Kaibunkage
Arc II
Chapter IV
"If you truly desire to defeat me, you must think ten steps ahead. But I must warn you. I will most likely kill you at five."
- Godaime Mizukage, Mikadzuki Kageno
Quiet. Silence. Peace. Calm.
Those are four words Uzumaki Naruto thought he would never think today. But as he sent two Shadow Clones to face his former three students, that was all he could think of as he entered the Kaibunkage Estate.
"Naruto-kun, you're back early." Naruto's blue eyes met Rin's and smiled. "Sakura will be fine, by the way. Her technique is harmful, but I'm sure she knows of the dangers. I would advise that you keep her resting for at least two days."
"Thanks Rin-chan." Naruto said. "Where is she?"
"In one of the guest rooms." Rin answered. "I must head to the hospital. Lady Mei has gone off to Wave to fight Dōsame." Naruto frowned. "Don't worry. She can handle herself."
"Hm…" Naruto moved towards a hall before he paused. "Where is Shiori-chan?"
"With Sakura." replied Rin. "I'm sorry, but I really have to go."
"Go ahead. Thanks for all your help Rin-chan." Naruto said. The medic bowed before leaving. Naruto began to navigate his way through the large home, using his sage chakra to lock in on Sakura's. "There you are…"
Not surprisingly, Jakken stood at the door to the bedroom.
"Naruto-dono." Jakken said with a bow.
"You're tired Jakken. Why don't you get some rest." was the Kaibunkage's response.
"Thank you." Naruto grinned as the tired guard walked away before moving inside of the room.
There, Sakura slept serenely with Shiori in the bed. The two looked as peaceful as they did when they were sleeping in the gardens. Moving towards them, Naruto noticed that Sakura's arm was around his daughter in a protective manner. He chuckled at the thought of anyone getting passed Jakken, but appreciated the act anyway. Reaching to brush some strings of blonde from Shiori's face, Naruto was surprised when a pink shield surrounded the two in the bed followed by a pain in his head. Backing away, he realized that Shiori could not recognize him by chakra alone, only registering the fox's and natural energy that he was giving off.
"Damn Shion-chan, that's some good protection…" Naruto whispered with a smile. Those were the exact same words he told Shion years ago when she wore the bell and he took the challenge to break it. Obviously, it was one of the few bets that he ever lost to her.
Sighing, Naruto sat on the floor, his legs folded and eyes closed. Shiori would like to see him when she woke up, so he would be there.
Even if the close proximity to his daughter caused him pain without the Shodaime Hokage's necklace.
While Gozu and Yukimaru had fanned out in order to defeat the Ishi shinobi, Guren and Mei fought Dōsame head on. Guren's sole purpose in said fight was to counter Dōsame's Glass Release, which was very similar to her own Crystal Release.
Currently, Mei flipped away from raining shards of glass that the Hidden Stone's leader fired at her. While Dōsame was a complete brute, he kept her at a safe distance. Fortunately, Mei knew how to fight at a distance. Even with his Glass Release, she should have the clear advantage.
"Guren, help the others. I can take it from here." Mei said.
Guren nodded before dashing off quickly. Mei then looked at Dōsame as he rose into the air on a large glass disc.
"You're not in any position to defeat me!" Dōsame declared.
Mei smirked. "Maybe Naruto is right… You are deranged in your old age."
"That brat! Where is he so I can avenge my defeat?" Mei laughed a bit.
"He isn't here. But I'm here." Mei then ran through hand seals. "And if my student can defeat you, this should be a snap!"
And with that, Mei fired a large spray of lava towards the Ishigakure leader. The battle of Wave Country had begun.
The large man known as Doki walked into the Hoshikage's office.
"What have you learned?" Sumaru asked.
"Dōsame was not in Ishigakure." Doki replied. "He is most likely gone with Orochimaru. But along the river that runs along the Land of Stones and the Land of Wind's shared border, there were two merchants being escorted by Kiri shinobi."
"Hmm…" Doki watched his leader rise from his seat. "And any news on Demon Country?"
"No. As it stands, they still want Uzumaki Shiori as their priestess. The princess from the Land of Moon has had sealing training, however, the Land of Demon's is fixated on Shiori." Doki stated.
"Power normally consumes us all…" Sumaru said. "They don't want her for her lineage. They want her for her ability." Sumaru moved to a file cabinet and opened it. "I hear that the priest of Fire Country has given them an offer."
Doki crossed his arms. "I doubt that they will take them up on that deal."
"You're right." Doki watched Sumaru move back to his desk with a file in hand. "But that's not our problem. Naruto will deal with that accordingly." Sumaru then opened a file. "This here is our problem. Hirameki Gyaku and his partner Aku. The sooner we can convene again, the sooner we can make a plan to bring them to justice."
"Is there a problem with them that directly deals with Hoshigakure?" asked Doki.
Sumaru nodded. "As one of Lady Shion's top guards, Aku has been to our village several of times and has sat during some of our meetings. If he learns where I've hidden the meteor…"
Doki nodded, not needing any further explanation.
"I'll send a messager hawk to Suna and then one to Kemuri. Hopefully they've heard of something." Sumaru said.
"Hai." Doki stated.
Gaara watched his sister walk into the room. Due to the noises Kankuro's puppets made, they were not ideal for espionage missions. Hence, Temari and her faster-than-wind weasel were used.
"The Sound attacked the Leaf." Temari said, mentally adding "again" in her head.
Gaara nodded. "I already knew that." Temari gave a small frown. "One of our contacts outside of Konoha had given me the message hours ago. It is rumored that Danzo has died."
"Wh-what?" Temari gasped. "So what does that mean? With Akatsuki out, you could ask-"
"I won't." Temari was shocked at Gaara's words. "I understand that the village was under ruling at the time, but they, as a village, decided to reject our offer. A new Hokage will not change the vast majority."
"I understand." Temari said.
Gaara knew when his sister let him win an argument for the sake of his jinchuriki and Kazekage status. So he gave her an inquisitive glance to show his curiosity for her reason this time. And like most of the time, she gave him a sigh.
"It's just that… The Sand and the Leaf were allies at one point of time. A time when they had a supportive Hokage. Now that they are no longer under Danzo's thumb, I thought that…" Temari paused. Gaara's look was now unreadable, even for her. "It would help the village."
"You're right, it would." Now Temari frowned.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
Gaara gave a small nod. "I'm fine. I'll convene with the council and see what we should do about Konoha if anything at all."
"…" Temari was completely flabbergasted at this statement… And then she smirked. "Late night with Matsuri?"
Gaara would have shown shock or surprise, but that really was not his thing. So, he decided to end it now before she got any details out of him.
"Get out." spoke the Kazekage. Temari left with a knowing smirk and Gaara knew what that meant. She would scout Matsuri out and interrogate her. "Sisters…"
Dōsame was not a war veteran for nothing. He knew that while his physical strength far exceeded his opponent's, Mei was clearly the faster one. Even with him firing glass daggers at her at a distance, she remained a formibale opponent.
Mei inhaled before putting a hand towards her mouth. The tips of her thumb and index fingers were pressed together, forming a ring around her lips. She let out a long stream of vaporizing steam that shot for Dōsame (Boil Release: Melting Stream).
Shocked at the range of her normally medium-range attack, Dōsame rose into the air on a disc of glass again. His eyes followed Mei's attack, watching it make quick work of the trees that were behind him.
"With an attack like that," the Stone leader stated. "Your allies should be as fearful as your opponents. If you were to miss…"
Mei ended her attack, licking her lips as she dropped her hand.
"Running won't keep you alive." Mei said.
"I'm not running. I'm just bidding my time." Dōsame replied.
Mei frowned. "For what?"
"I was saving this for that child you call a kage, but I guess I could kill you with it first!" The right half of Dōsame's body was covered in marks that appeared to be interlocked rings.
"You… You fool! You've given your body to Orochimaru!" called Mei.
"How do you like my seal? The Infinite Curse Seal?" Dōsame spoke. "It gives me the speed that I once had. Speed that gave rise to Ishigakure's success!"
Mei gasped as she watched Dōsame leap from his hovering disc, now free falling towards her. Mei moved backwards and watched in awe as the elder man landed in a crouched position like the jump was actually a small one. Dōsame rose and held up a hand, his palm facing upwards. A smaller disc made of glass formed floating above his palm. The disc had several sharp edges making it appear to be a glass blade for a saw.
"Die you bitch!" Dōsame shouted flinging his Sawing Glass Ring at Mei.
Mei maneuvered herself to dodge it, her eyes catching her reflection in the disc before moving for Dōsame. She then jumped right, dodging the same glass ring as it made its way back for her.
"You can't dodge it, Mei." Dōsame said. "Do you remember our previously taijutsu spar? The one where you landed more blows that I?" Mei frowned. Dōsame was smart due to his experience, but Naruto had managed to defeat him. Question was: How? "I placed a bull's eye on you. No matter where you go, they will lock onto you and find you."
Mei stood with rage. She was angry at herself for falling for such a simple trap. Now her objective was to remove the seal off of her by any means necessary.
Mei took off for the nearby lake at a quick pace.
"You can't outrun me!" Dōsame shouted as he threw five rings towards Mei.
Mei glanced over her shoulder to time her jump properly before leaping onto a nearby tree branch, three of the five discs missing her. She continued to hop between branches, swerving and twirling as she dodged Dōsame's attack.
Dōsame soon learned of her strategy and sped up. He had to reach the lake before she jumped in it. Creating a glass disc to carry him, he flew off to stop her.
"He can't beat me." Mei said to herself as the lake water came into view. Mei was forced to weave right in order to dodge one of blades that were pursuing her. "Dammit…"
Mei dove for the lake at the same time as Dōsame's palms slammed on the shore of the lake. Mei inhaled before using her Boil Release: Melting Stream below her, creating a hole barely large enough for her to dive into.
"She made it…" Dōsame said, knowing the paper seal on her would soon become detached and useless. "Too bad this is where I end it!"
Mei watched the glass above her grow thicker as she held her breath in the waters. The glass became so thick that she could barely see the large cloud of smoke that had blanketed over the area. She then heard the distinct sound of something splashing into the water with her. Her eyes then widened once she saw the five Sawing Glass Rings in the water with her.
"How ironic that one from the Land of Water would die in the element that they swore to master!" Dōsame joked.
Dōsame's laughter was cut when he saw smoke rising from his glass covering on the lake. Soon, the glass had completely melted, allowing Mei to rise from the waters, panting.
"H-how could you use your Boil Release while holding your breath?" Dōsame asked.
"It's called Body Corrosion." Mei explained. "Instead of releasing it through my mouth, I release it through the pores of my body."
Dōsame hated to admit it, but that was pretty clever. His attention then came to Mei as she had finished a set of hand seals and launched a stream of lava that transformed into that of a dragon at him (Lava Release: Lava Dragon Missile).
Dōsame was able to stir away from the attack only to see that Mei was going for the technique again. He did a few hand seals before using the Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall to delay the lava from reaching him.
Mei ended her attack and saw that the stone wall in front of her had been weakened by her attack. She quickly did another set of hand seals and shot a powerful spray of water from her mouth (Water Release: Violent Water Wave). The strength of her attack was enough to blast a hole in the wall, only to reveal that Dōsame was no longer behind the wall.
"He's still on the island." Mei said to herself as she ended her attack. "I must find him soon."
Waking up, Sakura's eyes slowly came to focus on a small body balled into hers. She then recognized the platinum blonde girl as Shiori and the setting being the Kaibunkage Estate. Sakura then looked to see Naruto sitting in a meditating style, his eyes closed.
"Naruto…" The man's eyes instantly opened and turned to her. Sakura let out a gasp when she saw the eyes that signaled that he was in Sage Mode.
"Rin says that you should rest for two days." Naruto stated. "You're lucky your jutsu didn't suck your chakra dry."
"How did it go?" Sakura asked, sitting up.
Naruto sighed. "The Hokage is dead. Due to the Tsuchigumo's kinjutsu, Fury, Danzo was caught in the blast and killed."
"How does it work?" questioned Sakura.
"…" Naruto's eyes suddenly changed back into their normal blue selves. "Finally… Thank you Kazudan…" Sakura was confused at this as well. "Transporting you here caused me to overload on natural energy. I was stuck in Sage Mode."
"Oh…" Naruto noticed Sakura's eyes gazing at the sleeping Shiori before looking back at Naruto. "What happen to Sasuke?"
"I don't know." Naruto answered. "I didn't stay long enough to scout out his team. It might be a while until they began to search for Orochimaru and Sasuke. Recovery won't be instant with all the water and debris scattered across the village. Your battle with Danzo and Orochimaru completely destroyed the Hokage's Tower and the academy."
"Are you okay?" This had been Sakura's initial question, but she chose to beat around the bush for a moment. "I… I heard about your run in with Danzo before you left the village. You attacked him and-"
"I protected myself." Naruto interrupted angrily. "You shouldn't dig into that, Sakura. The less you know the better."
"He detained the fox's chakra." Sakura continued. "I understand that you're afraid that he might be able to force you to do something you didn't want to… It's like how you never wanted to rely on the fox's chakra in the first place because you were afraid that it would make you do something you didn't want to."
"I don't know who told you about what happened back then," Naruto said rising to his feet. "But you shouldn't worry about it. I'm fine."
"Tell me what it is that he used to control you with." Naruto glared at Sakura. "Naruto… Please…"
"You don't need to know and you don't have the right to know." Naruto stated. "I'm guessing that now with Danzo gone you will try to ease your way back into Konoha, right? I'm sure Kakashi-sensei is a likely candidate for Hokage. If he becomes Rokudaime, you could easily get pardoned with a few weeks of community service in the fields. Or rebuilding a village you helped destroy."
"I'm not going back to Konoha. At least not to rejoin its ranks." Naruto frowned at her declaration.
"Then what are you going to do?" he asked.
"I…" Sakura said before pausing. "I want to stay here."
The look Naruto gave her told her that he wholeheartedly objected the idea. In fact, due to his deep inhalations, Sakura could assume that he was probably keeping himself from blowing up whilst Shiori slept. Naruto then took in one final deep breath before exhaling slowly.
"You once did everything in your power to push me away. You repeatedly called me an idiot, reminded me of my failures, compared me to Sasuke, and even attempted to use me in order to bring him back." Sakura cringed at Naruto's words as his eyes narrowed. "You then come to my village after attacking my student and a chunin, get into a fight with me, take refuge in a nearby town, use the resources of this country for your own gain, question a medic of my village about my daughter's mother, and have been going on a rant about how you were going to drag me and Sasuke back to Konoha to make everything right."
"I -"
"You are a wanted shinobi in, not only Konoha, but other villages as well. One of which is the Hidden Star Village, an ally of mine." Sakura now glanced at her the sheets with fury. Maybe Jiraiya was wrong after all. Maybe she did not have a home to go to. "However," Sakura looked at Naruto now, his face as stoic as ever. "You helped me save my daughter, something I and Shion are forever grateful for."
Instead of walking out of the room, Naruto moved towards the only window in the room, one hand in the other behind his back. Sakura had never known him to be so indecipherable before, and did not take her eyes off of him for that reason. She was looking for any sign to prepare her for his answer.
"This village was made as a refuge for those who looked for a better life. I, as its leader, must pay homage to that. They took me in and transformed the boy in orange into the Shodai Kaibunkage." Naruto said. "There isn't an easy answer to your request, Sakura."
"Why?" she asked in a near desperate tone.
"A part of me wants you here. You were my teammate and a friend." Naruto looked over his shoulder at Sakura's location. "But another part of me doesn't trust who you've become."
"I understand." Naruto looked back out of the window when Sakura said this.
"I will leave it up to Mei and the council." Sakura immediately perked up. "There's much that you could offer to the village, and Shiori would love it if you were on-call."
"Thank you, Naruto." Sakura said.
"We will talk more tomorrow. I'm tired." Naruto said moving for the door. He paused before giving Sakura one final look. "Lunch sounds good?"
"Yes." Sakura said quickly, her hair blocking her face from view as she bowed. "Thank you, Naruto."
"Don't mention it." When Sakura looked up, Naruto had already left the room. She lied back down on the bed with a smile on her face. "If you can't beat them…"
"Sasuke-kun." Sasuke groaned as he opened his eyes to meet the red eyes of a worried Karin. "Sasuke-kun! You're awake!"
"Where are we?" Sasuke questioned as he looked around. They appeared to be in some sort of base, quite like Orochimaru's, with dim lighting from the candles on the wall and a strange floral pattern on the stone floors.
"Uchiha Sasuke," stated a voice followed by a cough. "Ironic that it would be your life my ninja save. Considering that we were once trying to kill you and you have destroyed my village."
"Danzo." hissed Sasuke.
Danzo was wheeled into the room in a wheel-chair, Sai at his side and Aburame Torune behind him with his hands on the handles. The former Hokage had his right eye and arm wrapped in bandages again.
"H-how did you survive that?" Karin asked in amazement. "There's no way that you can be living! That attack took out nearly half the village and most of the men we had! No chakra trace was left after the explosion!"
Danzo coughed. "In time… You'll learn that I…. Have my ways." Torune handed Danzo a bottle which the proclaimed dead Hokage took the cap off and sipped some of the liquid inside before speaking. "Your former teammate has become quite adept in poisons. It might take me months to get this out of my system."
"What do you want from me?" Danzo closed his visible eye, a small smile gracing his face.
"How much has Orochimaru told you about the Uchiha Massacre?" Danzo opened his eye to see Sasuke's face. The Uchiha, despite his stoic appearance, was probably buzzing in anticipation inside. "How would you like for me to tell you the truth behind it?"
"Don't play with me like some child. I'm- Ugh!" Sasuke shouted in pain at the end of his sentence as a paralyzing pain surged through his body.
"The Hirameki's Demonic Lightning. A clan once from Kusagakure, now in the hands of your biggest rival. Amazing what it can do when she merely touched you. Imagine what could have happened if she went to attack you." Danzo stated.
Sasuke panted a bit as he looked at his hands. He remembered his bout with Naruto's students. They would pay dearly for this.
"Your father," Danzo began. "And the Uchiha elders were planning to overthrow the Hokage, a coup d'état. The Third and I, along with his chief advisers, thought of a way to resolve the plan quickly and effectively."
"You ordered to kill my clan?" Sasuke shouted in rage.
"My suggestion was to merely kill the council members, sparing those who had no part in it like you and your mother… But Hiruzen had another plan." Danzo saw that Sasuke seemed to be buying this tale, so he continued. "He used your brother to murder everyone, you included."
The words seemed to cause Sasuke some mental anguish. His eyes immediately looked elsewhere and his fists clenched. Danzo forced the smirk working its way onto his face down. There would be no ruining this place.
"However," Danzo stated. "During the massacre my men, Root, interfered. Itachi, having no other choice, fled. His reason for sparing you were… Well, I don't think I should-"
"Tell me!" Sasuke ordered, his eyes glaring at Danzo.
Danzo sighed. "The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan was said to have three stages and then the Mangekyo Sharingan. But there is another stage. One called-"
"I already know this." Sasuke interrupted impatiently. "The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. But why did Itachi spare me instead of someone else?"
"Every Sharingan is not compatible with another. In fact, the best compatibility there is, is between siblings…" Danzo let his words trail off as Sasuke's eyes showed his comprehension.
"So he needed me alive so that he could take my eyes…" Sasuke said.
"Orochimaru wants you to gain those eyes so he can take them for himself." Karin frowned at this.
"Orochimaru-sama would never betray Sasuke-kun!" the redhead proclaimed.
"He has told you about the Eternal Mangekyo, but did he tell you about how long it took to recover from the transplant? You will be rendered blind for days, giving him the perfect opportunity to finish the job." Danzo said before looking at Karin. "Taking his body for his own."
"N-no… No you're lying!" Karin said.
Danzo sighed. "Such ignorance… A tired, temporary blind Uchiha makes for a likely target. Sasuke knows most of Orochimaru's tricks, being the perfect vessel for him to get into." Karin looked to see Sasuke considering this. "Before Itachi went out that night," Sasuke looked directly at Danzo. "I swore to him that I would rid the world of him as well with you. The brother caught in the shadow of his clan. The brother who would be the root of the Uchiha Clan…"
Sasuke attempted to rise from the small bed that he was on, only to find that he was still incapable of doing so. He then looked at saw Karin's face. She would always be faithful to Orochimaru, despite all the man has done in his life. Sasuke then turned his gaze back towards Danzo.
"Tell me everything you know." Sasuke said.
Danzo nodded. "Very well."
Dōsame was now panting heavily as he fought to continue move. The seal was starting to kill him, added with the heavy smoke that layered the area.
"Dōsame-dono," Dōsame looked at the ground to see one of his lower jonin on the ground, a large pink crystal sticking through his chest. "Th-they have the Sanbi! It's unstoppable!"
"Nothing is unstopabble." Dōsame stated.
"H-he just grew! And the crystals…" The man was cut off by a fit of coughs. "We need to retreat… More and more Kemuri shinobi are boarding the island… It's only a matter of time before the Kaibunkage shows-"
Dōsame sliced the man's throat with a glass dagger cutting his words, and life, short.
"I won't…" Dōsame said. "I won't fear him like you coward!"
To Dōsame's surprise, the man only smiled and looked up at him.
"It doesn't matter. This is where you die." Dōsame's eyes went wide. That was the voice of Terumi Mei. This was a genjutsu.
But Dōsame would not have any other chance to dwell on the matter longer. He looked down at his arms to see his flesh melting off.
"The smoke provided cover for both the Illusionary Mist and her Boil Release…" Dōsame said before closing his eyes. "Tell Naruto to be prepared."
"Prepared for what?" While the other man's body had vanished, Mei's voice was still heard.
"My son…" Dōsame said before dropping to his knees, his body decomposing quickly.
After the illusion let up, Mei ended her attack, a cut on her arm from one of Dōsame's disc.
"Should we leave now?" Yukimaru asked, looking up at Mei.
"Yes. There was nothing we could do for Tazuna." Once Mei finished her words, Chojuro stopped beside her. "What is it?"
"Their forces are dropping and leaving, Lady Mei." Chojuro said. "The group with Saito-san has cleared the Great Naruto Bridge and the medics are healing those from Wave Country that were caught in the battle. The Kamizuru Clan members present are using their bees to search for any Ishi shinobi alive. We'll bring them in for questioning like Lord Kaibunkage would have wanted."
Mei grinned. "So what is our next move, Chojuro-san? You are still incharge."
Chojuro blushed a bit. "W-well… I guess w-we head home…?"
Mei bowed. "I will round the others up."
As Mei left to do her task, Chojuro looked down at Dōsame's corpse with Yukimaru.
"Kageno Dōsame, a rebel during the Third Great Shinobi War. It is known that he worked with Iwagakure during this time… But no one knows why." Chojuro told Yukimaru. "There are only a few things that can break his glass… Lady Mei's Boil Release is one and Lord Kaibunkage's Kyubi-enhanced Rasengan is another."
Yukimaru frowned. "If he was so tough, how was it so easy?"
"In the end, his greed for power killed him." Chojuro said as he pointed Hiramekarei at Dōsame's arm. "The Infinite Curse Seal."
"Oh." Yukimaru said. "Chojuro-san?"
"Hmm?"
"Greed kills a lot of people." Chojuro blinked before grinning.
"Yeah, he does."
The blonde woman lied on the gurney, her chest rising and falling her rapid breathing.
"What happened to her?" a muscular man asked the nearest medic.
"Lord Raikage," the man said. "She was attacked in the mountains in the northern part of the country by…"
"By…?" the Raikage asked, his anger hinted in his voice.
"Witnesses proclaimed that they saw, Hidan…" the medic knew what was coming next and only closed his eyes as the Yondaime Raikage, Ē, exploded.
"AKATSUKI!"
Those that heard the shout coward a bit. When the Kazekage had sent a word of warning, it was overlooked due to the fact that no pair of men was dumb enough to tread into Kumo and take one of its jinchuriki. The council of the Hidden Cloud Village felt that the Hidden Sand was inferior to them in power and held their jinchuriki on a pedestal for all to see. Hence, Akatsuki attacked them and only them, as far as they knew.
"How did she survive?" Ē questioned.
"…Bee-san was nearby and-"
"He put himself against the Akatsuki?" The medic nodded as Ē sighed heavily. "Darui," The man called looked at his leader. "I need a message sent to the other kage for a meeting. I will not have my jinchuriki threatened."
"Hai Lord Raikage."