Chapter 26 – Invasion
"Summoning Jutsu: Rashomon Gates." Naruto said as he summoned a single Rashomon Gate to cover the cavity into the wall.
"How very much like of you, Naruto-Kun. Being just as nonstandard as ever." The same Black Cloak ANBU said as he shunshined a few meters before Naruto.
"Oh, Four-eyes. I should have guessed you would be here too." Naruto said as he looked at him from the corner of his eyes.
"Oooh, I am scared. Come now, don't give me that look." Kabuto said with an evil grin.
"So, you got your right arm back, I believe you have the Hashirama cells too." Naruto said.
"Oh, this?" Kabuto flexed his right arm. "How can I forget the precious gift that you gave me? It is thanks to you that I am this powerful."
"Oh, I almost forgot to ask. That power-up you used to save your pathetic master. It is called Sage Mode, right?" Naruto said as the grin on Kabuto's face disappeared.
"Come now, I did some research on my part. To be more specific, you have the Snake sage mode, that you received from the Ryuchi Cave. Am I right four eyes?" Naruto said.
"Knowing about the Sage Mode won't help you." Kabuto said as he shot a kunai at Naruto.
"Well, anyways. So you decided to come here thinking you could have your revenge on me, now that you have acquired the Sage mode." Naruto said as he caught a Kunai right before it could touch his head.
"Why don't we get started? After I am finished with you, I have to lead the invasion as well." Kabuto said.
"Lead who? The dead?" Naruto mocked.
"Perhaps," Kabuto said as he started grinning again. Suddenly Naruto sensed a very familiar chakra not far away from him.
"So, you know the Reanimation Jutsu too. A pity I won't be able to meet Lord Fourth." Naruto said as he unsealed a Katana and dashed at Kabuto. But much to Naruto's surprise, Kabuto started running away.
"I am perplexed. You were the one who wanted to fight in the first place. So, why are you running away." Naruto said as he kept chasing Kabuto.
Kabuto kept silent but as he led Naruto to a dark cave that even Naruto was unaware of. After leading Naruto deep inside the cave, Kabuto finally stopped as he tore off his black cloak to reveal his pale white skin with a Hashirama's face on his torso that was blown away by Naruto.
"Are you done running?" Naruto asked.
"I guess." Kabuto said.
"So then, let's begin." Naruto said as this time he launched a Shiden bolt at Kabuto that he easily dodged. Naruto noticed the increase in Kabuto's overall speed and reaction time as well as the appearance of the horns on Kabuto's head.
"Going Sage mode from the beginning?" Naruto said.
"Of course, I am not foolish enough to think that I can beat you in base," Kabuto said.
"Oh, is that right? I believe you are foolish enough to think that you stand a chance against me even in Sage mode." Naruto said.
"We will see about that," Kabuto said as his hand transformed into multiple snakes that tried to attack Naruto but he used Shiden to destroy all the snakes even before any of them could reach him.
Suddenly multiple adamantine chains shot out from Naruto's back and attack Kabuto. But instead of dodging them, Kabuto grabbed all the chains in mid-air.
"How foolish." Naruto said as the round blunt chains suddenly turned razor sharp and chopped off Kabuto's finger before inflicting several deep cuts on him. But as before the fingers could fall to the ground, Kabuto grew back a new set of fingers.
"You and not the only one who can regenerate body parts," Kabuto said.
"Unfortunately, unlike you, I cannot grow back my limbs." Naruto said.
"That's fortunate to me." Kabuto said as he dispersed into many snakes and hid around the cave.
"Trying to hide again? Now I am getting bored." Naruto said as he used Shiden to shatter every rock around him until they got reduced to tiny pieces. Having nowhere to hide, Kabuto finally showed himself.
"Alright, this ends here." Naruto said as he dashed at Kabuto with his Katana.
With Kakashi and Jiraiya
Both of them were jumping through the trees making their way to Gaara. After running for a few more minutes, they finally reached him. Much to their surprise, instead of Gaara, there was a sphere of hand. But was surprised them more were the people who were standing before the sand Sphere.
"Minato!? How are you here? And who is that boy?" Jiraiya asked. Standing before the sphere were Minato and Kai along with Temari and Kankuro. And upon seeing his dead sensei again, Kakashi froze there like a rock.
"It's Lord Second's Reanimation Jutsu. A ninja named Kabuto used it to bring me back to life." Minato said.
"Minato-sensei." Kakashi said.
"Oh, Kakashi. You have grown quite a bit. How long has it been?" Minato asked.
"13 years." Kakashi said.
"Over a decade has passed. Well, anyways, it's good to see both of you again. But I am afraid that I am not in control of my body." Minato said.
"Good to see you too, Minato. So, who is that boy with you?" Jiraiya asked pointing at Kai.
"Him? I don't know." Minato said.
"Oh. So, why don't you introduce yourself boy?" Jiraiya asked.
"My name is Kai. That is all you need to know." Kai said.
"Kai? And your last name?" Jiraiya asked.
"That is of no concern to you. More importantly, why are you two here? Shouldn't that White-Haired Demon be here, as he is the one that deals with sealing and stuff?" Kai said.
"White-Haired Demon? Who are you referring to, as both of us have white hair too." Kakashi said.
"That Uzumaki boy. The one with the Golden Chains and Fox Summons." Kai said as all others got surprised and confused looks on their faces.
"Are you talking about Naruto Uzumaki?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yeah. Him. Where is that demon." Kai asked.
"Naruto? Why are you calling him a demon? What did he do to you?" Minato asked.
"Why should it matter to you, Fourth Hokage? It is between him and me." Kai said as suddenly it struck Kakashi who Kai was.
"Because I am his father. Now tell me what did my son do to you?" Minato asked.
"What!? He is fourth Hokage's son?." Temari said looking at Minato.
"Oh, that's a surprise. That explains why he is so absurdly powerful. But let me tell you this, your son is a demon who has escaped straight from hell. Just a year ago, he mas-" Before Kai could finish his sentence, Kakashi held him by his face and dragged him deep into the forest.
"What was that? Kakashi, stop! Let me hear him!" Minato said as he tried to run after Kakashi but Jiraiya stopped him in his tracks.
"Why are you stopping me sensei?" Minato asked.
"You shouldn't hear it, Minato. So much has changed in the past 13 years." Jiraiya said.
"But I want to know about my son." Minato said.
"I can calm your curiosity. Your son has become a splendid ninja. He is quite strong too, even stronger than Sarutobi-sensei. I can't say much about his strength as I only met him two weeks ago. But he is kind and caring to the people around him. And he also had yellow hair like you but for some reason, it turned white. He also graduated early from the academy at the age of 7. Then he cleared the chunin exams and also got promoted to Jonin. And for the last 3 years, he is serving in the ANBU Black Ops. He is also the leader of the Defence Squad." Jiraiya said.
"Oh, I see. I am glad that he is doing well. But what was Kai talking about?" Minato said.
"That? He was probably related to someone who Naruto was tasked to assassinate." Jiraiya said.
"I see." Minato said. He was no stranger to killing but the thought of his son killing someone not in self-defense but for money was saddening.
"Now, I would appreciate it if you step aside. If you didn't realize, Konoha is being invaded by Sand and Sound Village and the boy in the sphere behind you is the One Tail's Jinchuriki who is trying to release the beast." Jiraiya said.
"I am sorry, but I cannot do that." Minato said.
With Kakashi
After running far away from Minato, Kakashi finally let go of Kai. Both of them stood before each other, ready to fight.
"How are you still alive? I was certain that Naruto slaughtered everyone in that village, and even Koumi confirmed it with her Byakugan." Kakashi said.
"Who are you?" Kai asked.
"Don't question back." Kakashi said in an intimidating voice as he subjected his bloodlust to Kai.
"Orochimaru saved me before that monster started slaughtering my village." Kai said.
"Orochimaru, huh? He just has to interfere in Konoha's business every time." Kakashi said.
"Now answer my question, who are you and why did you stop me from talking to the fourth Hokage?" Kai asked.
"I am Kakashi Hatake, former ANBU captain-commander of Konoha." Kakashi said.
"Captain-commander? Were you the one who ordered the massacre of my village?" Kai asked.
"ANBU Black Ops is not an independent unit. It works only under the commands of the Hokage and no one else." Kakashi said.
"I see. So, it was the Hokage who ordered the massacre. Well, Orochimaru will deal with him. What I want is to kill that Demon and have my revenge." Kai said.
"Orochimaru will die today at the hands of Lord Hokage and as for you, let me tell you this. Naruto is much stronger than I am, even stronger than Lord Hokage himself. And you are far too weak to even make a scratch on him." Kakashi said.
"It that so. Let me demonstrate to you then, that I am strong enough to kill that bastard." Kai said as flared his chakra and unsheathed his Katana.
"Give up on your revenge and try to live a normal life." Kakashi said as he shunshined past Kai and landed a chop on Kai's neck, causing him to fall on the ground.
"What happened?" Kai muttered as fell.
"I am sure you will realize that what Naruto did was for a much greater reason. And despite what happened to you being tragic, you have to let go of your revenge." Kakashi said as Kai finally fell unconscious.
With Jiraiya
"I am sorry, but I cannot do that. You must defeat me to get past." Minato said as he took out a pair of Kunai to defend himself.
"I see. So be it then." Jiraiya also unsealed his Katana and dashed at Minato. As Jiraiya appeared before Minato to attack him, Minato parried the attack with his kunai.
Jiraiya again tried to attack him with a side swing but Minato stepped back just enough to avoid the blade. As Jiraiya's katana moved away due to the swing, Minato jumped and kicked Jiraiya, making him crash into a tree several meters away.
"So, you cannot use your Flying Raijin as you are now?" Jiraiya said.
"Yeah, you guessed it right. Kabuto disabled me from using that jutsu as if he loses control even for an instant, I can teleport beyond his range and he won't be able to control me." Minato said.
"That's a relief. I don't have any counter to that Jutsu. But now that is out of the way, the way to stop you is to seal you away." Jiraiya said.
"Yeah, thanks to this indestructible body, that is the only way possible," Minato said.
"Alright." Jiraiya said as he sealed back his Katana.
"Ninja Art: Needle Hell!" Jiraiya said as he hardened his hair into the form of spikes and shot a barrage of them at Minato. Seeing the incoming attack, Minato tried to dodge the attack but due to them being so many, he ultimately got hit.
Being an attack from a legendary sannin, it dealt enough damage to Minato to immobilize him for a second. And taking advantage of that, Jiraiya immediately closed the distance between them and slammed a Rasengan into Minato's chest, destroying the upper half of Minato's body.
"Barrier Formation: Inverse Mountain Crystal." Jiraiya said as he released a noticeable amount of chakra that formed an inverted pyramid around Minato.
"Good Luck breaking out of that barrier." Jiraiya said as Minato fully regenerated from the attack.
"Is something special about this barrier?" Minato said looking in the opposite direction of Jiraiya.
"Yeah. It alters the orientation of direction of the person trapped inside of it. On top of that, its walls are durable enough to withstand a barrage of Sage Mode Enhanced Rasengan. And given that you can no longer teleport, you are trapped there for the time being." Jiraiya said.
"I see. Now hurry up and stop the boy from releasing the One Tails." Minato said.
"I guess it is too late for that." Jiraiya said as a giant paw broke out of the Sand sphere.
"Now then, you kids are not going to let me pass either, are you?" Jiraiya asked as both Temari's and Kankuro's legs were shaking.
"No, we won't." Temari said.
"Alright. I won't waste time in fruitless conversation." Jiraiya said as he dashed at Temari and Kankuro.
Suddenly, Jiraiya appeared before Temari and punched her in the guts, knocking him out in an instant. He then looked at Kankuro before he shot multiple shurikens at him, but as the shurikens reached him, they transformed back into paper bombs.
Having no way of dodging the attack, Kankuro left his Karasu puppet and jumped away from the bandages. But before he could move any further, Jiraiya appeared behind him and landed a chop behind his head, knocking him out as well.
With Guy and Shisui
"How the hell are we going to reach that guy?" Gai asked as they both stood on a rooftop observing the giant water bubble moving towards the Hokage tower. Inside the bubble was Kisame who was fused with his Samehada and was gazing back at them.
"That giant bubble acts more as a defense for the guy. We can not get into that bubble as we will get suffocated to death." Shisui said.
"Hey, why don't you use genjutsu on him?" Gai said.
"I already tried that; it is of no use. There is something attached to him that is breaking the genjutsu the moment I cast it." Shisui said.
"Should I open the Seventh Gate and just kick him out of that bubble?" Gai said.
"No! We don't know his abilities yet, and given his appearance, it seems that he has an unfair advantage in the water. If we want to defeat him, we will have to get him out of that water." Shisui said.
"But how are we going to do that? We have to do something fast, he has already destroyed the whole eastern part of the village and is slowly moving towards the north. We simply cannot afford to have him move any further." Gai said.
"I have a plan. I will use my Mangekyo Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on both him and the creature attached to him. Once I do that, I will have him come out of that bubble. And the moment he gets out, you have to take him out as quickly as possible while I will try to maintain my genjutsu. And be careful, as given their bonding they might even break out of that genjutsu." Shisui said as he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Understood, I will take him out as quickly as possible." Gai said.
"Alright, here you go!" Shisui said as blood started coming out of his eyes. Suddenly Kisame jumped out of the water bubble in his fused state. As he got out, all the water that was forming the bubble flooded the entire eastern part of the village, creating a giant lake. Only the roof of the houses that were above 3 storeys were visible.
"Sixth Gate of Joy Open!" Gai said as a green aura surrounded him and his eyes got a red glow. Gai then quickly dashed towards the still-standing Fused Kisame and kicked him in the guts, sending him flying away and simultaneously breaking the genjutsu.
"I can't believe you cast a genjutsu on me when I am fused with Samehada." Kisame said.
"That's the power of the Uchihas for you!" Gai said as he dashed at Kisame again.
"Ah, Uchihas, I see. I have heard so much about them, now I understand the reason for all the talk." Kisame said as he barely dodged Gai and punched him in return.
"Water Style: Thousand Hungry Sharks!" Kisame said as he formed a thousand sharks and released them into the water. As the sharks got into the water, they started feeding on the people who were still inside or near the water.
"I am not going to let you harm anyone anymore." Gai said as he immediately shunshined before Kisame and attacked him with a barrage of punches, but Kisame dodged and blocked them in combination. After exchanging hands with each other, Gai jumped back from Kisame.
"Not yet! Water Style: Water Shark Bomb!" Kisame said as he formed a shark from the water and launched it at Gai with incredible speed.
"Seventh Gate of Shock Open!" Gai said as the green aura surrounding him suddenly turned blue as he evaporated the shark that was coming at him with just a punch.
"You will not get out of this unscathed. This is a single-blow attack that hardly anyone has ever seen." Gai said as he pulled his hands back and then released them at an incredible speed, creating a tiger-like shockwave from highly pressurized air and launching it at Kisame.
"Hirudora!" Gai said as Kisame also weaved a hand seal and created an even bigger shark than the previous one and launched it at Gai as a counter.
"Super Shark Bomb Jutsu!" Kisame said as he pushed both his palms forward controlling the massive shark.
"This jutsu is no ordinary one either. It starts off stronger and gets even stronger by absorbing the enemy's ninjutsu. In short, the stronger my opponent is, the stronger the ninjutsu gets." Kisame said as his massive shark collided with Gai's Hirudora. But much to Kisame's surprise, the tiger destroyed through the shark.
"What's happening?" Kisame said before he got hit by the Jutsu creating a massive explosion. As Kisame got hit, all the thousand sharks turned back to water immediately.
After the water settled down, Kisame's body floated on the water as he returned to his human form and Samehada floated right beside him. As Kisame opened his eyes, he saw Gai standing right before him, still covered in the blue aura.
"You were a formidable foe, Kisame Hoshigaki. You fought bravely, and I acknowledge your strength." Gai said as he turned around.
"Why are you talking as if I am already dead?" Kisame said as he gazed into the famed Mangekyo Sharingan before he suddenly blacked out. Shisui stood just over his head with his Ninjato buried inside Kisame's head right from the middle of his eyes to the back of his head.
"Now, what should we do about that sword?" Gai said.
"We should seal it for now, like its master. We know for a fact that the sword is alive and can act as an independent body, so we will have to seal it in a special scroll." Shisui said as he took out a corpse scroll and a special sealing scroll designed to seal the living.
