Hello again, and Happy(ish?) New Year. Things are chaotic as usual, but hopefully this year will bring about changes. At least, better than some others…
And just when I thought I would never have to hear back from him, at least on this particular subject, Kishimoto just HAD to talk about the romance again. I'll rant about that at the end of this chapter; for now, just enjoy this chapter! It has a reveal I've been looking forward to writing!
"OHH!" Sakura moaned in pain as she felt her contractions begin.
"Quick, Yuji!" Iori screamed. "What do we do!?"
Yuji gulped. "I don't know."
"YOU DON'T KNOW!?" Iori yelled. "Sakura trained you! How could you not know!?"
"Sakura trained me to be a field medic!" Yuji yelled defensively. "We didn't think maternity needs would be an issue for me!"
"Enough!" Sakura yelled, her supporting arm shaking. "I need to get to Tsunade! Now!"
"Right!" the two said, snapping out of their panic.
Quickly, they supported her arms as they guided her out of the room. "How should we travel?" Iori asked. "We can't go too fast; something could go wrong! Taking our time is not an option either!"
"Agreed!" Yuji said. "Iori, I need you to run to the hospital and get a stretcher. It will be the best way to get her there safely! I'll look after her until you get back!"
"Right!" Iori sprinted towards the door, opening it…and back flipped away as shuriken landed right in the doorway where she stood. "Holy-!"
Windows broke and holes blew through the roof as several ninja broke in. Everyone froze in place. "Yuji…I don't think we're going anywhere anytime soon." Iori said.
Sakura collapsed on her knees as her contractions grew stronger with her panic. Yuji looked around. "Iori…I know how impossible this is…but I need you to fight them all! Don't let a single shuriken get anywhere near us! NOT A SINGLE ONE, YOU HEAR ME!?"
"What!?" Iori turned, thinking he was making her do all the work. "You jerk! Just what are you going to do!?"
Yuji gulped. "I…I'M GOING TO HAVE TO DELIVER THE BABIES MYSELF!" he shouted.
"WHAT!?" The two women shouted.
Suddenly, one of the ninja ran forward, his shuriken hand cocking back. Iori reacted quickly, nailing him in the heart with a kunai. Seeing what was coming, Iori brought her hands together. "KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!" Several, maybe even hundreds clones of Iori materialized, surrounding the two. "Point taken!" they all said. "Just get them out of her safely!" The Iori clones engaged them all. Each one was strong, but these masked ninja were able to match each clone, every one of them defending itself with a kunai, making sure no one got through.
"I've never seen Iori make this many clones before…" Yuji thought.
"AHHH!"
"AH!" Yuji yelped as he turned his attention back to Sakura. "Sakura, I'll do my best! I…I never did this before!"
"I'll guide you!" Sakura huffed as she held back her tears. "We'll do this together!"
Naruto and Satima ducked as windmill shurikens flew over their heads. "Everyone! Get out! Now!" Naruto yelled to the cashiers and other shoppers. They ran out screaming in panic; thank goodness it seemed he and Satima were the real targets. The ninja, once more dressed in black and wielding ninjatos, revealed themselves. "Them again!" Naruto growled, putting his guard up as they surrounded them.
"Sakura's about to give birth; this can't be a coincidence." Satima deduced. "We can't afford to waste time here with these men, Naruto! We have to get back to Sakura! NOW!"
"Right!" The two ran for the exit, but a crystal wall suddenly rose in front of them. "The hell is this!?" Naruto shouted, pounding his fist against the wall.
"I think I heard of this during my travels: Gyoton." Satima rose his staff, taping the translucent mineral. "It's harder than earth, and whatever you do, don't use a chakra-based attack; they will reflect the energy back at you."
Naruto grunted. "Then we have no choice but to take them out first!" Naruto charged, raising his fist. The ninja raised his ninjato, but Naruto got to him first. He connected…and he felt his fist swell in pain. "Ugh!" Naruto cried as he jumped back and grabbed his wrist. Remembering the situation, he rolled out of the way of the blade. Satima also whacked one across the head with his staff, but felt an intense vibration in his hands. Quickly, he blocked the sword-strike. "Do these guys have armor or something!?" Naruto shouted as he threw random items at his attackers.
"No, no such armor so light and strong exists!" Satima yelled as he jumped over his assailant, making him stumble but failing to do any real damage. "This is something else!"
"You are quite right, stranger." The attacking ninja stopped. Seeing no way to fight back at the moment, Naruto and Satima stopped their attacks to see who was approaching them. The man with an Akatsuki cloak approached them directly, the other ninja stepping aside like sentries. "And to answer your question, what you felt was Kouton. A rare bloodline ability to render one's flesh as hard as metal."
"Kabuto!" Naruto hissed.
"Well, already this is going better than I expected!" Kabuto said as he revealed his face to them, pushing up his glasses. "I figured you would try to wring my neck like a furious tiger!"
Indeed, Naruto's blood began to boil in a way he never felt before. He practically had to force the venom down in his voice as he spoke. "I just want to ask one question, Kabuto. Why? How could you do such a thing?"
"That's two questions, Naruto-kun." Kabuto sneered, holding up two fingers. "But I'll answer them, because I'm a rather nice guy, all things considered." He took a breath. "It's quite simple, really: revenge for paralyzing me."
"Sakura could have killed you!" Naruto roared. "Instead she chose to spare you, give you another chance at life!"
"Mercy, you say?" Kabuto chuckled. "There's mercy in taking away my mobility? My ninjutsu?" Kabuto's hand trembled, and he smashed an entire grocery aisle down. "So, I'm supposed to be thankful to that bitch of yours for turning me into a cripple!? To wander the various villages, begging for change!? Leave my life at the mercy of Kami and the streets!? To be worthless!?" Kabuto clenched his fist, his sneer gone as he showed his clenched teeth. "I'd have been better off if she had killed me from the get-go. And ironically, it's quite a good lesson for her as well." He sneered. "Mercy is for the weak."
Naruto growled, and charged. "Naruto!" Satima warned him.
Naruto shot a cross at Kabuto…and he vanished. "A kage bushin!?"
"Really, did you think I would risk facing you myself so soon?" Naruto turned to see Kabuto behind the crystal cage. "And before you try attacking through here, please know I myself am another clone. But, I'll keep you informed about Sakura's state…and your children's…"
"BASTARD!" Naruto pounded against the crystal.
The other ninjas attacked Satima, who blocked with his staff defensively and parried them, sending them flying. However, their Kekkei Genkai prevented them from taking any real damage. Suddenly, Satima saw the tiles beneath his feet crack. Turning back, he saw Naruto's red Kyuubi chakra leak. "NARUTO!" He called out to him. "YOU HAVE TO STAY FOCUSED!"
Iori grabbed the bucket of hot water that she had poured into the sink, and rushed out into the battle that was gradually destroying the mother-to-be's home. Each of her clones were engaged with an enemy, but she was losing one every minute. These ninja were powerful; maybe not on the same level as her or her sensei, but she couldn't let her guard down around them. The realization hit her when she realized she was getting tired quicker than usual. One ninja suddenly appeared in front of her, raising his ninjato to cut her in two. However, another Iori clone wrapped her legs around him and flipped him out of the way. "Thanks!" Iori proceeded to Yuji, who was comforting Sakura. "I got the water and rag!"
"Quick, soak it!" Yuji motioned.
Iori dipped it in, and handed it to Yuji. Quickly, he placed it on Sakura's forehead. "Thanks." She huffed.
"Let's see how you're doing." Yuji said, lifting her skirt. Suddenly, he had to suppress his gag reflex as he recoiled in disgust. "Ugh!" Looking to Iori, he said "Please don't tell me yours looks like that!"
Iori gritted her teeth, gave him a quick punch to the face. "FOCUS!"
"Well they're not ready yet, if that's what you're asking! I ain't going to look down there again!"
"You're going to have to look again soon!" Sakura huffed, trying to suppress a scream of pain. Seeing her, Yuji realized he had no choice in the matter. "Please…"
"Watch her!" Iori ordered. "I'm going back out there!" Iori ran into the chaos, sucker-punching an enemy out cold as she jumped in.
As Yuji comforted Sakura, he thought of something. "Something's not right." Yuji realized. "This commotion should have alerted everyone! Someone should have ran over to help! Why is no one coming!?"
Shikamaru cartwheeled away as a strange ninja brought his ninjato down on him. Using a spare kunai, Shikamaru threw it and nailed him in the lung. He went down like a log, but Shikamaru had no time to celebrate that one victory. Several others burst into his house and surrounded him. "Shit!" Quickly, he put his hands together. "Kagemane no Jutsu!" His shadow extended towards them, but they reacted and jumped away before it could touch them. Two made seals, and darkness surrounded him as the light faded away. "That's not good!" No light, no shadows! And now he couldn't see his opponents!
As Shikamaru desperately prepared for what could be his last battle, he suddenly felt a gust of wind. "Futon! Kazekiri no Jutsu!" The wind picked up force, and while Shikamaru merely felt like the wind would pick him up, he heard the others being sliced to bits.
Finally, the light shone in. Ignoring the pieces of people in his kitchen, Shikamaru turned to see Temari, holding her open fan. "Temari!" Shikamaru ran over to her. "Where's Hori!?"
"On my back!" Temari turned, showing their frightened and crying daughter. "What!?" she snapped. "They were coming for all of us! What choice did I have!?"
Shikamaru's brow twitched. "This has become beyond troublesome." He muttered. He gently grabbed her shoulder, and they ran out of the house.
"I don't understand, why didn't someone come to help!?" Temari yelled.
The couple stopped in their tracks at the sight before them. The whole village was being overrun with ninja in black, attacking their friends. "That's why." Shikamaru mumbled.
They saw Chouji grow to gigantic size, throwing off ninja as if they were rats crawling all over him. In another corner, Ino was pinned on the ground by another. She quickly knocked him over with her legs and got him into an arm bar. "Shikamaru, this is impossible!" Temari said. "This amount of ninja is impossible to sneak into a village, even for Iwa!"
"These must be some kind of bushins, like Naruto's!" Shikamaru suggested.
Temari turned to see Kiba punch one off the roof of a small building. The body did not dispel at the hit from his punch or from the landing. "No, not like his! They don't disappear when they're hit!" Shikamaru was at a loss for an explanation. "What do we do now?" Temari asked.
Shikamaru hated it when he didn't have a solution. While they seemed to be in the eye of the proverbial hurricane, there was no way Shikamaru could just safely stand there and come up with a strategy. Finally, he came to a decision neither he nor his wife would like. "Temari." He said, gripping her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "I need you to go."
"NO!" Temari shouted. "Now's not the time to be a pig! I'm not letting you go out there alone!"
"This isn't about me!" Shikamaru yelled as he gripped Temari's shoulders. "It's about Hori! One of us has to stay with her! I know you're a great fighter, but this is all kinds of messed up! She needs her mother!"
"She needs her father too!" Temari protested back, tears flowing down her eyes.
Shikamaru seemed to stumble for words for a moment. "Please." He said, this time more softly. "She's safer with you." Temari couldn't protest anymore; quickly, she kissed him and ran off. "Go look for Hinata! She'll help you protect the babies!" Shikamaru shouted.
Shikamaru jumped when he felt something massive impact the earth and sent debris flying over him. Shikamaru looked to see Tsunade punch her fist through one of the strange ninja. "Hokage-sama!" Shikamaru yelled. "If you'll excuse my lack of tact, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?"
"I wish I knew." Tsunade replied, dusting herself off. "But this is similar to the attack on Sakura months ago, on a much more gargantuan scale. She's due any-"Tsunade stopped herself as realization hit her. "Oh no…" She was about to run off, but Shikamaru grabbed her wrist. "Let me go, Nara!" Tsunade warned him.
"I want to." Shikamaru said, sweating slightly. "But you need to lead us! Even if the focus of this is Sakura and her children, they won't stop with her!"
Tsunade was about to protest…but looked down sighing. "This is the last time I won't be there for my student…" Sensing Tsunade had come to her senses, Shikamaru released her. "I will gather all the fighters I can, and find Naruto. However, I need you to find Sakura. Make sure she's safe."
"I'm coming with him." The two turned to see Jiraiya behind them. "My toads are doing what they can to help. I'll cover Nara on the way over there." Tsunade nodded, and took off.
Shikamaru sighed. "This day is getting more troublesome by the second." Quickly, he and Jiraiya made a beeline for Naruto's home. "She better be alive…or else Naruto will go crazy…"
"YARRGH!" Naruto pounded against the crystal wall in desperation, but to no avail.
"Naruto!" Satima tackled Naruto to the floor as a sword sliced where his head was an instant ago. Helping him back up without missing a beat, Satima said "Naruto, you need to calm down! This isn't helping Sakura!" he said as he quickly sliced the chain of a kusarigama coming at him.
Naruto did calm down a little, showing his bloodied knuckles, but he was still boiling over inside. "I hope you have a good idea, or else I swear-"
"It's an idea." Satima answered reluctantly as they found themselves surrounded. "I'm not sure I would call it good."
"Just tell me what it is!" Naruto snapped as he grabbed an attacking ninja's wrist and flipped him over on his back.
"The crystal is thick, and redirects energy." Satima said as he blocked another attacker. "However, we might be able to break it if you put enough force behind me to pierce it."
Naruto jumped on the shoulders of another, and pushed him down. "Let me guess; you're only going to make a slight scratch with this stuff." Naruto said, unusually pessimistic.
"Piercing, actually. However, that's only phase one. Tell me, Naruto…" Satima crouched low and swept another off his feet. "…can you channel your chakra into an inanimate object?"
Naruto's eyes widened in realization as he pushed another with an open-palm strike. "Yeah, I can!"
"The energy will be redirected by the crystal, but it will have nowhere else to go!"
"So, you're going to overload it and blow up the wall!" Naruto said.
"There may be hope for you yet." Satima turned the pointy end of his staff towards the crystal wall. "Okay, I'm going to need help for this part!"
Forgetting about their kekkei genkai, Naruto punched another away, rubbing his hand. "I've been meaning to try this for a while…" Naruto backed all the way to the other end, directly behind Satima. "Kage Bushin Bakamatsu no Jutsu!" A whole row of clones formed in front of him at rapid speed, the final one pushing Satima behind the back, avoiding his spine and sending the monk flying towards the crystal wall. Like a spear, the staff went through it; only by a small margin, but enough to lock it in place.
Satima hissed as he pulled back, feeling his hands vibrate like nothing before. Satima yelped as one of the ninja managed to slice his shoulder. Quickly, he grabbed the attacking arm and hooked behind his head, knocking him to the floor. "Quick! Before they pull it out!"
Naruto and his clones ran forward, pushing them away to clear a path for the real Naruto. Quickly, he and another bushin started pumping their chakra around the staff. The blue energy swirled around it, and suddenly a crack formed in the crystal wall.
Meanwhile, Satima blocked the strikes from their attackers. "Keep going!" Suddenly, Satima was knocked down to the floor. One of them tried to kick him, but he caught his leg, and pushed him down as he rolled away from an arching kick aimed for his head. "I can't hold them off much longer!"
The two Narutos hurried, but the bushin was dispelled from a sword slice and the real Naruto was put into a chokehold and pulled away. Naruto held fast, determined to stay in position as he bent his knees towards the floor. The ninja tried to stab him in the back with a tanto, but Naruto, out of instinct, reached behind him and caught his wrist. Now not only was he struggling to hold still, but Naruto was forced to pump his chakra with only one free hand. "Come on, come on-!"
Satima tossed another over his shoulder, but one of the black-clad ninjas jumped over his back to leap-frog over to Naruto. "Watch out, Naruto!" Satima called. As Naruto grew more frustrated, his eyes briefly flashed red again. Just as the katana was about to sever his hand, the crystal dome suddenly exploded. Satima forgot about his attackers and shielded himself from the falling debris. The ninja who tried to attack Naruto was suddenly flown back to the other side of the store, the staff smashing him through the wall. Seeing the opportunity, Satima rolled away back onto his feet, making a mad dash for his staff. The others surrounded him with sharp objects, but Satima raised his staff in time to block them all, and push them back with a spinning move. "Naruto! Find Kabuto! I'll handle them!"
Naruto nodded, giving a silent thanks, and ran off. "He's probably near Sakura-chan right now…please, Sakura! Be safe!"
Satima continued to parry the attacks of the enemy ninja, completely on the defensive now. "I hope he can beat Kabuto without giving into his rage!" Another tried to stab him with a hidden tanto…but Satima easily caught it with his fingers. "Now that there's no more witnesses…no more holding back!"
"Oh kami…" Yuji moaned as he stared down between Sakura's legs (something that made him uncomfortable in more ways than one). "I'm seeing the head!"
"Good for her!" Iori yelled as she sliced the carotid of another enemy. "Is it ready yet!?"
"AGGGH!" Sakura squirmed.
Yuji looked around, seeing the chaos of Ioris vs the black ninjas. It was complete chaos! "I have to get them out…NOW!" "Sakura, we're running out of time! I'm going to need you to force them out!"
"Impossible!" Sakura breathed rapidly. "I can't-!"
"You have to! Or we'll all die here! Is that what you want!?" Suddenly, one of the ninja broke through and jumped towards them. "Shit!" Yuji cried.
Iori jumped in front of them, ramming him away. "Damn it, Yuji! I can't keep this up! Hurry up and get the babies out!" she yelled as she faced him.
A katana suddenly shot through her torso as he limbs went limp. "IORI!" Yuji cried. The stabbed Iori poofed into smoke, leaving only the assailant in his view. Out of reflex, Yuji threw a kunai, nailing him in the heart. "You didn't have to make it that dramatic!" Yuji yelled to the various clones of Iori.
"Didn't mean to!" one Iori grunted. "It's gotten that bad!" She said as she blocked another attack with her kamas. The attacking ninja was strong enough to push her down onto the floor, the blade a hair's width away from her nose. "HURRY!"
Yuji nodded; Iori had lots of chakra, but she could never make as many as Naruto-sensei. Based on a quick count, this was several times over what her normal limit was. Realizing they were running out of time, Yuji turned back to Sakura. "Sakura-sensei, you have to get them out! Your children are depending on you!"
Even as the sweat trickled down into her eyes, Sakura could see what was to come if she didn't do as Yuji said. She dug her fingers into the floor, hard enough to bore through the wood. And she gave one last mighty scream. "AAHHHHH!"
Yuji saw the liquid and used placenta spill out, and the baby's head pulled through just enough to be grabbed hold of. "Yes!" Yuji grabbed the side, and careful not to crush the neonate's skull, pulled.
"WAHH! WAHH!"
"Yes! You're here!" Yuji breathed as he carefully handled the infant. He quickly dipped it in the water (he didn't take time to verify the sex) and laid it on the floor. It was probably the biggest no-no in pediatric care, but Yuji had no choice at the moment. "Hold on…we'll get you into a bed soon enough!" "Iori! I need you to spare one!"
"Oh, come on!" one of them huffed as she kicked her opponent away. The complainer quickly jumped back, ready to guard the infant as it cried its woes away.
"Okay, Sakura! We have one more to go!" Yuji cheered her on. When he got no response, he shook her. "Sakura!" No response still. "Sakura! You have to stay awake!"
"Can't…" Sakura moaned as she struggled to stay awake. "Too…weak…"
Kabuto looked at the cabin far off in the distance. He couldn't make out much except a lot of movement from the black ninjas. They should have finished their job long ago… "Pathetic." Kabuto thought. Suddenly, he heard something land behind him. "Ah." He turned to see Naruto, crouched and giving him the most murderous face he had ever seen on him. "You made it out-" Naruto suddenly rushed him and nailed him in the nose. Kabuto nearly fell off the roof as he held his now broken nose. "Umph!" Looking at the blood on his hands, he stared back at Naruto. "Seems you aren't in a talking mood for once-" Naruto attacked him again, but Kabuto was ready this time, blocking his strikes. He noted that his limbs were bruising…maybe even burning. "It's leaking out…"
"DIE!" Naruto increased his strikes with fury, his red chakra forming its protective shield around him. Finally, he knocked him down to ground level with a power thrust kick. Kabuto felt his ribs crack as he landed on the ground below. Quickly, he applied his medical ninjutsu to repair the damage. Seeing Naruto's foot coming fast for his face, he rolled out of the way, the dirt cracking where his face was.
"I admit, I was hoping to explain my 'evil plan' to you, but this is probably the smartest course for the both of us." He dodged what seemed to be an animal claw technique from Naruto, noticing his vest was now sporting some scratches. Kabuto nearly activated Amaterasu out of reflex, but stopped himself. "I need him alive! At least long enough to get the beast out!" Faster than he could react, a chakra fist burst from Naruto, hitting him square in the face and throwing him into a building. "Ow." Kabuto applied his medical ninjutsu again, healing several serious wounds. He sneered then. "…he actually did me a favor, throwing me in here." Quickly, he pulled out a roll of wires from his vest…
Sakura's eyes fluttered as she felt water splash on her face. "Wake up!" Yuji ordered. "We're not finished yet!" Sakura tried to catch her breath, but she was very weak. Even with her pain, she couldn't find the strength to scream. "Come on." Yuji desperately pleaded with her. "You got to get your next one out, or else…"
Suddenly, he saw Iori slide across the floor, seemingly unconscious. It seemed the attacking ninjas finally overwhelmed her. "Iori!" When she didn't respond, Yuji felt a sense of dread overcome him. "Oh no…" Yuji quickly fastened his gauntlets on, and harpooned an attacking ninja. He was taken off guard when he felt a sharp kick to his back; the stress of Sakura's birthing had exhausted his kekei genkai, and now his senses were dulled back to normal. Quickly, he kicked his attacker back, but was punched across the face. He punched the next one all the way into the kitchen, and was quickly kicked in his stomach, and finally he was surrounded. Now he was completely on the defensive, unable to help Sakura, Iori, or the baby. "NO!" Yuji put his arms up as he blocked the random attacks. "Dad!" he thought, thinking back to his father, whom he always looked up to as a boy and wished he could be like him. "Please! HELP ME!"
Suddenly, the attacks stopped. Yuji looked to see the ninjas around him frozen in place. Others were pinned to the walls by what seemed to gigantic strands of white hair. "What?" Dark hands then creeped along some of their bodies, grasping their necks and choking them. Recognizing the jutsu, he turned around in elation. "Shikamaru-sensei!"
Shikamaru was down on one knee, but he was just getting started. Tendrils made of shadow shot from the floor, and impaled the others.
"Don't forget about me!" Jiraiya declared as he breathed flames at some surprise attackers on the other side.
Seeing a brief moment to ease up, Shikamaru released his jutsu and ran towards them. "Is she-?"
"She's alive!" Yuji nodded. "But she's very weak! She needs the Hokage!"
"And the children!?"
Yuji quickly bent down to pull off a metal cocoon, revealing the bawling baby girl underneath. "The first one's out! But the second's stuck! We need to hurry!"
The two ducked as Jiraiya unleashed several super-sized shurikens at more attackers. Shikamaru quickly prepared his own counter. "Kage Gan no Jutsu!" As the black ninjas surrounded them, shadows enveloped them, eventually forming a black sphere around them. One tried to puncture through it with his katana, but he fell back, as if a huge thick wall of rubber bounced him back.
"Okay." Shikamaru panted inside. Though they were in total darkness, it was comforting compared to the outside. "This ball is almost impenetrable to normal means. I can also control this ball to roll us out of here, but I won't be able to see what I'm doing."
"While I appreciate the shield, this is totally useless as a vehicle!" Yuji complained. "The odds against her getting help have just skyrocketed, and in her condition this does not sound the least bit safe!"
"Don't be so sure about that!" They all heard Ino's voices in their heads.
"As I was about to say, I got Ino for help. She's going to direct me to Tsunade; she's the best option to help her…assuming she's free." He worried no one would be able to help with the seemingly infinite army outside.
"I'll protect her until you can get Sakura to safety." Jiraiya called from outside.
"I think I might be able to help too." Iori grunted as she forced herself to sit up. "This is reminding me of those clones that Taka created in Wave."
"You think he's responsible?" Yuji asked.
"I sent a kage bushin out into the woods." She explained. "It was destroyed before it could reach him, but she saw it. He's in the woods, not far from here. I…I think he's creating them. With technology AND ninjutsu."
"Iori…" Yuji walked over to grasp her arm. "You're shaking. You're in no condition to fight!"
"I overdid it." Iori agreed. "But we don't have many options. These ninja are overrunning the village. With everything else going on, I'm the only option we've got."
Yuji looked at her skeptically. "This isn't about-"
"Yuji, I know!" Iori said as she pulled back. "I'm not doing this for me! Not this time! I'm doing this for Sakura, I'm doing this for the babies, and I'm doing this for sensei!"
"Okay." Yuji relented, believing her without a doubt. "Just be careful."
"Right." Iori was about to sprint out, but Yuji held onto her. "What-?"
Suddenly, Yuji forced his lips against Iori's. As a moment passed, Shikamaru asked "Hey! What's going on!?"
Finally, Yuji released her, as she only stared at him in shock (even though neither could see the other). "You may clobber me now." Yuji said apologetically.
"NGH!"
As Sakura groaned from another sharp pain, Iori snapped out of her trance. "Later!"
Shikamaru opened a hole for her, as she jumped out. "Are you guys ready yet!?" Ino yelled. "We need to get going! NOW!"
"Yuji! Secure Sakura and the baby! We're moving!" he ordered.
As if by telepathic command, the ball began to roll, Yuji feeling them defy gravity as he heard a loud crash. "Annnd, you obliterated the west wing…" Ino said.
Naruto crashed through the building he threw Kabuto into. By now, he had sprouted three tails and the cloak had enveloped him. His eyes were red, and fangs in his mouth were prominent as well. Still, he was in control, if only barely. "I see Kyuubi is beginning to take over." He heard the medic nin's voice say.
In an instant, Naruto punched a hole through another wall, grabbing hold of Kabuto. However, just as he tightened his grip, Kabuto disappeared. "A bushin."
"I had a feeling Kyuubi would give you enhanced hearing as you transformed." Kabuto's voice said again, this time from everywhere it seemed. Naruto moved forward, and his foot tripped a wire. Explosions rocked the building, slamming Naruto down to the floor. Though he was covered in lacerations and stabbed with various debris, his body began healing immediately. "Overreacting much, don't you think?" Kabuto's voice teased him once again. Naruto said nothing as he began turning over furniture and breaking down walls in a furious effort to find him. "I really don't get how the two of you could be upset for so long. After all, I didn't actually touch Sakura, and the children are yours…for as long as I allow them to live in this world anyway." Suddenly, explosions of purple clouds surrounded Naruto; his eyes began to water, and he was feeling woozy as well. Thanks to the Kyuubi's healing powers, Naruto was feeling better almost immediately. "That was the distraction."
Naruto swung behind him, eyeing Kabuto. However, his Magenkyo was activated, and black flames erupted towards Naruto. "AARRGGHH!" The chakra cloak protected Naruto from any permanent damage, but the intense heat was still incredibly painful for him.
"If you don't die from burns, the heat stroke will overwhelm you. I should leave you to suffer…" A kunai slipped into Kabuto's hand. "But I don't have the time for that. I hear your dear Sakura-chan has gotten away. I better finish you now; I'll reunite the rest of the family with you soon enough..."
"DON'T YOU DARE!" A chakra hand suddenly shot out, and threw Kabuto out of the house and into the one next door. Seeing the black flames come towards him, Kabuto deactivated Amaterasu. That was the least of his troubles, however, as another hand flew towards him and nailed him in the gut with a Rasengan. Kabuto hacked blood as he felt his internal organs twist and tear. "It's you who will suffer the most, Kabuto." Naruto growled as he walked on all fours towards him.
"I'm already getting that impression." Kabuto wheezed, applying healing chakra to his body.
"That won't help." Naruto growled as he observed him with distaste.
"If things continue as they are, I'd imagine not." Kabuto said. "But first…" Kabuto looked Naruto in the eye as the Magenkyo was reactivated. "…would you like to see just what I did to her in the Tsukiyomi?" Naruto's already red eyes widened, and his skin began to fly off like paper on fire…
Taka huffed. "Damn. They got away." He stood straight, surrounded by several dark ninja flanking him. "Well, I held up my end of the bargain. I suppose overrunning the village for the fun of it will be enough…"
"I won't let you!"
Taka turned as he saw Iori land in the tree next to his. "You." Taka growled, then rubbed his chin in an odd sense of satisfaction. "This is actually an act of providence; I was hoping to take you out later after this job was done."
"That won't happen." Iori said, tightly gripping her kamas.
"So, you're promising to avenge your daddy and mommy?"
"I won't lie, I certainly want that to happen." Iori said. "But I'm not here for vengeance; I can't be. Others are depending on me! The village, and Sakura! I'm taking you out…to protect them!" she declared, pointing a kama at him.
Taka sneered. "How noble. I will be sure your newfound honor is wasted!" He made a few hand signs, and black smoke erupted from him. Suddenly, new ninjas formed beside him.
"That isn't a standard bushin jutsu." Iori said. "I'd imagine such a thing uses up a large amount of chakra. Yet, you don't seem too tired."
"I'm glad you noticed." Taka chuckled. "I'd be happy to tell you, but my superior has made it clear I'm not to fool around. So, I'll tell you…while we try to kill you. Let's see how much you'll get out of it!" They ambushed Iori from all sides. Iori managed to take out several with a sweeping roundhouse kick, but Taka locked her up as he rushed her with a kunai, Iori forced to make point-blank block with her weapons. She was off balance, and fell off the branch. "With my experience with cloning, Kabuto wanted to take it to the next level. So, we combined the latest science and ninjutsu!"
Iori broke her fall by slapping her arms on the ground and rolled away from a drop kick that would have caved her face in. "So…you took as many kekkei genkai as you could, and combined them with actual cloning techniques."
"Yes, that's more or less it." Taka agreed. He held his arms up, revealing several contusions along his forearms. "I had the DNA samples we preserved implanted into my chakra coils surgically! Then, I direct my chakra to make life on the spot, with any kekkei genkai I choose! The samples are also coated with enzymes to catalyze the reactions, hence lowering the activation energy required!" Taka quickly pulled his hands back into sets. "It's quite brilliant really, and more effective than making scientific clones like before." Iori was about to retort, but a ninja kicked her down. She quickly got back up, but another rushed at her from all sides super-fast, forcing her to drop her weapons. Ice spiked to her side, and cut her sides, separating her from her weapons. "It's such a shame; I was thinking of giving you something of a fair fight." He said as he observed her avoiding the attacks of all sorts of different kekkei genkais. Iori rolled across the grass as her body was about to combust. A tree suddenly grew out of nowhere, ensnaring her, but she cut the branch with her weapons. However, nothing could prepare her for bursts of shock that came out of thin air. "But my orders are to not take any chances." Taka finally continued. He rose his hand and threw it down. "Finish her!"
As Iori was knocked back to the ground, it was clear she was on her last legs. Despite all that…she smirked. "Okay. I am tired, I admit that…" She then bit her thumb as the ninja jumped to tackle her. "…but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve!" She then shouted "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Several butterflies appeared, and began beating their wings as they secreted a powder all over the immediate area. "That won't work!" Taka shouted. "We researched your techniques, and we made ourselves immune to chemicals!"
"I was afraid of that." Iori said. "But they're not trying to put your 'men' to sleep." The ninja tried advancing again, but felt their movements were impeded. Slowly, thin strands of silk ensnaring them became visible, and thicker by the second. Eventually, the dark ninjas were completely immobilized.
"What!?" Taka shouted.
Iori punched one ninja down, causing him to lose consciousness. "Caterpillars can produce silk to make their cocoons. For their size, the fibers are incredibly strong. These butterflies can produce enough silk to rival steel in terms of tensile strength."
Taka growled, and ran forward, but quickly saw it was like running thigh-deep in mud. Iori, having taken out more of his clones, spun and knocked him down with an arching heel hook. "How can you move!?" Taka yelled in frustration.
"It's a benefit that comes to one contracted to the butterflies." Iori answered. "The silk cannot stick to me."
Taka quickly took his own kunai and cut deep into his arm. "Well, that's not fair at all, is it now!?" He splattered his blood onto Iori's arm, and immediately she felt her arm pulled towards the ground.
"Guess not." Iori hissed in reluctance.
They charged again, but Taka managed to catch her off guard with a knee to the face. Smearing his fingers in his blood, Taka raised his hand. "I'll pin you to the ground!"
"You will try!" Iori used her free hand to reach into a pocket and let an explosive tag fly into Taka's face. The tag exploded, and Taka was sent flying into a tree trunk. As his vision focused and the pain from the collision dulled, Taka still felt the stinging sensation from the blast in his arm. Looking down at it, he realized the wound had been cauterized (among the other things an explosion can do to one's flesh). He looked up to see Iori breathing fire onto her own arm. Though she gritted in pain, she was now able to move her arm around. "After our first fight, I thought long and hard on how to counter your techniques. Your blood is dangerous, but it can only be used as long as it's in liquid form. Once it's dehydrated, it's useless!" Inside though, she groaned and was kicking herself. "I need to think of a smarter way to counter this next time." She thought as she painfully moved her arm. Thank goodness it was only a first degree burn, or else it would have taken longer to heal.
Taka huffed. "You'll pay…you'll pay, just like your parents did…" Taka ran forward, as much as the silk would allow him, and aimed to punch Iori. She bent her head away, but he opened his hand and activated a wind jutsu that practically turned his hand into a sword.
"AH!" Iori felt his arm cut the surface of her shoulder. Taka sneered, but that turned into a grimace of pain when he felt something twisting his kidney. Iori had planted a Rasengan on his side, and it was tearing him up both inside and out! "All you've done your whole life is hurt people. You don't care…" Iori pulled back and knocked him aside with a slicing elbow to the head. As Taka rolled into a tree, he quickly tried to support himself back up. Iori strode towards him, like a predator walking to finish off wounded prey. "…one way or another, you'll never hurt anyone again!"
Taka's eyes trembled in fear as she approached him. This girl-! She was like a completely different person from when they last fought! Reaching for his earpiece, he yelled "Susanoo! Get your ass down here! I need you!"
Susanoo observed the village high up in the hills. Wiith all the clones generated, it was hard to keep track of everything. It looked like a chaotic mess of ants from where he was standing. "Susanoo!" he heard Taka yell into his earpiece. "Get your ass down here! I need you!"
Susanoo sighed, and pulled his earpiece out. "No." He threw it onto the ground and smashed it. "I was planning to kill you myself after all this, but if that girl really is getting the better of you, especially with the tools at your disposal, you weren't worth my time to begin with." Seeing a giant black sphere in the distance roll, he sneered. "Now THAT looks interesting."
He slid down the hill, and jumped into the trees. As he made his way to the border of the village, he heard shuriken fly towards him. Quickly twisting around, he deflected them with a kunai. However, someone grabbed hold of him from behind, and he felt himself twisting like a tornado towards the earth. "SHIT!" Quickly, he formed his exoskeleton as he braced for impact. As expected, despite the large crater in the ground, he was unscathed. "Huh. I was wondering when I would see you again." He said as he got a good look at his attacker.
"I had a feeling this mess was Taka's doing, given the nature of this invasion. And wherever he was…I figured you weren't far behind." Kakashi stood there, flexing his wrist and displaying an intense killing intent
Eyeing the jonin, Susanoo noticed the blood stains on his vest. He seemed to be breathing pretty hard as well. "You look tired."
"This is nothing." Kakashi assured him. "Killing all those random clones was a good warm up for you."
Susanoo shrugged. "If you say so." His demonic skeleton formed a sword. "I think it's time we ended this."
"I agree." Kakashi formed his Raikiri, and charged…
Satima breathed heavily. With Naruto gone, he could really cut loose; he didn't want him to see his real strength. He let out a deep breath, eyeing the dead opponent before him. Then, he sensed a massive spike in chakra. He was not entirely surprised about the source, though he secretly hoped the crazed medic-nin wouldn't be able to manage it. "Kabuto finally did it, it seems." He pulled his bloodied hand out of his opponent's torso, who fell to the floor in a thud. "I hope I can get to him in time…" As he ran out, he retracted his earlier thought. "I hope I'll be able to do anything when I get there!"
Iori continued her duel with Taka, attacking with her kamas while Taka parried with a kunai. "It seems you're almost out of chakra." Taka taunted her. "About damn time too."
"What makes you say that?" Iori asked as they locked weapons and brought their faces close together.
"You haven't made any bushin or used that stupid ball jutsu in quite a while. Seems you're tiring out." Iori's eyes widened. "Seems I hit a bullseye, didn't I?" Taka head-butted her, forcing her to stumble back. Another ninja, one that Taka seemed to secretly create during their duel, kicked her from behind, throwing her off balance more. She lashed out, but Taka landed some hard punches to her side. Iori grunted, but kicked him back and kneed him in the nose as he fell over. Quickly, she blew fire his way. He blocked with his arms, accumulating some nasty burns. Iori's fire breath shorted out when another ninja cut a sword across her hip. "Ah!" Finally, Taka rushed forward and kicked her in the face. While her head was turned, he cut his outer thigh and splattered it across Iori's ankles. Losing balance, she fell over like a tree. Letting go of his anger, Taka began beating on her like a mad man. "ARRGGHHH!" He finally kicked her in the face, knocking her out. He panted heavily, satisfied with his work. Regaining his composure, he wiped his lip and sneered. "I think it's time you got yours."
He walked over, and pulled on her arms. Suddenly, he felt a spike in malicious chakra, enough to even snap Iori awake. In the distance, they saw a massive ethereal energy take shape, several tails sticking out. "No…Naruto! NARUTO-SENSEI!" Iori yelled.
"You can't help him." Taka grunted as he shoved her face back into the dirt. "Your voice won't reach him; he'd be more likely to kill you if you approached him as he is. And even if you somehow could get to him…I'm not going to let you." Iori breathed in fright, sensing what was coming next. Taka's ninja approached and helped him hold her down as he made himself comfortable. "Initially, I was planning to give you some enjoyment." He hissed as he ran his hand down her back. "But you've been such a pain in my ass, so I'm going to make this slow and painful." He said, gripping the hem of her pants. "And I will enjoy every minute of this, just like I did your whore mother." Iori suddenly chuckled. "What's so funny, bitch?"
"You were right; I am low on chakra." She said.
"How's that relevant now?"
"I've been saving the last of it just for this moment!"
Before any more could be said, four bushins of Iori jumped out of the forests from different directions, each with a different form of the Rasengan. "Rasengan!"
"Katon Rasenshuriken!"
"Wakusei Rasengan!"
"Rasentaiyoukei!" one yelled as nine blue orbs rapidly spun around her body.
Each one obliterated the cloned ninja, and Taka bore the brunt of it on all sides, getting torn and burned. "AHHH!" Feeling the weight of the man fall off her, Iori crawled forward and scrambled for a kama. Taka fell to his knees, still stunned from the attack. His vision briefly focused to see Iori cock her weapon arm back.
"AAAHHH!" Iori swung with all her fury, the blade cutting through Taka's throat. For what seemed to be an eternity, neither moved nor made a sound. Finally, Taka fell to his knees, and as his head fell off. Iori stumbled back onto her bottom as she felt her ankles freed from their bonds. Her first instinct was to pass out, but upon hearing the Kyuubi's roar behind her, she realized she didn't have the luxury. Quickly, she got up and ran towards the growing monster, ignoring how her whole body felt like it was on fire.
Tsunade punched through an attacking ninja…and suddenly, it vanished. "What!?" Tsunade spun around defensively, waiting for the next attacker. However, no one came. In fact, none of the ninja around her had an opponent to fight. "Is it over?" Just then, a large black ball rolled towards her, startling her. The sphere evaporated, revealing Shikamaru, Yuji, and Sakura, who was unconscious. "Sakura-!" Tsunade went over to feel her head, noticing the bawling baby in Yuji's arms. "How is she…?"
"Not good. She didn't have the strength to continue; the baby's stuck! If we don't do something…"
"Understood!" She first turned to Shikamaru. "Nara, thank you for bringing her to me. Go; you may be needed elsewhere." Shikamaru nodded in understanding, and leaped across the rooftops. "Now, Miyamoto, I need your help with this part…"
"Are you sure?" Yuji asked hesitantly.
"To be honest, no." the Hokage answered honestly. "But there is no one else."
Yuji nodded. "To save Sakura and her child…anything." He said, setting the infant girl down.
Tsunade then formed a chakra scalpel. "Let's begin…"
"This is going good." Kabuto sneered as he saw Naruto's form sprout seven tails, forming muscles and bones across its body. At this point, it had to be at least six stories high. "Not good enough…a part of him is still holding back." The seven-tailed Kyuubi roared as it charged up a dark chakra ball. It swallowed it, and fired a blast towards the mountain. The Hokage's office was obliterated, though miraculously the faces on the mountain remained intact. The Kyuubi swayed, destroying the immediate area but seemingly hesitant to move forward. Even so, its wild steps caused extreme tremors; Kabuto could hear many screaming for their lives.
"His compassion outweighs his hatred by just enough still…" Kabuto growled and pulled his hood up. "It looks like he needs a little bit more of a push." Checking his watch, Kabuto walked off. "They should be borne by now. That should do the trick."
That blast miraculously flew over the medic nins heads and left them and their patients unscathed. They powered through the shock and continued working on Sakura. It was all touch and go, until…
"I got him!" Yuji said as he extracted the infant from Sakura's womb.
"He's not out of the woods yet!" Tsunade reminded him. "Get him breathing! I'll close Sakura up!" As Tsunade got to work on stitching Sakura's belly back together, Yuji moved away and checked the infant's vitals.
"Aw, come on…" Yuji felt his heart sink as he could not find any sign of life. Seeing Sakura's unconscious body, his despair turned into steeled determination. "If I can't find any vital signs, I'll just make some!" Yuji could never be more thankful than before for having an affinity like Tsunade; of all the elemental medical techniques he could learn, one was never more important than now! He gathered electricity into his hand, and pressed it against the infant's chest. It was a smaller voltage than he was used to producing; the normal charge for this technique would have probably been too much for the poor baby. "Clear!" The baby's body convulsed, but nothing more. Quickly, Yuji parted his mouth and breathed in his mouth. Immediately afterwards, he pumped the baby's chest and poured more electricity into his body. After three more tries, the baby suddenly screamed and flailed about.
"Sorry!" Yuji said out of reflex. Cradling it, he smiled as he saw it kick about. "Hokage-sama! He's alive!" Yuji screamed in joy.
"Excellent Yuji!" Tsunade said, never taking her eye off her patient. "I'm almost done here!" she said as she stitched Sakura back together. That was when they heard the roar. Looking up, they saw the red mass form in the distance. "No…" Tsunade breathed, remembering what caused the explosion from earlier.
The other people took notice as well, and began to panic. "Naruto-sensei!" Yuji yelled.
He was about to run towards him, but Tsunade grabbed his wrist. "We're not finished here!"
"But, Naruto-sensei…"
"There's nothing you can do!" Tsunade shouted. "You want to help your sensei!? Make sure his children and love will live through this!"
Yuji gulped. He felt like he was abandoning his teacher…but Naruto would never forgive him if he let anything happen to his family…
Iori panted as she got close to her destination…perhaps as close as she could get. By now, she could clearly see the Kyuubi's muscles form. Seeing it up close and so big was rather disgusting. She held it in as she mustered her courage to call out to him. "Naruto-sensei!" The Kyuubi growled, shaking its head. "Naruto-sensei! If you're still in there, you have to change back! You have to fight this!" Iori yelped as its rear paw came up from behind her and nearly stomped on her. "Damn it, sensei! This isn't funny!" Another tremor made her fall over on her face. Looking up, she saw another paw come towards her.
She quickly scrambled away, taking an even bigger risk by heading towards its head, jumping in front of what she assumed was his line of sight. "Naruto!" Iori yelled, jumping up. "You idiot! Think about what you're throwing away! What about the Hokage title!? What about Sakura!? What about your kids! Yuji probably got them both out by now!" The Kyuubi roared, and the sudden torrent of air sent Iori flying into a building. "Uhn!" Iori slumped to the ground, as she struggled to get up. "Son of a…"
She suddenly felt a spike in chakra. At first, she was worried the beast would attack, but she saw the Kyuubi's head tilt towards the sky, firing a blast of black chakra into the air. Iori growled "Damn it, sensei! How many more times do I have to beg you to change back?" She stood straight, clenching her fists. "Know what!? Screw this!" Iori suddenly formed a small Rasengan in her hand. "Since Sakura isn't here, I'm going to knock some sense into you for her!" Iori charged, and nailed the beast right on the nose. Iori landed, and saw the beast was unaffected. It then turned its head down to her, clearly eyeing her. "Aw shit."
The Kyuubi opened its maw as it tried to eat her. Iori shielded herself, when she felt someone tackle her as its teeth clamped down where she once was. Opening her eyes, she saw the monk staying with Naruto and Sakura was holding her. "You!"
Satima quickly lead her away from the monster as it threw another tantrum. "That was really stupid of you, you know?" he asked.
Iori sighed. "Yeah. It's a personal problem."
"It's understandable; your teacher and surrogate brother is in danger of losing himself to a literal demon." He assured her as he peeked around a corner to observe the fox. "It seems Kabuto pushed his buttons using that stolen sharingan of his. I'm counting seven tails."
Iori blinked. "How did you-?"
Before anymore could be said, a giant toad suddenly whacked it across the head with a wolf spear. "Got-em!" the toad shouted.
"Careful!" Jiraiya called from atop its head. "We need to subdue it, not kill it!" He pulled a seal from his vest, eyeing it. "I only hope this will work."
The toad hit the incomplete Kyuubi with a water bullet, but the fox clawed at its face in retaliation. The toad jumped back, letting Jiraiya spray it with some flames. The fox growled, but didn't move from its spot. The toad jumped forward again, putting it in a headlock, but the fox pounded away at it with its tails.
Satima and Iori observed, though in the case of the former, his observation was more analytical. "Look at the way it's moving." He said to Iori.
Iori did so, cautiously inching her head out of the edge of the debris pile. "It's hardly moving at all." She commented. "It's just kind of staying place; it won't even move forward to attack the pervert sage's toad unless attacked first."
"Exactly." Satima agreed. "It seems Naruto is still in there fighting, albeit barely. There may be a chance to save him!"
"Okay!" Iori nodded. "How?"
"I'm going to have to ask you to hide for now." Satima said, looking her in the eye. "I'm asking you to trust me on this. Do you think you can do that for me?"
"What are you going to do!?"
Satima seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I'd imagine you'll learn when this is over…one way or another." The Kyuubi roared again. "Hide! I can't do this if you're in danger!" he reiterated.
Iori nodded. "Okay! But please…be careful!"
Iori ran to a ruined hut, and hid inside. The steel beams inside would be enough to protect her from any falling debris if things went south. Peering through the boards, she saw Satima approach the almost complete nine-tailed fox. "Hey! Dobe!" he shouted.
The fox seemed to respond, and was about to eat him up. "NO!" Iori thought. The fox's maw stopped, and its eyes seemed to dilate slightly. "What's happening!?" For what seemed to be an eternity, nothing happened. Seeing his chance, Jiraiya leaped off his mount and planted his seal right on the monster's forehead. Finally, the fox began to shrink. Its canine features began to make way for humanoid ones, the details of its musculoskeletal structure disappeared. Eventually, a severely burned Naruto Uzumaki fell to his knees, as Satima and Jiraiya caught him.
"You did it!" Iori cried in joy, running towards them. "How-"
"He's not out of the woods yet!" Satima warned her. "The beast almost got out! It's a miracle he's even alive! Quick, help me carry him!" Iori nodded as she grabbed his feet, and the two men carried him by his shoulders.
Kabuto turned around as he felt the sinister chakra fade away. The large Kyuubi had vanished from sight. "How-?" Kabuto shrugged it off. "Well, I did what I could. He's in no shape to stop me, at least." Kabuto looked forward. "Now, if I knew my 'children' were in danger of being murdered…where would I hide them?"
Sakura's eyes began to flutter open. "Ohhh…" Two loud cries reached her ears. When her mind registered them as babies, she shot up with eyes wide open.
"Easy there!" Tsunade held her back against the bed.
"My babies! Are-"
"They're fine!" Yuji said beside her, turning her attention towards two bassinets on the other side. "It was close. Your son almost didn't make it!"
"Son?" Sakura's eyes teared up at the realization. "I have a son…" she gasped, bringing her hand to her chest. "And the other?"
"A baby girl." Tsunade smiled. "Congratulations. You're a mother."
Sakura began to cry tears of joy. "I'm a mom…" Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks: she lost consciousness during the labor! She quickly pulled up her hospital gown, finding a faint scar across her stomach.
"We had to do a C-section." Tsunade explained. "But don't worry; you're still whole. You'll make a full recovery, and though I imagine it's the furthest thing from your mind right now, if you ever want to have kids again…you can."
For a long moment, Sakura said nothing. Then, she suddenly embraced both Tsunade and Yuji. "Thank you." She choked. "Thank you both…"
"You know we'd do anything for you." Yuji said, returning the hug.
Sakura suddenly said "Where's Naruto? He has to see this!" she smiled.
Now the two medics were at a loss; they didn't want to lie to Sakura. But telling her that Naruto went tailed beast mode was out of the question! At least his transformation somehow ceased, and the basement of the Hokage Mansion was still intact. "Uh, well…" Suddenly, they heard screams outside. "Shit." Yuji said. "He's here."
"We better go." Tsunade then saw Sakura kick her legs over the bed. "Hold on-!"
"If that creep dares to touch my children, I'll pay back what he did to me a hundred fold!"
"You're in no condition to fight, young lady!"
"Let me go-!" Sakura's eyes suddenly widened and she was out like a light, Tsunade's hand behind where her nape was a moment ago.
"I'll get them somewhere safe." Yuji said as he pulled the bassinets close to Sakura. "I'll be with you in a minute."
"Miyamoto, I need you to-"
"We cannot take ANY chances with him!" Yuji yelled. "If you fall, I won't be able to protect them on my own! We have to fight him together; it's the only chance they have!"
Tsunade breathed deep, realizing he was correct. "Very well. Make sure you hide them well…just in case."
"AHHH!" A Konoha ninja screamed in pain as black fire enveloped him in flames. Kabuto stood in the center of several dead Konoha nin; not one was able to touch him. Their only accomplishment was delaying him by maybe a few minutes at best. He sighed, pulling out a vial. Pulling out the dropper cap, he then dropped the medication into his eye.
"So, that's how you prevented the blindness associated with the Magenkyo Sharingan."
Kabuto turned to face Tsunade several feet away. Smirking, he said "A simple solution, really. Surprised you hadn't thought of it after all these years."
"I had a few theories." Tsunade said, remaining in place. "But it seemed fruitless to pursue; the only person I thought could possess it was dead. Besides, I had other priorities."
"Seems you've fallen short on a few of those responsibilities." Kabuto taunted her.
Tsunade bit her lip. "Provoke me all you want. When you scarred my pupil for life…nothing could possibly make me any angrier." Tsunade suddenly charged. Kabuto jumped away as Tsunade made a new crater in the ground where he was only a second ago. As Kabuto prepared to throw shuriken at her, Tsunade countered with her own. Kabuto rolled out of the way, but one managed to nick him in the shoulder. "If that was poisoned, you're wasting your time. My medicines made me and Orochimaru impervious to toxins."
"Standard procedure." Tsunade answered. "But many of your own techniques won't work on me either. Your sharingan might give you a slight edge, but it's nothing I haven't seen before."
Kabuto grimaced. He thought of splattering his own blood against Tsunade again, but he heard rumors that Tsunade overcame that ridiculous fear. "I'll say this much for you, Hokage-sama; you are a worthy opponent." Kabuto's sleeves revealed hidden kunai, and he became the aggressor this time around. He slashed and slashed, but Tsunade dodged each one. She tried to take Kabuto's head off with a punch, only for him to duck. Still, the force left a cut across his nose. Kabuto countered with a kick, and though Tsunade grunted in discomfort, her massive breasts effectively shielded her from any real damage, and Kabuto lost his balance, falling over. He quickly rolled away from Tsunade's descending heel, which smashed the ground where he lay, and used a smoke bomb to cover his escape. Tsunade remained in place, and sensed Kabuto rush her. Kabuto tried to cut her with a chakra scalpel, getting her shoulder. However, Tsunade's fist simultaneously grazed his ribs, causing Kabuto to collapse onto the ground. Even a slight touch with Tsunade's strength resulted in his rib cage shattering. Tsunade was about to attack, but Kabuto revealed his Magenkyo. Before one of its signature dojustsu could activate, Kabuto choked as he felt something ensnare his neck and pull him across the ground away from the busty sanin.
"That felt good." Yuji said as he landed beside Tsunade.
"I had it under control."
"With this freak, you really want to leave this to chance?" Yuji asked.
Tsunade turned back to see Kabuto cut the snare with black flames. "Well, I suppose it would be plain stupid to turn down assistance. Are they safe at least?"
"As could be." Yuji shrugged. "The basement doesn't have a lot of options. All I could really do was cover my tracks and hope he'll have to play a guessing game if worse comes to worse."
Kabuto then stared them down. "Well, this isn't very fair now, is it?"
"You've forfeited the right for a fair anything!" Yuji shouted back. The two charged Kabuto.
"I suppose there's no point in holding back now!" Kabuto activated the Magenkyo again as the two tried to hit him. Though Kabuto dodged their strikes, their shockwaves were enough to throw him off balance. He then spewed forth more black flames, forcing the two of them to retreat. Yuji shot wires from a gauntlet. One successfully harpooned Kabuto in the shoulder. "Uhnn!" Kabuto burned it away, and threw an explosive kunai at Yuji, who rolled away. Kabuto screamed as he felt something sharp graze his shoulder, Tsunade nailing him with a scalpel. Kabuto countered with a round kick to her back. "Take your petty revenge all you want! I'll heal any damage you inflict!" Indeed Kabuto made another scalpel and aimed for Tsunade's spine. However, Yuji suddenly stepped in his way and grabbed his arm. Pulling him forward, Yuji nailed him in the ribs again with his elbow full force. Kabuto coughed up blood as he was sent flying back. "Upstart. Just who do you think you are?" Kabuto grunted as he quickly applied healing chakra to his wounds.
"Careful." Tsunade said as he got up. "He's upping his game."
Yuji sweated. "I was afraid of that."
"NO MORE OF THIS!" Kabuto suddenly shouted. "I shall make Sakura pay…with the blood of her children!"
Kabuto released several smoke bombs, obscuring their vision. "You're kekkei genkai can pinpoint him, right?"
"Not until he attacks, and even then, it's not THAT precise." Yuji said.
Suddenly, Kabuto emerged from the smoke behind them. Though Yuji pushed Tsunade out of the way, he was in the way of Kabuto's fists, covered in black flame. Tsunade acted quickly, stomping the ground and sending the rock flying into Kabuto. Kabuto rolled with it, and slammed the ground, spreading the Amaterasu flames around. The two medics rolled for cover. However, Tsunade triggered a trap Kabuto set, and the Godaime was ensnared in a net. She tried breaking free, but she quickly felt the net was of a steel mesh; even with her strength, she would not be able to break out easily. It would require time and proper leverage; the former she did not have enough of. "I must admit, I respect your ability." Kabuto said as he activated two chakra scalpels. "But I won't let that stop me in my revenge."
"Revenge!?" Tsunade yelled. "Sakura spared you when anyone else would have killed you! You were made whole again years later! What revenge are you talking about!?"
"To teach everyone out there to not disrespect me." Kabuto hissed. "I was nobody when Orochimaru took me in. When Sakura severed my spine, I was nobody again. I don't care if I eventually got power back; she put me in a place that I never wanted to go back to again."
"Then how 'bout we send you to hell instead!?" Yuji suddenly popped out of the ground, the earth lifting like a trap door, and grabbed hold of Kabuto. "Doton! Haneagedo Gumo no Jutsu!" He then opened his mouth, revealing what seemed to be metallic dentures with sharp ends, and bit down on Kabuto's shoulder.
"AHHH!" Kabuto nailed Yuji in the gut with an elbow, and repeated the process three more times before Yuji was finally forced to release him. As he clutched his stomach, Kabuto got in his face. Yuji looked into Kabuto's Magenkyo eyes…and passed out.
Panting, Kabuto made his way to where he ensnared Tsunade. He noticed his vision get blurry, and tripped over a rock. "Shit! I better…" Kabuto felt his cloak for his medicine, only to feel nothing. "Shit!" he panicked. The vial must have fell out during the fight! He got on his knees, stumbling for it, finally reaching it. Quickly he applied the medication to his eyes. Once his sight was in focus again, he saw there was barely any left; most of it must have spilled out during the fight. He may have had enough to prevent one more episode; he would have to use the Magenkyo carefully at this point. "How does it feel, Hokage-sama?" Kabuto shouted as Tsunade struggled in vain. "To feel helpless? To be wrongfully robbed of your power?" Kabuto stood over Tsunade, still ensnared. "Imagine being rendered like that for years. I made your precious pupil feel that for a mere half-hour, and made it feel like an eternity."
"The fact that I wasn't able to protect her then certainly made me feel helpless." Tsunade reluctantly agreed. "But that doesn't mean I'm unable to protect her now."
"Oh?" Kabuto sneered. "And just how are you going to do that in your predicament?" He noticed a slight trail of blood on the ground, and traced it to Tsunade's thumb. His eyes widened, while Tsunade only smirked back. Suddenly, a giant slug erupted from the earth behind Kabuto. "What-!?" Katsuya opened her leech-like mouth and engulfed Kabuto.
"Yes!" Tsunade hissed. For a while, Kabuto's legs kicked frantically as the slug tried to engulf him. Suddenly, the slug exploded in a burst of black flames, her body shriveling up. "Katsuya, no!" Tsunade cried.
Kabuto, covered in acid burns, stumbled towards Tsunade. "Why don't you…just…relax…for now." Kabuto panted. "I'll give you the corpses of Sakura's babies soon enough!" The last thing Tsunade saw was a sandal to her face.
A door broke down; Kabuto cautiously helped himself in. There, he saw Sakura, lying still. He then heard the cries; the babies! They were right next to her! "Ah!" Kabuto sneered. He walked towards the bed, seeing Sakura was still lying asleep. "I must commend you." He said, stroking her cheek. "I put you through all that to drive you mad. I would have expected you to abandon Naruto and get rid of those things I found in you before they came to term, after what I did you to." Kabuto gave a slight chuckle. "And yet you persevered through it all. Naruto-kun must be so proud…" He laughed a little more. "…well, WOULD be." He heard the cries again, and looked over to the bassinets, observing the newborns. One with pink hair, the other with blond. "What a charming set of twins." Kabuto sneered as he looked them over. Producing a knife from his sleeve, he then said "I'll take the bodies, and leave you with the heads."
He raised the knife…and suddenly screamed in pain as something stabbed him in the back. Dropping the knife, he saw Sakura had risen from her bed to protect her children and drove a tanto into him, missing his spine by a hair. "How-?"
"Just because I was in labor, didn't mean I was unarmed!" She dug it deeper into him, causing him to cry out. "I knew you would come for me; I suspected as much ever since Naruto and I were attacked in our old apartment!" Finding a little strength in her legs, she rose from her bed and pushed him to the floor. "I let you live…" Sakura growled, seething with rage. "…if it made you feel this way…I'll correct my mistake."
Kabuto suddenly elbowed Sakura in the temple, knocking her off. He quickly rolled over and began to choke her. "How 'bout this!? I'll cut your limbs, and let you watch me kill your babies, slowly!" Sakura struggled against him, but the labor was too taxing for her to focus her chakra, and she was too out of practice to remember how to get out of a choke hold. "Even better…" Kabuto breathed. He activated his Magenkyo, his rage overriding his common sense. "I really shouldn't be doing this since I don't have much medication left…but this is too good to pass up! Let's review all the things I could do to your babies… and then SOME…"
Unexpectedly, Sakura brought her hands up and dug her nails into Kabuto's eyes. "AHHH!" Kabuto got off of her as he held his eyes. Sakura grabbed her throat, coughing while Kabuto slumped against the wall. "Bitch!" he hissed. His vision was blurry, but it was good enough to make out human shapes. "Fine!" Kabuto yelled. "I'll burn you all!"
Kabuto was about to activate Amaterasu…but then convulsed in pain. It felt like thousands of needles were trying to burst from his body. "What's…happening?" Feeling himself sweat, one thing came to mind. "Poison! But how-!?" He then remembered when Yuji bit him. Feeling the wound on his neck, he felt that it had become swollen and extremely painful. Feeling his fingers, he realized it was producing a discharge as well. "That explains how I got it, but not how it affects me when it shouldn't!"
"The boy who bit you…I believe he used a poison based on spiders, not snakes." Satima suddenly walked into view, carrying his staff. "Most toxins ninja use are derived from snakes; spiders normally don't produce enough venom to be dangerous and are ignored." Staring at him, he continued "Orochimaru's antidotes will ultimately save you from death, but you will not be spared a painful and possibly horrific experience."
"Who are you!?" Kabuto yelled, gripping his wound as he felt another jolt of pain.
"You'll find out soon enough." Satima suddenly rushed him, and jumped with him through the ceiling. Eventually, they wound up back on ground level. Satima tossed Kabuto aside, the later trembling both from the shock and the venom coursing through him. Satima spun his staff, preparing for a fight. "I have abided by your existence for too long..." he said. "To atone for leaving you alone to let you hurt my friends, I will stop you, here and now."
Kabuto's eyes widened in shock. "He couldn't be! No…" He turned to Satima, who now showed the sharingan eye. "Sasuke-kun!?"
Aaanddd…there you have it! Satima was Sasuke the whole time. I tried my best not to scream it out, but I also wanted to drop subtle clues to give you all a hint (his initials, his interactions with Naruto and Sakura, and Tsunade's treatment of him). So, were you completely taken off guard? Did you see it coming the whole time? Think it was a complete asspull? Let me know!
Now, as for what I'm going to rant about next…Kishimoto gave another interview. Now, part of it was about Boruto. But another question was about…you guessed it…pairings.
First, why are you still talking about this? It's been three years; some are satisfied with what you've done. Others, myself included, not so much. But it's done. Is it even relevant anymore, with Boruto going on?
As for the content of his explanation, again he claims NH was planned from the beginning, and added Sakura to the mix to make things "messy" between them. He also goes on to say that he didn't view Sakura as anything special, just another character along the lines of Kiba.
I can't wrap my head around this. You've changed your answer on when you decided on NH for what is it now? The fifth time? If Sakura was supposed to make things complicated between them, you failed on that level because Naruto kept thinking of Sakura all the time, and whenever HInata thought of Naruto (what do I mean forever? THAT'S ALL SHE EVER DID!), not once did she get jealous of Sakura. In fact, if I'm remembering 450 correctly, when Sakura embraced Naruto in front of the whole crowd, she SMILED! You want to know a show that did what you CLAIMED you were trying to do correctly? Shakugan no Shana. Shana and Yuji were the main focus, and Yoshida (along with Konoe) complicated things for everyone. It created a genuine love triangle, where Yuji interacted with both and made you wonder who he would ultimately choose. Both girls felt nervous that he would love the other, and were at first bitter rivals because of it. In YOUR story, Hinata was barely in it, and was pretty much useless to the plot except as the fall back girl once Naruto fulfilled his promise.
And now you're claiming Sakura was just a side character, the same likes of fucking Kiba? So, let me get this straight: for your main heroine, which I'm led to believe has been Hinata the whole time according to you…you don't introduce her until volume 4 or 5. You give her no victorious battles. You hardly have her talk with the hero of the story. You don't even have her on the same team with him.
And yet, for some random side character, you introduce her in chapter 3, you make her a teammate of the main protagonists, have her trained by one of three legendary ninja, give her a massive power boost, tease developing feelings between her and Naruto, give her two kickass battles and a few impressive punches (you should have done more but it was still more than you gave Hinata) have her save the lives of several people including Naruto, spare her from the Tsukiyomi Tree ( I like to call it the Matrix Tree), compare her with Kushina after desiring her son to find someone like her, and land the finishing blow on the final boss of the series (Kaguya, not Sasuke)?
What kind of wrapped writing is this!?
This isn't burying the controversy over your handling of romance, you just opened a brand new can of worms! I could think of a million ways to accomplish what you did in terms of endgame pairings, and I promise you 90% of them were planned out better than what you gave us! Saying Naruto is a battle manga is NOT an excuse. If you're going to have a romantic subplot, you can't just half-ass it! You need to commit to it! Toriyama got around with his romantic subplots…by not really having them. He just paired up people. Sure, it wasn't the best form of writing, but neither is DragonBall as a whole, and what little romance there was hardly had any impact on the characters, except for Vegeta and Bulma.
Either you're lying about this, which I believe you are, or you just might be telling the truth. If it's the former, congratulations! You are officially the Donald Trump of manga! If you are telling the truth, then I am sure you are legally insane…which ironically also makes my previous statement still stand depending on what you believe.
To Shonen Jump, in the EXTREMELY unlikely event one of you is reading this…stop asking Kishimoto about the pairings, or tell whoever is interviewing him not to ask about romance in Naruto. It's not abating the criticism you are receiving, and I doubt it is going to push Boruto's sales up. If this was Kishi's decision, you needed to help him make this aspect of the story better. If it was yours, you should have let Kishimoto stick to his original plan. Rumors are going on that you went with NH because you were worried Boruto wouldn't sell otherwise. If you felt that unconfident of a sequel without a canon pairing, you shouldn't have made it at all. Judging by what that NOT Shinachiku is putting out thus far, it seems it hasn't helped. You made your bed, now you have to sleep in it. Just don't ask me to buy the mess you're making.
Sorry about all that, but the behavior of the Naruto franchise has just been beyond screwy, not just for the canon pairings. Just in the way it's handling everything. It really boggles my mind.
Oh well, I can at least promise you that nothing happening in canon will affect my story. See you next time!
Gyoton-Crystal Style
Kouton-Steel Style
Hanegeado Gumo-Trapdoor Spider