OP:Scar/let by ReoNa
Naruto rushed at the the pale attacker, who swiftly paints five tomoe lions that come out of his scroll, ready to swipe at the blond ninja. Shikamaru disposes of them before they could scratch Naruto, using the Shadow Stitching Technique to impale them and turn them back to ink.
"You're welcome," Shikamaru says out loud, Naruto not responding back as he jumps up to where the attacker was, swiping at him with a kunai he takes out from his utility belt. The attacker stops his attack with his tanto. Shikamaru and Choji stood where they are, wondering what else they could do to help their friend if the attacker had something up his sleeves that would throw Naruto off his guard.
"You sure are wea-" The attacker's smile changes to one of surprise when he suddenly felt Naruto's left knee connect to his chin. The force of the blow made him fly to the air as Shikamaru's shadow tendrils comes close to hitting him.
"Did that feel weak?" Naruto asked the attacker, who does not respond to his question and avoids getting impaled by the shadow tendrils by drawing a lion in his scroll and having it get impaled in his place once it comes out of the scroll. "You better have a good reason to have attacked me and Shikamaru." Instead of answering him, the pale attacker escapes with the Ink Mist Technique. With the "enemy" gone, Naruto goes back to Shikamaru and Choji and voiced his annoyance at the attacker's decision to run away.
"If he is part of the villager, he's just another someone who is or may be related to someone still holds a grudge against the Kyuubi," Shikamaru figured.
"...Naruto, it's true that I do not understand loss or the responsibilities you're carrying, but know that we want to help however we can. You're one of my good friends, and while at times you can get on people's nerves, like you did me a few minutes ago, I don't want you to recklessly get yourself killed. There are still people who care for you." Naruto said nothing, leaving the two in a flash.
"There goes the slugging him in the face," says Shikamaru, letting out a sigh after.
2 hours later
Arriving at the spot where they were to meet the team members who would replace Sasuke and temporarily replace Kakashi, Sakura finds Naruto waiting by himself.
"You're here early."
"Yeah..."
"...How's your day going?" Sakura asked, hoping to strike a conversation with her teammate.
"Some asshole tried to attack me, Shikamaru, and Choji, and escaped," he responds, Sakura asking what he looked like. When about to answer, Naruto sees a male silhouette approaching from the shadows, revealing themselves to be the attacker from earlier.
"He looks like that," Naruto tells Sakura, the girl turning to face the pale boy.
"Hello again," he told Naruto, the blond responding with, "How's the chin?"
"Chin?"
"I knee'd him there," Naruto tells Sakura, just as their new captain, Yamato arrives, who introduces himself and lets them know he will be taking Kakashi's place effective immediately. Seeing how Naruto had his guard up around the pale boy, he tells the blond they all needed to get along, since they were now teammates.
"I just wanted to test out how strong you were" said the pale boy, giving Naruto a friendly "smile" when he told him his reason for attacking him earlier.
"So you decided to find out yourself by attacking me out of nowhere?" Naruto asked him. "Not a great approach. If I didn't want to know the reason for doing so..."
"But thanks to that, I know you're an emotionally-driven person whose own personal goals will get yourself killed."
"I don't plan to die anytime soon," he calmly tells the pale boy, even when he was seething with anger inside of himself that was directed towards his new teammate. "I have far too much to live for to go down at age 15."
"You're kind of a rotten guy, you know that, right?" Sakura asked the pale boy, telling him no one would like him if he said things to get on people's nerves. It was by luck that the blond could hold in his anger and not outright attack him, even if he was their teammate now.
"Is that right...I like nice...ugly women like you." Set off by this, Sakura comically tries to attack the pale boy, with Naruto preventing her from doing so by holding her by the collar of her shirt.
"Oi, I don't have time to put you all in a cage to get used to each other. Come on, introduce yourselves."
"Naruto Uzumaki."
"...Sakura Haruno."
"My name's Sai."
"Perfect, and now that introductions are out of the way, I will now brief you three on our mission. The four of us will be heading for the Tenchi Bridge, capture the Akatsuki spy who has infiltrated Orochimaru's organization...and bring him back to the Hidden Leaf. This is an opportunity for us to have info on both Orochimaru...and Sasuke Uchiha. You three have one hour to prepare, and we'll meet up at the front gate to start our mission as the new Team 7."
20 minutes later
Amaguriama
"I'm surprised you wanted to have sweets instead of ramen," Sakura tells Naruto, who takes a bit out of his melon bread before replying to her.
"I can't enjoy it anymore," he said. "I can't taste the noodles or the broth...at all." Sakura sweated a little as the blond slowly crushed the lemon bread in his hands.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine," he assured, though the pink-haired girl was not convinced.
"...So we'll be getting info on Orochimaru and Sasuke. Sounds exciting isn't it? We are a step further into bringing him back."
"..."
"Mmmm...Once he's back, we're likely to not see that Sai person's face again, huh..."
"..."
"...Naruto...Did you mean it? That you'll kill him if he forces your hand, regardless of the promise you made?" Sakura asked him, wanting to know if he'll truly go through with it. Naruto remained silent, looking like he was figuring out what to say. "I don't know much about you, even now, but I am not sure you'd be able to go through with it."
"What the hell is that based on?" Naruto asked her.
"I'm not sure. It's baseless hope, something I want to believe in, for us. After all, the friend you mentioned didn't die, right?"
"She lives," he answered.
"That means there is still a good chance to fulfill the promise..." Sakura said with a smile.
"Still going to beat the shit out of him, and if he decides to kill us or go against the village, I will do it. Maybe some sappy words that are meant to appeal to his humanity will work, or won't," he adds.
"Do you really have to add something negative?"
"Just eat your bean bun. Also...if someone is too optimistic, they're prone to not think about what could go wrong, and they won't be able to prevent it from happening."
Entrance Gate
"Will our team be okay?" Yamato wondered, seeing the way Naruto and Sakura looked at Sai, who kept on a "smile" despite the unwelcoming looks the latter two gave him.
On the way to Tenchi Bridge
"Please don't stare at me like that..." Sai told Naruto, who kept on glaring at him the whole way. "I'll pound you."
"I'd like to see you try," Naruto responds. "In fact, we can stop now and see if you can actually do it."
"Naruto," Sakura called out in a worried tone.
"I didn't mean it, really," Sai adds. "I was merely trying to portray myself like that kind of character."
"Well your attempt to portray the silent type is good," Naruto said to the pale boy. "In a way that I want to see if you can support the strong part of the silent type."
"Hey, don't act like that," Yamato told Naruto. "Especially in front of your captain, Naruto."
"You're not my captain," Naruto told Yamato, then telling Sai that he was no Sasuke.
"Is that right?" Sai asked with a smirk on his lips. "That makes it easier for me. He betrayed the village to go serve Orochimaru. I wouldn't want to be grouped together with someone pathetic like him, who scurried off with the enemy." Sai's response angered Sakura, who was about to walk up to him and punch him. Before Sakura could act, Yamato forms a large cage made out of wood behind him, grabbing their attention.
"Oi, we don't have time for this," he told the three. "If you keep getting at each other's nerves, I'll toss you three into this cell for a day."
"And now I can't seem to trust you," said Naruto, directing it at Yamato. "You can use Wood Release, something only the First Hokage could utilize."
"I can't deny that we're very incompatible as of now, but we need to start trusting each other, so we can either do the cell, or a stay at a hot spring inn. Your pick."
"...I'll be right back." Disappearing in front of them, Yamato wondered where Naruto was until saw a large done-shaped explosion ten miles away from them. As soon as they wondered what caused it, Naruto returned in a flash.
"Hot Springs Inn sounds like a good idea," Naruto told Yamato, Sai and Sakura being all for it while not taking their eyes off the direction the explosion was with the new team captain.
Unnamed Hot Springs Inn
Men's Open Bath
"Man, getting naked together like this is a perfect way to bond, isn't it?" Yamato asked in a satisfied tone as he soaked beside Naruto and Sai.
"Water isn't hot enough," the blond chunin told the new captain.
"I think it's nice for us three to share a bath like this," Sai told Yamato, "smiling" when he said it.
"Can't truly bond since it's only three-fourths of the team here," Naruto informed the two. "A shame this place has no mixed baths and with Sakura being who she is."
"There'll be time for all four of us to bond during dinner," Yamato assured him.
"Which is four and a half hours from now," Naruto adds, the new team captain sweating a bit, realizing Sakura would be on her own in the women's bath for that long.
"Right..." Getting up, Naruto told them he was going to go use the sauna. Watching him as he left, Yamato and Sai noticed Naruto's "size", their eyes widening in shock. Taking notice, Naruto glared at them and called them weirdos as he wrapped a towel around his waist.
Later
Rented Suite
Dinner
Night
"Whoa, this all looks delicious," Sakura said in amazement as she, Naruto, and Sai looked at the large feast in front of them, Yamato already seated and gesturing them to join in. While Sakura and Sai get seated, Naruto just stood where he was, recalling a memory.
Over three years ago
Rented Suite
Dinner
Night
"Whoa, this all looks delicious!" Xenovia says as she marveled at the large feast in front of her, Naruto, Moka, and Compa, with Jiraiya and Kureha already seated at the table.
"Gather around and have your fills," Kureha told them with a smile. "Jiraiya and I ordered a lot."
"You also paid for this?" Naruto asked her. "You shouldn't have to. After all, you came all this way to-"
"You're right, but I want to," Kureha interrupts. "You passed your exams, and with flying colors. Let me spoil you to show I am really proud of you, all four of you."
"Come on Naruto," Moka told Naruto. "Your Mom paid for this, so let's go all out to show our gratitude."
"I'm showing gratitude already!" Xenovia says to them as she stuffed herself.
"EHHH, you dug in already!?" Jiraiya shouts at the bluenette. After giving her looks of amazement, Naruto, Moka, Compa, and Kureha laughed in unison.
"Seeing Xenovia already digging in makes the food all the more appetizing," Naruto says with a smile while joining everyone at the table.
Now
"Not hungry," he told Yamato, who looked astounded by his response.
"With all this in front of him?" Sai wondered to himself.
"Go ahead and eat." Shutting the shoji (sliding door), Naruto left the three to eat without him.
"I wasn't expecting that sort of response," said Yamato. "Sakura, any tips for how to better approach him?"
"Sadly, I have no suggestions," she told him. "It's frustrating, but it's up to him to decide to trust you and Sai. Neither of us have control over him, and he prefers it that way. Sometimes I wonder how Kakashi managed to get him under control whenever we're out on most of our missions."
"Quite an insufferable bastard, isn't he?" Sai asked with a "smile" to go with it.
"That insufferable bastard has saved me, Sasuke, even Kakashi-sensei countless times," Sakura told Sai, sounding angry towards him. "Even when he dislikes me and Sasuke, he went out of his way to save us, even getting injured while doing so. Even with the coldness he shows, he's far better than anyone I know in the Hidden Leaf, save for Lady Tsunade and Shizune. Do not talk ill of Naruto. He may tolerate it, but I won't."
"My, that's a lot of trust you put in someone as stubborn as him," Sai tells Sakura in response. "I think I am starting to know you better."
"Wait, did you say all of that to gauge my true thoughts on him?" Sakura asked, looking embarrassed.
"Why else would I call him an insufferable-"
"Excuse me," Yamato interrupts. "The dinner is getting cold."
"We should dig in before the food loses its warmth," Sai says to Sakura, who agrees with him before digging in.
Later
Outside the Hot Springs Inn
Noticing a light in front of him while having an evening stroll, Yamato approached it, finding Naruto eating a bowl of fish stew alone by the fire. Around the fire were sticks with cooked insects on them.
"Quite the self-sufficient ninja you are," said Yamato, Naruto not responding to him as he finished his bowl and poured himself another one. "This all looks good, even the insects."
"...You can either join or just sit," Naruto said to the new team captain, who chooses to sit, stating he had a lot to eat earlier. "You did spend over 55000 yen on all that food, so I'm sure you did."
"You could tell just by looking-"
"I know you're here to keep the Kyuubi sealed away," Naruto told Yamato. "Wood Release tipped me off right away."
"It's to be expected," Yamato said, sighing after. "Tsunade has deemed you unstable following the report that Kakashi wrote regarding the rescuing of the Kazekage."
"And in response she replaced Kakashi-sensei with a mobile and ready to act leash?" Naruto asked.
"Is that how you see me?"
"Did you really have to ask that when you already know the answer?"
"Tsunade is doing what's best for the village and for you," said Yamato, Naruto asking him if she puts what's best for the village before what's best for him based on the order Yamato put the two in. "You and the village are equally important to her. It won't be forever."
"You're right," said Naruto. "I am planning to leave the village after I take care of the Akatsuki after all."
"..."
"I will work with you and "Blank Canvas" (Sai), but know that I don't like it, not because I hate you two, but because you're the means to suppress me, which I dislike, and because Blank Canvas has some motives that have yet to come out."
"Is that why you refuse to get along with him?"
"Someone who puts out empty smiles like that is bound to have many secrets, ones that involve being in this team."
"So you thought so as well," said Yamato. "In that case, why don't the two of us find out what it is during this mission?"
"Reason?"
"He wasn't originally planned to be part of the team, but under suggestions by Danzo and the Council, Tsunade had no choice but to put him in. Tsunade wants to know why, which was another reason she put me in charge of this team."
"What a clusterfuck of a team we are."
"We're here, no matter how much you hate it, so we will need to get along with each other," Yamato adds.
"And just like that you lost me." The new team captain frowned at Naruto, who asked him if he was that easy to displease.
Ten days later
Following the day after their stay at the hot springs inn, the new Team Kakashi took the time to plan how to approach Sasori's spy, should the rendezvous with them turn out to be a trap set up by the Akatsuki to capture Naruto. Yamato also suggested they plan a buddy system in the event that combat should arise, Naruto being put in a team with Sai.
To prepare, the four planned a total of thirty-nine simulations to help Naruto and Sai work together. While Naruto did his best to work with Sai for the sake of the mission, Sai made things difficult with his way of thinking, leaving Naruto to be "captured" by Yamato stating there was no reason for the blond to make a shadow clone that looked like him if he (Naruto) was going to have it perform a technique only Naruto himself would know, and not helping him free him from Yamato's Wood Release.
In response to another one of their many failed battle simulations, where Sai insulted "the person who took care of him", calling them a bad parent for not teaching him enough, Naruto angrily pummeled Sai half to death, with Yamato trying his best to restrain Naruto before he could kill Sai, taking him a full hour to do so while protecting Sai.
Despite Sakura telling him to try and sympathize with Naruto as she nursed him during his two day recovery, knowing Naruto was acting out because Sai insulted someone irreplaceable that he lost, Sai always told her he does not feel anything or understand, referring to his emotions, even when Naruto was beating him half to death.
Following the pale boy's two day recovery, Yamato decided to pair Sakura with the blond, fully aware that Naruto and Sai would never work well with each other due to the latter's actions before continuing the battle simulations.
Tenchi Bridge
Noon
In the present, Yamato was slowly approaching Sasori's spy while disguised as the late puppet-user himself as Naruto, Sakura, and Sai watched from the shadows, ready to act when signaled.
"Is that him?" Sai asked the two, referring to the mysterious person across the Tenchi Bridge, who was concealing themselves with a blue cloak.
"Must be," said Sakura. The spy looked to their left and right to make sure they weren't being followed before approaching "Sasori".
"It's been a long time, Lord Sasori," The spy told "Sasori", pulling down his hood to reveal it was Kabuto, to Yamato and Sakura's surprise. "It's been five years, hasn't it?"
"Were you followed?" asked "Sasori".
"No," Kabuto answered. "I don't have much time, so please keep it short. I risked my own neck to get here without Orochimaru finding out."
"I want the location of his hideout and Sasuke."
"There are several, and we move to a different one each week to not get discovered" Kabuto told him. When asked for the current one, Kabuto tells "Sasori" their current hideout was on a small island on a lake to the North and that Orochimaru planned to move again with Sasuke in three days.
"By the way...About what you ordered me to to, Lord Sasori...Even after his reincarnation, Orochimaru uses a technique to apply a protector to the cellular specimens form his discarded body...Therefore I was unable to analyze the cellular data.
"I see."
"Such an interesting conversation you two are having. Yamato's forehead started sweating as Orochimaru appeared behind Kabuto. "Would you guys let me join in as well?"
Kabuto avoids being ensnared by Orochimaru's snake, discarding his cloak in the process as he lands on his feet in front of "Sasori and prepares to fight his former master.
"That outfit sure takes me back," Orochimaru says to "Sasori", who asked if he followed Kabuto.
"Oh, I just thought I'd thank you. Kabuto has come in very handy. The number of human subjects necessary for the development of one new technique is over a hundred thanks to his Medical Ninjutsu, being able to reuse test subjects several times. You see, there's been a great shortage of them." As Kabuto formed chakra into a small, sharp blade around his right hand, Yamato wondered if he should call his teammates and expose himself as a fake Sasori or play it safe and retreat without calling them.
Suddenly, Kabuto turns around and swipes at him with his Chakra Scalpel, destroying Yamato's Sasori disguise and giving him a scratch on his right arm when the Leaf Jonin jumped back to distance himself from him and Orochimaru. When Orochimaru ensnares him with three snakes that came out of his right sleeve, he switched himself with a wooden dummy to free himself and landing feet first on the bridge.
"Wood Release...so one did manage to survive," an amused Orochimaru told himself.
"Lord Orochimaru, is that Sasori's real body?"
"It is not," Orochimaru answers. "You didn't know his real face, even though you were his subordinate?"
"He was a broody guy who always stayed hidden inside his puppets after all."
"Kabuto, were you not caught in one of Sasori's techniques all this time?" Yamato asked, Kabuto explaining how Orochimaru broke the technique ages ago.
"As for me being under his control, I just empathized with Lord Orochimaru's ideas, thus my loyalty with him is true," Kabuto adds, asking Yamato who he was after, noting the plan was to kill Sasori."
"I'll let you know about him later Kabuto," Orochimaru promised. "After all, he's one of mine, used to be at least. More importantly, why don't you bring out the three mice behind you over there?"
"He's seen through everything..." Yamato thinks to himself, gesturing his three teammates to come out and get ready for battle.
"Oh, looks like the Kyuubi kid's here, too, all grown up. Perhaps I'll play with you guys a little, especially you (Naruto), seeing as how you disarmed my Sasuke the second time."
"Disarmed?" Sakura asked out loud. "Second time?"
"Ayane cut off his left arm after our fight at the Valley of the End, and I destroyed his mechanical one when he almost killed my friend." Sakura's eyes widened after finding out that the purple-haired kunoichi, in her anger, did that to Sasuke, and that Naruto did the same thing. Putting aside questions about Sasuke's arm for later, Sakura demanded that Orochimaru gives Sasuke back to them.
"That is not the correct way of saying it, Sakura," Kabuto informed the pink-haired kunoichi. "Your reasoning is off...He came to Lord Orochimaru out of his own free will. You're too obsessed about the past. You need to resign yourself." Sakura clenched her teeth in rage as she readied to rush at the two and try and sock the jaw of one of them.
"If you want to know about Sasuke...try forcing it out of me."
"Said the words I wanted to hear," Naruto told Orochimaru before appearing in front of him and planting both of his feet into the unsuspecting Sannin's chest. With a powerful roar, Naruto sends Orochimaru flying back with a dropkick, making him cough out blood.
"Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto shouts in worry before Naruto hits him in the face with his right forearm, shattering his glasses. The tiny shards of glass stab into Kabuto's eyes, earning a painful scream from him. With him temporarily incapacitated, the blond ran after the Sannin.
"Oi, Naruto, this is a team effort, don't go fighting him on your own!" Yamato told the blond, his words falling on deaf ears. Not wanting to be caught by the enemy, Kabuto prepares to fall off the bridge.
"So the top-secret mission starts," Sai thinks to himself, quickly drawing three six snakes on his scroll and summoning them to ensnare Yamato and Sakura as Kabuto falls off the bridge.
"SAI!? YOU-" Sai said nothing to Yamato as he drops off the Tenchi Bridge and draws himself a large bird to ride on and retrieve a still-falling Kabuto, who wondered why he would save him.
"I am here under the orders of Danzo."
With Naruto
Recovering while flying backwards, Orochimaru plants his feet on the ground, skidding back until he stopped before avoiding a downward heel kick from the blond that formed a small crater from where he stood a second ago.
"You are acting more like a Jinchuuriki host than someone whose usually so calm."
"Trust me, I am calm, enough to know I won't kill you until I can bring you back as a permanently limbless bastard who can tell us where the hell Sasuke is."
"If that's what you call calm, there's truly something wrong with your head, since you have a captain who was obviously assigned by Tsunade to keep watch over and suppress you. The Leaf should thank me for successfully bringing back such a powerful Kekkei Genkai. I wonder what I can find out from grabbing samples from an old experiment. More importantly, I want to see if my Sasuke has become strong by fighting you."
"Him trying to kill me overseas wasn't you testing that?"
"He was acting out of line, and he had yet to grow accustomed to that new arm of his," Orochimaru told the blond. "Besides, you did have "help" fighting him, so it wasn't a proper test."
"If you want to test it out that badly, why not bring him out?" he asked the Sannin.
"I would, but at this time, he is resting after getting up so early in the morning to train. Would you really fight someone who is not at his best?"
"I guess not," Naruto answered. "For now you'll have to do as warm up."
"You make it sound like you have what it takes to kill me."
"Depends on how many times you can shed that gross body of yours until I can make the promise to bring you back as a permanently limbless bastard for interrogation purposes a reality."
"...I won't lie, the possibility that if we fought now, you'd kill me is high. I also hadn't planned to fight you or your poor excuse of a team. I only came to kill Sasori, but since he is not here, it's safe to assume he's dead and you all did it for me. With my reason for coming here finished, I'll just take my-" Immediately sensing the intent to kill from Naruto, Orochimaru made his escape as the blond's Rasengan hits nothing in front of him.
"Slippery bastard..." Knowing the location of Orochimaru's current hideout, Naruto turns around to reunite with Yamato and the others, but finds himself ensnared by tendrils made of wood that began to absorb his chakra.
"..."
"You acted out on your own, and you fought Orochimaru without help," a now-arrived Yamato says to Naruto, voicing his anger towards him. "Because of it, you weren't there to help restrain Kabuto or prevent Sai from betraying us and rescuing him (Kabuto)."
"Really, Sai restrained you two and got away with Kabuto, who I made sure to incapacitate?" he asked Yamato. "I had the impression that you were a Jonin handpicked by Grandma Tsunade and that as someone who was just as suspicious of him as me, you'd have your guard up around him." This response from the blond angers Yamato, who was mentally counting to ten to calm himself down.
"...We are regrouping with Sakura and going after Sai and Sasuke." Naruto said nothing, deciding to free himself from the wood tendrils, surprising Yamato, who didn't realize until now that Naruto never once looked bothered or tired when he used Wood Release on him.
"Lead the way," Naruto coldly told Yamato.
Later
Afternoon
"He just left? Like that?" Sakura asked Naruto.
"In his words, he was only here for Sasori, but since he's dead, he had no reason to stick around for a fight," said the blond chunin as he, Sakura, and Yamato made their way to Orochimaru's Hideout.
"And you let him go? I thought you would pursue him."
"Is this not a team mission where we need to go there together?" Naruto asked Sakura.
"Funny you say that considering you went out of your way to fight a Sannin by yourself," Yamato says to Naruto, still holding a grudge against him for acting out of line.
"Captain Yamato, Naruto..."
"I would have thought that you'd be able to keep up. If I wanted to, I'd have been at Snake Whisperer's hideout within twenty minutes."
"You think you can handle this mission yourself?" Yamato asked.
"Not can, could and would be able to," Naruto responds. "To me, you're all just tag alongs, Sakura included, whose role so far was to stand in place and maybe hold a kunai in front of her to make it look like she's contributing, or spectate whatever the hell is happening around her. Have you actually gotten stronger since we last met or have I been too ignorant of your contributions that you're just a ghost to me? Which is it?" Sakura felt hurt by this answer as Yamato got angrier with Naruto. "By the way, what was the purpose of carrying camping equipment if we're not going to use it at all and have you dazzle us with a house that lets people know you can do something only the First Hokage could do?" Having had enough, Yamato prepares to attack the blond as he readied his right fist, only to be stopped by the sudden appearance of Momiji (Ninja Gaiden), who grabs his fist. With her appearance, Naruto's expression changed to that of surprise.
"Momiji?"
"Lady Tsunade was right to ask me to go to you..." Approaching the blond chunin, Momiji gave Naruto a big slap across his face. "Don't make this a personal suicide mission for yourself. You are a part of a team Naruto, so grit your teeth, put your personal feelings and goals aside and continue forward beside them. You can apologize to these two when you are ready to, my troublesome little brother..."
"..." Seeing his expression change to one of understanding the situation and that he knew he was at fault, Momiji pulls him into a hug as Yamato and Sakura looked on.
"Do remember that if you die, it'll make me sad, and those who know your heart better...Wood-User, you can tell me everything that has happened while we make our way to Orochimaru's hideout."
"R-Right!" Yamato says to Momiji.
On the way to Orochimaru's Hideout
"So you're supposed to be the one to handle Naruto should he get out of control, and this Sai is a traitor for reasons none of you know yet...I question why you didn't have your guard up the whole time you were around him (Sai)."
"Seriously!?" Yamato says to Momiji.
"You had Kabuto right there, who was incapacitated by Naruto, and Sakura and Sai by your side. You couldn't ask Sakura to deal with him while keeping an eye on Sai?" Yamato said nothing in response, knowing she was right. "I get it, this is your first time leading a squad, so mistakes as well as problems with teammates will be made."
"..."
"...Did he really say it?"
"Say what?" Yamato asked.
"Whoever's care you were put under, they either must have been a bad parent, or they didn't teach you enough," Did he really say that to Naruto?"
"...Yes."
"Now I want to punch him," said Momiji, to Yamato's surprise, which further grew when she reveals that the person Sai insulted was her late sister. "I don't support his actions, but I can understand why. As the new captain of this team, keep in mind of Naruto's current state. He is acting like a jerk, yes, but he's also someone who's dealing with a strong emotion he hasn't felt for over ten years."
"Anger?" Yamato asked.
"Sadness," Momiji answered, correcting him. "Knowing Naruto, he's intentionally acting this way, pushing everyone back and making them hate him so he can deal with everything himself and not let anyone else die because of him. I don't think he'd be able to take another death, especially if someone really dear to him died."
"You can tell his intentions just by his attitude?"
"Wouldn't you do the same thing if you were put in his shoes?" she asked him. Looking at Naruto, Yamato felt he understood a bit of Naruto's character. He was acting like a complete asshole, but it was so he didn't have any attachments that'd end up dying if they were to continue being associated with him.
"If he's so intent on not having attachments, why are you the-..." Seeing the way Momiji was glaring at him, Yamato knew why.
"I am his older sister, ya know."
"I didn't think he had any family left..."
"From what Master Ryu has told us, we're distantly related," she informed the Jonin. "Either from his Father's side of the family, or his Mother's, whoever they may be. As for dealing with the buddy system you want to try out, you have nothing to worry about. Naruto can still work fairly well with others when the need arises.
"Is that right?"
"As they say, "You just have to see it to believe it." Seeing a large explosion off in the distance in front of them, Momiji and Naruto, after giving each other nods telling them they needed to hurry quick, told Yamato and Sakura to hold on as they carry scoop them up and ran towards Orochimaru's Hideout at their top speeds. While being carried by Momiji, Yamato couldn't help but feel embarrassed to be carried in the arms of a woman, finding it odd since it was usually the guys who do this sort of stuff for the girls.
Three Minutes Later
"Assassination has failed..." Sai thought to himself as he looked up at Sasuke, who was looking down on him alongside Orochimaru and Kabuto. "I don't see any chance for me to escape. I make one step and I'm dead..."
Upon their arrival, Sai looked at his "teammates" in surprise as Naruto and Momiji set Sakura and Yamato down, the latter quickly restraining Sai with this Wood Release after.
"You have a lot of explaining to do when we get back to the Hidden Leaf."
"..."
"Well, I wasn't expecting a Hayabusa to appear. Though I wonder why they didn't send Ryu Hayabusa after me."
"He would have came, had he not been off dealing with a far better threat than you," Momiji told Orochimaru. "I may not be him, but I am more than enough to deal with you."
"It's too bad I have no intention of lifting a finger to fight," Orochimaru told them. "I simply want to see if my Sasuke has become strong by fighting the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki and the rest of you. I wasn't planning to have a ninja from your clan to show up, but this'll allow me to see if he can go toe-to-toe with a Hayabusa." As Momiji readied herself to fight with a collapsible staff, Naruto and Sakura look up and see Sasuke's attention was now focused on them.
"Sasuke..."
"Naruto..."
"Sasuke..." Sakura couldn't believe that after over three years, she finally saw him again.
"You can drop the whole serious and indifferent bad boy act, it won't stop any of us, maybe Sakura, from knocking your ass out," Naruto says to Sasuke. "I also see that you have another new arm, probably not as durable as the one I wrecked," Naruto told Sasuke as he readied for a fight. Focusing his attention on Yamato, Sasuke asked him where Kakashi was.
"He's back at the village as a sub for Team Kurenai. I'm his substitute, and we will now be taking you back to the Leaf."
"I don't intend on coming back to the village," he told Yamato. "I have nothing there."
"You realize Sakura is standing right here, right?" Naruto asked him.
"I'm supposed to care?" he answers, hurting Sakura's feelings. "I have different bonds...Bonds of hatred with my older brother...Numerous bonds...mislead oneself...and weaken the most important desires...and cherished memories. You Naruto...I didn't kill you because of my passing whim."
"Really? I thought it was because Ayane cut off your left arm and was about to reunite you with your dead clansmen and parents until Kabuto saved your ass." This response angers Sasuke, who activates his Sharingan.
"This won't end like last time. That "silver-haired girl" isn't here to help you, nor is that kunoichi who took my arm."
"Silver-haired girl?" Sakura wondered who he was referring to as Sasuke closed the distance between himself and Naruto, the two instantly clashing blades, Sasuke with his Sword of Kusanagi and Naruto with a kunai. Sasuke jumps back when Momiji performs eight thrusts with her staff, the Uchiha using his Sharingan to anticipate and dodge her attacks.
Yamato changes his right arm into five wooden tendrils and tries to ensnare him, but Sasuke spews a large fireball at him, which sets the tendrils on fire. Yamato reforms his right arm and quickly puts out the flames, leaving him open to getting stabbed through his left shoulder with his Chidori-infused Kusanagi sword, thus numbing his body. When Naruto, Momiji, and Sakura ready for a three pronged attack, Sasuke released the Chidori in the form of an electrical discharge that flowed from the his entire body. Anticipating this, Naruto quickly pulled Momiji back and gently pushed Sakura away from Sasuke with a small burst of wind.
"Cover your eyes," Naruto told Yamato as he threw a smoke bomb at Sasuke. Once it bursts, the Uchiha found his eyes burning.
"Red pepper powder!?" As he reeled back in pain, the blade keeping Yamato pinned in place was removed. Closing the distance between them, Naruto grabbed Sasuke by his right hand and slam his head into his left knee, the latter reeling back in pain. Sakura follows it up with a left fist to Sasuke's right cheek, with Naruto socking him in the left cheek with his right fist, then Sakura taking her left leg and swinging it at the right side of his waist.
Quickly recovering, Sasuke, now relying on his sense of hearing due to his temporary state of blindness, kicks Sakura back with his right leg in retaliation, the kick hitting her in the stomach and nearly knocking the wind out of her, and swings his sword at Naruto, who catches the blade between his hands before it could decapitate him. Momiji comes in and swings her staff down on Sasuke's right hand, knocking the weapon out of his hand and hitting him in the chin with an upward strike with her left fist. When the Uchiha tried to use Chidori on her (Momiji), Naruto threw a tech shuriken at Sasuk's left forearm, piercing through its artificial skin and activating a short-range EMP that temporarily rendered it useless. Twisting her body clockwise, Momiji delivered a powerful swing to the right side of Sasuke's head, disorienting him before being hit by a large wooden fist that Yamato forms once feeling in his body returned.
"This isn't good," Kabuto told Orochimaru, who was visibly angry seeing Sasuke getting beaten by Naruto, Momiji, Sakura, and Yamato. Enraged that he was being beaten by not only Naruto, but by Sakura, Yamato, and Momiji, Sasuke activates his Cursed Seal Level 2 as a pillar of darkness envelops him. Once the pillar of darkness disappears, Sakura looks at and is left horrified by the dark appearance he now had.
Momiji avoids Sasuke's Black Chidori when he comes at her. When Sakura throws a large rock at him, one of his hand shaped wings catches it and throws it back at her. With a chakra-enhanced fist, Sakura shouts, "CHA!" and shatters the rock, but leaves herself open for an attack.
"Beast Tearing Gale Palm!" Infusing and condensing a mass amount of wind-chakra to form a massive demonic-like claw extending from his right hand, Naruto grabs Sasuke before he could lay a hand on Sakura and throws him into a wall.
Feeling the spicy pain in his eyes cease, Sasuke opens his eyes and quickly moves out of the way as a ball of condensed air the blond threw hit where he (Sasuke) originally was and explodes. When the dust settles, Naruto bends backwards when Sasuke flew straight at him and swung his sword at him in an upward diagonal motion, but gets kicked in the stomach after, knocking him back as his feet skid on the floor. Seeing Sasuke spew a large fireball at him, Naruto knew he couldn't dodge it.
To his luck, Momiji appears in front of him and with a thrust of her staff, released a shockwave that dispersed the fireball as it flew towards Sasuke, the Uchiha putting his wings in front of him, which absorbs the blow for him. Sakura breaks his defense by performing a chakra-enhanced uppercut to Sasuke's surprise as Yamato uses this opening to ensnare his arms and legs, along with his wings, pinning him to the wall behind him.
"Sasuke captured," Yamato says out loud. "We just need to take care of Orochimaru and Kabuto and-" Before he could say anything else, Momiji sensed a powerful but familiar dark magic being cast beneath them, shouting for everyone to get out of the hideout. Yamato is forced to stop pursuing Sasuke when the ground beneath them started to crumble, exposing an ominous purple light from the cracks which broke the wooden tendrils that were keeping him (Sasuke) trapped.. Momiji, Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato, using his Wood Release to carry Sai out, jump out as a large explosion of dark magic envelops the hideout, Sakura shouting Sasuke's name, thinking he died.
"I didn't think I'd have to use up this one favor of yours for this..." Orochimaru says in a bothered tone as Obaba (Ninja Gaiden), sporting a colossal and grotesque spider-like appearance, appears from the wreckage of the hideout, with Sasuke in her right hand.
"You're-"
"Consider the debt I owe you for bringing me back paid," said the Head of the Black Spider Clan.
"What is that!?" Sakura shouts.
"Obaba," Momiji answers as they look up at their large foe. "It would seem that we'll have to be the ones to kill her this time (Her first death was in Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword)."
"This time!?" Yamato shouts. "You mean she's like Orochimaru!?"
"Sort of," Momiji answered. Obaba uses her magic to send Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke away, the latter angry about not being able to continue fighting Naruto and the others. Kabuto reminds him he had Itachi to focus on as they finally disappear in a flash of light, assuring him he can fight them again after dealing with his older brother.
"The mission has failed for both of us it looks like," Sai said to the others.
"You must be a masochist if you're just asking to be punched every time you speak," Naruto told Sai, saving him when Obaba swings her left hand down in an attempt to crush the five of them, failing when they all jumped up into the air. Knowing it'd be troublesome to fight while having him cuffed, Naruto breaks off the wood that was keeping him from moving, allowing him to paint five ink birds from his scroll and summon them to use to keep themselves in the air.
"Beast Tearing Palm!" Naruto summons chakra in his right hand, and then swipes a slicing chakra wave that leaves a large cut on her left middle finger, angering the large demonic sorceress.
"You accursed Konoha ninja! I'll crush you all along with that accursed Hayabusa kunoichi." Obaba immediately charges and fires a volley of purple energy from her mouth at them, which the ink birds they're riding on avoid. Momiji retaliates by producing eight balls of flame with her ki and sends them flying towards the demonic sorceress. While three manage to hit the left side of her face, it only served to irritate her as she puts her left hand up to block the five remaining fireballs.
With her right arm, Obaba digs into the ground and hurls rock and sand at them. While the ink birds Sakura, Yamato, and Sai were on managed to maneuver through the debris, Momiji's, along with Naruto's weren't so lucky, turning back into ink after being hit.
Naruto used the debris as temporary footing before gliding towards Obaba's right arm. Landing safely on her right arm, Naruto gathered air into his right hand and forms it into a compressed ball as he ran up to Obaba's shoulder. Momiji keeps in the air by summoning her Guardian Spirit, Suzaku, a sacred fiery bird and rides on its back, casting a ninpo that summoned eight fireballs that orbited her and her Guardian Spirit before she hurls them at the witch. Obaba puts her left hand in front of her face to block the attack, not noticing Naruto reaching her right shoulder and throwing the ball of compressed air into her right ear. Once it made contact with the eardrum it explodes, rupturing the eardrum. Obaba angrily roared in pain as blood trickled down her right ear.
"You little brat!" Naruto jumps away from Obaba's shoulder before she could crush him with her left hand. Seeing Sai offering a hand to grab onto, Naruto reached for it. Naruto would come to regret it when Sai pulled his hand back, letting him fall, the blond frowning at him as he falls down. Seeing the blond in trouble, Momiji quickly flew after him, taking his right hand into her left and pulling him up. Obaba called Team Yamato and Momiji cowards for keeping their distance from her, telling them they couldn't hope to defeat her without Ryu's help.
"Any ideas on how to deal with her?"
"...Naruto, hold onto me. I'm going to fuse with my Guardian Spirit." Knowing what she had in mind, Naruto puts his arms around her shoulders as Suzaku fused with Momiji. Red glowing markings appear on Momiji's face, neck, arms and legs, with a pair of large ethereal phoenix wings appearing behind her back.
"She fused with a guardian spirit!?" Yamato and Sakura thought to themselves as Sai kept notes on Momiji's capabilities.
"Wood-User, can you restrain Obaba for me?" Momiji asked out loud. Yamato told her he could, transforming his left arm into a tree and creating multiple branches that rapidly grow around Obaba, immobilizing her. Momiji summons her Heavensong Bow into her left hand and an arrow into her right hand. As she puts the arrow on the bowstring and pulls the string back, the arrow gets enveloped by her vermillion ki, her eyes giving off a divine glow. Letting go of the bowstring, the arrow flew in a blazing straight line, looking like a laser that pierced through Obaba's forehead and exited through the back.
"Damn you, Hayabusa kunoichi..." Obaba's body turned to ash as the weight of her body made her break apart immediately after she uttered her last words. As soon as Team 7 and Momiji safely land on the ground, the latter splits from Suzaku, the guardian spirit disappearing in a burst of light. Approaching Sai, the Hayabusa kunoichi asked him why he'd let Naruto fall.
"He's the Nine-Tails jinchuuriki. With the abilities he possesses, a fall like that wouldn't kill him. "In response, Momiji grabs him by the collar and intimidates him with her killing intent, making everyone, even Naruto, sweat a little. Gritting her teeth, the Hayabusa shrine maiden lets him go and turns her back on him.
"You're not worth the energy." Breaking the tension by coughing, Yamato tells them they should head back to the Hidden Leaf and report back to Tsunade."
With Momiji
Days Later
Hidden Leaf Village
Hokage's Office
"I see...So the mission was a disaster from the start," said Tsunade, having listened to the report Momiji and Yamato gave her regarding Team Yamato's mission.
"And Sai?" Tsunade asked, directing the question to Yamato.
"You were right, he was on a secret mission Danzo had given him, to kill Sasuke and rob Orochimaru of his vessel. He also had a list of ANBU Black Ops members as a means to convince Orochimaru he was on their side, courtesy of Danzo."
"That sneaky badger...I'll have to tighten up security at the Secret Archives and change the codes as soon as possible. Thank you for telling me, Yamato. You may go." After bowing to her, Yamato made his leave, leaving Momiji with the Hokage.
"...Momiji, thank you for joining them on short notice."
"Doesn't change the fact you put that man as Kakashi's replacement. You're giving Naruto a leash he doesn't want. And that boy, Sai, you're still going to keep him on Team 7." Tsunade remains adamant in keeping both Yamato as Team 7's new captain and Sai as Sasuke's substitue, and for Momiji to understand her fears and uncertainties with the blond ninja, and the need to keep Sai on the team.
"I had hoped to ask you to be on the team, but due to your own responsibilities..."
"I understand, I can't always be here. Like my older sister, I will trust that what you decide to do is not just for your village, but for Naruto."
With Naruto
Naruto's House
Kitchen/Living Room
Finished making pot-au-feu, Naruto realized he made too much of it, letting out a heavy sigh to himself.
"I'm here," Momiji lets Naruto know, to his surprise. "I smell something yummy for lunch." Entering the kitchen, Momiji asked him what it was he made.
"Pot-au-feu, with sausages added," said Naruto, telling Momiji to please sit at the table as he sets the table.
"I'll help set it," Momiji happily told him.
A half hour later
"Mmmm, I can't eat another bite..." Momiji said in a full and satisfied voice as she laid her back on the tatami mat, Naruto diligently cleaning the dishes while listening to Momiji.
"Tomoe told me Akatsuki was also responsible for Kureha's death, what you did to that Akatsuki member Deidara, and how she sealed away your ki."
"I see..."
"...Naruto, come back to the Hayabusa Village with me." Naruto stops cleaning the plate in his hand for a few seconds, and resumes his duty.
"No, I-I can't, not the way I am now and what the village has been through. I can't..."
"The village does not blame you for the Akatsuki's attack. Please-"
"I'm not going back. I am staying, and I am going to make Akatsuki pay. It's the only way I can...I can..." Seeing how distraught he was regarding Kureha, Momiji told him he didn't have to continue.
"I won't force you to come with me, and I know you are more than capable of fighting your own battles, but promise me you will call me when you need me, and that you come back to everyone, and not just alive." Seeing the worry in his older sister's eyes and how she was almost to tears. Naruto promises her he'll return. "Just promise me, you won't die Momiji. I can't go through another feeling like that again." With a cheerful smile, Momiji wiped her tears away and told him she was a tough kunoichi, assuring him she won't die. Looking at the time, Momiji told him she had to head back to the Hayabusa Village.
"Hold on," Naruto says to Momiji, walking over to his mission backpack that was resting against the wall near the kitchen and taking out a box of yōkan he bought at the Hot Springs Inn Yamato had treated the team to.
"I was going to have these but I think you'll enjoy these more," said Naruto as he hands her the box.
"Thank you Naruto. I'll be sure to eat them on the walk home." After giving him a big hug, Momiji takes her leave. Now by himself, Naruto only stared at the door, recalling the last time he saw Kureha's back. Clenching his teeth hard, Naruto stops himself from crying. As soon as he turned around to leave for training, he hears a knock on his door. Opening it, he finds a surprised Konohamaru and friends backing up from him.
"H-Hey Naruto!" The three kids say in unison.
"What do you want, Konohamaru?" Looking away from him, Konohamaru tried his best to tell him what he wanted, but when he tried, all he could think about was the look Naruto gave them the last him they saw each other. When he was about to close the door, Konohamaru put his foot in front of it.
"I WAS WONDERNG IF YOU CAN TEACH ME A TECHNIQUE LIKE YOU SAID YOU WOULD, SINCE I AM A GENIN NOW!" Pondering his thoughts as he looked at the nervous kids, Naruto lets out a sigh and agrees to teach him a technique.
"But if I do this, I don't want any complaints, and I want your word that you will take this training seriously. Do I have it?"
"You have my word, Master."
"Alright, now why are the two of you here?" Panicking a little, Moegi told Naruto they were here as support. "Do you two also want training from me?" Panicking, Moegi and Udon leave Konohamaru with Naruto as they run off to do training of their own. "Lesser the better."
ED: Cold Sun by Aimer
I need this from time to time. Writing FIREBRAND is stressful and I need time off it, like a lot. Also weaning off caffeine sucks, and I have been tired a lot lately after work. I will still write, but the times for updates may be longer, who knows.
I don't plan to have Sai change his ways until an a certain arc I have planned following what comes next. I honestly felt a little lazy wanting to write Team Yamato getting prepared to meet with Kabuto, Sasori's "spy", but I may get back to it at some point. All you need to know is that what Sai says makes Naruto very pissed off and makes him nearly kill him. Say what you want about him, but if it's about someone he's really close with, he will make you hurt.
Naruto being critical about his team was a must to show his more rude and hurtful side, willing to be an asshole so they hate him and want nothing to do with him. He does care about their safety, save for Sai, but he won't let his reasons be known. Believing he alone has to deal with Akatsuki, it won't go well for his soul. He really needs help. Where are his "friends" I wonder. Why haven't they come to him to help him regardless of his atitude?
With Momiji being Kureha's younger sister, Naruto is very protective of her and will revert back to a part of his old self. If Jiraiya dies, he is one personal death away from losing it. DON'T DIE MOMIJI!