Clash in the Snow Country: Legacy Version!

Chapter 12 - Fighting One's Shadow

(Author's Note) To xds and Alexander the cleverest – as well as any others would like to share ideas for this story, I'll see if I can use your ideas (giving credit where credit is due, of course), but no promises. Thank you for sharing your ideas, if nothing else.

Big thanks to both Paintball-gamer and Tellemicus Sundance, both of whom's opinions helped make this chapter better than what I had originally.

10:31 am

A soft, gentle breeze blew across the nearly deserted deck. The clouds were still heavy, allowing only a glimpse of sunlight every now and then. A small crackle was heard next, hinting that rain may soon be coming. To the four individuals on the deck, such things were beneath their notice. To the one side stood a short blond-haired boy in black and orange with one eye firmly closed, a slightly taller raven-haired boy in blue and white with scars over one of his eyes, and a girl with pink hair in red in between them, her green eyes focused sharply on the man across the deck, as well as her two teammates.

The man - if that term could truly be applied to him – stood across from them, a strange mixture of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all rolled into one. It was his way of creating a new opponent for them, as well as throwing them off balance mentally through the use of their own 'images' fighting them. Or parts of them anyway, but it was apparent that this form still had an effect of the three. He knew that taking their individual identities was all but useless now. Very well, then. If identical appearances weren't truly effective enough to unnerve them, then perhaps a mental one would suffice.

About a minute passed, but not one person moved. Everyone was waiting for the other person to make the first move, not wanting to be the one to do it as it would leave them open. Another minute came to pass and no change. Something had to give and get the ball rolling.

And that's when Makino yelled "ACTION!"

As if by reflex, all three genin turned around, red-faced, and shouted "DON'T YOU DARE - "

They were interrupted as the shapeshifter moved amongst them and knocked them all about again, while Kajio grabbed his face in terror as he looked at the director. "YOU JUST GAVE THE BAD GUY THE OPENING!!"

"Something needed to happen," Makino said calmly, though a small grin was emerging on his face as he watched the boys engage the enemy, while Sakura hung back. He wanted to see what this guy could do on the offensive. So far, that guy had just been on the defensive. And there was a difference from being on the defense as opposed to the offense. Oh yes… this was going to be good!

On the deck of the ship, Sasuke recovered first from the attack as he dashed towards the mixed freak, throwing out a right punch as he used a left outward block to stop the freak's own right punch. Both then jumped back from each other and tossed a kunai, the knives colliding in mid-air a fraction of a second later.

Wait a second…

Currently, Sasuke's right foot was forward, with his right hand up by his face and his left hovering by his stomach. And the shapeshifter had the exact same position. Frowning to himself, Sasuke pivoted his right foot slightly the side.

As did the freak's own right foot.

Sasuke made an angry 'hmph' at the sight as the two took off towards each other, left kicks intercepting, following by throwing quick left and right punches. Both then took a step forward and tried to uppercut, only to have both of them dodge by leaning back, followed quickly by roundhouse kicks.

Okay… this was seriously getting on Sasuke's nerves as their two kicks collided. This freak only seemed interested in copying and reacting instead of acting. Fine. If that was the way this freak wanted to play it, then Sasuke would just have to break the mirror first. He still had his Sharingan on, while this freak didn't. That would give him the opening he needed.

Using it to stay a step of ahead of the shapeshifter, Sasuke's right hand managed to grab the freak's leg and spin him around before the enemy could copy the maneuver. That was easy enough, Sasuke thought, now having the opponent's back to him.

"Remember the time you wet your bed, Uchiha, at age eleven?"

Sasuke flinched while his face went red slightly. How the hell did this freak know that!? The outburst made Sasuke pause for a short moment, but it was enough for Bakeru. Bracing himself from the spin, he slammed the back of his head to Sasuke's face, followed by two quick elbows to the Uchiha's diaphragm, making the Uchiha step back in pain. Seeing what the freak had been doing earlier with Sasuke, Naruto came in with six Kage Bunshins on his heels, not willing to give the freak a chance to pull that stunt with a one-on-one fight.

In response, the Oboro sprang to life around the shapeshifter. The first two clones were destroyed with the shapeshifter's fists. He then grabbed the next two and threw them at the last two. Unfortunately, that left him open to a kick to his jaw, causing him to stumble backwards. By this time, Sasuke recovered from his crushed diaphragm, and the two boys took off from two different directions towards him, each one preparing a jutsu. There was a Faiatama in Sasuke's hand, while Naruto crossed his fingers again. Covering his teammate, Sasuke threw the fireball at the shapeshifter, which he knocked aside with his hand. That allowed Naruto the time he needed as ten more of him rained down on him.

This is bad, Bakeru thought as he fought back. With both at once, he wouldn't be able to handle them by using their own moves against them. And with the clones, that only – he lost his train of thought as he felt a solid uppercut connect with his stomach. He instinctively held his abdomen as he kneeled over, gasping in pain. His face then meet two fierce punches at once (one from each boy), which sent him rolling across the ground. Placing his hands on the ground, he managed to recover with a handspring back onto his feet. So be it. He deactivated the Oboro and activated the Uchiha's bloodline and the Sharingan came to life in his eyes.

Immediately, he felt a sharp jolt of pain in his eyes and head, causing him to jerk his eyes closed and shriek. To which he felt a kick to his chest, sending him crashing down to the deck again. Right… he was only a third Uchiha at the moment. Uzumaki and Haruno's DNA were incompatible with the Sharingan. Cursing himself for failing to anticipate that, he got up once again, just in time to see Uchiha come straight at him, enduring the mental pain he was experiencing in order to keep the bloodline active.

He blocked Uchiha's series of punches, his Sharingan allowing him to keep up with Uchiha's. Uchiha then managed to get a kick to the side of Bakeru's face. To Sasuke's shock, Bakeru's entire upper body spun around, while his lower half hadn't moved an inch! While this happened, his entire right hand bulged out, resembling a cinder block. With the momentum of the spin, he thrust his arm right at Sasuke (whose face was bright red and bursting with anger), who barely had time to cross his arms to block. The sheer power of the blow sent Sasuke flying into the air, while several Narutos converged on Bakeru. Using the Sharingan, he punched the first bunshin, backflipped over the next one and kicked that one into another, only to feel a sharp kick to his back.

Giving a small yell of pain, Bakeru changed his left arm into a blade. "How's the arachnophobia coming along? Any more crawl into your ramen?"

"SHUT UP!!" all the Narutos yelled.

He wasn't afraid of spiders! He just had a particularly nasty experience with one. A big one crawled into one of his bowls of ramen when he was nine and he accidently put it in his mouth before he could feel it moving inside. The result was a very loud shout, some very messy ramen remains on the table and nearly an hour of brushing before he felt the taste was finally out of his mouth. But that did not mean he had arachnophobia!

Bakeru brought a diagonal slash across the Naruto who kicked him, making it poof out of existence. While that happened, two other Narutos had jumped up and caught Sasuke by the arms. The two Narutos drew their arms back and launched Uchiha like a missile right back at the shapeshifter.

Bakeru, who had just finished off the last Kage Bunshin, turned just in time to meet Sasuke's fist squarely in the face. Bakeru went rolling across the deck and crashed into several crates. Sasuke smirked to himself. Yes, that had been quite satisfying!

"Katon: Kaki Fannerufuro!"

A burst of fire blew out from the rubble and Sasuke saw that it was growing wider and wider, as opposed to streaking forward like the techniques he used. Then he understood why: the attack was meant to catch the ship on fire, as much as to attack them. The freak was trying to force them to protect the ship from being burned, leaving themselves open and vulnerable. Cursing silently, he formed the seals for the Goukakyuu. "Naruto!" he shouted as he finished the seal and blew out the grand fireball.

Sasuke's fire slammed directly into the center of Bakeru's attack, holding back the majority of fire. Almost at once, both fighters poured more chakra into their attacks, strengthening their respective flames considerably. Neither fighter was willing to back down.

Sasuke's effort allowed Naruto the time to create another score of clones and to run through the twenty-eight seal sequence. "Suiton: Tajuu Suiryuudan!" all twelve cried out.

Twelve water dragons erupted from the ocean, six of which broke off and headed toward the parts of the ship that had already caught fire, extinguishing them. The other half streaked towards the colliding fire, slamming into it and dousing it completely as they surged towards the shapeshifter.

Seeing an opening, Sakura took off running toward their opponent, much to the boy's dismay. "Dammit, Sakura, we told you to stay back!" the Narutos yelled, calling off the water dragons in fear of hitting her as they took off after her as well.

Sakura attempted a punch, noticing that the freak's fingers on his right had changed into blades. "Do you also remember those night terrors you had when you were six?" He asked as he slashed his hand downward, only to meet a Naruto clone taking the hit, disappearing in an instant. Two others grabbed her by the arms and dragged her off. "Naruto!" Sakura shouted angrily (and mentally hoping that no one had heard that, so did not want to remember that day. Damn, how did he know these things!?) as the others engaged the enemy. "Get your hands off of – "

"You're in the way," Sasuke interrupted her, making his way through the remaining clones. He dropped down and sent a fierce kick to the freak's chin, launching him into the air. The shapeshifter quickly regained his composure, keeping his eyes on Sasuke. He had no intention of being caught in that stupid Shishi Rendan.

And that's when he was caught in an arm lock, thanks to Naruto. "Heh heh, got you now, bastard."

"Have you now?" To Naruto's disgust and amazement, a pair of eyes and a mouth appeared in the back of the head. Okay… that was just wrong! Then he noticed the mouth open and the tongue itself shift into a kunai blade. That's not good, he noted as the kunai/tongue/thing shot out towards his face.

In response, Naruto opened his own mouth and clamped down on the thing. Fighting off a nasty mental image, he jerked his head to the side, stretching the thing as far as he could.

"GAAAHH!!" Bakeru shouted, his face filled with sharp pain as his tongue stretched further than he intended. As he quickly tried to adjust the length, Uchiha appeared in front of him, launching a series of punches and kicks as gravity lowered all three back to the deck below. Once they were about halfway down, Sasuke put his hands on Bakeru's legs and thrust himself down onto the deck. Once Sasuke landed, Naruto released his arm lock and brought his hands together in a double fist. With one powerful bash, he sent the freak flying downward towards Sasuke. The other boy readied himself and as soon as Bakeru was closer, he shot his fist upward, striking him hard in the back. The shapeshifter let off a silent cry, his voice not working due to the pain in his back. Sasuke then gave a small jump and delivered a devastating right kick to Bakeru's face, sending him skidding across the ground into the side of the ship as Naruto landed.

The body began changing again. The arms grew slightly longer and all four limbs became muscular and… hairy? As Sasuke looked on, he saw a tail appear, and bright orange hair began covering the entire body. The face changed as well, becoming rounder, and sharp teeth appeared in the mouth.

A tiger.

"Wonderful!" Makino cheered from his spot, his hands waving in the air, hitting Kajio on the head several times in eagerness (much to his assistant director's dismay). "Tell me you got that on camera!"

The tiger let out a roar as it sprang toward the two boys, both of whom were barely able to avoid the springing cat, who left claw marks across their shirts as it passed by, thankfully missing the flesh underneath. The tiger landed and recoiled on the deck, leaping towards the boys once again. This time, both Sasuke and Naruto were more ready and avoided the makeshift tiger with plenty of time. This time, however, the tiger kept on going, not turning back. It only took a split second to realize why before they ran after it: Bakeru was now targeting the third member of the team, Sakura.

The girl herself was more than ready, sick and tired of her teammates' actions, treating her like she was about to break. She quickly brought forth a kunai in one hand and a series of shuriken in the other, which she threw a second later at the tiger. As she expected, the tiger jumped over the shuriken and she took off towards it, ready to bury that kunai into the thing's face or chest (she wasn't picky) before it had a chance to recover or change its form again.

That's when she felt a surging wind hit her, flinging her across the deck. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sasuke delivering a fierce kick to the tiger's neck. The thing roared, from the sounds of it mostly out of irritation than actual pain, as it landed back down on the deck, already changing, while the two boys got in front of her. Again. And Sakura was ready to beat their heads in. They just had to keep butting in! "Will you two stop interfering and let me – "

"Get in the way again?" Naruto supplied, keeping his back to her so he could keep his eye on the opponent. Not that Sakura thought that. She just thought that he was ignoring her on purpose. "Sakura-chan, you need to keep out of this. You're not helping any."

Inner Sakura roared. Trying saying that to my face, asshole!

"Did you even consider where you were throwing those shuriken?" Naruto continued, oblivious to the fact that Mount Sakura was about to erupt.

"All I did was throw them at – "

" – at us," Sasuke finished.

"At you!?" Sakura repeated. How dare he even suggest that! Okay, she may be the weakest out of the three of them, but she wasn't a complete novice anymore! It's not like she would have made such a stupid mistake. The freak tiger had bounced off the deck and gone right past them, straight at her. So she threw her shuriken at him, with the two boys behind him…

… behind him…

Wait… if both Naruto and Sasuke were behind him when she threw the shuriken… then when the shapeshifter jumped… those shuriken would have kept right on going… right toward the boys…

She shook her head, confusion and uncertainty now swelling into her brain. Did she make a mistake? Did she seriously make a miscalculation that would have endangered her teammates? But what should she worry about? It's not like a few shuriken would have hurt, or even distracted people as skillful as the two boys. Still… the possibility that they could have done so didn't leave her mind.

Were… were the boys right? Was she simply in the way, not able to contribute at all without endangering her own allies?

"Hyouton: Aisu Kaze Kasui no Jutsu!"

Those words – along with Sasuke's strong grip on her wrist – snapped her back to reality as Sasuke jumped to the side, dragging her along, while Naruto dodged the other way. But that wasn't enough as all three felt a wet, bone-chilling wind engulf all three of them. It felt like being caught a bad rainstorm. Shivering badly, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke found themselves moving quite slowly. No matter how fast their minds were yelling at them to get out of the freezing wind, their bodies simply refused to move quickly, concentrating more on hugging themselves for whatever meager means of warmth. Naruto was the first one to have some semblance of resistance, as he brought his hands together to form a series of seals. That's when he noticed the freak's Uma seal change into a Hitsuji one.

Several small ice shards began forming in the wind as a result, forcing Naruto's numb body to work that much faster. The blowing wind then shot the created ice fragments forward at an impressive speed and despite Naruto's efforts, they managed to hit all three genin, cutting them in several places, most on the limbs. Fighting the numbness and stinging of the ice shards, the one-eyed blond shinobi managed to choke out "Ka-kaze… Tate!"

Massive winds erupted from around Naruto's body, gale winds meeting the freezing winds and colliding with extreme force, battling each other for supremacy. The ice shards themselves seemed to be caught in the middle of the raging winds, to the point where they were being blown back and forth between Naruto and Bakeru. When one side increased their power, the other quickly did the same. Items that weren't nailed down (and in some cases, ones that were) began flying from the deck out into the deep blue sea. Crates, ropes, chairs, cameras (much to the trio's delight) and whatever else happened to clutter the deck.

"Are you getting all this? ARE YOU GETTING ALL THIS!?" Makino asked frantically, keeping one hand on his head to keep his hat on while waving the other around like a fan girl, ignoring the cries, panic, and mayhem that were going around the rest of the movie cast as they all tried to keep their possessions from flying off. "This is absolutely, positively, undeniably beautiful!"

A loud WHOOSH!! sound was heard next, revealing a winner in the wind struggle.

Naruto.

The force of Naruto's Kaze Tate overcame and enveloped Bakeru's Aisu Kaze Kasui. The fierce winds made a mad dash towards the shapeshifter, the ice shards in tow. Breathing hard, Bakeru was unable to move, only able to cross his arms in front of him and harden his body as much as he could in the seconds to come. It wasn't enough, apparently, as his own ice shards began slicing his body as they had done with his opponents only moments ago. The wind hit him a millisecond later. Tried as he might, he was unable to keep his footing against the wind and was flung backwards.

Right into the fist of Uchiha Sasuke, who had used the dueling winds as an opportunity to reposition himself accordingly. Not willing to let the freak recover, he quickly followed up with a brutal series of attacks: an uppercut to the chin, a side kick to the stomach, three punches straight in the face, and an elbow to the throat, finished off by grabbing an arm and a leg and hurling the shapeshifter away.

Right into Naruto's kick. The black and orange clad ninja then placed a hand on the freak's chest and shoved him to the ground on its back. With Naruto practically sitting on top of him, Bakeru's options were few as Naruto quickly took out a kunai, fully prepared to bury it into the freak's neck.

"Naruto-kun!"

Against his will, Naruto froze on the spot, unable to help himself. The one he had pinned on deck was no longer the collage of Team 7, but rather the Hyuuga heiress, her face petrified, with a look of disbelief, pleading, and betrayal on it. The worst part had to be the tears streaking down from her face.

Before Naruto could react in anyway, 'Hinata' grinned evilly as 'her' palm struck him soundly in the chest. It wasn't as hard of a hit as it could have been, but it still sent him rolling across the ground. 'Hinata' looked back and managed to roll away, just missing Sasuke's own kunai strike where 'her' head had been.

"Kuso!!" a very irritable Sasuke shouted, as Bakeru changed his form again back to the mixture of the three. His right arm stretched out, turning into a serpent and wrapping itself around Sasuke's arm up to his neck.

Before the snake had a chance to bite, Sasuke's other hand lashed out and caught the thing, clamping its mouth shut. Yanking his wrapped up arm downward, he slammed the arm/snake/thing on his upcoming knee. The freak screamed in pain again as its grip loosened, enough for Sasuke to get his own firm grab on the arm. He then spun around and around, going faster and faster and faster, while the freak dangled in the air. He then flung Bakeru headfirst right back into the already cracked main mast of the ship, damaging it further.

As for Sasuke, he opted to return to where his two teammates were and shot a dark look at Naruto. "What the hell happened? Why did you freeze up like that and not kill the damn thing when you had the chance!? Arachnophobic idiot."

"Oh, shut up, bed wetter," Naruto retorted, his eye looking at the Uchiha. Though truth be told, would he have been able to carry out the strike? He shook his head, pushing the thought away as Sakura looked at him. "You alright?"

"Of course he's alri – " Sasuke started

"Yes," Naruto interrupted, looking at his female teammate. The word then sank into him as he looked down at his own chest. "Yes… I am…"

"So what?" Sasuke asked. All the freak had done was palm-strike Naruto in the chest. That sort of blow wouldn't hurt that much.

Sakura looked at him, then nodded to herself. "Right… Kakashi took you away for treatment, so you didn't see Neji and Hinata fight. The Hyuuga fight with a taijutsu style called Jyuuken. It allows them to send surges of chakra directly into the opponent's body, hitting the organs themselves. The smallest touch is enough to do that and full force blows can be a lethal hit."

Sasuke nodded slowly, his mind processing the information. So then… because the freak was using Hinata's form, it should have utilized this Jyuuken stuff, so that palm strike to Naruto's chest should have inflicted major damage to the dobe's heart. Since it didn't, there was only one conclusion.

The freak didn't have the Hyuuga Bloodline running through its veins, like it did his.

So did that mean the freak only had his bloodline copied? Just how unfair was that!? Sasuke mentally wished he had laid waste to the freak more when he had the opportunity.

As for the said person, he was currently breathing hard on the deck, using the opportunity to try and regain his breath. This wasn't going well. He was tiring out faster than they were. That shouldn't have been a surprise, in all honesty. He was a spy, not a fighter, much less a shinobi. Sure, he had been trained by his master to use the shinobi arts and had managed to obtain the skills equal to a low Jounin during the time when he had been… changed. His new body and abilities had been most helpful for him to learn the new trade. Not that it was helping him win this fight.

Perhaps that was what angered him the most right now. All his preparations, all his tricks, all his plans seemed to be ineffective. He had taken the memories and blood of the three Genin so that he could break the bonds between them by impersonating them, right under the copy nin's nose so that not even he could tell if one of his students was acting strangely. Then Kakashi was killed by a simple avalanche (a thought that amused him to no end), making it unneeded for him to go the lengths of gathering all three. One would have been enough without Kakashi around. The memories themselves were a great asset to him when fighting these three one on one, but with two or more, they were useless. Even the taunts he had used didn't work to the effect he wanted them. Sure, it made them flustered and angry, but they didn't make them so angry that they attacked in haste, allowing anger to cloud their judgment and make them sloppy in their fighting and thus easier to defeat.

So what should he do now? He wouldn't be able to win. One on one, he might, but not with more. He was almost spent and he guessed that the boys still had about half of their stamina. Retreat? His disguise on the ship had not yet been discovered. He could fall back and try again later, using more subtle means. The trio would be more on guard now, but that was hardly a risk. While that may have been the smarter option, the sense of pride he was feeling wouldn't allow him to do that just yet. Alright, he thought to himself, deactivating the Sharingan in his eyes. He could no longer afford to use it. Taking one last deep breath, he slowly climbed to his feet.

If he couldn't win… then he would have to stall Haruno and Uzumaki long enough for him to grab Uchiha and flee. He had already made such arrangements for a speedy getaway, so that wouldn't be a problem.

All three genin noticed that he was getting up, and, to their annoyance, the body began changing again. His limbs grew out a little more, becoming more muscular as well, with silver hair shooting forth from his head. Blue clothes and a green vest appeared next, followed by a mask covering the lower half of the face. At that point, all three of them realized what he was changing into and could hardly believe it themselves.

He had just become Kakashi.

'Kakashi' looked at them and gave that smile with his eye. "Hello there! Sorry I'm late, but I got lost on the road of life."

"YOU LIAR!!" Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke shouted in spite themselves. After coming to their senses, Naruto pointed at the fake. "Cut the bullshit so we can get back to…"

"Want to see under the mask?"

They froze for a moment. Could he really show them what was underneath the mask? He had copied them perfectly so far and even knew personal things about them. It just might be possible for him to…

Without waiting for an answer, the man's hand reached towards the mask and began pulling it down as he walked forward to them. Ever the camera crew was focusing in on the mask as they too watched eagerly as to what would the long await answer would be. The hand reached to the mask and slowly began pulling it down.

Revealing a white surface that looked like a piece of paper, saying: Sorry, even I don't know.

Everyone face-vaulted at the sight, so hard that the entire boat rocked.

Reassuming the mask, 'Kakashi' kicked Sakura, sending her away into a wall. He then slammed his fists down on the boy's stomachs, making them gasp in pain. He then slammed them together and threw them both aside. Both boys managed to recover as they mentally berated themselves for falling for such a stunt. The two of them rushed him, while the freak attempted to chop downward. Sasuke caught the hand, while Naruto placed his hands on Sasuke's shoulders and flipped over the other boy, landing a kick on the freak's chest. In response, Bakeru used his other hand and grabbed a handful of the boy's jacket. He yanked the boy towards him as a thin line appeared in the mask. It then split like a mouth, revealing lots of sharp white teeth inside. These teeth then sank down into the boy's left shoulder.

"AAAAHHHH!!" Naruto screamed in pain, red chakra threatening to explode again. "Bastard!!" Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, he slammed both fists on the side of the freak's face, smashing Bakeru/Kakashi's face good. Seriously, what kind of person bit their enemy?! Sasuke then dropped and sweep-kicked the freak off his feet. As he fell, Bakeru slid his right arm across his body, repositioning it in the middle of his back to break his fall. Using that one arm to support him, he used both his legs to kick the two boys away. Bakeru's head jerked forward and spat out a yellowish slime, just missing the two boys. Naruto considered turning to see what had happened, trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder, then shook his head. Nah… it couldn't have been the same thing… could it?

"Puking now?" Sasuke asked, amused with himself. Grunting, Bakeru wiped the rest of the stuff off, making Naruto wonder if the freak really did just lose his lunch. At least it didn't land on him.

They watched as Bakeru's arm moved back to its proper position as he formed several seals, five in all. Once he finished, nothing seemed to happen, making Naruto wonder what kind of jutsu it was. Something that didn't take immediate effect? A genjutsu? A charge for something? What?

The shapeshifter took off running at them. He reached out his right hand and the fingers flew forward, narrowly missing the two of them. He swept his fingers at Naruto, while aiming a kick at Sasuke, which he caught and shoved upward, hoping to catch the thing off balance. To his disgust, he saw the legs shift into arms and vice versa. Seeing the freak standing upright (ignoring that his torso and face were in the wrong places) in Kakashi's form was definitely one of the strangest, if not the strangest thing Naruto had seen. Next, the freak opened its masked mouth, launching a yellow energy ball, which Sasuke dodged. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that blast hit a portion of the wall. Instead of exploding, it did absolutely nothing. Just what was it, a dud?

Bakeru then changed targets, going after Naruto in his misplaced Kakashi body. "Do you know how ridiculous you look? Though I would love to see you try and use a toilet."

Bakeru's eyes flashed with anger as he turned around, sprouting some sort of tail with the end changing into a hardened ball, which swung right at Naruto. Naruto managed to catch the ball in his hands, grinning. It was time for some bloody payback for that stunt the freak pulled earlier! And since the freak was using Kakashi's body, he knew the perfect way to do it, too!

Getting a firm grip on the tail/ball, he yanked it towards himself, making the shapeshifter spin slightly. Before it could rearrange itself to counterattack, Naruto leapt forward.

"Konohagakure Furui Taijutsu no Ougi: Sennen Goroshi!"

Out of both reflex and a small chakra burst, Bakeru let out a loud scream as it flew forwards at a surprisingly fast speed, firing another one of those charged balls at him, which the blond easily sidestepped. Oh yes… that felt good! Payback was so sweet! Even if it wasn't really Kakashi, it was the next best thing!

Bakeru landed about a good ten meters away, it glanced back and opened his mouth again as he repositioned his limbs in the correct places, releasing yet another charged ball at Naruto. Unlike the previous one, this one seemed deliberately off target, since Naruto didn't even have to move to avoid it. Now why would his aim suck so bad this time around?

Unless…

Jerking his head back, he saw that the charged ball was heading directly for Sakura, who seemed unable to move. "Dammit! Move, Sakura!"

"I can't!" she said, gesturing downward, and Naruto saw that her feet were covered in that yellow slime from earlier. So it was the Gama Suraimu after all. But how was that possible? Did the freak already know how to perform this jutsu?! Because he hadn't fully figured it out how to use it yet! He had only worked on it once so far, and no one had bothered him… except…

He was jerked out of his train of thought as he saw the light ball strike Sakura straight in the chest. He opened his mouth to cry out… only to see that no apparent damage had been done. No electrocution, no boom, no anything except that she was glowing. A golden glow that seemed to fade in and out of existence. That's when he noticed the portion of the wall and a crate began glowing as well… the same things that the other balls had struck. They seemed to be resonating in and out with Sakura. Glancing around, he could see Sasuke with the same puzzled expression. Glancing further, he saw that the freak was halfway through another series of seals. "Sasuke!" Naruto shouted to the other boy, who was closer.

Too late. "Shuurai!" ("That's mine, bastard!") A familiar lightning bolt flew forth from the thing's mouth. It missed Sasuke by a hair and continued on to the wall where the ball of light had struck earlier, as if attracted to it. It slammed into the wall, causing an explosion. Then, to both of the boy's disbelief, the blast seemed to ricochet, heading towards the crate, and the blast was bigger than it had been before.

BOOM!!

The crate was incinerated, and Naruto was beginning to understand how the thing worked. Those light balls were like charges of lightning energy, as well as magnetic. It attracted Raiton attacks towards them, causing an explosion, while at the same time adding power to the lightning attack as it homed in on the next target and then the… uh oh…

The now already overpowered blast was enhanced again as it streaked towards Sakura. That glow about her was more binding than the slime was.

Naruto was quickly trying to create the strongest Kaze Kiwa he could, but Sasuke – to no one's surprise – was already in front of her as the lightning strike collided with him. A massive blinding light came next, along with a deafening roar.

"Sasuke!!" several people yelled as Naruto brought up his hands to cover his good eye against the blinding light. Then he felt some sort of shove, causing him to hit the wall. An aftershock of the blast? As his senses slowly came back, he heard what sounded like bird sounds. Lots of them. Slowly opening his eye, he saw Sasuke, still in the same position as he had been. As he came into focus, Naruto saw that his left arm was extended, and the bird sounds were more prominent.

Naruto felt himself grin. The teme had used the Chidori in record time to block and cancel out the strike. Naruto felt he should have known not to worry. Then he noticed Sasuke's face. It was twitching slightly, like he was barely holding back the urge to yell out in pain, and as the Chidori powered down, Naruto saw why. His entire hand, as well a portion of his arm, was burnt red. Apparently, Sasuke's Chidori hadn't been equal to that lightning blast. If Sakura had been caught in that…

He watched as Sasuke cradled his arm with his good one as the freak – still in the form of Kakashi – came on top of him. One hand grabbed both of Sasuke's arms, the other closed on his throat as he was violently shoved against the wall.

Naruto immediately tried to run over, but noticed his own predicament. Shit! He had been slimed on his chest to the wall. Must have been that shove he felt during the Raiton clash. Oh… he hoped none of those guys he had slimed earlier were seeing this! He tried bringing his arms together, but only managed to get them halfway. Not good enough!

Sasuke struggled in Bakeru's grip, as the shapeshifter smiled, though his breathing was hard. "You see?" it asked, still using Kakashi's voice, but the tone carried a darker weight. "This is the power that Orochimaru-sama can give you, Uchiha. It's been three on one and you can't beat me. Oh, you came close, I admit that, but I am the one who has prevailed. If you had come with me, we could have defeated the other two easily and been on our way."

"Shut up…" Sasuke retorted, only to be cut off by Bakeru tightening his grip, resulting in Sasuke letting out a small shout of pain. Gritting his teeth, Naruto swore again at being caught in his own technique. There had to be a way… well… he could do that… it was the only idea he had in mind, even if he didn't like it, but he couldn't think of anything else! His right hand started to form the seals, only to see that the freak was changing yet again.

He grew slightly shorter, his black hair laying down flat. A large black cloak began covering him, decorated with red clouds. A leaf headband appeared, with a slash through the center of it. His eyes flashed red. All three genin froze at the sight, even Sakura, though she understood least of all. Even the movie cast inside the boat seemed to go deathly quiet (though in Makino's case, he only lost his grin. The good guys weren't supposed to lose here, damn it! Come on, kids, get your act together!)

The form of Uchiha Itachi leaned in close to Sasuke, who seemed paralyzed with anger. "Foolish otouto," the voice said, a perfect imitation of Itachi's cold and bleak voice (courtesy of Sasuke's memories). "You seriously think that you will gain the strength needed to kill me?" The Sharingan flashed to life in his eyes, gazing into Sasuke's own. "You are weak… and growing weaker… your inability to let go of your own bonds will result in your own death." The eyes seem to narrow as they looked on at the younger boy. "Do you know why you are weak?"

'Itachi' leaned in forward, his mouth right next to Sasuke's ear. "It's because you lack… hatred."

Okay, Naruto was sick of this! Anger fuming within him, he quickly formed the Kaze Kiwa in his right hand (his good side, since it was his left shoulder that hurt like hell!). He then turned it inward on himself, and with an angry yell, he slashed down, cutting through the seam of his jacket. It was a real stretch to get his arm to move that far, but he managed. Ignoring the growing pain in his arm by overextending it, he continued to cut through, while the bastard still kept talking.

"Seek me out. Let your hate consume you and you will grow stronger." 'Itachi' withdrew his head, looking directly at Sasuke. "And I will give you a little insight: the one whom I fear most… is the killer of the Third Hokage."

Sasuke visibly flinched at that remark, while Sakura seemed frozen on the spot, and even Naruto stopped momentarily, until he continued cutting.

"Abandon your bonds," the freak continued, still keeping Itachi's impassive face, though he gave Naruto a look, realizing what he was doing. A small grin appeared on the freak's face. "And acquire the Mangekyou Sharingan. Ki – BLLLLARRGGHH!!"

And that's when a large amount of blood, and possibly other things, erupted from Itachi/Bakeru's mouth, covering Sasuke's face and upper body entirely as Naruto finally finished cutting through his jacket and leapt out, his shirtless form exposed to all, including the camera. Ken looked at the sight and gave a small smile in spite of himself. The blond was quite fit for his age. He imagined that if girls his age saw this sight right now, they would fall heads over heels for him. Assuming they could ignore what else was going on.

Bakeru howled in pain, yelling at the top of his lungs as his whole body began twitching. Though Naruto ran to attack, Sasuke reacted first, breaking free of the thing's weakened grip and delivering a punch with his good arm right to Bakeru's face, the boy's face flaming with rage. Bakeru rolled on the ground and began shaking like mad as his screams increased both in volume and ferocity. Sakura had managed to get out of her slime trap by slipping out of her shoes, though her ankles were quite red and sore from the effort it had taken to pull the slime off her skin.

Bakeru then collapsed on his knees as the three genin watched, still shrieking as he put his hands on his stomach, as if to hold it in. "NO!! NOT NOW!! NOT N-N-NO… BLLLLARRGGHH!!" With that, all his strength seemed to give out as he collapsed on the deck, his face landing in the… area… that he just threw up on. And, Naruto had to admit to himself, it was quite satisfying to see 'Itachi' this way. Take that, Uchiha-teme!

As the three genin watched in silence, Naruto reacted first. "Um… what's happening?"

"Who cares…" Sasuke's voice answered, the blood still covering his face. Naruto wondered what pissed the Uchiha off worse: the fact that the freak taunted him by using Itachi's form, or that fact that he got vomited on (which smelled quite badly as well). Or hell… knowing Sasuke… it was probably both. The said boy pointed directly at the freak, who no longer had a mouth on his face, making Naruto wonder what would happen if the freak threw up again. The nasty image was cut short with Sasuke's next words. "KILL. IT."

Bakeru's head jerked upward, sensing his impending doom. He quickly ran through a series of seals that Naruto recognized immediately. "Watch out…!!"

A blinding flash of light hit the area, followed by a thunderous noise. Naruto was able to shut his eye in time, but his hands weren't able to fully protect his ears. And both Sasuke and Sakura (the glow around her had faded out completely) were worse off, taking both effects full blast. Though the movie crew inside the boat wasn't affected. They just saw a small flash of light and a slight ringing could be heard in their ears

"NARUTO!!" Sakura roared, rubbing her closed eyelids. "THIS IS ONE OF YOUR JUTSU, ISN'T IT!?"

Of course, what Naruto heard was 'Naruto' and 'you' and mistook 'is' for 'ass', making it sound like 'Naruto, you ass!!'

"What did I do, hag!?"

He then heard something like a loud splash as the effects began to wear off. Did the freak just jump into the sea!? What was it, a fish? Doubling back on that thought and how it continuously changed bodies, maybe it really was. Slowly opening his eye, he saw the freak nowhere in sight. Maybe it really did jump into the ocean. But why? Shaking his head, he quickly went over to help Sasuke and Sakura recover.

Unfortunately… the two didn't realize that. Thinking that they were being attacked again, they both hit Naruto squarely on both sides of the face. I tell ya… with friends like these…

Two minutes later, all three were back to normal. After hearing that the freak had apparently taken to the sea, Sasuke – whose face and upper body were still covered with the blood barfed on him – immediately dashed to the side and leapt overboard, shouting "Find him!!"

"Sasuke, stop!" Naruto yelled.

"KILL!!"

Yep… he had lost it. Again. Shrugging to himself, Naruto jumped down after him, followed by a hesitant Sakura a moment later, while the Curse Seal started exploding around Sasuke. The blond boy made several Kage Bunshins, most to start looking for any signs of the squirming shapeshifter, the others to help Sasuke get a grip on himself, while Sakura just stood in silence.


In another part of the boat, about ten minutes later

A sickly, wobbling Bakeru – still in Itach's form – crawled through a small window in the ship. Barely managing to pull himself through, he fell to the ground with a loud thump on the ground, dripping wet.

After performing Uzumaki's Raiden, Bakeru managed to create a single Kage Bunshin. Barely. He suspected that Uzumaki would not be fully affected by his own jutsu, so he had his clone jump off the side of the ship to draw their attention. He knew that it wouldn't last for long, but he only needed a little time to escape. Once the clone had jumped into the ocean, it had dispersed itself immediately, while Bakeru went to the other side of the ship, crawling along the wall as best he could, though he did fall into the ocean quite a few times until he made it to this room.

Now he was in deep trouble. Though he had removed his mouth to prevent himself from howling in pain, he was still twitching and rolling around in pain. He looked around to see that he had ended up in the place he hoped for.

The bathroom.

Unfortunately, no one was in it at the moment. Definitely not good news for him!

That's when he heard several moaning noises, then the sound of the door slowly opening. He quickly shifted back into his original form as he struggled to get on his feet. He had to act quickly or he was done for!

A man slowly walked in, only to stop and freeze on the spot as his eyes shot wide open and his jaw fell.

He saw some sort of… monster was the best word for it. It was roughly six feet tall and very lean. Its legs resembled that of an insect's, since they had two joints, one allowing him to bend his legs in the normal fashion, and a second joint underneath those, bending the legs the other way. His feet looked more like claws than a human's feet. His arms looked vaguely human as well, ending in the normal five fingers. It's face seemed triangular, with the normal two eyes, nose and mouth in the correct positions.

It was the color of its skin that freaked the man out most. It was green and… liquid. It was like looking through a glass window and seeing rushing water on the other side. He also noticed that his entire body seemed to increase and decrease slightly, as if the entire thing was breathing for him.

A scream would have soon followed, but the monster charged him, crossing the distance in an instant. Its left hand reached out and covered the man's mouth, violently shoving him against the door, slamming it shut.

The man squirmed in the monster's grasp, furiously hitting his hands on the monster's arm. It seemed to have some effect because the thing looked ready to collapse right now. And that's when the man felt himself gagging violently.

For the blood in his body was being forced through his mouth into the palm of the monster's left hand, where it was absorbed into the thing's own body. As this went on, the man's meager attempts to resist weakened with each passing second, while the monster slowly stopped shaking and stood up straighter, the pain easing away.

It didn't take much longer for the man to fall limp in Bakeru's grip as he continued to absorb the blood. After about a minute of this, he let go of the man, dropping him on the floor, while Bakeru began breathing more easily.

This was why he was still classified in the trial stages of the experiment and released from his tank earlier than planned for this mission.

He was unstable.

Because his DNA and molecular structure allowed him to freely change his body as he wanted, that meant it lacked a significant firm structure that would keep the body together. Otherwise, his molecular structure would collapse completely on him, like a ten story building that had all its support beams suddenly break. This was the problem they had been trying to fix in the last phase of testing, and part of the reason why it was this mission that was being used to test his abilities: Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto-sama needed to know how extensive the problem was and if it would interfere in a potentially long-term assignment.

And this was why he fed the first night of the boat ride and risked alerting his presence to the enemy shinobi on board. So he could avoid breaking down at an inconvenient time like he just did! He would be easy pickings for the shinobi then, especially when he had to 'feed' in his original body, which wasn't meant for fighting.

And to make matters worse, the time in-between his breakdowns was erratic. No pattern to it. Sometimes it was a few days, other times a few hours. So far, this was the fourth time he had fed, but only the third breakdown he had actually experienced since he left Otogakure. Taking in blood from a new source was able to patch up his unstable molecular structure, but this was only temporary. It wasn't a solution.

He briefly allowed himself to look at his left arm. His left arm was designed for drawing and assimilating another's blood into his arm. On the palm was a special seal, an engraving of the kanji for Blood, that allowed him to suck the blood out of a person that he could get in his grasp. Likewise, his right arm was designed for memory, with his right palm having a seal engraving with the kanji for Memory. Chakra was not actually used when he did either of these feats or even when he assumed different forms. It was the same to him as taking a step or breathing.

Breathing much easier now, he heard several footsteps outside. He quickly shifted back into his previous disguise that he had used ever since this mission to Snow had begun. That hadn't been compromised yet. He then made his way to the door and walked out. People were coming towards him, but there was no one within sight. Perfect. No one would be able to identify him with the body. Bakeru himself wasn't sure how much blood he drained this time, but he hardly cared. The man wouldn't be able to identify anything but a 'monster!', assuming he did get up again.

With that in mind, he made his way to the upper deck, wondering what he was supposed to do now. He had planted the seeds in Sasuke, but he wouldn't be able to subdue the boy with brute force if need be. Not unless he could get the other two out of the way. The question was… how?

An answer came almost immediately. Perhaps those Yuki-nin might provide a useful distraction…


Five minutes later...

After managing to calm Sasuke down (they did so by dunking him in the sea), Naruto's other Kage Bunshins reported that they found nothing. Not surprising. The freak could be any sort of fish if he really did drop into the ocean.

"So then we have to assume he's back on the boat," Naruto said to the other two as all three of them were jogging alongside the sailing ship, trying to form some kind of plan while everyone else was out of earshot. Sasuke's arm still had a sting to it, but seemed better now, and Naruto's shoulder wasn't hurting as much either as it was healing, thanks to that damned fox. At least the wound itself didn't look deep, even if it was painful!

Sasuke merely nodded, a small 'hmph' escaping from his voice. "If he is, then where would he be hiding? Impersonating one of the crew?"

Sakura shrugged, while Naruto offered "Probably. He's somewhere on the ship. Maybe one of the deck hands, or the camera crew or…" he stopped as it all slowly dawned on them. If the freak really was one of the people on the boat… then he could be ANYONE. Even the other actors, or the director himself… or the Captain, for that matter. Or heck, maybe he was part of the ship itself. A stray box, or one of the lifeboats.

"So how the hell are we supposed to find him?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto answered by flinging his arms up helplessly. "How should I know? Just watch and see if someone slips something into your food and makes you pass it. That'll probably be the freak."

"…he… just might do that…" Sakura spoke up, making both boys look at her.

"Seriously?" Naruto asked. "I was half joking, because I remember the night of the party I took a drink and wanted to go right to sleep. It's not like it was drugged…" He stopped for a number of reasons. The first was that he realized it might actually have been possible that he had been drugged.

The second was that both Sakura and Sasuke were giving him surprised looks. "No way… you two as well!?"

Sasuke merely nodded, while Sakura reached into her pouch and brought her hand forth, revealing a small syringe. "I found this outside your room," she said, looking in Sasuke's direction. "I can't tell what's inside, but I'm willing to bet that it was that shapeshifter's. If he had injected you with this… you'd either be dead or incapacitated."

A moment of silence followed as the three involuntarily looked at the ship. "So… this freak… could be anyone… and drug us when we least expect it?" Sasuke asked.

"Looks that way," Sakura answer. "So… what do we do about it?"

No one had any real answer and no one offered one either. What would Kakashi tell them to do knowing all this information? Again, no one came up with an answer. The only solution they came up with was to test each other with questions, like what had happened earlier, and be very observant about what type of food and drink they had. Naruto had half a mind to just prepare everything himself.

They grudgingly made their way back on top of the deck.

"HOORRAAAYY!!"

…and were greeted by loud, roaring applause. The entire movie crew was out there cheering their heads off.

"YOU TWO DROVE THE MONSTER AWAY!!"

"YOU GUYS KICK ASS!!"

"THOSE SNOWS WIMPS ARE IN TROUBLE NOW WHEN THEY FACE YOU BOYS AGAIN!!"

"GREAT JOB! YOU'RE REAL MEN!!"

Several people began gathering around both Sasuke and Naruto. Both boys just looked at each other a bit startled, truth be told. Why get this big of a reaction? They're weren't really that amazing… were they? Unable to form a word of protest, they got dragged into the center of the crowd. Though, one person wasn't cheering, being happy or being congratulated. This person was doing something else. This person was repeating certain words in their mind.

Two.

Guys.

Boys.

Men.

Where did that leave her? Where did that leave Haruno Sakura?

The said girl was still standing at the edge of the ship, looking at the sight. No one came near her, no one mentioned her. No one even looked at her. Inner Sakura did not take kindly to that. "How dare youjerks ignore me! I…"

Shut up, Sakura said to herself in a silent, dejected voice. Just… shut. Up.

What did she do anyway? Sure, she punched him once, but only because Naruto and Sasuke made an opening. She tried helping a few times, only to be pushed out of the way. And when she had thrown the shuriken, they went right toward her teammates…

So why should anyone praise her? What did she do?

Nothing.

Gazing silently at the partying crowd (several of which were trying to offer sake to the boys), Sakura just took a step to the side. Then another. And another, moving towards the back of the ship with each one. She looked over her shoulder and saw everyone still going on and on about the two boys, with still no mention of her. Not even as a nuisance. It seems she wasn't even worthy of being that.

I… I guess… I'm fated to stay in the background… to support, not to fight… to watch, not to act… to just get in the way, not be of assistance…

Giving one last look around, she looked back towards the back of the ship and continued walking, her head hung down low. Alone.

So be it…

Omake!

(Note from paintball-gamer: This omake corresponds to the ending of Chapter 10, in which Bakeru transforms into Orochimaru. Here's my take on who he should have transformed into, heh heh heh…)

The other Naruto looked at them all. Then, slowly, a smile bloomed on his face. "Yes," he said in a voice completely different from any of theirs. He calmly stood up and brushed himself off. "I suppose maintaining this charade is rather pointless now, isn't it?"

"Just shut up and tell us who are you are!" Sasuke demanded.

"Very well, then," drawled the faker as he spread his arms wide. Suddenly, his body began to morph, appearing as though it were unfolding. Each time a body part 'unfolded', it was replaced by… a metal plate?

More metal plates began popping up on the imposter's body, soon causing him to appear as if he were expanding. He continued to grow in size as razor sharp armor plates began appearing all over the surface of his body.

When the transformation was complete, there no longer stood a fake Naruto, but a huge metal behemoth at least 20 feet tall. The robot looked down at where Team 7 stood completely gobsmacked at the sight, its glowing red eyes glaring down on them. "I AM MEGATRON!!" roared the robot in a loud mechanical-sounding voice.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke's jaws were on the floor, their eyes bugging out of their heads at the sight. "Ohhhhh…" began Sasuke, "…shit," finished Naruto.

(Credit goes to paintball-gamer for creating this omake)


(Author's Note): Whew… this came out later and considerably longer than I would have liked. I had envisioned what it would be like to write how a shapeshifter would fight in battle, but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. That's so not fair! And there were other little problems that delayed this chapter, but I won't bore you with the details.

So how was the fight here? Good? Bad? I rather liked it.

And Kakashi made an appearance! Kinda anyway, but are you all happy now? I'm still not going to mention when the real one will make his reappearance, but hopefully this was a somewhat pleasing compromise.

And poor Sakura's left behind… I wonder when the two idiots will realize what their good intentions of keeping her safe and out of the fighting have resulted in. So it seems that Bakeru's intentions of breaking bonds between these three has succeeded some. Will it get better or worse before they arrive at the Snow Country? And that time is nearing.

To ArmorofGeddon and anyone else wondering: if Bakeru's body being unstable with the very real threat of collapsing in on itself at the molecular level is not a good reason for Orochimaru to use Bakeru's body as a host, then I don't know what is. Still, I hope you are satisfied with that answer.

To Kell Shock and Reviewer: now that I've shown just how Bakeru takes the blood from his victims, does this change anything since they are not bleeding to death in the normal fashion? Though I will be honest: I don't really care if it does or not when it's done to background characters like Han and this new guy (who didn't even get a name!). If it was done to one of the major characters, or minor characters, yeah, that would be cause for concern. But on background characters like those two? I don't give it a second thought if it's fatal or not. We're not going to be seeing them again anyway, so they might as well be dead.

Jutsu used in this chapter

Katon: Kaki Fannerufuro no Jutsu--Fire Release: Fire Funnel Flow/ Unlike many other Katons, which concentrate their energy into one point for striking and punching power, this Katon is designed to spread out in a wide radius. The further it goes out, the wider the radius becomes. This means that the damage it does to the target(s) decreases as the radius increased, but the amount of surface area affected increases drastically. This jutsu is used for primary diversion tactics, as it allows the user to set fire to stall their opponent as well as set fire to the surrounding area, giving the enemy another element to worry about. (Low C-Class Ninjutsu) (Bakeru)

Suiton: Tajuu Suiryuudan--Water Release: Multiple Water Dragons/Merely a standard Suiryuudan, except many of them are launched from a number of Kage Bunshins. Capable of beating an opponent unconscious from the many impacts should the jutsu be successful. (High A-Class Ninjutsu) (Naruto) Original technique created by Tellemicus.

Hyouton: Aisu Kaze Kasui no Jutsu--Ice Release: Ice Wind Spikes/ A Hyouton with a fair amount of Suiton thrown in the mix. The user blows out a fierce icy wind from their mouths at incredibly low temperatures, generally about 10 below. With water thrown in as well, it makes the opponent(s) feel that much colder. This can often immobilize the enemy as they would be too busy shaking and shivering for warmth as well as slow their reflexes. With an additional hand seal, one can make the temperature lower and freeze the water in the wind itself into small ice shards, which are then propelled at the enemy. While the individual shards present minimal danger, a large amount can cut an enemy to ribbons over a moderate period of time. (Mid C-Class Ninjutsu) (Bakeru)

Side note: some might think it would make more sense to classify this jutsu as Fuuton class as opposed to Hyouton class. In all honesty, it probably could go either way, but for me, it seems more fitting as an ice technique as opposed to wind.

Raiton: Akari Rensa Handou no Jutsu--Lightning Release: Light Chain Reaction/ A Raiton that acts more as an enhancement for other techniques, as opposed to an attack in itself. After performing the seals, the user can store up to three charges in their mouth, capable of firing one each time the mouth opens. When they strike an object, human or otherwise, the electricity stores itself in the target, making it explosive. In certain cases, the charges can convert the target's own natural electrical energy (like, say, in a person) and make it that much more powerful. They also have a magnetic function, attracting Raiton class ninjutsu to that spot, and then sending it directly to the second charged target and finally the third, increasing the original Raiton's power significantly with each charge. The charges, however, have a limited lifespan, ranging only a few minutes before fading out, thus rendering the charge useless. (Mid C-Class Ninjutsu) (Bakeru)

Raiden no Jutsu--Thunder and Lightning/Like a bolt of lightning, a flash of light momentarily lights the area directly in front of the user. This has the potential of badly hurting the eyes of an enemy, even temporarily blinding them. And, like lightning, with the sudden removal of the light causes an almost instantaneous explosion of sound that is as deafening as thunder. If used in a crowd, there is an almost guaranteed chance of utter confusion and chaos. (High C-Class Ninjutsu) (Naruto/Bakeru) Original technique created by Tellemicus.

I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Also, any jutsu that Tellemicus created that are used in this story belongs to him. Big thanks to paintball-gamer for beta reading this!