NARUTO
Nox Noctis Ingredior
Hostage Crisis
The following month for Naruto was in and out of training with Jiraiya, Anko and the Third Hokage whenever he was on a break. During which, the blonde would organize day-to-day sessions with his friends, such as training with Sakura and Hinata, taking Kin and Isaribi out for dinner, play days with Haru, taking Mia and Ino out shopping, teaching Ryoko how to cook, and seeing Anko for consultation and experience lessons. Being the energetic, sleepless person he was, he was extremely flexible with his time, even able to write letters to Katsumi to see how she was doing.
Naruto also went out with Temari a lot, really enjoying the company of the golden haired girl. He made a note to spend most of his time away from Gaara and Kankuro, since they were technically on opposing sides in these exams, and they were both training to beat him. Keeping a distance from those who were in the finals was one of Naruto's priorities. However, he was unable to shake off Team Gai as much as he wanted to, as they were currently crashing at his place and using it as their 'base camp', so to speak.
While he would sometimes watch TV with Neji, Naruto would take Tenten down to his weapons hive and show her some of his latest inventions. His innovative use of converting his gauntlet into a kunai launcher attracted the girl a lot, which led to quite a heated make-out session afterwards. Tenten really liked her weapons.
Outside of his social life, Naruto train rigorously. Jiraiya put him through the same training he went through before he made his accidental trip to Mount Myobokuzan when he attempted to summon his animal for the first time. This consisted of increasing his physical strength through repetitive taijutsu lessons, incredible chakra control, which of course overlapped with physical exercises. He had Naruto wear, not only his combat weights, but also had boulders strapped to his forearms, legs and back, and had him run in them. Furthermore, he expected the blonde to keep it up until he was able to abseil with his heavy load through the trees with little difficult, and jump long distances. The first time Naruto tried this was a tragedy under his own strength.
When it came to chakra exercises, Jiraiya stood by and watched as Naruto hiked up the vertical side of a cliff. After falling more then once and hospitalizing himself, the blonde was eventually able to do routines of twenty to thirty times before collapsing. Next to ninjutsu exercises and chakra building and control, Jiraiya also taught him a bit about genjutsu. Though both were abysmal at it, he gave Naruto a formula to create one of his own, which would help him later out in life.
Naruto became inspired by the MC Escher design of the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death that he and his friends got lost in so many times, and began working on a genjutsu around that concept.
When in breaks, Naruto, with the help of Tenten, tried creating some new weapon designs. The blonde wanted to try out some new wrist gauntlets, and Tenten helped him create something from his old design. Ammo tags filled with shuriken and senbon was his main gimmick, and they began working on a revolutionary launcher that could be hidden easily. They had heaps of fun working on it together.
It was on the last week before the final exams that Naruto and Tenten spent the most time together.
Sitting at Training Ground 4 and surrounded by their collection of scrolls and weapons, Naruto and Tenten were sharing a small desk and taking a closer look at the blonde's gauntlet under a magnifying glass. She was admiring the mechanism closely, which was relatively simple, as well as the quality of the pieces.
"Okay… let's see," Tenten said, she stood up from the chair and walked over to the scroll laid out behind them, kunai, shuriken and other throwing weapons lined up. She chose a kunai and flat blade, walking back over and pushing the magnifying glass away. Naruto then moved the new gauntlet into view, adjusted to not only fit his hidden blade on, but also his new kunai launcher, chakra cuffs, claws, nano wire and grappling hook. It was a completely new Batman concept, and they loved it so far. "This prototype should do you just fine! You won't have to remove any fingers for any of the more dangerous mechanisms to fire out from under your sleeves, and the actions are just as quick."
"Leave it to you to make me a new watch!" Naruto chuckled, the pair grinning at each other.
Tenten assembled the gauntlet like a pistol, opening the compartment under both the launcher and hidden blade. "It should be simple enough for reloading. If your hidden blade snaps, you can replace it the same way you reload your scroll cartridge. Jamming for the launcher shouldn't be a problem either, just pull back on the slider."
Tenten picked up the new weapon and cuffed it around her hand. She walked over to the firing range, where they had set up a few targets by the three logs in the middle of the field, just waiting to be used. Taking aim with her right arm, Tenten pulled the trigger and, with a loud bang echoing out like a crack of thunder, the kunai was launched at a high velocity through the air at the targets. The projectile hit the dummy square in the chest, with the girl smirking and lifting her firing arm back up, satisfied.
"May need to adjust the sights and elevation by five degrees," Tenten said. She was about to bring it back to the table, but spun back around and consecutively fired off ten more rounds, each of them hitting the three dummies, puncturing them, and tearing them to shreds. The brown haired girl blew on the barrel and turned back to Naruto, who was grinning in delight. "That's the stuff… you sure have an awesome concept here…"
"If you want, you can have it. I can easily make a second one," Naruto said, picking up his old gauntlet. His kunai launcher only fired single shots so far and just had the hidden blade with a secret scroll and soldier-pill compartment. He could make do with it until he replaced it with a final version of their new prototype. "Consider it a 'thanks'…"
"N-Naruto… I can't take this," Tenten whispered, walking over to him while caressing the gauntlet on her wrist. "It was originally your design, so it's only sensible that you should have it…"
"I've been meaning to give you a present like that for some time. An item with so much work put into it is definitely worth giving to someone else," Naruto added to this by then pulling out something from behind his back. Tenten nearly jumped when she saw it, not noticing it before now. The blonde walked up to her and held out a staff weapon to her with a chain and scythe blade at the end. He grinned at her. "I… also… had something else I wanted to give to you. I noticed earlier that you were really adept at using long-range and chained weapons, so I figured a Kusarigama I designed myself would be a great present for you."
He handed it to Tenten, who took it and looked down at it in admiration. The long staff was engraved with all sorts of wonderful patterns, with her name inscribed in the middle. The gauze handles and the way it all just came together in black and gold was spectacular. Smiling, she looked up at Naruto, eyes twinkling with delight.
"Naruto-kun…"
"For the first time ever…" the blonde replied, smiling a half-smile. "I actually knew what to get someone as a present. For Jiraiya I got him a tie and Baa-chan some socks… which… was kind of a disappointment, even for me…"
Tenten giggled and, dropping the weapon, she leapt at Naruto and hugged him tightly, giving him a deep kiss. The blonde nearly fell back into the table if it wasn't for his newly acquired balance, and he returned the kiss enthusiastically. After a minute or so in embrace, Tenten pulled away with tears stringing her eyes.
"You are too kind, Naruto-kun," Tenten exclaimed. Naruto grinned back at her.
"I try my best…"
After packing away all their materials for the day, Naruto escorted Tenten back home. It was a long way across Konoha, but they made every second count as they strolled through the neighborhoods, poking fun at Asuma and Kurenai when they passed them, and even walking passed Sasuke on one of his mid-day broods. Eventually, the two of them were striding up the footpath to Naruto's estate.
"How do you think you will go in the exams, Naruto?" Tenten asked, looking at the young teen thoughtfully. "I mean… you're fighting the strongest guy right off the list. That's gotta be tough…"
"I've been training for it, so don't worry," Naruto smiled back at her. "I'm pretty confident in my abilities now, getting lessons from Ero-Sennin and Anko-sensei has really helped me out."
"You look stronger," Tenten commented, looking him up and down. The fact that he was wearing a black, long-sleeve, tight t-shirt, a red vest and blue pants, showed off quite a bit of his build. He had a nice posture, his shoulders were a bit thicker then she remembered, and he looks to have grown a centimeter. "Man, you must have a really healthy lifestyle."
"I'm pestered by Lee and your sensei to get into the 'springtime of youth', as they so passionately call it, twenty-hours a day, so it's no surprise I'm in such unusually good shape. To some people, I just seem to make random jumps in my condition every time I meet up with one of my old teachers, I go out for one of my nightly errands, or I just rest for the whole day," Naruto informed, emphasizing this fact through use of hand gestures. "Plus, I'm living with Sakura and Hinata now, perhaps two of the best kunoichi with medical talents in this village."
"I should probably get some lessons from Sakura… get some first-aid techniques in with my combat skills," Tenten shrugged, putting her hands behind her head as Naruto had his hands in his pockets. "Could be useful?"
"What are your dreams and ambitions for the future anyway?" Naruto asked curiously, glancing over at the girl. "You… never really mentioned what you would like to accomplish in your future…"
"Well, since you're asking," Tenten smiled at him. "I want to become a strong kunoichi like Tsunade-sama! I've looked up to her ever since I was little. She is my idol…"
"Oh wow. That's a pretty good goal to be striving towards," Naruto replied, looking ahead of him again and up the road towards his house now coming into view.
"What about you, Naruto-kun?"
"Me?" The boy shrugged. "Well… I want to grow up into a powerful shinobi, like Ero-Sennin, my dad or even my mum. I've got a whole bunch of people I look up to, because they've helped me throughout my entire life…"
He unexpectedly stopped walking, and stared up at his estate, pulling his hands out of his pockets. Tenten looked at him oddly, and then looked back towards the building they were heading back to. They stood there for the next few seconds, looking at the building, with the member of Team Gai looking at the blonde in confusion.
"What is it…?"
"Something is wrong…" Naruto furrowed his brow.
Without another word, he sprinted forward, rushing up to his home with Tenten hot on his tail. It only took them under a minute to reach the main building, and after dashing up the stairs, the blonde burst through the door, kunai at the ready. Tenten was at his side seconds later, scythe drawn.
As soon as they burst in, the pair of Genin was shocked to find the entire lounge and interior of the building in ruin. It wasn't like the time Naruto came home and found his kitchen on fire and the rest of the place in shambles after one of Zabuza and Anko's huge parties, this state was different. It was as if a hurricane had just blown right in and made itself at home, before leaving without a trace. The lounge room was a wreck; curtains torn up, wallpaper ripped away, the wood work burnt and chipped, and all his furniture was over turned and destroyed. Furthermore, there were splashes of blood everywhere, with the sights of bodies littering the place. The unconscious forms of Neji and Lee were deposited in the room, beaten badly, cut up and bleeding, both of them lying around the couch area in front of the destroyed television. Kin was also lying unconscious several meters away near the staircase, along with Isaribi and Anko.
Horror struck, Naruto rushed over to check on his friends, while Tenten ran over to her teammates.
Relieved that Kin was still alive; he helped her into his lap, caressing her head in his hand. The girl, reacting to his touch, slowly opened her eyes and looked up, to see her savior standing over her.
"Kin! Thank Kami… you're okay. What happened?" Naruto asked, sweating nervously.
"Naruto-kun…" Kin groaned and tried to get up, but found she was unable to. However, as long as she was still alive, there was at least one thing she could still do, and that was warning him. "R-Run…"
"Huh?" Naruto looked up, seeing Anko struggling to her feet as well, blood dripping from her mouth and kunai impaled in her back. She glared up at the boy, eyes wide.
"RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" his teacher shouted.
All of a sudden, there was a loud whoosh and a gust of wind, Naruto leaping back with Kin in his arms. Jumping away, he avoided a blur and the sight of an unknown assault suddenly appearing out of thin air and lashing where he was standing seconds before with a clawed hand. The masked assassin disappeared into thin air again, just as Naruto landed.
As soon as he did, he looked over at Tenten to see her looking up in surprise as well, while cradling Lee in her arms.
"TENTEN! EYES OPEN! WE'RE NOT ALONE!" he shouted.
Tenten nodded and, taking lee, dragged him to where Neji was, and rested his head on a pillow. The Hyuuga was conscious at this point, and struggling to get up.
"Neji! What happened here?" Tenten asked, helping the boy sit up against the overturned and torn up couch. The boy, huffing in agony, gripped his cracked ribs and looked up at his teammate, blood dripping over his eyes.
"T-They were so fast…" Neji wheezed, looking around them. "M-masked ninja… powerful ones … t-they came out of the basement… and started ripping the place apart…"
Tenten looked up at Naruto, seeing him looking around wildly. Cautiously, the blonde moved around the room to where Anko was and dragged her to her feet and over to Isaribi. The girl was knocked out but not that badly damaged. He helped her over to the stairs and, making sure both she and her teacher were comfortable, returned his eyes back to the lounge room.
"Didn't you hear me brat? Run!" Anko coughed out.
"Not until I find out exactly who is responsible for this!" Naruto hissed, getting to his feet. He flicked his wrist and his hidden blade shot out, and he looked around the room. "SHOW YOURSELF!"
Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind again caught his attention, along with a strange chiming. The blonde wheeled around and glared at the empty airspace, next to the entrance leading down one of his many hallways. There, he saw a shadowy figure appear, and then disappear, then reappear, this time closer. The silhouette of the person vanished again, with Naruto furrowing his brow.
"Flash step… one of my dad's techniques… but much more primitive…" Focusing his glare, Naruto glanced to his left, seeing the figure appear, then reappear.
A second later, Naruto heard the figure approaching again, thanks to the sound of rushing wind. Gritting his teeth, the blonde lunged forward and thrust his right arm out, connecting with the head of the fast moving target. The punch effectively clothes-lined the mid-running individual and knocked him flat out. The body flipped through the air and crash landed face first behind Naruto, the blonde looking down at it after withdrawing his fist. Seeing it trying to get up, the Genin dropped a knee on its back, pinning it, then thrust his hidden blade into the back of its neck, impaling and killing the assailant.
"What is it?" Tenten asked, rushing over to the blonde.
Naruto rolled the body over and stood up. He saw that the adult wore a black shinobi shōzoku, the most common form of ninja kimono, with split toe sandals, gauze and face mask. However, there were modifications to it. The assailant wore grey, plastic ANBU armor all over its body, including shin guards, arm braces, chest and torso armor, back armor, and shoulder plates. The gloves worn by the person had five inch, long steel claws protruding from the fingertips dripping with paralysis poison. The person also wore a white porcelain mask with a snake on it and a breathing apparatus similar to what Amegakure shinobi wear.
The markings on the mask designated it to be a Sound shinobi.
"Sound Ninja…" Naruto growled, gritting his teeth.
"I know… what they are…" Kin rasped, Naruto and Tenten looking over at the girl lying against the wall alongside Isaribi. Struggling to look up, the girl focused all her attention on the blonde. "T-They are… Orochimaru's failed experiments… turned into ruthless killing machines called Cobras. H-He enhanced and modified their bodies… with a level one Cursed Seal mark… and gave them stolen jutsu to make them… more dangerous. They have no conscious… no free will of their own. They're just drones… expendable soldiers…"
"Well, for failed experiments, they're incredibly fast," Naruto said, glaring down at the body.
"T-They overwhelmed us," Anko hissed getting to her feet and gripping her stomach. "They blasted their way in through the basement… from the emergency tunnels of Konohagakure. We didn't even realize… they had entered the perimeter… till they reached this floor. There were more then five dozen of them… they just stormed the place."
"What did they want?" Naruto asked.
"I… I don't know…" Anko huffed, gritting her teeth. "But they… disappeared… when they couldn't find… what they were looking for… and ran off into the village…"
"Damn it!" Naruto growled, kicking the body angrily. "They're obviously here for something… or somebody… fuck…"
"Naruto…" Tenten grabbed the boy by the shoulder and shook him. When he looked at her, she gestured him towards the corridor, and he turned. He was shocked when he saw Zabuza leaning against the wall, covered in blood and gravely wounded.
Panting, the large swordsman staggered over, clutching his left arm or… what looked like his left arm. His limb had been broken in several places and was hanging limply at his side, wrapped up in the gauze used for his mask. His right leg was also screwed up, holes puncturing his thigh. Slouching over, he collapsed to his knees, kunai and shuriken seen lodged in his back, as if he was used for target practice not too long ago. Naruto quickly ran over, and steadied the man before he could fall.
"Kami, Zabuza…" Naruto checked the man's wounds, and aside from his dangling left arm, he was okay everywhere else. "Holy shit… what the hell happened to you?"
"You fucking… missed it… by that much…" Zabuza choked out, glaring up at the boy, his right eye clenched shut. He had a huge gash right across the right side of his face, his eye effectively blinded and gone. "S-Sound Ninja… I killed twenty five of them… b-but… one of the enemy… got me… one-on-one…"
"Who?" Naruto asked, with Tenten rushing around and grabbing whatever material she could find. Running over, she used the padding from the seat cushions and the curtains as gauze, and helped bandage up Zabuza's eye and arm.
The man hissed at the pain, but bit it back and looked up at his friend. "A woman… white hair… big boobs… you may have met her before…" Zabuza panted out. "She carried a rifle on her back… a Western Weapon… and has a Byakugan in her right eye…"
Naruto's eyes widened when he realized who it was and looked up in shock. He collapsed to the floor, with Tenten looking at him with great concern.
"Kisarabi…"
"Who is it?" Anko asked, looking over at the blonde. "Who is the bitch?"
"Kisarabi: a bounty hunter from the East, a ruthless and coldblooded mercenary whose only loyalty is to money and the highest bidder. She's hardnosed… relentless… and extremely dangerous, considering the fact that she can kill you from six-hundred meters away and no one would even know she was there. That woman is the one responsible for killing the Fuma Clan's leader and leaving the rest of them to rot for the next few years… she's that cold…"
"What do you think she is after then?" Tenten asked.
"I fought her head-to-head," Zabuza coughed, looking at the blonde weakly. "I managed to… wound her badly, but she was still able to… take me down when she managed to get behind me. She took my sword too…"
Naruto looked at the dead Sound Ninja, then around his home. Judging from the extent of the damage, they were here briefly, and had searched every single room to. After some quick thinking, he stood up and looked over at Neji and Lee, both of them regaining their bearings.
"It was a breach and clear raid… they didn't kill you guys, and focused more attention on the rooms," Naruto looked around, scratching his chin. "If they're Sound Ninjas working for Orochimaru, then they must be after someone he wants for his experiments. Someone…" His eyes widened when a figure popped into his head and he wheeled around to Anko. "WHERE'S HARU!"
The Hokage's Office…
"Who's that?" Little Haru jumped up, pointing at one of the photos of the Four Hokage of Konohagakure. Hiruzen Sarutobi was babysitting the young Rinnegan girl today, along with Ino, Haku and, rather begrudgingly, Sasuke, all of them sitting around the office and showing the little girl the place, while taking a break from her boundless energy displayed so far today. She was currently bobbing up and down on the couch, looking up at the pictures of the four most distinguished ninja to ever grace the Hidden Leaf, and tiring the group with her laughter and curiosity.
"That would be Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaf and one of its founding fathers. Out of all the Hokages, he was one of the most important and most powerful ninja in all of Konoha's history, and paved the future for our great village," Hiruzen exclaimed, huffing on his pipe. "I greatly admire the man, since he was the only ninja to ever defeat Madara Uchiha and the Nine Tailed Fox simultaneously, and for the first time in history, establish true peace between the other Hidden Villages…"
"Oh! Wow!" Little Haru exclaimed, before pointing at the second photo. "Who's that? Who's that?"
As the Third Hokage went on pointing out and explaining the rest of the Kages to Little Haru, Ino, growing a bit tired of waiting, sighed and looked over at Sasuke, the boy resting in one of the chairs and chewing on a toothpick. Haku was sitting in the chair across from the Uchiha, almost napping, yet still maintaining consciousness.
"How long do you think Naruto will be out?" Ino asked. "He has to be back sometime…"
"Don't know…" Sasuke groaned, putting his hands behind his head. "The dobe always goes off somewhere, and nobody knows where. It's best just to leave him alone…"
Ino frowned. "He's always gone off somewhere. Ugh…"
"Don't worry; I'm sure he's around. He'll probably stop by to see the Hokage some time today," Haku yawned, covering his mouth his hand. "He said he had a bit more training to do before coming by to pick up Little Haru…"
"Why not just send her to the academy?" Sasuke asked, looking over at the girl, whom the Third helped up onto his shoulders and showed her the picture of the Forth Hokage and himself when he was younger. "She's strong enough to start a career as a ninja, and she sure is strong enough…"
"Naruto feels he should wait a bit longer till he starts training her to become a shinobi of this village," Ino smiled and watched as Little Haru played with the old man's hat, giggling happily and trying the wide brimmed Kage crown on. "He's such a caring young man. I'm sure Naruto will make a great dad one day…"
Just as Sasuke snorted at the girl's statement, the door to the Hokage's office suddenly burst open, causing everyone inside to jump, except the Hokage. With Little Haru still on his shoulders with his hat worn lop-sided on her head, he turned towards the door, as did the two Genin and the Chunin accompanying him in the room.
Much to everybody's surprise, they watched as one of the Hokage's well trained bodyguard ANBU, standing guard over the door, slouched on in, before collapsing face first to the floor with several bullet holes in his chest and twelve kunai lodged in his back. As soon as the ANBU kissed the ground with his face, a white haired woman, accompanied by six Cobra Sound Ninja, strolled on in, her own honor guard slouching as they shoved their way through the one entrance.
The white haired woman walked past the body, ignoring it, and removed her hat, her squad fanning out around the room and surrounding the Konoha Ninja in a semi-circle, with their boss in the center. Just as the occupants in the room assumed defensive stances, the Third Hokage became alert to another intruder and turned towards his windows, seeing four more of the masked Sound Ninja appear out of thin air, and perch themselves on his window sills. The mindless drones hissed and clicked unidentifiable words, their clawed fingers stretching and tapping against anything they could grab, effectively scratching the oak woodwork of their posts.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the one eyeing him dangerously, and frowned as he saw it scratching the window boxing it in. "Be careful, that's vintage red oak from a hundred years back. The First Hokage made these window sills himself…"
The Cobra Sound Ninja hissed back in response.
Looking back towards the front entrance the woman and her guard strolled in through, he also saw four more ninja walk in. He immediately recognized them as the Sound Four from the wanted posters displayed next to Orochimaru's poster, all of them spreading out around the room's only exit, making sure that no one got in or out.
"Fuck me!" Tayuya flicked her sandal of the blood staining her toes. "The bitch sure does messy work…"
"You should give her some credit for working fast too, especially with that injury," Kidomaru exclaimed, folding his four arms at once. "Able to take down Zabuza Momochi so readily… not even we could do that…"
"I don't even see the point of us being here," Jirobo grumbled, also folding his arms. His size meant that he was barely able to fit through the doorway. "She can pretty much handle herself…"
"Shut it, lardo," Sakon snapped, looking towards the old man he immediately recognized as the Third Hokage. "We're here for this very reason… and that's all…"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Jirobo roared, attempting to sock the boy for suggesting his rather obvious weight problem, but was stopped when he spotted the white haired woman glaring at him over her shoulder. The cold stare she was giving him, and the sharpness of her glare promised trouble if Jirobo carried out his action. It literally made him tremble at the sight of her.
"Jirobo, silence yourself," Kisarabi hissed. The largest of Orochimaru's elite guard shut his mouth up immediately and, after gulping nervously, backed up back into formation. Sighing, the woman smiled over at the Third Hokage and bowed to him, quite honored to be in the man's presence. "Hiruzen Sarutobi I presume; Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, also formerly known as the God of Shinobi and the Professor, master of all forms of ninja techniques in Konohagakure. It is truly an honor…"
Hiruzen looked the woman up and down. Aside from the huge Executioner's Blade she carried on her back, the bandages wrapped around her right leg covering the huge gash she sustained in her previous fight, and that her right arm was also in a sling and bandaged up meant little to him. What he was more interested in and paid considerable attention to was the face of the woman in front of him, as well as her reasonably sized knockers hanging right there. Shaking off the blush, his glare turned into his characteristic smile, and he turned to face her fully, hands being placed behind him.
"And you are Kisarabi I am guessing, the right-hand figure of all known criminal organizations, the best bounty hunter in all of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, and the assassin responsible for the fall of the Fuma Clan and the death of Hanzo Hattori, one of the greatest shinobi in all of ninja history. This is quite a surprise…" the Third exclaimed, looking around at her lackeys as she reassumed a proper standing position and slipped her hat back onto her head. "I believe you are under the employ of my former student Orochimaru at the moment, judging from your company…"
"It's a shame that we could not meet on friendlier terms, Lord Hokage," Kisarabi exclaimed, smirking up at the old man. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a cigarette, popped it into her mouth and with a sleight of hand movement, drew her lighter out of nowhere, cracked it open and lit her stick. Inhaling sharply, she pocketed her lighter and grinned up at the old man, spotting her target sitting on his shoulders. "I see you've taken up another job, other then leading the Hidden Leaf Village in this time of crisis. Baby sitting?"
"Temporarily," the Third replied, smiling. "It's for a… friend…"
"Well… it has unfortunately been brought to my attention that you are in possession of another person's property. The child's family has been looking for her for some time, and I have come to retrieve her," Kisarabi informed, holding her only good arm out to the old man, clearly gesturing to the raven haired little girl on his shoulders. "I'm afraid that that girl has to come with me…"
Hiruzen frowned.
It was at these words that Haku, Ino and Sasuke leapt forward to the village leader and Little Haru's defense, all of them with kunai drawn, and best fighting glares fixed on the woman. Kisarabi frowned as well, the Sound Four immediately jumping in front of her and coming to her defense, all of them glaring back at the two Genin and the Chunin standing in her way.
As the forward guard assumed their defensive position, the squad of a dozen Sound Ninja drones took up stances as well, hissing loudly and claws clicking, the soldiers threatening to pounce at any moment.
The white haired woman removed the cigarette from her mouth and blew out a small cloud of smoke, remaining calm and collected in the face of this situation. Popping it back into her mouth, she reached into her left holster and drew what was recognized in the Western countries as a Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol with extended barrel and magazine, a very dangerous weapon for its time. Cracking the slider back, she took aim at the old man and glared up at him from under her hat.
"You are in no position to argue, old man," she stated, tilting her head to the side. "I doubt even you can dodge a projectile moving faster then the speed of sound at this distance…"
"I may be old, but I've still got some moves," the Third replied.
"Not even you, the Third Hokage, can possibly take down an entire squad of elite Sound Ninja, Orochimaru's body guards the Sound Four, and me at the same time," Kisarabi stated, adjusting her grip on her pistol. "You and three brats… don't stand a chance…"
Hiruzen smirked. "No?" All of a sudden, the four Sound Ninja drones at the windows were thrown forward simultaneously when four Konoha ninja burst in through the unorthodox entrances all at once, kicking the enemy nin to the floor and landing on top of them, killing them respectively. Wheeling around, Ino, Sasuke, Haku and Little Haru glanced down to see Naruto on top of one of the assassin drones with his hidden blade driven into the back of its head, smirking up at them. He had also brought along backup; Sakura, Hinata and Ryoko joining him, the three of them crouched on top of their targets, the drones' throats slit.
Kisarabi frowned at the sight and glanced behind her, suddenly seeing two more Konoha Ninja come to stand at the entrance main. She easily recognized them to be Kakashi and Gai, both of them coming to the aid of the Hokage and standing at the doorway with their arms crossed like bouncers. At the same time, the roof above Hiruzen caved in, and all of a sudden, two more ANBU dropped down from above and landed on either side of their Hokage. Standing up with their tanto blades drawn, the pair of elite ninja focused their attention on the intruders. The Third Hokage easily recognized them to be Yamato and Yaguo, two of his most trusted Black Ops shinobi, obviously called in when they heard what had happened from Naruto.
Looking around, Kisarabi looked in front of her again to see the other four reinforcements behind Sarutobi rise to their feet and walk around, all of them fixating their best glares on her. She began recalculating her odds of success here, and found it to be pretty slim with the best of the best of Konoha now surrounding her. With Kakashi and Gai at her back, and the two ANBU up front, she knew that in her condition, and even with the Sound Four, she was no match. Naruto, finally able to get a good look at the woman responsible for destroying his house, furrowed his brow at her.
"Kisarabi… it's been a while…" he growled, the woman turning to him to see him step out from behind the desk and into full view. "The last time I saw you, it was back in Kusogakure, hunting down Nanashi, the rogue samurai from the Land of Iron…"
The woman glared at him, trying to reacquaint herself with the face that was addressing her. After a moment or so, she smirked, chuckled, and raised her head a little bit, unveiling more of her face from under the brim of her hat.
"Nightwalker-kun… it has been a while," Kisarabi exclaimed, giving him a half grin. "A year or so ago, am I right? And if I recall… we both brought that guy down together and split the bounty…"
"Man… private entrepreneurs such as us can't help staying apart for long, eh?" Naruto commented, shaking his head and smirking. "Oh… and by the way, I was able to capitalize on Kabuto's death. Man, that guy just didn't want to die, but guess what…" He threw his arms out. "First place! I beat you to him…"
The Sound Four looked at the blonde in shock, realization snapping to them that they were staring at the very kid who beat Kabuto. Kisarabi was also caught by surprise at this information, but then, shortly after her reaction, a grin crossed her lips and she started laughing again, her gun shaking in her grip as she stared at the kid.
"So it was you!" Kisarabi exclaimed, earning odd looks from the Sound Four. "Man, honestly I shouldn't be this surprised but… wow…" She smirked at him. "Congratulations Nightwalker-kun. Let me buy you a drink next time…"
"Yeah, next time…" Naruto smirked back. However, that smirk quickly fell away, and was replaced by a death glare. "You've got a lot of nerve breaking into my house and trying to kidnap my little sister, you know. Though I understand you're just doing your job Kisarabi, the one thing I cannot tolerate is you hurting my friends and family…"
Kisarabi raised an eyebrow. "Your little sister, is she?" She glanced over at the girl still riding the Third Hokage's shoulders. "My… isn't that interesting…"
Ryoko snarled at her. "You attacked our friends and fucked up Zabuza's arm you bitch!" the red head snapped, stepping forward and reaching for her sword. "I ought to slice you up for that…"
Haku wheeled around, looking at Naruto in worry. "Zabuza-sama…!"
"He's fine, Haku," Naruto whispered, nodding back towards Kisarabi and her goon squad standing in front of her. "I think my friend wants his sword back…"
The white haired woman grinned, exhaling on her cigarette. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you there, Nightwalker-kun. You see, Kirigakure is paying over twenty-million ryu to the person who brings back Zabuza Momochi's head or sword. I think I'm going to have to settle for his prized weapon for now…" she replied, looking around at the guards now surrounding the Third Hokage. "Seeing as that I am unable to fully accomplish my mission today, perhaps we can complete this dance another time…"
Hiruzen raised his hand, his shinobi surrounding him taking readier stances. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to leave, Kisarabi," the Third declared. "You are a Double S-Rank criminal, charged with the murder of several feudal Lords and an entire royal family. I cannot allow you to just stroll out of here…"
"I don't have to," Kisarabi grinned. "I'll happily make my own exit…"
Swiftly, before anybody could react, she spun around and threw her left arm towards Kakashi and Gai. In the blink of an eye, gushing flames roared out of her gauntlet, spraying the entire entrance of the Third Hokage's office. The two Jonin leapt back in surprise, avoiding the bellowing flames that spewed out of her weapon and coated the entire wall and entrance. The next thing anyone knew, she spun back around and tossed a cluster of smoke bombs to the ground, clouding up the entire office in purple smoke.
Everybody attacked all at once, chaos ensuing in the office. The Sound drones lunged at the Third Hokage, but the ANBU guards and the Genin ready met the half way. Inside the blinding dark cloud, Kisarabi rushed forward and leapt over the onslaught. As she abseiled through the air, she swiped out at Haru with her left hand, a scalpel blade shooting out of her finger. She sliced the little girl across the arm, drawing a syringe worth of blood from her as she flew over the battle, and straight out the window. The Sound Four followed suit, charging through the crowd and leaping through the four separate windows, leaving the clouded office behind, as well as the remainder of their drone forces to deal with the Konoha shinobi.
By the time the chaos was over, the Third Hokage's office was a mess, with the over half-a-dozen Sound Nin lying dead and Little Haru clutching her cut arm, sobbing quietly. Sakura immediately got to work healing the little girl's arm, taking her off of Hiruzen's shoulders, and setting her down. She was quickly flanked by the people she called family, Hinata hugging her comfortingly, and Naruto cradling the two of them. In the meantime, the ANBU and Jonin occupying the space around the office approached the Hokage, awaiting instructions.
Slipping his hat back on his head, the Third pointed out the windows.
"ALERT THE BORDER GUARDS AND INTERCEPT THEM! DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE!"
Nodding, Kakashi, Gai, Ryoko, Yamato and Yaguo took off, leaving the Third in his office with the Genin and Chunin. A few seconds later, more ANBU showed up, including the Chunin staff from the floor below who had heard the commotion. When they arrived, they secured the area, and began cleaning up the place. The Third Hokage looked down at Naruto and his friends, the blonde cradling a still sobbing Haru, who was clutching her big brother and crying into his shoulder. Sakura was bandaging up her arm, with Hinata now looking down at them with great concern. Ino joined them shortly afterwards, with Haku also standing by with Sasuke, who was cleaning off his kunai from the two Sound Nin he had brought down, Sharingan fading.
Hiruzen nodded down at Naruto when he looked up at the old man. "I'll have ANBU and a clean up crew wrap up any loose ends at your property. I'll make sure the place is fixed up, the tunnels filled in, and your friends sent to the hospital…"
"Thanks, ojii-sama," Naruto replied, smiling up at him. "I'm so glad you're around, you know…"
Hiruzen smiled down at him, at the same time Haku immediately vacated the vicinity to go check on Zabuza. However, the Third Hokage wasn't entirely settled on this issue, and looked up towards the windows with a look of deep concern etched on his face.
"These times are getting extremely dangerous. But I swear, as Hokage of this village, I will protect it at all costs!"
A few hours later…
Kisarabi and the Sound Four had managed to get out of Konohagakure relatively unscathed, having evaded the onslaughts of Chunin, Jonin and ANBU sent after them, and throwing them off along the way. They made it to the rallying point far outside of the village's defensive perimeter, where their Sound allies were waiting. Walking into the camp, the breach-and-clear team marched towards a cave beyond the encampment of attack forces assembled and readying itself for its attack on Konoha, Chunin and Jonin shinobi alike, scattered around the tents.
Pushing her way through the guards outside the cave entrance, the woman and Orochimaru's elite bodyguards entered the presence of their master and commander himself, upon entering the temporary headquarters.
The Sound Four knelt to the ground and bowed, while Kisarabi marched up to Orochimaru, Yoroi, Guren and Misumi, the four of them standing around the war table. The white haired woman stopped at Orochimaru's side, unshaken by his presence or proximity at all, and looked down at the maps before her. She could see the full layout of the village itself, and the directions from which his forces and the Suna forces were going to attack.
The pale Sannin smirked when he felt his best mercenary return, and without even looking in her direction, spoke to her.
"I see you've failed to bring the girl I asked for…"
"Not exactly…" the woman replied calmly, holding up a vial of blood to him. Orochimaru looked at it, analyzing the sediment of blood at the bottom of the glass tube. "I believe this sample will come in handy with your chimera experiments. Since you pretty much… grow everything fresh at your place… you can make as many little Harus as your perverted heart desires…"
Smirking, the Snake Sannin took the vial, and gestured to Misumi with a sharp head nod. The man walked forward with a brief case in hand, and opened it up in front of Kisarabi. Looking down, the bounty hunter saw that it was filled with ryu, her payment as per requested, a sight that literally had her eyes lit up. Smiling, she closed the case herself and took it from the man's grip, tipping her hat to Orochimaru and his subordinates.
"Our business here is concluded…" Without another word, the young mercenary turned heel, and left the cave, passing in between the still kneeling Sound Four, and leaving Orochimaru to his blood sample and his game.
As soon as she was gone, Guren snorted and looked towards the Sannin, Yoroi and Misumi also smirking.
"She's not a total loss, after all…" the woman sneered.
"She certainly is not," Orochimaru hissed, licking her lips. "I never expected her to accomplish this mission, but I trusted she would pull through some how. That's what I like about Kisarabi… she's resourceful." He held his prize up to the light. "With this… I can grow myself a new pair of eyes… eyes unclouded… and with them, I can see everything in this world, and the next…"
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note:
Kisarabi (from Ninja Girls), originally used firearms in the story to bring down her opponents at long distance, which was pretty cool. Ninja in fuedal Japan were also known to use firearms, but even so, ninja who use rifles and pistols were extremely rare, which is why I decided to introduce a rogue shinobi bounty hunter with this attribute. Kisarabi had a Rasengan technique of her own as well, which is what attracted me into introducing her as cameo in the first place. I tweeked her up a little and gave her a real characteristic bounty hunter flare (sort of like Jango Fett, but much more daring). Because she is so good at what she does, she's not afraid of anyone. Of course, she does have her own small moral code she follows, which is pretty low.
Also, if you hadn't already noticed, Orochimaru now has new plans for the future, which concerns all of the Rookie Nine. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.