Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise or any of its characters.

Chapter Thirty: The Storm Arrives Part (VII)

[Choose between the two skills shown.]

[Reinforcement Lvl 1]

[Water Breathing Style Lvl 1]

It's good that I'm getting more skills, but I don't have the time to seriously think this through right now. Naruto thought with a frown. I shouldn't rush into decisions amid battle. Choosing the correct skill is the difference between life and death, after all. If I hadn't chosen Black Flash that day then I wouldn't have been able to defeat Gaara.

He looked down at the defeated Gaara who was lying still near the ground. Naruto had gotten some rope from his utility belt and tied his hands, though that wouldn't really do much against someone like him. It was more of a statement of power than anything—just to show that Gaara was at his mercy right now. Regardless of the rope or not, the sand shinobi was in no state to fight.

Wait…what's that sound?

Naruto swerved his head to the side where he heard a rustling sound from the trees across the clearing. The rain had likely pooled up near the outgrowth, as he could also hear the sound of splashing puddles.

Sasuke burst through a bundle of falling leaves, with Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru trailing behind him. They reached Naruto a few seconds later, not sure what to make of the situation.

"Late as always, eh Sasuke?" Naruto asked while laughing.

Sasuke grunted, looking peeved as he realized Naruto had gotten to the target before him. The Uchiha glared at the sand shinobi beneath them. They made us

"How did you get here so fast? I had Akamaru work harder than ever before!" Kiba exclaimed, bewildered by the blond's presence.

He had come here expecting a huge, bloody fight against Gaara, who was a brute force of strength that he was scared to oppose, to begin with. But regardless of his fright, Kiba had come. He was prepared to fight against imminent death for the village. So to find his great enemy on the floor, not presenting any threat whatsoever, was more than a bit anticlimactic.

"I had Kakashi's dog, Pakkun, lead me here. Let's see…you guys are here anyways—why not take sand boy here back to some Jonin?"

"And what are you going to do?" Shikamaru questioned.

Naruto sighed heavily. "I'm gonna rest for a while. This guy wasn't easy to fight, you know."

The others looked at the injuries that marred Naruto. Scratches, dried blood, and crystals of some type were embedded into his skin. He looked horrible.

Naruto felt horrible as well. The adrenaline had slowly worn off, leaving him in a constant state of aching pain that slowly withered away due to his regeneration factor.

But that didn't mean he wasn't in a state to fight. No, it was quite the opposite.

The aftereffect of a successful Black Flash was simply amazing.

Naruto hadn't ever felt something like that before. A focus had filled his mind. An earthly calm took over his body, and the unrealized potential rooted in his soul was temporarily torn out. He had never fought in such a manner. No hesitation in any action, no fear of losing, and no doubt whatsoever. Supreme confidence in his own ability and what he could do with it.

I want to land another Black Flash.

He looked around the clearing, his eyes darting everywhere.

Then he ran.

Shikamaru looked at the escaping blond. "So much for resting…"

Sasuke had a small smirk on his face, still eyeing Gaara religiously. "You get used to it."

Kiba lifted an eyebrow. "What do we do with this guy?"

Sometime later…

Phew. Phew. Phew.

Fuu panted continuously, feeling her heart pounding. This man…he's on another level entirely.

Her chakra wings fluttered desperately as she dodged another strike of his massive sword. It was completely bandaged from head to toe, which was counterproductive to the entire function of a sword. Fuu could have sworn she saw whatever was under the bandages wiggle around. Even more frightening than the sword, however, was the monster wielding it. She wasn't sure exactly what he was, with his blue-tinted skin and irregularly sharp teeth. Don't get me started on his weird eyes…. He had eerie, pale pupils that reminded her of a predator in the wild. Does that mean I'm the prey?

The red clouds in his black cloak brought back memories she would rather Dforget.

One thing was sure.

Akatsuki. He's from the Akatsuki.

She threw her hands forward, trying to catch him in her webs, but to no avail. He was simply too fast for the projectiles to take hold, leaving them dangling in the air to catch nothing.

The man laughed. "You're fast, little bug! How about I cut apart those legs so you can't move anymore? Yes, that'll do it! Or better yet, I'll tear those wings from your back…"

She couldn't evade forever. Fuu needed to fight back somehow, but her mind wasn't able to think of anything.

"Take as much chakra as you need, Fuu!" Chomei's voice boomed in her head.

Fuu immediately felt a boost of chakra rushing through her veins as she eyed the approaching man who had his sword on his shoulder. Her wings fluttered energetically in anticipation as the Akatsuki member blurred through hand signs.

"Water Style: Water Shark Bullet!"

He's a water specialist, and of course, it has to be raining dogs! Fuu grumbled internally.

Water swirled around the man's body, rising into the air while it proceeded to take the form of its master's desire. The rain from the sky joined the technique, conserving his chakra at the same time. The water finally manifested into the shape of a water creature Fuu recognized but couldn't particularly name. Wait, he did say shark earlier…. The shark grew in size until it was towering over everything in the vicinity.

He didn't stop there, however. Bursts of water flew forward from behind the shark, reaching for Fuu with immense speed. She carefully dodged the water missiles, noticing how they were placed precisely in order to force her into a corner where she wouldn't be able to evade the main jutsu. While Fuu was rather goofy and carefree normally, she was much more analytic and reserved in a fight than people assumed. Especially against someone like the Akatsuki member in front of her.

She gathered the potent chakra of the tailed beast inside of her into the soles of her feet and the wings in her back. The latter glowed a deep orange and grew in size. Her wings flapped, the resulting force whipping the air behind her backward into a rough breeze.

The man in front of her thrust his hands forward. The shark opened its jaws wide and rushed forward, supported by a large beam of water that pushed it.

Fuu flew towards the creature of water, noticing just how large it was once she got even closer. Just how much chakra does he have? It's comparable to a Jinchuuriki at the very least. She wasn't used to fighting against other Jinchuuriki— she had only fought against Gaara once in the forest. Right after, the same Jinchuuriki had forfeited for some reason. However, with the information she had now and the state of affairs in Konoha, it made much more sense. She wouldn't even get started with her fight against Naruto. The fight she was the most hyped for ended up being a mockery of a battle. Neither of them had been able to go all out, and in the process of the fight finally heating up, the invasion took place.

She flew straight into the open jaws of the beast in front of her, not allowing the shark to close its mouth and trap her inside the cocoon of water as she continued her flight. Her legs were extended forward into the position of a flying kick (literally, in this case) as she burst through the other side of the shark, creating a large hole with sheer force.

Water exploded in all directions as the predator of the ocean died in the glory of battle, drenching Fuu completely. She ignored the unsettling sensation of the cold water on her skin, continuing her path toward the man in front of her. Chakra burned near her feet vigorously, but not in an unpleasant way.

The Akatsuki man only raised his sword in response with a wide grin on his face, not even trying to defend the incoming attack.

Fuu internally bristled. Let's see where that gets you.

She made contact with the bandaged sword, expecting to break through the sword a second later.

That didn't happen.

While she did make contact, the blade hadn't broken. The bandages came off, revealing an oval-like mass of black scales that almost sucked on the chakra gathered around her feet. Fuu could feel the pressure of her attack diminish gradually as chakra left her body, feeding the gluttonous sword without stopping. Realizing that this was quickly going south, she used the blade as a platform to push herself backward.

At the same time, however, the swordsman thrust his blade forward. The unusual weapon tagged her body but didn't manage to strike too deeply for concern. Fuu eyed the bleeding line across her knee with some concern before forgetting it altogether.

That sword… reminds me of Naruto's shadowy sword. Not in terms of function, but just in presence. Both of the weapons seem to exude the same type of feelings. Fuu thought with a frown. She would have to ask the boy later. If they did end up meeting, anyway.

"You…which tailed beast do you have?" The man asked calmly as if he was starting a daily conversation with a neighborhood friend.

Fuu bristled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He smiled. "Oh, c'mon. It's more than obvious. A normal kunoichi would never have that much chakra, would they? Whatever, if you aren't willing to talk, I don't blame you. I don't come off as a charismatic person, do I?"

"You're about as charismatic as a toad drenched in mud."

A rough chuckle came out, sounding awkward from the man's mouth. "Hmm…I guess we did start off on the wrong foot. My name is Kisame. Imagine our surprise when one of our sensors detected Jinchuuriki level chakra near Konoha! We were already patrolling around the area due to the Chuunin Exams taking place here, but couldn't come inside due to the barrier techniques placed around this place."

"So how are you here now?"

"Orochimaru owed me a small favor, you see. He pulled a few strings and got me inside. I have to say, you're lucky Itachi said not to make too much of a mess, or else I'd have killed you by now. Well, not kill, exactly…"

"Itachi?"

"Oh, just a man with a bit too many secrets. He said it was 'too early' for him to come here, whatever that means."

Fuu was somewhat confused. "…how come you're telling me all this so openly?"

Kisame looked amused. "You'll be dead soon. Why not answer your questions? But you're right, maybe I am being too merciful now. Ahh…Itachi has truly softened me up."

Whether on purpose or not, he just gave me information on the Akatsuki. As the leader said, every single thing we hear of them is valuable at this point in time, especially from a member's own mouth. I've got three names: Orochimaru, Kisame, and Itachi. I need to get out of here alive and relay—

Without warning, the ground underneath Fuu erupted as a fountain of water poured upwards through the seams in the soil. High-pressure water tore at her left knee, leaving her lower body disoriented and bruised. Kisame took charge, swinging his giant sword through the water and straight toward Fuu, who was depending on her strained, relentlessly fluttering wings to get her out of the sticky situation as fast as possible.

Kisame wasn't going to let her escape this time, however. He leaped towards the rapidly escaping girl once more, this time accelerating much faster than Fuu was. His eyes were exorbitantly wide, hyper-focused on delivering a killing blow on the elusive girl in front of him, ignoring everything and anything occurring in his surroundings.

His scaly sword was getting closer and closer to Fuu's throat.

Fuu didn't know what to think.

It had been a long time since she had faced death.

She knew that she would eventually die; everyone did after a while, right? But she never thought it would be so soon.

They said one's life would flash through their eyes when they were about to die. Fuu didn't go through any of that. Her early life was a monotonous mess. Ignoring the villagers, training every day, eating by herself. There wasn't any purpose to the things she did—she just followed everyone else. What instead came into mind before her imminent death was the people she had recently met. The people who gave her purpose. The people who served as beacons in the void that she lived in.

What would the other Jinchuuriki think once they found out she died? Would they be sad, angry, or frustrated? Was it selfish to hope that they would feel empty for a while? Was she a horrible person for feeling that way?

I'm sorry…

…I guess I wasn't good enough.

The tip of the blade began its contact with her throat.

"BLACK FLASH!"

Fuu's vision bloomed into a cacophony of black and red.

A loud boom echoed in the battlefield as Kisame was suddenly thrown to the other side of the area with great speed, bouncing on the ground now and then before his momentum finally concluded.

What was that?

"FINALLY! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG IT TOOK FOR THAT TO LAND!"

She recognized that voice.

Naruto stood in the place Kisame was, his hand outstretched while he breathed exhaustively. He looked objectively horrible. Cuts were all over his body, and his clothes were torn everywhere, replaced by bleeding lines that were slowly recovering. His blond hair was damp and flat, covering the headband that rested on his forehead. He looked like he was about to fall over any second.

And despite it all, an infectious grin was spread across his face.

His eyes widened as he seemed to finally notice her. "You okay?"

Fuu found herself smiling widely. "Never better."

—

The immediate rush of landing a Black Flash was pooling through Naruto's body. He wasn't sure how many attempts it had taken ever since he had beaten Gaara ten minutes ago, but someone could surely count all of the enemy shinobi he had defeated in the forest to find the correct amount. Landing a successful Black Flash was much harder than he thought it would be—meaning he couldn't rely on this technique too often.

He was going through the forest and outskirts looking for bandits to defeat, going through a seemingly endless cycle of failed attempts at the ability, when he heard the sound of running water near an isolated enclosure somewhere around him. The second he peeked through the leaves and saw a giant shark-man running towards a familiar mint-haired girl, he darted forward without any hesitation.

And he managed to land a Black Flash.

I'll get the hang of it eventually. Naruto thought with a determined expression.

He noticed with a frown that Fuu was littered with injuries, which came with certain insinuations about the enemy. There was blood coming from her throat, though thankfully the cut wasn't too deep. Whoever could injure Fuu so one-sidedly was sure to be abnormally strong. Naruto was sure that his hit wasn't strong enough to deal with him.

"He's from the Akatsuki," Fuu murmured, her voice abnormally serious.

Naruto's eyes widened ever so slightly before narrowing. "I see."

It was one thing to hear about the Akatsuki through the words of Fuu and Bee, and a completely different matter when fighting against them in person. He felt his fists tighten in anticipation.

Kisame slowly stood up, gauging the new arrival. "That punch…that actually managed to hurt me, brat."

Naruto noted the red and black cloak carefully. So that's what they look like.

"His sword can absorb chakra," Fuu said with a frown. "He's faster than I am without my wings, and much stronger as well. He uses mostly water-style jutsus, but I wouldn't put it past him to know more. His chakra capacity…is comparable to ours."

That alone means he's in another class. How the hell do we beat him? Naruto thought desperately. There has to be a way…. The only attack he had that could damage the man would be Black Flash, but there was no telling when he would land his next one. Zabuza's sword was the other option, though that would mean revealing his shadows to an Akatsuki member as well as Fuu.

No…I don't have time for secrets if it means risking my life. I can just say it's a side-effect of being the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails. If Fuu can get wings and fly then why can't I get shadowy remnants of foes that are now dead? Ugh, it sounds weird just thinking about it.

He kept his hands in a cross-cross pose. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto summoned nearly thirty clones that immediately began running towards the enemy.

He looked towards his friend. "We need to stall this fight for as long as possible until some sort of help arrives."

She nodded. "Figured. Running away would be useless against someone like him."

Naruto went through a couple of hand signs before looking upward. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

He launched a steady stream of fire high into the air, focusing less on power and more on quantity as he pumped chakra into the technique to get the flames as high as possible. Who knew a jutsu he forced Sasuke to teach him way before would be so useful now?

Kisame looked almost amused at the sight of the numerous blondes gunning for him. For a second it looked like he wasn't going to move at all as the clones got closer and closer, to the point where one of his clones was within striking distance of the man. The Akatsuki member then swiped his sword with a single hand, bursting ten of his clones into smoke with a single stroke of the weapon. He kicked through one of the clones, before grabbing another and shoving him into the blade. A moment later, a giant shark of water circled his body before going forward and enveloping the rest of his clones in its predatory grasp. The chakra construction then blasted open with an explosion of water, destroying the remaining clones at the same time.

Naruto continued to form more clones as Fuu flew forward, throwing thick, chakra webs at the same time at Kisame. The target cut through the webs with ease and stood his ground against the charging Jinchuuriki. A clone that was underneath Kisame suddenly burst a hand through the ground, attempting to cling onto the large man's legs and hold him down.

Kisame stamped his other foot down, the force enough to upheave the damp ground underneath them. The clone's position in its entirety was revealed, but it continued to grasp tightly onto Kisame's leg, refusing to let go despite the impending death it would inevitably be subjected to. More clones trudged forward at the same time, climbing onto the original clone's feet. One by one they made a human centipede that weighed down the Akatsuki member.

Activate iron clones!

[Activating… ]

[Skill: Iron Clones - Lvl 1 Activated]

[Usage takes 30 MP and lasts for a variable time before skill cooldown applies.]

The twenty or so clones that were attached to Kisame received the properties of iron, which happened to increase the weight that the shark-man was carrying unwillingly. Kisame heaved his leg upward with a grunt, throwing the line of clones into the air, but they remained attached to one another despite the excruciating circumstances.

Meanwhile, Fuu was in the striking zone.

Kisame, having noticed this, realized he had two options. Either allow Fuu to get a hit on him or deal with the clones right now.

So he picked both.

They had severely underestimated exactly how strong Kisame was. He twirled his body, along with the leg carrying the multitude of clones. The centipede of clones was sent hurling towards the approaching Fuu, who had no option but to stop her attack and take care of the obstacle in front of her. She launched forward and stabbed her tailed beast chakra-enhanced hand through one of the iron clones, giving her an opening to continue her attack.

Kisame didn't stop just yet, however. He was already in front of Fuu, grabbing a hold of her throat with one of his strangely large hands. Fuu struggled against his grip, kicking harshly against his body but to no avail.

Summon Shadow Zabuza!

A shadowy mass appeared near the swordsman, Kubikiribōchō flashing towards Kisame's head.

Kisame, using his free hand, raised his sword to defend.

The two legendary weapons met in the middle with sparks flying as a battle of strength commenced. Of course, Zabuza would have lost if it weren't for the complete look of bewilderment that enveloped Kisame's face.

A look of recognition passed along his blue-gray face. "How…"

Naruto made his presence known then, using Kisame's momentary confusion to his advantage as the shark-man released his hold on the struggling Fuu to address the blond. Kisame didn't know that Black Flash wouldn't work on his command, so most probably assumed Naruto to be the biggest threat currently considering his attack had done the most damage.

Fuu wasn't just let go normally, however, and was thrown into the ground with merciless force. She rolled backward and began coughing violently as air rapidly poured into her lungs. Her throat was a painful red with the faint markings of a hand across the pale skin. She found it somewhat hard to breathe as she began to regain her bearings for the fight, and coupled with the blinding lights that were now her vision…it wasn't looking good.

She tried to shout in warning before realizing her voice wasn't coming out. Are my vocal cords broken?

Kisame kicked Zabuza with all of his might, and the apparition, whose purpose was to simply distract the Akatsuki member or him to release Fuu, was launched away from the fight.

Naruto's approaching fist made contact with Kisame and…his punch sank into the man's body.

Kisame burst into a puddle of water.

A water clone?

Naruto's vision spun when he felt a spinning kick to his temple from behind him. His body spun and was thrown backward without any argument, simply succumbing to the juggernaut of power that was Kisame.

His vision cleared up to find a towering Akatsuki member over him.

"So…" Kisame drawled casually. "Do you want to lose an arm or a leg?"

Naruto blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the situation before him. His eyes widened in sudden realization. Fuck.

"U-u-"

Kisame chuckled. "Arm it is."

The massive sword swung downwards.

Activate Iron Skin.

[Activating… ]

[Skill: Iron Skin- Lvl 4 Activated!]

[Usage takes 7 MP and lasts for one minute before a skill cooldown of ten minutes applies.]

The sword was halfway there to its target.

So Naruto decided to activate his next skill. The one he had chosen while in the forest before finding Fuu.

Activate Reinforcement!

[Skill: Reinforcement- Lvl 1 Activated!]

A bright blue sheen overcame Naruto's hands as the skill made its presence known.

KLANG!

Naruto caught Kisame's blade in his hands, the edge of the weapon resting a single millimeter from his shoulder blade. The force had pushed him deeper into the ground, forming a small crater with the outline of his body. His hands trembled from the force that it was absorbing, but they had done the job.

They could rest for now.

Because, for once, Naruto was the one being rescued.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

A green blur slammed against Kisame, thankfully having the side effect of freeing the pressure on Naruto's struggling arms.

Gai looked down at Naruto with a bright dazzling smile. "A splendid move, young Naruto. A second later and you would have been an arm short."

Naruto didn't know what to say.

The spandex Jonin looked towards his enemy, eyes narrowing. "Now…where were we?"

—-

Yo!

Hope you liked Gai's entry!

Reinforcement was picked, though we will go to Naruto's reasoning more in the next chapter.

As I said, things will be deviating a lot from canon from now on, though with realistic outcomes that still stay true to the original world. We reached thirty chapters! I'm so proud of this story and the so thankful for everyone who comes to read! I'm eternally grateful to all of you!

Question of the day:

1) Which Naruto villain was your favorite? I'm going with Pain.

Make sure to follow, review, and favorite to keep up with next week's chapter!

Cya' next week. Review down here, it really makes my day!

Next chapter is releasing on Tuesday, 27th of August. Around 2 PM Washington DC time. Follow so you don't miss it!