An: Thank you for the reviews as always. They really keep me motivated. Your humble author S. o. t. A.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I'm doing this for fun not profit.
Chapter 41: Settling Old Debts
Hinata stood next to Sakura as they faced down the two shinobi they had stopped from pounding on Chouji. While Hinata watched the pair, Sakura was busy scanning the young Akimichi making an assessment of his injuries. The berserkers apparently had gotten tired of waiting for them to make their move so charged in. As a result of the months of training Tsunade had put them through Hinata knew that Sakura would scoop up Chouji and jump away allowing her to use Rotation to force the pair back.
Sakura did exactly that as the Ogre brothers charged slamming into the sphere of chakra that surrounded Hinata and were sent sailing away from her. Sakura landed next to Ino who had stopped running towards them upon their arrival. Setting the Akimichi down she ordered, "Watch him while I back up Hinata. He's badly hurt, but it isn't life threatening at the moment."
Ino weakly nodded having sunk to her knees and cradled Chouji's head in her lap. Sakura quickly joined Hinata's side and said, "Which one do you want?"
Giving a little half smile Hinata said lightly, "Does it really matter?"
Eyeing both of the large men Sakura replied, "I suppose not."
The two brothers calmed down their skin returning to its normal color. Noticing Hinata, the younger Raijin said, "Brother, she has the pretty eyes that Big Brother told us to look out for."
"I believe your right Raijin."
Although watching the brothers closely Sakura asked, "Ino, what are they talking about?" Ino however didn't respond, so in a more firm tone of voice said, "Ino…" When the blonde focused on her, Sakura continued, "What are they talking about? Why are they looking for Hyuuga?"
"Their leader hopes to kidnap one to earn entry into a shinobi village," Ino said wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Mizuki," Hinata growled towards the Ogre brothers, "Where is he?"
"We'll take you to him," Raijin said as both him and his brother turned to leap away figuring the girl would follow. They leapt over the gorges wall causing both Sakura and Hinata to look at each other in confusion.
"Do they honestly expect us to follow them," Sakura said turning to begin treating Chouji.
"Sakura, I…I want to," Hinata said after a moment.
"Forget it," Sakura replied, "You aren't going off on your own to fight Kami knows how many enemies to get to Mizuki."
"But…"
"Hinata," Sakura said sternly while healing the Akimichi, "I want to go after them too. I was there as well remember. But we would be walking into a trap for certain and I have to attend to Chouji."
Hinata conceded by nodding to Sakura but looked at the top of the gorge that the pair had disappeared over. She activated her Byakugan hoping to keep track of the pair and immediately shouted, "Move."
Hinata grabbed Ino while Sakura moved Chouji as a boulder dug itself into the spot they had just been occupying. Fujin smashed his fist into his brother's skull saying, "Idiot, I told you big brother would be angry if we damaged the white-eyed one."
"I'm sorry Fujin. I got angry they tricked us."
The two brothers jumped back into the gorge with Fujin saying, "You'll be coming with us pretty eyes."
"I think not," Hinata said assuming her gentle fist stance.
Sakura looked at Ino saying, "I treated his wounds as best I can Ino. I need you to take him to the hospital."
Ino however wasn't listening only saying, "I'm so useless," over and over again.
SLAP
Ino reached for her cheek surprised and saw an angry pair of green eyes staring at her. Sakura calmly said, "Ino fall apart on your own time. Right now, I need you to get Chouji to the hospital. He needs you to be strong okay."
Ino mutely nodded her head. Her eyes were still watery, but she was determined not to let Chouji down. Hefting him up, she was surprised at how heavy he was, despite how light he looked. But, figured it was simply because she was weak. Once she had him in a secure grip she began to make her way out of the gorge. Reaching the top she looked back to see that Sakura and Hinata had already engaged the pair and seemed to be holding their own. Turning away cursing her own weakness she began the trek back to Konoha.
Hinata dodged backwards as Fujin buried his fist into the ground in the spot she had just been occupying. She had already hit some of his Tenketsu Points; however he seemed to have a natural defense against such an attack. Whatever the rage that powered them was, it prevented their Tenketsu points from being closed. Her Byakugan allowed her to see that Fujin's chakra was moving through his body at an incredible speed, which prevented her from shutting his points down.
Hinata knew that there were still several points that she could hit that would stop her opponent cold. However, she hesitated to use them, as they were all lethal strikes and she really wanted to learn where Mizuki was at. The recently revealed information that he was once again planning to have a part in Kumo getting their hands on the Byakugan really made her angry. Also, she wanted to pay him back for the role he had played in making her have to live with the guilt that she had been responsible for Naruto's death.
Able to see Sakura was holding her own despite not facing her because of her Kekkei Genkai. She jumped over the flying body of Raijin that Sakura sent her way confident that she would be able to dodge him. She landed next to Sakura who was fixing the black gloves she had recently bought to complement her greatly increased Taijutsu.
"I think we're in serious trouble here Hinata," Sakura said as she watched Raijin get up from one of her more devastating hits.
Hinata grimly nodded her head. As their opponents got back to their feet she said, "I don't think we'll be able to take these two in alive, Sakura."
Sakura didn't look happy about Hinata's evaluation of the situation but had to agree. "Alright," Sakura said confidently, "let's finish this."
Both girls separated again hoping to prevent the two brothers from backing each other up. The Ogre brothers without a tactical brain among them quickly separated to fight their respective opponents. Hinata sidestepped a punch thrown by Fujin and attempted to strike at his heart with a Jyuuken strike that would put the large man down permanently. Yet, despite his large size he managed to grab Hinata into a bear hug. In spite of his earlier reprimand of his brother not to damage her, Hinata couldn't be positive that the man didn't intend to break her back due to how incredibly powerful his grip was. However it just highlighted that he wasn't very smart or had much experience fighting a Hyuuga as she sent a Jyuuken strike to his temple. The effects were immediate as she destroyed the man's mind causing instant death. He fell bonelessly to the ground, helped by Hinata having kicked off of his chest as his grip lessened.
Landing on her feet she noticed that Sakura's opponent had stopped to stare at his brother, almost like he instinctually knew that Fujin was dead. The red tint to his skin faded as he temporarily regained his senses saying, "Brother…answer me Fujin. You're just playing right?"
But as no response came he began to enter his berserker rage again, spitting out, "I'm going to kill you." Hinata could see that due to his anger the remaining brother had opened all Eight Gates. Raijin would probably die as a result of his rage but before he did, he'd most likely take a lot of shinobi with him. Hinata could see that Sakura must have sensed that as well as she ran up the wall of the gorge. Leaping from it as she reached the top she aimed a familiar looking axe kick that they've seen Tsunade deliver hundreds of times right on top of the man's head.
Although to normal eyes, it appeared as if nothing happened except maybe driving the man's feet a few inches into the ground, to the vision afforded to her from the Byakugan Hinata could see every bone in the man's body break from the head down. The man fell backwards as dead as his brother, prompting Sakura to say, "Well that's that."
Hinata nodded and could see that Sakura wanted to address what she knew Hinata was thinking so the Hyuuga beat her to it saying, "I'm going after him Sakura."
"Fine," Sakura said obviously surprising Hinata to which the pinkette smiled. "You forget I want to pay him back too. Besides he's obviously setting traps up that some of the other teams may stumble into. So we keep going forward and warn them."
Hinata smiled accepting her rival and friend's reasons but said, "What about his wanting to kidnap a Hyuuga?"
Jokingly Sakura said, "Well if he should succeed, I guess Naruto will be all mine then."
"Then I guess I better make sure that doesn't happen," Hinata replied teasingly adding, "Although I'd be willing to bet Naruto would storm whatever village he takes me to, in order to bring me back."
"Keep dreaming," Sakura said their joking fueling their rivalry, "He'd have me here to help him get over it." Both girls began glaring before turning their backs on each other.
"Seriously though," Sakura said after a moment, "We handle this smartly and don't get blinded by our emotions."
"Don't worry Sakura. I'm not going to fall into Mizuki's hands," Hinata said calmly. The girls decided to take off in the direction the brothers had earlier when they thought Hinata was going to follow them to Mizuki, in hopes of settling an old score.
Mizuki was honestly surprised he hadn't seen the two Ogre Brothers appear over the top of the gorge a few moments after they left, in order to rejoin them. He honestly doubted the Akimichi or blonde girl would have been able to put up much of a fight. On the other hand, the blonde had been quite the looker and knowing how the brothers were ruled by their desires imagined they might have gotten a little sidetracked with her. Sighing, he was wondering if he should head back to collect them, but decided against it. He doubted the girl would entertain them all that long and he much rather set up his next ambush. The morons knew where to head so would catch up, of that he was sure. Mizuki noticed that Meizu swatted at the back of his neck almost like an insect bit him.
Before he could ask what it was, he and his gang were forced to dodge, as judging by the jutsu an Inuzuka had caught up to them. The spinning shinobi and henged puppy came to a rest on a tree branch in front of the gang. "Hm," Mizuki said, "Sorry can't use an Inuzuka either. How about going and fetch me a Hyuuga?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Kiba said looking at the gang leader.
Giving a sinister looking smirk Mizuki said, "Oh nothing, we already had to take care of an Akimichi and some blonde. So how about you get out of our way before you join them."
Growling at Mizuki the young Inuzuka said, "Buddy, I hope for your sake you're exaggerating."
"Well why don't you head back the way we came? I'm sure you'd love to see our handy work," Mizuki said, "Now if you don't mind we're in something of a hurry so why don't you get out of the way."
"Over my dead body," Kiba said angrily.
"Have it your way," Mizuki said. "Chuda how about you and …"
"Leave it to us," Meizu said surprising Mizuki with his volunteering him and his brother. "We'll make short work of him and catch up."
Mizuki and the two remaining members of his gang moved off to the side to go around the Inuzuka. Once they were gone Gozu asked angrily, "Why would you volunteer us for this?"
"Simple, my needle hit this body," his brother replied attempting to catch him with the metal claw. Despite being confused Gozu managed to avoid the attack jumping out of reach. Before he could begin questioning what was going on, he was forced to move again to dodge a kick from Kiba but was caught across the back by a claw swipe from the henged Akamaru.
Knocked to the ground he rolled back to his feet missing being hit in the back of the head by his brother's gauntleted fist. He continued back peddling when he heard Meizu say, "I wonder what this does?" Hearing the click signaling the chain weapon in the gauntlet was about to launch he jumped into a tree behind him allowing the weighted end of the chain to wrap around the tree. Figuring that his brother was being controlled somehow and that they wouldn't know how to disengage the chain attempted to move in and take his brother out of the fight while he was tied up.
As he flew in he noticed his brother shiver a little before looking up and saying, "Get back it's a trap."
However it was too late as Kiba barreled into Gozu while Akamaru nailed Meizu with a Fang over Fang. They then pulled the two brothers' hands behind their back pulling the gauntlets free and throwing them to the ground in front of the pair before binding them. The last moment of consciousness Gozu had, was of a young girl dropping out of a tree and walking up to the gauntlets to pick them up. Eyeing them she said, "I like and they're just my size."
Kiba and Akamaru then jammed a needle into their respective brother making them go to sleep till they were collected. Kiba got to his feet saying, "Do you think that bastard was telling the truth about Ino and Chouji?"
"I hope not," Ami said before adding, "We should backtrack their trail to make sure though."
"Looking in the direction the leader had left though he said, "But we may lose the bastard if we do that."
"I know, but Lady Tsunade said it's more important to get the information to her. So I imagine it's more important that we save our fellow Leaf shinobi."
"Okay, although I think we are just being overly cautious I mean no way Chouji would lose to punks like this if they are all this weak."
Ami nodded her head before getting ready to head back the way the escaped prisoners had come but stopped when Kiba said, "I know this probably isn't the best time to ask but we make a pretty good team and I was wondering if maybe when this is all over that maybe you'd like to go on a date."
"Well you see I was actually going to ask you something…" Ami said causing Kiba to nod his head a little anxiously so she continued, "That chunin with the three dogs was your sister right." Kiba furrowed his brows but nodded his head, "Do you know it she likes girls?"
Kiba's mouth dropped open at what Ami asked saying, "Does that mean…"
Ami nodded her head so he said embarrassed, "We better get going," he then jumped into the trees.
Ami snatched up the other gauntlet shouting, "Hey the least you could do is answer my question."
Kiba shouted back "You didn't answer mine."
"I'm pretty sure my question did in fact answer yours," Ami countered.
"Well I'm pretty sure my sister is into guys," Kiba said conceding the point.
"Damn it," Ami said but added, "I would have said yes if you were a girl though."
"Great," was all Kiba had to say in response, wondering what it was about the girls of the Leaf Village. First they were all hung up about that bastard Sasuke and now they were swearing off boys entirely. If things kept going that way he'd probably have to run into a woman from outside the village before he'd be able to score a date.
"We haven't run across any of the other teams lately," Temari said landing next to the branch Shikamaru was standing on as he scanned behind him.
"I know," Shikamaru said worriedly wondering why they hadn't come across Kiba and Ami as he would have expected. Coming to a decision he said, "We'll adjust our course to take us deeper into the grid we've been assigned. That way we should, at the very least, see some signs of them, or run into Hinata and Sakura."
As they made their way deeper towards the center of the grid of the forest assigned to Shikamaru, they were forced to drop to the ground as the trees gave way to a bamboo grove. They spotted two prisoners one of them was skinny and lanky while the other was overweight but appeared to be quite muscular. When the two men spotted them they immediately began running deeper into the bamboo forest.
Shikamaru began to chase after them, but was leading the way cautiously through the area. Temari on the other hand was getting a little impatient saying, "Well let's move already."
"How troublesome?" Shikamaru said before explaining, "This area was used to help train chunin instructors for the academy. There are all sorts of traps and other devices used to hone their skills."
"Well I doubt that they are lethal," Temari said a little impatient for action.
"Maybe not normally, but I recognize those two they used to be instructors at the academy. Therefore, they must know about the traps and if so, could have made them decidedly more so," Shikamaru replied.
"My, someone deserves a gold star," a voice Shikamaru remembered said sounding like it came from all around them.
"Mizuki-sensei," Shikamaru said grabbing a kunai from his pouch and pressed his back against Temari's.
"You know this prisoner?" Temari asked.
"He was my Academy instructor before he was booted out under suspicion of helping a Kumo-nin kidnap Hinata Hyuuga," Shikamaru said wondering where the man was at. "They eventually proved it when Naruto came back."
"That little Kyuubi brat will get his eventually," Mizuki said.
Hearing the mention of the legendary nine tailed fox Temari asked, "What is he talking about?"
"Not now," Shikamaru said turning his head Temari's way, "I can't talk about it."
"A girl from Suna," Mizuki said, "Guess I won't be heading there as I'll have to kill you both now."
"So that's your game plan Mizuki," Shikamaru said, "Hoping to barter your way into another Shinobi village."
"That's right," Mizuki said, "You know if people would have asked me if you would have graduated the academy I would have said no. Apparently I was wrong."
"You're wrong about a lot of things especially if you think you'll be able to get your hands on a Hyuuga," Shikamaru replied.
"What makes you so sure that's my plan?"
"You're not very imaginative for one," Shikamaru taunted hoping to get Mizuki to reveal himself, "Also it's the only place you know of that would be willing to anger Konoha in order to get their hands on the Byakugan."
Temari getting where Shikamaru was going with his taunt said, "That would mean that the Hokage could simply tell her shinobi to watch for your gang as they headed for the border. You could try to head a different way maybe take a sea route but…"
"But," Shikamaru said finishing her sentence, "Then you are transporting a live Shinobi for a considerable amount of time. Giving the kunoichi ample opportunities to escape."
"What makes you so sure I need the Hyuuga alive?"
"The Raikage made a play for a female Hyuuga twice," Shikamaru said, "granted it was the same one, but he wants Shinobi that possess the Byakugan not a pair of eyes that he has to keep transplanting."
"Well you certainly are far cleverer than that Akimichi we ran into earlier," Mizuki said menacingly. "Now that I think about it didn't you use to spend your lunches with one of those fatasses?"
"What did you do to him?" Shikamaru growled.
"Me nothing," Mizuki replied smugly, "But my associates probably ripped him into a couple pieces by now. Don't even get me started on what they are probably doing to that blonde girl that was with him. You and your buddy must share similar tastes, at least as far as women go huh?"
Shikamaru feeling far angrier than he had ever been in his life actually took a step forward, hoping to find Mizuki; however Temari grabbed him by the forearm. Recognizing that Temari was telling him to calm down he nodded his head toward her. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Where are your associates then? I'd love to meet them."
"I'm sure you would, however I've already made arrangements for you and Blondie. I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted me to go through all that trouble for no reason now would you? In any case enjoy and don't worry too much, since I figure you are using the Zigzag technique in order to back each other up I'm sure you'll have some company before you die."
"Mizuki-sensei, if anything has happened to my friends. Just know that after I've caught you I'm going to be the reason you die," Shikamaru said preparing for anything. However there was no response from Mizuki so he told Temari, "Get ready."
No sooner had the words left his mouth then several puppets popped up from the ground. The puppets appeared like a variety of different people some giving the appearance of children and civilians while others appeared like enemy shinobi. He noted that many of the enemy shinobi puppets appeared with the Sand Symbol on their headbands. Therefore he wasn't surprised when Temari said, "Should I be honored or insulted that so many of these puppets bear the mark of my village?"
"I would simply say it is ironic," Shikamaru said trying to figure a way out of the mess they were in. Normally he figured that the scenario that the puppets were used for would simulate a fight among civilians with the puppets that served as the innocent bystanders probably flailing about like normal people would during a clash between shinobi. However while that normally meant they could ignore them, Shikamaru wouldn't be surprised if they housed some of the more dangerous means of killing them.
"We'll have to treat everything as a threat," Temari said. Shikamaru sometimes found it a little disconcerting how Temari seemed to be inside his mind at times. He supposed that as a result of all the time he spent with Ino and Chouji he was simply used to being the one that came up with the plan. It hurt to think that he may never see either of them again, granted Ino could be a little overbearing at times. But he had still considered her a friend and the idea that the last time they had really talked had been in anger made him wish he had handled things differently.
But if he was going to honor his vow of capturing Mizuki he needed to get out of this trap first. Adding to Temari's theory he said, "Treat the civilian dolls as the most dangerous threats. While they may not be brandishing weapons they are probably rigged with more sinister traps."
Temari nodded before giggling slightly prompting Shikamaru to ask, "What's so funny?"
Giving him a dazzling smile she answered, "If my brother was here he'd probably have a fit if he knew you thought of his art as playing with dolls."
Giving a tight smile of his own, he said, "Well hopefully you won't be taking that secret to your grave?" They tensed as suddenly almost all of the puppets armed with weapons and dressed like Shinobi moved in for the kill.
After Mizuki was done talking to Shikamaru he said to his remaining two gang members, "Yow two stay here and make sure that a Hyuuga doesn't wander into our killing field."
"Where are you going?" the lanky Junzo Chuda asked.
"I'm going to see what the hell is keeping the rest of our group from joining up with us," Mizuki said.
"We should take our chances as missing-nin and run. Forget the others," Zeshin Asako said.
"Then run," Mizuki snapped feeling the pressure of more and more of his team disappearing. The whole reason he had tied up the Jounin of the Leaf Village with the prison was because he had been positive that the genin and chunin they had searching the woods would have been no match for them. Did the Hokage manage to secure Jounin for the hunt, was that why the Ogre Brothers had yet to return? Or had the village already subdued the prisoners? Either scenario meant they were running out of time. But Mizuki wasn't going to lead the life of a missing-nin. No the whole reason he had even ended up in the mess he was in was because he wanted more. More wealth. More power. More respect. The idea of living his life on the lam, never knowing where his next meal would come from, was too pathetic to even imagine.
He stared at his associates and could tell they were thinking the same thing. But unlike him he was sure that eventually their desire for self preservation would eventually cause them to lose their spine. That was why he'd much rather have the Ogre Brothers with him as they may be stupid but they weren't cowards. Taking off, he gave the odds that the two chunin would be here waiting when he got back as fifty-fifty. In the end it didn't matter he'd just go to Kumo without them once he had his Hyuuga.
Maito Gai had to hand it to Shura as he wasn't a fool. He currently had Gai locked up in a cell on the opposite side of the prison. Far from the hostages and being watched over by three prisoners. However the leader of the Shinobazu had sorely underestimated him if he thought the Chakra Suppression Seals placed on him were going to stop him from getting out. Gai smiled in his cell while he sat on a cot, prompting one of his guards to ask, "What are you smiling about?"
Gai remained silent which got the guard even more riled up causing him to shout, "I'm talking to you." Gai kept his peace however so the former prisoner opened the cell.
"What do you think you are doing?" one of the other men tasked with keeping an eye on Gai asked.
"It's shinobi like this that are the reason I got locked up, besides he's helpless with that seal on," he said taking his eyes off of the sitting Jounin for only a second. Before he could go into what he wanted to do to Gai, the Leaf Jounin moved sending a shot to the man's gut that sent him into his fellow guard. The third guard tried to run to the nearby alarm button mounted on the wall, but didn't make it a single step before Gai knocked him out with a punch to the jaw. He then moved them into the cell he had been occupying, a few moments earlier, after binding and gagging them in the sheets that had been on the bed.
Before he shut the cell he saw that the guard that had been foolish enough to open the door was conscious and looking at him angrily so said, "Well my unyouthful friend if you want to know what I found so amusing it was that your boss assumes that limiting my chakra means I'm helpless." Closing the door behind him he made his way out of the section he was in.
He knew he had a lot of ground to cover and although Shura hadn't bothered to check on him in the three hours he had been in the prison. He didn't know if he could count on that much longer. Creeping through the prison, he was surprised that there weren't any prisoners patrolling the grounds. Although he guessed he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Arriving at D-block he removed the headband he wore as a belt and used it to scope out the block. It was difficult to make out the individual shapes, but he could see that all the hostages were being kept in the cells and that five of the six prisoners that were supposed to be watching them were playing cards. One of them stood off to the side by himself and judging by the light blue hair and build he guessed him to be the Shinobazu member that had been against his being taken hostage.
Announcing his presences by calling out, "Dynamic Entry," he landed the kick straight into Monju's chest sending him into the far wall of the prison block. Landing among the prisoners that had been playing cards and who had only just begun reacting to his attack by going for their weapons he shouted, "Leaf Sever Hurricane." Gai spun around hitting all of the prisoners sending them off in different directions. Three of the prisoners hit the metal bars of the cells hard enough to bend them. Confident they wouldn't pose a problem he focused on Monju who was regaining his footing. Closing the distance between them, Gai delivered a punch to the man's stomach and his follow-through pushed him out of the prison through the wall.
Kakashi upon seeing the body fly out of the prison said, "That's the sign."
Almost as one the jounin began storming the prison by running over the drawbridge. The prisoners tried to repel them by throwing weapons they had taken from the guards but it was no use. Shura watching from the roof recognized that it was over called down to D-block, "Kill the hostages."
However the response of, "Sorry my most unyouthful foe, but I'm afraid that is no longer an option for you. However, you may surrender at any time."
Shura responded by smashing the speaker box. He was about to order his fellow prisoners to fight off the jounin but they had already been incapacitated by kunai thrown by the Leaf Shinobi. He turned to run but came face to face with a masked jounin that had a headband over his eye and was crouched on the edge of the roof. Giving a cheerful smile and a wave the man said, "I would have taken the advice to surrender."
Shura brought his umbrella up to roast him but found himself being hit from the side by a kick that broke several of his ribs. Looking at his assailant he saw a woman with short dark hair wearing the standard Jounin gear except with sleeves that were way too long. He tried to reach for his umbrella but the woman without looking threw a senbon that buried itself in his arm. Almost immediately he felt his joints begin to stiffen up and stop responding to his mental commands.
Kakashi said lightly to Shizune, noting that Kurenai and Anko had joined them on the roof, "I could have taken him, Shizune."
"I didn't doubt that, but I didn't want you to miss our date tomorrow. On account of you got hurt as a result of your penchant for play."
"Don't worry that wasn't going to happen?" Kakashi said leaping from his perch and holding his arm out for Shizune to take. As they left the roof the sounds of battle in the prison already beginning to fade neither of them noticed that the two other women stared at them, one wondering if she should maybe try to find someone herself, as she moved past her old master's betrayal, and the other with a fair amount of jealousy that the man she was seeing insisted on their relationship be kept secret.
Shikamaru really wished he could give back his chunin vest as he dodged another puppet's attack. He really longed for the days when he was the one receiving orders, instead of giving them as it let him off the hook for feeling responsible when people got hurt. Although, he liked to believe that Chouji and Ino were fine and that Mizuki was just playing mind games with him. Something told him the former instructor was telling the truth, at least as far as running into them.
Getting too close to one of the civilian puppets he heard the tell tale hissing that it was loaded with a paper bomb. Jumping back and throwing a kunai that knocked it away from him. He watched as it exploded taking two more puppets with it but still leaving plenty for him and Temari to deal with. Landing next to the blonde, who commenting on the matter that his inattention had allowed one of the slower moving civilian puppets to get close to him, "Quit your day dreaming crybaby. How are we going to get out of this?"
"I'm working on it," Shikamaru said ignoring the nickname she liked to call him, "The puppets aren't the problem it's the two shinobi watching us."
"I understand that," Temari snapped not liking that he thought something so basic needed to be explained to her. After all, she had been there when they had cleared a path through the puppets and managed to get them all behind them. However, as they tried to escape the area a pair of shinobi appeared the lanky Junzo Chuda and the large Zeshin Asako. They had delayed them long enough that the puppets had managed to catch back up before the pair withdrew again. "What I want to know is how are we going to deal with them and the puppets?"
A half formed plan began to come together for Shikamaru as he said, "Maybe we won't have to."
He could tell Temari wanted to ask what he meant, but she was also smart enough to know that the two shinobi watching them were probably ease dropping as well. Yet, despite how troublesome Shikamaru found her. He also recognized that she was quite brilliant tactically as well and was confident she would figure out his plan by the time he was ready to implement it.
After several more minutes of avoiding puppets Shikamaru said, "Temari, try and clear us another path."
Responding immediately the Suna Kunoichi pulled her fan and opening it so that it revealed all three moons sent a gale force wind barreling through the puppet ranks blowing them down or away. The pair quickly took advantage of the moment running through the downed puppets. Passing a little too close to a civilian puppet, it began spewing poison gas from its joints. Temari blew the poison away before it became a hassle allowing them to continue on their chosen path.
As expected the legion of puppets began following behind attempting to catch up but as before proved to be unequal to the task. They made it a couple of hundred feet and could almost see where the bamboo gave way to more substantial trees that would allow them to move even faster via tree hopping.
Temari wasn't surprised that she was leading the way as Shikamaru seemed to do everything in slow motion, even run. However that proved to be to her benefit when she suddenly was jerked to a stop. Recognizing that she was caught in his shadow possession jutsu she asked, "What's the big idea?"
To answer, Shikamaru had here stick here foot out and tap a patch of flattened grass in front of her. She gasped in surprise when it gave way to reveal a tiger pit filled with sharpened bamboo at the bottom. Shikamaru had her back up causing her to say, "Thanks," after breathing a sigh of relief. "How did you know?"
"Our two opponents haven't shown themselves like they did last time," Shikamaru answered, "I was wondering why, when I realized that they must not have felt they needed to."
"You could have warned me," Temari said peeved.
"Man you are one troublesome woman you know that," Shikamaru said trying to salvage his plan. "When I open my mouth you snap at me not to underestimate your intelligence. When I keep it shut, you tell me to tell you everything. Make up your mind."
She blushed in embarrassment but kept her mouth shut responding by sending a small Wind Scythe towards him. His eyes widened in surprise wondering if she had really lost her temper till it caught the puppet that had caught up to them in the head taking it off. "Any more bright ideas," She asked her previous embarrassment giving way to that all too cheerful smile he remembered from the time she gave half of the forest a trim.
"We head in the direction where they were forced to stop us the first time," Shikamaru said rolling out of the way of the next puppet to get close leaving a exploding tag in his wake that took it and several of its fellows out. He also used the few moments that the blast gave him to whisper to Temari, confident any eavesdroppers' ears were ringing, "They have to come out if we head that way. They probably hadn't finished outfitting that section of the forest with traps."
Throwing another Wind Scythe she responded, "That's good and all, but they'll just hold us there till the puppets catch up again."
"I'm counting on that," he replied cryptically while throwing a kunai with a string attached to it through the ranks of puppets. Temari wondered why until after the kunai hit a tree she noticed that hanging from the string where several paper bombs that then exploded opening a path in the direction they wanted to go.
Following in his wake this time Temari wondered where Shikamaru's plan was going enjoying the challenge the Nara's mind represented. Taking what she knew from her own fight with him she understood that he had a penchant for trapping his opponents. But could he really set up a trap in the few moments that they had from when they were away from the puppets but before the two shinobi showed up. Running over what Shikamaru had showed her he carried shortly after they left the others she couldn't really think of anything that would work against the small army of puppets let alone…
"The puppets of course," she thought believing she understood what Shikamaru had planned. The puppets were merely mechanical constructs and they hunted by attacking the closest human size heat source. The first time Mizuki's accomplices had interfered they had stayed only long enough to delay their escape until the puppets had caught up. At the time she had thought that it was because they merely hadn't wanted to get their hands dirty. But Shikamaru had seen that they had to get away before the puppets had recognized them as targets as well.
Marveling again at how Shikamaru's mind was always working always looking for the angles that would turn defeat into victory she thought, "Okay he's going to use the puppets. Now, how is he going to get those two close enough, that the puppets will attack? They're onto his shadow tricks since they used to work at the academy from what he's told me." A tight grin appeared on her lips as she realized, "He's going to use his shadow on the puppets they obviously don't care." Her grin faded a little as she thought, "But he can't catch them all." Yet it reappeared a few seconds later as she understood her part in the plan, "He doesn't need to. If he can get even one close to those clowns, the whole pack of puppets will recognize them as targets."
Moments later she saw the two shinobi drop down in front of them with the heavyset one saying, "Ah-ah-ah, where do you kiddies think you are going. Can't you see our puppets still want to play?"
Temari waited for Shikamaru to respond and wasn't disappointed as he dropped down to his knee forming the hand-sign for his jutsu. She could see the two tense preparing to avoid it but could tell they were surprised when it shot backwards towards her. Moving out of his shadows way she watched it spread until it caught a good portion of the remaining puppets. Temari ran up to one of the struggling puppets and using her fan swung it into one of the Shinobi looking puppets. The puppet took off, flying in the air before landing in front of the surprised pair.
The puppet rattled a bit before its gaze settled on them causing the heavyset shinobi to say, "Oh, shit," as he began to take off running his partner not too far behind.
Shikamaru released his jutsu and wasn't surprised when half of the puppets began to move to attack Mizuki's partners. Temari opened her fan and blew the other half their way as well. She was pleasantly surprised to see that it appeared as if the puppets had forgotten about them instead opting for the closer prey.
Closing her fan she said, "Alright if we are going to catch up with Mizuki. Let's get going?"
"No," Shikamaru said moving to head deeper into the forest.
"But your team…"
"I know Temari," Shikamaru said his voice strained, "But I refuse to believe Chouji and Ino are dead. Besides we have a job to do and if I remember correctly there was a structure somewhere in the area that also served to test Academy instructors. I'm betting that is where Mizuki got the equipment to outfit the puppets. It is probably where they are also going to meet up. We'll head there first and set up a little ambush of our own."
"But…" Temari tried to say knowing he was right but still didn't want him to suffer later from the doubt of wondering if he could have done something later.
He gave a weak smile that told her he appreciated her effort but said, "On top of that Mizuki is looking for a Hyuuga and the only one in this section of the woods is the absolute last one he is going to want to run into."
"Does this have to do with why Naruto left the village? And what's his connection to the Kyuubi," Temari asked.
"I can't answer that," Shikamaru said, "However I can say that your brother and he are similar in many respects."
Temari understood what Shikamaru was trying to get across to her. Recognizing that they were wasting time she nodded her head before letting him know she was ready to go. A few moments later they both took off heading for the building they believed was serving as the gang's gathering point.
Mizuki was really sick of the youth of the Leaf Village as again and again they kept messing with his meticulously crafted plans. First, the Kyuubi brat screws up what should have been an easy kidnapping and now despite breaking out two of the toughest monsters being held in captivity he was playing nursemaid and had to track them down. Not to mention that the Demon Brothers still hadn't returned to the rallying point that they had set up.
Making his way to where he had left the Ogre brothers, so that he could collect them since he wanted their muscle with him for the long trip to Kumo. As the Nara kid had really rattled him. Since he figured that if a thirteen year old knew what his goal was that somebody like Kakashi definitely would figure it out once he realized he hadn't ran like the rest of the escaped prisoners.
Despite his mind not being solely focused on his surroundings, months in prison had helped him to hone his ability to sense attacks. Which was why, he not only managed to avoid the incoming fist but kick the attacker away. When he saw his attacker was a Hyuuga he allowed himself to grin from ear to ear. Despite not having seen her for years and that the last time he had she still had still been the shy little princess of her clan. He recognized that he was now face to face with Hinata Hyuuga, even with the glare she was directing at him.
Walking towards her, his arms spread out making him appear to be harmless he said, "Been quite a while, hasn't it Hinata?"
All he received was an intensifying of the girl's glare in response. "I see somebody must still be upset with the little trip I arranged for her dear Naruto. Hey the way I hear it you should probably be thanking me. I mean really, one-on-one personal training with a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist Village. Do you really think that he would have received anything nearly so good in the village where he was seen as nothing but that damn Kyuubi brat?"
That did it for Hinata who went charging in as she let her anger at the man who had been standing smugly as he admitted his crimes to her. From her perch Sakura cursed as Hinata broke with their plan to lure Mizuki in so that she could ambush him. However instead of rushing in she began moving to a better spot to support her, incase Hinata ran into trouble.
Hinata knew she was making a mistake tactically as she closed the distance with Mizuki. She also figured Sakura was probably cursing her right now. But she just hadn't been able to stop herself, listening to him sound so pleased with himself about separating Naruto from the village and from her. Reaching Mizuki she attempted to hit him in the solar plexus with a Jyuuken Strike. However, he moved out of the way amazingly fast catching her arm around the wrist before bending her arm back. Before she could attempt to get out of his grasp he spun delivering a kick to her stomach that knocked her back several steps.
She recovered but it was because Mizuki made no move to follow up his attack. Returning to his relaxed posture he said, "Must have touched a nerve. Is that it? Sure I know it must have been tough to think he died for you." Taking a step closer he said smugly, "I still remember how you were so distraught to find him…"
"Then maybe you remember me," Sakura shouted as she jumped towards him fist pulled back ready to bring some serious pain. But much like before Mizuki's reflexes proved equal to the task catching Sakura's arm before slamming his knee into her stomach. He then brought a hammer fist down on the back of her head knocking her to the ground. Hinata moved in before he could bring his foot down on the back of Sakura's neck, forcing him back a couple steps before he lashed out with a quick jab that caught her in the eye stopping her cold. Spinning, he kicked her in the side of the head sending Hinata rolling away.
"Oh I remember you alright Sakura," Mizuki said indifferently, "You know what I remember? That I assigned you to Hinata's little team for that field trip because you were a worthless kunoichi in training that nobody would miss."
Sakura was working herself to her feet but before she even got a knee planted on the ground Mizuki closed with her kicking her in the chin knocking her up into the air. His next blow caught her in the stomach smashing her right back down into the ground. Hinata tried to attack while his back was turned but he moved out of the way again by side stepping. Grabbing her outstretched arm he flipped her over his shoulder slamming her into the ground right next to Sakura. Her feet near the apparently unconscious pink-haired girl's head.
"I suppose I really should thank the Kyuubi brat," Mizuki said placing his foot down on Hinata throat, "Do you want to know why?" Hearing only Hinata's struggling as she attempted to breathe he said, "Sure you do. The reason is, apparently sitting behind a desk wiping you brats' noses made me rather weak. Nothing toughens you up like months in prison. Not to mention all the missions I was forced to take for six years, due to my being demoted to genin."
"But it hasn't stopped you from giving boring lectures," Sakura said knocking his foot off of Hinata's throat with a kick before bring her leg around into the back of his knee causing him to stumble forward. As he fell, Hinata's own leg came up, kicking him square in the face knocking him backwards.
Rolling to his feet he said, "Playing dead you little bitch. Fine next time I won't go so easy on you."
"My thoughts exactly," Sakura said running forward to give Hinata time to recover.
Mizuki waited for the charge and jumped back at the last minute as Sakura buried her fist into the ground. He grinned as the girl missed so bad she actually punched the earth, which faded as the area in front of her erupted into dirt and dust. Before it settled the pink haired girl charged through it attempting to catch Mizuki as he landed. She missed as he rolled under the punch and was glad he did as the tree she hit in his stead exploded.
Trying to get into her mind as he had Hinata's to through her off her game he said, "Impressive, for a nobody that is. All that strength doesn't count for much if you can't connect."
"Face it, both you and Hinata can dress it up however you want," Mizuki said, "But underneath it all you are still the worthless little girl and stuttering wall flower."
Hinata as she tried to get breath into her lungs passed her abused throat thought, "Is he right?" But as quickly as her doubt returned she banished it. Getting back to her feet the confidence she gained from six hard years grew stronger, "No, I'm Hinata Hyuuga and although I may no longer desire to become Hokage when the time comes to chose one my name will be mentioned."
Standing proud, she could see that much like with her before Mizuki's taunts were making Sakura mad and reckless with her blows. When Sakura was knocked back by a punch, Hinata took the opportunity to get in between the two. "Sakura," Hinata said confidently, "Please stay out of this."
Sakura saw the change in Hinata's stance as it appeared more confident and regal. Conceding that she too needed to calm down nodded her head saying, "Kick his ass Hinata."
"Really do you think you can," Mizuki said softly first before shouting, "Then come on."
But Hinata was done playing Mizuki's game. In her rage she had forgotten the first rule her father had often taught her. It wasn't always the stronger fighter that won but the one that could remain calm and focused. Holding her position she said sounding every inch the superior princess that many people would assume her to be, "You talk a great deal about how weak and shy I was back then Mizuki. However I have changed unlike you. You are still nothing but a two time loser who keeps dreaming big, but whose skills are far too inferior to make those dreams a reality."
Mizuki's face hardened, losing any of the indifference it had been displaying before. "I'll show you who's a loser you little bitch. By the time we get to Kumo you'll already be doing your future duty of popping out little Byakugan kiddies as I'll have already taken care of making sure you are carrying my bun in your oven."
Normally Hinata wouldn't let her emotions show. However, she knew in this case. The disgust that she felt at the mere mention of carrying Mizuki's child appearing on her face would send him right into a frenzy. No sooner had she let her face slip into one of revulsion then did the former instructor growl while charging at her. She kept the smile from her face as she took a step back slipping from her Gentle Fist into the Hard Fist. She was confident now that her head was clear she could have easily defeated the man with a well placed Jyuuken Strike and while she knew it would sting she really, really wanted to hurt Mizuki.
If Mizuki cared about her sudden stance change, he didn't show it as he continued barreling in towards her. She waited until the last moment to dodge the wild punch he threw. Grabbing his extended right arm she twisted and locked it straight out. Before bringing her elbow up connecting underneath his own and breaking it at the joint. He tried to kick at her, but she let go dancing backwards. Trained to read an opponent's body language she knew that doubt had entered Mizuki's mind about exactly how tough the Hyuuga Princess was. Not seeing a reason to keep him guessing she advanced on him letting a small smile grace her lips at the position Mizuki found himself in. The smart thing to do was to run due to his broken arm; however she knew that his desire for a better life in Kumogakure kept him there not willing to admit defeat. To admit that Hinata's statement about him was far more accurate than his own about her.
Closing with him, she made sure to exploit the broken arm often. Attacking that side of the body with blows, which unlike the gentle taps of her Jyuuken were designed to break bones. And as a result of her Byakugan, she was able to see happen in all its glory. Eventually, after being knocked back from the small girl and coughing up blood positive almost all his ribs were broken he was forced to admit that it was a fight he could no longer win.
Throwing one last, "This isn't over bitch, you haven't heard the last of me," he turned only to come face to face with Sakura who nailed him in the jaw. Although it was a solid blow and sent him flying. It was nowhere near as powerful as she was capable of as his head was still attached to the rest of him. Mizuki crashed into a tree hard enough to break it and cause it to topple over.
After haing had to move to the side to avoid the flying ex-instructor, Hinata said, "I thought you were going to let me handle it."
"What," Sakura replied, "I did, but I deserved to get a shot in too you know. He did place me with you because he viewed me as expendable."
Hinata smiled lightly before moving to place a Chakra Repression Seal on Mizuki and asked, "What should we do with him?"
Looking at the fading light Sakura said, "We should begin heading back to the village. It's almost dark and Tsunade didn't want the genin out here searching at night."
The pair began traveling back to Konoha with a hog tied and gagged Mizuki. Both glad that it was getting dark so that when they did cross the gates of Konoha that they would be there when Mizuki realized that the gig was up and that he had gambled again and lost.
When they crossed the gates they threw Mizuki at the ground near the hastily erected holding pen which was where other captured prisoners were being kept. They moved to report to Shikamaru who was in the process of explaining to the Hokage how Temari and he had captured the bound and gagged pair of Junzo Chuda and Zeshin Asako. The story pretty much broke down to, that by the time they had escaped the puppets and made their way to the rallying point the gang had set they had been easy pickings for the duo.
Tsunade accepted Shikamaru's report before noticing the approach of the bloodied and bruised kunoichi. When she saw who they had dropped off at the holding pen they had erected for the prisoners she smiled not just that the master mind of the prison break was once again in Leaf custody but by who had brought him back. She motioned for the Anbu to bring Mizuki forward holding up a hand to stave off Sakura and Hinata's report.
When the Anbu threw Mizuki at her feet she said, "Mizuki you have been a busy boy. But all you succeeded in doing was making your situation far worse."
"Do your worse," Mizuki said uncaring confident he was only going to see more time added to his sentence.
"Good I was hoping you would say that," Tsunade said humorlessly, "Mizuki you are hereby accused of divulging an S-class secret and the punishment of death will be carried out immediately."
Mizuki's eyes widened in surprise before he exclaimed, "That's bullshit, what are you talking about?"
"So you don't remember letting it slip to a Kunoichi from an allied village that Naruto is the container of the nine-tailed fox," Tsunade said which prompted Mizuki to immediately turn to Shikamaru.
"I told you if you hurt my friends, I would be the cause of your death," Shikamaru said calmly as Mizuki began to be dragged away for the execution of his sentence.
With the unpleasant business out of the way Tsunade told Shikamaru he was free to go check on Chouji. He left immediately with Temari following in his wake. Turning to the two girls she ran an appraising eye over them before saying, "I'm proud of both of you. I take it that Kiba's report that you were in the area where Chouji fought the Ogre Brothers means you were responsible for their defeat."
"Didn't Ino report in," Sakura asked concerned.
Tsunade replied, her concern for one of her kunoichi easy to see, "When she got here the ordeal that she went through hit her pretty hard. We didn't get much useful information about what happened from her, only that Chouji needed help."
After they explained what happened and the subsequent defeat of Mizuki. Tsunade said, "Go to the hospital and get checked out. The Jounin will begin taking over the hunt now that's dark." The girls nodded to the village leader who went to the Jounin that would be in charge of the hunt for the remaining fugitives giving him the names and descriptions that Ibiki had been able to collect once the prison had been secured.
Turning back towards the village after the Jounin teams dispersed to follow their order. She could still see Hinata and Sakura making their way to the hospital. Although the escape had been a tragedy she was also partially glad for it as it gave her more confidence in the team she planned to assemble around Naruto once he returned. Moving on to the next task that required her attention before she could put this mess behind her, she cracked a small smile as she was confident that judging by the condition Mizuki returned in. That any enemy coming for Naruto was asking for a world of hurt should they run into the two Kunoichi that cared for him.
Ino sat in the hallway outside of the room that Chouji was being treated in. Although his injuries weren't life threatening they weren't slight either. Both his arms had been broken as well as several ribs and he was suffering from a concussion. After the doctors had treated him they had only allowed his family in. Chouji's mother had of course been frantic as she rushed into the room. Choza, his father, had stopped long enough to make sure she was okay before following her. They had been in the room for a couple of hours before the doctors asked them to leave to allow the boy some rest. The first thing Chouji's mom had done upon leaving the room had been to wrap the young girl into a hug and tell her she was very brave. She also thanked Ino for bringing her son back to Konoha.
Choza placed a hand on his wife's back leading her away and sent a reassuring smile her way before moving the woman down the hall. It had been all she could do not to break down into tears in front of them due to her feelings of worthlessness. A couple of hours later Shikamaru arrived. Ino could see Temari hanging a respectful distance back. Ino immediately stood to face him and could tell he didn't know exactly what to say as she had been rather hysterical upon reaching the village and as a result hadn't told anybody anything of value.
Shikamaru after a while of the two staring at each other offered up a, "Hey…"
Ino broke down crying closing the distance between them and grabbing onto him. It didn't matter that they had been fighting recently as he was at least safe and had seen her at her best as well as worse. Although she figured it had mostly been her worse. Crying into his vest she said, "I'm so sorry. You were right, I'm worthless as a kunoichi."
Not sure what to do, he wrapped his arms around her holding her in a comforting hug saying, "Hey come on now. Chouji's going to be okay, so calm down alright."
However, instead of lessoning at the mention of Chouji expected survival the tears increased. Since his effort to make Ino feel better appeared to have failed he settled in to let her use him as a support slash tissue. Eventually standing became too troublesome and he maneuvered them back to the chairs where several minutes later Ino finally fell asleep.
Temari smiled warmly at the scene glad that it appeared Shikamaru's team was going to be okay. Not wanting to be the third wheel she left to head to the hotel she was staying at to pack since she had received a better offer.
"Oh come on stop being a big baby," Naruto said following behind Jiraiya who was still sulking over the trick he had played on him. "It's your own fault for being such a perv."
"I was right, wasn't I," Jiraiya responded with arms crossed and head raised to the darkening sky.
"True," Naruto conceded, "But I blame your book for corrupting her in the first place."
Jiraiya winced at that. He also felt the cold shiver of dread that had been his constant companion ever since he learned that not only had Fū been planning to have her way with Naruto, but that it had been his book that she had studied for inspiration.
Losing his previous haughty attitude he said, "Yeah about that. Let's just leave all that out of our letters back to Konoha okay."
"What why?" Naruto asked, "I want to tell them all about Fū."
"By all means tell them about her," Jiraiya said, "I'm taking about pretty much everything to do with the kidnapping and the reason behind it."
"I don't know," Naruto replied his voice tinged with uncertainty, "Sounds almost like lying to me."
"It's not lying," Jiraiya said excitedly, "It's sparing the people you care about details that may make them uncomfortable."
"I already tried that with Akatsuki remember," Naruto said, "Everybody told me I should have told them from the start."
"That's about an organization that wants you for unknown but probably sinister purposes," Jiraiya said hoping to convince Naruto thereby living to see the release of his next book. "This is about a confused girl that tried to seduce you. Not exactly something I'm sure she wants broadcasted to others."
"I don't know. Sounds to me like you are trying to cover your own ass, oh great Sannin protector," Naruto said cheekily.
"Fine tell them, kid," Jiraiya said, "But when Tsunade kills me and believe me if anybody is capable of it she is. Who is going to teach you jutsu?"
"Well if Granny Tsunade can take you out," Naruto replied, "maybe I should be learning from her."
Wheeling on the boy his face twisted into one of mock betrayal he said, "That's so cold. You wouldn't even mourn your dear departed teacher."
"Of course I would Pervy Sage."
Nodding happily and proudly Jiraiya said, "Good then its agreed we don't mention the kidnapping or anything about why."
"Nope can't do it."
"Aw come on," The Toad Sannin replied whiningly.
Naruto smiled beneath his wraps. Although he wasn't going to lie to Sakura or Hinata, he probably would underplay what had happened. He really hoped that Granny Tsunade would be able to do something for Fū. He wasn't sure what exactly. Maybe put some pressure on the Waterfall council to make them treat her better. Or even convince them to let her stay in Konoha should Akatsuki begin to move against the Jinchuriki. Understanding that their feelings for him had fueled the two kunoichi's rivalry he really wouldn't want the fact that he had seen her naked and that she had wanted to sleep with him to color their opinion of her should that happen.
However, he was probably just being paranoid as Jiraiya was positive that the Taki Council would never let Fū leave the village. But Naruto was sure he'd see the girl again as he was her first friend and he'd help her even if the rest of her village didn't.
Sai wasn't sure why the nameless Root member that served as Danzou's assistant came down to inform Fu Yamanaka to report to Danzou for a secret mission. All that he did know was that it meant that the Root Leader felt that he didn't need to have eyes on Kushina's training anymore. While Kushina was busy with the Ink Clone of Naruto, he created hundreds of ink mice, and had them begin spreading out through the room, as well as the adjacent rooms, and halls searching for hidden means of surveillance.
Once he was positive that they weren't being watched and with the mice acting as sentries, which would return to give him advanced notice should somebody begin to head towards the large open room they used for training, he put his next plan into motion.
Giving the clone she was fighting a signal it suddenly said, "Mom!" Kushina jerked like she had received an electric shock. She looked slightly panicked towards Sai which grew worse as the clone said sounding just as earnest as he imagined Naruto would, "Mom, it's me Naruto. I don't want to fight you."
"Stop it," she shouted although she wasn't looking at the clone. "Sai make it stop."
Sai saw what appeared to be a pained expression on her face which grew worse as the faux Naruto said, "Only you can make it stop mom."
"Don't call me that," Kushina said her voice growing dangerous. Staring right at the pale boy she said, "Sai, I'm warning you stop it now."
The Ink clone moved in between the two saying, "Please mom, I don't know why you want to kill…"
Kushina moved incredibly fast and Sai had no idea what Kushina slammed into the clones stomach until the jutsu violently dispersed the clone covering the walls in ink. However, once the clone was destroyed he had absolutely no problem recognizing the jutsu as she continued on her straight line path towards him. Rasengan spinning in her outstretched hand. Sai stood still not even bothering to dodge not at all sure that Kushina wouldn't kill him. But he was rewarded for his faith that Kushina wasn't a cold blooded killer. When instead of a stomach full of chakra she stopped the jutsu and instead smashed her fist into his stomach.
Kushina didn't pull her punch causing him to fold around her fist. But before he completely crumpled forward she hit him with a spinning kick that sent him into the wall behind him. He was sliding down the wall when Kushina forced him back up and placed her forearm across his throat. Her voice sounding frantic she asked, "Why? Why, would you do that to me all of the sudden?"
"Because," Sai rasped, "Naruto…"
"Don't call him that," Kushina snapped, "My Naruto is going to inherit the title of Hokage from his father. That thing is the Kyuubi, I already told you that."
"If that is true," Sai said, "then I weep for humanity, when the most honest and earnest person I know is supposedly an evil tailed beast."
"Don't underestimate it," Kushina said, "I know the Kyuubi better than anyone."
Sai looked at Kushina in surprise wondering what she meant. Before he could ask she said, "You know if I told Danzou about this…"
She meant to leave the rest unsaid however Sai finished for her, "He'll have me killed. Yes I know."
"Then why?"
Giving the first real smile that Kushina had seen from him Sai said, "Because he's my friend."
Kushina didn't know what to say or do. In truth she liked the boy and had been hoping to scare him straight since the Kyuubi obviously had him fooled as well as everyone else. Finally she said, "I suppose I should thank you. Your right, the Kyuubi would use such a trick against me." She watched the smile fade from his face moving back to her start position she got into a combat stance saying, "Alright I'm ready don't hold back."
Creating another clone, he had it act the same way as the previous one had, hoping to get through to her. However, whatever it was she believed she saw that convinced her that the Kyuubi was in control of Naruto's body must have been pretty compelling. Although on the surface it appeared his stunt had failed he could see that her moves which had been crisp and clean before were just a little sloppy. He didn't smile outright but it was progress as he hoped that through these training sessions she would come to see Naruto as he did. If not, well he had faith Naruto would get through to her.