"The Greatest Idea Ever"
By Quick-n-Popular
Disclaimer: "Naruto" and its characters are not my property.
A/N: Thanks for the feedback for the previous chapter. This one is going to be a shorter chapter so I hope it's still enjoyable.
Now, on with the story.
Chapter Twenty One: Retribution
As Honoka showed the four of them around the area, leading towards the stone building where the Yuriko Project was to take place. Jiraiya was only half paying attention to their guide, as he was finally seeing up close who was funding this shady event. The two clouds on their shinobi headband's insignia, made it abundantly clear.
'Well, shit. Though this is good info to pass to Hime and the Council, they're clearly not in alignment with Orochimaru or Akatsuki.' His eyes then went to Neji, who he could tell was glowering at the Shinobi who belonged to the village that had Hinata's kidnapped and later ended with his father's death.
The Toad Sannin dropped back to whisper to Neji.
"I know you want blood for what happened to your father, but now is NOT the time. Keep your head cool."
Neji Hyuuga breathed out all the tense energy within him and then wordlessly nodded to Jiraiya.
Honoka soon led them into the stone building, which looked more like a temple designed for worshiping or slaughtering an offering to some kind of deity. It seemed almost to be of the case as men wearing some sort of bizarre robes, were shepherding these random summoning animals into a large clear container, which had a fuinjutsu seal on the floor.
Jiraiya's eyes hardened, 'These damn fools…' When looking at the teens and the woman who was their guide, he wasn't surprised to see the vehement looks on the teens' faces, but the one on Honoka could freeze the entire area into a tundra.
Jiraiya asked Honoka if she knew what this experiment was about.
Honoka sighed, "They had phrased it as making the 'Ultimate Summons', but they didn't go into it than that. This is definitely something that would make summons hate humanity forever."
Naruto was looking at the scared looks on these summoned creatures and felt his blood beginning to boil. However, Jiraiya's firm grip on his shoulder snapped him out of his anger.
"We're here to observe, remember? There are at least more than twenty Kumo Shinobi outside, so we need to chill. Trust me kid, as a summoner, this 'experiment' is beyond forgiving." He whispered to Naruto.
Naruto saw the cold, unforgiving, eyes that made Jiraiya someone to freeze in their tracks. And allowed his energy to be brought back down, taking his hand off of the hilt of his sword.
Then, one of the robed men spotted Honoka and the group with her and scowled as he marched up to them.
"Honoka! Why did you bring them here! This is an important research project and things could go wrong because of you bringing gawkers here!"
"Excuse me, Usui-san, but before you go slandering them, you should know that these four were hired by Koroku-san, your boss!" Honoka glared at the shorter man.
While Usui cringed for a moment before he recovered and then giving a relaxed, mocking, smile. "Your idiocy is showing, you damn Taki Shinobi. Koroku-san is currently on bed rest, thus I am in ch-!"
"What's all the commotion, Usui-san?" Asked a limping man in the same robes as the others, coming down a staircase and approached them slowly.
Honoka bowed to the man, "Koroku-san, I brought Jubei and the men he's hired, that you hired for additional security."
The limping man stroked his beard as he looked at Jiriaya and the others. "Yes...This is perfect. Thank you for bringing them here, Honoka-san. Jubei, can I give you and your boys there an assignment and an explanation for Usui's unfriendly behavior?"
Jiraiya nodded, "That's fine, Kuroku-san. This experiment does seem a little... unusual." Jiraiya chose his words carefully as to not give away the groups appalled and affronted thoughts or the fact that this group was Shinobi from Konoha and not a mercenary squad.
Koroku nodded, "Yes, well, with the funding from Kumogakure and the materials we found from an abandoned lab by the Snake Sannin of Konoha; we're confident this will be successful. If you're worried about the materials we gathered for this, I ask you to keep an open mind."
"We're making history!" Usui grinned with fire in his eyes.
Jiraiya held back the revoltion he felt from these two. Jiraiya was happy that the kids he brought with them acted wisely too.
"Now," Kuroku said, "I'd like you Jubei and one of your boys to keep watch on the Kumo Shinobi to make sure none of them interfere with this divine event. The other two of your boys can assist Honoka here, just in case an unforeseen thing happens. Is that acceptable?"
Jiraiya nodded and then turned to the recently promoted Chuunin behind him.
"Menma, you and Shin help out Honoka-san with whatever she will be doing. Remember to look 'underneath the underneath', okay?" Jiraiya used the saying that his first Sensei Kakashi used to his Genin. Naruto gave a firm nod as he had gotten the message. Shino nodded, wordlessly.
"That leaves you and me on the guarding outside. Remember what we discussed earlier, Natsu."
Neji nodded, adjusting his shades before they slip down.
In a tented enclosure far from the Yuriko Project's stone facility; A tall short haired blond woman, wearing a kumo headband, was looking at the reports from the Shinobi under her command, when a raven tied with a sheet on its leg appeared.
After opening it and going over it's contents, she then sighed.
One of the men guarding her looked to her, "Yugito-san, what seems to be bothering you?"
Yugito Nii, Kumo's Jinchuriki of the Nibi tailed beast, Held the report in her hand to her subordinate.
After he read the entire order, he said, "So, That's the Raikage's order."
She nodded, "He never really expected this operation to bare any kind of fruit. So, should Kuroku-san and his outfit fail, we're to eliminate them and all the people he's hired."
"So, he's tasked this to you? I still find it strange that Raikage-sama would order one of his Jinchuriki to this bizarre experiment."
Yugito shrugged, "The Raikage-Sama does what he wants to. As for me, he's suspicious about some strange people abducting other Jinchurikis and wanted me be away but not being recorded being away. With the exception of the twenty-five Shinobi he sent here to observe the project, they're here to confront whomever is trying to possibly get me."
"Someone try to "abduct" YOU? They MUST have a death wish." Her guard laughed.
After Jiraiya and Neji left the area to head back outside, Naruto and Shino situated themselves with Honoka in an area away from the experiment. The robed men were currently making fuinjutsu seals around the floor surrounding the summoned creatures who appeared to have been put into a deep sleep.
Watching for awhile, Naruto decided to ask Honoka a question. "So, you're a Taki Shinobi, Honoka-san?"
The red head shook her head, "I was at one time, but not anymore."
Naruto was debating on bringing up Fu but that would mean he would have to reveal his Shinobi status to her as well. Instead he just continued the line of conversation by changing the topic.
"That seal where the summoned creatures is something I've never seen before."
Honoka nodded, "It seems that whatever research materials they were studying probably came from that Sannin Orochimaru. It's a poorly designed seal, as far as I can see."
Naruto was going to ask her a question about how she knew so much about seals, when the Experiment was about to start.
The robed men stood on top of the seals they made around the area where the summoned animals were sleeping. They all crouched down and slammed their palms against the seals at their feet.
"Summoning Technique! Arise Ultimate Summons!"
Pouring their chakra into the seals at the same time, the energy from it was sent to the huge fuinjutsu seal underneath the slumbering animal summons. Then all the bodies of the summoned animals started to liquify until the area became a massive lump. The lump then hardened into a huge hideous pupa-like creature.
"What do you even call that?" Naruto muttered to himself.
"An abomination." Shino answered.
"I would agree." Honoka said a she watched the robed men began to join around it in awe of their supposed success.
"We have made history, my followers!" Koroku shouted in triumph.
Usui looked up at their achievement and asked his leader, "What can it do though?"
As if to answer his question, the Ultimate Summoned Creature moved one of its tentacles in long hard sweeps.
Fifteen men suddenly lost their heads from their body. Yelling and screaming ensued as their "creation" was now killing the people that brought it to life. Usui who tripped while trying to make his escape, was crushed underneath the summon's foot.
Koroku, in the meantime was trying to make a sealing spell when one of the beast's tentacles pierced him through the chest, killing him instantly.
Despite his animosity toward the men of this experiment, the killing of all of those helped birth it to this world, did make Naruto flinch.
"We can't let that thing go outside!" Honoka shouted as she moved quickly to bring herself before the creature. Going through a series of handsigns, silver chains by the dozen shout out of her arms and body wrapping around the creature, who was struggling against the restraint. Turning hard pulling on the chains, Honoka was about to lose her hold on the creature when two blue chains with barbs on them shot out pinned the creature to the wall.
Honoka blinked in surprise before she turned and saw that the boy called Menma was using almost the same clan jutsu she used.
The blond grinned at her, "I guess you're an Uzumaki too, Honoka-san."
Speechless, Honoka concentrated on the creature as it's strength greatly dwarfed that of her and the blond teen.
Then, a swarm of insects came out and swarmed over the Ultimate Summons , trying to drain it's chakra. Nearby, Shino was maneuvering his kikaichu to various parts of the creature.
However, it didn't seemed that deterred as its massive size broke through Honoka's chains and was now trying to dislodge the chains that Naruto pierced it with. When it managed to get one out, Naruto dispelled that chain and made a one handed sign to create seventeen shadow clones, then had them create multiple Rasenshuriken.
"I know this wasn't your choice to come into this world, but I will make sure you won't suffer anymore than you had to." Naruto said.
Then came to sound of raging wind as the Ultimate Summons was torn to shreds ending its short life.
In Naruto's eyes and most likey in Honoka's and Shino's, this was a terrible relief.
Meanwhile at the Valley of the End…
At the start of their fight with the Oto Kunoichi, Tayuya went to her first go to attack and played her flute casting a much stronger jutsu at the four. While Kakashi was able to get out of it quickly, it took Tenten a moment before she snapped out of the hallucination. Sakura and Shikamaru struggled at first but soon as stabbing their thighs with a senbon needle had the reality come rushing back.
Kakashi threw several kunai in a rapid speed at Tayuya who dodged and then used smoke pellets to create a smoke screen in front of her. Before a second was up, fifteen clones came rushing out.
Sakura tried to punch one but her fist went through the clone's body. "They're regular bunshin!"
'All except for THAT one.' Tenten thought as she saw on the the Tayuyas casting a shadow on the late afternoon day.
Tenten signaled to Kakashi that she was going after her and he nodded just as there was a a new number of Tayuya coming out of the foliage she had hidden herself in. These however were not regular bunshin, they were earth clones.
Sakura fought them with her fists, disentigrating each one that came to attack her. Sakura's training with Tsunade seemed to have helped her short comings as a taijutsu fighter.
Shikamaru, instead of using his family's jutsu, was up in one of the trees throwing kunai with exploding tags on them.
Tenten, now having the ability to come to their aid pierced one of her special weapons into the ground before heading off to find Tayuya.
Having just come to see if there were any new boats docked, Jiraiya and Neji were shocked to see slaughtered Kumo Shinobi lying dead and stabbed or beheaded. Then looking at the wall of the stone building, someone wrote in the blood of one of their victims, "Glory to Jashin-sama!"
Neji frowned, "What's that ssupposed to mean?"
The Toad Sannin didn't have an answer. However, he gained a clue as he saw someone gripping a torn piece of fabric that was black and had a red cloud printed on it.
"We need to check on Naruto, now!" He then went at a rapid pace, with Neji not to far behind as they entered the stone building. When they came to the floor they were greeted with sign of more dead bodies, this time being the Experiment personnel. Jiraiya heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Naruto chatting up Honoka with Shino standing silently nearby. Seeing the pulp of whatever these fools had summoned, he sighed.
"Kid, it's time for us to go. Akatsuki was here not to long ago. We need to leave quickly."
Naruto nodded, "What about Honoka-san?"
Neji raised an eyebrow, "Isn't she a Taki Kunoichi?"
Honoka shook her head, "I was a refugee there and didn't rise above my Genin status. They let me go without being declared a missing nin. Excuse, um, Jiraiya-sama?"
Jiraiya was surprised that Naruto revealed their real names, but it was a moot point now with so many people dead. "Yes?" he asked.
"Naruto-san here is an Uzumaki and I would love to learn about his mother who was from Uzushiogakure, since my parents also came from there. So can I accompany you four?"
Jiraiya was surprised he didn't make the connection with Honoka's vibrant red hair and that she had told them she was good with seals. Thinking about it, if they were to leave her here, she'd be a target for the Raikage for the death of his men.
"Sure. I'll bet Tsunade, who's grand mother was also a Uzumaki, would like to talk to you and share stories." He then outstretched his hand for a handshake, "Welcome aboard, Honoka-san."
As soon as Tenten was separate from her group, she was assaulted by a strong genjutsu. Before the torment could begin, Tenten bit down hard on her bottom lip and was brought back to reality. Suddenly three kunai shot out from an undergrowth, making Tenten dodged to the side.
"I see you're still a coward for not fighting with me face to face, Tayuya."
Tayuya didn't rise to the bait instead she sent out two more earth clones and two more bunshin.
Tenten, however tossed up a series of kunai that had her Chakra Mark and then she suddenly disappeared.
Tayuya was farther away but smirked as she saw that the bun haired girl was being sloppy with her throws as one hit the ground five feet away from her.
"Try and get out of THIS genjutsu, Konoha shit kisser." Holding up her flute to her mouth, she was about to play when Tenten had suddenly appeared, shocking the Oto Kunoichi. In just one moment.
In that moment, Tenten threw a shuriken which flew and struck Tayuya right in the neck tearing through her throat and wind pipe. As blood trickled down her neck and mouth, Tayuya with eyes ablaze in unbridled anger, dropped her flute and fumbled for her kunai, but before she could do anything more, Tenten rammed her kunai into Tayuya's chest.
"That's enough from you. Go to hell and enjoy your company there." Tenten said, twisting her kunai before pulling it out of Tayuya's chest.
Tayuya of the Sound Four collapsed on the ground, dead with hatred still fresh on her face.
'Now, what will we do with the Uchiha being in Orochimaru's clutches?' Tenten thought as she cleaned the blood off of her kunai. Soon, Kakashi, Sakura, and Shikamaru joined her.
To be continued…
A/N: This turned out to be a short chapter as I made some last minute changes so I apologize for it not being longer or the fights turning out to be less intense.
Anyhoo, Thank you all for reading. Please review if you can.
Till next time.
Q-n-P