A/N: I am extremely sorry that for being unable to keep up with my monthly schedule. I was not too well for some days in October due to which I couldn't do much writing and hence no chapter in October. And once more, I missed at least updating a chapter on Naruto's birthday. I missed it last year and this year as well. Hopefully it won't happen next year as well. Anyways, lets not delay this anymore. The previous chapter cut off in the middle of the various fights of the Tsunade retrieval arc. This arc would conclude all the battles. And with that lets get on with the chapter...
CHAPTER 26: CONTINUED TROUBLE AND THEN MORE TROUBLE…..
For the time-being, the teens had gotten themselves a breather. However, the fight was far from over for their seniors. Kakashi was locked in a fierce stalemate with Utakata, who had now resorted to a version-2 Biju chakra cloak. Tsunade meanwhile was quite busy with Hidan.
*With Tsunade*
The legendary medic didn't quite have the words to describe her frustrations with this fight. She had already dealt a number of killing blows on that idiotic and obviously vulgar-tongued scythe user. But none were able to kill him or even put him out of commission.
The problem was that none of Tsunade's blows were supposed to severe limbs of her opponents. Break their bones, shatter their skull, stop the heart through a minute but precise electric shock, paralyze the opponent…of course. But those were not enough to stop Hidan, as long as his limbs remained attached to his body.
The exchange of scythe and punches and kicks had been going on about 40 minutes now. And Tsunade was very frustrated, she may not like to admit it, but she was actually very worried for the kids, knowing that they were forced to confront hostile S-ranked Shinobi. But here she was, locked in a stalemate.
Just then, the medic saw it. She saw a wind dome being erected and locking Kakuzu within it and soon after that, she also saw Hinata deliver a Rasengan to the missing-nin's chest. Her eyes widened.
'Those kids, they did it…they actually did it.' The Senju thought to herself, in delight as she ducked to dodge a horizontal cut from Hidan's scythe. She was then relieved to see Shizune being able to reach the kids and the enemy withdrawing.
Then her eyes widened. She could swear, she saw visages of Dan and Nawaki standing by the now unconscious lovers and smiling at her. She couldn't stop tears from freely flowing down.
'Nawaki, Dan…do you…do you want to say…these kids?' She thought with tears. But just then, Hidan's scythe managed to scratch her as the insane priest took advantage of her momentary distraction.
And the sight of her own blood flowing down her cheek made Tsunade's fear of blood kick in at full-force. Now the legendary medic couldn't lift a finger and began trembling.
Hidan stopped for a moment.
"Hey…what's wrong with you, whore? Come on…struggle a bit more…come on…please Jashin-sama with your worthless struggle, before I gift him your soul…come on!" The religious zealot of the Akatsuki yelled as he licked the blood that was now on his scythe. But Tsunade didn't respond.
"Blood…blood…" The legendary medic uttered in a fumbling whisper as she stood frozen in her place. Hidan swung his scythe again making a big cut on Tsunade's leg, making matters worse for Tsunade as more blood flowed out.
"Blood…blood…" The Senju princess trembled as images of Dan dying in a pool of his own blood flashed before her eyes. She had lost her grip on the situation entirely by now.
Hidan let out a sigh.
"Fine, it seems you don't want to struggle anymore and want to surrender to Jashin-sama's glory. Alright, I can grant that much." Hidan said with a grin as he began drawing the Jashinist symbol on the ground.
Tsunade's mind was unable to process anything that was happening before her as she kept standing there, frozen in place.
Hidan completed the symbol and the colour of his body changed to black with white matching a crude depiction of a skeleton. He took out a spear and stabbed it across his arm, all the while laughing maniacally.
"See that bitch! Any wounds I get, you get as well! But thanks to Jashin-sama's blessing, none of those injuries affect me in the end, but you…you are gonna die! Now praise Jashin-sama's greatness! Hahahahahaha!" Hidan taunted and laughed maniacally as he raised his scythe.
"Blood…Dan…Nawaki…" Tsunade kept on mumbling and trembling, even when the wound of a spear piercing through her right appeared and splashed more blood out, still under the effects of hematophobia. Hidan didn't really care much about keeping Tsunade alive. Those who had given them the contract to capture her never specified that she had to be kept alive, and with Kakuzu gone, the only person who could (reasonably as far Hidan knew) admonish him or stop him from sacrificing people at Jashin-sama's feet was out of his way, leaving the mad cultist with free reign on the situation. He raised the spear again.
'It's not time for you to come to us yet, Tsunade.' The medic-nin heard a gentle voice whisper from the back of her mind.
'Dan!?'
'Nee-san, that bastard is taunting you too much, go show him what you are made of! Don't stand here like an idiot. You are really cool and strong, show it to that bastard.' The voice of a young boy rang over Tsunade's mind.
'Nawaki!?' The Senju princess shouted mentally.
'Look inside you, Tsunade. We and all those you hold dear would always be there, always with you. And their prayers and good wishes will keep driving you forward.' Tsunade saw a visage of Dan speak gently, pointing towards her heart. 'Now get a grip of yourself. You are not one of the legendary Sannin for nothing. Show that to your enemy! Remember that you still have to protect those young green leaves and their wills of fire. It's your duty as their elder and senior. Don't give up on that, just for us who are already gone. Stand up and fight, Tsunade-chan.' Dan's visage continued speaking. Tsunade's eyes widened.
'That's right. I can't give up, I still have to keep fighting, those kids. That boy, Naruto. His dream, I have to protect that…Dan, Nawaki, I can see that dream of yours taking shape, and this time…I will make sure that this dream becomes a reality. Lend me your strength!'
And with that… Tsunade's inner demons as well as her hematophobia were quashed. Just then, Hidan stabbed the spear into his stomach and blood splashed out of Tsunade's torso, making her fall on the ground. But she did come back to her senses.
"Tsunade-sama! If he licks your blood and makes that circle, he will be connected to you and any wounds made on his body will appear on yours." Shizune shouted rushing to her and only then did she see that it Jashinist ritual was already underway. "Oh shit!" The dark-haired medic cursed.
"So, you figured that out huh? Too bad for you, flat-bitch, you're too late." Hidan said laughing maniacally. As he raised the spear to stab it through the heart and did so in the next second. A hole appeared on Tsunade's chest, making her cough up blood.
"Hahahahaha! Die bitch! Die for the glory of the great Jashin-sama." Hidan taunted, laughing maniacally.
"No! Shisho!" Shizune screamed in horror.
Hidan meanwhile kept laughing but then his laughter ceased, when Tsunade began standing up and all the wounds on her body began to heal and close. Then he saw that black marks had spread through her body, starting from a diamond shaped seal on her forehead. The legendary medic smirked just a bit.
"Don't worry Shizune, you were right on time. Thank you. Now go and attend the kids, while I show this foul-mouthed bastard his place and teach him why one shouldn't badmouth women." Tsunade said with determination.
"Hai….and Shisho…he can't be killed by any means. To stop him you have to sever his limbs and cut his head off."
"Carefully noted Shizune. Now go and look after the kids." The slug using member of the legendary Sannin ordered before turning her gaze towards her opponent. As Shizune nodded and left to continue attending the teens.
"You! Why aren't you dead?!"
"Heh! It seems you've never crossed paths with one of legendary Sannin, have you? Alright, then I just have to teach you and your stupid Jashin, whoever he is, to never dare mess with Senju Tsunade." The legendary kunoichi said with a calm voice as she began walking towards the Jashinist.
Not understanding how she could still be standing, Hidan took his scythe and stabbed it upon himself, piercing the heart, stomach and liver in one blow but even that didn't work. He saw in horror as those wounds appeared on the Slug Princess only to then close up less than a second later.
"No No…stop! Don't come near me. Jashin-sama will curse you! Don't you dare touch me!" Hidan screamed in horror, swinging his scythe madly as the tables clearly turned against him. Tsunade dodged all the strikes and cuts and delivered some vicious kicks and punches and then she punched the ground Hidan was standing on, shattering and sending everything in a 5-meter radius flying upwards, along with the Jashinist as well as destroying the Jashinist ritual symbol.
As Hidan fell on the ground, square on his butt, and no less than a moment later Tsunade jumped and landed upon his stomach, making him cough up blood and then with a punch, she knocked his scythe and spear out of his hands.
"Shizune said I need to sever your limbs and your head. But I don't have a sword. What to do?" The medic-nin said with a thoughtful expression before she looked down on her opponent and smirked.
"Guess I'll just have to pluck them out with brute force. Yeah, that's it. Brilliant idea, Tsunade." She said congratulating herself with a smirk as she took hold of one of Hidan's arms and twisted it, shattering the bones, then she began pulling. Hidan began screaming in downright agony.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh! Damn whore! Jashin-sama will-SHIT! ARGH!"
Tsunade didn't respond, rather she kept pulling the arm. In a minute, it came off.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Hidan screamed as Tsunade tossed his right arm away and went for his left. Then she repeated the process with the left arm and both legs.
Then Tsunade lifted the now limbless body up and held the neck with both her arms.
"You are really pissing me off with that damn name of Jashin. Fine, even if he comes to fight me himself, I'll put him in this exact state. Remember that!" Tsunade said as she began pulling the head and body apart.
Utakata and Kakashi actually paused their fight momentarily to observe the sheer brutality with which Tsunade was tearing her opponent apart, in literal sense. Even Raiga who had now hidden himself with Ranmaru's help began sweating in horror.
'That woman, they said she was afraid of blood… she is literally plucking out arms and legs and now… oh this isn't going to end well…' The former mist swordsman thought in horror as Tsunade pulled the head and body apart and dropped the head on the ground, unceremoniously. 'And now the head too…Damn…she can give prepare people for funerals better than I can even imagine!'
Tsunade then took out a sealing scroll from her sleeve and sealed the Akatsuki member's head in it.
One might be tempted to ask why Tsunade had a scroll like that on her if she was planning to stay retired.
The answer might even surprise you.
But it isn't an answer you will be learning today.
"I guess the T&I Division would make the most use of it." She commented to herself as she let the 'Strength of a hundred technique' recede to the diamond mark on her forehead.
'Thankfully I didn't have to use the strength of a 100 for too long, otherwise my body would have become old…that would have been troublesome.'
Just as Tsunade thought this to herself, back in Konoha, Shikaku and Shikamaru sneezed for no apparent reason.
*With Shizune and the teens*
"Thank you for warning me in time…Kurama-san." Shizune whispered.
The unconscious Naruto's eyes opened with red eye-balls having black vertical slits on them.
"Think nothing of it." Kurama spoke through Naruto's mouth and then let the boy go back to unconsciousness again.
*Flashback 15 minutes ago*
Shizune was healing Naruto and Hinata's wounds as theirs were the most severe. She had also made Kiba and Akamaru lie down with the unconscious pair and had dressed up his and Akamaru's wounds.
Just then, out of the blue, Naruto's eyes opened, revealing red eyeballs having vertical slits on them. Shizune, Shino and the now conscious Kiba were all shocked.
"Listen young woman." 'Naruto' spoke in a very serious and ancient sounding tone, scaring and shocking Shizune.
"Naruto!" Shizune shouted in surprise.
"I am not Naruto. And if you don't pay attention to my words, I assure you, the woman you call shisho will die."
"What!?"
"We don't have much time so I'll come straight to the point. The guy Tsunade is fighting, Hidan of the Jashin is a special case, he can't be killed by normal means per se. Also be aware to never let him have your blood while fighting him. If he gets your blood, licks it and then completes a ritualistic circle: it can be an instant loss type scenario, for any wound made on him from that point onward would also be made on the person's body, whose blood he has licked. And once he licks his enemy's blood and makes that ritualistic circle, he usually kills them in a very painful way by first piercing himself and various places with a spear and then he either stabs himself with the scythe or the spear, piercing his heart, which also pierces the heart of the opponent, killing them. So, if he ever gets to lick your blood, make sure he never gets to complete the ritual symbol, if he completes it, destroy it by any means before he can stab himself and you by extension. And to stop him, the only way is to sever his body from his head, severing all the limbs can be a good option along the line. Make sure to convey this to your shisho as quickly as you can. These kids are fine, you don't need to worry too much about them, they are not in any immediate danger." Kurama explained through Naruto.
"W-Who are…A-a-are y-you, t-the K-kyuubi?" Shizune asked stuttering in nervousness.
"Yours truly." Kurama said with a chuckle. "Although, I prefer being addressed by my real name, Kurama. Anyways, now move before he kills your teacher." Kurama ordered before closing Naruto's eyes and letting the blonde slip back into unconsciousness.
"Hai." Shizune said before rushing away.
Meanwhile, Kiba who was lying near Naruto, looked at Shino who was sitting close by.
"Hey, Shino. It's really weird, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"Well, Naruo having the Kyuubi inside him. That fox, I have heard that he's really powerful, he literally laid waste to the village. They said that the Yondaime killed him, but actually he had to seal the fox into Naruto. I mean, yeah, I've even seen Naruto use the fox's power, when he fought with Gaara during the chunin exams, but I couldn't really understand what it was, I thought it was just some hidden bloodline of his. During and after that fight, I have heard many people whisper about the Kyuubi but I still couldn't believe the Kyuubi can be inside Naruto. I mean, come on…Naruto?"
"Yes, Kiba. I agree. I was unconscious after my fight with Kankuro so I couldn't witness Naruto's fight with Gaara. I've heard that after that fight, the invasion started and Gaara almost unleashed the one-tailed Shukaku upon the village and it was Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru that stopped him. I have also heard about jinchuuriki and read about them. Those who are publicly known such the Raikage's brother, Killer Bee-san are said to have lived a very hard life. In our childhood, I am sure you remember how everyone hated Naruto and didn't want to do anything with him. I never understood why. But I didn't want to ask around as well as I don't like prying into others' privacy. My father also never told me anything about Naruto. Nothing good, nothing bad, all he said was that he saw Naruto as a normal person and I thought so as well. And after understanding why, I don't think the villagers' reason for hating Naruto is right. It can't be right. Our friend didn't ask to be made a jinchuuriki, and even if he did, it would be to keep us safe, so we should all be grateful to him, instead of being scornful." The Aburame boy explained.
"Yeah, you're right. Naruto is Naruto. Kyuubi or no Kyuubi. And I think it's quite cool that he can use such power, you know, it makes me a bit jealous of him but still….I think it's quite cool." Kiba responded.
*End of Flashback*
Having returned and thanked Kurama for the timely advice, Shizune resumed healing our wounded lovebirds as well as Kiba and Akamaru.
*Meanwhile with Kakashi*
The copy-nin had to admit, Utakata was definitely proving to be a handful. In his version-2 chakra cloak, the Rokubi jinchuuriki was faster than ever and his blows were quite deadly. Although, in this form he was unable to launch water jutsus or any bubble release techniques, but his chakra was laced with acid, which burnt Kakashi's skin every time a blow connected.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullets!" Kakashi released huge balls of fire rapidly, hitting the now opaque red chakra covered Utakata but the blows proved to be worthless.
'Normal ninjutsu is not working, He is too fast for me to put a chakra suppression seal on him, what to do? What to do?' Kakashi thought. 'I guess I have to keep trying with the Chidori and put more and more chakra into it, yeah, that's the only way it can work.' Having made up his mind, Kakashi went through the required hand-signs and his palm was engulfed in lightning. Right then Utakata charged at him. Kakashi put as much chakra as he could into the 'Raikiri' and dashed forward as well, meeting his opponent head-on.
The attack connected and this time, the Raikiri penetrated the chakra cloak a bit, but the recoil effect on Kakashi was really hard. His hand burnt up due to the acidic chakra Utakata also kicked him on his gut, throwing him back by several feet.
Just as Utakata tried to charge at Kakashi, the copy ninja went through rapid hand-signs and slammed him hands on the ground.
The ground around Utakata lifted up rapidly as multiple stone walls rose up and a rapid pace and threw the jinchuuriki off-balance.
"Earth Release: Multiple Earth Walls!" Kakashi declared. But then Utakata's chakra tails shot out and destroyed the walls as he charged at Kakashi again, the copy ninja kept raising walls and Utakata kept destroying them but finally when he got to where Kakashi was, he found…nothing.
And then, suddenly He received a vicious punch from downwards as Kakashi shot up from underground, the punch was also hardened with earth chakra, so it sent Utakata flying upwards.
"That's Earth Release: Rending Drill technique" Kakashi said panting as Utakata dropped before him and let out a deafening roar.
"Looks like you're quite pissed huh?" Kakashi said with a bit of chuckle, trying to enrage his enemy so that his attacks became less and less sensible. Utakata roared again and this time chakra started to converge around his mouth. Kakashi's eyes widened as he remembered exactly what jutsu was about to follow.
'Shit! This will be bad!' Kakashi thought as a purplish ball of chakra formed on Utakata's chakra formed mouth. A plan clicked on Kakashi's mind and he bent down a little. 'I don't have enough time to use the head hunter, that's an easier name than double decapitation suicide, jutsu again to go underground but I do have time for something else.' The copy ninja thought to himself as he went through one-handed seals this time. And just as the sphere-shaped Biju Bomb was formed, Kakashi slammed his hands on the ground, the ground around Utakata rose up just a bit, throwing him off-balance and his Biju Bomb was sent flying upwards instead of straight towards Kakashi.
After a second, a distant explosion was heard.
'I hope that hadn't killed someone.' Kakashi thought to himself, though he knew that with how destructive the Biju Bombs could be that the hope might have been in vain, as Utakata again charged at him, trying to form another biju bomb in the process.
"Earth Release: Ground Bedrock!" Kakashi stated going through the necessary hand-signs, two walls of earth rose up and trapped Utakata in between them.
'These earth jutsus are actually effective against jinchuuriki it seems. Perhaps it's because of the sheer mass involved…or it's so effective against Utakata and the Rokubi because it's too much mass for any acid he can produce in a confined state to eat through quickly…' Kakashi contemplated to himself and then went through hand-seals again. But just then Utakata's chakra tails shot up and destroyed some parts of the walls that had trapped him, and the jinchuuriki was free.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River" The area around Utakata was transformed into mud and the flow of the mud began moving him away from Kakashi. Then the copy-ninja again cast another earth jutsu, that he had long ago copied from the Sandaime Hokage.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!" From the muddy swamp, a dragon made up of mud rose up and shot fast balls of mud towards Utakata. Simultaneously, Kakashi also released a number of fireballs using the flame bullet technique, which set the mud-balls ablaze.
The fiery attack hit Utakata with full force, forcing him back by about 15 feet. It seemed that this time the attack had managed to hurt the jinchuuriki.
Kakashi was panting, now he knew what he needed to do to keep his opponent away from him and hurt him. He also knew that Utakata won't be dispelling his chakra cloak, since that would make him vulnerable to the 'Raikiri' and copy-nin wouldn't miss the chance.
But the process to throw earth jutsu after earth jutsu at his opponent all the while taking acid laced blows was proving to be quite taxing for the white haired jonin. He was in extreme pain due to the acid-burns at several spots on his skin. And he was also bleeding, courtesy of Utakata's blows and the chakra tails that had stabbed or at least grazed him at several places. It was only due to his extremely quick reflexes as well as having opened two inner gates that Kakashi had been able to avoid getting hit at a vital spot, but he was nearing his limits. He had been fighting Utakata for about 90 minutes and keeping it up would at some point would definitely dampen his speed, agility and reflexes and that would leave him vulnerable, as obviously Utakata had the better stamina thanks to his biiju.
Utakata quickly recovered from the attack and shot chakra tails at Kakashi, the copy-nin jumped back, while going through the hand-seals to cast the 'Earth Dragon Bullet' again, and just then….
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"
Utakata received a vicious kick, was literally thrown away, regardless of his chakra cloak and was slammed into a tree.
"Yosh, my youthful eternal rival, it seems you are in a pinch here. But, don't fear as the noble sublime green beast of Konoha is here." A certain green jumpsuit wearing shinobi with bowl haircut stated with a thumbs-up as his teeth sparkled.
Kakashi let out a sigh of relief. "The timing couldn't have been better." He commented.
"But why are you here Gai?" Kakashi asked and Gai's look became downcast.
"Kakashi, I bring worrisome news. Hokage-sama sent me here to rendezvous with you, but that can wait, it seems you are in a serious fight with a jinchuuriki. Mind telling me, who your opponent is?"
"Utakata, the jinchuuriki of the Rokubi and a former Kiri jonin. Be careful and don't let his attacks hit you, they will not only wound you but also burn as his chakra is very acidic." Kakashi warned.
"Understood!"
"Gai, we have to pound him until he is exhausted. You hit him with taijutsu, I'll hit him with nin-jutsu. You from the back and me from the front, what do you say?"
"A very sensible strategy as usual, my eternal rival." Gai responded. "First Gate, Second Gate, Third Gate, Fourth Gate, Fifth Gate, Sixth Gate Open"
And then the green clad jonin vanished, appearing behind Utakata and viciously kicked him forward. And matching his timing, Kakashi launched a flurry of mud balls from the earth dragon technique. The combo hit Utakata and he let out a roar.
'It's working.' Kakashi and Gai thought to themselves.
"Gai, pound him with everything you've got!" Kakashi yelled.
"Yosh, be prepared for a grand display of the flames of youth, Utakata-san!" Gai shouted.
'Flames of youth!? What the hell does that mean!?' Utakata thought to himself with a sweat-drop. His default state nowadays seemed to be one of extreme confusion and annoyance.
But he was brought out of his musings, quickly as he received a severe roundhouse kick that propelled him into the air. "Leaf Whirlwind!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Kakashi released a massive ball of fire, burning the chakra-cloaked Utakata.
Then Gai attacked again, leaping into the air and delivering a series of roundhouse kicks on the jinchuuriki's gut in rapid succession.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!" And Utakata was sent flying towards Kakashi once more.
"Multiple Earth Walls!" Kakashi slammed his palms on the ground and raised several earth walls letting Utakata get slammed into them with full force.
"Not yet!" Gai shouted and began spinning rapidly. "Leaf Gust!" And a strong high kick was delivered on Utakata, square on his face.
Gai then jumped a bit back and leapt into the air. "And now for a youthful finish!" Gai delivered a series of rapid punches and kicks which were set ablaze.
"Asa Kujaku! (Morning Peacock!)" The barrage of burning punches and kicks hit the chakra cloaked Utakata with full force and also completely destroyed the wall he had been slammed into earlier, but Gai didn't stop, the punches kept coming and sent him flying towards Kakashi, who again used a combination of the earth dragon bullet and flame bullet technique to hit Utakata with a series of burning mud-balls.
This final combo proved too much for the Rokubi jinchuuriki. Kakashi had been pounding him with jutsu after jutsu for 90 minutes with no respite, and the new arrival, who couldn't stop shouting about youth delivered so many kicks and punches that the missing-nin would have certainly been killed had it not been for the chakra cloak, but even that can only take so much. It dispelled, leaving a very beat-up Utakata, who had no more chakra to keep fighting.
Kakashi collapsed on the ground, breathing hard, but he was sure that Gai would be able to take care of Utakata from then on, so he could rest easy for the time being.
"I guess we will have to do the interrogation later." Gai commented as he walked up to the heavily panting Utakata and delivered a chop on the back of his neck, knocking him out.
"Are you okay, Kakashi?" Gai asked as Kakashi got himself seated against a tree.
"More or less." The copy-nin replied.
"Is that all or are there other enemies around?"
"Can't say for sure, I guess that's all. Tsunade-sama seems to have taken care of her opponent. Naruto, Hinata, Shino and Kiba were also able to take on an S-class nin and it seems their opponent has retreated. You may not believe it, but Naruto was able to perform the 'Front Lotus' perfectly today." Kakashi commented.
"Really? Aah, that makes me really proud. Naruto is in many regards very similar to Lee, his flames of youth burn brighter than ever, and with young Hinata-san by his side, they are quite a youthful pair." Gai commented. "I guess, I should teach Hinata-san the inner gates too, in due time. So that she could keep up with her youthful boyfriend in speed and agility." Gai commented with a thoughtful expression.
"Hmm…that can be a nice idea." Kakashi agreed.
*Meanwhile with the kids*
With Shizune's treatment, the lovebirds gradually began regaining consciousness. Naruto was the first to wake up.
As his vision gradually returned, he tried getting up but couldn't.
"Take it easy, Naruto-kun. You have fought well, and the enemy has retreated." Shizune said in a reassuring tone.
"Ahh…oh Shizune-san…and Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked. Just then Hinata had regained her consciousness as well.
"I am here, Naruto-kun." The Hyuuga girl responded putting her hand on top of his and caressing it.
"Thank goodness…you're okay too." Naruto said in a relaxed tone.
"So Shizune-san, are the fights over now." Naruto asked again.
"It seems so, Kakashi-san and Shisho have taken care of their enemies and yours has retreated. So, I guess, it's all been taken care of." Shizune said glancing towards Tsunade who now leaning against a tree and was glancing towards the kids, while being lost in some sort of thought.
Naruto also saw Gai there, who was now tying up an unconscious Utakata while Kakashi was resting against a tree.
Just then Hinata remembered that there was another enemy, who had vanished from her sight.
She got alarmed.
"Wait, there is another one. H-He somehow completely vanished from my sight." The Hyuuga screamed.
"You're right Hime! I can still feel someone's negative emotions!" Naruto screamed out as well, just then a huge blast of lightning landed in the area close to Tsunade and the medic-nin defended herself by jumping upwards.
Seeing the attack, Gai immediately rushed to Tsunade's aid.
"An invisible enemy?" Tsunade cursed.
"No! I can sense his position. Granny, to your right!" Naruto yelled as he sat up. Heeding the blonde's warning, Tsuande jumped backwards.
'Damn how can that kid sense me! He should not be able to by any means!' Raiga thought. 'Guess I have to take care of him first! "Lightning Release: Lightning Burial: Banquet of Lightning"
"This time… he's targeting me!" Naruto said having sensed who the target was. Gai and Tsunade made it to the kids and picked Naruto and Hinata up respectively just as several bolts of lightning hit the spot, they were resting moments ago.
With some effort, Hinata activated her Byakugan again.
"I still can't see the enemy." She said helplessly from Tsunade's back. Just then, Raiga cast the Hidden Mist Jutsu.
"Ranmaru, use your trick." He ordered the boy on his back, Ranmaru obeyed.
Soon enough, within the mist, some silhouettes appeared and attacked Gai and Tsunade.
Hinata could even see the chakra network within those silhouettes. "What are these beings?" She wondered as Tsunade punched one of them. The being vanished into thin air and then attacked her again from another side. Just then Naruto gave a warning.
"I don't feel as many negative emotions from them now, what are they doing?" He yelled as Gai who was carrying him on his back delivered a roundhouse kick on the silhouette and it vanished, just to attack him from his back again.
"Gai-sensei! Our enemy is to our left 50 meters!" Naruto stated and the jonin, paying heed to him rushed forward.
"Now!" Naruto stated and Gai spun around and delivered a very strong roundhouse kick at the apparent location where the opponent was. "Violent Leaf Adamantine strength whirlwind!" This kick connected with Raiga and sent him flying away violently. And since Ranmaru had to resort to the 'Chakra Ghost Tenchnique', he had to dispel the earlier genjutsu, that had made Raiga and himself invisible from others.
It was only the thick mist that was keeping them hidden. But with the severe kick, air was knocked out of Raiga's lungs and he had to release the jutsu since he realized that he now had to cast even stronger jutsus, making himself visible to the Konoha-nin for the first time since the attack began.
"Is that Raiga Kurosuki, who was one of the seven mist swordsmen?" Tsunade wondered as she let Hinata disembark from her back, so did Gai with Naruto.
"Hahaha, it seems I am quite well known around. Yes, I am Raiga. Be prepared to have a funeral. Since all those that were with me at the beginning are either gone or dealt away with, I can have the prize all for myself." Raiga said laughing maniacally.
Naruto's eyes twitched. 'Why is it that all of them always laugh like that and try to intimidate us. Should I do the same to them when the tables are turned?' He wondered internally.
"No need of that Naru-chan. It's typical villain stuff, laughing like that when they think the situation is in their favour but then the tables turn really quickly and they end up begging for mercy." Kushina explained from the mindscape.
'Oh…okay mom. So, this type of laughter means defeat is imminent.'
"Yup."
*Back to the battle*
Tsunade cracked her knuckles.
"I am just getting tired of being addressed as some prize. Who do you think you are talking with huh?" She said with an irritated tone.
Meanwhile, Hinata with her Byakugan, not only spotted Ranmaru, but also understood that the boy possessed some sort of dojutsu.
"H-He has a child on his back and the kid has some sort of dojutsu, be aware of that." The Hyuuga girl warned. Raiga tsked in response to his secret being discovered.
"All right kids, fall back. You've fought enough for today. Take it easy." Tsunade ordered. Naruto and Hinata complied and fell back to Kiba, Shino and Shizune. Hinata meanwhile kept her Byakugan active, so as to at least alert the senior shinobi as to if the kid on their opponent's back was about to use some sort of visual jutsu or not.
Tsunade charged at Raiga, intent on delivering a vicious punch. Raiga dodged and left another discharge of lightning towards the Senju princess. However, Tsunade dodged the charge easily.
Raiga then charged up his swords and drew a huge amount of lightning chakra towards himself. "Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Tornado!" Then he spun rapidly and released a huge vortex of lightning chakra that began to move towards Gai and Tsunade. The medic-nin and the green spandex clad jonin jumped out of the way, but they were hit by several lightning strikes from the tornado. For Gai it was quite painful but Tsunade had already been healing her body even before the lightnings hit, so she escaped mostly unscathed. Then she punched the ground, throwing Raiga upwards. While Gai, having quickly activated five of the inner gates, jumped up and delivered a vicious roundhouse kick on the former mist swordsman's torso. The kick was severe enough to throw Ranmaru away from Raiga.
The swordsman looked up into the sky and tsked in irritation. Back in the village that he was ruling, it was always cloudy and rainy, which gave him plenty of room to use the 'Fangs of Lightning', but here it was not possible as the weather was sunny and clear. The green clad shinobi with that weird haircut was also proving to be a handful. Only a single kick from him was sure to have broken several of his ribs and now Ranmaru had been tossed away as well. Raiga understood that he had truly been cornered. There was no way he would be surviving if his supposed target, Senju Tsunade landed a hit on her. What was a normal human body to those punches that can literally sent a whole area flying?
But Raiga was just too stubborn and prideful to simply surrender. He now only had one trick up in his sleeves. The swordsman began charging up lightning chakra from his swords throughout his body and kept pouring in more and more chakra. This jutsu was his ultimate one after all.
"Sword Art: Dance of the Lightning Swords!" Raiga declared as lightning covered his body and swirled around him as if it was dancing. When Tsunade tried to punch him, lightning struck her, pushing her back. Raiga then attacked himself. His armour proved to be impenetrable for Gai or Tsunade. Each time they tried to attack him, they were hit with lightning, while when Raiga attacked, he hit them with lightning as well.
For Tsunade herself, the attacks were not that much of a trouble as she was able to heal herself quite easily. As for Gai, he had to bear a lot but having trained with Kakashi very frequently, the noble green beast of Konoha was quite used to lightning style jutsus used against him.
As the attack continued on,
'I have to step in, they don't know any wind jutsus.' Naruto thought to himself.
"Fine, but don't use the gates for now. You're at your limit and pushing too much harder could be devastating." Minato suggested.
'All right'
Naruto took a deep breath and assessed his condition. Thanks to Kurama's healing prowess, he was now mostly recovered from the wounds, however the pain and fatigue of fighting Kakuzu and keeping the inner gates open for about two hours was still there. The blonde decided that he would still be able to fight. Just then, Gai was again stung with lightning once more, and was pushed back. Then Raiga once more spun around and released another 'Lightning Dragon Tornado', aiming it straight for Tsunade. The medic-nin had to keep falling back all the while dodging the incessant lightning strikes from the tornado of lightning chakra.
Naruto, having already decided to intervene, brought his arms into the cross sign and yelled.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" making 200 clones of himself appear. All of them together went through the hand-seals for the great breakthrough.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" The clones launched their attack simultaneously. And as it is correctly said, 'Quantity has a quality of its own', two hundred simultaneous attacks of a D/C-rank wind jutsu was able to overcome an A/low-S-ranked lightning jutsu, dispelling it. But several of the clones were dispelled as well, having put all their chakra into the attack.
"You are pretty good kid; it seems looks can really be misleading." Raiga commented as he charged towards Tsunade clad in his armour of lightning.
"Oh, thanks…hey…WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING HUUUHH! EAT THIS! WIND STYLE: WIND PRISON!" Naruto quickly went through the hand-signs and trapped the wielder of the Kiba blades in his own dome of wind.
The blonde poured as much of chakra as he could into the jutsu and even drew in some of Kurama's chakra into it.
Tsunade had seen the blonde perform the jutsu on Kakuzu a while ago, but that was just a sideways glance, now she saw it being executed to perfection right before her. Her eyes widened in surprise.
'This kid, he really is Minato's son. The same determination, stubbornness to keep moving ahead no matter what, along with Kushina's confidence and flamboyance. No wonder, Jiraiya, Gai and Kakashi, all are rooting for him. Seeing him fight like this, it looks like seeing my grandfather in action.' Tsunade couldn't help think that way.
Meanwhile, Raiga was completely trapped. The dome of wind was oxygen deprived, making it very hard to breath. And no matter what he did with his lightning, it proved to be useless. Raiga had never learnt any good fire jutsus. And the kick he had received from Gai was quite damaging on its own right. It had managed to shatter his ribs and with the broken bones, punctured his lungs. He was also quickly losing chakra. The wind dome only accelerated the inevitable.
Within a matter of five minutes, Raiga's armour dispelled. Meanwhile Hinata was attentively watching all this happening.
Her injuries having stabilized and healed and her reserves having enough for one last attack.
Anyways, whatever it was, right now it was great thing. As she saw Raiga's armour getting dispelled, she charged up a Rasengan on her palm and dashed forward. Naruto didn't really have to look back to understand what his Hime intended to do, he simply dispelled the wind dome just as Hinata was in the position to attack.
Getting a clear path to the target, the Hyuuga girl dashed in.
"Rasengan!"
And slammed the spiraling orb of chakra on Raiga, pushing forward at full force. Raiga coughed up blood as he was dealt with severe internal damage. He landed on flat on his back, close to where Ranmaru was.
'This girl…humble and reserved but fighting without hesitation, just like my grandmother would. Watching these two, fight side by side, it's as if I am watching my own grandparents fight side by side, just how is this possible?' Tsuande thought to herself in astonishment.
The feeble boy saw his adult partner collapse, just by his side. His dojutsu made it pretty clear to him that Raiga was on his last legs and even if he tried pushing his own life-force into him, the damage was just too great to be healed with that. But he tried no matter what.
Raiga coughed up again.
"D-Don't worry Raiga, I'll heal you in no time." Ranmaru said teary eyed. Seeing them like that, Naruto immediately got the flashbacks of Haku and Zabuza.
'It's just like watching Haku and Zabuza all over again. This kid, I am sure this Raiga or whoever he is, took this kid with him when he was alone. And now this kid is attached to him just like Zabuza was attached to Haku. No! I have to do something for him!'
Raiga coughed again and then smiled.
"Ranmaru…don't waste your life force…on someone like me. All this time… I have only used you for…the power of…eyes. My life…is not worth yours…*cough*. Let it go…This mission….it was wrong. We were not doing anything to be proud of…and I got punished for it. I knew I was wrong to…take this mission. Those people…they were justified…completely…in fighting back. Don't hold anything against them…go with them…I have known it…all the time…that you should have a life of your own. Shoulda…left me…a long time ago."
Ranmaru began crying harder.
"No…Raiga… please don't go…"
"It's okay Ranmaru…I've all ways wanted to go down in a fight…I am dying with the honour of a true shinobi…a worthy…funeral for me. But…you have a long life ahead…go with these shinobi…I know they are better than I could have hoped…in the face of death a person's true character is revealed…and they passed…they will take good care of you." Raiga said as his breathing gradually went down. Ranmaru's sobs became louder. The Konoha shinobi surrounded him in hopes of somehow comforting him, but none of them had any idea what to say, since they were the ones that had killed Raiga in the first place. But the swordsman, with the last of his strength, called for Tsunade.
"I knew from the very beginning…when I saw that you were the target…that this mission would most probably be my last…but at least it let me go out in the true shinobi way…on the battlefield. For that I am grateful to you and these young kids…too…they are just too talented…I have one last request…I beseech you…on your honour as a shinobi…Senju Tsunade…please take this kid…Ranmaru with you…he has potential…and he needs a family…I am sure you can give that to him…he's innocent…please don't punish him for my crimes." Raiga said with a lot of difficulty.
"Kurosuki Raiga, I acknowledge that you were a worthy opponent and I promise on my honour as a shinobi that I will take care of Ranmaru and help him realize his potential. The moment I saw this kid, I knew he has nothing to do with your actions and that he is pure. He will be welcomed in Konoha and will get to live his own life there. I promise you that." Tsunade said in a serious tone.
"Thank you. And you…" Raiga said looking at Gai. "I have seen one looking like you in action…during the war. You were his…Maito Dai's son, aren't you? You really finished…your father's incomplete job….at least with regards to me…I wasn't a swordsman at the time…but I was part of the team that Dai demolished…alongside the Swordsmen."
Gai only nodded. He indeed felt proud to have dealt with one of the opponents his father gave his life to protect him from.
"Raiga-san. You are an honourable shinobi. I am sure…my father would have respected you, even as an opponent. It was an honour to have fought against you." The spandex clad shinobi said. Raiga turned back to Ranmaru and moved the boy's hands away from his body.
"Senju Tsunade…on my body…you'll find the letter of the mission…that called for your capture…and Ranmaru…go and live on…and live happily." Raiga uttered before closing his eyes one last time and breathing his last. Ranmaru cried hard and loud for quite some time.
After some time, Naruto and Hinata put their hands on the boy's shoulders.
"We are really sorry. We know we played a part in killing your guardian. Please forgive us." Naruto asked softly.
Ranmaru looked up. For some reason, he felt warm in the presence of these two. Their presence was soothing and pleasant. It helped calm him down.
"I know…Raiga said himself…that you have no fault…he attacked you...he…he saved me from people in Kiri…when those people saw my bloodline…so I know…attacking people is wrong…you were only fighting to protect yourself and your friends…" The boy said in between sobs.
"Ranmaru-kun…will you come with us?" Hinata asked again. The boy nodded, the couple ruffled his hair and they each took one of his hands and guided him away from Raiga's body.
Tsunade kept looking at the two for some time and had to wipe a lone tear.
'Just as I thought, it's like seeing grandfather and grandmother once more.' She thought to herself.
Then she and Gai bent down to search Raiga's body and belongings, soon enough, they found the letter. The letter was in an envelope, containing currency notes, some sort of advance payment perhaps.
As they checked the notes, their eyes widened.
"Tsunade-sama…this is…."
"Currency from the Land of Snow…" Tsunade completed for the taijutsu master.
All of this Sogeki saw.
"Hm…this is interesting…an Akatsuki, a Jinchuuriki, a Seven Swordsman, and a freshly developed bloodline…very interesting."
The Root stared in contemplation. She knew the conversation going on due to lip reading…that and her new tool from after her surgery.
"Orders were to not interfere with the squad directly unless reward outweighed risk…this certainly qualifies as such. Gai will need to be neutralized. Killing him is a waste…and detrimental to the Leaf…but I do have a few poisons on me strong enough to paralyze or knock someone like him out in seconds. Same goes for Kakashi…and that would buy time where Tsunade is busy…the boy is already joining Konoha, so no need to take him for Root when his successors likely will be able to. The Akatsuki has intel that Danzo-sama desires and he can use connections to filter in what I learn from the man into the Konoha intelligence…or at least what he wants them to know. The Jinchuuriki however…that is one he wants regardless. If he can't have the Kyuubi then Danzo-sama will be demanding the next best thing. Rest well, for soon enough, I will be collecting Danzo-sama's prize."
A/N: And done. What did you think? Was it satisfying? And what bad news has Gai brought? Maybe many of you can already make a guess and the answer you will find in the following chapter. Also, thanks a lot for the continued support and love for this humble fanfic. See ya all in the next chapter. RaNK001 out.