Kakashi and Gai looked over the Oto and Suna shinobi invading the arena, "Quite the crowd." the Hatake mused lazily, putting on an air of confidence to hide his nerves. It seemed Karin, Kiba, Akamaru, and Lee had all fallen under the effects of genjutsu. Shino and Sakura were up and awake, curiously so was Naruto which wasn't expected to the jonin but he assumed Maemi had something to do with it.
"That's not all," Gai spoke up, "there's something worse. Look up towards the central viewing tower." he said, directing Kakashi's attention towards where the Hokage was trapped.
"Kekkai Ninjutsu!" Kakashi exclaimed, not recognizing that specific form of barrier. Sakura looked around in confusion, growing frustrated by her own lack of understanding as something deep within the girl told her this was the beginnings of war which only confused her further since she knew nothing of war.
"Kakashi, look closely inside the barrier." Gai said as he kept his own nerves under control.
"Orochimaru!" Kakashi announced, immediately concerned for the Sandaime Hokage. Sakura jolted in alarm at the name and looked towards where Sasuke had gone with concern.
A pair of Otonin lunged at the girl and she raised her axe to protect herself, but need not have bothered as Kakashi was there to slam a kunai into the temple of each enemy with either hand, "Sakura-chan, I have a mission for team seven." he said, catching Naruto's attention as well. The blonde had been mesmerized by the sound of the Tatakainouta around him, it was completely different when he wasn't at the center of it, "Go and stop Sasuke from chasing after Gaara alone, this is an A rank assignment. I'll stay here and assist the fighting in the arena." he ordered, "Kiba and Akamaru should have noses that can help track, take them with you." he added.
Naruto grinned and opened up his thumb on the tip of his right horn, "No need, I've got my own methods of tracking!" he declared confidently, but he hesitated a moment as he glanced down at Karin, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he declared and in a puff of smoke the blonde was surrounded by five humanoid grey-purple skinned women with pastel pink hair, as well as one of the strange mammalian serpents, "Protect them!" he ordered the mantis clawed humanoids with a gesture to Karin, Kiba, Akamaru, and Lee before he hopped up into the saddle of his Daemonic mount with Maemi in front of him and offered a hand to Sakura.
The pink haired kunoichi frowned but accepted the hand and hopped up onto the saddle behind Naruto, then they were off without noticing Shino moving to follow them. Kakashi supposed the assistance would be useful, and seeing one of the mantis clawed humanoids smoothly decapitate an Otonin he decided the Daemons weren't so bad if they could help protect Konoha. The jonin noticed a subtle different between these and the ones the Sandaime Hokage had described to him, the ones Naruto had summoned in the past either had one claw or none, with a pair of breasts or more, while these all had a smaller claw on their left arm and only one breast each on the right side of their torso.
Another Otonin tried to intercept the serpent but a darting, whip-like tongue from the odd creature tripped him up and tossed him to the ground where one of the humanoid female Daemons impaled his heart with her claw. Naruto heard Maemi mentally tell him the Daemons he'd summoned were called Daemonettes, and they served as both handmaiden and infantry soldiers to Slaanesh. The serpent moved swiftly, scaling the arena wall with agility and grace that shouldn't be possible for its shape even with the use of chakra as Naruto urged it after the barely visible Sasuke.
Hiruzen and Orochimaru stared each other down, the Hokage having removed his robes and hat to reveal battle armor underneath while the Sannin revealed he was still wearing the outfit of the Kusa genin he'd killed before the forest of death.
"I have a question for you, Sarutobi-sensei, if you don't mind indulging me before you die," Orochimaru began, "what is a Daemon?" he asked.
Hiruzen smirked, "So even you don't know then." he chuckled, finding that amusing.
Orochimaru chuckled as well, "No one seems to, none of my spies, not the snakes, and none of my own research. Yet one day they just appeared, when Naruto Uzumaki got his hands on the Fuin no Sho if my information is correct." he said, he'd been looking forward to fighting Hiruzen, but first he had to know.
Hiruzen shrugged, "As you said, no one knows. The monkeys and toads are in the dark as well." he confessed, confirming that Jiraiya was in town as a ploy to perhaps shake up his traitorous pupil.
Orochimaru didn't seem concerned, "How interesting, and these creatures were able to completely subvert the Juin I put on Sasuke-kun." he mused before suddenly scowling, "It's quite irritating, I won't explain the details of my Juinjutsu to you, but suffice to say having my influence burned out by this Daemon is a damper on my plans." he confessed, "I'm surprised you've tolerated them though." he added.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, "What?" he asked before he could stop himself.
"Are you not aware?" Orochimaru asked as his smirk returned, "These Daemons, I've heard one claimed to be a Tenshi," he pointed out, "but do they seem like residents of Tengoku to you, Sarutobi-sensei?" he asked in a mocking tone, "Or residents of Jigoku?" he mused.
Hiruzen's eyes widened in alarm as the theory he hadn't wanted to consider was voiced, "What do you know?" he questioned dangerously, curious despite the situation.
"No more than yourself, unfortunately." Orochimaru responded dryly, "Except that their Kami are the soul devouring kind." he added with a smirk.
"How could you know this?" Hiruzen questioned with alarm.
Orochimaru considered explaining since he intended to kill the Hokage anyway, "I'm afraid there are too many prying ears for me to go explaining myself, even to a dying old man." he decided, "However, my altered plans are to my own benefit and your detriment." he continued with a chuckle, "I originally intended to have you experience the same joy as myself, the ability to fight your own sensei." he said.
Hiruzen took a horrified step back, "I should have guessed you'd stoop to that jutsu." he growled.
Orochimaru laughed, "Oh it's even better than it ever was!" he revealed with amusement, "However, the Edo Tensei pulls souls from Jodo. Thanks to these Daemons I've found a far more interesting place to draw from and I'm quite curious about these champions." he explained, "So I made one of my own!" he announced, weaving hand seals, "Kuchiyose: Konton Tensei!" he announced.
Hiruzen's eyes widened with alarm, ripping open his thumb with his canines hastily as he swiftly performed a similar jutsu to summon Enma, the king of the monkey clan. The monkey with the tiger-skin clothing appeared in a puff of smoke as a coffin bearing an eight pointed star rose from the roof.
Curiously, when the coffin opened the one inside simply appeared to be Dosu Kinuta. The boy stumbled out and the flesh of his right arm suddenly warped, fusing with the metal of his gauntlet as his bandages fell away. The bones of his face warped so whatever his face may have looked like was unable to be discerned from the strange features he was forced to take, his chin jutting out in multiple spikes and horns sprouting from his head like a crown.
"So this is the world that Slaanesh found." The thing possessing Dosu said in a voice that was too deep, looking around lazily, "You're the one who called me into this boy?" it asked with a raised eyebrow at Orochimaru, the brows suddenly twisting to form more horns, "My he hates you now, although his loyalty to you was superficial." it revealed idly.
"What in the world is going on?" Enma questioned, confused by the strange turn of events, "I knew you should have killed Orochimaru years ago." he added with a slight grumble to his tone.
Orochimaru grinned, "I must admit, I took quite the risk performing that jutsu." he said to Hiruzen, "But please, feel free to rampage through this village until that boy expires. After you kill that old man." he requested plainly of the Daemon possessing his subordinate, gesturing towards the Sandaime Hokage.
The thing that both was and wasn't Dosu turned a bored look towards Hiruzen, its eyes turned black, "Hm, not as trivial a task as it seems." the creature mused with a smirk, "How interesting, a Kage is it?" the thing wondered, seeming to find that amusing for some reason, "You'll have to excuse my stiffness, it's been so long since I had a real body, I'm loathe to give it up so quickly."
Then the creature moved with speed that Dosu didn't have and Hiruzen leaped back as he weaved hand signs, unleashing a Gokakyu no Jutsu before it could swing that twisted arm at him. Enma moved with the wizened Sarutobi, intent on backing the man up to the best of his ability.
The possessed Dosu leaped through the flames heedless of damage and punched at the air between itself and Hiruzen with its right arm, the air rent with the sound of a thousand screaming children and the Sandaime Hokage coughed up blood in alarm. Enma quickly became a staff and Hiruzen grabbed him out of the air to thrust into the face of his Daemonic opponent, the possessed boy flying backwards to rip up some roof tiles as it landed.
Then the creature leaped back up with a wild grin, "This world is very interesting!" it laughed, "For you to wield such ability despite your age, this chakra is truly a fascinating thing." it continued to chuckle. Hiruzen frowned, having been unaware that chakra was a foreign concept to Daemons, he wondered how much truth there was to what he'd been told by the other Daemons.
Sakura decided she really did not like riding the serpent, she didn't see what Naruto liked about it. For one thing it was fast despite slithering, and the unnatural motions were downright sickening. She also hated needing to cling to Naruto just to stay in the saddle, it would be fine if she was riding with Sasuke at least but with Naruto she just felt herself getting angrier.
The serpent trilled, a lyrical sound that couldn't be accurately attributed to any animal Sakura had ever heard before, "We're being trailed," Maemi translated and the mount trilled again, "nine enemies, typical." the Muse grumbled, "They aren't fast enough to actually gain on us, but if we have to fight Gaara we'll end up surrounded and outnumbered." she pointed out.
"I'm sick of riding this thing," Sakura snarled, "let me deal with them!" she insisted angrily.
"No way!" Naruto retorted, "You against nine of them?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow, "I'll just use Kuchiyose to set some Daemons on them!" he suggested.
"Naruto-sama has the chakra for it, and you're still injured." Maemi pointed out, although she wasn't sure if Naruto should keep using Kuchiyose in case whatever Gaara had was unleashed.
"I said I'm sick of riding this thing!" Sakura snapped, sliding from the saddle and rolling through the air to land on the branch of a tree, "I'll set an ambush and deal with them, then I'll catch up!" she insisted, already scanning the area for a good spot to fight from. Naruto didn't like it but he nodded, he could tell Sakura wasn't going to cooperate with his idea at this point anyway.
As Naruto went ahead Sakura found the perfect spot to fight while outnumbered and set a trail to lead her opponents there, swiftly setting some basic traps before picking her spot to hide. Even after being treated by iryonin some of the deeper cuts Temari had caused still hurt, and sitting waiting inside of a cave made the kunoichi feel like she was some kind of wounded animal.
Sakura remembered what she'd learned in the academy about wounded, cornered animals, that they were the most vicious and dangerous kind of animal. The thought brought a slight smirk to her face as she watched her enemies follow the trail she'd set, her expression dropping slightly as they carefully dismantled her traps.
"Come on out, we've got you dead to rights." One of the Otonin called into the cave.
"We don't mind blowing this cave up and digging your corpses out if you want to stay there!" Another Otonin commented with a sadistic laugh.
Sakura frowned since she only counted eight enemies, for a moment she considered the serpent and Maemi had overstated the number of enemies but remembered how keen their senses were and realized the ninth was probably waiting to counter ambush her. Seeing as her opponents were starting to pull out kibaku fuda she moved to the cave entrance to reveal herself, taking solace in the fact that her positioning at least kept her from being truly surrounded.
"What? Just one of them?" One of the Otonin questioned.
"How fast are these brats?" Another grumbled.
"It's just an injured little girl too, what a noble sacrificial move." A third added in a dry, sarcastic tone.
Sakura considered her options as her forehead mark throbbed, she remembered that Naruto usually issued a challenge and received strange transformations. She wasn't oblivious to the brass choker around her neck, she wasn't sure what it did but she hoped it was useful, "I challenge your leader! Face me in one to one combat if you aren't a coward!" she snapped, raising her axe ready to guard or attack.
Much to the aggravation of the pink haired kunoichi the Otonin all laughed at her, "Challenge? What kind of ninja are you?" one of them mocked as Sakura's eye twitched, "I don't know what scheme you've got going on, but how about we just bury you in that cave and chase after your little boyfriends instead?" he suggested.
For a moment the idea of Sasuke as her boyfriend was elating to the kunoichi, this moment passed as her brain registered the plural usage of the word and it clicked they were including Naruto in that statement, "I'd never date that blonde sissy!" she screamed, heaving her axe with such speed and ferocity that, combined with her scream, took her target off guard and the axe planted itself in the skull of the Otonin who spoke.
The remaining Otonin took a startled step back from the sudden aura of malice emanating from the pink haired girl, her green eyes glaring hatefully across them. Sakura felt like her body was suddenly flushed, her blood felt like it really was boiling along with her rage. She grit her teeth and pulled out a kunai, lowering her stance as she shifted back on her right foot.
"Who the fuck is next!?" Sakura snarled, eyes darting over her opponents. The Otonin exchanged glances and spread out, drawing their own kunai. The kunoichi noticed they were readying kibaku fuda and snarled, abandoning her position she charged the nearest one readying such explosives. The remaining Otonin moved to surround the girl, one hanging back as the other five moved to charge the girl who was charging one of them.
Kunai clashed against kunai and mesh, blood flew through the air, and in a moment Sakura stood with her kunai lodged in the chest of her target, now dead, as the other five stumbled back crying out in pain. The kunoichi barely registered what had happened, she'd been cut through the mesh on her back by the five moving to surround her but where her blood had splashed on them their flesh burned and clothing ignited in flames
"What the fuck!?" The only visible and unharmed Otonin cried out in alarm as he watched his allies burn, the burning shinobi attempted to drop and roll to extinguish the flames but were too badly burnt to get back up. Sakura wrenched her kunai from the chest of the man she killed and turned to face her remaining opponent, the Otonin shivered as he felt a chill wind come from the girl despite the way her blood burned.
A leaf caught fire as a drop of her blood landed on it, "What the hell is this bitch?" the visible remaining of them wondered out loud and Sakura leaped at him with fire in her eyes. It took a moment for the man to register it was actual fire in her eyes, her irides were still green but the pupils seemed to be windows to a furnace.
The final remaining Otonin felt fear, primal and visceral fear as if he were the prey facing down a predator despite being hidden from the girl. The kunoichi they were fighting was not normal, no normal girl her age had such intense blood lust. It was almost like a miasma of killing intent.
Seeing no one else eager to rouse her temper, Sakura stepped to her axe and grabbed the haft with her left hand. Stepping callously on the corpse of her first kill the girl wrenched her axe free of his skull, "Come out and offer your skull, coward." she snarled, her eyes darting around.
Nothing happened, the Otonin in hiding didn't dare move lest the monster in the form of a kunoichi who had slaughtered his allies somehow hear him. After a few more tense moments the edges of his vision turned black and he fell from his perch in the tree, surprising Sakura who was pretty sure she hadn't done that.
"Apologies for not arriving sooner," Shino said as he landed on a branch above her, "however it seems you didn't need my assistance. I would still offer it because I can lead you to Sasuke, because I placed a female kikaichu on him before he left the rest of my hive can track him." he informed quickly, the sight Sakura made him nervous and his kikaichu informed him the girl was of an uncomfortably high temperature despite how unnaturally chilled the air around her was.
Sakura frowned for a moment, wrestling with the anger that came from having one of her opponents defeated for her but took a deep breath as she tried to focus through the pain of the cuts in her back, "Alright, let's go!" she demanded without saying thanks. Shino decided not to press for gratitude with the hot tempered kunoichi.
Sasuke caught sight of the Suna genin from atop his Daemonic mount, according to Aoki the round flying thing was called a Disc. Apparently it was not a truly natural Daemon, but another kind of Daemon called a Screamer reshaped to be effectively used as a mount by Champions of Tzeentch.
The Uchiha considered using Kuchiyose no Jutsu to call more Daemons but realized that such a thing would drain his chakra too much and simply manifested a bolt of dull red flame to shoot at Kankuro's back with his right hand, as the puppeteer was carrying Gaara and his puppet that was the most logical target.
Logical target or not a bolt of red fire streaking through the air was not a very subtle attack and Temari noticed it in time to bat it away with her fan, not even needing to unfurl it, "I don't know what's going on exactly," Sasuke confessed as his mount floated down towards his prey, "but I wasn't done fighting Gaara." he pointed out as he manifested another red flame in his right hand, the fingernails on the hand sharpened into talons by his use of what Aoki said he should simply refer to as Mahojutsu.
Kankuro handed Gaara to his sister and placed the bandaged up form of his puppet on the branch next to him, "Temari-nee, take Gaara and go." he ordered, preparing himself to fight Sasuke to buy them time.
"Fine..." Temari agreed hesitantly as she lifted their youngest sibling to make her escape, Sasuke narrowed his eyes and with a shift of his feet directed his mount to ascend back into the air and give chase.
Kankuro scowled and swiftly unwrapped Karasu, "Hey! I'm the one who will take you on here!" he snapped, unleashing poisoned throwing knives from the mouth of his puppet and scowling further when not a single one managed to so much as scratch the flying platform, "Shit, Temari-nee! I can't stop him!" he called out in warning.
Temari turned back in time to see Sasuke's strange mount swooping at her, the spikes lining the outside of it shifting as if like claws aiming to rend her and Gaara. The Suna kunoichi leaped aside to carry her charge out of harms way and the Disc halted to give Sasuke an angle to toss a pair of shuriken at the girl and her brother, his Sharingan tracking their flight paths.
Karasu flew through the air under control of Kankuro's chakra to intercept the shuriken with its wooden body, the two shuriken embedding in two separate wooden arms of the four armed puppet. Sasuke lifted a wire to his mouth and the three Suna genin saw the metal thread connected to the shuriken drip with oil as the Uchiha weaved hand signs, "Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!" the Uchiha declared and directed the line of fire in the shape of a dragons head down the length of wire.
Kankuro's eyes widened in panic and he swiftly disconnected the arms with shuriken embedded in them to allow his puppet to evade the brunt of the flames, but it was clear that he was outmatched by the Uchiha. Temari frowned in concern for her siblings, wishing her father hadn't agreed to attack Konohagakure no Sato.
"Banzai!" Naruto shouted as his serpentine mount charged, slithering across branches towards Kankuro. The puppeteers eyes widened as he leaped away to avoid the wild swinging of the blonde genin's katana, the boy was practically treetop cavalry on the back of the serpent and Kankuro narrowly avoided the darting tongue of the Daemon.
"Stay out of this, Naruto!" Sasuke snapped, "I still haven't finished my fight with Gaara!" he argued, not wanting the blonde to take all the glory. Especially not when an actual deity was offering power for such glory.
"Huh?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, "Sasuke, your opponent is pretty much out of it." he pointed out dryly, "Oto and Suna attacked Konoha, Orochimaru is attacking our village and you're focused on finishing off a retreating opponent?" he asked, when it was put like that Sasuke did feel like it looked a bit bad.
The Uchiha shook his head, "Something weird is going on with that Gaara," he insisted, "even Aoki thinks I should kill him before he can unleash whatever that eye I saw belonged to." he explained his reasoning quickly. Sasuke's words served to alarm the two other Suna genin.
"You ignorant fools!" Kankuro said with a hysterical laugh, "You don't know what true terror is." he added more calmly.
"All the more reason for me to find out." Sasuke retorted with a shrug.
"No!" Temari cried out frantically, "You don't understand-!" she tried to warn.
"Shukaku, right?" Naruto asked with a frown, startling the other two genin yet again, "I don't fully get it, but we can't let you get away with attacking our home." he explained as he lifted his sword to rest across his right shoulder.
Kankuro glanced between the two Konoha genin on Daemonic mounts, "You're right, you don't fully get it. Only Kazekage-sama can subdue Shukaku." he explained simply, deciding honesty was the best option here, "We were ordered to get out of there because Baki-sensei called our part in the invasion of your home off." he said honestly.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Why should I trust your word?" he questioned.
"He's telling the truth." Maemi spoke up, not because she wanted to avoid violence but on reflex for confirming statements.
"It'd be safer to kill these three and then return to help." Sasuke pointed out dryly, annoyed with the Muse for confirming the truth of Kankuro's words.
"Please-" Temari began to plead.
"Temari," Gaara spoke up suddenly to alert his siblings he was awake, "you're in the way." he added with a swift backhand that knocked the blonde kunoichi flying into the trunk of a tree, a grunt of pain coming from the girl as she went.
"Shit!" Kankuro verbalized his displeasure as he leaped away from Gaara, his caution regarding the red haired Suna genin the only thing that stopped Naruto from moving to attack him.
"It seems we've caught up." Shino said as he landed on a branch behind Sasuke and Naruto, "I can't say I approve of this arena, because we are far too clumped up for me to have my match against my opponent." he intoned as he inclined his head towards Kankuro. Sakura landed next to the Aburame, no longer bleeding but the top of her qipao had been burned away by her own blood so only her mesh was covering her upper body.
"Now is definitely not the time for-" Kankuro began.
"Kankuro. Shut up." Gaara ordered in a flat tone, his left hand clutched his head in obvious pain as his body shook, "You three," he continued, glaring at the genin of team seven, "what are you?" he questioned.
"I could ask you the same thing." Sasuke retorted as he directed his Disc to float up in case Gaara tried to attack.
"He told me before," Naruto spoke up, "some ikiryo named Shukaku is sealed inside him. It's why he has power over sand." he explained, Temari and Kankuro wondered when and why Gaara had told the horned blonde about that.
"With four against three, we have the advantage." Shino pointed out, "I can deal with Kankuro, I am confident of this because it is what I spent the past month training to do." he explained.
Black veins emerged along Gaara's flesh, "You three, who are strong, who have friends, but only one of you has eyes and purpose like me." he rambled, drool sliding from the right corner of his mouth, "Sasuke Uchiha, Okaasan demands your blood, by killing you I will erase you and feel alive!" he continued in a manic tone before falling to his knees and growling in pain.
"Shino, buddy," Naruto spoke up, "I don't think we should be concerned about the chunin exams match ups right now." he pointed out, and he could swear he saw the Aburame pout under his jacket from his perch.
Temari and Kankuro both stared in horror as Gaara's gourd shifted partially into sand and coated the body of the boy who carried it, covering his right arm with a massive clawed arm like what had grabbed Sasuke and the right half of his face. Sasuke's eyes widened as he recognized the right eye of Gaara as the same eye he'd seen back then too.
"I told you we should have killed them sooner." Sasuke told Naruto bluntly as he prepared for a fight. Sakura brandished her axe, glaring at Gaara. Shino glanced at Kankuro but could see the other two Suna genin had no interest in fighting and sighed.
Hiruzen panted breathlessly, the opponent summoned for him by Orochimaru was a difficult one. He almost would have preferred he was fighting the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage, almost. The Sandaime Hokage used a Doton: Doryuheki to halt another charge from the monster, but it barely slowed it down enough for him to slam Enma into the side of the creatures head.
Despite the staff Enma transformed into being as hard as diamond and his target originally having been only a genin, Hiruzen found he was barely staying ahead of the creature with skill alone. He noticed the body of the genin was sustaining damage as they fought, but the Daemon didn't seem to care and in fact seemed to find the pain amusing.
Orochimaru also found the show rather amusing, although it was irritating that Dosu's body was expiring the longer they fought he could tell that his former sensei didn't have the ability to keep up anymore. He chuckled as he considered how age would be what brought the vaunted Sandaime Hokage down in the end.
"What's so funny?" Hiruzen asked, trying to take a moment to catch his breath after having Enma extend and slam into his Daemonic opponent.
"It's so pitiful," Orochimaru responded as he reached up to his face, "that even you, hailed as Shinobi no Kami, are vulnerable to the passage of time." he explained before ripping his face off to reveal a much younger and more feminine face. The Daemon paused, curious about this development.
"Who in the world are you!?" Hiruzen asked, wondering if Orochimaru had been using a body double the whole time.
"Was it too fast for you to comprehend?" Orochimaru asked with a chuckle, "It is still I, Orochimaru." he informed plainly, amused by the confusion he'd caused.
Hiruzen was startled at first but then the implications set in and he scowled, "You completed that kinjutsu?" he questioned, grateful that the Daemon seemed curious enough to let him catch his breath.
Orochimaru grinned, "I couldn't have summoned this Daemon without understanding the fundamentals of Furo Fushi no Jutsu." he explained and the Daemon chuckled in amusement, "Oh? You seem amused by this." he commented towards the laughing Daemon.
The Daemon continued to chuckle, "I never would have expected a ningen to develop such immortality, but you are still anchored to mortal forms." it pointed out, "I suspect you would never pledge your soul to one of the Konton no Kami for a shot at the true immortality I wield, too attached to this existence as you are." it mused, prompting a frown from Orochimaru and Hiruzen both.
The Sandaime Hokage found that statement particularly concerning, "I have three genin, pledged to a different Konton no Kami as champions." he revealed, "Are you saying they're developing immortality?" he questioned, concerned for the genin of cell seven.
"A possibility is not a certainty." The Daemon responded vaguely, "Only the greatest of champions become a being like myself, but I myself was mortal once, although my world was quite different to this one." it revealed.
"They could become Daemons!?" Hiruzen asked in alarm, eyes widened at the information. Orochimaru seemed curious as well, as he hadn't known of such things either. The Sannin put his old face back on, for nostalgia's sake if nothing else.
"Indeed!" The Daemon confirmed with a hearty laugh, Dosu's body swelling again with the power of the creature possessing him, "Ah, it seems this body won't withstand my power much longer." it mused idly as black feathered wings burst from its back, "A pity, I hoped to enjoy more of the warriors your world has to offer, but you were quite the opponent. A pity you'll die here." it said before charging at the Hokage once again.
Hiruzen considered his options as he used Kawarimi no Jutsu to avoid a swing from the monster and used Enma's Kongonyo form to rip the right arm from it's body, scowling in disgust when a mass of writhing tentacles burst from the wound towards him. The old man leaped back, "Enma-san, keep that thing off me, I must finally deal with Orochimaru." he requested.
Enma didn't return to monkey form, but did fly from Hiruzen's hands and create a number of bunshin. The flurry of staffs converged on the Daemon possessing Dosu and formed a Kongo Roheki, the Daemon was surprised to find it couldn't break free, "Well, this Henge of yours is impressive." the creature mused, slightly annoyed at being trapped before it could finish fighting.
Hiruzen swiftly weaved a number of hand signs, Orochimaru raised an eyebrow in curiosity. The Sandaime glanced back and saw it, the Shinigami only those who used the jutsu could see, "What is that?" the Daemon questioned, ruining that theory handily. Orochimaru glanced at the Daemon, wondering what it could see, but Hiruzen landed close enough to complete his jutsu.
The Sandaime grabbed his traitorous student and the Shinigami plunged a hand through his back, into Orochimaru. The Sannin winced as he wondered what caused that chill, frowning in concern as he found he couldn't perform jutsu, "You may have anchored your soul, but you are no Kami, the Shinigami will have both of our souls with this jutsu." Hiruzen informed breathlessly.
Gaara swung his transformed arm, the massive clawed arm of sand, coated in black markings, tore through trees as the Konoha genin dodged. Sasuke frowned as his Disc was dispelled, the Daemon not as fast in short distances as Naruto's serpent. He could tell it had a slightly higher top speed but a much slower acceleration, it's defensive capabilities in battle weren't nonexistent but against Gaara it hadn't amounted to much.
Naruto darted in on the back of his own Daemonic mount, his sword flashing through the air but unable to cut through Gaara's sand. Sakura leaped next and brought her axe down viciously, but that couldn't pierce his defenses either. Gaara slammed a claw into the pink haired kunoichi which sent her flying towards a tree and Sasuke narrowly caught her before she slammed into it, however to the surprise of all three Suna genin the claw melted slightly at the contact points before regrowing.
Sasuke winced and let Sakura down, "Sakura, you alright? Your body temperature is burning hot." he informed the girl. Aoki informed him the brass collar around her neck was disrupting foreign chakra, giving her a rudimentary defense against ninjutsu and likely immunity to genjutsu, but not physical attacks.
"I'm fine!" Sakura insisted, her temper abating slightly at being held by Sasuke for even a moment but she steadied herself and readied to fight again. Naruto continued to perform hit and run attacks, but his sword couldn't withstand the power of the fight and ended up snapping against Gaara's sand. The blonde pouted and halted his attack as he looked at the remains of his sword, deciding to sheath what was left of it for now.
"Those three really are monsters..." Kankuro commented, watching with a stunned expression next to Temari. Shino couldn't help but silently agree, he wasn't even sure he could do anything to participate as his kikaichi buzzed in sheer terror from the chakra coming off of Gaara.
Sakura leaped again, bouncing between tree branches as she tried to hit at an opening but Gaara grew a tail from his gourd that slapped her aside, "You, what is that!?" he snarled, trying to figure out how his sand was melted by contact with the girl.
"How the fuck should I know!?" Sakura snapped in response, Maemi and Sasuke both independently decided to save explaining the choker until after the fight was won.
"Shifuku no Kurushimi!" Naruto announced, unleashing his whip of purple chakra. Gaara screamed in pain as the jutsu tore through his sand and alarmed the other two Sunanin further, blood spurting from the injuries performed on the red haired boy. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, recognizing the sand had still dulled some of the attack and kept the injuries superficial.
"Never hurt once in his entire life, and these two genin both pulled it off." Temari grumbled, pinching herself to see if she was dreaming.
"Otousama definitely underestimated Konoha." Kankuro agreed quietly, barely able to believe what he saw himself.
Another arm grew over Gaara's left arm as his face was completely encased, Naruto frowned at the look in his eyes since the blonde really did recognize it. Maemi frowned at the blend of emotions coming from Naruto, for a champion of the god of pleasure and pain he really was a kind boy deep down. The Muse mentally informed Naruto that he would need to kill to protect his friends and his home, but she was surprised by the resistance to that idea.
Sasuke formed another Chidori and leaped, clashing with Gaara's left sand arm and ripping through it. Sakura followed behind and swung her axe at the opening, but the other sand arm blocked and she was knocked aside by the tail. Naruto's serpent carried him in close and the blonde jumped from the saddle, delivering a jumping front kick with his left foot that burst out chakra to the base of the tail to disrupt the prehensile appendage of sand. The blonde followed up with a mid air round kick from his right leg into Gaara's right sand arm, using it as leverage to get his left foot on the branch in between Gaara's feet and twisting to deliver a back round kick into his exposed left arm.
A cracking sound of a bone snapping alerted the Suna siblings that Gaara's arm had been broken by that kick as the transforming boy screamed in pain, "This is the pain you've inflicted on others!" Naruto snapped, pulling his foot back before driving it into the back of Gaara's leg and releasing a burst of chakra wide enough to damage the keirakukei in Gaara's leg.
Naruto heard what attack would strike him if he followed through but had done it anyway, lifting his guard and bracing himself as Gaara's right sand arm backhanded him. The Daemonic mammal-serpent, with Maemi still in the saddle, caught Naruto before he could hit a tree. Everyone noticed the meaning behind those deliberate attacks, they were the same limbs that Gaara had crippled on Rock Lee.
Naruto winced as his mount helped him stand on a branch across from Gaara, Sakura and Sasuke moved to surround their opponent as the blonde cracked his neck to the side, "There, now you've been hurt a bunch." he declared with a grin, "So quit being such an asshole, there are better things to take pleasure from than killing. I love fighting too, but an opponent who can fight back is more fun than a dead one." he preached.
Sasuke sighed, "That idiot." he grumbled, but he couldn't help but smile at the fact that his blonde teammate was more interested in a battle of ideology than a fight to the death. Sakura looked far less impressed, but even she couldn't resist a smirk at the choice of injuries the horned genin had inflicted.
"Ridiculous!" Gaara spat as sand gathered around him, Temari and Kankuro both leaped to get away as they recognized what would happen soon. Shino moved to follow, intent on making sure they wouldn't escape or try to attack team seven from the shadows, "Only by fighting for myself and killing all other humans can I feel alive!" he roared.
"Bullshit!" Naruto retorted, heedless of the danger presented by the form growing around Gaara, "You think you're the only one who has been alone? That kind of purpose, that kind of despair, is not needed!" he shouted. Sasuke frowned as Aoki warned him to pull back, that even the Juin wouldn't give him the power to match what Gaara was becoming. So the Uchiha moved in front of Sakura and held an arm out to stop her from charging, finding it odd that it was the pink haired girl who had become the most reckless of them.
Sasuke found the changes that had happened amusing, but decided to see what was so special about Naruto's chakra with his own Sharingan. Sakura frowned but backed up with Sasuke, the two watching as Gaara's form was encased in a massive tanuki made of condensed sand.
A blast of wind enhanced shurikens made of sand crached into Naruto and his Daemons, Maemi narrowly avoiding being dispelled by hiding behind the body of the serpent. Naruto had covered his face with his armored arms and his vitals were protected by mesh, but the damage to his clothes and the superficial cuts annoyed him.
The blonde genin swiped his right thumb under a bleeding cut on his left arm and began hand signs, "If you believe that, truly believe that," Gaara's voice echoed down from the tanuki, "then pit your existence against mine and we'll see who is stronger!" he challenged. Maemi smirked at the amount of chakra Naruto was drawing out, she was surprised that he still had so much until she realized it was being drawn from the Fuin that contained the Chakra no Bakemono within him, the Kyubi no Yoko, Bakegitsune.
"Kuchiyose!" Naruto declared in response to the challenge, unleashing a massive cloud of chakra smoke. Enough chakra for something just as terrifying as the monsters sealed within the two boys who were facing off, "I don't need to be stronger! I'm flawless!" Naruto announced arrogantly from within the smoke as a massive sword flashed through the air and carved into the hard sand.
"My my oh my, what a delectably hard body this one has." The voice of the creature summoned said with an amused tone, it's voice somehow both lightly feminine and a masculine baritone at once. The smoke clearing to reveal what could only be described as a giant hermaphrodite minotaur, large solid black bull horns curling down to frame its androgynously inhuman face. A single breast on its right side was completely uncovered by a breastplate that adorned the rest of its torso, what seemed to be purple leggings held up by garters pinned to the upper legs by piercings covered its lower legs down to the massive cloven hooves, mercifully a loincloth covered its crotch. Two humanoid arms were topped by two massive crustacean claws emerging from its upper shoulders, its sword was held in its right hand and Naruto himself was cradled in the crook of its humanoid left arm.
This Daemon was not quite as big as the tanuki form Gaara had coated himself with, but still stood above the treeline. Aoki swiftly explained that Naruto had summoned one of the strongest Daemons, a greater variety of those who served the Kajo no Kami. Sasuke frowned as it was something he still couldn't call, even with all his chakra and the Juin he couldn't manage it. Not yet.
Keeper of Secrets in the language the Daemons knew best, Himitsu no Sewanin in the language of the elemental nations. Despite the size difference and cradling Naruto in its left arm the hermaphrodite Daemon moved with swiftness and grace that Gaara's sand could no keep up with, the Suna genin dared not even awaken Shukaku fully for to do so would leave his body open to attack.
Within his mind Gaara could hear Shukaku telling him to crush it, dispel the agile monster before awakening the Suna no Keshin. For Shukaku to display such caution was the most alarming thing of all to the young red head, the form of Shukaku he'd formed with sand being whittled down by the flashing silvered steel in the right hand of the creature, its claws reared back over its head like twin scorpion tails, or the mandibles of a spider, ready to strike. Everything about the Greater Daemon, from its appearance to its movements, were utterly unnatural.
The face of Shukaku was sheared away soon enough, revealing the terrified form of Gaara shivering in fear, "Don't kill him!" Naruto demanded, his words halting the left claw of the creature who glanced down curiously at the boy. The Greater Daemon was slightly offended by the order, wondering for what purpose it was being denied such a kill, "I can't prove him wrong if he's dead!" the blonde exclaimed as he leaped across the distance from the arm of his summoned Daemon to quite simply slug Gaara in the face with his right fist then grab the front of his shirt with the same fist.
Gaara was stunned, "Why?" he asked, baffled that his opponent had held back lethal force.
"Because I used to be the same!" Naruto shouted in Gaara's face, "I get it, I wasn't kidding about understanding you, but you've got this strength thing worked out wrong." he insisted as the form of Shukaku crumbled around them, "Save your murderous intent for people who threaten what's yours, that's what brings true strength, and it feels way better too!" he added with a wide and disarmingly friendly grin, "By all means, kill your assassins, but you should cherish what's beautiful too!"
The Keeper of Secrets smirked in understanding, "What an interesting champion we have." it muttered to itself, taking a moment to enjoy the pleasant landscape around them. It would have enjoyed using such a landscape as a massive canvas for a more grand battle, but it could see Naruto had taken the fight completely out of his opponent and reached out to catch the blonde, letting its left hand be a platform for a moment before placing the two on a section of the ground that had been made a clearing by the brief battle between the two.
Sakura sighed in relief, "Is it seriously over? Can we go home?" she asked, the fire in her pupils had died down to smoldering embers and she felt that she was getting more control over her violent temper.
"There's probably still fighting going on back there," Sasuke pointed out, "but I guess we've got a prisoner of war." he added with a shrug.
"Make that three prisoners." Shino spoke up as he returned holding lengths of wire that trapped the hands of the other two Suna genin, "They surrendered as soon as they saw Gaara was defeated." he explained.
"Oh yeah, these guys are the Kazekage's kids." Sakura remembered, "That's got to be a useful bargaining chip." she mused as she slung her axe over her left shoulder.
Translation: Technically speaking, Himitsu no Sewanin would translate to Secret Caretaker, with Himitsu being the word for Secret. I debated on a few choices of words for Keeper actually, Ban'nin for Keeper implies a jailer while Kanrinin implies a manager, in the end Sewanin seemed most fitting to me personally.