A/N: I'd wanted to submit this for Christmas…but this'll have to do.
Hopefully this early New Year's offering will compensate.
…
[Chūnin Exams Arena]
The sounds of the crowd muttering amongst themselves, filled the air as Naruto and Ajani entered the stadium, looking for their seats.
He had the foresight to procure tickets for himself, Haku, and a hooded Ajani as soon as they were made available, which allowed them easy access to their seats. It was also fortunate that classes at the Ninja Academy were out just for this event…likely so that prospective Shinobi could see what sort of fights they could get into.
All the same, Naruto had applied his magic seal upon the doors of his forge to ward off thieves - by no means was it the actual spell "Mordenkainen's Arcane Seal", just a weaker copy inspired by it from his time in Toril…a world better known as the Forgotten Realms. That said, it was still sufficient for deterring all but the most determined of thieves, which was a necessity considering the number of highly dangerous magic weapons he had stored in his gallery. And if that failed, he still had one nasty surprise for any would-be thief that tried to break into his forge.
All they had to do now was to find their seats, and they would be given the ability to watch the matches from the safety of the stadium.
The arena at the bottom was made to resemble a typical battlefield that a Shinobi of this Plane would likely enter. There were gates for each combatant to enter from, and standing between them was a proctor for this stage of the exam who did double-duty as a referee. Said referee was a Shinobi in a bandana that was chewing on something as he waited for everyone to settle down.
Looking for their seats, Naruto tapped at Haku's shoulder and Ajani's elbow, getting their attention as they found the row and aisle they were to sit at. As soon as they arrived, they were quick to note that their seats were within proximity of Hanabi and Tenten, along with Haruno Sakura, a girl he remembered as Yamanaka Ino, and an older gentleman that Naruto didn't recognize. He looked a lot like Neji, down to the stark-white eyes, only much older, slightly taller, and he was dressed in a white kimono with a sandy-gray obi under a charcoal-gray haori. Unlike Neji however, his forehead was bare of the curse that would have marked him as a member of the Hyūga Branch family.
That would make him Hyūga Hiashi; head of the Hyūga clan, Neji's uncle, and Hinata and Hanabi's father. It made sense - he had this air of hubris well-earned from battle, a hubris that was kept strictly under control with a very dignified and regal veneer of civility.
Hanabi was quick to note their arrival, and even quicker to recognize him, leading her to gently rap on her father's elbow, whispering something to him before pointing in their direction.
Hiashi looked in their direction, and was very civil as he motioned them in.
A certain look in the older man's eyes told him that he wanted a word, and so Naruto took a seat next to the Hyūga clan head, with Haku and Ajani sitting closer to the stairs.
"I understand that you are the one that healed my daughter," said Hiashi, the murmur of the crowd still tranquil for the most part, "And for that, you have my thanks."
"None needed," Naruto replied, "Hinata was pretty nice to me when I came back, I only thought it fitting that I repaid her."
Hiashi said nothing, instead choosing to nod appreciatively. "I've heard about your little seven-year hiatus when the Hokage gathered the clans to debrief us on your return not too long ago. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that you actually went through all that."
"I don't expect anyone to believe me," said Naruto, defending himself, "I was there myself, and that's good enough for me."
Hiashi snorted lightly in amusement. "Well, at least you have the conviction to defend yourself. But honestly, what are your intentions towards my daughters?"
"I honestly don't know," replied Naruto, honestly, "I know I like them both so far…where that goes, well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"
Hiashi looked at Naruto, scrutinizing him for a good few seconds before sighing. "Ours is not a family without baggage."
"I got the gist of it when I ran into Neji a while ago," Naruto replied, honestly.
"So you know of the tensions between the Main house and the Branch family?" Hiashi asked.
Naruto sighed. "Just enough to know why he went so far when he hurt Hanabi here…sounded a bit one-sided to me, but he's really dead-set on this idea that blood defines one's fate."
"And what did you tell him?" Hiashi asked.
"I told him that fate is not something you're supposed to know, let alone control," Naruto explained, "That it's a story that one is responsible for telling, and that the only say they had was in how they were going to fill in the pages from start to finish…then I challenged him, asking if his belief was really the story he wanted to tell."
"And what did he say?"
"Nothing beyond standing firm in his belief…though I hope I reached out to him in time."
Whatever Hiashi had to say had come to a halt when the referee made his announcement. "This is Shiranui Genma, the proctor for this stage of the Chūnin Exams. As you can see, this entire match is to simulate a battle between Shinobi that have been given significant prep time and intel on their targets. And now…for our first match, Hyūga Hinata versus Hyūga Neji!"
Hiashi was thoughtful as he turned his attention back to the arena. The gates to the arena had opened, allowing the two fighters in question entrance. Naruto was quick to note that Hinata had changed somehow since he'd last seen her in the hospital…she seemed to have put on a bit more muscle. Neji, on the other hand, looked the same.
"We shall see if what you said about fate is true through my daughter," Hiashi muttered.
…
The fight began when the proctor let out a loud, resounding "Hajime!"
Hinata looked on at Neji as he stared back at her, the both of them slipping into their respective stances.
She'd known of his animosity towards the Main house for quite some time…but to have those wounds fester enough that he'd attempt to destroy her own sister?
Something needed to be done, or else these tensions between the Main house and the Branch family became untenable. To do that, she would need to defeat him…to prove him wrong on his belief that blood defined one's fate.
Just as Hanabi picked up her own little tricks, so too did Hinata have her own little surprise for Neji.
The two of them charged each other; basic Jūken was largely static hand-to-hand combat…once someone got within range of a Hyūga who mastered the style, they were generally doomed. However, Hinata's personal mentorship under her mother before being handed off to Kurenai-sensei had done her a big favor. Where her father had deemed her a failure, her mother helped her see the freedom in her unworthiness…which, on top of giving her confidence, also gave her the foundation for her to make her own bag of tricks just like Hanabi did.
The foundation of these tricks came into play when Hinata pumped chakra into her back heel mid-stride, shaping it into a slicing blade before performing a backflip, forcing Neji back with her kick. Upon landing, Hinata found the initiative to begin her assault with Neji's momentary hesitation, forcing him on the defensive as he tried to regain the initiative. As soon as the fight started to even out, Hinata found the opportunity to grapple one of Neji's arms, block the other arm that aimed to counter, knee him in the abdomen, then follow through by planting a heel into it. The sheer impact behind the kick was enough to force him reeling as he recovered just in time to avoid another cutting blade of chakra.
However, Hinata didn't let up in her assault, countering Neji's strikes with grapples, and following through with kicks. Some of her kicks were armed with chakra blades, others were without, forcing Neji on the defensive as he tried to predict the next move of her aggressive assault…which made him even more careful considering she was grappling him in addition to striking him. Neji was forced to backflip away from a chakra blade that was aimed at his head too fast for him to defend properly.
"What madness is this?" he asked, dumbfounded, "Who grapples and kicks in the Jūken?"
"Our family style is indeed mighty, but even it has weaknesses that can easily be exploited," Hinata explained, taking on a one-legged defensive stance with a short chakra blade emitted from her raised heel, "The Jūken at its core relies upon holding ground, but I asked myself 'what happens if the opponent is far more aggressive than you can imagine?' And so, I added extra leg-work and grappling techniques to make the style more flexible beyond simple footwork and striking techniques. Then I added some chakra shape manipulation exercises to form a cutting blade from my legs for a little extra reach and power. I call it the Jūken no Tachi."
"Turning your legs into swords will not save you from the crushing power of fate," Neji replied, his confusion giving way to confidence as he slipped back into the standard Jūken form, "Nothing you do will dissuade the idea that you are a destined failure…just like your sister before you."
Undaunted, Hinata lowered her leg, ready to charge. "We'll see about that, Neji."
Hinata charged her opponent, ducking under a flurry of Jūken strikes, kneeing him in the abdomen, charging chakra into her leg to slice at him. She was forced to disengage by backflipping away when she saw him creating a barrier of chakra around himself through a rotating barrage of Jūken Strikes. As she recovered from evading the attack, part of her was frightened, but the emotion that overtook Hinata was determination, with a slight helping of recognition. She'd seen her father use this move several times throughout her life, and so she knew that it was no small feat to be able to use that most secret of taijutsu techniques.
"Hakkeshō Kaiten, your father would've been impressed," Hinata praised, thinking of ways to break through the defense, "What's even more impressive is that you've got an understanding of it at your age too…only the clan head and the clan heir are supposed to know it."
"I learned it through observation," replied Neji, "especially after watching your father."
Hinata thought carefully about her next approach. Throughout her experience and in her training, she'd learned that nothing in life was really absolute; not in offense, nor in defense…and so even the Hakkeshō Kaiten had to have a weakness. Beyond the obvious chakra requirement to keep up the defense, she needed to find the chinks in Neji's armor in order to defeat him…which required her to prick and poke until she found the answer.
The two cousins re-engaged in close-quarters combat, the two of them forced to go back to basics. Throughout the fight, Hinata was quick to note that Neji was on the offensive to prevent her from grappling him, and also to deny her the breathing room needed to land her slicing kicks. However, Hinata's grasp of the basics enabled her to parry and create openings in Neji's offensive barrage to fight back with more definitive hits in order to deal as much damage as she could back to him.
Hinata's opportunity to break the stalemate came when she caught Neji about to perform Hakkeshō Kaiten. The first part of her combo started with blocking the arm she could stop immediately, grappling Neji before using the momentum of pulling him in an attempt to land a kick to his abdomen, just before she was forced back with another Jūken strike aimed at her vitals as he recovered. That moment's hesitation was all Neji needed to follow through on his next attack, and Hinata quickly recognized the technique that was inflicted upon her.
Two strikes became four.
Four strikes became eight.
Eight strikes became sixteen.
Sixteen strikes became thirty-two
Thirty-two strikes became sixty-four.
It was yet another technique that only the clan head and the heir were supposed to know.
"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō," Hinata noted, coughing up blood, "Yet another inheritance you've stolen from the clan head - and for your genius, Neji, I applaud you."
"Surrender now, Hinata-sama, I've stopped you from moving with the damage to your Tenketsu points," Neji said, emphasizing the honorific derisively, "You've fought well, but you were ultimately powerless before fate."
"Actually, Neji, I think you're the one that's powerless," said Hinata, shocking Neji as she walked towards him.
"How is this possible?!" Neji nearly shouted, his voice low from shock, "Have I missed?!"
"Oh no, you did hit me, Neji," Hinata explained, "Your Hakke Rokujūyon Shō was just a little anemic because I've sealed up enough of your Tenketsu points during our close-quarters fight; if I'd missed even one, I would've been hurt so much worse." The look of realization had washed over Neji's face as he looked back at Hinata. "Don't worry, you're not gonna die from the Tenketsu I've hit…it's just gonna stop you from using our clan's more advanced Jutsu, which means you and I are both zeroed out. No absolute defenses, no chakra blades, no excuses; from this point on, our fates will be determined by skill and our mastery of the fundamentals on this level playing field." At this, Hinata slipped into a stance. "Think your adherence to tradition can compete with my embrace of change, Neji?"
The befuddled expression on Neji's face had melted away into determination as he switched back into the Jūken stance.
That was good.
A surrender would have reflected badly on both of them in a competition with so many eyes upon them - eyes that could decide whether they get to be promoted to Chūnin or not. This on top of the fact that while surrender would have been a more humiliating defeat on Neji's part, it would have denied Hinata of the victory she desired: having Neji's fatalistic beliefs shattered before his eyes.
Oh, she was there; she'd been there totally by accident, but she'd heard Naruto's conversation with Neji on the subject of fate while everyone took the month to train in preparation for the finals. In that aspect, she agreed with Naruto: nobody was supposed to know, let alone control, their fate - all they could do was fill in the pages from the beginning to the end of their story until they finally found it. It just so happened that Hinata's story and that of Neji's had crossed at this point…in a way, it was a fight that was meant to happen one day.
Hinata was not going to let Neji have an easy fight. Just as he had a story to tell, so too did she have a story to tell, and she was not going to let Neji end hers here. From this point on, it was skill against skill alone.
The two cousins re-engaged in close-quarters combat. It was as Hinata had declared: no absolute defenses, no chakra blades, no excuse…in this fight, they were made evenly-matched. Neji's mastery over the Jūken in its purest form allowed him to keep up with Hinata's more flexible interpretation of the style, but in doing so had created openings that she was able to exploit. Neji did his absolute best to avoid being caught in a grapple from Hinata; one wrong move, and he was at her mercy, and he knew it, which was why he kept up his strikes. At the same time, there was so much pressure applied between the two of them from their aggression that Hinata barely had any time to land a decent kick.
The match had come to an end when Hinata finally landed a knee to Neji's side, giving her ample time to duck under a pair of palm-strikes that would have kicked off the combo for Hakke Rokujūyon Shō, positioning herself low and behind him. As she planted her feet, she hugged him by the waist, using the strength in her legs to hoist him off the ground, only using the muscles in her legs and back to control his descent as she allowed gravity to do the rest. Neji was unable to escape as the momentum carried him downward, doing all he could to protect his neck as his back hit the dirt at full force.
With her cousin defeated, rolled over to the side, standing over him.
She had won.
…
"The match is over!" Shiranui announced, "The winner is Hyūga Hinata!"
Naruto looked on at the match as it concluded with Hinata's victory. He'd known her to be very forward, but to finish a match in such a way was not expected in his eyes.
As everyone cheered for the victorious Hinata, Naruto noted the presence of two people carrying a stretcher walking towards Neji. His unconscious body was gently placed on the canvas before he was hauled off…no doubt to get medical treatment somewhere.
"It seems you were correct," Hiashi noted, "It seems we are indeed responsible for telling our own stories."
"Where are they taking Neji?" Naruto asked.
"If it is anything like the Chūnin Exams I have taken, there are medical facilities somewhere in the arena for the survivors," explained Hiashi, "I imagine they are going to make sure Neji's condition is stabilized, and that he's in acceptable condition before taking him away to the hospital for proper treatment."
Looking over the arena, Naruto watched as members of the Shinobi forces went to work at repairing the arena…no doubt for the sake of fair play. In his eyes, the village would have benefitted from the assistance of Lorehold students to make the process much faster…and being a Lorehold student himself, he would know how to manipulate the strands of time to restore things to their original state. That meant he still had time before he had to come back.
"I'd like to have a word with Neji."
…
[Infirmary]
The first thing to return to Neji's vision was a blur, though he did see white in front of him.
Next thing he noticed was the fact that he was supine upon a bed.
His memories were hazy until he remembered exactly what had happened. Neji had faced off against his cousin Hinata, in the Chūnin Exams and been defeated by her. The idea that she would use such a brutish move to finish him off had left him confused to no end…
"Didn't think you'd survive that suplex," came a voice from the doorway, interrupting Neji's train of thought.
Sitting up, he found the very person who challenged his beliefs the first time. Uzumaki Naruto, the so-called 'boy who was lost.' Whatever he wanted did not bode well for Neji. "I suppose you're here to gloat?"
"No," Naruto replied simply, as he entered the infirmary, "Quite the contrary, I'm here to commend you for fighting your hardest. Though I can't honestly say I was surprised you lost."
"Fate was already against me from the very beginning, which led to my defeat," Neji replied despondently, looking up at the ceiling.
"Honest truth? You, Neji, are the reason you lost," Naruto replied bluntly, causing Neji to look at him with his mouth agog, "You blame fate for your defeat, but in reality, you lost because you stagnated."
Neji's dumbfounded expression at getting called out soon melted away into simmering, seething rage. Who was this boy who knew nothing of fate? Where did this outsider get the stones to insult him?
"Hanabi and Hinata were affected by the Hyūga Affair, same as you," Naruto explained, dousing Neji's flames ever-so-slightly with curiosity, "The only difference is that they grew from the experience, trying their hardest to change, to never get caught in that situation ever again. Meanwhile, you got a lot stronger and smarter too, but you were frozen in that moment - you were so stuck with your belief that blood determines fate that it's hurt you in ways you can neither see nor understand. You're so deep under the permafrost that you never saw any point in growing…never saw the point of finding the joy in life for all its ups and downs. Simply put, Neji, you lost because Hinata and Hanabi moved on from the Hyūga Affair, using the pain from that moment to jumpstart their evolution, while you held onto it and let yourself stagnate because of it."
The look of contemplation washed over Neji's face at Naruto's words as he continued. "But take heart, by no means is this defeat your ending - that part of your story remains unwritten, waiting for you to discover it. What you have instead is an opportunity to turn the page to a new chapter in your life, if you have the heart and the guts to do so."
Before he could ask Naruto anything further, the boy left the room, and in his wake, more questions surfaced in Neji's mind.
Had he been wasting his life away?
Could he have told a different story?
But among these questions, one stood out: did he have the courage to turn the page to a new chapter of his life?
"He's not wrong," said a familiar voice from the doorway.
The form that entered was that of his uncle, Hyūga Hiashi.
"We need to talk," he continued, "About your father, and what happened during the Hyūga Affair…"
…
[Arena]
Naruto returned to his seat, only to find Hinata in the seat next to his own.
In a way, it was to be expected…she was done with her match, which meant that she was free to take a seat to see the next few fights.
"Have you said what you needed to say?" Hinata asked knowingly.
Speaking of which, Naruto was still getting used to the idea that his friend was back. The Ajani he'd fought as a resistance fighter during the New Phyrexian Invasion was an abomination of corrupted flesh and porcelain plates as per his allegiance to Elesh Norn's Alabaster Host. After the Wanderer, Ajani was one of the Planeswalkers he found to be a mentor figure to him in his quest to find his way back home.
"Yeah, I said what I had to," said Naruto, "I only hope that he takes the chance to turn the page to a new chapter in his life."
"You've done what you could to convince him," Ajani assured, "The rest is up to him."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "Too true. So, what'd I miss?"
"Nothing much," Haku replied, passing Naruto an onigiri, "Just that that sand-boy Gaara was supposed to fight someone named Sasuke before. Because of that, the guy with the corpse on his back just decided to surrender right off the bat."
"Well that's anticlimactic," Naruto noted, "Did he give any reason?"
"No he didn't." Tenten confirmed.
Naruto detected a hint of uncertainty in Tenten's voice. "Something wrong, Tenten?"
"Hanabi and I saw that guy, Kugutsu no Kankurō, fight in the elimination round," Tenten explained, "He's smart, but he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to surrender without even trying."
Naruto looked on at the fighter in question as he left the arena. From what he was able to see, Kankurō was a bit stocky, dressed in an all-black bunraku, the sort that would've been worn by puppeteers in Bushido-era Kamigawa before the advanced technology of the Plane rendered puppetry as a mere traditional art. He wore a sort of hood cat ears, the metal plate flying the hourglass crest of Sunagakure bolted in the region over his forehead, revealing his makeup-covered face covered in purple lines. Strapped to his back was a package wrapped completely in bandages, with a crop of hair poking out from the top…presumably the puppet that he used, as per his title.
"Next up is Uchiha Sasuke versus Sabaku no Gaara!" Shiranui announced.
As if on cue, Sabaku no Gaara had appeared in a gust of wind and sand, standing before Shiranui.
He hadn't really changed much from their last encounter when he tried to kill Rock Lee…and when Naruto used the Bound In Gold enchantment to prevent him from doing so. There was a level of frustration in the sand-wielder's eyes…which told him that this wasn't the first time he'd had to wait for Sasuke. And sure enough, his opponent had failed to appear after a good fifteen minutes.
"This is the second time…if Uchiha Sasuke fails to appear once again, he shall be disqualified, and Sabaku no Gaara will move on by default. That said, Nara Shikamaru and Kamaitachi no Temari, please come to the arena!"
Preparations for the next fight were underway as a Shinobi entered the arena. Naruto remembered Shikamaru from his earlier days in Konoha…before his accidental first Planeswalk away from the Plane of Shinobu. He really hadn't changed much, his raven hair was still done up in a big ponytail behind his head, giving him the appearance of a pineapple. Naruto had known Shikamaru to be a brainy sort, though whether the guy still played Shogi or not was a question for another day…especially since Naruto was busy trying to square away his living situation in Konoha.
His opponent was a blonde kunoichi in an off-white blouse, her hair done up in four small ponytails behind her head. The gigantic folding fan that was holstered at her back had identified her as Kamaitachi no Temari. This was the kunoichi that had broken Tenten's ribs in their last encounter.
The fight had begun with a resounding 'Hajime!' from Shiranui. Temari was far more aggressive, using her fan in an attempt to go on the offensive…but the second Shikamaru's hands clasped together, his shadow danced along the floor. In the end, much of the match revolved around Temari being forced to find a way to defeat her opponent without setting foot in Shikamaru's shadow…however, Temari had proven to be far from defenseless, sending blasts of wind at Shikamaru.
By no means was Naruto a master-level strategist, but being a raid commander for the resistance during the counter-invasion of New Phyrexia gave him insights into tactics. Said tactics were gained from experience in leading and executing raids as a member of the resistance to sabotage priority Phyrexian targets…such as seed pod production facilities. This insight even allowed his band of raiders to help open the door, so to speak, allowing Wrenn passage to Realmbreaker—a moment that helped the resistance to win the war.
His insight had told him that Shikamaru himself was expanding every effort to catch his more mobile opponent. Every attempt to capture Temari stopped at a certain distance, but Naruto was quick to note that Shikamaru's shadow kept getting closer with every effort he'd made to contend with her. At the same time, Temari kept throwing off Shikamaru's aim with her blasts of wind, some of which were razor-sharp, no doubt from using her chakra to sharpen them into cutting blades. Kamaitachi indeed, Naruto thought to himself.
The fight seemed short-lived to the naked eye, but Naruto's tactical eye had told him it was like a life-sized battle of Shogi between two opponents. And even though Temari was on the defensive throughout the fight, she gave as good as she got. In the end, Shikamaru managed to capture Temari through her shadow, and so by all accounts, he'd won…though from what he saw, and judging by the exhaustion Shikamaru had to be under, he was not so sure.
His suspicions were confirmed when Shikamaru calmly and confidently walked towards Temari.
"I surrender," he said out loud for the audience to hear.
However, none were more shocked by the result than Temari.
"I may have you pinned down with my shadow now, but with the amount of chakra I've used up throughout the battle, I'd probably lose even if I landed one more hit on you," Shikamaru explained, "It's fine if it were in an arena, but out in the real world, if the fight dragged out as long as it did just now, I'd be the real loser even if I'd had the mission to assassinate you."
The crowds cheered. The ending was anticlimactic, but it was still a good fight…and Shikamaru's reasoning was sound. In a way, Naruto would not at all have been surprised if Shikamaru was promoted despite being defeated - he'd more than proved himself at this point.
Once the arena was cleared of any imperfections beyond what was necessary, Sabaku no Gaara returned to his position, waiting for the next match.
"This is the last match!" Shiranui announced, "Uchiha Sasuke against Sabaku no Gaara! If he's still not here in fifteen minutes, Sasuke will be disqualified!"
"Where is Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, worriedly, "He's going to be disqualified if he doesn't show again."
"I wouldn't worry, cub," Ajani assured, "I'm certain your mate will be here shortly."
Sakura was shocked by the insinuation enough that she finally noticed Ajani. She was so frazzled by the claim that Sasuke was her mate that she ignored the fact that he was an outsider…choosing instead to turn her attention back to the arena, with her face red as a tomato.
Naruto had no idea what was going on. When last he'd gone to find Kakashi in order to deliver his father's tantō to him, Sasuke was in good health…with a spat of bellicosity, of course, but fine nonetheless. He'd of course, heard of athletes that were fashionably late so as to psyche out their opponents, but this was going too far.
Just as he'd started cursing Sasuke for his lack of punctuality, the crowd went wild…and Naruto soon saw why.
Uchiha Sasuke had finally arrived.
Not long after, Kakashi himself had appeared, taking notice of Ajani's form before settling down.
"You two sure took your time getting here," Naruto noted, "Cramming session?"
"You could say that." Kakashi replied, "After seeing Gaara in action, I knew we needed to boost Sasuke's speed…and on top of that, I gave Sasuke a trick up his sleeve."
"Well then, I guess we'll see how much he's improved," Naruto replied, his attention back on the match to come.
Sasuke and Gaara stared each other down…the air between them tense as Shiranui raised his hand.
"HAJIME!"
The second Shiranui vanished from the arena was the exact moment in which Sasuke and Gaara began their battle.
Sasuke moved lightning-fast through the battlefield, trying to find openings in Gaara's defense while avoiding waves of sand. Failed attempts made themselves known when the sand intercepted his attacks like ripples on water, but the fact that he was able to move so quickly was likely the fruits borne of his cram session with Kakashi. Still, whatever trump card Kakashi had taught Sasuke had best be effective…from what he saw, Gaara's defense held strong.
Another avenue for attack presented itself when Sasuke evaded a wave of sand, countering with throwing spikes sent flying at high speeds towards his target. The sand simply took on a humanoid shape to intercept the spikes, catching and stopping them as its shape soon took on Gaara's form, down to the clothes he wore, the spikes pinched in the spaces between the doppelganger's fingers. Before long, the entire battlefield was filled with Gaara doppelgangers, all of them glaring murder at Sasuke as they moved in, beginning their assault. They were neither as fast as Sasuke, nor were their punches of much effect, but they were durable, and they came at him in well-coordinated numbers so that Gaara could manipulate their components when needed.
Throughout the entire exchange, Gaara himself hadn't moved an inch. Though given the power and versatility of the chakra-infused sand he'd utilized, especially when he'd threatened Lee, he probably believed that he didn't need to grow any further. To be fair, sometimes things evolved to the point where the adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' applied - that wasn't to say they stopped evolving altogether, it's just that they've gotten to the point where only adaptation was needed for survival. And Gaara's control over his chakra-infused sand had indeed evolved into an adaptable weapon…a sword and a shield rolled into one, made deadlier in the hands of a fast-acting tactical mind.
With an underhand sweep of his chokutō, Sasuke created breathing room for himself by slicing off the heads of the doppelgangers, dispelling them all in a single slash and retreating before he was engulfed by the mounds of sand that they were made from.
The two of them were separated by distance as Gaara surrounded himself in a sphere of solidified sand. Whatever it was that the Suna Shinobi was planning, Sasuke didn't want to know as he experimentally kicked at the wall of the sphere as hard as he could, only to see his leg rebound off the shell. Undaunted, Sasuke kicked off the shell, giving himself ample breathing room before flying through hand seals. Once he'd finished his sequence of hand seals, his hand was coated in a deadly blade of arcing lightning…right before charging into the sphere. After dodging a number of walls bursting from the ground, nothing stopped Sasuke from driving his lightning-engulfed hand through the shell of sand, punching through the solid wall.
A few minutes of nothing had gone on until the shell shattered, throwing Sasuke off with fragments of solidified sand as Gaara wailed in pain, a cut in his shoulder covering the leather strap that held his gourd to his back in blood, shortly before he fell to the ground unconscious.
Not long after that, explosions rang out throughout the village.
As many people in the arena fell to sleep, Naruto was quick to note the appearance of both Temari and Kankurō, along with a man with half of his face covered behind a veil; from the way he ordered them around, it was clear that this man was their Jōnin sensei. After being given their orders, Temari and Kankurō grabbed Gaara's unconscious body by the arms, and carried him off, with Sasuke and now Shino in hot pursuit.
Before long, the sounds of battle reached Naruto's ears. A cacophony he never thought he'd hear again so soon as he heard the clashing of blades.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" shouted a Shinobi running into the stadium, shortly before he was cut down. It wasn't long until the crowd panicked.
As if that weren't bad enough, he heard a loud crash in the direction of a particular building situated at the upper rim of the arena. Naruto was quick to recognize the white and red robes of the Hokage, locked in combat with someone in blue and white robes. Not long after, four individuals appeared at each corner of the roof, erecting a barrier of sorts.
Next thing to happen was the appearance of large snakes appearing out of nowhere, rampaging around the village.
"I can help!" Naruto offered.
"Stay back," Kakashi warned, "This is not the sort of battlefield you're used to."
"I may not be completely familiar with the way things work here yet, but I do know a lot of spells," Naruto retorted, "So you may as well use me while you've got me."
"And me." Hinata added, standing up.
"This is troublesome," Shikamaru added, "Either way, it looks like you're gonna need all the hands you can get."
Kakashi and Naruto stared back at each other. The silent conversation went on between them as they argued over whether Naruto and his friends could assist.
In the end, Kakashi sighed in resignation before cutting his hand with a kunai. When enough blood pooled into his hand, he flew through hand seals before touching the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Smoke engulfed Kakashi's hand…and as it cleared, Naruto was quick to note the appearance of the strangest looking dog he'd ever seen. By size and by breed, this had to be a pug.
"Yo, Kakashi," said the pug, "What's…" The pug's train of thought was interrupted when he noted Ajani's presence. "Well, really big cat ain't ya?"
"And you'd be the smallest dog I've ever seen," Ajani replied.
"You three are joining my team in pursuit of the Sunagakure Trio," Kakashi finally said, "Take Pakkun with you, he'll guide you all to Sasuke so that you can support him as best you can."
"I'll help to deal with the invaders," Ajani stated, looking towards Naruto, "It seems that the snakes are already being handled."
"I'll go with Ajani," Haku volunteered, "He might need some help."
"Be careful, you two," Naruto cautioned.
Ajani nodded. "And you take care, friend."
At this, the Leonin Planeswalker drew his double-axes, running up and over the edge of the arena with Hakuin tow. Naruto huffed. "Might as well prepare myself,"
Naruto reached out to the side, summoning his sword-spear in hand.
"A spear?" Pakkun asked, "Isn't that a little passé?"
"Never underestimate polearms," Naruto assured, rotating his neck, "It just so happens that this one can do it all."
"Limit your operations to support-only unless absolutely necessary," Kakashi cautioned before turning to Naruto. "Your strange powers are Konoha's trump card, Naruto; you're more important to the village than you realize. So don't get yourself in over your head."
"This isn't my first time fighting a Shinobi, and I doubt it'll be my last," Naruto assured.
…
[Elsewhere in Konoha]
So many things were going on, with the way the Oto-Suna invaders caused their share of chaos, but it was quite easy to keep track.
Atop the Kage's booth overlooking the arena, Orochimaru and the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, did battle. It was the classic battle between student and teacher…if said student were obsessed with attaining power by any means necessary. Both were battling for the fate of Konoha; Orochimaru seeking to destroy it, while Hiruzen sought to protect it.
In the end, while it was significant to Konoha it was still just a distraction.
Temari, Kankurō, and Gaara, the offspring of the Yondaime Kazekage Rasa were on the run, as the Ichibi no Tanuki changed its host, and with Uchiha Sasuke in hot pursuit. Once the last Uchiha of Konoha caught up with the Suna trio, he was in for one hell of a shocker…and that would be before the eventual return of Orochimaru to claim his new body.
That too was a distraction.
Shimura Danzō had chosen to withhold the aid of his ROOT operatives in this most critical time. To be quite frank, he had some thoughts on the man's ambition, and his manipulative nature; those were secondary to his mission of observation. That said, withholding aid to one's country was tantamount to treason, if not dereliction of duty.
He would come back to Danzō later…if only to see if the man's dreams of becoming Hokage would be dashed once again.
So many things going on, yet all were ultimately mere distractions; entertaining, but distractions nonetheless.
No, the real game-changer that drew much of his attention came with the group that was moving in to support Sasuke. Mostly however, it was the return of Uzumaki Naruto, the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi…but Zetsu was quick to note that something was different about him. He'd come back with roughly the same chakra coils he'd had when he'd disappeared, but wielding a totally different power.
Zetsu had not the golden opportunity to truly explore what kind of power magic was, only that it was not of their reality…and yet, it seemed oh so compatible with their own.
Either way, this warranted investigation…and the so-called "Konoha Crush" would be his opportunity to see what it was that Uzumaki was capable of now that he was back.
…
[Somewhere in the middle of Konoha]
The sounds of battle surrounded Haku and Ajani as they cut down many enemy Shinobi in the village.
Some had noted the appearance of the duo that came to assist them…especially the lion-man who had suddenly started to cut down many Oto- and Suna-nin.
But Haku didn't really care; her mission at the moment was to aid Ajani in his quest to aid the defenses of the village. Luckily, she was able to find the time to disguise herself with adjustments to her fake Hunter-nin outfit so that she would not be recognized instantly…her Hyōton was instantly recognizable, considering it was technically her Kekkei Genkai. She attacked with a combination of ice-spikes created using water borrowed from whatever bodies of water she could find in the immediate vicinity. In addition, she made much heavier use of the ice sword she'd created to give her attacks that extra bit of reach.
Throughout the battle, she was quick to note the difference between her own fighting style, and Ajani's. Aside from his use of magic to help heal and protect whoever he came across, the lion-man made much heavier use of his strange weapon to cut down his enemies. There was not much grace in his dance of death, just brute force judiciously applied with a combination of ruthless precision and animal instinct. He was not as agile as a Shinobi was, but he had the instinct to time his attacks just right to punish mistakes tenfold - an instinct he took full advantage of when he evaded an Oto-nin, grabbed his nimbler opponent by the back of his head, and planting his face into a wall at full force. As Ajani was much larger and more muscular than a human being, Haku had a feeling that his victim was not getting back up even if he survived the impact.
However, Haku was quick to note that there was far more to Ajani than met the eye. As the fight dragged on, the Konoha defenders they were assisting fought back against the invaders with far more bravado than before. Such was the ferocity of their resistance, that it terrified the numerically-superior attackers, demoralizing them to such an extent that it seemed as if the invasion would break soon. No matter how many Konoha shinobi they cut down, the defenders paid back the invaders tenfold with an almost suicidal level of valor and bravery. Whatever it was about Ajani's presence, only served to instill a sense of hope and courage in the Konoha Shinobi, which compounded the second the veterans had arrived to reinforce the rabble.
She had no idea what the lion-man did as a Phyrexian agent in the Invasion, and she could only shudder at the thought of fighting him as an enemy. Haku could only imagine the damage Ajani had done with the amount of charisma he emanated as a general of their forces…the power of a leader who could inspire troops to go way beyond doing their utmost. And truth be told, she actually felt the charisma herself…it was as though she were fighting alongside Zabuza-sama again, only this time, Zabuza-sama had more people fighting on his behalf. And Ajani's charisma was indeed a powerful weapon in itself, especially given that even the veterans were feeling it.
With the morale of the enemy invaders broken, the Oto- and Suna-shinobi broke and retreated. Ajani was the first to let out a roar of victory…then the defenders followed, cheering in victory as the broken invaders fled the village.
As the celebration died down, and the defenders of Konoha had their momentary reprieve, they went about cleaning up after the fact…the dead and the injured needed to be accounted for. To that end, Ajani went about assisting the defenders by healing the injured with his magic.
"I wonder how Naruto is doing at this point." Haku mused to herself.
"Do not worry yourself, girl," Ajani replied, after healing an injured Konoha Shinobi, "He has faced worse odds than these. Besides, he has a few tricks up his sleeves from his time in the Multiverse."
…
The party of five had followed Sasuke's trail through the forest, hoping to catch up.
Naruto was grateful that he was able to take the Tree-hopping skill with him to the multiverse. It served him well during Professor Cao's lessons in Blade History, giving him the ability to attack his opponents from three different dimensions. It also allowed him to keep up with his compatriots en route to their target, although he'd found himself using it more extensively than usual. That said, he'd found a number of tactical uses for this skill, which enabled him to set up traps or even to apply enchantments upon targets.
"Careful, everyone!" called out Pakkun, the gathering slowing down.
Wondering exactly what it was that the pug had advised them to slow down for, Naruto was quick to notice the slight gleam of fine lines criss-crossing the path ahead of them. Every wire was pulled taut, attached to yellowing sheets of paper.
"Tripwires," Pakkun stated, "I suspect there's gonna be a whole path with them in the way."
"We'll have to be extra careful then," Shikamaru noted.
"Or I can just clear the path," Naruto stated, earning questioning looks as he channeled mana into his palm, "Winds of time, scatter all fetters of civilization! Fracturing Gust!"
With a flick of his wrist, a massive tornado issued forth from Naruto's hand, passing through the mesh of tripwires ahead of them. After a moment's observation, Naruto sighed as he signaled them all to continue. "C'mon, it should be all clear."
The fact that nobody triggered any tripwires was cause for curiosity.
"What'd you do?" Shikamaru asked, as they continued towards their destination.
"I just directed winds to tear apart everything that was in our path," Naruto explained, "It doesn't hurt anything alive, but it will erode any man-made item into nothingness like kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and even the ink used to write the explosive tags."
"You're gonna have to tell me where you learned that," Shikamaru said.
"When you've got the clearance, I'm pretty sure the Hokage's gonna tell you all about it," Naruto replied.
"I'll make sure to ask then," Shikamaru affirmed.
Naruto noted with certainty that there was more that Shikamaru wanted to ask him.
Still, the fact that only Chūnin and up in Konoha were allowed to know of Naruto's status as the only mage in this Plane seemed a little excessive. And yet, in a way, he could see where the Hokage was coming from…absolutely nobody liked it when their neighbor one-upped them in anything, especially in a state of cold war like it was in Shinobu. According to his dives into the library in Konoha history, according to knowledge that Kurama had confirmed, it was this very reason that the Bijū were distributed to the other village in order to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. Sadly enough, that didn't stop the subsequent onset of the Shinobi World Wars to come, but to its credit, the act did delay them for as long as possible.
The only problem was that Shinobu was just one island in the vast sea that was the Multiverse, and he was one of very few people on the Plane to see that. While the myriad of conflicts were truly important within the Plane's history, they were just a drop of blood in an ocean of conflicts that rampaged across the Multiverse in the grand scheme of things. In all honesty, with all the tribalism going around even after the clans were all unified within their respective Hidden Villages, nobody on this Plane was prepared for extradimensional threats. If Realmbreaker had somehow found the Plane and taken root during the Invasion in the middle of this cold war, Elesh Norn would've gotten her necrotic hands on the chakra arts before an effective resistance could be mounted.
Something would have to be done if this world was to survive the Multiverse. The Phyrexians razed many worlds, and held the initiative for a while before they were eventually beaten back…would Shinobu have been so lucky?
Before long, the sounds of battle resounded through the woods as Naruto and his colleagues neared.
As soon as they'd arrived, they found themselves in the middle of an active battlefield.
In a sense, Shino and Kankurō got their match after all…and the former clearly had the upper-hand.
However, Sasuke was in the middle of a battle against a creature wearing Gaara's clothes, and running around on Gaara's legs…how this creature differed was that its upper half was covered in massive clumps of sand. It was flinging discs of sand at its target, who was doing everything he could to get within range.
Temari was nearby, unconscious…possibly from a case of friendly fire.
"What support capabilities do you have?" Shikamaru asked, regarding Naruto.
"I can provide fire-support," Naruto replied, "Keep me covered, and I can pummel him from afar."
"We're gonna have to get his attention," Shikamaru said, "Take the pressure off Sasuke so we can all deal with Gaara."
Naruto nodded, gathering Red mana from his surroundings into his left hand as Hinata and Hanabi took their positions, ready to guard him while everyone prepared themselves for Gaara's arrival. He gathered a miniscule amount of mana into his right hand to aim at a point between the team, and the battle unfolding between Gaara and Sasuke, firing a yellow beam of light at that point. Once he was ready, Naruto aimed his offhand at the Gaara monster's shoulder. "Lightning Bolt!"
A bolt of lightning arced from Naruto's hand, striking with enough force to sear off a tree branch that the Gaara-monster was standing on, causing him to lose balance and forcing him to break his fall. Roaring angrily, the Gaara-monster charged - with his gaze focused on his target on the ground, Naruto waited while gathering more Red mana into his right hand. The second the Gaara-monster set foot on the target area, Naruto sprung his trap, clenching his fist. "Delayed Blast Fireball!"
On command, a large explosion rang from the ground, throwing the Gaara monster aside and into a tree, while incinerating everything within a large radius. With his target still in his sights, Naruto continued his magical onslaught, drawing ambient Red mana into his hand and making a throwing motion. "Magic Missile!"
Three red darts of magical power flew from Naruto's hand, striking the Gaara monster with such force that he was thrown back from the impact. During the moment spent trying to recover from the Magic Missiles, the Gaara-monster's movements were halted by a long shadow underneath him. With his target's movements arrested, Naruto channeled Green mana from the environment, an unfamiliar spell he'd just recalled in his mind. "Provoke nature at your own peril, for I imprison you with Entangling Vines!"
Before the Gaara-monster could make a move, thick vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around his sand-encrusted arms, anchoring his legs to the ground. This provided ample opportunity for Sasuke to arrive, attempting to cut through the hardened sand that protected Gaara. Hinata and Hanabi took the opportunity to join the assault, striking at Gaara with synchronized, chakra-enhanced palm strikes, stripping away clumps of sand with every hit. Throughout the battle, whenever he wasn't pelting Gaara with blasts of magical power and spells, Naruto was busy enhancing the power of his allies with his magic. In particular, he targeted Sasuke, and cast his spell. "Sweeping Cleave!"
On command, Sasuke's body took on a momentary red glow as his sword-strikes slashed at Gaara's sand-armor with extra speed and power. Before long, the Gaara-monster let out a roar, throwing most of the Shinobi engaging him off and tearing off the vines that anchored him in place as he mutated further, gaining a tail of sand. Free of his restraints and taking on a more bestial form, the Gaara-monster charged Naruto, forcing him to kick the jewel pommel of his sword-spear to ready it for battle just in time to push back his opponent with a thrust of the glowing blade. With a counter-cut into his opponent's arm, the glowing, mana-coated blade of Naruto's sword-spear cleaved off a portion of the sandy limb, much to the Gaara-monster's shock.
As the two of them engaged in close-quarters battle, Naruto put his lessons under Professor Cao into practice. It also helped that having once encountered Ninja on Kamigawa during his time there, forcing him to deal with high-speed opponents such as those he'd fought on his home Plane. This was doubly so considering he favored polearms and two-handed swordplay when it came to direct combat, and so this hard lesson also helped sharpen his instincts. It was thanks to these encounters that he was able to keep up with Gaara's feral fighting style now that he'd turned into a monster, utilizing the defensive stance of his rotation-centric style to keep his opponent from getting too close. At the same time, he noted his opponent was gaining mass as the fight went on, becoming more monstrous as his body was covered in more sand.
An opening presented itself when Naruto attacked the Gaara-monster's footwork with a sweep of his blade, before following through by striking him in the abdomen with the jewel-pommel, and following through with an upwards slash in an attempt to bisect his opponent. What he killed instead was a doppelganger of sand, which dissipated upon the Gaara-monster's 'death' - not missing a beat, Naruto channeled White mana from within, and combined it with Red mana borrowed from the environment.
"Righteous fury incarnate," he chanted, before turning around to face the Gaara-monster charging at him from behind, his hand aimed at its face, and the name of the spell on his mind. "Lightning Helix!"
On command, a pair of lightning bolts arced from his palm, before coalescing into a pillar of light that vaporized the entirety of his target's 'head' before revealing itself to be yet another doppelganger. The Gaara-monster was forced back from the attack, creating a number of sharp, bladelike spikes on its limbs and tail. As it swung its arms and then its tail, discs of sand were flung at Naruto, who was forced to roll off to the side to avoid the projectiles, destroying some with a swing of his sword-spear. Before he could create any more of these 'sand shuriken' Hinata and Hanabi intercepted the Gaara monster from both flanks, striking at Tenketsu points at high speeds. With his foe pinned down, Naruto tossed his sword-spear into the air, transitioning into an underhanded grip, coating the blade with mana before throwing the polearm at his target. The long blade of the sword-spear pierced the Gaara-monster in the chest, before revealing itself to be yet another doppelganger.
Without missing a beat, Naruto summoned his other most-trusted weapon into hand, channeled mana into the blade, and brought it down on yet another doppelganger's head. The total length of the sword approached a good 140 centimeters from tip to pommel, its slender, steel blade was four fingers wide at the strong, before gently tapering into a sturdy tip. The shallow fullers were inscribed halfway up from the strong with a line of inlaid wrought iron magic runes to enhance its cutting power and durability. The grip was a length of leather-wrapped wood long enough to comfortably accommodate two and a half hands before being constrained by the guard and pommel. On top of their regular functions, both the solid iron cross guard and the pommel were inset with magic stones that enabled Naruto to channel mana into the blade much easier, further enhancing the capabilities of the runes. A large wand and a weapon of battle rolled into one.
As the doppelganger dispelled, Naruto turned to decapitate yet another one, before blasting another one with a spell. "Lightning Bolt!"
The trembling of the ground was the only response Naruto got for his trouble, as both Hinata and Hanabi grabbed him by the shoulders, and pulled him away. Within seconds, they were quickly joined by Sakura, As soon as they got to a safe distance away, both Hinata and Hanabi paused, allowing Naruto to watch as sand coalesced from the ground, clumping together to form a solid shape…which then became a gigantic, clawed hand. After that, the gigantic form lifted itself out of the ground, revealing a sharp-toothed face, caniform ears, and a massive, scaly tail, and black eyes bordered by a black band across the brow. The creature roared, creating a massive shockwave.
"Kurama, got any solutions?" Naruto asked in his mind.
"Just one," Kurama answered, "Shukaku only takes control when his Jinchūriki falls asleep. Your only option to dispel him would be to wake his host…which means you gotta find him, kid."
"We've got to do something," Hinata said.
"What can we do?" asked Sakura, "We're not equipped to deal with that thing!"
"We've still gotta try!" Hanabi added, coming to her sister's aid.
"You got any other tricks up your sleeve that can help us out here?" Shikamaru asked, regarding Naruto.
"I might be able to summon something to help distract that thing," Naruto replied, before finding all eyes on him, "What?"
"You can 'summon something'?" Sasuke asked in disbelief, "The nobody who came back after being lost for seven years?"
"Hey, you can learn a lot in seven years," Naruto fired back.
"What can you summon?" Shino asked.
Naruto waved at his colleagues, motioning for them to step back. Once they were a sufficient distance away, he gathered Red mana from the environment and White mana from within and channeled it into his sword. He didn't summon too often in his fights, relying on his own skills and magic to get him through, but when he did, it got him out of quite a few jams. By no means was he Sarkhan Vol, but that didn't mean that he didn't have access to his own menagerie of warriors and creatures living in his inner-realm. However, summoning regular creatures like the Fleecemane Lion was easy, but summoning legendary creatures was a whole other matter entirely. Luckily, he didn't see the need to summon a legendary creature…not for the idea he had in mind.
Sending the gathered mana from his sword to the ground, the energy coalesced into a lithe, quadrupedal shape, expanding and adding more definition before exploding in a flash of light. Standing before the gathering of now-frightened Shinobi was a lithe, muscular creature with a long neck, and covered in golden scales as it literally roared to life, about as tall as a medium-sized house. Its horned, reptilian head was bedecked with whisker-like barbels like a catfish, giving it an aged appearance as it looked upon the world with golden eyes. Along its back was a pair of fin-like sails that went along the length of its back and down to the tip of its long, sinewy tail, terminating in an extra pair of limbs on its shoulders that could only be wings. There was no other name for this creature except 'dragon'...though Naruto knew it as an Adult Gold Dragon.
"You guys do what you need to," Naruto said, dispelling the sword while commanding the dragon to lower itself as he mounted its back, summoning a saddle to sit on, "At the very least, I'm gonna try and distract that thing."
"I'm coming with," said Hinata, "I wanna see this through to the end."
"Same here," added Hanabi, "It's the least I can do after you healed me."
"Meanwhile, we'll track down the other two members of Gaara's team," added Shikamaru, "If I'm right, the higher-ups are gonna want to question them, so we need them alive."
"That would be most logical," replied Shino, "I'll track down Kankurō."
"Which means I'm tracking down Temari," Shikamaru finished, before turning to regard Naruto, Hinata and Hanabi already sitting on the dragon's back with him, "Be careful up there."
Naruto nodded in assent before putting hands on the dragon's scaly back, remembering a trick he'd learned from Sarkhan Vol. As he surrounded his hands in mana, he felt everything the dragon felt; as he focused on the link between himself and the beast, thoughts were shared between himself and the Gold Dragon. Once the link was complete, Naruto didn't simply command the dragon, he became it. "Hang on tight, ladies, we're in for a fast flight."
The Gold Dragon let out a challenging roar, its sail-like wings flapping, creating lift as Hanabi and Hinata held on for dear life. With enough lift achieved, the dragon took to the sky, flying towards their target as it approached. As they neared the target, the dragon opened its mouth, and breathed fire upon Shukaku, scarring its sandy body with trails of molten glass that sloughed off its body…so hot were the flames that it got the sand monster's attention. Shukaku roared as the gold dragon avoided its massive paws. Throughout the encounter, the Gold Dragon dove in and out of battle with the sand-tanuki, peeling away layers of sand in trails of molten glass with every pass. With the revelation that brute force wasn't going anywhere, Shukaku fought back with high-pressure air blasts and sand projectiles, trying in vain to shoot down the Gold Dragon.
However, Hinata and Hanabi weren't idling on the Gold Dragon's back. Both were keeping an eye out for Naruto as he controlled the dragon, making sure he didn't get hit as their synchronized Jūken strikes became shields that prevented the Bijū's projectiles from clipping their wings. At the same time, Naruto kept his eyes open for Gaara; this mess would not end until he found him and woke him up.
With another pass at the sand-tanuki's head, Naruto finally spotted his target. Gaara was exposed, sleeping with the lower half of his body buried in Shukaku's forehead. The thoughts of both the Gold Dragon were unified…and a plan was quickly formed. "Get ready to hold on tight, I'm about to wake him up."
Before either Hinata or Hanabi could question Naruto as to what he meant, the Gold Dragon flew higher into the sky, forcing them to hold on tight, using their chakra to cling tighter on the dragon's back. After climbing well above the sand-tanuki's head, the Gold Dragon looped around, using its wings to complete the circle as Naruto freed up one hand. As the Gold Dragon's trajectory sped up, its momentum traveling upwards, released the reins just in time to stop his momentum, before slugging Gaara across the face.
With the host awakened, Shukaku's sandy form lost its integrity, dissipating into a cloud of sand as Gaara fell to the earth. At the same time, a quick mental command was all it took for the Gold Dragon to return to Naruto, intercepting him just in time for him to land on the saddle and resume command. It was their victory as Naruto commanded the Gold Dragon to follow Gaara.
As they neared their target, Naruto watched as the sand-wielder collected as much sand as he could to break his fall, slowing his descent as best he could. By the time Naruto had landed the Dragon, Gaara had hit the ground hard, but he'd had a cushion of sand beneath him, his sand armor cracking like broken pottery. Dismounting his steed, Naruto walked towards his target, a look of sadness upon his face for his fellow Jinchūriki.
"Get back!" Gaara shouted desperately, too paralyzed to flee, "Get back! Get away from me!"
Naruto stopped just a meter away from Gaara, looking on at his broken form.
There was no need to summon a weapon.
No need to cast one of his deadlier spells.
No need to summon his entire menagerie of creatures.
No need to gather even a drop of Mana.
Gaara was already defeated, and he knew it.
"It's painful, isn't it?" Naruto asked emphatically, Gaara calming down to listen, "The loneliness…the coldness…the way nobody wants to admit you exist…things I know all too well. But the truth is you do exist, Gaara, and I see that you still have an epic story to tell - not the one about the bloodthirsty monster that your dad made you tell, but your own story made from your own choices. I can't tell you how your story ends, that remains unwritten; you do, however, still have time to tell your story the way you want it told, if you have the heart to turn the page to a new chapter in your life."
Gaara stared back at Naruto silently, contemplation written all over his face.
Whatever he had to say was cut short when Temari and Kankurō showed up from the treeline, ready to attack. "Stand down," he said, stopping them in their tracks, looking at Gaara as though he'd just sprouted a second head, "It's over."
"We can't stay here," said Kankurō, "We need to get the hell outta here before it's too late."
"Then let's get the hell outta here!" Temari bit back, her harshness justified by the urgency of the situation.
With their colleague in their arms, Temari and Kankurō ran deep into the woods, never to be seen again.
Looking on at their retreating forms, Naruto hoped that Gaara would take his words to heart…to change the way his story was told.
…
[Elsewhere in Konoha]
Minimal objectives attained.
Heavy casualties, largely on the part of the invaders.
If one were to ask anyone who fought in the invasion force, they would answer very bluntly that the Konoha Crush was a failure. Orochimaru's attempt to destroy his former village achieved only one thing he'd wanted: the death of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Yes, Zetsu knew that it was a failure…but in terms of intel, it was a success for him.
He was able to see for himself the power that Naruto wielded. Indeed, it worked on a totally different principle from the chakra arts, sometimes requiring chants to get it to work…but the potential it had was undeniable. The ability to summon powerful creatures, and a different way of bending reality to one's will were game-changers in their own right. Indeed, while Uzumaki Naruto would've been a weak ninja, he was truly strong with this art he came back with.
The fact that the lion-man who aided the defenders was able to wield that same power only added to his concerns.
Whatever that power was, there was one fact that Zetsu knew to be true: the might of the Ōtsusuki clan had been challenged.
By no means was Zetsu angry that Uzumaki brought this different art with him from wherever he'd been…not even by the possibility that there were more like him.
If anything, he was intrigued.
…
A/N: A part of me wanted to delay the Konoha Crush until the next chapter, but felt that it was best to move on even if it's just a little further…after all, I'm pretty sure you wanted to see what happens when a mage, especially a Planeswalker, goes up against a Shinobi or even a Jinchūriki.
That, and given that much of what happens in the Chūnin Exams is pretty much canon anyway, no need to get much into detail in things that we all know happened.
In any case, lots of spells slung in this chapter. The fight against Gaara was quite a doozy.
I'm currently entertaining the idea that someone else in Shinobu has an Ember just waiting to ignite into a full-blown Spark, and become a Planeswalker. Just as Naruto said, it could be anyone…could be Hinata, could be Konohamaru, could be Tenten, it could even be a filler character like Shizuka.
And before you cry foul on the loss of uniqueness for Naruto on this, I will say this: there is actually precedent for multiple Planeswalkers that came from the same Plane. Ajani Goldmane, Sifa Grent (she's exclusive to the IDW comics, but she's still a Planeswalker), and Tezzeret all came from Alara, different Shards, but the same Plane. Nahiri, Kiora, and Nissa all come from Zendikar. The Wanderer, Tamiyo, and Kaito Shizuki all come from Kamigawa. Will and Rowan Kenrith being twins that share the same Spark awakened on Eldraine at the same time. And that's before you get to the large number of Planeswalkers that came from Dominaria including Teferi Akosa, Liliana Vess, Nicol Bolas, Ugin, and Jaya Ballard.
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Vocabulary/Translations/Notes:
Hinata's finisher—she finished off Neji with a suplex…a German suplex to be precise.
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Cards used:
Fracturing Gust (2)(Green/White)(Green/White)(Green/White)—Instant
Destroy all artifacts and enchantments. You gain 2 life for each permanent destroyed this way.
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Lightning Bolt (Red)—Instant
Lightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target.
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Delayed Blast Fireball (1)(Red)(Red)—Instant
Delayed Blast Fireball deals 2 damage to each opponent and each creature they control. If this spell was cast from exile, it deals 5 damage to each opponent and each creature they control instead.
Foretell (4)(Red)(Red): During your turn, you may pay (2) and exile this card from your hand face down. Cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost.
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Magic Missile (1)(Red)(Red)—Sorcery
This spell cannot be countered.
Magic Missile deals 3 damage divided as you choose between one, two, or three targets.
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Entangling Vines (3)(Green)—Enchantment - Aura
Enchant tapped creature.
Enchanted creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step.
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Two-handed Axe (2)(Red)—Artifact - Equipment
Whenever equipped creature attacks, double its power until end of turn
Equip - (1)(Red)
Sweeping Cleave (1)(Red)—Instant - Adventure
Target creature gains double strike until end of turn.
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Lightning Helix (Red)(White)—Instant
Lightning Helix deals 3 damage to any target and you gain 3 life.
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Adult Gold Dragon (3)(Red)(White)—Creature - Dragon
Power/Toughness: 4/3
Flying, lifelink, haste