Chapter 18: Raijin no Ken
"All right, Idate. Fill us in."
"What?"
Idate stared at Naruto with an expression that was half startled and half defensive.
"Fill us in," Naruto repeated.
"Why do you assume I know what's going on?"
"Because you obviously know him? Or did you not just gasp and go 'You!' dramatically?"
"Shut it," Idate growled at him.
"Oh, Idate-kun and I go way back!" Aoi said in a cheerful tone, twirling his umbrella. It had startled to sprinkle; Sakura quickly covered Idate with an extra slicker. "We both used to be shinobi…from the Leaf village." Hashirama and Tobirama frowned in sync.
He twitched when Squad Seven didn't react. "He's a traitor, then?" Tobirama asked with narrowed eyes. "So he stole it."
"Idate, care to explain?" Sasuke asked calmly, arms crossed as he stared up at Aoi with a stoic mask.
Idate gritted his teeth. "Fine," he bit out. "I was a genin, and I went to take the chuunin exam with my team-"
"Ibiki is your brother, then?" Naruto interrupted.
"What? How did you-"
"Ah, yes, Idate-kun is Ibiki's younger brother," Aoi smiled. "And of course, when he failed the exam, he blamed him."
Idate turned red. "We got Ibiki as a proctor too. His tests are difficult for normal genin," Sakura said, patting him on the shoulder.
"W-what? Wait, my brother's alive?" he gasped, grabbing her forearm.
"Um, yes?" She arched one eyebrow.
"Unfortunately, he eluded me that night you ran away," Aoi hummed. His eyes were closed in an arrogant show of overconfidence, one hand resting on the blade at his hip.
"What happened?" Sasuke asked with a frown.
Idate moved his gaze to the ground. "That bastard tricked me into stealing that stupid sword and a scroll and bringing it to him. He said it was a chuunin makeup test, but what he didn't tell me was I'd be a chuunin in Ame, not Konoha. I was stupid enough to believe him."
"Oh, really? Wow, that happened to me too. Small world, man."
"What?" Idate stared at Naruto with his face crinkled in confusion.
"Bombed the genin test. Sensei had me steal the Forbidden Scroll as a 'makeup test'," Naruto said, using air quotes. "I gave it back!" he exclaimed when Tobirama gave him a disapproving look.
"Yeah, but you knew about what he was doing," Sakura rolled her eyes. "You were just playing him."
"Yeah, but if I was dumber it totally would have worked!"
"You were instated as a genin," Sasuke argued. "Idate probably got banished or something." They all turned to the runner expectantly.
Idate shifted uncomfortably. "Actually," Aoi said smugly, "I captured the two of them and when his brother set the building on fire, he fled like a cowardly child. He wasn't even brave enough to face his punishment."
Idate averted his eyes. Naruto frowned. "You know, it's kind of sounding like you shoved him off a cliff and then blamed him for panicking on the way down. Sure, he was cowardly by running away instead of facing the music, but he was an idiot kid and you're the one who abused a position of trust." He pointed at Aoi with an irritated face. "You can't expect an inexperienced child to know exactly what to do when an adult superior betrays him like that."
Idate stared up at him with a slightly incredulous expression. Aoi twitched, smile leaving his face. "This is the world of shinobi, brat. Shinobi quit being children when they put on the headband."
"And yet you had no problem calling him a child when it suited you," Naruto replied in a sing-song voice.
Aoi's expression darkened. "Enough. I'm tired of your babbling. It's time to cut you four down right here." He opened the umbrella all the way, tensing up to jump.
As soon as he leapt into the air overhead, hundreds of senbon rained down upon them. Sakura quickly grabbed Idate and dashed out of the way, while Sasuke and Naruto darted in opposing directions.
"That's not very effective," Sasuke said, not in an arrogant way, but as if he were giving Aoi advice on how to better murder them.
"Shut up," Aoi hissed back. "You should give up now. You'll never be able to defeat me."
"Why's that?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Because." A smug look crossed the jounin's face as he held up the sword, channeling chakra into it so the blade extended. "I have this, the Raijin no Ken."
"…yeah, and?"
"Hmph! A weapon like this makes me invincible! A brat like you could never defeat me with it."
"Be careful. If that blade cuts you, it will slice through your muscles easily, but it can also generate an electrical aura and cut through chakra," Tobirama warned him.
"Don't use any water jutsu," Naruto called to his teammates.
"After all, this blade was created by the Second Hokage himself," Aoi went on, still just as smug as before.
"The Second Hokage himself, you people act like I don't see him every day," Naruto muttered.
Aoi's brow creased. "What was that?"
"Nothing!" Naruto replied, raising both hands. "Mih etucortcele!"
A crackle of electricity emanated abruptly from the blade, making Aoi yell out in dismay and fumble with it. Naruto darted forward into his guard, drawing his sword and going for a jab to the man's stomach.
Sasuke was about to jump in and help, but paused. He had thought Naruto would need his help, fighting a jounin- but Aoi didn't seem to have as much skill with the blade as he'd claimed. His kenjutsu was chuunin at worst, low jounin at best; Naruto had learned from Kakashi himself, and easily dodged Aoi's blows. The rain made it difficult to fight someone with the sword, and had Aoi been of a higher caliber they both would have been needed; but as it was Naruto could handle Aoi on his own.
Satisfied, Sasuke retreated to Sakura's side. "Go on ahead with Idate," he instructed. "I highly doubt the Wagarashi hired any other shinobi. Their leader is too arrogant, so he wouldn't feel a jounin would need any help defeating three genin-age chuunin. We've already dealt with the other shinobi he had deployed."
Sakura nodded. "Come on, Idate. We should get you to the shrine."
"Wait," Idate said tersely, resisting her when she tugged on his sleeve. "I want to- I have to see this fight. Just another minute more."
Sakura paused, giving him an appraising glance, and traded eye contact with Sasuke. The chuunin shrugged, turning back to watch Naruto's fight; she sighed and gave the runner a sympathetic smile. "Okay."
"Do you even know how to use that thing?" Naruto questioned, back-flipping to avoid a swipe. He glanced at Aoi from his upside-down position in the air, twisting his body again to avoid another arc of the blade.
"You moron! I'm an elite jounin! Of course I know how to use it!"
"Really? Do you? You know," Naruto ducked under another jab, tripping the supposed elite and taking a nick out of one of his shins, "a weapon is only as powerful as its wielder."
"You know nothing about it," Aoi hissed at him, growing more and more frustrated as the fight went on.
"Every weapon has a weakness. That thing doesn't make you invincible," Naruto said, pointing at it as Aoi ran at him again. "I mean, what if you were fighting the actual Second Hokage? Do you honestly think he couldn't pick apart the weapon he made?"
"A battle against me would end badly for him," Tobirama grumbled from the side with a scowl clear in his voice. One eyebrow was fidgeting, and Naruto could have sworn this was his version of pouting that he couldn't actually deal with Aoi himself.
"Be careful! His senbon are poisoned," Hashirama called from Sasuke and Sakura's side.
"Be careful!" Sakura called not a second later, one of the senbon in her grasp. "The senbon are poisoned!"
Hashirama looked some small measure of delighted.
Aoi flicked open his umbrella again, littering the ground where Naruto had been standing with senbon. "Are you a one-trick-pony?" Naruto called from the air, landing upside-down on a pentagram. He flipped over so he was upright on the upper side, raising an eyebrow as Aoi gaped at him.
"What in the world? What is that?"
"Uzumaki family secret." Technically, it was. Karin and himself were the only ones who knew how to use them; he'd been teaching her ever since she settled in. Although she hadn't mastered them like he had, she was able to summon small symbols on nearby objects and pull them towards herself. That was the main function of his pentagrams; to appear on places other than himself and either let him channel a technique or chakra through them, act as physical objects themselves, or move things.
"Uzumaki? Don't be daft, boy. They're all dead, and besides, you're no redhead."
Naruto sighed. "I keep getting that. I wish I'd gotten Mom's hair, dammit."
"Enough!" Naruto dodged onto another pentagram higher in the sky when Aoi lunged at him. "Don't take this so nonchalantly!"
"What am I supposed to take it as? Chalantly?"
"I will- gah!" Aoi yelped when he jumped down from his perch and dropkicked him in the shoulder. They both tumbled towards the ground, a tangle of limbs.
Aoi landed first, as he was taller. He swung around and went for Naruto's open guard, making Idate yell in alarm. Sasuke and Sakura, however, were unconcerned.
The Raijin no Ken clashed with Naruto's katana as electricity coursed through it. "Ah, he's already gotten nature affinity channeling down!" Hashirama said cheerily, sulking when he remembered Sasuke and Sakura couldn't hear him.
Naruto weaved around his opponent's blind slash and wound an arm around the one holding the sword. He twisted, making Aoi yell in surprise and pain- and drop the blade, right into Naruto's waiting hand.
They both landed on their feet several yards away from each other. "What the- you little sh-" Aoi began.
"There are children present!" Sakura protested, covering Idate's ears and making him scowl in irritation.
"Excellent," Tobirama smirked from beside him. Naruto examined the blade with a raised eyebrow, turning it off and on several times.
"Return that to me at once," Aoi said darkly.
"Sorry, but I'm a little obligated to return it. Artifact and all that."
"You have no idea how to draw out its power-"
"Neither, it seems, do you," Naruto interrupted with an eye-roll.
"Excuse me?" Although he was still on guard, Aoi took the effort to appear insulted.
"You weren't even sending chakra to the flow points correctly," Naruto said grumpily, gesturing with his hands and subsequently using the sword as a pointer, as if he were lecturing someone. "You doknow what flow points even are, right?"
"Wh- of course I do!" Aoi didn't.
Naruto sighed. "There's one in the upper hilt and one in each wing of the crossguard. They conduct your chakra and can work as converters, too, if you don't know how to utilize lightning chakra correctly. If you do know how, it's more effective." He gave Aoi a suspicious side-glance. "You do know how to use lightning affinity, don't you?" Tobirama looked slightly impressed.
Aoi glared at him.
"Dear god, you were just shoving chakra into it and using it as a bludgeon, weren't you?"
Aoi gritted his teeth.
Naruto covered his eyes with one hand. "This is a contretemps," he muttered.
"Now, now, Naruto, use words he can understand," Sasuke called from behind.
"But Sasuke, he doesn't even know how the fuinjutsu work in it works!"
"I know, and that's very humiliating. But we're on a time schedule."
"Oh. Right. The race." Naruto uncovered his eyes. He took out a scroll to store the weapon.
"No. Use this to defeat him." Tobirama tapped the sword with his transparent fingers. "Poetic justice, if you would."
A large grin overtook Naruto's face. Yayyyy, he thought, putting the scroll away.
Smoke exploded on his shoulder, leaving a yawning miniature Kurama in its wake. "What's going on," he grumbled, instantly curling around Naruto's neck and closing his eyes again.
Naruto sweatdropped. "Seriously? You just now woke up?"
"Are you killing someone, brat?" Kurama grinned, opening one eye.
Tobirama bent down and gave the fox a narrow-eyed look. "Is it dangerous?" he asked, eyeing the blond out of the corner of his eye.
"He, Uncle Tobi. He. And no, Kurama would rather sleep for a few hundred years than hurt the village…just like his brother, I suppose…"
"Oi! Don't compare me to that damn raccoon!" Kurama jolted, hair standing on end. Naruto snickered before facing Aoi again, channeling chakra into the Raijin no Ken.
The blade extended again, but this time the hum was louder; there was also the fact that it was several inches longer. Aoi gave it an incredulous glance, backing up several paces.
"Ey Idate!" Naruto cupped his free hand around his mouth. The boy turned to him expectantly, looking lost on what to do. "I'm about to show you how small this guy really is. Don't be afraid of him any longer."
In a flash and with a mental pun, he appeared directly behind Aoi where he'd dropped a Hiraishin kunai. He'd painted the tags grey, so they were camouflaged against the backdrop of the shore's rocky terrain. The man was lucky enough to dodge his initial thrust by jumping forward and twisting around to face him, but he wasn't quick enough to flee when the sword abruptly extended several inches and sliced through his side.
Clamping down on a scream, Aoi flipped clumsily to the side to avoid Naruto's downward slash. He covered his wound with one hand, using his umbrella as a shield with the other.
"That wound isn't fatal," Naruto explained, pausing. The rain hadn't let up; it made the sword crackle and pop whenever it hit it. Fortunately, the hilt was designed to stop any charges from hurting him. "If you leave now, I won't pursue you."
He watched Aoi's expression twist with rage. "Not happening, then? Ah, all right."
And then he threw the Raijin no Ken straight at him.
"What the hell?" Idate shrieked as the blade dissipated.
"Hah! You little fool-" Aoi had gone to grab the sword out of the air, lunging for it and letting his guard down.
Naruto appeared with the hilt in his palm, grinning like a shark, and Sakura wondered when he'd wrapped a Hiraishin tag around it.
The Jinchuriki's foot slammed into Aoi's neck, and the fight was finished.
Tobirama looked exceedingly satisfied.
Naruto shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, yelling around it when Idate appeared at the top of the steps. "Yeah! Gso Idatshe!"
"Chew," Sasuke said, closing his mouth.
"Go Idate! Crush him!" Sakura screamed. "Crush him like the worm he is!" The civilians around them gave them a wide berth, sweatdropping nervously.
"Get him! Faster!" Naruto yelled. The two cheered louder as the two runners neared the finish line; the Wagarashi family's runner had been near the end when they'd caught up, but Idate had picked up the speed and they'd gone ahead to watch the end.
Determination crossed Idate's face. With a burst of energy, he overtook Fukusuke, who ran faster and faster to no end.
The tape hanging across the shrine snapped as Idate burst through, sending the Wasabi family into joyful chaos.
"Hell yes!" Sakura thundered. They'd grown quite competitive against the Wagarashi after seeing their treatment of the townspeople.
The crowd surged forward, gathering around the pedestal near the end, still shouting at the top of their lungs. Squad Seven shoved through until they stood at the front, Naruto giving Idate a thumbs-up and a grin.
Someone who Sasuke could only assume was the Tea Daimyo stepped forward to place a medal around Idate's neck. He had to give the former genin credit; he wasn't even panting. "The Wasabi family has struck a victory here today," he called to the townspeople, "they will have control of the port for the next four years."
Jirocho appeared from the midst and came up behind Idate, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Well done, Idate. I knew you would come through for us."
"Thanks, boss," Idate replied, smiling for perhaps the first time since Naruto had met him. "But I owe it all to them." He turned and pointed, drawing the crowd's attention to the trio. "While I was running the race, they protected me from the ninja the Wagarashi hired to off me."
A round of boos erupted from the crowd. "Now I know it's tradition to hire shinobi to help your runners," the Daimyo began with raised eyebrows, "but really, Kyūroku? Trying to kill a child?"
"The Wagarashi did no such thing!" Kyūroku snapped, having come up to the podium with two of his clansmen behind him. "Don't spread such lies, boy!"
"Oh really?" With a snap, Naruto summoned a pentagram in the air beside him. Aoi's body tumbled out, bound in ropes and chains, clattering to the tiled floor with a thud. He took off the bandana on the man's mouth, nudging him forward with his foot. "Tell them what you know, or I'll let you meet my foxy friend again."
Kurama snickered from his neck.
Although he was an average shinobi at best, Aoi was exceedingly stubborn, and none of Squad Seven had experience or knowledge with or of torture. However, the Kyuubi was intimidating enough on its own, and Naruto had let the man have a little "peek" into his mindscape. That was all that needed saying.
Aoi gritted his teeth, begrudgingly starting to spill the story. "They hired me to kill that boy and whoever was protecting him," he spit out.
"Turns out, he's a criminal from the Leaf Village!" Naruto said in a fake cheery tone, punching the air. "He's in the Bingo Book with a B-rank bounty." The rank had come solely from the fact that he had the Second's sword, not his abilities as a ninja.
"I see. Well, this solidifies my decision," the Daimyo said, exuding disapproval. "Kyūroku, I'm disbanding the Wagarashi."
"W-what? You can't do that!" Horrified, Kyūroku backed away several steps.
"Yes, I am." The Daimyo took an envelope from his robes. "Here I have records of years' worth of payments- bribes, if you would- you've been sending to my minister. I've already dealt with him, but I'd been willing to give you another chance. Until this came to light. Hiring a criminal to kill a child! Hm!"
"Y-you…can't…" Kyūroku shook in disbelief, jaw dropped open.
"Good man," Hashirama said with a wide grin. Tobirama was smirking, eyes closed as he and his brother stood behind Squad Seven observing the spectacle.
"Well then, does this qualify as a happy end?" Sakura beamed, planting her hands on her hips.
Sasuke stepped forward suddenly, dragging Naruto with him until they stood in front of the Daimyo, and bowed at the waist. "Daimyo Kamizura-sama," he said, waiting until the man waved him at ease to straighten, "I am Uchiha Sasuke; this is Uzumaki Naruto and our squad mate Haruno Sakura. I wanted to thank you for a fair and honest judgment." Sakura threw up a salute.
"Ooh, an Uzumaki? I thought they'd all died out," the man said curiously.
"There are a few survivors in the wind, Daimyo-sama," Naruto replied. "Fortunately, Konohagakure has granted me clan head status so I can properly search for them."
"A clan head already? Does that mean you've become head of the Uchiha too, Sasuke-kun? Do you hope to find others that survived in your clan? I had heard about the massacre…"
"Yes, sir." Sasuke pasted on a smile. "I also wish to bring my elder brother to justice."
"Quite an enterprise. You three have done an excellent job today; I'll be sure to give you a good word with Tsunade-hime," Kamizura smiled.
"I thank you for that. Tsunade-sensei wishes to remain good friends with the Land of Tea," Sakura cut in smoothly.
"Eh? You're her student?" Jirocho leaned in and gave her an appraising look, rubbing his chin. He looked her up and down, from the jacket she wore that resembled Tsunade's to her lean but muscled features to her battle-befitting attire. "Yeah, I can definitely see that."
"Two clan heads and the sannin's apprentice! We're quite lucky to meet them today, aren't we, Jirocho?" The good-natured Daimyo patted his friend on the shoulder.
Squad Seven gave each other pleased looks. Sasuke was most satisfied; they'd managed to make a good impression on a country's leader- the Land of Tea may have been tiny compared to the Five Great Nations, but only fools wrote off resources just because they were smaller than others.
"Hey, Naruto." Naruto raised his eyebrows and wheeled around, turning his attention to a slightly bashful Idate. "I wanted to, uh, thank you. For everything you did, even when I was being a jerk. I won for Boss Jirocho today because of you."
"Eh, it's fine." Naruto waved a hand. "And hey, you should visit the village sometime."
Idate's forehead crinkled. "But I- I'm probably a criminal-"
"Don't worry, we'll work it out. You want to see your brother again, don't you?"
Hesitation made Idate pause. After a moment of thought, his expression steeled, and he nodded firmly. "Yes."
Naruto grinned. "Then we'll work it out."
"Uncle, I can't just keep it."
"It belonged to me, so I decide what to do with it."
"Well, yeah, but…you're dead."
"I don't see how that has any relevance to the situation."
"I can't just walk into the village and say 'Hey! The ghost of the Second Hokage gave his sword to me!' I'll look insane."
"Hiruzen knows what you can see."
"Well yeah but-"
"Oh, come on, Naruto-kun!" Hashirama interrupted, going to grasp Naruto's shoulders and sliding through him with a surprised oof. Naruto and Tobirama gave him a shared dull look as he dusted imaginary dirt off himself from the ground, wearing a sheepish grin. "Anyway. It's a gift from your uncle! You should have it!"
"It won't be of any use sitting in storage," Tobirama said, crossing his arms. "You're far more skilled with it after a few minutes of offhand battle than anyone else would be with months of instruction."
"Ah…fine." Naruto pinched his nose. "I'll ask Jiji."
Squad Seven had changed back into their normal attire to return to the village, while Sasuke and Sakura were looking smug about something. Naruto eyed them as Hashirama and Tobirama lagged behind speaking about something; he grew more suspicious as they grew smugger.
"All right, what are you two so smirky about it?"
"Nothing at all," Sakura replied loftily.
"If you're planning on telling ero-sennin, I will hurt you."
Sakura turned an evil smirk on him. "Don't you want your godfather to know you wuv him?" she cooed, making Naruto cringe. He absolutely hated what he referred to as "gushy stuff".
"It'd inflate his ego."
"True." Sasuke tilted his chin up and closed his eyes. "But your embarrassment will be worth it."
Naruto groaned and shook his head before he caught sight of something ahead in the trees, down a cliff that was small enough to easily jump down, even for a genin. "Is that…?"
"Ah, hell," Sasuke hissed, drawing the ghosts' attention.
"What's wrong?" Hashirama called out, concerned.
Naruto hadn't heard him; he'd already slid his katana out and leapt forward into the air. Sakura and Sasuke followed his lead, while the ghosts shot forward after them as they dropped down.
Naruto dropkicked a man dressed in grey, taking him to the ground and ducking into a roll. He came up with one foot extended, a move Lee had taught him, catapulting another into the air by the chin. Sasuke sailed towards the ground and grabbed a tree branch, swinging around and kicking a woman dressed in prison garb that tried to lunge at Naruto's blind spot.
Sakura landed with a boom, making a small crater in the forest and bending several trees from the force of it. The ground splitting had unseated several of the prisoners from their feet, sending them to fall in various positions of disarray.
With the first five on the ground, Naruto turned to the last two, throwing up his blade to block an incoming blow. He slid the Raijin no Ken from the holster on his hip to block the second, mentally giving thanks he'd actually had a second blade handy.
He lunged forward, using the two as dual blades even if his sword wasn't quite made for it. The men in front of him could have been brothers, with brown hair and eyes and matching scars on opposing cheeks, but one was heavier set than the other. He twisted around the smaller one and went for the larger one while the smaller was still in between them, throwing them both for a loop before he electrocuted the one closest to him. He shoved the first opponent into the second, making him stumble back- right into Sasuke's blade hilt. The second man fell to the forest floor, unconscious, and two more went sailing over him not a moment later.
Sakura chased after them, slamming a fist into their guts simultaneously and making them groan before slumping onto her arms.
"That all of them?" Sasuke asked, keeping an eye out for any more in the area around them.
Sakura and Naruto both formed a hand seal, closing their eyes. "That's it," Naruto said. "I sense no ill intent."
"Agreed. No chakra." Sakura dusted her gloves off and dragged her opponents over. They arranged the prisoners in a circle, taking out rope to bind them.
"Who are these men?" Hashirama asked in complete befuddlement. Naruto hadn't been paying attention to the brothers before, but they'd come up behind him with confused expressions.
"They're prisoners from the Konoha Maximum Security Prison, formerly known as the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, originally known as the Special Ninja Felony Prison," Naruto explained.
Tobirama's eyebrows rose. "I instated that," he said, glancing at one of the escapees. "Did it really need so many name changes?" he muttered under his breath.
Naruto nodded. "If they were released, by law they would have been given a set of civvies instead of the grey uniform. But they're even still wearing their numbers. Not to mention that no one's ever released seven at a time."
"Take note of that. It will make filling out the mission report easier," Sasuke ordered. Sakura took out a notebook and began writing the men's numbers down.
Kurama had jumped down from Naruto's shoulders, sniffing the men's clothes. "I smell blood on them," he growled, "and it's certainly not any of theirs."
"Do you think something happened to the village?" Sakura asked, face crinkling in worry. As one, the team frowned, glancing in the direction of the Leaf. Hashirama couldn't help but smile fondly seeing their concern.
"We should pick up the pace. Naruto, get these guys." Sasuke jabbed his thumb in their captives' general direction. Naruto rolled his eyes before calling out several shadow clones in addition to the two carrying Aoi.
"Sure, I'll be the pack donkey."
His clones lifted the prisoners onto their shoulders, and the team took off with renewed vigor.