(Chapter 31 Fists, Swords and Stone)

It would be nearing the end of September as Naruto was now readjusting to the boost to his overall stats that he gained from the Spooky Plate, given that it felt like he had so much power at his disposal that it felt like he was ready to burst sometimes from how much he was holding back…Nevertheless, he was more than happy to train alongside Sasuke and Sakura in preparation for their assassination job against one of Iwa's jonin named Akatsutchi, and as he was known as one of their best the duo were more than thankful for any training they could take to gain an upper hand against him.


(12 miles outside of Konoha, 2:44 Pm, September 25th, 997 S.E)

It was a cloudy September afternoon as Naruto was currently holding off one of Kazushi's newest Predaplants which took the form of a bipedal Venus Flytrap, whilst Sakura was recovering from being hit by one of its explosive pods.

'How's Sakura looking, Sasuke?!' Naruto said as he unleashed a monstrous right uppercut of a Fire Punch against the large plant monster

'Other than a dislocated jaw and shoulder; she will live.' Sasuke replied over the mind radio as he was busy relocating her jaw and right shoulder

'Good, make sure she's good to go so we can finally put this piece of shit down for good!' Naruto said through their 'Mind Radio'

What with Naruto sending the Predaplant monster in question flying with a Mega Kick a quarter of the way through a treeline, with the inheiritor of Arceus's will in hot pursuit as he drove it further into the ground with a Darkness Lariat. The fiery dark purple and black shadows tore at it's vine and root covered carapace like a swarm of angry locust before Naruto followed it through with another Fire Punch to its chest that sent it tumbling away from Naruto screeching as otherworldly flames burned at its 'flesh'.

The Predaplant in question retaliating by launching a swarm of thorny briars to impale and constrict around him, yet Naruto's launching a Flamethrower attack from both hands to incinerate the assault aimed at him; reducing them to naught but ash and cinder before he dashed after the creature like a furious bull. Said creature attempted to slink into the ground and use the soil beneath to regenerate its wounds as it had done so many a time during their bout, Naruto was far too quick to allow such a thing as he closed the distance faster than it could blink it's singular cornflower blue eye.

Once he did so he grabbed it by the face and used his immense superhuman strength to tear it from the ground that it had sunk a quarter of the way into, and began to unleash a salvo of Poison Jabs and Mach Punches like a madman possessed. The resulting onslaught of attacks were more than enough to propel it further and further upwards as Naruto struck out at with the relentlessness of a starving pack of hyenas, as pulp and plant matter began to splatter around him as he pummeled the Predaplant like it was nobody's business.

Naruto then completing the concussive pummeling with a Sky Uppercut that sent it spiraling upwards before Sasuke and Sakura soon rushed in out of the woodwork, what with Sakura grinning like a madwoman as she struck out at it with an Ironbreaker enhanced to it's abdomen that had it nearly bowing over from the sharp impact. All before Sasuke sent it into the ground with his the blade of his Jian lit ablaze as he preformed his Single Sword Style: Phoenix Descending, in the form of a brutal fiery overhand swing that now only sliced through its left shoulder with the greatest of ease, but the accompanying pressure from the blow also sounded with the shrill of a phoenix as well.

The creature let out a banshee-like shriek as it tore a quartet of eggplant-shaped pods from it's back the size of a small child and flung them at the trio, as Naruto used a Discharge attack to intercept the pods that exploded in midair before they could reach the trio; whilst Sakura rushed ahead like a madwoman. All to leap forward and deliver a vicious Buddha Killer that not only sent it tumbling away from them, but had also sliced its singular eye in twain; spraying sludge-like chlorophyll on Sakura's arm as it backed away furiously on its root-like legs.

'You all good there, Sakura?' Naruto questioned as he used Heal Pulse to get rid of the caustic burns that were forming on said arm from it's blood

'Yeah, I'm fine. But we can worry more about me later; when we don't have to deal with one of Kazushi-sensei's summons.' Sakura answered back almost immediately as another banshee-like shriek from the Predaplant echoed off into the distance

'Fair point…Anyways, Sasuke you ready to get work?' Naruto questioned the Uchiha swordsman

"I am as always, Naruto.' Sasuke said as he brought his Katana to bare as he got into his 2 Swords style

From there the trio rushed forwards to attack the monster that was attempting to bind it's sundered stump of an arm to a nearby maple tree and transmutate it into its new arm, as vines and briars began to wrap around the massive tree…Unfortunately for said Predaplant it was stopped in it's tracks when Naruto who'd lept into the air had used Flame Wheel to shred and incinerate what would've been its new, thicker and more powerful limb into cinder, as Sakura used Raging Fire to accelerate her charge against it faster and deliver a blindingly quick Superman punch to its stomach.

The sheer speed and force of which she crashed into was enough to take out a section of its stomach the size of a Clydesdale, causing it to shriek so loud that it was damn near painful as it flailed from having its abdomen obliterated. However, Naruto still in his Flame Wheel state rounded on it once more and proceed to both slice open and set its back ablaze as he spun and ran along the length of its back; nearly tearing it in two as it further screeched in pain from having it's back so violently torn open.

However, its shrieking and screeching wouldn't last for too terribly long given that Sasuke would use its flailing to his advantage and use Boar's Stampede to take its bottom jaw off, alongside a portion of its throat as Naruto came right in with a Shadow Claw to take out the remainder of its throat and a massive portion of its neck. The claw made of malefic orange energy and pitch black shadow carved 5 bloody furrows through its neck; nearly decapitating the creature in one fell swoop as a follow through axe kick from Sakura whom had taken this chance to leap into the air had caused its head to be violently pushed down into its sundered torso.

Yet their assault wasn't over given that Naruto and Sasuke made sure that this time they'd finally get rid of the Predaplant in question before it could regenerate, as Naruto had Sakura over their mind radio to uppercut the creature so hard in its ruined chest that it was sent flying into the treetops. From there Naruto used a high-powered Flame Burst and Sasuke used a Fire Release: Fierce Dragon Flame Jutsu to jointly incinerate the creature, who met its end as the flames conjoined together to form a massive dragons' head to devour it whole before imploding in a fiery mass of marigold colored flames.

"Alright, you guys that takes care of that…Damn, that was tougher than what I thought it would be." Naruto said as he used Heal Pulse to help get rid of the caustic burns on Sakura and Sasuke from being covered in the Predaplants' ichor

"You really weren't kidding when you said that sensei's Predaplants were a menace. Just how many of those things does she have up her fucking sleeve?!" Sakura replied having now firsthand experienced the difficulties that came from fighting a Predaplant

"Yup! Kazushi really knows how to make 'em a tricky s.o.b to deal with…Just think, this isn't even mentioning what her Venom Dragons are like. Now those are super crazy." Naruto spoke as he soon finished healing his companions

"Wait a minute, she can make dragons from these fuckers?" Sakura questioned as Naruto nodded yes

"Oh yeah, she can do that like it's child's play…Hell, she's got them in 5 different flavors of fucked up. So fair word of warning, if she decides to bust one of those out. Then she either acknowledges you as strong, or you've pissed her off enough to decide you die and with a quickness!" Naruto informed his 'sister' in concerns to the Venom dragons

"Then let us hope it is the former, in the event she should summon one of them. Those things are a nightmare to fight against." Sasuke said in not wanting to deal with an angry Kazushi by any stretch of the imagination

"Agreed my guy…Now how about we go to Kazushi, tell her we beat that son of a bitch, and get hosed off…Sound good?" Naruto said to his friends

"That sounds wonderful right now. The last thing I want is to smell like a compost heap, sulfur, and an 80 years old grandma's unwashed taint." Sakura replied as both of her male companions couldn't help but almost gag at the thought of such a smell

"Sakura, I say this as your teammate. But never, ever put something like that into thought ever again…Especially when we still wreak of that blasted creatures' insides." Sasuke said to the pink-haired bruiser in disgust

"Yeah, I gotta agree with Sasuke on this one. The last thing I need is to puke before I go eat something." Naruto requested from his 'sister'

"Alright, fine…Fucking pansies." Sakura said back albeit the last bit under her breath

"Good, now let's go!" Naruto said before he teleported himself and his allies off and away

Meanwhile, Kakashi was still having to deal with the complaints of genin on not being able to go on a C-Rank mission; while by contrast Team 13 a.k.a Team Kazushi had been raking in nothing but C-ranks since their escort mission with Princess Azula some time ago.

"I will tell you two this, just as I have the other dozens if not hundreds of times by now. You will be allowed to go on C-rank missions, when the three of you can work together effectively...Honestly, I have seen rabid dogs work better than the 3 of you." Kakashi said having now regretted his choice to have his sensei's children as his students

"You can't keep us from C-ranks forever, that's not fair. Plus we're the heroes of the village, we deserve to go on a C-Rank mission right now!" Mizore barked out at Kakashi

"I can and will keep you from higher-ranked missions, until I see that all of you can be effective together. Being a shinobi does not mean you are allowed to be a solo act, Mizore. What it means is working with your comrades, as a unit to the best of your abilities. So until I can see that, then no one here will go on a mission above D-Rank, and that is final." Kakashi said with all the authority that a former Anbu captain and war veteran could command

"Oh yeah, then how about we go to old man Jiraiya then. Then he'll definitely make your sorry ass give us one then. Hell, I'll tell my dad that if you don't that your holding us back, and I'd hate to see what he'd do to you then, if you're holding the villages ace in the holes back." Toshiro said with a cocksure smirk

"Do you really think you can force me to give you a mission by blackmailing me with my own sensei?! Is that what I'm hearing genin?" Kakashi said as he stormed over towards Toshiro

"Make no mistake, Toshiro and that goes for you too, Mizore. The two of you and Sai are talented, and far beyond that of any genin barring a few exceptions. However, I will not be bullied into giving the 3 of you a C-Rank mission or above by a pair of spoiled rotten children, who haven't had to bleed and sweat for anything in their lives...So if you ever try to do something like that again, I will have you and Mizore dropped from the shinobi program." Kakashi warned the youngest of the Hokage's children

"Wait, you can do that?! We have to be shinobi, we're the chosen ones of the village. You can't just take our headbands from us, we deserve these more than anyone!" Mizore said indignant and repulsed that Kakashi would dare to even say such a thing

"I can and will. It is my job as a jonin instructor to make sure that shinobi are trained to be soldiers and protectors of the village. And the fact that, you think you can get away with blackmailing me so blatantly; shows that I haven't been doing a good enough job in enforcing that. So if you try and again, I will make sure that you never see a mission beyond D-rank until your father retires...I may be many things, but I will not be told what I can and can't do by someone whose teamwork is beyond abysmal, and makes even the simplest of instructions a hassle." Kakashi said before rounding on Mizore

"And as for you. You are if anything less deserving than most in the village, all I hear from you is how much greater you are than everyone, and how everyone is so blessed to be in your presence. Yet here you stand unable to accomplish even moderate teamwork-building exercises, or even defeat Guy's or Kazushi's genin in sparring matches...How exactly do you plan on proving you are so much 'better' than anyone; when you are the weakest and by far one of the most insufferable divas to ever disgracefully wear that headband." Kakashi further spoke his voice having turned scathing

"How dare you say that too me, Kakashi. I am the future 5th Hokage, and you will give me the respect I am owed right now!" Mizore ordered

"The only thing that I owe you, is to send you back to the academy on the grounds that you and your brother are by far the most difficult pair of genin I have to work with...The only saving grace here is that Sai is the only person here that makes it salvageable. If it weren't for him pulling this team, and somehow getting you two to be 'manageable', then I would have failed you regardless of your being sensei's children." Kakashi rebuked

"But, But..." Mizore stammered

"But nothing...At the very least, I can commend the fact that we have completed enough D-ranks for the day. All of you are dismissed for the day...however, let this be the 1st and final time that the idea of blackmailing a superior comes from either of your mouths. Otherwise, you will lose those headbands of yours faster than you can blink. Not even Lord Jiraiya can convince me to do otherwise of that." Kakashi tersely said as the twin jinchuuriki with the threat of losing their status as genin wisely went away leaving only Sai

"May I speak freely?" Sai questioned

"You may, Sai...Honestly, you truly are the one saving grace of this team. If it weren't for you, then I would have already begun the paperwork of dropping those two heathens from the shinobi program." Kakashi answered back nearly at his wits end with them

"If I may, I think that I have a compromise to make sure that we can still go on a C-Rank mission in the future. While being able to make our team more cohesive, if not salvageable than the disaster it currently is." Sai spoke

"Do you truly think you can make this happen, Sai?" Kakashi questioned skeptically

"I do, all I need is to be given 3 months' time, and your permission to have more 'serious' measures taken to ensure this. Given that, I too have grown tired of their constant whining of not being allowed to go on higher-ranking missions...That is why if you will allow it, I can get some support to make this plausible." Sai said knowing he would have to call in some help from his compatriots at ROOT to do so

"If you can pull it off, Sai. Then be my guest, you have my permission to do what is needed to whip them into better shape within 3 months' time." Kakashi said so wearily and mentally drained that he was ready to try just about anything

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei. You have my word that you will not regret this." Sai said

"I am sure that I will not. If nothing else, then you are dismissed." Kakashi replied before Sai nodded and went off on his way

'...You certainly have gotten yourself into a fine one this time, Kakashi.' Kakashi lamented to himself


(Grass Country, 1 week later, October 1st, 997 S.E, 8:16 Pm)

In the aftermath of Team 7's victory over one of Kazushi's Predaplants did Sasuke and Sakura soon set off on their venture to eliminate one of Iwa's most formidable jonin to date, with the duo in question on their utmost A-game in order to assure victory against one of their toughest challenges to date.

"Remember the game plan, Sakura?" Sasuke questioned as the pink-haired menace nodded

"We get in quickly, take out his friends, and then go let that stone-fucker have it." Sakura answered back in short summation of what the plan was

"Correct. We are dealing with one of Iwa's best jonin, and we cannot afford to screw around with him…So the moment you get the chance, go all out." Sasuke told Sakura who grinned like a madwoman

"Say less, Sasuke." Was Sakura's only reply

The two nodded at each other for a brief moment before they set off in search of terminating their targets who sat beside themselves at the campfire, after having completed their mission and were on the final leg of their travels before returning to their still sundered home. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura had been careful to skirt around their campsite so as to stay out of their line of view, whilst Sasuke had quickly climbed up a tree to enact the 1st part of their plan in order to send them into disarray.

The Uchiha swordsman quickly leaped onto a nearby sturdy branch, making careful to make sure that not a single sound was made to alert the enemy as he swiftly climbed atop of it, once he managed to safely stand atop of it and keep his balance; he quickly molded chakra into his lungs before exhaling out a Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning. Sasuke making sure to make the cloud of superheated ash was as dense ly packed as he could make it before it soon descended down upon them as a thick cloud of pitch black, as the Uchiha unsheathed his swords after the completion of his jutsu before soon leaping away to take cover from what was to come.

Meanwhile, Akatsutchi and the Chunin that accompanied with him were all conversing before the campfire to not only keep themselves warm under the growing October chill, but also as a chance to try and boost their spirits after their continued reeling from the immense sundering of their home. Their faces although dour were still hopeful at the fact that with them finally being cleared to undertake missions after what had happened, that the process towards bringing in more income to help with repairs to the village could be better made manifest.

However, the senior Iwa shinobi's thoughts were broken once he smelled the acrid scent of gunpowder and ash from a woodfire, with Akatsutchi looking up to see a dense cloud of ashes as thick as a small stack of playing cards raining down…So in quickly realizing that this was the technique for Konoha ninja he quickly yelled for his companions to scatter as he went through hand-signs to put up a Mud Wall around himself and the others to protect themselves as the cloud soon descended upon them.

That being said by the time they began to run for it, it was much too late as the moment the ashes touched their campfire; the entirety of the campsite erupted into a mass implosion of flame and concussive force; that rapidly scorched everything in site. Both Sasuke and Sakura took cover as the rushing of flames and superheated winds rushed over not only the encampment but everything spanning out in a 35 foot radius from the edge of the campsite.

Once the smoke and fiery debris cleared to reveal either burning corpses, or those staggering about from severe full-body burns did Sasuke and Sakura spring into actions like thieves in the night; that sprinted toward their prey without a 2nd thought. All the while a somewhat dazed Akatsutchi who managed to shield himself from the brunt of the attack had eventually brought down the reinforced walls of stone and mud, to see his remaining companions either get decapitated by Sasuke, or have holes punched through their chests by Sakura.

"What the hell, when did tree huggers have the time to find…" Akatsutchi said to himself before having to block a oncoming roundhouse kick from Sakura

"Careful monologuing, numbnuts. You just might find yourself between a rock and a hard place." Sakura spoke with a savage grin as she powered up to 62% of her Removal

'And I'm fighting a Kure too….Just my luck.' Akatsutchi spoke before he found himself folding over from an uppercut to the kidneys

Matters were made even worse when Akatsutchi was barely able to dodge an attempt from Sasuke trying to run him through with a Boar's Stampede, but at the expense of Sakura nailing him with a jaw-cracking overhand left that knocked out a small portion of his teeth from the sheer brute force. Which allowed for Sasuke to quickly slice at the back of said Jonin's thigh with his jian and slash across back with his katana, with speed and agility that would be par the course for most jonin if not an elite one at that.

The surviving Iwa shinobi was not rendered helpless in this situation despite being outnumbered, given that even though Sasuke and Sakura were able to put up an admirable fight against him he was still one of the 3rd Tsuchikage's elite for a reason. Given that he was able to land more than his fair share of blows against the duo that thudded like sledgehammers every time they struck, and with great speed as well when a hammerfist from the jonin nearly snapped Sasuke's head back to the point he felt his cheek and upper jaw crack.

Hence why from that point onward as Sakura by a hairsbreadth parried a right hook aimed at her ribs from connecting cleaning, albeit when it did that even in her enhanced state she felt the force from it…which made her grin like a madwoman as she retaliated with an Ironbreaker enhanced stomp-kick to his knee. The blow was strong enough for Akatsutchi to briefly stumble but not nearly enough for him to be able to dodge out of the way from a stab to the back of his neck from Sasuke, but by that same token it was a feint for him to stab him in the back; barely missing his spleen by precious few inches.

From there the Uchiha swordsman used his Sharingan and great agility to help slice and impale Akatsutchi to ribbons, while Sakura's almost zealous offensive put him on the backfoot from her nonstop onslaught of punches, elbows, and knees that even when Akatsutchi blocked he felt his bones begin to crack and his joints nearly dislocate on impact. As such Akatsutchi tried to use his surprising amount of agility to leap out of the way from the two genin, and launch a counter-offensive to ensnare and crush them in one of his earth jutsu.

However, this was easier said than done when you had Sakura grab you by both your legs and slam you into the ground before powerbombing him into the ground and leaping on top of him to put him in a guillotine hold to try and break his thick muscular neck. Yet this was easier said than done when he was trying to pull the woman who was strangling him like a deranged honey badger off of his neck, whilst Sasuke who took advantage of this decided to unleash his Feast of the Hydra attack the moment that Akatutchi's back was turned to him.

The bulky jonin bellowed and screamed in pain in choked rasps as Sakura continued to constrict around his neck as though she were a pink-haired boa constrictor, while Sasuke's blades continued to flay the flesh off of his back and right side of his flank. The Iwa jonin feeling his oxygen supply dwindling as his body was being cut to ribbons, had mustered all his strength into throwing an earth chakra-enhanced punch to knock Sakura off of him that broker nose as she tumbled off of him before hitting her with a brutal snapping side kick to the stomach.

All the while Sasuke blocked what would've been a double hammerfist from above with both blades; before feinting a stab with his katana to land a deep yet incredibly swift gash across Akatsutchi's left thigh causing the jonin to raggedly roar in pain before sending him tumbling away with a closed back fist to the collarbone…While the attack was enough to knock the air out of his sails he managed to catch himself by digging both blades into the ground to stop himself, whilst Sakura was busying resetting her nose back into place.

"Are you good Sasuke?" Sakura said as she snorted a bloody snot rocket into the ground

"I'll be fine, in the meantime. We need to finish this quickly while we have him injured." Sasuke replied as Sakura immediately went to 70% of her Removal

"Gotcha!" Sakura said back as she rushed as absurd speeds aided by her Raging Fire

All the while Akatsutchi was recovering from being nearly choked to death along with his neck having come a few notches too close to being broken, was forced to defend an Adamantine Cherry Blossom from Sakura; the Iwa Jonin barely managed to bring his arms up to block the attack. Granted the result was him feeling his right arm break in 4 places from Sakura putting nearly all of her strength into the attack, as it took the great majority of his physicality to not have his arm dislocate out of his socket from the power behind it.

However, Sakura not being one to waste an opportunity when she saw it, quickly used her enhanced speed to drive her knee into Akatsutchi's liver causing him to fall to his knees unable to gasp for breath, as she then quickly used Bind of Picses to immobilize his arms and further shatter his already wounded one. All the while Sasuke took this chance as Sakura immobilized and attempt to break it not rip said Jonin's arms off of his body with her armbar, by charing lightning chakra into his Jian.

Yet instead of rushing forward to use it to cut him to ribbons as he had earlier, Sasuke had to launch something he'd been working on ever since he'd copied the Chidori from Naruto's brother, which he aptly named the Chidori Sharp Spear…On the other side whilst Akatsutchi struggled against Sakura's brutal armbar with as much srength as he could; that was met by the absurd strength of Sakura, he felt something pierce into his stomach and send sharp spikes of jagged pain all through his abdomen.

Both he and Sakura looked down from her position atop the Iwa Jonin to see a meters-long lance of lightning impaled into his liver, before Sasuke formed the dragon hand seal with his free hand, and in an instant Akatsutchi screamed blood murder as several 'blades' made of lightning erupted and pierced other parts of his abdomen and innards. Something that was only amplified once Sasuke swung his extended blade to the right to rip out a hefty chunk of fried internal organs out of Akatsutchi, and granted the wound had cauterized from the lightning it was still no less painful as he felt himself stagger from the now jagged hole in his stomach.

That being said he didn't have much time to dwell on that as Sakura's Bind of Pisces came to an end, as she used that moment of Sasuke tearing out innards; that left him stunned to shatter and snap Akatsutchi's right arm in half to the point bone jutted out; before disengaging out of the hold and using swift acrobatics to do a headstand on his shoulders. Where from there she then threw him above her and jumped up to use Hard Slam to tackle him back down into the ground, where she utilized Mountain Breaker to land punches to his jaw and chest with all the bone-shattering force she could muster.

Akatsutchi gasped in pain at the attack that violently cratered the ground around him, as his mind was split between not only the grievousness of his injuries but also the fact that he'd never see his home again given the state of himself. All the while Sakura forced him into defensive mode with his one good arm, as she proceeded to lay into him with a vicious ground n'pound, landing all manner of punches and elbows with the dogged relentlessness of a honey badger on crack.

'If I have to go out, then I'll at least go out on my own terms.' Akatsutchi said to himself as he managed to muster enough strength to kick Sakura off of him

But not before she gave him a black eye for his troubles as she landed clutching her stomach from being kicked in the spleen, as Akatsutchi jumped out and began going through hand-signs as quickly as he could with his remaining good arm. However, Sasuke knew that if they let him get a jutsu off for even a moment that it could turn things for the worst, and as such pressed forward with all the speed and agility he had at his disposal; running so fast that even Akatsutchi's eyes were straining to see the blur that Sasuke had become.

Yet in that split second that he would've had to complete his Earth Release: Sandwich Technique, did Sasuke in using his full speed and swiftness land a One Sword Style: Great Panther's Tearing onto Akatsutchi who while he managed to use the final hand-sign for his technique found it not working…Only to look and see that the reason being that it failed to go off was that Sasuke who was breathing somewhat heavily from the burst of speed he put on; had severed his left arm at the shoulder, the limb laying on the ground some roughly 10 feet away as Sasuke skidded to a halt.

But before Akatsutchi had enough time to register that his arm had been severed from his body, Sakura came rocketing towards him at full speed as well and with her full strength landed a Leg Thrust that to put it so short simple words caved in his chest. The Iwa jonin let out one final gasp as his ribcage collapsed inwards as though it were a crumpled inwards beer can that had been stomped on by an Akimichi, as he was sent headfirst through a tree dead as a doornail.

The duo took a few moments respite to themselves after the hard-fought battle that had them on their P's and Q's to make sure that they defeated the Tsuchikage's son, in knowing had they let up for a moment that it would've meant their demise…Hence why after nearly 5 minutes of catching their breath and coming off their high, Sakura after coming off her adrenaline high and powering down to normal, had walked over ripped Akatsutchi's head off of his shoulders with her bare hands, and nodded to Sasuke to return back to their campsite for them to rest after what was one of their toughest battles to date.


(5 days later, October 6th, 997 S.E, Haruno Household, 1:45 Pm)

That being said after nearly a weeks worth of travel back to the village and resting did our duo complete their mission, and decide to rest and call it quits for a good week or so, with Sasuke recovering in the comfort of the Uchiha Compound while Sakura was with Naruto who was busy making sure she took it easy for a few days.

"Congrats on taking out one of the Tsuchikage's kids, Sakura! I knew you guys could do it." Naruto said as the two sat on their porch

"When you have someone like Sasuke helping you, then there was no way we were gonna lose. I swear this man could put a Nara to shame with how good he is" Sakura replied with a grin full of cracked teeth from her fight

"Besides, it was a fun tag-team match, and I got to go crazy on someone too…So overall it was a damn fun job." Sakura further spoke in regards to what she'd regard as her best assassination job yet

"Again, I'm glad you two had a great time. Plus look it this way, now Iwa's down one of their best guys on top of already being a craphole." Naruto mentioned

"Oh yeah, that's right…Man, they just cannot win for shit can they?" Sakura said with a small malefic chuckle at said hidden village's misfortune

"Nope, they sure can't! Honestly, I'm just waiting for them to fall apart even faster now…'Cause there is no way there gonna last too long, with how much I messed them up a couple of months back; on top of one of their best getting taken out." Naruto remarked over Iwa's current state of being

"Don't forget the fact that, my cousins have been getting more jobs to take them out too. Since there isn't anyone out there that has any lost love for those rock-fuckers. We've been getting hired to run interference and kill off any of them that are returning from missions…Honestly, it's been pretty fun for us so far." Sakura told her 'little' brother

Given that the moment word reached of Iwa's now critical and sundered state, the Kure clan and its members had been getting a substantial number of contracts to take out not just Iwa shinobi going to and from missions, but also any merchants and tradesmen doing business with them as well. Seeing as how with all eyes on a major hidden village that had been brought too its knees by an unforeseen cataclysm, as such the Kure's were perfect to help put said village out of its misery and further bring it too its final days.

"Really? I guess that explains why you and Mebuki have been super busy lately." Naruto remarked in having seen Sakura's mom becoming more active in the aftermath of what he'd done to Iwa

"Yup! Ma, has been getting real active lately with all our requests to do assassinations and saboteur work against 'em. Hell, thanks to what you pulled in Ame, we're starting to get contracts rolling in to do them dirty too." Sakura informed Naruto

"Man, I am just doing fantastic for all you of guys. Who would've thought that I would get you guys one of your biggest paydays" Naruto said with a chuckle at how his power-ups had resulted in the Kure's making bank

"Its thanks to you that we're getting more active than we've been since the 3rd Shinobi War. Great-Gramps said it himself that this is a splendid time for any Kure worth their salt to take up jobs…So thanks a ton for helping me and my family dirty stinkin' loaded." Sakura said back in giving Naruto a side hug for his pandemonium causing great gains for her clan

"Not a problem at all Sakura. Besides, I'm pretty much part of the family at this point. So anything I can do to pitch in and help, I'm more than happy to do for you guys." Naruto responded in just being happy to be apart of things

"Well, I definitely appreciate it, Naruto. Because thanks to you, mom and I may be going out on a joint-job together!...Finally, I'll get to see my mom in action!" Sakura spoke in great excitement of getting to work alongside her mother

"That is awesome to hear, Sakura! Tell me how it goes when it all goes down…If Mebuki is anything like you or your cousins told me, then she's gotta be a powerhouse and a half." Naruto noted having heard stories over Mebuki's legendary strength and physicality back in her day

"If there ever was anyone to give your mom a run for her troubles, back in their day. It would've been my mom without a doubt…She was a different breed of menace like gramps was back then." Sakura remarked in regards to the absolute terror that was her mother back during her heyday

"I don't doubt it for a moment, since she still looks jacked…Just what the hell does she do in her off time to stay that ripped?!" Naruto wondered as to how Sakura's mom was still so buff

"The thing is, once I got old enough to take care of myself. Mom went back to training like she did before she had me. So when she isn't on missions, on a job, or cooking, then she's training like she's gonna die tomorrow." Sakura told Naruto in regards to how her mother was able to stay physically active

"But enough about me, Naruto. What've you been up to since Sasuke and I were taking out those Iwa dickheads?" Sakura asked

"Oh, well other than training with Kazushi to help get a better grasp on my powers. I also have been working on something else too." Naruto replied

"What's this special thing you've been working on?" Sakura inquired

"Well, I figured that if Kazushi can use her Wood Release to make her Predaplants, then why can't I use my powers to make kickass golems." Naruto answered back on what he'd begun working on

"That's pretty cool, Naruto. How's that all working out for you?" Sakura said to the inheiritor of Arceus's will

"Thanks, but its a lot harder to do than what you'd think…I'll give it to Kazushi, alright, making stuff from your powers is a whole lot more difficult than what I thought it'd be." Naruto replied

Since in the days he'd decided to try and create golems for the hell of it to see just how much more he could take his god powers, and suffice to say the task of doing so and making them not only tangible but also sustainable was a much more difficult task than he'd realized. Seeing as how not only did he have to make the overall body itself study enough for each task that he wanted it to do; without either collapsing under it's own weight or being stable enough to move, but he also had to make sure that when animated that the power he imbued it with wouldn't run amok and cause it to implode like the worlds' deadliest hand grenade.

"Turns out that when you try to create stuff with your powers, they tend to blow up…like a lot." Naruto added in memory of his recent attempts having not been the best

"At least you're still in one piece. So that's a plus to begin with." Sakura replied

"Yeah, I guess. But I was still hoping I'd make some kind of progress with 'em by now…Instead, I get stuff that looks pretty cool, before they blow up not even 2 or 3 minutes later." Naruto said back in a small bit of frustration of his progress so far

"Hey, creating constructs ain't gonna come overnight. I mean look at god powers, they took a heck of a lot of time before you got so got damn good with them…So be patient and don't rush progress, ok?!" Sakura told her 'brother'

"...I know, I just really wanna get to making cool stuff with my powers, already…When you got cool god powers, you might as well go nuts and start making stuff with it already. Otherwise, what's the point of being a demigod who can almost smack the shit out of half the village." Naruto replied

"And you will get there, but first things first and I know this is coming from me…BUT. BE. FUCKING. PATIENT, you goof!" Sakura said as she clapped her hands together loudly to emphasize her point

"Alright, alright, I get it, I get it. You don't need to yell you know." Naruto said back

"I know, but I wanted to do it for extra effect so it wouldn't go in one ear and out the other." Sakura told the blonde

"Believe me, I got the message loud and clear, Sakura." Naruto replied

"Good…Now come on, I'm gonna make us lunch, since mom's away on a job to fuck up some supply lines for those idiots in Ame." Sakura said as she hopped up from her seat
"Mind if I help out? I have super speed for a reason." Naruto asked

"Sure, I don't see why not." Sakura answered back as the two headed inside


(4 hours later, Jonduri, Fire Country, 5:40 Pm)

Meanwhile, in the Fire Country Capital; Azula was training against some of her father' top guards in order to improve her strength further, as it was the 1st time that the Fire Daimyo had seen his daughter take her training seriously since having learned how to manipulate and control lightning.

"I did not expect you to come and see Azula train, Ozai." Iroh said to his brother

"It was a slow day today, and besides I don't see any reason not to have made time. This is one of the rare occasions that Azula has taken to her training seriously…So I wanted to see for myself how she is doing." Lord Ozai spoke keen to see how things were going with his only begotten daughter

"Given that she is holding her own against one of the 12 Guardian Ninja and their student, I say that she is preforming rather well." Iroh told his brother

"Really? Which one of them is she facing right now?" Lord Ozai questioned

"She is fighting Chiruku and his student Sora at the moment. I would have asked Hiruzen's son to help with Azula's training. However, with his responsibilities as a jonin sensei. I decided that it would be better to call in Chiruku and his student to do so." Iroh explained

"Hmph. I am surprised that you managed to get him to agree to come here. After what had happened over a decade ago, when he retired to one of the monasteries. I had not heard much from him, in the interim." Lord Ozai spoke surprised to see one of former guardians here in the capital once more

"After the coup that Kazuma had attempted, I continued to keep in close contact with him. He wasn't only a good man who appreciated a good cup of tea. He was also one of the very few that I would have entrusted with Zuko's development after the falling out that the two of you had, years ago." Iroh replied in regards to the monk who continued to battle against his niece

"I will admit that it is a shame that Zuko did not go with Chiruku; when he set off on his own…While I respected his decision to travel to Iron Country and learn the ways of a samurai. It is his having become a ronin in the aftermath of completing his teachings that has had me…concerned for the lack of a better term." Lord Ozai said back in feeling a sense of trepidation in regards to his ronin of a son running about the nations

"It has been quite a long time, since I have seen you concerned over anything, Ozai. The last time you showed concern for anything, was during the war." Iroh remarked while they continued to watch the rather intense training session

"Given that the war had cost the both of us quite considerably, I feel that having had concern for what had happened in the confines of my own country to be rather reasonable…After all, those long year had taken quite much from us both, hadn't it Iroh?" Lord Ozai spoke while flashes of azure flame and gusts of intense winds constantly

"How could I forget, those were dark and terrible times. That war made monsters of us all…There still isn't a day where I am not regarded as the Dragon of the West, for having burned so many to cinder; when we were still young." Iroh replied in the days when he was at his most cruel and violent as one the most ferocious warriors

"But it was us becoming monsters that allowed our nation to stand as strong as it is…But as we are getting off topic. The reason I am concerned with Zuko's becoming a ronin, and his attitude once he left to train with the samurai…That the path he is walking towards is one that will have him against my nation and its people." Lord Ozai said back knowing that he and his only son didn't depart on the best of terms

"I remember that day all too well. Words were exchanged between you, Ursa, Zuko…That was a most regrettable day indeed." Iroh spoke having hated to see his family fall to pieces and implode so violently

"However, the only thing that can be done is to hope for the best concerning him. Is for him to continue on the path that he has already chosen, and let him make any mistakes fall upon himself." Iroh further spoke in regards to his nephew

"And what if his mistakes lead to wrath and ruin being brought upon Fire Country? What do you suggest we prepare to be done in that event, then?" Lord Ozai questioned

"Then you must prepare to do what you believe is necessary, little brother. While I abhor the thought of family having to fight against one another…If it means that life across our kingdom will continue to flourish…then so be it." Iroh answered back in the best way he could in regards to what potentially could and very well may happen

"If there is one thing I can count on, Iroh, it is most certainly your words of wisdom…You certainly missed your calling as a philosopher." Lord Ozai responded gaining a chuckle from the elder of the two

"Then perhaps in another life I may pursue that venture…However, I believe we can discuss my future callings later, for now I believe we should congratulate my niece and your daughter for having held her own against Chiruku." Iroh said back as they saw Azula having reluctantly surrendered to Chiruku who had dead to rights with his Welcome Approach: Thousand Armed Murder

Meanwhile, in said training ground the medics stationed there were taking away an unconscious Sora who had sustained multiple lightning strikes, 2nd degree burns across his torso, stomach, and neck, a dislocated shoulder, and cracked ribs from Azula's dogged assault. By contrast, Chiruku while not unscathed had come out this with a number of burns due to having been caught by a handful of her fireballs and an especially nasty lightning strike that left a jagged scar across his abdomen, but the otherwise shirtless monk was left in good condition.

"You have done rather well, Princess…Much better than what I had anticipated." Chiruku said to Azula

"Thank you, Master Chiruku. Your praise is very much welcome." Azula replied as the monk eventually dispelled his technique

"However, while your control over your power is admirable and dare I say almost unreal. What you must learn to do is strike against me with greater ferocity and power than you are letting on." Chiruku told her causing a look of confusion to spread across her face

"I am not following exactly, I attack both you and your apprentice with more than enough power to eliminate a trio of jonin twiceover. So some form of elaboration is required." Azula responded

"Very well, then…While you did strike out against Sora and I with a remarkable amount of power and precision. I could still sense that you were restraining yourself, that within every attack, and movement made that there was no emotion too it, that it was all clinical and almost robotic…Which in considering that your powers derive themselves from emotion and powerful emotion at that, that you are limiting yourself greatly." Chiruku said to Azula

"I do not see how I am limiting myself, when I have trained since being able to create my first flame; to have perfect control over my emotions. After all, if I am to one day be the next Fire Daimyo, I cannot allow my emotions to run wild and become as petulant as my dear brother was when he ran off to play Samurai." Azula replied with thinly veiled disgust toward her brother

"And yet in this control and domination of your emotions, has it gained you any closer towards unlocking the true power and potential of your bloodline. Something that your brother in my visits to Iron Country was able to achieve." Chiruku informed the Fire Princess

"He was able to do what?!" Azula asked her usual composure breaking at this information

"Indeed, he was. He was able to do so after quite some time under their tutelage. Granted, he was still rather impulsive and impetuous, but he was nonetheless able to will those volatile emotions of his to manifest the full potential of your familys' gifts over flames." Chiruku answered back in regards to Zuko

'Now that young man is able to create blades of flame that may as well strike with the intensity of the sun itself.' Chiruku spoke having seen that Zuko had through his awakening elevated himself to be an S-ranked threat

"Hmmm, if Zuzu can do it then so can I. After all, it should be well within my abilities to manifest my full power as well." Azula said seeing that if her brother could achieve such a feat, then she could so with far greater ease

"While I appreciate your confidence to do so, Princess Azula. I will again state this as I had during out fights. You will not achieve the power your looking for, if you continue to limit yourself." Chiruku replied

"While you are strong, and in fact stronger than many I have seen barring Sora given his unique…circumstances. Your growth and full powers will stay stifled, unless you are willing to fully release yourself to your passions." Chiruku further spoke causing Azula to have a thoughtful look upon her face

"And how do you propose that I do that? Surely your time as a monk, and accomplished one at that to be the head of your own monastery; must have some answer?" Azula inquired

"That is for you to figure out…I may be many things, but a seer nor prophet is one of them. Besides, life's greatest mysteries are best solved when we are willing to focus and unravel them ourselves." Chiruku answered back in wizened tone of voice

"Now you're starting to sound like my uncle." Azula spoke hearing the all too similar wisdom and mannerisms in his voice

"Speaking of your uncle." Chiruku said as he was approached by the retired general and Fire Daimyo

"I take it that my daughter has performed well, in her training?" Lord Ozai said to his former subordinate

"Undoubtedly, Lord Ozai. In fact, she takes after you rather well in regards to her fighting prowess. In fact, I daresay that given enough time that she may even surpass the strength of what you and Iroh were during your heyday." Chiruku spoke in seeing the vast potential within Azula was more than enough to do just that

"That is a very bold statement to make, Chiruku…Then again, she is of my blood after all. So that is to be expected." Lord Ozai said with some minor skepticism in his voice

"But not unfound, given the untold amount of potential she has. After all, she already rivals most Jonin and is even at the level of a Kage. Something that cannot be said for most in her station." Chiruku replied knowing full well that Azula was nothing if not a dangerous sort to underestimate

"Of course, when she has been trained by the very best. In conjunction with being my daughter, then it is only right that she is a strong as one." Lord Ozai said back with a small prideful smile at his daughters' overwhelming strength

"Are there any other notes that you have of what there is to be improved upon?" Lord Ozai questioned

"Other than a few minor things here and there, that she needs to work on. She performed admirably, my lord, and with all do respect. She would have a bright future as part of the new Twelve Guardian Ninja." Chiruku answered back

"Very well then…Iroh if you would, escort Azula back to her room. I would like to catch up with Chiruku, it has been quite a while, and I would like to know more of what you have been up at this monastery of yours." Lord Ozai told his brother as he went off with Chiruku to play catch up

"Is there something on your mind, Azula? You seem…troubled." Iroh asked his still puzzled niece

"I'm fine, Uncle. Just…contemplating a few things is all, nothing more." Azula answered her expression still one of deep thought

"Perhaps you would mind sharing what is going on within you, over a cup of jasmine tea?" Iroh suggested

"I guess that would help…I do need to focus more on the current goal I am trying to achieve." Azula said as she and Iroh began to head back to the palace

"This current goal of yours wouldn't happen to not only grow strong enough to challenge the 4th Hokage's child to a rematch. But to also impress the Uchiha you have grown fond of with your prowess, now would it?" Iroh said as a brief reddening of his niece's cheeks became apparent

"I will take that as a yes; if your cheeks becoming as red as spring cherries are anything to go off of." Iroh added as his niece averted her gaze to him

"I don't understand, Uncle. Why is it that out of all the boys I have met, that he still continues to stay on my mind? Why is it that I am plagued by some schoolgirls' crush on him?...At least my rivalry with the Hokage's eldest is much more straightforward to navigate." Azula said with frustration at her growing feelings towards Sasuke since her bout with the superhuman months ago

"Admiration for another is a tricky thing to understand, Azula. And who knows, maybe this affection of yours for the Hokage's son may turn into something else, or it may fade in time…Only time and your heart will tell." Iroh told his niece in regards to her feelings over Sasuke

"Why is it that deciphering my own feelings is harder than learning battle strategies, or learning how to take over once father passes on his titles to me?" Azula both lamented and cursed over her growing feelings towards the powerhouse blonde

"That is something that cannot be so easily answered in one day. These things take time and patience, therefore the only thing that I can tell you is to be prepared for much confusion and other emotions you are not used to to come to the surface." Iroh replied as they continued to head towards the palace

'If there is one thing I will give you Sasuke Uchiha, and even you Naruto Uzumaki; is that you are certainly something peculiar to have my emotions spiral in such a manner…Maybe the two of you could be the key to helping me manifest the full potential of my powers, if you are able to do this to me.' Azula remarked to herself in regards to her emotions being in a state of turbulence since her bout and time with Naruto

So with an assassination against one of Iwa's finest having been accomplished by Sasuke and Sakura, and the new of the Kure's being deployed to cause chaos for both Iwa and even Ame in the wake of its latest disaster, we see Azula taking steps to grow stronger to not only one day meet Naruto again as an equal, but also to manifest the full power of her familys' gifts…How will things transpire as Hidden Villages fall further into turmoil? Find out in the all new chapters of, Naruto: The PokeSage!


Alright, everyone that takes care of that as I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and everything that went in it as we continue forward with Part 2 and all the shenanigans to come out of it. And once again, I am still surprised to see the continued support for this story so far, and as such am incredibly thankful to you guys for spreading it and continuing to invest in it so far forward into what's going on, and I hope you'll stick around for more.

That being said, this is Pravus666 signing off until next time. Since the next chapter will be Naruto's 18th birthday and Iruka making his move to steal the Scroll of Seals and the aftermath of what will come of it. So stay tuned for that good stuff.

Part 2 Theme Song: To the Pain by Nonpoint

Random End Song: Terminator by Sevendust


Now then onto some of the reviews from the previous chapter.

Kourtney Uzu Yato: Yeah, the Legendary Pokemon do not fuck around at all. Seeing as how they are basically Gods and primordial beings, and as such to them doing what they did to Bunta is basically like ripping the wings off an insect in their mind...inconsequential. And trust me Giratina's and Darkrai's presence and massacre will have reprecussions going forward, seeing as how as a being of the Distortion World that's bound to mess with senjutsu chakra overall. And glad you liked the battle for the Spooky Plate since I wanted to make it feel epic as possible for what was to come out of it, and also it wasn't anything personal it just business for what Naruto had to do. Something that Kimimaro couldn't really fault him for in knowing that (even though he doesn't like to do so) that sometimes you have to play dirty to get what you want, and trust me Orochimaru has plans for the Akatsuki now that Ame is in shambles.

God of Wind 200: That is true, but there is one or rather a few additional reasons for why Naruto doesn't. One, Naruto doesn't know what getting all of them would do to him given that he doesn't want to stress test what would happen to his body if he went after one after the other. Second is that he wouldn't have a place he could stash them if he did given that there's only so much you can do to hide relics of cosmic power before someone starts snooping around and causing shenanigans to ensue. Also, trust me Jiraiya's skeletons are gonna start coming out soon enough, since there's a reason why Ozai will choose if possible to use Jiraiya as a sacrifice if it means keeping Fire Country in one piece.

Skull Flame: Glad you liked the collab fight with Naruto and Kimmimaro working together to beat the Spooky Plate guardian, as it was a ton of fun to write. Also, on that subject of his power-ups wrecking hidden villages its more than plausible since each one has only gotten more intense than the other so I see no reason why the destructive force of each subsequent one wouldn't do so. And the Plate at Hoshigakure which was the Pixie Plate did replace the meteor there and while they aren't gone, they're worse than crippled given that with so much of that energy being taken into their systems overtime, and not that its gone...Expect for them to crop back up as a potential mission, given that the villagers there are gonna start mutating without it there to constantly feed them power they've used for who knows how long. And I'm happy that you liked the zombie apocalpyse of a vibe-check that Giratina helped deliver to Nagato and Ame, and also I got the same imagery from writing that bit with Revenant Hanzo...as your boy is a Game of Thrones fan after all...not so much after the 8th season. And yeah, Giratina is closer to an eldritch God since as the ruler of the Distortion world I wanted to really play around with that concept of them being a vengeful deity of sorts, something that Jiraiya and the toads saw in full effect when they and Darkrai came in showing they meant business. Lastly, now that there more sane than their counterparts they're a good deal even more competent than ever if that makes sense.

starravenwolf: Glad you like the chapter overall man, as I couldn't think of a better way to give it to the God of Ame than by having him face legions of zombies led by a revenant Hanzo. Also, Azula who is going through her own training arc is gonna throw hands with Mizore down the line; that being said for the Blaziken thing to happen he will need to go to the place where the Legend Plate is stashed in...and that is gonna be mini-arc all on its own potentially. Also, for his farm I will definitely be adding berries into the mix, as you can't go wrong with that after all.

SPark681: Give it time, and Jiriaya is gonna drive the Toads into extinction. Given that with what Giratina and Darkrai did, they did actually break Jiraiya's mind on a few levels.

Darth Diabolos: Yeah, as prophecy plus Darkrai and Giratina messing with your mind is cause for a well-overdue mind-break. Also for the Darkrai and Giratina combo I figured it would be a nice one two punch to really cement the message of 'quit fucking around and finding out'. And actually, I imagine that Kurama would know about Arceus and the legendaries but moreso as folktales that Hagoromo would've told him as bedtime stories when they were first created. And don't worry Ozai is gonna let those two have it when he comes around to Konoha, I guarantee that much!