A/N: This is my first try as an author so bear with me. English isn't my first language so don't hesitate to pm me with any fault you find, I am always eager to learn.
I'm glad I was right about the current location of the group in River Country. People seemed pleased with Naruto's growth and his new skill set as a dragon sennin in his fight against the fake Uchiha. Everything will be explained in due time so there's no need to worry about the how or the when he developed those skills.
Now I know the story is lacking in the romance department as of late, and that last chapter didn't have any Natsuki and Naruto interaction. Don't worry, she's still there and will have her part again in the story soon.
I'm trying to have the story follow a certain rhythm and we are indeed currently in a fast-paced moment of the story, action packed. Slower-paced time will come after this, and come on now, Naruto is back from his trip since what, four days, he's been through the testing and is already on a S-rank mission. That's a pretty tight schedule if you want my opinion.
Getting close to my 200th review in less than three weeks of existence for the story, so big thanks to all my loyal reviewers. It's your participation that keeps me motivated and keeps this story alive and, I dare hope, interesting.
Anyway, welcome to the next chapter of Kaze No Kami.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other manga for that matter.
Chapter 22: Brethren
River Country – Unknown Cave
In a huge and dark cave stood a strange structure. It looked like the upper body of a humanoid form, aside from the bust a head and two hands could be clearly identified. The two hands were opened and had their palms facing up, in a beggar position. On each fingers but one, stood the members of the Akatsuki organization. In the center of the cave was the floating body of the Kazekage, threads of chakra linking it to the statue.
"They're here, right in front of the cave entrance as we speak." Announced a voice from the group, he had a strange complexion and from the top of his body could be seen what looked like the mouth of a carnivorous plant.
"How many of them Zetsu ?" Asked another voice.
"I saw five of them, they're from the same group with the Toad and the jinchuriki. The seal on the door will not hold them forever." Zetsu replied.
"We can't move from this spot until the sealing is done, Gedo Mazo still needs one hour to absorb the essence of the Ichibi." Said the unknown voice.
"It seems I failed in slowing down the invaders. Jiraya saw right through our plan to stall them and gave orders for their group to split. I fought against Uzumaki Naruto while the toad sage himself went for Kisame." Reported Itachi to his group as he came out of his meditation trance.
"What do you mean you failed ? The Kyuubi jinchuriki should have been an easy match for you, how could a mere chunin defeat you ?" Replied the first voice.
"The data we have on him before he disappeared three years ago are greatly outdated. Even if I was not using my full force against him he was able to quickly defeat me with unknown techniques. I don't think I even managed to injure him." Said Itachi, greatly surprising the other people in the room.
They were interrupted by the awakening form of Kisame, most likely done with his fight against Jiraya too.
"Report Kisame !" Yelled the same voice.
"I failed to stop Jiraya, damn that old man is crafty." Snarled the ex swordsman of the Hidden Mist Village leaving the audience in the room hanging for his input on the sennin.
Flashback – 30 minutes ago
As Kisame recovered from the hit he just received from Jiraya, the Toad Sage joined him. They faced each other in the middle of a clearing.
"Doton : Yomi Numa !" Yelled Jiraya as he was the first to move.
Kisame suddenly found himself sinking into the ground. As he looked down he saw that a small swamp appeared out of nowhere at his feet, dragging him down in the process. While he was distracted, Jiraya was already in front of him. Jiraya leaped at him with a Rasengan already formed in his right hand, ready to finish him.
Kisame instantly took out his sword Samehada and put it front of him in opposition to the incoming Rasengan. The swirling chakra orb lost some of its power at the contact, much to Jiraya's amazement.
The recoil produced by the two clashing techniques allowed Kisame to get free from the swamp that Jiraya created to stop his movements. The Mist missing shinobi then took the opportunity to attack. He went through his own hand signs in preparation.
"Suiton : Dai Bakusui Shouha !" Said Kisame as he expelled an enormous wave of water out of his mouth completely submerging the area around them.
Jiraya simply jumped in the air and then stood on top of the water surface once the jutsu settled down. He couldn't relax though, since Kisame wasn't finished and was going through hand signs again for another jutsu.
"Suiro Same Odori no jutsu !" Kisame said. As he completed his technique all the water around them gathered in one point taking the form of a gigantic water bubble. It trapped them both inside.
The strange technique also allowed Kisame to fusion with his sword. The result was a grotesque hybrid form between a shark and a man. Jiraya stood in his spot inside the giant water prison, not moving, with his eyes closed holding his breath in order to not suffocate. He had two small frogs on both his shoulders which Kisame never saw him summon.
As Kisame in his hybrid form swam close to Jiraya to finish him off, the toad hermit suddenly opened his eyes. Kisame could see a strange transformation on the Gamma sennin, his eyes looked weird and his nose was somehow bigger.
Not wanting to wait, Kisame went to attack the still unmoving Toad sage. As he was close to his target, he was surprised when his fist was suddenly caught by his enemy. The strength displayed by the sennin was no laughing matter either, as he couldn't even remove his fist from Jiraya's solid grip.
Then the strangest thing happened, Kisame felt a chakra source escaping from Jiraya and entering his own body, resulting from him merging with Samehada.
However, as he continued to absorb Jiraya's chakra, he started to feel weird. Then seconds later, his hand slowly turned into stone, his whole body soon following the same process.
The last thing Kisame saw was the grinning face of the Toad Sage and him calling his next jutsu, "Senpo : Cho Oodama Rasengan !" then all went black.
End of flashback
"And that's it, all I know is that he was somehow able to use a jutsu to transform my body into stone." Kisame said as he finished his report to the group.
"I see, that's most troubling. Itachi finish your report, how did the jinchuriki defeat you ?" Ordered the apparent leader's voice.
Then Itachi did the same as Kisame and gave a summary of his fight against Naruto to the group.
"Well at least we know a bit more about him than what we could learn from Kisame about Jiraya. Uzumaki Naruto has very powerful genjutsu skills, on par or even better than the perception of the Sharingan. He uses a wind type sword and has reached the sennin level of the dragon clan." Analyzed the leader.
"Both of them are strong enough to easily defeat the underpowered shadows of Itachi and Kisame. We will not engage them again until we have more intelligence on either of them. However I have a plan to draw out more of the jinchuriki hidden skills, so we may know more about him the next time any of us has to face him."
"They're back, it seems they took care of the external seals too. Jiraya and the jinchuriki are coming too." Interrupted Zetsu.
"Damn we don't have enough time to complete the sealing, I don't want them to see the Gedo Mazo, we can't risk them destroying it. No choice, dispel the technique and sever your connection. Deidara and Sasori, try to take the Kazekage with you but escape without it if you can't." Ordered the leader.
Every figure stopped channeling chakra to the statue, with the jutsu incomplete the mass of chakra accumulated dispersed and went back to Gaara who screamed in pain. Then slowly, one by one the members disappeared into the shadows, leaving the two who were the only ones physically inside the cave. The statue also dispelled, leaving the body of the still unmoving but alive Gaara on the ground.
Outside the Cave – 15 minutes ago
Kurenai, Chiyo, Sakura, Hinata and Kiba were in front of an enormous boulder blocking their path towards what looked like a huge cave.
"Are you sure Gaara is inside Kiba?" Asked Kurenai.
"Yes sensei, I can smell his scent as well as the one from the Akatsuki member we were provided with by Kankuro just behind this stone wall." Replied the Inuzuka.
"He's right sensei, I can also see him with my doujutsu. It's really dark so I can't see who else is inside but he's the closest to the entrance. He's floating mid air and he seems in pain but alive." Reported Hinata with her doujutsu activated.
"Then let's go, I'm sure Akamaru and I can easily destroy that huge rock." Said Kiba preparing a jutsu with his dog.
"Wait, you won't break it so easily. There's a seal protecting it." Said Chiyo.
"What type of seal ?" Asked Kurenai.
"It's a Gofu Kekkai, in order to break it we need to destroy the four other seals placed all around the cave that protects it." Answered the old kunoichi.
Hinata gave them the location of the four the protection seals, then they all left to disable them except for Chiyo who stayed in front of the cave.
It took them fifteen minutes to get rid of all the seals then they all returned to the cave entrance.
Present Time
As the scouting group made it back to the cave entrance, they met Naruto and Jiraya who also finished their opponents. They quickly explained the situation then prepared themselves to invade the cave.
Naruto immediately activated the first level of his bloodline, the Muga no Kyouchi.
"Na-chan are you sure you can still feel his chakra behind this rock ?" Naruto asked Natsuki, worried about Gaara.
"Yes I can still feel the Ichibi, he seems extremely weak though. Whatever is inside this cave was strong enough to hurt him that much, be very careful Naru-kun." Replied the vixen.
"You know I'm never going to betray a promise I made, I'm not going to die here, there are still so many things left for me to do in this world." He replied.
"Just be careful, and stay focused." Natsuki said with worry in her voice for her chosen mate.
Naruto then activated his youki storage seal and felt his chakra reserve rise to their max again, finally he took out his katana.
Sakura was the one tasked to take out the giant rock, so she charged her jutsu and ran towards her target. "Okasho !" Yelled the kunoichi before her fist impacted the giant boulder. The effect was immediate as the rock was completely destroyed and collapsed.
Inside the cave laid the body of Gaara, in front of him were the two members of Akatsuki who attacked Suna. The smaller one was identified as Sasori since the tail of his puppet was clearly seen behind his back. The other one was identified by Jiraya who remembered him from the bingo book as Deidara the Mad Bomber, missing ninja of Iwa.
"Naruto will create an opening then Kurenai, Hinata and Kiba will escort the Kazekage back to Suna. Sakura and Chiyo-san will fight Sasori since she knows him best, being his grandmother and Sakura has a cure to his poison attacks. Finally, Naruto and I will deal with the blond one ." Ordered Jiraya as they all nodded and went their to execute their missions.
"Futon : Kaze Shinsou !" Naruto called before his wind spear suddenly extended and went right between Sasori and Deidara.
The two experienced shinobi were able to evade the slash but failed to stop Kurenai and her two students who immediately took the chance to get the body of Gaara from them. They could only curse as they saw the retreating forms of Team 8 minus Naruto taking off towards Suna with their target.
Naruto was relieved, Gaara was safe, he was able to save one of his brethren.
"Looks like we lost the target, uh." Said Deidara.
"Shut up, don't you see we got bigger problems right now ?" Growled Sasori as he not only saw the two men their leader told them to avoid at all cost, but Chiyo his grandmother and Puppet Mistress of Suna was also there.
"Well then, I'll see you later. Katsu !" Deidara suddenly said as he formed a Ram seal.
There was a sudden explosion inside the cave and taking advantage of the confusion, Daidara was able to escape from the cave, riding on top of a strange looking bird.
"That's our target Naruto !" Yelled Jiraya as the two also left the cave and ran after Deidara.
With Chiyo and Sakura
"Thanks to that idiot bomber, the chances of getting out of this mess alive just increased exponentially." Thought Sasori looking at the two remaining people in front of him.
"I'm hurt, they think so little of me they would pit me against an old lady and a little girl." Taunted Sasori.
Both kunoichi stayed silent and prepared themselves to fight the puppet master of Akatsuki.
Sakura managed to surprise the puppeteer with her superior taijutsu and her strength, destroying his main puppet.
However he then summoned a legion of new puppets and she was quickly overwhelmed by their sheer number. Chiyo took charge and used chakra threads to take possession of Sakura's body like a puppet and then managed to pull through.
In the end, it came down to Chiyo summoning her own private elite army of puppets against the army of her grandson with Sakura giving the last blow.
With his last breath, Sasori told them a strange secret about an old partner of his inside Akatsuki and a meeting they scheduled in two weeks from now.
With Jiraya and Naruto
Jiraya and Naruto were jumping from tree to tree following Deidara.
"Damn he's getting further away, we won't be able to catch him at this rate." Said Jiraya.
Naruto suddenly stopped on a tree then went through hand signs for a jutsu "Ninpo : Kuchiyose no jutsu !", then continued his pursuit on top of Hiryu his Fire Dragon.
The dragon was a lot more faster than whatever creature Daidara was riding on. Preparing for his next move, Naruto drew more chakra from the fox storage and conversion seal.
Naruto was soon in striking range and took position to use his technique.
"Futon : Kamishini no Yari !" He called as he was in the basic stance he used when prforming his Divine Wind Spear technique with his katana.
Deidara never saw it coming, the Akatsuki member felt a strong gush of wind to his left before a blinding pain took over and he finally saw he was missing his entire left arm. He was bleeding profusely and had trouble to keep the balance to stay on top of his creature.
To Jiraya, who was still following them on the ground, it was even more impressive. After seeing Naruto take off on top of his dragon, he saw his disciple position himself right behind the fugitive. There was a distance of several kilometers between them but Naruto still used his Wind Spear technique. The speed of the cut had to be very high, judging by the fact that Naruto's blade only blinked for a second before he saw the impact on Deidara's arm.
Seeing no possible escape from such a jutsu in his current condition and not wanting to take more risks, Daidara decided to try his chance on the ground inside the thick forest area below him. He took a rapid dive with his bird then dispelled it and tried to mask his presence inside the forest.
Naruto was flying in circles around the last seen position of Deidara and Jiraya soon joined him. With neither of them being good sensors nor trackers, Jiraya decided to go for the more direct approach and went through his own hand signs.
"Naruto get ready, I'll flush him out." Said Jiraya receiving a nod from his student.
"Doton : Yomi Numa !" He yelled as the ground began to sink in a very wide area.
Deidara cursed seeing the ground disappearing into the giant swamp but decided to stay a little longer inside the tall tree he was hiding in.
Seeing no result Jiraya then continue his plan, "Ninpo : Kuchiyose no jutsu !" he was now on top of Gamabunta the Toad Boss.
"Give me a large quantity of oil Bunta !" He said to his giant summon. Gamabunta patted his huge belly then did as ordered and spat a huge pressurized spray of oil in front of him.
"Katon : Gamayu Endan !" Roared Jiraya as the whole forest in front of him was mercilessly lit on fire.
Seeing the ground slowly disappearing and the fire rapidly eating away the tree from above, Deidara had no choice this time but to move out of his hiding place.
Unfortunately for him, the moment he left the tree, he experienced the same pain he felt earlier as Naruto used his Death Spear technique again, this time taking the right arm away.
Deidara managed to drag himself to a safe zone, out of Jiraya's swamp or fire jutsu. The moment of peace did not last however as he was join a second later by both Naruto and Jiraya.
Seeing his opponent's state, missing both arms, Naruto dispelled his dragon and made his way towards the Akatsuki member.
"Surrender it's over." Said Naruto with no emotion.
"You think it's over uh ?" Deidara said before adding "I'll show you my greatest creation and why art is a bang !".
The body of the Mad Bomber then began to rapidly shift, swelling from the inside. Jiraya's eyes widened, understanding what was happening. Then in a flash, everything went blank. Naruto only felt something wet coil around him before the sound of the explosion reached him.
After the explosion died down, Naruto found himself in a dark place. He tried to take a few steps and used his hands in front of him to guide him. The ground suddenly shifted and forcefully lifted him up then the place became less dark. Naruto's eyes widened as he understood where he was, as Gamabunta spat him out of his mouth.
An angered Naruto covered by toad spit slowly stood up before he heard the voice of his master.
"How many times did I tell you to never underestimate your opponent Naruto." Jiraya said seriously, though he had a smirk on his face.
Naruto snarled at his master but understood that he was just saved from certain death, "Thanks for the save Ero-sennin." he said.
"Alright, lets go back to the cave." Said Jiraya as they both went back.
On their way to the cave Jiraya saw Naruto smiling and asked him about it.
"I'm just happy for Gaara and I kept my promise to bring him back alive." Said the blond thinking about his brethren.
A/N: What do you think ?
Gaara is both alive and still a jinchuriki. I'm not quite sure if they have to extract each of them in their tail order but in my version they don't.
I always wondered how Jiraya would go against Kisame, then the scene of Naruto force feeding his nature chakra to Pain in order to petrify him flashed in my mind, Kisame being a chakra leech too.
Next time, the end of this arc then who knows. Read the next chapter to know :)
Read and Review please.
New jutsu :
Futon : Kamishini no Yari , translates as God Killing Spear. Upgraded version of Naruto's Divine Wind Spear. The reach and speed of this attack is enormous, a lot more chakra taxing though.