Author's note – Kishimoto Masashi owns Naruto while Guyver is written by Yoshiki Takaya.
I make no claim to either, I am merely playing in their sandboxes.

Disregard previous posting schedule. I'm doing some polishing of the final chapters now! The end is in sight!

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Chapter Seventy-One

Samurai Ninjutsu

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Naruto gave a shallow bow as the three Sand-siblings knelt behind General Mifune, who turned his head slightly to give them approving looks before turning his attention back to Naruto.

"I see that you recognize my apprentices." He said. "For many years, the Samurai have held true to the path of Ninshu, for it is but one of the ways that we remember the Sage of the Six Paths. As such, I took it upon myself to see if the path of ninjutsu could be folded into ninshu like different types of steel to form a superior blade.
"Temari has taken to using the art of tessenjutsu. When coupled with the basic Samurai Sabre technique, it allows Temari to use wind chakra in ways that she would have been unable to with her previous weapon."

Temari kept her face expressionless as Mifune spoke, but her cheeks reddened slightly and Naruto saw one hand twitch very slightly to where instead of swords, small metal-coated tessen-fans were hanging from her sash.

"Kankuro uses his puppet art to control suits of armor in battle alongside himself." Mifune continued. "He has altered his own armor to be a puppet in its own right, allowing him to concentrate on controlling puppets while still remaining within their ranks, meaning that even though he is but one warrior, he may one day become a whole squad by himself."

His face barely recognizable due to his lack of war-paint, Kankuro managed not to react at all.

"And Gaara has learned how to use his true bloodlimit, Jiton. Along with his previous experience as the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, he has adapted it to his new circumstances. His armor and swords are comprised entirely of iron sand infused with his chakra, allowing him to manipulate it as he wills. His swords can change length and shape at will, or he can reshape his armor to counter any attack."

Gaara's expression was even more stoic than his brother's, but Naruto detected a hint of pride in the red-head's eyes.

"I have instructed all three in the basics of Bushido." Mifune added. "They have made great progress in the short time that I have served as their mentor and sensei."

"I have heard that you are one of, if not the greatest teacher in the Land of Iron." Naruto offered and Mifune waved off the complement.

"I am just a frail old man who wishes to hear the sound of clashing blades once more before he passes into the next world." He demurred, then his gaze sharpened.
"I do not know if you have heard, but the Land of Earth has conquered the Land of Wind. Wind is no more, the Land of Earth stretches all the way down to the southern seashore. Should I choose to aid you, it will be very difficult for us to actually reach your nation."

"Yuǎn jiāo jìn gōng." Naruto quoted. "We are already striking. Now, we need a distant ally. Shēng dōng jī xī. We are indeed making a noise. Having an ally stride forth into battle would give us a chance to turn the war in our favor."

Mifune nodded slowly. "You have indeed studied, young Shinobi. To quote from the thirty-six strategems which predate even the ways of Ninshu and Ninjutsu… many have forgotten that those words were even spoken, much less how to apply them."

For a long moment, no-one moved, then Mifune nodded slowly.

"I shall take some time to consider your words and the current situation, son of my old friend. We will speak again tomorrow morning. In the meantime, may I offer the hospitality of my humble abode?"

"We would be greatly honored to accept the chance to stay the night under the same roof as one as renowned as yourself." Naruto replied with a deep bow.

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The statue seemed to glow as the final wisps of what had once been the fabled Gelel Vein seeped into it through its wooden skin.

"Excellent." Madara gloated. "Now to merge the Statue with the Great Tree of Takigakure, and my plan will be ready once more! I shall become the Jinchuuriki of the Juubi even without the power of the Tailed Beasts!"

Outside the cave, the landscape was covered by over a thousand giant clay soldiers, standing motionless despite the driving rain.

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"Uzumaki-san." Kankuro said as he entered the breakfast hall and took a seat at the table. A moment later, a servant placed a tray of food in front of him and Kankuro took a sip from the steaming cup of tea before looking up at Naruto and Hoki. "You have questions. Ask."

"Gaara." Naruto said and Kankuro nodded.

"Once the Ichibi was removed from him, he calmed down." Kankuro explained. "Most of his madness came from three factors. The Ichibi trying to corrupt him, his inability to sleep and the hatred that many in Suna had for him because of his burden. When the Ichibi was removed, all three problems were as well."

"How did the Ichibi cause the problems?" Hoki asked curiously. "Fu never had any problems with Chomei, she even befriended her."

"Chomei is the Nanabi." Naruto quickly explained as Kankuro looked at them in confusion.

"Ah. Well, the seal used on my brother was done by Lady Chiyo. She's one of the greatest puppeteers ever, second only to her grandson Sasori…"

"He's dead. I killed him." Naruto interjected.

"What!? I… ahem… okay… that's… scary." Kankuro managed. "What happened to his puppets?"

"Most of them were destroyed beyond repair, so we took all the bits we could find to Konoha, along with the storage scrolls that he had on him." Naruto shrugged. "The Aburame are learning how to make and use puppets."

Kankuro paled for a moment. "…puppets… kikkai… by the thousand Kamis, if I wasn't worried before, I am now!"

"It's a slow process." Hoki interjected. "I talked to Shino, he's having trouble getting his puppet to not walk into things if he's become distracted by something. Even using the special seals that allow him to see through the puppets eyes, the slight delay between command and action can cause problems."

"Yeah, it can take a lot of getting used to." Kankuro agreed. "It's why we puppeteers generally aren't all that good at taijutsu, we come to expect the delay, even when we're not using puppets. Sasori was one of the very few puppeteers who managed to overcome that hurdle, no-one's certain how."

"He turned himself into a puppet." Naruto supplied. "Shino's the one using it now, after modifying it somewhat."

"Oh, that lucky bastard." Kankuro sighed in envy. "Using the last puppet used by Sasori himself? Damn, I wish that I could see that."

"Maybe you can, once the war is over." Hoki shrugged.

"Maybe he can what?" Temari asked as she entered the hall.

"See his friend's puppet." Kankuro replied. "Salvaged from Sasori."

"Puppeteers." Temari sighed, shaking her head. "Always geeking out over bits of wood and metal."

"Hey!"

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Pein raised an eyebrow as the assembly field, which had been emptied at Madara's suggestion, seemed to ripple and twist before reverting to back how it had been, with the only difference being the ranks of giant stone soldiers, each one standing eight foot tall, that stood unmoving.

"Impressive, aren't they?" Madara asked from beside him. "The Ghost Army, ancient spirits sealed into stone and bound to follow the will of the one who has the ability to command them. The medallion that I created allows me to direct them and although they are slow, they will be like a mighty glacier, a spear of stone that shall strike at Konoha's heart."

"We will attack soon?" Pein asked and Madara nodded.

"We have the forces. Once Konoha falls, Uzu and Kiri will no longer remain allied, not with their common ground destroyed. We will then be able to take each one down without needing to worry about them trying to pincer our forces."

"Konoha, Kiri and then Kumo." Pein said slowly. "But what about the western nations? Swamp, Demon, Iron…"

"Once we have secured control over the Great Five, we will be able to expand into the smaller countries one at a time." Madara replied. "And Onoki will never see his end coming."

"Good." Pein stated. "His forces have slain too many of my people over the years and he has never tried to make amends. He shall suffer greatly."

Madara smirked as he vanished in a swirl of space-time. A moment later, the massed ranks below also vanished in a larger swirl, leaving the field empty once more

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Naruto and Hoki both bowed deeply as Mifune entered the main hall in his full formal regalia, his three wards following him in full armor. Although at first glance, their armor was just like that of the six samurai who stood sentry around thewalls of the hall, the differences became apparent within seconds of close observation.

In the lead, Temari had tessens attached to holsters on her faulks, instead of the normal wakizashis. In addition, her normal battle-fan was slung on her back.

Kankuro's armor boasted ring-and-hinge joints, a sign that he was able to use his puppeteering skills to magnify his strength by controlling his armor directly. Only a single wakizashi was mounted on each hip, the other holsters being filled with storage scrolls.

Gaara's armor seemed to be constantly flowing with gentle ripples, patterns surfacing and vanishing again as he moved.

Following the trio was another Samurai, this one in the traditional Samurai armor, un-modified and un-embellished to the point where the scratches, dents and patched slashes of previous battle caught the eye, declaring that the wearer was a veteran of combat.

Mifune came to a stop on the slightly-raised dais and sank into a classic Seiza position, his escort following suit with two on each side, sitting behind him in a V formation.

Taking their cue, Naruto and Hoki knelt in front of him.

"I have heard your words and read the messages that you brought with you." Mifune began solemnly. "I have spoken with the other Generals and we have reached a consensus.
"Our swords are drawn in your aid."

Naruto remained expressionless, but Hoki inhaled sharply before getting himself back under control.

"Your words are reassuring, Lord Mifune." Naruto replied. "Hokage Itachi will be relieved to hear that the Samurai have chosen to be our allies."

"I regret that due to the current situation, we cannot send our forces directly to stand beside yours, but rest assured that we shall prevent the Shinobi of Iwa from reinforcing your enemies."

"Just the knowledge that the Samurai are striding forth will do wonders for the morale of the Alliance." Naruto stated. "I know it is not much, but you have my profound thanks and the promise that after the war is finished, the Alliance will try its hardest to repay the generosity you have shown us, even if it takes a hundred years."

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"Are the Samurai always that formal?" Hoki asked as the Three Wolves Mountain receded towards the horizon.

"Actually, that was them being relaxed." Naruto responded, earning a disbelieving look from Hoki that somehow carried straight through his mask. "Their normal method of speech is so formal and convoluted that they can make a single sentence last for almost quarter of an hour. If General Mifune hadn't known and respected my father, this mission would have taken an entire week rather than two days as he sought to discern my character."

Hoki shook his head. "Please tell me that you're kidding?"

"Nope." Naruto smirked. "But we got what we needed and I passed the message tube to Mifune, so he's probably exchanging correspondence with Itachi and Danzo even now."

"If I ever had hopes of becoming clan head, they've been abandoned." Hoki stated. "I hate dealing with politics."

"At a high enough level, almost everything is politics, even war. As someone once said, War is politics through alternate methods."

"I think I'm getting a headache."

Naruto laughed as he increased his speed. His fiancees were waiting for him and he had no desire to risk antagonizing them by being away from them any longer than he had to be.