You guys are completely awesome! Over two thousand five hundred follows!
I put a poll up on my profile page about Naruto's pairing(s). While this isn't to decide who Naruto eventually is paired with, I would like to know what all of you awesome readers would possibly like to see so I can find out if my ideas are in line with you guys' ideas or if I'm way off. If at all possible, please vote for the pairing you would like to see in the context of the HotE universe.
I'm also trying out a slightly different style of writing fight scenes, so please let me know if you like this style better or my older style.
Without any more delay, here is the next chapter. Chapter 42: What We Desire Most
"What!" Amachi stared at Misumi, "What did you say?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails, is in Kiri. And..." Misumi savored the secret pleasure at the anticipation of Amachi's next expression, "...He defended Isaribi from Yoroi." Almost cackling at the stunned look on the scientist's face, Misumi couldn't help but add, "He seemed quite interested in helping her."
"I didn't plan for this." Not in his wildest dreams could Amachi have imagined this opportunity. He didn't know much about Naruto Uzumaki, but Amachi figured he knew enough. "But then...I could use this." A hidden smirk blossomed on his face. "Yes...I can use this." Wiping the smile from his face, Amachi looked up at the pair. "Alright. I know what we have to do. Here's the plan…"
Clone Forty Four eyed the small cottage where Yoroi and his partner had gone. As the clone waited for the enemy ninja to emerge from the home, he idly toyed with the idea of just entering the cottage and killing them. After all, they had attacked a girl - just like others had attacked Naruto - and thus they were evil. And killing evil was always the best way to insure they never did it again...
Still, it was Boss's instructions to keep watch. And so Forty Four watched and waited.
"So you guys didn't find anything suspicious either?" Naruto tapped his chin in thought, "The only thing I found that was remotely suspicious was a girl who was being attacked by some ninja named Yoroi." Naruto grinned, "But I stopped him. I also have a clone shadowing him."
"Yoroi…" Sakura's green eyes shifted slightly as she attempted to recall where she had heard the name before, "What was his last name?"
"He said it was Akado."
The pink haired kunoichi closed her eyes and searched her memory.
"...Would Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado please make their way down to the arena?"
Sakura's eyes snapped open. "He fought Sasuke Uchiha in the Chunin exams. He seemed to have a special ability to absorb chakra." She frowned. "I don't remember seeing him during the invasion by Suna and Sound or after that for that matter."
"I'll let the Kiri ninja know." Naruto created four clones and directed them to go find the Kiri ninja. Turning back to his team, his expression grew serious. "Let's head out of town. I'm going to see if I can get Jiraiya to find out what happened to Yoroi."
A few minutes later they had arrived on the outskirts of the town. Hokona wove her hands through the handsigns for a silence barrier while Hinata, Sakura, and Haku encircled Naruto in a defensive formation. Channeling chakra through his hands, Naruto pricked his thumb with his incisor and then slammed his hand on the ground. Focusing on the intention of sending a message, he released the built up chakra into the summoning array. A moment later a white smoke cloud burst into existence before it dissipated, leaving Gamatengo in it's place.
"How's it going Gamatengo?" Naruto greeted the yellowish brown toad as he crouched down next to the waist high toad.
"Good." Gamatengo bobbed his head, "Whatcha' need?"
"I need you to contact Jiraiya and ask him if he can investigate what happened to Yoroi Akado after the Two Hundred and Third Chunin Exams. I think it's important."
"Sure thing." Gamatengo saluted, "I'll head over right now. Make sure you have some sweets for me when I get back."
"Will do." Naruto promised. The toad vanished in a puff of white smoke. "I really need to figure out how they do that. If I could travel that way..." Unsealing a small bag of candy from his stasis scroll, Naruto joined the others as they waited for Jiraiya to get back to them.
A few minutes later Hinata spoke up. "Naruto-Kun, Hiromasa-San is heading towards our location." She blinked as she focused her bloodline on the rest of the town. "The rest of the Kiri team is heading our way as well."
"Naruto-San," Hiromasa began as he entered the silenced area, "Your shadow clone said you might have something?"
"Yes." Naruto nodded, "I'm waiting for confirmation from my sources, but here's what happened…"
"Hmmm…" The former hunter nin pondered, "...That is interesting." Mentally mapping out what they knew about the attacks on the ship, Hiromasa slowly asked, "And the girl, Isaribi, smelled like fish, blood, and soap?" Naruto nodded, having already gotten the same idea as the Kiri ninja. "But if she was wantonly destroying our ships, Yoroi wouldn't have been able to abuse her like he did."
"Things are never simple, are they?" Naruto dryly commented. Hiromasa nodded in agreement. "But hopefully Jiraiya will get us the information we need and Forty Four will report in soon. In the meantime," Naruto moved over to an open area and unsealed a lit campfire, "Do you guys want any lunch?" Grinning at the Kiri ninjas' dumbstruck awe at his casual display of sealing prowess, he realized that perhaps there was something to Kakashi's love of baffling people. "Perhaps I should do things like this more often."
Three hours later there was a puff of white smoke as Gamatengo returned. "Yo." The toad tilted its head at the Kiri ninja. "These guys friends of yours Naruto?"
"Yeah." Naruto resealed the notebook he had been using to write down theories about how the messenger toads traveled, "They are ninja from Kiri. I'm helping them with this mission."
"Ah." The messenger toad nodded sagely, "I see." Balancing on three legs, it held out a rolled up letter to Naruto. "Jiraiya said to give you this." The blonde Uzumaki took the offered letter and handed Gamatengo the small bag of candy. "Thanks." Pausing as it peered into the small sack of sugary sweets, the toad turned back to his summoner. "Do you need me to deliver any more messages?"
"No." Naruto shook his head, "I'm good. You can go if you want." The toad saluted again and disappeared in a puff of smoke, returning to the summoning realm. Opening Jiraiya's letter, Naruto began to read.
Naruto,
When I was checking into your request I found something interesting. Yoroi Akado was on the same team as Kabuto Yakushi and Misumi Tsurugi. Kabuto forfeited his right to combat at the start of the preliminary fights during the chunin exams while Yoroi and Misumi were defeated in the matches.
But here's where it gets interesting. Both Yoroi and Misumi haven't reported back after a mission...that happened almost three years ago. But the really interesting thing? Their MIA status was never reported by Dai Nise, their Jonin sensei. Soon after, Dia also "disappeared" on a mission and never reported back in. Kabuto is still in Konoha. He is listed as a medical ninja in training. I'm going to check on his story. It's just a bit too convenient for me to believe that all of his team's reports got accidentally buried.
Heck, if I hadn't been looking specifically for Yoroi, no one would have ever known.
In other news, I have a serious question: Have you checked out the hot springs? If so, could you take some pictures of the...tracts of land next time you are there?
-Jiraiya
"Well then." Naruto's statement caused everyone to look over at him, "It looks like we found our connection." Turning to face the others, he relayed the information Jiraiya had given him. "Yoroi and his teammate were listed as missing two years ago. However, no MIA report was ever filed."
"So he's a traitor then." Hiromasa stated, "That makes this easy then." Turning to his team, the former hunter nin directed them to start double checking their gear. "Alright team. You heard Naruto-San. A missing ninja is presumed to be part of the group attacking the ships. Double check your gear. We move in twenty."
"Boss." Forty Five greeted Naruto as the group neared the cottage, "Isaribi went into that house. I think it's her home." Naruto glanced at Forty Five.
"Didn't Forty Four tell you that's the place Yoroi went?"
Forty Five nodded. "Yeah. He was watching them still when he created me and sent me off to report in." Reaching out mentally, the clone frowned as it's brow furrowed in concentration. "I can't feel Forty Four anymore. I think he dissipated."
"Damn." Naruto turned back to the rest of the group. "I'm going to go talk to Isaribi and find out what's going on. She might be innocent." He heaved a sigh. "Or she might be guilty. I need to find out more before we judge her."
The Kiri ninja glanced at each other before Hiromasa spoke. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
"You could search the area for Yoroi's tracks." The blonde Uzumaki suggested, "Since Forty Four dissipated, we don't know where they went." The Kiri ninja nodded, remembering Mei's instructions about working with Naruto. If at all possible, they were charged to accommodate him. Not only was she in the process of signing an alliance contract with him, but he also was a Jinchuruiki. If he remembered Mist in a favorable light, and the impending civil war in Konoha forced him out of the Land of Fire, perhaps he would seek refuge in the Mist…
Isaribi had just pulled on her sleepwear when there was a knock at her door. Freezing, she wondered for a panicked moment if Yoroi had come for her. A moment later rationality restored itself as she remembered that he had kicked down her door all of the other times. Amachi had helped himself to her second house key, so it couldn't be him.
Warily, Isaribi made her way to her front door. Standing up on her tiptoes, she peered through the peephole. A blonde haired teenager was standing on the other side of the door, seemingly content to wait for her to open the door. A moment later Isaribi recognized him. It was Naruto Uzumaki. "He doesn't seem to be angry or look like he wants something." Tempted to simply leave him outside, the young woman knew that she couldn't risk it. He had easily stopped Yoroi, logically making Naruto more powerful than Yoroi. As such, she couldn't afford to make him angry. Taking a deep fortifying breath, Isaribi reached for the door's deadbolt.
Having heard Isaribi walk up to the door, Naruto couldn't help but wonder, "How long is she going to stand on the other side of the door?" Just as he was raising his hand to knock once again, his sensitive ears picked up the thud of the door's deadbolt sliding back from the door frame. When the door slowly opened, Naruto beamed at Isaribi as she peeked out the slightly open door. "Hello. May I come in? I would like to ask to you about a few things."
Believing that she couldn't refuse, Isaribi opened the door the rest of the way and led Naruto to her living room. Crossing her arms as she settled on her coach. Hunching her shoulders slightly, she waited for the blonde to seat himself. When he eventually did so, she hesitantly asked, "What do you want?" Tensing as he leaned forward, she was unprepared for Naruto's response.
"I want to know about you." He smiled in what he hoped was a comforting manner. "You are in trouble and I would like to help."
"I'm fine." Isaribi wasn't about to buy into his fake concern. "I don't need any help."
"Of course you don't need any help." The blonde Uzumaki acknowledged, "But you don't have to be alone if you don't want to. You don't have to shoulder all of your problems." Settling back in his chair, Naruto cast his memory back to the time before he had met Sakura, Hinata, and Haku. "You tell yourself that you don't need anyone. That you can survive without anyone. That you are tough." A sad smile. "But that's a lie. In reality you've just been hurt time and time again. And eventually you just tell yourself that it doesn't bother you anymore, but the words they whisper still hurt no matter how many times you hear them."
Isaribi fought the tears that threatened to emerge. "How does he know? He obviously never experienced anything like what I've been through. He's strong." Clenching her fists, her crossed arms shifted into a self hug as she remembered all of the hurtful words that had been spoken to her; the whispered accusations and shouted threats. "No one will ever understand what I've been through."
"For a long time I was alone." Naruto could see bits of how he used to feel in the girl, "People spat when I walked by and cursed my name." Isaribi blinked, interested in spite of herself. She was sure he was lying, but…
"Sometimes things were worse than just name calling." The blonde Uzumaki sighed as he remembered, "I didn't always have enough to eat, and for the longest time, I never knew why everyone hated me." A bitter smile touched his lips. "I thought perhaps that I deserved it; that somehow I wasn't worth anything. I did what I needed to in order to survive, but that was all I was doing: Surviving. Not living. Just...surviving."
"But then, something amazing happened." Looking over at Isaribi who was trying her best to not appear interested in his story, Naruto smiled as he remembered the most important day in his life, "Do you want to know what it was?"
Isaribi was torn. She was certain that this was just a story to convince her to follow his directions, but...there was something about Naruto that was utterly sincere. Shifting deeper into the couch, she nodded. "What was it?"
The blonde Uzumaki's smile was filled with light and happiness, something Isaribi hadn't seen or felt before. "I met Sakura-Chan." Isaribi couldn't help the pang of envy she felt at both his expression and the obvious feelings he had for this 'Sakura'.
"She helped me and even became my friend. Then I met Hinata-Chan and Haku-Chan. I grew strong to protect them. And they grew stronger as well, seeking to protect each other and me." Pride at his girlfriend's' accomplishments suffused every word. "And throughout all that time, I began to slowly understand that as long as someone believed in me, it didn't matter what everyone else thought. As long as Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, or Haku-Chan believes in me, I will believe in their words: That I am important."
The Kaima stirred as envy bubbled up within her chest. "Why did he get someone and I didn't? Why did he get friends and I didn't?" Despair warred with envy. "Am I not worth enough to have a friend? Am I really just a monster?"
"Isaribi?" Naruto's voice broke through her spiraling thoughts, "Would you like to have a friend?" Holding out his hand, the blonde Uzumaki waited for her response.
The dark purple haired girl stared at the offered hand before looking up at Naruto's seemingly earnest face. "It's not possible that he doesn't have a motive. Everyone has a motive." She looked back at the hand. "But yet...I can't help but wonder...what would having a friend be like? Would it be worth being manipulated?" The hand looked so inviting, and Isaribi found herself desperately wanting to feel that warmth that Naruto exuded.
"I...I...don't want to be alone anymore."
Isaribi reached out and took Naruto's hand. "Yes." Emotions swirled within her, "I want a friend." His grip was gentle and warm. Against her better judgement Isaribi found the tension in her shoulders slowly dissipating. It was...nice. Comforting. Something she hadn't felt for so long.
"Tell me about yourself." Naruto paused before shrugging his shoulders slightly, "If you don't want to, it's okey."
Isaribi froze. She didn't want him to leave; to see her as a monster. She wanted a friend; she wanted to keep the gentleness and warmth. But...friendship couldn't be built on lies, she knew that much. "Do I trust Naruto?" Her heart answered a moment later. "Yes. Somehow I know that he won't try to hurt me." Pulling her hand away, Isaribi took a deep breath and took a leap of faith.
She told Naruto of how the first concrete memory she had was waking up on a shore surrounded by bodies. She told him of finally reaching the town that the ghosts of memories whispered about, only to be treated with caution and mistrust. She told of how she was once cornered by several men with ill intent. That was the first time the Kaima had come out. She told the story of horror at awakening in an alleyway that was covered in blood. The townsfolk grew to fear and hate her, too fearful to attack her, but belittling and impeding at every opportunity. She told of the despair that drove her to attempt to take her own life.
And it was then, Isaribi explained, that she met Amachi. The scientist had made the most seductive offer: He would cure her if she followed his orders. Wanting to be cured more than anything, she had accepted the deal with the proverbial devil. Amachi's orders had been quite simple: Attack any ship loaded with goods or money. Survivors are optional.
And so Isaribi confessed, she had followed her orders. For five years she had attacked any ship the scientist directed her to attack. She had tried to leave survivors, but often the sailors would defend their ships, forcing her to defend herself. And then there was the times when she had been knocked unconscious…
Isaribi finished her tale and waited for Naruto's response. Her head told her that he would soon grow angry and fearful, leaving her alone in the dark. But her heart whispered to hope.
"I'm sorry." Naruto smiled sadly, "I'm sorry you had to go through that." Turning his yielding gaze to her, he spoke directly into her soul. "You are important. You matter." He shook his head slightly. "I know what you felt when it felt like the entire world hated you." An empty chuckle echoed in the room. "Heh. I'm still struggling with believing that I am worthy of being loved."
The dark haired girl's forehead crinkled as she tried to imaging Naruto ever being weak like she still was. "Why would they have ever hated you?"
"I'm the Jinchuruiki of the Kyubi. After Karuma attacked Konoha fifteen years ago, and was defeated, many in the village hated him so much that they took it out on me." Naruto's voice was calm, having learned to distance himself from the events that had happened to him.
"You can't be." Isaribi shook her head, "Even I know that the Nine Tails was defeated by Minato Namikaze. It's in all of the history books."
"Kurama, could you manifest a bit of your chakra?"
"She will never doubt your words ever again."
Isaribi watched Naruto close his eyes for a moment. Reopening them, he held out his hand. A moment later dark red chakra bubbled over his hand. A feeling of unstoppable power filled the room. The dark purple haired girl's eyes widened and she shrank back, pressing herself against the coach. Making herself as small as possible, she felt even the Kaima cower inside her.
A moment later the oppressive feeling slowly vanished as the red chakra dissipated. Naruto sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Seeing the fear in Isaribi's eyes, he slowly stood and began making his way to the door. "I'll leave." His voice was quiet. Pausing at the front door, he looked back at the smaller girl. "If you ever need someone to talk to, just let me know. I'll get the cure from Amachi."
Jumping slightly as the heavy door closed, Isaribi found herself trembling as she was left alone in the dark.
One week. Seven long, miserable days. Guren had decided that she hated Kiri. The sea air wreaked havoc on her hair, not to mention how much faster her makeup deteriorated. Her clothing also wrinkled and never seemed to fully dry. And to top it all off, they were stuck wondering from one pool of water to another. It was slow, miserable work and not for the first time did the bright blue haired woman wonder why Orochimaru-Sama had sent them out here. Conjuring up a pink crystal mirror with little more than a thought and a quick concentration of chakra, the crystal user examined her already wilting hair with a scowl as she thought of the mission.
Their mission was to locate the Three Tailed Biju and then use Yukimaru's special ability to draw it out from the sub-dimension it had hidden itself in. But there wasn't any plan after that. No great final goal. While the chaos of a tamed Biju would certainly occupy Kiri's attention, the Three Tails wouldn't rampage across Kiri unprovoked. And a randomly destructive plan wasn't really Orochimaru-Sama's normal style. His plans were wheels within wheels, manipulating those around him to suit his needs, often without the Snake Sanin having to lift a finger. Orochimaru-Sama was brilliant and powerful like that.
"This pool is empty." Yukimaru's tired voice echoed across the landscape, "I don't sense any sub-dimensions."
"Let's move on." Guren broke down her crystal mirror into miniscule fragments with a tap of her finger, "We can get at least three more pools in before we have to make camp." Rinji and his bodyguards were already packing their gear and preparing to move to the next location. Pausing to throw a glance over at Yukimaru, the crystal user was alarmed to see him swaying slightly as he stood on the water bank. He began to tip forward. Pushing chakra to her limbs, Guren charged towards the falling boy.
Sliding onto her knees, the purple haired woman wrapped her arms around Yukimaru, preventing him from falling face first into the water. Carefully pulling him into her lap, Guren's eyes widened as she saw his eyes were closed and he didn't seem to be responding. "Yukimaru." Shaking his shoulders with a gentleness she would later deny, she called the green haired boy's name again. "Yukimaru."
Yukimaru's eyelids fluttered open, exposing his slightly dulled magenta eyes. "G-Guren-Chan?" Wincing as he pushed himself to a sitting position, "Wha-what happened?"
"You collapsed." Guren hid her worry behind a front of anger laced confusion, "What happened?"
"Don't worry," Yukimaru smiled as brightly as he could, "It's just momentary chakra exhaustion. I'll be fine in a moment." Allowing Guren to pull him to his feet, the magenta eyed boy took several steps forward, each step becoming more steady. Guren, now aware that the rest of the Sound team was watching her, quickly moved to the front of the group.
"Let's move." Even as they headed out, Guren couldn't stop the slight frown that creased her face. "I wish that this mission didn't push Yukimaru so hard." Shaking those thoughts away, - Orochimaru-Sama knew best after all - she set a brutal pace, hoping to outrun her traitorous thoughts.
As the rest of the Sound team hurried to catch up, Rinji passed Yukimaru a small round pill. "This will keep your strength up." Nodding in thanks, Yukimaru swallowed the pill and instantly felt his fatigue drain away, feeling like he had just awoken from a full night's rest. Pushing chakra into his legs, the young ninja hurried to catch up to Guren.
Watching Yukimaru hurry ahead with a carefully hidden smirk, Rinji couldn't help but feel a surge of accomplishment. Yukimaru had taken the first of the specialized energy pills, and he would only want to take more as time went on. Yukimaru looked up to Guren, and would want to impress her. And when they found the Three Tails, Guren was in for quite the surprise…
"I will ensure this mission succeeds." Rinji's outward expression betrayed nothing, "I will become Orochimaru-Sama's Right Hand, finally unseating that unworthy Kabuto from that most glorious position!"
"Naruto-San." Hiromasa greeted, "Akio found Yoroi's trail. He seems to be with two other people. Akio says that one has a strange footstep, almost like the person has bendable bones. The other is definitely not shinobi trained. Sakura-San shared what she knew of Misumi, and we are fairly certain that he's the one with the odd footprints." The brown haired former hunter nin tapped his chin in thought. "We don't know who the other person is though."
"If I had to guess," Naruto's mind raced, "I think the other person is someone named 'Amachi'." At the groups look of confusion, the blonde Uzumaki began to explain. "According to Isaribi, Amachi approached her five years ago…"
"Well fuck." Hiromasa ran a gloved hand through his hair, "That makes things difficult." He grunted in annoyance. "If Isaribi is telling the truth, that means she's a Kiri citizen who was somehow turned into that...thing against her will." Frowning, he sighed. "Almost makes me wish for the old days when we could just hunt down missing nin without having to worry about the reasons behind their crimes." He shrugged. "Oh well. I guess we really have to find this Amachi fellow. If nothing else, he was ordering Isaribi to attack ships, and that means he is guilty."
Akio grunted. "Right. Akio, take the lead. Let's find them." "Those traitorous bastards won't get away. And if Amachi did what I think he did, he'd better pray that he surrenders."
"I still find that water thing creepy as shit." Yoroi pointed out as he watched the sentient blob of water move a stack of crates, "I mean look at it's face. Water shouldn't look like that." He carefully ignored the part of him that pointed out that his ability to steal chakra wasn't natural either.
"You find many things unnerving." Misumi pointed out, "Such as Orochimaru's experiments, Amachi's experiments, and what was it?" He smirked, "Oh that's right...Naruto Uzumaki." A pause. "Or cats."
"Hey." Yoroi pointed his finger at his partner, "First, Orochimaru's experiments can be creepy as shit. Secondly, Amachi created all kinds of weird shit, and who wouldn't be cautious of Naruto Uzumaki?"
"Fair points." Misumi acknowledged, "But what about cats?"
"Have you seen them? They just stare at you with their unblinking eyes and judge you." His eyes widened as he waved his hand. "Even after I drain them of all of their chakra and life, They. Still. Stare."
"Heh." Misumi chuckled, "Looks like they don't have nine lives after all, eh?" Yoroi scowled in response. Misumi chuckled again before turning to watch Amachi prepare for the enemies' eventual assault. They wouldn't know what hit them.
Isaribi wasn't sure how long she sat trembling in the darkened room, but eventually the lingering traces of fear faded away, leaving only shame and regret. "Is that how they looked at me? Terrified of something so far beyond them? Forgetting that underneath the monster there is a person?" Shame choked her; Regret smothered her. "How did I look in that moment when Naruto showed me his power? He trusted me, and I cowered; I hid; I was terrified."
Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that she was just like the villagers. Too afraid to attack, but...that rejection; the fearful glances and whispered words; the sneers and cold looks, she knew how much those hurt. And she had done the same thing to Naruto. "Maybe I am a monster."
"...If you ever need someone to talk to, just let me know."
"Why did he say that? Why didn't he lash back when I hurt them? Why didn't he justify my fears?"
"...I'll get the cure from Amachi."
"Why do you care?" Isaribi's voice rose, "Why do you care about me? I'm a monster!" The shout echoed in the small cottage. "I'm not worth anything."
"...As someone believed in me, it didn't matter what everyone else thought. As long as Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, or Haku-Chan believes in me, I will believe in their words: That I am important."
Isaribi's clenched fist trembled as the words she believed warred with the hope that Naruto had offered.
"...You are important. You matter."
The shadows grew longer as Isaribi fought the most important battle she had ever fought. Inadequacy fought with hope. Memories of what the world had been clashed with the vision of the future Naruto had offered.
And then it stilled.
In that quiet moment, Isaribi dared to hope one last time. To believe in Naruto. To believe in his words.
"...You are important. You matter."
Standing, Isaribi left her pack behind and moved towards the door. "I won't let you face Amachi alone Naruto. I know him better than anyone else, and I won't let him hurt you too." The heavy door slammed shut, the sound echoing in the empty cottage.
It was nearly dusk when the Kiri and Naruto's teams arrived at the cliff that overlooked a cove that they had tracked Yoroi to. "So how do we want to do this?" Hiromasa questioned, "We don't know what's inside or if there are any traps, but this wouldn't be the first time my team has had to go in blind."
"Hinata-Chan," Naruto's eyes searched the area below them for any signs of sealing arrays, "What are we looking at?"
Activating her bloodline, Hinata searched the area below, reporting as she found anything. "For about the first five hundred feet there is nothing. After that, there is a disguised bolder that slides. Under it is a staircase that leads to a network of tunnels." She blinked before focusing slightly. "It looks like there are seals carved into the walls of the entire area. I can't see any chakra going into them, but I am not an expert in seals." Pulling her vision out slightly, she continued her search. "After that, there are numerous dead ends." Freezing a moment later, Hinata took a moment to compose herself before relaying what she found.
"In one of the passages, there is a mass grave. They all look like they died in agony." Her voice had grown clinical and distant. "Another three passageways lead to storage rooms filled with chemicals and other scientific equipment. The last passage leads to a large chamber. In that chamber are the people we are looking for. I can see Yoroi, Misumi, and someone in a lab coat that I believe is Amachi. There is also a swirl of chakra in a large pool of water, but it's too far away for me to look into it. It almost looks like it's deliberately shielded. There are several large crates filled with low yield explosive notes." Stretching her bloodline limits, Hinata confirmed what she had glimpsed. "The outer lining of the crates are filled with small, twisted metal bits. The crates are set to explode when a pressure plate near the entrance is stepped on. Lastly there is a fifteen foot high creature completely made of animated water."
"Well at least dealing with the water creature will be easy." Naruto mumbled to himself. Pulling out a notebook and pen, the blonde Uzumaki moved next to Hinata. "Hinata-Chan, could you draw the seals that you saw?"
Ten minutes later the Kiri team watched in amazement as Naruto and Hokona worked together to figure out countermeasures to the sealing arrays Hinata had located with her bloodline. Twenty minutes after that, the two Uzumaki had developed a way to deactivate the sealing arrays without tripping any of the alarm seals built into the arrays. They had also developed a counter to the pressure plate seal array, ensuring that the deadly explosives would not go off. The trick was that due to the base sealing arrays, the countermeasures had to be applied directly to the base. While the trap arrays on the walls would be fairly easy to deal with, the pressure plate was much trickier.
Naruto was the one to come up with a rather ingenious idea of how to solve the issue. By drawing a reversed version of the counter seal, Naruto could simply place the nearly weightless piece of paper over the pressure plate and negate it's effects. As they had studied the sealing arrays on the pressure plate remotely utilizing Hinata's bloodline, the Hyuga kunoichi had noticed that the pressure plate was physically connected to a mechanical lever. The lever was then connected to a trap door that was hidden above the pressure plate.
On the other side of the trap door was a ocean tunnel filled with water. Even if the explosive seals were removed, the pressure plate would still activate the trap door, sending a deluge of water directly onto the attacker's unsuspecting team. Unfortunately for the designers of the trap, they hadn't counted on an ice-user being part of the group who assaulted the base.
Infiltrating the base was child's play for the skilled ninja, and with the aid of Hinata's bloodline, they quickly accessed the lower level of the cave. Descending into the lower levels, the Uzumaki disabled the various seals that would have decimated a less prepared group. Aided by the map Hinata had drawn, they quickly made it to the large chamber where Yoroi, Misumi, and Amachi were located…
Misumi wondered when the enemy ninja would arrive. Amachi had assured them that Isaribi would be the only one who could lead them to the base, and she didn't know about the seal traps lining the tunnel walls. While it wouldn't kill the entire invading party, it would certainly take out one or two of them, and alert those inside of the attackers. And once they charged into the entrance...He savored the thought of the shock he would get to see on their faces before the explosives turned the enemy ninja into meaty chunks. And if, by some divine luck, they manage to disable the explosives, there was still the mechanical aspect of the trap.
With a blonde blur, Naruto hurled himself into the room, the mirrored disarming paper readied. Slamming the paper down on the center of the pressure plate, he spiked his chakra, sending it into the paper. Instantly lines of seals spiderwebbed outwards, crawling with incredible speed along the lines to the explosive crates. Reaching them, the seals instantly swarmed over the crates, covering the wood in a shifting, symbol covered second skin. The Uzumaki twisted his hand, and the seals glowed bright blue. With a slight pop, the crates vanished, sealed within the paper now held in Naruto's hand.
Standing, Naruto glared at Misumi. "You should surrender."
Unable to stop the trembling in his hands, Misumi pushed his glasses back into their proper position. "I'm going to have to decline." He waited for the trap door to open and wash the terrifyingly powerful Naruto away. But...it never came.
Snapping his gaze upwards, the missing ninja noticed a layer of ice covering the edges of the trap door, sealing it. "One of his companions must have done that when I was distracted by Naruto's flashy sealing technique." Leaping backwards to gain distance, Misumi swore quietly as he prepared himself for Naruto's attack. "I'm stronger than before. He won't take me so easily this time!"
"Misumi Tsurugi." Naruto's voice was coldly formal, "You stand accused of betraying the Konoha Village and faking your own death. You are working with the enemies of Kiri, one of Konoha's future allies." Hardened blue eyes speared Misumi. "How do you plead?"
Misumi swallowed. He knew those words and what they meant. And he knew what would happen if he was taken back to Konoha. The stories of the tortures that Ibiki Morino inflicted on traitors were poorly kept secrets. Fighting the urge to run, Misumi sped through the hand signs for the water clone technique. Creating seven clones, it was only a small comfort.
"Is that your answer?" Naruto cycled chakra through his limbs, "You are refusing to surrender?" The rest of the joint Konoha and Kiri teams stepped through the entrance, upgrading Misumi's fear to barely controlled panic.
"Attack!" Misumi's shouted command sent his water clones racing forward towards the stoic Uzumaki. Three kunai flashed towards one of the charging clones, briefly impaling it before the clone destabilized. Another was taken out by two expertly thrown steel senbons, while the third was taken apart by a quick, short range water attack jutsu courtesy of Hiromasa. The fourth and fifth avoided more thrown weapons, only to be taken down by Hinata and Sakura. The sixth took an ice spike to the chest and the last one was abruptly seized by golden ribbon-chains. The ribbons tightened, and the clone gave one last desperate attempt to escape before it dispelled from the bone crushing pressure.
"So be it." Naruto's voice was cold and final.
"Everyone should just calm down." Amachi's voice rang out, disturbing the tense atmosphere. The lab coat wearing man casually strolled forward, "We can do this in a very civilized manner." His smile was all teeth, "I certainly wouldn't want anything regrettable to happen...do you?"
"Amachi." Surprisingly it was Misato who spoke, the purple haired woman glaring with hatred, "Who do you think you are? Doing what you did to all those people?"
"Doing what exactly?" Amachi raised a curious eyebrow, "What am I accused of doing?" There was an innocent look on his face, "I'm sure that none of you would ever dream of accusing someone without proof…" Sighing in disappointment, the scientist seemed to resign himself, "Your only 'witness' is a confused little girl who has, by her own admission, attacked those ships and even killing all those poor souls."
"It's alright." Amachi assured them, his voice understanding and warm, "Most monsters like her play on your sympathies to avoid being blamed for their actions." The Kiri ninja shifted, now unsure of Amachi's guilt. As much as they hated to admit it, his words seemed to hold a sort of twisted sense of truth.
"I do know something of Isaribi's condition." The scientist admitted, "But I wanted to cure her. Carefully pulling a vial of smoky green liquid from his lab coat, Amachi continued, "I finished this cure several months ago. But Isaribi refused to drink it. She likes the power her alternate form gives her and she can just blame all of her terrible actions on it which enables her to continue her reign of terror." Sighing sorrowfully and shaking his head, an expression of regret flashed across his face. "Sadly I believe that Isaribi is escalating her attacks, the bloodthirsty nature of her inner psyche growing out of control. I wish there was another option, but…" He shook his head, "I don't even know if curing her will stop her rampages now."
"How long have you been working on the cure?" Hiromasa questioned, unsure if he had been ready to attack the wrong person.
"Several months now." The scientist explained, "I was originally a Sound ninja." He ignored how everyone tensed at his words. "You know how it is. You believe in your village. They tell you that your actions are for the good of the village; that they are good actions; that you are a hero." Looking away into the past, his voice grew softer. "And you listened. The bodies you left behind; the pain you caused; the children who would never see their parents again…" Another sigh. "But it was all ok, wasn't it? After all, your leader assured you that you were doing good."
Amachi's bitter chuckle echoed in the room. "And so you bury that little voice in the back of your head that whispers that what you are doing is wrong. You bury your feelings and become the perfect weapon. But…" He raised a finger, "One day something changes. Your next target is something innocent. That small voice comes back and whispers, 'Not this one'. And perhaps you don't attack the target. Perhaps you do. Either way, you start wondering; Wondering if you had been lied to this entire time." Amachi's fist tightened in anger. "And then your eyes are opened. You see the ugliness in your village, and you can't unsee it. So...you dare to do something about it."
The Kiri ninja found themselves agreeing with his words. Describing their journeys to make the decision to follow Mei and turn their backs on Kiri's 'Bloody Mist' policies. To dare to believe in a better village; a better world. Each of them had stopped counting the dead they had left behind long ago, and each one of them had eventually reached the point when they could no longer follow Yagura's increasingly insane plans. Perhaps they had judged Amachi too quickly?
"Tell me," Naruto's cold voice echoed in the chamber, "Did you even hesitate for a moment when Orochimaru told you to experiment on children?"
Amachi froze for the briefest moment before hastily pasting on a look of shock. "I-I have no idea what you are talking about." Akio grunted angrily, the sound heralding the other Kiri ninja from the emotional stupor they had allowed Amachi to lull them into.
"Well then," Amachi rapidly switched gears, "If you think I'm capable of creating monsters, tell me then: Where are those monsters?" A pause. "Oh…" He smirked, the expression seeming almost alien when combined with the falsely innocent look, "Here it is."
"Naruto?" Isaribi's voice sounded out from the entrance, "What's going on?"
"Ah, Isaribi." Amachi smiled as he motioned for the girl to come closer, "I have an offer for you. Come closer." Despite what she had resolved, Isaribi found herself walking towards Amachi, stopping ten feet away. "Good." There was a sickly sweet edge to the scientist's tone, "Here's my offer: I will give you this cure," He held up the green vial, "If you kill Naruto. If you do not, I will destroy it and you will be trapped forever in the cursed form, unwanted and unloved."
"I…" Words failed Isaribi. "I…" Misery and despair choked her. No matter what she chose, she would lose something precious. She could gain the cure she so desperately sought, but would lose the first friend she ever had. She could keep her friend, but she would always stay a monster. "What do I do?" Frustrated tears slid down her cheeks, and her hands began to tremble. "What do I do?"
"Naruto." Isaribi's desperate eyes turned to his, "What do I do?"
"You are a monster only if you choose to be one." Naruto's words were calm, spoken from the truth he had struggled to see for years. "And there is always someone who will care about you, no matter what. You just have to find them." The blonde Uzumaki still struggled with his own self worth, but he finally had the epiphany that as long as people cared about you, it didn't matter what the rest of the world thought.
"I…" Isaribi shook her head, shrinking back, "I...have lost control before. I killed people." She hung her head, certain that Naruto would now leave her.
"I've killed people too." Naruto sighed, "Sometimes simply because they threatened those I cared about."
"What do I really want?" Isaribi looked inwards, "Do I want to be cured because I want to stop being a monster or do I want the cure so I can be accepted?"
Amachi hid a smirk as he watched Isaribi struggle with the perceived choice he was giving her. "Just as planned."
It was perhaps two or three minutes, but to Isaribi, it seemed like an eternity she she warred with herself. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to attack Naruto. Not because he was stronger than her, but because she didn't want to hurt him. "I…" Fresh tears sprang up a she choked back a sob, "I...won't kill Naruto."
"Oh." Amachi sighed, seemingly saddened by her choice, "That's too bad. I guess you will never get cured then." Taking a step back, the scientist prepared to activate Umibozu when Naruto spoke up.
"How about we take the third option? I simply take the cure from you." The blonde's glacier blue eyes bored into Amachi's, "Or do you think you can stop me?"
"Shit." Amachi suddenly realized that in all of his plans he had forgotten that Naruto Uzumaki wasn't a normal ninja. "Looks like I have to go to Plan F."
"Let's not do anything rash…" Amachi raised his hands, "I'll make you a deal. I'll give Isaribi this cure and you don't kill me. How's that for a deal?" Not waiting for Naruto's response, the scientist gently tossed the green vial towards Isaribi. The girl fumbled with the vial, barely preventing the precious item from smashing into the cold stone floor.
Isaribi stared at the vial. It was such a small thing, and yet...standing here with the cure, she wasn't sure what to feel. She had always imagined this day as the best day of her life; the end of a nightmare and the start of her new life. But...she just felt empty. The idea of this moment had kept her going for so long, but now, all she could think of was those who she had hurt in order to be standing here. Some part of her registered one of the Kiri ninja telling Amachi that he was under arrest for murder, but the majority of her focus was on the cure.. She would no longer be a monster.
The cork made a small popping sound as Isaribi twisted the cap from the thin glass vial. Ignoring the sudden warning growls from the Kaima, she lifted Amachi's cure to her suddenly dry lips. The smell burned her nose, and she fought the urge to choke. Swallowing one last time, Isaribi tipped the vial and drank quickly. The liquid burned like acid as it slid down her throat, but she gritted her teeth and pushed through the pain, not noticing that her teeth had grown into wickedly sharp points. Her skin itched and crawled, she fought the urge to scratch, not noticing that dark blue-green scales had begun to grow under the surface.
Her muscles began to tremble, and there was a ringing in her head. Her vision flickered, the world shifting between shadow filled and blindingly bright. "Endure." Isaribi begged herself, "Endure the pain so you don't have to be a monster anymore." The trembling became worse, and her hand went limp as webbing began to sprout between her fingers. The vial tumbled to the ground, and as the sounds around her began to echo endlessly inside her head, Isaribi heard the glass shatter on the cold stone floor.
Idly standing to the side as he watched the Kiri ninja secure Amachi, Yoroi, and Misumi, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Glass shattered behind him. Whipping around, his eyes widened as he saw Isaribi barely still standing, her entire body trembling. Her teeth had nearly doubled in size and possessed wicked points that gleamed in the torchlight. Blue-green scales covered the majority of her skin, and what looked like gills fluttered on either side of her neck. For one brief timeless moment their eyes locked, and Naruto saw. He saw the agony she was feeling; he saw the desperate hope she clung to; and he saw the despair she was trying to defy. Isaribi blinked. Unconsciousness took her and she began to collapse.
Naruto moved.
Grabbing Isaribi before she could hit the floor, Naruto shouted for Sakura."Sakura-Chan! Something is wrong with Isaribi!"
Arriving a scant few moments later, Sakura's hands glowed green as she blurred through the handsigns for the diagnostic jutsu. Her hand raised towards the deathly still dark purple haired girl in Naruto's arms. Then, a lot of things happened at once.
The water on the damp stone floor came to life, forming into a sentient ball of water that swallowed the Kiri ninja in an instant.
Sakura's diagnostic technique lit up with information.
Misumi surged forward towards Hinata, no longer holding himself back.
Yoroi snapped a hand towards Honoka, the malign aura of his unique chakra draining ability pulsing outwards.
Amachi flexed his hands as his skin began to take on a blue-green tinge.
A massive bubble of water instantly consumed Haku, seeking to drown the surprised young woman.
Amachi smirked. "Just as planned."
Sakura gasped as she concentrated on the results of her diagnostic technique. "Naruto-Kun." Her medical training kicked in, allowing her to speak calmly despite the horror that she felt. "Isaribi's body is being forced to undergo another change, but there was also a poison laced in that liquid she took. It's killing her." A green aura erupted from the medic nin's hands as she wove them through another complicated technique. "Somehow it's already spread to her entire body. I don't think I have enough chakra to stop it all, but I'm going to try." Placing her hands on Isaribi's chest, Sakura activated the technique.
Green suffused Isaribi's body as Sakura attempted to pull all of the poison out while shielding Isaribi's body from the damage. Mere moments into the technique Sakura could feel her chakra dropping rapidly as she attempted to isolate the poison while simultaneously draw out what she had already identified.
Naruto raised his head and surveyed the battlefield. Part of him wanted to help them, but he trusted them. They would win. An idea blazed within his skull. His form glowed blue and and he rested his hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Use my chakra."
It was like she had been plugged into the sun. It would have been so easy to be washed away by the power, to loose herself within the sheer presence of it. But Sakura had promised herself that she would never give in again, that she would never loose control like that day. Drawing on the freely offered power, Sakura's green eyes glowed slightly as she pushed herself to her limits. "You will not die!"
Hinata frowned as Misumi contorted himself away from her first strike. When she had struck out after blocking his attack, he had contorted his body to the side, his chest scrunching to avoid the strike. Her left hand snapped out, probing to see if he could avoid that strike as well. This time Misumi's entire shoulder and rib cage swung out of the way, but his torso didn't move. Oddly, it seemed to be a purely physical motion, unaided by chakra.
"What's the matter?" Misumi couldn't help but mock, "Your fancy moves not doing their job?" Pushing his glasses up with his right index finger, he didn't stop the chuckle from bubbling out of his throat. "And if you can't even stop me…" He smirked, "...How could you stop all of these?" Completing the hand signs, ten water clones rose out of the numerous puddles, morphing into identical copies of Misumi. "Come. Entertain me."
The Hyuga kunoichi's hands glowed as she charged towards the clones who were also charging her. Only...this time she wasn't holding back. Reaching the first clone, her left hand deflected it's strike while her right snapped into the water clone's body, striking the center of the chakra powering it. The clone exploded into water droplets, and Hinata was already moving through the water raining down. The second clone dropped from a double palm thrust, and then the remaining eight water clones surrounded her.
"Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms."
Hinata blurred, her hands and arms moving faster than Misumi could keep track of. All eight clones exploded into water droplets, the water mist flying outwards, leaving Hinata dry. Misumi only had time to spot a quick flash of the terrible white eyes of the Hyuga before Hinata was in front of him her hand already racing forward. Desperately contorting his body with every ounce of speed he possessed. Scrunching his torso to the side, the missing ninja twisted directly into the short range lightning jutsu that Hinata had unleashed from her other hand. Misumi hit the ground twitching from the excess electricity. A single quick job from Hinata brought merciful unconsciousness.
Honoka raised a single hand towards Yoroi, and her chakra chains responded. Yoroi instantly reacted, his hands coming up to block the chakra constructs. The ribbon like chakra chains fluttered in front of his eyes, blocking Hokona from his sight. The next thing he felt was a sharp pain as the Uzumaki kunoichi's rapier pierced his shoulder. His eyes widened in pain, and only then did he realize how outclassed he had been. He had mistaken Honoka's composed expression for ignorance. "Orochimaru-Sama will send someone to save me."
The Uzumaki kunoichi closed her hand and her chakra chains responded, wrapping themselves around the missing ninja. The symbol for 'Restrain' flashed into existence along with 'Lightning'. Her hand twitched, combining the two symbols. Yoroi didn't have time to react before unconsciousness took him.
The main consciousness of Amachi's water creature, Umibozu, felt a slight bit of contentedness as it felt Haku be absorbed into it's body. Having been created to absorb and then drown it's victims, the simple creature felt only confusion when it started to feel cold emanating from it's latest victim.
Haku simply spiked her chakra, instantly freezing the water around her. The ice spread out from her body like an unstoppable wave. Within moments only ice remained. The ice parted as Haku took a step forward, the now frozen Umibozu cracking like an egg. Stepping onto the ground, the ice user raised her hand and concentrated. The second half of the water creature that had swallowed the Kiri ninja began to freeze. A flick of her wrist shattered the ice like glass, freeing the Kiri shinobi from their watery prison.
Slowly pulling her glowing hands back, Sakura pulled the poison from the small cut she had made in Isaribi's arm. The transformation had completed, turning Isaribi into her Kaima form. Blue-green scales covered her body, and judging by how much force she had to exert in order to make the small cut with her chakra scalpel, the pink haired kunoichi figured that the scales could easily stop a knife. Gills had grown onto either side of Isaribi's neck, having closed due to the lack of water. Webbing had grown between her fingers and toes, and a large fin had grown from the center of her scalp.
Breathing heavily, the medic ninja wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand before she wove the hand signs for the diagnostic jutsu once again. Tired but determined green eyes scanned the results, and Sakura felt a surge of relief. No traces of the poison remained, and she had been able to repair the slight organ damage the poison had caused. And from what she could tell from the small bit of information in front of her, the supposed 'cure' was in reality a catalyst to jumpstart the change into Isaribi's human-fish hybrid form. The poison seemed to be the second part of a binary poison, with the first having been inside the girl's system for some time.
"She's going to be alright." Naruto cut his flow of chakra to Sakura, not wanting to be the cause of what happened during the incident. "It wasn't a cure inside that vial." She answered Naruto's unasked question.
"I see." Naruto pushed down the anger he felt, knowing that if he let it, he would kill Amachi. "Amachi needs to stand trial for what he has done, and all of the people he has hurt." Rising, the blonde Uzumaki spotted Amachi racing towards a pool of water at the far edge of the cave. Blue-green scales covered the scientist's form, and from what Naruto could tell, Amachi had a more advanced version of Isaribi's Kaima form. Naruto blurred forward.
"It's all gone to hell." Amachi sprinted towards the safety of the water pool, "Why are they so powerful? I thought that they were just Chunin." Reaching the water's edge the scientist prepared to dive in when his body abruptly jerked to a stop. Snapping his head back to see what had grabbed his arm, Amachi felt his heart skip a beat. Naruto Uzumaki tightened his grip on Amachi's arm. "Amachi." His glowing blue eyes flashed red for a brief second, a terrible presence surrounding the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails, "Surrender."
"And that's why Sound had me attacking the ships." Amachi confessed, "I have the maps of the areas they will be searching," He gestured with his bound hands towards one of the tables that was against the wall, "Right over there." Glancing up hopefully at the ninja surrounding him, Amachi gave his most charming smile. "Since I gave you that important information, you know that I have more information, so you can't kill me."
"Where is the cure for Isaribi?" Naruto demanded, crouching down to the seated scientist's level, "She said you have it."
"I lied." Amachi shrugged, not seeing the point in keeping up the charade, "It was a useful lie to keep her doing what I wanted, but I never made a cure." He raised his eyebrow in amusement. "I mean, why would I cure something that makes someone better than a normal human? Why would I want to do that?" Wisely avoiding to add that he planned on dissecting Isaribi once she had died, the scientist waited for Naruto to ask him more questions.
Pushing down the anger that boiled in his veins, Naruto stood back up and moved towards the maps that showed the Sound ninja's search areas. "I'm done with him." It was a struggle not to just kill Amachi for his crimes, but Naruto was trying to learn when to not kill. And since Amachi would be taken to trial in Kiri and he had also not hurt any of Naruto's precious people, the Uzumaki was doing his best to push down the urge.
"Right." Hiromasa nodded, "As soon as we figure out how many areas we have to search for the Sound ninja, we'll head out. Akio and I will be taking half of the areas and your team will be taking the other half. Masato and Misato will be taking Isaribi-San, Amachi, Yoroi, and Misumi back to Kiri. Isaribi will be getting the best medical treatment we have, and Amachi and his friends will be going to our secure cell block. We'll contact Konoha about Yoroi and Misumi." Amachi blanched at the realization that he would be paying for what he had done.
"By the way, Amachi," Hiromasa turned back to the bound criminal, "I wouldn't try anything while you are with Misato and Masato." A touch of dark humor flickered across his face, "I've given her permission to stick you with her senbons whenever she feels that you are trying to escape." He paused before adding, "And that's after she activates the paralyzing seal the Uzumaki so thoughtfully applied to you."
Misato held up a senbon, "Do it." Having a soft spot for children, Amachi's actions made her utterly furious. "Make my day."
What did you think? Drop a review and let me know.
On Amachi: Amachi's flaw is that he believes that he is smarter than everyone else. As such, he honestly thought that all of his plans would work. Originally I had planned a fight scene between him and Naruto, but I soon realized that it wouldn't be much of an even battle nor would it add anything to the story.
On Clones: Clones (Shadow Clones or otherwise) have a basic feeling of the status of their creator. It's not telepathy or anything powerful, but it is enough to know their basic state. As such, Forty Five knew that Forty Four (it's creator) had 'died', but it didn't know how.
To my reviewers' direct questions:
Animaman: Ay is currently smart enough to realize that old wounds are best left in the past, while Onoki on the other hand…
Bearmauls: You are absolutely correct. Naruto, at his core, isn't a Leaf Ninja. He is part of their forces, yes, but he fundamentally doesn't understand the whole "Village above all else" philosophy. Having never been shown the good side of such a philosophy, he is only in the Leaf because everyone he cares about is there. So when he's speaking to someone who has authority to help protect those he cares about should everything in Konoha go south, he honestly didn't consider what he told Mei as (objectively speaking) revealing internal information. Plus Naruto honestly doesn't realize that some people outside of Konoha would use the civil war for their own gains. As of current chapter, no one has sat him down and explained that many outside forces would take advantage of the civil war. As far as the mission goes, it was Naruto not considering all of the ramifications of it. To him, the word "monster" was being tossed around and thus he wanted find out if it really was a "monster" or a person who was just labeled as such. I hope this better explains why Naruto revealed what he did, but if not, drop a PM my way and I'll go into more detail. And yeah, the second half of the Kiri arc is going to be awesome.
King Kroniiclez: First, I want to say that I completely understand where you are coming from. As far as the branching story sections go, I'm still trying to strike a balance between showing the events happening in the world and writing something that is easy(ish) to follow. On a more meta note, some of the branches that have been developed up until this point will be resolving themselves within the next two arcs, and several others will become clearer once some of the branches have been resolved. Out of curiosity (Please don't take this as condescending or insulting, it's not my intention), would it help if there is a brief explanation about a character (who hasn't been 'seen' in awhile) at the bottom of the chapter they appear in? Side Note: It was my hope that like Fable, the smaller arcs would build back into the main arc, but I'm not sure if I accomplished that or not.
Guest: Technically Naruto wasn't creating explosion release. He was mostly overcharging a clone with chakra and then detonating all of the chakra at once like a bomb. Once he has allies fighting with him, that technique wasn't really viable anymore, so that's why we haven't seen it since.
Nin-Guest: You are right about the openness. When crafting Naruto's personality (and all of his character growth since), I tried my best to see how some of his best traits could also have flaws. One of the main ones was Naruto not viewing the village as a name, but a collection of people. Add with his somewhat naivety of others (as of yet simply overpowering everything as a last resort hasn't failed him), and his reason for giving all of that information is more understandable. However, given that he is now starting to think and problem solve with a less 'Myself, Family, and Friends' approach, his naivety won't be staying around forever.