Chapter 8: A Simple Survival Excercice
Naruto's time in the Academy was fun. At least for him. To teachers... it was hell. The young swordmaster would use his enhanced skills to pull all kinds of pranks on those that were asking for it, without ever getting caught. Not only that, but Naruto's smartass responces and sarcastic answers had become a sort of running inside joke (against the teachers that is) as well as a legend. Some teachers had started going to temples more often in the, vain, hope that they would escape Hell. A Hell that would have them teach a class of Narutos...
Sasuke had also started changing, as he spent more time near Naruto. Not only did he speak more and sulk less, but he had also opened up to people, though he still disregarded fangirls, that was something that wouldn't change. Often, when Naruto pranked people, Sasuke could be seen in the background smirking, or in rare cases even chuckling at people's misfortunes. Contrary to people's expectations, Sasuke had really hit it off with the blonde swordsman, often seen enjoying a bento on top of a tree. Why a tree? Because it offered protection from fangirls, cool shade from the sun and a nice vantage point. If someone asked why Sasuke obviously respected Naruto, they would get a somewhat baffling answer.
Sasuke, quite simply, knew power. He could feel that Naruto had immense amounts of it. Even though the blonde was a complete opposite of what Sasuke believed to be a ninja, he still had immense amounts of raw unadulterated power. Nothing could change or hide that fact. So, to Sasuke's own amazement, he began reconsidering his beliefs. Indeed, he had started remembering things his, then childish, mind had forgotten. A memory of his mother easily dodging a missed shuriken from Itachi when she entered completely silently into the latter's training grounds... The look on his father's face the few times that his mother really opposed something... The way she, a female Uchiha that presumably had no shinobi training, would always know where everyone was...
No, Sasuke had forgotten these memories, not understanding their significance. Instead he had followed his arrogant father's beliefs. And now, Naruto had come and shattered them. They were beliefs he had just accepted as the truth, much like any child accepts things told by its parents. Now, a blonde enigma had come and shattered them, forcing Sasuke to come up with his own ideas and beliefs. So, the beginning of Sasuke's change had began.
Naruto had also tried approaching Hinata, seeing as she was the only girl in the class that wasn't a fangirl, though Naruto wasn't sure if it was just her shy nature that prevented that. Naruto had quickly noticed her blushes and constant fainting, something he used to credit to some mysterious sickness. Now, he knew that it was the result of extreme shyness combined with a huge crush. It seemed the Hyuga princess had had a tough life, needing someone in her life to provide her with some sort of stability. Naruto had vowed that if he ever found out who destroyed that girl's idea of self-worth, then that person would wish he were dead when Naruto was done with him. Just the thought of someone berating and belittling someone as inherently kind and sweet as Hinata... He didn't like it, he didn't like it at all. Unfortunately, the girl would faint every time he so much at looked at her intensely, so approaching her was... hard to say the least.
So, a month passed, amongst a lot of laughter and training for the aspiring swordmaster. It was around that time as well that he learned his first, combat viable, Battle Meditation. The Meditation of the Blade. The Uzumaki clan didn't just train their bodies, they also trained their minds, reaching a state of spatial, physical and spiritual awareness that few others could comprehend. They had spent a long time learning how to meditate and control themselves, creating several excercises. However, the effect of most wasn't combat oriented, rather it was more focused on calming one's self and mind. Of all these meditative techniques, there were only four that were combat relevant. The three intermidiate Meditations, the Meditation of the Blade, the Meditation of the Guard and the Meditation of the Hilt, each named after an integral part of a sword and each directed to a certain aspect of fighting, offence, defence and agility respectively. When an Uzumaki Kenshin would learn and master all three, they were granted access to the final Major Meditation, the Meditation of the Sword, which increased all three aspects of fighting to tremendous levels, even though it tired the user very quickly.
Thankfully, so far none had known of Naruto's real identity, few people being able to match the old, orange covered, ADHD, Kyubi no gaki, Uzumaki with the new, intimidating, confident and skilled Naruto. Fewer people had actually bothered themselves enough to do it. Iruka never told a soul, knowing the treatment Naruto would receive, should he speak the truth, while Mizuki had been placed under blood oath to never speak the truth to anyone. Shikamaru and Shino on the other hand, had their suspicions but both knew better than to intrude into someone else's business, so they kept their opinions to themselves and Hinata knew better than to speak. After all, if Naruto hid his identity, then he probably had a reason to.
After his humiliating defeat at the hands of a gennin, Mizuki tried a rematch only once. As Naruto tried to perform the same combo on him, Mizuki felt very smug as he dodged it by leaping backwards. His smirk was wiped though in an instant, as Naruto used the kinetic force of his sweep to rotate himself even faster before switching legs and unleashing a bone-crunching mule kick right into Mizuki's jaw. Result: five stiches, broken nose, shattered jaw and several lost teeth. Wisely, Mizuki never opposed the blonde maelstrom. In any physical way that is. He still tried to put him down and mess up his taijutsu, but Naruto showed a very powerful ability to ignore him.
Naruto met Sasuke, as usual, outside the latter's house in the Uchiha clan's compound. After a nod for a greeting, both quietly walked towards the Academy, content with each other's presence. Their route today took them outside the Hyuga clan's compound, seeing as they had to change routes every day to avoid unnecessary fangirls trying to get them. As they walked by, they met Hinata who, in a rare moment of courage, didn't choose to run away in order to stalk Naruto, but walk along him. Both boys offered her a nod and a grunt for 'good morning'. Neither boy was a morning type, so for them at that time, it was the equivalent of screaming about youth and some such stupid idea.
In the other side of Konoha, Gai and Lee stood up ramrod straight as they looked around suspiciously. Both, to the amazement of their teammates, spoke in a quiet tone; "Unyouth-senses... tingling!" The hug that followed as the pair decided to find the perpetrator gave even more nightmares to the two other gennin of the team.
The three academy students made their way to their class and sat down to their respective seats, Naruto and Sasuke getting a pair of earplugs in order to save themselves the abuse. Soon enough, a bunch of fangirls, chief amongst them Sakura and Ino burst into the classroom, their screaching and squealing making several windows vibrate and nearly crack from the stress of the sound waves. After the noise calmed down, relatively that is, Iruka and Mizuki walked in, surprising the children. Naruto noticed that Mizuki had a weird look on his face, but he shrugged it off. Whether it was smugness or hate, he'd never know, considering how much he had messed up the man's face. Truly, chakra powered kicks to the face leave very few things the same.
"Today, we'll be having a special day. It's a survival excercise. So, all of you can go home and pack with the necessities before meeting here in an hour. Those of you that don't have such items at home, the academy has spares you can use." Iruka declared, causing many to break in cheers before rushing out. His last comment was directed to the, not few, orphans of Konoha, but mostly to Naruto. He was surprised to see however, that Naruto left with the others. Could it be the kid had someone to watch over him? He had said something about not being alone the past year.
Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata met each other again outside the Academy, or more like Hinata was wondering around aimlessly until Sasuke and Naruto caught up with her and managed to keep her with them. Once everyone had been gathered, the two teachers, Mizuki and Iruka proceeded to explain the plan. The kids would break up in three man cells and go to the predetermined areas of the forest. There, they would have to camp for a day, spend the night and either avoid or fend off a mock-ambush by the teachers. Naruto went and picked up a number which, incidentally, sent him and his team the furthest away from every other group. Though Naruto hid a smirk at realizing the grounds were the closest to his home.
When Naruto returned to the blushing heiress and silent avenger, he had to open a way with his Kaze Doomu, as Sasuke was being swarmed by fangirls. Sasuke allowed a small smile as Naruto approached him and with a quick dash, grabbed Hinata and rushed to the protection of the blonde's jutsu. As Mizuki saw the team form, he frowned. He went up to Sasuke and spoke to him.
"Sasuke-kun, maybe we should choose another team for you. After all, rabble like that" Here, Mizuki was interrupted by a murmur of 'rabble that can kick your ass though'. "aren't suited to royalty like yourself. After all, who knows what he would do?"
Sasuke smirked a bit before replying. "Protect me from them" and pointed at the fangirls who looked dejected. "besides, I'm confident in both mine and his skills, while Hyuga-san here would be an excellent lookout. Naruto is a close combat expert, I've got Ninjutsu and Genjutsu covered, while Hyuga-san can scout for us even in complete darkness. In other words, we have a complete team that I am very satisfied with and do not wish to change it. Should you insist, I shall refuse to stay in a forest and instead shall set it on fire." Sasuke leaked out his Killer Intent, a small trick he had learned from Naruto.
Mizuki cursed inwardly before going off to attempt and fix up that mess. Meanwhile Ino and Ami cursed their bad luck and resolved to do something about it.
Soon, the group walked away, with some parents following their children even unto the village gates, causing Naruto to groan at how soft they had all become. Sasuke just huffed at the needless shows of affection while Hinata looked down at having noone to see her off. Progressively, more and more of the children's cells broke off as they passed by the points where they would have to set up camp. Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata broke off of the last few groups before making their way to their camping site. Once there, Sasuke and Hinata got to setting up the tents while Naruto began placing traps all around. From simple bell traps to more complicated entangling traps, Naruto surrounded the camp with three layers of traps, taking care to add traps even on the trees.
After that was taken care of, Naruto went hunting, saying he had done it before. He came back a few moments later with a few fishes hanging from a bit of ninja wire on his waist. Curiously, he didn't look wet at all. The team made small, and obviously limited, small talk. Naruto spent that time mostly observing his two teammates, nodding happily at both of them overcoming their social troubles. Hinata would look at the ground a little bit less and Sasuke actually spoke about himself. Not much, but obviously more than he ever spoke about in class.
After a bit of time waiting, the bored team decided to have a small bit of training. Naruto and Sasuke faced off in a first-blood type spar. Naruto made sure not to unleash his full speed, as that would be unfair to Sasuke. After all, not everyone has a powerful demon that can heal its container from pulled muscles overnight. So, depending mostly on dodges to egg Sasuke on, Naruto managed to get a 3 out of five, making sure to make Sasuke sweat for the two he had won. Hinata refused to take part in the fights and instead chose to watch the two rivals duke it out.
It was slowly approaching afternoon and still no sign of the sensei that would test them, Naruto admitting they'd probably come in the night to make it harder for them. He justified it by stating that, as the three best students, they'd need a challenge to gauge their performance. The other two accepted it, even though Hinata still had her reservations about that. They passed their day calmly, with Naruto showing them how to forage for food and how to make a properly hidden campfire. Lunch consisted of a couple of rabbits cut in strips, covered by wild spices and left to cook on flat stones around and over the fire.
The afternoon came and went and the three made little talk, all three of them appreciating the peace and quiet of the forest. Naruto meditated for a bit under the curious eye of Sasuke. Naruto sighed after a little bit, looked at the raven-haired boy and asked him why he was looking at him like that.
"Well, so far I never saw a shinobi meditate. I mean, noone in the Academy even hinted at this so I don't get why you're doing it."
Naruto removed the sword sheaths from his back and placed them on his lap. "Because, I'm not just a ninja or a sword user. I aim to become a swordmaster since I'm the last of my clan. However, my clan is also a very spiritualistic people. We understand that there's more to fighting than just swinging your arms around like a baboon. We train to understand and connect with our blades on more than a physical level. You see, to us, a sword is not just a weapon, it is a way of life, it is part of our hearts and souls, it is part of what we are. Our swords are our confidantes, our friends, our brothers and sisters, the ones we depend the most upon. We all believe that our swords have spirits inside them and we meditate to contact those spirits. I still don't have my swords, but that doesn't mean I shall disrespect these blades, so I seek to connect with them as much as possible before moving on to my rite of passage."
Sasuke and Hinata looked surprised, but only Sasuke could actually ask Naruto what he meant. Naruto just smiled a content, peaceful smile that shocked the boy before answering him him that he may yet understand one day. Sighing at the not-answers he was receiving, Sasuke decided to sharpen his kunai to pass the time while Hinata just sat down and watched both her teammates, blushing and twidling her fingers. A little after lunch time, something the team chose to skip just in case, Naruto and the others heard a pair of female 'eeek' souds.
Naruto quickly made a hand signal to Sasuke and Hinata to follow him hidden. He cautiously walked towardds the origin of the sound, kunai in his hands. When he reached his target, Naruto groaned in dismay. There, hanging upside down from the tree were Ino and Ami, caught in one of the traps the team had set up when they got to their designated area.
Ino giggled apologetically. "A-ano, Naruto-kun, could you please let us down?"
Naruto sighed, made a couple of Kage Bunshin and threw a shuriken at each rope, cutting it. The clones caught the girls bridal style and let them down before vanishing. Sasuke sighed as he looked at Naruto. Sometimes, the blonde was too nice for his own good. Then again, his pranks kind of made that point moot.
"So why are you here girls? Don't you have your own campsite to stay at? What about your team-mates?"
The two girls laughed bashfully, embarassed about the fact they had ran off on their own just to be with their crush. Even though they both liked Sasuke just as much as before, they were the only two girls (as far as they knew that is) that had noticed how muscled Naruto was. They weren't about to let every other girl know before one of the two snagged him. Too bad their situational awareness was not at the level where it would warn them about a certain Hyuga heir's glare.
Naruto sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Ah well, might as well get comfortable here. The teachers could, and probably would, attack you on your way back. We'll share what provisions we've got."
The team went back to their campfire, passing the time with idle chatter, something Ami and Ino were more than glad to participate. Naruto was in charge of the fire while Sasuke kept a watchout with Hinata. It was many hours later, after the sun had set, that the group began getting restless. The blonde sword-wielder had entered a trance-like state when suddenly he opened his eyes and got up, facing outside. In a commanding whisper he spoke to the other four members of the team.
"We have company. And it's not the teachers."
On a branch, out of the shadows, landed a man. He was mostly nondescript, with a black suit overall, enabling him to hide almost perfectly in the darkness. "Impressive that a child would have sensed me. Too bad you have to die."
Naruto moved in front of his team, his muscles flexing and unflexing in preparation of combat. "It wasn't that hard to notice you when I think of it. The stink of your killer intent was subtle but noticeable. Who are you and why are you here."
The man chuckled and a few more shadows moved, without revealing themselves. The children, and especially Ino, Ami and Hinata, made a small circle around their campfire. Sasuke on the other hand placed himself at Naruto's back and drew his kunai. "Nothing personnal boy. Just business with you and the little girl over there. If anything, hate your sensei, he was the one that begged us to kill you in exchange for her eyes after all."
Naruto, hearing this got mad, no scratch that, he was furious. However, his desire to protect his friends took precedence. His left hand moved to his shoulder and slowly, in a non-threatening manner withdrew his left blade. He handed the sword to Sasuke before looking him in the eye. "Sasuke. Get the girls and run. I'll keep them here. Towards my back is my sensei's house. If you get there fast enough, he'll be able to get here on time."
Sasuke gapped at his friend, while the girls got a shocked look on their faces. "What the hell are you talking about Naruto! I'm not leaving you behind!"
"Don't worry about me Sasuke. They'll come after me first. Go and protect them. I'm counting on you. Now hurry up and go!"
The commanding tone of the voice made Sasuke comply with the order, even as he disagreed with it. As he grabbed Hinata's hand to pull her away, he heard the blonde speak up one more time.
"Sasuke... make sure to return that blade to me."
The black haired boy grunted and sped off, with the girls right behind him, hoping to reach whoever could help them first. He heard a few sounds of combat behind him but used them to spur the girls to move faster.
Back in the clearing, Naruto was calmly calculating and planning his attack. It wouldn't be easy. Sure, he was good for a gennin. But these were no gennins. Thankfully they were underestimating him, believing he was just a child. Oh how wrong they were. He was no mere academy student, he was a future Uzumaki Kenshin, the meanest, toughest, most dangerous swordmasters to ever grace Kami's green earth. He wouldn't let some nobodies, from a nobody village get up to his face and threaten him. Not if they were too scared to even display a headband.
As Sasuke left with the girls in tow, he heard a series of sounds. Clack. Cla-cla-cla-cla-clack! Shiing! Shiiing!. In the clearing however, Naruto was grinning up a storm. A lethal storm. For quite some time, the Uchiha survivor had been asking him what was the deal about his forearm guards. Well, there it was. The fins on the side of his bracers were actually an ingenious mechanical contraption, enabling them to shift to the side, where, with a little bit of wind chakra, Naruto could make a triplet of wind blades at the side of each of his forearms. However that wasn't all. Another mechanism triggered a blade the length of Naruto's entire forearm to shoot out from the top of the bracer and lock in front of it, over his fist.
Naruto's chakra flared, causing his scarf to lash around and his muscles tensed. He took a modified stance of the Rasenken, a frontal stance this time, with his left leg diagonally front and to the side, both arms raised at head level. The blonde swordmaster had long since realized a very simple truth; spinning in place just wasn't his bread and butter. While many Uzumaki would be content to do just that, he didn't. So, he began experimenting with stances that would allow him to close in on the enemy, while enabling him to quickly shift to the original Rasenken at a moment's notice. The blades on the rim of his arms and in front of his fists were just a bonus. A very lethal bonus.
One of the shadowed figures got bored waiting for Naruto to charge, knowing that if what the kid had said was true, then they'd have a bigger fight on their hands soon, one they weren't ready to take on. The man took a kunai from his pouch and charged at Naruto. The blonde mimicked the action, with a small difference. He began charging up chakra at the soles of his feet, ready to be unleashed in an instant for a quick speed boost. At the same time, he used his wind manipulation to extend a trio of blades from the bracer's 'fins'.
Time almost stopped for Naruto as his mind went into overdrive, calculating possibilities, motions, actions, events and finally strategy. With a quick release of his tensed muscles, Naruto shot forth like a rocket from hell, leaving a heavy indentation on the ground below. Seeing the enemy's slightly surprised, therefore hurried, slash, Naruto sidestepped and unleashed the stored chakra, blurring past the man. The enemy ninja didn't even realize what went wrong before he died, a clean cut across his throat, a cut no metal weapon had made.
On the trees and around the shadows, the rest of the would-be assassins gawked. They hadn't expected that. What they had expected even less was for the two wrist blades to retract, only for Naruto to draw his the sword over his right shoulder. At the same time, he used a storage seal on his belt to reveal one of Anko's favourite playthings. It was a slender, curved dagger, one sided only, ending in a very dangerous-looking, curved tip, like a scalpel almost. Its curve made it extremely sharp and the tip made penetrating armor extremely easy.
Naruto right arm raised to his scarf, his mind already made up. He knew he had taken one of them out, but there was no way they would underestimate him again. Just like he wanted. He wanted them to attack him, making sure they wouldn't come after his friends. With a calm, almost frozen voice he called out the ritual of introduction of the Kenshin.
"My name is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, Kiiroi Senko no Namikaze Minato (Namikaze Minato of the Yellow Flash) and Shinkou Shi no Uzumaki Kushina (Uzumaki Kushina of the Red Death) no sochi (son of the aforementioned two). Last heir of the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans as well as the last pureblood Uzumaki Swordmaster. Live by the sword... die by the sword."
The man that had spoken before took a step back in fear. He remembered those red-haired devils, those sword wielding monstrocities. When they appeared, it was like a tornado of death, noone could stop them. Even wounded they fought on, even outnumbered they fought on, even disarmed they fought on, even maimed they fought on. The mere thought that one of them was still alive and training... sent shivers down the man's spine. He was quick to recover though, that clan had long since died and the enemy was a child, a mere brat, he couldn't have that much skill behind him, could he?
Unfortunately for that man, he didn't know just how much chakra Naruto had or how much of a slave driver Ryu was. Nor did he know how much raw talent Naruto had inherited, or how hard he worked to cover up for years of neglect. He came to an abrupt realization as Naruto's arm grabbed the scarf around his neck and pulled it off, letting it float in the wind. Soft spoken words caressed the wind of that clearing. "Fuuinjutsu: Chakra Fuuin... KAI! (Sealing Arts: Chakra Seal... Release!)"
Then the chakra came and the world shuddered as Naruto's full power was unleashed. Flexing muscles and clacking his joints, Naruto grinned as a heavy weight was lifted off his body. "Come and see just who the fuck you're up against!"
A man broke ranks at an un-announced signal, charging the blonde mop of hair. He let out a warcry as he brought his kodachi to bear. First rule of combat; do not, under any circumstances, fight your enemy at his advantage. First rule of combat... failed. Naruto's grip on his blades tightened and he vanished. He reappeared an instant later above the charging man, floating in the air, upside down. The man didn't get a chance to gurgle, as two blades lodged themselves into his body and through his lungs via the slits between his ribcage and shoulderblades. He just spat and choked on blood before falling down in spasms.
The men didn't hesitate any more to attack, bringing their weapons to bear, from kama, to naginata, to kodachi, to wakizashi, to kusari-gama. The shinobi didn't make three steps before the most terrifieing killer intent they had ever faced washed over them. You see, Battle Meditations have several... interesting effects. Apart from focusing the mind and body into one single uniform task force, they also exhuded power and strength linked and compared to their focus. Naruto's offencive Battle Meditation enabled him to pick the enemie's charge apart, finding the holes and flaws of their styles, but also projected his killer intent in such a potent and concentrated form that the enemy didn't think of victory, but feared for his survival instead.
Not wanting to waste the opening, Naruto charged ahead, blades held at his side, ready to cut through flesh, bone and armor. One of the enemy nin, dropped in front of the blonde, using a pair of Sai as his weapons. Obviously, the man thought that if a swordsman is disarmed, then his skill diminishes severely. And he was correct. Well, for normal swordsmen anyway, not an Uzumaki Kenshin, the meanest, toughest, most capable sword users to have walked the land.
The fork-like weapons twirled in the air, blurring so that predicting their next strike would be hard. An instant before Naruto reached the man, the sai stopped their mad dance, almost freezing in time, before coming down on Naruto, aided by their wielder's forward crouch. The attack was aimed at Naruto's knees, as, regardless of how much one trains, the joints can never be strengthened. A single blow at the kneecaps by a sai can easily dislocate them or even permanently disable the target. Thanks to the weapon's weight, it would also be a very simple thing to stab downwards and pull. Even if the boy blocked the blow, the strike could easily be diverted to the side, gathering momentum for a double slash through the ribs and into the boy's lungs and kidney. Besides, even if the boy managed to not parry but block, the sai's forks would be able to disarm him.
It was truly a formiddable weapon, Naruto analyzed, used at the hands of someone who knew what they were doing, even if it wasn't very good. It would still be an advantage that would stump most aspiring sword users. Keyword; most. Naruto wasn't like most. So, he channeled some chakra into his weapons, stopped prematurely and spun, before using the re-directed momentum to dash to the side. It was a surprising maneuevre, momentarily surprising the offending shinobi. Naruto didn't waste a breath and run to a tree. Suddenly... he dissapeared. The enemy shinobi blinked and saw a tree branch. His mind had barely a second to realize it was a Kawarimibefore feeling a wickedly curved blade slip through his ribs and into his stomach.
The apparent leader was quite surprised. The boy had, seal-lessly, used the Kawarimi no Jutsu to replace himself with a branch behind his enemy's turned head. Knowing that his enemy would have followed his movement, Naruto placed himself behind him. Since he was running, he was already in a sprinting position when the transfer was made, exterminating the need to slowly accelerate from a complete stop. It was a nice move, very effective, since it almost bisected the man, a fate fulfilled by the other blade.
Naruto looked at his enemies. Quickly he counted them out and analyzed their stances. They were all weapon users, good, he could work with that. Unfortunately for him, they all knew some elemental jutsu, and they were willing to use them. It became apparent as two sword-users charged him under cover of techniques. An explosion rocked the place before the clang of metal on metal reverbrated.
Sasuke was running fast, but his mind was running even faster, the sword's weight in his hand a constant reminder of who he'd left behind. His comrade, his... friend, Naruto. Suddenly he stopped, his hair covering his face. He turned on his heels and looked at the girls that were now behind him. "You go on. I'm going back to Naruto. That dobe... he's much weaker without his sword. You three move on and get to help. I... will not abandon anyone again."
Sasuke became a blur moving through the forest, his anxiety made him push chakra to his feet subconsciously, increasing his speed manifold. Behind the boy, the three terrified girls gulped and moved on hoping beyond hope to get to safety.
Back in the clearing, Naruto was doing his best defending from his attackers. He had long since switched to his Defencive Battle Meditation, knowing that he couldn't attack them and survive for long. A pair of electrified swords descended on him and he couldn't dodge. The blonde raised his sword and dagger in an X-shaped position, blocking. The electrical currents however shocked him and he grunted, but he refused to let go of his swords or collapse. A quick charge of fuuton chakra later, and the attacker was blown back, into a tree. Naruto smirked, he wasn't going down any time soon.
However, as these words passed through his mind, Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the tell-tail sound of a blade cutting through the air. An instant later, he was holding back a kodachi from slicing up his throat. Behind him, he could hear his previous attacked dash at him. He couldn't block, he couldn't dodge... he was done for.
"KATON: GOKAKYU NO JUTSU! (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique!)"
A large ball of flame covered the charging man, leaving him on fire, burning and trying to survive. A whirling voice made itself known to Naruto's ears and the boy smirked. He would recognize that voice anywhere. His hand abandoned the knife and moved with blinding speed, catching his former sword before, with a sudden weight change and a spin, he sent the man rolling backwards. He looked behind him, to see an equally smirking Sasuke.
"What?" Asked the boy in a cocky tone. "You told me to return your sword. I just did, so hurry up already!"
Naruto turned back to his attackers, his face unreadable but serious. "Kono katana ga... moeteikou... (This sword... is burning)" He said, surprising them all. "Sasuke's burning spirit... his heartfelt desire to help his comrade, even through his own risk... it has passed into this blade..." Naruto's hand tightened on the returned sword and it burst into brilliant flames, a roaring, contained, inferno of power. "Kono chikara de (With this power)... MAKENI WAKENEENDA! (I CANNOT FAIL!)" The first sword was covered in a coccoon of screeching wind and the blades rose into the air, painting their wielder with an aura of indescribable power.
"Tora no kamae! (Tiger's Stance!"
Both swords were risen horizontally, one at head level the other at the chest. Naruto's feet were at a 45degree angle, his right foot extended, while his left leg was tensed behind for a charge. Chakra gathered and was condenced in the legs. The previous attacker had barely the chance to place his sword vertically in an attempt to block. It failed, as Naruto's right sword pierced through the wind right onto the kodachi, stabbed next to the man's throat, held back by the guard. A single twitch send the man's head flying, his corpse falling down like a puppet with its strings cut.
Another charged, this time with a kusari-gama, a sickle connected to a heavy weight through a chain. Naruto charged and there was a red flash in front of him as the left blade intercepted the weight, cutting off the chain in an instant. Naruto appeared to ignore the man as he continued his dash. The nuke-nin only whispered "H-how fast..." before keeling over, dead from a destroyed heart.
The leader of the group quickly recognized the signs of a Blade Master connecting to his swords, he had seen enough Uzumaki swordmasters go into a killing spree of unequalled skill and ferocity on the drop of a hat. Quickly he called out to his team. "Back off! Everyone, retreat!"
However, it was not to be as Naruto activated Shunpo and disappeared from sight, only to reappear in their midst. "Osoi! (Too late!)" He called out and everyone noticed something strange, behind his flaring chakra and even more powerful swords. He held the swords with their buts together, as if they were a combined single weapon, a two-bladed katana. The weapon was above Naruto's head as he spun on one leg, his aura of chakra going into the blades.
The leader had barely enough time to curse before the entire area, almost up to Sasuke, burst into a veritable furnace of fire and wind.
"Nigyo Kentai: Ho no Tatsumaki! (Dual Elemental Invocation: Fire Tornado/Fire Dragon Coil!)"
Naruto's spin had created a tornado of wind blades, much like the Dai Kamaitachi only shaped like a gigantic cylinder, and then promptly set it on fire. The wind cut up everything in range so many times that human bodies became mutilated beyond all belief, while the fire incinerated whatever it touched, not only aided by the wind but also cauterizing the wounds of whatever might actually live through.
The massive burning tornado lasted only for a few seconds, but they were enough to reduce everything in a 50ft range of Naruto to ash and cinders. Sasuke gaped as Naruto panted and lowered his hands, the weapons glowing red hot. A cracking sound came from the blades and they cracked into several small pieces, the stress of the massive jutsu being too much for them. Sasuke ran to his friend, holding him steady.
"You alright there Naruto? That was one hell of a jutsu!"
"Actually... it was two hells... and... I didn't do it on my own."
The raven haired boy raised an eyebrow in question. "What do you mean dobe? I saw you clearly perform it."
"Yeah... yeah I did." Admitted the blonde. "But... up until now, whenever I tried to do it, it failed and exploded outwards. However... when I got that sword, the blade you returned me... I felt such power, such confidence surge through it... I knew I could do it then." Naruto smiled to his friend warmly. "I didn't do it alone Sasuke. We both did it. Without your spirit aiding me through the blade, it would have failed. Thanks Sasuke. For everything."
The Uchiha scion didn't get to reply, because a very distraught Ryu made his appearence. He had seen the massive technique launch into the sky and he was quite worried. For Naruto to resort into that... It had to have been bad. He quickly spotted his adopted little brother and went to him, checking out if he got any wounds or poison.
Moments later, Iruka also showed up, bringing with him a disheveled-looking Mizuki. "We came as soon as we saw that fire tower thing! What happened here?" Asked the almost hysteric teacher, worried for his students.
Naruto turned at him, steel in his eyes. "Death. Some bastard had paid a bunch of nuke-nin to come kill me and drag Hinata-san off, probably to Kumo. I got the fuckers though. Now, if you excuse me, I am going to collapse. See you tomorrow." A soft thud followed as Naruto indeed fell unconscious in his laughing brother's arms.
"Well, looks like the gaki's alright. Sasuke-san, you are to follow me at my residence where you will rest. I think this qualifies as a little bit more than the classic survival test. Iruka-san, Mizuki-san, please return to you students and calm them down, they must be flocking to this place. Oh, and somebody let Sandaime know about this mess. Now, off we go." Ryu hefted Naruto on his shoulders, made a clone to gather the shards of the broken swords and, along with Sasuke, they marched towards the former's home.
Along the way, they would meet a freaked out Ami, a terrified Ino and an almost-catatonic with fear Hinata, accompanied by a seriously pissed off Anko. The snake user didn't really like people taking her away from trying to seduce Ryu through sake contests. She didn't like it at all. Especially when she has to baby-sit a bunch of whiny wannabe-kunoichi fangirls. Even in his slumber, Naruto shivered in reflex to the very aura of malice Anko emitted. Needless to say, Sasuke and the three girls were wise enough to not prod at her at all.
A/N: Another chappie done, hope you liked this one. Sasuke's changing even more, becoming that which I think he SHOULD have been. Not an emo whiney SOB with the cheapest ability ever, but a shinobi with enough shit on his mind to make most dudes out there crack under the pressure. Also, it's a preview of Naruto's real power and a preparation for following ones, as the events here, or more precicely the emotions that stem from these events, will have a huge effect on the story.
Funny Fact of the previous chapter: The Kaze Doomu technique was never meant to be used as a fangirl deterrent. I just made it so I can make the transition to more powerful techniques more smoothly. But I guess, one has to make do with what they have right?
I am slightly dissapointed by the flow of this chapter... Any ideas on what I should change? The encounter however remains the same. It is needed for the story's progression.
Technique list:
Nigyo Kentai: Ho no Tatsumaki (Dual Elemental Invocation: Fire Tornado/Fire Dragon Coil): Naruto combines his two swords into a single double bladed one and spins it overhead while pumping out immense amounts of chakra. The chakra is turned into fire and wind at the hands before being unleashed through the swords. As a result, a huge tornado of slicing winds and roaring flames erupts. Wounds are not mere lacerations, but deep cuts that can even snap bones and, as an added effect, the wounds become cauterized almost immidiately. Also the intense fire, for as little as it lasts, can cause severe burn damage. Cost: S, Control: S (without a blade)/B (with blade and proper teaching), Rank: A. Impossible to perform without knowledge of manipulating and condencing immense amounts of chakra. Almost impossible to perform without a dual-bladed weapon to act as a medium. Most weapons used thusly will shatter after one use due to immense stress placed on the blade.
Fuuinjutsu: Chakra Fuuin (Sealing Arts: Chakra Seal): A sealing technique devised by Namikaze Minato to promote growth of chakra. When used with its pair, the scarf worn by Ryu and Naruto, the seal takes a small amount of chakra and forces it to flow in reverse in accordance to the seals on the scarf. This not only makes the body believe it's constantly spending chakra, forcing it to create more to cover the loss, but the reverse flow caused by the scarf, will mess up the wearer's control while worn, forcing the wearer to increase his chakra control while using the same excercises. Once released, the chakra boost is usually enough to turn the tide of a battle, as the user not only unlocks anywhere from 10% to even 50% of his chakra, but also dramatically increases his control.
Tora no Kamae (Tiger Stance) is a stance that is based on lethal hits, deriving its strength from fluidity, grace and speed. Much of its damage comes from a technique I call 'micro-motion'. Micro-motions are, simply put, very very short movements of the hand. So short in fact that most times they are not perceptible until too late. What it does is effectively reach an immense speed within a very short distance, or swing of the blade, thus increasing the effective force exerted by the blade, cutting much easier than normal. Micro-motions in Tora no Kamae are performed the moment the blade strikes the defender. In these cases, the user either twists and throws the enemy sword away or repeatedly strikes the defending sword, causing defence to crumble, just before going for the lethal blow. Tora no Kamae is considered amongst the top three fighting styles along with Ookami no Kamae and is the single most directly destructive style. To put it in perspective, the Tora no Kamae would tear apart any other stance if the two fighters were of similar skill. However, it requires that the user kill the enemy quickly because, due to the speed and range of motion, it's very exhausting to the user. Prolonged combat is quite simply not an option, as it can cause severe muscle damage.
Today, on this 9/6/2012, I, Soulblazer87, do hereby leave this site, possibly forever.
I shall not update this, or any other story.
I shall leave them on, however. Should you desire to follow my stories, do so in my new site of residence: www dot yourfanfiction dot com.