(Flashback, Seven years and half years ago)
Sarutobi sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration and subsequently winced in pain at his actions.
For The God of Shinobi rubbing the bridge of his nose was his way of signaling his agitation, one of the few ways that he physically conveyed the emotions that he mostly kept internal and one of the few tendencies that he couldn't suppress entirely, no matter how hard he tried.
Normally this wouldn't be such was problem, but due to the great period of aggravation that had befallen him over the past few months the frequency of his seemingly innocuous habit had had increased ten fold, to the point that his nose was constantly raw, except for brief periods of time when it healed over, only for it's condition to reverse itself as he was assailed by another grievance that demanded his attention.
Smoking, too, was one of the few habits he couldn't kick, and, along with his nose rubbing, had also seen an increase in frequency in execution. The ceramic ashtray sitting in front of him overflowing with cinders and powdery residue was evidence enough, as well as his worsening cough, which had started out occurring only occasionally and as merely a small occasional discomfort but was now frequent and becoming painful to bear.
Unfortunately for the current Hokage, his day had taken a turn for the worse as his secretary informed him through the intercom that one of the reasons for his present and slowly deteriorating condition was on its way up the stairs and would be in his office in a matter of seconds.
With a quick motion the old man dumped the contents of the ashtray in the trashcan beneath his desk and took the remaining time to rub his nose again and say a small prayer to whatever Kami that was willing to listen, that they bestow the strength upon him to make it through another day.
"What a drag it is getting old." Hiruzen thought to himself.
A knock at the door signaled the end of his prayer and after a curt "Come in", the door opened and a man stepped through followed by a small boy.
The man was of a medium build and height, had tanned skin, and was wearing the standard vest among chunins, complete with baggy dark blue pants and sandals of the same color. The feature that immediately drew people's attention was the scar that spanned horizontally across his nose, starting in the middle of one cheek and ending at the middle of the other . He seemed to be rather agitated unlike his young blond companion, who hopped excitedly up and down in his khaki shorts and plain white shorts. His face had thin whisker marks on the cheeks reminiscent of a fox and at the moment was grinning with barely restrained joy.
"Hey Oji-san! How's it going!" the boy shouted, loud enough to cause both adults to consider covering their ears.
"Pretty good Naruto," the Hokage lied, "How about you? You've been on your best behavior since we last met, right?"
The boy's smile faltered a bit taking on a sheepish quality while he rubbed the back of his head, "Um . . . well . . . Hey! Did I tell you about how I got the highest score throwing shuriken and kunai?"
"That's very good Naruto-kun, but that doesn't answer my question."
"Well you see Oji-san-"
"I can answer that question Hokage-sama." interrupted the man, speaking for the first time, "You see Naruto-kun here got into a scuffle with a group of students and ended up breaking a couple noses and giving a couple of them some nasty scrapes. Among the students involved were Hyuuga Hinata and Neji."
"So what? They were saying bad things about me and I'm stronger then them!" yelled the blue eyed lad defending himself.
"Now Naruto you know you shouldn't hit girls," the Hokage scolded.
"But she's the one who started it! Besides, why should girls get special treatment? Don't say cooties because I know they're not real."
"Well talk about that later. Did he do anything else Iruka?"
Iruka's voice and expression suddenly turned serious, "Why yes he did Hokage-sama. After the fight, I sent him back to the classroom to knock the dust out of all the erasers while I checked on the injured students. However, when I got back, he was gone and afraid that he would get into further trouble I asked a fellow teacher, Mizuki, to act as my replacement while I looked for Naruto."
"Fortunately it didn't take me long to find him. On the downside however, when I did find him I discovered that he had gotten into fight with some civilians. Apparently Naruto here took some rocks and broke a couple of shop windows."
"They started it first! They called me names too and-"
"Enough Naruto!" yelled the Hokage with a surprising amount of force and leaking a small amount of killing intent, enough to not only make the young boy shut his mouth in a hurry but also causing the man standing next to him to unconsciously take few steps back out of fear.
The aging leader took a deep breath and scowled as he realized the unwanted impact his outburst had on two. "Iruka, would you please leave me and Naruto alone? I'm sure you're wanted back at the academy."
"H-Hai Hokage-sama." With that said the chunin any turned to leave, giving his student a look that could interpreted as sympathy mixed with a pinch of worry, but he didn't have a track record of showing any pity towards the boy.
"Naruto?"
"Y-Yes Hokage-sama?" replied Naruto fearfully.
"Would you like to take a walk with me?"
The blonde visibly swallowed. He didn't want to take a walk, but after seeing the old man lash out like that, displaying power he had never before even hinted he possessed, at least not while in the blonde's company, he was sure saying no was not an option.
"Okay, where are we going?"
"You'll see." The Hokage said pressing a button on a metal box on his desk and speaking into it, "Haruka, would you please tell Itachi when he comes that our meeting will be postponed until further notice."
"Whatever you say Hokage-sama." A bored female voiced from the box replied.
"Thank you Haruka. Naruto, follow me."
Without further inquiry the orange clad academy student followed the man wearing the huge triangular hat out of the door and out the building.
To the boy's surprise, they didn't walk deeper into the village to some obscure detention center as he had first anticipated, but instead they walked around the tower and towards the mountains behind it and soon their footsteps led them to an old looking staircase carved out of stone leading to the top.
The old man proceeded to climb the stairs while Naruto, hesitant at first for he didn't know that such a way up the mountain existed though he had thought he knew the layout of the village like the back of his hand, quickly ascended the stairs after him.
Soon they were at the top and immediately the boy's breath was taken away as he gazed down on Konoha from above, almost stretching back further then the eye could see.
He could see plumes of smoke rising from chimneys, tiny dots he assumed to be ninjas hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Meanwhile, below the shingles of houses and apartment buidlings, more dots crowded together and moving in erratic patterns could be seen in the market district. The noise he associated with the mobs down below was now nothing more then a dull murmur carried by the summer wind.
Over the whole spectacle, shined the sun in the middle of it's descent into the horizon, illuminating everything in an yellowish glow, it's light reflecting off window and causing parts of the village to sparkle like stars had fallen from the sky and now resided on earth.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
The blonde wasn't sure what to say at first, so entranced was he gazing down on his home, "Y-yeah it is."
"I'm glad you I think so. I'm glad there will someone around to appreciate it when I'm gone."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, "When you're gone? Where are you going Oji-san?"
The Hokage grimaced at the sincerity he heard in the young jinchuuriki's voice. He hated himself for what he was about to do, but for his plan to work, a bit of emotional manipulation was key if not required.
"I didn't want to tell you like this Naruto, but . . . I'm dying."
The elderly ninja finished the statement with a faked coughing fit for dramatic effect, which quickly turned into a very real and painful one.
The seven year old immediately jumped to his feet and vigorously patted the village leader on the back. His young face still carried a worried expression even when the spasms gradually subsided.
"You can't die Oji-san! Who's going to watch over the village? Who's going to watch over me?" Tears sparkled like the glinting windows beyond them, each drop wearing away at Sandaime's temporarily stone heart.
"I'm sorry Naruto but my job is very stressful, I'm getting old, and I won't be around much longer. I'd retire but I don't have anyone to take my place. If only there was someone who was strong and younger then me, full of passion and . . ."
"I'll do it Oji-san! I'll take your place!" the seven year old boy yelled excitedly.
Hiruzen almost smiled but it was withdrawn before it could show itself and his face turned serious "Tell me Naruto, and be honest. Do you like the village?" He raised his hand to stop the boy from shouting again, "And I'm not just talking about how it look under the summer sun. I'm talking about the people that populate. Do you like them?"
The jinchuuriki seemed uncomfortable while his body fidgeted as he considered the question. He didn't want to disappoint his idol but he also really wanted to be honest. "Not really. They don't seem to like me, except the Ayame-chan and other Oji-san. . . Does that make me a bad person?"
"No it doesn't Naruto. But you have to understand that being the Hokage means you have to accept people despite their opinions, even if that opinion means they don't necessarily agree with the way you view things or how you handle situation. Now I know you're stronger than others your age and you're constantly trying to prove that you are, but sometimes you have to calm down and deal with people without using violence or aggression. You have to imagine yourself in their shoes and work with them for the good of everyone. Remember that line in the book I gave you "All for one and one for all" Do you understand now Naruto?"
The boy's face contorted briefly in contemplation, before be looked his idol in the eyes and said firmly, "Oji-san, I don't want to be Hokage."
Naruto's gazed continued to focus on the Hokage even as his liver-spotted visage sagged considerably, "But I promise to protect the village even if people don't like me! For your sake Oji-san! So don't die on me!"
The Sandaime's face brightened as he playfully ruffled the child's hair, "That means a lot to me Naruto. Come on, how about we get some ramen at Ichiraku? Then we'll see about getting you a tutor since the academy doesn't seem to be working out."
The blonde's face lit up too but then dimmed, "But Iruka-sensei said I have to clean the erasers."
Hiruzen's smile didn't falter, "I'm sure Iruka will understand if you show up late, now come on, I'll race you."
"Alright!" cried Naruto leaping into the air, "Oji-san you're the greatest!"
(The Present)
Naruto sighed at the memory, standing alone in the massive forest, replaying how "Oji-san" had so cleverly manipulated him and missing the simple days where he could afford to play the role of the fool without any serious consequence.
Nowadays things were complicated, multiple variables having to be considered when he opened his mouth or executed an action, some under his control, most not. His general indifference towards the world and its inhabitants lightened his burden a bit, but that resource could only be stretched so far.
His whole ordeal with the Uchiha earlier was a perfect example of that.
(Flashback, Roughly an hour earlier)
"Stop!"
Immediately Sakura and Sasuke stopped and collapsed onto the enormous tree branch they were about to leap off of.
Both genin wheezed and panted heavily, while their leader calmly stood off to the side, sweaty but not nearly as much as his teammate.
Quietly the two sitting down eagerly passed the canteen filled with river water, gulping down the sweet tasting liquid until there wasn't a drop left.
The two gasped and sputtered as they took their time catching their breath and rubbing their sore limbs.
The Uchiha was the first to recover and once he did he stood, fully erect, posture straight and rigid, and sharingan eyes spinning fast enough that two tomes in each eye nearly became black circles while he hissed menacingly at the blonde:
"Alright teme what's the big deal? Why the hell have you been driving us so hard! We have the scrolls we need and the tower is only two days away and we've got plenty of time to get there. So tell me right now, what do you know that we don't!"
Naruto's face remained blank as he eyed the avenger purposely letting time slip by unhindered while remaining silent.
Finally just when Sasuke seemed ready to explode, the jinchuuriki looked past him at the pink haired girl checking supplies and then gestured for the other male to follow him.
"Where are you guys going?" Sakura called at their backs.
The blonde casually waved his hand over his head in a nonchalant manner, "Don't worry we'll be right back. We just need to need talk about some things. Guy stuff, you know?"
Sasuke could hear Sakura huff and mutter about "stupid macho boys" and followed after Naruto who paused before creating a dozen shadow clones and heading deeper into the foliage.
After two minutes they arrived in a small clearing covered in sickly looking vines. The taller teen took a seat on a tree stump while Sasuke took the other across from it.
"So, what do you have to tell me that we had to treehop for five hours straight without rest and leave Sakura by herself?" Sasuke asked studying his teammate, "Are we being pursued?"
Unfortunately for Sasuke, instead of the some vague like he had been expecting to hear, he was given a question that caused his eyebrow to rise.
"What do you know about the Sanin Orochimaru?"
Sasuke frowned. History hadn't been his strongest subject while at the academy but he had studied hard all the same to keep his position as the best or at least until Naruto arrived.
"He's one of the three Sanin who betrayed the village almost two decades ago because he was doing human experiments or something. He's considered a prodigy at ninjutsu, uses snakes and that's about all I know. Why is that relevant?"
The blue eyed teen steepled his fingers and smiled, but then in a flash the smile was gone leaving a canvas painted in concern and anxiety, "Because he's one the following us, or more specifically he's after you and your eyes. And if my sense of smell is as strong as I hope it is, he'll be upon us in about an hour."
Sasuke was silent as he looked at his teammate and then uncharacteristically snorted. His mirth died down however when he saw that the blonde wasn't chuckling along with him.
"You're serious aren't you?"Sasuke said shifting a bit on his wooden seat.
"Yup. Orochimaru has infiltrated the exam and has either evaded or killed the Anbu assigned to trail us. So what I want you to do is take Sakura and go on to the tower, while I lead Orochimaru away on a wild goose chase. If we don't meet up within the next twenty four hours then assume I'm dead and tell the Hokage what's happening."
Naruto stood up and walked over to the confused looking avenger placing a firm hand on his shoulder and looking him directly in the eyes, something he did rarely out of reflex.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions and they'll be answered once you've reached the tower. The important thing is that you and Sakura make it too the tower unscathed. Now go back to Sakura and tell her I've got things to take care of. Don't tell her about Orochimaru or the Anbu, you know how women love to worry. Just head for the tower where it's safe . . . theoretically. "
"But-"
The hand on Sasuke's shoulder gripped harder, the long nails digging deep enough that they began to pierce through the fabric of his clothing.
"No "buts" Sasuke, small, medium or plump. I'm asking to do me a favor. Protect Sakura, head for the tower and wait. If it makes you feel any better I have a plan to survive this little encounter. Now go on, you don't have much time to get a head start. Oh, and here take this." He said digging into his pocket and placing what appeared to be medallion into Sasuke's hands.
"It's works like a signal flare. Just channel and help should arrive, if there's any left."
"But what-"
The blonde's face began to grow dark with anger, "Sasuke I am not asking you, I am commanding you to get your ass out of here, with Sakura in tow, and get to the tower! If you don't, I swear I will force you to gouge your own pink eye infected pupils out and eat them so Orochimaru has nothing to come after! I'lNOW GO!"
Sasuke couldn't respond a wind viciously whipped through the trees and picked him off his feet, effortlessly flinging him across the clearing, hard enough that his bones rattled inside his bruised flesh. If that wasn't incentive enough, an intangible force filled his being with terror, clamping down on his heart and causing Goosebumps to break out all over his frame like rash as words escaped him. Even when he come home all those years ago to find his brother standing over their parent's corpses had felt this much unadulterated feeling of blood tainted fear.
Struggling to his feet Sasuke didn't look back as he scurried back to the makeshift campsite, certain that if he looked back he would see the gates of hell wide open, demonic arms reaching out eager to throw into waiting saliva filled maws.
(The Present)
Naruto sighed as he remembered his conversation with Uchiha. He hadn't meant to be that forceful but some people were so thickheaded that a little "motivation" was a necessary to convince them.
He just hoped that Sakura was alright. Her apparent amnesia, (partially his fault now that he looked back), was something of a problem but that could be fixed with time . He only prayed that he lived long enough to explain it to her before anything serious happened. Even now he could feel her faint presence off in the distance growing fainter and fainter, but never leaving his mental radar.
He glanced at the shadow clone disguised as the before mentioned pink haired girl, a perfect imitation all the way down to the small scars covering her frame, seen and unseen. The clone smiled shyly at him, aware of his thoughts.
The original Naruto waved back beneath the pale face he wore, wondering how weird it would seem to a outside aware of the exchange.
The other clone, this one henged as the blonde himself, read the thought and smirked at his creator.
Naruto scowled at the replica and imagined it exploding, not in a cloud of smoke, but in a glorious display of flying viscera and blood. The clone took the hint and looked away picking its nose.
Say what would will about how useful shadow clones could be, the effectiveness was significantly lessened when the copies started to act on their own accord.
Then like a dark void swirling into existence, all sense of playfulness was gone as a foreign presence activated the security seals he had placed on the surrounding foliage. A moment later an explosion rocked the canopy shaking the leaves from the trees and making birds squawk in surprise.
Immediately Naruto and his clones were ready as a twenty foot slightly charred snake the size of a large oak came crashing down from above sweeping up "Naruto" up in its jaws and continuing awkwardly fall down to the forest floor.
The Sakura clone cried out and made ready to leap off the branch it stood on when a hardened ball of mud crashed into its back and knocked it from sight.
Now alone, Naruto disguised as the brooding Uchiha faced the thin effeminate figure wearing a wide brimmed hat peasants hat, tanned shirt and black pants jumped down in front of him.
The new arrival opened their mouth unnaturally wide, a snake emerging from the contracting elastic throat and ejected from the throat that snake was a clearly razor sharp katana, hilt first. Once the sword extended to its full length its owner grabbed it by the handle and smoothly entered a stance befitting a master swordsman.
"Ku ku ku, I admit your plan, while foolhardy, was a good one. Sending out groups of disguised shadow clones to distract me while you faced me on your own. How heroic and stupid, your father would be proud. Too bad I saw through your simple little ruse and sent my minions to hunt down your real teammates."
The blonde's eyes briefly widened in shock. However, he had prepared for such a moment and he quickly strangled the feeling. With a nod he dropped the illusion clinging to him, revealing a battle ready Naruto.
His change of clothes was basically the same as before but with the addition of a leather breastplate with metal wiring woven between the threads strapped to his chest and on his lower extremities he wore metal legs guards. On his arms he wore overlapping copper red plates of metals to form gauntlets while on his hands were black fingerless gloves with retractable claws attached to the tops of them. A helmet made of reddish metal shaped like a skull of a fox covered the upper half of his face the underside of jaws. The outfit was crude but the point was mobility at the cost of any real protection. His accelerated healing could take care of any wound he suffered.
"Ku ku ku, it seems you came prepared. Let's see just how ready you really are."
Orochimaru's form blurred and suddenly he was in front of the blonde, already in mid swing. The Sannin scowled in anger as his blade was stopped by upraised arms instead of easily passing through flesh and bone like he had anticipated, though his sword did make half way through.
"Impressive. There aren't many materials, metal or otherwise, that can stop my Kusanagi. I must know where you got obtained those gauntlets of yours."
Naruto growled, not bothering to answer and pushed forward knocking the traitor off balance, and quickly swiped at his opponent's chest, tearing through muscle and sinew with ease.
The snake summoner merely looked amused then dissolved into a puddle of mud while the real one erupted from trunk of tree behind the teen.
The jinchuuriki's body moved before his mind could process what was happening and with a ringing clang, the sword was again blocked and Naruto went on the offensive clawing and shredding at empty air while Orochimaru showed off his trademark agility by avoiding the otherwise fatal strikes.
The constant stream of near misses didn't discourage the blonde, in fact it had opposite effect instead increasing his drive to win and rip the snake's head off. Besides going on the defensive was tantamount to suicide for the more experienced shinobi would simply use the open space combined with his weapon's longer reach to slice him to ribbons. By relentlessly attacking, Naruto eliminated those factors, though he knew his adversary had a whole bag of tricks he was just waiting to unleash.
This prediction came true when Orochimaru leaped backwards and started rapidly making hand seals.
"Your taijutsu seems up to par, but what about your ninjutsu?"
A second later the Sannin almost playfully released an arc of lightning from his fingertips.
Seeing that the electrical attack was too fast to dodge Naruto swiftly countered by exhaling a dense puff of raw wind chakra.
The two attacks collided with small boom followed by a small ball of intense flame from Orochimaru.
Naruto refused to play into the snake's hands by getting into a contest of ninjutsu and instead of releasing a ball of water, ducked under the flaming sphere and charged with a roar.
The Kage in genin's clothing seemed disappointed but continued leaping backwards hurling jutsu after jutsu at the teen who either dodged or blocked with is chakra hardened gauntlets. He chased after the criminal branch to branch but never getting closer thanks to onslaught of elemental techniques. His chase was made even more difficult when the ninjutsu prodigy used one hand seals to unleash elemental blasts one after another while with his other hand he manipulated the levitating Kusanagi in attempt to pierce the blonde vitals like a blood seeking missile of finely honed metal death.
In the midst of avoiding another ball of fire to the face, Naruto created three shadow clones made sturdy with extra chakra and together the quartet of blondes worked in tandem to weave their way past Orochimaru's offensive net of attacks..
Providing extra targets for the Sanin to deal with the clones gained the jinchuuriki a bit more ground then he would have on his own but didn't help much as a bundle of hissing snakes abruptly collided with the first one replica while another was skewered through the face the Kusanagi which had lengthened an additional ten feet with terrifying speed.
Spotting an opening the single remaining clone rushed forward past its dispelled brethren and reached out to claw the traitor's face off. It was two feet away when a massive snake slithered from under the branch and caught the clone with one great hiss, crushing it out of existence in the blink of an eye.
Before Naruto could think to retreat the snake was joined by a multitude of smaller ones that seemed to sprout from the larger one and together they lunged at him like the disconnected heads of underdeveloped hydra.
Metal claws broke and withstood venomous fangs in a clash of scales and steel. Naruto leaped and jumped like flea pumped with stimulants as he clawed and gouged out eyes and raked scaly hides. Wind chakra covered claws were making short work of his foes when he saw the largest snake open its maw once again, flames gathering at the back its throat like a living furnace.
Rather than making an aerial maneuver to evade he leaped into the serpent's mouth as fire engulfed his entire body.
The snake swallowed its prey with a single swallow, pleased at the meal it felt enter its esophagus.
Its pleasure was short lived as suddenly its body from its head down to its tail suddenly bulged like a balloon filled hot air. Before it could open its mouth again to relieve the pressure it exploded sending overcooked and occasionally raw innards everywhere, the explosion scattering the smaller serpents like pieces of yarn in a gust of wind.
No evidence remained to tell the fate that befallen the container other then sudden death.
Curious, Orochimaru slowly walked over to the remains of his summon kicking aside pieces here and there while he searched for the remains of his opponent. Too many pieces of meat seemed to litter the branch as wide a small city street for his liking.
His doubts were not unfounded as two charred pieces of skull popped and were replaced by two shadow clones screaming and hurdling at him.
Two quick well placed slashes put an end to the copies but more pops signaled the assault of dozens of body doubles. So many were they in number that only brief glimpses of pale faced man could be seen as they endeavored to dog-pile him.
Soon the great accumulation of chakra structures squirmed and fidgeted while thin white snakes wriggled through the gaps in limbs, hissing and biting, trying to break free.
Clones were dispersed by the dozen, but there more to take their place as they all slowly fused together into one solid mass of fabricated armor and flesh.
From higher up in crisscrossing walkways of foliage and branch the real Naruto stepped out from behind from a veil of leaves.
Directly across from him his enemy emerged from a seemingly innocuous looking patch of bark that the Sannin smoothly detached from like human slime.
"It's impressive how much chakra you have to simply toss away?" Orochimaru said gesturing at the heap below, "Not surprising, considering what you are. But I think about time I end this little game of ours and I go seek my true target."
Chuckling, Naruto looked at the Sanin and spoke up for the first time since the battle had begun, "Oh yeah? You'll have to catch me first, although I think an ancient fossil like you could never catch me. You'd probably break a hip trying, old man."
The insult had the desired effect as the Sannin glared at the impertinent youth and in doing so, unintentionally made the first mistake of the battle by looking the jinchuuriki in the eyes and promptly being ensnared in the genjutsu trap waiting to be sprung.
The genjutsu Naruto caught the Sannin in was a fairly simple one considering the difference in skill between the two. A mere mix up in how the target visually perceived the world. Essentially, heaven and earth switched places, up became down while left became right.
But the point was that it was a easy one to pull off without any hand signs and it bought him enough time to dash forward in a chakra enhanced jump and ram his claws into the Orochimaru's chest and stomach, then with a sharp tug he eviscerated his victim like a animal in a slaughterhouse.
Unfortunately for our young protagonist he also made his first mistake of the battle while sheathing his hands in innards of his adversary.
In his haste to destroy the pale skinned man, he didn't expect for the body he impaled to suddenly grow rigid and then the mouth to open, twice as wide as before, and a slimy new, fully grown body to spurt out like guts out of a stepped on sardine.
The "genin" didn't have time to pull out his claws before the legendary sword entered his body through his torso, his rapidly beating heart, powered by anxiety and adrenaline, pumped the specially concocted poison swiftly through his veins swifter then a hurricane wind.
The blue eyed boy tried to scream but could only manage to gurgle, foam forming at the edges of his mouth. He began to jerk and spasm, loosening himself from the cast off shell and falling onto a lower branch.
From within, he felt his heart begin to speed up like a jackhammer and his stomach clench painfully almost in half. What little training he had received in the medical arts helped him piece together that the rest of his organs were starting to shut down as well.
The twenty foot fall onto hard unforgiving wood didn't help his situation much either.
As his vision blurred and his tongue swelled to twice its original size, visions of the past drifted through his mind.
Successfully pulling off the Kage Bunshin no jutsu . . .
Being acknowledged by his tutors . . .
Punching the fat store keeper in face for trying to overcharge him . . .
Marking Sakura as his beneath a full moon while the town folk danced like heathens at a ancient arcane ritual . . .
In his head Naruto's mind sluggishly processed what could've been his last thought.
"Orochimaru wants to hurt Sasuke. Sakura is with Sasuke. Orochimaru might hurt Sakura!"
Slowly, corruptive crimson chakra covered his entire body lifting him into the air while blackening the bark of the tree branch. One, two, three then four tails manifesting at the base of his spine as he sprang upward, howling like the demon he contained.
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and evaded by hopping to left, exploiting his opponent's relatively uncoordinated lunge by thrusting his blade forward into the jinchuuriki's side. The sword penetrated the thick cloak of energy a couple of inches, barely scraping the fleshy body underneath before harmlessly being forced back.
The vessel caught on quick lashing out with all four tails like a enraged scorpion, two from above, one from the left and the remaining surging in from the right, hoping to ensnare his enemy.
The Sanin nimbly avoided all four appendages and continued to do so as they continued to wildly thrash like cut electrical wire, searing everything they touched.
Quickly realizing that he was being herded into a corner Orochimaru quickly molded chakra in his lungs and spat bullets of water knocking the tails aside and filling the area with hot steam. He used the cover of mist to make dozens of clones, all of which wielding imitation Kusanagis and posed to strike.
"Sssince you like clones ssso much, play with these." Orochimaru hissed in amusement observing how the vessel would deal with the nuisances.
The energy cloaked creature screamed in rage as he sensed the real snake slither away into the background. Then a primitive idea formed in its shared conscious.
Withdrawing all its appendages, the thick coat of chakra thickened as numerous blades attempted to pierce the body in the center.
Then with another scream its chakra hide swelled in size and then in a heartbeat the thick coat of corrosive youki exploded outwards like a bomb, and everything in fifty meter radius was soaked in poisonous blistering energy
What was left behind was nothing but pure devastation. What wasn't ash, was smoldering or on it's way to becoming ash. The few animals that had stayed behind or were too slow to flee after the teen's transformation were now nothing now, simply nothing but maybe a few free floating particles in the hot searing wind rushing to fill the artificial vacuum.
The tree branch along with tree and most of the surrounding flora the mini-Kyuubi had been atomized along with everything in sight. In the distance more trees could be heard crashing to the ground like dominoes as molecules broke down and were freed from the bonds they held them.
The only things that stirred within the immediate vicinity of the explosion were a raw and nearly naked body lying flat on the once lush forest floor and a blackened mass of coiled flesh a distance away.
Naruto stirred and weakly climbed to his feet coughing blood while skin began slowly grow back at an agonizingly slow rate over exposed patches of muscle and bone. His gauntlets and claws had survived the improvised explosion intact, barely, but his clothes had burned away and his metal leg guards had melted into his calves, fusing together like sickening pieces of bread slathered with condiments. He was in pure agony and from the looks of the twitching heap across from him his ordeal was far from over.
The mass, now what he recognized to be the large snake from earlier that swallowed his clone lookalike collapsed in on itself like a pile of cinder revealing a misshapen lump of flesh, which seemed to be simultaneously melting and regenerating, neither process overwhelming the other.
After a couple of seconds a pale misshapen face formed at the top of the disfigured mound. At first the general structure of the face appeared human enough but the skull was too angular, while the neck protracted without an apparent end, scales growing where skin once did.
There were no limbs to speak of.
The neck continued to lengthen, rising higher and higher twisting around an invisible center like a piece of meaty rope. Soon the monster stopped growing, complete and now stretching like a cat waking from a nap in the afternoon sun.
Underneath short tufts of black hair yellow serpentine eyes underlined with purple peered at jinchuuriki, while the jaw muscles retracted in a twisted parody of a smirk. Though the face was severely distorted along with the voice, the differences overall were minute and negligible.
"Maybe you're not ssssso boring after all." The creature hissed accompanied by deep rumbling sound from its throat that could've been laughter, but who could tell faced with such an abomination.
Naruto grimaced at the beast leering at him. People had called him a monstrosity and an atrocity against all throughout his life but what stood before definitely took the cake.
Feeling around his mouth with his tongue, he searched for the hard lump that didn't match the others.
With a crack he broke the fake tooth hiding a pill set in his gums, grimacing at the bitter taste filling his mouth. He could only vaguely guess at the long-term aftereffects of what he was about to do would have on his physical and mental health, but he was certain none of them were good.
"Where's the fucking Anbu when you need them?"
Again, from the seal on his stomach, deep red chakra swirled around him, enveloping him, embracing him like a mother would a child. And again he lost himself to the bestial madness licking at the fringes of his mind and soul.
Ha, my first cliffhanger! This was originally one long chapter, but I split it into two. It seems to work better that way. There may be spelling mistakes since I was up all night editing this, so don't be too surprised. The second half will be late since I have a family reunion to go to in the South where there are only, five maybe six computers at most anywhere. I'll probably update about two weeks from now.
Oh, how I can't wait be embraced by wrinkly old arms that smell like cats, stale urine and age, all while pretending I remember the names of people whom I've obviously never met before! :(
P.S I just found out honey bunches of oats makes a cereal that's justbunches. It may not be epic to others but it is to me.
Q: What's going to happen to Sasuke and Sakura?
A: You'll see in the next chapter. There will be surprises.
Q: What about Naruto?
A: His fate will be revealed next chapter, sort of.
-Fishing For Teeth