Hello everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; if you are enjoying it please keep on supporting me and my other works. I just started another story called 'Legacies and Lightening' please check it out and share it you any friend you got. Now with nothing else to say lets begin.
Sabaku no Kitsune: Chapter 46
Norther Kusa (2 months after the invasion of Taki): With Naruto, Jiraya, Obito and Kurumi
"Rasengan" Naruto shouted as he shoved the jutsu into the stomach of a Kusa ninja drilling into him and tearing apart his organs; the Kusa ninja was sent flying towards a boulder and landed with a wet splat.
The ninja's guts were pouring out of his body and onto the ground as Naruto looked on with anger and rage; Naruto spit on the ground as he turned around. Kurumi was wiping blood off her blade, Obito was collecting his kunai and Jiraya was looking at Naruto.
The area was littered with over 100 corpses of enemy ninja that Naruto and his squad had taken out; they were a mixed unit of Kusa, Taki and root ninja and were the last major pocket of resistance. About 2 months ago Gaara, Jiraya and Kakashi had led a three pronged attack from the north and Nagato led an attack from the south. After a month of fighting all four armies converged on Kusagakure and took the village, although they lost over five hundred ninja doing so.
The next month consisted of Naruto and his squad of Jiraya, Kurumi and Obito going around and taking out any pockets of resistance; they estimated they killed upwards of 400 to 500 ninja, not including the group they just took out.
Jiraya looked at the blood soaked Naruto and felt worried for his sanity; Naruto's eyes changed completely since he tortured Neji to find out about Temari's whereabouts. His eyes were now permanently red and slitted showing that he was drawing from his anger and some of the fox's chakra; although the nine tails chakra was not being used. To Jiraya's best guess the nine tails was fueling Naruto's anger to keep him active and to not have a full on break down.
Jiraya walked up to Naruto who looked at him with a blank stare "we're done here Naruto" Jiraya said and Naruto nodded "lets head back to Kusa".
"Ok" Naruto said in a hollow tone which Jiraya and Kurumi picked up.
Kurumi has been worrying about Naruto for the past 2 months; he hasn't spoken more than a few times and when he does it's no more than a few words. Naruto seemed to have had his soul ripped out; or to be more specific, Temari ripped out.
Temari was Naruto's sole reason for not going off the deep end; she rescued him from the brink of despair and kept him from losing his mind when he was abandoned by Konoha. Now without Temari around to keep him steady, the cracks were beginning to show.
Kurumi walked over to Naruto and put his hand on his shoulder and he looked at her "hey Naruto, how about we get some ramen from the mess hall; my treat" she said. Naruto looked at the raven haired farm girl and nodded.
"Sure" Naruto said as he turned and walked away; Kurumi was left standing there saddened by Naruto's lack of emotion. Obito however looked at Naruto with a look in between pity and understanding.
Obito felt hollow after the death of Rin and it almost drove him to become a monster; Madara had tried to morph him into his right hand but there was a little piece of Obito inside him that kept him from doing so. Now Obito was looking at Naruto and wondering if this will be what breaks him.
'I won't let that happen' Obito thought 'he's not to far gone'.
Kusa; 1 day later: With Tsunade, Jiraya, Gaara, Obito, Kakashi and Nagato
Tsunade, Jiraya, Gaara, Obito, Kakashi and Nagato were all inside the heavily damaged Kusa main building sitting at a round table; this building was the one where the leader of Kusa was running his village. Ironically the seat that Tsunade was sitting in was the same one that the former leader was sitting in when she punched his head off; the seat still had dried blood from the now ex-leader.
"We can't keep doing this Tsunade" Jiraya said as he looked at Tsunade sitting across from him "sending him out on missions was a good idea at first, but Naruto's mental state has been getting worse". "I don't know what's worse; him enjoying killing people or not caring about killing people" Jiraya said and Tsunade sighed.
"What can I do Jiraya" Tsunade said "if Naruto isn't out on missions he might just go out and look for Temari; and who knows if she is really at the place where Neji said she was". "All we can do is keep him close" Tsunade said.
"Kurumi has been keeping an eye on him the entire time" Obito said gaining their attention "she says all he does after missions is clean his weapons and lay in bed". "And so far Naruto hasn't tried to run away" Obito said.
"That doesn't mean he isn't thinking about it" Kakashi said "need I remind you Sasuke ran away for something he wanted; if Sasuke was willing to run away for a vague promise of power what makes you think Naruto won't run away to rescue the love of his life".
"I feel for Naruto; I do" Gaara said speaking up "Temari is my sister, I miss her dearly; but we cannot allow emotions to cloud our judgement". "Enough about that; is there any new developments on any of the fronts" Gaara asked and Nagato raised his hand and spoke.
"Yes there is" Nagato said "the lines have pretty much stabilized along the entire front"; Nagato pulled out a map and showed both allied and enemy forces. "We have a defensive line running from Taki's Northern coast down to Suna's southern coast" Nagato said "from what I have heard Kumo is making gains in Oto but other than that there is no real progress on any other front". "Along Ame's eastern front there is sporadic battles between Ame and Suna ninja and Root ninja" Nagato said.
"I've seen the report; multiple squads of Ame and Suna ninja killed" Gaara said "do you have any idea who may be behind it".
"Not sure; there have been no survivors" Nagato said "so far seventy two ninja have been killed; eighteen, four man squads". "But they have been leaving calling cards; who we assume it's a squad" Nagato said as he pulled out a picture; and passed it around, everyone looked at it and saw a Suna shinobi with his nose cut off.
"I know this practice" Gaara said gaining everyone's attention "during the early days of Suna roaming tribes of barbarians and bandits attacked the village; shinobi used to go out and kill them in retaliation". "The First Kazekage; my great great grandfather ordered every barbarian and bandit killed will have their noses cut off in order to verify body count" Gaara said "seems this group has a knowledge of Suna history; they are doing this to mock us".
"Damn it" Tsunade said as she folded her hands in front of her "how far have they gotten into your territory Nagato".
"About twenty miles" Nagato said and Tsunade nodded.
"We should try to take them out" Kakashi said "the longer this squad stays active the more shinobi that'll be killed and the worse our morale will get".
"I agree" Jiraya said "who has the most operation experience in the area where the attacks have been taking place".
"Me and Kankuro" Gaara said "we can hunt down the squad and eliminate them easily"; upon saying that Obito shook his head.
"I don't agree with that; you are a commander and far too important" Obito said "I say Kankuro and a squad of his choosing; maybe even take Naruto".
"I wouldn't recommend that" Jiraya said and Obito shrugged "maybe Anko would be a better choice; she's well rounded in all forms of combat and is a highly skilled jonin".
"Very well then" Gaara said as he got up "I will inform Kankuro and Anko of their mission; and they should take at least a squad each as an extra precaution". Gaara began to walk out of the room as he went to go find Kankuro and Anko; but in the back of his mind Gaara had a bad feeling about the whole situation.
House in Kusa: With Naruto, Kurumi, Obito and Karin
Naruto was in the living room of an abandoned house sitting on a rickety couch they found with a coffee table in front of him; Naruto had laid out all his weapons in front of him and he was going over them.
Naruto's large and 2 small fans, a dozen kunai, 2 dozen shuriken, his gauntlet, his tanto, ninja wire and a Fuma shuriken that he picked up a while ago; Naruto had found the shuriken with a root ninja and he decided to grab it. He had a fuma shuriken just like it during the land of waves mission and he remembered how useful it was against Zabuza.
Naruto grabbed the Fuma shuriken and opened it up and grabbed a sharpening file and began to sharpen the dulled edges 'maybe this will come in handy later on… maybe if I pump my wind chakra into it I can-' he thought until he was brought out of it.
Kurumi sat down next to Naruto with a smile on her face "hey Naruto, can I join you" she asked nicely and Naruto looked at her dully "my sword needs some TLC". Naruto turned away and focused on his large shuriken.
"Whatever" Naruto said and Kurumi's face fell; Kurumi picked up a sharpening stone and wet it with some oil and began to slowly go over it.
Obito and Karin were both in the kitchen looking at this and Karin spoke "he's in turmoil" Karin said and Obito looked at her "anger, sadness, helplessness, regret, worry, I can feel it all in his chakra; I can't sense the warmth that's usually there".
"I know those feelings all too well" Obito said as he took a sip of a soda "I told you about Rin right"; Karin nodded and Obito pointed at Naruto. "That was me for a long time" Obito said.
After sharpening her sword for a few minutes Kurumi looked over to Naruto who still hasn't said a word "enough of this shit" she said.
Naruto not paying attention spoke "what" he said absently; Kurumi reached over and grabbed the shuriken and threw it across the room and into the wall. "Kurumi, what the hell" Naruto shouted as he looked at her and Kurumi looked at him.
"Finally, more than a single word from you" Kurumi said as she stood up "that's it Naruto, I'm sick of babying you; I get why your upset, I do, but cutting everyone off isn't helping anyone".
"Then what the fuck do you expect me to do huh" Naruto shouted getting back up and getting in her face "The only thing I think about from the moment I get up to the moment I go to sleep is Temari". "She was taken by Shikamaru right under my goddamn nose; that asshole is obsessed with her" Naruto said "he could be raping her on the daily just to get back at me, or torturing her for rejecting him for all those years; or Kami knows what else". "You don't know a goddamn thing about what I'm going through, because you still got all of your family" he said" "imagine if they took you mom or dad huh… different story; imagine them raping your mom or cutting your dads eye out".
Naruto got closer to Kurumi's face and shouted "so excuse the fuck out of me for worrying about the woman I love, possibly suffering in the worst way I can imagine ; because I wasn't there to fucking save her".
Kurumi was speechless as Naruto was so close to her and both Obito and Karin were getting ready to jump in case it gets physical "get this through your head farm girl" Naruto said poking her in the chest "if it wasn't for me and Temari, your ass would still be living on a farm in Tea country". "So… fuck… off" Naruto hissed as he walked to the door, grabbed his jacket and opened the door; Kankuro was on the other side and was about to knock when Naruto walked right by him and off into the distance.
"Uh… did I miss something" Kankuro asked and Obito nodded.
"Yeah… I think Naruto just opened up to us" Obito said before going over to Kurumi and touching her shoulder "honey, I'm sure Naruto didn't mean that".
Kurumi looked to the ground and began to cry "n-no, he's right" she said as she began to wipe her tears "I-I never thought about it like that, wh-what if Ma or you were taken". "Oh god… I was so wrong; N-Naruto" Kurumi said as she sat on the couch and began to cry; Obito sat down and held her as Karin grabbed Kankuro and took him into the kitchen.
"What do you want Kankuro; I know you're not here to see Naruto lose his shit" Karin said and Kankuro nodded.
"I'm here to tell you I have a mission and I'm heading to Ame" Kankuro said and Karin nodded "I'll be gone for a few days; just wanted to let you know".
"Thanks for letting me know" Karin said with a smile; Karin got close and gave Kankuro a kiss on the lips and when the kiss broke both were smiling "I'll be waiting for you".
"Don't worry my love" Kankuro said giving her another kiss "I'll be back before you know it"; Karin nodded and Kankuro walked out of the house and into the street where Anko and six ninja (three Ame and three Suna) waited for him.
"All done talking to your girl" Anko said and Kankuro nodded "good, lets get a move on; it'll take us a few days to get to Ame".
"Copy that" Kankuro said "lets go"; Kankuro, Anko and the ninja all started walking towards the south exit of the village.
At night; at the house: With Kurumi, Obito and Karin
Kurumi, Obito and Karin all entered the empty house and saw Naruto was not home; Kurumi sighed as she turned on the lights to the living room and looked around. Kurumi saw something interesting on the coffee table and she along with Obito and Karin walked over and looked at it.
On the coffee table there was a small orange teddy bear holding a heart saying 'I'm sorry'; and under it there was a letter and Kurumi picked it up and saw it was for her. Kurumi opened it and read it out loud.
"Dear Kurumi; Sorry for yelling earlier, I was out of line" Kurumi read as Karin and Obito listened "Please accept this bear, I made him myself… and it cost me like ten thousand Ryo to make at the build a bear". Kurumi, Karin and Obito chuckled as Kurumi read that part "sorry I was a dick; love Naruto".
Kurumi put down the letter and picked up the bear and gave it a hug "I forgive you" she said.
Obito smiled and looked to Karin "find Naruto for me" he said and Karin closed her eyes and focused to find his chakra signature.
"Found him" Karin said as she opened her eyes "you want me to come with you".
"No" Obito said as Kurumi and Karin looked at him "this is something I have to do alone".
On a hill over looking the village: With Naruto
Naruto sipped a bottle of whiskey taking in some of the last bit of the amber liquid "D-damn" Naruto said drunkenly "I-I'm out". Naruto tossed the bottle to the side next to about 3 others and reached into a back pack beside him; Naruto pulled out another bottle of whiskey and read it "aged forty years… that's like… almost four decades".
Naruto popped off the cork and began to drink it before stopping "w-when I get Temari back, I-I-I'm gonna take her out to a nice restaurant" Naruto said with a giggle "a-a-and get the most expensive wine there".
There was a crunch behind Naruto and he got up bottle in hand and took out a kunai "damn Naruto; even drunk you can still react that fast" Obito said and Naruto put his blade away.
"Did Kurumi get my teddy" Naruto asked as he sat back down and Obito sat beside him.
"Yep and she loves it… and she forgives you" Obito said with a smile.
"I wanted to make it black" Naruto said before taking a swig "but they ran out of material; but they had orange… the least popular color". Obito chuckled and Naruto continued to speak "I'm not well… am I" Naruto said and Obito shook his head.
"No kid, you're not" Obito said wrapping his arm around Naruto "you are heading down a dark and destructive path; one I nearly went down myself". "I know you're worried about Temari; but you're hurting yourself and everyone else by doing this" Obito said and Naruto nodded "ask yourself this; what would Temari do if she saw you now".
Naruo thought for a moment "you'd probably think that she'd yell at me and slap me on the back of the head; saying 'what the hell is wrong with you'" Naruto said with a chuckle "no, no she wouldn't do that; she'd do something worse".
"And what's that; a wind jutsu to the ass" Obito said laughing and Naruto shook his head.
"No" Naruto said as he looked at the bottle he was holding "she'd say she's disappointed in me; and that I should know better"; this took the smile off of Obito's face.
"Really? That's worse than a hit or a jutsu" Obito said and Naruto nodded.
"Coming from her… it's like a thousand Chidori's to the heart" Naruto said as he looked at the bottle he was holding "how many more do I have in there". Obito looked in the bag and checked "none; all you have left is a soda, a chocolate bar and a…" Obito pulled out a manga from Naruto's bag "a manga still in plastic".
"That's for later" Naruto said as he looked at the remaining liquid in his bottle "ok then, new promise; until I rescue Temari, this is the last drink I'm having". Naruto stood up on shaky legs "a-and I never go back on my word" he said "that's my ninja way"; Naruto drank the last bit of liquor and dropped the bottle.
"How do you feel Naruto" Obito asked and Naruto looked at him with a smile; Naruto spun around and ran to a tree and began to throw up "that seems about right" Obito said as he got up and began to pat Naruto's back. "Let it out son, let it out" Obito said as Naruto coughed and spit "come on, lets get you home"; Naruto nodded and Obito picked up Naruto's backpack and the 2 of them vanished in a vortex.
The next day; in Ame: With Kankuro, Anko and their ninja
Kankuro, Anko and their squad were walking across the rainy and muddy terrain of Eastern Ame as they attempted to make their way towards Konan in the eastern area of operations. Kankuro, Anko and the others were wearing their heavy rain gear as they marched along and Anko groaned.
"Fuck this rain" Anko said as she walked by Kankuro; she turned around and looked to her 3 Ame ninja "how the fuck do you guys live here; this weather is goddamn miserable". Anko took another step and her leg went knee deep into a mud hole "shit" she said as she pulled her leg out and shook off the mud.
"You get used to it" an Ame ninja said to Anko who rolled her eyes.
Kankuro was about to speak when he stopped everyone and told them to get low; everyone fell to a knee and he spoke "listen" Kankuro said. Everyone listened close and heard some distant chatter up ahead "follow me, stay quiet" he said; Kankuro led Anko and the others where he thought he heard the noise and they hid behind some rocks.
"No, no please-" An Ame ninja begged before his throat was slit by a Konoha ninja.
Kiba Inuzuka looked at the Ame ninja with a smile on his face before throwing him on the ground and looked around; there were a total of eight bodies surrounding him all with various degrees of damage. Some had claw marks, some had blade wounds and others had what looked like blunt force trauma.
"All in a good days work" Kiba said cracking his neck "hey Asuka, you done yet"; Asuka kneeling next to a corpse and took out a kunai.
"Shut up dog boy" Asuka said as she cut off the nose of one of the Ame ninja "Danzo wants his body count and I'm giving it to him".
Kankuro, Anko and the others looked on with differing emotions; the others had looks of horror and disgust on their faces while Kankuro and Anko had looks of anger.
'That damn mutt' Anko thought 'he's lucky Tsume didn't come on this mission with us'; Kankuro looked at Anko and spoke.
"We found them and now we should take them out" Kankuro said "I'll take on Kiba, you take on the girl and-"; Kankuro was interrupted when someone landed behind them. "Scatter" Kankuro shouted as he and his squad all jumped into different directions with him and Anko going off to one side and their six ninja going off in another as a powerful wind jutsu hit where they were just at.
When the six ninja landed they were confronted by Asuka as she wielded her twin hook swords "more lamb to the slaughter" she said narrowing her eyes.
Meanwhile Kankuro and Anko landed and both got into a defensive stance; Kankuro summoned out his crow and black ant puppets while Anko took out a kunai. Kankuro looked at who launched the jutsu and when he did he saw who it was.
Temari was standing with Akamaru and wearing an root uniform; Temari wore a short black sleeveless crop top exposing her belly button, black anbu pants and had black bandages wrapped up and down her arms. Temari had a scowl on her face and Kankuro saw that there was some kind of weird seal on her forehead.
"T-Temari" Kankuro said astonished and Anko's jaw dropped "what the hell are you doing here Temari; why did you attack up". As soon as he said that they heard a laugh coming from Kiba; Kiba jumped high and landed next to Temari.
"You're not getting an answer from her make-up boy" Kiba said before reaching over and grabbing Temari's breast and giving it a squeeze; Kankuro felt anger and wanted to kill Kiba right then and there but Anko put her hand out and stopped him. "She's basically a vegetable asshole" Kiba said taking his hand away "all she does is follow orders; Fuu and them did some crap to her mind, took a long time though… strong will". "But so far she's been a good girl; and don't worry we haven't done anything to her" Kiba said "Shikamaru would flip his shit if anyone got fresh with her; although who would she tell, she's mute".
Kankuro looked at the scowling face and the blank eyes of his sister and grit his teeth "You're gonna pay for this" Kankuro said "I'm taking her back, even if it's the last thing I do".
"And I'm gonna kill your flea bitten ass right here" Anko said looking to Kiba "and just for that griping right now I'm gonna chop off that little micro dick you got".
Kiba chuckled as he reached into his pocket and took out 2 black food pills "I'd like to see you try bitch" Kiba ate a pill before giving the other to Akamaru "I'm gonna enjoy peeling the skin off your body". Kiba began to cough as he and Akmamaru began to change.
Akamaru's fur turned jet black while Kiba began to change too; Kiba's pupils became yellow slits and his whites turned black as coal. Kiba's claws began to grow and he began to foam at the mouth; Anko looked at the now feral Kiba and felt dread as she looked at him.
"On me Akamaru" Kiba shouted as he and his dog charged forward "KILL THEM ALL".
Ok another chapter done; I hope you all enjoyed it. So yeah Naruto is a wreck, Temari is a slave and Kankuro is going to fight to save her; ok then if you enjoyed this series please like, comment and share with your friends. And also please check out my new story 'Legacies and Lightning' it just came out; now with nothing else to say bye.