All right, before we get to the chapter, there's something I'd like to say.
Stop asking me if I'm going to update Jinchuriki of the Six Paths. I already answered that question in the author note at the end of chapter 8. Since so many people seemed to have missed it, I'll say it again. I've been more inspired to write this story and have had writer's block for Jinchuriki of the Six Paths, but I think I've gotten over it and should have the next chapter, as well as the remake of my old bleach fic, out sometime next month or the following one. I will not abandon any of my stories.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Deep within the darkness of the temple-like entrance, dim, stone hallways led deep into the earth. The only light that shined within given off by the flickering candles attached to the walls. Deeper and deeper, one could go, where one wrong move could lead one to a horror.
More than just the threat of the usual traps, if one was lucky, or unlucky, enough to make it far into the base, they might find themselves in one of the many prisons of Oto, where the victims of Orochimaru's experiments dwelled. They all sat together in silence, most overcome with despair after spending so much time long in captivity, their wills stripped from them. Many were in poor condition, withering away from lack of proper nourishment or side effects from Orochimaru's experiments. Some had simply died in the cells and had been left there to rot. The only thing well maintained were the walls of the cage, to ensure there was no escape.
Or perhaps the poor soul would find themselves in Orochimaru's lab, full of glass, liquid filled containers that held the victims of Orochimaru's experiments who were unfortunate enough to truly catch his interest or his serpentine creations.
In the shadows of the entrance way, taking in every detail of its halls, scouring them for any signs of traps or hidden enemies was a single, unassuming beetle.
Outside of the base, looking at its entrance, hiding behind a massive root were Naruto, Jiraiya and Sasame. Fuu was hidden at their side, her eyes closed and her right hand forming a half hand sign to focus her chakra, using her jutsu to link her senses to the beetle she'd sent in, which dutifully followed every command she sent it.
"So, what do you see?" Jiraiya asked, turning his eyes to his most recent student.
"Well…" Fuu replied without opening her eyes. "I don't see any tripwires or anything like that, but of course I wouldn't see a well hidden pressure plate or something. Far as I can tell, the entrance is clear at least."
The Sannin nodded before Naruto spoke up, craning his neck to look at her. "What about chakra signatures?" he saw Fuu grimace slightly at the question. "What? Is there trouble?"
"You could say that…" She replied. "… My scout hasn't warned me of any other presences yet but… my insects have been anxious ever since we got here. This whole area reeks with a foul chakra they don't want anything to do with."
The toad summoner of the Sannin nodded, his eyes narrowing as his gaze returned to the base. "Sounds about right. I'm sure my former teammates been up to his old tricks in there."
Frowning, Fuu cut her connection to her insect with a quiet exclamation of "Damn!" Before she stood, her orange eyes opening again. "… The path splits three ways a short way into the base. I could explore them, but it'd take forever."
"That's good enough. At least we know the entrance is clear." Jiraiya replied as he stepped out of their hiding place, followed by the three teens. They approached the base and looked into the darkness.
"All right, kids. We're about to enter the belly of the beast." Jiraiya spoke, not looking back at the trio. "Remember Fuu's warning about pressure plates and be on the look out for anything she might have missed. Watch your step and stay close."
And so, they descended into the lair of the Snake Sannin, briefly coming to a stop at the entrance where Jiraiya made a hand sign before pressing his hand on the entranceway, a few seals that would have set off alarms across the base manifesting on the surface before releasing steam, hissing as they burned away. Naruto's eyes briefly shown with interest at that, making a mental note to ask his sensei about removing seals in the future. He'd learned of some pretty dangerous seals and knew that such an ability would be invaluable.
Naruto's ocean blue orbs wandered the corridor as the trio silently traversed the halls, feeling that someone like the Snake Sannin would feel right at home in a hole in the ground like this. The air in the base was chilly, and he could faintly detect the foul stench of death hanging in the air as the continued down the winding staircase. Squinting his eyes, he tried to look ahead, but the dim light of the candles only allowed him to see about a dozen yards in front of him.
Shortly, the trio came upon the division that Fuu had spoken of. Three paths, identical and with no markings, lied before them.
"All right, how're we going to do this?" Naruto asked as he looked to the paths.
The Sannin crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he hummed in thought. "Well, I know how we'd do things normally; I'd take a path, two of you would take another and one of you would go it alone. It's the obvious choice."
"But this isn't normal." The blond responded.
"How right you are." Jiraiya nodded, his brow furrowed. "We're dealing with Orochimaru here. There's no telling what kind of freaks he's got under his command." He looked over his shoulder at the trio. "For that reason, it'd be best if the three of you stick together. And as for me…" With that, Jiraiya reached into his kimono and in a dramatic motion pulled out a small stick and held it over his head, which extended, revealing itself to be a collapsible staff. With a cry, he slammed the staff into the ground, which fell to the side and pointed to the path to the far right. Nodding to himself, Jiraiya said, "I'll be taking this way."
The three teens slumped, sweat dropping as they stared at him in disappointment over his display.
"Geez, Ero-sensei." Fuu brought her hand to her face, resting it on her forehead and shook her head in exasperation over her sensei's antics. "Was there any point in that besides making you look ridiculous?"
Jiraiya whirled on the girl, his expression twisting in annoyance as he growled out, desperate to protect his pride, "Hey! I'll have you know this is a tried and true technique for finding one's way that's been passed down through the ages!"
"Yeah, right along with the old saying about stepping on cracks." Fuu commented, crossing her arms and shaking her head. "Naruto's right, you are a drama queen."
"If you think that was bad, wait until you see his self-intro." Naruto murmured.
Sasame tilted her head, her face taking on a look of curiosity and slight trepidation as she her eyes shifted from one Jinchuriki to the other. She recalled someone who acted like the toad Sannin from her own family and wondering if the situation here was similar.
"Was Master Jiraiya… maybe… dropped on his head as a child?"
Jiraiya face faulted, his body bent in a slightly awkward angle causing his legs to hang in the air as Naruto suppressed a snigger as he shrugged.
"Beats me. I wonder about that sometimes myself." Of course, he was, to some degree, just teasing the old man. He'd seen what he was like when he was serious and knew that, despite his more goofy side, he was an extremely powerful and skilled ninja worthy of his reputation.
"…Are all Konoha shinobi as eccentric as Master Jiraiya?"
Naruto's blue orbs turned to the ceiling as he brought a hand to his chin in thought.
"Well… there is this one guy who goes around screaming about youth, but other than that…" He commented, causing Fuu to raise a questioning eyebrow.
In a flash, Jiraiya was back on his feet, coughing into his hand as he decided to get things back on topic. "Well, I've chosen my path. What about you?"
Naruto turned to the two girls behind him, pointing to the center. "Either of you have a problem with the middle door?" Sasame shook her head while Fuu said 'Nope.'
"Now that that's settled." Jiraiya stated, turning to his path. "Let's move. We'll meet back here in thirty minutes if no one finds anything."
"Got it." "Right." "Yes." Came Naruto, Fuu and Sasame's respective replies, and with that, they split into two groups and went their separate ways.
The Sannin's eyes wandered the corridor as he traversed the path he'd chosen, which quickly changed. The smooth, well crafted walls of the base gave way to rough walls, covered in stalactites with natural looking stone pillars, lit by a series of lanterns hung from the roof of the cavern, which oddly enough swung as if caught in a non-existent breeze. The path was framed with natural stone pillars, the gaps between them trailing off into darkness.
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed in suspicion, his nose twitching as a familiar, alluring aroma flowed into his nostrils, tantalizing his senses.
"Huh. I smell perfume."
At the end of the cave like passage, a door cracked open with a creak of its hinges, allowing a light to shine through. The sounds of a koto, its strings being expertly plucked, flowed from the door, the soothing music echoed throughout the cavern, causing the toad summoner to smirk.
"I'm being invited in. I suppose it'll be more exciting if I accept the invitation."
Jiraiya calmly approached the door, his obsidian orbs searching for any sign of traps or hidden seals, finding nothing as he reached the end of the corridor. Pushing open the entrance, he found peeked inside before stepping halfway through the door.
The room was quite elegant, in contrast to the rest of the base. Calm light illuminated the room from two sources, a dim light that shined down from the ceiling, and the other from the folding screens that framed the room, black with moving, glowing gold cloud-like patterns that gave the room an ethereal air. There seemed to be no borders in the room, all sides simply trailing off into shadow, adding to the unearthly feel of the room, and the floor was covered in soft, green mats.
Sitting on the slightly raised center area inside the folding screens was a beautiful young woman wearing an extravagant kimono fit for a princess under a red robe with yellow trim, which sadly, in the Sannin's opinion, hid her figure, though he oh so enjoyed unraveling such robes when given the opportunity. She had long black hair. Her onyx eyes were closed as she played the instrument before her.
Jiraiya's smirk widened at the obvious honey trap that lied before him. As if someone of his caliber would fall for so obvious a stunt.
Still, might as well rest here and enjoy himself a bit. Besides, it'd be a bad idea to leave, not knowing what the woman would do.
Slowly, the young woman opened her eyes and raised her head, locking eyes with the white haired legend. "We heard guests would be arriving from far away, so Lord Orochimaru instructed me to provide you with some entertainment." She said, her voice smooth and alluring without not a hint of hostility.
Of course, any ninja worth their salt could fake such a response.
Taking in the sight of the beauty before him, the Sannin commented, "Why do I feel like I'm dealing with a tricky ghost?"
A coy smile playing across her features, the brunette replied, "Sir, if you're implying that I'm some sort of ghost, why don't you step over to this side of the room and check for yourself to see if I'm real or not."
"Well, I clearly picked an interesting path, didn't I?" Jiraiya commented. 'I wonder what those three found.'
Naruto cautiously peered around a corner as he traversed the corridor he'd chosen, Fuu and Sasame standing a few feet behind him as they waited for him to give them the 'all clear'. His eyes scanned what little of the hall he could was within his field of vision, searching for any sign of a trap or a guard.
Speaking of which, the blond found it odd that they'd yet to encounter anyone at all after ten minutes of searching. He knew this wouldn't be like any 'normal' ninja village, even before they found that Oto was apparently underground. Still, it was odd to find the place so devoid of life. Fuu's insects hadn't found any other signs of life either. They hadn't even come across any rooms yet. They'd found two branches so far, but Fuu's had sent some of her beetles down both paths to scout ahead both times, and each one was as bare as the other.
Of course, they'd only searched a small portion of the base. Still, considering the army Orochimaru unleashed upon Konoha, he thought that they should have run into someone by now, not that he was complaining. The less people here, the less they'd have to get through on the way out when they found Sasauke and Arashi.
Seeing nothing ahead of them, Naruto stepped past the bend, gesturing to the girls to follow him.
The trio walked through the corridor, careful to make as little sound as possible. Jiraiya had warned the two Jinchuriki that, as the name of the village suggested, Oto shinobi were trained to use sound and likely had heightened senses of hearing.
"Hey, Fuu." Naruto spoke just above a whisper, turning his head to look at the kunoichi. "Why don't you talk to the insects of this base and see what they know?"
"Don't you think I'd have done that already if I could?" Fuu asked, her brow furrowed and her tone irritated, but it wasn't the blond that she was annoyed at. Her gaze turned to the ground in front of them as she continued, "I'd love to, but there aren't any here." She was used to sensing the presence of insects all around her. It had become somewhat comforting to her, to sense the millions of lives going about their business and being able to talk with them, even if they weren't exactly much for conversation, and command them at will.
But here there was… nothing. There wasn't a single insect living within the walls of Oto, leaving a void where she'd usually sense them, occupied only by the presence of the beetles in her cylinder. It was almost like suddenly losing the use of a one of her senses and it left her feeling slightly uneasy.
Naruto arched a brow at that. "Nothing at all? Funny, Orochimaru doesn't strike me as the type to fumigate because of some bugs." He asked sarcastically, though he was genuinely curious.
"It's nothing like that." Fuu replied, her face frown deepening as she looked to the ground. "You remember when I said this place was giving off a foul chakra? Well, 'foul' may be an understatement. My beetles hate being here. Some insects might live on the surface, but none of them would come in this place."
Naruto reflected the mint haired girl's look. This place was radiating such twisted energy that even the usual critters, insects and pests you would find anywhere steered clear of it? That was not a good sign.
With a nod, he returned his focus to their surroundings, his eyes scouring every inch of the base for any signs of threats.
Just a few minutes later, he felt his eyes widen as the sound of stone grinding against stone faintly reverberated off the walls from nearby. His head jerked around so quickly anyone watching might fear he'd given himself whiplash to see Fuu staring in shock at the ground, the place she'd just stepped on indented in the ground in a perfect square.
She'd stepped on a pressure plate.
The three teens shared a wide eyed look before the walls opened up revealing countless kunai launchers.
With a slight cry, the three burst into motion, stealth thrown to the wind as they sent ran at top speed to stay ahead of the veritable storm of pointy, metal death.
"Weren't you the one who warned us about pressure plates?!" Sasame shouted to the mint haired kunoichi.
"It didn't budge an inch until I put all my weight on it, get off my case!" Fuu replied as they stayed just ahead of a painful death by a thousand cuts. It really hadn't. It was pretty much undetectable, nevertheless she felt humiliated for having sprung the trap.
Finally, they came upon a follow up trap, a trip wire hovering almost invisibly above the ground. Naruto and Fuu saw it, but Sasame didn't. Luckily, Fuu noticed this at the last moment and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her through the air as she jumped over it. Naruto, not needing to help someone else avoid the trap, simply stepped over the wire. The hail of kunai stopped just inches short of the second trap.
While the Jinchuriki were fine, Sasame was hyperventilating slightly from the panic of the ordeal, bent forward and placed her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
The orange haired girl raised her head and gave Fuu a questioning look. Before she could ask the obvious question, the mint haired girl pointed to the tripwire and understanding overcame her features.
As the Fuma kunoichi collected herself, Naruto looked around, focusing his honed senses for any sign of attack. After all, it should be expected that someone would check the sprung trap.
Half a minute ticked by and nothing, so he figured it was safe to continue on.
"All right, I think we should keep moving." He said, as he began walking, looking over his shoulder and motioning for them to follow.
The trio continued on in silence, finding another split in the corridor, branching off into four halls.
"Let's go with this one." Fuu said, pointing to the left path. Seeing no reason to argue, Naruto and Sasame nodded and the trio continued.
Two minutes later and still nothing. Naruto was beginning to get frustrated by the lack of activity. He was sorely tempted to use the shadow clone jutsu to scout out the base, but if one was seen, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to destroy, which meant that whoever found it would raise the alarm.
He remembered what Jiraiya had told him about sensor type ninja. Fuu, in a way, could be considered a sensor type since her insects relayed everything they sensed to her. He made a mental note to try and pick up some sensory abilities of his own at some point to ensure that he never faced this kind of situation again; stumbling blind not even knowing if he was going the right way through some kami-forsaken hole in the earth, literally considering what probably went on down there.
Suddenly, the floor opened up beneath him, revealing sharpened bamboo poles about a dozen yards down.
A pit fall. He couldn't believe it. A pit fall trap of all things.
Fuu's expression shifted into one of shock and horror as she saw the blond fall through the air and disappear into the hole that opened up in the ground.
"Naruto!" She ran to the edge of the pit and looked down… before stepping away, placing a hand to her chest as she breathed a sigh of relief.
The Kyuubi Jinchuriki had managed to reach the wall of the pit with his hand and stick to it with his chakra.
He planted his feet on the wall before leaping up, flipping once in the air and landing on his feet beside Fuu.
Wiping his brow, more as a simple gesture of effort rather than to wipe sweat away, he let out a breath and commented. "Man, that was a close one, huh?"
As soon as he spoke those words, a wall loudly emerged from the ground, causing both their heads to jerk in its direction. It separated them from the pit, obviously meant to ensure that anyone who fell in and lived couldn't escape.
"Geez, that was all kind of cliché though, wasn't it?" Naruto questioned, pointing to the wall that now separated them from the pitfall. "I mean, seriously, what's next a giant boulder coming at us from out of no where?"
The green haired Jinchuriki's head jerked in his direction with a startled expression before she threw her left arm out excitedly. "Naruto, don't say things like that! Didn't anyone ever warn you about tempting fate!? You're asking for…"
Whatever she was going to say next died in her throat as the sound of something heavy hitting the ground reached them, sending a slight quake through the stone walls. Only a moment after this, they heard the sound of rumbling coming at them from behind the barricade that stood where the pit once did.
Slowly, the two Jinchuriki turned their heads to look in the direction of the noise that was gradually getting louder with each passing moment.
"Uh, guys… do you hear that?" Sasame asked nervously as she eyed the wall standing between them and whatever was approaching.
As if they didn't already know what it was.
"You've gotta be kidding me…" Naruto grumbled, causing the mint haired girl to glare lightly at him. "What? You can't be blaming me for this!"
"Just run!" Fuu said, spinning on her heel and bolting back down the hall they came from. The other two teens followed suit mere seconds before the wall came down, revealing the cliché boulder rolling down the hall, threatening to crush them.
"What the hell!? Where does Orochimaru get the ideas for his traps from, old movies!?" The Uzumaki survivor shouted as they ran at top speed. Finally, they reached the fork in the road they came to earlier and ducked to the left, letting the boulder roll past them, traveling out of site down the only corridor they'd yet to enter.
"Well, wasn't that fun?" The Nanabi Jinchuriki quipped sarcastically as she placed a hand on her hip and looked to Naruto, giving him a knowing smirk. "Now, what have we learned here today?"
"I get it, I get it. Don't tempt fate." Naruto murmured, crossing his arms and turning his head away as Fuu's mouth widened into a grin at the blond's response. Naruto then turned to look down the hall. "Well, there's probably nothing down that way…" He gestured to the path the boulder had disappeared into. "… so let's try this one."
Meanwhile, Jiraiya seemed to kick back and relax, sitting cross legged on the tatami mats in the unearthly room while holding a cup of sake, his eyes closed and not a hint of tension in his body. Beside him, the beautiful brunette continued to strum her instrument, the calming music washing over the toad summoner as he enjoyed the meal before him.
In reality, despite his weakness for the ladies, the Sannin was on full alert, waiting for the woman to reveal whatever her game was, but so far there had been nothing. Raising the sake cup to his lips, he took a sip, draining it and studying it's taste and found himself surprised. This wasn't some cheap, watered down crap, it was the good stuff, but what really got his attention…
'Hm… this doesn't taste like it's been tampered with…' So honed were the senses of shinobi of his level, any S-class ninja worth his rank could easily detect a spiked drink, no matter how minute the toxin was, unless it was made by someone of Tsunade's caliber, which he highly doubted was the case. So then… this was just good sake and a fine meal? What was this woman playing at?
While nothing showed on his face, something occurred to him and he set his now empty cup down.
"Right, you're from Oto… so you must be planning to use some type of sound based jutsu." Jiraiya speculated as he gripped the bottle of sake, causing the woman to stop playing.
"I'm afraid this song isn't only for our guests… but also for myself." The woman replied before she rose to her feet and slowly made her way over to the white haired man, who poured himself another cup.
"I see… and what do you play when you play from the heart?" The Sannin inquired.
She sat down behind him, her head inches away from his shoulder and said quietly into his ear, "I composed this music to accompany my own funeral."
Jiraiya drained his cup once again before humming thoughtfully. In a burst of motion, he pushed her aside, sending her sprawling halfway across the room, crashing onto her koto as he flipped up to his feet.
"Trying to butter me up, huh? Well you've underestimated this Jirai-AH!" He grunted as he fell to his knee as a wave of pain reverberated through his entire body, his muscles locking up and refusing to respond to his command.
Gritting his teeth, he looked to his left wrist and noticed a small cut. He'd been poisoned after all, just not the way he'd expected to be.
His vision fading in and out, he looked to the woman who slowly rose to her feet, chuckling, her soft, soothing tone replaced a malicious, almost insane sounding one.
Pulling one from the Toad Sage's own book, her hair extended and shot forward, becoming as strong as steel wire as they ensnared him. She then shot over, her putting her face next to his, her wide open eyes shining with malice and insanity, her irises shrunken down to almost imperceptible dots.
"Escorting our guest to the afterlife is my final mission before I can go there as well!" The woman said before the sound of gears shifting above them drew the Sannin's attention. Following the sound, he saw the ceiling was coming down.
"A false ceiling!?" Jiraiya questioned in shock before it came crashing down on top of him and his captor.
Naruto, Fuu and Sasame continued to explore the base. As they made their way through the corridor, there was a shift in their surroundings. Instead of the blue, uniform hallways they'd traveled through until now, they found themselves in a more spacious, purple one. It was completely unlit; anyone without the trained senses of a shinobi would be left stumbling blindly through the darkness.
Soon enough, they reached the end of their path. Before them stood a set of large metal double doors with golden handles.
Naruto craned his neck to look to his two companions, who nodded to him, telling him to go on. Stepping forward, he touched the door and slowly pushed, its hinges creaked as the door slid open just enough for them to slip through, revealing the room behind was a long hall, the path across its expanse, each with a candle casting dim light along it. Beyond that, there was only shadow.
The blond's brow furrowed as he stared into the room. So much of it was obscured. Anything could be lurking in the shadows. He turned to his fellow Jinchuriki and whispered, "Fuu, can you send your insects to scout ahead? This place is perfect for an ambush."
The white clad kunoichi nodded and joined Naruto at the door, looking over his shoulder as she sent about a dozen of her insects, who flew through the crack in the door and flew into the massive chamber. Fifteen seconds passed before one of her insects returned, reporting what it'd learned.
Fuu closed her eyes as the insect relayed its findings to her before frowning as she looked through the opening into the room. "There's one person waiting in the room ahead. Whoever he is, he has jonin level chakra." Of course, that didn't mean much. Just because they had the chakra of a jonin didn't mean they had the skill to back it up. "And… up ahead there's another chakra signature." Her face twisted as she continued. "Whatever it is, it's massive and… vile. They said it's like some twisted mishmash of several corrupted chakras."
Frowning at this, Naruto nodded, thinking it was probably one of Orochimaru's experiments. Whatever it was, they were obviously nearing the heart of the base. They could either move forward, or head back and find Jiraiya.
Making a decision, he summoned a kunai to his hand. Seeing this, the kunoichi drew their own weapons, Fuu triggering the mechanism hidden in her armlet while Sasame drew one from her pouch, tensing as they prepared to engage the enemy.
Directing the two kunoichi behind him with hand signals, the three entered the room, sticking to the shadows as they moved forward. Naruto and Sasame took places behind the second and first pillar on the right respectively, while Fuu hid behind the second column on the left, putting one of their strongest on both sides of the room, while the vulnerable Sasame trailed behind.
Pressed against the column before him, he looked to Fuu, who met his gaze and nodded, both tense and ready for an attack.
They didn't have long to wait. The presence didn't wait long to reveal itself, not with an attack from the shadows, but with a chuckle that echoed throughout the room.
"Well now, isn't this a surprise? It's been quite some time, Naruto." A familiar voice echoed throughout the room. "And I see you've brought some new friends too." There was another chuckle. "I guess you wised up and saw Sakura just dragged you down."
Naruto's eyes widened in recognition before they narrowed as he hissed, "Kabuto."
The purple clad medic nin stepped out of the shadows, his left hand casually resting in his pocket. Standing at the edge of their field of vision, he turned to face them, the light of a candle reflecting off the lens of his glasses, hiding his eyes behind a menacing, red glow as he smirked at the trio.
"You seem to have grown quite a bit since we last met. We've heard tales of your exploits. A pity you and Jiraiya managed to take out those Janin, Lord Orochimaru was quite interested in their jutsu." He shrugged. "But, no matter, it was simply a passing curiosity."
"If you're here… then that means Orochimaru's here too." Naruto said, stepping out from the shadows and facing the older teen. Sasame jolted at that, fear piercing her heart at the thought of facing down the rogue Sannin without Jiraiya.
Kabuto's smirk widened slightly and he as he brought his hand up to his face and pushed his glasses up. "What of it?"
"If that's the case then Sasuke can't be far." Naruto said before throwing his arm out, glaring at the medic nin. "Where is he!? And where's Arashi Fuma!?"
"Oh, still looking to save him, huh? And here I thought he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with your little village anymore. Or maybe you want to bring him back for a certain teammate of yours?" Kabuto commented, tilting his head to the side. "And Arashi… ah, is that how you got that girl to help you? Well, I'm afraid if you want to find out, you'll just have to force the answer out of me."
"I planned on it!" Naruto shouted as he shot forward.
Kabuto's smirk never faded as he drew several shuriken and threw them at Naruto, drawing kunai as he deflected or ducked under the attacks and closed the distance between them.
Naruto slashed at Kabuto with his kunai, but the man blocked the attack, deflecting it and retaliating with a downward slash of his own blade. Naruto dodged to the side and retaliated, beginning a fierce exchange of blows, the clang of their weapons echoing throughout the empty room.
Then, Naruto leapt back to dodge a slash and Kabuto used the momentum to spin into a kick, striking the blond in the chest, only for him to burst into smoke.
"A shadow clone?" Kabuto questioned, his eyes narrowing before they widened as he sensed something behind him.
He turned his head, seeing Naruto come down out of the edge of his peripheral vision with his kunai charged with wind chakra. The medic nin jumped back in time to avoid the attack, but Naruto immediately called four shuriken to his hand and threw them at the Oto spy.
Kabuto flipped back to his hands, dodging the attack before flipping again and landing on his feet just in time for Fuu to come at him from behind, having discarded her kunai in favor of a water blade, swinging the liquid weapon in a wide arc.
Kabuto ducked under the attack and spun on his heels as Fuu raised her sword above her head and brought it down on the purple clad medic. Kabuto locked his kunai against her blade, staring up at her from his crouched position.
"Hidden Waterfall Style: Water Slicing Blade…" Kabuto observed, realization shining in his coal orbs. "Ah, I see. You must be from Taki."
"You noticed." The mint haired girl replied.
"I try. And you're not exactly trying too hard to hide it. But then I have to wonder, why are you here wearing a Konoha forehead protector." Kabuto analyzed, his smirk returning. "Of course, if you betrayed your village, they never would have sent you on such an important mission. Could it be that Taki discarded you and Konoha so graciously decided to let you in like a little lost stray?"
Fuu's face twisted in anger as she pushed harder against Kabuto's kunai. "Shut up!"
"Aw, what's the matter, did I strike a nerve? Then again, I suppose it'd be a sore spot for me too if my village cast me away like trash. I'm surprised they took you in. You'll just probably wind up weighing them down just like Sakura did."
Fuu saw red. Remembering all the times the people of Taki had discouraged and mocked her, all the scorn they showed, how they betrayed her and cast her away.
She grit her teeth, her vision clouding over with anger as Kabuto's words brought out all her ill feelings towards her former home.
With a growl of rage, her eyes burning with anger, Fuu brought her hand away from her blade and summoned a second water sword. Kabuto's eyes widened as he leapt back, just barely avoiding being beheaded as she slashed at him.
Before he could retaliate, Fuu twisted her blade in her hand, holding it in a reverse grip, and threw it at him like a javelin, aiming to skewer him right between the eyes.
Kabuto tilted his head to the side as the weapon approached, the weapon sailing past him, taking off a few strands of gray hair.
Fuu immediately summoned another water blade and attacked him with rapid, wild strikes, determined to strike him down. She left the man no openings, no chance to retaliate as she slashed from every angle, her anger fueling her attacks and he found himself being pushed back. With every attack he blocked, he could feel his arm give way slightly, the force sending brief jolts of pain through his arm. Her blows getting stronger and faster as she unconsciously began drawing on small amounts of her Biju's chakra.
"So I'm just a lost stray, huh!?" She snarled as she continued to attack. "Then why don't you show me how weak I am!? What's wrong?! Come on and attack!" He leapt back when she stabbed at him.
His honed hearing picked up the faint sound of metal cutting through the air and he turned to see more shuriken coming at him from above, thrown by the blond who came at him from the air. Flipping his weapon and holding it by its ring with his thumb, Kabuto made a hand sign and dived into the ground, allowing the metal stars to fly harmlessly into the ground.
The moment Naruto touched down, Kabuto burst from the ground and slashed at him, aiming to cut him in half.
Naruto jumped back and flipped through the air to dodge, landing one his feet beside Fuu, who was ready to attack again and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Calm down, Fuu." Naruto said to her. "This is his game. If you let him get inside your head, you're screwed. Besides, you know what he said isn't true. You're one of the strongest ninja I know."
Hearing that, Fuu breathed out a sigh, his words calming her. Her banishment was and would probably always be a sore spot. "Thanks, Naruto." Her eyes hardened as she glared at Kabuto. "Don't worry, I won't let him mess with me like that again."
Her orange orbs turned to Naruto when he spoke in a whisper, "Besides, we can't afford to lose focus. There's something wrong with him."
Fuu's gaze became questioning, but before she could ask what he meant, a truly malicious chuckle, one that would send shivers down the spines of anyone who heard it, save hardened warriors and shinobi, echoed throughout the room.
"Kukuku… My, my… they seem to be giving you some trouble, aren't they Kabuto?"
All three of the young teens' eyes turned to the source of the sound to see a pair of amber eyes shining in the darkness.
"Tha… That's…" Sasame shivered, feeling like a helpless mouse in the gaze of a snake, paralyzed with fear as its inevitable death drew close.
Naruto and Fuu tensed, preparing for the fight of their lives, beyond even their fight with Akatsuki, as footsteps echoed throughout the room. Walking into the light was none other than the snake summoner of the Sannin.
"Orochimaru!" Naruto hissed, bringing up a kunai and gripping it tightly.
"I came here to see what all the commotion was. What a surprise to see it's you again. I must applaud you for making it this far. Sadly, I'm afraid this is as far as you'll go." He turned away, walking back to the door. "Do try to enjoy yourself before you finish them off, Kabuto."
Naruto began to speak, but surprisingly, before he could even speak a word out, Sasame left her hiding place. "Orochimaru!"
The Sannin turned, arching a brow at the girl. "Oh… And who, pray tell, might you be?"
"S- Sasame Fuma." The orange haired girl replied. "Tell me… where's Arashi!? What have you done with him!? And, and Sasuke too!"
"My, how bold." Orochimaru responded amusedly before he turned away once again, looking to Kabuto over his shoulder. "I suppose there's no reason to hide it. Go ahead and tell them, Kabuto." With that, he walked away, vanishing into the darkness before the sound of a door closing was heard.
Kabuto gave a brief grunt of acknowledgement before he pushed up his glasses with his index finger. "Well… as I'm sure you know, unfortunately, Sasuke was a little late getting here and Lord Orochimaru wasn't able to wait. He had to make due with another vessel… Lord Orochimaru gave him the curse mark to prepare him to be his next vessel… but not everyone can bear the burden of the curse mark." He shrugged and shook his head, ignoring the shocked expressions on the younger teens' faces. "Such a shame, it was my lord's last chance at the Sharingan…"
"Do you think I'd believe that for a minute!?" Naruto questioned angrily.
"But it's true… And as for Arashi, well, test subjects don't often survive for very long I'm afraid." Sasame's eyes widened and she took a step back, her expression horrified and disbelieving, bringing a hand to her chest as pain began to well up inside her. "The reason Lord Orochimaru values me so highly is due to my talents as a medic… With my abilities, he can experiment on a body dozens of times before it wears out. But regrettably, even my talents have a limit."
"That… that can't be…" Sasame whimpered, holding her hands to her chest as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Don't listen to him!" Fuu shouted, briefly looking to Sasame before returning her gaze to Kabuto. "I know people like him; all they do is lie and manipulate people. Think about it, why would he tell you the truth?"
"But what reason do I have to lie?" Kabuto countered with a smirk, placing a hand on his hip.
"You mean besides breaking our wills and making us give up?" Naruto replied sarcastically. "This is just another of your mind games, isn't it!? You managed to pull the wool over the eyes of everyone in my village, so why the hell should I believe you now!?"
"Very well, then. Suit yourself." Kabuto replied, shaking his head before he raised his kunai. "After all, you'll all be joining them in about a minute."
"I've heard enough out of you!" Naruto shouted, throwing his kunai at the missing nin.
Kabuto deflected the attack only to see the blond in front of him, his arm reared back to punch square in the face. The purple clad medic blocked the attack with his palm, only for the genin to twist his body into a sweeping kick, forcing him to jump back to dodge.
Before Naruto could follow up on the attack, Kabuto kicked off the ground and buried his fist in the Uzumaki's gut, causing him to bend forward and let out a cough, Kabuto brought his arm back to slash the genin, but Naruto twisted his body, evading the weapon, before jumping back out of range.
Naruto summoned another kunai and launched himself at the man, who charged forward to meet him. This time, Naruto channeled wind chakra into his dagger, giving it a blue glow as he charged as much energy as he could into it.
Kabuto's eyes widened in shock as their weapons collided and rather than clashing as usual, Naruto's weapon sheared through his blade. While it didn't cut even halfway through, it was enough that Naruto could now tear the dagger out of Kabuto's hand, leaving him open as he spun into a kick, striking him in his solar plexus.
Kabuto coughed as all the wind was forced from his lungs and he was sent back a few feet. Hearing something above him, he looked up to see Fuu, armed with a single water blade coming down on him. He reached into his pouch to pull out another kunai and raised it in a defensive stance, only to sense something behind him as the mint haired kunoichi swung her blade in a downward arc.
As he blocked Fuu's sword, he turned his head to see a mass of insects coming at him. With a look of pure shock, he realized she'd made herself a decoy.
With his blade locked against Fuu's, he could do nothing to stop the swarm from consuming him. With a cry of surprise followed by another of effort, pushed off from Fuu and leapt back, the only way he could move, feeling countless pincers bite into his flesh and drain his chakra. Thinking quickly, he dived underground once again, forcing most of the insects off of him.
Nevertheless, he could feel that a considerable portion of his energy had been drained away. Emerging from the ground, he was heard another battle cry. Looking above him, he saw Sasame coming down, throwing four kunai, each equipped with an explosive tag.
He leapt away from the weapons as they collided with the ground and exploded. He shielded the lower half of his face as he was pelted with debris. Only a moment after the blast, Naruto burst from the cloud, his left arm trailing behind him as he held his kunai in his right. Kabuto took on a fighting stance ready to engage the blond, when the boy grinned.
He threw out his left arm, revealing a necklace of prayer beads which flew towards the missing nin. He instinctively shielded himself from the perceived attack, causing the Jinchuriki's grin to become feral as he made a single one handed seal.
"Sealing Technique: Weighting Seal!" The beads glowed crimson before wrapping around Kabuto's arms, binding them together, and then suddenly increasing in growing heavier. In only a second, the necklace weighed well over 100 pounds.
Kabuto's arms were dragged down by the unexpected weight, his limbs hitting the floor, causing him to wince in pain as they cracked the stone tiles and leaving him wide open. Naruto punched the missing nin in the face, something he'd wanted to do for a long time, shattering his glasses and sending their remains to the floor before proceeded to pummel the man, slamming his fists into his stomach three times before following up with an upper cut and then kicking him away, though he didn't go as far as he would normally due to the necklace weighing him down.
As she watched this, Fuu gave a smirk of her own and weaved hand seals before inhaling deeply. 'Water Style: Wild Water Wave!'
Fuu spit out a deluge of water which slammed into the missing nin and drove him back through the air, across the room and into the wall. He coughed and sputtered, struggling to take in oxygen as the water sprayed across his head, before letting out several grunts of pain. The water faded to reveal several kunai lodged in his body; two lodged in the sides of his stomach, one in his chest one in his left in shoulder and another on his hip just above his right leg. None had hit a fatal location, but together, he wasn't going to be fighting anytime soon.
He slid to the floor and looked up, glaring at the two Jinchuriki, who looked down at him victoriously side by side, Naruto having been the source of the kunai.
"D- damn you…"
"Hmph, looks like you're all talk after all." Fuu commented as she placed a hand down on her hip and looked down at the fallen jonin. Naruto however, gained a serious look as he walked over to the downed missing nin, meeting his glare before asking a question that surprised the two kunoichi in the room.
"All right, who the hell are you?" Fuu and Sasame looked at him in confusion, as did Kabuto before he chuckled.
"What kind of question is that? And here I was under the impression you were smarter than…"
"Drop the act and answer the question!" Naruto cut him off. Kabuto didn't answer, choosing instead to simply glare up at the blond. After a few moments, Naruto spoke again. "You did a pretty good job pretending to be Kabuto. You had me going at first, but you made one mistake; you don't fight like Kabuto." Still not getting a response, he continued, "You're pretty good with mind games, but the real Kabuto's got you beat six ways to Sunday. On top of that, the real one's a medic nin who mostly relies on chakra scalpels. If you were really Kabuto, you would have tried to cripple me back there when you punched me, or you'd be trying to heal yourself now."
After a few seconds, 'Kabuto' chuckled, his expression becoming rueful. "… You're a lot more observant than I was informed… you must have grown quite a bit since they last saw you…"
The two kunoichi stepped up to Naruto's sides, the white clad girl wearing a hardened look while the orange haired one wore one of curiosity. Just to be safe, Fuu sent out her insects and had them begin draining the rest of 'Kabuto's' chakra, causing him to grimace as they once again bit into his flesh and drained his chakra.
The Uzumaki reached down, the purple clad ninja's face. He found it gave way to his grip, like a mask. Grabbing tightly, he pulled it away, the face ripping and tearing away like paper, along with his hair to reveal… Kagero.
"Mistress Kagero?" Sasame questioned, surprised to see it was her after she used her sacrificial jutsu.
"Sasame…" The pale green haired girl replied, her amethyst orbs rising to look at her. "I'm surprised to see you came all the way here… you've grown a lot… ah, but you were always so close to your cousin, Arashi. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you came here after him."
"Kagero…" Naruto started, his fist clenching. "If you're here pretending to be Kabuto… he and Orochimaru aren't here, are they?" Sasame turned to him, slightly surprised as Kagero shook her head. "In that case…"
"Sasuke isn't here either." Kagero finished for him.
"But then… who was that guy pretending to be Orochimaru?" Fuu questioned, her expression thoughtful. It couldn't have been one of those other Fuma loyalists, could it? They wouldn't have just left her after they lost last time. And if it was, where was the other?
Kagero simply looked away at the question, refusing to meet their eyes. "Well, if Sasuke's not here, then what about Arashi? What's Orochimaru been doing with him all this time?"
"Only what we asked for him to do." Kagero replied looking up. "Lord Orochimaru… he's the savior of the Fuma clan. We may have fallen, but he will help us rise higher than ever before."
"Wake up!" Fuu said. "He's just using you. He's never going to deliver on that promise, he'll just keep using you until you've got nothing left to give him."
"That snake never keeps his word. He wouldn't lift a finger to help anyone but himself." Naruto growled before tossing his arm out. "But never mind that, where's Arashi!?"
"Arashi…" Kagero said in a remorseful tone. "… You should go now… it's best if you don't see him as he is now."
Sasame's expression became panicked and she shot forward, gripping jonin's shoulders as she gently shook her. "What is it!? What's he done to him!?" Kagero looked away, clamming up once more. "Please, where is he!?"
Kagero met her gaze before turning to look in the direction the fake Orochimaru had disappeared to.
"So, he's over there?" Naruto questioned, his brow furrowing as he wondered if Arashi had been the fake Orochimaru. Fuu's frown deepened as she followed the Fuma jonin's gaze, a bad feeling stirring up in the pit of her stomach as her insects spoke to her.
"Please… some doors are best left unopened. Simply turn away now while you still have the chance." Kagero pleaded.
"Not gonna happen." Naruto replied adamantly. "We're not leaving until Sasame sees her cousin."
"Right." Fuu agreed.
Sasame gave both a thankful look before turning to the door. Slowly, she and the Jinchuriki walked away from Kagero, her strength almost completely drained and still covered by a swarm of insects and held down by the sealed beads to insure she didn't try anything.
As they neared the door, it began to open, causing the trio to freeze in their tracks, Sasame taking a step backward and raising her arm in front of her to defend herself and in an effort to ward off her fear. With a creak that echoed through the hall, it swung open fully, and out of the darkness stepped Orochimaru. The two Konoha shinobi tensed for a moment before the doppelganger spoke, the voice still the Sannin's snake like one, but the tone different, almost… warm.
"It's good of you to come, Sasame." The fake spoke.
"Where's my cousin." Sasame asked after a moment of hesitation.
The fake smirked before bringing his hand up and gripped the top of his head. He then tore away his own disguise, just as Naruto had Kagero's to reveal a man who looked to be in his late teens. He had brown eyes and gray hair like Kabuto's which fell around his head, slinging to his neck and framing his face. He wore a beige shirt with a blue vest and matching wrist bands, along with light blue trousers and black sandals.
Sasame's face lit up in joy. He was here. She'd been so afraid, gone so long without seeing him. All those fears and worries, all trepidation, melted away when she saw him again.
He was perfectly fine, with no sign he had been experiments on. Nor did he seem blindly loyal to the snake Sannin like the others. He was just looking at her with the same smile that warmed her heart that he always had.
She ran forward, wanting to embrace him and never let him go again. She'd come to save him, just as she promised herself she would, and from here on out, it wouldn't just be him protecting her. They'd keep each other's lives safe and restore their clan's name the right way, without the monstrous snake Sannin.
"Arashi!" she cried happily, only for her expression to change to one of shock as she felt something hold her back. Turning her head, she saw it was Fuu, holding her forearm tightly and preventing her from reaching him. "Fuu?"
Naruto also sent her a curious look. He had a bad feeling he knew where this was going.
"Sasame…" Fuu began, her expression pained. She looked away, not wanting to meet her gaze.
She didn't want to tell her. She didn't want to be the one to ruin this happy reunion, but it had to be done. After the last two battles, Sasame had proven herself trust worthy enough that Fuu considered her a comrade, perhaps even someone she might want as a friend if she continued as she had… and that meant that she'd stick by her, and she wasn't going to let her go waltzing into the jaws of danger alone or unaware.
She couldn't let her reach her cousin, as much as she wanted to help him for her, as much as she wanted to see them reunited… because he was the one her insects were warning her about.
"…" Her gaze hardened as her orange eyes turned to Arashi. "I'm sorry, Sasame, but that's not the cousin you knew."
At those words, Naruto, his suspicions confirmed, tensed and turned to the older Fuma shinobi.
"What?" Came Sasame's almost broken reply, one could almost hear the hope and joy die in her voice.
"She's right." Arashi said, drawing the Fuma kunoichi's attention. His head fell forward, his hair shadowing his eyes. "I'm not the Arashi you once knew."
Sasame's face took on a look of pure, unrestrained horror as she stepped back, Naruto and Fuu taking on similar expressions, as the three watched Arashi's skin darken unnaturally, taking on a reddish brown complexion as veins began to pop out all over his body.
His back began to swell unnaturally, ripping off his shirt as the mass of flesh consumed his neck and continued to grow until the shifting growth seemed to contain more mass than the rest of his entire body, the lump bulging out sickeningly from his smaller frame, the tissues in the growth shifting constantly. However, the already disturbing sight became far worse when it was revealed just what the lump really was.
Bursting out from the shifting mass of flesh on either side were the faces of Jigumo and Kamikiri, their eyes pure white orbs, letting out unearthly groans as the tissues in the growth continued to ripple around them.
Sasame shrieked as she watched his transformation. The two Jinchuriki's faces shifted from horror to anger and disgust at this display.
"What the hell did Orochimaru do to you!?" Naruto questioned, furious and sickened at the atrocity he was bearing witness to, an all new revulsion for the snake Sannin growing within him.
"He merged the minds and skills of the Fuma clan's strongest ninja, transforming me into the ultimate shinobi." Arashi replied, his voice now deep and guttural. He then raised his head, revealing his own eyes were also pure white orbs, his mouth spread into an insane, bloodthirsty grin that revealed his teeth, almost large enough to distort his already twisted features. "Now, let me show you the most powerful ninjutsu you've ever seen, Sasame."
"Arashi…" Sasame continued to stare in horror at the monster Arashi had become as the two Jinchuriki took up places at her sides; Fuu placing a hand on her shoulder as she summoned a water sword to her free hand while Naruto moved in front of her to shield her from the sight, both trying to comfort her and to keep her back as they knew she wouldn't be able to face her cousin. "What have you done to yourself?"
"Orochimaru, you bastard!" Naruto snarled as he prepared to fight the once-human monster before him. "I swear I'll hunt you down!"
Hope you liked it.
I'd like to note that, aside from the boulder, all the cliché traps were canon.