Chapter 20 - Beyond Control
Sakura raised her arms by instinct when, in a burst of dirt and smoke, Naruto launched back at Muneyoshi. Two Rasengans blazed in his hands, blue-white, and their passage was heralded by a terrifying screech. Naruto yelled something indecipherable, then forced Muneyoshi back with a barrage of wind-elemental attacks that shattered what was left of the surroundings. The wind whipped wildly around Sakura, who watched helplessly as Naruto stormed out alone.
For a moment, Sasuke and she were alone again - but that moment of calm did not last very long. Muneyoshi's Shadow Clones, the perverted versions of Naruto's own, were everywhere, and she and Sasuke were quickly caught up in combat again, although these enemies were more manageable than a Jōnin.
One of the clones, diverted from Naruto's whirlwind passage, turned on her. Sakura could only barely keep in a squeak as she avoided an uppercut that seemed like it could have taken her head off, delivered by a deliriously grinning clone. Before she could retaliate, Sasuke was there - he dug a kunai deep into the clone's chest and tore it apart into smoke and whiffs of chakra. As he passed, he glanced at her momentarily, the corners of his lips turned up, before he launched himself at the next clone in the same smooth motion. He sliced the next one's neck open before it could do anything, and it too dissipated in a wave of white smoke.
Sasuke-kun is so freaking cool!
Sakura ignored her urge to yell or squeal, chastising herself for the distraction though she could not stop the spring in her step as she reoriented herself. With Muneyoshi distracted, she could afford to take a deep breath and rationally consider what to do next. She could not see Naruto anymore; he was the only one out of all of his duplicates that spoke more than a word or two. She knew where Sasuke was, though - he butchered one clone after the other with a skill level of Taijutsu that she could not hope to emulate - not yet. Wielding a kunai in each hand, he flung himself among them without mercy, and his Sharingan whirled madly in the fray.
What do we do to get out of this...? Sakura, not for the first time, wondered what the heck they were doing out here, fighting shinobi that were far higher in rank than any of them, except perhaps Kakashi-sensei - though Naruto was probably up there. A fresh Genin team, barely trained, was pitted against an A-Rank Missing-Nin on their first mission. It was insane. If it had not been for Naruto's preposterous array of skills that he pulled out of absolutely nowhere, there was a good chance that the team would have been split up and beaten down by sheer numbers already. And then there was the Kyūbi to worry about.
Where the hell was Kakashi-sensei? Sakura's eyes roamed through the treetops at the edge of the newly-formed crater, or to what remained of them; for a good distance around the clearing, everything was crushed and snapped foliage. If their teacher was out there, hiding in the bushes, she was not going to find him if he didn't want to be found. It was telling that he let things go on for this long, actually, even on a mission that had Naruto taking the lead - Kakashi-sensei had to have a reason - and she suspected she knew what it was.
A trial by fire.
Sakura sighed. She had to admit that if anyone had a shot at getting everyone out of here alive, it had to be Naruto. Neither she nor Sasuke were throwing around techniques half as as ludicrously powerful as he was.
A huge pillar of smoke dominated the huge crater, a remnant of Naruto's overpowered wind-element attack, and she thought she saw an orange-and-black flash among the billowing clouds of dust, lashing out with a whirling attack that made her teeth ache with its sheer intensity. Naruto was kicking some serious ass.
Alright - maybe he's a little cool too.
Sakura launched herself from behind cover, and her fist lashed out at an orange blot that came too close in his attempt to get back to its master's side - the clone looked at her with a betrayed expression, and for a moment she thought she'd hit the real one - then he popped out of existence, and Muneyoshi was down one slave. She mentally thanked Sasuke for her new gloves, as each of the metal studs that covered her knuckles was already getting blunt and deformed, and she could not imagine what would have happened to her unprotected fists. As it was, blood dripped from under the protective plates, though it did not look very serious. She could take more.
In an uncomfortable moment that sent a shiver down her back, she thought of the Chūnin she had attacked with these gloves - likely the source of the rusty bloodstains that covered it. She had killed that person. She had misjudged her strength, perhaps, but her attack had done what she intended from the start. Sasuke had been serious, and in that moment he had almost been killed - she had done what she needed to. Until that moment, she honestly had no idea she had even had it in her. When it was do or die, though, she had struck.
She would not be the dead weight of the team. Hell yeah!
The thought got her moving again, joining Sasuke in destroying Muneyoshi's reinforcements before they could reach Naruto - the copies were capable, but one-on-one they were just slippery targets, and Sasuke was very quick when he put his mind to it. If Sakura had to guess, Muneyoshi was distracted, and the clones suffered without directions. Using that to her advantage, Sakura forced them together into groups, where Sasuke could wipe them out with even a minor Katon assault.
"Sakura! Stay close!" Sasuke barked, and she quickly followed his movement, glancing momentarily at the cloud of dust and debris as she wondered whether or not Kakashi-sensei would interrupt when things turned sour - even Naruto would have to be tired by now. Ignoring that worrying thought, she flung herself to Sasuke's side, and could only barely prepare herself when she saw him reach for his forearm. With a flash of incredible power, an instant of unbearable heat, a massive blue-white fireball streaked across the battlefield, turning soil to glass and dirt to ash, and it took her only a moment to realize what Sasuke had been aiming at.
Barely forty feet away, far too close for comfort, dozens of clones flickered into existence, trying desperately to escape in a frenzied attempt to prevent their demise - but the thundering impact of the Katon missile utterly decimated them, and added another crater to the landscape, smoking.
"I saw them sneaking up," Sasuke said between laboured breaths, his Sharingan twirling madly. "Genjutsu - I managed to see through it with my dōjutsu, so I got them in time, but..." He winced, rubbing his head. "If I do any more of those attacks, I'll collapse... You?"
"I'm still good," Sakura replied, and she nodded. Using her chakra only for her Taijutsu attacks, even her pitiful reserves could hold out for a little while - and she was pretty sure that a Military Rations Pill would be overkill for her, so she had to conserve it. Normally, those supplies were meant to allow one to fight for days on end, if necessary - she doubted her chakra system could even handle that, and Sasuke and Naruto used far too much chakra to make it more than a stopgap, adding a few minutes to their stamina. "If Naruto can't take out that Muneyoshi guy - he'll just make more clones, I imagine, so it's a pointless fight..." She frowned. "Or does he have to take over each one in turn?"
"I haven't seen him make any new ones at all. I don't understand - where are they coming from?"
Sakura felt a chill run down her back. "There's only one way - he's calling them all back," she said, before she had fully processed that thought. She frowned. "Wait - why wouldn't he make his own, since he's an A-Rank shinobi? If he can take over clones, and he's that good, surely he can -" She glanced at Sasuke in surprise. "The Shadow Clone is supposed to be pretty costly in terms of chakra - so he's using Naruto's because Naruto has lots of it. But, perhaps he can't make new ones without depleting his reserves - or perhaps he can't use chakra? Have you seen him use any of his own?"
Sasuke frowned. "A shinobi that can't use... chakra? That seems unlikely." His gaze lashed over to the centre of the battle-field, to the glassy sheen that he had made with his latest attack. "What about the Genjutsu that the clones used, then?"
It took Sakura only moments to make the connection, and her breath hitched. Between Naruto's observation that the Missing-Nin took over other people's chakra, and the fact that Team 8 had fallen to this man, the answer was obvious. "It has to be Kurenai-sensei," she hissed. "That's how he's doing it - he's copying other people's jutsu and using them! Naruto's clones, Kurenai-sensei's illusion, probably others. He's a copycat, like sensei!"
"If this bloodline was remotely as effective as the Sharingan, it would be famous," Sasuke observed neutrally. "My clan is famed for that very ability, after all." He turned his red eyes on Sakura. "He probably has Hinata and Kiba's skills, too. Assuming that there's some kind of time-limit on it, those would be the obvious sources of jutsu. The fighting style of the Hyūga clan relies on the Byakugan, and this Muneyoshi doesn't have that. Similarly, Kiba's style relies on his canine partner - and Muneyoshi doesn't have one of those either. It's probably why that mutt's missing, since this technique must not work on animals." His eyes widened. "Shino."
Sakura nodded eagerly. "The bugs - this Missing-Nin can't use Shino's techniques without them - and he probably knew it. That's why he took Shino out, then? His power was useless, there."
"No." Sasuke narrowed his eyes in contemplation, and his blood-red eyes sought out Naruto - as if he could see straight through the dust and dirt that clouded everything. "If that was all, then the same would be true for Hinata and Kiba - they also had techniques that he could not use himself. No, I think it's something else." He paused, a strange look passing across his face.
Without saying anything, he took off, straight towards the fight between Muneyoshi and Naruto, and Sakura could only barely snap herself into action to follow him. Clones and vicious wind-blades only barely missed them as they approached, and she cried out. "Sasuke?!"
"Hey, Dead Last!" Sasuke called out. "Naruto!"
The orange-clad definitely-not-a-Genin flung himself out of the huge pillar of smoke, tossing a dozen charged kunai behind him as he went, flipping onto his back as he smashed into the soil next to Sasuke. "...Ow," he muttered softly as he got up. "What's it now? I'm still kind of busy, if you haven't noticed!"
Sakura felt a smile flash across her face, and momentarily wondered why she wasn't more suspicious of Naruto right now - as she had been for a while - but before she could stop herself, she positioned herself between him and a shadow that slowly emerged from the smoke-filled crater. Muneyoshi. One of his arms looked terrible, and he was still bleeding, but a dozen clones still flanked him, staring blankly ahead. Sakura heard whispering behind her - she couldn't quite make it out - but she understood what she had to do. Sasuke needed a distraction to pass on whatever he had realized.
She raised her fists, raising an eyebrow challengingly even as she had the urge to run away, very quickly. She squashed the realization that this man could probably take her out in moments - and grit her teeth.
Muneyoshi sniffed. "Step aside, little girl. I'm not done with the brat." the tall man gestured at her dismissively, and two clones threw themselves forward, wielding kunai as they snarled. "Yes, boss!"
Sakura bristled at the dismissive tone, and her resolve solidified. This guy was not going to underestimate her. Hell no! Not after she had just killed two murderous thugs without even flinching - she had gone this far already, what were a few clones more, with Sasuke and Naruto relying on her?
Before she could stop herself, before the more sensible part of her could put forth an argument to her pissed off side, Sakura took a deep breath and snapped herself into focus, and the irrelevant doubts vanished. She thought of the long days when Kakashi-sensei had nothing to do but show her Taijutsu attacks - since he seemed unable to critique her chakra control - or when he had left her with Maito Gai for a torturous but extremely effective training session. There was no stopping now.
She moved. "Konoha Reppū!"
Sakura flung her leg sideways with as much strength as she could muster, aiming squarely at the clones' shins, and her chakra poured into the attack with such ferocity that she could only barely keep herself from succumbing to the lethargic light-headedness that followed- she didn't have the kind of power that the boys flaunted, but it was enough to pull this off.
The first clone burst instantly, illusory leg severed neatly by the force - the second was not so lucky. It could only just remove its leg from the line of fire - by flinging itself into the air. Sakura's fist launched forward, almost by reflex. The second clone, for the brief moment that it remained, was headless. Then Sakura was surrounded by white smoke, and silence.
She rested like that, arm and leg outstretched, for only a short moment before she snapped back into form, betraying none of the exhaustion that the attack had caused, even as her muscles protested terribly, something that Gai had drilled into her in her first lesson. She seemed ready for another go. It was just intimidation - but it worked quite well.
"H-holy shit," Naruto exclaimed behind her, his whispered conversation with Sasuke cut short, and she smiled.
"Hn," Sasuke agreed, sounding reluctantly impressed, and she felt like she was flying.
Then - they were beside her, backing her up. Sasuke stood to her left, with another one of Naruto's seals tied to his forearm. It was the last one that he could pull off without hurting himself, since he was already overdoing it on ration pills, Sakura reasoned. Naruto stepped to her right, and he had a seal tied to his arm as well, a large and vicious-looking thing.
Sakura smiled, raising her fists before her, attempting to blend in with her teammates quiet fury, and she found it easier than she imagined. She was tired and sore, but she could hardly let her team down now.
So this is what Naruto meant, huh? The new Sannin, with me as Tsunade? She smiled. Hell yeah!
Naruto smiled warmly for a moment, and Sakura knew that he could read her thoughts right off her face. "Well then-" he murmured. "I softened him up a little - let's finish this. Don't freak out - I'll probably be a little loopy after this." He raised his hands to a familiar cross sign. "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Everything was orange.
Gaara stared into the distance with a supremely bored expression, and he had been sitting there in the same pose for hours on end, doing the same thing. The rooftops were warm from the afternoon sun, and if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine being back in Suna - though he had never really been without her - it - present.
Konoha was a strange place, for someone who was so used to the desert. The climate only reached the average temperature of Suna in mid-summer, and the air could get very chilly here. It was something that he had never really appreciated before, since wind touching his skin was a rather new experience in itself. He stared down at his arms, realizing that there was absolutely nothing between him and the outside world right now. And that he could bear that vulnerability better than he expected.
That thought sent a shiver down his back, and his hand gingerly touched the paper seal that covered his seal, keeping Shukaku from emerging. He had tried to remove the seal again, briefly, intent on returning some control to his life, but the intense pain that erupted as he tried it was so great that he placed it back immediately. If the ANBU had noticed his attempt, they did not show it; doubtlessly they had informed the Hokage, however. He was certain that the ANBU were equipped with spare seals in the event that things went too far, as well. Gaara knew it was what he would have done.
He raised his hand, and a thin spiral of sand crawled up his arm, quickly joined by another. The amount was pitiful, but his control was improving rapidly. Not for the first time since coming to Konoha, he wondered whether or not this particular trait was really something he'd received from Shukaku at all. His father had shown mastery over gold dust - perhaps he had inherited it from that man, and his own ability was simply a broader variation of the same theme. He wondered if it would be considered a bloodline ability.
It did not really matter, he reasoned. Either through his blood or his actions, his father had shaped the person he was. A lot of that person was unpleasant even to Gaara himself, now that the haze of perpetual noise and hate had receded. A surge of resentment shot through him, and he closed his eyes, blocking out the sensation with a concerted effort. He knew that he had a lot of things to blame his father for, but he could not afford to dwell on such painful things, not unless he wished to show his weakness in a place filled with potential enemies.
When he returned to Suna, he decided, he would seek the answer.
He turned his thoughts away from such things, considering his confinement - and the fact that his presence here had so far merely been uncomfortable, not painful. He was isolated from his home, among strangers, told to listen to the demands of the local rulers - but he as unharmed, and as free as he could expect to be in a place like this, being what he was. Naruto had been gone for days - more than a week. That boy was really his only link to this place, the only person that he knew a little, and only because he had spent far too much time with his chatty copies.
It was such a stunning contrast to his usual life. He was used to fear and hate in the eyes of people that looked at him, used to isolating himself in the desert with his - with Shukaku. He had stopped calling it his mother when his head cleared. Suddenly, without warning, he had been thrust into a far more normal life than he could have ever expected - he was vulnerable and alone in his head like his brother and sister had always been. He did not have a good idea of how to approach this new situation.
He had been like this before, once. He had been young, only a few years old, and the worst of things had not yet happened; he was too young to really understand everything, then. Shukaku had not yet infiltrated his every thoughts, not until after that event. He twitched, and his sand responded in agitation, flexing itself into winding pattern that vanished as soon as they appeared. He narrowed his eyes as he thought of those years - of the terrible things that had happened. His father had tried to have him killed.
Slowly, turgidly, the flash of anger faded, but the ache in his chest remained.
' There's only one thing...that can help heal a wounded heart. But it's difficult medicine to get a hold of... because you can only receive it from another person.'
He flinched, and his anger reignited. What was he doing, really? He growled as he stared down over this foreign village, this prison. He spent his time here doing nonsensical things like sleeping. He should be doing something, anything.
Returning to Suna, perhaps, to his siblings. Confronting his father with what he had done. He had to destroy those that even dared to think that they could control him. He had to fight, to feel the rush of blood, and to prove his existence!
He clenched his fist, and with an animalistic growl he brought it down harshly - onto his seal. A flash of agony blazed through him, and heard a cry of protest in the distance - not his own. He clasped his hands around his forehead as he pressed his eyes closed. Shut up. SHUT UP!
And it did.
Gaara sighed in relief when his seal quieted, and he only felt a mild ache from the strike that had shocked him out of his momentary delirium. It seemed the creature was getting crafty, now that its easy access to his mind had been disrupted. Twice now he had found himself angry, hateful - at himself, at his father, at Yashamaru - and twice Shukaku had twisted itself into his thoughts, somehow circumventing the control of the paper seal that he was wearing.
"So, these are the bars of my prison," Gaara murmured. Naruto had told him that these seals were a temporary solution, and he was beginning to realize why. They worked - but only for a while, and the Tailed Beast was adapting. No paper seal could hope to match one that was inked into the skin itself, suffused with his own chakra, not forever.
Soon, he would start slipping back into what he used to be. For the sake of his newly found and shaky sanity, he hoped that Naruto would return swiftly.
Gaara realized at that moment that he was genuinely grateful. Though he still resented the treatment he had received, being dragged forcibly away from home, rendered unconscious, strapped to a chair until he thought things through, there was another side to things. Naruto had understood what Shukaku was doing to him, it seemed, and remedied it. He had forced Gaara to try out independence from the creature that he had called mother, knowing that it would give him a new perspective, and fully aware that Shukaku's influence would prohibit him from agreeing to any such experiment ahead of time.
Naruto had a very utilitarian streak, it seemed, not unlike Gaara himself. Shukaku had ravaged his thoughts, but it could not overwrite the core of his personality - and that was to do what was necessary to reach the goal, no exceptions. He suspected that in Naruto, the same resilience was present, but he had never been truly influenced by his demon - his seal was properly made. Naruto channelled all he had into his actions, fully convinced that they were right. Perhaps without realizing it, he was shaping events to suit his wishes. People could not help but adapt to such certainty, embodied.
Traits like that in a powerful individual - they could change the world.
Gaara opened his dark-ringed eyes as he heard the soft tap of two feet landing easily on the roof, only a few feet away. The sand dropped from his fingers, raining down around him as he turned slightly towards the new arrival.
"Good afternoon, Gaara-san," the white-haired man said as he stepped onto the roof, looking decidedly serious, his eyes meeting Gaara's own with a complete lack of emotion. "You sensed me coming?"
Gaara shrugged slightly. "I heard you. It is very silent here." He cocked his head to the side as he studied his guest, Jiraiya of the Sannin. This was the guise that Naruto had taken, the first time they met, and he was still not entirely sure why. The man exuded authority, true, but Naruto was quite capable of that himself, he was certain, even if he lacked the physical stature. "Is there something you require, Jiraiya-sama?"
"Yes." The tall man sat down on the roof to Gaara's side in a cross-legged posture, and following his gaze over the roofs and streets of Konoha. Gaara resisted the urge to get away from the possible threat, rather aware of the fact that he would likely be knocked over by a determined Genin at this point. Jiraiya seemed to notice his discomfort. "There is no need to worry. You're safe here. Hardly anyone knows who you are. If they do - we can assume that they are unaware of anything more than your home country."
Gaara stayed silent for a time, just staring, wondering why he suddenly had a companion. Finally, he grew impatient. "What is the purpose of this visit?"
Jiraiya sighed. "Straight to the point, then. I suppose you did grow up where such attitudes are more - prized." He gestured with two fingers, an ANBU hand signal, and then sighed. Gaara suspected his minders had left for the moment, though he was presently unable to even detect them in the day. At night, his night vision was good enough to spot their slight movements. Jiraiya stared for a moment longer, seemingly gathering his thoughts, then nodded. "Very well. I know that you lied to the Hokage."
Before surprise could solidify, Gaara squashed a trill of fear, knowing that the Hokage would not have sent someone to come speak to him if that were the full story. He would have been dragged off to Interrogation by his ANBU minders - deceit in foreign countries was frowned upon, and usually followed by violence. He could not imagine that Suna and Konoha would differ much in that fashion. Knowing that he had been caught, he nodded, acknowledging the point.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Not even going to object, then?" He grimaced slightly, as if had bitten into a sour apple. "The circumstances of your arrival in Konoha were - different than you first claimed. I know much of what happened, now." His gaze did not waver - it was not a question. "I know that Naruto brought you here, all the way from Suna. He smuggled you across the walls, even. However he did it - the sensors did not pick up his passage, which makes things very suspicious, and I doubt I am the only one that put things together. I would have suspected treachery, if not for your voluntary confinement."
Gaara saw no need to lie further about something that the Sannin had clearly seen through with little difficulty. He shrugged slightly, looking into the distance. "It is unimportant. Naruto arranged for my stay." He considered detailing his fellow Jinchūriki's actions that led to his presence here, but was cut off before he could start.
"Unimportant? To you, perhaps." Jiraiya looked tired, but his eyes were sharp. "For Naruto, it could be vital. He's in trouble, serious trouble. I assume that you are his friend, as I can't imagine that the boy would go to such lengths for a stranger, so you must understand." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. "Gaara-san - I must ask you to tell nobody the truth about your arrival, or anything else regarding Naruto. Nobody."
Gaara blinked - between the assumption that he was Naruto's friend and the bizarre request, he found himself speechless. "Why?" The question escaped before he could think it over.
Jiraiya's frowned as he took in Gaara's posture. "If not for the creature that you house, I'm sure that someone would have already found a reason to send you to Torture and Interrogation. Nobody can afford to unleash a Jinchūriki, however - one of the few reasons that you have been spared. But - some might consider the risk acceptable."
"They are after information on Naruto, then." Gaara frowned, adding up the facts he knew, and he clenched his fists. "Someone intends to subdue him, correct? Use his actions to bring his loyalty into doubt, and use that to enslave him. They want access to the Nine-Tails."
Jiraiya's gaze betrayed momentary shock, then a calculating stare. "You are quite different from the tales I've heard. That was quite insightful."
"No denial, then. Interesting." Gaara narrowed his eyes. "I assume that matters are dire, considering your presence. I presume the case against Naruto is strong." He turned away. "The Hokage already doubts Naruto - that is why you have come, rather than he." He nodded. "Does that mean that you are still on Naruto's side?"
"It's - complicated." Jiraiya grimaced. "He is my student, of sorts. I like to believe I have some idea of his personality, and I have - other sources of information. Regardless, he should be allowed a fair trial for what he may have done, not a glorified imprisonment that is prepared while he is conveniently gone on a mission." He shook his head tiredly. "I'm sure that they'll strike the moment that Naruto walks back through the gates."
Gaara nodded slowly. "Very well. I will not speak of this. You may force the matter, if you wish - I am sure you are able." Gaara frowned darkly, reflecting on his decision. It was self-interest in part, knowing that Naruto was the person who could repair his seal, who could maintain his sanity - but at the same time he felt like he owed the boy something, for putting him on this path. What had Jiraiya said they were? Friends?
A small smile appeared on the Sannin's face. "Loyalty - I like that."
Gaara chose not to dignify that with a response.
Jiraiya reached into his pocket and retrieved a yellowed scroll, tightly bound with a reddish paper that was inscribed with a large seal. "If I am to stop this farce, then I require your assistance. I wrote this earlier. I can't send it through official channels, and right now, and some of my alternative options would be unwise. Any method I could use would take a long time to make it through inspection, especially with a high-level locking seal inscribed on it. However, there was something that Naruto said..."
"You are requesting me to use my sand to deliver it." Gaara looked up, narrowing his eyes. "What is it?"
Jiraiya chose not to dignify that with a response.
"It would take a great deal of chakra," Gaara noted after a moment, deciding that he was not going to receive an answer. He knew he was capable of controlling the sand over vast distances, or replicate the letter elsewhere from sand alone. But - he would need to remove the seal, to free his chakra. And let it back into his head.
The Sannin grimaced. "My options are limited at this time. There are a great number of people that I can't trust at this time, not with something like this, because there are too many eyes and ears that might intercept them." His gaze darkened. "It is a bad day when I have to rely on foreign shinobi to carry a message from Konoha."
"And I am to believe that you trust me?" Gaara stared blankly.
Jiraiya smirked. "I don't trust you, that's true. If I didn't know I could kill you in a moment if necessary, I would not even approach this close. I know your reputation." Jiraiya tapped the scroll. "Regardless of my reasons, will you do this?"
Gaara nodded shortly. "Where should it go?" Honestly, he knew the answer before it came, but it still sent a chill down his back when Jiraiya said it.
"Your father."
"What did you do that for?" Naruto asked with an annoyed glare as he looked back uneasily to the wall of Amegakure, where the smoke of half a dozen popped clones faded away into the rain. A chill ran down his spine and his body responded almost physically to the fact that he had turned his back on an enemy that was so ludicrously powerful that he had once taken down a Hidden Village in his lonesome.
Kurenai still lay on the ground, unconscious - and if nothing else, he needed to retrieve her. Otherwise this whole gambit was pointless. He was the last of the clones, so he had to watch his words. He immediately winced, realizing he had just scolded Nagato only moments before, and tried to smile apologetically.
He supposed he was just really foolish to stay petulant when faced with someone who could squash you to jelly with a thought. Or maybe it was the fact that as a clone, only the boss would really have to deal with the consequences. He imagined that that particular thought would probably be much more disturbing to the boss than it was to him.
"They were unnecessary," the Deva Path answered his question, and he started. "Follow."
Staring for a moment longer, disbelieving, he finally forced his legs - far too short, damn it - to catch up to the retreating Path. The others just looked down on him as he passed. The large machine-like Path in particular kept grinning inanely as he walked by; Kurenai was still sprawled on the ground, and quickly disappeared from sight as they turned a corner.
This made things more complicated, the clone considered as he followed he wide streets in the Deva Path's wake. There was only one place in Ame that they could be going, and he had no idea why Nagato would even dare to lead someone to him, when he had his Paths available.
The village was ugly, Naruto thought as he tried to distract himself from the mess he was in. His gaze roved over tall spires and stormy clouds. Probably it was partially the fact that he was used to good old Konoha architecture, homely houses and sunny skies, but it all seemed so - dead. Here, rain seemed to come down at all times, and the tall towers pierced the sky, centred around a lake that was kept full by the downpour, even as a river coursed outwards towards the sea. It was a drab, colourless place.
"You really should consider getting the Boss for this," the clone noted nervously. "Face to face, you know."
"That will not be necessary. The Kage Bunshin technique will suffice." The Deva Path did not turn around as he spoke, staring up at the tallest tower ahead. "It is a near-perfect replication, after all."
"Yes..." Naruto said slowly. "But, you're going for a personal meeting, aren't you?" He glanced up as the Deva Path met his eyes for a moment. "Clearly you care enough about that to bring me to your real body, after all - so why not mine, too?"
The Path did not speak again, leading the clone to the tower with his eerie eyes turned away. Naruto shivered at the thought of Nagato as he had first met the man - when he had so mercilessly attacked Konoha in search of him. Now, he was walking directly into the man's lair, even if he was just another clone.
For a moment, the insanity of this moment occurred to him, and he twitched in agitation. First the Kazekage - and now freaking Pain, one of the strongest shinobi that he had ever faced. The only reason that he had won the first time around, he was certain, was the man's lack of understanding of Sage Mode - he had abused its qualities to take out the Paths, and it was only due to the resurrection jutsu that the fight did not have a massive death toll.
A convincing demonstration of sheer power had come in the form of the Edo Tensei reincarnation that Kabuto had inflicted on Nagato, as he had done on so many others. The only reason that he had not died right there was the intervention of Uchiha Itachi. It had taken himself, Itachi and Killer-B to even take out his techniques - and he didn't even know those people yet, this time around.
Nagato could be a terrible enemy - but in events to come, he could also be a magnificent ally. He just needed to figure out a way to get through to him, to turn him from Akatsuki and his destructive intentions before things went terribly wrong.
The same could be said for Itachi, Naruto considered. That was a problem for some other day.
When the Path finally stopped, it was near the entrance of a darkened doorway, though flickering lights were visible from deeper within. Naruto's clone carefully stepped inside, blinking to adjust to the light. Trying to ignore his nerves, he moved further in.
The room was very high, and some type of tubing ran across the walls; high up there was a light source, perhaps an opening to the outside, but it was difficult to tell. Small torches blazed along the walls, spreading a strange bluish luminescence, as if they were burning with something other than regular fire. Their light only reached a short distance, though. Naruto wondered if it was Konan's work.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
The voice was low, grave, much like Naruto remembered. He turned towards the noise, and could just barely make out the contours of Nagato's chair - the huge device that enclosed his legs and arms, connecting him to his Paths through the chakra relays embedded in their skin - and his back.
Naruto nodded. "Nagato."
Nagato stayed silent, and only his contour was visible in the darkness in the centre of the room. The purple Rinnegan seemed to shine in the darkness, unmistakably focused on Naruto. He did not speak for some time, until at last there was a slight chuckle. A dry laugh, even.
The clone blinked. "What's so funny?"
Nagato's laugh halted abruptly. "It seems I was correct. I will agree to a meeting, Uzumaki Naruto. Your true self and I will converse, and you will give me the information I require - and we shall see what I will grant you in return. Until such a time, I shall not attack Konoha." Nagato's eyes shifted slightly. "The woman will be left at the border, in reach of your Kage Bunshin. Do not trespass again, or face death. I will choose when to make contact."
The clone swallowed thickly. "I don't understand-"
A shadow appeared over the clone. The Deva Path suddenly stood behind him, his face impassive, and slammed his arm down before Naruto could say another word. The clone vanished in a rush of chakra, taking his last thought with him.
'Why was I even brought here...?'
Dead. They were all dead.
Oh hell, not again.
Kakashi stared down in horror, forcing himself to ignore the part of him that wanted to react viscerally, but years of experience reduced his response to a tremor of shock that shot down his spine, and a mournful sigh. There was blood - and three bodies. The Genin looked like they had been flayed alive. Flayed alive, under his watch.
Almost reflexively, Kakashi thought of that insane moment when he had decided to put a Genin at the head of a mission like this, a wildly mislabelled mess that had been kept from collapsing under its own weight due to team cohesion and a leader who appeared to know what he was doing. Yet - this was too much, this was where the mission turned from bad to cursed.
Hyūga Hinata stared at the sky without sight; her blank eyes were unchanged, but death was in the air, and the complete lack of movement told Kakashi enough. Kiba lay besides her, perfectly still, with a wound torn across his side that had already stopped bleeding. A freshly healed Shino lay behind them, blood pooling from under his chest, probably the last to fall. Three high-profile Clan Genin, dead on a single mission.
Kakashi let out the loudest, foulest curse he could think of as he grasped a kunai, flashes of the past catching up to him, before he ruthlessly suppressed his anger. His rational mind caught up with him moments later, breaking through the layer of self-incrimination and hate. Something was off. Something was very much off.
His eye widened in realization. Genjutsu!
He ripped his hitai-ate up violently, unveiling his Sharingan. The bodies melted to nothingness, the carnage turned into stones and mud, completely unremarkable. One of Naruto's clones stood before him with his kunai ready to strike; behind him, looking at him with a mixture of shock and disgust, were the three Genin of Team 8. Shino was supported by Kiba, while Hinata stood with her arms raised, ready to strike. It took him a moment to realize that the entire team had just heard him. That's going to earn me a reprimand...
"Hello, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said carefully, a thin smile briefly flashing across his face. "I suppose it's fitting that you would be the one to fall for that illusion."
Impossible. Kakashi shook his head as he relaxed slightly. "Who placed it? It was - very convincing."
"Actually..." Naruto nodded towards Hinata, who blushed momentarily.
Kakashi stared at her. "Really? Genjutsu of that calibre? I guess Kurenai has been teaching you more than I anticipated. Now I'm feeling inadequate..."
Naruto scoffed. "She's a Hyūga, sensei. Her chakra control is nearly perfect, since she needs it for the Gentle Fist - did you honestly expect she'd be bad at Genjutsu?" Hinata blushed terribly behind Naruto, who seemed oblivious. "This particular one - well, it's easier than it looks, really. Plays on expectations. Hinata knows enough about anatomy to pull it off."
"I - I'm glad it worked," Hinata said carefully, with a wavering smile. "A few of the fake clones came here, but they just turned around when they saw this..."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the clone, then nodded. "They must have gone to inform their creator - he won't be fooled for long, but it's good thinking." He nodded to Naruto's clone. "For a moment there, I was afraid you'd -"
"What, forgotten?" Naruto gestured to Kiba and Shino. "Do you really think I'd forget to protect the people we just saved? I've had a small legion here since the start. When some clones came to 'help out', I took them out before they got close." He frowned. "The Boss is holding his own?"
"He is." A clone dropped from the tree that Kakashi had just left, landing easily. "Actually - I think he went a little overboard, even. Might not have too much chakra left after this."
"That's... impressive," the first clone murmured. "Password?"
"I was helping an old lady across the street." The clone said dutifully, before glancing at Kakashi. "I hope you don't mind that we're using your excuses, sensei? We needed something we'd remember, and that this Missing-Nin couldn't really guess too easily. He's not from Konoha, after all."
"Any sign of Akamaru?" Kiba asked. "I haven't heard or smelt a thing since we got separated..."
"Not yet," the second clone said, sighing. "If he's out here, somewhere, then I'll find him. Whether he's fine or - not." He looked away. "I don't really know what happened to him after you were attacked, so..."
"Akamaru carries one of my insects," Shino said in a breathless, soft voice. He coughed slightly, wobbling on his feet. "I am currently - indisposed, but others of my clan will be able to locate your friend, I am certain."
Kiba nodded, smiling slightly. "Thanks, Shino."
"You're looking - better." Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You're walking and talking already? I figured it would take a few days..."
Shino gave the slightest shrug, cradling his arm. "My chakra system has been - affected, but I seem to be otherwise intact." He frowned. "Naruto's healing was most effective, but the side-effects are understandably severe. It will take some time to recover fully."
"Did you say - Naruto?" Kiba frowned. "He's a medic-nin now?"
"Not - exactly." Shino ducked behind the high collar of his jacket. "He was, however, instrumental in saving my life. I owe him a debt of gratitude that I doubt I can repay. I was, in truth, dead."
Hinata gasped. "D-Dead? I thought-"
"The details of what happened can wait," Kakashi cut in. "Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are presently taking on the Missing-Nin that managed to take you down in a surprise attack, and attempting to retrieve Kurenai. This is the more immediate problem."
"Right." The first of Naruto's clones said. "That's where all the fake clones are coming from."
"Can we - help?" Kiba winced. "Without Akamaru..."
"They seem to be handling things," Kakashi said, shrugging. "This turned into a retrieval mission the moment that we discovered what happened to your team - and technically, Naruto is the team leader. He seems to have covered all his bases, so as long as he doesn't command a retreat, we'll continue."
"He's the leader?" Kiba scowled. "Why can't I be the leader?" he murmured.
"Um... It's kind of nice that you're helping us, but shouldn't you be with Naruto?" Hinata glanced away from Kakashi. "You're s-strong - you should be there, right?"
"Don't worry," Kakashi replied, smiling encouragingly. "I am."
Naruto's fist glanced past Muneyoshi's face, missing by mere inches. Near-misses did not count, however, and with a growl he flung his legs forward - still too short - and used the momentary opening to land a powerful blow on the Missing-Nin's midriff.
"Gotcha!"
The moment the clone hit the man, of course, his mind vanished into nothingness - and then the whole clone vanished when a second one came from behind him, stabbing straight through his chest on his way to Muneyoshi's exposed side. When that clone's attack went off target as well, a grasping hand found his wrist, and before he could do more than panic at his impending conversion, he found himself destroyed in the same manner by yet another of his brethren.
Clone warfare could be very effective, if you had enough chakra to mass-produce the things. It was nearly impossible to counter. That said - the real Naruto was down on the ground, practically catatonic from the sudden rush of chakra through an already overexerted system, and the constant barrage of bizarre impulses sent back to him was certainly not helping matters.
"That took a lot out of even me," Naruto muttered, groaning. "Stupid Genin body, stupid Genin chakra system..."
"It's actually working," Sasuke commented wryly, glancing down to his prone teammate. His Sharingan had died away for the moment. "You're completely crazy, Dead Last."
"Yeah, yeah. Stow it." Naruto twitched as he slowly pulled himself up. "What you said about Shino - it makes sense. The issue wasn't that the bugs would be a danger, but that they were with so very many. The limitation on Muneyoshi's techniques is not range alone - but control, too." He grinned. "Don't you think he's starting to look - strung out? If he could control his ability to take over chakra, he would have stopped by now."
Muneyoshi whirled around, taking half a dozen of Naruto's clones with him - but each of them was skewered by fellow clones before they could defend their new master, and more clones filled in the opened gaps. When Muneyoshi tried to jump away, the clones forced him back, and when he tried to tunnel, dozens more erupted from there as well. Each and every one that touched Muneyoshi became victim to his Kekkei Genkai, and after that a kunai from one of the other clones. The Missing-Nin got no chance to form a defensive formation, to break free.
"It's almost time to finish him," Naruto said, glancing at Sakura for a moment. "My clones will soon run out of steam, and I'm not feeling up to making a lot more of them. I get chakra back quickly, but this is pushing it. We need a decisive victory, here - and I think the fact that he's stopped bragging is a sign that this is the best chance we'll get."
"He looks pretty healthy, really," Sasuke murmured. "And you're starting to look like you might keel over, actually. Are you sure...?"
Naruto nodded. "He might not look too hurt, but I've been exhausting his chakra, and he definitely got a wallop earlier. If we attack now, he won't be able to take care of all of us at once. But it has to be all of us."
He gestured quickly, repeating several hand-seals in quick succession, but no jutsu came. He smiled as he patted the seal on his arm. "Sakura - with that punch of yours, if you can pull it off once again, you should be able to shock his system. Basically, hit him in the head. Make sure that you keep your skin well away from him; there's no telling what his touch might do. Sasuke - fire it up as soon as she's out of the way, so that he's forced to get his singed ass out of the area. The remaining clones will fence him in." He cracked his knuckles. "Then comes the cool part. I will take care of that."
"Naruto-" Sakura said. "What about Kakashi-sensei?"
"He's nearby," Naruto said lightly. "If we need him - he'll be here. But this is our fight, and I intend to have us finish it." He smirked. "Right, bastard?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"I'm team leader - today I get to make this call. Next time, you get to boss me around." He paused, a flash of memories returning to him from distant clones, and he staggered. He blinked. He blinked again. "...What the hell?"
Memories of Amegakure poured into his head. He remembered himself telling the Paths of Pain about Tobi, and about the Rinnegan, and the terrible future that Akatsuki was meant to create, despite Nagato's intentions. He remembered himself deciding to use a gambit that he had hoped not to need - twisting Akatsuki against its own members. Then, there was a flash of Nagato himself - wreathed in darkness, but with his eyes sharp as ever, seemingly coming to a decision based on seeing him. As if the Rinnegan stared right through him, and revealed his every secret.
Nagato is going to come find me in Konoha - and then the temporary peace is over. This can go so very, terribly wrong.
"Naruto...?" Sakura waved her hand in front of his eyes. "I think you should rethink this - you're spacing out."
The supposed Genin looked up, blinking. "Sorry. Clone memories. Kurenai-sensei - she's safe. Unconscious, but safe. Some of my clones just grabbed her from a hideout near the border." He cocked his head to the side. "The same is true for Team 8, by the way. They're fine, it seems." He nodded, ignoring his worries and fears for a moment as he gathered his remaining chakra - he felt the edges of Kurama's tainted red chakra at the edges, a sure sign to end things quickly.
"No more waiting around Let's go." He gestured up with his arms, flashing chakra through them for a split second - and the mass of Shadow Clones quite suddenly backed off, retreating en masse.
Sakura's attack was first, and in the split second that it took Muneyoshi to grasp that the clones had quite suddenly and simultaneously retreated, her fist was already on its way. It was not as powerful as her previous assault, since her muscles protested violently against the abuse, but the mercilessly powerful punch still forced him to swerve aside - only to neatly position himself in front of her other one.
Naruto could hear Muneyoshi's jaw breaking - a horrible, sharp sound that seemed to echo around the destroyed clearing. He even let out a brief cry of pain - the first definite damage that they'd done to the man. Blood flew, teeth clattered to the ground. Sakura flung her leg in between her and the enemy before he had time to grasp what had happened, pushing off as hard as she could.
The fireball that followed was nearly instantaneous, scorching past Sakura while she was still in mid-air and licking past her boots. It caught Muneyoshi in its boiling inferno the moment that his hand had reached his face, to cradle his new wound. The detonation of the flaming mass of destruction was violent enough that Muneyoshi was forced to sacrifice tactics in order to avoid it - and thus ran directly into the remaining clones, wielding Rasengan by the dozens.
"Attack!" the clones shouted, all at once - and they descended on Muneyoshi like locusts, en masse.
"Naruto! Genjutsu!" Sasuke shouted, but as he attempted to blast out another fireball, nothing more than a few loose flames erupted, and he coughed.
Without a fuss, Muneyoshi flickered out of existence - only to appear mere feet from Naruto, a wicked smile appearing on his mutilated face. Sakura flung herself aside to avoid his attack, knowing that she could not counter it - and Sasuke was only able to throw himself backwards, knowing that he was nearly out of chakra.
Naruto was caught by the neck, dragged along by the Missing-Nin's surprising speed.
Two shouts of panic erupted simultaneously. "Naruto!"
"Too late," Muneyoshi muttered, nearly unintelligible. Naruto hung limply from his outstretched arm, and the Missing-Nin's grasp tightened as chakra visibly coursed over his skin, emanating from his contact point with Naruto's neck. "So much..." he murmured - and then a tinge of red chakra, Kurama's power, flared up through his body. His jaw clicked together as if it had never been broken, and Muneyoshi grinned. "Well, Uzumaki, the game is over."
"Let him go!" Sasuke snapped, looking on warily as the Missing-Nin tightened his grip, choking Naruto.
Muneyoshi smirked as he turned to the other two members of Team 7. "Or what? Didn't this one already claim that he was going to kill me?"
"Maybe you won't die - by my hand." Naruto coughed softly as he sucked in a breath. "Someone will do it, though. Because of what you did - are still doing." He grinned haggardly. "You should know, about a man called Ryosuke. He was a good man. A man whose death you were responsible for. I won't let you get away with that."
"Spare your breath. Your chakra is mine, now, Jinchūriki. You're harmless."
"Maybe my chakra is yours." Naruto said softly. "But the fight? The fight is mine." He laughed then, an eerie and almost sad chuckle. His bright yellow eyes opened, meeting Muneyoshi's. "You didn't really think I was stupid enough to get caught by accident, right?" He smirked as his mouth elongated, becoming impossibly wide. His hands grasped Muneyoshi's arm tightly - they were large webbed hands. His broad, dark pupils took in his enemy's baffled stare. "Good luck with this chakra..."
"What-" Muneyoshi winced, and crumpled to his knees as he cried out involuntarily. Like an infection starting at the tips of his fingers, natural energy flowed through the connection between the Missing-Nin and his victim. Naruto's face slowly turned back to human, and his hands shrunk to their normal size. The last to go were his toad-like eyes. At the same time, Muneyoshi's hand began to swell up, and then turned dark and stiff - Naruto let go, as he knew the damage was done. With a single forceful movement he ripped himself free from the struggling, twitching Muneyoshi. Fingers came loose as he retreated, shattering into small pieces - chunks of rock.
"So you were beaten twice through the same technique," Naruto muttered, thinking of Jiraiya, and the fact that he had ended this threat the last time around. Muneyoshi leaned against the ground, breathing heavily - his limb very slowly turned darker, his entire arm turning to so much stone. Naruto glanced up, and nodded. He stared down at his arm for a moment, considering the seal there. He had not needed to use it - and he was honestly relieved. "This guy got one thing right. It's over, now."
"Naruto - " Sasuke said worriedly from his side as Sakura hurried over. "What did you do?"
"It's just a little something that a sensei of mine taught me," Naruto said, shaking his head tiredly. "What now...?" He sighed. "It would be easy to let him die, here, you know. Very easy."
Naruto had a feeling like vertigo as he stared down at the Missing-Nin that was slowly being consumed by the natural energy. In another life, he would have not thought twice about finishing an enemy and burning his body - but this was different. He could not switch between being who he was and who he wanted to be. That's not how it worked.
"He's killed and hurt Konoha shinobi, so he'll probably end up executed anyway," Naruto observed haltingly, grimacing. Finally, he relaxed his posture. "I won't kill him. He's Akatsuki, of a sort - and he's partly responsible for something that I want cleared up. He knows things. We'll take him with us as a prisoner."
He flashed a single hand-seal. It was enough.
In a flash of lighting and noise, a fifth person appeared among the group - the only one who didn't flinch back was Naruto, who sent an exhausted smile at the silver-haired Jōnin who stared at him with his mismatched eyes. Muneyoshi cried out as Kakashi brought his hand down on his shoulder, and lightning burst alight on his fingers. Chidori.
"I guess you'll find out what you did to Shino," Naruto said dryly, and Muneyoshi only had a moment to blink in confusion before there was blood and bone and the smell of scorched flesh. The Missing-Nin's entire arm dropped off, shattering to pieces. He stared at his sudden stump for a little while, seemingly incapable of figuring out what he was looking at, before he slumped to the floor. The remainder of the severed limb slowly turned to stone as well, and then the natural energy dissipated harmlessly.
"Mission complete," Naruto whispered tiredly, sitting down. He looked away, realizing how many new unanswered questions he had, and how many unknowns were peeking over the horizon. He forcefully shoved it aside, allowing himself some relief over the fact that this, at least, had not ended in a total disaster. "Kurenai - she's safe," he said to his team, glancing at Kakashi in particular. "The entire Team 8, actually. Well, still need to find Akamaru. The clones that are left over can help you with that, I guess - and they can serve as guards." He sighed, smiling slightly. "I suppose you're team leader again, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi nodded. "Well - at least it's better than my first command." He let out a quick, humorless laugh, before he glanced over to Sasuke and Sakura. Both had sunk to the ground where they stood. "I'm - impressed. All of you were fantastic, actually. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were Chūnin." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Naruto again. "Or a little more, in your case."
Naruto just snorted. "These C-ranks are cursed, I swear."
"That may be." Kakashi smiled slightly, barely visible due to his mask, then sighed. "I'm sorry about this, Naruto, but I can't afford to break the rules any further. For what it's worth, I'll make sure that the headache isn't too bad."
"Wha-"
Naruto felt a sharp jolt in the back of his neck - then the world faded to black.
Author's Note: I am helping out with editing again (One of Nauro's stories) and this time it's a Naruto story to boot!
"Steal My Thunder God" by Nauro is a time travel story that takes Naruto back to the Kyubi attack, where he ends up wounded and captured by local shinobi who question his identity, after he is mistaken for the Fourth. It's a great jaunt and quite promising.
Go to Nauro's profile now! Read 'Steal My Thunder God'! (If you don't, a dyslexic pomeranian will hunt you down.)
This has been a public service announcement. Thank you. Expect more updates in the future, but it is quite possible that I will update another story first, such as WaS.