a flak jacket with swirls on the chest-plate, standard shinobi sandals and a dark cloak that reached down below his waist, underneath this wetsuit it could be seen a dark, short-sleeved, midriff shirt which exposed just his lower abdomen.
"HANZOU!?" Orochimaru yelled in disbelief.
"Impossible..." Hiruzen muttered watching the man believed recently dead appear there in Konoha and somehow back into being as young as he probably was when he faced Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru back in the war.
"I was called here by Him to help you, just so you know that I have no choice in this, so take your weapon, close that mouth and fight so I can go back to rest in peace!" Hanzou said kicking the staff near Hiruzen and glaring at both Hashirama and Tobirama while the first re-grow the lost limb.
"Him? Who is the one calling you? Who else knows the Edo Tensei?" Orochimaru asked in anger.
"I was forbidden to say, but know that it was not a Jutsu that called me here, it was someone far worse and Darker," the masked man said charging Tobirama while rapidly twirling his Kusarigama, putting so much strength behind the attacks to clearly cut in half the immense trees littering the place.
"Whoever it was he must have also gave him extra power...well, I am not one to look at a gifted horse in the mouth!" Hiruzen said flying through hand-seals just like The First Hokage was.
"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu! (Great Dragon Fire Technique!)" Focusing as much chakra as he could muster Hiruzen launched Four Dragon-shaped fireball towards the Wood-User with a sense of sadness permeating his spirit as he watched the fire move rapidly towards his old teacher.
"Mokuton: Sen Ryū Hashira no jutsu (Thousand-Dragons Pillar Techinque)" Hashirama said thrusting both hands forward, as his arms got covered completely by wood two long pillars went shot forward before splitting into thousands of dragon-faced spears, meeting the huge fireballs mid-way and dispelling most of them in a giant explosion while barely dodging the one still moving towards him.
"This is no good, whoever summoned Hanzou is making this too complicated!" Orochimaru said with a sneer.
"I will be forced to take part in this myself...luckily some hard work never scared me," he then said sighing.
"OROCHIMARU-SAMA!" a man with an Oto fore-head protector yelled from outside the barrier.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"We are losing terrain! Suna betrayed us and between them and Konoha we are getting exterminated!" the man had the time to say before the ANBU around the barrier captured him.
"Wonderful! Just wonderful! This is drawing out too long and soon the whole force of Konoha will be here to help the old man, at least the barrier is still strong," Orochimaru said snarling.
It was in that moment that the whole arena he and the others were on decided to spontaneously collapse on itself, helped by Minato, Kushina and Veronica that covered every wall of the floor under Orochimaru's group in explosive notes and doing what fire, water and wood jutsu couldn't, making the three resurrected warriors, a Snake Sannin and his Four Body-guards and an old Hokage fall through several floors thanks to the overpowered explosion.
"Maybe we overdid," Minato said while beheading a boy with four arms.
"Naah! It was awesome!" Kushina said grinning while cleaving a rather big-boned boy in half.
"What about the girl?" Veronica asked, distractingly dicing into pieces a two-headed boy with her blades.
"Capture her, we'll see if she can join us," Kushina answered.
"Willingly?" Minato asked curious.
"Those are details" she answered.
Few floors below – with Orochimaru -
"What happened?" a confused Sannin asked getting up on shaking legs.
"GUH!" Hashirama moaned as he and his brother were impaled on what looked like to be hands made of shadows while Hanzou was already rotting away and turning to dust.
"Wh-What?" Orochimaru said with wide eyes as another pair Hands pierced the two Hokage's torso to take out a blueish flame-like light.
"I will keep those if you don't mind, who knows when two powerful soul such like theirs may be useful for my plans," a smirking, and still cloaked, Naruto said 'walking out' of a near shadow with a skull-masked Anko behind him.
"YOU! You are that fool, Baron Shi!" Orochimaru said growling.
"Nice to meet you! Do you want me to read your future? I can do that for free since I won't have problems predicting that you will be dead in a matter of minutes," the boy said chuckling while trapping Hashirama and Tobirama's souls inside two spheres of glass before pocketing them.
"Me? Dead? You are such a naïve idiot! I can't be killed by some cloaked buffoon!" the Sannin said sneering.
"I won't bet on that...Sahara? He is all yours!" Naruto said as sand erupted around Orochimaru to trap him.
"WHAT!? The Suna brat? How?!" he asked surprised.
"I can manipulate souls, Orochi-kun...I can hide one if I want to, especially if the one I am Hiding is willing to let me manipulate their soul," Naruto answered as the sand started constricting.
"Snake Sannin, you killed my father and took away my chance of revenge for all the pain and sorrow the man caused to me and my family, for this I will kill you and feed your blood to Shukaku and my Mother!" Sahara said rising her hand towards the trapped man.
"It was nice meeting you, Orochi-kun...a pity you will go away so soon," Naruto said smirking while patting the man's cheek, subtly absorbing his soul without being seen by the girl.
"Farewell, Orochimaru of the Sannin, Sabaku no Sousou!" Sahara said clenching her hand tight making the sand cocoon around the man compress until after a series of crunching sounds the Snake Master's body got turned into an unrecognizable red blob of broken tissue and crushed bones.
"You okay?" Naruto asked watching as the sand retracted leaving a red stain on the floor in place of the once legendary shinobi.
"No...I thought that killing him would have made me feel better, but it didn't," the girl answered hugging the boy tightly.
"Then I think we'll need to work harder to have you leave behind all that pain and look forward, towards an happy life together," he answered taking off his hood to kiss her.
"Okay," she said nodding.
"I think I will keep this, can I?" Anko asked showing a sword she took from the remains of Orochimaru.
"I have no problems with that, I still want to study it though," Naruto answered.
"As you wish, master," the woman said.
"So you will really join me?" the boys asked.
"I told you, in exchange of a new life and watching the Snake-bastard die I'll join you, I know you can't wait to try me," Anko said sultry.
"You don't need to do those things," Naruto said chuckling.
"And I don't want to go too much Out of Character." Anko answered smirking,
"I just want you to be happy and help me in my job and mission, you are free to do as you please," the boy answered.
"Keep saying this romantic stuff and I may really fall for you one day," Anko answered with a little peck on his lips and a wink before hugging him.
"Hands down..." Sahara said with narrowed eyes.
"He is my Master, I can't resist if he wants to bend me over and use my body to sate his Lust!" she answered with a dramatic tone before jumping out of the room to evade the sea of sand Sahara launched towards her.
"COME BACK HERE!" the Suna girl yelled.
"Oh joy! Some more chaos for my life...but now...what to do with you?" Naruto said before moving his gaze on the unconscious Hiruzen.
"First off... let's make your arms useless, like that you will be forced to step down, then, once Tsunade is here, we'll turn you into a pretty paper-pusher with a nice office but unable to make damages, I am sure that you will be great working there too!" Naruto said chuckling.
The boy knelt near the old man to grab both his hands, a little concentration and the ghostly forms of the Hokage's arms went pulled out and up in the air, leaving them floating there the boy grabbed a short knife covered in tiny inscriptions from the holster on his side.
"Aaand...Off you go!" after chanting few words that gave the blade a dark-red aura he moved to 'cut off' and 'eat' the part of Hiruzen's soul inhabiting the man's arms, turning the appendages purple in colour as a result.
"Good! Soon the ANBU will be here to help you, to them Orochimaru will be the culprit of this and this will also help me convince the Fire Daimyo to have Tsunade remain in Konoha as Hokage after healing you...luckily I have enough Dirt on the medics to have them say how bad it would be for you to stress too much,".
"Everything is ready, Master Shi, three of the four guards are dead and the corpses collected while the girl is immobilized and ready for experimentation if you choose to use her as specimen," Veronica said appearing near him with both masked parents, a red-haired girl tied-up and hosted on Minato's shoulder.
"That was unexpected, I am not one for human experimentation unless it's about using an 'un-paying' client, but trying some minor things it's not against my ethics," Naruto answered nodding.
"Let's move, the others must be in need of some help to tie-things up and hunt away the remaining forces of Oto," Minato said.
"We better, the sooner we finish the sooner we will be able to leave this village, I don't want someone else trying to keep me here," the boy said following the undead outside.
At the end of the day, Konoha could count several dozens of wounded and luckily only few deaths between their shinobi forces and civilians, making the whole Invasion result in just a need of extreme reparations instead of the massacre like it would have been had Suna not helped, even if unwillingly.
Suna managed to come out with an almost pristine face out of the whole ordeal thanks to their turning on Oto and appearing as a faithful ally ready to help the Leaf no matter their dire situations they were in and ready to stage their betrayal just to help their friends, luckily that will help both Fire and Wind Daimyo to reconsider the actual sharing of mission so to stop future problems from arising.
Baron Shi will instead find himself target of an even greater flux of costumers thanks to the gossip and tales about his predictions regarding the Chuunin exam, making his Lucky Charms one of the most coveted objects on the market.
"What now?" the Kyuubi doll asked
"Now we wait, thanks to her help Sahara is being trained into being the next Kazekage, while this happen we will keep our eyes open in Konoha and the rest of the villages, we'll also need to create a spy network to better keep everyone under watch, people like Onoki and A may find Konoha's moment of weakness too much to resist, and we can't have it," Naruto answered.
"I fear that soon we will find ourselves in more troubles than what even you can handle," Kurama said sighing.
"I fear that too...sigh! I need a break!" the boy answered with a tired sigh.
"Let's go experimenting with that new Puppet, like that you will distract yourself," the doll answered.
"I may even have a Test ride soon, I think I have almost done with it," Naruto answered moving the doll on his shoulder to go to the lab in the basement of the Shop.
DONE! With this another chapter is completed, as you can imagine this fic is not as action-oriented as the others I write are, this due to the fact that I wanted Naruto to focus on being more Discreet in dealing with others using his powers, maybe I will give him a weapon for the RARE occasions where he will be forced to fight himself.
Maybe the Ade's weapon from God of War, it would fit with his being a Necromacer.
Any suggestion about the fic is well accepted, thank you for reading and have a nice day.
Bye! ^ ^
Tremor230