TimeShifter: Oh, we'll certainly see how the Sharingan came into existence. I'll just, sadly, be a while. I actually don't see how Naruto would not develop a variation after seeing Sasuke fight with a new Chidori, so I just imagined how it might be possible and used Naruto's natural battle sense. The rest of the questions are excellent, and I'll keep them in mind.
samueltm2: I'm glad you're liking the battle so far.
Bloxham: Well, he did actually learn something more than senjutsu this time around.
Chapter 25:
Courage to stand
Nagato stared into empty space as his Rinnegan watched the devastating effects of his opponent's unusual chakra and enhanced techniques. He knew Jiraiya had used similar chakra when they fought, but his body had been disfigured by a toady face and literal toad humps on his shoulders. The Kyuubi no Kitsune's jinchuuriki was different.
Uzumaki Naruto stood before his remaining bodies with confidence. His appearance was unmarred by whatever transformation the chakra wrought. He had rings around his eyes, but they seemed to accentuate his new power. He no longer had the bearing of a bumbling buffoon his underlings had reported. Altogether, he was a fearsome opponent.
Nagato turned his attention to Konan, temporarily removing his attention from the battle at hand. "I sense new chakra within the village. Intercept them, do with them as you see fit." He didn't have to wait for her response. She politely bowed before vanishing in a swirl of paper and chakra.
He returned his attention to the battle; though, his thoughts were divided. While part of him directed the battle, another part sifted through his bodies memories. He had failed to kill the Hyuuga in his first attack, and he had failed to capture a possible lure. In the end, he decided it wasn't worth it to dwell, but something was still bothering him.
He had no idea how the wielders of the Byakugan had survived. The incredible concentration of chakra had made it impossible to discern one source from another. Worse, only one body was even active when the first Shinra Tensei went off. The second attack was not, however, disrupted similarly.
Reaching an impasse, he shook any thoughts of his opening gambit from his head. He had a fight to concentrate on. He was down to two bodies, but they were only made stronger for the loss. He could concentrate more chakra to each, and his mind wasn't as split. He would soon have the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and the search for the Hachibi no Ushi could continue.
"Tsunade-sishou!" Tsunade and Shikamaru looked up to see Sakura running towards them. When she was close enough for normal conversation, she stopped and placed her hands on her knees as she bent and panted. She sent an angry glower towards Rikka. "Kurenai-sensei is worried about you!"
Tsunade and Shikamaru looked to the pale girl as she responded offhandedly. "She needn't worry about me. I'm perfectly fine taking care of myself." She managed to match the intensity of the pink-haired kunoichi's stare.
Tsunade shook her head and sighed. "I'll explain everything to Kurenai later. Right now, we have more important business." She pointed past Hinata, Chouji, Shion, and Momiji standing nearby. Not far beyond them was what she was talking about. Naruto was in a life or death struggle with the Pein Rikudou.
Sakura gasped and was about to step in when something else caught her eye. She stared wide-eyed at the village's leader before sending a vehement glower to their source of agony. "Are you sure you should have done that, Tsunade-sishou?"
Suppressing the shakes of chakra exhaustion, Tsunade nodded confidently. "I'm not losing any more of my precious shinobi. If I have to sacrifice myself to ensure as many live as possible, so be it." Even with powerful pride, she couldn't stop herself from falling to all fours, eyes clenched shut in pain.
Shizune reacted near instantly. She was by her long-time friend and teacher's side before she completely collapsed. "Tsunade-sama, you shouldn't exert yourself too much! You should release Katsuyu and rest before it's too late!" She turned slightly to politely bow to the boss slug. "No offense."
Katsuyu bowed in response. "None taken. However, I speak for Tsunade when I say this." She paused for dramatic effect. "Everybody is fighting so valiantly, showing such pride and courage. The will of fire burns so brightly; it is nearly blinding. We want to see this through, and we are still needed."
"Did you hear that everybody?" Rikka nonchalantly asked through the psychic network. "Your Hokage is giving you everything she has and asking nothing in return." She turned her eyes to Naruto. "That young man is doing much the same. Are you willing to do the same in return?"
She received blank stares and stunned blinking from those near enough. She shrugged simply and tilted her head one way. "What? I'm not so heartless not to recognize the needs of the situation. Besides, Naruto liked what I had to say and has this to add."
She paused as she closed her eyes and took a breath. "I'm only asking one thing. Live." She opened her eyes and focused on everybody she could see. "You're all precious to me, not just my precious people. My friends and those who recognize me, you give me the strength I need to fight on. Believe in me; I'm going to be Hokage!"
Shikamaru chuckled and shook his head. "That idiot always steals all the good lines." He studied Tsunade for a moment before coming to a decision. "Troublesome. Well if Naruto can keep those bodies distracted, I'm sure we can send a team to find the leader. Who's still in fighting condition?"
Katsuyu paused to sort through the choir of responses in her head. When she was satisfied, she told Shikamaru what she heard. Satisfied, he silently entered his thinking pose and contemplated what he'd learned so far. He knew who was available to head out, and he knew who still needed just a little time to recover. He also had a good idea where the real body was.
They only needed a little time and a lot of luck. He took a moment to watch Naruto. The blond genin was all the luck they needed; he seemed to be a wellspring of it. He was also facing off against the Pein Rikudou alone, and doing more damage than all of Konoha combined.
It was really rather irritating. Shikamaru had made a vow after his first command mission after attaining the rank of chunin. He was going to grow as a leader, and he was going to become more powerful. He was going to make sure none of his friends were severely injured under his care again, much less fatally.
It was, however, the proud failure, the knuckleheaded ninja, the brash loudmouth, the hyperactive sugar rush, that was out there risking his life to save everything they knew.
How did people not like him again?
Kanaeru came to a sudden stop and held out her arm. Sasame and Isaribi followed her command and skidded to a halt just behind her. Gayt and Star fell into formation behind them, grip tightening on his sword. Even over the shifting rubble, they heard the leather groan as it compressed, tightened, and loosened.
Innocuously, a loose piece of a building fell. Kanaeru loosed a kunai into the vacant spot not a moment later. Sasame and Isaribi looked into the darkness, surprised, when the steel dagger struck with a soft thud rather than a loud clank. It had not struck rebar or concrete.
With the exception of Gayt and Star, they all jumped back when a miasma spewed forth. They were quick to cover their noses and mouths as they threw explosive-tagged kunai into the deadly mist. Just before the explosions, the armor clad warrior leapt forward. In pain stung at him or hot gas charred his skin, he showed no signs of slowing.
He swung his sword mightily, but the silhouette he targeted seemed to flow past it. He skidded for a moment as his momentum carried him forward before turning sharply to parry a slice targeted at a joint in his armor. He skidded further back from the weight of the attack, and he kept his eyes on the target as paper flowed apart before he could counter.
In what seemed like an instant, a female figure emerged atop an unstable roof as the paper seemed to merge together. "I can see why he was worried about you. Even up close, I can't sense you at all, and you three are powerful in your own right." She didn't waste any time as she threw her arms wide.
Various origami figures took shape around her. As she swept her arms forward, paper flora and fauna rocketed towards the surprised shinobi. They barely dodged in time, but they were quickly forced to dodge again. Their opponent quickly created new volley after volley, and the paper constructs were as deadly as any ninja tool. They even loudly crashed off Gayt's mighty armor.
Konan looked up and twisted in surprise when she heard chain link clicking behind her. Her arm folded into a katana, and she managed to block the chain whip just in time. Her eyes narrowed as the red-haired kunoichi smiled and intoned a simple yet strangely disturbing phrase. "Ninpo: Ichiban no Kyuubi."
The whip reacted to her chakra, and it seemed to grow and writhe impossibly. Konan was forced to shape her other arm into a katana as she spun to parry a second blow behind her. As she dealt with the strange chain whip, a fist connected with her gut. Her eyes went wide as she was forced backward and her breath escaped her.
Her body disintegrated into a plume of origami birds. They flapped their seemingly insubstantial wings and flew behind the teens that had yet to participate. They reacted to her presence and killing intent by lifting their chins, and, as she formed, her katana-like arms were at their throats.
She stared heatedly at the warriors of unknown origin. Something about the red-head was familiar, but the armored one was a complete mystery. Her eyes went wide in shock as, once more, the red-head uttered simple yet disturbing phrases. "Ninpo: Niiban no Kyuubi; Sanban no Kyuubi."
"I bet you have no idea who we are." Kanaeru indicated Gayt, Star, and herself. "You don't know what land we hail from, and you know our intentions even less. Worse, my friend has no discernable chakra. Why, he could be right behind you for all you know." She smiled wickedly as she goaded her opponent.
Konan wasn't easily baited. Though she couldn't sense him, she could still see him standing where they initially clashed. His sword was held oddly, but she was sure there were a myriad of explanations for it. With both arms outstretched, he held his sword so the flat of the blade rested against the other hand. He could simply be centering himself for an attack.
As she was thinking, she barely caught a sliver of light as a warning. As a sword started slicing through her figure, she once again separated into a flight of origami birds. As they reassembled, she couldn't stop the pained look on her face. Though she had successfully dodged, she had still taken damage.
Warily, she looked back to the unmoving figure. For a moment, she thought she saw his image flicker. She concentrated her chakra and, without moving, made a simple intonation. "Kai!" The image flickered once again, and then it completely faded as her eyes realized the truth.
Kanaeru smirked. "Gayt, be a dear and stay out of this for a bit. Ninpo: Yonban no Kyuubi." She intoned almost cruelly before launching at her opponent to strike. Even before she was in striking range, she whipped her chain forward, and random links dug into the ground. Where they struck, however, seemed to glow briefly. When she was close enough, she planted a foot on the ground and spun expertly to spin before snaking her chain whip forward.
Konan quickly prepared her defenses. She also noted how much faster the red-haired kunoichi seemed to move. She raised her arms to block, and they quickly folded into katana. When the chain slammed into them, the reaction was different. She noted the blow itself was far weaker, but her shaped arms seemed to wither.
She jumped back and analyzed the brief exchange. The paper at her arms felt drier, and the points of impact were slightly brown. She dismissed the transformation and sidestepped her opponent's next blow. She dodged again and again, watching if there was anything else different since using the strange technique.
Kanaeru was faster, but she also seemed weaker. She also had a lot of unnecessary movements. She danced about, often crafting circles in the dirt. Her chain whip haphazardly dug into the earth, sometimes aiming to strike and sometimes not. It was a strange display, and overconfidence spoke poorly in her blatant strutting.
Konan half-nodded to herself after analyzing her opponent's pattern. She moved to counterattack, but the red-head only smirked wider. Frustrated, she swept her arms out, familiar origami figures forming. As she went to thrust her arms forward, something caught her by her wrists. She looked only to find pillars of earth holding her arms. Her eyes went wide in shock as her hands, wrists, and forearms seemed to wither.
Kanaeru held up a finger and wagged it as she clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Tsk, tsk, you should never let your guard down." She shifted into a ready stance as she continued. "I noticed on our first exchange. You're a Suiton expert, and you use that to keep your paper flexible yet sharp and heavy. The paper's a lure for Katon users, but I'm sure it throws off most other Doton users."
Konan lowered her face, bangs obscuring her eyes. "I cannot let Nagato down…" She had to win for Nagato's sake, but she knew the truth in the red-head's words. Without water to sustain her origami, they were as useless as paper. She wasn't Rain's messenger of god without reason, however.
She raised her face with determination burning in her eyes. Energy sparked and danced down her figure, and the pillars of earth exploded magnificently as she lunged at her opponent. Even as her arms recovered, she was molding chakra and forming hand seals for a Raiton technique.
Instinctively, Kanaeru molded her chakra and called up a dome that looked entirely made up of chain link. Most of the links, however, were earthen and made to look like a part of her chain whip. When the charge hand hit it, the barrier was easily breached, but it served its purpose. She was given plenty of time to get away.
As the barrier crumbled, Konan looked around almost desperately to find her target. When she felt a familiar and ominous chakra, she turned slowly to face her altered adversary. She was startled to see the red-head surrounded by red chakra, bubbling angrily. The vague outline of a fox should have been impossible, and a single tail stretched behind her.
"Honestly, I wasn't expecting to use this." Kanaeru's voice seemed almost hollow as she spoke. "It is really rather depressing to fight feeling all this negativity, pent up rage and anger." She sighed. "Gayt, Star, go ahead and check on Naruto. Sasame, Isaribi, you should check on the village and see who needs help."
Gayt hesitated for a moment, but he gave Star a swift nod. They were quickly off. Sasame and Isaribi, however, lingered a moment longer. "Go!" Kanaeru commanded. "I can't fight all out with you here." A foreign echo was creeping into her voice, and it sent shivers down the teens' backs. Reluctantly, they finally obeyed.
Konan watched impassively. "Are you sure you should have let them go? I can easily overcome your Doton with my Raiton." Of course, she didn't know what other element or elements the foreign shinobi might be hiding, but she was confident in her abilities. Once she was finished with the target in front of her, she was going after the armored warrior.
"I'm sure." Kanaeru enjoyed watching her opponent's head jerk in surprise. Her voice was low with a pitched growl, hollow and uninviting. "I was serious when I said I couldn't go all out with them here. I don't know what'll happen when I do this feeling such malevolence. Ninpo: Goban no Kyuubi." She launched forward with even greater speed.
Gamakichi and Gamatatsu squirmed as they were lifted by an invisible force. Tendou's arms mimed by how much they came off the ground. They had tried attacking him from either side. As he swept his arms in front of him, they uncontrollably flew parallel to his palms. After an instant, they collided and fell to the ground in a great heap.
Tendou released his technique, and the toad brothers groaned as they tried to get up. Their bodies ached, and they faltered as soon as they put any weight onto their legs. Naruto noticed and went to dismiss them as Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara rushed the offending body of the Pein Rikudou.
When they didn't disappear in a plume of smoke, he turned to Fukusaku and Shima. They gave him a hard look. After a moment, Fukusaku answered, and Shima shook her head. "You can't just dismiss us. I summoned us here, so it's not so simple." The elder toads could only watch as the boss toad's children tried to stand again.
They all watched in surprise and horror as three more powerful toad summons fell. They were pinned to the ground with their own weapons, and the injuries could be fatal if left unchecked. They could bleed to death from such grievous wounds, and the two remaining bodies weren't going to be stopped easily.
As Gamabunta rushed in to help his underlings, Naruto summoned two Kage Bushin to attempt a distraction. Tendou and Gakidou wisely retreated to a safer distance when they heard the familiar buzz and tension of the Rasenshuriken. The blond genin wasn't even trying to hide his intentions. He wanted them away from his toad summons.
He leaned back before launching his attack forward. As it flew through the air, he rushed over to where Gamabunta stood over their fallen allies. As quickly as Naruto had taken out three of the Pein Rikudou bodies, Tendou had taken out five toads. He knew such a feat only meant one thing. Two bodies were far easier to control than six.
He looked over his shoulder and nodded to Fukusaku as his senjutsu faded. Then he turned his attention to Tendou and Gakidou. As the chakra-eating body did exactly that, he noticed him stiffen, if only momentarily. It gave the teen something to think about. For the moment, he was worried about his friends.
"Gamabunta!" The boss toad turned to look at the young summoner. "How are they? They took some heavy hits from that strange jutsu." As he finished, he heard a poof near the elder toads. The markings of senjutsu returned to his face, and he felt chakra as only a sage could.
The extraordinarily large toad answered solemnly. "They're hurt pretty bad, but they'll live. My sons have broken several bones in their legs, and I've ordered them to stay put." He paused to point out Gakidou. "You notice how that one stiffened?" Naruto's nod was all he needed. "Well, he just scraped off a patch of stone skin."
Tendou called out as the blond teen sported a devilish smirk. "Is this all you are capable of? I had thought, with your earlier showing, that this little diversion would be far more interesting." He held his hands out and aimed his open palms at Gamabunta. "Though, you do not yet know pain as I do."
Even the toad summon boss wasn't immune to the strange and powerful technique Tendou used. He was lifted off his feet then thrown over the village wall to come crashing down in the forest. As trees were thrown helter-skelter and the ground was gouged, the thunder-like chorus rang throughout the village.
Naruto scowled the offending body. He didn't know how he was going to get close enough to destroy him as he could attract and repel objects and techniques seemingly at will. He knew about the delay, but it didn't seem like enough. Then he turned his attention toward Gakidou. "At least I can take one of them out and leave a Kage Bushin as backup."
With a plan ready, he formed familiar hand seals and molded enough chakra to call forth two more Kage Bushin, the others dispelled long ago in the chaos. He ran just behind them as he molded chakra and raced through the necessary hand seals. He called his attack as he launched into the air to strike down on his target. "Fuuton: Daishou Rasenkei!"
Hinata and Chouji couldn't help it. They watched in awe, jaws slack. Hearing a slight moan, they looked to Shizune to see Shion waking. As she slowly sat up, the dark-haired medic supported her. The Demons daimyo priestess looked around blearily as she tried to remember where she was and what she was doing. She failed.
The surroundings were unfamiliar and in need of repair. There was also too much debris for the Hyuuga estates. Her eyes went wide with realization, and she sharply looked around. With the exception of some ANBU lying on the ground, everybody looked safe, and a familiar sign identified her surroundings. She was on the tattered remains of the Hokage tower's roof.
"Ow…" She realized too late that her body was in a great deal of pain. In hastily rotating her head to take in her surroundings, her body quickly reminded her of its situation. However, she was glad to find Momiji curled up beside her, so she ignored the pain to find out what was going on.
"There's a desperate struggle to keep as many alive as possible." A voice resounded inside her head. She looked around until something urged her to look at a pale, young girl. Rikka continued. "Naruto is fighting the remnants of Pein's bodies, the man who attacked the village. Oh, I'm Yuuhi Rikka by the way."
Shion nodded. "Uh, nice to meet you… I'm Shion." She looked around, slowly as not to agitate her neck. She could feel immense pressure, but she wasn't trained to understand what it was. She wanted to understand more about what was going on. She lurched forward when the ground shook.
A heavily armored man landed heavily, closer to Hinata and Chouji. A large indentation announced his presence more than sound or chakra. Even Rikka stared wide-eyed at him as he didn't even seem to be there. He had no presence, except for the five main senses. Nobody could detect his chakra, and he didn't seem to acknowledge them as he watched the battle waged between Naruto and the two remaining Pein Rikudou.
"Gayt, what are you doing here?!" Hinata was surprised to see the armored behemoth. She thought he would be with Kanaeru, and she thought the Whirlpool kunoichi was still out and about exploring Fire. She had heard she was away with a couple of leaf shinobi. As well as she knew him, she was astonished by the next sight.
Star blinked frantically as what seemed like merely a small globe rapidly expanded. After a moment, it was as big as Gayt's forearm, and then it exploded in a brilliant display of color. What emerged startled everyone. A girl, she looked to be preteen, stretched and arched her back with a happy moan. "Ah, there's so much mana here!" She giggled, almost madly, as she twisted to look over her self.
Her long, pale hair was tied off in two ponytails and appeared almost ice blue. She wore a red tank top and black leather miniskirt that showed off her midriff, and she seemed to have a tail stretching from the base of her spine. After a moment, she pouted. "Aw…" She droned. "…there's not enough mana for my true form!"
She turned to her armored ally, her pout deepening. "I'm sorry, Gayt. I wanted to show you how much I've grown!" She kissed her fore and middle finger and gave him a v-sign. "Don't worry; we just need more mana!" Then she turned her attention to the raging battle, evil smirk plastered on her face.
Before she could continue, she noticed all the stunned faces looking at her. She blinked as she wondered what was up, but it was Hinata who finally broke the silence. "Wh-What are you?" Everybody else just nodded, rather speechless. Nobody could have imagined that the globe of light was a miniature…person.
Star tilted her head to one side. "Star is Star; I've always been like this." She turned to grin at Gayt. "I've always been with Gayt! I love him so much!" She twirled around and seemed to dance in the air before she hovered over to his sword. "It's too bad there's only enough mana for me to look like this, but I can help out in my own way. Teehee!"
With a flash of light, her form seemed to melt into his sword. The lines in his armor, which previously only appeared to be decoration, glowed red with power. The glyphs and runes came alive as Gayt and Star merged their power. He swung his sword back, and a powerful gust pushed them down. His sword then glowed blue.
"Ah, I've always loved water and ice more than the other elements!" Star's voice echoed through the sword, adding a metallic ring to it. With a burst of power, water encircled the armored warrior and seemed to form a platform. He was quickly carried away as the water seemed to form a wave.
Chouji looked to Hinata. "Could he always do that?" He was certain she'd known him longer, but her face was as equal a mix of astonishment and awe as everybody else.
Hinata shook her head. "I don't know, but I've never seen Star like that…" She knew Star could merge with Gayt's weapons, but the new form of his armor was new. The color and glow were ominous, but the power he seemed to exude wasn't threatening.
Shikaku rose and looked to Gai. "Cho's a little weak, so we should go on ahead." As everybody else with a piece of Katsuyu on their shoulder, he heard the call. Tsunade needed capable ninja to head out to where Shikamaru, his own son, thought Pein's main body would be.
Gai nodded in agreement. Kakashi was weakened, but he was in good hands with Katsuyu. Chouza was going to stick around for at least a little while, but he expected the mission to be completed before either recovered. From what he could gather, several capable chunin and jonin were already preparing to move out.
Without another word, Shikaku and Gai took off. They were quickly joined by Inoichi who was nearby anyway. When they met Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru along the way, they ordered them to come along as well. As a newly assembled full assault force, it wasn't long before they ran across yet another of the many battles of the day.
Kanaeru, the noted, looked a little worse for wear. She was panting, and bits of her clothing were torn. Pieces of chain link were missing from her whip, held together by obvious Doton links. The only remnants of her Kyuubi-like chakra were fox-like ears holding tufts of hair aloft.
Konan, whom they did not recognize, was quickly marked as an enemy combatant. Her arms were folded into katana, and her hair was badly wrinkled and dry, hanging in unkempt locks obviously made of paper. Recognizing new enemies she wasn't ready for, she launched another full volley of origami at her opponent before promptly fleeing.
The leaf nin would have given pursuit if possible, but they couldn't follow her flowing origami as it blended with clouds and dust. Instead, they focused on their injured ally. As they rushed over to her, her strength gave out, and she crumpled to the ground. As her vision blurred, she saw the figures hovering over her, but she wasn't in any condition to acknowledge them.
The battle had been rough. The paper-wielder was certainly a powerful foe, and she had no effective counters except Doton to her Suiton backed paper specialty. She had used Goban no Kyuubi and her 'red' chakra to aid in distracting attention from her kousotsu and Konoha traveling companions. It was more important they get away to help the village, and her nephew.
As the edges of her consciousness darkened, she heard a familiar voice. A familiar tic furrowed her brow, and her hands involuntarily clenched. She didn't know what the voice was saying, but it was close…too close. Her fist shot up and caught him at the base of his jaw. "Get away from me you dirty pervert!"
Gai was sent flaying to the ground by the unexpected punch. Undaunted, he stood as the others helped her up. He smiled and gave her a thumb up. "What would Kakashi say if I let you fall so easily on the battlefield." Her coughed uncomfortably at her incredulous look.
Shikaku shook his head. "Anyway, we should get going." He looked her up and down one last time. "If you're not too hurt, I'm sure Naruto could use your help." She gave him a questioning look. "What? I'm sure you don't want to see Akatsuki get away with him." Without another word, he stood and silently commanded everybody else to follow.
Kanaeru watched them leave before slapping her cheeks and shaking off the last of her battle fatigue. She reached into a hidden supply container and pulled out a soldier pill. After popping into her mouth, she bit into it and swallowed. The bitter taste drove fatigue from her muscles, but it would take longer to replenish her chakra reservoir.
Feeling more up to the task, she closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel her nephew as clear as day. He wasn't using Kyuubi's chakra, but there was certainly a 'taint' to his chakra. It was almost nostalgic, but she couldn't place it. Deciding to think on it later, she took off in the direction she could feel him still fighting. "You better stay alive, kit!"
Naruto was having trouble getting close to Tendou and Gakidou. With most of his toad summons down for the count and Gamabunta not recovered from having the wind knocked out of him, two Pein Rikudou were proving a little difficult to handle. On the bright side, he had an idea to handle at least one of them.
He discovered very quickly that Tendou had excellent close combat skills. He was forced to avoid line of sight of his open palms, so he kept most of his attention on his opponent's hands. His ability was far too dangerous to ignore. With senjutsu, he was able to keep track of Gakidou anyway.
He was momentarily distracted when he felt another presence approaching. He inadvertently paused when he sensed only natural energy, no chakra. He was keenly aware of how natural energy felt, using it himself. However, senjutsu required the perfect balance of internal and external energy. The momentary distraction and lingering thoughts, however, cost him.
Tendou extracted a strange rod from beneath his robes and launched it at the blond genin with his unique gravity push. It impaled Naruto's shoulder and sent him flying back into an unstable wall. With Akatsuki's prey cornered, the remaining Pein Rikudou moved in. Both prepared similar rods. Tendou held one, and Gakidou held two.
A blur of motion obscured the bodies from view, and metallic clangs announced Naruto's salvation. Tendou was held back by an ominously glowing sword, and Gakidou was held under a deluge of water. Gayt stood with his back to the blond, and one eye glowed ice blue under his helm as he glared down the bodies. Heated anger radiated off him.
"Oh, the mana is much stronger closer to the source!" A female voice echoed from the Gayt's sword. Though Naruto wouldn't know it, she sounded more mature than a moment ago. Star giggled, recognizing his confused state. She rather enjoyed his dumbstruck expression, but Gayt had a mission to accomplish. "Wipe that dumb look off your face and help us."
Blinking, Naruto decided it was best to ask questions later. He grabbed the rod and yanked it out of his shoulder. It hurt, but his wound was already closing up. He rushed Gakidou and shoulder tackled him out of the deluge. Before he could get hurt, Gayt released his technique. Naruto smiled over his shoulder. "Think you can handle him for a moment?"
Gayt nodded but did not respond verbally. Instead, he centered himself and held the grip of his sword with both hands. Tendou was thrown back by the force, and he used his power over gravity to immediately come to a stop. He was quickly on the defensive as the kousotsu lunged after him to continue the offensive.
Naruto got close to Gakidou, close enough to be suicidal for most. Still stunned from being inundated then shoulder tackled, the chakra-absorbing body's immediate response was self-defense. He blocked, parried, and moved about, but he did not counterattack or attempt to do what he was best at.
As he observed Tendou's situation through their shared vision, he grew aggressive. Gakidou lashed out, but Naruto responded appropriately. A punch to the gut was deflected. A palm thrust to the chest was met with a crushing blow to the elbow. A sweep of the legs only earned him a roundhouse to the jaw.
As Gakidou stumbled backward, he molded his chakra and glared down the blond teen disdainfully. He moved fluidly into attack position. A feint to one side earned him a stiff jab to the shoulder, but he'd survive. He expertly maneuvered behind Akatsuki's target and pinned his arms behind his back. He remained silent even as he sucked chakra out the boy's body through his hands.
Knowing the chakra would be far too much for one body, he shared some of it through his link. He leeched deeper into the boy's chakra supply until he could distinctly taste the Kyuubi's powerful, negative energy. He avoided it to drain away the boy's instead. He did notice something odd, though. The chakra was oddly balanced, and it held foreign elements.
He couldn't identify it, but he paid it little mind. As long as the boy was incapacitated or made to use the Kyuubi's chakra, everything could proceed according to plan. When he felt his body stiffen oddly, he heard and felt a strain through the link. His vision clouded, and he wondered if he had even heard an order to stop. It was a strange order, so he ignored it in favor of weakening the target.
He felt his body bulge and an odd urge to croak like a toad. When he heard stone shatter, he tried to look down. Unable to see on his own, he concentrated on the Rinnegan. His arms were shattered, split like stone. Naruto was wiping dust off his garb, staring intensely into Tendou's eyes. His body creaked and broke apart, and he knew no more.
Nagato was faced with a unique. His only remaining body was Tendou, so he could concentrate completely on him. However, a single shinobi had destroyed four of his Pein Rikudou. Sure, he had help with timely interference, but he could have accomplished much the same on his own. He had to get rid of the armored warrior, so he could concentrate on his real target.
Tendou extended his open palm to the kousotsu. Gayt tensed in preparation, but a looming shadow drew both their attention. They were forced to leap out of the way as Gamabunta's massive sword struck the ground where the unnatural body once stood; the giant toad followed close behind. The force of his impact sent a ripple and shockwave through the rubble.
Fukusaku looked to Shima. "Now's our chance!" She nodded in agreement with her husband, and they cleared their throats. After a moment, they started the process of tuning their voices and matching their rhythm. Their intentions were well understood by Naruto and Gamabunta, but they would have no chance to tell the armored warrior.
Tendou sent them a sharp look, but he ignored them in favor of fending off the two interfering with his capture. For whatever reason, his quarry was holding back. He did seem to be focusing; though, he could not tell on what. He didn't have time to dwell, however, as he was forced to duck under a powerful blast of water.
As the water impacted the earth, it shot out as ice shards. He hadn't felt any chakra, so he decided to the kousotsu created the ice from the toad's attack. He swept his arms out and used his power to deflect the shards away from him. With precision born from practice, he aimed them at the gigantic toad. While Gamabunta managed to shield his vitals, he went down hard, looking like a pincushion.
Adding insult to injury, Tendou reversed his momentum by pushing off one of the ice shards. It pushed deeper through Gamabunta's bleeding arm, causing him to grunt in pain. Ignoring the miserable toad, he pushed an open palm towards Gayt. Instinctively, the warrior dodged to one side.
Tendou expertly pivoted and send a roundhouse kick to the sword-wielding man's side. Unable to block, he took the full brunt of the kick. He slammed face first into a broken foundation with the full weight of his armor and the kick. Star screamed out in pain as the force reached even her.
As Gayt forced himself up, the glow of his armor flickered. His glowing, blue eye narrowed. Star's concentration was low after the last hit. He swung his sword, and a swirling vortex of water erupted from the pinnacle of the arch. The water was frigid and would freeze on contact.
Once again, Tendou had plenty of time to recover. He held his arms aloft and pointed his open palms at the incoming attack. With all Nagato's attention, he could fight without restraint. He put everything into the counter, and finally spoke its name, though barely a whisper. "Shinra Tensei." The vortex of water seemed to hang in midair for a second before in responded.
Gayt felt his eyes widen. The only visible indication was a slightly brighter glow from his ice blue orb. He was hardly affected by chakra only based attacks, but his attacks were based on mana. Apparently, the strange gravity altering attack he was facing off against could affect his attacks, and he was susceptible to his own.
The frigid water slammed into him, and he was thrown back by the force of the impact and Shinra Tensei. Star protected him as best she could by splitting from his sword and reabsorbing the ice. It wasn't easy as the mana was all but useless after being focused into an attack, but she managed to stop it from freezing him solid.
She fell to the ground, panting and exhausted. She was in no condition to fight with most of her mana depleted, and she was barely maintaining her human form. Tendou decided they were no longer a threat after they remained still for several moments. He turned his attention to Naruto, their heated glares at his back.
Tendou's attention soon turned to Fukusaku and Shima as their song reached his ears. He shook his head in disdain and tossed a handful of shuriken at them. Naruto's eyes went wide, but there was no way he could reach them in time. He tried to call out, but they were struck down before his lips could form the words.
Unable to tell is they were dead or alive, he turned, enraged, to the man who seemed intent on becoming the source of his pain. The man called his troupe the Pein Rikudou, and he seemed intent on discussing the merits of pain and hardship in the world. He had killed Jiraiya and countless other shinobi. He was threatening the lives of countless more, including his friends and Tsunade.
Tendou looked into his eyes and nodded. "Finally, you are starting to understand pain. Sadly, you don't understand true Pein yet. If you did, perhaps you would see the futility of fighting me. Perhaps I should have you wallow further into despair." He seemed to disappear from view only to reappear behind Naruto.
Before the blond genin could respond, the last remaining body kicked the back of his knees in. As he buckled under his own weight, Tendou kicked the small of his back. Naruto was knocked to the ground, dazed. Before he could recover, he felt sheer pain ripple through his body. When he opened his eyes, he saw strange rods nailing him to the ground through his hands and shoulders.
As Tendou stood, he calmly walked to where he could easily position two more rods through his prey's thighs. "You have come the closest of anyone to defeating my Pein Rikudou. I praise you for your effort, Uzumaki Naruto. However, ignorance of true Pein has lost you this match. However, I shall enlighten you before I rip the Kyuubi no Kitsune from your soul."
He paused to walk around to directly face the pinned down teen. He waited long enough for the pain he was experiencing to numb before continuing. "I shall destroy this village you hold so dear before your very eyes, and I shall kill everyone you hold precious for only your eyes to see." He looked up for a moment as if to make a decision. "I think the Hokage would make an excellent first example."
He ignored the protests of the blond genin as he turned to take a step towards the ruins of the Hokage tower. He was stopped by a young warrior he had paid no mind. She stood before him in the traditional juuken stance of the Hyuuga clan, her eyes ablaze with the Byakugan.
"Hinata! No, get out of here!" Naruto sounded almost desperate. He knew she was powerful, and he believed in her strength. However, Tendou was too strong for any one person to face. He knew he couldn't without senjutsu, but it did him little good pinned to the ground. "He's too strong for you; you can't beat him!" Besides, he could see Gayt slowly rising to his feet. Maybe, just maybe, the kousotsu could free him from the strange rods…
Hinata shook her head adamantly, and Tendou remained silent. "I can't do that, Naruto-kun." Nagato almost smiled; there was affection in her voice. "I can't run away any longer. You're…You're too precious to me." She didn't care if the entire village heard her, and she was certain she felt flabbergasted stares falling on her back. "Even if I die, even if I can never see you again, I have to do this, Naruto-kun."
Tendou stood calmly by as he watched the exchange. Her affections were obvious, and he seemed to genuinely wish her for her safety. He kept his gaze on the young woman even as Naruto spoke. "You can't stay here, Hinata! What about Neji? What about your clan? You've gotta get outta here!"
Hinata smiled. "You don't know how much it means to me to hear your concern…but I'm not leaving. Not now, not ever. I…I want to be with you, Naruto-kun. I want to protect you and see you achieve your dream. You're a proud failure, and I want to be a proud failure just like you!" She closed her eyes and concentrated.
She didn't know what was going to come, but she only had one thing she wanted to tell him. In all her life, it was the one thing she feared the most. If he rejected her, everything she loved would have rejected her. Though she had recovered her father and cousin's affections, his rejection would be more crushing than all the heartbreak in her life.
She opened her eyes, Byakugan set in determination. "I've watched you for a long time, and I want to have the same ability to stand up after all my failures. I want the same spirit to keep coming back, keep growing stronger." She sent him a soft gaze, soaking in his wonderment. "I love you Naruto. I always have."
As she rushed Tendou, Nagato already knew what had to be done. A single strike directly to her sternum would incapacitate and quite possible kill her. She was attacking foolhardily. He prepared to deliver the decisive blow, one he knew would severely damage Naruto's ego. Then he saw something unexpected.
Hinata momentarily closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they glowed with unwavering determination and power. Water seemed to condense around her, and they collected at her arms. Sensing possible danger, he threw out a palm strike. He could deliver Shinra Tensei if he was wrong or use the thrust as a feint.
He wasn't too surprised to see her twist around his initial attack. He was surprised, however, when she whipped the water appendage around his wrist. He tried to strike her with his other hand, but she twisted again and sent him spinning. He recovered in time to avoid her first juuken strike, but she moved too quickly for him to get off a decent strike.
Naruto was suitably stunned. Hinata bobbed and weaved like a dancer, and her movements were oddly reminiscent of an event that played out before his trip with Jiraiya. He watched with slack jaw as she expertly targeted tenketsu. He was vaguely aware her power was overflowing, but he didn't know why.
In order to protect her most precious person, Hinata was using Yakedo. For the first time, she had initiated it conscientiously. She was a willing participant and knew exactly what was going on. Her sight was sharp, and contrasts stood out to her far better than before. To her, tenketsu were like blazing beacons. She was fighting for Naruto, and he was watching.
Naruto regain his senses as he watched Hinata's desperate struggle. He knew she was going to lose if he didn't do something quickly. He fought against the unusual rods, but they seemed to have a connection to his chakra. He looked up when he felt the familiar rush of Shinra Tensei, but he was relieved to see the first strike miss.
Hinata was winded. Her chakra was low to begin with, and it was quickly depleting. Yakedo burned through it quicker, and juuken took a toll on the user's body. She had to end the fight quickly, or Naruto had to get free. She resumed her attack, and the dance continued.
It wasn't long before Tendou recovered enough to use his attack again. He decided patience best served his purpose, so he watched and waited. He was careful to dodge or parry her strikes, but he never blocked. He slowly wore her down until the opportune moment. When he saw his chance, he struck.
Naruto watched in horror, but Hinata caught something in how Tendou's chakra moved. She thrust her palm forward, and, for a moment, it looked like the whip-like water appendage was going to strike her instead. Her face contorted in concentration, and, after a moment, the whip-like water appendage of her other hand shot to towards the ground witch became indented.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprised, and Tendou stared at the strange crater for a long moment. Hinata panted as she recovered from the exertion, not entirely sure what she did. She knew the attack moved through her, but she was trying to redirect it to him… It was too much for her, so it fired off randomly instead.
Not impressed, Tendou continued. Hinata was forced on the defensive, and her opponent decided to test her strange feat to deflect his ability. Twice he regained just enough power to launch Shinra Tensei, and twice she deflected it. While Naruto and just about everybody else watching were suitably impressed, Tendou decided on another tactic.
Their next exchange of blows was significantly longer. It was obvious Hinata was being worn down. Her whip-like water appendages almost seemed limp, but Tendou didn't press his advantage. After a moment, he just stopped. She landed a blow on his shoulder, barely missing a tenketsu, and looked at him in surprise.
He molded his chakra and stared her down. All around her, the pressure seemed to increase unnaturally. Her knees nearly buckled before he quietly announced what she was experiencing. "It must be heavy, Shinra Tensei." She fell as a crater formed and dust cloud billowed.
First of all, I apologize for the late release without omake or prior notice. I've been without power (at least while I was awake or at the house) for the past few days. As such, I had no Internet or ability to proofread my work. It's pretty much raw right now, and I'm going to try to come back to it later today to double check my grammar and spelling. I may also be creating a forum and another poll or two soon, so keep an eye out (no earlier than Friday July 31).
I just noticed I've been spelling Gamatatsu incorrectly, so I'll be going back and (eventually) fixing all instances of 'Gamatsu' to the correct spelling. I also noticed an odd switch from 'nee' to 'nii' when Kanaeru is talking about her sister... Obviously, 'nii' is incorrect, so that's another issue I'll fix in a few previous chapters. Nothing major, but I wanted to apologize for any confusion.
This chapter (and obviously parts of the next) were planned well, well, well in advance. If you take out the Yakedo and ability to deflect Shinra Tensei, it's pretty much how I imagined the battle would go...until the anticlimactic OHTKO. For reference, he idea for the deflection actually came from when six-tailed Naruto launched Tendou into the Hokage monument. Enjoy!
As always, reviews are appreciated, and flames outright ignored.
Story Word Count: 8,092
Story Page Count: 17
Terms and Jutsu:
Ninpo: [x]ban no Kyuubi - Ninja Art: [x]th of the Nine Tails: Kanaeru's unique technique sacrifices stopping power for speed. As her speed increases, she can draw runes in the earth with her feet and chain whip with increasing complexity and number. She can only concentrate on a few runes at a time. She can only get to Yonban no Kyuubi without using the Kyuubi-like chakra.