A/N: When one of my readers who follows me on tumblr messaged and said it'd been 7 months since I updated, I about DIED inside.
Y'all have no idea they straight up MURDERED me with that comment. But like.
The good kind of murder.
I managed to finish writing the chapter like, two days later thanks to how BADLY their words haunted me. It admittedly took me something like two WEEKS to edit the chapter, after I'd finished it, and I'm still not 100% happy with Naruto's segment cause I feel like i'm taking too many liberties with canon :(
But to make up for it, I'm actually REALLY happy with Orochimaru's segment (and some of the Implications from it that aren't gonna be relevant for like, 8 chapters if my brain sticks to the schedule I have but Still) and I also really like Sakura's.
I wish it were longer, because I'm not gonna stick to the 80 chapter count if the chapters insist on being so short I think, but I'm just glad to actually HAVE something.
I wanted to work in a sort of update with Shika and his team but couldn't make my brain handle them, so their actions are a mystery for now I guess.
My roommate didn't beta this for me, and as she usually checks for consistency and character OOC-ness, there's a chance these may be a bit weaker than normal, though hopefully not!
In good news, I've successfully had my surgery. My bones still feel weird, and sometimes they pop and shift in my chest which is horrifying, and I got an infection from one of the incisions but in general, I'm recovering well and I don't get dizzy as much as I used to so there's some improvement even if I'm struggling a bit still!
I also FINALLY have an appointment with a psychiatrist to see if there's anything we can do that can help my anxiety, executive dysfunction, and stuff so it stops spiraling me. Hoping that my boss both gives me the day off, AND that it goes well, so wish me luck on that I guess xD
In the meantime, I am over here crying because I have so many ideas for Book 2 and I'm so worried I won't be able to do them justice because I'm not GOOD at writing political bullshit but I also REALLY REALLY WANT TO WRITE IT.
It's okay tho. Book 1 isn't finished yet, I've got time to figure it out.
As always, thanks for reading, and for sticking with it for this long despite all my huge breaks in uploads. Hope you enjoy!
Sakura has never wanted to hit someone so badly in her life. Whether it's Kabuto, for dropping Ino like a sack of rice, or Natsu for his inability to sit still, she hasn't quite figured out yet. She can't- She has a plan. It's a good one. A great one, really, made uniquely possible by their situation and therefore something that no one will ever be able to predict or counter until it's too late.
Natsu is doing his best to ruin it, half-trying to leap out of the bushes as the clone confronts the kidnappers.
Or maybe he just wants to protest the clone's words.
With these idiots, anything is possible.
Sakura prays to gods she's not sure she believes in that he'll just hold on, just a little longer. If she could just be out there, with her team-
Well then the plan wouldn't work, now would it.
Sakura grits her teeth. She's done the best she can. She's explained the plan to Natsu, she's explained how it will work. She's helped him explain to the clones what they need to do, when they need to do it. The signals have been hashed out and agreed on.
Now, all she can do is wait.
Wait, and trust her teammates.
Her fingers dig into the blankets, a distraction, and memories flicker through her mind - papa tucking her in when she was little and that time she got a cold and mom bundled her up and they drank hot chocolate together in the little room under the stairs that Sakura liked to pretend was her "secret ninja hideout!".
Memories of warmth and peace and safety, memories of that Academy camping trip when they had to kill the rabbits to practice being shinobi and afterwards she and Ino curled up together in a bedroll and Sakura couldn't even cry, just shook and shook and shook until Ino wrapped them both in the blankets and told her silly stories about her clan until Sakura fell asleep-
Blankets are safety.
Sakura had never realized how deeply she believed that until she was here, in her own mindscape, and every time she touched the blankets she felt it-
(pillows, on the other hand, were pain. sorrow. hurts that only got better when she cried them all out.)
(maybe normal kids thought of them as fun - pillow fights and sleepovers, but Sakura didn't really have that. Ino was a clan kid, even when they were friends Sakura couldn't have that with her, so all pillows were good for was sleeping and crying. she doesn't touch the pillow in her Cabin if she can avoid it.)
The memories she associates with blankets are a comforting weight against her mind as Sakura tries not to worry about Naruto, Natsu, the blood down Sasuke's face and the way everything relies on the plan going just right-
Tries not to worry about Naruto out there, alone, going to fight a demon without backup, with only his own demon for company, tries not to doubt-
At least, even if all the clones dispelled, Natsu would still have Sakura, even if she can't be much help. At least Sakura can't and won't force Natsu to hurt people he cares about, at least she won't lie to him and hurt him every time they talk-
(at least Sakura still has Natsu, and there are days - long, long days when Sakuni isn't there, where she thinks that if it had been anyone else who'd gotten stuck like this, Sakura would have given up, withered to nothing in her own mind and ceased to exist - but Natsu encourages her to fight, to participate, at every opportunity, to keep being a part of her team and family even when she knows she annoys him sometimes-)
(when Natsu trusts her, enough to agree to this plan even though he hates it-)
(she's pretty sure this is what a big brother feels like)
"I'm not really that bad, am I?" Natsu hisses, and Sakura looks back up to the window, to her glimpses of the outside world.
Naruto's clone makes for a truly awful Natsu, and at least Sakura doesn't have to worry about being too loud, as she buries herself in the distraction and cackles.
"Sakuraaaa-!" Natsu whispers, her name more a breath than a sound. She stops laughing, smothering her giggles into the blanket for a moment - papa bundling her up and swinging her over his shoulder, the evil shinobi kidnapping his little princess, as Ino valiantly promises to save her-
"Sorry, sorry!" Sakura waves off her own apology, still fighting a grin as she listens to Naruto's henge'd clone try to pretend to be Natsu.
Sakura's pretty sure the only reason phase one of her plan is working so well is because the enemy shinobi are so weirded out by Naruto's attempts to sound like Natsu that they're afraid of catching his crazy.
Natsu and Naruto may both have fairly rough, slang ways of speaking, but Sakura's seeing very directly that that's where the similarities end.
Watching Sasuke grow more and more suspicious the longer he listens to the clone talk sends her into giggles again.
̶B̶l̶o̶o̶d̶b̶l̶o̶o̶d̶b̶l̶o̶o̶d̶d̶o̶w̶n̶h̶i̶s̶f̶a̶c̶e̶i̶s̶h̶e̶a̶b̶l̶e̶t̶o̶k̶e̶e̶p̶f̶i̶g̶h̶t̶i̶n̶g̶o̶r̶-̶
Natsu hisses at her.
"Enough of this!" the glasses-wearing ringleader snaps, clearly done with Naruto's antics. "We need to get to the rendezvous point. You're coming with us." He lunges forward, some sort of… glowing scalpel? Slicing at Naruto's leg, and the clone dispels in an instant.
"Finally," Natsu grumbles, forming handsigns with painstaking precision.
"At least they're sticking to the plan," Sakura agrees, clenching the blanket tighter - a bad dream, and crawling up into her parents' bed, their big blanket the safest place in the world as their arms curl around her-
Gradually, slowly, the plan takes shape.
"Now it's our turn."
"Raaaaawr!" he lifts the stuffed bear's arms, making tiny sweeps with the plush paws. Across from him, his adversary quails, curling into itself to hide from the might of his great ally.
It's not even person-shaped, really, just a misshapen clump of sand only recognizable due to the unique conical hats worn by the Kage.
He doesn't see those faults. He sees the Kazekage, the father who's never there except when he is and it's bad, and he roars again, making the bear pounce like a great summon from one of Uncle's stories. Tiny blobs of sand rise up to fight them, his father's ANBU, but his summon's mighty paws go swipe swipe and they crumble back into dust.
Father surrenders then, handing over his hat even as the tendrils of sand that make up his arms crumble, promising that he won't call Uncle away again and they can play as much as they'd like-
Knock knock-
"Gaara, are you in there-"
A schism - the dream, perking up excitedly to open the door-
No-!
He covers his ears. This is my dream! Go away! You liar! Go awaygoawaygoaway-! Traitor-!
The dream stumbles, inches from the door.
"Gaara, I'm coming in."
"No! Nononononono-!" Gaara shouts, tearing himself awake but-
But he doesn't want to be awake, doesn't want to be here, let Mother rage, let her fight and scream and prove her existence he just wants to sleep, let him dream without having to listen to those lies again, let him sleep without that liar-traitor-assassin haunting him-!
Mother understands. She shoves him back under, pulling him deeper and deeper back into sleep, beyond even the point of dreams, and Gaara lets her.
He's so tired of being in control, of fighting every day of his life against Mother, tired of being wrong and bad and a monster regardless of whether he follows their rules or not.
Tired of being tired, of never ever sleeping to protect them no matter what excuses they try to use to convince him that it's for his own good, tired of the lies and-
Just let me rest.
Jiraiya curses Orochimaru, his village, and every idiot who decided to sign up for it. And then all the major villages for good measure.
Who thought it was a bright idea to let a missing-nin found a village anyway?! He wails, as another group of Oro's shinobi intercept him. It's obvious they're trying to keep him from the jinchuuriki, there's no way any of these guys are a match for him, they're throwing away their lives to stall for time and dammit but it's working!
The circle of destruction he can just barely glimpse from the rooftops is already spreading, it's the Kyuubi attack all over again except at least the Kyuubi started outside the village and not in the middle of a market district and he needs to get over there right now-
One kage-shuriken jutsu to distract them, as Jiraiya flies through the signs for a summoning jutsu.
There's something to be said for conserving chakra, but he doesn't have time for this.
"Report," Kakashi barks, yanking his last kunai out of his opponent.
Damaged from the bone impact. Left pouch, make sure to adjust throwing angle to compensate-
The Nara steadies his shoulders, taking a deep breath. "Yamanaka Ino and Uchiha Sasuke have been kidnapped. According to an Inuzuka, the one who took Yamanaka-chan was an exam competitor in the first phase who used a high-ranked scent concealing jutsu to destroy their trail. Currently two Inuzuka are in pursuit with Kurenai-san of Team 8."
To this day, nothing unsettles Kakashi quite as much as a Nara who's actually exhausted. The whole clan acts like they're allergic to exercise, and it's always been his go-to severity meter.
This Nara's dead on his feet, and Kakashi can't be the first one he's informed of the situation. Better be the last though, or the next one the chunin tries to report to might not be fast enough to save the kid's life.
He glances up to the Bijuu. Hasn't moved much in the past couple minutes… Jiraiya make it over? Or is someone else stalling it…
Hard to say, but between the two of them Kakashi knows Jiraiya's a better match for a Bijuu, so.
"Come with me, we'll go back to the competitor dorms. We'll pick up the list of missing shinobi from the guard there, and then we'll have a better idea of who to pursue. There were six reported including the jinchuriki, but I wasn't given a dossier. Other shinobi were expected to hunt them down."
"Sir."
He slips through the archives, a golden-eyed ghost wandering familiar halls. Kabuto failed to find any meaningful records of the Haruno family, and Orochimaru has no doubt that he exhausted every resource he could.
The middle of an invasion provides a unique opportunity to do… further digging, however. If one is careful enough. Traps are not uncommon, though he doubts any are capable of ensnaring him, he'll have to be careful of anything that might destroy the very records he's come to find. He's putting aside quite a few objectives just to find them after all. It would be unpleasant to waste that.
He slips between another set of shelves, carefully making his way through. There likely is a Haruno file over with the merchant records, considering what little Kabuto could find, but that's not the one he wants. He's seen that girl, felt her chakra, and there's a kekkei genkai there. And kekkei genkai get documented. There will be something in ANBU's Rite section, he's almost certain.
Konoha's records on individuals of interest who've joined the village under various circumstances are both comprehensive, and vague. Often, they'll use code names and oblique references, and won't describe the people, or where they live. Only their direct assets to the village, the reason they were admitted, the potential risks of letting them in, and any probationary measures that may have been taken. There are more detailed records in the Hokage's private library, but Orochimaru has neither the time nor patience to discreetly break in and out of that archive.
Even records of kekkei genkai here aren't likely to describe any notable traits, but there can't be too many people let in on account of a bloodline, so he can copy them all and figure out which is his target later. Most villages will kill their kekkei genkai holders before letting them run after all, so there's so few for other villages to snag.
Always so wasteful.
There hasn't been a lot of bloodline theft either in recent years, the villages all in an uneasy truce, but there are a couple interesting records from the time of the war, which is no surprise. Considering Haruno was alive and in the village back then though, he'll need to look a little further.
Aah, is that Kabuto-kun's family? How cute.
He puts the record aside, uninterested. Konoha can hardly tell him more about his subordinate than he already knows.
The one after that…
Two adults and a child. Unusual coloring. Potential mentally-focused kekkei genkai, naturally resistant to Yamanaka mind-walking techniques. Further study not urgent at this time. Abilities may develop more in later generations. Formerly unaffiliated, potential family of an independent clan. Slight accent.
"Well that's interesting. Danzo's fingers all over it, I'm sure… can't risk someone immune to Yamanaka techniques falling into another village's hands. But where did you come from? Did he bring you here, or did you wander into his den of your own free will?" He muses, brushing his fingers over the record. It's almost certainly who he's looking for. If the family were immune to Yamanaka techniques, then his curse seal, with a heavy mental component, would understandably struggle. Perhaps even fail.
How fascinating.
Perhaps he should look into where they're buried, take a sample or two… it would be no difficulty to find more sacrifices, especially in the midst of all this carnage-
"Orochimaru."
"Aaa, sensei. Always just in time to interrupt my fun, aren't you?" Orochimaru purrs, making a show of turning around, eyes slipping lazily over the Hokage. "No guards? How bold, for a man as old as yourself."
"I'm going to stop you. Like I should have back then." He readies his staff, and Orochimaru could use the impure resurrection, crush what little hope his dear sensei has, but without the barrier to keep outsiders from interfering, to keep those kage from running out of range of his kunai before he can ready them…
"Well. I suppose I could spare some time to play with you." It's not as though his beloved sensei would actually kill him, after all.
If Hiruzen were going to, he would have attacked the moment he'd arrived, instead of trading words with his wayward student.
It's a weakness Orochimaru knows exactly how to exploit.
They're clones. The Naruto and Natsu who jump out of the bushes after the first clone was dispelled, they're clones. There's a plan here, there has to be, because there's no way Sasuke's teammates were stupid enough to think that clones could fight off all the Oto shinobi at once.
He hopes it was Sakura's plan. Anything else would likely be so stupid he'd regret ever hearing it.
So focused on keeping an eye on his not-quite-teammates, on Ino still unconscious on the ground, on the enemies they're all fighting, it takes him an embarrassingly long time to detect the genjutsu subtly weaving its way through the field.
He nearly throws his chakra into it, desperate to avoid more memories dragged out by the flute-bitch's music, before he realizes the chakra is Natsu's.
Where did the idiot find enough patience to learn a genjutsu?
It makes sense, suddenly, how those two clones haven't been dispelled yet, even though Sasuke's already injured and hardly able to defend them as they fight a losing 3-v-5.
The creepy spider-abomination makes a lunge at not-Naruto, solidly stabbing through the clone and dispelling it.
Only, Sasuke can see the hazy genjutsu, threads of bright-glowing chakra wafting off the 'body', and even as Kidomaru shakes off what he thinks his Naruto, a new clone takes his place, looking just a bit more feral, prominent whiskers and purple-hazed eyes.
Kabuto calls out a warning, and Sasuke almost laughs at how much more sharply the man looks at Naruto, as though a bit of a color change makes him any more scary without that oppressive chakra pressing down. It's just a clone, it can't feel like a demon.
Although… Sasuke squints, glancing out the corner of his eye back at the clone, even as he lunges for the flutist and tries to gouge her eyes out again.
It does feel… a little oppressive. Nothing like Sasuke's felt before, but… can a genjutsu really simulate the oppressive weight of a Bijuu's chakra? It shouldn't work like that, and yet it almost seems real, when Sasuke doesn't look too hard, doesn't let his eyes unravel the layers of the illusion.
Just past them, Naruto's sad clone attempt to henge into Natsu brawls with wild energy, no fire to be seen, and Sasuke's not even sure how the creepy twin-guy got knocked flat by such a pathetic showing, but as he climbs to his feet the Akamichi-wannabe rushes in with a roar, and that clone dispels as well, and the shadow of the genjutsu Sasuke can glimpse showing it collide into a tree even as another clone takes its place.
…could Sakura be controlling the mental components of the genjutsu while Natsu provides the chakra? The level of detail is way too much for that idiot to manage, but if the effort could be split then…?
Sasuke shakes off the distraction, within arm's reach of the girl- Taya, or something? Only for his grasping fingers miss the pink-haired bitch's eyes- she can't get far enough away though, and he slams her into the dirt. The kunai in his off-hand stabs into her side, and Sasuke twists.
She throws him off with a roar that isn't quite human, and black patterns spread across her face as the feeling of Orochimaru's slimy chakra erases all thoughts of demon-energy and genjutsu theory from Sasuke's mind.
These people have curse-seals.
Fuck.
"They're stalling for time!" Kabuto snaps somewhere behind him, and Sasuke lunges past the flutist, scrambling for Ino before they can grab her-
A discordant note, and something slams into him, tossing him sharply into the trees, a crack reaching his ears as the world trembles violently, disorientation scrambling his vision even as his Sharingan whirls.
Fire lances down his spine.
Kabuto scoops up Ino even as the flutist stumbles to her feet, a miasma of unnatural chakra wafting from her instrument as she plays, taking physical shape as some sort of artificial summon.
Sasuke shoves aside his own pain, using the tree as a brace and trying not to think about his ribs shifting in his chest as he stands. The pain is white-hot, a constant stabbing burst of agony every time he breathes, but he can still breathe, and that means he needs to keep his head in the fight.
Kabuto takes off running before he has the chance to move.
"No-!" Sasuke stumbles forward, snarling around the blood he can feel leak out of his mouth, and then everything happens at once.
The clones dispel.
The genjutsu breaks.
Kabuto runs face-first into a trap, the creepy twin-guy right behind him.
Sasuke's eyes widen, and suddenly he realizes that genjutsu wasn't just covering the battlefield.
The forest is coated in boobytraps.
Some of them waver with the unique chakra patterns of something a clone was carrying, and that's-
How well do traps work when made of cloned materials?
Natsu skulks out of the bushes as Kabuto untangles himself, pink hair pulled back but somehow in even more disarray than the clone's, looking utterly exhausted.
A fist slams into an open palm, and his face lights up in a fierce grin all the same. "Finally my time to fight, huh?"
Kabuto turns towards them with a glare, and Natsu just grins right back. "Hey. Four-eyes. Drop the panty thief, I don't think you really want her anyways. She'll just steal all your boxers." There's a laugh caught behind that grin, one that Natsu doesn't quite let out, but Sasuke knows there's something else going on here. He shifts position, gauges the pain. Sakura wouldn't break the genjutsu without a good reason. Invisible traps are better than visible ones.
There's something more to this plan, and Sasuke will be ready.
"Aah, I see. You're the real Sakura then. Unfortunately, I'm not playing your game any longer. Jirobu, deal with them. Tayuya. Clear a path."
Naruto spits out a mouthful of sand, and does his best to ignore the feeling of yet more crawling down his throat in turn.
"Can't believe this guy's like Natsu, that's totally unfair!" he grumbles to his nearest clone, trying to cough up the sand that's definitely doing its best to ignore him. "Why don't I get a demon that makes me able to conjure elements and control shit like this, nooooo, all I get is a jerk who just dumps a bunch of chakra on me and yells about my mom." He spits again, grimacing at the dry, papery feel in his mouth and the pain coming from some indescribable place inside him.
As soon as this is all over, Naruto's making the kyuubi a formal complaint. He deserves some cool power, 'ttebayo! Not just stupid burning chakra that hurts his friends!
Most powerful bijuu?
Ha. If even the weakest can give his jinchurikki the ability to summon unreal amounts of sand, the Kyuubi is totally holding out. Or only pretending to be strong.
Maybe he's just the biggest and likes to pretend that makes him stronger than the others?
Fury creeps through the edges of his thoughts, and Naruto grins savagely.
He had wondered if the Kyuubi could hear him, after all. With how much chakra is present, healing as quickly as the Ichibi's sand can try to tear him apart, he just needs one. More. Push.
"We got a plan, boss?" The clone asks, keeping an eye on the sand demon as it fights with the wave of clones. Naruto nods sharply.
"As long as it works…" he grumbles a little, bringing his hands together to make more clones. A lot more.
Those memories from his clone with Natsu and Sakura swirl through his mind, that crazy-genius plan that's counting on him to win in time. Some more clones will dispel when they hit phase two, and Naruto tries not to let the time limit stress him. He doesn't know when they're gonna pop, but he needs to be ready.
Their whole plan only works if Naruto wins, and wins fast.
He needs to hurry.
He can't mess up. Not if he's gonna be any help to his team.
Here goes nothin'.
"OI YA SANDY LUMP! YOU CALL YOURSELF A DEMON?! MY TEACHER'S GOT A FACE SCARIER THAN YOURS, MAYBE YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO DEMON-SCHOOL!"
As the giant sand demon roars his own insults in turn, ego as small and fragile as the Kyuubi's - and really Naruto has to wonder if that's just a bijuu-thing, are they all so easy to goad? - bullets of wind and sand start crashing through the clones and the buildings indiscriminately. Naruto makes himself scarce, disappearing into his group of identical minions. A building's debris catches him across the face, blood splattering across his cheek, and Naruto just snarls as he feels the kyuubi's chakra bubble up to heal him once again.
This time, he grabs it with two mental hands, and yanks.
Time to start paying rent, bastard!
Crimson bleeds through his vision.