EXCERPT FROM CLASSIFIED ECLIPSE FILES:
'...There exists within the Elemental Nations, several classifications of the nations. There is the titling of each country, on whether it falls under the category of 'minor' or 'major'. Minor nations are split into upper or lower ranked statuses, based on their economic outputs and military expenditure/size. Major nations are as such, unrivalled by the minor nations - and are the cause of all three world wars due to such statuses in only being rivalled by each other. There has been six major nations throughout most of ninja history, until Uzushiogakure was destroyed by the concerted efforts of Iwa, Kumo and Mist in the Second World War.
There also exists four unofficial 'blocs', each of several nations with at least one major nation in each (bar one), to attitudes with diplomatic statuses and overall worldwide discordance and relations. These blocs all hold neutral or friendly relations with one another. This is not synonymous with the geographical lie of the lands, but rather with the attitudes within the governments. Whilst geographical factors certainly play a factor, it is not the defining element.
The first unofficial bloc is the most powerful militarily if their overall prowess is to be combined - the so-called 'Northern bloc.' The two major powers within this bloc, are of course, the Lands of Lightning and Earth, combined with lower minor nations such as the Land of Caves. They are a steadfast alliance, all with good trading links and relations, with the Lands of Lightning and Earth having been on the same side throughout each world war.
The second unofficial bloc is that of the 'peace-keeping' bloc. This bloc, along with the Northern bloc, has intervened the most in the affairs of other nations under the pretence of keeping the peace and making sure stability in the regions remained. This is a lie - the intervention in the Land of Rivers by Konohagakure was later evidenced to be based on making sure their debt to the Land of Fire was repaid. They are the same in the Northern bloc in having good relations between the (mostly) lower minor nations such as the Land of Waterfalls, and the singular major nation - the Land of Fire. However, whilst the Northern bloc can be relied upon to initiate interventions to look out for their own ends, this bloc will do so under false pretences - caution should be advised for attempts of manipulation or such.
Finally, the rest of the two continents fit under the remaining blocs - the 'active' and 'inactive' blocs. These two blocs both have something in common - they either have neutral/average relations with most nations, or isolate themselves from other nations. The difference is in their foreign policies - whether they pursue active policies, seeking to build up economic and military strength and undertake missions on an international scale. The 'inactive' bloc thus seeks not to stray too far from their own borders, and for any number of reasons will see mostly neither a rise or drop in economic and military strength.
Naturally, both our own upper minor nation of the Land of Rain and our ally, the Land of Wind fall under the 'active' category. The Land of Water also falls under this category, although they are more of an oddity as they hold a more neutral outlook on the other major nations. Most upper minor nations fall under this category, whilst the remainder of the lower minor nations that do not come under the first two blocs are aligned with the 'inactive' bloc.
It is with this information, that we thus have been building up our efforts in the Land of Water.
Note - what can be considered 'average' relations on the Western continent means averagely hostile to one another, given how all of the minor nations on the second continent have existed in a perpetual state of open hostility to one another since the foundation of the major nations...'
AME BORDER OUTPOST.
The elite commander, third in command of all of the nation, did not display a singular emotion in the presence of the room. They kept their mask darkened to not allow a singular aspect of light escape, and their body language rigid. A good ninja would be able to tell when an opposing ninja was deliberately tense - but that was all they would accordingly be able to see.
The five Spectre agents behind the elite commander were set in an unmoving line against the wall of the small room they were in, on the side of the room which pointed further into the Land of Rain. The unnaturally tall agent in the centre occasionally moved their head to look to the commander, and the Elite Commander could accordingly feel it - making the Nara feel the stare their leader gave them.
The tension bleeding into the room came from the fact that the most powerful man on Earth sat opposite him. The two Leaf bodyguards, Hyate Gekko and Yugao Uzuki, if Shikodai Nara remembered their names right, flanked their one and only leader - the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
"You know we cannot agree to this absolute farce of an agreement, Lord Hokage." The elite commander stated in a blunt, and yet neutral tone. "I'm afraid the days of when you pushed us around are no more."
The Namikaze didn't say a word at first, merely fixing a piercing look from the steeled blue eyes at the mask of the elite commander, who just titled his masked skull slightly at the unresponsiveness - but the ball wasn't in his court. He didn't have to say a word when it wasn't necessary.
Minato eventually looked down to the pile of documents on the table, which had been shoved clear of the side of the Ame representative, before looking back to the mask. It was clear they had chosen someone who wasn't antagonistic, but would still perfectly get their point across without backing down.
"So, this state of a cold relationship will remain?" Minato eventually asked, before raising an eyebrow. "Surely you want to reach a deal where we can settle our border disputes, and amend our relationships which have become unfortunately strained?"
The Elite Commander's mask dipped a bit to view one of the documents, before looking back up and shrugging. "Let's not beat around the bush, Lord Hokage." The neutral tone the Nara employed became firmer, as the Namikaze just continued to look piercingly at the obscure mask. "You're here because you want these hostilities to stop, what with the Land of Grass, to now the Land of Waterfalls. You can't just 'intervene' because you're facing an unknown nation which has defied all estimates of its military strength by you, because you lack the support of a major ally unlike us where you would face another major village, and because you want the trade we provide to continue unabated." The Nara gave a scoff before looking away slightly. "You could not care less for the inhabitants of this land."
The Namikaze's eyes hardened at that. "I'm afraid." He stated out with an equally firm tone of voice. "You are wrong in that regard. I do care, and I do not want another war to start. We must come to an agreement and end this state of hostilities including the build-up of troops along our respective borders."
The Elite Commander gave a short chuckle to himself, as he knew exactly what would happen - if the Hidden Sand was not involved then, then the Leaf could have intervened into one minor nation - depending upon the actions of the Hokage. So long as they didn't claim it all, no other major power was likely to intervene in a small-scale war. But since Lord Pain had allied with the Land of Wind and ensured a major power would be dragged into any dispute, then if a war did start between them, other major powers were also likely to intervene. Especially Iwa, who were likely to feel more confident against the Yellow Flash now that they had had more than a decade to think up counters to his techniques.
"Fine." The Elite Commander spoke - even if Minato Namikaze stayed true to his philosophy and sought peace where he could, it was also in their interest to back down. Poking a bigger power was never a good idea, no matter the allies you had - and Pain's plans still weren't completed yet. "You know we can't accept you being in our lands when we don't even let our ally in, but that has nothing to do with border disputes; so I'm sure it won't be too much to ask to drop it from future agreements. I understand you allow us in your lands, but our nation maintains an isolationist policy to all the nations." The Elite Commander paused for a moment, meeting the eyes of the Namikaze who said nothing - his eyes showing how he couldn't believe that from the Rain's actions beforehand. "So, what do you propose?"
The ninja leader of the Fire nation gave a grunt as he thought, before then tapping the table between them. "Here's what I'm going to do." Minato stated with a firm tone. "I'm going to withdraw half the troops from our shared border to bring it back to normal levels. It'll be up to Hanzo if he reciprocates and truly doesn't want this frigid relationship to continue." Minato spoke, before then leaning back into the chair. "Then, I invite Hanzo to partake in the chunin exams being hosted in the Sand in a month's time, where we can discuss our issues face-to-face, and hopefully reach an agreement."
The mask of the commander tilted slightly, before nodding. "Done." The Commander responded. "That sounds like a good plan of action for the both of us."
"Good." Minato spoke, but his voice lost none of its firmness as he continued. "But I'm afraid I must insist upon having a piece of knowledge given to me."
"Oh?" The Commander let out with a curious tone.
"What is the status of the jinchuuriki of the seven-tails?" Minato asked bluntly.
It appeared that the Elite Commander wouldn't answer for a moment, before letting out a sigh. "I know that the balance of the tailed beast system has shifted somewhat, but surely it's not a problem for any of the major powers? It's still in the hands of a minor nation who is now allied to the weakest major power instead of the strongest, out of the hands of your official enemies. And if your concerned for your own nation, surely you shouldn't be, considering how you still have the strongest of all the tailed beasts, and reputed strongest Hidden Village on top of that?" The masked figure questioned, tilting their head as the context between them was employed to good effect. "You've never even used the nine-tails in the world wars."
Minato's eyes became visibly more icy, before he spoke out calmly. "That's not the point. This is about your forced demand of a jinchuuriki from an ally of ours."
"Ah." The Elite Commander let out. "Well, in that case, I'd say the evidence we provided Shibuki of his spy almost causing a civil war in our lands was enough to pave the way for fair compensation."
The Hokage visibly frowned at the description of the jinchuuriki, unsurprising to the Ame ninja as they knew his wife used to be one. "I will do my own investigation on that." Minato promised after a short pause, receiving only a dismissive gesture from the masked Nara. They'd find little given how the 'civil war' took place in a land they were barred access to - the only way they'd find actual evidence was intervening. Which was, again, unlikely to happen. "But for now, I will settle for knowing the status of Fuu, the jinchuuriki of the seven-tails."
There was a short pause as the Nara just looked to the hardened face of Minato, before speaking one simple word that told him everything. "Dead."
Minato's eyes narrowed at that, but he could do nothing as the only action available to him to reclaim a tailed beast of all things was war - which he had already stated to be trying to avoid. But it told him more than the simple, vengeful message to the Land of Waterfalls in that they had slayed their chosen host - it meant that the Land of Rain had transferred the beast, and they likely now had a more willing jinchuuriki.
And Pain wasn't about to correct him on that.
LAND OF FIRE, KATABAMI REGION.
"So the target lies in just the next valley?" Gaara asked as he looked down to the map that Shino had produced.
"Yes." Shino confirmed, as he tapped the valley on the map. "We're particularly after this caverned out area here, which is the local gold mine. This is the infrastructure and base that the Kurosuki Family gang has taken over, according to the intelligence we have."
Naruto tapped his finger on the edge of the map as he thought for a moment, before then tracing the rim of the caverned out, circular area to the higher vantage point of the mine. "We have no idea where he actually is in the mine, however." He announced to the other two, who turned to listen to him. "As such, it's better if we can stake out the operation a bit, maybe question one of the thugs there about the location of the A-rank missing nin. Once we have that, then we can engage and get the mission over with."
Gaara gave a nod, before asking a question. "What about the rest of the bandits?"
Naruto just shook his head in response. "Not our problem, this is a foreign nation. Let them deal with the bandit problems, our mission is merely the elimination of Raiga Kurosuki."
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of an elderly woman to their table. "Excuse me, but you three ordered three curries?" At their nods, the woman smiled and set down the three bowls she was carrying onto the table, before then frowning and moving off when she received not a word in response.
The three Ame ninja were currently sat in a small restaurant which was situated a short walk before the valley on the only major path to the geographical land feature. It's acclaimed 'curry of life' which apparently put it on the map - but it was not being so well received by the Rain ninja.
"What is this slop?!" Gaara spoke in an offended tone, bringing his hands to his mouth as his tongue was on fire from the excessively spiced curry. "It's like they're trying to burn their customers!"
Shino hadn't even touched it as he pushed his bowl further away from him at Gaara's reaction. "There is an evidence of too much spice in the curry. You can see it, visibly without having to look closer, which means they rely on this burning sensation to have a unique curry. An obviously sub-standard chef in the kitchen." Shino stated simply in a musing tone, before shrugging. "The herbs and spices in the Land of Rain are better than that of Fire."
Naruto's answer, made them both look to him. "It's bland." The jinchuuriki spat out, as he set down his spoon in disgust from his money having to be wasted on the concoction.
Gaara looked weirdly to him. "How are you withstanding that? Not even Shino is going to try it!" He demanded.
Naruto looked oddly back in response. "I have chakra with a hotter affinity circulating my body on a permanent basis than this 'slop' as you so correctly put it."
They were once more interrupted by shouting coming from the kitchen, making them and the only other table in the restaurant look to the open counter where the elderly female chef was arguing with a younger, black-haired individual.
"Karashi, that's not how you get strong!" The elderly lady shouted to the figure who appeared to be her son. "These are mere thugs who will just use you, you don't want to end up like them!"
The black-haired youth appeared angry, snarling back at his mother with a frustrated cry. "And I'm fed up of this boring curry shop, mother! It's all I've ever known, and I've got tired of it!" Karashi shouted back. "I want to be strong, to do something worthwhile with my life! And Raiga and his men have promised me they'll teach me how to be strong!"
Naruto stopped listening as he looked back to the other two as he heard the name shouted by the blabbering boy, only darting his eyes back as the frustrated youth stormed out of the curry shop. The other two were already ready as Naruto made a motioning gesture with two of his fingers to the running boy. "Move. Quietly." He simply ordered, and the three themselves ran off through the main door without paying, drawing a surprised look from the elderly chef who was still shocked at the argument she just had.
KATABAMI GOLD MINE, VALLEY PATHS.
In the end, it turned out that Karashi was able to meet directly with Raiga himself, as they were in the midst of some sort of a funeral. The long, brown-haired cackling leader stood before the casket which was being carried by six people in black cloaks, the missing nin raising his hands up with an exaggerated cry as the funeral coffin was laid into the ground.
"Alas, Fuga!" The Kiri missing nin exclaimed with dramatic flair. "I do so miss the times we spent together! The adventures we had in the mine, where you would prove to have the loudest voice amongst all the dissenters. If only... it had been a bit quieter..."
Raiga paused, before giving a hum as his auditory senses alerted him to something as he turned his head to look down the path they were trekking just as Karashi rounded the corner. Upon seeing the foolish youth he'd been manipulating for a while now, Raiga's grin widened.
"Karashi!" Raiga announced as he signalled his cloaked followers to continue forth without him. "It's a pleasure to see you, but you aren't due in the mine until tomorrow! What could be the reason for this graceful visit?"
The grandson of the curry maker stopped a few metres away, having to stoop slightly and wheeze to regain his breath, before answering. "I couldn't wait any longer, Lord Raiga! I need to grow stronger, to show others that I can be better than them! Please, teach me!"
An exaggerated expression overcame the rouge swordsman, giving another hum as he sought to whisper more poison into the young adult's ears - before frowning and turning his head as he heard a cough. That wouldn't have been unusual, if it hadn't of been for the particularly deep tone of the sudden exhalation of air. Sure enough, he turned his head in time to see all six of his followers who had been carrying the coffin collapse to the ground without any more warning. He was put instantly on guard as his brow furrowed, trying to see what was wrong - before he saw something glitter in the red haze of the dusk period.
"Aburame!" Raiga hissed out, before then cackling. "We in the Mist knew just how to deal with your insects!" He spoke aloud as he saw the individual sparkles coming off of the glinting insects in the dusk light - before tossing down a smoke grenade. The white, enveloping haze blanketed the entire area, blowing back most of the oncoming flying insects - and thoroughly disorienting the rest as Raiga leapt clear of the smoke to avoid the shuriken the insect user threw into it to take advantage of the blinding conditions.
It turned out that they had prepared for an eventuality like that, as a black armoured chunin leapt out from a camouflage netting covered hole in the hillside to immediately launch a projectile of hardened earth chakra at the flying figure. However, the jonin-level missing ninja merely reacted by flashing through hand-signs at a fast rate - and initiating the substitute jutsu as the position of the projectile and Raiga was swapped in an instant. Using the sudden displacement at a lower altitude to his advantage, two short swords spun into the rouge mist-ninja's hands as he dived on the black armoured figure.
Only for the teamwork of the chunin squad to reveal itself as another armoured figure displaced their comrade, the second figure already having a plan of action as they launched three kunai at Raiga. The rogue missing ninja started to take the standard option of deflecting the weapons with his sword, before a shout from the rucksack on his back had him use the body flicker instead to clear the area instead as the short exploding fuses on the kunai detonated. The metal shrapnel from the weapons only scythed through empty air, making Naruto frown from the unexpected reaction before a number of chakra signatures registered on his vision.
"Gaara, Shino!" Naruto snapped out, making the two leap next to him in the brief respite of the battle. "Distract Raiga - he went west. I am going to take care of the bandits that we've attracted."
Only two inclinations of the angles of the helmets they wore showed their response, before they dashed off after the missing nin which Naruto had sensed using his chakra sensing abilities. Naruto himself merely turned his head slightly to the right, seeing a group of scruffy bandits crest the top of one of the rocky outcrops, and then charging straight for.
Two of the bandits directly attempted to engage Naruto, only for him to show them exactly why a trained ninja would always outperform a bandit. Ducking under the swing of a sword, Naruto's fist cocked back before ramming straight into the torso of the bandit - the sheer strength of the move blowing a hole in the stomach area. Kicking the leg of the other bandit to make them stumble, their entire body stance lowered which allowed the kunai that twirled into Naruto's hand to be rammed into their throat in the same motion.
"Black tornado!" Came a scream from above him, making Naruto divert his attention as he snapped his head straight up. There, towering over his armoured figure, was a pillar of five bandits that had all stacked each other up on their shoulders to form a human tower - that was rapidly making its way towards him. It occurred to Naruto that they were better trained than he initially thought, as he leaped back and watched the assortment of blades that the pillar of bandits wielded cleaved right through the rocky ground he'd been on; before he sought to respond with a flash of gold from his back.
The entire human tower collapsed at its base as a gold construct wrapped entirely around the bottom bandit, the quivering eyes of the bottom criminal seeing only the appearance of a golden spiked blade blurring past his face, followed by interlocking sections of a chain wrapping completely around his face. He didn't even get time to scream as his body was forcefully compressed between the sections of the chain.
The other bandits similarly found themselves hoisted out of the air by four further chains, three of them having their torsos penetrated straight through by the spiked tips of the chakra constructs of the Uzumaki sealing chains Naruto had produced. The fourth bandit had their leg wrapped around by a chain, not to slow their descent - but to speed it up as they were collided skull-first into the ground before a second group of bandits that had appeared in a splattering of gore.
The five sealing chains were pulled back in a matter of just two seconds to hover behind Naruto's back as he turned his gaze towards the emergence of more criminals.
WITH RAIGA.
Shino's helmet split open for only a second as he unleashed the jutsu from his mouth. "Water release: water wave!"
A torrent of water, interlaced with the water-natured chakra that powered and propelled the jutsu, raced across the rocky terrain in a large wave right towards Raiga.
The missing nin stood his ground as he spat out water from his own mouth. "Water encampment wall!" He called out, making the water he'd spat out surround him and then rush up to form a rippling, blue barrier between him and his enemies, and the widespread jutsu before them. A unique feature of the jutsu was revealed as the water hit its twin-natured technique and was absorbed into the jutsu, keeping Raiga safe - as the swordsman formed another hand sign.
The water exploded from the barrier formation it was held at to crash down onto the rocks and surge forth with a vengeance - forming a miniature tsunami which raced back to Shino.
Shino was panting somewhat from the massive usage of jutsu his reserves weren't used to in the slightest - being forced to swallow two chakra pills to replenish the required amounts of chakra for the battle and forgo the consequences. Having been fighting for a while already and then utilising such a widespread move, he needed the extra chakra. It turned out to be a good thing as the tsunami of water came onto his position - as he called upon his bloodline.
The swift release was a powerful thing, as it propelled Shino forward to a speed which Raiga couldn't even see at - the only indication he'd moved at all was the singular footprint that splashed out on top of the water wave after Shino had dashed across the top of the water. The rogue swordsman indeed only realised his opponent was upon him as a kunai cut to the abdomen was raked along it. Swearing out in pain, Raiga thrust up his knee to block a second kunai strike, scowling in distaste at Shino directly in the eyes as he made to stick one of his Kiba blades directly in a gap between a couple of armour plates at this close distance - but he missed completely.
Hurriedly recognising that the vision he was seeing of blood being drawn out from his enemy but the lack of an exclamation of pain and feeling of contact with his weapon was the signs of an illusionary technique, Raiga dispelled the eye-casted genjutsu with a pulse of his chakra. The time spent doing that, however, cost him once more as his vision returned to see few purple insects already upon him, biting into the wound that had been previously created - as Shino moved in for another stike.
"Water release: water bullet!" Raiga screamed out as a large glob of forceful water slammed into Shino in the very short distance between them, forcibly ejecting him from the close position and throwing him dozens of metres away. Raiga's experience had enabled him to come out of the encounter where he had been caught off guard by using a jutsu he'd needed no hand signs, and he was now worried as he knew he'd been poisoned. But most of all, he was furious.
Just as Raiga was about to race after Shino to press his advantage whilst the Rain ninja was likely disoriented from his short flight, sand swept across the rocks between them in a torrent of particles - before sweeping towards him. It was just as large as the previous water jutsu had been, as Gaara responded in kind with a large crescent wave on oncoming sand which had every intention of keeping Raiga delayed as Shino recovered.
A leap back, before backflipping away to avoid the oncoming wave, touching down a higher outcrop of sand, leaving Raiga safer for the moment and having Gaara be made to reconsider.
"Sand shuriken." Gaara intoned as he started up the assault again. Now having moved his right arm from thrusting forth to form a wall to holding a hand seal to mould his chakra to form the necessary shapes for the sand projectiles. Accordingly, the spinning discs of sand flew out from the wall of sand which crumbled behind them - and launched themselves at Raiga.
The swordsman just laughed, however, as he merely side-stepped one and cleaved it in half with one of his blades, ducked another and took the last out of commission with the lowest-level water projectile jutsu he knew. Two thrusting spears of sand towards him from opposite sides were dodged by leaping backwards, before he merely kicked away a small wave that tried to encompass his feet.
"You're good with this sand, Rain ninja!" Raiga cackled out - as a sudden mass of sand erupted out of the earth to swarm him on all sides. It took the application of chakra to his lower limbs which powered his leap up to several metres up into the air, clear of his previous position which the sand now cascaded down upon - before utilising the body flicker to speed away clear from the dozens of sand shuriken that launched after him.
Raiga back-flipped away from the latest wave of sand with a cackling laugh, finding it child's play to dodge this constant sand. Another flick of his wrist sent another bolt of lightning towards Shino, who was forced to disengage from coming to him in order to dodge. Followed by the formation of two hand signs, a water clone jumped out from a puddle on the ground to leap to where Shino had dodged. His instincts flared once more to sweep his eyes back to the sand, ready to dodge another attempt - only to find it too late as his eyes widened slightly.
"A shadow technique...?" He murmured aloud, before grimacing as he momentarily bundled and stored chakra up within his core, before unleashing the build-up of chakra directly within the pores of his lower limbs. The ground cracked from the force of the energy, along with the shifting and dark tendrils that bound his shadow to Gaara's that quickly raced to the armoured figure's natural shadow.
The time it had taken for all of that to happen, though, allowed Naruto to get close. It was only the combination of Raiga's warning mechanism he had and experience to duck the stabbing chains that now soared over the rouge ninja's head. But, it was part of the plan - as his ducked head directly met the armoured fist that was sent barrelling right into his skull. Needless to say, Raiga was knocked away from him.
Naruto's facial plates sprang apart then, a chakra-filled fireball being spat out towards Raiga who leapt away from it as Naruto followed up the strike as he pointed his held out armoured hand to Raiga. A pulse of dense, red chakra crawled up his arm as a sealing matrix flared across it - as several smaller streams of fire flew out from the seals. Like seeking missiles, they all streaked towards Raiga. Naruto scowled as the sealing matrix audibly spluttered and then retreated back into the main kanji, telling from a glance that the tailed beast chakra had overwhelmed it and launched fewer seeking streams than it had been designed for.
"Watch your enemy, Naruto!" Came the stark, warning voice in his head, making Naruto's eyes widen as he looked up to see his enemy had disappeared - the streams of fire no longer locked on to target as they slammed into the ground instead and plumed out in quiet expanses of rippling fire. Naruto's sensing abilities allowed him to pulse the entire battlefield around him, the rudimentary technique he'd developed still in its early stages - but still nonetheless allowed to sweep the battlefield in a clockwise motion around him and lock onto his enemy's chakra signature with his sensing abilities.
"Curse you, Uzumaki, that was not natural strength!" Raiga screamed out as he held his Kiba blades aloft once more from a higher position just behind him. Naruto didn't bother to tell him that the very physique of his body, powered and warped by tailed beast chakra, allowed for much higher levels of strength that even ninjas should be able to reach, and instead just remained looking at the swordsman who was completing his move.
A lightning bolt slammed down towards him, having been charged up by Raiga on his higher spot and unleashed down towards the armoured figure. It was blocked by a red, translucent energy shield springing up between two of the sealing chains that surged forth before Naruto, before he leapt back to join Gaara and Shino behind him. He was only playing into the swordsman's hands by remaining near without a proper plan.
Raiga watched as another wall of sand sprang up, raising an eyebrow as it surged forth again - but with a twist as golden glints erupted out of the swarm to show the sealing chains stabbing through and joining the charge. The oncoming mass was something obviously planned, for as Raiga eyed the sides of the battlefield, he saw the glints of purple once more in the dusk light. Body flickering was only a mere massive boost of speed, and he'd collide with them anyway. Leaping would do no good as he'd only be making himself vulnerable to the sealing chains which could follow him. He'd have to confront this combination.
Raiga began a mad laugh as he raised the short swords in his hands. "You just made a mistake now that you're all together!" He announced loudly to the oncoming wave of sand, blue sparks of electricity beginning to fly from the Kiba blades as the rouge swordsman crossed the two weapons together. "Lightning beats earth and metal! Now die!" The swords were jolted forth to be swiped at the sand which was fast upon them, a bolt of lightning chakra flying from the two swords straight into the sand. It was enough to stop a section of the massing wave, which crumbled down in a burnt and chakra-less state as the lightning overcame the earthen style chakra powering the sand; but it was not enough for the tidal wave of sand which just poured over the fallen lump towards Raiga.
The actual result Raiga had been awaiting happened an instant later as he watched, a much larger bolt of piercing, natural lightning thundering down from the heavens and crashing into the entire construct of swirling sand and metal. A deafening clap of an explosion rang out from the impact point before progressing into a vibrating, short-lived rumble as sand exploded everywhere, momentary arcs of powerful electricity flaring out from the impact between the chains that fizzled out of existence. The complete wave of sand was halted in its entirety as the much more powerful lightning overcame the deluge of sand.
As this happened, he cut a deep, shallow line across his torso to allow his blood to run free, inflicting a wound upon himself that his madness allowed him to carry out without hesitation, unlike most ninja. A quick run of a novice medical jutsu and a hurried bandage tie around it stopped further bleeding after he'd felt he'd leached most of the poison, as he began laughing at the anticipated death of his enemies.
The laughter of the missing ninja was cut short as the momentary dust and smoke cleared away, revealing the three armoured figures to be unhurt from the lightning strike, courteous of the interlocking gold chains that formed a protective structure around them. The red energy shields that formed between each gap between the chain structures dissipated, before being withdrawn back to await close to the master of the chains in the middle.
"Your good with those chains, Uzumaki." Raiga stated aloud, an impressed tone within it. "You must've practiced for years to be so affluent with them."
A short crackle came from the speakers in the helmet before Naruto responded. "At the expense of ninjutsu, as I'm sure you've noticed."
Raiga absently nodded, before speaking again. "Something your comrades seem to be able to cover." He stated, before cackling again as he pointed at them. "So let's sort that out! Split them up!"
Two lightning clones of Raiga erupted out of the surrounding debris then, having been formed sneakily by Raiga from the previous abundance of lighting energy and aiming straight for Naruto and Gaara on the right side of their squad. As Naruto's chains surged forth to meet the threat he'd immediately sensed behind him, it was Gaara's automatic sand defence that saved him from the sword strike from behind he'd almost been too slow in noticing.
The real Raiga, meanwhile, took a second to scan the battle, before muttering. "Warn me of any strikes to the torso, Ranmaru. I can't allow for that wound to be reopened." A short shuffle from the rucksack was his only answer before disappearing.
He body flickered right before Shino, twin swords already descending for a hacking slash from above to take out that which he perceived to be the biggest threat. However, Shino matched the jonin-level ninja in speed as two metal swords in his hand flashed out, one swiping upwards to block both oncoming blades as the other swept for a bisecting blow at Raiga's torso. The rogue swordsman showed a brief amount of surprise on his face, having not expected for the Aburame he'd assumed to be any good at swordsmanship - before smirking.
He accordingly stepped up his game as his attention was diverted to his swords, beginning to speed up the slashes and strikes he was making with the short swords of the Kiba blades. At first, Shino was able to keep up as his own eyes went to the fast-paced swords dance they were engaging in, before Raiga's smirk widened as the difference in skill began to show. A sword strike finally landed against Shino's right elbow, a normally fatal wound that would lopped off an arm.
It did not matter when the advanced armour Shino wore merely blocked the sword strike anyway, deflecting off the armoured plate with a squeal of sparks and the absorbing material underneath deadening the shudder and accompanying pain of the blow.
Raiga merely snarled as he pressed the swords fight, not being distracted by the new development that his sword strikes were ineffective against the armour, as his experience allowed him to plan ahead. Shino, seeking to hold off Raiga for long enough for Naruto or Gaara to assist him, continued to block and strike back as he was unaware of the gradual shift in his guard upwards as Raiga slowly lifted the sword strikes higher to the unaware Aburame.
Thus, the full boot to the torso plates didn't harm Shino, but did send him toppling to the ground as the kick went in completely under his guard. Giving off another cackle, the twin Kiba were quickly put back together, sparks emanating from them as they were swiped downwards to unleash the electrical build-up within them in a fast strike. The fast pace of the technique didn't allow for much time for the electricity to charge, but at such a close range it didn't matter as the full force of the electrical bolt slammed into Shino.
Only for the armour to render that too, ineffective as it was merely absorbed and deflected by the seals and material adorning the metal plates. Raiga wasn't allowed time to express his shock as Shino thrust his arm forward, a short swarm of the purple-glinting insects buzzing out from the gaps in the armour plates to fly directly at him. Knowing of the dangers of allowing Aburame insects to touch him, he quickly body flickered away.
Shino's arm was roughly seized as he was hoisted up, but he made no attempt to remove it as he looked over to see his brother assisting him up.
"I didn't expect to see the day you'd be bested in sword fighting." Naruto stated with amusement, as the flick of a chakra chain sent a kunai spiralling away from where it had been thrown at them. He'd meant his words, given how Shino utilised his bloodline to a small scale to deliver such rapid strikes to overwhelm an enemy - but he'd met an experienced match who not only anticipated and could block such strikes, but actually overwhelm him.
Shino merely grunted, before speaking. "Those days will be few." He stated simply, before looking back to Raiga who was flashing through more hand signs. "He can somehow see beyond the normal prerogative. I would call it an eyesight bloodline, but his eyes are normal. Either way, it's how he was able to anticipate your earlier fireball, exploding kunai and other such techniques."
Naruto answered that. "There's another live signature in his bag. Maybe a bloodline user."
Shino nodded. "Never mind that for now. I noticed something - he commonly uses the body flicker technique when he wishes to retreat."
A large glob of water was spat at them, making Naruto tense to jump away as his chains wouldn't extend in time to match the wide-reaching effect of a water based jutsu, before sand rushed up to meet it anyway. The water merely splattered against the sudden wall of dirt and sand that formed a solid barrier before them.
"And what if he doesn't use the body flicker, but dodges?!" Naruto called out, already knowing Shino was formulating a plan.
A water dragon construct smashed right through the sand wall then and temporarily halted their conversation, but it was sufficiently slowed to allow the armoured trio to leap clear.
"He'll need to dodge less often to avoid upsetting the wound on his torso - he'll be forced to use the body flicker if we make him." Shino's voice crackled into the other two's ears through the inbuilt radio in their helmets.
Naruto grunted at that. "What do you propose?"
A minute more of fighting continued, before Gaara shoved his sand before the front of Raiga to make him leap back with a grimace, as Naruto started to dash towards Raiga from the left. A cackle of sparks came from the Kiba blades as Raiga made to launch another jutsu at the jinchuuriki, but instead coughed out blood instead as Shino blasted into existence before his right with another use of his bloodline. With a solid punch to the wound on his torso, blood started to flow again as Raiga simply could not block such speed - but he reacted quickly enough since his opponent was back to normal speed with a scything swipe of his right Kiba blade.
"Your madness is your undoing." Shino spoke simply before leaping back to dodge, just as Raiga expected as he stomped his right foot into the ground to blast off with the assistance of chakra to strike him in the air - only to stop as the ground erupted around him. Sand blasted out of the soil it had mingled with, pouring out of every crevice around Raiga as it rose up - but the A rank missing nin had experienced this before. A small look at the extent of the sand that swarmed and rose up showed him there was no way out, and he couldn't leap clear suddenly in a violent manner like that with his wound - and so began to bring his right arm forth and forming his hand into the half ram symbol to begin the body flicker jutsu.
Only for the final part of the ambush to be sprung as golden chakra chains erupted out of the ground too - quickly closing ranks as they flickered together and formed an interlocking boundary in the same time it took Raiga to activate the body flicker. He managed to escape the sand as it fell away, Gaara seeing his job was done - as the missing nin then careered into the chakra chains with a cry, the jutsu that merely multiplied speed forcibly halted by the secondary obstacle. Just as Raiga experienced momentary dizziness from the abrupt halt to his speedy departure, the other chakra chains coiled and shot out, enveloping the missing nin in his entirety. Pinpointing the missing nin was easy for Naruto's sensory skills, who instantly knew where he had encountered the chains - and tightened the trap with a snap.
Both Raiga and his companion in the rucksack were brought to the ground.
Shino leapt forth then, coming to a stop just before Raiga who began thrashing against the chakra chains, which merely coiled tighter around him and proved to be unbreakable to the jonin as they suppressed his chakra. Giving a derisory snort, Shino merely sheathed one of his blades across the horizontal of the small of his back, as the other was angled towards Raiga's neck. "We knew you could somehow see, or sense chakra. Your practicality with combining the body flicker with the lightning affinity and your abilities with the sword are to be commended." Shino stated in a tone that did not mean a single ounce of the praise he gave. "However, you became arrogant. You are A-rank because of the sword you have, and your deadly skills with it. Counter it, and your just some other jonin. Except, of course, with whatever abilities your companion has."
The sword glinted in the dusk light as it flashed down, impaling straight through the spine exactly at the critical nervous-system spot within the neck. Death was guaranteed, as Naruto joined Shino - the chakra chains protruding from the gap in between two armour plates beginning to be withdrawn back into it. The blank expression carved into the electronic helmet that glittered crimson and black in the setting sun was the last thing the boy saw as he peeked his head out from the big rucksack to see what had happened.
Only to scream as Shino's hand reached forth and yanked him out of the bag, bringing him straight up to eye level, as Naruto regarded him too.
"He must be only eight or nine, and yet he's hanging out with criminals from the Mist." Naruto spoke his thoughts aloud, seeing Shino give a nod.
"Therefore, still able to be executed under international law." Shino stated simply, making Naruto simply turn his head away as he walked over to where Gaara was. His brother would join him when he'd got all he wanted.
"Please - I only wanted-" The boy yelped out before Shino's hand closed around his neck and forcibly shut him up.
"I care not for your back story." Shino interrupted the boy's shouts, before growing tired of his weight in his hand - and merely beheading the strange boy so that he only grasped what he wanted. "Special eyes of some kind. No wonder Raiga constantly knew more than he should've. I'll hand you over to the science division." He spoke to himself as he sheathed his second blade and sealed away the head within one of the storage scrolls on his person. Wanting only two other things, he sealed away the Kiba blades away as well before rolling up the scroll and trooping over to join his other two brothers.
Gaara looked up at Shino, pale green eyes visible through the opened helmet as the sand user motioned to someone off to the side. Naruto's eyes flickered over to the bound form of Karashi, before looking back to Gaara for explanation.
"I found him cowering behind cover when I began looking through the supplies." The red head responded to the look, with a tone of disgust as he glared at the quivering grandson of the curry maker. "He must've been too afraid to even use the fight we had with Raiga as a means to slip away."
Naruto grunted, before taking a step forth to be in front of Karashi, and speaking at him. "Look at me." He commanded, looking at the scared criminal-wannabe who after a second looked up at the jinchuuriki. "I want to know one thing." Naruto stated in clear conveyance so that Karashi wouldn't make him repeat himself. "Raiga was here for quite some time, yes? I want to know why. Missing nin do not stay in one place for even a period of a few weeks, let alone months as Raiga did. There must've been some reason he was here."
Karashi blinked as he tried to settle his nerves, reassuring himself that they were clearly not interested in him, but instead in the deceased criminal. "This is a gold mine." Karashi explained, motioning to the mine entrance further down the hill. "It only opened recently, and I think nobody officially registered it, so Konoha doesn't know about it. He was amassing a fortune here."
Naruto frowned in disappointment, before motioning to Shino who stepped closer to him. "Spoils of such value aren't included under international law, are they?" He asked.
Shino seemed amused as he shook his head. "No." He answered simply. "Only personal effects are able to be claimed from the body. We can take a national treasure of Kiri as it did technically belong to Raiga. A stash of mineral resource on the scale of an entire mine would not be explained so simply through diplomacy."
Naruto nodded his head. "Better not cause any international trouble then." He spoke, loosening his shoulders to rid the tension from the fight in them. "Let's get going before the Leaf arrive."
Shino looked over to Karashi, who looked glad to be supposedly forgotten about. "What about him?"
Naruto looked momentarily to the young adult, before shaking his head. "Kill him." He ordered simply. "Let's not waste anymore time."
Shino's hand had already dipped his hand into his kunai pouch and twirled one of the weapons into it's natural position in his hand as Karashi began to jabber out for his life, terror on his face - pausing only as a thud sounded out behind them.
It was the black-haired Leaf genin with the green jumpsuitthey'd encountered before, making Gaara visibly tense as Naruto just turned to face them.
"Please, do not do that." The genin pleaded as he held out a placating hand.
Naruto merely cocked his head slightly as the crimson gaze of his helmet focused solely on the latest arrival. "Or what, Leaf ninja?" He asked after a second.
The face of the genin hardened as he slid into a battle pose, making Gaara react accordingly as Naruto placed his hands at his side in better preparation. "Or I will be forced to fight for the life of my friend." The green suited genin answered.
Shino merely turned back back to the quivering Karashi. "International law disagrees." He spoke in response before plunging the kunai he held right through Karashi's skull for an instant kill.
The genin appeared distraught at that, letting out a cry as he charged forth, making Naruto's eyes widen at the speed the genin possessed - which was higher than even the average chunin should possess. But it was still no match for the speed at which his chakra chains could deploy, as four of them manifested from his back and surged forth to meet the Leaf ninja. The genin before them cursed at the sudden appearance of the impaling instrument, converting all of his speed gained into providing energy for the jump he performed to the left. He dodged the chains which slammed into the ground on an intercept course with his previous charge, making the genin frown angrily, before becoming slightly confused as his opponent looked over their shoulder.
"That'd be the chakra signature of an incoming strong jonin, Naruto! Undoubtedly from the Leaf." Kurama's voice boomed in his head, making Naruto wince as he looked over his shoulder to where the chakra source was coming from. "Fast, too. Leave, now."
"Let's leave!" Naruto barked out, as he threw a series of shuriken at the Leaf genin to keep them at bay as Gaara nodded beside him, going through a series of hand seals as fast as he could before grabbing Naruto's shoulder and disappearing in a body flicker. Shino watched the Leaf genin before him with a solid crimson gaze for a second more before completing the sequence for the body flicker technique with one less hand seal than Gaara had needed.
It was only fifteen seconds later that an elite jonin stopped to a halt besides his pupil, the student turning to his identically dressed master as they perused the landscape at the battle they had arrived too late to be a part of. The other two members of the team were not far behind.
A KILOMETRE AWAY.
Gaara and Naruto stopped near the embankment of a river, the leader of the team giving a thanking nod to his brother before feeling Shino join them just then - and splashing down into the river. Frowning at the lack of control which was very unlike the smartest of them, two sealing chains splashed into the river after Shino and hauled him out onto the embankment.
"Gaara." Naruto simply called, getting the red head's attention who stooped down to Shino's level and momentarily analysed the bug user's unconscious state. Figuring something out, Naruto watched as Gaara merely stripped Shino's torso clear of his armour, before then tilting his body onto his side - and forcefully compressing the lungs. Water spluttered out from the Rinkaichu user's lungs, as Gaara then initiated basic breathing exercises upon the unconscious boy to clear the water from his respiratory system. Once that was done, it was a simple matter of checking upon Shino with a glowing green hand of medical chakra - which elicited a snort from the former jinchuuriki as he ran his hand over Shino's chakra core.
"He'll be fine." Gaara stated as he stood up, dusting his hands to get the worst of the water off of them and looking to Naruto. "The water is gone, and his unconsciousness was merely caused by physical and chakra exhaustion. His body is obviously incapable of sustaining such use of his bloodline in line with all of that chakra usage - he took too many of those damn chakra pills."
Naruto's helmet opened up to allow him to directly look at Gaara's green eyes. "What does he need?"
Gaara gave a short chuckle and made a dismissive gesture. "I didn't mean to say he was harmed or anything. On the contrary, he has no physical damage at all, his armour made sure of that. His body merely needs rest for a few days to recover from exhaustion and to allow his chakra to replenish, that's all."
Naruto gave a nod, before clapping Gaara on the shoulder. "Then thank you, brother. Good work out there." He stated, bending down and zipping back up the armour on Shino's torso.
"Thanks." Gaara spoke, before looking off back to the direction they'd fled from. "So what happens now?"
"Now." Naruto grunted out as he hefted up Shino's body, armour and all, with the assistance of chakra. With the Fox providing a constant cycle of chakra and his superior strength of the trio, it would not be his strength that would fail - but exhaustion that would demand him to stop. "We leave. We don't know if that Leaf squad will call for assistance, and we've completed our objective anyway. The Kiba blades are proof of that. Let's go home."
Gaara raised an eyebrow. "But we've still got two weeks. The Commander will not train us until the next month."
Naruto gave a smile at that. "That may be true." He answered. "But we've all learned something from today, I'm sure. Let's work to cover our own weaknesses first, and the future will be all the better for it."