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Last time: Naruto returns and kicks Sasuke's ass.
This time: Lots of talking about what to do with our wayward blond and a fight.
"NO! I absolutely refuse to allow that thing to serve as a Konoha shinobi!" Despite coming from Danzo, the commander of ROOT, that was the prevailing sentiment of the council.
"But you cannot deny that without Naruto's help, Konoha wouldn't be standing and I would be dead!" Tsunade protested. She knew that she would have her hands full in dealing with the prejudiced fools, but their hatred for Kyuubi was even more deep-seated than she could have ever imagined.
"Do you honestly think that we couldn't have turned the tide? ANBU would have done the job."
"No." That simple word shut everyone on the council up. Tsunade hadn't spoken, Gaara had. "Uzumaki Naruto saved this village, as did I. Otogakure is functionally gone. There were some survivors, but it is unlikely that they will be able to regroup, and Uzumaki Naruto has driven Uchiha Sasuke into hiding by allowing Kyuubi to break him with a single glance." Gaara fixed each and every council member with his infamous glare. He held their gaze until each one looked away. "If you will let such a powerful shinobi, who is known for his fierce loyalty to your village, walk away, then I will allow him into Suna."
"That is an empty threat, Kazekage-sama," said the councilman with the green glasses. "You cannot allow him sanctuary because of our alliance." That was partially true. However there was one loophole, one that Gaara was about to exploit to its full advantage,
"That is only in the case of missing-nins who have shown open hostility to Konohagakure. Uzumaki Naruto has done no such thing, nor would he ever. Therefore, I am within our treaty to allow him to become a Suna-nin should he choose it." A murmur swept the chamber that village leaders sat in along with the two Kages in their formal dress, complete with sweeping hats. Tsunade shot Gaara a quick look of gratitude, which earned her a small nod from the stoic Kage. It appeared that having Naruto in Suna was just as terrifying to them as him being in Konoha.
"How do you know that the demon hasn't shown any hostility to the village?" Danzo asked, the hatred of Naruto clear in his voice, "He has been an Oto-nin. How do we not know that he hasn't killed our shinobi?" Tsunade had the answer for that one,
"Naruto has told me that he was well known within Oto for wearing his cloak at all times. Only Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke knew of his real identity. There are no records from any of our shinobi saying that they have come under attack by anyone from Oto coming even close to matching that description." The council shifted nervously in their seats. Two of their key arguments against arresting and executing Naruto were gone. Once more, Danzo, who had been named the council speaker for this hearing, spoke one more time,
"Can you disprove what the demon did twenty years ago?" Gaara's voice, when he answered, was low and had bad things promised for the council. If he killed all these bigoted fools, he had a feeling that Tsunade-sama wouldn't care. The terrifying image he was projecting wasn't made any happier by sand that was starting to swirl up around his body.
"You seem to imply that a demon and his Jinchuuriki are one and the same. It is my understanding that Naruto is being discussed here not the Kyuubi. I can tell you personally that a demon host and the creature he or she carries are two different entities. By implying that Naruto is the Kyuubi, are you saying that I am Shukaku?" The entire council began shuddering from the eerie picture of the sand swirling around Gaara and the immense chakra and killing intent he was radiating. Danzo made a signal to the ANBU, but none of them were stupid enough to make a move. They knew what Gaara was capable of.
"We meant no offense, Kazekage-sama," the ROOT commander replied silkily, he would need to be smooth here or he would be crushed by a coffin made of sand. "However, you no longer have a demon, and Naruto…"
"Has tamed his," Gaara cut him off. "Uzumaki Naruto has done what no other Jinchuuriki in history has done. I would have never even dreamed of attempting the same with Shukaku. And I'm willing to bet that none of the other Jinchuuriki in the world have done what Uzumaki Naruto has. If you execute him because of the simple fact that he possesses the Nine-Tailed Fox, I will slaughter you all myself."
"Kazekage-sama, I will ask that you watch your mouth within these chambers!" Danzo shouted. "Are you threatening this council?!" Gaara grinned. It was the insane, bloodthirsty grin of when he had been at his killing worst. Tsunade could see it was a show, but, by the look on Danzo's face, he didn't. Maybe she should find a new ROOT commander?
"But the Kazekage raises a good point," Tsunade spoke suddenly. All attention in the room focused on her. "If you execute Naruto because of that simple fact, you will find all of his friends after your collective hides. Myself among them. You know of my relationship with him." The old farts shifted again. Indeed they all knew. It was well known that the Godaime Hokage thought of the Kyuubi-brat as a little brother. She grinned, just as savagely as Gaara,
"And, since the Kyuubi will die if Naruto dies, I don't think the fox will let you get the chance. You can either harness the fantastic strength Naruto now possesses, or you can try to execute him and get slaughtered by the Kyuubi, myself, all Naruto's friends, and, if his answer is anything to go by, the Kazekage and Suna." She stared at each of them in turn, "Do you believe you can take on an entire village?" The councilmen spoke among themselves, too low for the Hokage and Kazekage to hear. Finally, Danzo turned around, Tsunade was pleased to see the ROOT commander didn't look too happy.
"It is the decision of this council to spare Uzumaki Naruto's life." Gaara and Tsunade exchanged relieved looks. Looks like neither of them would have to follow up on their threats, even if they were semi-bluffs. "However, Uzumaki Naruto must pass one test."
Tsunade cocked an eyebrow, "Oh? And what would that be?" Danzo grinned and it wasn't a nice one,
"He must fight a warrior of the council's choice. If he fails, he will be banished from Konoha. If he passes, he will be reinstated to the rank he previously held before leaving Konohagakure. He will also not be allowed to access the Kyuubi's power. We will see to it that Jiraiya-sama seals the creature's chakra away until the conclusion of the battle." Danzo tilted his head, "Do these conditions satisfy you Hokage-sama and Kazekage-sama?" Tsunade and Gaara smirked.
"Uzumaki Naruto lives for challenges like these," Gaara stated, confident that his first friend would come through with no real trouble.
"The Kazekage is right," Tsunade agreed. "So. Don't keep us in suspense any longer. Who will Naruto be fighting?" Danzo leveled his finger. Straight. At. HER!
The Fifth was stunned. She had to fight her little brother?! Damn these snakes!! She had been too hasty. She should have waited for them to name who the council had chosen. "You cannot be serious!"
"Unfortunately, Tsunade-hime, we are quite serious." It was the old man with the glasses. He'd been one of Sarutobi-sensei's closest allies on the council. Since the Sandaime had been checking up on Naruto since the Yondaime had died, the old man had been in contact with the boy more often than he would have liked and, despite himself, started to see the container as human instead of the demon reincarnated.
"You are also expected to go all out, Hokage-sama," Danzo added. "We will be watching. We will know if you give anything less than your all."
"Is that it?" Tsunade growled angrily at the council. How dare they manipulate her! They were her advisors, not her commanders! She was Hokage! What she said…
'Calm down,' she told herself. 'They have to honor their end just as much as I have to honor mine.' The Slug Sannin smiled cheerfully at the council before leaving to tell the others what was going on. Wouldn't it be great to blow the council's scheme straight to hell? It was clear what they were doing. They were doing everything they could to make sure that Naruto failed. Had Naruto been a kid still, it might have worked, but now he was in his twenties and had been training for five, no, seven straight years! Who knew how much he'd picked up in that span of time?
The Fifth wasn't sure she could beat him. Even without Kyuubi, he was freakishly powerful. Even as a teenager. Now, with five years of living by himself and, obviously, killing by himself, could she beat him? She didn't want to lose to the brat. She'd done that once already and Naruto had the necklace to prove it. The council wanted her to go all out? Fine. Naruto had just better have a greater one hundred percent than she did.
Naruto was having the best time he could remember since before leaving the village! All of his friends had stopped by to see him! Sure he wasn't with Baa-chan, arguing his case before those fools on the council, and he was locked in the Tower, but that didn't mean people couldn't climb through the window Baa-chan had forgotten to close. They were ninjas after all.
"So we had to lug Chouji to the hospital to get his stomach taken care of. Again," Shikamaru finished. Everyone roared with laughter. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been funny, but just being able to talk to Naruto after five years made everything humorous.
"Man, you haven't changed a bit have you, Chouji?" Naruto said, still chuckling. "Eating out that barbeque joint you guys always go to…" he shook his head. He was leaning casually against the Hokage's desk with his arms crossed, but still gave off that aura of constant alert that all shinobi above chuunin had. The other man, still having the same outfit he'd worn five years ago, grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Shikamaru, in keeping with his laziness, hadn't changed either.
"So, Naruto-kun," Tenten asked, "Have you learned to use any weapons?" The blonde shinobi shrugged,
"No, not really, but I know how to use a katana if I have to," he replied, "I tend to use ninjutsu more than anything." Tenten looked a little put out. Would no one share her interest in weaponry of all shapes and sizes? She pouted for show, crossing her arms over her red traditional tunic with gold embroidery and floral pattern on her shoulder. She thought that it went with her navy blue pants quite nicely.
"Really, Tenten," Neji said with a sigh. The girl just couldn't figure out why no one else loved weapons as much as she did. "When will you learn that not everyone likes to rely on weapons?" Naruto cracked a grin,
"You mean like the Hyuuga rely on Jyuuken?" he asked with a supposedly innocent tone. He grinned at the Hyuuga's scowl. "It's true." Tsunade chose that moment to walk through the door. The room broke out into babble all at once,
"Well?"
"Is he good to go?"
"Why do we have to go through this troublesome hearing?"
"Can we eat?" Tsunade held up a hand to silence the stem of bombardment of questions pertaining to Naruto's hearing. The blond himself hadn't said much, heck, he hadn't even moved. He just stared at her with searching and serious blue eyes.
"Well?" he said softly, but the room went dead quiet at his singular word. All eyes turned to her in expectation. She saw hope with Tenten and Sakura. Guarded indifference from Neji, and lazy curiosity from Chouji and Shikamaru.
"The council has decided that Naruto is to fight a warrior of their choosing. If you win, Naruto, you will be reinstated as a genin. If you lose, you will be banished from the village." Ignoring the shocked looks, Naruto simply raised an eyebrow. It was downright creepy for Tsunade to see the blond actually being serious. "You will have no help. Neither exterior or," here she gave him a pointed look, "Interior." Naruto's eyes widened slightly, and one of his hands convulsed on his stomach, the place where Kyuubi was sealed.
"Who am I fighting?" he asked simply. Tsunade sighed. This was the part she didn't want to answer, but it was better for him to be ready than to come and be surprised. If he was surprised, he would be apt to make a mistake that would cost him the battle.
"Me." Everyone's eyes went wide now. No exceptions. Tsunade didn't meet the blonde's eyes as she continued, "Don't ask for me to try and change it. I can't. I agreed to this and the Constitution says that if both the Kage and the Council agree to it, neither party can back out. This is nonnegotiable. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Baa-chan." Those three words made her look him in the eye. She was shocked beyond all words when she saw Naruto's expression. The Jinchuuriki wore a soft smile and his eyes were sad. It was Arashi's smile the night before he died. With his long hair and overall resemblance to his father, it was as if Arashi was forgiving her from beyond the grave. "You couldn't have known. I'm sure that those fools didn't tell you until you had already agreed. Am I right?"
"Yes. They didn't tell me until I agreed." Now Naruto's soft smile morphed into his trademark shit-eating fox grin, shattering his resemblance to his dad.
"I guess I'll have to kick your old and withered ass!" Tsunade was dumbfounded. Was he really that stupid? He had to fight her! And here she was thinking he had matured! Then she spotted the slight shake in his hands as they braced him against the desk and it hit her. He was nervous. He realized the position they were both stuck in! But he was putting on a brave face. Why? Probably so his friends didn't think he was a coward. Then again, it could have been his classic response. The battle with Kabuto from came when she'd first met him to mind. Kabuto's scathing taunts were met only by endless defiance from Naruto. The same thing was being done here.
"Heh. You couldn't kick my ass if you tried whelp!" She responded, with a grin to match his. "I'll teach you to respect your elders!" Now everyone was smiling at the two's antics.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to train." With that, Naruto strode from the desk to the window and leapt out without a second thought. Everyone watched as he moved with easy grace from rooftop to rooftop, never once stumbling like some shinobi did.
'Are you sure you're up to this. Kit?' Kyuubi's voice echoed in his head, 'You're strongest when we work together.'
"I know that," Naruto responded out loud. Sometimes it just helped his thought process to talk out loud to the fox. "But I think I've come to rely on you too much. This is a good way for me to gauge how strong I really am. I'm gonna use the Youkai Kage Bunshin to make sure I'm not tempted."
'Suit yourself.' The Kyuubi withdrew to watch his cage get ready for a fight that, for once, Naruto wasn't looking forward to.
Tsunade was tense, but she was prepping for the fight as well. While Naruto may have been able to fight without preparation, for the Slug Princess, who wasn't exactly in her prime anymore, pouring over the scarce medical records and the mission reports, looking for anything that might give her an edge in the battle. She didn't want Naruto banished from the village, but that didn't mean she would insult him by giving anything less that one hundred percent, and the Hokage knew that Naruto would do the same.
"RASENGAN!" the bright blue sphere drilled deep into the boulder before exploding and shattering whatever was left. Naruto was training with the justu because he hadn't used it for a while. Sure he'd used it to counter Sasuke's Chidori, but that had been the first time in nearly five years. After he'd left, the blond had avoided both Rasengan and Kuchiyose no Justu, knowing that they were both too unique to him and would have led Ero-sennin straight to him. Needless to say, after five years of non-use, his control over the justu was shaky at best.
'Behind.' That simple word from Kyuubi had Naruto whirling around, just in time to catch the ANBU poofing in. It had been close to a week since he'd found out he'd fighting Baa-chan for his right to wear the Leaf hirai-ate. The masked shinobi stared at him and then spoke. His message was short and to the point,
"It is time. Come to the Chuunin arena immediately," a second later and the ANBU had poofed away. Now all the time he'd spent training was about to be put to the test. He sighed and blurred out of sight.
Tsunade was still pouring over paperwork and mission reports on Naruto. There really wasn't all that much to go on. She would probably just have to grin and go for it. Hopefully Naruto would slip up and reveal something. If his recent battle with Sasuke was anything to go by, Naruto was a little adverse to taijutsu, which she was well known for. Naruto would know this, though, and would probably do everything in his power to avoid getting within her reach. A knock at the door made her look up from the report on Team Seven's mission to Wave Country with that bridge builder. Speaking of Team Seven, there was Sakura.
"Uh…Tsunade-sensei, Danzo-san says that it's time. You are supposed to go to the Chuunin exam arena now." Why was Tsunade's mouth so dry? She nodded and stood, walking for the door, wondering what the battle would be like.
Naruto was nervous. And he never got nervous before a battle. How would this turn out? Could he really throw a kunai at his beloved Baa-chan? Would she really break his jaw (and skull in the same blow)? The answer was give to him by no one. Yes. He could to it, and she would be trying to break him in half. He grinned, excited now. This would be one helluva fight. But there was still one thing to take care of.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." When the clone appeared, the copy promptly peeled off his shirt and the real Naruto bit his thumb to make it bleed. Now he inked out a very complex seal out onto the clone's back. It was a Tenma Fuu, a demon seal. Kyuubi called it a simple one. Naruto called it a gigantic headache. The seal was easily more complex than the one that locked Kyuubi inside of him. A lot more complex. More dangerous too. If he screwed up one line, the seal would be ruined and if he activated it, it would do something very bad.
'Looks good to me.' The fox sent Naruto a quick burst of youki and he pressed it to the seal. It flamed a bright crimson before burning itself to the clone's back. At the same time, the gentle pressure in the back of Naruto's head vanished as the Kyuubi's essence was transferred to the clone. When the Bunshin finished twitching and convulsing, it turned around and regarded him. The eyes were red and slitted, like a cat's and the whisker marks had thickened and darkened, now looking like real whiskers. The Bunshin's hair was also a little more wild and fluffy looking, more like fur than hair. Naruto just shook his head,
"This seal is always creepy." He looked the Kyuubi over, "Do I always look like that when you give me your chakra?"
"Don't ask me, Brat, I don't have a mirror." The fox's voice was deep and bass-like. "Are you going to go through with this or not?"
"Yeah. I don't have a choice, and this is the best method I know of to keep me from being tempted to use your chakra." The possessed clone nodded and began to walk off.
"Kyuubi!" Naruto's voice stopped him.
"What?" Naruto reached into his backpack that he'd brought with him and pulled out the cloak he had worn when he'd first come back to Konoha, now minus the Oto hirai-ate plate. He tossed it to the fox, who promptly pulled it on and raised the hood, concealing his demonic features. Now the demon walked off, most likely to find a seat.
"Naruto!" Now it was Naruto's turn to see who was calling him. It was Tsunade.
"Baa-chan!" The Hokage smiled, keeping up a friendly appearance, despite the fact that they would be beating the crap out of each other in few minutes time. The two began to walk into the stadium.
"Nervous?" she asked. Naruto smirked,
"Not on your life. I'll mop the floor with you!" Tsunade laughed and tapped the young man on the forehead.
"I'm not gonna make it easier for you!" The end of the tunnel into the arena floor was fast approaching. They kept up their lively banter, each feeling their heart begin to pound. Now the pair stepped into the blinding sunlight and were met by the deafening cheers of a capacity crowd.
"Did they tell you that there would be spectators?" Naruto murmured.
"No. This has to be Danzo's doing. You can see what he's trying to do right?"
"Yeah. For the ROOT commander, he's not that subtle. He's hoping to see me banished or you KO'd so he has an excuse to execute me." Tsunade nodded, having reached the same conclusion.
"And you're not worried?" Naruto shook his head with a knowing grin and nodded discretely over her left shoulder. When she looked, she saw a familiar cloaked figure.
"Is that you?"
"Sorta. It's Kyuubi possessing a Shadow Clone." Tsunade's eyes widened.
"How?"
"Tenma Fuu. Took the damn furball three weeks to make that one. He says the really complex ones take upwards of a year."
"A YEAR!?" She couldn't believe her ears. Were the seals really that complex? If a simple one took three weeks… Well when you were an immortal demon, time didn't really matter.
A familiar senbon-chewing jounin was waiting for them.
"Are you ready?" Genma asked. He couldn't believe he'd been assigned to this. But what the council wanted, they got. It didn't matter what he thought. He saw their confirming nods. "You both know the terms?" Another pair of nods. "Well then, begin when you're ready."
"I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked, Baa-chan." Both were starting to limber up, running through their various stretches.
"Yeah right. You better hope that I don't get my hands on you." Naruto shuddered, "I'll mess you up." Now the two were ready. They walked to within a few feet of each other. Naruto stuck out his hand,
"May the best shinobi win, Baa-chan." Tsunade grinned and grasped his hand. They released and stood there. Tsunade was allowing her chakra to rise and hopefully overpower Naruto's, making him effectively paralyzed and an easy win for her. Those hopes were shattered when Naruto matched her easily. Hm, this would be tougher than she had originally predicted. And the Fire Shadow had known it would be tough to begin with. Her blond opponent smirked at her,
"You're gonna have to do better than that, Baa-chan," Naruto called to her as their respective chakras continued to rise. Tsunade felt her eyes widening as the chakra match went on. He was almost as powerful as a sannin! No wonder he'd been able to kill Orochimaru! Fine. It was time to stop with this little game and actually get down and dirty.
The Hokage charged headlong into battle.
Naruto could feel the strain in his bones as he continued to try and match the Sannin's power. He kept up a brave face even as he tried to dredge up the chakra to keep on par with her. The amount of chakra the old lady had was incredible!
'Baa-chan hasn't been slacking off for these last five years,' he thought grimly. This was bound to be his toughest battle yet, bar none. 'I'm really gonna have to pull out all the stops to beat her!' His eyes widened as his adoptive grandma sprinted straight at him, her fist cocking back to crack him in the jaw! If that landed, it would make this a very bad day! He jumped away, trying to put a little distance between him and the village's leader. Now Naruto pulled out a single shuriken. Time to show Granny Tsunade what tricks he'd learned while he'd been away. And he would start with one of the Sandaime's favorites!
Sakura let out a small gasp. Or several small ones. She recognized what was happening to her. Chakra paralysis. She was hyperventilating; a side-effect to being is such close proximity to such powerful, clashing chakras. The only way to counter it was to try and match the offending power, but the pink-haired girl knew that that wasn't going to happen. The sheer amount of strength her blond friend had developed was astounding! A gloved hand on her shoulder made her jump,
"Are you okay, Sakura?" She turned to see who had spoken and came face to…err…mask?
"Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here?" The question was stupid, she knew, but she just had to ask. Her former sensei's visible eye curved up in the one way she knew he was smiling.
"I just thought I'd come and see how everyone's favorite knucklehead is doing," he replied with a light tone, giving no indication that he was even the slightest bit affected by the two powerhouse chakras clashing down below. Now his eye grew serious,
"Maybe you should be away from all this, Sakura," he said. "Who is fighting aside, I don't think you're taking the chakra levels very well." That was true. Kakashi could see that she wasn't reacting well at all. In the few moments he'd been watching her, she had grown pale and started to sweat. Sakura was one of the lucky ones though. The stadium had a capacity crowd, no doubt everyone wanting to see the 'fox-brat' get banished from the village. The civilians clearly were getting the worst of it. The masked shinobi could see more that one in the same state as his old student and even more who had passed out.
"No," Sakura replied, shaking her head, shocked that Kakashi could even suggest that kind of thing. "I can't leave." Their conversation was cut short by a cry from the arena floor below them,
"Ninpou! Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The single shuriken Naruto had pulled out and thrown suddenly multiplied into many. Tsunade felt a jolt rip through her as the horde of shuriken spun towards her. Where had Naruto learned that one? Not the time to be worrying about that. She had to dodge. And the best jutsu for this was also one of the most basic.
Kyuubi watched from the shadows of the stands as the brat's shuriken hit the big-chested woman full on. A long canine glinted as the demon's mouth pulled back into a smirk. He could smell the surprise from the woman all the way up here. His smirk vanished when the falling body exploded into a log and fell to the ground with a dull 'clunk.'
He felt a rush of pride when his cage didn't gape and gasp like all the fools around him did. Through the tenuous mental link he still had with Naruto, he felt the boy's concentration tighten and the blond started looking all around for the Hokage. It had taken him damn near three years for the demon drill into Naruto that, when your opponent used the Kawarimi no Jutsu, you didn't gape like an idiot. You got your head out of your ass and started to look around.
"Did you teach him that?" The voice came from behind the fox, but he didn't turn. He had caught the scent of toad oil a few minutes before.
"And if I did?" Kyuubi asked in return. Jiraiya scowled at the demon's tone. Really, no respect from some people. Not that the Toad Hermit had expected it from a millennia-old demon who had come close to wiping out this very village.
"I just wanna make sure that you aren't setting him up with all these jutsu only to sweep him aside in a year or two." The cloaked head turned to regard him and then it cocked to one side.
"Why would I do that?" Damn, how much sarcasm could you load into five words?
"Just answer the question you damn fox. Why Naruto even let you possess him, I'll never know." Jiraiya bit out. "What lies did you tell him, huh?" When Kyuubi spoke again, his tone was laced with the undercurrents of simmering anger,
"That's what I hate most about you damn humans. Always think that we demons tell nothing but lies. Tell me, Toad Man, in your infinite wisdom, did you ever stop to consider the possibility that Naruto and I might have worked out a mutually beneficial deal?" Jiraiya scoffed,
"'Mutually beneficial deal?'" he repeated skeptically. "Since when do demons make deals with humans?" Next thing the old Sannin knew, he was slammed up against the wall by a single clawed hand.
"I should squash you right now, Tadpole." Kyuubi growled, a faint red vapor beginning to surround his form, "But I won't. I gave Naruto my word that I would protect his friends just as fiercely as he would. Normally, you would be right and I would still be trying to find a way to get out of him. But his bastard father made sure I can't do that! Our inner coils have meshed together so badly, this is the only way I can leave. Say what you want about me, Tadpole, but if there are two things I am, they are honorable and pragmatic. I found a way to make the best of my rather dismal situation, and I followed through. We kitsune also keep our word. I told Naruto I wouldn't try to brush him aside and I fully intend to keep that promise." He abruptly released Jiraiya and the old man crashed to the ground. By the time he'd sat up, Kyuubi was already back at his old position, watching the match unfold below.
"But why?" Jiraiya asked, to which he received no answer. Finally he got up and went to stand next to the fox. If he couldn't get a straight answer from Kyuubi, he decided, then he would have to take it up with Naruto at a later time. But it would have to wait until this match ended.
"C'mon, Baa-chan," Naruto muttered to himself. "Where the hell did you disappear to?" He was looking everywhere, trying to see just where the Fire Shadow had gone to. There was no sign of her, and the blond man couldn't pick out her chakra either. For some reason, he flashed on the first match he'd ever fought in, that thrice-damned bell exam with Kakashi-sensei and the original Team Seven. How Kakashi had used Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu to catch Sasuke. A thrill surged through his system and he jumped back.
The earth in front of him burst apart and a fist shot out, aiming for his gut. Thankfully, his jump and the resulting distance increase softened the blow. It still hurt like hell though, as he hurtled across the stadium to smash into the opposite wall with a massive dust cloud following his impact. He was winded and in considerable pain. Every breath hurt. He must have busted a rib or three. Damn Baa-chan's freaky strength! Too bad the furball wasn't here to help heal it!
Tsunade pulled herself from the hole she'd dug. She didn't think she could pull it off, a Kawarimi into a Shinjuu Zanshuu. But she had, and now her little brother was meshed in with the wall on the other side of the stadium. The crowd went crazy at her success in landing the first blow of the battle. Everyone, except those who knew Naruto well, figured that she would win without fail. Tsunade smirked at the notion. It would take more that a little tap to make the Yondaime's son go down for the count!
There was one thing that Naruto never failed to do, and that was to be unpredictable. His use of her sensei's signature jutsu proved that. Even Sarutobi himself would have been caught off guard by that stunt! Now it was just a matter of time until Naruto did something else.
The wait was a short one, no sooner than he'd peeled himself out of the wall, Naruto let loose another jutsu,
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Now, the Fifth was surrounded by a fair number of Shadow Clones, all of them looking ready to go on the offensive. Looks like it was time to show off a new jutsu of her own!
Naruto grinned as he sprinted straight toward Baa-chan in the center of the ring of clones. This particular application served as both a way to make sure than she couldn't get away, and a set up for a jutsu that had yet to fail! Sasuke-bastard had been so pissed the first time Naruto had unveiled it. Just as he caught sight of Tsunade, he skidded to a stop. She had a wicked grin on her face and was balanced on one foot, with the other sticking straight into the air.
'Crap! Not good!'
"Doton: Doryuusen!" The second foot came crashing to the ground with such force that the impact sprayed rocks everywhere. The projectiles, along with the resultant rush of displaced air, dispelled every clone and sent the real Naruto tumbling. When the smoke cleared, Tsunade was standing in a fair sized crater.
'Well, that worked. I never thought that I would be able to make up a jutsu on the fly like that.' A groan caught her attention as Naruto picked himself up, holding his head like he had a concussion. Guilt ripped through the Fire Shadow and she promised herself that she would heal Naruto the first chance she got.
"Nice trick, Baa-chan," Naruto said, just loud enough for Tsunade to hear as he managed to stagger back upright. "How the hell did you do it?" She grinned with a certain amount of pride,
"My chakra. I got the idea from you, actually." At the blonde's puzzled gaze she elaborated, "Normally I would have kept the chakra to a minimum and controlled it. This time, I gathered as much as I thought I'd need and let it all explode on impact."
"Nice. 'Earth-Dragon Strike, huh? Good name. Now let me show you an old favorite." He held a hand casually out in front of him. The air over his palm began to spin and swirl. Everyone's eyes focused on the blond just before the Rasengan fully formed, spinning like a possessed hurricane over Naruto's palm. "I'm not done." He took his other hand and began to tap the swirling blue sphere here and there. Tsunade was confused. Naruto had already shown her that he could do a one-handed Rasengan, so why was he…using… Oh! SHIT! He was going to use his element!
"Fuuton: Rasengan!" Now the sphere was swirling even faster, but with little blades of wind chakra spiking out from the surface here and there. This wasn't good. It that hit her, she would either die or lose this battle, whichever happened first. That new jutsu of hers was literally only a minute or two old! She'd used too much chakra on the first one to think about a second one, and she didn't have enough time to build up for a clone jutsu or a replacement! Just gonna have to deal with this head on!
While everyone thought that Naruto's technique was flawless, the two beings who actually taught him knew different.
"The idiot's lost it." Kyuubi commented, shaking his hooded head, "He's trying that after not using it for five years? Damn fool."
"Five years?" Jiraiya asked skeptically. "He hasn't used Rasengan for five years? And he can do it with one hand?" He mimicked the Kyuubi, shaking his head at Naruto's foolishness. Using the advanced form of Rasengan after five years of non-use? This wasn't going to end well.
"The brat's always had excellent chakra memory." Kyuubi replied, shocking the hell out of Jiraiya, who'd been expecting some smart-ass answer. "Relearning Rasengan wouldn't be that hard for him. The problem is using only two hands for the element manipulation. He's always had to use a Kage Bunshin. Trying like that, now, of all times. He's asking for it." Both human and demon watched with bated breath as the blond sprinted for Tsunade one more time.
The Fifth grinned as she thought of the perfect way for her to counter this situation. Memories of the past would help both of them out now. And this wouldn't take too much chakra either as an added bonus. Tsunade raised her hand, flat like a blade, and smashed it into the ground as hard as she could. The force of her chakra being released sent a huge fissure streaking towards Naruto, who saw it too late and stepped into the void that had suddenly opened beneath his feet.
Naruto felt his stomach rise into his throat as his foot hit air. He pitched forward, and the Rasengan slammed headlong into the ground at the Fifth's feet. An explosion rocked the entire arena as the blond lost control of his jutsu and sent both combatants tumbling head over heels on the blast wave. When the smoke and dust finally settled, both Naruto and Tsunade were lying facedown on the earth, a massive crater in the space between them.
Tsunade grunted as she tried to push herself up to her feet and continue the fight. For some reason though, her body chose not to respond. She was conscious and still had chakra left. So why couldn't she move? The answer was simple, the explosion. The chakra backlash, combined with the blast, had taken its toll on her stamina. Ordinarily, she would be able to stand up, but with the stress of the past few weeks, what with the Oto invasion and her subsequent battle with the Uchiha traitor, added with the lack of sleep preparing for this very battle, meant that she wasn't at 100. A system of events that seemed insignificant in themselves, but added together meant that she couldn't move.
Naruto wasn't faring much better. Baa-chan had been a few feet from the explosion. He'd had it in the palm of his hand! Now he was roughed up, cut up, and with several smashed ribs. Not to mention all the minor fractures that had to be all over his body. He sure felt like it. The blond felt like he'd been run over a few times with Chouji's Meat Tank. His mind felt like Ino had used her Shintenshin on it over and over and over. Simply put, he was whipped. The drain on his chakra had been substantial. Sure, he'd only used a few jutsu, but they were big ones, and, like everyone kept telling him, his chakra control wasn't that great. It was way better than it used to be, but it still sucked when compared to someone who had a similar amount of strength and skill.
"Come on Naruto! Get your lazy ass UP!" the voice made him twist his head to see who the hell was yelling. It was Sakura. His eyes cleared somewhat and he felt the various aches dull. "Are you gonna let this keep you away from the village!? Well!?"
"No," He ground out, answering even though Sakura-chan couldn't hear him. "I can't lose here! I won't!" He pushed as hard as he could to raise his body even a few inches. More cheers greeted his efforts, every single one of them coming from his friends.
"You can do it!" Ino shouted, sticking a defiant fist in the air.
"Since when are you a lazy bum?" Shikamaru asked. He only slightly raised his voice. It was too damn troublesome to yell.
"We can go out for ramen!" Chouji and Iruka shouted together.
"I didn't train a stupid loser!" Jiraiya screamed, so loud that the demon next to him had to cover his ears or go deaf for the rest of his life.
"If you do not succeed, I will kill you." That from both Neji and the Sand trio.
"I'll give you a free katana!" Tenten shouted. Maybe Naruto would like a nice new pointy object?
"The Fire of Youth is with you!" No need to see who had shouted that one. Only Rock Lee would shout that. On and on it went, till the last one had called out to him,
"Become Hokage Naruto-aniki!" The weary blond looked straight up in front of him and saw a grinning Konohamaru along with Udon and Moegi. All three were screaming the phrase over and over. He looked down and somehow found the strength to shove himself onto his knees. Across from him, Tsunade had managed to get to her feet.
'Baa-chan did it,' he thought. He grinned and dug deep down. 'And anything an old lady can do…' A final, desperate shove, and he surged to his feet, 'I can do!' Cheers split the sky as the entire stadium began screaming and stamping, calling encouragement to either Naruto or the Hokage. The two opponents grinned at each other.
"I don't know about you, Naruto," Tsunade called to him, "But I don't have any chakra left! One last blow?"
"Yeah. One last blow to decide it all!" The two ran at each other and drew back. A hush fell over the crowd as duo closed on each other. This was it. Would Naruto stay, or go? The seconds dragged on. For Naruto and Tsunade, the world around them faded as their fists sailed toward the other's face, in seeming slow motion.
They crashed together and the world went white.
Say it with me. CLIFFHANGER! Heh, am I evil or what? Sorry for those of you who thought that this took a long time. I have been home for the last week from college and, since my retarded roommate sold his X-Box, guess what I've been doing? But the good news is I'm starting to get bored with it and that means I should be picking up the pace for both The Dissapearance and The Ultimate Ace. When to expect the next chapter? I dunno, sometime after I update Ultimate Ace. I alternate. Update one then the other. Simple yet effective, no? Read and Review, as always.
Glossary:
Doton: Doryuusen (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Strike). Once again, any Kenshin fans recognize this one? One of my personal favorites, besides Ryuusousen. Tsunade came up with this on the fly to counter the ring of Kage Bunshins Naruto had made. Essentially just like Kenshin's move in the RuroKen manga, except adapted for the Naruto world. Credit goes to Watsuki-san for this. I just bastardized it.
Chakra Memory: Y'know how sometimes the charachters of Naruto do jutsu like Bunshin and Kawarimi without any hand seals? This is my explanation for it. Just like muscle memory except with chakra. If you repeat a jutsu enough times, your chakra remembers how to mold itself, allowing the user to use the jutsu with less or no hand seals than with someone who doesn't use it as often. Original (I think. Correct me if I'm wrong) Concept.
Kawarimi no Jutsu (Art of Replacement): The Naruto vets out there should already know this one, but I'll explain for the newbies. It's when the person turns into a log and goes somewhere else. Everyone in the Naruto universe knows this one.
Ninpou: Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique): Just like Kage Bunshin except with Shuriken instead of the person doing the jutsu.
Fuuton: Rasengan (Wind Release: Spiraling Sphere): Just like Rasengan except with the user's element manipulation in it. Naruto is a wind-type so it's a wind type Rasengan.
Youkai Kage Bunshin (Demon(ic) Shadow Clone): Uses the Tenma Fuu to put Kyuubi's spirit into a Shadow Clone. Downside is that Naruto cannot use any of the fox's chakra and he loses his healing ability.
I think that's all the jutsu in this chapter. If I missed any from a previous chapter or this one, please feel free to send me a PM. All I ask is that you make sure that it isn't referenced in a previous chapter before telling me. If you haven't noticed by now, I only explain the jutsu once.