Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Eighty Nine: World War Three - The Reunion of the Nine
Naru tapped her foot like a rabbit she so often portrayed herself as, an annoyed rabbit. Even in her annoyance however, as befit her status as Tokiwadai's unofficial mascot, she looked imminently fashionable. And bundled up in a cream, fittingly fox fur trimmed long padded down coat over a blue retro style floral cardigan, blue natural brushed turtleneck knit tee, and a brown lace brushed H-line skirt, Naru looked very fashionably dressed indeed.
She was so well dressed in fact that she frankly looked out of place in the transport plane full of soldiers in various disparate military fatigues and gear that was flying over Russian Siberia towards the Russo-Elizalina Alliance border. All on her stupid jerk of a boss' orders! Apparently, that red wearing fop Fiamma of the Right had holed himself up in a fortress over there after, according to their intel, kidnapping that gluttonous moronic nun, Index, during the chaos of the recent English Civil War.
Seriously, everyone is just getting kidnapped these days. First Rui-chan and now the crazy nun? Naru thought with an angry huff as she glared out one of the plane's windows at the frozen Siberian landscape far below. Still, heading out here is a golden opportunity.
Going to Russia to fight would give her the chance in her free time to do what she should be doing, namely locating her bestie and her stupid kidnapper of a boyfriend.
And when I catch up to that stupid crazy of an albino, I'm gonna-
Naru was unfortunately unable to finish the thought about what horror she was going to inflict on Accelerator when she finally caught the kidnapping idiot as suddenly the headset she was wearing crackled to life as the pilot addressed her through the device. Her headset blurbed at her, the pilot's voice coming through. "Ma'am, as requested I am contacting you to inform you that we are roughly halfway to our destination. We're currently over the Yenisei River. Our ETA is in four hours at 2200 hours."
And we've already been in the air for about four hours. Argh! This is a bloody long flight!
The blonde let none of her irritation show as she toggled the mic of her headset on however. It wasn't the pilot's fault that Russia was so damned big. As it was, the City plane was already covering the distance in less than half the time a commercial airliner would've managed it. With that understanding in mind, Naru replied. "Thanks. How are the skies looking?"
Before she could get an answer, Kurama shouted at her. Get out of there! Now!
Naru didn't second guess his demand. The moment he had finished speaking, she promptly used Move Point to teleport herself outside of the transport plane. Suddenly finding herself in the middle of the air, she fell a good twenty to thirty feet before she got her bearings and poured chakra into the air around her to manipulate the wind to surround and allow her to hover midair. She had barely managed this and turned back towards the plane when she saw a massive blue rhinoceros beetle flying towards the plane she had just exited at high speed. Said giant insect had a long green tail, from the stem of which grew six orange insect wings. Its eyes seemed to be covered by a helmet-like skull, from the inside of which, an orange glow could be seen. It also had spiky protrusions on its shoulders and a row of slits on each shoulder, and six legs — three on each side. Its legs were also covered by its blue carapace, with the exception of their extreme ends which were green in color. It had two pincers with three parts on its face, covering a mouth full of sharp teeth. And last but not least, on its back behind its head, it had a large two sectioned horned protrusion.
Naru was still processing the impossible sight before her when the insectoid kaiju rammed the transport plane at its prodigious high speed, tearing it asunder and causing it to explode in a fireball. Bursting out of the other side of the flames, the kaiju continued its flight, looking no worse for wear from the collision. And, with a quick shift of its wings, turned sharply and dived towards the Esper with a horrid screech that made Naru flinch and cover her ears.
Kurama, is that who I think it is? Naru asked as she teleported out of the way, her ears regenerating from the minor injuries the kaiju's unpleasant cry had caused.
Yeah, that's… that's my sister, the Shichibi, Chōmei! Kurama exclaimed in disbelief.
How in Science's name is Chōmei-san here?! Shouldn't she be back in your world? Naru exclaimed right back and teleported again as she apparently served as target practice for the insectoid bijū.
I have no idea. She's closing. Teleport again! Damn her speed! Kurama demanded and Naru obliged, doing multiple jumps this time to get more breathing room.
After rematerializing at the end of her series of rapid teleports, Naru turned her attention inward and began questioning her partner. Why would she be attacking me? Can't she sense you or something? Were you mean to her or what?!
I was not mean! Though… Maybe? Sometimes?
Kurama!
But whether I was is besides the point! I have no clue why she's here nor why she's going straight to trying to make you into paste.
That's a good point. Even at your most mean, I don't think it would be enough to prompt your sister to engage in fratricide. But whatever the reason, it looks like I'm going to have to knock Chōmei-san out to stop her from killing us. Naru asked in order to feel less guilty about having to pound Kurama's sibling into submission as she simultaneously began to draw out her partner's demonic chakra, the acidic red energy bubbling out of her skin and solidifying into one of her Demon Frames. We can find out what her malfunction is later. Are you good with that?
Slap her shit in. Kurama said in agreement as Naru's Frame finished settling around her body.
Thus as Chōmei-san came around to attempt another attempt to ram her, Naru was fully prepared for her with her Festung Demon Frame. The oversized armor possessed a faintly knightly aesthetic that was armed with an arsenal's worth of weapons and each and every one of them were ready to lay the smack down. Over her shoulders were a pair of large barreled cannons whilst at the end of the pauldrons were a series of missile boxes that hung down all the way down to her wrists. These were further complemented by another series of missile boxes that ran down the length of the armor's beefy lower legs. As if that wasn't enough, on either wrist were a large shield with a large built in gatling gun and a pair of small turrets built into the sides of the faulds. All of which opened up on the incoming bijū and in a barrage of chakra beams and missiles, Kurama's sister was blasted out of the air by the all-out assault.
Okay. Now it's time to figure out how, by Science, Chōmei-san is here in this world and why she was attacking me. Naru thought as she watched the Shichibi crash on the Siberian tundra far below and she began a series of teleports to land beside the downed bijū so she could check on her.
Naru, be care- Kurama began as she rematerialized on the ground a short distance away from the insectoid bijū. Naru! Get away from there!
Like back on the plane, Naru did not hesitate to heed her partner's warning and immediately teleported away. She did so just in time to avoid the ground turning to slush below where she had been standing just a few seconds ago.
Rematerializing back in the air and relying on the Festing's chakra thrusters to keep her airborne, Naru looked down at the ground in question and saw something emerge out from the whirlpool of snow and mud that it had become. Said something was a sandy-brown coloured tanuki kaiju, with black tribal-style markings all over its face, body, and tail. This new bijū - What else could it be? - had a jagged, concave mouth with no tongue, and eyes with black sclera, yellow irises and pupils that each took the shape of a black four-pointed star with four black dots around it.
Shukaku too!? Kurama gasped. What is going on here!?
Your guess is as good as mine, Kurama. Naru told her partner honestly as she began switching her Demon Frame out from Festung to Jager. As a result, her chakra armor transformed into a lean looking suit made up of various armor pieces made of hardened energy that were worn over an undersuit of roiling red chakra. A Frame that had a small diamond shaped shield with a blade folded built into it equipped on her right forearm whilst another pair of blades were sheathed at her hips, one a long blade and the other a short sword. All of which was completed by a compact jetpack on the back that had a pair of bladed wings folded to its side
But don't worry. We'll figure it out. She assured the kitsune bijū that was her partner.
Naru's choice to switch to the most maneuverable of her Demonic Frames turned out to be prescient as just moments after the swap was complete, six new bijū appeared out of nowhere. Though their sudden appearance was likely helped somehow by the strange mist that had likewise appeared out of nowhere centered around a large turtle-like bijū. This particular of Kurama's siblings had a crab-like shell; was covered in spikes all over its body; had a pair of human-like arms and hands, but no hind-legs; and three tails reminiscent of those of a shrimp. And upon revealing themselves, all of them save the turtle bijū and the thankfully still unconscious Chōmei-san proceeded to work together to unleash a barrage of elemental attacks that forced Naru to eke out every single iota of evasive ability out of her Jager Frame to avoid being blasted her out of the air.
Said elemental attacks ran a truly wide gamut. A bakeneko completely covered in cobalt blue and black flames with heterochromatic eyes of yellow and green without pupils was spitting a storm of fireballs up at Naru. At the same time, lava boulders were being spat out of the mouth that was shaped like a dome volcano that belonged to a red-furred and green-skinned monkey with a body-build of a gorilla whose eyes had yellow irides and white pupils; spike-like protrusions along the length of its tails; elongated blunt fangs; and two long horns curving upwards on its forehead like a crown. As if that wasn't enough already, on the left of the monkey was a white horse shaped bijū with a dolphin's head that had two pointed long horns and two shorter horns in front. A bijū that was breathing jets of superheated steam at Naru. And on the monkey's left was a bipedal slug with stubby arms and feet; six long tails; two prominent eye stalks and hole-like openings for a mouth. A bijū whose coloring was white with a light blueish tint that was firing sprays of undoubtedly super corrosive liquid up at Naru. Last but not least was a ushi-oni with four long horns on its head, similar to that of a Jacob sheep; a muscular humanoid upper-body with a hunched back similar to an American bison; arms with spiky protrusions on the elbows; and hands with opposable thumbs; and a lower half that consisted of its eight tails, which resembled the cephalopod arms of an octopus. A ushi-oni that was spitting ink, of all things, at Naru.
Matatabi, Isobu, Gokū, Kokuō, Saiken, and Gyūki too!? Kurama shouted in shock. How are they all here?
Kurama! Snap out of it! Naru chided her partner. We can figure that out later. For now,we need to figure out how to not get ourselves killed by your siblings.
Y-You're right. Kurama said with a shaky breath as he calmed his nerves. We need to win this and then we can figure all this out.
Glad we're on the same page. Naru replied as she continued her desperate evasions of the bijū's unrelenting barrage. Now, do you have any ideas on how to pull out a win?
No. Just give me a moment. I'll come up with something.
'Kay. I'm trusting you. Just hurry up! I don't know how long I can keep avoiding taking a hit.
Kurama sent her a mental nod as he replied. Got you. Just hang in there a little longer.
Black Zetsu watched through a set of hi-specced binoculars with a smile wide enough to practically split his face and a sense of righteous giddiness as the Demon Girl found herself fighting against no less than eight of Mother's fragments at once. Sadly, in this case, they were just fragments. Pale imitations of his Mother's grandeur, but they were still powerful in their own right and considering their origin? It only felt fitting that he would use them to secure the final piece to revive his Mother Goddess and return her to her full splendor.
She's been such a thorn in my side. Her and this accursed world. It is such a pleasure to know that the end is near. That everything, even those pathetic Shinobi that I command with their incessant mewling for more power, will soon be naught but unpleasant memories. Once Mother returns, I will have no more need for them. I just have to put up with them a little longer.
It was almost a shame that he had been forced to recruit more of them in recent months. Unfortunately, due to increased attrition due to the increased tempo of his operations lately, their numbers were being whittled down. And loathe as he was to admit it, he still needed the wretched creatures especially, if Mother forbid, his plans failed.
Their only saving grace is their obedience and zeal for my goals. He thought disparagingly of his lacking minions, just as the Demon was a touch too slow in evading one of the blots of ink the Hachibi shot at her.
Only a smidgen of the dark liquid found its mark on the girl, but it was enough. It proceeded to rapidly spread like a thick tar, smearing over the chakra armor she had draped herself in as a cheap imitation of the traditional chakra cloak or Jinchūriki Forms that Jinchūriki like her were famous for and upon doing so, formed into seals that began to seal away her chakra.
Yes, I knew it. The sealing arts are so beyond her understanding that it will be her undoing! Black Zetsu chortled in glee.
The seals should have caught the girl by surprise, but sadly it did not. No doubt the Kyūbi was feeding her information as the Demon immediately recognized the threat of the Hacibi's sealing technique and burned the ink away with an impressive burst of the chakra that made up her so-called Demon Frame.
Sadly for the little wretch, that minute distraction was all the time the bijū under his command needed. In the few seconds that the Esper had been fighting off the effects of the chakra sealing ink, all eight of the controlled bijū had begun to gather positive and negative chakra for their Bijūdama.
These dull creatures might not have enough time to gather their full power into the attacks, particularly in this chakra-less world, or to stabilize what they had gathered to the proper 8:2 ratio of positive black chakra and negative white chakra to unleash the true power of a Bijūdama but they didn't need to. With eight of them, the sheer firepower unleashed as they fired off the unstable, underpowered versions of their kind's ultimate technique at the Demon would be more than enough.
No one back in his world save for, perhaps, the most powerful true Shinobi could have possibly survived that. With the Bijūdama being fired at what amounted to point blank range, there was no time for the Demon to react and teleport away even if her limited range would have allowed her to escape the blast radius. Something he was certain it did not. Thus, certain in his victory, Black Zetsu cackled as he used Shunshin no Jutsu to speed over to collect his prize.
Thank Science! Naru thought with a sigh of relief as she managed, by the skin of her teeth, to escape the combined destructive power of the Bijūdamas that eight of Kurama's siblings shot at her.
A feat that she only managed by switching between her Demon Frames from Jager to Hexe as quickly as she could. Her newest and, in her opinion, coolest looking Frame had its upper body encased in a long sleeved crimson double breasted tunic with puff shoulders and a lower body that resembled a massive upturned rose; Kurama's tails poking out from the folds of the flower; a golden halo with blade-like protrusions at the cardinal and ordinal points that hovered behind her back; and orbs of chakra which floated a few inches in front of her hands; and a head that was shaped like Kurama's head with a long vulpine snout and long narrow ears frozen in an upright position. And most importantly, a Frame that gave her access to her Micro Phases.
Specifically, her Micro Phase, Recursive Temporal State, which she had used to create a time loop in the area in front of her microseconds before the Bijūdamas shot by Kurama's siblings would've hit her and thus buying her the precious time she needed to get out of the way. Even then she only just managed to escape being blown up by the combined Bijūdama of eight of the nine bijū, the time loop she'd created having collapsed mere moments after she'd gotten to safety.
I swear, that timing was far too close, Kurama! Naru sent to her partner as she panted a little, her heart pounding in her chest.
I know, but we managed it so- Well there's our culprit for this mess. Kurama remarked as Naru also sensed what he was referring to, namely the being emanating wicked murderous glee that was approaching their location.
"How?! How could you have possibly evaded the Bijūdama!" The pain in the ass that was Black Zetsu exclaimed in annoyance as he appeared in a burst of speed.
Wait, if your siblings are here and so is he then-! Naru began to think.
Then Black Zetsu must have been the one to bring them here and control them somehow. The bijū continued with a snarl in her mind.
Without even having to wait for his request, Naru let Kurama take over. As his partner's consciousness took control, her eyes turned a crimson red with slits down the middle, her lip curled into a snarl, and her canines grew more pronounced. "How?"
The annoyed blob of consciousness that was their somehow supremely confident opponent turned to them with a wide smile that grew ever wider as he laughed. "Well, since my victory is at hand, I can satisfy both your curiosity. Consider it an act of mercy for being such worthy foes for so long."
"Shut up and just tell us." Naru cut in, annoyed. "You cliche megalomaniac."
The eight bijū behind Black Zetsu tensed, looking ready to pounce, but the dark being held up his hand. "Hold."
The chakra beasts did as instructed whilst Black Zetsu turned to Naru. "Now it is quite unladylike to be as impatient as you are being. There is a build up to this kind of thing, you know?"
"Stop stalling and tell us, you wastrel."
Black Zetsu offered them a smile that was a mix of malicious, mocking and condescending. "You see, when the little Uzumaki was in my tender mercies, I managed to extract some of your chakra, Kyuubi. I then used it as a catalyst alongside some dusty necromantic ritual that involved the sacrifice of eight hundred innocents, a hundred for each bijū mind you. Putting that together, I summoned these beasts from beyond the grave. Thus, as their summoner, they are utterly loyal to me."
"As if they would listen to you! My siblings would never follow a monster like you willingly!"
"Hahahahaa! And that's the best part, beast! Technically, they aren't your siblings. The souls of the originals have long passed on and sadly they are beyond the reach of what magic was available to me. Though, it would have been poetic justice if I could have resurrected them and made them my loyal pawns."
The inhuman creature, even more so than the bijū that he commanded, leaned forward, his eyes wide and his painted-on smile turned even more demented and nearly wrapped around his head as he added in a dramatic whisper. "But despite that limit, the ritual could revive their bodies."
"Are you saying you created a bunch of zombie bijū?" Naru shot back aghast whilst Kurama reeled at the revelation, too horrified to say anything.
Their most hated enemy laughed merrily, holding his sides in a very human fashion. "No no, as amusing as an idea like that might be, undead versions of the bijū would not have the living chakra I need for my ultimate goal. So instead, I opted to use magic that would revive their bodies as living things. Quite good work, no?"
"No, no I absolutely refuse to let this stand. You will desecrate them no longer, you blight!" Kurama roared with such fury from Naru's mouth that a pulse of power escaped her body and sent a cloud of snow flying off the ground.
"Oh?" Zetsu asked as he tilted his head to the side mockingly. "And what will you and your little vessel do about it? Please, do tell."
The blonde Level 5 had had it with this freak of nature. So she replied for both herself and her partner. She did not do so in words however, instead choosing to switch to her Jager Frame and charging towards the abomination.
Smirking at having gotten a rise out of them, Black Zetsu responded in kind by teleporting away like Shinobi usually did, leaving behind a puff of smoke. Instead, Naru was met by a tidal wave of elemental attacks from the bijū. Undaunted, the blonde expertly flew between the attacks, zigging and zagging as she evaded every attack sent her way.
What in the world are you doing, Naru?! Are you trying to die!
Don't worry, I have a plan.
A plan that she began to put into action as she got feet away from the chakra beasts and shifted to her Panzer Frame, ready to pummel her foes in melee.
The hulking, twelve foot tall behemoth suit of armor landed with a mighty thud. And as she did, Naru eyed the bijū through the eyes of the Panzer's crimson humanoid looking visage for scant moments so she could pick a target before its thick, bulky armored limb pulled back as the blonde commanded the winds to spiral around her fist like deadly gyrating saws and she swung at Isobu-san.
The Sanbi took the fist right to his underbite jaw, making the bijū stagger as the Esper followed up with her other fist. A fist that was coated in thick ice. One of his disturbingly humanoid arms lashed out at her, attempting to sweep her away, but Naru powered on the Panzer Frame's thrusters, pushing them to the limits and allowing her to evade the strike and shoot under the underbelly of the demonic turtle.
The wind swirling around her fist turned to blazing white flames as she aimed at the red muscle-like tissue that was Isobu-san's flesh that was not covered by his shell. The pistons built into her Panzer's arms pulled back as far as they could go before slamming back down, allowing her to unleash her most powerful Double Sudden Impact that she had ever managed to perform.
One that was powerful enough that it nearly sent the Sanbi crashing onto his back. However, before he could finish toppling into that vulnerable position, a column of coral suddenly grew from the ground where he would have crashed and slammed into his back. An unorthodox move that allowed the bijū to right himself and even turn it into a counterattack.
Get back! Kurama shouted just in time to prompt Naru to jet away on her Panzer's thrusters before she could be crushed by the Sanbi slamming back onto its belly.
Fool! Getting into melee with my siblings?! That was your plan? Why not throw pebbles at them while you're at it! You won't stand a chance against them at close range!
Before Naru could even respond, Matatabi-san suddenly leapt towards them and pinned the hulking Frame to the ground. Sadly for her opponent, the Naru pinned down deformed, revealing itself to be nothing but a clone that quickly exploded.
The bakeneko yowled in pain, backing away a few steps before Naru rematerialized behind the two tailed cat and focused her chakra into the earth. In response, super dense tendrils of earth erupted out of the ground, attempting to restrain the feline bijū.
Like I said! I have a plan! Naru answered as she concentrated, ignoring Matatabi-san's wild struggles as she tried to escape the restraints created to trap her. However, every time she pulled a limb free, Naru made sure that another two tendrils would take its place.
Does it have to do with you trying to infect the fake Isobu and Matatabi with your chakra?
So you noticed, huh? Naru replied sheepishly, embarrassed that her partner had so easily figured out her plan even as she found herself having to evade the veritable flood of corrosives that Saiken-san sent her way that she managed with a burst of wind and chakra. Her evasion wasn't uncontested however as her leap into the air to avoid being melted into nothingness got her blasted by a jet of steam from Kokuō-san, followed immediately after by being hit by a powerful air bullet shot at her by Shukaku-san.
Of course I would notice, I damn well live inside of your chakra circulatory system! I know where you put every single unit of your chakra. But that's besides the point! The point is that your plan is stupid.
And what's so wrong with my plan?! Naru asked defensively even as she teleported away to avoid further projectiles from the rest of the bijū that now included streams of fire that were breathed her way from the newly freed Matatabi-san and the monkey-like Son Gokū-san.
As she rematerialized above Gyūki-san, aiming to fall on his head with the fists of her Panzer ready to deliver a Double Sudden Impact to his cranium, Kurama berated her with a frustrated snarl. It's stupid because the small amounts of your chakra you managed to inject into their system with your attacks will quickly get diluted and smothered by these imitations of my siblings' own potent chakra! The chakra you put into the false Matatabi and Isobu already has!
Naru would have replied but before she could, one of Gyūki-san's tentacle-like tails whipped forward suddenly and before Naru can react, it struck her with the force of a freight train and sent her tumbling skyward and right into the the flight path of a waiting Chōmei-san who slammed into her with a ramming attack.
Grunting in pain as a good chunk of the force of the blow made it through to her despite her Demon Frame's armor, Naru teleported away from the bijū to get some breathing room to allow her regeneration some time to do its work and for herself to regather her wits.
As she rematerialized, she called out to Kurama. Would you honestly rather that I not have tried? Would you really prefer for me to just beat them into unconsciousness the old fashioned way?
Yes, I wish you wouldn't have to beat up my siblings. However, more importantly, I don't want us to be killed by their brainwashed corpses!
As he said that, his aforementioned mind controlled siblings began advancing towards their position, prompting Naru to switch to Jager and use its superior speed to once more gain some distance. All the while, the group of them blasted away at her with a variety of elemental attacks.
Okay, so maybe I was being overconfident thinking I could overpower your siblings with my chakra. Naru sent to her partner contritely.
I forgive you. Kurama replied with a tired sigh. Just please stop being so reckless going forwards. If you are, these doppelgängers of my siblings will kill you. They are too powerful for you to play around with. By the way, we should be far enough away now.
I promise to be more careful. Naru told her partner sincerely. And yeah, I think you're right about the range.
With that point of agreement between her and her partner, Naru switched Demon Frames over to Festung and immediately began charging up a Orbital Force while screening her actions with a barrage of the Frame's chakra missiles.
That little Chakra Missile Massacre should distract the bijū for a bit. Naru thought as she admired the sight of dozens of energy projectiles hurtling through the air like a deadly swarm of locusts towards Kurama's siblings.
Argh! You're butchering the name of that trope. Kurama commented with a groan as they saw the epic series of explosions and clouds of debris created by the chakra missiles as they struck home around the bijū. But, yeah, that should work to blind those knockoffs of my siblings.
It was under the cover of the cloud created by this barrage that Naru finished the preparations for her Orbital Force and she fired the spiraling orb of crimson red demonic chakra. It was orbited by three smaller ones whose rotations around the primary orb created a distortion in the local air patterns as it flew through the air towards the eight opposing bijū.
However, it seemed that Naru hadn't been the only one charging up an attack from behind the smokescreen she'd created. Thus her Orbital Force was met halfway to its target by eight beams of raw chakra as the bijū shot Bijūdama in her direction. Faced with the overwhelming power of the ultimate techniques from eight bijū, her Orbital Force stood no chance and was almost instantly wiped from existence by the sheer destructive power it was subjected to.
It had however detonated as it did, creating enough of a distorting effect on the beams of the Bijūdama that they too prematurely went off thus saving Naru from being subjected to their power. And what destructive power that was, for in the wake of the vast explosion caused by the beams' premature detonation, was a massive crater that was probably as wide as a city block.
"Science!" Naru breathed in horror at the sight of the destruction Kurama's siblings were capable of, even as she teleported away from Matatabi-san and Chōmei-san respectively leaping over and flying over the crater to attack her.
Yeah, we bijū are pretty damned powerful. Kurama said proudly for a moment before quickly turning somber. That means trying to outgun these imitations of my siblings won't work.
You sure? Shouldn't we at least try? I mean- Naru tried to argue but was cut off by being sent flying by Son Gokū-san conjuring a volcanic eruption directly underneath her and right into the path of a torrent of superheated steam from Kokuō-san and a blob of corrosives from Saiken-san.
Only a last minute teleport away saved her but even then it had to be followed up quickly by shifting into Jager to blitz out of the way of Chōmei-san flying at where she had first rematerialized whilst trying to ram her with her horn. Though that seemed to just put her into the path of Matatabi-san as matching her Jager's speed, the feline bijū tackled her from the side forcing Naru to teleport out of the way to avoid being mauled by the flaming bakeneko.
But even as she rematerialized, she was almost crushed by Isobu-san who had curled up into a ball and almost rolled over her with a combination of his immense mass and spiky shell. Barely jumping out of the way of Isobu-san's attack, Naru found Shukaku-san leaping at her and transforming into what could only be described as a living sandstorm that tried to smother.
Don't freeze! Keep moving!
Heeding her partner's advice, Naru poured on the speed. Even then, she barely managed to escape the sandstorm that was Shukaku-san just moments before he coalesced back into his bestial form.
Shit! If I was a second too slow with getting out of the way of that storm, I would've been trapped inside the tanuki and crushed! Naru thought as she paled in shock and evaded the wind blasts that Shukaku-san shot at her.
Yes, you would. And if you don't want to suffer that or similar then KEEP MOVING!
I know! Evading all this stuff they are shooting at us isn't easy, you know!? Naru shot back as she narrowly avoided a jet of chakra sealing ink that Gyūki spat her way.
We're too outnumbered. Kurama observed, sounding thoughtful. Naru, release me. That should even up the odds a little.
You sure that's a good move, Kurama? If I do that, my ability to tap into your chakra and use your Micro Phase will be reduced. That might negate any tactical advantage we might gain by evening out our numerical disadvantage.
Firstly, outside using my chakra to maintain your Demon Frames, you aren't really using much of it and you can manage that even without my help. Secondly, you're not using our Micro Phases all that much. Taking that into account, it's a good idea. It's not like the way we're fighting these imitations of my siblings so far is working. We need to try something different.
Naru took a moment to consider the matter. A consideration that was punctuated by a massive fireball created by the combined efforts from Matatabi-san and Gokū-san that she only barely avoided by a hasty teleport, which only forced her to evade the follow-up ink, steam and corrosives that tried to bracket her in. Thus barely escaping being hit by a massive wind blast from Shukaku-san that flattened an area that must've been the size of ten football fields. That, however, just forced her to have to evade Isobu-san and Chōmei-san as they tried to roll her over and ram her respectively.
Okay, yeah, I can see where you are coming from. Naru agreed in light of her narrow escape from the bijūs' latest barrage of attacks. Ready to come out and rock, Partner?
Ready and waiting, Partner! Kurama replied as Naru began using her Esper power to direct her partner's power outside her body and began to forge it into a temporary body for the Kyūbi.
"Time to rock!" Kurama declared with a happy roar as his body materialized outside Naru's body, back to back with his partner.
"Yeah! Let's do this, Kurama! I'll take half of them and you deal with the other four?" Naru suggested with a grin that the Kyūbi could practically hear.
"Let's." Kurama said as he crouched and prepared to leap towards the reanimated corpses of his siblings, who upon seeing his appearance on the battlefield had stood back observing things warily. Only then did he notice that he wasn't sporting the body he was familiar with. Instead, he was stuck with his twisted new humanoid body with a vulpine head and paws; a humanoid, furless upper torso that had a well muscled chest with an impressive set of six pack abs; elongated arms; a pair of digitigrade hind legs that forced him to be bipedal; and tails which had stretched out tremendously and appeared like tentacles. "Damn! I'm stuck with my new, twisted body."
"Suck it up, Kurama. We have more immediate things to worry about." Naru reminded him.
"Yeah." Kurama agreed, his eyes shifting towards the twisted imitations of his dead siblings. "Forgive me for what I have to do, Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Gokū, Kokuō, Saiken, Chōmei, and Gyūki. I promise you, I will put you to rest like you deserve."
With his apologies offered, Kurama, with a combination of his powerful digitigrade hind legs and his tentacle-like tails to give him more lift, launched himself at the Gyuki lookalike. Moving with the deceptive speed and agility he had always been known for but which had been further enhanced by his transformation, Kurama easily evaded the blots of ink imbued with sealing chakra that the ushi-oni spat at him.
All the while, he gathered the chakra for a Bijūdama, and as he did he reflected on the Gyuki lookalike's ability. It's too dangerous to allow Naru to face him. If she got hit by one of those ink blots with its ability to apply the power of sealing jutsu, she could be cut off from her chakra entirely and rendered helpless. That is not a risk I'm willing to allow, so it's up to me to deal with that fake.
He finished that thought just as he completed charging up his Bijūdama and getting in range of the ushi-oni. He naturally proceeded to fire the Bijūdama he'd been gathering at him. It was only half-baked, but Kurama had always been the most powerful of his family and as such, even though it was underpowered, his Bijūdama was still powerful enough to send the Gyuki lookalike flying.
The imitation of Chōmei flew over and caught the ox-squid chimera in midair and saved it from a painful crash landing but that was fine. Kurama had only attacked him to get him away from Naru anyways and now that he had the fake Gyuki's attention all he had to do was keep it. That would achieve what he wanted just as well as if he'd already taken him down.
Though as the imitations of Isobu and Saiken rushed him, perhaps he was thinking too far ahead by considering having taken out any of his opponents. Then again as he casually evaded the rolling attack the mockery of Isobu attempted and released a torrent of conjured white hot flames that burned away the flood of corrosives that the false Saiken sprayed his way, maybe not. These imitations might look like his siblings and even have their techniques, but by the clumsy execution of their abilities, it was clear they were not even worthy of being compared to his brothers and sisters in the same breath.
Take for example, the obvious attempt of the fake Chōmei to drop the false Gyuki on top of him. Honestly, couldn't the bug at least make an effort to muffle her wingbeats? The real Chōmei could fly completely silent, but this fake couldn't soften the beating of her wings any more than to the level of the roar of a fighter jet? Pathetic! Kurama thought as he used the Move Point technique he'd learned from Naru to teleport above the false Chōmei and proceed to breathe out a fireball of white flame that consumed her, sending her crashing to the ground for the second time in this fight as she shrieked in agony
And before her three siblings, Kurama refused to accept these doppelgängers as his own kin, could react to his brutal takedown of their sister, he had teleported once more to appear behind the Isobu lookalike. Wrapping his tails, which were even more flexible than ever before after the mutilation of his body, around the turtle's body, Kurama picked him up and slammed him back down onto the ground hard enough to crater the ground, cracking the turtle's shell and more importantly knocking his opponent unconscious.
The fake Saiken flinched at the sight and that was all the opening that Kurama needed to teleport next to the slime and release the Bijūdama he'd been discreetly charging up since he'd taken down the Chōmei doppelgänger right at his face. And as the red light of his ultimate technique faded, the slime was all shriveled up, the thick, slimy substance that usually covered it having burned away. He would have been completely disintegrated if Kurama had the chance to finish charging his Bijūdama but sadly, a few seconds of charge time wasn't enough for that. But at least, the damned fake was unconscious.
And that leaves one. Kurama thought to himself with satisfaction as he turned away from his latest defeated opponent and shot a glare at the false Gyuki.
"You're next." Kurama informed his final opponent matter-of-factly.
The imitation of his brother glared right back, his eyes burning with anger at what Kurama had done to his siblings.
"Bring it on, Brother." The Gyuki doppelgänger shot back, the first of any of the fakes to say a word, as he began charging at Kurama.
"You couldn't compare with my brother even on his worst day." Kurama retorted as he followed his opponent's example and charged towards him.
While Kurama pulled away four of the bijū, Naru turned to continue her own fight with the remaining four of his siblings.
It's time to up the ante. Naru thought as she pulled off a series of random teleports to throw off the enemy's renewed projectile barrage. My Panzer, Jager and Festung Frames haven't worked out, so it's time to try something new. It's Hexe Frame time!
With that thought in mind, she began to promptly shift into what she regarded as the most elegant of her Demon Frames. Using it was a little tough while Kurama was out of her body, but she still felt the connection to him and his power continued to flow through the Hexe Frame so she could manage.
And with its power, she used her Recursive Temporal State to trap Matatabi-san in a time loop as the bakeneko once more tried to use her insane speed to try and close with Naru and maul her.
Watching the bijū glitch back and forth in place in the time loop is almost cathartic considering how much trouble I've been having fighting the lot of them so far. Naru thought as she took a moment to admire the trapped Nibi.
However, as much of a relief that she felt from taking out one of her current opponents, at least for now, she couldn't forget she still had three more to deal with at the moment and however many that Kurama would need her help finishing off once she was done with her half of the bijū. As if to remind her of this fact, she had just finished that thought when Son Gokū-san and Kokuō-san charged her.
The simian like Son Gokū-san got into range first and slammed his gorilla-like arms hard into the ground, channeled his chakra into it in the process and transformed the entire area around them into a volcanic hellscape in an instant. Not that Naru was affected as her Hexe Frame floated off the ground anyway. All she needed to avoid getting burned by the new lava field and the superheated layer of air it created immediately above it was to float a little higher in the air.
Equally undeterred by this change to their environment, the horse-like Kokuō-san moved with swift elegance and spat bubbles of superheated water at Naru. He wasn't alone either as he was soon joined in his efforts by Shukaku-san spitting wind bullets at her as well and more impressively, Gokū-san pulling building sized boulders of molten lava out of the ground and tossing it at her.
Naru dodged the attacks of course and even returned fire with bolts of lightning of her own, it seemed appropriate considering her opponents were using water and fire against her, but it wasn't easy to do either. Not when the whole area was blanketed by a sandstorm courtesy of Shukaku-san and screwing up her aim.
Then again even on the few occasions where her lightning hit one of her opponents, it failed to do much. It seemed a bijū's constitution was more than sturdy enough to take a hit from a lightning bolt and just walk it off.
I really wish my Hexe Frame had more offensive options. Naru lamented as she observed the lackluster effect of her lightning as she nevertheless continued to use it to engage in the stalemate she'd found herself in with Shukaku-san, Son Gokū-san, and Kokuō-san. Maybe some of the chakra weapons from my Festung Frame? Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll have to upgrade my Hexe at a later date. For now, maybe I should switch Frames?
Hmm… Nah! Even with its limited offensive capabilities, Hexe's been giving me the best results in this fight and I'm not about to chance backsliding on that front. Naru concluded as she held true to her choice and stuck to her Hexe Frame as she and her opponents continued to exchange elemental attacks through the obscuring sandstorm. But maybe it's time to shake things up a little.
Smirking at the idea, Naru turned the two orbs at the end of her Frame's arms into lances. "Time to go skewer myself some bijū."
With that thought in mind, she teleported behind Gokū-san and with an evil smirk, lunged forward, one of her lances ready to run him through.
Kurama slammed into the false Gyuki with enough force to create a massive boom and a shockwave that leveled the ground at their point of impact. Not that Kurama paid any attention to that, instead he focused on grappling with the ushi-oni, brawling like he had with his real brother when they were still children back during the last days of their father, the Sage of Six Paths', life. And as he did, the reminder of this pleasant memory just pissed Kurama off even more.
How dare this fake remind me of my real brother!? Kurama thought as his fury built and prompted him to activate his Hyper Accelerated Entropy and target his opponent. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to see the mockery of his brother wither away into nothingness.
Unexpectedly however, his anger seemed to somehow cause his Micro Phase to behave in an unexpected way. He didn't understand the science behind things beyond that, such things were more Naru's wheelhouse than his own, but he could see the effects well enough as his modified Micro Phase imposed his will on the world and using the energy that the accelerated entropy his normal Hyper Accelerated Entropy usually caused to instead turn his target into raw plasma. Basically, he'd transformed a fair amount of the Gyuki doppelgänger into a living sun at an atomic level.
The screams of the fake Gyuki was honestly sweet music to Kurama's ears and his only regret at seeing the imposter suffer was that his torment did not last long. It seemed that the new version of his Micro Phase was extremely draining and he could not keep it up for long. Thus, the imitation Gyuki was only burned alive for a few seconds before Kurama felt the drain on his chakra get too much and he was forced to shut down his ability. More disappointingly, Kurama could tell the conversion to plasma had only managed to spread a few layers of cells beyond the surface of his opponent's skin. It was still an egregious injury but hardly a fatal one.
Which was honestly a shame, because he and Gyuki were the best regenerators among their siblings and though his opponent was an imposter, he had annoyingly inherited this aspect of his brother's abilities too as evidenced by how his burned skin was healing right in front of Kurama's eyes.
Unfortunately for you, I know Gyuki's and thus your strengths and weaknesses in and out. Kurama thought with a bittersweet smile as he wrapped one of his tails around the recovering doppelgänger's neck and squeezed. Hard.
The fake began struggling, but Kurama was having none of that and using his remaining tails, he restrained the imposter's own tails whilst he used his own arms to pin the fraud's limbs. Thus restrained, the doppelgänger was helpless and within less than a minute found himself choked into unconsciousness.
Tossing the defeated pale imitation of Gyuki aside, Kurama surveyed his insensate form and that of his other equally knocked out opponents. He was tempted to kill them for the sacrilege represented to his beloved siblings, but refrained. As much as he hated them for what they were, they wore the faces of his brothers and sister and he simply couldn't bring himself to do the deed.
Instead, he just breathed a frustrated sigh and with a thought let go of his hold on the physical world and allowed himself to be drawn back inside Naru. Taking care of his partner was his first priority anyway, deciding what he should do with these mockeries of his departed siblings could wait till later.
I don't know if you need my help or not, Naru. But whatever the case, just hang in there a little longer. I'm coming!
Lunging at Gokū-san from behind, Naru managed to stab the simian bijū, but acting on some instinct or danger sense, he somehow managed to dodge enough to escape a fatal or even disabling blow. The Level 5 wasn't too worried however as she followed up the successful impalement of her opponent by conjuring a massive amount of electricity that she proceeded to send coursing down the length of her lance. A move that had Gokū-san writhing in agony for a bit before being rendered unconscious and hanging limp on her lance.
Of course Gokū-san's siblings that Naru was fighting did not take what she had done to their brother lying down and launched a salvo of attacks at her. In response, Naru raised the knocked out Gokū-san up like a shield, using his body to block the wind bullets and steam blasts that Shukaku-san and Kokuō-san shot her way. Of course, that was not all the other bijū did as part of their counterattack. In fact, Kokuō-san ran towards her with a clear intent to enter into melee to avenge his monkey-like brother.
Nah! No gonna let that happen. Naru thought with a smirk as she angled her impromptu shield towards the Gobi and proceeded, with the help of some conjured wind, to launch the aforementioned Gokū-san at the dolphin headed horse.
With the Gobi preoccupied with avoiding being crushed by Gokū-san's limp body, Naru was unimpeded as she teleported behind Shukaku-san and blasted him with the most intense fire blast she could unleash. A blast that sent the Ichibi reeling as the flames managed to turn portions of the tanuki's body into glass, a painful process if his agonized scream was any indication.
Naru was about to press her advantage but was stopped when she heard a sudden angry yowl from where she had imprisoned Matatabi-san in a time loop and with a sudden burst of cobalt and black flame, the bakeneko shattered the time loop created by Naru's Recursive Temporal State Micro Phase.
Crap! Naru cursed and just barely teleported away as the Nibi charged her, escaping the flaming cobalt and black bolt that was the bakeneko that sought to destroy her by only a hair's breadth. Deciding to avoid the clearly pissed off bakeneko for now, Naru rematerialized next to Kokuō-san instead.
The horse-like bijū seemed startled by Naru's sudden appearance by his side, causing him to leap away in surprise. Naru wasn't about to just let him escape however and she conjured a freezing wind that entrapped the Gobi in a block of ice.
As her victim was a heat user and with the ambient heat of the lava field that Gokū-san had turned the battlefield into, the ice wouldn't hold long. In fact, the ice block entombing Kokuō-san was already rapidly melting. But Naru did not need much time to pull off what she intended.
Stabbing both her lances into Kokuō-san's body as it was still restrained by the melting ice, Naru copied what she'd done to Gokū-san and pumped a massive surge of lightning into the Gobi's body. This knocked the horse-like bijū out and a satisfied Naru managed to teleport away just in time to escape a mauling by Matatabi-san.
She rematerialized some distance away, just in time to see Shukaku-san disperse himself into a massive cloud of sand that proceeded to begin to spread over the entire area, with the sand being driven by conjured winds hard into everything.
"Argh! I hate sand! It gets everywhere!" Naru complained.
Yeah. It does. Kurama said as he returned. So since you're complaining about sand, I take it that you've not yet taken down the fake Shukaku at least?
Welcome back, Kurama! And, yeah, I'm not done yet. I've taken out Gokū-san and Kokuō-san, but Shukaku-san and Matatabi-san are still putting up a fight.
Got it. Kurama replied with a mental nod. I'll handle the fake Shukaku with my new power. I'll leave it up to you to take down the Matatabi imitator, okay?
That works for me. Naru agreed as she teleported away from the stream of fire that Matatabi-san was breathing at her.
Although even if she had agreed, she had no idea how to take down the bakeneko. She'd already tried to trap her in a time loop with her Recursive Temporal State and it had failed to take down the Nibi. What else could she do?
Guess, I'll just have to think of something. She thought to herself privately before once more reaching out to her partner. By the way, you mentioned a new power, Kurama? What is it?
Just see it for yourself. Kurama said with a proud little chuckle.
With that said, he unleashed what Naru identified as some kind of new Micro Phase and transformed the sandstorm that was Shukaku-san's current form into plasma, causing the Ichibi to scream in agony as he reverted to his tanuki form, now thoroughly unconscious.
Holy hell! That's super cool!
Y-Yeah, i-it is, isn't it? I t-think so too… Kurama said with a yawn before trailing off and beginning to snore.
Huh? He got knocked out by just using it? I guess it must be super draining to use. Naru concluded with surprise.
Her surprise had left her distracted and that cost her, as Matatabi-san exploited it to pounce on Naru.
Dammit! Naru cursed as she was pinned by the bakeneko and it reared its head back, gathering flames in preparation to unleash it upon her.
Oh, I think not! Naru thought as she swiftly switched Demon Frames to Panzer. Time to finish this!
Transformed into her melee specialized Demon Frame, Naru proceeded to engage Matatabi-san in a one-on-one brawl. It saw the bakeneko trying to cut into Naru's Panzer Frame with her claws whilst smothering her with her cobalt blue and black flames. Thankfully, Naru's Demon Frame held up nicely against Matatabi-san's efforts.
"Eat Sudden Impacts, you overgrown cat!" Naru shouted as she hit the bakeneko over and over again with her Demon Frame's piston enhanced punches whilst conjuring frost to counter the Nibi's flames. Each blow had the feline bijū yowling in pain, but it never once halted its attempts to scratch its way through Naru's Panzer Frame and burn her alive.
All in all, it was a war of attrition. Would Naru's strength outlast the Nibi's? Would her chakra?
In a feat that actually surprised even herself, after what felt like an eternity of vicious close quarters fighting, the stalemate finally came to an end.
"Just pass out already!" Naru growled in frustration as she pulled back both her arms and slammed them into both sides of the bakeneko's head in a Double Sudden Impact. A double blow that knocked Matatabi-san's head back and much more importantly, at long last, with an ear splitting howl of pain, the feline bijū was knocked unconscious.
I-I did it? Naru thought, blinking in surprise even as she pushed the now limp Nibi off her body and staggered to her feet. Damn, I'm tired. That fight really took a lot of me.
Exhaustion that manifested in the way that the edges of Naru's vision darkened; her Demon Frame involuntarily broke down as she was unable to continue maintaining the flow of chakra that it was made out of; and she collapsed onto her face. She was just lucky the fighting had shifted away from the lava field Gokū-san had created and she wasn't collapsing into a pool of molten earth.
"Ah~! It's done."
Tiredly turning her head to the hated voice, Naru saw that Black Zetsu had teleported back with a contingent of his Shinobi in clouds of smoke.
"Go retrieve the unconscious bijū." The abominable creature ordered his men whilst sporting a victorious smirk. "I'll secure the Demon personally."
"O-Over my dead body." Naru hissed defiantly as she tried and failed to push herself back to her feet.
"That can be arran-" Black Zetsu began only to be interrupted by a series of missiles slamming into the ground all around them.
Turning into the direction where the missiles had come from, Naru saw squadrons of Academy City planes inbound. Planes that were paradropping a battalion of unmanned HsPs-15 Powered Suits and HsAFH-11s "Six Wings" whilst flying overhead at a high altitude, with the drones opening fire on Black Zetsu and his Shinobi even as they descended on their parachutes.
"Nuisances!" Black Zetsu growled in annoyance as he pulled out a scroll from the folds of the kimono he was wearing and began channeling chakra through it before tossing it away from himself. As the scroll unfurled courtesy of his expert throw, it began to glow purple with the chakra he imbued it with and Black Zetsu proceeded to run through a rapidfire series of hand seals. "Raiton: Raiu!"
In response, a column of purple energy shot into the sky. A sky where the clouds had begun to rapidly gather. Clouds that were churning and stitched by bolts of lightning.
Science! Did he just conjure a thunderstorm! Naru thought incredulously as the storm began unleashing its lightning against the City forces. Its bolts unnaturally homing in on Naru's allies like they were being directed by Mikoto-senpai or some similarly powerful Electromaster. Lightning that quickly proceeded to systematically destroy the entire contingent of reinforcements sent to save her.
However, their sacrifice was not in vain. The time that Black Zetsu had spent dealing with the City's troops had bought Naru the breathing room she needed to recover some of her strength.
"Eat plasma, you freak!" Naru cried as she unleashed Kurama's new power on Black Zetsu by concentrating on the mindset that Kurama had used, refining it a bit and aimed it at the abomination. And to her satisfaction, the monster was transformed into a pillar of plasma and he screamed in agony.
"Re-Retreat!" The monster shouted at his men as he followed through with his own orders and teleported away in a cloud of smoke, seconds before his obedient little Shinobi slaves obeyed and similarly teleported away with the unconscious bijū in tow.
Using a Micro Phase without her Hexe Frame was already draining, but doing so whilst she was already exhausted? It was simply too much for Naru. Thus, she had barely had time to enjoy her victory before the fatigue proved too much for her and she lost consciousness. Though she did so with a smile on her face.
Beating the shit out of the Shinobi would never fail to be a pleasant experience for her.
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
Now that's what I call a Naruto smackdown! Been a while since we had a no holds bar shounen style fight! Always a nice rush to see. Doubly so 'cause Naru is powerful enough to fight Biju, even downgraded ones, at her age. Man, imagine if she was back in the shinobi world like this? She'd be a terror for sure! Just had a rush of excitement writing this one. Hope you all liked it!
Nameless: So I hope the Naruto fans among our readers liked this chapter and the foreshadowing about elements from the Narutoverse that will be relevant in upcoming arcs. As to what those latter things will be, well… You'll just have to wait and see.
Not to mention we've unlocked a new power of Micro Phase for Kurama and, by extension, Naru. We took some inspiration from Baryon Mode in how it works and put a more Science side spin to it. So no, Kurama is not going anywhere from using it, but it will be another tool in their arsenal.
Nameless: Speaking of Kurama, we hope that all the Naru action was satisfying. It's been a while since she went all out or that Kurama was allowed to get out, so we decided to go whole hog in this chapter. Did we do a good job of it? If you'd be so kind, do let us know.
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!