A/N: Sorry it took so long...but finally we are here with the latest chapter of Guardian of the Tailed Beasts. My master's degree came to a close with the successful defense of my paper last week. And now that I have some free time, here we are. Since it was the final semester, I was quite busy with my academic work in the university, so the updates were quite irregular. Also, I must highlight that I am drafting several new fics, together with my buddy across the Atlantic, GBAboy313, they will be coming up later this year. And I have decided to write an MHA fic too, somewhere down the line. Anyways, having gotten some free time to myself, perhaps I can say that the upcoming updates would be a bit more regular than the ones since January. (What was it? I guess two updates only, well anyways...)
Also, since the last update, we have surpassed 1k favorites! Amazing! I never really thought that this fic would receive so much appreciation. Thank you so so much! It really means a lot! I am truly humbled for receiving this much appreciation.
Also special thanks to GBAboy313, whose amazing editing skills have made my chapters even more interesting...you deserve a lot of credit for this fic reaching 1k favs too buddy. Thanks a lot...:))
Also, have to mention Naruto30, who continues to provide me with an amazing pool of original jutsus to draw from, the first one of which you will be seeing in this chapter, many more, even more devastating and interesting ones will be coming soon. Thanks a lot for the support buddy.
And knowing that my fic has garnered quite a bit of following in the United States, Happy 4th of July folks.
Now before getting on to the chapter, I would like to highlight that this chapter would be featuring some OCs created by our awesome editor, whom he predominantly uses in his fic, "Seals of Fate", I like those OCs quite a lot and wanted them to have a small scene here in my fics...which would allow all of our fics (current and upcoming), i.e. "Seals of Fate", "A Simple Glance", "Light in the Darkness", "A Moment Uninterrupted", "Rise of the Winter Guard", "Guardian of the Tailed Beasts", "One Year Early", "An Hour Late", "Thundering Maelstorm", "9 Orange Journals", "Ghost of a Chance" and some more into a multiverse consisting of a number of parallel Naruto universes. Though the universes will have very little to no interaction with each other, but we will be able to put in snippets of our fics in the chapters of our projects. These snippets will be very rare but they will be there. And GBA's OCs will be used to provide these snippets. (Characters of the parallel Naruto universes will not have any interactions with one another barring one instance, but those two fics are yet to be published, so that's long off for now.)
Now then onto the chapter and we go with how NaruHina make good on their bet with Tsunade? Will they win it? Could they lose? Read on to find out...
CHAPTER 23: BENEATH THE MASK IS…
Kakashi eyed the combatants, all of whom looked ready. Tsunade's cheeks were still red due to the alcohol but her footing looked good, unlike the shaky one she had merely minutes ago. As for our favourite love birds, they were glaring at the Slug Sannin with full determination and focus, and Hinata had activated her Byakugan already. Kakashi then glanced at Kiba, who looked ready to cheer his comrades while Shino was lost in contemplation. Shizune had an expression of absolute concern, bordering horror on her face and her gaze showed that she was pleading the copy ninja to stop the fight somehow. But Kakashi had made a different decision.
'Even in her drunk state Tsunade-sama has insulted sensei's sacrifice, something she can't be allowed to get away with. If Naruto hadn't challenged her outright, I would have been honour-bound to do it instead. Also, Tsunade-sama has grossly underestimated them due to their meek looks. With the Kyuubi…err...Kurama unrestrained and willingly assisting Naruto, he is now a perfect jinchuuriki and he has sensei and Kushina-sama inside his mind to assist him. As for Hinata… with the limited time I have watched her, I am sure she is a prodigy. The speed at which she mastered the first two stages of the Rasengan, Naruto himself admitted that she did it faster than him and she is almost done with the third step as well. Tsunade-sama completely misjudged them in thinking that she could take them both with only one finger, even if she is one of the Sannin, I am quite confident in my students' ability to keep their end of the bargain. Fine, I will only intervene if things start getting ugly but until then, Naruto, Hinata…this will be a great learning experience for both of you.'
"HAJIME!" The masked jonin yelled, signaling the start of the fight. Naruto and Hinata spared a glance towards each other, deciding to do a test run to gauge just how accurate the legendary medic was when she was piss drunk. They made a dash for her.
Showing impressive agility, proving beyond a doubt that the woman was entirely worthy of being called one of the Sannin, Tsunade, even while utterly intoxicated, sidestepped and avoided Naruto and Hinata's blows with a lot of ease, though she couldn't touch either of her opponents either. Then suddenly the Sannin found an opening, when Naruto's kick almost connected with her face, she flicked her finger, sending the blonde flying again. Hinata was concerned, but she knew this wasn't enough to take him down. For now, she could only hold up until he joined her again. So, she just kept up with her attacks and with even more ferocity than before. Which as a result, much to the Slug Princess's misery, Tsunade found out that the Hyuuga before her was a really good taijutsu user and it was almost impossible to get a hit on her. Then she felt a tenketsu getting closed on her hand.
'WHAAT?! This girl managed to land a hit on me!' The Slug princess thought in surprise, sure she wasn't in her best or even probably even in optimal state but still this was quite a feat for a genin. Hinata then tried landing some more hits, another one connected but this time, she left herself a bit open for the Sannin to strike who didn't waste the momentary opportunity. Another flick of a finger and Hinata landed only three feet away from where Naruto had landed a minute ago and was getting up with some heavy panting, he helped her up too.
"Are you okay, Hinata-chan?" He asked still catching his breath.
"Hai, she really is one of the Sannin, she is really strong." Hinata admitted begrudgingly while catching her own breathing. Just enough of Hinata's mind was focused on the 'fight' to ensure Hinata failed to notice that the pain was fading fast, if she had noticed she might have just assumed that the blow and landing just wasn't as bad as she thought.
"Had enough brats?" Tsunade taunted with a smirk. "Kakashi, take your brats and go home now." She added looking towards the Jonin, who didn't look fazed at all.
"Not so fast, old hag!" Naruto stated with a grin, wiping some sweat from his face. "We haven't even started yet." He then looked towards his lover. "Hime, we need a plan. Any ideas?"
"I think you should use the gates and Kurama-san's chakra to increase your speed to attack her. Even if you don't land a hit, you'll keep her occupied since I am sure she won't be able to match you in speed, at least not in her intoxication or if she has any true sense of morality or an aversion to truly hurting or injuring children either of which I am sure she has at least one of. So, I'll sneak in and deliver a blow while she is distracted dealing with you." The Hyuuga suggested.
"Sounds good." Naruto said in approval, bringing his arms into the cross formation and closing his eyes in concentration. Still underestimating the genin before her, Tsunade decided to let them come after her, instead of exploiting the opening.
"Son, Hinata-chan's plan is good. Let me just add a bit to it. If in any case her assault fails, use the jutsu you are working upon and try to capture her with it, she will be immobilized for at least a few seconds, which will give either of you enough time to recover and land another blow." Minato explained from the mindscape.
'Got it Dad.' Naruto mentally replied before explaining this strategy to his girlfriend.
"First Gate Open! Second Gate Open! Third Gate Open!" Naruto almost whispered to himself as his skin became a bit reddish and the chakra flow in his body accelerated. Tsunade couldn't help raise an eyebrow.
'Did this brat just open some of the inner gates? To think that he knows such a technique…shows some dedication at the least…' Tsunade thought in amusement, just then Naruto was engulfed in a translucent-orange chakra cloak and a tail appeared too. 'And now he is using the Kyuubi's chakra…both Inner Gate Openings and the Fox's chakra being used in tandem…perhaps…perhaps I underestimated these brats and the bet is too low for them.' The Slug using member of Konoha's Legendary Three Ninjas begrudgingly admitted to herself. Just then, Naruto dashed for her and tried the "Tree Leaf Drop" on her. Of course, Tsunade dodged skillfully. Then she had to side-step and dodge the barrage of kicks and punches while her eyes almost couldn't keep up with Naruto's speed, this was definitely going to take more than one finger. Tsunade had to use her elbows, knees and fists to block Naruto's attacks, though she wasn't using them for attacking…at least not yet so the bet was still on (sounds like you're trying to convince yourself, lady) but with each passing second, this was getting increasingly difficult for Tsunade to keep it up with Naruto, and not to mention his Hyuuga girlfriend was there and was waiting for an opening but the Slug Sannin didn't have even a moment to ponder over what to do with the Hyuuga girl, the blonde brat wasn't letting up at all.
'Screw it' Tsunade begrudgingly thought and slammed a full fist on the ground, creating a crater and sending shockwaves throwing Naruto upwards, along with several shattered pieces of rocks.
'That's it…she used more than a finger to attack…bet won!' Naruto, Hinata and Kakashi thought simultaneously. But Tsunade didn't even have the time to register this fact since being drunk, her mind was now working fully in battle mode on instinct and had stopped registering trivial facts and points.
As for Hinata, she found the opening she needed, having locked her Byakugan sight on the member of the legendary Sannin, she held out her palm and a sphere of chakra was formed, it was still shaky and the ball was slightly swaying sidewise but it held up. Honestly, Hinata could have gone for some offensive Jyuuken technique such as the '32 palms' but she decided to test how far she had come with the Rasengan. Unsaid was that Hinata had begun to learn the Air Palm technique of the Gentle Fist school alongside attempting to learn 64 Palms and the more advanced palm strike combo techniques since having been cleared to begin training once more, but between the post invasion workload and training Naruto to circumvent the Byakugan's limited lie detection had removed some of her free time and focusing on all three for her training had the unfortunate effect of stiffly progress for each one somewhat, though she had managed to learn the theory behind the Air Palm and was able to make a half functioning one on some attempts.
'I never realized just how truly limited the Gentle Fist is when it comes to dealing with anything from outside of a range that we can't physically clear in time, it shows just how useful the Air Palm is to the entire style. Once we make it home and I've finished my Rasengan, I'm going to master Air Palm and then see about expanding the Fist with more ranged moves.' Hinata thought to herself in contemplation as her Rasengan became as stable as it was gonna be.
"Hyaah! Rasengan!" She yelled rushing towards Tsunade and bringing her palm forward with the shaky sphere of chakra. Tsunade's eyes widened, 'How could this girl just know the Rasengan!?' she immediately punched the ground and as some boulders flew above, she kicked on of them towards Hinata, who had to defend herself with her imperfect Rasengan, which exploded immediately upon contact with the boulder and since it was unbalanced, the blast threw Hinata back as well.
However, she was not damaged too much and she did give Naruto another opening and he decided to experiment as well. The blonde went through a quick series of hand-signs.
"Wind Style: Wind Prison!" Naruto yelled completing the hand-signs after getting as close to Tsunade as possible and in seconds the Slug Sannin was engulfed in a dome of violently rotating wind, inside which, oxygen levels were low. In seconds, Tsunade found herself gasping for air, but she wasn't one of the Sannin for nothing, and so she began attacking the dome, the chakra balance of which was still far from perfect. At first, she was scratched by the wind, but she healed herself in less than a second and then resorted to punching the ground and launching boulders at the dome, in less than a minute, she was free but was a bit out of breath, due to the lower oxygen levels inside the dome.
Hinata decided to try to exploit the opening and launched forward to try using '32 palms' on the slug princess, but to her utter bad luck, Tsunade reacted just in time and landed and kicked her on the torso, knocking the air out of her lungs and throwing her back and knocking her out.
"HEYYY!" Naruto yelled as he rushed towards her to try the 'Front Lotus' but Tsunade decided to make a move as well and before Naruto could even begin executing the opening move, he was punched viciously across his face and was sent flying into another tree and was knocked out.
Having won her fight, Tsunade looked at her knocked out components with satisfaction. She hated to admit that these two brats lasted for almost 15 minutes and managed to land several hits on her as well…but still they were nowhere close to her in skill, strength or experience, the result was obvious from the beginning. Had she not been so drunk, Tsunade would have actually praised the effort the two teens put against her and their skill as well.
"Kakashi…your brats are out cold, take them and go home and tell the brat that he should keep up his end of the bargain and stop yelling about being Hokage." The Slug Sannin yelled, as she shakily walked towards a bench and slurped on it. Shizune meanwhile had decided to focus on the knocked-out couple. She had already collected them and was in the process of healing them.
"Please excuse me, but I must remind you that the bet was never about you taking our friends down Tsunade-sama. From the beginning, it was all about you managing to beat them with nothing more than one finger." Shino stoically stated showing his own index finger to highlight the point.
"What was that again!?" Tsunade said loudly, blinking her eyes. "Oi, Kakashi what is this brat saying!?" She asked the jonin.
"You see, Shino is absolutely right Tsunade-sama, the bet was that you have to take Naruto and Hinata down using one finger and you used not only your hands but your legs as well, so they have indeed won the bet, fair and square." Kakashi explained with a shrug and an eye-smile as our favourite couple slowly regained consciousness. Kakashi just barely managed to fight down a shudder from thoughts on what could happen should the Senju woman decide to go berserk.
"T-the spar…did we…" Hinata murmured as her vision slowly returned.
"You did extremely well, Tsunade-sama was forced to use her hands and legs to take you down, so you two won your bet and as reckless as it was, you two did really well to hold up against her for 15 minutes." Shizune praised with a smile, as she helped the Hyuuga sit.
Meanwhile, Naruto also consciousness, heard the medic-nin's explanation and almost jumped up.
"Yeah, we won…Hinata-chan, we won!" the blonde yelled in joy.
"Hai, I am really glad, Naruto-kun." She softly replied as she helped her boyfriend sit up too.
"So, baa-chan, I guess you should promise that you won't be calling Hokages or those dreaming to be Hokage stupid." Naruto said with a smirk.
"Hmmmph, Fine" Tsunade replied with a poker face and a pout (oddly reminiscent of a certain vengeance obsessed Uchiha and then Neji).
Meanwhile, in Konoha general hospital, an unconscious Sasuke sneezed. And in the Hyuuga compound, a certain Hyuuga who up until recently was obsessed with fate also sneezed. 'Damn, allergy season…' Neji groaned internally.
"Kakashi, she was trying to use the Rasengan. Tell me, who was stupid enough to teach her that jutsu, you or Jiraiya!? Don't you see keeping up with that, she will be dead in no time. And what was that blonde brat trying on me? 'Wind Prison'! I have to admit, I am hearing that name for the first time. Is he trying to invent a jutsu, at this age! Aren't you giving them too much leeway and also that brat was using the inner gates! What were you thinking, teaching them things like that!" Tsunade shouted at the copy ninja.
"Umm…Tsunade-sama, Hinata was taught the Rasengan by Naruto, who learnt it from his tenant as it was developed from the 'Biju bomb' so, that's that. And Gai taught Naruto, the inner gates technique, currently he can open up to the fourth gate. As for why they were allowed to learn all this, it's simple. They have the potential to be splendid shinobi so it is our duty to help them realize that potential." Kakashi explained. For a moment or two, Tsunade's face fell as she began recollecting the memories of her late boyfriend Dan and her late brother, Nawaki. Both of them had a lot of potential as well, both would never shut up about being Hokage and both met their end in a very brutal way and died in absolute agony. Now here was another boy, following the same dream, with perhaps even more potential and not only that, he had an equally talented Hyuuga girl by his side, who was ready to go to any limits to help him reach his goal. But she just knew, what awaited those who dreamed this dream, to be Hokage, to serve the people, to improve the world. None of them survived for long. How could this boy and his girlfriend be exceptions?
A lone tear escaped Tsunade's right eye, which she immediately wiped, now she was mostly sober from the influence of alcohol and then she quickly got her poker face expression back.
"Hmmph, fine…those two might die and when it does happen, don't complain that you weren't warned." Tsunade grumbled.
By that time, with Shizune's help, Naruto and Hinata had walked up to these two. Shino and Kiba as well and all the teens were looking at Kakashi intently. Suddenly the copy-ninja found himself sweating.
"Umm…nice fight Naruto, Hinata." He praised, somewhat nervously.
"Oh, thanks a lot sensei! But how about you fulfil your end of the bargain." Naruto said with a smirk. Now even Tsunade and Shizune were staring at the masked jonin with a lot of interest.
"Is it really necessary?" Kakashi asked somewhat pleadingly. Meanwhile, in Naruto's mindscape Kushina and Minato were also interested to see Kakashi's face.
*Inside the mindscape*
"Honey, have you ever seen him without the mask?" Kushina curiously asked her husband who was trying to remember with his thumb under his chin.
"No, Kakashi always wore that mask, so I also have no idea what he looks like. But I just have this gut feeling that all of us are going to be disappointed." Minato responded.
Even Kurama was somewhat interested as he had been asleep for most of when team 7 had tried to have Kakashi unmask for them in the previous timeline. He only woke up towards the end and his memory was hazy but he did remember the brats being disappointed. Plus, he was still a massive misanthrope at the time so all of humanity was beneath him and deserved annihilation.
*Back in the real world*
Kakashi raised his arms in surrender as Naruto began grinning in victory.
"All right, all right. Just this once, okay?" Kakashi said with an innocent expression.
"Yeah, yeah…go ahead Kakashi-sensei, we are all waiting." Naruto said grinning, meanwhile for some reason Hinata also felt that they were all going to be disappointed soon.
Kakashi held the top of his mask with two fingers while everyone around him began staring at him with utmost interest…
"Okay, so behind this mask is..." Kakashi said as he began pulling the piece of cloth down, everyone stared at him with eyes wide like saucers, except for Shino, whose eyes were hidden by the sunglasses, so nobody could guess if his eyes were widened or not.
"Beneath this mask is…" Kakashi said as he gradually pulled the mask down while Naruto, Kiba Tsunade gasped, Hinata and Shizune looked at the copy ninja with wide eyes and Shino well…nobody knew what kind of emotions he was feeling.
"Another mask! Cool, huh?" Kakashi said with an eye-smile, revealing a second mask under the first one, suddenly the ground around him rumbled.
Everyone, including Shino fell down anime-style with huge sweat-drops on the backs of their heads. In Naruto's mindscape, Kushina ended up in a similar predicament. Kurama was busy sighing as the haze cleared at seeing this, but did fall down a little bit in surprise. However, Minato was able to remain seated on the sofa he was seating on, inside that house in his son's mindscape. The Fourth Hokage let out a sigh of defeat.
"I just knew something like this was coming." He mumbled.
"Well, in that case, you should have warned our son in advance." Kushina shouted in irritation.
Meanwhile after a minute, everyone managed to get to their feet. Naruto, Kiba and Tsunade were giving Kakashi looks that screamed 'YOU-ARE-DEAD!', Hinata was looking at the copy ninja with utter disappointment, and Shizune and Tonton were also giving the copy ninja similar looks.
"Kakashi-sensei…." Naruto growled as the said masked Jonin continued giving him an eye-smile. Hinata suddenly grabbed her boyfriend's arm.
"Naruto-kun, as much as I hate to admit it, our bet was to have him show what's beneath his mask. We could have just bet on him revealing his face instead, I am sorry we just got a bit carried away." She explained softly.
'Wise girl' Kakashi thought to himself.
Naruto calmed down. "Fine Hime, Kakashi-sensei, I promise, next time you are not getting away so easily." The blonde jinchuuriki said in a low growl. The copy ninja let out a sigh, he knew when Naruto promised something he would make it happen at all costs.
"Umm…Tsunade-sama, now would like to-" Kakashi humbly asked the Slug Sannin who waved him off.
"Kakashi the bet never included me coming back to Konoha either." Tsunade retorted with a smirk.
"Fine Baa-chan, do you wanna go for another round, this time let's bet on you coming back to the village with us." Naruto challenged pointing a finger at her.
"Huh, that's not a bad idea brat. But I have a better one. There's going to be a poker tournament in this town, six days from now. If you two manage to perfect what you are working upon, such as the Rasengan for your girlfriend and that 'Wind prison' jutsu you're trying to invent. If you two complete them within 6 days, we have a deal. I'll not only come to the village with you but also give you this necklace." She said pointing to the light bluish-green necklace she was wearing. "And acknowledge that you're worthy of being Hokage and even train your girlfriend in medical ninja arts, what do you think, are you up for it?" She said with a challenging smirk.
'It seems, Tsunade-sama wants to believe in that dream again.' Shizune thought to herself. 'I know you can do it Naruto, your winning of this bet will also bring Tsunade-sama out of the depression she has been suffering from for all these years.'
Naruto meanwhile looked at the legendary medic before him, wide-eyed. The terms offered were so lucrative that there was no way he was not taking up this challenge. It also included advanced medical-jutsu training for his hime, how could he not deny her a chance to learn something new and be stronger, if she managed to learn that super strength, then she would be unstoppable. He looked at her, her eyes showed determination, she was ready for it and Hinata also saw that her boyfriend was ready for it as well, both nodded to each other.
"Fine Baa-chan, we accept. Get ready to uphold your end of the bargain and don't even try to run away." Naruto said with a thumbs-up.
"I wouldn't have made this bet had I not been confident about my winning brat, let's see how good you do on your promise after six days." Tsunade said with a smirk. 'I hope you somehow do it, I really want to believe in those words, in that dream, just once more, just once more.' She thought to herself.
"Let's go to the hotel, Shizune, it's really late now." She ordered her assistant and companion.
"H-Hai!" the dark-blue kimono clad Medic Nin acknowledged and walked behind her, she gave an apologetic bow to the team from Konoha for the not so friendly behaviour of her master so far.
"Perhaps we should call it a night too. I think I'll go tomorrow and convince Tsunade-sama to come live in the hotel we are staying in, that way we'll be able to keep an eye on her always." Kakashi suggested.
"And what if she runs away tonight itself." Kiba asked.
"Don't worry Kiba, she won't. She is so addicted to gambling that she would never be able to leave a chance at participating in the annual poker tournament here. She'll stay, I guarantee it." Kakashi replied.
"All right sensei, let's head back then." The Inuzuka acknowledged and the team walked back.
*Meanwhile some hundred kilometres away in a rather remote village*
A light blue kimono clad man with dark hair returned to his hut with a fishing rod, he also had a small pipe to blow bubbles tucked in the sash of his kimono.
This man, Utakata was a former jonin of the Mist village, who had left his village some months ago after he was 'betrayed' by his master.
He was the jinchuuriki of Rokubi, the six tailed slug.
And now having left the mist village with a total disdain for a student-teacher relationship, he had stumbled upon a blonde girl of the Tsuchigumo clan, named Hotaru whom he had saved from a group of shinobi. He never got an answer on why they might have been after her, but it seemed that she was a special member of her clan to an extent. A bloodline limit holder perhaps? Utakata wasn't aware of any being in the Tsuchigumo's possession.
When he took the girl back to her village, he was requested to keep her with him so that she could be protected. Strange, and Utakata was wary of such a request but Saiken's insistence drew him to relent.
Ever since then she had been a part of his life as a wanderer and all the time, she would insist on being his disciple and not only that she was showing affection to him, something he had only received from the sensei who had betrayed him in the end.
So naturally Utakata was trying to distance himself from the girl, but she was determined and stubborn. Eventually she powered through Utakata's unwillingness to teach. Just the night before, she had mastered water-walking by doing it all night, even though he didn't give her any precise instructions.
This girl was beginning to get through the shell he had made around himself to not fall for anyone or teach. But he would never admit it that he was actually starting to think of her as his student, which was exactly why he was desperately trying to get away from her but couldn't because of his promise to the council of Tsuchigumo village.
His confusion over how easily she was overcoming his reluctance and Saiken's attempts at trying to push him towards certain actions was pushing any thoughts of other feelings far from his mind.
His heart wanted to heal and pass on the teachings he had to offer, even if his teacher had betrayed him in the end, something gnawed at the Jinchurki about it. Like there was far more to it than Utakata wanted to believe. The words and actions of Harusame had all been genuine and sincere, just that sudden ritual had changed everything.
One act was all it took to change everything.
His mind wanted to take her back where she belonged. If she was near him then she would be vulnerable to Kiri's wrath in time, a village prided itself on the strength and prestige its jinchuriki represented. Ome going rogue would reflect incredibly poorly on the village. Once Yagura got enough resources under control, his vengeance would come.
He had gone fishing to contemplate what he should do with her and in the fight between the heart and the mind, his heart had won, making him decide to teach her 'Water release: Wild Water Wave'.
The biju in his gut had talked to him some time ago, and was saying something about a saviour of the Shinobi world, some blonde kid from Konoha who would also be the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, whom he should help and share some of his power with. Obviously being someone who had seen too much bloodshed and violence during his stint in Kiri's shinobi corps, world peace was only a thing of imagination for Utakata. 'As if such a child of the prophecy could exist.' If there ever was such a boy, matching his biju's description, he would test that kid to judge for himself whether the boy was indeed worthy of being called the 'Child of the Prophecy' or not. For now, that was not his priority.
Though Saiken's nature was normally very nice and polite but when frustrated he dived into mischief, "Fine, don't listen to me. You're in love with Hotaru!" the slug suddenly shouted at Utakata.
Utakata went blank trying to process what exactly Saiken had said and during that time he could have sworn he heard the sound of a door being slammed shut echo in his head.
After finally fully processing his Biju's words: Utakata went wide eyed, coughing violently and almost choking on the air he was breathing. 'What was that?! Impossible…explain yourself right now!'
Silence. Utakata received no answer. Seems he had been frustrating Saiken a significant amount recently.
Utakata mourned over his Biju's nature, saying things that completely uprooted Utakata's thoughts and left him reeling, only to vanish into the depths of their shared mindscape. 'I didn't know he even had a door in there he could disappear into. Has that always been there?'
When he entered the hut, he was greeted with silence and darkness. Either Hotaru simply asleep as she hadn't even bothered to light a lamp…or this was something far more dire than he hoped? For some reason, Utakata felt a chill in his spine.
"Hotaru?" He called in a monotone voice and didn't get a reply. Then he began looking around, her mat was empty and there was no sign of her in the hut.
Now Utakata began becoming frantic as he began searching for her outside.
"Hotaru! Hotaru!" The Rokubi jinchuuriki shouted as he looked for his crush/love interest/upcoming disciple (it's hard to figure out proper labels when you just had the fact that you were in love with them dropped into your lap) but only silence (and cursed Saiken for complicating things as he had done and left Utakata to pick up the pieces on his own), the distant howling of wolves and moonlight answered him. Utakata couldn't come up with anything using his sensory abilities either.
Now it was clear, someone had gotten to Hotaru and had taken her away while he was out fishing, he hadn't even bothered to be on guard, otherwise, he definitely would have sensed it when the shinobi that kidnapped Hotaru approached.
'It's all my fault! I shouldn't have been so bent on keeping her away! Now she's gone, taken…just because I didn't bother keeping an eye on her! I am such a coward, just because sensei betrayed me, I didn't even think twice before thinking that she would betray me too…Why? Why? Bloody shit!' The jinchuuriki berated himself mentally as he ran back into the hut to gather some of his stuff and go cover a wider area, suddenly he saw a note tucked beneath Hotaru's sleeping mat, something he had failed to notice earlier. He took it up and began reading, his eyes widened in horror as he read through the message.
Utakata, Former Jonin of Kirigakure,
We have been keeping an eye on you for some days now since we need you to complete a job for us. And as a guarantee that you'll execute the task with perfection, we have taken your companion. It seems that she has some interesting abilities hidden inside her. Who knew that she had the kinjutsu of the Tsuchigumo clan sealed into her? However, this interesting ability is not our priority.
Your record as a Jonin of Kirigakure is something many shinobi only can dream about and is fitting for the task we have set for you. Your mission, is to seek and capture Senju Tsunade, the Slug Sannin and the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage. She has accumulated a high amount of debt and has been on the run without paying up. So, we have decided to capture her and settle our debt with the bounty on her head on the bingo-books and your strength will come in handy for the mission.
And should you choose to not heed to our offer, we might have to sell this companion of yours. We have come to know that many are interested in the kinjutsu that has been sealed into her, surely, we will get a good price in exchange for her. So, you have two choices, capture Tsunade for us and take your companion or we settle our debts by selling her instead.
You have 6 days to decide and if you are willing to take the mission, come to Tanzaku town no later than 12 PM, 6 days from now. Tsunade can be found there. And don't worry we are not sending you alone, there will be a team of capable shinobi to assist you. We sincerely hope for a positive response from your end.
Regards,
P.S- Although we are certain that you know who your target is, we have attached a photograph of hers along with the letter and so that you don't consider this letter a bluff, you can find a piece of cloth, your companion was wearing when we took her.
Utakata frantically tore the envelope of and to his absolute dread, he found a photo of Senju Tsunade and torn of piece of Hotaru's clothing. This letter was no bluff. Due to his own carelessness, Hotaru was now taken and he would have to take part in this mission, he had left that life behind and now he was being dragged back in. He fell on his knees as a lone tear escaped from his right eye. He didn't have an option, hopefully Kami and Senju Tsunade would find it in their heart to somehow forgive him. He doubted whatever these people wanted with Tsunade would be something she would be agreeable to considering what they were doing to obtain her.
*At the same time, in another town in the mountains in the northern part of the Land of Fire, ruled by the dreaded Raiga Kurosuki with an iron fist*
Raiga Kurosuki, wielder of the twin lightning blades known as Kiba and former member of the 7 shinobi swordsmen of the Mist was reading a letter with absolute interest.
"Hmm, capture Tsunade…sounds interesting. And a really good way to get back at those damned tree huggers." The swordsman thought with a smirk and then called for the small boy settled on his back.
"Ranmaru, we are going south, to the Tanzaku town. We have a good mission." He said earning a nod from the frail boy settled on his back.
*At an Akatsuki hideout, somewhere near the border of the Land of Fire with Amegakure*
Two men clad in Akatsuki robs were in a conference with 7 more members of their groups, or rather their holographic images.
"Kakuzu, what is it that you called for an emergency gathering?" The hologram of a figure with eyes having several rings spoke.
"Leader-sama, I have come across a mission calling for the capture of Senju Tsunade for the debt she has accumulated and has run away with it. Getting a share from the huge bounty on her head would be excellent for our group, so I wish for your permission for me and my partner to join in the mission." The masked man spoke. His partner who was carrying a huge three bladed scythe with a cord tether on his back frowned.
"I am in for it if we can offer some sacrifices on Jashin-sama's feet." The individual spoke.
"Kakuzu, you know that we can't operate in the open too much or the 5 great nations will become fully aware of our existence and come after us."
"But leader-sama, this mission will be helpful for our group's goal too. I have learnt that the team that's going to be assembled for Tsunade's capture involves the Rokubi jinchuuriki as well, if we get him once the mission is completed, we can have our first Biju as well." Kakuzu suggested. Now the leader was interested.
"All right Kakuzu, you and Hidan have my permission to take part in this mission but you have to make sure of capturing the Rokubi jinchuriki without letting out any useful information about our group. Be prepared to face the consequences should something otherwise happens." The hologram of the leader ordered.
"Thank you, leader-sama, we won't disappoint you." Kakuzu acknowledged.
Then the holograms vanished.
Now a team of deadly shinobi was ready to capture Tsunade. Would Naruto, Hinata and their friends be up for the task?
-Meanwhile, In Wave-
Kabuto stood in patient waiting for the seller.
A skill he had mastered during his employment by Sasori was arriving well before the due time in order to ensure as to not anger Suna's mad puppet master.
There was much to do and see to, Orochimaru's newly revived body had needs to be attended to, this was the first time he had been forced to utilize the Curse Mark for such a thing.
Kimimaro would be overjoyed that the cursed seal upon him had been instrumental in restoring Orochimaru to life.
Kabuto laughed. He wanted to hate Konoha for thwarting their plan, but all he could find is respect.
He wanted to hate the kyuubi brat- no, Naruto Uzumaki for his role in seeing him imprisoned but he couldn't.
In the end, both sides were just following the will of their leaders.
Pawns in a much bigger game.
"My how punctual." A smooth deep voice almost purred.
Kabuto turned and saw a group of three, pardon, four situated infront of him.
One was a young man, about 24 at the oldest, with obviously haphazard stitching from skin grafts spread over the entirety of his visible body, and obviously with quite a bit more hidden by his clothes, stereotypical delinquent clothes.
Kabuto sniffed just a hint of what seemed to be a type of phosphor coming from that one, obviously possessing a powerful form of fire release, but the stitching and grafts meant that it was quite clear that this young man had a constitution unfit for withstanding the levels of heat such an ability would produce and thus his body had to be repaired from severe 3rd degree burns.
Kabuto recognized the look in his eyes and saw the wanton desire to kill, wrapped around a malformed desire for vengeance over a perceived slight that may have been justified at one time but he had blown it when he had the chance long after the target had long since begun reforming from the fault, and all encased in a malignant intelligence and obvious sociopathy. A person who didn't see people but walking bags of meat to kill or use.
The second was a woman, looked like a teenager, carrying herself like a teenager but Kabuto saw the subtleties that indicated it was all an act, though not quite in the acting like someone you're not and more like acting like something you're not, in this case, human. The girl wore a school uniform befitting the age group she presented herself as and a medical eyepatch and Kabuto could hear the faint sound of buzzing and could occasionally see something push against the eye patch. A Kamizuru, possibly…but Kabuto had never seen one quite like this nor possessing this particular type of blonde hair. Some obvious signs of dyeing were present but if it was to mute the blonde or brighten it, Kabuto couldn't tell.
The third and most monstrous looking member of this party of four was a hulking mass of muscle, covered by what looked like rotting black skin covered in massive red scars. If it was human, it wasn't anymore. Its eyes were vacant, suggesting that any intelligent mind it had was now long gone. All the more emphasized by its lips stretching back into what looked like both a sadistic wide smile and grimace of complete agony.
Those three were dangerous and unnerving. But Kabuto believed he could handle them.
The fourth member, and the leader of the group, he was another story.
Unlike the others, he appeared to be a tall and well-built yet overall average man going on middle age, minus red eyes and snow-white hair, a black business suit under a trench coat, and a polite affable smile that held an emptiness to it.
Kabuto could see beneath it all.
He felt like he was beneath the scheming gaze of a dragon with this man, one who wanted to reign atop it all as an immortal demon king.
Kabuto knew that this man wasn't a simple sociopath, no.
This man was a true psychopath, born broken. A man who didn't feel emotion as most humans did, who saw them as ants to be done with as he pleased.
Kabuto had a sneaking suspicion that the hulking mass of muscle with a vacant gaze was a result of this.
The polite and affable smile might have held a genuineness to it, as he had little to fear from anyone. Few could threaten him and make good upon it in meaningful ways. This group was held together by equal parts genuine loyalty and fear of reprisal by its leader.
The man leading this pack spoke: "I presume you to be Yakushi Kabuto? Is that thought correct in its assumption?"
Kabuto nodded, "Indeed. I presume you are Shigaraki?"
The man nodded while his eyes narrowed a hair and his smile widened. "Correct indeed." The man snapped his fingers: "Kuin, show him."
The false teenager nodded and skipped happily to Kabuto with a box tucked under her arm before handing it to the researcher.
Kabuto took it and about opened the box before the buzzing sound loudened and Kabuto realized it was coming from within her eyepatch.
Shigaraki spoke calmly: "Please refrain from opening it just yet. You know the deal." Strong enough to be kind and fair, for if any backstabbing occurred recompense would follow swiftly.
Kabuto nodded: "Of course. As you asked." And pulled out a small vial and gave it to 'Kuin' who took it happily.
The moment the vial was in Shigaraki's hand, Kabuto quickly opened the box and found the desired item within.
A pulsating red orb with some kind of veins growing out of it, Kabuto quickly shut the box and latched it before storing it away in his bag.
Shigaraki smiled: "Glad to see you are satisfied, almost as much as you kept your word. A properly calculated move against a group such as this. It is such a tragedy when others break their word with me. I have to break them as well."
Kabuto nodded but swallowed a bit loud in response to the slight burst of Killing Intent, it felt like an ancient yet still deadly miasma compared to any others he had felt.
Kabuto spoke: "You never did mention why you agreed to do this."
Shigaraki shrugged: "Who is to say? I am an investor in fine entertainment, chaos and evil in all their many forms. That core is useless to me but to you and Orochimaru, it can be used to create a creature similar to those Biju of yours. I enable and invest in operations like yours like a vineyard. I invest so that you can age and perfect your product so that I may, one day, savor and enjoy it at my leisure. Enough talk, my group has a tail it seems. You best get that and those samples you intend to take home with you to your master. Otherwise, you may find yourself losing your head or your prize. Give my regards to Orochimaru and my best wishes, must be quite the trouble to adjust to a body that was brought back from death. I know from experience."
Kabuto was shocked for a moment but he knew something was coming and he had things to do in Wave while he was still here. The man glancing off with his cold red eyes having the pupil turning into crosshairs before rotating a bit before resuming the standard pupil shape cemented the time crunch.
Kabuto started running while Shigaraki turned to his subordinates: "The secret to advanced cellular regeneration is in our hands. A tool that will aide our cause significantly. We have much to do if we wish to conquer our enemies. Toya, Kuin. Let us leave."
"Okie-dokie, Sensei!"
"…Just lead on, Old Man."
The mass of muscle growled and stared vacantly in the distance.
The young man with the stitched together skin frowned: "What's brainless's problem?"
The Lead, Shigaraki, sighed: "It has the power to sense problematic abilities, like ones that would prevent escape. It seems our tail is in possession of such an ability and it seems I miscalculated. We will be forced to make a stand, and remind those fools that we are here."
A few minutes later and a group converged upon the four and a battle broke out.
A few minutes prior to the sellers making their stand.
Kabuto made his escape with a touch of lackadaisicalness, an almost stroll like gait.
If someone was coming then they were less likely to noticed and identified as a someone of interest.
Kabuto weaved through the crowds, not wasting a moment but also taking time to ensure he looked as though he belonged.
He was about half way through town when his heart beat started going out of control.
His instinct ran wild until he saw them.
A woman in armor of a design he had never seen before, built lean yet compactly muscled if the movements were any indication.
A man wearing armor in a skeleton like design with the helmet, shoulders, and knees having a skull design. Characters of an unknown writing were visible on some points of the man's armor.
A man of slightly above average height with tanned skin, black hair tied back, and a goatee wearing simple yet formal clothes paired with a brown long coat.
A tall woman with pale fair skin and black hair and blue eyes wearing leather protective clothing that had an almost noble design to it. The woman blinked for a moment and the white of her eyes turned to an inky black while the blue became a shining gold, before changing back.
A woman of average height and tanned skin with long light purple hair tied back into a massive purple ponytail and blue eyes that glistened with mischievous joy. She wore a formal suit but the cuffs had an intricate design with calligraphic decoration adorning it.
A man of average height with short purple hair and purple eyes, bearing a distinct resemblance to another in the group.
A short girl with youthful features and an almost bubbly smile and body language dressed in almost performer like clothes. Kabuto would have written her off if not for the fact that she showed clear signs of muscle tensing as if preparing for a fight.
A woman of height on the lower end of average with brown eyes and black hair, accenting a kind smile that adorned her face.
And at the head of the group, a man of slightly above average height with purple eyes and purple hair with tanned skin. Like most of the members of the group, he wore a formal suit, however his was distinct via the waistcoat he wore above his dress shirt and the knee length black jacket he wore.
Each member of this group set off Kabuto's instincts, and the lead set them off in a way similar to the client he had just dealt with.
Kabuto let out a sigh of relief as they passed him by, heading towards where he came from.
However, the lead of the group slowed down and walked close to Kabuto
Kabuto almost lost his composure when he heard the man whisper: "Thanks for the help kid. We never would have caught up to Shigaraki without your help. One of the highest ranked priorities on our Hit List soon to be dealt with and it's all thanks to you, Yakushi Kabuto."
The man smiled amicably as he caught up to the rest of the group.
Kabuto heard one question, "Are you certain it's a good idea to leave him alive, Hisa?" "Maybe, maybe not. He isn't worth the trouble. We got a bigger problem that we can deal with."
Kabuto had to fight to maintain his calm.
Everything screamed he should get back to Sound as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately for Kabuto:
He had one additional objective while here.
Kabuto reached the outskirts of the main town and found two graves…
…one marked by the legendary sword Kubikiribocho.
Before he could begin his work, the sounds of battle broke out.
Earth shattering impacts, blue flamed infernos, large bees with modified stingers, explosions, and so many other sounds of battle rang out across archipelago from the island the combatants had made their battleground.
Kabuto felt sweat running down his forehead, this was a level of power that Orochimaru would be hard pressed to match.
Kabuto snapped to and began his task.
Kabuto ran through a quick sequence and the graves were opened up to reveal bodies that had only suffered 6-8 months of decay.
Kabuto almost felt guilty. But he had to work quick.
He pulled out tools and began cutting off bits of flesh and drawing what blood cells he could that hadn't degraded to uselessness. Possibly enough useful DNA for Edo Tensei.
Kabuto cut out a few major bones to ensure DNA collection was sufficient before he reburied the bodies and sealed the sword in a scroll.
Kabuto made extra effort to make it look as though the bodies hadn't been recently dug up then re-inhumed.
He didn't exactly know these two, but information indicated that they met their end during a mission in the area against Kakashi's Team-7.
Standard procedure was to take fallen enemies back to the village for study of the corpses and Kakashi was known to be something of a stickler for rules even if he had mellowed on it.
However, it seemed that the way they died had earned them a burial.
Kabuto respected that.
Kabuto nodded in satisfactory at his work and looked towards the battleground and heard the silence. Seems a victor had been decided…
Kabuto began to travel across the main bridge to the mainland when a mist began to set in.
Kabuto felt little cause for concern until he noticed something.
His breath. His breath was visible.
'Impossible, it not late enough in the year for these kinds of temperatures yet…'
The mist had caught up to him by now and he felt a chill across his entire body.
And he could hear the faint echoes of someone from Wave walking towards him. The soft sounds of shinobi grade footwear against the metal of the bridge told him to hide.
Running away was useless in this scenario. Kabuto growled and darted for the side of the bridge which made his lungs burn from the cold air.
He swung himself over and stood on the supports which gave him just a convenient view spot in his hiding place.
He waited and breathed as lightly as possible to keep from generating anymore signs of where he was hidden.
It felt like an hour and his ROOT training helped immensely, but then it appeared.
Kabuto almost felt his heart stop. It was an almost ethereal woman gliding across the bridge with light steps. The snow-white color of her clothes, clearly shinobi gear, gave her an almost Yuki-Onna like look. She appeared to be no older than 30, had curly black hair cut a bit short, and wore a mask with a hook pattern painted on it.
Kabuto's instincts were screaming that this woman was in the same league as Guren: Skilled, ruthless, powerful, and dangerous.
But most notably, way outside his weight class.
Kabuto knew she had to know he was here.
She walked till she was just barely standing over Kabuto.
"If I wanted you dead…" a slightly muffled voice called out "…you would have been dead and frozen before you even noticed the mist I made, Kabuto Yakushi."
Kabuto's eyes widened. He tensed for a fight but nothing came.
Kabuto ducked out of his hiding spot and saw the woman was walking away. "I've got a job to do, killing a bounty worth far less than it is a waste of time. I don't have time to kill a Kasha trying to be a snake."
Something about that rubbed Kabuto the wrong way but he gritted his teeth and made his way to the Land of Sound.
As he entered the forest, he saw something on the ground.
Blood leaked from it and skin was charred.
Kabuto inspected closely and realized: 'It's from that creature with Shigaraki! It's that creature's arm!'
Kabuto looked around and found the rest of the creature.
Its severed arm had apparently been regrown, but the creature was covered in injuries that showed signs of heat damage and cauterization in addition to whatever attack was unleashed alongside it.
The final blow was one aimed at the creature's brain, aimed to completely destroy the organ.
And this was successful.
The creature seemed to have relaxed in its final moments. Its sneer of pain had relaxed into a grateful half smile, or as close to one as it's deformed face would allow.
Kabuto heard the crunches of footsteps and any plans or thoughts were shelved.
The spy made his way to Sound at best pace.
There was much work to do.
A/N: And done...Didn't see that little MHA crossover coming did you? Anyways, that's all there is to this little MHA crossover here. I would love to write crossover fics someday, but the power scaling in Naruto universe is too high compared to MHA verse. MHA would probably suit pre-timeskip One Piece for a crossover, or perhaps Demon Slayer. Naruto and One Piece is a good crossover idea, I would like to do one day...but that's only after we reach LaughTale.
Anyways, once again, this was all that was for our little run in with some MHA characters. GBA's OCs will make some small cameo appearances in the future to shade more light to our little Naruto multiverse and give snippets on our other projects; current and upcoming. So that's that.
I hope you all had a good read and as you can see, we will be having another cool and tough fight in the next couple of chapters. How will our lovely couple and their companions do against three S-class and one A-class threat? Stay tuned and find out in the next couple of chapters.
Lastly, thank you vey much once again for giving my fic this tremendous love and appreciation. I will be counting on it in the coming days. Thank you again.
See ya all in the next chapter. Cheers and peace.