Chapter 24: Konoha Crush, Part 1
Chapter Summary: The Village finds itself in danger at the hands of enemy forces!
Words: 4,598
Published: 7/29/23
XenoLucifer: This story is so dumb, from the absolutely horrible dialogue with you trying to insert accents into it to him using the most complex seal in Naruto without any prior knowledge of how it works on his first try.
Use the power of imagination.
Quinella: Nice chapter, hope you continue. Like to see a good NaruSaku story
[cont.] Uh, I guess THAT memory of Fuuka is part of his memory coming back? lol
Thanks for the compliment. And yes, his memory is coming back, in a strange form... ]
Guest: I really hope Naruto finds away to help Sakura return to her normal self and remove that seal orchimaru gave her and finally have a happy normal life together as a future couple
Me too bro fr
khaeild02: It's okay with fights, I'd like to know how Orochimaru's confrontation will be Great job as usual
It will be EVIL... All orochimaru is evil... Evil...
Roswelll: Mannnn I hope this fic got a lot more attention. Great fiction as always!
Maybe I'll own Naruto one day :P
scotty26: So apparently my FF mobile app to review is acting funny. So I guess the curse mark gives her a "feral" personality, per se? Boy your fight scenes lack ump but that's ok. Not everyone can just write fight scenes. Just go reference if you want to get inspiration into how to write good fight scenes, look up kenchi618 "the seal kunai". Other than that I think you are doing good work. Don't force yourself into a corner when it comes to this. I'm really liking how you are developing Sakura. Very different from the norm
Thanks for the constructive criticism, I'll look up the fix asap. Always glad to hear what you've got to say!
Arena
Naruto and Gaara faced each other, both showing no signs of backing down. They adorned determined expressions, excited at the prospect of battling once more.
Gaara taunted, "I should warn you, Naruto, that I'm much more level-headed than I was when we last fought."
Naruto laughed. "Insanity was your greatest strength - - I've won this fight already!"
Gaara smirked. "I guess we'll see."
Naruto, having been drained of much of his chakra - a fact he was still bitter about - decided he would rely on taijutsu, his biggest weakness. Although he had developed his own scrappy, wild fighting style, he knew he was still physically weaker than most people, even those in his age range. In an admittedly-cowardly, but satisfactory line of thinking, he felt gladness in that Gaara also seemed to be lacking in physical strength. Thus, Naruto's real issue in this battle was getting past the redhead's sand attacks, with limited or no use of chakra.
Gaara also was acutely aware - not of Naruto's physical weakness, but of the fact that he would need to rely more on taijutsu. As such, he had already formulated a simple plan: he would just keep his distance and assault Naruto with sand attacks until the blonde tired out.
To Gaara's credit, the plan got off to a good start. Naruto had to force his way through the mounds of sand being pelted at him, and each mound really hurt. Gaara might as well have been throwing boulders.
Nonetheless, in a surprising feat of strength, Naruto managed to close in on Gaara. Even after falling down a few times and being thrown back occasionally, Naruto had powered his way through the onslaught just as Gaara had to begin recollecting his sand.
Before Gaara could hit him again, Naruto tackled and pounced on him. The blonde rushed and repeatedly punched him in the sensitive areas of the solar plexus and the stomach, demanding, "Give up give up give up!!"
At first, Gaara was too stunned to speak. But then, in the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of light. He felt a brown aura encircling his body as he fell into a trance, unaware of the world around him.
What? This isn't Mother... What's happening to me...?
He blacked out.
Naruto was suddenly punched in the gut by a huge sand fist, sending him flying into the air and back a few yards. He found himself dazed and confused for a few seconds, but managed to get back on his feet. After stumbling a bit and shaking off the dizziness, Naruto noticed a sand dome where Gaara had been standing before.
This again? Really?
Naruto sighed and put his hands on his hips.
I can scarcely force him out... Maybe I can force myself in.
He looked at the hole in the ground left earlier in the exam, and smiled mischievously.
I'm a genius.
Naruto began to dig.
Though it was dark, Naruto had a good sense of space and direction, allowing him to dig in a fashion that led him under the inside of the dome.
When he felt that he had reached a good spot, he dug until the surface dirt was just barely being held together. Then, he charged up his body's force, and jumped out of the ground, successfully hitting Gaara with a nasty uppercut.
The sand dome collapsed, and Naruto was standing defiantly over Gaara in victory. Gaara, meanwhile, was lying on the ground, twitching involuntarily.
Hayato announced, "... Winner - - Naruto Uzumaki!"
Rather than outright cheering, the crowd slowly clapped in celebration of the boy's victory.
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Kages' box
Tsunade smirked. "I knew he'd get it done - - and beyond that, I think we can all agree he's earned his promotion."
Genyumaru rose from his seat. Still rasping, he spoke, "He's quite the prospect, Tsunade, but for now, my eyes are on..."
He turned around.
"Sarutobi-sensei."
Tsunade's eyes widened, as did Hiruzen's. The woman questioned, "Orochimaru?..."
Without removing his robes, veil, or hat, the man taunted, in the same raspy voice, "Yes... And I'm the least of your problems!"
Rasa rose and stood between Tsunade and Orochimaru.
The snake sage, in the meantime, sped toward Hiruzen, who pushed Shizune to the side and out of the box.
Hiruzen then stood his ground and performed seven simple handsigns, and stopped Orochimaru in his tracks by grabbing his arms.
"This combination of signs is thought to be useless for shinobi, but it's only because so few know its purpose, and just how much power it requires!"
Orochimaru's veil muffled the sound of his painful screams as his arms began to sear.
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Ring
Gaara sat up, as sand formed around him. Naruto recognized what was happening when the sand continued to pile up on itself, allowing Gaara to rise higher and higher.
Again?? Why??
The blonde stepped back, and started running memories through his head.
Last time, I used Gamabunta as a vantage point to jump him, so all I gotta do...!
He bit his thumb to draw blood, and slapped his palm on the ground, attempting to channel his chakra in a manner that would summon the desired toad.
Alas, nothing happened.
Shit! Why?!
Naruto forced himself to run further back as Gaara continued to rise with his sand.
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Bleachers
Full security measures had been activated by now. With the crash of noise coming from the kages' box and the revival of Shukaku, the security team knew something was wrong, and began to evacuate the audience.
As masked enemy shinobi attempted to slay the innocents, they were stopped by the assigned guards, as well as the jonin who remained, even the chunin and genin.
The invaders had found themselves in too deep, and unprepared for their hostile takeover.
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Kages' Box
As Tsunade continued her battle against Rasa, Hiruzen had been attempting to make at least a scratch on Orochimaru.
Unfortunately, a scratch is all Hiruzen managed. He sliced the snake sage cleanly on the bicep and drew some blood, but ultimately failed to do any devastating damage, before Orochimaru had spun out and, using his teeth, stuck his sword all the way down his former sensei's throat.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been killed in battle, and made a martyr.
Rasa, who was struggling against Tsunade, urged, "You got the old man, now help me take out the primary target, damn it!"
Orochimaru cackled, and left.
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Infirmary
As Sakura rose from her bed, she felt somewhat rested and ready to move about the rest of the day. Having not been made aware of the current situation, she looked around and found it odd that there was not a single doctor in the room with her.
Then, just as she was about to leave, a rough-looking Anko entered the room.
Sakura smiled and looked up to her. "Oh, you're finally here! I'm sorry I didn't get as far as the end, but I put up a good effort, didn't I?"
Anko's arms swayed as she smirked. "You're going to take me farther than I could ever take you."
Sakura tilted her head. "Hm? What do you mean?"
Anko chuckled, and crept closer to the girl. She touched their foreheads together. Then, the genin's eyes went blank.
Sakura and Anko began to physically merge together, with Anko laughing the whole way. That laugh soon turned into Sakura's laugh. Within a minute, the new consciousness running through Sakura's mind had completely absorbed both bodies and made them one, currently in the form of Sakura.
Sakura stretched her arms and popper her knuckles. She began to laugh once more, as she feigned a look of despair and shock, and left the room.
Little more than a month ago, after their encounter in the Forest of Death, Orochimaru had used his powers as a specter - which he had used scarcely before - to take over Anko's body and use her as an immutable disguise. Since then, any time that Anko had done anything at all, it was truly Orochimaru, pulling strings in his own way.
And after getting his arms disabled by the third hokage, Orochimaru had realized that there was one person with the curse mark who he could manipulate, and so he chose Sakura Haruno, the girl he had accidentally marked instead of Sasuke Uchiha.
Orochimaru, now using Sakura's body as a disguise, began to run toward the ring.
This feels odder than before... Could I be reaching my limit? No, it must be that damn Sarutobi's jutsu. I'll get used to this body and keep it for good in no time, until I can get my hands on Sasuke again. But who knows how much longer I'll have to wait until I can create another curse mark...
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Ring
Naruto had decided to try and climb up Shukaku.
He had been holding two kunai and using them as picks to dig in and out of the sand as he climbed up. His chakra was still running low, and he knew that his best bet to revert Gaara was to snap him out of whatever trance he was in.
Halfway up the demonic pile of sand, Naruto was approached by Orochimaru - still disguised as Sakura - walking up the same route.
Naruto turned and requested, "You're already out? Can you make sure I don't fall? Just hold on to my legs with chakra, or something."
Orochimaru smirked.
This fool.
He looked down.
A fall from this height will undoubtedly be lethal.
He did as requested, by walking behind Naruto and grabbing his legs. But instead of applying adhesive chakra, he pulled on his legs, forcing the blonde into a freefall.
As he fell, he stared at Sakura and his face contorted in confusion.
What the Hell? Why would she--
His body hit the dirt with a loud THUD, and the force of the impact created a crater.
.
.
.
???
Naruto woke up in the white room once more.
This time, he was confident, and ready to face whatever may come - as he had remembered confronting the nine-tailed fox before he lost his memory.
Unlike the previous instances of waking up in this room, Naruto found that for the first time, he was with both Fuuka and Kurama. Fuuka was free to roam in the same realm as Naruto, whereas Kurama was still locked behind the bars.
The three each stood for a while, feeling tension rise as neither truly knew what would occur now.
Finally, Kurama spoke. "It certainly is a displeasure to meet you again, Fuuka."
Up until now, Fuuka had been under the impression that Kurama was somehow unaware of her existence. This idea had made her quite complacent, in addition to having given her the sense of having some semblance of dominance over the body, as she felt she was above the fox.
However, now that it was clear that Kurama knew her, seeds of doubt were planted in her head.
How long has it known? Has it conspired with the boy?
Naruto demanded, "Fuuka... Tell me how to remove a specter from someone's body."
The woman cackled. "What would I stand to gain from that?"
Naruto smirked.
The bars golding Kurama began to shift. As they did, they trapped Fuuka with the demon.
The blonde taunted, "The big guy hates you just as much as I do. He tried to warn me about you years ago."
As Kurama snarled, Fuuka nervously chuckled. "Come on, you wouldn't really let this thing kill me, would you? Not that you could, either. Besides, you need me."
Naruto shrugged. "I mean, you're sorta right. Kurama can't physically do anything to you. But he's emanating chakra, so if that gets rid of you, then I'll know how to get rid of Orochimaru."
Fuuka scoffed. "Your threat is nonsensical. Why would you need an answer from me if you already have one?"
Naruto sighed. "Because... I'd rather know of an easier way before exercising the hard way. Duh. Are you really gonna risk it?"
Fuuka stepped back as Kurama slowly closed in.
"Fine. I'll tell you... You completely deplete all the chakra of the possessed body - the cursed and normal chakra. There. Happy?"
Naruto groaned. "You make it sound so much easier than it is... I'm almost all outta chakra..."
Fuuka smirked. "How about you use mine?"
Naruto scoffed. "Yours? What's the catch? Let me guess - - you get control over me, right?"
The woman sighed. "Alright, then I guess you're okay with letting Orochimaru do whatever he wants."
Kurama turned to face the boy. "Use my chakra. It is infinitely more powerful than this pitiful woman could ever conjure."
Naruto complained, "But you've probably got the same deal... I wanna help my friend, but the two of you would just screw me over. You guys suck."
Kurama bellowed. "You're right, I do just want to screw you over. And now... I've got the prime opportunity to do just that."
Naruto's brow rose. "What do you mean?"
The fox answered, "I've been using my chakra to heal you for years... And I've been using it now to shield your body from the fall. And now that you're in my shell... I can finally be free."
Naruto's eyes widened. "What?? Hey--"
Kurama began to laugh, and leaned all the way into it. The booming sound enveloped the entirety of the environment, and he began to vanish, but quickly found the bars of his cage encircling him tightly.
Fiery chakra spewed out of the bars as Kurama was forced to hug them, straining and gasping.
Naruto breathed heavily. "You... I'm outta here!"
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Ring
An orange-red aura surrounded Naruto as his body rose. His irises were red. His pupils were skits. The scars on his cheeks became thicker, and more jagged. His fingernails and canine teeth even became sharper.
His voice was now colder, and he spoke with dark ambition. "This is something else!"
He looked up at the slowly-moving sand demon before him.
Shukaku... It seems I've got to put you back in your place again!
He began to climb up the demon. Instead of using a kunai, however, he used his sharp, long nails to penetrate the solid form and ran up like a fox.
It took a few minutes of climbing, even at top speed, but Naruto eventually reached the chest of Shukaku. From that point, he inspected the demon's head.
Just like the last battle, Gaara was stuck in a trance atop the head of the creature - its forehead. And on the demon's shoulder stood... Sakura. Or, as he now knew...
Orochimaru... I'll make that son of a bitch pay!
The boy ran up Shukaku's chest and reached his neck, latching on near the inside of its ear, just a few feet away from Orochimaru.
Naruto shouted, "Orochimaru, I've got your number! Whether you make this easy or hard, you can be damn sure that I'm taking you down!"
Naruto's heart was pained when Orochimaru responded. His expressions contorted Sakura's face into manners that were so unlike her, and even his voice, despite being hers, carried itself with a cadence that created a deeply unsettling dissonance in Naruto's mind.
Orochimaru shouted back, "Shut up, you twit! I'm trying to get this sandbag to listen to me for once!"
Naruto growled. "He's not your biggest problem right now; I am!"
The boy nearly gagged as he tried to reconcile Sakura's body with Orochimaru's behavior.
Noticing this, the snake sage chose to taunt him. "This girl, she's your friend, isn't she? Is there something wrong with the way I carry myself with her? Maybe I'm speaking in the wrong tone, or moving with the wrong flair. I've spent a month with her personally, I really should know how she acts... But I just don't care! This girl is just a tool for me, to achieve my goals."
Orochimaru smirked as he saw Naruto's anger rising.
That's right, boy... Do something rash. Make a mistake. Come on!
Naruto detached himself from the wall of Shukaku, and stood with his feet planted firmly on the ear, using it as a sort of ground the same way Orochimaru was.
Naruto demanded, "Get out, now. Leave her be!"
Orochimaru cackled. "You've got a lot to learn about fighting with men!"
He leaned his head backwards, and used his long, snake-like tongue to reach down his own throat and retrieve his sword. He then brought the sword out, and took it in his hand. "Granted, I'm a little small for this now, but that won't be any issue!"
Naruto remained silent as he felt something snap inside. The visual of Sakura's body being abused in such a way, of being a vessel for Orochimaru and his inhumanity, caused the boy's blood to boil.
Don't... Don't lose the plot, just get him out of there. Just get him out. With the boundless chakra of the nine-tailed fox, I can free Sakura with a rasengan. I just need to control it. But he'll see it coming. A shinobi older than me by however many years has an immediate edge over me. I need to be smart about this... There must be something he doesn't know, that I do.
Orochimaru poked at Naruto with the sword to keep him at a distance.
The boy continued to dodge, as he tried to come up with a plan. He knew that the rasengan was his best bet, but he needed to be able to find an opening to utilize the technique, which he could scarcely do due to Orochimaru's experience and vehement attacks.
At one point, Naruto managed to grab Orochimaru's hand, slip under it, push past him, and stand ground a few feet behind him, but the specter quickly turned around before he could even do anything else.
Nonetheless, Naruto began to charge up the rasengan. With the power of the nine-tailed fox, he found that he didn't need a shadow clone's assistance, that the sphere was red, and that he was able to handle the technique with ease.
He continued to dodge the attacks, and made a distance of ten more yards away. At that point, Naruto stepped firmly and began to run toward Orochimaru. Orochimaru chuckled, and got ready to stab Naruto in the chest.
This fool thinks he can land his jutsu before I can pierce him!
When Naruto was a sword's length away from Orochimaru, he suddenly used the Flying Thunder to teleport behind him and slam him with the rasengan - when Naruto had pushed the sage earlier, he had used his hand to mark the back of Sakura's dress.
As Orochimaru was thrust into the part of Shukaku they had been using as the ground, Naruto was able to see the chakra leaving. Winds of purple left Sakura's body, along with mists of pink. The purple winds continued to accumulate into each other, as the pink mists merely evaporated.
Though the rasengan was still going strong due to the fox's chakra, Orochimaru's physical presence - his disguise as Anko - had exited Sakura's body, and was kneeling in exhaustion.
Naruto knew that continuing to use the technique when Sakura was out of chakra would only physically damage her, so he quickly opted to spare her the suffering.
He forced the rasengan to retreat into his own palm.
As the technique reversed course, Naruto felt the chakra in his hand being obliterated. After that, he felt excruciating pain from his forearm down, realizing that he had effectively destroyed the chakra in his right hand.
Orochimaru, forced to revert into his disguise as Anko, slowly rose.
He hissed, "You... Little shit... I needed her arms! I'll... I'll... I don't need arms to kill you!"
Naruto growled.
He was disguised as Anko! Can the rasengan work on him again? If I can even use it at all...
Naruto stood his ground. "You couldn't kill me if you had three of them."
Naruto used his left hand to form another rasengan, continuing to dodge Orochimaru's vehement attacks.
Though he had lost the use of his arms, Orochimaru was still proficient using the sword with just his mouth.
Nonetheless, Naruto managed to eventually nab him with the rasengan.
Instead of the purple chakra leaving in a gaseous stream like before, the chakra dissipated in a mist, the way Sakura's pink chakra had before.
Naruto stepped back in shock, and allowed his other hand to be deprived of chakra as well.
What the Hell?
He questioned, "Y-- hey! How come you're not leavin'?!"
Orochimaru weakly laughed. "When a specter merges, our current body becomes our new permanent body. Anko's mind had already been washed away, but there was no going back at all once I took over the little girl."
Naruto threatened, "I... I'll kill you for that... I'll..."
Orochimaru taunted, "If you kill me, you'll kill her!"
Naruto steeled his resolve. "A life being forced to live without any freedom... Isn't a life at all!"
He took a kunai and began running towards Anko's body, hoping to free her from Orochimaru, even if at the cost of her life.
The incapacitated Orochimaru could not move, and braced himself.
This is how I die...? At the hands of a child? It can't be!
Just before the kunai could pierce Anko's chest, Naruto was stopped. His forearm was grabbed, and he was lifted up from it by none other than Kakashi.
Kakashi warned, "Don't make any rash decisions, Naruto."
Naruto spat, "Oh, shut up! He's got Anko trapped in there, and you're gonna stop me from freein' her?! Just 'cause you're bangin' her doesn't mean you can make the right decision here!"
Kakashi sighed. "Anko's lost... But we can use Orochimaru - - probe him. You've got him in a weakened state, and we can use it to imprison him and interrogate him down the line."
Naruto groaned. "Do whatever you want. I've got more important shit to do."
He kicked himself out of Kakashi's grip, and began to run up to Shukaku's head in an effort to reach Gaara and snap him out of his demonic form.
Though Shukaku had noticed Naruto by now, his immense mass made him slow to react and attack the boy. As such, Naruto was able to reach Gaara comfortably, and begin his assault.
The same way that he had done years ago, he began slapping Gaara across his face. He pinched his cheeks, shook his head, and even knocked his skull against the redhead, but nothing seemed to be working.
Come on, damn it! What am I gonna...
Naruto saw a shadow falling over the area where he was standing.
He looked up and saw a massive sand fist crashing down.
Having run low on chakra due to his earlier battle with Sakura, and due to bursting his own chakra cores in his arms, he found himself unable to use the Flying Thunder. As such, he began running, but soon heard a loud thud behind him.
He turned around and saw Kakashi holding the giant fist above his head. Among sounds of snapping and straining, Kakashi insisted, "Naruto... Look over the village..."
The boy, though perplexed, obeyed. He turned back to look at the village, and was amazed by the sight.
Shinobi from every clan, of every rank, were fighting against the invaders, with tremendous success. He watched as various groups of individuals worked together like cogs in a machine, even witnessing Haku, Gurren, Yukimaru, Temari, Kankuro, and Team Dosu aiding the Leaf shinobi. The enemy were effectively being wiped out, slowly but surely.
Without the need for any more words, Naruto knew what he had to do. His eyes widened at the realization as he stumbled back towards Gaara.
This is gonna hurt, but Shukaku's gonna heal you... Please don't hate me.
Much like Sakura had to himself before, Naruto stabbed Gaara in the abdomen with a knife.
Gaara immediately woke up from his trance, attempting to, but unable to scream in pain.
Naruto's breathing became shaky.
He stabbed Gaara again. And again. And again and again and again, doing his best to force Shukaku's retreat.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!
Tears spilled from Naruto's eyes as he continued his onslaught, feeling the essence of the sand demon fading underneath. Shukaku physically shrank as he retreated to heal Gaara and protect his own metaphysical sovereignty.
After all was said and done, Naruto kneeled on the ground, with Sakura, Kakashi, Orochimaru, and Gaara all lying around him.
He first checked to make sure Gaara was alive - and breathed a sigh of relief.
He then checked on Sakura, and felt more relieved.
After that, he checked on Kakashi, and his heart sank.
Naruto began to shake Kakashi's body. "Hey, Sensei? Wake up, man! Come on, wake up!"
He checked his pulse.
Nothing...? No, come on!
Naruto continued to shake the man and pump his chest, but he wouldn't budge. His eyes were blank, and his body was stiff.
Naruto finally resigned himself to defeat. He stumbled and sat back down, looking at his sensei.
Just then, Kakashi's body jolted.
Naruto flinched at the sight, but checked on the man again, regardless.
Come on, you gotta be awake!
Naruto continued shaking the man. "Quit playin' around, Sensei! Get up! Get up! Get up...!"
Sasuke spoke from nearby. "That was rigor mortis, Naruto. Kakashi's dead."
The blonde looked back between the both of them, and began to tear up. "No... No... He can't be..."
Sasuke choked up. "He... He is... I'm sorry..."
Naruto's anger flared.
He shot up and lunged at Sasuke, knocking him down to the ground, pinning his arms.
Naruto admonished, "And where were you?! I don't see any dirt, or blood, or even a little exhaustion on ya! You were just hiding away the whole time, weren't you?! While the rest of us were risking our necks, the mighty Uchiha heir just stayed hidden, right?!"
Sasuke struggled, but managed to kick Naruto off. "You keep my family's name out of your mouth, Naruto! I'll kill you if you say anything about us again!"
Naruto panted, letting his anger subside. "Whatever. I'm going into the village. You just take care of Sakura and Anko."
He looked around, and suddenly realized that Anko's body had gone missing, meaning that Orochimaru had escaped at some point.
He then felt a strange power surge through his body, and quickly realized that it was his chakra refilling itself. He didn't understand how or why, but he felt that the sudden power was some sort of sign.
The blonde groaned, and corrected himself. "Just take care of Sakura, and don't let anyone mess with Kakashi-sensei."
With that, he left the field, to aid the village and to try and find Orochimaru.
Why are entry level jobs asking for 3 years of experience? The world may never know.
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