Clash in the Snow Country: Legacy Version
Chapter 28 – Counter Act
Black Fang Castle Courtyard
8:52 pm
The ninja of the Snow had momentarily stopped in their infighting when witnessing the San Eihei and the three leaf youngsters flying through the air above their heads. Four of these six individuals went flying over the castle walls to the forest beyond. The other two landed on the castle rooftops and out of their line of sight.
But not for long.
Shortly after the last two figures had landed, a colossal amount of chakra erupted into the sky like a raging volcano. Swirling red and purple energy launched into the sky with a violent tendency that shook the entire palace, a feeling that every Yuki-nin felt right in their guts. As if someone had used a Hyouton on all of them, they froze in place, their eyes focused entirely on the rooftops and what was to come about. Weapons were lowered, hand seal chains were stopped in mid-action and hostility faded rapidly as all they could do was watch.
On the rooftops
Naruto never felt more alive than in that moment right there.
For nearly half a day, he had worn that stupid chakra restraining device on his torso, holding back his strength while forced to hang around like a sissy and watch Doto spit in his face. He could feel the chakra flowing through his body with the strength of a rampaging river. It was painful, but Naruto relished in every moment of it because it meant he was back. The final piece in all this mayhem was seeing the necklace around the Snow Ninja's neck, swaying back and forth against the man's chest. Like it was trying to get back to its rightful master.
Between all that, Uzumaki Naruto was ready to go FULL OUT!
"First move is mine!" Nadare shouted, taking advantage of Naruto's momentary introspection at being freed from the device. Flying through the seals, he launched a Dragon Bullet right at the boy's chest. Swirling with energy, the blond let out a gleeful yell as he put his hands together and batted the ice attack right into the air.
"And that move SUCKED! Here's a REAL opening move!" Naruto declared as he brought out the old classics straight away. One hundred Narutos sprang to life all around him. The Oboro snapped to life around every single one of them as they simultaneously breathed out a large cloud of smoke, far denser than usual due to all the excess chakra within the blond that was just daring to be used.
"Ninpou: Yuki Buriza-do!" Nadare shouted.
He was immediately enveloped in a makeshift snowstorm. The spinning gale of manufactured snow, ice, and fragments of the roof clashed with the chakra-manufactured smoke. Nadare's jutsu had far more sheer force and velocity to it as opposed to Naruto's more free-reigned smokescreen. As a result, the smoke was caught up and diverted from the area.
It didn't, however, divert the horde of Narutos flying down directly towards the spinning snow whirlwinds. Some wielded kunai, others had techniques like the Kaze Kiwa active, while others prepared to launch other moves.
Erupting from the manmade snowstorm came another army.
Dozens upon dozens of Nadares jumped out and clashed with the Narutos head-on, wielding their own kunai and ice jutsu in contrast. The two clone armies clashed openly in mid-air, sparks flying from the clash of weapons and jutsu destroying one another. Flying through the air, the real Naruto somersaulted to position himself over Nadare's frost storm, both his nose and his gut telling him that the Snow ninja was still within it as he activated his Kaze Doriru.
The sharp whirling winds swirled around his body as he let gravity take him back down towards the castle ceiling. As he got close, he flooded more chakra into the attack to make it even more fierce, giving it more than enough force to scatter the makeshift snow storm and revealing the Snow ninja within it.
As well as the Shimo Arashi around his fist.
Nadare punched upward, his Frost Storm clashing with Naruto's technique. It smashed through the tip just like Sakura had done during their duel with the Kaze Kiwa. As the Kaze Kiwa was one of the Kaze Doriru's parent jutsu, it too fell apart when the focal point was destroyed. In response, the Shimo Arashi lost more than eighty percent of its power as it slammed into Naruto's chest. The blond Jinchuuriki gave a cry of pain as the chakra shield shattered his Oboro as before on the iceberg. Nadare then swung his leg around counterclockwise, slamming it against the side of the boy's face.
Naruto went sliding across the palace rooftops, almost to the edge. He recovered with a backflip and landed back on his feet, right on the edge. Flying through the seals almost automatically, the standard Kaze Kiwa sprang to life around his arm, hoping to charge the man before he could recover.
It wasn't enough as Nadare was already charging. Around his arm was the upper half of what appeared to be a crocodile. As they clashed, the ice crocodile bit down around the Kaze Kiwa. It devastated the entire front portion of the wind jutsu, fading it out. The ice crocodile's 'teeth' didn't stop as they bit down on Naruto's hand. He gave a loud scream as it tore the flesh and muscle down to the bone as he tore his away. Nadare's other hand had already grabbed the boy by his collar, hurling him over his left shoulder to slam Naruto's head right down on the stone. "Bring out the KYUBI!"
A Rasengan sprung to life in Naruto's other hand. "Sorry, haven't earned it!" he taunted as he slammed it down on the stone rooftop. It brought about a devastating hole that shook the immediate area, just enough for Nadare himself to lose both his balance and his grip.
The red chakra was healing Naruto's hand as he used it to grab a side of the hole he just made, going by pure arm strength to redirect himself and give his feet a foundation. Channeling chakra to them, he launched himself right at Nadare, landing a solid headbutt right on the man's stomach.
The ice shinobi was stunned by the move, but not so stunned he couldn't react as he whipped out a kunai and slashed outward, preventing Naruto from capitalizing on his advantage while he skidded back on the rooftop. Energized from landing a hit, Naruto ran through three seals, determined to strike back another way!
"Fuuton: Kaze Tate!"
The intense winds erupted around Naruto's body. Naruto had mostly used this jutsu for its intended purpose, that being quick deflection of kunai and other small-scale attacks, but Ebisu had made a point of telling him that the true power behind this technique revolved around how much chakra one poured into it. In theory, if one used enough, one could blow away an entire army. Or so the man had claimed.
Time to find out!
Feeding tremendous amounts of chakra into the technique, the wind shield exploded outward with violent force. Naruto could feel the wind tearing at his flesh, wanting to rip it off him and making it difficult to keep his sole working eye open. Any loose pieces of stone were flung away like twigs and other pieces threatened to break apart and go flying as well. Nadare, still trying to recollect himself, felt the force of the winds rush him all at once, sending him tumbling along the rooftops for several seconds before he managed to place his hands underneath him and manage a backflip to his feet. While in midair, he formed three seals. When his feet hit the stone ground, ice erupted from them and latched the man down.
The Analyst crouched and put his arms over his face to help counter the wind. He slowly began moving forward, step by step, with new ice securing his steps each time as he made his way towards the one-eyed shinobi.
Naruto himself gritted his teeth and began pouring more chakra into the wind. The second he did, Nadare began his own set of seals and slammed his hands on the ground. A ten foot ice wall erupted in front of him. It strained against the wind onslaught, but held firm.
That's when the stone rooftop itself began cracking further, large cracks snaking their way towards Naruto. He's attacking the ceiling to take away my footing!
The blond jinchuuriki was forced to abandon his jutsu to move. He wasn't the least bit surprised when Nadare jumped upward from his makeshift wall, blowing out a Dragon Bullet straight at Naruto now that his defense was gone.
Naruto, however, was expecting that. He would have done the same thing. He had already prepared his next jutsu. "Fuuton: Kaze Oshiyaru!"
The Wind Thrust escaped from his mouth, hurtling right towards Nadare's attack. It smashed the ice dragon to pieces easily and continued on to its castor, the chakra-fueled wind striking against the Snow Ninja's snow armor, though the barrier canceled it out. Again, Naruto expected that; his goal was merely to keep the man off balance. Chakra armor or not, he was still in the air and in a BAD position.
That's when Nadare formed the Tiger seal. The ice wall exploded from the series of exploding tags he had planted beforehand. Naruto's eye widened slightly at that as the ice chunks came flying rapidly towards him. Instinctively, he tilted his head down, redirecting his wind attack from the man to the incoming ice chunks. They were blown away with ease, though Nadare capitalized on it, forming a single ice clone which grabbed the original and hurled him downwards towards the Leaf Genin. A large ice needle formed around his arm, making Naruto think of his Kaze Kiwa, only it was a solidified ice version as opposed to his swirling drill.
Canceling his move, Naruto ducked the incoming strike from Nadare before jumping backwards to avoid Nadare's follow up attack. Crossing his fingers once again, Naruto brought to life another great number of clones. He saw both Nadares start to move to attack and counter his army, so Naruto did what he did best.
He just went wild.
Each clone did something different. One would use the Kaze Kiwa. One used the Wind Shield. The Kaze Wana. Kaze Doriru. Enmaku and Oboros galore. Tatewaru. Kaze Oshiyaru. Mizu Dangan. Even if two clones had the same technique, they would aim at different targets, be it the Nadares, the debris around the castle or just to cause a distraction.
And naturally, this mayhem was noticed by the Yuki-nin. If they weren't captivated beforehand, they sure as hell were now!
"Go Kyubi, hit that Crass! Shove a kunai up his ASS!" the Mitsugo Brothers cheered together, even using makeshift pompoms.
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" Nadare roared, attempting to deal with this situation as best he could.
Sim held up a small flag with the letter 'N' on it, waving it lazily while saying in a dull voice, "Nadare, Nadare, he's our man. If he can't do it - "
"GREAT!" Jim and Tim finished.
The ceiling they were currently battling on was entirely gone as a result of all the fighting, so Nadare was forced to flee to another portion of the castle rooftops. Three Narutos appeared, firing off two Wind Thrusts in combination with a Drilling Water Bullet. Nadare quickly launched a Haryuu Mouko in response. The Ice Tiger collided with the makeshift combination attack, managing to freeze a good portion of it, which only ended up decreasing the force behind it by about half. The rest continued on towards Nadare who stood his ground and threw his arms around the attack as if to hug it. The chakra barrier sprung to life, dispersing the combo attack into a large volume of water and wild wind.
"I suppose you're happy that my own people are cheering you on," Nadare demanded, his entire body damp and his hair covering his face.
"Personally speaking...!" six of the Narutos said together as they surrounded Nadare, and pulling out a Wind Thrust. "I'm NARUTO, not the damn fox, but I'll take what I can get!" Each of the Kaze Oshiyaru hit another Naruto with dual Kaze Kiwas swirling around their arms, hoping to use both quantity and speed to hit before the barrier canceled out the attacks.
"Naïve. I expected much better from you," Nadare declared as he threw out his arms. "Hyouton: Shiirudo Kagavakashii Yuki!"
A swirling shield of snow encircled the Analyst, batting away each of the Kaze Kiwa Narutos in turn. Three of them managed to strike the ground with their Wind Edges, each tearing through the roof and flinging stone chunks everywhere. On cue, the other six Narutos all turned downwards to aim at the rooftop. Once again, the entire foundation of Nadare's footing started to crumble away. "Lemme guess, you're gonna tell me 'friends hold you back', 'you are stronger alone' and all that horseshit! Save the sermon because I've heard it over and over and I don't need it anymore!"
"Only a fool believes those words, Kyubi!" Nadare shouted, slamming his hands down on the falling debris. "Hyouton: Keppyou Abaranshu no Jutsu!"
Nadare immediately began freezing the moisture in the air. The ice surged forward in a mad rush, catching each of the rooftop pieces and freezing them all in place in seconds, effectively 'repairing' the damage and giving him back his footing. The ice continued spreading about to the surrounding six Narutos. All but two managed to jump back in time but the other four were caught by the feet, ice surging up their bodies and freezing them over entirely.
A line of Narutos all jumped in front of Nadare as they charged. "OH, for the love of… make up your mind!" The Narutos all began running in single file, each one being obscure by the ones in front. The lead one had the Rasengan spinning in his hand.
"It's not a contradiction," Nadare insisted, forming the Ice Spear again and shoving it right at the first Naruto. The Rasengan demolished it easily enough, but the short time it took to do that allowed Nadare to maneuver his hand and grab that Naruto's wrist, flinging him over his shoulder like a rag doll. "One simply needs to keep the bare minimum amount of friends."
The second Naruto didn't bother with a jutsu as he just launched upward, delivering a series of kicks to Nadare's head, while the third Naruto attacked with punches at the man's center and the fourth one came in with a sliding kick. "Why? So you can terrorize your country with a clear conscience?" the three Narutos mocked.
Nadare had to jump to avoid the sliding Naruto, using one hand to block the punching Naruto and his other hand to block the kicking Naruto in the air. He kicked the one on the ground before landing, grabbing the third and tossing him right into the kicking one. "Because no matter what you do, people will die around you!"
The Yuki-nin turned just in time to see two Narutos come at him, one bearing the Shieldbreaker and the other one bearing a Kaze Kiwa. The Ice Spear coming to life, Nadare stabbed it forward, piercing the Kaze Kiwa at its tip and shattering it. The ice point slashed across the Naruto's arm before Nadare kicked him right into the Tatewaru of the second Naruto, the resulting collision revealing them both to be clones as they vanished from the contact…
… as well as revealing a third Naruto, having used the other two as blinds in the midst of a long seal chain that most definitely had to belong to the boy's stronger attacks. Not giving him a chance to finish it, Nadare held up his free hand and made the Tiger seal. The Ice Spear launched off his arm directly at the new Naruto, who was so surprised he broke off his handseals.
The Naruto took a defiant step backwards, twisting just enough to the side to avoid the flying ice spear by several hairs. As it was flying past, Naruto brought up his arms and actually grabbed it. Spinning on his back foot and not losing any of the ice spear's momentum, he spun around a full circle and threw the attack right back at Nadare. He batted it away with a swift chop, making it fly over the edge and disappearing to the castle grounds below.
Another Naruto had taken up position during this action. These next Narutos, blazing with the Oboro, managed to land on either side of Nadare. Both of them called out the Kaze Wana, pulling Nadare in two directions at once and effectively locking him in place.
"You saw it here, Kyubi! You saw your friends sealed in a lake and nearly drowned! YOU did not save them! Your SENSEI is lost at some iceberg to a random accident!" Nadare shouted.
What? the original Naruto thought to himself, still hidden where he was. A new horde of clones burst to life and rained down on the trapped man, bearing kunai. This bastard said he didn't kill Kakashi? He remembered back at the meeting with Makino and the others, and one of them had said Kakashi was most definitely killed by the Yuki-Nin. Was this guy just bluffing… or was it possible…?
"No matter how strong you get, no matter what jutsu you master!" Nadare shouted, with a bit of intensity to it. It made the blond wonder if he was talking to his opponent… or perhaps to convince himself of his words. "Nigenteki Sai Abaremawaru!"
Two large Rhinos appeared on either side of Nadare, taking the pressure of the Kaze Wanas from the man in between them. Taking advantage of the sucking winds, the rhinos charged, mowing down the two Narutos and smashing them into oblivion. The other Narutos continued down, striking Nadare with all their weapons, only for it be revealed as the Ice Dummy, with the character 'Gullible' on its forehead.
Nadare, the real one, had grabbed one of his Rhinos and let it carry him away from the incoming Naruto melee. Once out of range, he ran through his next string of seals. "People around you WILL die! You cannot change that! You will NOT be able to prevent it! All it does is cause needless heartache and suffering that will scar your very soul! Friends are fine. TOO MANY friends are a burden! Hyouton: Kyuu Rin Woota no Jutsu!"
He hurled the watery ball straight at the mass of Narutos that attacked his dummy. The ball of frigid water exploded on the first one and in an instant, splashed each and every Naruto gathered in that spot. Due to the temperature and nature of the jutsu, it instantly froze the targets into ice.
"That is the life we lead in this cursed world!"
"ARE YOU DONE PREACHING!" He turned just in time to see hear 'RAIDEN!' from another Uzumaki at the edge of the frozen rooftop.
Nadare grunted in pain, automatically bringing his arms over his arms to shield him from the light, while his ears remained unprotected. Even with these limitations, he could still barely manage to detect another group of Narutos coming right at him. Knowing he needed time to recover from these effects, he lifted up his foot…
… and slammed it down right on his frozen rooftop, shattering the ice. As the rooftop began collapsing anew and Nadare fell on through, each of the Narutos collided into each other.
And that's when he realized the real Naruto had been waiting underneath the ice for just that moment as his foot slammed into the man's chin, sending him flying back up high into the air in preparation for the Uzumaki Kyokudo Rendan.
The Narutos that had collided into each other quickly grabbed each other's arms and flung as many of each other as they could up towards the Snow Ninja, getting into position for this move as the first one kicked Nadare to the side. "Your words are those of a coward!"
That Naruto punched Nadare in the gut, sending him upward. "So too many friends are too much for you, loser!"
The next Naruto punched Nadare across the face. "So instead of making something of it, you just give up on it because it's too hard!"
A kick came across the man's chest from the next Naruto. "If you think this world is cursed and that it's gonna make you lose your people, then FUCKING DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!"
Another kick sent the man tumbling into the middle of the swarm. "AND WE'LL BEAT THE LESSON INTO YOU!"
Nadare had had ENOUGH! Despite not being able to see too well, he made his move. "I'll show you who's a loser, Uzumaki Naruto!"
He formed the Frozen Orb and all but slammed it against the nearest blond loudmouth. It exploded, hurling Nadare away and destroying that Naruto as it launched a shower of hundreds of dense ice spikes in all directions, making swiss cheese of the other Narutos. Nadare quickly channeled chakra into his hands, dealing with his sight and managing to open his eyes just in time to see the blond coming right down at him in that Kaze Doriru once again.
"Nice try!" Nadare taunted. The Shimo Arashi appeared to life once again as he prepared to repeat his earlier counter on this attack. To his surprise, he saw Naruto bring up his unused hand, and formed four one-handed seals.
The Kaze Kiwa sprang to life as he shoved it into the center of the Kaze Doriru. The man watched in shock, not only that the blond brat would dare try something so risky, but also at the result. The two tips were merging and supporting each other. Each technique was spinning in the opposite direction of each other to prevent themselves from grinding against one another and slowing each other down safely enough to use.
And adding SO MUCH MORE brute force to the spinning wind drills coming right at him!
For a fraction of a second as the two hovered in mid-air, the two jutsu battled for supremacy, and this time around… Naruto's makeshift combo won. It pierced through Nadare's Frost Storm move and into the man's hand. The chakra barrier started to spring to life to zap the Fuutons out, but Naruto canceled them himself as his left hand lowered, placing it right on the power seal...
...while his other hand did the seals for the Kibou Te. Like the chakra scalpels it had been based on, it sliced through the power seal, cutting it down swiftly into two portions that barely held itself together. Had it lasted just another second, it would have destroyed it completely. As such, it was only severely damaged. The chakra barrier managed to spring to life and cancel it out before fading out entirely itself, no longer active with the power seal critically damaged. Lucky for Nadare, the armor was still fueling his chakra reverses, so he didn't feel the shock of his chakra capacity dropping.
He did, however, feel the dual kick to his face from the boy.
Nadare went flying down towards the castle grounds, right towards the docked Ironwill. Managing to slow his fall just enough, he crashed on the blimp and went rolling along, eventually stopping long enough to look back up to his opponent.
And he turned white as snow.
In the time that he had fallen onto the blimp, the boy had created several dozen clones. Each one wielding that deadly Rasengan move.
Eternally grateful that his armor was still supplying him chakra, he made his next move, knowing he had to pull out a big enough move to stop this onslaught, or there wouldn't be anything left of him.
"Hyouton: Itsukaku Hakuegei!"
From the ground behind him, using up every possible ounce of snow, water, and moisture from both ground and air to form, the humongous horned whale came flying out, its appearance making both rebel and Loyalist flee at the sight to get away from the clashing titans. The giant whale slammed into the Narutos and their deadly attacks. Numerous fissures cracked through the ice whale as it was visibly strained to endure these attacks. Nadare gave a yell, feeding more chakra into the attack to stabilize it, not even noticing the small flashing red light form his armor.
That's when it happened.
It was like a knife was cutting down the recesses of his spine, and his body fluids draining out. It was a pain unlike anything he had ever felt. The strangest part was that it wasn't the boy or one of his many clones. It took him a moment to ponder before he finally realized what was going on.
It was the chakra armor itself.
Between all the high class ninjutsu in such a quick time frame, Nadare knew he had misjudged his limits. He had burned up his natural reverses faster than the armor could replenish them. And the nature of the armor demanded it took the natural reserves to increase and fuel the wielder.
Even if it meant the wielder had no reserves to give. The armor was going to take anyway. Going farther than chakra exhaustion to… he didn't know what to call it. Depletion? Void? Loss?
It didn't matter because the whale broke apart as a result.
No less than seven Narutos still holding their Rasengans came raining down on him, even as the man toppled over backward, the life leaving him. Had the boy done all this on purpose? Had this… Kaze Kitsune… deliberately cut loose knowing that sooner or later, the toll would be too much for him? Or was it just sheer dumb luck on his part?
Rouga Nadare would never know as those seven Rasengans hit home on him full force, no chakra barrier to protect him, as the attacks finished what his armor had started. The Naruto at the top reached out with his free hand and yanked the necklace off, shouting the last words Nadare would ever hear.
"I'M TAKING THIS BACK!"
Naruto's own reaction to this onslaught on his foe was hidden behind his usual mask to all the onlookers. All they could see was Nadare's body go flying through the blimp interior. It came as no surprise from the other Yuki-nin when the blimp exploded from the impact. Either making makeshift shelters or running anew, they quickly escaped from the exploding airship.
The blond enigma of Team 7 went flying through the air, the other six clones having taken the brunt of the explosion for him. Pieces of the nearest buildings around the blimp airfield were flung into the air with the explosion, making it shower debris all over again on the damaged castle. Naruto flipped through the air and landed on a small piece of roof that looked remarkably like a snowboard.
The Yuki-nin, identified as Fuyuguma Mizore, reached behind him and took a snowboard from his back. He jumped on it and snow began flying everywhere. The nin then shot down the snowy slope at an incredible speed.
Naruto couldn't help but be in a little awe at that little stunt. That actually looked like fun! He made a mental note to try that himself someday.
"Looks like someday is TODAY!" he said, excitement and adrenaline flooding to the max. Using chakra to stick himself to his board, he allowed himself to spin around in the air, screaming at the top of his lungs at the rush he was feeling. It was addicting and he was LOVING every single second of it!
The screams brought the surviving Yuki-nin to the battlements to look, all of them shocked to see the blond Leaf Genin not dead, but sailing through the skies on some sort of snowboard like a game.
He came crashing down to the snow-covered slope and slid down with even more pleasure than before, feeling the cold wind whip at his face. It didn't sting as much as he thought it would, perhaps because he was so caught up in the moment. He swayed his body weight back and forth, changing his direction as a result. Gaining inspiration, he crouched a bit, and then leapt upward, propelling himself upward back into the air.
"YAHOO!"
Nothing could possibly ruin THIS moment!
… right before Naruto turned and smacked face-first into a tree. His limbs were spread out in a comical fashion, and his entire body was embedded a good three inches into the tree trunk itself. Even several of the roots had been uprooted from his collision. Anyone else would have been dead, but the Kyubi chakra was already flowing and fixing the damage.
"… stupid… tree… snowboarding… ow… next time… try the beach… ow… ow… ow… stupid… karma…"
That's when the snow from the branches fell, covering him entirely.
Rainbow Glacier
8:51 pm. AGAIN
With his niece still tucked under his arm, Doto flew from his castle, away from the sounds of fighting that plagued his Black Fang Castle. He had no thoughts to spare for the battle that was raging between those three brats, his forces and these unknown rebels. Not with his goal, his dreams, his TREASURE so close! He could practically taste it!
Koyuki did not move or struggle in his grasp. It seemed she had at last given into the futility of defying him with her own clumsy attempt failing miserably. A lesson those other peons would learn soon enough. They had superior numbers, tech and position. He might take some losses, but nothing he couldn't afford.
The Rainbow Glacier, despite its name, was a series of seven glaciers, not just one. Towering glaciers that formed a loose circle, each of them easily fifty meters tall. There were certain times that the sun would hit these glaciers, letting the seven colors of the rainbow dance along their surfaces with the grace and beauty of a ballet show. During Doto's childhood, it was a popular attraction. Since discovering this was the resting place of his brother's fortune, he had banned any future sightings.
The flight to the Rainbow Glacier was a short one as he descended for a landing. Snow kicked up around his feet as he came to a halt. Doto unceremoniously dropped the young woman onto the snow as he walked forward. A small shrine sat right in the middle of the seven glaciers, built by his late brother, and as Doto later found out, was the keyhole to the treasure. He let a small chuckle escape his mouth at how obvious the key should have been when he first started looking for the treasure, but none of that mattered now. At long last, he would get what he deserved!
"So we came here at last, I guess," he heard his niece speak.
Fiddling with the crystal, he walked over and brushed the snow off a small podium, revealing a hole that matched perfectly the Hex Crystal's shape.
Allowing himself to savor this for a mere moment, he inserted the crystal and pushed it all the way down into its slot.
A beam of purple light shot upward from where the crystal was. The entire shrine followed suit and continued outward, making it seem like a radiant snowflake from anyone that had a bird's eye view. The lights dashed across smaller ice ridges to each of the seven glaciers, making them brighten up in response.
"Well?" Doto demanded, looking around. Who cared about some useless light show? "The treasure, where is it?"
Steam spat from the ground all around the two, coming from all around the glaciers. Doto flinched as he began hearing sounds of running water. Darting his head back and forth, he saw small rivers of water flowing from the melting ice and snow.
MELTING ICE AND SNOW?
Koyuki spoke first, also captivated by what was going on. Though for completely different reasons. "It's so warm. What is this?"
"A heat generator…" Doto answered, both to himself and to her, his face narrowing in rage. "THIS IS THE TREASURE OF THE KAZAHANA CLAN?"
An image of Sousetsu appeared in his mind, with a large smile and speaking the words. "The work I am doing will bring wealth to this country!"
NO! THIS is what his fool of a brother was talking about? It couldn't be something this stupid! Who cared about some useless heat generator! Where were the valuables? The money, the jewels, the rare precious metals! WHERE WERE THEY?
A darker thought crossed his mind. How was he supposed to finance his military plans? With his brother's treasure, he had been certain he would be able to carry out his plans! With no treasure…
And that was on top of the fifty defectors attacking his castle…
The losses amongst his Loyalist faction…
The loss of prized technology like his train…
The damages to his stronghold…
Orochimaru's betrayal that threw all his plans into chaos…
And those three brats spearheading all of this… Uzumaki Naruto. Haruno Sakura. Uchiha Sasuke.
How, how, HOW did three little KIDS manage to unravel a DECADE'S worth of effort in the span of a SINGLE DAY!
No, he refused to let this happen! Fine, so the treasure was gone! He could still salvage this! He didn't need this stupid heat generator. Rock or some other country would be BOUND to pay a fortune for this hardware. It wouldn't be enough by far, but it would get him back on his feet. He would strike the Fire Country NOW! Hit them before they realized anything, stall for time so the Leaf Village would remain weak and scared while he fueled his forces and replaced his losses! He would MAKE it work! He would recapture the Kyubi host and this time, hack off his limbs until they found a way to harness the fox itself!
He was not done yet!
That's when he heard someone calling his name. Looking back, both he and Koyuki turned to see which fool dared to challenge him in his pissed off mood.
It was…
(Author's Note) Finally! And that, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is three out of three! I'm not going to lie… out of all the chapters, all the plans, all the ideas, THIS was the hardest one of them.
Yes, the Naruto and Nadare fight was HARDER for me than the 73 page, 57,000 word MONSTER that is Chapter 17. I'm not kidding, this chapter was more difficult than THAT!
The reason was… because I honestly had no idea how to go about this fight. Name ANY other fight, any other scene, any other circumstance, and I can tell you about the inspiration, planning and ideas I had for it. With all the other fights, especially Sakura and Sasuke's in the last two chapters, I had clear plans and intentions since day one.
Naruto's fight here… had no such thing. I had the basic idea, but no real way to go about it. And even then, the basic idea really wasn't enough to carry the full chapter.
I think part of the reason is… well… because it's Naruto. As he is now, he's still largely the same in terms of skill and character to Legacy Part 1. And Tellemicus did such an excellent job of showcasing Naruto's growth. Both in a fight and as himself. The strengths and flaws of his jutsu, how he acts, the depths and capabilities of the Naruto character… that there really isn't anything left (at this point in time) to focus on. Sasuke and Sakura (her especially) are a LOT easier because, let's be honest, Tellemicus really didn't focus on them. And that's not a criticism on him; the story was about Naruto first and foremost. I'm the one that chose to elevate his two teammates further than that.
So the day I finished this chapter – Saturday, January 28, 2012 – after nearly a month of trying to force out ideas for my original concept, I finally threw up my hands and said 'Screw it! I'm not getting anywhere and this is taking TOO long! I'm just going to go with my gut, and hope it all turns out!' And managed to write out the rest of the chapter in a couple of hours. And as a result, I ended up scraping several things, such as Nadare's own 'toy' he was supposed to get for this.
Personally… I think this fight is not as good as either Sakura or Sasuke's as a result of that, but here's hoping you all still found it an enjoyable read. Who knows, maybe I'm worrying over nothing. Certainly wouldn't be the first time.
So, the Yuki-Sannin fights are done. Time for the big bad himself! Hope you're all ready! ^_^
Due to length of time and the nature of the techniques, I decided to repost the old techniques from chapters past in order to help keep things fresh in the reader's minds.
Hyouton: Tatsu Juugan no Jutsu-Ice: Release: Dragon Bullet/Creates a dragon made out of ice to fly forward and attack the opponent. This jutsu is the counterpart to the Toramisairu, as it focuses on speed at the expense of power, making it more likely to hit than the Tiger Missile, but not as damaging. (Mid C-Class Ninjutsu) (Standard Yukigakure technique) (Chapter 16)
Ninpou: Yuki Buriza-do-Ninja Art: Snow Blizzard/Kicks up snow, dirt and other natural debris into the air, with the user as the centerpoint where the blizzard is the least effective. The more chakra one puts into the technique, the larger the radius is and the faster the blizzard becomes. (High C-Class Ninjutsu) (Chapter 26)
Mira Guntai Bunshin-Mirror Army Clone/ Nadare creates a series of mirrors that reflects the amount of clones against him. Through the mirrors, Nadare will produce an equal number of clones. This clones only last about a minute and able to perform one jutsu and cost half the chakra that the enemy used. By flooding the mirrors with chakra, Nadare is able to increase their reflection properties, allowing them to work even when hidden in a dense fog. (High A-Class Ninjutsu) (Nadare)
Hyouton: Shimo Arashi-Ice Release: Frost Storm/A jutsu that overwhelmingly increases the punching power of the user while at the same time encompassing the entire fist with fragments of ice, resulting in the blow being bitterly cold as well as sharp. While the punching power is increased, the true damage of this jutsu is in the aftermath. A direct hit can result in a severe case of not only frostbite, but also badly cut skin. This, however, is truly a double-edged sword because the user must be able to not only properly control the cold, but also the swarming ice shards. Failure to do so will result in their own hand – or in the worst case their entire arm – suffering the same when handled correctly, the user will still feel a small degree of the aftermath themselves, but to those that live in the cold parts of the world, this is hardly a hindrance. (Low A-Class ninjutsu) (Chapter 8)
Hyouton: Wani Baito no Jutsu-Ice Release: Crocodile Bite Technique/ An ice technique meant to counter against taijutsu-based opponents. Ice takes the shape of the upper half of a crocodile body in order to catch the opponent's arm and bite down on it, typically resulting in crushing the opponent's hand or limb and rendering it useless. Entirely possible to completely severe a captured limb given precise timing and control over the jutsu. The main drawback is the weight of this move on the user's arm, making it unsuitable for extended conflicts and to be used mainly as a quick surprise attack. (Low B-Class Ninjutsu) (Nadare)
Aisu Sochi-Ice Step/A move that forms ice around the user's feet to increase footing in places where having firm footing is precarious and when simple chakra control is not enough. (E-Class Ninjutsu) (Standard Yukigakure technique)
Hyouton: Hyouheki-Ice Release: Ice Wall/A Hyouton jutsu that creates a ten foot ice wall for protection against incoming attacks. Notably affective against Suiton and Katon class ninjutsu, where it can potentially freeze a suiton, or douse, if not completely extinguish, katons when it melts the ice. (High B-Class Ninjutsu) (Standard Yukigakure technique) (Chapter 15)
Fuuton: Kaze Oshiyaru-Wind Release: Wind Thrust/Naruto gathers a large amount of wind in his throat and then expels it at a violent speed. The wind itself is rather blunt, meaning that when it strikes the opponent, it causes a massive impact on the enemy's body, like being hit by a thrown Tatewaru, though the Kaze Oshiyaru's power is inferior to the Tatewaru by a fair margin. The Kaze Oshiyaru still requires a large amount of chakra and is able to last as long as Naruto is able to exhale his breath, which is approximately thirteen seconds, though it loses power the longer it lasts. (Mid B-Class ninjutsu) (Naruto) (Chapter 8)
Aisu Bunshin-Ice Clone/ A bunshin formed from the result of ice, either pre-existing or manufactured. Requiring a quarter of the user's chakra to form, the Aisu Bunshin has a degree of durability, allowing it to take several hits before dispelling, as opposed to one. In addition, skilled users can use surrounding snow or ice to regenerate any damage taken. Aisu Bunshins are capable of any physical attack of its creator, but nothing requiring chakra. Meaning no genjutsu or ninjutsu. (Low B-Class Ninjutsu) (Standard Yukigakure technique) Created by phoenix718 (Chapter 17)
Hyouton: Aisu Yari no Jutsu-Ice Release: Ice Spear/ Creates an ice like spike over Nadare's arm that he can use for close quarters combat for both offensive and defensive purposes. With a handseal from his free hand, he can actually launch it like a missile at his opponent. (Mid C-Class Ninjutsu) (Nadare)
Suiton: Booruban Mizu Dangan no Jutsu-Water Release: Drilling Water Bullet Technique/ A suiton designed to go at an incredibly fast speed, created by using what Naruto has learned from both Suiton and Fuuton class ninjutsu (Suiton for the fast water, Fuuton for the sharp drill). With the 'sharp drill' at the front, this essentially makes it a water version of Naruto's Kaze Doriru. However, due to the fierce speed of this attack, Naruto has virtually no control over it, as opposed to a jutsu like the Suiryuudan. This results in him being only able to shoot it in a straight line, which means that aiming this jutsu is also rather difficult. All this makes the jutsu a one-shot attempt: hit and the opponent's screwed; miss and it's wasted. Due to its speed and sharpness, this jutsu can easily pierce things such as rocks, trees, ice, even metal if enough chakra is used. (High B-Class ninjutsu) (Naruto) (Chapter 8)
Hyouton: Haryuu Mouko-Ice Release: Destruction Dragon Fierce Tiger/An ice technique created by Nadare to specifically counter Suiton class ninjutsu, in the form of an ice tiger. Nadare must be able to quickly determine how much chakra to put into this jutsu, not only to have enough power to shatter the opposing Suiton jutsu, but also have enough strength left to continue on and strike the opponent, a feat few can do. This means that Nadare must use more chakra than his opponent, or his own jutsu will be overwhelmed, or at the least only have enough power to stop the opposing Suiton. (Typically classified as a low A-Class ninjutsu, but it varies since it depends on what type of jutsu the opponent is using) (Nadare) (Chapter 8)
Hyouton: Shiirudo Kagavakashii Yuki-Ice Release: Shield of Glittering Snow (roughly)/This B rank defensive jutsu creates a shield of swirling snow around its user. This shield is much more than it appears as physical contact with the globe will at first cause the creation of ice at the point of contact, blocking the blow. This ice rapidly grows up from the point of impact, encasing the hand and eventually arm in ice or surrounding a weapon and forcibly disarming the opponent. This jutsu can also stop less powerful physical ninjutsu but is mostly used as a defense for a ninjutsu-based ninja against a taijutsu type that has entered close range. The longer this jutsu is maintained, the more chakra it requires and it only blocks one attack, although it can block more than one if they hit the globe in quick succession. It appears similar to Kaiten in appearance, except it is made of swirling snow. (High B-Class Ninjutsu) Created by evilballoon (Chapter 17)
Hyouton: Keppyou Abaranshu no Jutsu-Ice Release: Freezing Avalanche/A ninjutsu technique that is designed to deal with overwhelming floods, avalanches and similar natural disasters. While not entirely useful for combat, it does have its uses in battle; such as freezing a rushing surge of a water jutsu. The user will start freezing the area immediately in front of him, then slowly expand in the direction desired, not unlike Fubuki's Hyourou no Jutsu. Once the ice is created, they use that as a jumping off point for more ice to be created, slightly levitating the stress on the user. However, the further the ice travels from you, the harder it is to maintain and control, as such, only skilled users of Hyouton are capable of this move.(High A-Class Ninjutsu) (Standard Yukigakure technique) (Chapter 16)
Hyouton: Nigenteki Sai Abaremawaru no Jutsu-Ice Release: Dual Rhino Rampage/ Forms two large ice Rhinos on both sides of him that can be launched simultaneously or individually. The speed is on par with Naruto's Booruban Mizu Dangan, making an opponent hard-pressed to avoid or risk being trampled to death. The two rhinos are incredibly durable, making them all but impossible to destroy. Requires moderate chakra reserves. (High B-Class Ninjutsu) (Standard Yukigakure technique) (Chapter 17)
Hyouton: Kyuu Rin Woota no Jutsu-Ice Release: Ball of Frigid Water (roughly)/ This A-rank technique is based off the property that as water freezes, it has to expand into ice. If chakra is used to form a ball of water and prevent it from expanding, then its temperature can be lowered far below water's normal freezing point. This ball is shot at an enemy and upon impact, the chakra used to prevent its expansion dissipates. Basically the water ball impacts, splashing the surrounding area but mostly the target and because of its temperature, it almost instantly freezes into ice around the target. The target's initial contact with the water's sub-zero temperature can also cause instant frostbite. This jutsu is A-rank because of the difficulty in chakra control needed to keep the water from expanding. (Mid-A Class Ninjutsu) Created by evilballoon (Chapter 17)
Hyouton: Itsukaku Hakuegei-Ice Release: One Horn White Whale/Nadare creates a gigantic whale composed of ice, allowing him to smash virtually anything in his path to dust, such as surrounding landscape if nothing else. Due to the sheer size and mass, it takes an enormous amount of chakra to use. Aiming is not really required for this jutsu due to its sheer size, but it is rather slow to move. If an opponent is caught underneath this whale, death is certain. (High A-Class ninjutsu) (Nadare/Kakashi) (Chapter 8)
And as I'm writing my jutsu list, I realize I completely forgot to have Nadare do his wolf jutsu. I mean, it's part of his own name! Whoops! So, here's an honorable mention due to be me being brainless!
Hyouton: Rouga Nadare no Jutsu-Wolf Fang Avalanche Technique/ Is a Ninjutsu utilizing the Ice Element created by Nadare. After forming the needed handseals, an avalanche of snow will rain down towards Rouga's opponent. As the snow slides down, it will coalesce into large snow wolves. These wolves can follow Rouga's bidding and attack his opponent. A sufficiently powerful straight thrust can disrupt the wolves and return them to snow. (High B-Class Ninjutsu) (Nadare)
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!
