Jiraiya sighed in disbelief, he'd expected a lot of things to go wrong but Tsunade trying to go back on a bet because she'd been tricked was not one of them. Technically she'd lost fair and square, but Naruto's terms had been tricky and the one that seemed easiest at first was impossible when the genin had a talking lie detector bonded to his chakra.
Naruto was considering how best to deal with Tsunade, he knew his odds of actually winning weren't high but the old woman disguised as a young woman was drunk. The horned blonde kept both of his swords in his sash for now, he wanted both hands free even if the ninjutsu he knew that required hand signs wouldn't be very useful.
"Despite how I look," Tsunade began with her eyes closed, face still flushed from the effects of alcohol, "I was once counted among the prodigal Sannin. I don't need my full strength against a genin." she said confidently and Naruto's eye twitched at the jibe regarding his rank, "This one finger will be enough." she decided, lifting the index finger of her right hand with a confident smirk.
"Weights!" Naruto ordered, Maemi quickly unhooked his leg weights as he raised his right arm up and over his head with the first two fingers extended, "Shifuku no Kurushimi!" he declared as he whipped his arm forward and his leg weights thudded into the ground to damage the street, the purple cable of chakra snaking out at high speeds towards the target. Tsunade was clearly startled by the name of the attack, as well as the effect produced, but she managed to narrowly evade it.
The blonde Sannin's eyes widened at the deep cuts the attack left in the ground where she'd been standing, Naruto charged as he weaved hand signs and the woman turned to face him. For a moment she worried she'd had too much to drink until she realized it was a basic Bunshin no Jutsu, not even a very good one at that.
Tsunade ignored the bunshin and moved to flick the horned genin's hitai-ate from his forehead, to her surprise she flicked a log and she realized the bunshin had been a distraction for the preparation of a Kawarimi no Jutsu. Naruto dashed in behind the woman to try kicking her in the back of the head with a left round kick, switching it into an axe kick when she dodged but that was evaded too and his foot cracked the street further.
The younger blonde followed up with another round kick from his right leg immediately, swiftly bringing his leg back and lashing out with a side kick with growing annoyance as each kick was evaded by the older blonde. Tsunade was just surprised by the speed and ferocity of the kicks, as well as how quickly he could shift to another kind of kick from a failed kick, the famed iryonin knew such high speed movements must be stressful on the muscles but Naruto kept going delivering multiple attempted kicks of different kinds.
Tsunade realized quickly that the horned ninja was even using the tachi holstered in his sash as something of a counterbalance like an animal would use a tail, his left hand gripping it by the scabbard with his thumb on the tsuba. Getting over her surprise at Naruto's skill, the older blonde suddenly poked the genin in the right leg to push it up and throw him off balance as he delivered a front kick with it.
Instead Naruto just flipped back and swung his left foot as he spun back through the air, landing in a crouch but missing with the counter. Tsunade was surprised that she wasn't able to deal with the young hermaphrodite using only one finger, then he splayed his fingers on his left hand and gripped his left forearm with his right hand while flaring his chakra.
As the purple chakra coalesced to his left hand for a moment Jiraiya though he was seeing the blonde attempt Chidori, but he recognized the lack of hand signs and narrowed his eyes in curiosity. Naruto let go of his left arm and thrust it towards Tsunade, "Shibari no Ashikase!" he declared and a thick thread of chakra shot towards his target from each finger and thumb with a sixth coming from his palm.
The blonde Sannin moved to dodge but the six chakra strings were alarmingly fast and still managed to snake around her ankles and continued to travel up her body, beginning to bind her in a way that was embarrassing and infuriating. Tsunade's eye twitched at the lurid jutsu and with a burst of her chakra enhanced strength she snapped the threads, startling both Naruto and Maemi with the display of raw power.
"Jiraiya what the fuck was that!?" Tsunade snapped, sobered up slightly by her anger at the way she had almost been tied up. She recognized the name and method of bondage, she didn't need to be into it to know about it.
"I swear I did not teach him that!" Jiraiya insisted as he raised his hands in an attempt at placation, "I don't even know that jutsu myself!" he added, although he wished he did know it now that he knew of it.
"It's a Kajojutsu!" Naruto announced proudly, "Only a Kajo no Ninso can learn them!" he added with a cocky smirk, although he was annoyed it hadn't actually worked. He only had one other Kajojutsu and he didn't really want to use it, "I'm running out of jutsu to try against you though." he added with a pout.
"You don't actually think you could win, do you? I'd have to be completely wasted on alcohol for you to even have a chance." Tsunade retorted, raising an eyebrow at the cocky younger blonde.
"You're stronger than I thought," Naruto acknowledged with a frown, "but all it takes is one mistake and you're done." he added dangerously, lowering his stance.
Tsunade sighed as she wished the younger blonde would just give it up, and then he startled her again by swirling his chakra into an orb in his right hand. Using his left hand he attempted to focus the chakra into a condensed ball in his palms, a look of concentration on his feminine features.
Jiraiya smirked since that jutsu he had been teaching the blonde, it clearly wasn't actually ready for combat though. Despite this Naruto dashed across the distance between them so fast Tsunade didn't have time to react properly, the woman swiftly lifted and slammed her foot to the ground, cracking up the street in a monstrous display of strength that took away the footing of the younger blonde in a way his Tatakainouta couldn't predict.
Naruto stumbled and fell, his incomplete attempt at the jutsu tearing up the street further and blasting himself with gravel and stone. Shizune approached as the horned genin picked himself up and coughed up some dirt and gravel that landed in his mouth, "Are you alright?" she asked, wanting to make sure he didn't need medical help.
The hermaphrodite genin gave a feral grin as he lifted his head, "Made you use more than a finger!" he announced, apparently taking that as a small victory.
Tsunade scoffed and turned away from the purple eyed genin, "So the Rasengan is what you've been teaching him, eh Jiraiya!?" she asked with a mocking smirk.
"I am his mentor, you know, for the present." Jiraiya answered with a shrug, it was a recent development to be fair. He decided not to tell her how quickly Naruto had reached this point.
Tsunade gave a derisive snort, "The only ones who can handle that jutsu are you, and the Yondaime." she pointed out and Jiraiya decided not to mention Kakashi technically knew it too, "Playing mighty mentor by teaching him a jutsu he has no hope of mastering?" she asked.
"Fuck hope!" Naruto snapped before they could continue, "I don't need that crap, I'll train in excess until I perfect that jutsu better than the Yondaime Hokage or Ero-Sennin!" he declared. Jiraiya sighed at the title, he had the distinct impression that one would stick.
Tsunade scoffed again, "Nice words, but they aren't worth much." she retorted.
"They're worth more than yours." Naruto spat, "Unlike you I keep my word." he declared proudly. Maemi sighed at the display of honor, but she supposed it was a big deal in these lands to most.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the insult but a smirk played across her face, "...Alright then, new wager." she decided, "Double or nothing, I'll give you a whole week to finish that jutsu, master it in that time and not only will I acknowledge you're worthy of becoming Hokage and come back with you to heal your friends, but I'll throw in this necklace too." she offered.
The blonde genin considered it for a moment, "Tsunade-sama! That's-!" Shizune began with an alarmed tone.
"Why would I want that?" Naruto asked with an expression and tone that radiated suspicion, he had no reason to trust the older blonde at her word.
"That belonged to the Shodai Hokage and is made of a unique ore." Jiraiya answered with some amusement, "It's one of a kind, you could probably buy three mountains if you could sell it, but it's pretty much priceless." he explained.
"Deal!" Naruto declared, eyeing the necklace with newfound interest. Jiraiya was amused by the sudden mercenary nature, he'd witnessed it briefly against that Gantetsu nukenin before.
"However," Tsunade continued, "if you fail to master it within seven days I'll take that money you wagered and those fancy swords of yours too." she explained with a smirk.
"I already said deal, I won't lose!" Naruto insisted with complete confidence in his own ability.
Shizune looked concerned, "But why!?" she questioned her drunken master, "That necklace is-!" she began in a panicked tone.
"It's fine!" Tsunade brushed off the younger iryonin's concerns, "He won't manage it anyway." she said with a chuckle as she turned to leave, "Let's go!" she decided. Shizune frowned, looking concerned and confused.
Jiraiya analyzed the look for a moment, "Tsunade-chan, won't you drink with me for a bit longer?" he asked, "For old time's sake." he clarified to make it clear he wasn't just making a pass at her, "Shizune-san, could you take Naruto and find some lodgings?" he added, not sure if he should use -kun or -chan for the young blonde anymore.
"Yes sir!" Shizune said with a grateful bow, Maemi was confused by the emotions coming from the dark haired iryonin but stayed close to Naruto as he put his leg weights back on.
As soon as he had a room Naruto was immediately working on finishing the third step of mastering the jutsu, now aware that it was named the Rasengan. He wondered why Jiraiya hadn't told him the name earlier, but he supposed he hadn't really thought to ask the name of it while training either.
There was a knock at the door followed by it opening, surprising the blonde until he saw it was Shizune, "Sorry to bother you so late, Naruto-" she paused at his name with a frown, "kun?" she asked.
"Either works honestly." Naruto responded with a shrug, he didn't actually have a preference anymore. He did find it funny how confused everyone got over it.
Shizune nodded, "Well, either way, there's something I'd like to share with you." she explained as she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.
"It's the middle of the night," Naruto pointed out with a frown, "and I had no idea you were that kind of gal." he added with a raised eyebrow.
Shizune flushed, "Not that kind of something!" she scolded before her expression dropped back into a serious one, "I'm sorry, it's just that I don't want you to misunderstand Tsunade-sama, and I need to explain something about that necklace." she began.
"I don't care about that old lady," Naruto snapped, "I'm winning this bet and after she's done healing my friend and sensei I don't care what she does." he insisted, making another attempt at mastering the Rasengan as they talked.
Shizune frowned as he continued to train while talking and his words angered her, "Tsunade-sama isn't the kind of person you think she is!" she snapped, "Please don't say such things without knowing anything!" she requested hotly.
"I think she's a drunk old woman who doesn't pay her debts." Naruto responded coldly, continuing working on the jutsu, "So if you're that worried about her losing the necklace just wait for her to run away when I master this Rasengan!" he snapped, aggravated by another failed attempt.
Shizune sighed sadly, the wind taken out of her sails by those comments, "She wasn't always like that," she insisted sadly, "long ago she was compassionate, and she truly loved the village." she continued, "But then, she changed..." she trailed off, "All because of that day." she decided on finally, not sure if she could even continue.
"I don't care." Naruto answered bluntly, startling Shizune, "Everyone has their own problems, plenty of people have reasons to be upset, people die or lose someone close to them all the time in the world, and some people spend years of their life being alone without even getting the chance to know loss." he explained as he gave the dark haired woman a cold stare, "That old lady has you looking out for her, I'm guessing she has had you for a long time. Despair isn't a good enough excuse for being a bad person." he finished firmly.
Shizune returned his stare with a glare, "Tsunade-sama lost everything!" she insisted, "Her dreams, her love, even hope itself!" she added hotly.
"Fuck hope." Naruto spat, "Hope is a false god, either achieve your goals by trying hard or don't." he said simply, "I don't care about things like wrath, or despair, or hope. I do what I want, and what I want is to become Kanpeki." he declared proudly, picking up another balloon, "I will enshrine all that I find beautiful, deny myself no pleasure, and seek out all that excites me. That's my Nindo, as Kajo no Ninso." he announced as he made yet another attempt at keeping the Rasengan contained within a balloon.
Shizune stared at Naruto in stunned silence for a moment, realizing finally that the horned genin did not have a normal mindset, "Please, you need to understand, that necklace is not ordinary, it's all Tsunade-sama has left." she tried again.
Naruto scoffed, "That just confirms she's planning on running." he said derisively.
Shizune frowned, "Anyone besides her who wears it dies." she explained finally, "She had a little brother, and later a lover, both wanted to be Hokage too." she began sadly, "After giving them the necklace of the Shodai, a gift to acknowledge their dreams, they both died in the war." she informed, "Please, understand, her heart has been completely torn since that day." she begged.
Naruto frowned at the story, "Maybe I wasn't clear, but I don't believe in fate either." he said plainly, "I've got training to do until that old lecher gets back." he added as he picked up another balloon, "I've made up my mind to become Kanzen no Shinobi, and I will be Hokage, I'm not changing my mind just because people with a similar goal died in the attempt." he continued as he made another failed attempt at mastering the Rasengan, "I'm not gonna stop, if anything I'm gonna work harder." he insisted as he picked up another balloon.
Shizune scowled as she got up to leave, disappointed she couldn't get through to the stubborn blonde. She understood something critical about Naruto after the discussion, the bull-horned blonde was as obsessive as he was driven and alarmingly callous about anything in his way. The onyx eyed iryonin decided that the bull horns were appropriate, considering how bull-headed he seemed to be.
The next day Naruto stopped bothering with the balloons and simply found a secluded spot with some trees devoid of leaves to train, finding a good clear spot by a river to practice the Rasengan and leaving his training weights behind to focus entirely on the jutsu. Maemi watched over him as he trained himself to the point of exhaustion multiple times a day, proud of the horned genin for his excessively obsessive nature.
The Muse encouraged him whenever he got tired, subtly pushing him past the point of exhaustion and watching over him whenever he passed out. She still carried around his broken katana, and watched over his other swords as he trained. Every time he woke up the blonde started a routine of having a smoke with his kiseru pipe while catching a fish, not bothering to return to the main parts of town to eat. The hermaphrodite also had taken to washing himself and his clothes in the river to save time, spending some of the day training in his orange boxer shorts and mesh shirt.
Naruto was vaguely aware that he was technically poaching fish, but he also didn't care. He was a shinobi, illicit actions were apparently normal and the idea of some rich guy being annoyed with him for taking some fish from the river was amusing. Maemi took to foraging for wild herbs and berries to add some variety to his diet as he trained, encouraging him to flavor and spice his meat.
The blonde Uzumaki still wasn't fond of vegetables but Maemi had yet to steer him wrong, and he found he enjoyed the combinations of flavors. This pattern continued for a couple of days until Jiraiya came looking for him on the third day of the bet to make sure he hadn't died since he hadn't bothered to return to the inn.
The Sennin raised an eyebrow at the wild blonde, "You're gonna turn feral if you stay out here with no rest." he said dryly, taking note of the damaged tree his student had been abusing.
"I've been resting!" Naruto snapped, irritated by his continued inability to master the Rasengan, "I'll complete this jutsu before the time is up, I'm not giving that old hag an excuse to run off with my weapons and money." he growled, flexing the fingers of his sore right hand and glowering at the chakra burns on his palm.
Jiraiya sighed, "Alright, alright, knock yourself out." he acquiesced, figuring if the blonde hadn't died yet then he probably wasn't going to. He noticed the fish bones, the remains of a fire, and even that Naruto's clothes weren't entirely filthy indicating the young genin was at least washing them in the river occasionally. The white haired man figured the blonde was probably bathing there too, but the Imp that followed Naruto everywhere didn't seem concerned.
Despite this, he did take to keeping an eye on the area around the river. He may be an incorrigible lecher but the thought of someone trying to peep on Naruto disgusted the Sennin, but mostly he wanted to make sure no local law enforcement took notice of his student returning to nature for his training. Most civilian types frowned upon that sort of thing, and even a lot of civilized soldiers found it distasteful. Jiraiya was actually surprised Naruto had taken to it so well, he knew survival training was an academy thing but to engage in it so you could train for longer was just, well, in a word it was excessive.
Naruto kept up his inhuman pace for the entire time until finally, the night before the week was up, Shizune found him passed out at night. Mercifully she found him with his clothes on, as Maemi washed them early so they'd dry in the sun to be worn for warmth at night. Even with that and bathing in the river he smelled strongly of sweat and nature, and he was clearly exhausted.
What alarmed Shizune most was the trees being torn up, "What happened here!?" she asked in alarm, turning to the grey skinned Imp. The iryonin still wasn't sure what the creature was but she'd noticed it followed Naruto everywhere, to someone as trained in anatomy as Shizune the Daemon was uncanny.
Maemi gave a predatory grin, "Naruto-sama has been training, obsessively, excessively, far greater than any normal ningen." she explained proudly, "Even I'm amazed! I barely had to encourage him at all! I knew he was special," she continued giddily, "he was chosen by Slaanesh-sama after all, but his drive, his ability to set aside trivial things in pursuit of Kanpeki," here she sighed dreamily, "everything about Naruto-sama is Kanzen!" she finished with a pleased giggle.
Shizune frowned with concern, not turning her back to the Imp as she approached the unconscious blonde and checked him over, "I should take him back to the inn..." she muttered, frowning at the signs of exhaustion and the chakra burns on his right palm.
Maemi frowned at that, "I suppose a bed would be a better place to rest than the bank of this river." she acknowledged hesitantly, "Tomorrow is the day anyway." she added with a shrug, "Fine, I'll carry his swords." she decided, picking up the three sheathed weapons.
Shizune realized with some alarm that Maemi had considered disagreeing with the idea of taking Naruto back, "What are you?" she asked, "I mean actually, what are you?" she asked, finding the idea of the Imp being an angelic being to be unbelievable.
Maemi gave a feral grin, "I am Naruto-sama's Muse, his Reikan, his vision, his heart, and anything else he requires of me." she explained, her grin turning lurid on the last line, "Seeing him push so hard to attain the glory he desires, the glory he deserves, it brings me unbridled joy!" she exclaimed proudly as her grin swiftly became wild again.
Shizune glanced down at Naruto, suddenly getting the distinct impression that this Muse was doing more harm than good. The iryonin decided to ensure Naruto was safe before anything else though, and so she picked him up. She may have thought he was rude and harsh, but she was an iryonin at heart and she didn't want the young genin to be harmed or die.
"He's severely exhausted, and his right palm has been heavily burned by chakra." Tsunade diagnosed, confirming what Shizune had already ascertained, "At this rate, he probably won't wake up until the day after tomorrow." the blonde woman announced.
"Naruto-sama is built different." Maemi interrupted, "He'll be up and eager to win your wager by tomorrow morning." she informed bluntly.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "He succeeded?" she asked, finding that hard to believe.
"Not yet," Maemi confessed with a shrug, "but he's not like you." she continued with a smirk, her solid black eyes unnerving the two iryonin, "Naruto-sama has already discarded the concept of despair, he regards it as useless." she explained.
Shizune frowned, "I thought he said hope was a false god." she grumbled, pointing out what she viewed as a contradiction.
"Don't mistake a lack of despair for hope." Maemi said in a snippy tone, "They may be opposing concepts, but a lack of one does not necessitate the other exist." she said.
Shizune scowled, "That doesn't make any sense!" she insisted, and Tsunade silently agreed.
"Maybe not to you." Maemi said with a mysterious grin, amused by the inabilities of the human mind.
Tsunade was getting tired of the discussion, and in a movement she dispelled the Muse with a left back hand. Shizune took a startled step back, wondering where the sudden temper had come from. After a moment the younger iryonin realized one alarming reason why the Sannin might have done that, "Please," the dark haired kunoichi began, "don't go tomorrow." she requested. Tsunade said nothing for a moment, so Shizune continued, "Why!? Why won't you say anything!?" she demanded to know, "Tsunade-sama! Don't stay silent! Please say something!" she begged in a distressed tone and still the blonde woman stood there, "If... If you insist on going..." Shizune trailed off, barely able to find the words.
Tsunade still didn't turn to look at her apprentice, but she finally gave a verbal response, "What would you do about it?" she asked, her tone almost challenging.
Shizune flinched but found her resolve, "Even in exchange for my life, I would stop you!" she announced in an angry and desperate tone.
Tsunade turned a glare on the younger iryonin, "Shizune, don't you dare use that tone with me!" she ordered before stepping past the dark haired kunoichi and slamming a fist into her solar plexus. The blonde Sannin then continued out the door, leaving the younger woman to fall unconscious, alone in the room with the unconscious Naruto.
Shizune was roused awake by a gentle shaking, and opened her eyes to see Naruto crouched over her with a concerned expression while Maemi watched with some disapproval, "O-oh no!" she cried out as she jolted up with a wince, startling the horned shinobi, "What day is it?" she asked in a panic.
"Monday." Naruto answered with a raised eyebrow, Maemi had an expression that could only be described as the incarnation of smug, "What happened after Maemi-chan got dispelled?" the blonde asked, more concerned about that. He'd already heard from his Muse that Tsunade had dispelled her, which hadn't answered anything about why the apprentice of said iryo specialist Sannin was unconscious in his room.
Shizune blinked owlishly at the young hermaphrodite, "You feel okay?" she asked, confused by that more than anything.
"I already told you, Naruto-sama is built different." Maemi reiterated with that same inhumanly smug expression.
"Yeah, I'm usually fine after some sleep." Naruto confirmed with a nod, "Never mind me though, where's that annoying old lady?" he asked impatiently, "Today is the day! I haven't got the Rasengan fully mastered yet, but I think I got an idea." he said confidently, "Also I need to give her a piece of my mind for hitting my Maemi-chan like that!" he added with a frown.
Shizune startled at the reminder of what was happening today, "Stay here!" she demanded as she rushed for the window, it would be quicker than the door. As soon as she tried to leave though, a kunai flew past her face and she turned in alarm, "Jiraiya!?" she asked.
The white haired old man looked ragged, exhausted, clammy, shivering, pale, and sweating, "Hold it right there..." he ordered in a threatening tone despite his state. It took a moment but Shizune got him some water as they sorted out the situation, Jiraiya explaining that Tsunade had drugged him.
"You fell for some kind of erojutsu, didn't you?" Naruto asked with an unimpressed expression and a dry tone.
"Oh shut it!" Jiraiya demanded, but there was no bite to that particular bark, "She may be rusty, but she's still an iryo specialist. She's the only one who can compound a tasteless, odorless poison to use on other shinobi." he explained, "I'm just surprised she was able to slip it to me, even if I was drunk." he groused before he noticed the guilty expression Shizune wore, "Why don't you start spilling it?" he asked, "What all you've been chatting with Orochimaru about." he clarified.
Naruto frowned at the mention of the one who killed the Sandaime, "I wanted to trust Tsunade-sama," Shizune began, "that's why I didn't speak up sooner." she excused, "But now," she paused to stand up, her chest still hurt and she was pretty sure one of her ribs was cracked, "there's very little time, please come with me!" she continued with sudden urgency, "I'll explain on the way!" she assured.
Naruto, Maemi, and Jiraiya all moved to follow as Shizune explained that Orochimaru had his arms crippled severely by the Sandaime Hokage in their battle, that the traitorous Sannin was offering to bring back her deceased loves with kinjutsu that required human sacrifice, and that the snake-like man had even openly confessed to planning on destroying Konoha.
To the surprise of Jiraiya and Shizune, the meeting place for Orochimaru and Tsunade was a disaster zone, "Tsunade-chan went on quite the rampage." the white haired Sannin said with a smile, relieved the buxom woman had refused their traitorous former teammate. Maemi saw the haori of the blonde iryonin and was about to suggest Naruto summon a Serpent or Steed when she noticed the pig that followed the two iryo-kunoichi around sniffing it.
"Which way, Tonton?" Shizune asked, Maemi was surprised the creature had a use besides being emergency food. The pig followed the trail and showed the way, leading the group towards where Tsunade had apparently gone.
The site of the battle was fairly obvious, and Maemi was alarmed by the destructive strength Tsunade wielded, but it seemed the woman was having some difficulty. The person she was having difficulty against was surprising to Naruto however, Kabuto Yakushi was there with an Oto symbol on his hitai-ate.
Watching the fight was Orochimaru, pale faced as ever with his arms wrapped in bandages. Standing to the side and slightly behind the dark haired Sannin was another dark haired ninja Naruto recognized, Kin Tsuchi. Maemi frowned as she sensed fear from the young kunoichi, and a curious mix of hope and despair.
Jiraiya leaped between Tsunade and Kabuto with a shunshin, using chakra smoke to cover his entrance and Tonton on his left shoulder, "Orochimaru, you look as morbid as ever." he greeted casually, trying to hide how much he was still affected by Tsunade's poisoning.
Naruto and Shizune arrived next, the blonde having grabbed his sheathed tachi from his sash while running, "Kabuto," he began as his pupils narrowed to slits, "you defected to Otogakure?" he asked dangerously.
"Well, it seems like these two know each other." Jiraiya mused with a smirk, putting on an air of confidence to use his reputation as intimidation.
Tsunade ruined this air by rushing past the white haired man and knocking him aside with her left elbow, "Outta the way!" she demanded as she charged Kabuto, only to be halted by the bespectacled shinobi suddenly slashing through his own right wrist to spray arterial blood across the woman. Covered in blood the blonde Sannin simply shivered with a horrified expression, and with a smirk Kabuto knocked her back with a left hook.
Shizune caught Tsunade, alarmed but glad that her opponent had held back lethal force and used his left fist instead of the kunai it held, "Defected?" Kabuto asked, "For that to happen I would have had to be a Konoha shinobi, I've been a spy for Otogakure long before I met you." he explained with a smirk.
Naruto gave a disarming grin, "Oh good, so I don't have to feel guilty about carving you into bits." he announced cheerfully, hovering his right hand near the handle of his tachi as he adjusted his grip on the scabbard with his left hand to press his thumb against the tsuba.
Kabuto frowned, "I collected information on you as well, Naruto Uzumaki." he said calmly, "You may be decent enough at kenjutsu, and you have some interesting abilities from your Kajo no Kami." he grudgingly acknowledged, "However, you're not a true shinobi. You fight more like a samurai, announcing yourself, challenging your opponents, and you dare call yourself Ninso when you have no talent for ninjutsu?" he scolded as Naruto's killing intent increased.
Shizune covered up the shivering Tsunade with the haori the woman had discarded. The younger iryonin frowned in concern as she cleaned up the blood carefully, "Please don't take it all on yourself." she requested the shivering older woman with a forced smile, "I'm here to serve you." she reminded.
"Put on a tough a look as you want." Kabuto said in response to Naruto's glare, "At the end of the day, you're just a genin, a foot soldier for your village." he insulted bluntly and the horned blonde's killing intent continued to rise, "Sure, I expected something from that bakemono locked inside you. Now however, face to face with the Sannin, you're nothing but a disappointment." he mocked, "You can call yourself a champion all you want, but in a fight like this you're just a little bug, and if you get in my way I'll kill you." he finished with a disinterested expression.
Naruto struggled to control his temper, "You are one aggravating piece of shit." he snarled, "Your information is fucked too, you seem to think I decided to start calling myself a champion on a whim." he added as he narrowed his eyes and shifted his left leg back to lower his stance, "I call myself champion because Slaanesh-kaasama called me that first," he began as he got his temper under control and started grinning at the memory, "I am the instrument of the will of Slaanesh-tousama, for my Kajo no Kami I am Sekkyo-sha, Maebure, and Aijin!" he declared proudly, the last word startling everyone but Maemi.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at the titles, finding it curious that the blonde truly did refer to one of the Konton no Kami so affectionately. Most curious of all to him was that the blonde confirmed he had indeed been in the realm of the Daemons and spoken with one of their Kami, something even he was hesitant to consider. Even the confirmation it had been done with a survivor wasn't enough for the dark haired Sannin to even entertain the thought, such was the danger he'd learned of the place.
Kabuto narrowed his eyes as well, although for far different reasons, "Are you challenging me then?" he asked dangerously, preparing for the blonde to attack. Maemi found something far more interesting than the reactions of the Sannin or the spy, the Oto kunoichi was interested in what Naruto was saying, a fact the Muse could potentially use to the advantage of her master.
In lieu of a verbal answer Naruto spun to the left on the ball of his left foot and unsheathed his tachi, tossing the scabbard towards Kabuto to use it as an improvised throwing weapon in an unorthodox method of iaijutsu as he halted in the opposite stance he'd started in. The target easily batted the lacquered wooden scabbard away with the kunai in his left hand, but Naruto had not intended it as the main attack.
With his body tensed up, right hand held back with the tachi pointed at Kabuto, left foot forward, and left hand outstretched to help focus the angle of his thrust, the horned blonde focused his chakra to his feet and lunged. Crossing the distance in an instant, in a manner similar to the Shunshin no Jutsu, and damaging the ground where he'd stood with the force of his leap, Naruto thrust at the heart of his opponent.
Kabuto was alarmed by the speed and barely managed to move his kunai in time to knock the attack aside as he stepped to his right, even then the edge of the tachi cut through his glove to score a shallow cut on the outside of his left wrist. He scowled and moved to attack but was startled when Naruto hopped back at the same moment he started to move, the younger ninja gripping his long sword with both hands to quickly bring it back as he hopped and swing it again as he landed.
The bespectacled ninja was alarmed by the speed and predictive ability of the young blonde, he realized that because of the injury Tsunade had dealt his nervous system before the others had arrived he was slow enough that he was forced on the defensive. Despite knowing a reason for it, being forced on the back foot by a genin was humiliating. Every time Kabuto moved to retreat Naruto gave chase, and every time he moved to attack the blonde pulled back to use the reach of his sword to his advantage.
Most humiliating of all for the grey haired spy, Naruto was grinning and even seemed to be treating the fight like a lethal dance. Kabuto suddenly flicked his right arm, splattering blood in the eyes of his opponent and silently moving in for the kill. To his continued alarm Naruto pulled back and swung his sword, the spy hadn't expected his blonde opponent to have any capability for fighting blind and ended up with a cut across the left side of his face from his dulled reaction to the counterattack.
Even if Kabuto was injured and tired, seeing Naruto go practically toe to toe with the young man who was supposed to be on the level of jonin like Kakashi Hatake was surprising to Jiraiya. Shizune was stunned as well, she'd been prepared to jump in to save the horned genin but even being blinded and having blood sprayed on his face didn't seem to be enough to halt his kenjutsu attacks.
Kabuto risked getting cut again to toss his kunai at the feet of Naruto to disrupt his footwork, earning another shallow cut on his right upper arm just above the elbow before seeming to be run through the chest by the end of the tachi. Naruto frowned and placed the log that replaced Kabuto on the ground, holding it in place with his left foot as he wiped his eyes with his left sleeve and tugged his blade free with his right hand.
Orochimaru glanced to see Kabuto had returned to his side and was taking some blood replenishing medicine, a Zoketsugan. Kin seemed alarmed by the fact that the right hand man of their shared master had been put on the defensive by someone her own age, Maemi didn't do anything yet since she could tell the dark haired Sannin and Kabuto were the type to kill her if they detected any sign of rebellion. Shizune recognized the medicine, and realized the grey haired young man was an iryonin like herself.
"You're bleeding pretty good, Kabuto-san." Orochimaru said, his tone amused because the worst injury was the one his spy had dealt to himself.
"Please, remove the bandages on your left arm." Kabuto requested with a nervous grin as he perspired slightly, "Kin, keep the samurai playing at being a shinobi off me." he added as an order. Maemi heard that and suppressed a grin, sensing the perfect opportunity coming up.
"Shizune-san, you take four-eyes." Jiraiya ordered, "Naruto-chan," he continued, taking note that the blonde didn't even seem bothered by the honorific, "deal with the girl." he ordered simply, "Orochimaru is mine." he added with resolve, "Before that though, I need Tsunade-chan to do something about my condition." he finished.
Shizune frowned, "That medicine will probably affect you for a few more hours." she pointed out, "Not even I can do anything about that." she added apologetically.
"No choice then..." Jiraiya grumbled, "I guess I'll have to make do." he said, trying to keep a confident expression on my face, "Tsunade-chan, you rest with some iryojutsu." he added without looking at the shivering woman.
Naruto stared at the three enemy ninja, "Orochimaru is the one with the pretty golden eyes right?" he asked, he received a nod from both Shizune and Jiraiya, "Hey! Orochimaru! You've got a beautiful face but I really don't like you, so I'm gonna cut you up, okay!?" he called out across the battlefield.
Jiraiya's eye twitched, "What is wrong with you!?" he snapped angrily, "You got some twisted tastes! More importantly you aren't fighting Orochimaru you dunce! He's an S rank shinobi who killed the Sandaime Hokage! Only I can deal with him!" he scolded.
Naruto frowned and clearly found that distasteful, "Eh? But the girl is pretty, and she hasn't done anything to make me dislike her yet besides working with Orochimaru, so I don't really want to carve her up y'know." he retorted dismissively, putting his left pinky in his left ear partially to clean it and partially to block some of the sound of the shouting old man as he lifted his tachi to rest the blunt edge against his right shoulder.
"Kabuto-san, what is wrong with that boy?" Orochimaru reiterated the question of his teammate with a raised eyebrow, the bandages of his left arm falling away.
"Too many things to list, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto answered with a sigh, touching the index and middle finger of his left hand to his bleeding right wrist before quickly swiping the blood across Orochimaru's left arm contract. Seeing this Jiraiya quickly tore open the skin of his right thumb with his teeth, and the two both weaved the same hand signs.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" They both declared as clouds of smoke covered the creatures the called from the respective contracts, a massive pair of brown snakes from Kabuto's chakra, blood, and Orochimaru's contract. Jiraiya on the other hand was still suffering from being drugged by Tsunade, and thus could only draw out enough chakra for a very small frog.
Jiraiya felt the smug aura before he glanced to confirm it, Naruto was giving him a look that radiated smugness. The worst part was when the blonde breathed air out of his nose just slightly harder than normal in amusement, the left eye of the white haired Sannin twitched at the nearly silent insult from his pupil.
Orochimaru laughed from the head of one of the snakes, "Even for an oaf like you, that's pathetic." he mocked, "Tsunade-chan must have done something to you." he guessed.
"That jutsu requires a live sacrifice." Kabuto pointed out, he and Kin standing on the head of the same snake, "She planned ahead, probably drugged him with something to suppress his power to use him as a sacrifice." he assumed calmly.
"Pathetic as always." Orochimaru mocked as Naruto reached into his tool pouch and pulled out an air tight container full of white pills, popping one in his mouth as Jiraiya lamented his weakness being discovered so early in the fight. Shizune noticed the pills and wondered what the young blonde was taking, not recognizing it at a glance.
The horned genin focused his purple chakra to his left hand, the energy condensing their before he thrust it up towards Kin, "Shibari no Ashikase!" he declared and six threads of chakra shot out to capture the kunoichi, binding the dark haired girl before she could react then he pulled his left arm back and the girl flew through the air towards him, "Maemi-chan, rope." he ordered and the Muse grinned as Naruto lowered his tachi, catching his prize on his left shoulder.
Kin blushed bright red at being captured in such a humiliating way, even trying to struggle against the chakra threads caused them to grind into some very sensitive places. Kabuto sighed and adjusted his glasses with the pinky finger of his left hand, "I knew she wouldn't be much worth." he grumbled, having Orochimaru between himself and the girl he couldn't have done anything in time to stop that.
Orochimaru chuckled as he'd simply let it happen to see what manner of jutsu it was, "A pity," he agreed despite his amusement, "my own mistake for assuming that her apparent resistance to the Konton energies meant something. I should have just used her the same way I used Dosu." he said with a shake of his head. Maemi grabbed ropes from Naruto's tool pouch and tied up the kunoichi with a predatory grin, she could hear the discussion clearly with her hearing and was curious herself now.
Naruto put Kin on the ground as his Muse tied the girl up in the exact same way his jutsu was before standing up straight again, giving a thumbs up and a wink to his allies as he lifted his sword back up to his shoulder, "There! Enemy kunoichi dealt with!" he declared proudly.
"Gods damned pervert." Kin grumbled at the humiliation, she almost would have preferred just being killed. Shizune just stared blankly at Naruto with utter disbelief, and Jiraiya was torn between pride and exasperation. The white haired Sannin really wanted that jutsu for himself.
"Weren't you listening?" Naruto asked the tied up kunoichi, "I'm blessed, not damned." he corrected with a smirk, "Also, I'll be the one to kill Kabuto." he insisted as he lowered his tachi to hold it properly in both hands.
Orochimaru chuckled, "I'll deal with that fool Jiraiya, the rest are yours." he said to the one next to him, "Don't disappoint me, Kabuto-san." he added with a smirk as the snakes reared back to strike. Kin's eyes widened in horror as she realized they intended to kill her too.
Kabuto leaped to the head of the other snake, "Too bad, really, I was curious about fighting Jiraiya of the Sannin." he complained lightly as the snakes lunged. Maemi lifted Kin and started to drag the tied up kunoichi, Shizune grabbed Tsunade and leaped away from the attack, and Jiraiya lifted the small toad he'd summoned onto his right shoulder to jump away with Tonton still on his left shoulder.
Naruto on the other hand stood his ground and grinned as the giant snakes smashed their heads into the ground hard enough to kick up debris, "That idiot!" Jiriaya snapped as Shizune watched in horror, the dark haired woman almost too distracted to evade Kabuto as she spat senbon at him.
For a moment it seemed like the horned blonde had bitten off more than he could chew as the snake with Orochimaru still riding it moved to attack Jiraiya, as the other snake could be seen with Naruto in its mouth. Then it became clear that Naruto's feet were still touching the ground and that said ground hadn't been torn up nearly as much, the horned blonde having protected Kin and Maemi.
Kabuto blocked the senbon with his hitai-ate, ignoring the fate of the blonde genin until everyone saw the blade of his tachi emerge from the back of the snake's head. With a twist and an arcing swing, Naruto decapitated the snake to dispel it with a laugh, "I can't believe that actually worked!" he exclaimed, covered in the blood of the snake, "Why expose your weak fleshy insides to the only one with a sword by trying to eat them?" he asked rhetorically with a wide grin as he swung his right arm to flick blood from his blade across the ground and swept his left hand through his bloodied blonde hair.
Maemi smirked at the awe she could feel from Kin, "Hey, shojo," she said to get the attention of the young kunoichi, "I noticed you seemed to be falling to despair a bit ago." she informed with a grin that made Kin feel like she needed an adult, "You're lucky Naruto-sama decided to take you as a spoil of war instead of a rival opponent, so I suggest you abandon silly things like despair or hope and just enjoy the show." the Muse said, keeping the girl facing the direction of the fighting so she could watch as she was dragged away from danger by the Imp.
Shizune and Jiraiya were both stunned by Naruto's ridiculously dangerous tactic, but neither could deny that it had worked out for him. Tsunade was vaguely aware of it, but the sight of even the blood of a snake, especially covering the androgynous form of the blonde, made her shiver and avert her gaze.
"I am your opponent!" Orochimaru warned his white haired former teammate, wanting to savor the fight too much to finish the man with a sneak attack while he was distracted. Jiraiya flinched and quickly weaved hand signs as the snake his dark haired opponent was riding moved at him, halting it with a Doton: Yominuma.
With his chakra still hard to manipulate, the snake was not completely submerged in the small swamp created by Jiraiya's jutsu. It was enough to slow it down so the Sennin could put down Tonton and the small toad before he leaped to the back of the head of the snake where his erstwhile teammate waited for him with a smirk.
Shizune set down Tsunade and attempted to fend off Kabuto with senbon from a launcher mounted on her right arm, the mechanism served the purpose of keeping the weaponized needles coated in poison without risking accidentally jabbing herself with one of them. The grey haired spy proved that even weakened he was a threat, dodging the senbon as he dashed towards the iryo-kunoichi to deliver a palm strike to her chest with a chakra scalpel.
The dark haired woman winced in pain but released a Dokugiri from her mouth, Kabuto recognized that the poison would likely be fatal if he breathed it in and escaped into the ground with Moguragakure no Jutsu. Shizune waited for the poison to disappear to confirm her kill, even if she had been the one to make it and breath it out, breathing it back in would still be a bad idea.
Unfortunately for Shizune, waiting was also a bad idea and Kabuto's hands emerged from the ground at her feet to sever her ankle tendons with his chakra scalpels. Meanwhile Jiraiya attempted to use Hari Jizo to fend off Orochimaru, his hair spiking up and wrapping around him as a makeshift defense under his chakra.
The dark haired Sannin was not concerned, his neck stretching out as he simply delivered a kick with his left leg heedless of the needles that jabbed through his left foot from the action. With that as leverage, Orochimaru snaked his lengthened neck to bite Jiraiya on the neck, "Even with both of us having handicaps, it's no contest." he mocked, "Give it up." he insisted.
Kabuto punched Shizune in the face to fully knock her down, getting some blood on Tsunade as Naruto charged him. The blonde swung his tachi again and the grey haired iryonin narrowly dodged with a scowl of annoyance, the young man knew that close combat was not his specialty but with no water source his only long range attack ninjutsu would cost too much chakra to risk using.
Despite his earlier words, Orochimaru found himself breathing almost as hard as Jiraiya but he was clearly still far more amused and confident than the white haired Sannin. The golden eyed ninja chuckled at the situation, "You were called Sato no Kyuki," he recalled, "now you've stooped to running around with that kid for the sake of the village." he mused, "If only you knew how dangerous little Naruto-kun truly is." he added with a grin.
Jiraiya frowned, he'd expected the other Sannin to mock the lack of talent for ninjutsu or insult them both, "What are you on about now?" he wondered, curious despite situation.
Orochimaru grinned, "Well, your newest pupil, is he still ningen I wonder?" he asked mysteriously, "After all, I had two assassins test him in the Forest of Death, a pair of chunin of little consequence. From what I heard from Kin-chan he needed time to recover, but defeating two C rank assassins with no talent for ninjutsu is quite impressive. One was simply killed with a blade, while the other I couldn't even identify the body." he revealed with a sardonic smirk, "Quite the savage child soldier Konohagakure has raised, I wonder how he would fair with a competent teacher." he mused.
Jiraiya scowled, "You mean yourself? Last I heard poor Anko-chan still hasn't fully recovered from what you did to her, and I don't even know what you did to that Dosu Kinuta." he retorted, using the conversation as an opportunity to catch his breath.
Orochimaru laughed, "Oh that one? I considered doing it to Kin-chan as well you know, but I found she was curiously lacking in something that Dosu-kun had," he revealed, "something that seems to be required to draw in these Daemons." he finished with a wide grin.
Jiraiya's eyes widened in alarm, he knew something was up with the Daemons but he didn't trust Orochimaru, "I don't know what you're getting at, and Naruto Uzumaki might be a savage fighter with more bloodlust than I'd approve of, but he's not merciless or a monster like you." he spat.
Orochimaru just laughed again, "No, I suspect he'll become a far worse monster than myself." he agreed in a twisted sense, "Don't think I'm ignorant of who exactly he is, it may seem awfully normal to most for Kakashi Hatake to watch over the Jinchuriki and Sasuke-kun with that Sharingan of his, and for you the Fuinjutsu specialist to oversee the training of Konoha's Jinchuriki," he began plainly as Jiraiya started to sweat, "but I know well enough which Uzumaki was in Konoha before him, the only kunoichi he could have gotten his name from, and her relationships." he continued with a cruel grin that made his opponent shiver, "Should Naruto-kun become the kind of monster that Konohagakure cannot abide, I wonder if you'll be as soft as Sarutobi-sensei was?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Jiraiya continued to scowl, "I'm not our sensei," he said with some regret, "but Naruto is not you." he spat, "He might enjoy violence a bit too much, he might take pleasure in fighting an enemy to the death, and sure he might be a bit twisted." he acquiesced, "But unlike you, he doesn't enjoy toying with enemies weaker than he is, he doesn't enjoy hurting people for the sake of causing pain, and I know if you were faced with a nukenin offering you their money to spare them you'd just kill them and take the money." he argued.
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at that last one, but he didn't deny it. As far as the pale shinobi was concerned that was just good sense, "Well, I suppose he is still young." he shrugged, "The similarities are there, an inventive and curious mind, fighting with a smile on his face, and an obession with becoming Kanzen." he pointed with a grin.
Down below Kabuto took a risk, gathering chakra to both hands for different purposes. The iryonin used his left hand to grab the tachi by the blade near the tsuba and thrust his right hand, coated in a chakra scalpel at the blonde's neck. To his surprise Naruto responded by releasing his tachi with his left hand and jabbing a Juken strike with two fingers into his right palm, far too inaccurate to close any tenketsu or even damage his keirakukei but it did serve to dismantle his chakra scalpel.
Kabuto winced as his In'yu Shometsu healed his left hand but could tell he couldn't risk keeping it up for long and tried to chop his right shin swiftly into Naruto's left knee, only for the blonde to bunt the kick with his own left shin before stepping forward and swirling his chakra in his left palm to attempt to strike the grey haired young man with a Rasengan.
The jutsu still wasn't complete, but it had enough destructive power to make Kabuto back off and the horned blonde noticed with a joyful smirk that with the combat stimulants helping him focus even one hand could produce what he'd needed two hands to produce just last night, "What's wrong, Kabuto-senpai?" Naruto asked in a mocking tone, "I thought you were going to kill me, is that all you got!?" he asked with a feral grin.
Kabuto was unaware of the Tatakainouta, so he was still baffled by the ability of the blonde to react to attacks he shouldn't be able to see coming, "I must admit, I never expected you to be capable of fighting me toe to toe, even if I am weakened by my battle with Tsunade." he confessed grudgingly, adding the second part to take the wind out of his opponents sails, "You still lack the required talent for ninpo to defeat me, and unlike you I have a number of hostages to choose from." he added with a smirk.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at those words, then the meaning became clear as Kabuto tossed a pair of shuriken each at Shizune and Tsunade before leaping at Maemi who was still guarding Kin. The blonde scowled at the cowardly move, swinging his tachi at the shuriken going for Shizune as he stepped into the path of the other two to block them with his mesh undershirt.
Then the horned blonde leaped after Kabuto as the grey haired iryonin attempted to deal with his Muse, the Imp narrowly evading being dispelled by dodging the chakra scalpels, "Sorry Kin, but I don't need dead weight." he said and thrust his right hand at her neck. Naruto scowled as even if he stabbed Kabuto through the heart the attack from the iryonin would likely land, so instead he threw his tachi at the ground between the two.
Kin was startled by how close the blade came to hitting her as the bespectacled shinobi pulled back with a smirk, turning to meet Naruto as the blonde withdrew his sheathed wakizashi with his left hand and formed an incomplete Rasengan with his right hand. Kabuto had only been intending on killing the captured kunoichi, so his blonde opponent discarding the long sword to save her was a pleasant surprise.
Seeing as Naruto's right hand was occupied the iryonin risked diving to the left of the horned genin, earning a strike to the temple from the end of the scabbard of the preternaturally agile genin but scoring a strike to his left leg with a chakra scalpel as he rolled past to avoid the swirling orb of chakra as it burst and dissipated. Kabuto came up in a crouch and adjusted his glasses with his left ring finger, "There we go," he said with a smirk as Naruto fell to his left knee as he tried to turn to face his opponent, "with your lateral vastus muscle in that leg severed you should have a greatly decreased range of motion." he informed calmly.
Naruto frowned as he tried to move his leg, finding that he still could move it a little bit but could not extend his left knee at all. The blonde considered reaching back to use his tachi as both an aid for movement and a weapon, but couldn't risk turning away from his opponent in this position and instead clicked his wakizashi partially from the scabbard with his left thumb with the curve of the still mostly sheathed weapon pointed upwards.
Kabuto frowned at the sight of the horned ninja hovering his right hand near the handle of his wakizashi, "Are you not afraid? Are you too stupid to feel fear?" he asked in an annoyed tone, "You aren't a chunin, so no one will really blame you for running away." he pointed out, remembering Ibiki's interaction with the younger ninja.
Naruto just chuckled, "You think just because you're a coward that everyone else is?" he wondered with a mocking smirk, "I won't go away, and I can't move much so I guess right here I'll stay." he insisted, "You can run away if you're too much of a wuss to gamble your life against mine." he added, those words breaking Tsunade slightly out of her dazed state.
Kabuto scowled at the insults, "You really are insane, aren't you?" he asked rhetorically as he pulled out a kunai with his right hand, "Are you really so eager to throw your life away? You're not a child anymore so you better quit the bravado." he warned, "Based on the situation, when you want to run away and give up you should just do it." he scolded, "You're going to die! When you die that's it, you don't dream anymore." he lectured as he began to approach the kneeling genin.
Naruto's confident smirk didn't waver, "Are you deaf or dumb?" he asked sardonically, "Hit me again, I ain't dead yet." he dared, surprising his opponent into halting their advance, "Come on, hit me! I dare you, coward!" he announced with a feral grin. Kabuto narrowed his eyes, the confidence Naruto displayed despite the situation serving to set him on edge, "I said hit me again! Come on, hit me! Hit me!" the blonde taunted with a manic look in his purple eyes.
Kabuto scowled at his own hesitence, "Kids always think everything is easy," he complained as he continued his advance, "that's why they're too stupid to know when to quit." he continued, "A false sense of immortality is common among brats your age, it's why young ninja die so easily in times of war." he lectured as he pulled out a pair of shuriken with his left hand and tossed them.
Naruto unsheathed his wakizashi, knocking the thrown weapons aside with surprising precision for an iaijutsu strike. Kabuto followed behind them and thrust his kunai at the face of the blonde with an enraged expression, but was startled when Naruto dropped his scabbard and caught the blade in his left palm and tightened his fingers around Kabuto's hand.
"I told you," Naruto said with a feral grin, "I'll kill you, Kabuto!" he declared as he swung his right arm to slash at the throat of his opponent, the older ninja barely catching it on the metal plate on the back of his left glove and still getting cut on the back of his wrist when the blade slid down the metal. The horned blonde extended his right leg to drive his left horn towards Kabuto's face, but the iryonin evaded that and drove his left knee up into the solar plexus of the young genin.
With a grunt of pain Naruto clamped his teeth around Kabuto's left shoulder, startling the grey haired spy with the savage tactic. In an instant the iryonin understood why, and wondered when the blonde had developed a venomous bite. Gritting his teeth through the pain and anger, the bespectacled spy tried to grab the right wrist of his opponent with his left hand but the purple eyed young ninja pulled back.
Hopping back on his right leg and tightening his left grip on Kabuto's right hand to stop himself falling back, Naruto continued to grin, "Gotcha!" he announced proudly, "Focus my chakra!" he added as a commanding order, dropping his wakizashi as he started to form a Rasengan in his right hand.
Maemi understood the order was for her and leaped to obey with an identical grin to her blonde master, using both her hands to focus the chakra. Tsunade watched in shock, the chakra was not the same color as a normal humans, but despite being a deep purple color the Muse had unmistakably helped Naruto complete the Rasengan.
Kabuto was shocked, realizing that his chakra scalpel wouldn't be strong enough to disrupt the attack and that he had no way to block or dodge he braced his chakra for the attack, "Rasengan!" Naruto declared as he slammed the condensed orb of swirling chakra into his opponent, the force of the jutsu sending the iryonin careening back to land on his back with his shirt and torso torn up.
Jiraiya smirked proudly that the blonde had completed the jutsu as Orochimaru frowned at Kabuto's failure to kill the young genin, Kin just stared in shock at the sight of the right hand man of the dark haired Sannin being defeated by someone her own age. Tsunade was stunned and she realized idly that technically she'd lost the bet, although having someone else focus the chakra was probably cheating she wouldn't argue this time.
Kabuto surprised everyone but Orochimaru by getting up with a groan, the wound on his chest slowly sealing, "Damn it, if it wasn't for my In'yu Shometsu I might have actually died." he growled, wincing in pain. Tsunade watched in surprise, analyzing the iryojutsu despite her current state and realized it was incredible.
"You were preemptively healing the point you'd be hit." Tsunade realized with alarm, alerting Maemi and Naruto as to what happened.
Kabuto chuckled, "You really are sharp." he praised, "Orochimaru-sama favors me not for my instincts, but because of my recovery power!" he bragged as he stood up fully, "My ability to activate cells, to reproduce them, so even a jutsu like that-" he tried to continue only for his expression to turn alarmed as he coughed up a lungful of blood and collapse back down to his knees.
The grey haired iryonin scowled as he collapsed fully, realizing too late that the Rasengan had done more damage than he could actually heal, "Tachi." Naruto demanded and Maemi handed him his blade. The blonde affectionately pat the Daemon on the head, and the Muse helped him start walking towards the increasingly alarmed Kabuto by supporting his left side as he lifted his tachi to rest the blunt edge against his right shoulder.
Orochimaru scowled at the young genin approaching his personal physician, he had no particular attachments to Kabuto and he was irritated with his failure, "That brat is growing to be a nuisance..." he complained to himself, narrowing his eyes at the blonde.
"You should focus on your opponent," JIraiya scolded, "letting your eyes wander in a fight is no good." he taunted despite using the brief respite to catch his breath.
Orochimaru decided to ignore the white haired lecher for now, determining that he needed to kill Naruto quickly he leaped at the limping genin. Jiraiya cursed and leaped to follow, but the dark haired Sannin extended his tongue to grab the other male Sannin by the ankle and throw him off balance as a snake emerged from his mouth to vomit up the Kusanagi no Tsurugi.
Tsunade realized the serpent eyed man was going for Naruto and moved to intercept, cursing the current distance between herself and the younger blonde as the genin turned to face the Sannin coming at him. The trsurugi of the Sannin went straight through the arm guard on the left arm of the horned hermaphrodite and continued through to the left shoulder, Naruto's guard serving to at least stop his heart from being severed as he swung his tachi at the Sannin.
Orochimaru pulled back to evade the swing and struck again with movements like the snakes he summoned at the falling genin, but this time his blade went through the right side of the chest of a much older blonde, "Tsunade!?" he asked, "You were the only one I would have spared," he said with narrowed eyes, "and if I leave that boy alive, everything will fall apart." he tried to explain, "So for once, stay out of my way?" he requested.
Tsunade shivered, "You leave this kid alone," she demanded, "I'll protect," she stalled on a pronoun, "no matter what." she decided to leave it after taking a shuddering breath. Maemi checked on Naruto, noticing her blonde masters left limbs were both basically disabled for the rest of the fight but he still had a grip on his tachi with his right hand.
Orochimaru pulled back to withdraw his blade from the chest of his former teammate, "Trembling at the sight of blood still." he scoffed as he swallowed the snake that swallowed Kusanagi, "Why are you, one of the Sannin, risking your life to protect some genin brat?" he asked in an aggravated tone.
Maemi frowned since she didn't have anything to help seal Naruto's wounds or replenish blood, but she could tell he at least wasn't dying despite his heaving breaths and perspiration. Jiraiya groaned from where he'd landed, having hit the ground hard enough to crack the solid packed earth. Tsunade coughed up some blood from her damaged right lung, "I'm doing this to protect Konohagakure no Sato." she insisted as she shivered and panted.
Orochimaru raised a curious eyebrow, "To protect Konoha?" he asked for clarification, not seeing the connection between her words and what she had done.
Tsunade risked a glance back at Naruto, "Because," she began, meeting his purple eyes with her brown eyes, "he'll be Hokage someday." she acknowledged, surprising the genin and Maemi grinned as she mentally told her horned master that this time there was no lie.
Orochimaru just chuckled, "The title of Hokage? What a joke." he mocked derisively, Tsunade frowned since she'd felt similarly barely a week ago.
"You're a joke." Naruto retorted childishly and Orochimaru's eye twitched at the barely conscious genin.
Tsunade almost laughed but was interrupted by a cough, "You just rest, Naruto-kun," she ordered, "I'm finally setting aside my despair." she said with a smirk at Orochimaru. Maemi grinned widely, she'd felt the fourth, the one with the domain over despair, reaching for the blonde iryo specialist until then. The Muse was astounded that Naruto had inspired the older blonde to turn away from that, she suspected that the stagnant one would become an irritating enemy in future with how much her master raved against despair more than any other rival domain.
"If you want to die so much," Orochimaru sneered as he regurtitated the Kusanagi yet again, "then I'll oblige you!" he announced and swung at the blonde woman. Jiraiya and Shizune both finally came to in time to see Tsunade falling back with blood spraying from her left clavicle, the sight alarming both of them.
"Shibari no Ashikase." Naruto intoned and six threads of purple chakra shot out from his right hand, taking the dark haired Sannin by surprise and entangling him.
Orochimaru swallowed his weapon with a scowl, finding the method the jutsu used to tie someone up to be ridiculous even if it was effective, "I'm surprised you can even move." he acknowledged before he was startled again by an uppercut from Tsunade knocking him back and out of the grip of the threads, "Why won't you both just die!?" he snarled angrily, realizing with some alarm that Tsunade wasn't shaking anymore and the violet diamond on her forehead had expanded out into an intricate pattern.
"Because," Tsunade began to answer with a glare, "Konoha's Hokage are built different." she declared with a smirk.
Shizune recognized what was happening, "Tsunade-sama!" she cried out, "I'll heal your wounds! Please don't release the fuin!" she called out with alarm in her voice.
Tsunade ignored her and made the tiger seal with her hands, "Sozo Saisei." she intoned, her chakra flaring higher than should be possible as her body started healing rapidly.
Orochimaru's eyes widened but despite the danger he couldn't help but be interested, "It seems I'm not the only one who has been developing new jutsu, what kind of jutsu is this?" he wondered curiously.
Tsunade wiped some blood from her lip with her right thumb, "What?" she asked rhetorically with a smirk, "I've just been gathering up an excessive amount of chakra in my forehead for a while, that's all. With all that chakra of course someone like me could stimulate all the proteins in my body, activating my cell divisions to replace the damaged ones." she explained, revealing she hadn't healed so much as she'd regenerated.
Orochimaru frowned as he recognized the woman had likely shortened her lifespan with such a jutsu, but worse was that he was now at a distinct disadvantage and leaped to Kabuto, "We'll retreat for now." he decided, surprising the others by swallowing his pride in such a way. Kabuto struggled to get up and the two prepared to leave.
Shizune winced as she got up as well, "You aren't going anywhere!" she snapped, prepared to charge them to give Tsunade a chance to finish them off. Naruto rolled over onto his right side and struggled to get up as well, but Kabuto dropped a smoke bomb to cover the escape of himself and Orochimaru.
Translations: Shibari no Ashikase - Binding Fetters
Kanpeki - Perfection
Reikan - the closest English word would be Inspiration, but it specifically refers to 'a divine creative impulse'
Sekkyo-sha - Preacher
Aijin - Lover