Yo, here's the next chapter. I should be able to update more now, as school's over until September...only problem is, that come September I'm in Year 10, so I'll have lotsa work. But I'll try to bring you more delicious darkness-imbued goodness. Also, to Valheru Ascendent, the reason Kyuubi couldn't heal Naruto's arm was because the wound wasn't made by conventional methods, like weapons or chakra. It was made with Darkness energy, and the Darkness is even stronger than Kyuubi. The reason is the same with the curse seal. Without further adieu, I give you chapter 17.
Last time, on Naruto Estacado...
"Who said anything about Konoha? I just want to kill the Darkness host, once and for all."
"...Fine. But you will come back and aid me afterwards, and you will take a team of my ninja with you to keep an eye on you." He said, as four ninja disguised as Ame-nin walked into the room. "This is Team Oboro, a squad based mainly on infiltration. That's why they're so good at their disguises. They also have in their possession an artefact that we stole from Amegakure which used to belong to Konoha. If you should step out of line, they will not hesitate to kill you."
"Very well. You four, if you're coming along for the ride, try to keep up." The girl said as she left the room, the four nins following her. Along one of the underground passages, one of the shinobi spoke up.
"Miss, we like to know our associates' names before we work with them. May I ask yours?"
"Danielle Baptiste. Just call me Dani."
Chapter 17, The Devil's Race
Most of Team Seven stood with Idate at the starting line of the race, waiting for the starting signal. As they waited, Naruto decided to get some info from Idate.
"Hey, kid! You got a problem with us shinobi or something? 'Cause the way I see it, you've been nothing but cold to us."
"Don't talk to me, or act like you know me. I want nothing to do with you damn shinobi." Idate replied, not looking at Naruto once.
"Now that's not very nice. I'm trying to be civil, but you're making it very hard. So tell me, what is it? Revenge?"
"What are you talking about?"
"They probably killed someone close to you, right?"
"Seriously, what the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about why you hate shinobi. There must be some reason, right?"
"It's none of your concern. Just shut up, and let me win my race."
"Okay, okay. No need to get snippy. Just show us the way, monsieur." Naruto said to the brown-haired boy, his voice coated in sarcasm. Idate just rolled his eyes and turned away.
"The Race will begin in three...two...one...Hajime!" An old man shouted out, with the contestants running out onto the course. Idate, however, decided to go in a completely different direction. The other way.
"That kid is gonna blow my last nerve, I swear." Naruto growled, before running after him. Sakura and Sasuke glanced at each other before following their teammate. "Hey, kid! What in the Nine Hells do you think you're doin'?"
"This is a better place to set off from, because of the winds, the currents and...Wait a minute, there are nine hells?"
"I think so. I mean, some of the people I've met should be going through at least two. Maybe three or four."
"Whatever. Just come on! I picked this place especially, it'll give us a headstart!" Idate shouted before running down and jumping into the boat moored at the shore. Naruto followed him and jumped in beside him, as did Sakura and Sasuke.
"This guy seems pretty hot-headed and energetic...reminds me of you, dobe." Sasuke said, but shut up after a glare was sent his way.
"So, where are we headed?" Sakura asked, looking out into the distance.
"Nagi Island, just across the waters. The other racers'll get stuck in a storm where they're starting, that's why we're starting here. The winds and currents are much better for sailing over here."
"I see. Good decision, Idate. First off, we need to make sure we have everything ready just in case we're attacked."
"Attacked? What chance of attack is there in the middle of the sea?" Idate asked, forgetting the abilities of a ninja.
"Shinobi can walk on water using chakra, Idate. On the way here we heard talk of the rival family hiring ninja as well. And since the Leaf is kinda understaffed, they're most likely stronger than we are. If so, we need everything ready for an attack. Everyone?" Naruto asked the group, who nodded.
"I have kunai, shuriken and ninja wire ready for a Ryuuka no Jutsu. I'm also ready to perform Goukakyuu no Jutsu and Chidori." Sasuke said, showing his supplies.
"I've got a few kunai and shuriken in my holster, and I have enough chakra to perform basic genjutsu and medical techniques. I also have some medicine from Tsunade." Sasuke said, showing her supplies as well.
"Good. Now that we're set, we should be ready for anythi..."Naruto started, but stopped suddenly.
"Those angry angels again?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.
"If I were you, I'd stop smirking. Because before I said they were getting closer. And now...here!" Naruto shouted, and pulled out Pestilence. He fired a shot into the air, seemingly at nothing. What they didn't expect was the blast to come into contact with a blast of red energy flying towards the boat and explode, rocking the boat considerably.
"The hell? Why would an angel attack us?" Sakura shouted over the waves, but Naruto jumped off the boat with his sword drawn instead of answering her. He swung randomly around him, several metallic clangs sounding around him, as if he was actually blocking an attack.
"Come on, this isn't a fair fight unless you show your face, angel." Naruto said, gripping his sword tighter as the attacks seemed to stop. Something materialised in the air above him, and his eyes narrowed as he took in its...interesting features. A girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a tight green shirt and similarly tight red pants floated in the air, held aloft by a pair of mechanical-looking wings. They had gold plating connected to her back, with some kind of engraving on it. From the plating sprouted long blue feathers which seemed to be made completely of energy. In the girl's hands was a golden staff with blades at the end, and a smoking barrel below said blades.
"Happy now, Darkness? You've seen my face, now you can fight me, right?" The girl asked, taking aim at Naruto once more.
"Yes, very happy. After all, it's not every day you see a face that pretty." Naruto said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The girl blushed, and dropped her aim for a moment before raising the staff once more.
"If you think sweet talk is gonna work on me, think again. I know you're the Darkness, and that means you have to die."
"So, you're the Angelus host, huh?"
"Good to see I have a reputation."
"So this is why I've been hearing those angry angels...It's you. You've been in my head for around a couple of days now, beautiful." He said with a smirk, making the girl blush again. "So, you tell me your name and I'll tell you mine."
"I suppose since you're going to die, it can't hurt. My name is Danielle Baptiste, but you can call me Dani."
"Hmm...nice name. I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze Estacado."
"Estacado? I should've known. You're related to Jackie, aren't you?"
"Jackie? Who's Jackie?"
"You don't know him? But...he's an Estacado..."
"jAcKiE wAs a pReVioUs hOsT, onE tHaT ExIstEd dUrIng yOuR faTHeR'S lIfE."
'But how? I thought the power transferred from person to person.'
"aNtHonY...hAd twO sOns...yOuR gRanDfAthEr, anD jAcKiE'S gRaNdFaThEr. WhEn yOuR gRaNdFaThEr dIeD, JacKiE gOt ThE pOwEr, iNsTeAd oF MiNaTo. iT wOrKs KiND oF lIkE a ZiGzAg wHeN YoU lOok At yOur FaMiLy TrEe."
'I see. Confusing, but that doesn't matter now.' "I guess I am related to Jackie, does that mean we can stop all this, and maybe go out sometime...?" Naruto said, but the reply was less than positive. A blast of red energy hit the water beside him, evaporating it instantly and making a plume of steam rise into the air.
"I told you sweet talk wouldn't work, and still won't, regardless of who you're related to."
"Fine. But tell those nin you're with to beat it." The girl made a gesture, and the four disguised Oto-nin jumped out of the water and ran towards the boat, taking out weapons of all kinds. Sasuke began firing his Housenka no Jutsu at the shinobi, but they simply dodged and continued their warpath. A quick and powerful Kuro Yaiba from Naruto stopped them in their tracks. "Sasuke, Sakura! Get Idate out of here! I got enough on my plate right now without babysitting you two!"
"Whatever, dobe. Just don't die!" Sasuke said, before grabbing hold of Idate and pulling him out of the boat and onto the water. Sakura simply nodded and ran after Sasuke, the Ame-nin on their tails.
"Looks like it's just you and me, sweet cheeks. Why don't we make this a little more...interesting, huh?" Naruto said, before a cloud of black smoke surrounded the two, obscuring them from view. Naruto manifested the Darkness, his Demon Arms swaying wildly as they sensed the presence of their rival, the Angelus. "Wow, even the Darkness is glad to see you! Guess you're pretty popular."
"Just shut up and fight, blondie." Dani said, before swinging her staff at Naruto. He caught the golden blade with a tentacle and pulled on it, bringing Dani down to his height in the process. He swung his sword at her which she blocked with a wing. She batted him away with the wing, forcing him into the cloud and out of view.
"That was probably the worst move you could've made...in the world...EVER." Naruto's voice said from every direction under the sun. Figuratively speaking. More Demon Arms sprang from the cloud and flew at Dani, just as they had for the Oto-nin in the Forest of Death. This time, however, she was ready for it. She knew what the Darkness was capable of, and how to counter it. She beat her wings a few times, kicking off into the air. As the Demon Arms followed her into the air, she gripped her staff and held down the trigger, charging up a shot. She released the trigger, firing the energy shot into the swarm of tentacles where it exploded, blowing away the tentacles and the smoke. What she saw behind the smoke made her suddenly very afraid.
"What's the matter? Scared?" Naruto asked as he tensed his hand, the ball of shadows in his palm pulsing dangerously. "You should be. Feel honoured that I'm ending this with my most powerful attack. Kurai Kiki!" The ball exploded outwards as it did in the fight against Neji, the black beam hitting Dani in the chest and sending her even higher into the sky. Once she had reached the zenith of her ascension, she began to fall, smoking, back to the water. She slammed into the water's surface, sinking into its depths.
"Well, that's that. Guess I'd better go find the others."
"jUsT a MoMenT, nArUtO. pErHaPs yOu ShOuLd tRy tO mAke thE gIrl sEe tHIngS tHe wAy yOu dO."
"You mean bring her to my side?"
"InDeeD."
"Hmm...I suppose she couldn't really die if she stayed under too long...and if she lives, she'd just try to kill me again. So the only way to ensure that she doesn't attack me anymore, would be to make her not want to."
"PlUs, iT mEaNs aNoThEr pOtEnTiAl mAtE." The Darkness said with a small chuckle.
"Damn perverted timeless entities..." Naruto muttered under his breath before diving under the water. He found Dani floating lifelessly in the water and swam towards her, wrapping her body in one of his Demon Arms. Once she was secure in its grip, he swam back up and climbed onto the water's surface before running towards Nagi Island, a black cloud hanging above him to block the sun.
On the Island...
"So, you're the Leaf ninja hired to protect little Idate, huh?" Said a man with shoulder-length dark blue hair, wearing a skin-tight suit and carrying an umbrella as he dropped down in front of Sakura, Sasuke and Idate. Sasuke looked up at his face to find an Ame hitai-ate on his forehead.
"Aoi-sensei? What are you doing here?" Idate asked, walking up to him. He jumped back to stand with the two Leaf-nin, however, when Aoi pulled out a sword made completely from lightning.
"The Sword of the Thunder God? How the hell'd you get that?" Sakura screamed, staring wide-eyed at the blade. Aoi swung his sword experimentally a few times, a low hum emitted from it as it flew through the air.
"This? This is one of the reasons I became a missing-nin, pinky. The Sword of the Thunder God, one of the weapons of the Nidaime. It just so happens that your little friend Idate there was the one who got it for me." The missing-nin said, pointing the sword at the runner in question.
"Wha...Idate? Is he telling the truth?" Sakura asked Idate who hung his head.
"Unfortunately so."
"I heard about that, last year. A kid who failed last year's Chuunin Exams got conned by his sensei into stealing a forbidden scroll and the legendary Thunder God Sword." Sasuke said, his arms crossed over his chest.
"And it was so easy, too! I know now why you failed the first exam, Idate!" Aoi exclaimed, making Idate shake in rage.
"You bastard!" He yelled, pulling a pocket knife from his boot and charging the older shinobi. Aoi used the thunder sword to block the knife, which conducted the electricity and sent bolts up into Idate's arm.
"Now now, is that any way to treat the sensei that helped you so much?"
"Helped me...You did nothing but manipulate me, you rotten snake!"
"Idate, stop! There's no way we can fight someone like this, he's jounin-level at least!" Sakura cried, not wanting Idate to suffer anymore at the hands of the missing-nin. She still had that delusional dream that a shinobi life could be led without killing.
"Unfortunately, I agree. We need to retreat and regroup, and find Naruto more than anything else. His abilities would be very useful in this fight, but I'm afraid we don't have that luxury." Sasuke told them, before pulling Idate and Sakura away from the area. They began jumping through the trees, Idate holding onto Sasuke's back. Once Aoi was far behind, they stopped on a branch to take a breath.
"So, what now, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, looking over at him.
"Well, if we continue on in this direction we should reach the shrine, but those Ame-nin are likely to be on that path waiting for us."
"Then how do we get around them?"
"My guess is, we don't. There'll be no way around them if we want to get to the shrine in time, and at our current strength we can't beat them. Not without Naruto."
"But how do we find him?"
"Something tells me that if we get as far as we can without finding them, then battle as hard as possible, he'll find us. He's weird like that."
"You guys sure think highly of your teammate." Idate spoke up, surprising the others.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"Well, you think he can beat Aoi-sensei, for one. Secondly, he can apparently find people from long distances like this."
"Well, for the second he has heightened senses, so that's easy. For the first...well, if you knew him, you'd know why we know that he can beat Aoi. He beat Neji, Gaara, me..." Sasuke listed off.
"And Kabuto, Orochimaru's assistant." Sakura added, making Sasuke raise an eyebrow.
"When did he beat him?"
"When he went with Jiraiya to get Tsunade-sama. He ripped him to pieces, apparently. Most definitely dead."
"Y'know, that's the first time I've seen you not get squeamish over death. Nice." Sasuke said, making Sakura blush.
Further Up The Road...
"Well, we're here. The dobe better hurry up, or we're gonna die." Sasuke said as they neared the bridge to the shrine.
"You people must have a death wish. Do you really think you can win?" Aoi said as he and the other three shinobi dropped from the trees.
"Not really. We just wanna find someone."
"Find someone? Well, maybe you can find them in the afterlife."
"Oh, I don't think that'll be the case." Sasuke said with a smirk as music began playing through the trees. (Indiana Jones theme) Before either party could say another word, Naruto swung into the clearing with Dani in his arms and a leather hat on his head. He held onto a Demon Arm which was latched onto a branch, before letting go and swinging feet-first into Aoi's head, knocking him to the ground.
"Hell Yeah! Three points ya dirty whore!" Naruto yelled as he stamped down on Aoi's chest, making him cough and retch over the ground.
"Naruto!" Sakura cried as she ran over to him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but this girl isn't. She took a hit from the same move I used on Neji, so she needs serious medical attention."
"Wasn't she the girl you were fighting?" Sasuke asked, looking over her unconscious body.
"Yeah, but I have a feeling she's gonna change her mind and join us." Naruto said with a grin. He turned to face the other Ame-nin and punched his palm. "Okay, who's ready to die first?"
"You think you're pretty tough, huh?" One of the nin asked.
"You obviously haven't heard of me. The guy who beat Gaara, Kabuto, etc." Naruto told them, making their eyes widen. "Yeah, that guy."
"We should probably get out of here." One of the nin said to the others, who nodded their heads and all of them disappeared, leaving Aoi in the dust.
"Okay, now to kill the guy with the cool hair." Naruto said, looking over at the grounded Rokusho. The missing-nin got up on his hands and knees and glared up at Naruto.
"Do you (cough) really think you can (cough) beat me, kid? I'm a Jounin of Ame, and the wielder of the Nidaime's Thunder God Sword." He said as he managed to get back up on his feet.
"Uh-huh, whatever. You may be Jounin of Ame...but I'm Jinchuuriki of Konoha." He said, making Aoi sweat.
"Jinchuuriki...Y-You're Uzumaki Naruto, right? The Kyuubi brat? Man, I was gonna manipulate you into getting the sword instead of Idate, but complications arose. I was forced to choose someone else. Just so happens I get chief of interrogation's little brother." Aoi said, pointing his sword at Idate once again.
"Shoulda known...shouldn't I, Morino Idate?" Naruto asked, looking sideways at the runner and former shinobi. At his nod, Naruto turned back to Aoi. "I knew there was a reason he hated shinobi. But that's irrelevant at the moment. Right now...It's time to kick your ass into last week."
Aoi growled and sprinted forwards, hoping for a quick and easy impalement. What he got was Naruto spinning around his sword thrust and nicking his arm with the jinchuuriki's own sword. The nuke-nin swung to his side which Naruto blocked, making Aoi smirk. He thought the metal of the blade would conduct the lightning down to Naruto's arm, but he had forgotten about the red leather wrapped around the handle. Naruto gave his own smirk, baring an elongated canine as he began to overpower the Jounin, sparks flying from both swords. Naruto got bored eventually and elbowed Aoi in the stomach, knocking him back and giving him time to pierce the ground. As Aoi ran forwards again, Naruto swung his sword up, knocking Aoi into the air.
"Sword Uppercut!" He said as he followed the Ame-nin into the air. Once he was just above Aoi, he made a quick succession of front-flips, his sword cutting into Aoi every time. "Flipsaw!" When he was finished he slammed Aoi into the ground with a powerful axe kick. Naruto landed next to the fallen Ame-nin and held out his bandaged right arm, where chakra began to run through the seals and into his hand.
"I really can't be bothered to continue fighting you here, so I'm not going to." Naruto said, making Aoi let out a sigh of relief. "No, I'm just gonna kill you right here, right now." Aoi started sweating heavily and his eyes widened as the yellow ball of chakra formed in his palm. Not that anyone had noticed, but there was a bead of sweat running down Naruto's brow from the strain of controlling the ball of chakra. Kou had been recuperating from Naruto's insane training sessions, and Naruto hadn't thought it would be necessary, so he didn't bring the small bat. Now, he was regretting that decision. Just before Naruto drove the sphere into Aoi's chest, Dani opened her eyes to see Naruto with the explosive chakra ball halfway into the nuke-nin. Her eyes widened considerably when it tore directly through him, body parts and blood flying everywhere as they did with Kabuto. Eventually he released the jutsu and stood up, his clothes and face caked in blood as he stood over the corpse. For some strange reason, Dani then felt very scared.
'Just what is this kid? He just tore through a guy with a sphere of chakra mixed with Darkness energy, and now he's just standing over him like it was nothing! There's no way he's human, or anything close!'
"Idate. Get up there, now. Or this'll all be worthless." Naruto told the former shinobi, who nodded and ran up the path to the shrine, with Naruto and the others running after him. They reached the top of the hill, with Idate and Naruto running in front, Sasuke and Sakura behind them, with Dani in Sasuke's arms while Sakura used medical jutsu on her. Dani just kept staring at the back of Naruto's head, not registering anything else.
'There's no point me trying to fight him again, not for a long time. I'll just get killed. But I have to find out more about him...Looks like our deal is over, Orochimaru. Well, it wasn't really a deal. I never intended to help you. But now, I will help Konoha destroy you.'
Eheheh, I kinda forgot what happened at the end there, and my internet wasn't working properly. It would only let me on certain sites. So yeah, I had to improvise, but I'm sure you thought it was okay, right? Sorry the fight scenes weren't longer, but I couldn't think of anything else to put in it. The moves Sword Uppercut and Flipsaw are from Darksiders, as are Dani's wings and staff. Anyway, we finally get to the long-awaited Sasuke Retrieval Arc, and then, Shippuuden! (By the way, since Naruto's already used one-tail, and it's not that special, he'll be using the curse seal against Sasuke instead. This is one of the very few times I'll use it.)
Next Time, on Naruto Estacado:
After Naruto and Co. return to Konoha, Naruto has a little chat with Dani, about her possible defection to Konoha, while Neru and Haku give her a warning. Meanwhile, Sasuke is confronted by four interesting individuals promising him more power. How can he refuse? What will happen when Konoha meets Dani? What will the Darkness do when constantly in the presence of the Angelus? And how long can Naruto stay sane when he gets back to Neru and Haku? Find out on the next episode, of Naruto Estacado!