Opening - Rolling Star by Yui
X
Suigetsu tended to fight harder when he was afraid. Although he'd never mentioned it to anyone, not even his brother, he was well aware of this fact.
Currently, he was armed with a makeshift, cracked sword of white bone, fighting an assassin with a kekkei genkai that would let her kill him with a single touch of her fingertips. His only ally at the moment had a notorious split personality that could switch at any time, turning him into a rampaging monster that was barely sapient and would gleefully attack everything that moved within his field of vision. On top of that, the surrounding jungle was supposedly teeming with venomous snakes and insects, half of which could kill Suigetsu as easily as Mariko or Juugo.
In short, Suigetsu was completely terrified, which in turn meant that he was fighting more ferociously than he ever had before. Mariko was unable to block his kenjutsu attacks with only her bare arms, which instead forced her to dodge around them and retreat away from them. Fortunately for her, traditional Gentle Fist taijutsu made little use of solid forearm blocks, preferring instead to brush attacks aside with one's hands, or otherwise dodge them completely.
"Get back!" Juugo commanded, and Suigetsu's eyes went wide with even greater fear. He aborted his next attack on Mariko, leaping away from her as quickly and forcefully as he could. Juugo appeared a few yards in front of her and pulled back his right fist, which was already transformed into a massive chakra cannon. He threw his mighty punch, letting loose a brilliant blue torrent of energy that sailed across the short distance between himself and Mariko.
"Revolving Heaven."
Suigetsu lowered his sword, watching as Juugo's chakra beam was predictably deflected to the side by Mariko's spinning barrier. He raised his left hand and pointed it at the Revolving Heaven, his eyes wide and cold like a shark's. The instant that Mariko stopped spinning, and her defensive jutsu vanished, he was ready.
"Bang."
Mariko's eyes went wide, almost as if she could see the gunshot coming, but she knew she wouldn't have enough time to counter it with another Revolving Heaven. She still tried, however, and she began to spin just before the bullet of water would have pierced her chest. Instead, it hit her right upper arm and stopped when it gashed bone.
She cried out, and her Revolving Heaven stopped before it could properly start. Suigetsu lunged in again, raising his white sword to bring it down on Mariko's head. Mariko, however, aggressively counterattacked by catching the sword with her bare right hand. Blood trickled down from her slashed palm, but she ignored it and slammed her left hand into Suigetsu's sternum.
Suigetsu stumbled backward, completely unable to take a breath. He stepped back away from her, dropped his sword and began clawing at his chest and throat, mouth wide open. He was silent, unable to breathe in or even scream out his last breath in anguish.
He collapsed to the ground, breaking down into a splash of clear water as he did. Mariko bared her teeth in a hateful grin aimed at him, as she ripped off the cuff of her Akatsuki robe's right sleeve to wrap it tightly around her slashed and bleeding palm.
With that done, she turned to glare at Juugo, who hesitated to attack her. The orange-haired boy was glancing back and forth between Mariko and the puddle that had once been Suigetsu, and to her eyes his attempts to stay still seemed desperate. It took her only a brief moment to deduce that he was likely trying to fight off one of his fits of rage, and to her surprise he was succeeding.
However, this also meant that he was unwilling to attack her for fear of losing control and going berserk. She grinned again, and dashed forward with both arms raised for a taijutsu attack, although she clearly intended to use her left arm more than her injured right. Juugo transformed his right forearm into a massive axe, and his left into a chakra cannon, awaiting her approach but still not moving to attack.
Shortly before she could reach Juugo, Mariko screamed in pain again, this time as a small but startlingly forceful weapon pierced her left hip from behind. Juugo gave a horrifying grin, and primed his chakra cannon. Rather than using another Revolving Heaven, Mariko Substituted away and left a log to catch Juugo's blast as well as two more small water bullets.
"I KNEW IT!" Juugo roared gleefully. "I KNEW YOU WERE FAKING IT, YOU CLEVER LITTLE...!" Despite already being a safe distance away from him, Suigetsu took a step back. "...Um." Juugo looked down, ashamed and quiet. "Sorry about that."
"N-No worries, big guy," Suigetsu answered shakily. "You haven't killed me yet, so uh... keep up the good work."
Holy shit Kimimaro what the hell were you thinking sticking me with this guy he's totally gonna tear me apart and eat the pieces oh Kami I don't wanna die-
"Suigetsu!" a new voice shouted behind the young swordsman, prompting him to turn just in time to see Mariko aiming an open palm at his back, surprisingly at a range appropriate for ninjutsu.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!" She cried, but shifted her aim away from Suigetsu and toward the voice, which had come from within the canopy of a nearby tree.
"Hah!" To Mariko's shock, her attack was knocked aside somehow by the newcomer, but not before blasting away the foliage concealing him. Wielding Kubikiri Bouchou in his right hand, and grasping Samehada loosely in his left, Zabuza jumped from his perch and landed comfortably on the ground. "That's a cute little jutsu you've got there; sort of like an Air Bullet. You should really stick to taijutsu though; I've fought Genin with stronger wind jutsu than that."
"Zabuza-sensei!" Suigetsu grinned and waved. Oh thank Kami, I'm gonna live!
"Hey, kid..." Zabuza turned toward him, and Suigetsu shivered at the look in the older ninja's eyes. "...you dropped your sword."
"Y-Yeah, I uh, it was all part of the pl-"
"Never drop your sword." Zabuza pointed to the white arming sword, where it lay significantly closer to him and Mariko than Suigetsu. "If you do, you can easily end up in a situation like this, where you can't retrieve it without risking your life. Right now, you're a swordsman without a sword..." without turning away from Suigetsu, Zabuza batted away another Air Palm with Kubikiri Bouchou. "...you're as good as useless. Fortunately for you..."
He vanished, and appeared before Suigetsu with an Empty Wind. "...I brought you another one."
Instinctively, Suigetsu accepted the massive white bundle that his sensei roughly shoved at him, dumbly shifting it in his arms to grasp it better without even realizing what it was. It was only when he accidentally found and took hold of the weapon's hilt that he realized what had just happened.
Feed me... yes, this chakra isn't so bad... you'll do for now, but I want to taste the girl's chakra as well...
For years, Suigetsu had dreamed of owning one of the Seven Swords, and eventually even gathering them all. However, he had always expected that he would have to fight for each one. Whether he'd have to kill the previous owner, steal it, buy it, or whatever, he'd never expected to be simply handed the most fearsome of them all, Samehada the Greatsword, by one of the Seven Swordmen themselves.
I said, I want to taste the girl's chakra.
Suigetsu snapped out of his open-mouthed shock, and his grip tightened slightly on Samehada's hilt. Right. Yeah, let's start cutting stuff!
He turned his gaze on Mariko, already feeling his fear bleed away, replaced by confidence and excitement. This was Suigetsu Hozuki as Kiri had known him; the Second Coming of the Demon. Properly armed, he could take on any shinobi below S-rank with sadistic glee and not a trace of fear. What he did best was cutting things, and as long as he had the means to do so, very little could faze him. The Jounin-level Hyuuga who had terrified him when his only weapon was a half-broken bone with a dulled edge, was now his prey.
Mariko turned and ran. True, it hadn't worked a year before when she'd fled from Tenten, but it was really her only option. And although Zabuza at least was known to have a movement jutsu, she had learned from her past mistake.
'I have a movement jutsu, so of course I can outpace you.' The inventress' words echoed deep down in her mind, and she scowled coldly. Not this time.
"Pulse Step Jutsu."
X
Gaara's hands trembled slightly, and the blade of sand covering Kuroshi's real blade began to crack and crumble. Yagura was clad in a three-tailed Version Two cloak, and his right hand was clamped down on the sword of sand. It had been aimed at Gaara's throat, but the Kazekage had blocked it. His left was restrained by a tendril of black sand that had formed far behind Yagura.
The demonic chakra cloak was decidedly not smiling.
"I... won't die." Gaara began pushing back, and the black sand armor he wore at all times began to crack slightly, revealing its true nature. Still, by manipulating it in tandem with his own muscles, he could exert far more physical strength the same way as Tenten with her black barrier. Yagura's glowing white eyes seemed to regard the Kazekage with a hint of confusion. "I'm not ready to die yet, so you can't kill me."
"Gaara, look out!" Tenten called from where she and Shukaku were desperately fighting against Isobu and Choumei. His eyes widened, and he felt and heard his sand catching an attack from the reanimated Uchiha behind him.
"Fire Release," the enemy spoke solemnly. Gaara concentrated, gathering a mass of black sand for his counterattack. "Great Fireball Jutsu." As the Uchiha drew in a breath for his fire attack, Gaara shaped several pounds of black sand into a small, compressed lump and shot it into the Uchiha's mouth. The tendril of sand that had stopped his initial taijutsu assault then flicked him across the lake before he exploded into a massive orange fireball.
Gaara's attention snapped back to Yagura just as the latter smashed a spinning kick into his left temple, flinging him toward the ongoing battle between three Tailed Beasts. Shukaku managed to catch him with a cloud of sand and carry him up to where Tenten was perched on his head. "Gaara, are you alright!?"
"I'm fine," he smiled reassuringly, "Just a little sore and dazed. My sand armor saved me... Shukaku, how much chakra do you have left?"
"Nowhere near enough," the tanuki growled, taking a single step back from the giant turtle and beetle opposing him. "I was always the weakest of the Bijuu, and I'm outnumbered two to one, and I don't have access to my full power. I can't use a Bijuu Dama, can barely use my stronger wind jutsu, and I'm on a time limit on top of all that. We're fucked, fleshbag."
"We'll survive this," Gaara answered adamantly. "Maybe we can't win this fight, but we can survive long enough for backup to arrive. Even if there were other Edo Tensei Uchihas waiting to ambush the other teams, none of them had such a convenient scenario as this one. Naruto and Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke and his team. They already know to meet us here; they'll come and save us."
"Yeah? Well now would be a really good time for that," Tenten replied, then her eyes widened as Yagura appeared a few feet in front of her. He reached forward for her throat with both clawed hands, and she began to flinch backward in shock.
"RA-"
Giving off a flash of blue light, something white appeared between herself and Yagura, with black smoky chakra trickling upward off of its surface.
"-SEN-"
Yagura snarled inhumanly, not even flinching from the ball of blue light grinding into his face. He reached forward a second time, still disregarding the legendary jutsu, and moved forward just a bit before it exploded.
"-GAN!"
Yagura's growl rose in volume into a furious roar as he sailed backward through the air, arms and tails flailing for several seconds before he cleared the shore of the lake and started smashing through trees. At that point, his protests stopped.
Naruto landed in a crouch in front of Tenten, then stood and glanced around. "Sorry we kept you two waiting, but it looks like we at least made it in time."
Gaara closed his eyes and sighed in relief. "Thank you for coming, Naruto. We were just talking about you."
Naruto made a quick, surprised sound in his throat as he looked down. "Holy crap, I hadn't even noticed you down there, Shukaku! From behind, I just thought you were a huge hill!"
"Heh. I remember this fleshbag," Shukaku addressed Gaara. "It's funny though, he never struck me as really dense until just now."
"Actually, his observation wasn't unreasonable," Gaara defended his friend. "Moving at the speed Naruto does, viewing you from behind, you do somewhat-"
"GUYS!" Tenten exploded. "Can we focus on the life-or-death BIJUU BATTLE ROYALE for a second!? And where the hell is Hinata, anyway?"
Naruto looked around the lake in time to see Isobu and Choumei finish compressing two Tailed Beast Balls. Hinata appeared at his side a moment later, with her glowing eyes already wide. "That's not good."
"My Rasenshuriken was able to blow up kaachan's Tailed Beast Ball before it got to us," Naruto observed, "But with one that big, we'll all still get caught in the explosion."
"If I hit one with my Rasenyari, it might get pushed back instead of going off, but what about the other one?"
"Leave that to me," Shukaku answered. "All of you get off of me, and I'll deal with one Bijuu Dama. Dense fleshbag and cute fleshbag, hit the other one with your Rasenthingies."
"Rasenthingies. And you call me dense."
"Did... did you just say 'cute?'"
"Hurry up!" Shukaku snapped, and the four ninja promptly jumped from his head to the surface of the lake below.
"If you're taking down Isobu's Bijuu Dama, then I'll deal with Choumei," Shukaku replied, and thunderously began running across the lake toward Choumei.
"I'll do what I can to protect us with my sand, in case the Rasenyari doesn't work," Gaara added, gathering Kuroshi into a shell around the four. He left it open in the front, since Naruto and Hinata were still holding their newly formed jutsu.
They were just in time, as a moment later Isobu let fly his attack. "Water Release: Rasenyari!" Hinata threw her blue spear, and watched with wide, hopeful eyes as it smashed into the Tailed Beast Ball. The lesser attack exploded into a shockwave of chakra, water, and tremendous force, and to everyone's relief the Tailed Beast Ball was pushed back. "Naruto-kun!"
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!" The Hokage drew back his arm and then whipped it forward, flinging his own attack. It took a while to catch up to the Tailed Beast Ball, but the shuriken did manage to detonate the attack somewhere near Yagura's already-destroyed hideout, where it couldn't kill anyone with its destruction.
Meanwhile, Shukaku jumped forward and violently tackled Choumei's Tailed Beast Ball just as it began to fly toward him. He tore his body of black sand out of its normal shape, wrapping himself around it and smothering it. The blast did manage to blow him to bits, but nothing else. He let go of the black sand with what little red chakra was left in it, and his consciousness returned to Gaara's seal.
"Alright! Gaara, get some more of Shukaku's chakra ready for your Bankai! Hina-chan and Tenten, your powers should do better against Choumei than Isobu. As for me, I'll deal with Yagura and then I'll be back to help with the Tailed Beasts."
"What about Isobu?" Tenten spoke up.
Kurama emerged from Naruto's Eight Trigrams Seal in a hurricane of white smoke, prowling toward his brother at tremendous speed. "Leave him to me!" the fox roared, and delivered his opening blow with a vicious swing of his right paw.
Naruto vanished with an Empty Wind, and Hinata formed a Water Deity around herself. "Tenten, get your lava ready!" she charged, and formed an oversized Rasengan in her chakra avatar's right palm.
"Yeah, I know!" Jeez, everyone seems to have one of those. Gaara, Hinata, Naruto, hell, Sasuke and Itachi even have one from their kekkei genkai! And damn, it looks like fun... "Devour everything within reach, Umiyou!" molten glass poured forth from her sword, and she gathered it around her into a ghostly, warped humanoid avatar. Much like Gaara's Kuroseikyo, her glass aura appeared to take the form of a ghost wrapped in a tattered robe. Let's give it a try, then! "Umiyou Yuurei!"
Damn, fleshbag, I bet you feel left out right now. Hurry up and infuse my chakra into your sword, so we can kick ass too.
It'll take time, but more importantly the blade seal is completely empty right now.
Use what's left in the tsuba seal then. I can use a smaller body; it's better than nothing and it'll take less chakra to maintain.
Gaara closed the shell of sand he'd intended to use to protect them all from the two Tailed Beast Balls. Actually, I was thinking we should combine that sand with what's already out here, and if you're willing, you should give the red chakra directly to me.
...Tailed Beast Mode. HA! I knew you'd ask eventually, fleshbag! Let's do this!
Naruto flickered back into visibility on the shore of the lake, wielding a freshly formed sword of chakra bone in his right hand and a Rasengan in his left. "Yagura! Come on out here and fight me, so I can beat that genjutsu out of you!"
A foot wreathed in red chakra slammed into Naruto's jaw out of nowhere, and three broad red tails grabbed him before he could be sent flying backward by it. Yagura landed on the beach in front of Naruto, and released him before smashing a frighteningly powerful punch into the younger Kage's face. This time, Naruto went tumbling across the surface of the lake.
Be careful, Naruto!
K-Kurama!? I can still hear you in here?
It surprises me too, I admit, but listen! We have no way of knowing how long ago Yagura opened Isobu's seal, but I'd bet anything that it's been open for years. You know what that means.
Realization dawned, and Naruto's eyes widened in horror. You... you don't mean he has...
The red chakra making up Yagura's cloak exploded outward into a smoking dome of chakra that engulfed him and completely obscured him from view. Naruto let go of his bone sword and began forming a Rasenshuriken in its place, watching with growing panic as the red chakra turned a vibrant teal.
The dome crumbled apart into scattering wisps of blue-green chakra, revealing Yagura clad from head to toe in a sleek suit of armor made from polished, pale pink coral. A single tail-like appendage swished lightly behind him, made from the same material fashioned into a chain. Unlike Naruto's armor, Yagura's featured no decorative embellishments, and the helm in particular was completely featureless, with only narrow slits for eyeholes reminiscent of a hunter-nin's mask.
Version Three!?
Dammit Naruto, just hit him!
Kurama's attention snapped back to Isobu as the latter punched the former in the face. The fox entwined one of his tails around each of Isobu's forearms, and glared directly into Isobu's single eye as the Three-Tails opened his mouth to begin forming an attack. "Isobu! You think a weak little punch like that was gonna work on me!?"
Kurama began forming his own Tailed Beast Ball again, and stopped doing so while it was still small. Isobu, on the other hand, was intent on creating a comparatively massive one. "Bijuu Dama!" he fired it point-blank into Isobu's face while simultaneously releasing the turtle's forearms. Isobu was thrown backward a short distance compared to his own size, but Kurama was already closing in again. "You can do better than that!"
Fleshbag, don't leave us out of all the fun, Shukaku commanded angrily.
I'm ready, Gaara answered. Hinata and Tenten are handling Choumei well enough for now, so I think we should fight with Kurama. If we end that fight quickly, we can move on and overpower Choumei and Yagura with greater numbers and excessive force.
Excessive force sounds good to me!
Gaara opened his brilliant yellow eyes, which were marked with a diamond-shaped pupil surrounded by four smaller round ones. "Let's go, Shukaku."
Meanwhile, Naruto threw his Rasenshuriken at Yagura, and watched in disbelief as the older Kage reached out and caught the spinning ball of death with his right hand. Yagura turned his arm out to his side, pulling the Rasenshuriken with it until the S-rank jutsu grated past his hand and shot into the forest surrounding the lake. "H-How the hell-"
Yagura appeared before him in a blur of movement, aiming his coral-clad fist for Naruto's jaw. Without a sword, Naruto was forced to use his taijutsu to counter Yagura's own. Although he was shockingly fast, now Yagura was as well, and as a result the less skilled Hokage was pummeled and tossed backward.
He landed in a crouch, and quickly formed a sword of bone to defend himself as Yagura closed in again. He vanished with an Empty Wind, then flickered in and out of Yagura's view dozens of times. He came to a stop behind Yagura, with his sword wreathed in smoky black chakra. He brought it down, but Yagura dodged and aimed a kick backward at his gut.
Naruto dodged backward with an Empty Wind, and pulled back his sword for a horizontal slash. If the Rasenshuriken won't work, a normal Banshou Karu probably won't. But I've gotta beat him somehow, so I'll try some new moves! "Banshou Karu!" he formed and threw one of his massive crescent blades at Yagura, watching the Mizukage prepare to dodge. He grinned behind his skull helm, and dropped his sword to cross his fingers in the clone seal.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Where before there was one Banshou Karu blade in the air approaching Yagura, now there were hundreds. Where before he had a chance of dodging, now he had none. Where before he might have withstood a direct hit unharmed, now he certainly wouldn't.
The crescent blades hit their mark.
"Rasenyari!" Hinata shouted defiantly, slamming her most powerful jutsu squarely into the Seven-Tails' face. The giant beetle flew backward as the jutsu exploded, and the lake's surface was ravaged by the shockwave as well. Hinata's Water Deity wobbled slightly on the unstable battlefield, but she ignored it and called out, "Tenten, use your lava now!"
"No need to tell me that!" Since her own avatar had no legs and instead floated above the surface of the water, Tenten wasn't having the same minor problem as Hinata, so she was completely unimpeded in her approach toward a downed Choumei. She kept moving until she struck the Seven-Tails and her molten glass avatar splashed apart, only for her to wrap it completely around Choumei.
A small swirling tendril of molten glass shaped itself outward from the scalding layer covering Choumei, with Tenten in a bubble near the tip of the construct. "Hinata, listen up! I can't actually restrain her like this; all I can do is burn her. It should cost her some chakra to keep healing as I damage her, so it's a start I guess, but we need to do more!"
"Do you have more lava inside your sword?" Hinata asked.
"...Yeah, why?"
"Have it ready to replace this stuff." Hinata formed a single half-ram seal before her lips, and shaped her Water Deity into a dozen familiar water constructs. "Hollow Water Dragon Horde!" the water dragons snarled as they wrapped themselves around Choumei, gradually evaporating into steam while also cooling the glass into a solid. "I doubt it'll hold her for long, but right now she can't move!" Hinata called as she landed on the lake's surface.
Choumei's armored head flailed from side to side, shaking off the still-liquid glass over it. She immediately began forming a Tailed Beast Ball, aiming it directly at Hinata. Tenten's eyes went wide, and she burst free of the bubble in the glass. "Hinata!"
"It's fine..." She formed a Rasenyari, and closed her glowing eyes for a few brief moments. "...Empty Wind Jutsu!" she vanished and reappeared directly under the forming Tailed Beast Ball, then threw her own strongest jutsu straight upward. "Rasenyari!"
The ball of orange wreathed in black was launched violently skyward, regardless of any effort Choumei made to keep control of it. Hinata leapt straight upward and slammed an uppercut into Choumei's helmet-like head shortly before her Twin Lion Fists blazed to life over her hands. "Two palms! Four palms!" Tenten's eyes widened as she realized just what Hinata was doing. "Eightpalmssixteenpalmsthirtytwopalms... Eight Trigrams SIXTY-FOUR PALMS!"
She landed in a traditional Gentle Fist pose. "Her tenketsu are large and her chakra network is thick. It's all very easy to target, but I could only attack a small section of it. Regardless, I think I've hindered that part of her network enough that she can't use the Tailed Beast Ball!"
"Wow, I didn't think the Gentle Fist could work on a Tailed Beast," Tenten murmured, as she took up a stance next to Hinata with her sword. "Nice work, Hinata."
"She might be able to flush my senjutsu chakra out of her network, but if she tries, I'll see her doing it." Hinata pointed to the telltale veins of her active Byakugan. "And that was a full Sixty-Four Palms with senjutsu chakra, all focused on such a specific point on her chakra network... I have high hopes for this."
Choumei snarled at Hinata, straining against the tempered glass holding her in place. The solid glass cracked in several places, and where the glass hadn't been cooled by Hinata's water it splashed away from her and sizzled into the lake below. The glass prison shattered altogether, and Choumei lunged at Hinata.
As she and Tenten retreated to safety, they both distantly noted the ripples in the water below them, glancing left in time to see Kurama and Shukaku simultaneously punching Isobu in the jaw. "Oh, this makes me miss the good old days!" Kurama roared, laughing with a matching massive grin. He opened his mouth wide and formed a small but tightly compressed ball of black and orange chakra before swallowing it. "Bijuu Dama!"
"Hah!" Shukaku watched Isobu take a direct hit from the scarlet beam, and fly away yet again. "Hey Kurama, you've been under Sharingan genjutsu like this; what's it like?"
"Annoying as hell," Kurama spat. "Following the whims of some arrogant little spawn of Indra's, completely against your will. Hey Isobu!" the giant turtle surfaced and growled furiously at his older brother. "We'll have you out of that genjutsu in no time! For now, just keep up exactly what you're doing!"
Shukaku laughed. "Yeah, what he said!" he brought up his fist before slamming it into his gut forcefully. "Drilling Air Bullet!" he spat out a compressed blast of wind at his older brother, but his grin faltered in slight annoyance as Isobu rolled to the side. The Three-Tails then jumped into the air and wrapped his tails around himself as he began to spin rapidly and forcefully. "He can only hit one of us at a time, so the other should blast him with a full-power Bijuu Dama!"
"As much as I'd love to waste you with my full power," Kurama chuckled, "You're forgetting about Gaara. You could reform your sand body after the explosion, but he'd already be dead."
"...You're right," Shukaku sighed. "Stupid squishy fleshbag." he glared at the approaching Isobu. "So what's the plan, then?"
"Well, since you're so willing to follow my lead...!" Kurama sprinted forward on all fours, charging straight toward Isobu. At the last second he jumped diagonally forward, past Isobu who momentarily stopped his spinning attack, unsure of whether to turn and pursue Kurama or continue straight ahead for Shukaku. Kurama impossibly caught the water in his claws as if it were solid ground, and spun himself around to face his younger brothers with all his nine tails waving in wild excitement. "Shukaku, wind attacks, NOW!"
Shukaku momentarily considered not following Kurama's orders, but when he recognized the fox's manic grin he changed his mind and began launching Drilling Air Bullets haphazardly at Isobu. That look on his face can only mean one thing; he's got a truly awesome idea! Let's see whatcha got, Kurama!
Kurama, meanwhile, had risen to his hind legs. Although it wasn't his preferred stance, he could manage it well enough. His red eyes blazed with ever-growing excitement and glee. Every time Naruto's used this jutsu in the past three years, and I was inside his seal, I felt the way his chakra was moving. That wasn't enough by itself, but with some practice and a few hints from the Bijuu Dama's construction, I'm sure I've got it this time!
He turned up his right forepaw, and it became the center of a rapidly going whirlpool of deep scarlet chakra. It took a few seconds for Kurama to rein in the sphere's growth, but he managed. I can't wait to see the look on his face! He charged with a roar, drawing Isobu's attention away from Shukaku. He turned just in time to be struck head-on by the brilliant red sphere of destruction. "RASENGAN!"
"Rasenshuriken!" Naruto shouted elsewhere, slamming his most powerful jutsu directly into Yagura rather than throwing it. The shuriken had landed on Yagura's chest, and it immediately had begun to expand and shred away at them both equally.
That's it, Naruto realized grimly. He can withstand a hit from a Rasenshuriken because I can, and his power is just the same as mine. So to defeat him, I'd need a jutsu that would be strong enough to cut through my own defense.
As the Rasenshuriken died down, Naruto's bone-clad palm landed on the dead center of Yagura's coral-clad chest, and the older Kage's Sharingan locked with Naruto's Rinnegan. Naruto acted as quickly as he could, using chakra control in an attempt to keep a grip on Yagura's armor while drawing his left fist back for a punch.
Yagura's red eyes flicked in the direction of Naruto's next attack, and his right palm came up to smoothly catch the telegraphed taijutsu attack. At the same time, his left hand locked onto Naruto's wrist and yanked it away. With both of their centers of mass now equally exposed, it came down to who could more quickly muster a taijutsu assault with both of their arms occupied.
Yagura's knee came up and smashed into Naruto's sternum with enough speed to give off a sonic boom, and force to match. Naruto reeled, and while he did Yagura headbutted him viciously. Both of their helms cracked loudly, and Yagura released both of Naruto's arms in order to follow up with several rapid punches. Next, he grabbed Naruto by the throat and spun, hurling him into the jungle.
Naruto smashed through dozens of trees as he flew, some of them larger even than what he'd seen in the Forest of Death so long ago. When he finally came to a stop, it was with his fingers and knees tearing dark gashes through the ground in an attempt to slow himself. It worked, and Naruto took a few moments to fashion the sturdiest bone saber he could before flash-stepping back into battle.
Yagura, on the other hand, was already in the middle of his own Pulse Step to attack Naruto again. Thinking fast, he raised his right forearm to catch the blade. Naruto's greater speed and momentum pushed Yagura back slightly, but the former Mizukage had two fists and Naruto had only one sword. He immediately aimed a punch at Naruto's right flank with his left hand.
"Rasengan!" Naruto countered, forming the sphere in his own left hand before smashing it into Yagura's armored knuckles. He intentionally made the Rasengan explode, blasting Yagura's arm back. Although he would've been able to resist the force of the explosion, he had no way to know it was coming and as a result he spun with his arm's backward momentum.
Naruto slashed into Yagura's back during the brief time it was exposed, attacking over and over again. With every hit the blade's edge wore down, but the Mizukage's armor was also scratched and dented to match. I've gotta find a way through that defense.
Yagura turned with lightning speed, catching Naruto's sword midway through its next swing. He twisted his hand, snapping the blade in half before launching into another taijutsu assault. Naruto blocked as many of the blows as he could, but there was no question that Yagura had the upper hand in unarmed combat.
Yagura caught Naruto by the throat a second time, choosing to aim for his throat not only because it was a vital area but also because it was one of the few places on the Hokage's body that he could maintain a firm grip. He yanked his arm upward, hurling Naruto into the sky before jumping after him.
Damn it all! Naruto spun in midair, pulling back what remained of his broken sword as he glared down at the approaching Yagura. "Banshou Karu!" Yagura knocked the dark blade aside and kept coming, planting a mighty flying kick into Naruto's gut. The Hokage recoiled from the blow, but pumped chakra into the broken sword to extend it back to its full length.
The two brawled in the sky for several seconds, even as they began to fall back to earth. Yagura's skill with taijutsu matched Naruto's with kenjutsu, but he got lucky and landed a thunderous punch to Naruto's sternum. He followed it up with a spinning kick to the side of the Grinning Fox's head, then he grabbed Naruto's shoulder with his left hand and pushed him down several feet closer to the rapidly-approaching ground.
Dark red and shining blue orbs of chakra materialized around Yagura, and they began to coalesce into a glowing orange lump before the ex-Kage's pale pink helm. Naruto's eyes widened and he tried to interrupt Yagura, but he was held back by the older Jinchuuriki's taijutsu just long enough for him to complete his attack, which then disappeared into a hole that opened up on his helm where his mouth would be.
"Tailed Beast Ball."
Naruto's entire world became nothing but pain and red light, and stayed that way for several seconds. To him, it felt much more like a solid minute of helplessness and suffering. The scarlet beam blasted him deeper into the ground, with a crater growing to accomodate him as it went on, until the very moment it winked out. Naruto groaned in pain, and tried to climb to his feet only for Yagura to smash into his chest like a meteor.
He cried out, and felt his desperation turning to anger. Get... the hell... off! He formed a Rasengan in his right hand and made to strike Yagura with it, but Yagura slammed his arm back into the dirt with his left hand and continued to pummel him with his right. "Shinra Tensei!"
Yagura was thrown skyward by invisible force, and Naruto climbed to his feet in a daze. Dammit... don't I have anything to beat him? My Banshou Karu and Rasenshuriken are useless, I don't have my real sword so I'm stuck using temporary ones that break, and on top of that his Tailed Beast Ball is strong enough to...
He looked down, and consciously realized that his bone armor was cracked in many places and even missing a few chunks. To do this.
When Yagura then returned from his trip to the lower reaches of the stratosphere, he immediately targeted these exposed places, in particular a few of Naruto's exposed right ribs, his left shoulder, and the spot where his throat met his collarbone. Naruto reeled backward from each punch, and without his sword there was no stopping Yagura once the ex-Kage picked up some momentum.
When Yagura eventually let up, Naruto was beaten into a deepening crater in the ground between two roots of a thirty-foot thick tree. His bone armor was in pieces, and he was coughing blood behind what remained of his bone helm.
But he had an idea.
'We really can't predict it. By tapping into your demonic side, you could accidentally turn yourself into some kind of unnatural abomination... But on the other hand, because the demonic nature of your chakra was essentially copied from mine, you'll probably have a fox-like form.'
Man, even Hinata is gonna end up telling me how incredibly stupid this was. But hell, at this point I'd take turning myself into a starfish alien if it'll help me shut this guy down. What remained of Naruto's bone helm crumbled, and he spat out some blood. And if the Sage of Six Paths did it and all he got was a couple of little horns, how bad could my chances really be?
He gathered his chakra and climbed slowly, shakily, to his feet. Yagura regarded him with a look in his eyes that vaguely resembled boredom. "I was told to anticipate this," he intoned, using words that were clearly not his own. "I was warned that you wouldn't stop fighting of your own accord under any circumstance. Still, I admit I'm curious as to what your plan is. Yagura took everything you had without flinching; you don't have any more powerful attacks than what you've already used."
"Heh... yeah, that's a bit of a problem." Naruto laughed quietly, but inside he was panicking. Shit, what the hell do I do now!? How do I even do this partial transformation? It's gotta be pretty intuitive, if the Sage of Six Paths could just figure it out with no one to teach him, and then there's all the Jinchuuriki who can do it too...
"And... what's your solution?" Yagura questioned. "What's your plan now?"
Naruto's eyes widened. It's gotta be kinda like forming a chakra cloak; maybe if I try to shape my chakra the same way but inside my body instead of around it... "If you could just let me think for a second, I could come up with something, ya know?"
"I'm not supposed to allow that." The Uchiha stopped talking through Yagura, and a moment later the Mizukage lunged forward and began attacking Naruto again, just an instant too late.
Got- "-it!"
X
Well, hello there.
Naruto's eyes snapped open, even though he had no memory of closing them. Suddenly, he was stretched out on his back and staring up at a pale blue sky without a sun, moon or stars, only a few puffy clouds. He sat up, and only then realized that the smooth stone ground was submerged under a thin layer of water that was also soaking him.
You're Naruto Uzumaki, hm? A bit taller than I expected, and a bit more foolish too.
"Hey, what's with everyone calling me stupid today!?" Naruto called out angrily, although he couldn't see whoever was speaking. He flinched very slightly at how loud his own voice sounded; he seemed to have yelled louder than he'd intended. Wait... that voice... I know it from somewhere... "Who are you, anyway? And where are you?"
Oh, I'm back here behind you. Apologies. Naruto spun, and glared at the man who was speaking. He was sitting cross-legged on a circular slab of stone that rose to a comfortable height for a chair, with a thin black staff across his lap. He was old man with spiky silver hair in a style much like Naruto's, and shining blue eyes that were all but exactly the same. I stand by what I said just now, however. You should really have heeded Kurama's advice; changing your form in your weakened state nearly killed you.
Naruto looked down sadly. "...Damn, was it really that close?"
Yes, but there's a silver lining to this, child. For years I've been hoping to chat with you, and this little stunt of yours finally gave me the chance.
Naruto's eyes widened, and his gaze snapped back up to meet the old man's. "H-Hey! That's right; you still haven't told me who you are! And how the hell do you know Kurama!?" he froze, staring with slack-jawed amazement as realization finally dawned. Meanwhile, the old man continued to wear a patient, friendly smile. "I don't... believe it..."
Hagoromo Ootsuki chuckled good-naturedly. Believe it.
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