Maelstrom amongst the Dead

by Kyoto141092

When the dead arise a Hero will come...walking that is, never running, jogging, or skipping. You know why? Uzumaki's don't "skip". How will Naruto survive in the zombie apocalypse? How will he save his friends? And where has all the ramen gone? Find out in my First HOTD fanfic! Naruto/Saeko possible harem and lemons!

6. 5 Rescue from the Dead

(Updated: 6/21/18)

Ah... so here is the newest chapter. Finally got some time to write and the stupid writing box in the document processor won't open... Oh well, That's certainly not the important part. Here is something that is...

I've decided to give a few individuals from the HOTD side of the fanifc chakra. I've received some problems for this. Let me just say that there is a good reason for it. Don't assume I'm just doing it to give Naruto some fighting buddies.. (I'd call that a perk though)

Anyway, Chapter 5 is here... your welcome, and no I don't own Naruto or HOTD

Chapter 5

Rescue from the Dead

Naruto stirred in his sleep. His biological clock was yelling for him to get up. He ignored groaned and ignored it in favor of snuggling deeper into the warm blankets. He was still too comfortable to wake fully. Never the less his senses returned to their usual sharpness despite him willing them back into their dulled state.

A few minutes passed before his ears registered a whispering sound. There and then gone and there again. Naruto's sleep fogged brain cursed the fact that he could register a pin dropping in the other room. This noise was annoying.

Naruto growled and tightened his grip on the large pillow he'd latched onto. His 'pillow' mumbled something he couldn't quite understand. This further annoyed him and he groaned as his hearing assumed its normal acuity. He forced his head under the covers to avoid the sounds that were starting down stairs.

He abruptly went rigid as he drew in breath through his nose. It smelled sweet and rosy and… oh so feminine…

Naruto opened his eyes and used one arm to pull the covers back. His eyes widened. The first thing his bleary eyes registered was... pink. That and pale skin. Naruto found himself staring at Saya who was currently sleeping right there. Right there, close enough that her breath tickled his nose with each exhalation.

His shock was magnified to see that she had apparently wrapped her arms around him during the night.

"What. The. hell.?"

"Someone's popular."

Naruto shifted quickly, disengaging from her without waking her further. He sat up and froze again. "Saeko-chan too?!" Saeko was curled up on his other side. Her long dark hair was splayed out over the bed and it was clear she'd been cuddled right up against him.

"If you don't breathe sometime soon you'll suffocate..." Kurama chuckled. "The apocalypse should have happened sooner by my reckoning. First day and you already have three girls sleeping in the same bed as you."

Naruto's eyes shifted, disbelieving to the last girl. The one completely hidden by blankets. Naruto sniffed the air. "I'm dreaming right... Saeko... sure. She's got some kind of crush on me. I can believe she snuck in. Besides there's only two beds. Rei… the same thing. But SAYA!? When did she start liking me?!"

"Who can say? Maybe she was just taking advantage of an open space on the bed. It's entirely possible that it's your fault. Judging by the number of undead outside the school, I would bet that she would be dead if it weren't for you."

"Yeah... still freaking hard to believe..."

"I'll admit that even I find this situation bizarre. In our world the only woman you'd ever wake up to was an enemy Kunoichi trying to slit your throat."

Naruto shook his head to clear it. His cheeks were red as Kurama's eyes. He just knew it.

As he watched Saeko muttered something and opened her eyes. Her gaze waivered for a second on Saya's face, which was only a foot or so from her own. Then she pulled herself to a sitting position. One hand rose to rub at her eyes as she yawned.

"Morning Naruto-kun."

He blinked several times, trying to see though this blatant Genjutsu. But he knew it was real... Saeko was wearing nothing but a bra and panties. -Error. Mental safety check failed. System shut down imminent.- A tickle of blood escaped his nose as he fell off the end of the bed… delightfully unconscious.

Ooo

Ooo

Twenty minutes later Naruto sat on the couch on the lower floor. Saeko, Saya, and Rei sat around the table with each displaying a different emotion. Saya... mortified. Rei... pleased. Saeko...? Well, he couldn't tell what she was feeling from her face, but she smelled like she was happy about something.

He decided it was about time he asked... before one of the others woke up.

"Would someone tell me why your three were sleeping in my bed? Or why you two were almost naked?"

Saeko shook her head as if he were blowing this way out of proportion. "We weren't naked at all. I had a bra and panties on."

Naruto deadpanned. "A black lace bra that doesn't leave anything to my imagination... and -ahem- 'panties' that left even less. I mean... I know there are only two beds but come on. Did you really have to snuggle up to me like that? Almost gave me a damned heart attack." He pointed at Saya. "At least Saya is embarrassed about it."

Rei shrugged. "I don't really know why you're upset. I mean... do you not like waking up in the same bed as us?"

"That isn't the point Rei." Saya adjusted her glasses with one finger, her face still cheery red. "You shouldn't just drop all the norms as soon as things go to hell. I only got in the same bed with him because I didn't want to get stuck listening to Chubby snore." She glanced at Naruto. "Thanks for not being a perv."

Naruto nodded mutely. His eyes turned to Rei and Saeko. The later finally crossed her arms and stared him dead in the eye. "I like you Naruto. I'm not going to bother hiding it. I hope you can understand what I mean."

He sighed flicked his eyes over to Rei. "I'm guessing you're about to say the same thing..."

"You bet Naruto-kun. So... you're stuck with us."

Naruto raised his eyes to the ceiling as if seeking guidance from kami. "Fine... just don't think you can be pushing me around like you did before this stuff happened. I can't be constantly worrying about you two when I need to focus my mind on keeping us alive. Got it?"

Saeko nodded just once. It seemed no one needed to explain that to her. Rei on the other hand hesitated.

"Well… okay. When you put it like that I suppose I can retrain myself, but let it be known I do it under protest!"

Naruto allowed himself to relax then jumped at a loud ringing noise. Rei jumped in surprise as well. Saya quickly grabbed her bag, which was on the table. She pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open.

"Hello!?"

The voice on the other end was too small to hear. Saya pressed a button to switch it to speaker mode. The voice was much louder now, but it still cracked badly over the connection.

"H..hello! Is this Sa..ya Takagi?!"

"Yes! Who is this and how did you get the signal to go through?!"

The voice came again. "I think most people have turned so there isn't as much traffic on the phone lines. Listen this is Hisashi from school. I'm on Shido-sensei's phone. He has all his student's numbers. I've been calling every number to try and find one that works. You're the first one to pick up!"

Saya locked eyes on Naruto even as she asked, "Where are you?"

"One of the storage rooms in the school. Where are you?"

Naruto shared looks with the girls and answered him. "Hey this is Naruto Uzumaki. I've got Saya, Rei, Saeko, Takashi, Kouta, and the school nurse Shizuka. We're all at my apartment. We took the school tour bus and got out yesterday."

Hisashi sounded morose. "That's… great." All four of them could hear loud sniffling in the background. "I guess that means you're all home free."

Rei's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait! Hisashi! Do you think we would just abandon you?!"

"You should. There's at least twenty of the them outside the door and the school is swarming with them. We don't have anything besides lame makeshift weapons... All of us are trapped. You should just forget we called. I can't ask you to risk your lives to save ours."

There was silence and Naruto looked up to see Takashi and Kouta moving from the bedroom. They both settled down on the couch with him. Naruto nodded to them then returned his attention to the phone. "We have plenty of supplies and I've got loads of weapons. We could come get you."

Hisashi seemed hesitant. "That would be great... but no. Don't take that gamble. We'll deal with what we can."

"Don't be an idiot. We wouldn't be human if we didn't try to help you. And I wouldn't be Naruto Uzumaki either. Whether you like it or not. I'm coming at least." He glanced around. "Who's with me?"

Rei, Saeko, Takashi, Kouta, and Saya all echoed, "I am!"

He grinned. "You hear the Hisashi?"

"Yes.. but you're all crazy."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now sit tight. We're on our way."

ooo

ooo

Naruto stood in the mini bus with Saeko, Rei, Saya, and Takashi. Kouta had elected to be left behind to keep an eye on the apartment. Shizuka was at the wheel again.

Takashi was rubbing his foot with a rather pained expression even as he looked to Naruto. "Are you sure about this. There was a shitload of those things outside the school remember. And a top of them were just outside."

"Don't worry about that. I have a plan to take care of them."

Saeko stared at him incredulously. "And that is?"

"Well you'll just have to wait and see. It doesn't involve you so there's no reason to explain. Suffice to say it involves a distraction. Now… Shizuka-chan. Can we get this thing moving?"

She nodded. "Right Naruto!"

Saya looked a bit frazzled now that the high of excitement had turned into anticipation of battle. She looked furtively at Naruto. "I can't help but notice that I'm the only one besides Shizuka who doesn't have combat skills... If you already have this figured out, why did you want me to come along?"

Naruto looked forward through the windshield as he spoke. "Game Theory."

"What's that?"

"It's simple Game Theory is the method of killing two birds with one stone. Masters of Game Theory live their lives in such a way that everything they do accomplishes more than one goal. Sometimes they lay intricate plans to allow them to finish multiple goals at once. You might not be able to fight... yet, but you are smart. And just because I look like I know everything doesn't mean I do. I've been here less than a year. There's still a lot of stuff I'm clueless about."

"That's true…"

"Besides, while we're on the way I can start training you. You have natural chakra so that is actually something I can really help you with."

She stepped forward to the front of the bus. "What do you mean by training?"

"Like I said before, chakra is a mix of your physical and mental energies... or spiritual if you want to call it that. So basically if you have chakra it means that you were born with the natural ability to manipulate it. Most of the time you would train from the age of eight or so to build up your chakra reserves."

"What are chakra reserves exactly?"

"Think of it like this. Your chakra reserves are like an allowance. You only have so much at any given time. And through training you can increase the amount you can hold. Right now you have a tiny allowance, but I have a huge one... in comparison to you. Basically you have to be physically healthy and mentally focused to use your money."

Naruto put a hand on her shoulder. He pushed a bit of chakra into her though the skin contact. Saya shivered slightly. "That's chakra... right?"

"Yep, so here's how the harnessing part works. Shinobi use hand signs to form their chakra in different ways. In my world there are sets of hand signs that are used to achieve particular effects. If they are done right and you mold your chakra correctly inside your body then it comes out as a jutsu."

"I guess I understand that. So the hand signs you use determine what your chakra reserves are spent on?"

"Uh huh. And usually the more hand signs there are in a row the more powerful the jutsu. It varies a lot, but most of the time the amount of chakra you have increases the fastest when you drain it dry over and over."

"Sort of like building muscle... So what happens if you use too much chakra?"

"Then you get chakra exhaustion." Naruto chuckled lightly as he remembered his fight with Sasuke at the Valley of the End. That hadn't been a pleasant recovery afterwards. "It's like being completely wiped, except it can happen instantly. If you use a jutsu that takes too much chakra it will either be diminished or it'll just fail, but if you force it then it can drain you to zero. My sensei had this ability... it was called Sharingan. A Doujutu. But it had a huge drain on his chakra. When he overused it he was laid up for a week."

They went still for a moment as Shizuka made a too sharp turn. Several thumps sounded as she ran over a few walking corpses. After a moment she asked, "What happens if you use all your chakra?"

Naruto's expression grew serious. "Usually you die... unless you have really potent chakra or you're physically strong enough to survive the after effects. Even if you reach absolute zero, your body will still produce chakra, but it won't be enough for you to survive. So your body will tear your chakra network apart to get more to keep you alive."

Saeko whistled. "Ouch."

"Best case scenario... you're out of it for a week and then super weak for a long while. Worst case scenario apart from dying... you're chakra network suffers sever damage and you are left on death's door permanently."

Saya had paled as he spoke. "But you shouldn't worry about it. You can easily tell if you're using too much chakra and I won't teach you any dangerous jutsu for a while."

She sighed, feeling somewhat relieved to hear that. She wasn't keen of dying from this 'chakra exhaustion' anymore than she was from being eaten. Well… maybe getting eaten was worse. She didn't really want to think about it. "So... can you teach me to walk on walls? That seems like an extremely useful jutsu."

"That Saya-chan isn't actually a jutsu. It doesn't need any hand signs so it's pure chakra manipulation. All it takes is good concentration. You just focus your chakra on the soles of your feet. If you get the amount just right you'll stick to any surface like glue. But before you do that I'll have to show you how to strengthen your body with chakra. Otherwise you'll try to walk up a wall and break an ankle when your weight takes you backwards."

Naruto pulled his hand away from her shoulder as Shizuka muttered, "Naruto... we're getting close to the school. What now?"

He pointed to the left side of the road. "Up there... park and we'll do the rest on foot. We go in and extract them. Then I'll make the distraction and we'll come right to the bus while the zombies are busy."

Rei licked her lips nervously as Shizuka slowed the bus down to a crawl. "You're not planning on being the distraction yourself are you?"

"And what if I am?"

He chuckled when he saw the horror stricken look on her face. "Relax. I'm planning on living a long long time. Don't worry about me."

Naruto clapped his hands together as Shizuka pulled over the bus and stopped "Okay everybody. No guns unless the shit hits the fan. Try to avoid killing any of them unless you can do it silently. Rei to my left. Saeko to my right. Takashi take the rear. Saya in the middle. Shizuka... stay here... and be really quiet."

The blond nodded and slouched in the driver's seat. "Okay... Good luck you guys."

Naruto nodded and they stepped out of the bus. He turned to Saeko. "Saeko-chan if we get the chance I'd like us to get in there really quick without too much risk. I'm going to use a really expensive jutsu. There's a slight chance that it might backfire so.. if that does happen, I want you to grab me with Rei and get to a defensible position. Once I wake up it would take a half an hour for me to recover. Just so you know... got it?"

She inclined her head and drew a katana he'd given her. It was from his world, so without saying it was much better than any Katana she'd ever used. He smirked and turned down the street. He lowered his voice. "Right… in quick and silent. Let's go."

They arrived at the end of the block in no time and looked in though the open gate to the school. Naruto grimaced. Most of the student body was still there, ambling around deader than heck. He recognized a few faces but it didn't bother him nearly as much as it seemed to bother Rei and Takashi.

He whispered behind him. "Saya, turn your cell off for now."

She did so as he stepped out into view and made a hand sign.

With a popping sound like a single kernel of popcorn there was a second Naruto standing there. Naruto thought he heard them gasp in perfect sync. "Nice ego boost..." He looked to his clone. His clone pumped his fist in the air and ran out into the mass of dead. When he was standing at the edge of the horde Naruto gave the thumbs up.

The clone grinned maniacally and activated Iruka sensei's patented "Big Head no jutsu"

"COME AND GET ME YOU BUNCH OF OVER ACTIVE DEAD HEADS! I'M RIGHT HERE SO COME ON!"

As one the mass of dead turned on the single clone. The clone whooped and jumped in the air, landing on the head of the nearest zombie. He used their heads like stepping stones and jumped from one to the next shouting his head off.

The real Naruto remembered a line from a movie he'd seen and gestured grandly. "Open... Sesame... "

Rei giggled as they ran forward, the zombies bunching together on the other side of the courtyard. Saya muttered something about him being insane. He ignored it, still grinning madly.

ooo

ooo

Hisashi looked up as he heard a shout from outside the school. He stood and darted to the wall. He put his ear to it just as there was another shout. The others in the room glanced up as they heard it.

"MISSED ME MISSED ME, NOW YOU GOT TO... WOAH! NOT SO CLOSE THERE!"

They looked startled at the shout. Then Niki asked, "Who... who is it?"

Hiashi shook his head. "I don't know, but it sounds like Naruto and his friends really came for us. That was fast..." What he didn't say was that it was suicide. Unless he had firearms of some kind there was no way they could take down the creatures outside the door... there just wasn't any way they could do it...

Niki smiled. "I hope they get here soon."

Hisashi walked over and patted her on her head. "Yeah.. me too." "God, you better get here and rescue us. I won't forgive you guys get yourselves killed over us."

ooo

ooo

Saeko brought her blade to bear, shearing through the neck of the closest of three zombies. It was like cutting through jelly. The head dropped to the floor with a meaty smack. She quickly spun and decapitated another one as Naruto dealt a sharp blow to the nose of the third. The force of the blow sending shards of bone into the monster's brain, killing it instantly.

Two more wet thumps. Saeko marveled at the weapon clutched loosely in her left hand. "This blade is amazing Naruto... It's so sharp.. and at the same time durable. It cuts through bone without leaving a nick in the blade.

Naruto chuckled. "What do you expect? That is chakra laced steel. It's got wind chakra running up the edge. Just like everything here it's weakened. Normally it would cut though stone like nothing at all so even now bone is easy."

She smiled widely, her blue eyes flashing. "Can I take the lead?"

He mock bowed to her. "Ladies first."

Five minutes later, Naruto was starting to wonder if Saeko was even more bloodthirsty than he thought. She'd dispatched sixteen of them already and showed no signs of slowing. Naruto smirked as they turned the corner. Five of them were in the way. Saeko lashed out, taking the head from the first without any hesitation. Then Rei leaped forward. Her spear blew through the head of a second.

Naruto waded in though the middle. He ducked low and swept the three remaining ones of their feet. Three neat stabs with his kunai later and three more kills were added to his tally. He stopped as Saeko bent and retrieved a silver chain from the cleanly severed stump of her victim.

She buried her blade in the dead girl's ribcage and then used both hands to fasten the chain around her own neck. Naruto raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Takashi was a different matter. "Jeeze... I didn't realized we were looting jewelry from the dead now. I thought you were the daughter of a samurai."

Saeko rolled her eyes. "I am. There however are not the honored dead. Neither will I extent any rights to those who were once enemies."

"But they were students too."

She pulled her sword free of the girl/zombie with a slick sound. "Not anymore. besides... I like silver and she isn't exactly going to object."

Naruto glanced between Takashi and Saeko. "Listen Takashi. Some morals I will uphold. Like never leaving friends behind but respect for the dead has no place in a world where most of the corpses are trying to eat you." He pointed at the decapitated body. "If you see something you want or need. Take it. Anyway, let's get going."

Their group made their way through the halls of the school, pausing now and then to collect small things from the dead. They made good time though. Moving through the school was surprisingly easy once you had a way to handle the undead stragglers littering the halls. Saeko was in the lead again, showing the way to the next storage room. They'd already checked two. There were only two left so it wouldn't be much longer till they were done.

Naruto heard the groaning and pounding of the dead before they saw the hall where the next storage room happened to be located off of. It was jam packed with them. At least three dozen. Naruto frowned and warned the others back. He motioned them backwards to the end of the corridor.

Once they were thirty feet from the dead he whispered, "I'm not sure I want to take them on when their so packed together. I'm going to use another jutsu to clear them, but it might make a bit of noise and it takes a moment to get started. Saeko-chan, Rei-chan. Take them out if they get to close to me."

They nodded. Then looked surprised as he sat down on the hall floor. Saya hissed, "What are you doing?"

"This is a special technique I learned a few years ago. It's very powerful and kinda perfect for tightly packed groups like this."

He closed his eyes and brought his hands together in the sign that would let him gather nature chakra. "One Rasengan should take them all out. Let's see if I can pull it off. Kurama... I need you to store up the sage mode chakra I'm gathering. Then funnel it back to me once I start it."

"Understood."

The three teens watched Naruto for five minutes... then ten. Rei whispered to Saeko even as she hefted her makeshift spear. "What is he doing?"

At that moment they all felt a slight stirring in the air around them. As though the air in the room were being funneled around Naruto. Abruptly Naruto pushed his hand out in front of himself palm upward. They watched in amazement as blue energy unspooled from Naruto's hand and then... pulled in upon its self.

The energy started to spin slowly then faster, quickly turning into a ball of whirling power. Saeko watched hypnotized as it grew larger till it was the size of a child's head. Naruto shifted and brought his hand over the other one. He started pumping his hands back and forth faster and faster, until the whole arm blurred over his palm.

They heard it... a barely audible whistling sound. It started to become louder, rising in volume, almost instantly become in a piercing shriek. Like a high note blown by a whistler of inexhaustible breath it keened, filling the hall with its eerie scream.

The tightly packed dead shifted, trying to turn on mass. They shuffled and jumbled in a vain attempt to move forwards. Only a few broke free. Saeko dashed forward with Rei and dropped four as the violent ball of power stabilized.

Naruto shouted, "Get back!"

Saeko and Rei retreated and Naruto took a step forward, his hand clutched around the sphere of spinning cutting chakra. He crouched and sent small amount of chakra throughout his body. His legs coiled like springs. "GO!"

"RASENGAN!"

The door to the Storage room disintegrated in a flash of blinding blue light. A blast like a horizontal hurricane slammed down the outside corridor with a screaming roar. The spiraling energy carved so deeply into the hallway wall that it cut though and into the storage room.

Then an earth shaking BOOM! crashed though the building. Then... silence.

Saeko, Rei, Saya, and Takashi looked on in disbelief. Naruto stood there in the hall and in front of him... a crater that almost breached the floor and ceiling. And after that a furrow of concrete and tile that stretched across the entire length of the hallway. A nine foot hole in the opposite wall showed where his attack ended.

The dead? Gone. Not even pieces of them remained.

Rei spoke first, saying what was on everyone else's minds. "Holy shit..."

Takashi and Say agreed. Saeko just nodded.

A second later Naruto shouted again. "Hey you guys! It's safe to come out now. They're gone!"

The first thing he saw was a girl's head poking out of the... Well it wasn't really a doorway anymore. It was more like a crater-way. She had light orange hair, short and held back with a head band. Naruto saw her eyes were an uncommon yellow.

Then she was stepping around the crater and running to him. Naruto found himself being "slightly less" than crushed in what she probably thought was a bear hug. And to anyone who hadn't experience the embrace of a Green Beast from Konoah... it would have been pretty tight. But to Naruto it almost felt like she was being gentle.

"Thanks, but I'm kinda wiped after that. Would you mind letting go?"

She nodded and smiled. "You're Naruto right?"

He nodded again as he saw a few students leave the room behind her. There was Shido, Hisashi, and a boy Naruto recognized as Yamada. Last there was another girl who looked to be from the first year. The girl who had hugged him stepped back and glanced between him and the rest of the rescuers. Her eyes fell on Saya and a small frown distorted her features.

Naruto wasn't paying attention. He grinned at Hisashi as the boy stopping in front of him. Hisashi smiled back. "I guess this is where I say thanks for saving out asses."

That caused Naruto to chuckled, "Don't mention it. Seriously my hero complex is bad enough. I hope you're all right now. We've still got to get out of this place now."

"Understood." He glanced back at the corridor as if asking, "What the hell is that though?"

Naruto said bluntly, "I'll tell you later."

Naruto heard a slapping sound from behind him. He whirled around to see Rei pulling her hand back from Shido's reddened cheek. She spat, "Why, of all the teachers to survive this shit!? Why does it have to be you?!"

Shido pushed his glasses back into place. "I'm sure that neither of us are happy with the situation but we still need to escape this place."

Rei looked furious. "I should find the nearest corpse and give to a hard shove in its general direction! You don't deserve saving you bastard."

The teacher adjusted his glasses with a casual gesture, not seeming all that impressed by her display of anger. "You should calm yourself before you attract unnecessary attention. It's not wise to make so much noise."

Naruto shared a look with Hisashi and walked over. "Excuse me, but could we break this up? My clone is only going to keep them occupied outside for so long. The way is clear so let's go. Whatever grudge you two have we can work it out back at my place."

Rei flashed him an angry glare. "Fine, but as soon as we get back we deal with.. him." She turned away muttering.

Naruto didn't know what to make of her sudden outburst. He decided that it didn't matter at the moment. They needed to get out of her and they needed to do it fast. Lingering would only bring more of the dead for them to cut down. And making a shadow clone and then using Rasengan... while maintaining the clone... It had put a dent in his chakra despite using nature chakra to power the jutsu.

Naruto quickly organized them and got the train moving again.

ooo

ooo

Naruto's clone had stopped shouting. Now he was too busy killing. He was covered in blood, and more than a little had found its way into his eyes and mouth. Some was even in his ears, blocking out his hearing. It was vile in all respects.

He spat and spun, swinging his heel around to knock yet another corpse away. The sharp crack of bone was music to his plugged ears. "BASTARDS AREN'T GOING TO CATCH ME!" He leapt into the air, hands grabbing into the hair of the nearest two zombies.

CRACK!

Their heads snapped together with a dull crunch. He pushed down hard, using the force to do a back flip over several ranks of dead. Their faces didn't follow his movements. The sound of cracking heads drew their attention away from the silent assassin among them.

He landed in a relatively clear patch and drew his two kunai. "Aim for the eyes, straight through to the brain. They go down without the crack. Alerts a lot less of them... but at the same time you have to worry about them grabbing you... they're not as strong as me but for a normal human they'd be way to powerful."

The clone frowned as he plunged his kunai through two separate eye sockets. Then drew back. To soft thumps made a few of the dead turn around. He sighed. That's 78... 79... I wonder if I can get to a hundred before boss gets back..."

ooo

ooo

The main doors to the school opened wide and ten people rushed out. Immediately their gazes were drawn to the horde of undead... now significantly diminished in size.

Hisashi gaped. "What the hell? Is that an identical twin or something? He's even dressed like you."

"I'll explain later. Let's get to the bus." They nodded and Naruto jumped up and down, drawing the attention of his clone.

The copy shouted once to fix the dead's attention. Then he leaped straight up and over them, landing... panting hard, in front of Naruto. "They're distracted. You can make a clean break."

Naruto nodded. "Listen. I want you to follow after the bus when we leave. Kill anything that follows us. Then once you're done with that hunt down everything you can until you run out of chakra."

His clone stood and nodded back. "You got it boss."

ooo

Shizuka looked up as the door to the mini bus opened and the group of survivors piled in. Saeko cleaned the blood off her blade with a scarf taken from one of the dead. She tossed it to Rei as the doors closed and Shizuka started the bus.

The engine growled to life and she turned it around in the street, heading back the way they came.

Naruto dropped into a seat alongside Saeko. Rei sat across from him with Saya. Takashi sat in the seat next to Shizuka and helped to keep an eye on the road. The blond's gaze turned to the new additions to the group. Yuuki sat next to Yamada. Her eyes were focused outside the bus. Hisashi stood looking at Naruto, as if trying to figure out some complex puzzle.

However... it was Shido to speak first. He stepped forward with what he probably thought was a benevolent smile. "Well... Uzumaki-kun. Let me thank you on behalf of all of us. We'd be dead if it weren't for you... but I must ask. Who is the leader of your little group?"

Naruto thought he heard something... wrong... with the question. Or perhaps is was the way it was asked. He scowled. "That's me, thanks."

Shido raised one eyebrow. "But you are just a boy, regardless how skilled you are..."

There was a moment of silence where glanced at Rei. He was already starting to see why she hated the guy. "I see where this guy is going. He's got some sort of superiority complex..." Naruto decided to put his foot down. "You look at me like I'm a child but I'm the only one here who's killed someone with my bare hands... and I'm not talking about a walking corpse. I'm also the only one who's part of a military group. I have more experience than ten of you Shido… if that's what you're getting at."

He leaned back. "Besides, what would a math teacher know about surviving the apocalypse?" Naruto looked him in the eye. "So you can forget about having any control over us. We won't buy your shit."

Shido looked like he'd been slapped. Hisashi glanced between them. "So... you're part of the Special Defense Force?"

"Do I look like I'm part of that lame bunch of idiots? You're smart Hisashi. You saw what I did in the hall. I'm not part of this world. I already explained that to them."

He blinked. "Not part of this world...?"

Naruto sighed and started explaining...again. Ten minutes later the new arrivals looked suitably shocked.

Hisashi took a while to digest the information, but he was the first to ask the obvious question. "So... how did you get stuck here?"

"Well… There's this one clan from my world. They're kinda notorious for getting bad eggs. Once they reach a certain level they gain a special ability. It varies widely from person to person. I was fighting one of them who had the ability to suck people in other dimensions. I would have been trapped inside his personal funhouse... except I managed to kill the bastard just as he was dragging me in." He shrugged. "Now I'm here. I figure that this must be a completely different world from my own, which is why you have all these weird rules. Stuff that we just ignore in my world. Like gravity. I can walk up walls like nothing at all."

Takashi nodded. "I've seen him do it."

From behind Hisashi, Niki asked, "You can walk up walls? That's so cool…"

"So... I can accept that you're from another world... After you took out a couple dozen of them with one attack.., but something doesn't make sense."

Naruto tilted his head. "Why do I speak Japanese?" There was a pause and everyone looked at Naruto. He shrugged again. "No clue. Why don't you ask me something easy? Like... What's the meaning of life... or why are the dead walking around."

Takashi spoke then... but he wasn't adding to the conversation. "Uh... guys... We got problems."

Everyone turned to look out the front windshield. The street was swarming with them. Naruto cursed. There were at least two hundred and they weren't even five blocks from Naruto's apartment. And as they watched it seemed like their numbers were increasing. Naruto looked up the street and saw a huge mass of tightly packed dead moving towards them, still nine or ten blocks out.

He focused on the dead immediately in front of them. His mind working over the statistics. "Ok... Saeko and Rei are both in good condition still. Takashi is fine too despite his foot being cut. Saya said she can use a pistol if not a large rifle. I've got two heavily silence handguns, but they're still only good for about ten shots a piece. Then they start booming again..."

"I'm sure Hisashi can fight, even though he looks tired. I can unseal Kubikiribōchō and take out a ton of them, but I have to use chakra enhancement to use that blade. If my clone catches up then that would be both of us..." He frowned... "If all of us that can fight... do as much damage as we can and work as a team… we could take out even this huge group. But what are the chances that one of us gets pinned down?"

Naruto turned back to them. "Shizuka. Back up a block and park. Everyone who can fight well needs to get equipped for silent killing. I'll carve a path ahead with my clone. Saeko and Rei along with Hisashi can hold the sides. Takashi can then bring in the rest of you behind."

Yamada looked pale. "Are you insane? There's no way you can kill so many! And even if we got in then we'd just be trapped inside!"

"We will get inside. Remember we still have someone in the apartment. I'm not leaving him behind. Besides I have weeks of rations up there. Do you really want to leave all those supplies behind? Now I've fought more fights than all of you combined... a lot more. So listen to what I say and we'll get out of here alive."

With that he pulled his sleeve back on his jacket and jolted the seal on his wrist, whispering the name of his third favorite weapon. "Kubikiribōchō..." In a flash of light he was holding the massive blade point downwards. It was as tall as he was, the pommel rising almost a foot above his head. "We wait for my clone. Then we go out."

He pulled out a small scroll from his back pouch and opened it. A second later he handed a medium length Katana to Takashi. Then he activated another seal and pulled out the two silence pistols and a broad bladed sword.

He handed these to Saya. "The guns are silent for at least eight shots each. Once they start getting too loud switch to the sword. Aim for the throat just like Saeko was earlier. The blade is a lot sharper than it looks so be careful."

She took them carefully, a question already leaving her lips. "How much equipment can you fit in that?"

Naruto drew his thumb over another seal and handed the corresponding weapons to Hisashi who took them. Two shorter kukri like blades, perfect for severing heads. Naruto answered Saya distractedly. "This one has twenty seven seals. With a maximum of fifteen pounds to each seal. But I've got much bigger storage scrolls in the apartment..."

He looked at Hisashi then remembered. He stowed the first scroll ad brought out his personal quick use scroll. He sorted through it till he came up with a pair of combat gloves. They had hard backed plastic along the back and the knuckles were reinforced with metal bands and four dulled spikes. He tossed them to Hisashi. "I just remembered you do karate. Those should work pretty nice if you have to go hand to hand with those things."

Hisashi was surprised by his observation but pulled them on without a second thought.

A moment later they heard footsteps as someone ran along the side of the bus. Then a blond head, quite matted with blood poked inside. "Hey boss... I think you might need some help with that bunch. Are we both using Zabuza's blade?"

"Yeah... and do your best to keep the blade at head height the whole time. It might be sharp but we can't always just chop though the whole body. Besides you have to destroy the head to kill the damn things."

His clone grinned lopsidedly. "I just wish battles back home were this easy. What I wouldn't give for all our opponents we fought to have been walking corpses."

"Where's the fun in that?"

The clone looked pensive for a moment. "Guess you're right boss. But you know who'd be really useful here?"

"Uh... the Fourth Hokage? This would be a piece of cake if I could do Hirashin or something like it... Hell, if I could just do Shadow clones like normal..."

Saeko stalked over to him. Her eyes were focused on the clone as she asked, "So that's a clone of you... something you made out of chakra?"

The clone smirked. "That's exactly what I am. But I'm not exactly the same ya know. If anything hits me hard enough I go pop and disappear. So I have to be real careful not to get dispelled. Also... anything I learn while I'm alive boss instantly learns when I dispel."

Saya watched the clone. "So... what do you mean by how you would normally use them?"

Naruto explained. "Well remember when I told you how weakened I am right now? Usually I could make enough clones to fight those things two to one."

Takashi's eyes widened. "No way..."

Saeko looked like she was trying to imagine a few hundred copies of Naruto. A thought popped into her head and her cheeks went slightly pink. Naruto and his clone both looked at her at the same moment. The clone rubbed his nose with the back of his hand smirking.

The samurai girl noticed the look and her cheeks flushed red. Naruto looked away. "Damn nose..." He shook his head and tried to focus his attention back on the rest of the group. "Alright. Are you all ready?"

They nodded and Takashi gritted his teeth. Naruto tilted Kubikiribōchō and hopped out onto the street. His clone stood beside him. A moment later the rest of the group filed out onto the asphalt behind them. Ahead... the mass of zombies trudged back and forth, trying to catch the sound of a quick meal.

Naruto glanced back at them and grinned. "Let's raise hell... but do it quietly."

Ooo

Ooo

How does everyone like this chapter? Huh? Pretty tight?

Yeah I know, getting the silent treatment here. But I had a question for all you readers. And yes this is a hint. What clan do you guys think Saya is related to?

I'm interested to see what you guys and girls come up with. And remember... REVIEW!