The Best Laid Plans
Arun
Chapter 18: Murder & Mayhem
Disclaimer: Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuri! I love you! ROFL
Ishimatsu Shintami was fast asleep when Kiba came to the tent he shared with three others in the barracks. He was a light sleeper, however and woke up when the door creaked.
"The others want to go over some last minute things with you," Kiba said. Then, thinking about it. "It looks like it's going to be a long meeting and I'd bring my things with me if I were you."
Since Shintami had packed stuff for a two week long mission and sealed it away the night before, he simply picked up the scroll, which lay by his bedside and rolled out of bed. Ignoring the groans and mutters the others made at having their rest disturbed, he followed the Inuzuka to the tent that'd been assigned the Konoha shinobi.
"What's the deal?" he asked, walking beside the Inuzuka. "We have a lot of marching ahead of us in the days to come and God knows how long we'll be out on the field. Shouldn't we be getting some rest while we still can?"
Kiba shrugged.
"Hey, I'm just the gofer here, man. But if it's any consolation, you mirrored my sentiments exactly."
Shintami nodded, thinking about any need that'd possibly merit summoning him so late in the night before an important mission. It was suspicious enough that a part of him feared his comrades from Konoha had laid a trap. He knew that it was just his paranoia speaking, but still, he slowed down a notch so that Kiba led the way. If the chuunin noticed his actions, he did not say anything and the two of them walked in silence until they reached their destination.
"What's going on here?" Shintani asked without prelude. He espied Naruto sitting cross-legged in the center of the shelter in the lotus position as if he were a monk. Looking around and taking in the details, he observed that the interior was barren, all furniture apparently having been sealed away in scrolls scattered untidily across the room. Sakura and the others stood crowded together in one corner silently watching the blonde doing whatever it was that he was doing. The only utensil around was a large metal bowl – the kind used to wash one's feet - that someone had filled and secured in another corner. This was certainly not what he had expected when he entered the tent.
Sakura made a hushing motion and the Danzo loyalist shrugged. He would stay silent, but someone had better answer his questions after Naruto was done with his 'thing.' For the time being, he'd keep his peace and not let his irritation get in the way of teamwork.
As they waited for Naruto to come out of his trance, Shintani reflected on the three days that'd passed since the Konoha shinobi walked into camp and Danzo appointed him as their liaison. He had no doubt that in spite of the outward show of friendship, the Godaime's nin had gone out of their way to make his life difficult by being uncooperative. What else could account for the fact that even though he knew them to be extremely competent operators from his own observations as well as assorted intelligence reports, none of the six shared any information unless he explicitly asked for it. They also did not include him while they were making decisions and always informed him after the fact. And if that wasn't enough of an inconvenience, once they decided to act, they made it a point to keep him in the dark until the very last moment. Like, for instance, right now.
Of course, he'd complained to Sakura, who all martial logic to the contrary, seemed to be in charge of the little group – never mind that as per the manual the Aburame should have been in command since he outranked her – but she'd turned a deaf ear to his concerns.
A part of him understood that they did not trust Danzo a great deal and were concerned about security. But frankly speaking, he thought it was rather stupid of them to behave the way they did. For even though he spied on them for his master and made daily reports to his leader, he did not mean them any harm. They were all on the same side and would continue to be until that day in the future came when Danzo-sama's goals were no longer the same as that of the powers that be in Konoha.
Presently, Naruto opened his eyes, forcing Shintami to shelve his thoughts for the time being. The blonde's pupils had somehow metamorphosed during his trance, but if the others expected to see the reaction of Danzo's servant, they were bound to be sorely disappointed. He wondered, however, what was up with the creepy eyes and what had the blonde done to himself to make them change so.
"Yep, found the spot," Naruto, unconcerned by the tense atmosphere, slapped his thigh in satisfaction and announced happily. To Shino, he said, "Bug-boy, could you move that basin over here?"
The Aburame moved to obey.
"Shin-san, you are after me," Naruto continued after scrunching his weird eyes in thought for a second.
Shintami made to ask what, but even as he spoke, the Uzumaki made the necessary blood sacrifice and performed a summoning. A member of the toad clan materialized out of thin air.
"Hey, Boss!" the little toad summon said as soon as it got its bearings. Then it noticed the state of Naruto's eyes. "You addicted to the energy rush or something, boss?"
"Shut up, Kosuke. I'm working here," Naruto replied with a half-hearted glare. Kosuke was sometimes even more annoying than that candy loving, wise-ass of a brat Gamakichi.
"Yeah, about that. Kakashi wanted me to pass you a message."
Naruto shook his head. He did not want to listen to news from home with their liaison around. The damned snitch would pass it on to Danzo. Sakura's mistake was the last freebie the bastard was going to get from them if the blonde had any say in it.
"Whatever it is, it can wait until later. I want to toad-port everyone in this room somewhere."
Kosuke looked around. There were seven people and an Inuzuka clan mutt for the ride. Very much within his limits.
"Too many people," he lied, hoping for a bribe. He had his eyes on a cute little lass back home and she had sweet tooth for tuna. "I need help."
Making a mental note to make it up to Kosuke later, Naruto summoned a second toad without a word. He knew that the little guy was angling for a sweetener, but the latter loved to dicker before striking a bargain and time was of the essence. Of course, the Uzumaki knew that he could agree to owe a favor and get on with it, but prior experience with Gamakichi on a similar matter made him wary. He'd be damned if he agreed to another deal with a toad in a hurry. The last one had brought him enough embarrassment to last a lifetime.
"Now, listen up," he said, pulling out a map and speaking in a voice that was barely loud enough to be heard by everyone present. He pointed to a well some distance from Danzo's camp in the direction of Sunagakure. "We're going here. Kosuke is responsible for Shino, Hinata, Shintani and I. The rest of you follow are with Gama-onna."
It dawned to Shintani then what Naruto had meant by a toad-port. The Konoha shinobi obviously meant to give Danzo the slip so that they could operate without ever-watchful eyes on their back. The liaison felt that this turn of events simply would not do. But the 'escape' was impossible to prevent as it'd already begun – the toad Kosuke had reeled in Naruto with his tongue and swallowed the latter whole. The Leaf nin would resist for certain if he tried to block the getaway and the consequences to his master's plans would be far-reaching and extremely detrimental if Kakashi's brats were killed inside the camp or their blood spilled.
That left Danzo's agent with two choices. He could either refuse to leave now and inform his master, or he could accompany them and keep his comrades informed with his own summons. With the former, there was a possibility that the Konoha shinobi would disappear into thin air and handicap the exiled Root Commander by denying him intelligence on their actions. The latter, however, did not suffer from that disadvantage. And because it was the best of all realistic choices, Shintani stood still when the toad's slimy tongue wrapped around him and dragged him into its gut.
Damned he was if he did not hate the loathsome pests with a passion!
xxxxx
The few fish swimmingly their lives lazily by scrambled to the edges as two toads appeared out of thin air at the bottom of the well. The toads, for their part, ignored the local fauna and lethargically swam to the top. On breaking the water surface, they opened their mouths wide and out popped Naruto from one and a brief second later, Sasuke from another.
As he emerged, Naruto's eyes were focused on the sky. He caught sight of a robed stranger staring down at them from the mouth of the well. He waved to the man once his hands were free, but the stranger screamed in terror and ran, leaving his livestock behind. The Uzumaki mentally thanked his luck that it was only a civilian and not some shinobi who'd got the drop on them and made a note to let the toads do some scouting in the future before insertion. He signaled Sasuke and ninjato at the ready, they jumped out of the well.
A minute later, everyone was out and on flat ground. Naruto, who'd taken charge of the perimeter along with Sasuke, pointed at the fleeing civilian with his hand, drawing everyone's attention to the man. His action offered the perfect opportunity to take care of traitor troubles, and Sakura, who'd been helping the others out and who stood closest to Shintani, seized the moment to stab the man in the back of his neck neatly severing his spine. As the body went limp and started to collapse, she shifted her leg a little to avoid getting blood on her person. There was no need to stink of blood and death when they were only a minute into the insertion.
Naruto shot a smile at the Haruno and gave her a thumbs-up. So far, things appeared to be going exceedingly well. Hopefully, the rest of the mission would be just as simple as taking the tiresome spy out.
"Kiba, take care of that civilian. We don't want witnesses," he said, turning to face the Inuzuka.
The Team 8 member nodded and shooting a single contemptuous look at their erstwhile liaison, took off after his victim with Akamaru. Naruto walked up to the well and kicked the body hard out of spite. Then he spat on the man for good measure. If he had time, he would piss on the bastard as well.
"Fucking spy," he cursed the corpse and turned to Sasuke, "Want to do the rest of the honors?"
Sasuke nodded and made shooing motions with his hands. His companions moved away from the body and once he judged the distance safe, he incinerated the body with a gokakyu so hot that it melted the sand to glass. A black plume rose into the sky as the body burned and the air stank of well-cooked pork.
Even as the flames crackled and roared, Hinata ran to the tallest rock within eyesight on her own initiative and did a quick scan of the area with her eyes. If there were unfriendly forces nearby, the smoke would attract them like moths to flame.
Meanwhile, Naruto turned to his frog companions as Gama-onna grabbed a stray locust with her tongue and happily munched on the crispy critter from her perch on his head.
"So, what did the Hokage say, Kosuke?" he asked.
"He said you're on your own," Kosuke replied, turning away from the blaze. One of the reasons he loved Team 7 so was fire. He was a pyromaniac at heart and wherever his friends went, an inferno was sure to follow. "Hi no Kuni's mobilizing for war, but he can't spare help for you."
Naruto shrugged. It was what they'd expected.
"That's okay. We figured that'd be the case. Thanks, Kosuke. And you too, Gama-onna."
The frogs did the vanishing trick and poofed away. Working his tongue on a cavity, Naruto turned to Kiba, who was walking back to them. Akamaru was at the Inuzuka's side, dragging along their victim by his leg with his powerful jaws. The man's neck was bent at an unnatural angle, leaving no doubt as to his fate. There appeared to be no other marks on the man.
"You didn't use a weapon?" Sakura asked just to be sure.
"As if I'd do anything that stupid. Akamaru took care of it by himself. I didn't even touch the bastard." He spit in the direction of the fire to show his contempt for the other dead bastard. Like Naruto and Sasuke, when Kiba hated, he hated with all his heart. The converse was also true.
"Good."
Kiba nodded absentmindedly and went on his knees to check Akamaru's feather shoes. The damned contraptions slowed down his friend and made him less effective as a warrior, but it was necessary. Canine tracks as big as Akamaru's were considered as evidence of Konoha involvement across the ninja world. As for the bite marks, there were any number of implements out on the market – sold by Konoha, of course – that perfectly mimicked a dog's provided you could borrow drool from an innocent household pet. For this very reason, some ninja villages bred rabid dogs.
"Well, that's that," the Inuzuka announced, clapping his hands in satisfaction and stretching his back.
"Yep," Sasuke replied.
Naruto grinned predatorily.
"Enjoy your peace while it lasts, Suna, for here we come!"
xxxxx
Colonel Saigo Takamori of the 3rd Restoration Brigade rose on his horse and inspected the four regiments assembled before him. His whole command of five thousand three hundred soldiers and support personnel was arrayed before him. Ninja were the sole exception, for as the designated scouts, they'd left much earlier. There was the Colonel's shinobi guard, of course, but they never put themselves on display.
The conscripts stood at rigid attention in excellent formation. The leaf-blades of the pikemen shone brightly in the sun and the colors of the brigade fluttered proudly in the air as a grizzled samurai, the color bearer of the brigade, stood proudly next to the Colonel. Judging his troops ready, Takamori twitched a finger at his XO, who in turn signaled the bugler. The bugle sounded march and rank by rank, regiment by regiment, the brigade and its accoutrements commenced their three day march to the Kaze no Kuni border.
"Everything appears to be in order," Takamori commented to his XO, Lt. Colonel Beppu Shinsuke once they were on the road.
The Lt. Colonel, another samurai like the Colonel himself, nodded.
"They could stand to be a bit seasoning," he replied.
Takamori shrugged. It was a fact of nature that soldiers could always use a little extra experience.
"Soldiers could always use more training. The pertinent question is, do you think we have trained them enough for the mission?"
"They're steady enough. Having veteran samurai in their ranks to train and lead them has worked very well once we got over the initial hiccups."
"Funny to hear you speak of broken bones, and dead samurai and civilian recruits as a hiccup."
"It had to be done."
"Indeed. Still, I've never liked executing my men."
The 3rd Restoration Brigade was one of seven new formations created two and a half years back using conscripts from the farmer and merchant classes. This caused much disgruntlement to the samurai class who felt that war was the domain of their caste alone. But the Daimyo – who was widely acclaimed to be the strongest rule in Fire's history – had overridden their protests claiming that the recruits would be used primarily as a provincial guard as garrison troops and would not be a part of the regular army. Saigo Takamori had been one of a handful of high-ranking samurai who'd seen the potential in the force and volunteered for it. The government had put forward the remainder of the samurai seed for the new units, including the veteran foot soldiers.
The transferees had all been troublemakers that no one wanted. Some were incompetent cretins, others were misfits and still others had list string of disciplinary offenses as long as they were tall for any number of misdemeanors. But they were all proud samurai who felt great dishonor and shame for their apparent fall from grace. Naturally, there had been plenty of friction between the farmer and merchant conscripts and the veteran warriors. It'd taken more than a year of harsh training and some very tough decisions – a few involving court martials and the gallows – to turn the lot into a fighting unit that Takamori privately considered the equal on any samurai unit he'd served with during the many years of his service. Individually, of course, any samurai was the equal of three or even four of his civilian conscripts, but fighting as a unit with their pikes, their bows and their newfangled catapult artillery, there was none better.
"I don't think anyone does."
"True. We're heading into the furnace now. We should know how useful is this new-forged sword and whether the dead souls were a worthy price soon enough."
"We may get reamed," Shinsuke commented. He was by nature a cynical soul.
"It's your job and mine to ensure we avoid that."
"And what happens afterwards? You know what the majority of samurai feel about the new formations."
Takamori barked a laugh.
"Oh, they'll all be too busy fighting for their lives in the short term. You've read the same reports I have. We're facing an alliance of Lightning and Earth along with a few minor countries. And now, there's also Wind that's apparently decided to throw in with our enemies."
"And after that?"
The Colonel, who understood better than his oldest and most loyal friend what the conscript army meant for his caste, stared straight ahead. In a hundred years, his caste would have faded from the face of the earth. But his decision had been made a long time back. His kind and their ilk be damned, his loyalty was to his Daimyo and to his country.
"We all do what we must," Shinsuke replied. "If we win, we'll worry about the afterwards. The present has enough troubles, don't you think so?"
The Lt. Colonel nodded.
"I would that Hi no Kuni had more time to prepare."
"Your enemy screws up your plans. That's why he's called the enemy, after all."
"Well, anyways," Shinsuke said, changing the subject, "I hope those assholes in supply come through on their lofty promises."
"Kuwayama Yeiichi usually comes through on his promises. And if he doesn't, we'll appropriate comestibles from nearby granaries," Takamori replied serenely. Maj. Kuwayama was the brigade's S4, the logistics officer and Shinsuke was his best friend. "Mind, with war looming around the corner, I'd avoid that if possible in case we end up being besieged. Anyways, we'll see."
xxxxx
The midday sun shone mercilessly on her back as she scanned the horizon with eyes that were naturally better than any manmade telescope. The corpses of the observation post's garrison as well as the unfortunate water carriers who'd been on a resupply mission were starting to stink something awful in the afternoon heat, but she ignored the stench just as she tried to ignore the other things being done behind her back.
Immediately after the Konoha shinobi overran the post and executed the last of the prisoners, Kiba had argued to throw the bodies out. His nose was too sensitive to the foul odors of rotting carcass and shit combined together, but Team 7 had collectively refused.
They had use for the corpses as tools in psychological warfare.
After setting Team 8 to watch the approaches, Naruto and co spent an hour building crosses from the metal frames of the cots used by the garrison. They used their constructions to crucify the bodies on the slope facing Suna. In case that wasn't enough of a provocation for Suna, they also desecrated the bodies of the Suna nin by skinning the dead – one of whom had been alive at the start of the procedure until Sakura mercifully cut his throat, – disemboweling them or cutting out their eyes, ears and tongue.
That wasn't what disturbed Hinata to the core, however. She'd seen and done enough inhumane things to the guerillas and their supporters in Tea to have developed a mental shield against such horrors. But seeing Team 7 going about the task while having a whispered conversation full of jokes had nauseated her.
Then, suddenly, they were no longer alone.
"Inbound contact at 2 O'clock and 9 O'clock!" Hinata barked, as her eyes picked up two separate patrols on different vectors for their hill.
Naruto came and stood beside the Hyuuga. She tried to ignore the blood on his hands and his ANBU issue ninjato.
"Range, ETA and numbers?" he asked, shooting her a look.
The Hyuuga was a veteran and should have reported those details as well. He had disciplined such failures on the field in the past, but in light of present circumstances, he was willing to excuse her once. For all that their first few months had been baptized by blood, it had taken him and Sakura a very long time before they learnt to shield themselves from the horrors they were forced to perpetrate as part of their trade, after all. And to this day, it got to him sometimes.
"The one on our 9 O'clock is the closest. Range is approximately 1500 yards. ETA is five minutes in this terrain. There are twelve shinobi in that group. The other one has ten shinobi. Range is greater than 2000 yards. They'll probably take seven or eight minutes to intercept us."
Naruto nodded and turned to Kiba and Shino.
"Either of you able to sense the enemies?" he asked.
They shook their heads and Naruto looked thoughtful.
"Okay, everyone, listen up. This is what we're going to do. We're going to defeat the two response teams in detail. We'll do that by advancing on the group on our 9 O'clock. We'll engage them in that level ground over there. I'll hold their attention. Sasuke and Sakura will hit them on the flank while I keep them distracted. Team 8 will be the reserve and hide themselves in that ravine just to the north-west of the flats. Do not worry about runners. They'll know reinforcements are on their way and will try to pin us down. But we'll hit hard and move fast. In case we're caught between two units, Kiba, Shino and Hinata will fall on their rear and relieve the pressure. Otherwise, I don't want to reveal you three this time. Is that clear?"
Everyone was.
"Good, let's show these Suna pussies what it means to mess with Fire and Leaf."
xxxxx
The Suna nin commander led his reinforced squad on an assault through the badlands to retake the observation post that'd fallen to an unknown force some hours back. He knew that the garrison manning the station was dead – their last broadcast report before communication ceased had stated that the position was about to be overrun. But if he couldn't rescue them, he damned well was going to exact vengeance in equal measure on their murderers. Afterwards, they would visit the same upon Danzo for daring send his killers so close to Sunagakure. The bastard had managed to elude justice for so long only because of lack of evidence, but after this day, the Suna nin commander would ensure that it would no longer be the case. Even if he had to cook up the proof himself.
Spotting a masked Naruto holding a blade and blocking the trail about two hundred yards in their line of advance, the commander slowed down and signaled two teams of two to take the man on his flank.
The blonde moved before the Suna teams could even begin to obey their leader and launch an attack, however. One moment, the blade-wielding Uzumaki was standing far away and the next, he was in the commander's face, throwing a powerful spin kick to his head. The Suna nin raised his arm barely in time to block the blow for all the good it did him. The kick easily broke the bones in his hands and still had enough force behind it that when it slammed into his target's head it instantly crushed his skull. The resultant vector shot him across the hard, rock-studded ground, where he pin wheeled and crashed into a boulder some distance away with a sickening thud. The only saving grace was that Naruto's victim was dead long before he hit the ground.
The surviving Suna nin stared at Naruto goggle-eyed at the quick victory. Their commander had been a decorated and highly experienced jounin and yet, the blonde assassin had crushed him as if he was really a genin.
Enjoying the trepidation his enemies felt, Naruto slid into an easy stance with his ninjato held away from his body, mocking them. To add insult to Suna's injured pride, he made no move to retreat when the survivors advanced on him.
"I'm here to kill you, Suna pussies," he said with a snicker.
"Motherfucker!" one of the Suna nin cursed hoarsely and charged, his weapons at the ready. The man's squad mates rallied around his defiant cry and followed his lead.
However, the counterattack ended less than a second later when Naruto disappeared once again. He reappeared at the wannabe avenger's position to strike the man and the Suna nin flew back from the strength of the blow. The victim hit the ground haphazardly some distance away and skidded to a halt. Luckily, he escaped the visually spectacular crash with only a few scrapes, but not even a single laceration, much less a broken bone. Unfortunately, the ninjato sticking out on both sides of his chest where Naruto had stabbed him through the heart had been instantly fatal.
Still, even as Naruto struck the fatal blow, the man's teammates attacked en masse, aiming to bring him down with sheer weight of numbers. But if the survivors thought that the blonde was vulnerable after striking such a powerful blow, they were sorely disappointed. As the first of the lot reached him, he moved into his assailant's guard, shoved him into the next one and jumped clear of the trap.
The nin that Naruto shoved crashed into his neighbor and together they went down – one screaming in pain as the other's kunai embedded deep in his arm. But even as they fell, another Suna nin quickly ran through the requisite seals and shot a chakra flare into the sky signaling for help. The man realized that he and the others may have bitten off more than they could chew and would need all the help they could get to bring down the killer in their midst. In parallel with his actions, the remaining shinobi unleashed elemental attacks at their assailant.
Impromptu blades of wind and streams of fire and water hit the masked ninja. Wind and flame combined to turn the flames into a superhot inferno and water evaporated into superheated steam at the temperatures involved. A shroud of steam fast enveloped the area, obscuring sight, and scalding and sterilizing everything in its way.
The Suna nin scrambled aside, both to avoid the expanding cloud of steam and to prevent their enemy from getting the drop on them if he'd survived. If they could not pinpoint his position and he could localize theirs through some means, then they would be at even more of a disadvantage. And with someone as powerful as their belligerent, that was the last thing they needed if they wanted to survive.
Seconds passed in silence as everyone waited with their guards up for the steam to clear. Since any potentially sound could give them away, the wounded shinobi – a chuunin – quietly bit into a spare kunai, and slapping a field bandage over his wound, downed a shot of field anesthetic. The powerful narcotic would prevent him from participating directly in the battle, but it would not so impair him that he could not provide his teammates with support from afar with the two ranged attacks he had in his arsenal.
But for some reason, the steam did not clear. In fact, it seemed to grow thicker still as the seconds passed.
"Genjutsu!" someone shouted in warning, finally putting two and two together and realizing what must have happened.
On hearing those dreaded words, the surviving Sand ninja scrambled desperately in a race against time to break the illusion. The illusionary steam cleared as their chakra coils reasserted themselves and the survivors saw that even their quick reaction hadn't been fast enough. They were now two less in number, and the wounded chuunin and another were dead.
In fact, even as they gained situation awareness, a third individual – another chuunin – fell as a Sakura materialized behind him and repeatedly stabbed him in the back, puncturing both his kidneys in the process. Her victim went down on his knees with his mouth gaping wide open in a silent rictus of excruciating agony and died of exsanguination. His neighbor shot a quick gokakyu at the assassin medic. He charged with his kunai, aiming to get in close and take her down, but she twisted out of his attack. As he stepped past her, she tapped him on the back of his head with glowing hands and he fell like a puppet that had its strings cut.
Six down.
Seeing their numbers reduced to half the original strength, one of the survivors spared a glance at his compatriots. The ease with which his teammates had fallen convinced him that discretion was the better part of valor and he turned to make a run for it. He did not make it five yards, however, before Sasuke kawarimi-d into his path and stuck a punch dagger in his groin. The man went down hard, wailing loudly.
Naruto reentered the fray then, having taken a break for heaven knew what once Sakura joined battle. His prey neatly stepped out of his initial blow with an impressive jump to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. Unfortunately for him, the Uzumaki simply kawarimi-d the man in the middle of the fight and sent him on a crashing course with his pink haired teammate. The Haruno, for her part, brushed the Suna nin with her deadly hands before he could realized what was happening and he collapsed on the dirt, internally bleeding to death from a severed aorta.
Concurrently, the remaining four survivors of the original Suna force found themselves in dire straits. Three were dragged into the ground courtesy of traps dug by kage bunshin and buried up to their necks in the hot sands. The fourth was set upon by Sasuke and went down under a flurry of blows with a fine spray of blood to decorate his passage into the next world as the Uchiha made short work of him with his ninjato.
In all, less than a minute had passed since the Suna team realized they were under a genjutsu.
"That was anti-climatic after the anticipation of the last new days. I'll grant that steam attack was awesome, however," the Naruto observed, pulling out his ninjato from his victim's chest with a heave. The blade was nicked from when the moron had rolled on the fucking ground. The blonde just knew that such idiots who could not even die gracefully ended up in a nasty corner of hell. "I mean, the bastards did not even put up a fight."
"We were more powerful than the lot and we had surprise on our side. What else did you expect?" Sasuke replied thoughtfully. Then, whatever fancy struck him, he decided to go on an ego-trip. "But seriously, who cares how a bunch of Suna-fucks die. The only thing that matters here is that I was awesome."
"Shut up, Uke," Sakura replied heatedly, hefting a rock and approaching the three trapped nin. She'd killed five and was about to execute three more while the two wimps had only managed four between them. They had no right to talk the way they did. "Why didn't you enter the genjutsu earlier?"
Sasuke, not understanding the thin ground he stood on, sneered.
"And miss a grand entrance? If Naruto gets to make one, so do I!"
"Sasuke," the Haruno ground angrily, "should I kick your ass for being an idiot on the battlefield?"
She punctuated her words by bringing the rock down on the heads of the three trapees one after another, caving their skulls in. With ten more inbound, Team 7 couldn't afford to leave the three alive. Not that she could let them live after learning the names of her teammates. Then there was also the Godaime's standing order to execute Suna nin… Never mind with the nitpicking, the bastards are dead.
"Nope!" Sasuke replied cheerily.
"Bastard!"
Naruto chuckled at the byplay and clapped his hands together to draw his teammates' attention. Sasuke and Sakura turned to him and he pointed them in the right direction with his hand.
"I was starting to wonder where the rest had gone," he said. "On me, my trusty sidekicks."
"Fuck you, Naruto!" Sasuke replied with a snort. Nevertheless, he took position at the blonde's side.
"In your dreams," the Uzumaki replied, running through the seals and filling his lungs with air.
The Uchiha shook his head at that clichéd retort and flicked his blade to get rid of the blood some. He would have to clean it better after the coming engagement, but for now, the little shake would have to do.
By this time, the Suna nin were only fifty yards away now and starting their final rush. They were split into five teams with reasonable separation between them. They looked to be reasonably well led unlike the first squad and wonder of wonders, there was even a genjutsu user amongst them. Naruto shrugged off the illusion as it laid hold on him – he may not be able to do illusionary techniques worth a damn, but he was very experienced at dispelling them. He had two extremely talented users for teammates and they'd been encouraged by all his teachers to use him as a guinea pig, after all – and breathed out the powerful S-ranked katon zukoku targeting the two teams on the left. The genjutsu adept was on that flank and the Uzumaki aimed to burn the bastard to cinder.
The charging Suna nin did not stand a chance against the furious, hot flames and were immolated at such close quarters. Everything in the direction of the conflagration for hundreds of yards went up in smoke.
Even as Naruto spewed fire, Sasuke and Sakura countercharged the remaining three teams. The Uchiha went in first with a lightning fast, but extravagant cut with his ninjato. His target weaved out of the way, which accomplished Sasuke's goal of splitting him and his teammate. Sakura rushed in to seize the opportunity, but before she could even land a blow, she was forced to jump back to avoid a lightning technique that a kunoichi from a second team threw at her.
Right at the very moment, Naruto flew in fast with his ninjato. His eyes were set on the kunoichi who thwarted Sakura as his next target, but her teammate raised an earthen wall to protect her. The Uzumaki jumped back and joined his teammates.
The Suna nin confidently advanced.
Sakura threw a genjutsu and Naruto threw a weak daitoppa at the ground. As their enemies fought to suppress the illusion and overcome the improvised dust screen, the blonde jumped high into the air. Simultaneously, Sasuke charged straight ahead and Sakura sank into the ground.
Two of the Suna nin acting in tandem retaliated by throwing a wall of shuriken into the air that was sped along its merry way by a powerful daitoppa. Naruto was hit multiple times in midair and hit the ground hard, crumbling into dirt as he did. The real Uzumaki shot a powerful blast of fire from his assailants' rear and one raised an earthen wall to defend his teammate and himself. The other slammed his hand into the ground and summoned a weasel. As the roar of flames died down, the weasel unleashed a powerful wind strike – wind attacks were a specialty of the weasel clan – that cut through the wall as knife through butter and battered the area where Naruto stood.
The Uzumaki kawarimi-d himself out of harm's way and slamming his hand on the ground, performed a yomi numa. His opponents jumped clear of the mud swamp that formed under their feet, but the act separated them and an earth clone body checked the wind user hard as he neared the end of his flight. The man stabbed the clone even as it slammed into him, but the clone's purpose was accomplished. With one ribs broken and two more bruised from the hit, the Suna nin no longer had the mobility he had at the start of the fight.
The wind user's partner, seeing the other's predicament, rushed Naruto to buy his partner time to regain his feet, but the latter had him outclassed in everything that mattered. Easily overpowering the weasel with a quick shunshin, the blonde stabbed it with his blade. Then, as he ran sideways to avoid the hail of shuriken the earth user threw at him, he caught an errant projectile between the fingers of his free hand and advanced on his opponent. Naruto's ninjato came up to eviscerate his enemy even as he flung back the throwing star as a distraction, but the man was a smart one and kawarimi-d out of danger. Still, the Uzumaki got a piece of the middle finger of his left hand and the pain from the wound would only increase the time it took the Suna nin to execute techniques.
The blonde smiled grimly at his little victory and rocketed forward, seeking to press home his advantage for a quick victory. But his opponent had time enough to bring up a kunai and point it so that Naruto ran straight into the razor sharp blade even as he himself leaned under the Konoha nin's blade. The Uzumaki opened his mouth to scream in pain and his henge vanished into thin air. Another copy came from the side slashing and cut up the replacement left behind by the Suna nin in two.
Naruto barely had a moment then to realize that he'd walked into a trap when blades of wind slammed into his back and shredded him into little slivers. The dirt from the mud clone and fell to the earth to form a little puddle. Realizing the peril he was in, the wind user preemptively twisted out of the way but he acted too late. The Uzumaki's ninjato cut bone and flesh as it penetrated into his chest cavity and he threw up his head, screaming and writhing in agony.
The blonde nodded in satisfaction. That strike had pierced the right lung and as evidence, his victim collapsed on the ground, bright arterial blood flowing out of his mouth. Well, maybe, that cut got more than a piece of the lung.
"You bastard," the dying man's partner screamed hoarsely and charged.
In return, Naruto jumped over his victim and counter-charged his assailant. They met midway in the air and furiously exchanged blows. The Uzumaki attacked with his blade and the enemy fought with his kunai, but there really was no hope for the latter. The blonde's skill with the blade was mediocre at best, but he outclassed the other so much in speed and agility with the added advantage of greater reach from his weapon that the outcome of the fight was a foregone conclusion.
Thus, when his opponent made one misguided thrust with his kunai aiming to sever the blonde's jugular, Naruto grabbed hold of the offending appendage in a vice grip with his free hand. Then, holding the Suna nin firmly in place by twisting his arm, the Uzumaki chopped it off with the ninjato held in his other hand. This proved to be a big mistake as arterial blood fountained all over the blonde's face and rendered him temporarily blind.
Sensing the danger he was in, Naruto jumped backwards to gain some breathing space. He landed badly even though the jump did not carry him all that far and he fell down. Nevertheless, he released his enemy's severed hand and wiped at his face furiously, ignoring the stinging pain from the cut he'd received when his ninjato bit into his flesh during the fall. He knew his only hope for survival was to regain his vision as fast as possible. A blind man had no place facing even a cripple in a battlefield, after all. Not unless he had suicide wish, whereupon it would be granted post haste.
As Naruto worked on his eyes, the Suna nin fumbled another kunai from his holster and staggered drunkenly towards his prey. He was mere feet away and fast losing consciousness from blood loss when Naruto regained his eyesight. For whatever reason – perhaps because he knew he was moments away from death by blood loss and wanted to go out in as flamboyant a manner as possible or because he was a patriot who worked to rid his nation of its enemies even at deathbed – the shinobi jumped into the air, aiming to use the force of his crash to stab the blonde fatally in his chest.
His dreams were not to be, however, as a kunai took him in his head with a resounding thwack at the apex of his flight. Naruto rolled safely out of the away as the man's lifeless body crashed into the ground and lay twitching.
The Uzumaki knew what that kunai meant and laid on his back over the blistering hot ground, thanking whatever god had favored him in today's battle. He remained thus until Sasuke and Sakura walked into his view. The Uchiha dutifully extended a hand and the blonde grabbed hold of it and pulled himself up. Once he'd regained his feet, he looked around and confirmed what he knew – that they were only ones left standing in the field.
"Thanks, Sasuke, Sakura," he said quietly with a rueful smile on his face.
"Could have happened to anyone," the Uchiha replied. Hell, it had even happened to him once.
Naruto chuckled and doggedly walked over to inspect their downed enemies. He used a kage bunshin armed with a kunai to slit their throats one by one. They were all dead except for one caught in his fire attack, but the blonde liked to be thorough. The lone survivor was horribly burned and barely alive. There wasn't a patch of skin on him that wasn't burnt to a crisp and he kept up a low frequency keen at his own unimaginable pain.
"Oh, shut up," the Uzumaki muttered as he lifted his leg and stomped on the poor bastard's throat, putting the man out of his misery. His motivation in granting even this small mercy was twofold. One, it was the right thing to do and two, to maximize the psychological effect of this massacre on Suna's ruling establishment, they could leave no survivors behind.
xxxxx
Author's notes:
Well, that's that for this chapter. Please leave reviews.
Team 7, as clearly shown in this chapter, are loyal and honorable, but are also cold blooded killers who'd shed their humanity to protect their country. The last run-on battle was particularly hard to write as I had to include multiple viewpoints for most of the scene. But I hope you, my readers, liked it. I will confess that I had a lot of fun writing the part where Naruto almost dies. There is a lesson in that incident and that is, even heroes die from stupid accidents. Naruto was lucky this time, but next time, he or his friends may not…
Thanks to The Unicorn for pointing out something really stupid in this chapter. I've corrected it now. LOL
Next up: Diplomatic accusations and truant jinchuurikis! LOL Keep reading! If you have stuck with me this far, I think you'll like the stuff to come.