I do not own Naruto
Jirobo took another step forward, stumbling towards the two boys. He barely noticed something flying towards him and quickly tried to take a step backwards before he felt something hitting him in the chest. He lost his breath for a second before looking down. Blood gushed out of a hole piercing right through him. He fell on his knees, looking at the bearded man that was kneeling next to the Konoha kid.
He fell down.
Kidomaru frowned. These two Hyuuga were proving to be a true pain in the ass. No matter how many attacks, they were still holding on and barely dodging his fastest and most powerful blows. When he pulled out his bow, he was sure that the arrow's speed would prevent them from dodging, but he was only partially correct. His arrows did some damage, but the two could see the attack coming and dodge, even if they often ended up grazed by it. One shot allowed him to graze the girl on her side, but he had been unable to replicate it, and he had simply chucked it to a lucky hit. He could just try again and again and hope for another lucky hit, but that was tedious and inefficient. There had to be another trick, a better way to win this boss fight than via exhaustion, chip damage and RNG. He felt something off in the air.
Kokuangyo no jutsu
Suddenly, everything went black. Ambient sounds were muffled, even the smells turned dull. Was that a genjutsu? Who used it? When?
He felt a stinging sensation into one of his arms, immediately followed by the other five. Was this genjutsu so strong that physical pain wasn't enough to break it?
Then he felt it. His jaw snapping out of place, the blinding pain dragging him out of the genjutsu. And the pain came back in full. He tried to grab hold of the red-eyed woman in front of him, holding onto one of the weirdest clothes he had ever seen, but his arms didn't answer him, his nerves severed at the armpit.
With a kick to his broken jaw, Kunerai knocked the man unconscious.
Sasuke felt the webbing around him loosen up. He pushed against it, slowly dragging his hands together, wincing at the pain in his right hand. He tried to burn away the cocoon by channeling fire chakra, but he had only managed to burn his own hand and was forced to stop. Now, however, he had the chance to use a much stronger Katon jutsu. He'd probably get hurt quite badly, but that was the price for freedom. He'd run back to Konoha, get healed and take down the Oto jonins that dared kidnap him.
Katon: Engeki no jutsu
The cocoon on Kimimaro's back erupted in a ball of flame, scorching his back, as a figure enveloped in fire jumped away from him.
He turned around and tried to jump after him, but was interrupted by the green spandex wearing kid impacting his burned back with a flying kick, pushing him into one more swarm of Narutos.
"Sasuke!" shouted Naruto, seeing his teammate covered in burns falling on the ground only a couple meters away from him.
Before he could call for her help, Karin was already at his side, offering the Uchiha her arm. After a single bite, Sasuke's body was healed.
"What happened?" asked Sasuke, turning back and noticing the battle between Kimimaro, Lee, Ryuzetsu and the army of Naruto clones.
"We should be the ones asking!" shouted back Naruto.
Sasuke frowned. Answers later. They needed to focus on the battle.
"Naruto, get ready to swing that fan with all the chakra you have." he said, flowing through a set of hand signs Naruto had seen him using multiple times.
"Lee! Ryuzetsu! Get away!" shouted Karin.
Futon: Kamaitachi no jutsu
Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu
Sasuke's fireball grew enormous in size, barreling toward the Oto ninja like a miniature sun collapsing from the sky.
Lee and Ryuzetsu jumped away. Kimimaro tried to follow, but a wall of clones slowed him down just enough.
The jutsu landed on top of him, enveloping him, vaporizing the remaining clones, carving a crater through the earth and setting the field on fire.
The five ninjas observed the landscape as a figure emerged from the crater: a blackened figure with white protrusion on its back and a long tail swinging behind him; and it was charging at them with inhuman speed.
Shikotsumyaku: Tessenka no Mai: Hana no jutsu
One of the creature's hands expanded into a twisted lance of spiraling bone-white material, charging directly at Naruto.
Naruto jumped back, but the creature followed him, his humanoid face contorted in a sadistic grin.
Suiton: Suijun no jutsu
The jutsu came out as a reflex, water condensing in front of him as a shield, and he was surprised to see a second shield forming in front of his own, water jumping out of Sasuke's waterskin.
It wasn't enough.
Both shields shattered under the blow and Naruto was hit in the stomach. Spitting blood, he fell on his knees.
Out of reflex, Naruto channeled his chakra into the seal on his back, green chakra desperately trying to close the gaping hole in his body.
"Naruto!" Karin jumped to Naruto's side, but the creature's tail swung rapidly, cracking a few ribs and launching her sprawling away from the blonde.
Lee jumped in with a flying kick, but Kimimaro simply grabbed his leg and slammed it against his knee, shattering the bone before casually tossing the boy against a tree with a loud crashing sound.
Kimimaro turned his gaze toward Sasuke and Ryuzetsu, standing in the middle of the burning field.
"Sasuke Uchiha. You will follow me to become Orochimaru-sama's next vessel. Do not resist."
Ryuzetsu knelt, reaching for one of the bone swords the creature had used before, and tossed it to Sasuke.
He grabbed the sword, entering a combat stance and activating his Sharingan. He saw Lee crawling back towards them, barely able to move.
"Take Naruto and Karin to safety!"
He shouted to the boy in spandex, jumping away from Kimimaro's Teshi Sendan. He threw a handful of shuriken to his opponent, but they simply clanged on his skin, as if they had struck metal, and fell on the floor. The two got ready to fight. This wasn't going to be easy.
Risu landed next to Tenten.
"Don't move! Or this one is fucking dead!" shouted Ukon, his hand emerging from Shino's shoulder and grasping the Aburame's neck.
The Hyuuga narrowed his eyes, activating his Byakugan. The enemy had somehow fused his cells and chakra network with Shino's body. The Aburamae bugs were slowly chipping away at the intruder, eating it alive one microscopic bite at a time, but it would take hours for them to completely remove the foreign cells and purify their host from the Oto nin's chakra. And Risu didn't think such an action would remain unnoticed long enough for the insects to finish.
"You are going to die here. I am giving you the option of a swift and painless death, but only if you remove yourself from Shino." stated Risu.
"Like hell! You've almost killed my brother! Let him go or I'll take all you fuckers to hell with me if I have to!" shouted the head.
Risu frowned. He knew of one seal that could affect their enemy without harming Shino, but it was a seal he despised with all his heart, one that he had learned for the sole purpose of countering. Not that he ever discovered how to. Satoshi was a bastard, but the bastard knew his stuff.
He bit his thumb and started to draw symbols with his blood onto his palm.
"Stop! One single hand sign and the boy is dead!" shouted Ukon.
"This is your last chance, creature. Free the Aburame or you will die." declared Risu with an icy tone.
He knew he needed to be fast. Tap the creature on the head and activate the seal immediately. He needed speed. He would need to open Hachimon. He could only open two gates, would those be enough to give him the speed he required? He hoped so.
Hachimon Tonko no Jin: Kaimon
He glared at the head and prepared his chakra.
Hachimon Tonko no Jin: Kyumon
"Last chance, Oto ninja." He declared.
"Fuck your chances!" Shouted back Ukon.
Risu darted forward, left palm open to strike while his hand had already formed a half tiger seal. His hand slammed Ukon's forehead, leaving a swastika imprint.
Kago no Tori no Juin
Risu channeled his chakra into the freshly applied caged bird seal, waves of pain cursing through Ukon's entire chakra network, frying his nerves while leaving Shino's completely unharmed.
With a scream, Ukon's brain turned to mush, his head flopping onto Shino's arm, eyes rolled back into his skull and a slight drool dropping out of his mouth.
He turned to Tenten and pointed at the unconscious Sakon. "I'll handle that one. Once his chakra is completely sealed, take him to Ibiki and these two to the hospital."
He sighed, feeling the kick of two Hachimon gates closing. He had no idea how Gai could handle the pain of opening seven of these.
Tayuya only saw a blur of green. She felt her ribs break and suddenly she was up in the air, two hands wrapped around her holding her still as she started to descend in a rotating motion, her head aimed at the ground.
Omote Renge
As she impacted the ground, everything went black.
"Worry not, my youthful friends! Maito Gai, Konoha's Noble Green Beast, has come to your rescue!" shouted the man, lifting his thumb at Shikamaru and Sakura.
Sasuke dodged another volley, the bone bullets whistling over his head. Kimimaro was once again on top of him, his massive bone drill raised to slam him to the ground. Ryuzetsu jumped over the tail, her sword arching in a powerful blow that bit into the tail's muscles but failed to do much damage. Kimimaro swatted her away with his weapon, making her roll to the side. Sasuke jumped a safe distance away, only to hear a now familiar whistle.
Shikotsumyaku: Teshi Sendan no jutsu
His sharingan glared at the bullets flying towards him. He dodged four, then raised his weapon to block the last one, the strength of the blow opening his guard wide open.
Shikotsumyaku: Tessenka no Mai: Tsuru no jutsu
The bone whip cracked around Sasuke, trying to wrap itself around him. Sasuke flashed through hand signs.
Shunshin no jutsu
The whip wrapped itself around nothing, causing Kimimaro to frown.
Katon: Onidoro no jutsu
Once again, fire oni masks converged onto the Oto shinobi, exploding on impact. Ryuzetsu fell on one knee, the chakra drain of the jutsu knocking her to the verge of unconsciousness.
Knowing this was most likely his only chance, Sasuke took out his sealing scroll.
Kimimaro emerged from the smoke of Ryuzetsu's jutsu, arm raised to strike at the Kusa kunoichi.
"Stop! I surrender!" shouted Sasuke.
Kimimaro halted, barely half a meter from the girl.
"I surrender. I'll come with you to Orochimaru, just don't hurt any of them." repeated Sasuke, slowly walking toward him.
Kimimaro walked toward him, abandoning a semi-unconscious Ryuzetsu. Once he reached Sasuke, the Uchiha offered his hands to be tied up.
Kimimaro snorted, his tail darting toward Sasuke's head and exploding it in a splash of water.
"You didn't think I'd check for a Mizu Bunshin?" he shouted, looking around for the boy. Not seeing him, he pointed at the retreating Kusa girl, fingers ready to shoot another salvo of bones.
"Show yourself or your girlfriend dies!" he shouted again.
He looked down, noticing something touching his legs.
To his horror, he realized they were Kibaku Fuda. Hundreds of them, wrapped around his legs and tails.
Katon: Kibaku Enjin
Kimimaro screamed as the layer of bone armor he had created underneath his skin shattered, pieces of bone, muscles and blood showered the surrounding area.
It was over. He could feel the blood rushing out. Even if the cursed seal could keep his body from entering shock, the blood loss would certainly do it for him. The bone drill on his arm shattered and Kimimaro performed his last jutsu. If he was going to die, if Orochimaru-sama was not going to take the Uchiha's body, he would make sure that the boy would never turn against his master.
Shikotsumyaku: Sawarabi no Mai no jutsu
Bones freely sprouted out of his body, spreading in all directions in an explosion of white.
Shunshin no jutsu
Sasuke jumped away, breaking off his invisibility genjutsu, but the bones caught up to him, piercing his arms and leg, stabbing one of his lungs before the jutsu halted, no longer able to feed on Kimimaro's chakra.
Sasuke felt heavy, his pupils closing. The last thing he heard was the desperate scream of Sakura calling his name.
One week later, Konoha's hospital
It was finally time for team 7 to reunite. Naruto was able to survive Kimimaro's vicious stab only thanks to a combination of Risu's Tensha Fuin and the nine tails regenerative abilities and an emergency surgery, he had been dismissed two days before. Lee had broken his leg again, and Tsunade had not been happy.
After she caught the boy doing push-ups when he should have been resting, she had put him in a full-body cast and ordered Risu to add a restraining seal just to make sure he wouldn't move. She had promised a year of unpaid D-rank mission to anyone who let the boy out of his bed without her supervision.
Choji and Fuzaku, despite their beating, had recovered very fast and had promptly spent the next few days eating and challenging themselves in contests of strength.
Shino's extra head had raised a few eyebrows at first, but after a swift explanation and a few hours for his bugs had completely devoured the remains and purged his body of foreign substances, he was good as new.
Kidomaru, Tayuya and Sakon were taken to Ibiki for interrogation, where they discovered that Moroshi, the jonin sensei for Kabuto Yakushi, Yoroi Akado and Misumi Tsurugi had allowed the group to slip in Konoha without alerting the Kekkai-Han. The man had been arrested, interrogated and summarily executed together with the three captured Oto ninja once Inoichi had extracted every single information they could from them.
Koiji Tokara hadn't been happy about his precious Kekkai-Han being infiltrated by traitors and had complained a lot about the situation when visiting Naruto at the hospital. Ibiki didn't visit, but had sent him a get well soon card, which according to all the senseis it was the most emotions the man had shown in years.
For defeating Kidomaru, the Hyuuga clan had been offered the summoning contract for the spider clan. Shikamaru had refused Tayuya's flute, as well as all the associated jutsu extracted from the kunoichi's mind, so they had been defaulted to Sakura as spoils of war. Sasuke, for defeating Kimimaro, was offered the man's bone, which turned out to be an exceedingly durable and chakra-resistant material, making it very suitable for crafting armor and weapons. During his stay in the hospital, he had been visited by many artisans looking to strike a deal to work with such a rare and valuable material.
Karin, Fuzaku and Ryuzetsu had departed to Kusa with an extensive collection of new sound-based jutsu taken from the Oto prisoners' minds as payment for their assistance and as a way to strengthen the alliance between their villages.
"It's good to see you finally out of the hospital, Sasuke." said Risu, smiling at his student.
"Now, I have some news. For once, I believe all three of us should give Sakura a big round of applause."
"Uh? What for?" asked a confused pinkette.
"For your performance during the kidnapping of one Uchiha Sasuke, as well as the recommendation of numerous doctors and nurses at the hospital, Hokage-sama had decided to approve my request for a field promotion to chunin. Congratulations." said Risu, unsealing a flak jacket and handing it to his female student."
"Congratulations, Sakura-chan!" shouted Naruto.
"Well done." said Sasuke.
Sakura stared at the jacket.
"In addition, Tsunade-sama has requested that you, alongside a handful of other promising students, become one of her apprentices in Iryo ninjutsu. This is a great opportunity and you should consider it. You won't take any mission outside the village for the next two years, but working at the hospital comes with many advantages and I think you might really benefit from the offer. Think about it, ok?"
Sakura nodded, tearing out from happiness.
"Sasuke, Jiraiya-sama told me that the toads have come to an agreement of sorts with the raptors: in a year, the raptors will have the means necessary to train you in senjutsu. In the meantime… well, Konoha is currently in short supply of hunter ninjas and Tsunade-sama will be testing aspiring recruits next month. We'll have a lot of crunching to get you ready in such a short amount of time, but I'd say it's doable, if you're willing to try."
Sasuke nodded. "Of course, sensei."
Hunter ninja at thirteen. It wasn't joining ANBU at 11 like Itachi, but it was close. Itachi had graduated from the academy at six, while he had been forced to wait until he was twelve. He was closing the gap.
"Lastly, Naruto… Jiraiya-sama has personally requested to take you on a three-year training trip as an apprentice where he will teach you how to become his successor as Konoha's spymaster and the next toad sage. Apparently, that's the same trip he offered to the Yondaime back in the days."
Naruto's eyes widened. He was offered the chance to follow into his father's footsteps.
"Now, I know it's a difficult decision to make, but…" He sighed. "Frankly, I already taught you most of what I can. Sure, I can help you along your fuinjutsu career, provide you some extra tips on espionage and give you some of my techniques, but my objective as a teacher isn't to make you three into clones of me. You are good enough spies to fool the jonin council, which is far more than what I expected when I decided to have a go at teaching. Sakura has a great path ahead as a medic and a talent in genjutsu, neither skills I can help her cultivate. Sasuke, as a combat specialist, has to find his own style, not parroting that of a ninja who isn't even specialized in it. And Naruto… I might be a teacher, but I'm not a leader. I can't inspire people like Jiraiya-sama, Hiruzen-sama or Tsunade-sama. I cannot teach you those skills."
He sighed.
"It's time you three walk your own path."
Before the three could say anything, Risu dragged them all in a hug.
"It has been an honor."
The three chunin didn't answer, only hugging their sensei back.
After a few minutes, the three separated.
"Before all of that, however, I think I have something more fundamental jutsu to teach you. A Doton jutsu to move through the earth, a Suiton jutsu to breathe underwater, a Katon jutsu to illuminate the area, a Raiton jutsu to disable electronic devices… It's kinda funny how the three of you managed to get promoted without even learning all of the basics. Let's get to work"
THE END
Notes
Senseis to the rescue! Asuma for Choji and Fuzaku, Kurenai for the Hyuuga, Risu for Kiba, Tenten and Shino and Gai for Shikamaru and Sakura.
Yes, Risu knows the caged bird seal. He doesn't know how to remove it (being hard to remove is kind of a requirement for something like that), but he sure as hell knows a lot on how to use it. Or did you think that a Hyuuga sealmaster wouldn't try to learn all he can about it?
Kimimaro, like I mentioned before, is a menace. Sure, he might be outnumbered, but he's not outgunned. I really wanted to give Sasuke a win, and figured out Kimimaro was an excellent "final boss", so to speak. And having him finish off the Kaguya with the first jutsu Risu taught him seemed kind of poetic
New jutsu
Kokuangyo no jutsu: sensory depravation genjutsu, designed to be a Sharingan counter. Probably the strongest non-dojutsu genjutsu in the serie
Shikotsumyaku: Tessenka no Mai: Hana no jutsu: create a bone drill that replaces one's hand
Hachimon Tonko no Jin: Kaimon: opens the first of the eight gates
Hachimon Tonko no Jin: Kyumon: opens the second of the eight gates
Kago no Tori no Juin: caged bird seal
Omote Renge: front lotus. taijutsu only, so no -no jutsu
Shikotsumyaku: Tessenka no Mai: Tsuru no jutsu: turns own spine into a whip
Shikotsumyaku: Sawarabi no Mai no jutsu: bones sprout from the body in all directions. This jutsu in canon is OP as fuck, to the point that using literally anything else can only be seen as flexing. So... I turned it into a suicide jutsu
I thank you all for staying with me until the end (for now) of this journey and hope to see you again for future projects. I'll probably not use daily uploads in the future unless I have a MASSIVE (100+ pages) backlog, but I'll try to follow a somewhat consistent schedule (weekly uploads maybe?). If you like my writing style, you can check out my Rocket Survival (pokemon) and Glimpses into Reality (Pathfinder RPG) fanfictions while waiting for the Shippuden serie
Idea pool
Like I mentioned in the previous chapter, I'm gathering ideas and suggestions for a future serie that follows the events in Shippuden.
Just like this serie, I'll try my best to follow canon, but there will some noticeable differences and most likely a different ending.
When it comes to my own ideas, I do have a selection of jutsus and legendary items for the characters to have, but I've yet to decide on:
-The special properties of Ashina's blades (you didn't think they'd be mundane swords, right?)
-Sasuke's spoil of war from Suna
-Should Sakura learn how to use the Doki or stick with demonic flute genjutsu?
Apart from that i need:
-A good name for the Shippuden serie
-Ideas for combat-oriented medical jutsu for Sakura
-Ideas for low-level everyday jutsu (water-proof one's equipment, recharge a battery, heating up food...). If you have a name as well, the better
-Ideas for elemental kekkei genkai/kekkei tota jutsu (in addition, I also need a name for Water+Yin, Water+Yang and Lightning+Yin combinations. I got ideas and concepts for all other 2 elements combinations, but I've got nothing for these three)