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Fanfiction ► Master of the Shadow Clones | A Naruto Fanfic



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noheartx

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Chapter 17: Suicide of the Mind

Three months had passed, and each of the Genin on Team 7 had turned nine years old. The training had been extremely difficult, pushing them far past any limits they previously believed they had. But now they were extremely fit. Kakashi was being updated regularly via the Ichiraku's Ramen stand. The old man and his daughter were happy to help the Hokage with the mission, since they were so inconspicuous. Hell, Ichiraku's was Naruto's second home. Naruto's messages to Kakashi were always given to Teuchi when the boy paid, and Kakashi's responses always came with the meal. It was a pretty good system that Shikamaru had thought up.


Today was a big day. They were being issued two missions; one from the village and one from Danzo. Apparently, Danzo had influence in pretty much every part of the Leaf Village; he had somehow manipulated which mission the village would send them on. It was then when Team 7 realized why Kakashi wanted Danzo gone so badly. To have reaches that deep in the ninja system...


"Naruto. It is good to see you." Naruto turned around to see Sai leaning against the wall of the alley they were in.


"You too." Sai stepped forward and handed him a scroll. There was a tiny Leaf insignia on it, with a tree root wrapping around it.


"I hope you don't die on your first mission." Naruto quirked a brow. Sai's fake sincerity wad extremely blunt. He wasn't very good at communicating with people.


"Yea. I hope I don't too." Sai nodded and vanished. Naruto walked out of the alley and took to the roofs, quickly reaching his apartment. When he jumped through the window onto the couch, a trick he had perfected after hours of trial, Shikamaru and Sasuke were waiting for him.


"It went well?" Sasuke asked anxiously. Naruto nodded and held up the scroll. "Then what are we waiting for?" Naruto tossed the scroll to Sasuke, who unraveled it and studied it intently. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "No..."


"What?" Shikamaru asked as he snatched the scroll from the pale Sasuke. He read it over, and he reacted similarly.


"Guys...you're scaring me." Naruto stated quietly. He took the scroll from Shikamaru's outstretched hand and turned it so he could read it.


Root Standard Procedure: BURN AFTER READING


Mission Type: Assassination

Targets: Domo Suki 36, Darenu Suki 19, Muzai Suki 9

Mission Summary: The Royal Family of the Land of Rivers is extremely Anti-Leaf. They must be eliminated so a new ruler with an open mind can take over.


Naruto looked at the paper in shock.


"It's a test...it has to be..." Shikamaru murmured.


"He wants to break us quickly." Sasuke stated, slightly recovered from the shock.


"He's got us right where he wants us. If we complete this mission, he'll trust us, but we'd be child murderers." Sasuke stood.


"If this is the kind of work that Root does...then they must be stopped. We can't fail this mission." Naruto nodded.


"We can never tell Sensei about what happened either. He'll feel terrible..." His teammates nodded, and the scroll combusted. The flames curled and danced as the scroll disintegrated, deciding their fate for them.


XxX

"Team 7, here for mission assignment." Shikamaru drawled as he lazily held his hand out to the man assigning missions. The man looked at him with a quirked brow before handing him a mission.


"C-Rank mission to the Land of Rivers." The man stated before he waved the boy away. Shikamaru walked out with his two teammates as another team walked in.


"What's it say?" Naruto asked as Shikamaru unraveled the scroll. He read it and shrugged.


"Seems pretty easy to me. We just have to escort a guy to the Land of Rivers. Some half-important diplomat." The Nara explained. "We'll pick him up in an hour. The address of the place he's staying is on here." Shikamaru stopped in his tracks as he saw Kakashi walking down the hall the opposite way. "Hello Sensei."


"Hello boys." The Hokage replied. He eyed the mission scroll in Shikamaru's hand. "So you guys have a mission?"


"Yea...it's gonna be weird without you." Sasuke said quietly. Kakashi shrugged.


"I think you can handle it. You are my students after all." They smiled at that.


"Thanks Sensei." Naruto said happily. "We'll be done in no time." Kakashi nodded.


"Good. I expect you to report to me when your mission is over." They nodded, catching the glint in his eye. They left him to his devices, knowing that he was busy as usual. It was a little saddening that Team 7 was split from their sensei like this, but they understood his job came first. The village came first. The three Genin headed out to prepare for the mission, dreading their final goal.


XxX

A knock on the door alerted Taichi Kuwasaga that he had a visitor. He jumped up and quickly opened his door for the visitor.


"Taichi Kuwasaga?" Taichi was surprised to hear a voice, but he saw no one in front of him. "Down here big guy." His eyes widened as he looked down to see three children dressed like ninjas standing astutely.


"Hey there!" He answered cheerfully. "You little guys lost or something?" The three boys rolled their eyes.


"No sir. We are here to escort you back to your home." Shikamaru answered with a sigh. Taichi's eyes bugged out.


"You three are the team of ninja I hired?!" They nodded, and Taichi scratched his head. "Wow. How old are you guys?"
He asked curiously.


"Nine." Sasuke answered simply.


"...Damn. And I thought I was young for my job." Taichi said surprisingly.


"How old are you?" Naruto asked happily, putting a smile on Taichi's face.


"Twenty-Two.". Taichi was a tall, lean guy with long, spiky red hair. He looked even younger than he really was because of his happy-go-lucky demeanor, but his intelligence was what got him his job. "I'm one of the youngest men on the Daimyo's council. I guess I can kinda relate to you." The three Chuunin nodded at this.


"We should get going sir. The sooner the better." Sasuke said professionally. Taichi nodded.


"Of course. And please, call me Taichi."


XxX

A cool breeze blew through the forest, sending a shiver through the treetops. Team 7 and Taichi were walking along a trail in the southern part of the Land of Fire. They had been walking for a few hours, and surprisingly they were making good time. By the end of the day they would be within a day's walk of the capital of the Land of Rivers.


It had been an easygoing mission so far, and while they were still alert, the three Chuunin felt somewhat relaxed.


"So Taichi," Naruto started, turning his head towards his client, "what's it like on the Daimyo's Council?" Taichi sighed.


"It's very stressful. Many of the nobles and leaders are greedy and only concerned with themselves. Many issues never get solved because of their greed. If it doesn't benefit them then it's pointless. I wish I could change things...but I'm too young and inexperienced to be taken seriously." He explained wearily.


"Don't say that." Naruto said quickly. "You have to do everything in your power to achieve your dreams. You can't let something stupid like age stop you." Taichi looked at Naruto in surprise.


"You make it sound so easy...is that what you did?" Suddenly, three black-clad assailants landed on the ground around them.


"Haha, we found you Namikaze! Prepare to pay for your father's sins in blood." Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru jumped around Taichi.


"I'll show you what I did Taichi." Naruto was in front of the ninja who issued his death threat in a moment, a kunai poised to kill. He sliced his throat and blood spurted onto his face, but he didn't blink. The two other ninja charged at him in a fury, but Shikamaru and Sasuke were on them in an instant, burying kunai into their brains. Sasuke approached the dead body of one, kneeling down to search him. He pulled out a headband with the Hidden Rock insignia emblazoned on it.


"Rock." Sasuke said disgustedly, shaking his head and pocketing the headband. Taichi stood, horrified and awestruck at the scene displayed in front of him. Naruto wiped his face with his shirt and sighed. "My father was the Fourth Hokage, and they were here to kill me for it." Naruto explained. "I never give up Taichi. No matter what. I bet you could change everything if you tried." Taichi Was speechless, and so Team 7 continued their trek, Taichi catching up to them after he recovered.


XxX

The capital of Land of Rivers was a nice city, not nearly as large as the Leaf Village however. There were a few districts surrounding the capitol building, which stood proudly in the center of the city. The streets were lined with people haggling with merchants and street performers looking for a quick buck.


"Welcome to my home, where the rivers run wild and the people run wilder." Taichi said with a chuckle. "The nightlife here is some of the craziest on the continent. It may not look like much compared to your village, but at night, the entire city is lit by neon lights. All sorts of bars, clubs, and restaurants open up, and hundreds of people flock to them. It gets a little crazy, but it's what makes this place home." Taichi sighed satisfactorily. "Well I guess this is where we part ways. I'll be sure to send a letter to your Hokage about your exceptional service." Shikamaru shook his head.


"That's not really necessary Taichi." The Nara responded quickly.


"I insist. You three have shown me that my age doesn't matter. I have to stop moping and start acting. I thank you for that." Team 7 looked at the ground simultaneously, earning a laugh from Taichi. "If you ever come to the Land of Rivers, please contact me if you need anything."


"Thank you Taichi. We will." Naruto stated with a smile. Taichi turned around and waved to them as he walked towards the capitol building. Shikamaru sighed.


"Now let's get this over with."


XxX

Taichi had certainly been right when he said the streets lit up at night. From the roof of the Daimyo's mansion, the view of the city was breathtaking to Team 7. But it couldn't break the looming feeling creeping over the Chuunin.


"What's the plan...Comedy?" Sasuke asked, slipping his Root mask on.


"Well, this shouldn't be too hard. The Daimyo's guards walk in twos from what we've seen. Their patterns are pretty predictable, so avoiding them shouldn't be too hard. The Daimyo's room, as well as his childrens' rooms, are on the top floor. We'll go in through the second floor window, and we'll be out before they detect anything." The other two Chuunin nodded. "Now...the last thing to decide is who goes where. There are three of us, and three targets..."


"I'll take the girl." Naruto said stoically.


"What? No I'm not letting you do that!" Sasuke whispered loudly. "I'll do it."


"Look none of us want to do it, and none of us want to let another do it either. There's no way we can come out of this the same...just don't argue about it." Shikamaru commanded solemnly.


"I'll do it." Sasuke whispered, and Naruto nodded.


"I'll take the Daimyo then."


"Then I have the son." Shikamaru stated with finality. "Let's get this troublesome shit over with." They hopped down onto the second floor balcony and silently opened the window. Shikamaru stuck his head in, and seeing that the coast was clear, he hopped through. The three Chuunin silently stalked through the halls, easily evading the guards with Naruto's Camouflage Technique. When they reached the top floor, they split off to take care of their targets. No one would find the bodies of the victims until the next morning. And by then, the assailants would be long gone. Only they would leave without their humanity, and their sins would plague them forever.


XxX

"It's done." From the shadows Danzo nodded.


"Yes I heard. Very well. It seems that I can trust you three." Danzo stood and walked in front of them. "I have big plans for the future, and you three shall be the coup de grace of my forces. I expect great things, and you will become stronger than you can imagine if you follow my guidance." The old man pronounced.


"Of course Lord Danzo." They answered unemotionally. A grin crossed Danzo's face, and a shiver ran down each of their spines, like a foreboding gust of wind.
 

noheartx

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Chapter 18: War Were Declared

It had been over three years since the attack on the Leaf Village. And after pouring their heart, soul, sweat, tears and blood into rebuilding the village, the Leaf Village was once again at its former glory. Kakashi's reign as Hokage was running smoothly, and by now the whole village was behind him. The ninja forces were once again at the status quo, and overall, life was good.


Of course, many terrible things happened behind the scenes. Officially, the village was on the fast track to reclaim its title as the strongest hidden village. Unofficially, after a secret invasion by the Hidden Rock, just as Sasori had warned, the ANBU forces were severly understaffed. Kakashi had sent his entire ANBU force out to meet the invasion, and after a bloody battle, the Leaf came out on top. Not without heavy losses though. The ANBU department was almost back at normal capacity, and Hidden Rock definitely wasn't going to attack again. Kakashi himself had been on the battlefield, directing the ANBU as perfectly as he used to. It was a crucial victory that had saved the village from even more hardship, and although it was a secret, everyone who did know was thankful enough for everyone in the village.


Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru were 12 now, and their reputations had grown. To the villagers, they were the Golden Team, the Second Coming of the Sannin, the pride of the village. They were breaking records at a breakneck pace, surpassing any expectations of them.


However, in Root, they were known as the 'One Act Show'. They were a terror on the battlefield, so much so that they were listed in the Bingo Book by their mask names. No one knew where their loyalties lied, but everyone knew of the threat they posed. The 'One Act Show' was a nickname given to them by one of the few to have actually survived an encounter with them. He called it that because it was like entertainment to the three boys. That and the fact that it only took one fight for them to kill you.


Currently, they were walking through the dark, dreary halls of Root HQ; Danzo had a mission for them. But this one was apparently extremely important, or sinister, because Danzo had never called them back after their conditioning training. It was too risky, as they were the Hokage's students, so Sai had been their liaison for the past three years. Whatever this was, it was big.


They entered Danzo's office soundlessly, and the old war hawk was sitting in his chair expectantly.


"Ah, I see you have arrived." They gave no response. "You three have grown quite strong over the years. I'd say you're three of my best, if not the best soldiers under my command. Never once have you failed me, and I don't believe you will start now. For this operation, there is no room for failure." Danzo stood and pulled a scroll out of his sleeve. There was a red dot in the center, meaning it was an assassination mission. Tragedy stepped forward and took the scroll, retreating back to his teammates to open it. As he unraveled it, it took all of his years of training to keep his body from flinching.

On the scroll was a photo of Kakashi Hatake, the Fifth Hokage.

"Sir...permission to speak freely?" Tragedy asked. Danzo's eyebrow quirked, but he nodded nonetheless. "How the hell do you expect us to beat Kakashi?" Danzo chuckled.


"Give yourself more credit boy. How many Jonin from villages of the other nations have you killed? How many men have died beneath your feet when you didn't even break a sweat." They didn't answer, but each of them knew the number. It was seared into their brain. "Do not let the title of Hokage intimidate you. Kakashi is powerful, but he is nowhere near the level of Hiruzen in his prime, or the Fourth." Tragedy nodded. "But that is not all. You see, your mission is actually just a small part of a much larger operation. Operation Overgrowth."


"What is Operation Overgrowth sir?" Comedy asked stoically.


"Operation Overgrowth will be the stroke of genius that will finally put me in the Hokage seat. This village needs a new leader, one that will bring our strength to unimaginable heights. I know I can accomplish this, but not with idealistic fools everywhere I turn. Now that Hiruzen is gone, and Kakashi is a ticking time bomb, i can make my move." Danzo explained with a grin full of anticipation.


"Not to rain in your parade, sir, but wouldn't a coup make the citizens, I dunno...distrustful of you?" Dos asked. Danzo narrowed his eyes.


"Watch your tone boy." Dos rolled his eyes behind his mask, and Danzo was definitely aware of that. "I have been planning this for years boy. I have taken everything into account."


"What is your plan?" Tragedy asked.


"I suppose I should tell you, since you are the lynchpin to this plan." Danzo pulled another scroll out of his sleeve and slammed it on the table, unfurling it swiftly. On it was a map of the Leaf Village with various markings and annotations on it. "As you can see, I've been thorough." In each of the three boys' minds, they were screaming at the top of their lungs at the traitor. He was insane. "The Leaf Village will not know of my attack, because I will not be attacking. You see, after Orochimaru's death, the Sound Village was deserted. All of his captives were set free, and most of his followers, who were mostly missing ninja anyway, deserted Sound. However, a small, loyalist faction still remains somewhere in the Land of Fire, and they would love nothing more than a chance at revenge." All of their eyes widened behind their masks.


"You're inviting them to attack us?" Comedy asked slightly surprised. He couldn't help but let that slip through. This was...he didn't even have a word for how bad it was.


"Yes." Danzo answered sternly. "But they are a small force, and they can be over come quickly."


"How did you get them to agree to that?" Dos asked in utter confusion.


"I may have told them that I would fight alongside them." It was silent for a moment, until Dos' shoulders twitched and he let out a muffled laugh. "I sent him some of my men as insurance, so he might actually believe me."


"Who is he?" Comedy asked curiously.


"Ah, the leader of the Orochimaru worshippers, Kabuto Yakushi. I've heard he's on par with Kakashi." Danzo said with a faint smirk.


"Who will deal with him?" Dos asked.


"Why, you of course. Right after you complete your mission. It's quite convenient really. Yakushi asked for a shot at Kakashi anyway." The old man explained.


"How are we going to stop the invasion then?" Tragedy asked.


"This is where it comes full circle. While the regular ninja corps will be caught off guard, my Root forces will be there to repel the defenders and save the day. My ninja in the Sound forces will also betray the Sound, effectively crushing the attack before it starts." He picked up the scroll and put it back in his sleeve. "Now, this will all take place in exactly seven days. Your mission starts at 2100 hours. The invasion will follow. Prepare for this, and remember, failure is not an option."


XxX

"Do you think Sai still spies on us?"


"No, I would sense him."


"Good, then I can freak out." Naruto stood. "DID YOU HEAR HIM! HE'S LETTING FOREIGN NINJA IN FOR A SURPRISE ATTACK! WE HAVE TO KILL HIM! WE HAVE TO KILL HIM!" Naruto was breathing heavily, and was a little startled by the noise level.


"Ok calm down," Shikamaru said slowly, holding his hands up. "Yes, we should kill him. I think i would actually get much pleasure from killing him in a sadistic, fucked up way. But that's not the point." The Nara sighed. "Look, I've already come up with a plan. It's not too difficult really. Our mission is to kill Kakashi right? Well, we'll let Kabuto take care of that. He won't be able to take Kakashi. Meanwhile, we will kill Danzo, and the so called 'regular ninja corps' will be ready to clean up whatever is left after the battle." Sasuke and Naruto, who had indeed calmed down, nodded.


"Okay. Good. Write that up and send it to Kakashi. He can take care of the details. We need to spend the next week training. Something makes me doubt Danzo is just a frail old man." Sasuke nodded.


"Yea...he will pay. For Itachi..." Sasuke looked up at the ceiling. "C'mon, what are we waiting for?"


XxX

Kakashi stared at the message in resignation and dread. He snapped his fingers, and an ANBU appeared behind him.

"Tenzo...we have a serious problem." He handed the message to Tenzo, who quickly scanned it.

"Indeed...that is disturbing. Do we trust this?" Kakashi sent a glare his way.


"My students are on our side." Tenzo nodded.


"Right. Sorry."


"It's fine. Right now I want you to run ANBU through Emergency Protocol Delta. The insurgents must not gain any ground. You'll know when to strike. Any Jonin you deem capable should be alerted and given an assignment. I'll leave that to you. I have some things I must research, as well as finishing my new technique. It's almost done...just a little more." Tenzo disappeared, and Kakashi stood. He disappeared from the office, off to the mountains to train.


XxX

A cool breeze blew through the quiet village. The day was winding down now, and everyone was migrating home. Some shop owners would stay open late on a nice summer night like this, in case any late night walkers were in need.


A single man stood atop the Hokage Mountain, with a group of about 200 ninja behind him. He had snuck into the village thanks to the secret passageway, which Danzo had gladly made accessible to him. A woman with purple hair stepped forward.


"Are you ready Kabuto?" The silver haired man nodded.


"Yes. We will get our revenge tonight Guren. You can be sure of that. But first..." He snapped his fingers, and immediately, the 25 or so ninja that Danzo had lent Kabuto dropped dead. "...let's dispose of these rats. Danzo must be a fool if he thinks he can trust me." He shrugged. "Oh well. Cause as much destruction as you like." The Sound ninja rushed past him into the village, where Root forces fell upon them immediately. They had expected it though, and quickly the battle spread. War had once again swallowed up the Leaf, from both the inside at out.


XxX

"It's time." Danzo stated stoically, staring at his contingent of Root ninja. "Soon the invaders will rush over that mountain. They must be annihilated before anything happens to the village. Your sacrifice will benefit the village infinitely." The Root ninja stood still. They were pretty much dead inside, so they had no fear of death. "Let Operation Overgrowth begin."


XxX
Tenzo stood in front of his ANBU forces.

"You wanna know what's out there? A bunch of guys we already beat, and a bunch of guys who think they're us." A few chuckles spread through the room. "Now I don't know about you, but I hate sore losers, and I certainly fucking hate traitors. Those Root shitheads are nothing compared to us, and we're gonna show them that. I'm putting a bounty on every damn wannabe's head. For every mask I get, you get 500 ryo. Why you ask? Because I would blow Kami himself if he smote every single one of those cocksuckers." More laughs erupted, as well as a few 'fuck yea's. "Your village is at stake. Don't let them take it from you. Let's go show em how real ANBU do the job." With shouts of affirmation, the ANBU scattered to their positions with high morale and great spirits.


XxX

"This is it boys." Kakashi said with finality. "You sure you don't want to take on Kabuto?" Naruto shook his head.


"Danzo is ours. It's personal." Kakashi's brow raised, but he shrugged.


"Suit yourself." Explosions started to rock the village, and all of them tensed. "Showtime. Get to it boys." They nodded and dashed off the roof, straight for Danzo himself. Ad they left, Kabuto landed on the roof.


"So you're expecting me are you? Well, no matter. I'll just have to kill you the old fashioned way." Kakashi turned around and shook his head.


"If I killed your master, what do you think you can do to me?" Kabuto started to laugh.


"Fool...i'm stronger than Orochimaru now. All of his techniques are mine, and I've even improved them." Kakashi drew his blade, and pointed it at Kabuto.


"It doesn't matter. I'll kill you because I have to. Hope you don't have any regrets." Kabuto laughed as Kakashi charged at him, drunk on thoughts of revenge and power.


XxX

"Look...there's fighting going on." Temari looked over at her younger brother, who was staring out the window. "I think we're under attack." Kankuro stated. Gaara walked into the room.


"Then we help." He disappeared in a swirl of sand, and with two shrugs, Temari and Kankuro were right behind him.


XxX

"So...in the end you betray me." Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru stood behind Danzo, who was currently in one of Root's secret warehouses.


"We were never on your side to begin with!" Naruto shouted. "You're gonna pay for all the fucked up shit you've done over the years! I won't let a monster like you run loose!" Danzo chuckled and turned around.


"Monster? Me, a monster?" His chuckle turned into full blow laughter. "You are the monster here Jinchuriki! How many men have you killed? How many civilians have died by your blade? You are the monster Naruto Namikaze!" Danzo ripped his robe off, revealing his arm, which was engulfed by an odd metal contraption. He made a few one handed hand seals and swiped his hand up the contraption, loosening the bolts and sending it crashing to the ground. His arm was wrinkly and pale, and it looked like there was a face on his shoulder. But the most eerie part was the fact that numerous eyes had been implanted into the skin on his arm. Sharingan eyes to be specific. He then ripped the bandages off of his head, revealing a Sharingan eye.


"You...you bastard!" Sasuke shouted in a rage. "You used Itachi to get all those Sharingan didn't you!" Two blades of lightning extended from Sasuke's hands, and they exploded with electricity. "I'll kill you!"
 

noheartx

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Chapter 19: Wrath and Will

Lights flickered in the warehouse as Sasuke charged at Danzo, Sharingan blazing. The old man pulled out two kunai, and they erupted with fiery green chakra. As they clashed, twelve Root ninja jumped down around Naruto and Shikamaru, and the lights flickered out. Naruto and Shikamaru threw their masks off and charged forward, meeting their former 'comrades' in the darkness.


Sasuke and Danzo were exchanging blows, their chakra charged weapons emitting brilliant blue and green sparks with each clash. Sasuke's blades whirred around like propellers, leaving traces of blue lightning in the darkness. Danzo's kunai zipped around like fireflies, barely deflecting Sasuke's attacks as the Uchiha struck from every angle. Vengeance danced in his eyes with every slash; he wanted Danzo to pay.


Meanwhile Naruto and Shikamaru were blindly defending themselves from Danzo's elite guards. From the way they were fighting, both boys could tell that these were the cream of the crop; the best Root agents Danzo could pick. And until they were defeated, Sasuke would have to deal with Danzo alone.


"Let's hurry this up Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted as he sliced through a Root ninja's jugular. The Nara heir nodded as tendrils of shadow sprouted up around him. They each launched into the darkness, capturing a Root ninja and dragging them back to Shikamaru. The Root agents struggled against their shadowy binds as Naruto approached them. He counted ten.


"There's one more." Said Root agent silently fell from the ceiling in front of Naruto and slashed his face with a tanto, sending a streak of blood through the air. Naruto fell backwards with a shout of anger, and Shikamaru quickly snapped the necks of his captives before sending his shadows at the Root agent. Somehow, even in the darkness, he was able to dodge every single tendril with practiced ease. Shikamaru cursed and recalled his shadow as Naruto pushed himself off the ground. A crimson gash stretched from the bridge of his nose to under his earlobe, just beneath his eye. He wiped the blood away and spit on the ground. "Where is he?" Naruto asked angrily. "I'm gonna get him back for that." Suddenly, he appeared in front of them with his tanto pointed straight at them.


"Traitors are to be exterminated." He said unemotionally. Naruto shook his head.


"Should've known it was you Sai." The Root ninja took his mask off, revealing Sai's pale face.


"You won't be able to defeat me. My sole purpose in Root was as an assassin. Your assassin to be exact. I know everything about the way you fight, and I know how to beat you." Sai explained. Naruto scoffed.


"That's stupid. You think I don't have a few tricks up my sleeve?" He cracked his neck and sighed. "Looks like we're goin all out Shikamaru. We'll finish this minnow off and deal with the big fish after. Sound good?" There was a pop, and then an explosion of wind erupted from Naruto. A thin layer of wind whirled around his body, ruffling his hair and his clothes.


"I hear you..." Shikamaru said reluctantly. Wisps of shadow smoke curled into the air around him until they completely engulfed him, making him one with the darkness. "Troublesome." His voice eerily echoed from all corners of the room, making Sai take a step back.


"Hmm...this is unexpected." Sai said, pulling a scroll out of his pocket. He pulled a brush out of a compartment in the scroll and dipped it in ink, unfurling the scroll as he did. "Ink Colossus!" With a few graceful strokes, two giant ink colossuses with shields and swords emerged from the scroll around Sai. "But it is nothing I can't handle."


XxX

Kabuto laughed as he flew through a bunch of hand signs and slammed his hand on the ground. In an explosion of smoke, a white, twelve foot long cobra appeared around him, and it hissed angrily at Kakashi, the force of it blowing his hair back. The Hokage jumped away as the snake crashed down in front of him, caving in the ceiling of the Hokage mansion.

Kakashi landed on the side of the Hokage mountain and held up his hand in a sign.


"Boom." The top of the Hokage mansion lit up with exploding tags, and it exploded in a spectacular fashion. The top floor completely caved in, but surprisingly the rest of the building stood, even though it was most likely built to withstand such attacks. Kakashi was just glad he had evacuated the building in preparation for this. As the smoke cleared, Kakashi saw the white cobra curled in a ball, not a burn or scorch on it. "Well no shit..." Kakashi said in annoyance. The snake uncurled, revealing an unharmed Kabuto.


"Did you just destroy your house? That's kinda funny..." Kabuto said with a chuckle. "You'll have to do better than that." Kakashi's eyes narrowed and he dashed at Kabuto, both hands blazing with lightning. He smashed into the ground where Kabuto had stood not moments ago, knocking the snake away with a pulse of lightning. Kabuto came from behind him and slashed at him with the Chakra Scalpel, but Kakashi rolled under it just in time. He immediately identified the Chakra Scalpel with his Sharingan, and he deactivated his Double Raikiri. Kabuto smirked and jumped at him, surprised when he easily sliced Kakashi's jugular. Kakashi erupted into pillars of lightning that surrounded Kabuto and converged on him, zapping him with the intensity of ten storms. Kakashi appeared behind the snake and sliced its head off with his Double Raikiri, easily cutting through the Earth Armor his Sharingan had helped him see. It dispelled instantly, and Kakashi approached the smoldering rebel slowly. Kabuto slowly got up, coughing heavily as he wiped his face.


"I fell for that...but it won't happen again. I'm going all out now. Prepare to die Hokage!" Kabuto screamed in rage as he exploded with killing intent. He fell to his knees as eight giant white snakes exploded from his back. Kakashi cursed repeatedly as the creature grew to its full height. It was about as big as the Hokage mountain.


"Ok...I can do this. I have to do this." Kakashi whispered to himself. "I have to do this." He repeated softly. "If Sensei did it, then and I can too...right?


XxX

Sand whirled around the battlefield as Gaara ruthlessly slaughtered the invaders by the dozen. The Sand's Jinchuriki calmly stood in the center of the chaos, his two siblings right behind him. Temari was launching blasts of wind at her foes, scattering and slicing them to pieces, while Kankuro's puppets darted to and fro, silencing their victims. A giant, crystal shuriken zipped at the siblings, imbedding itself into a wall of sand erected inches from Gaara's face. Guren dropped down behind them and slashed at Temari with a shining, crystal blade attached to her arm. Temari threw her fan up in defense, and a loud clang echoed through the air as blade met steel. Guren jumped back as a tower of sand erupted from the ground, shaping itself into a claw. The claw twirled in the air and dove at Guren, who flew through a string of hand seals.


"Crystal Style: Crystal Barrier!" A dome of crystal formed around her as the claw harmlessly collided into it. She dispelled the barrier and scoffed. "What are Sand ninja doing helping the Leaf maggots?" Gaara stepped forward.


"Friends help their friends. And Naruto is my friend. So I will help him by destroying you!" He held his arm out, and sand flew to it like a magnet, encasing his arm in a giant sand claw. Temari and Kankuro took a step back.


"Gaara..." Temari mumbled nervously. The red head turned his head around.


"I'm still in control...I will help protect the village. I just want...redemption." Temari saw the pleading look in his eyes, and she nodded. Kankuro seemed surprised before nodding as well. Gaara turned back around and charged at Guren, his claw reared back for a massive blow. He could redeem himself now, and he wasn't going to pass that chance up.


XxX

Naruto dashed at Sai with blistering speed, his wind armor propelling him forward. In an instant, one of the ink titans melted into a puddle and slithered across the ground, stopping in front of Sai and reforming. Naruto impacted with the shield, sending a shockwave through the earth from the force of the collision. The other ink giant rose up behind Naruto and stabbed at him, but the blonde was extremely agile with his armor, and he slipped away before he was skewered. The two titans turned back to Naruto and swung their swords in wide arcs, firing off blades of energy at the boy. The energy blades shredded the stone floor as they sped at Naruto, leaving trails of destruction in their wake. Naruto jumped through them as they cornered him, his wind armor barely softening the jarring impact. He had no time to recover as Sai was upon him quickly, his tanto flashing in and out of Naruto's vision as the blonde desperately weaved through the slashes. Sai was suddenly yanked away from Naruto by a long shadow tendril that hoisted him into the air and flung him like a ragdoll. He flew into one of his ink creations harshly, and rubbed his head in pain. A shadowy figure emerged from the ground next to Naruto, letting out a yawn. The figure had an amorphous shape, as if it were wearing a robe, and piercing yellow eyes like an animal. There was a...gentle feel to its movements.

"Those things are troublesome hm?" Shikamaru stated. "We need to take them out. I can't do anything with them around."


"You deal with Sai. I can take care of those things." The shadow sunk back into the ground.


"They're all yours." Naruto held his hands up in his signature sign and smirked.


"Shadow Clone Technique!" Twenty Narutos appeared around the original, and they all charged at once. The two titans, in perfect synchronization, got down on one knee and rammed their shields forward, catching the first line of Narutos off guard. Four dispelled as the rest jumped into the air, only to be met by Sai, who was flying on an ink bird. He killed two clones before a net made of shadow weaved itself in front of him, and started to wrap him up as he was caught in it. Sai tried to stay calm, but it felt like freezing cold snakes were slithering across his body, and it was quite horrifying. He quickly substituted himself with an ink clone, which splattered into nothingness as the shadows consumed it. Naruto and his clones formed together into two groups as they rose through the air, over each of the titans. As they came to their peak, they started to charge a Rasengan in the real Naruto and one other clone's hand. Each clone pushed all their chakra into the sphere of energy, causing them dispel, and the Rasengan to swell. Naruto's face was brightly lit from the tremendous amount of energy as he and his one remaining clone plummeted toward the ink colossuses. Sai's creations raised their shields as the swirling masses of chakra bared down on them.

"Giant Rasengan!" Dust kicked up as the Giant Rasengans pushed against the titans. Slowly, the titans slid backwards, not strong enough to hold them back. Naruto let out an angry shout as he pushed all of his power into the attack, making it grow even larger and spin faster. His clone did the same, and in seconds a large explosion rocked the warehouse, creating a large crater in the middle. The building shook as it collapsed around them, burying everyone under piles of rubble.

XxX

The fireworks display between Sasuke and Danzo grew wilder as Sasuke's rage intensified. He was just an after image at this point, but Danzo had no trouble keeping up, thanks to his stolen Sharingan. Sasuke stopped his barrage after realizing he was getting nowhere, and quickly dispelled his blades. The Uchiha flashed through hand seals as he jumped into the air.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique!" Sasuke shot out a stream of tiny flames that rained down upon Danzo. The Root leader countered with a gust of heavy wind, blowing the flames away quite easily. Danzo then hurled a barrage of wind-powered shuriken at Sasuke, who jumped back and slashed at the shuriken, his lightning sword flashing and sending a wave of electricity through the shuriken and straight at Danzo. The elder ninja didn't move, and Sasuke's eyes widened as his attack connected, and Danzo's legs were removed from his body.

'I got him!' Sasuke couldn't believe his luck. He had actually killed Danzo! 'So he was just all talk...' Sasuke's grin turned into a frown as Danzo's remains seemed to fade out of existence.

"What the hell?"


"It'll take more than that to kill me runt." Sasuke jumped around and his eyes widened.


"You...you should be dead." Danzo chuckled.


"Do you three really think you stand a chance against me? You're trying to play the heroes in some foolish knightly romance, but your efforts will be in vain. You cannot-"A large explosion rocked the building, and Sasuke turned to see the giant ink titans shielding themselves from two ridiculously large Rasengan. When they grew even more, Sasuke marveled at the amount of energy, before it backfired and Naruto's clone dispelled, not having the chakra to sustain itself. The Rasengan, now under no one's control, spun out of control and exploded, destroying the ink giant. The building started to shake, and soon pieces of the ceiling were falling, and the walls started to crumble. Sasuke braced himself as debris rained on him, only hoping that he survived this. He would avenge Itachi today. As unconsciousness took him, he swore he would.


XxX

"Godammit Naruto...did you have to bring the entire place down?" Shikamaru asked wearily as Naruto pushed a few two by fours out of the way, freeing the Nara. Naruto shrugged.


"It worked didn't it?" Naruto asked, pointing over Shikamaru's head. The Nara stood up and looked at where Naruto was pointing, and he sighed as he saw. Sai's body lay still on the ground, like a fallen statue. His head however was buried under a piece of concrete from the ceiling.

"Yea well it almost worked too well." Shikamaru mumbled as he rolled his eyes. "Where's Sasuke?" The two boys began to search for their buried teammate when Danzo appeared out of thin air. "What the..." Another large piece of rubble moved, and Sasuke climbed out, covered in scratches and bruises, much like his teammates. The Uchiha joined his teammates and the three of them gazed at Danzo intensely. The old ninja smirked.

"I'll never die to the likes of you. I can change my fate to whatever I want it to be!" He laughed and flew through hand seals, slamming a bloody hand onto the ground. "Summoning Technique!" A large tapir-like creature appeared on the remains of the building, dwarfing everything near it. Team 7 tensed as the creature raised its trunk and trumpeted into the air, its cry echoing across the village.


"Why does everyone have some sort of creature that is hundreds of times bigger than us? I swear its bullshit..." Shikamaru complained as he pulled out some explosive tags.


"C'mon, Gaara was bigger than that." Naruto stated nonchalantly. "Let's just hurry this up so the village doesn't get destroyed more." Sasuke, and with a reluctant sigh Shikamaru, nodded and ran at the summon. Danzo calmly stood atop it, not even slightly worried about being defeated.

"Attack my summon! Show them my wrath!" At Danzo's command, the tapir-like creature reared its head and blasted Team 7 with gale force winds. They channeled chakra to their feet, but the force of the gust was too strong, and they were blown backward. While flying through the air, Naruto quickly formed his signature hand sign in a desperate move.

"Shadow Clone Technique!" A giant safety net of Narutos safely snagged the three boys out of the air and gave them a moment of respite.


"Sasuke!" Naruto called out over the roaring wind. "On my signal shoot a fireball into the air!" Sasuke squinted his eyes but nodded, getting ready for the signal. Another group of Shadow Clones grabbed Naruto off of the net and started to swing him around, as if they were a lasso. Naruto pushed the queasy feeling to the pits of his stomach as he flew through the air.


"Now!" All of the Naruto's shouted at once, and Sasuke blurred through hand seals.


"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique!" Sasuke spat one of the largest fire balls he had ever conjured into the air.


"Wind Style: Gale Armor!" As Naruto's wind armor activated, his clones flung him towards the summon creature, and the fire ball suddenly flew in his path. Time seemed to stop as Naruto's body entered the ball of flames, sparks flying as he made contact. Then a second later a ball of swirling fire shot out the other side, straight at the Baki. The force of the Baki's attack started to slow him down, but Naruto would not be deterred. "Wind Style: Eye of the Almighty!" Naruto's body exploded with wind chakra as he activated his completed flying technique. The fire around his body exploded into a trail of blazing flame as he crashed into the Baki, earning a cry of pain from the summon. Danzo was surprised by the ridiculous attack, and before he knew it, his creature was gone and he was at a disadvantage once more. The crater left behind by Naruto 's attack was extremely devastating, but the only thing it had destroyed were the already destroyed buildings. Now, a lifeless crater marred the village's image.


"He just..."


"Mhm."


"And he's not..."


"Hn." Shikamaru sighed.


"The shit he thinks of..."


XxX

Guren helplessly dodged the giant arm of sand that relentlessly hammered away at her with strike after strike. She was barely dodging each one, and she could tell she was getting tired. Meanwhile Temari and Kankuro were covering their brother's back, eliminating any enemies who strayed too close. Guren had scratches and cuts all over her body, while Gaara had barely a scrape. In his demonic state, Guren simply couldn't keep up with him; not just because of his enhanced skills, but because of the aura he gave off as well. It was worse than Orochimaru's, and that was saying something.

"Ugh...of course I'd have to encounter a Jinchuriki..." Guren mumbled as she continued to dodge for her life. Finally she stumbled, and Gaara whacked her away, sending her rolling across the ground. The sand ninja pursued her quickly and showered her with a barrage of Sand Shuriken, causing her to bleed all over her body. She formed a Crystal Barrier as Gaara's fist crashed down in front of her, inches away from her nose. Spider cracks inched through the barrier as Gaara added pressure to his arm, a wild smile adorning his face. "This can't be the-"she was cut off by a loud roar from Gaara, and he brought his arm back and smashed it through the barrier, crushing Guren against the ground. Gaara started to breathe frantically before his breaths calmed and the sand fell away from his body. Guren's remains were buried under the pile of sand, although Gaara was sure there wouldn't have been much to see. He looked over at his siblings as they continued to defend their allies' home, and he decided to aid them. After all, they were family.

XxX

The behemoth, eight-headed snake repeatedly lashed out at Kakashi, each of its heads striking in quick succession. Kakashi leapt all around the village, sweat pouring down his face. The giant creature was extremely aggressive, and Kakashi was being pressed too hard to think of a battle plan. 'This can't be the end...I won't let it!' Kakashi leapt through the attacks, all the way to the top of the Hokage Mountain. He was eye to eye with the snake now, and he gave it the most hate-filled glare he could muster. The snake hissed and spat a mouthful of acidic saliva at the Hokage, but he merely took a step back, letting the attack splatter harmlessly in the end.


"I guess I'll have to thank Naruto for this. He did inspire it after all..." Kakashi took a deep breath and formed a familiar hand seal. "Shadow Clone Technique!" About a hundred Kakashis appeared behind him, and they all raised their hands to the sky. Kakashi followed, and soon all of their hands were crackling with electricity. Sparks of blue lightning danced through the air, and dark clouds rolled in over the village. Thunder boomed through the village as cracks of lightning illuminated the darkness that had overtaken the village long ago.


XxX

The fighting between the ANBU and Root ninja ceased when the thunder clouds rolled in. The ominous feeling they felt let them know immediately that a person was causing this. Whoever it was, was about to unleash something powerful, and both sides prayed it was theirs.


XxX

"Lighting Mega Beast Rampage!" The electricity from the clones and Kakashi sparked wildly and shot into the air. A large, wolf like creature made of lightning flew through the air and dove at the giant snake as bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, causing chaos throughout the evacuated village. The wolf bared its fangs and ripped into the snake, exploding in an electrical fury. The snake cried out in agony as it was cooked to death, its blood boiling all of its organs. The form slowly shrunk away back to a dying Kabuto, who could barely cough. Kakashi's clones dispersed, and he collapsed to his knees, knowing his enemy was beaten. A smile wormed its way to his face. 'I did it! Haha! Now for my students to show me what they're made of.' Kakashi looked up over the village as a giant ball of fire slammed into a giant Baki summon, dispelling it instantly, and probably killing it. Kakashi's eye widened. 'I couldn't quite tell, but I think that was a person. Dammit Naruto...' He of course knew that his student was the only guy insane enough to...well to do something like that. But a grin still remained; Naruto wouldn't be out after something like that. They still had plenty of fight left in them.

XxX

"This is meaningless!" Danzo shouted at Naruto, who was having a little trouble standing. He had hit the ground pretty damn hard, and his body was pulsing with an aching feeling. Still, he steeled himself and stood, glaring at Danzo.


"Shut up! You don't know meaningless! Meaningless is the assassination of a 6 year old girl to establish political alliances! Meaningless is the destruction of an entire town to kill one man! Meaningless is...is..."he was breathing hard now, his anger rising to the surface. Danzo only laughed.


"You're pathetic. Your father was an idiot for sealing the fox in such a weak minded fool. In fact, he was more pathetic than Sarutobi was in his elder years." Naruto snapped, and his vision went red. Red chakra bubbled out of his skin and surrounded him in a cloak, giving him the appearance of a fox.


"I'll kill you for saying that! My father and the Third were two of the best leaders the Leaf Village ever had!" In moments, Sasuke and Shikamaru appeared at their teammate's side. Shikamaru whistled.


"Ohh, you did it now Danzo. Now it's just a matter of how long you last." The Nara stated with an uncharacteristically cocky smirk. "Don't act like you haven't heard the stories." Danzo merely shook his head.


"Ahh, but you see, you are wrong there, Shikamaru." Said ninja frowned. "I possess something that only two people before, and only one currently alive, have ever possessed. You're demon state doesn't scare me. Come Jinchuriki, let me seal your fate." Naruto roared and appeared in front of Danzo quicker than you could blink. A beam of wood shot out of the ground and snatched Naruto's foot as he pulled back to attack, and slammed him into the ground. Three more beams of wood burst from the ground and lurched at Naruto. Naruto bellowed in fury, and a pulse of red chakra exploded outward, completely shattering all of the wood. Danzo seemed surprised, so he retreated and started a long string of hand seals.


"Hokage Style Elder Technique: Tenth Edict-"he was interrupted when a giant rock, courtesy of Shikamaru and his Earth Style: Scatter Shot Technique, crushed him. Shikamaru grinned, until Danzo reappeared completely unharmed.


"How is he doing that?" The Nara shouted in frustration. "Fuck! What is going on!"


"It's his Sharingan." Shikamaru's head snapped to Sasuke. "One has closed every time he died. I don't know what kind of technique it is, all I know is that we need to shut all of those eyes!" Naruto snarled and jumped at Danzo, attacking him with all his might. He relentlessly chased the elder ninja with devastating strikes of demonic chakra. Occasionally he would slash Danzo to pieces, only for the man to reappear unscathed. It was infuriating, and it only caused Naruto to attack with more fury. Sasuke and Shikamaru analyzed the technique as The Sharingan on Danzo's arm started to close one by one. Finally there was one left, the one is his eye, and Danzo was cursing his misfortune.


"This is ludicrous. To be beaten by children...no...I will not allow it!" Danzo's Sharingan morphed into a different shape, causing Sasuke to gasp in shock.


"No...not the Mangekyo..." Instead of the three tomoe, Danzo's eye pattern was fully connected, and it slightly resembled a six point star, except the tips were tiny, open circles.


"What is that?" Shikamaru asked, noticing Sasuke's distress.


"Something really bad. I'm the only one who might have a chance now. We need to get Naruto out of there before Danzo takes control of him!" Shikamaru didn't need an explanation, because if Naruto switched sides, it would be game over.
Shikamaru knew of only one technique he could use to get Naruto in time, but it would have serious ramifications. He went with his gut, and immediately he flew through hand seals.


"Leaf Secret Clan Technique: Shadow Emergence." As Naruto closed in on Danzo a plume of darkness rose around Naruto and swallowed him up. The darkness sunk into the ground and re-emerged next to Shikamaru. The shadows faded away to reveal a sleeping Naruto, who was unusually still. Shikamaru sighed and nodded at Sasuke, who charged at Danzo. If he was out of this fight, then he had to at least watch Naruto's body. After all, he was the one who put the blonde in this state.


Meanwhile, Sasuke was flashing through hand seals as he charged his old boss, intent on finishing this fight.


"Lightning Style-"the air around Sasuke started to warp, and he had the odd sensation that he was sinking in on himself. 'What is this feeling...it's as if I'm being sucked into something. This must be because of his Mangekyo Sharingan. I need to get away from this now!' Sasuke jumped away from the vortex, and sighed in relief as he felt normal again. He continued to jump around, avoiding the vortex at all costs as he retried his technique. "Lightning Style: Illumination!" Sasuke jumped into the air and dove down at Danzo, a blade of lightning extending from his reach. He sunk it into the ground right in front of Danzo, and in a flash of light, Danzo was engulfed by a pyramid of lightning. His screams could be heard as the electricity seared through his veins, the walls of the pyramid closing in on him. Finally the pyramid could shrink no longer, and it exploded brilliantly, showering blue and silver sparks everywhere. Danzo's body was nowhere to be seen, but that was to be expected. It was surely vaporized by the force of that attack. Sasuke fell to his knees, a huge grin on his face.


'I did it Itachi! The one who did this to us has finally paid the price!'


XxX

"What's wrong with him?" Sasuke asked, noticing Naruto's unconscious form. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head.

"I'll explain later. I only wanna do it once. Right now, I need you to get him to a hospital. If they've set up a Triad, tell them he's a yellow, and he needs a room immediately. I need to get my dad." Sasuke stared at him in confusion, but nodded nonetheless. Sasuke picked up Naruto's limp body and slung him over his shoulder. They both went their separate ways, as the chaos in the village waned down to naught. The fighting was over now, and once again it was time to rebuild.

XxX

Extra Content: Naruto's Gale Armor


"Wind Armor? What gave you that idea?" Kakashi asked his blonde student.


"I read something about the Fourth Raikage using something called Lightning Style Armor. It said that with it, he could increase the speed of his nervous system and make his reaction time, agility, and all that other stuff faster. They said the only person faster was my dad." Kakashi nodded.


"Yes, your father was faster. You know, they actually encountered each other many times during the last war. Of course, this was before either of them were Kage, but they certainly had reputations. The men who witnessed their battles said it was a sight to behold, if you could follow their movements." Naruto listened intently as Kakashi described it. He always loved hearing about his father.


"So even with the Lightning Armor, the Raikage was slower than my dad?" Kakashi nodded.


"Yep. Your father was unnaturally fast. Even without his Flying Thunder God Technique, only the strongest ninja would have a chance at matching your father's speed. He was the Yellow Flash." Naruto nodded.


"And I'm gonna surpass him. But what can I do with the wind element that will help me. The Raikage's Lightning Armor has multiple uses. Besides protection, it increases his speed. What will wind do for me?" Kakashi chuckled.


"Well first, you need to work on getting the armor working. Then we can think of things to add on." Naruto scratched his head.


"Right. Well, I guess the first step would be to expel wind chakra from around my entire body." A large burst of wind shot out from Naruto, blowing everything around him back. Kakashi sighed as he dusted himself off.


"Now you need to control that. Make it stick to your body, and it has to be strong enough to repel attacks. Control is key here. Do you realize how much control it takes to enhance your nerves without frying them?" Naruto nodded.


"Yea I know. But I can get there." Naruto closed his eyes and this time a weaker gust of wind blew out around Naruto. Kakashi watched as he stood there, trying it a few more times, before he thought of something. "Oh yea. Shadow Clones. Hehe." He created about 500 Shadow Clones, who all immediately began to experiment with the wind armor. A few hours passed before one clone started to shout excitedly.


"I think I got it!" The real Naruto immediately appeared next to his clone.


"Do it." The real one commanded. The clone nodded and concentrated. A burst of wind surrounded Naruto and started to blow around him like a thin layer of armor. The tiny layer of wind was pretty powerful, and Naruto could tell it would be effective. "It's similar to a Rasengan..." The clone nodded at Naruto's observation.


"Yea, that's what I tried to do. It seemed effective enough."


"Dispel yourself, so I can get the feeling. Good work." The clone poofed away, and Naruto tried out the new technique. "Yea...this will work nicely. Now..."the blonde sighed"...to test it. Kakashi, can you hurl kunai at me from every direction?" As soon as Naruto finished, Sasuke was by his side.


"No let me. Please." Naruto frowned at Sasuke's eagerness, but nodded nonetheless.


"Fine. Start off with just one. Aim at my shoulder." Sasuke quickly ran thirty paces away and whipped a kunai out, an expression of childish excitement on his face. "Go." Sasuke launched the kunai as hard as he could, and the sound of metal cutting flesh echoed through the air.


"Oh shit! The pain!" Naruto ripped the kunai out of his shoulder and threw it on the ground, staining the grass red. Sasuke chuckled as Kakashi rushed over to his injured student with a wide eye.

"What the hell Sasuke?! You threw it as hard as you could!" Kakashi shouted, examining the wound.
"It's fine. I want him to do that. I just have to make it stronger next time." Naruto stood and ignored the pain with a grunt. "Alright let's try this again. At my shoulder. The other shoulder!" Naruto quickly added as he activated the wind armor. He pumped more and more chakra into it, making it rotate around his body faster and faster. Sasuke flung another kunai at Naruto, but when it hit the wind, it was flung to the side and embedded into a tree trunk. Naruto stared at the result, until a grin spread across his face. "It worked! Ok Sasuke, go crazy!" Sasuke laughed as he started to jump all around the forest, launching kunai at Naruto from every angle. A hailstorm of kunai rained on Naruto, but his armor did its job. Every time a kunai made contact, it was flung in a different direction. Kakashi and Shikamaru had taken kunai out to deflect any stray ones that might injure them. Finally, Sasuke's barrage ended, and Naruto stood with a triumphant smile. "What do you think Sensei?" Kakashi sighed, but a grin stretched across his face.

"I guess tomorrow we'll figure out what we can add on." Naruto exclaimed his approval and then stumbled over his own feet. "Woah, gettin a little light headed from the blood loss." Kakashi sighed as he pulled Naruto up. It seemed like visits to the hospital after training sessions were to be a routine thing.


XxX

"The wind around me is under my control huh?" Repeating the words his Sensei had told him not moments ago, Naruto held his fist out. He activated his wind armor, and he focused on the thin layer of raging wind. A blast of air shot out from his fist, shattering the bark of the tree in front of him. "Perfect." He jumped backward and punched he ground, causing a small crater to form. "And if I can use it for that then..."he jumped high into the air, higher than any chakra enhanced jump could be. He easily cleared the trees, and soon, he was flying through the air, doing loops and rolls across the sky. "So this was the missing piece to my flying technique...hahahaha! I'm actually doing it!" With short bursts of wind he maneuvered through the sky, laughing happily throughout the thrilling experience. He finally landed, and Kakashi was staring blankly at him.


"I'm not hallucinating, right?" Naruto grinned. "Right. Well, I think it's safe to say that you were successful." Kakashi shook his head. "He can fly now...next he's going to move the moon." The Hokage mumbled, used to feeling this surprised. The boy was a genius, but Kakashi believed some of that had to stem from his insanity.
 

noheartx

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Chapter 20: A Foreign Quiet

"Is he okay?" Kakashi asked worriedly. Shikamaru sighed.


"That really depends on him. Just wait until Sasuke gets here, and I'll explain everything." The door clicked open, and Sasuke was wheeled in on a wheelchair. He had severe chakra exhaustion after the battle, and even walking was quite tiresome. The nurse exited quietly, and both of the Sharingan users looked at Shikamaru expectantly.


"Leaf Secret Clan Technique: Shadow Emergence; a secret technique of my clan, created by my grandfather during the Second Shinobi World War. It was designed to pull targets, enemy targets that is, from behind enemy lines. These captured targets, usually high ranking officers, were captured so we could steal information from the enemy. You see the Shadow Emergence technique invades your mind as well as it binds your body, and it puts the victim into a coma. Easy for a member of the Yamanaka Clan to extract info. Usually they just slit their throat after, so it didn't really matter. In this case..." Shikamaru sighed. "My father and I are going to have to do a lot of research." Shikamaru stared at the ground in regret. "If he doesn't wake up...it'll be all my fault."


"Why did you do it?" Kakashi asked curiously.


"I told him to." Sasuke stated. "Danzo had the Mangekyo Sharingan."


"Mangekyo Sharingan?" Kakashi said questioningly.


"The Mangekyo Sharingan is the ultimate form of the Sharingan. Many different kinds of powerful techniques, from Ninjutsu to Genjutsu, can be performed with that eye. I don't know much else besides that, but I do know this. The Mangekyo Sharingan has the ability to control the Nine Tails. Madara Uchiha did it against the First Hokage in the Valley of the End, making it what it is today. I couldn't risk Danzo taking control of him." Sasuke explained tiredly.


"Would Danzo know of this power?" Kakashi asked.


"The man had ten Sharingan implanted into his arm. He never used a tool that he didn't thoroughly research. I wouldn't be surprised if the reason he had the Mangekyo was to control Naruto in the first place." Sasuke said dejectedly.
"Basically, we would have been screwed if Danzo got control of Naruto. We had to stop that." Kakashi sighed and nodded.


"As much as I don't like it, I agree with your decision. So Shikamaru, what happens now?" The lazy ninja smashed his fist into the wall.


"Nothing. I have to drag my ass to the library every day to find a cure. My dad will search the clan archives to try and find something useful." Shikamaru's head sagged. "I feel useless. He does most of the fighting and in the end he's in the worst condition." Kakashi stood.


"Try not to kill yourself over it. You made the right choice. Unfortunately, I have duties to attend to, and I have to leave. Please, keep me updated on his condition. And guys...I'm proud of you." Sasuke and Shikamaru smiled, and the Hokage exited the room. It would take work, but they'd be complete again.


XxX

It was deathly quiet in the forest; the wind was nonexistent and not an animal stirred. Suddenly there was a great flash, and a row of trees collapsed in a clamor.


"Six meters huh?" Sasuke mumbled, staring at his hand. He was working on extending the reach of his Lightning Blades, and it seemed that was as far as he could go. He sighed as he turned around, his training done for the day. Since Naruto wasn't around, he had been training alone on the Uchiha Training Grounds. He had offered for Shikamaru to join him, but the Nara boy was extremely busy with research on Naruto's cure. And he would be busy until he found it.


As the Uchiha walked through the empty streets of his clan district, he couldn't help but think of Itachi. The pain his brother endured...all for his sake...Sasuke just wanted him to be okay. Just once...he wanted to see him; see that he was alive. He looked up into the sky as a crow squawked, and shook his head. Such thoughts would only depress him more.


He decided he would pay his comatose teammate a visit, after he cleaned up of course. He'd probably get a bowl of ramen on the way, because someone was going to have to keep Ichiraku's open.


XxX

Shikamaru sighed as he carried a stack of books over to the table. Of course, he couldn't see the table, because his vision was blocked by the ridiculously troublesome medical textbooks he was carrying.


"Need a hand?" Shikamaru thought the feminine voice sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't put a face to it, so he accepted gratefully. The top half of the stack was lifted, and Shikamaru was face to face with a smirking Temari. "Hi there."


"Hello Temari. Long time no see." He said that on purpose, in order to remind her of their last encounter, which had been during the Chuunin Exams. Unfortunately, she didn't take the bait.


"It has been a long time. Why don't we sit down and get reacquainted?" She dropped the stack of books on the table, and Shikamaru knew he was roped in.


"I'm quite busy really. This research is very important to me, and I'm kinda pressed for time." Temari sighed.


"Look, the reason I wanna talk to you is because of your teammate. The blonde one." Shikamaru looked at her with a guarded expression.


"What do you want with him?"


"I want to thank him." Shikamaru seemed surprised by this. "Ever since the exams...Gaara has been great. He talks to Kankuro and I about nature and the weather. And he even smiles sometimes. You don't know how grateful I am..." Temari explained softly. "He saved my brother."


"I see. Unfortunately, you can't see him right now." Her head snapped up.


"What? Why not?"


"He's in a coma." Temari's eyes widened.


"What...what happened?" Shikamaru shook his head.


"I did something, and because of it he's in a coma. But I can fix it!" He opened the first book and went to sit, but Temari grabbed his wrist.


"You're blaming yourself? Why?" Shikamaru scoffed.


"It was my technique. So now I have to fix it." The Nara sighed. "I'm sorry, it's been a stressful few days." He sat down. "...you're more than welcome to stay." Temari smiled and took a seat next to him.


"So, what are we looking for?"


"If I knew, I would gladly tell you." She glared at him. "Look for anything that mentions the Nara Clan, secret techniques, or comas. Seriously that's all I got." She started the skim the page.


"That's not much to work with." Shikamaru grunted in acknowledgement.

"Yea, but I've dealt with worse. And there's a lot more on the line here." Shikamaru said, gazing at the book seriously. "I know Naruto would never give up until his friends were okay, so what kind of friend would I be if I gave up?" Temari smiled at him and continued to research. It seemed that Naruto's optimism was contagious; first her brother now her...well she didn't know what to call him. He was a person of interest for now, but Temari was definitely going to see more of him.

XxX

Sasuke slurped on his noodles quietly as he stared out the hospital room window. It was nice to be able to sit here with his teammate and best friend quietly; usually he was boisterous and energetic. But then again, it was an odd feeling, not hearing Naruto's loud voice. He never noticed it until now, but without Naruto's voice it was eerily silent all the time. To think that he really had that much of an impact...


The door suddenly clicked open, and Sasuke whirled his head around to identify the visitor.


"Sasuke...I guess it's not a surprise to see you here." Sasuke stared into the blue eyes of Kairi for a moment, and he lost his concentration for a moment. They were very similar to Naruto's. He shook his head clear and nodded.


"Yea. I've got nothing else to do." The black haired sixteen year old smile and closed the door behind her.


"Where's Shikamaru?" She asked, taking the seat next to Sasuke.


"Doing research on a way to fix Naruto. He's gonna be stuck like this for awhile." Kairi seemed to get a little disheartened by this. "Don't worry, we will get him back to normal." Kairi let a smile of reassurance bubble up.


"He's lucky to have teammates like you." Sasuke chuckled.


"More like it's the other way around. He'd die for any of us. I only hope I can return the favor." He said, looking at the ground. He felt a hand on his arm, and he looked over. Kairi was staring at him seriously, a look of understanding on her face.


"It's okay. I believe in you. And I bet Naruto does too." His eyes widened, and he glanced at his sleeping teammate. Even in that state, a grin still managed to adorn his face, and Sasuke smirked.


"He's probably laughing at me for being so mushy...heh he doesn't realize the effect his presence really has." He turned back to Kairi. "Thank you...I needed that." Sasuke looked down as she intertwined their fingers, blushing slightly.


"You're welcome. Every now and then I might need some cheering up too..." Sasuke didn't let her finish.


"You can find me." She wasn't looking at him now, but a smile of happiness stretched across her face. Sasuke looked at his teammate as well, and he couldn't fight his smile any longer.


XxX

"Dammit. That was the last one too." Shikamaru sighed as he slammed the book shut, placing it on top of all the other useless books. He had been here for seven hours. Seven long, boring, quiet and now useless hours. He looked at his companion, who looked at him apologetically.


"I'm sorry." She said quietly. Shikamaru shook his head.


"Don't be. I just don't know how long I have, and if my results stay the same..."he couldn't finish the sentence, because really he had no idea what would happen. Whatever it was though, it would not be good. Temari stood and held her hand out.


"Well, you can forget about it by escorting me home." Shikamaru eyed her warily.


"Why would I need to do that? You're perfectly capable of-"she sighed and smacked the back of his head as she walked by, eliciting a yelp from him. He watched as she walked away, stopped, and turned around.


"Are you coming?" He scowled and stood up, slowly walking over to her.


"Troublesome girl." She glared at him.


"Oh I'll show you troublesome." Shikamaru gulped at that. He had no doubt she could make his life hell at a whim, and he decided he wouldn't test it.


"Right. Which way?" Shikamaru followed her lead as they walked through the empty streets, the street lights barely illuminating them. It was a mostly quiet walk, as Shikamaru was lost in his thoughts. Of course, Temari couldn't let that go for long.


"Why do you act so indifferent?" Shikamaru's brow perked up, and he shrugged.


"Because I am indifferent." She rolled her eyes.


"Don't give me that. You act like you don't care about anything." Shikamaru sighed.


"Well that's ridiculous. Of course I care. I care about important things like the village, my clan, and my teammates. But people's opinions are just unnecessary information. I don't need them to function." She scoffed.


"You sound like an idealist." He laughed.


"I can't help it. I'm just not naive. I've seen too much..too-"he looked up at her and noticed her curious gaze."-nevermind. This is you right?" She looked up, and sure enough it was the Sand Village Embassy towering over her. "Have a good night Temari. Thanks for helping today." He turned and walked away, not bothering to wait for a reply. She stared at him for a few moments as he walked away, before she called out to him.


"Will you be there tomorrow?" He waved his hand in affirmation and she smiled. Pestering him was going to be a great pastime.


XxX

Sasuke and Shikamaru stood idly as Kakashi sat in his chair. He was reading a few papers, and finally he looked up at them.


"Okay, so as I'm sure you're aware, things aren't so great right now. That much is obvious. What you don't know, is that we have received multiple disturbing threats from the Hidden Rock within the past week. Apparently they are very well informed." Sasuke quirked a brow.


"How well informed?" Kakashi sighed.


"They know of Naruto's condition." Both of his students' eyes widened. "And since they know the son of their greatest enemy is on the sidelines, they're feeling a little confident." Shikamaru cursed.


"Well that's just great. What do we do?" Kakashi turned his chair around.


"Well, we need to show them we're not weak." He swiveled back around. "So I have a mission for you. But first, a few formalities." Knowing their sensei's dislike for formality, they felt confused. "As of now, you two are temporarily promoted to ANBU."


"ANBU? What? Why?" Shikamaru asked in shock.


"Because it gives you much more clearance, and since Naruto is MIA, you two need a place where your talents aren't wasted." Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at each other, and Kakashi noticed their worried expressions. "What is it?"
Shikamaru sighed and nodded. Sasuke scratched his nose.


"It's just...Root..." Kakashi's eyes widened.


'They're remembering what Root was like. What did they go through to make them look like that?'


"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, fishing for information.


"Bad things Sensei. We don't wanna talk about it ever again. Maybe one day...but don't count on it." Kakashi sensed Shikamaru's finality, so he switched gears.


"So, for your first mission-"


"You mean my first mission." Sasuke stated, earning confused looks. "You need to work on curing Naruto. Every day counts. I'll handle anything that comes our way." The both looked at him like he was a heretic.


"That's stupid Sasuke. We can-"


"No. Naruto is the first priority to me. He would feel the same way. And I'll take all the missions, because I know he would do it too." They looked at his unyielding stare and sighed.


"Very well. I think you would rather have help for this, but that's up to you." Sasuke shook his head.


"I'll be fine." Kakashi sighed and produced a scroll with a big 'S' emblazoned on it.


"If you say so. Your mission, is to destroy Fort Tsunankan." Shikamaru's eyes widened.


"You mean Fort Tsunankan, as in Hidden Rock's famed first line of defense?" He asked in surprise, to which he nodded.


"The same. We have to send a message." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.


"Well that'll certainly do the job. How the hell do you plan on getting away with this little stunt?" Kakashi smiled.


"I don't. That's the brilliance of it. You see, Hidden Rock is going to know who attacked as soon as it happens. And if we send in an invasion force, then by sunrise the entire Rock army would be right up our asses. But, if we send in one man, who is careful enough to leave nothing behind, then without proof Hidden Rock might as well get a binky for all the thumb suckin they're gonna be doin." Sasuke stared at the ceiling.


"So the odds are against me huh? Alright, then what are we waiting for?" Shikamaru looked between his sensei and teammate, before letting out an exasperated groan.


"I swear someone hit the mute button on the voice of reason..."


XxX

Sasuke was surprised to see Kairi in Naruto's room a second day in a row. She smiled as he walked in.


"Hello Sasuke." Her cheeks tinted red, and Sasuke smiled back.


"Hi." He moved to Naruto's side and looked down at him. "Don't get lonely while I'm gone. I'll be back soon...hopefully..."Kairi's head snapped up.


"What do you mean?" Sasuke had forgotten he voiced that out loud, so he turned to face her.


"I have a mission. I...I'm not sure if I'll come back." He explained solemnly, looking down. Her eyes widened.


"What..." He sighed.

"Not exactly what I had in my mind with a promotion, but I guess that's our life...right?" They made eye contact, and Kairi walked over to him.

"Why...?"


"Things aren't stable right now. So sacrifices must be made..." He sighed. "I may die...but I won't fail my mission."

"Don't say that!" Sasuke looked down at Kairi in surprise, her ocean blue eyes pleading with him. "You can't die! You can't...how would Naruto feel if you died?" Sasuke looked over at his teammate.

"He wouldn't feel...he'd do what his heart told him." Kairi sniffled and hugged him. She may have been three years older, but his peak physical condition, and his good genes put him a few inches taller than her.


"Well my heart is telling me that no one else I care about needs to get hurt. Your heart tells you the same right?" Sasuke was quite overwhelmed by the emotional display; quite frankly this was unknown territory to him. But it was surprisingly comforting, and he decided that it was a welcome feeling.


"Yea...it does." She backed up and looked at him.


"Good. I'll never forgive you if you don't come back." Sasuke shuddered. For some reason, he really didn't want to disappoint her.


XxX

Extra Content: Root Destruction


"Target confirmed. One Kayaku Nosada identified. Orders Dos?"


"Hold firm Comedy. Let's see if he moves. I'd rather not start a fight in such a populated area."


"Got it. Keeping distance." The three Root operatives were spread out across the rooftops around their target, using communicators to talk. Currently, they were on a mission to assassinate a notorious missing ninja, who hailed from the Leaf Village. He was too dangerous for the regular ANBU to handle, but for Root he was perfect. Someone with as much information as he possessed needed to die quickly, by any means necessary, and their time was running short. He may have been a Jonin, but Team 7 was ready.


An hour passed, and Dos' voice crackled over the comm.


"He seems pretty comfy. Let's get this over with so I can go cut myself." At that morbid thought, explosive tags lit up the plaza. Horrified screams echoed through the air as civilians were demolished in the blast. Human limbs flew everywhere as a result, bringing a nauseous feeling to Dos' stomach. As the dust cleared, Tragedy approached the scattered remains of their target. He picked up the discarded headband and surveyed the area. Blood stained the battered ground, rubble was strewn about everywhere, blown off limbs were hanging like decorations, and a child's head was eerily staring at him, as if to condemn him for his actions


"Kill confirmed. Casualties-"


"Too many." Tragedy looked over at Dos, who was already walking away. "C'mon, let's get out of here." Tragedy and Comedy followed, wanting to bury their sins here along with the rest.
 

noheartx

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Chapter 21: The Life of a Friend

Twinkling stars decorated the night sky, like beacons on light in an abyss of darkness. Sasuke stared at the sky as a small fire crackled next to him, illuminating half of his face. He had been on the road for four days already, and he was within half a day's walk from the fort. He took a bite of his cooked pork, and washed it down with a can of tomato juice, savoring the flavor. Tonight was a night of luxuries, and Sasuke was taking his time. He finished the meat with a satisfied grin, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.


He took the time to do one last check of the area, searching for any pulses or traces of chakra. Satisfied that no one was around, he put the fire out and unrolled his sleeping bag. He climbed in and gazed at the starry sky, thinking of his home and his friends. Shikamaru was probably just leaving the library now, or rather being kicked out for staying too long. Kakashi was definitely cursing his luck for being named Hokage. A set of blue eyes invaded his mind's eye, and a smile crossed his face. He didn't really know what was going on with her, but those moments with her...he would remember them forever. Even with Naruto lying comatose in the hospital bed, she had made him feel confident...she was sure they would cure Naruto, and he'd be damned to the seventh layer of hell if he let her down. But most of all, he would not let Naruto down. Naruto didn't know the meaning of the word failure; he always found a way. And he always came out of it alive.


"I'll be back. I can't die yet." Sasuke whispered to himself, mostly for reassurance. But he wasn't nervous; no he was far from it in fact. He was calm, extremely calm, like his body was stuck in a stillness that he hoped would never move. But that's what scared him the most.


XxX

Fort Tsunankan was the pride of Hidden Rock. While they had certainly lost wars before, not once had the actual fort been taken. With 20 inch stone walls, wrought by powerful Earth Style techniques, watch towers on every corner, and a decent sized battalion stationed there at all times, it was truly a magnificent asset of war. However, the most impressive thing about it, and what had really kept it impregnable, was the fact that it was built into the side of a mountain. And said mountain happened to be parallel to another range of mountains, creating a valley of murder for any invasion force dumb enough to assault Hidden Rock by land.


So when Sasuke actually laid eyes on the fortress, his stomach dropped a little.


'That's Fort Tsunankan? Well shit, no wonder it's their perfect defense.
' He sighed wearily as he went over his plan in his head. 'If Kakashi's intel is right, then there should be 45 Genin, 15 Chuunin, and three Jonin commanders. And apparently one of them is Kurotsuchi of the Lava Style, and granddaughter of the Tsuchikage. Dammit, what the fuck did I get myself into?' He shook his head. 'Too late for regrets now. Well, then let's see if I can't start things off with a bang.' From the tree he was perched in, he jumped out and ran up to the fortress. His headband was safely hidden at the campsite, and he was wearing a blank white mask, to hide his identity. As he approached, he heard the warning shouts from the sentries in the watchtower, and he flew into action.


"Lightning Style: Shockwave Eruption!" Sasuke came to a halt and slammed his hand on the ground, and blue lightning leapt across the ground, tearing it up as it blazed toward the fort. More lightning arced up from the ground as it collided with the fort, alerting any unknowing Rock ninjas of an attack. Sasuke gaped as he saw that his attack had done little more than crack the wall, and he cursed as about ten enemies, most of them Genin he assumed, charged out of the fort. He charged forward and activated his lightning blades, beheading two Genin who couldn't have been any older than him. He continued to weave through the attackers, taking limbs and spilling their blood as he ruthlessly tore through them like wet paper. When he saw more reinforcements pour out of the fortress, he knew these would be Chuunin, and he gave himself some space. "Lightning Style: Illumination!" He poured an immense amount of chakra into this one, more than he usually would, and the result was a giant pyramid of electricity that ensnared the charging enemies. They were vaporized instantly, and Sasuke continued his charge.


"Fire!" He looked up when he heard the command, and cursed as multiple boulders were being launched at him from the top of the fort. He darted left and right, narrowly avoiding the Earth Style barrage meant to kill him. He slashed through a boulder he couldn't dodge and in one bound leapt to the top of the fort. He immediately felled the closest enemy, and from there he was moving around like a liquid, bending through any and all strikes, and silencing his enemies with practiced ease. Finally, only a few, about 15 or so, enemies remained, but he hadn't seen or felt the Jonin commanders at all. He decided he would finish this now, before his luck decided to betray him. He leapt away onto the side of the mountain, and with his Lightning Blades he started to viscously slash at the mountain, sending chunks of it careening toward the fort like an avalanche. He felt satisfied after carving a large chunk out of the mountain, so he looked below, and almost yelped in surprise. A platform of earth, with all the boulders he had slashed off, was rocketing towards him. No doubt the Jonin were here now. Sasuke decided to try a bold move, so he sent large amounts of chakra to his Lightning Blades, causing them to grow with power. He easily slashed through the earth rising at him, flying back towards the fort with debris of rock falling behind him. He barely made contact with the fort before dashing straight towards a burly looking man with an eye patch. Sasuke could tell he was a Jonin from the way he easily dodged his slash, and then countered his back slash with a Wind Blade, clashing against the Lightning blade. Sasuke looked around and noticed that the falling rocks had killed all of the lower ranked ninja, and only the three Jonin, who had him surrounded at the moment, were left.


"Boy, I don't know who the hell you are, or what your goal is, but it all ends now." Eyepatch stated angrily through clenched teeth. "Kurotsuchi! Return to the Tsuchikage and request reinforcements! Riku and I will handle this!" Kurotsuchi's eyes widened.


"But Captain!"


"Just go!" Kurotsuchi stared at him for a moment before cursing and jumping away. Sasuke made to go after her, but the man named Riku was in front of him in a second. Sasuke's blade clashed with Riku's sword, which was coated in fire. The Uchiha jumped back, but Eyepatch was right there, easily ready to intercept him. Sasuke tried to contort to dodge, but when Riku jumped up behind him, he knew he couldn't get away. He barely parried Riku's stab, but both of the Rock Jonin delivered synchronized axe kicks to his head, shattering his mask and sending him crashing into the fort. He substituted himself as Riku sunk his sword halfway through a log. Sasuke appeared behind him, ready to slash his arm off, when the flame sword suddenly stabbed backwards, skewering him through the stomach.


"Gah..." Sasuke stumbled backwards, the sword sliding out of him with a squelch. Thankfully, since the sword was powered with fire elemental chakra, the entry and exit wounds were cauterized instantly. He held his stomach as it burned in agony, barely able to keep himself up straight.


"This is it you monster. You will pay the price for your crimes with your life!" Eyepatch shouted as he charged in, flying through hand seals. "Earth Style: Skull Shattering Spear!" A spear of condensed stone formed in his hand, and he hurled it with all his might at Sasuke. Time slowed down for Sasuke as he watched his death inch closer and closer now. He was nearly out of chakra, and at this point, the only movement he could make would be falling on his ass.


'I guess this is it...I'm sorry.'
He closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, when he remembered.


'Well my heart is telling me that no one else I care about needs to hurt. Your heart tells you the same right?'


'Yea...it does.'


'Good. I'll never forgive you if you don't come back.'

'I promised her I would come back. I promised Kakashi and Shikamaru that I would be okay. And I promised myself that I wouldn't give up until I was dead!' His eyes snapped open, and his Sharingan whirled around, morphing into a different pattern. It was predominately black, with three red ellipses crossing over each other to look like an atom.


"AUGHHH!" He roared in fury as black flames shot out of his right eye, completely obliterating the flying spear. Blood dripped from his eye as the black flames surged forward, engulfing Eyepatch in seconds. His partner watched in horror as his body was burned to cinders. Sasuke was suddenly in front of him, blood now falling from both eyes. They made eye contact, and Riku fell to the ground, comatose under Sasuke's Genjutsu. Sasuke collapsed to his knees and fell onto his hands, sweat dripping onto the ground from his hair. A slight smile crossed his face.


'I...I'm alive.'
He started to chuckle, until it evolved into full blown laughter, causing pain to spike in his stomach. 'Ok, it's a little early to celebrate. I still have to make it home.' He smiled at the word home. He would get to go back and live with his friends. Kairi, Shikamaru, Kakashi...and Naruto. He pushed himself up and started to drag himself back to the village, thoughts of home being the only thing driving him.


XxX

"Who is that?" The gate guard asked, pointing past the gates. A lone figure with a tall cane was slowly approaching the village.


"Dunno, probably some old merchant." The other answered, only glancing at the figure. The first guard squinted at the approaching figure, gasping when he saw the sunlight reflect off of something on the man's forehead.


"It's a Leaf ninja! C'mon, he's injured!" Both gate guards swiftly jumped through the gates and went to aid their comrade.

Sasuke smiled as he saw two Leaf ninja bound out of the gates toward him.

"Finally..." He collapsed on the spot, knowing that he was safe now.


XxX

"He's waking up!" Sasuke groaned groggily as his eyes flitted open. He found himself staring into the worried eyes of Kairi.


"What..." Kairi shook her head.


"Don't talk. You're in the hospital. They said...they said you weren't going to make it." Sasuke glanced over to see Kakashi and Shikamaru, leaning against the wall in almost mirrored poses, trying to mask their worry. Everything seemed a little blurry to Sasuke, but he chalked it up to his injured state.


"How long...?" He asked quietly, looking back at Kairi.


"A week." Kakashi answered, causing Sasuke's eyes to bulge.


"What-"he tried to sit up, but the sharp pain in his stomach forced him down.


"Easy!" Shikamaru shouted wearily. "Your wound still hasn't healed yet. You know, you're lucky to be alive. There was so much blood floating around in your body that they filled almost six vials." Sasuke's eyes widened. Six? He really should have been dead.


"What about Naruto?" The Uchiha asked, causing Shikamaru to look down.


"I haven't found anything yet." The Nara answered solemnly. Sasuke nodded and closed his eyes, sleep taking him in mere seconds.


XxX

Shikaku Nara stared at his son with an amused smirk as he paced back and forth in their kitchen. Various books from the Nara Clan Archives were scattered everywhere, making the kitchen look like a warzone. Usually his mother would throw a fit if it were this messy, but she understood the...urgency.


"Calm down son. This isn't like you." Shikamaru stopped and glared.


"Well I can't help it. Naruto's completely screwed, and I haven't gotten anything worth shit! He's gonna die..." Shikaku's eyes narrowed.


"We've all seen comrades in tough spots. I've seen Choza and Inoichi close to death too many times, but I didn't let my mind get the best of me." Shikamaru's eyes narrowed back.


"Yea but was it ever your fault?" At that, Shikaku faltered, and rueful grin adorned the younger Nara's face. "I'll never be able to live with myself if I can't fix it..." Shikaku threw a book at him, which he deftly caught.


"Then you better keep looking. No Nara man can be bested by a simple setback such as this. You're better than that." Shikamaru sighed.


"Only because he made me that way..." Shikamaru walked over to his seat and collapsed into it. "I've been at this for days father...I'm beginning to lose hope." Shikaku put a hand on his son's shoulder.


"You know, I'm very proud of you son. I was a lot like you when I was a kid. Always star-gazing-"


"Cloud-gazing." Shikamaru corrected.


"I like the stars better. My point is, is that already, you've far surpassed any expectations I had. So the only thing I expect now, if for you to surpass what I expect." Shikamaru gazed at his father with a raised eyebrow.


"You put too much faith in me..."


"Well someone has to." Shikamaru sighed an opened the book, grinning behind the pages. His father was right; he had just started, so how could he give up?


XxX

Kakashi placed a letter, marked with the seal of the Tsuchikage, down on his desk in front of his two students. They began to read it, wondering why Kakashi was so...nervous.


To the White Fang's brat,


I don't know what kind of technique you could have conjured up to bring HIM back, but whatever you are doing should be left alone Hokage! Madara Uchiha is a dangerous man, and those black flames are an omen of what is to come if he is alive. You better have nothing to do with this, or the entire shinobi world will bring it's wrath down on you!


Oonoki of the Scales, Third Tsuchikage
.


"Madara Uchiha? He's long dead..." Shikamaru stated, completely baffled. "What the hell is going on?" Kakashi shook his head.


"Your guess is as good as mine. Sasuke, what happened at that fort?"


"There were so many...I had killed most of them, but one of the Jonin, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, got away, and the other two Jonin stayed behind. They had me, and I had accepted my death...when something in me snapped, and I felt full of power. Black, unquenchable flames...and a terrifying Genjutsu...they went down like flies. Somehow my Sharingan evolve into the Mangekyo Sharingan. So much power..." The Uchiha looked down at the ground, remembering the feeling of adrenaline that exploded through his body.


"Ok, but why is the Tsuchikage spouting stuff about Madara Uchiha? He was a founder of the village, he'd be at least 120 years old." Shikamaru asked curiously.


"Madara Uchiha is the strongest Uchiha to ever live. The power of today's shinobi world is said to be a whisper of Madara's full power. The Uchiha Clan rose to greatness with the strength of his eyes...the Mangekyo Sharingan. Stories of his exploits were told in my clan as bedtime stories to the young ones...they were like fairytales, because his strength was unimaginable. Amaterasu...the forever burning black flame was but one of his powers." When Sasuke finished explaining, Kakashi chuckled.


"Then there's nothing to worry about. Let the old Fence Sitter be consumed by paranoia...for there is no Madara. However...that technique, Amaterasu...I forbid you to use it until you can figure out a way to put it out. We don't need rumors of Madara Uchiha's revival spreading." Sasuke nodded at this. "Good. Dismissed."


XxX

The sound of rattling chains echoed through the darkness as Naruto woke up. He couldn't see anything, but ominous sounds, like that of breathing and growling, assaulted his ears from every direction. It was extremely cold, but sweat still poured down Naruto's face out of fear. This place was full of malice and evil, and it was almost suffocating.


"Pitiful...mortal..." A deep voice boomed from every direction, and suddenly, torches surrounding the room combusted, illuminating the foreign place. Naruto looked around, and his eyes widened when he saw the source of the voice.


"Dammit..." A low chuckle reverberated through the hall. The walls of the hall were made of stone, and carvings and drawings, looking like they were hundreds of years old, adorned the wall. The pictures depicted various scenes of battle, and all of them featured the Nine-Tails in one way or another. At the end of the hall was a stone prison, where the Demon Fox himself resided, chained to the wall from every limb, and his neck.


"Welcome...to my domain..." A laugh full of murderous desire filled the air, causing Naruto to gulp.


'This is gonna be fun.'
 

noheartx

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Oct 9, 2009
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770
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Trapped in my Mind
Chapter 22: Rising Sun

"You look...terrified..." The fox chuckled in amusement at Naruto, who stood stock still far away from the fox. "Come closer boy...I won't bite..." He bared his fangs and growled menacingly, as if to contradict his statement. Naruto slowly approached the prison, his senses all on full alert. He had no intention of dropping his guard for a second. When he got close, the fox lunged forward and snapped his jaws shut inches in front of Naruto. The blonde shut his eyes and stood, frozen in fear, in his place. He decided that this was close enough, and he cleared his throat.


"Why am I here?" The Nine-Tails eyes him like a juicy kebab for a moment before snarling.


"You do not ask questions boy! You are not even worthy to be in my presence, let alone be my Jinchuriki!" Naruto took in a deep breath.


"So how would I be worthy?" The Nine-Tails' eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter, but then he squinted. He leaned his snout close to Naruto and sniffed him a few times.


"You...are a very strange boy. Very few men have ever gained my respect. Your bastard father was one of them." Naruto's face contorted angrily, but the Nine-Tails slammed his tail on the ground. "Do not interrupt me boy. I care not if he was your father and he was a hero." Naruto looked dejected, but nodded. "Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, and the Sage of the Six Paths are the only men throughout history whose power has overcome mine. You...you are weak. You are nothing but a piece of gum on the sidewalk." Naruto's eyes widened at that.


"Hey! I'm pretty strong!" The fox roared.


"I'm aware of your battle prowess, I see everything you see! What you think is strong is nothing compared to the legends of the ninja world! I've battled millions of men over time, and all of them could have killed your Hokage in seconds!" Naruto cringed. "If you want to be worthy...obtain great power...and one day we shall do battle." Naruto's eyes widened.


"You...want to fight me?" The Nine-Tails glared at him.


"You possess great potential, but you are nowhere near unlocking it. Until then, we shall never speak again." Naruto collapsed suddenly, and he was knocked out cold on the floor. The Nine-Tails closed his eyes as well, slumbering until the next time he could whet his appetite for battle.


XxX

"Godammit..." Shikamaru sighed exasperatedly as he shut another book and tossed it aside uselessly. It had been 2 months since Naruto fell into a coma, and yet Shikamaru was no closer to curing his friend than when he started. He had read close to every medical and psychological textbook in the library, some twice, as well as most of his clan archives. Nothing had even mentioned the Shadow Emergence Technique, let alone anything similar. He wished he could have gotten a Yamanaka to dive into the blonde's mind, but he wasn't sure they would be thrilled to do that. He let out a grunt of frustration and opened another book, before a hand shot out from across him and snapped the book shut.

"That's enough for today. It's nearly ten, and the librarian has been glaring at you so intensely I wouldn't be surprised if laser beams shot out." Temari stated, giving him a sympathetic look. Shikamaru glanced over at the librarian, who really did look like she was willing him to burst into flames with her eyes. He got up without another word and meandered out of the library, Temari close behind him.

"Tomorrow we'll-" Shikamaru whirled around suddenly, glaring at her.


"We'll come away with jack shit again? At this rate, Naruto would have a better chance at meeting Jiraiya in the afterlife than coming back to us." Temari's eyes widened. That was more dark than usual. He was starting to feel really bad...


"Don't say that...I know you can-"


"But I can't! I don't know why everyone has this blind faith in me! I'm no miracle worker, I'm just an average, lazy guy! I don't even know what the hell I'm looking for! First my father and now you...it's like I'm fucking God or something. I don't know what to do...and I'm scared..." Temari watched his face contort with anger, sadness, regret, and a slew of other emotions, before he suddenly disappeared. She looked around, baffled by the abrupt escape, and cursed when she realized she'd have to find him.


The first place she had tried was his house. His room had been empty, and even when she knocked on the door and asked his parents, they hadn't seen him. Then she tried Ichiraku's, but they were just closing when she had arrived, and neither of them had seen the Nara. The training grounds were completely empty as well, except for the Forest of Death, which had sadistic, womanly cackles emanating from it.


She had run out of ideas after that, so she had decided to climb to the top of the Hokage mountain and scout out the city for any probable hiding places. She was surprised to see him up there already, lying on top of Kakashi's head, gazing at the stars. She approached him and stared down at him, but his gaze stayed fixed on the sky.


"I can see why my dad likes the stars." She sighed and lied down next to him, turning her head to look at him in concern. "The average life expectancy of a ninja is about 20. So you should always make the best of it right? Well Naruto is losing time right now, and he's never gonna get it back. So what right do I have to enjoy myself?" Temari frowned at his ramblings. She scooted a little closer and sighed.


"I don't know why you think like that...for a genius you're acting stupid." He grinned slightly and she turned her body toward him. "You're being so hard on yourself...you're gonna drown yourself in your own regret and sorrow. Take a second to relax and think...would Naruto want you to waste your time? I know he wouldn't, and you do too. So give yourself a break...and let it go. Just for a little while..." Shikamaru turned his head sideways, and he was a little surprised at how close she was.


"I..." He lost his train of thought quickly, and his breath got caught in his throat as she stared at him, almost through him. He could see an intense urge to comfort behind her emerald eyes, and his heart started to beat like a bongo. She leaned in suddenly and before he knew what was happening, his arms were wrapped around her and she was on top of him, their lips locked together. The rest of the night was spent in a similar fashion, until she fell asleep under the moonlight, comfortably snuggled up against him in his arms. His mom would be furious in the morning, but those thoughts would be saved for when they mattered. Right now, he would let it all go.


XxX

Shikamaru opened the front door to his house, peeking in to check if the coast was clear. He immediately locked eyes with his mother, who was standing in the kitchen, hands on her hips, and a gaze that spelled death for anyone caught in it. He looked down at the ground and shuffled in slowly, waiting for the tongue lashing.


"Pull an all-nighter at the library son?" Shikamaru's eyes went wide as his dad's voice echoed from behind his mother. Shikaku was giving him a look that said 'agree or your life is over', and Shikamaru was more than happy to do just that.


"Yea...still haven't found anything yet." A look of genuine sadness crossed his face, and his mother went from livid to concerned in a second. She walked up to Shikamaru and gave him a motherly hug before retreating from the room. Shikamaru and Shikaku's eyes locked, and the older Nara motioned his head toward the back door. About a minute later, both of them were in the Nara Clan Forest behind the compound. Shikamaru was staring at his father with a questioning glare.


"Why'd you help me out?" Shikaku shrugged.


"You've got a lot on your plate right now. I figured you could do without a Yoshino-scolding." They both smiled, before they broke into chuckles. "So, where were you really?" Shikaku asked after his fit of chuckles. Shikamaru grumbled something and looked at the ground. Shikaku raised a brow.


"I'm sorry? I didn't catch that." Shikamaru leveled him with a glare.


"I was with a girl..." It took a minute for Shikaku to process the information, but when he did he burst into laughter,
something Shikamaru had never seen his father do. "Dad...c'mon it's not...dammit." Shikamaru decided to scowl at his father until he finished laughing, which went on for quite some time, furthering Shikamaru's embarrassment. When he finally calmed down, he immediately started to ask questions.


"So, who is she?"


"Are we really gonna play 20 questions?"


"You'd rather I tell your mother?" Shikamaru's face paled three shades whiter, causing Shikaku to smirk victoriously. "Answers boy."


"Her name is Temari." Shikaku's eyes widened in recognition.


"You mean the Sand kunoichi that's been following you around lately? Isn't she the daughter of the ex-Kazekage, and student of the current one?" Shikamaru nodded. "She stopped by last night. Looking for you." Shikamaru sighed; she already knew where he lived. "Whatever happened to an average girl?" Shikamaru looked away.


"Well I certainly didn't expect this either but...she hasn't left my side since Naruto..." he didn't need to finish that thought, for neither of them needed it repeated. "It's been...comforting." Shikaku put a hand on his son's shoulder.


"Well my boy, maybe now you'll understand why I fell in love with your mother." Shikamaru rolled his eyes, before they burst open, as wide as dinner plates.


"Oh god...she's just like mom." Shikaku let out another bellow of laughter.


"How ironic! Well, now you can never call me whipped again boy!" Shikamaru joined in on his father's laughter, following the advice of his new...well whatever Temari was to him. Finally their raucous laughter died down, and Shikaku's face turned serious. "So, how goes the research?" Shikamaru spit on the ground and grunted.


"About as well as 3 Genin taking an S-Rank mission." Shikaku sent an accusatory glare at his son, and the younger Nara rolled his eyes. "Not my team." Shikaku grinned, but it was gone as quick as it came. "I've memorized every damn book remotely relevant to the problem, and I still got nothing." Shikaku nodded thoughtfully.


"You know son, I think you're going about this the wrong way." Shikamaru cocked his head and raised his eyebrow.


"How so?"


"Our peers may consider us geniuses, but our knowledge only carries us so far. I cannot claim to be an expert in medical or psychological matters, nor can you. Tactics and politics are our strong points. So instead of traditional means, you must use what knowledge you possess to solve this problem." Shikamaru urged his father to continue with a slight head nod. "You don't get it? Fine, let me ask you this: What put Naruto in this state?" Shikamaru shrugged.


"The Shadow Emergence Technique?" He guessed logically. Shikaku shook his head.


"Think broader. Don't give it a name." Shikamaru chuckled.


"Me." Shikaku scowled and smacked the back of his son's head.


"Don't give me stupid answers." Shikamaru sighed.


"Fine...broader means a wider range, so a wider range of Shadow Techniques? But that's too specific too. So Ninjutsu...you think I should create a technique to counteract the Shadow Emergence Technique." Shikaku grinned.


"Exactly. Your grandfather created that technique during the Second Shinobi World War to help our village. Now you can create one to help your friend." Shikamaru just shook his head.


"I can't believe I didn't think of that." Shikaku chuckled.


"Well, it'll be years before you surpass me in knowledge son. I'm a lot smarter than you think." Shikamaru scowled. "Now, how bout a game of shogi?"


XxX

Time slowed down around Sasuke. One minute, he had been walking through the forest with his ANBU team, and then all hell broke loose.


He was currently on a mission with ANBU Squad Delta, otherwise known as the Leaf's Silent Killers. They were a top notch assassination squad of the Leaf ANBU, only sent out on special occasions and to well paying customers. Of course the fact that it was an A-Rank and the guy had offered THAT much should have set off some kind of alarm bells, but apparently he had been a friendly man.


Sasuke now knew he was everything but.


Hell, he could have been a hostage, forced against his will with the life of someone dear to him. Either way, someone should have said something.


So when the trap was sprung, Sasuke had actually been somewhat prepared for an attack. Of course, he wasn't expecting it to be who it was.


"This is for payback Leaf scum!" Sasuke whipped around and activated his Lightning Blades just in time to block a kunai with two prongs, one much longer than the other. Through his mask, he made eye contact with the attacker, and his eyes widened.


'Shit...'


"You...it was you! It was the Leaf who destroyed Fort Tsunankan! Kill them all!" Sasuke cursed his luck; of course Kurotsuchi, the only survivor of Fort Tsunanka, would ambush his team. Furious battle cries echoed around the cornered ANBU team, and the Leader, Snake, quickly shouted her command.


"Scatter!" The Leaf ninja jumped away, separating the group of Rock ninja. There were seven of them, against the four Leaf ninja, but they had no fear. Numbers meant nothing to an ANBU. Sasuke was lucky, only one of the ambushers followed him. To his dismay it was Kurotsuchi, who definitely had a bone to pick with him.


"I'll avenge my comrades with your death monster!" She flew through hand seals, anger blazing in her eyes.


"Earth Style: Stairway to God!" She slammed her hand on the ground, and a giant plateau of earth from under Sasuke soared into the air, like a rising pillar. He quickly charged his Lightning Blades with an excess amount of chakra and stabbed them down into the earth under him, causing it to stop moving and crumble. He jumped from piece of debris to piece of debris, finally landing behind the girl. She whirled around, a kunai poised to slit his throat, when he made eye contact with her, and the kunai fell from her hand. She was frozen in the gaze of the Mangekyo Sharingan, as Sasuke ensnared her.


"Tsukiyomi..." She fell limp to the ground, soundly knocked out. He had used Genjutsu to wipe her mind of his identity and connection to Fort Tsunanka. That was something that needed to be kept a secret. He turned to see the rest of his teammates struggling against their enemies, and he rushed in to help.


XxX

Kairi burst into the hospital room, letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief when she saw Sasuke in a chair, not a bed. Kakashi had just told her the room number, and that had immediately gotten her worried.


"Kairi..." She walked up to him and hugged him.


"I heard what happened. I'm so glad you're okay." Sasuke returned her hug gently.


"I'm okay thanks to her." Kairi stepped back and gazed at the purple haired woman lying in the bed.


"Oh stop. Since when are Uchiha's humble anyway?" Sasuke cracked a tiny smile.


"We're more humble than you know Captain Anko." The snake mistress waved her hand dismissively.


"Whatever. This just means I get to launch an Earth Style technique into your back one of these days. You better keep your guard up Uchiha." Anko stated sadistically. Sasuke whole-heartedly believed her threat, so he would make sure to watch out for snakes.


"Right. Well, thanks again Anko. I promise I won't tell anyone you saved me." Anko rolled her eyes.


"Whatever. Beat it brat, I'm tired as hell." Sasuke and Kairi exited the room at her command, and he lead her out of the hospital and into the streets. Sasuke didn't know how she had lead them to the merchant district, but soon enough they were moseying through the colorful streets, the sounds of haggling and arguing reverberating around them. Kairi admired the luxurious stands with curiosity and excitement, putting a smile on Sasuke's face.


"You seem to be enjoying this." Sasuke observed, earning a vigorous nod.


"Yea! My mother used to take me here all the time. There was one particular stand she always visited, but never bought anything from. I never knew why...but she always looked sad. It was after my father had died, so I guessed it had something to do with him. But I never found out. Ah, there it is!" She scurried over to the stand, a simple stand that sold valuable trinkets and accessories and everything of the like. Kairi examined the wares with wide eyes, like a kid in a candy shop. She plucked a necklace off of a tiny rack and marveled at it intensely.


"So pretty...do you think it matches my eyes?" She held the ocean blue jewel, chained on at the end of the tiny, black, silken rope. A tiny silver chain ran through the middle of the black silk, as if it were a sliver of moonlight.


"Yea...perfectly." She smiled at him and was about to replace it, when he grabbed her wrist. "...Do you want it?" She gaped at him like a fish.


"What? This is expensive Sasuke...why would you do that." He shrugged.


"I...have too much money. Really. And the way your eyes lit up when you looked at that...I know you want it." He gently took the necklace from her hand and walked up to the merchant, who simply gave Sasuke a price, and happily accepted Sasuke's money. She watched him do this with a huge blush on her face, utterly baffled and yet enormously giddy. He walked back over with a thin, rectangular, black box, and he set it on the table, before opening it and placing the gift around her neck. She blushed madly before stepping on her tippy toes and quickly kissing Sasuke on the lips, before leaving him stunned at the merchant stand. After a few moments, he turned around and saw her looking at him coyly, so he caught up with her and they continued walking. She intertwined their hands as they walked through the crowd, enjoying the warmth it brought. Sasuke was a little surprised by her actions, but he definitely didn't mind them. They brought him a sense of peace, and that was something he craved these days.


XxX

Shikamaru stood over Naruto's bed with a determined look on his face. It had been a month since his talk with his father, and since then he had been crafting his technique, working day and night almost every day. His relentlessness as well as the help from Sasuke, Temari, the Hokage, and his father led him to success in the end. He had been able to bring a monkey back to consciousness after catching it in the Shadow Emergence Technique. It required exact precision however, so he needed to concentrate fully on Naruto and only Naruto. The technique had been simple to create really; it was mastering it that had taken so long. One wrong move could cause him to skewer Naruto's brain. He had forced everyone else out, telling them he wouldn't perform the technique if they didn't leave. That had got them out quick.


Shikamaru stared down at the childish face of his friend and couldn't help but smile.


"You're gonna be fine Naruto. I'll see you in a little bit." Shikamaru sucked in a deep breath, and exhaled sharply, zoning in on Naruto. His hands swiftly shifted through hand signs, his face not moving at all. "Shadow Scalpel Technique." He held his finger up, and a pointy wisp of shadow fluttered around his finger. He carefully positioned his finger over Naruto's forehead, before sinking the Shadow Scalpel into Naruto's head to his finger, like he was poking him. "Okay, now...where would I be if I were shadow residue..." The extension of shadow explored Naruto's brain, scouring for the cause of his comatose state. He felt a slight pull from his shadow suddenly , signaling that he had found the problem. "Perfect, now to just absorb it back..." The scalpel slowly siphoned the shadow residue clouding Naruto's head back to the Nara, and when it was all gone, Shikamaru did a quick check for anymore, before retracting his finger with a smile. "That should do it...I hope." He stared down at Naruto's face for a minute, and a minute turned to two, and two turned to ten, when finally, the blonde's cheek twitched. His eyes opened slowly, and Shikamaru felt like crying.


Through blurry eyes did Naruto see the world once again. He slowly blinked a few times, to clear the moisture in his eyes, and he saw Shikamaru smiling at him...extremely happily and relieved.


"Shikamaru..." The Nara started to chuckle, before it turned into a laugh, full of happiness. The door opened, the others hearing the laugh, and they all felt relief wash over them when they saw Naruto's blue eyes. The blonde looked at everyone with a half-startled half-confused expression on his visage. "What is...guys what the hell?" Sasuke stepped forward, a relieved smile on his face. "Hey, why are you smiling? All of you are really freaking me out right now."


"Shut up idiot." Naruto scowled and he pushed himself up easily and leaned against the backboard. "By the way, why am I here? I feel fine." Naruto's eyes widened. "Wait...Danzo! We were fighting Danzo! Well what happened?" Everyone in the room looked at each other, surprised at his energy level. It was as if he felt just as he did before the coma.


"Danzo is dead." Sasuke stated, putting a relieved expression on Naruto's face. "He's been dead for almost four months." His eyes widened.


"What? How is that possible?" Shikamaru sighed.


"When we were fighting Danzo, you used the Nine-Tails chakra, and Danzo had a way to control it with his Sharingan. So I had to capture you with one of my techniques. The side effect of the technique is that the victim is put into a coma." Naruto's face was blank as he absorbed the information, and everyone stared at him pensively, Shikamaru nervously as well.


"So I've been...in a coma?" Everyone nodded. "Damn. Well, I feel fine now. When can I get out of here?" He asked hopefully.


"Whenever you want." Kakashi answered. "That was the only thing wrong with you, so you're free to leave." Naruto perked up and gave them one of his uplifting grins, a sight to see after so long.


"Good. I've gotta go start training. I'm probably so much weaker..." He held his arm out and squeezed his hand, grimacing as he did.


"Oh yea...so much weaker."


XxX

Years passed and soon Team 7 was once again at prime strength. As the top Chuunin team, and the Hokage's go to team as well, their reputations soared to new heights, as did their strength.


Which is why today, as 16 year olds, they were standing resolutely in front of their Hokage and Sensei, ready to undergo their Jonin Exams.


"We're not waiting any longer Sensei, just give us the exam!" Naruto shouted indignantly. "You were a Jonin at 13, how can you hold us back any longer?" Kakashi sighed.


"Alright alright, it's too early for you to be this loud. I have held you back for awhile haven't I?" His students nodded and he sighed. "Very well. The exam is simple. Bring back an A-Class missing ninja or higher, dead or alive, it doesn't matter."

Kakashi flipped open his bingo book and scanned through it. "Ah, here's one. Aoi Rokusho, Jonin level ninja of Hidden Rain, and ex-Chuunin ninja of the Hidden Leaf. He betrayed our village a few years ago, taking with him the Second Hokage's Sword of the Thunder God. He had no outstanding skills as a Chuunin here, but it's been a while, and he could have gotten stronger. Still I think you three will be just fine." The three Chuunin nodded.


"Where will he find him?" Kakashi smirked.


"Ironically, I believe he recently defected from the Hidden Rain, as my latest reports have placed him in western Rain Country. Find him before they do, and retrieve the Sword of the Thunder God." His charges nodded, and they exited immediately, to prepare for their mission. They would set out tomorrow morning at dawn, so tonight would be spent relaxing.


XxX

Extra Content: A Joint on the Mountain


A flame jumped up from the tip of Sasuke's finger and licked the tip of the tightly rolled marijuana cigarette, courtesy of Shikamaru, and smoke billowed into the air. When Shikamaru had found the odd smelling plants in the back of his clan's forest, he had laughed and laughed before telling his dad he found it, and there was nothing he could do to stop him from taking any. Shikaku had been furious that his secret stash had been found, but he had no choice but to share it now. Shikamaru was a crafty one...


Sasuke passed the joint over to Shikamaru, who accepted it lazily and took a long drag.


"So, are we the first people to smoke on my dad's head?" Naruto asked, accepting the joint from Shikamaru. They were seated in a little triangle on top of Minato's head, their knees almost touching together.


"I think Kakashi said something about him and Genma on the First's head once." Sasuke's eyes widened.


"Do you think the First Hokage could have used his Wood Style to grow weed?" Both of his teammates heads snapped towards the Uchiha, expressions of wonder adorning their faces.


"That...is possibly the greatest idea I've ever heard." Shikamaru stated, barely containing his excitement. "Where's Tenzo?"


"On a mission." Sasuke answered, eliciting a curse from Shikamaru.


"Damn. And we leave tomorrow morning. I'll have to mention it to him when we get back." Shikamaru sighed as he took a puff.


"You think this Aoi guy is gonna be a challenge?" Naruto asked, looking up at the night sky. "I know Kakashi said we should be fine, but I have a bad feeling. Why would he defect from a place that he sought refuge? It doesn't make sense. " Shikamaru shrugged.


"You worry too much. When have we ever underestimated an enemy? I have no idea how strong this guy is, but I'm gonna go all out, and I know you two will too." He explained confidently. "And if that's still not enough, then I guess this is where we meet our end. But I doubt it will come to that. I don't plan on dying yet, and neither do you." He said to his teammates.


"Yea...I have to restore my clan in Itachi's name...and I wanna see him at least one last time." Sasuke stated quietly. "I can't die until then."


"I have to continue Uncle Jiraiya's dream to bring peace to the world. And I have to surpass my father." Naruto added. Shikamaru nodded.


"So there's nothin to worry about. Now just relax and hit the joint. We have three more and I'd like some sleep before tomorrow."
 

noheartx

New member
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
770
Location
Trapped in my Mind
Chapter 23: The First Drop

Team 7 stood in the middle of a grassy field, close to the border between the Land of Fire and Rain Country . They were staring across the plain in the direction of the Leaf Village, taking it in before they departed.


"We may be gone for awhile." Shikamaru stated stoically. He looked down at his headband and ripped it off, storing it in his weapons pouch. Naruto and Sasuke followed suit. They had ditched their Leaf ninja uniforms in order to move around less suspiciously, so now they were dressed as bounty hunters.


Naruto wore a mesh undershirt and a black pair of slacks, wrapped up under an orange hooded cloak. He wore wooden getas just like Jiraiya had, and he even started to grow his hair out a little, although it still had a long way to go.

Strapped on his back was a large scroll, with the word 'Toad' emblazoned on it.


Sasuke wore loose-fitting dark blue robes, his clan crest displayed in all its glory on the back, with a black sash around his waist. The bottom of his pant legs were taped up, leading down to his tabi covered feet. Tied to Both sides of his waist were two, widened Wakizashi swords, with teeth along the outside of each blade. They were also made of chakra conducting metal, perfect for his affinity. He wore a simple white rain cloak over his outfit, knowing he would need it for where he was headed.


Shikamaru had a thick, gray silk shirt, with a very thick layer of wire-mesh under it. On his legs was a black hakama, and he wore simple, gray slippers on his feet. Various pouches full of specially made chakra-conducting kunai were hidden along his body, as well as a few other surprises. He also wore a white rain cloak.


"C'mon, it'll be like a vacation!" Naruto said eagerly, nudging Shikamaru with his elbow. The Nara rolled his eyes.


"Yea, welcome to Rain Country where the sun never shines and nothing ever dries." Sasuke chuckled.


"How poetic." They turned around and walked for a bit before they crossed the border, immediately noticing the darkness in the sky.


"That seems a little dramatic." Shikamaru noted, feeling a drop on his arm.


"Well, let's get wet." Naruto gave both of them a foxy grin before dashing off. The two clan heirs looked at each other and sighed.


"He's not taking this seriously." Shikamaru stated.


"When has he ever?" Sasuke asked, shrugging. "If he was taking it seriously, I think I might be worried." Sasuke ran ahead after that, Shikamaru right behind him. They traveled through the country for a few hours, getting used to the endless rain pounding down on them. They knew to stay away from The Village Hidden in the Rain, for it was extremely introverted to the ninja world. Nothing would be gained by going there; if anything the Rain ninja would try to delay them in finding Aoi.


Finally, there was no use in traveling anymore, so they set up camp quickly, and retreated to their tent to get needed rest. It would become scarce in the coming trials, so they would take as much as they could get.


XxX

A week in the rain had soaked their spirits with dreariness and disappointment. They had seen no sign of Aoi at all, not that they knew what they were looking for in the first place.


"Dammit! I get that this is a Jonin Exam, but Kakashi could have given us something better than 'western Rain Country'. He just likes to be a cryptic bastard." Naruto ranted as they trudged through the mud. "We're never going to find this Aoi guy!" He shouted in frustration, coming to a stop under a thick branch, where he had a little more cover.


"Did someone say my name?" Naruto's eyes went wide and he whipped around to see a man with long brown hair and a Hidden Rain headband with a slash through it on his forehead. "Imagine my surprise when my scouts told me about a few dangerous lookin bounty hunters, only for them to be the students of the Fifth Hokage!"


"It's him!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "I can't believe he came to us!" Sasuke and Shikamaru nodded in satisfaction, it seemed that lady luck favored them today. "Let's end this quick so we can go home!" Aoi scowled and activated his sword, sparks shooting off as it crackled to life.


"I'm no easy prey children. You'll all die here." He flickered away and appeared behind Sasuke, who barely had his two blades, charged with lightning chakra, up in time to block. Shikamaru's shadow leapt up from the ground and morphed into a panther, crashing its fangs into the missing ninja's back, only for his form to splash into a puddle.


"Senbon Shower!" The three Leaf ninja looked up to see a hailstorm of senbon descending on them courtesy of Aoi's umbrella. Naruto flashed through hand seals and slammed his hand on the ground.


"Earth Style: Earth Barrier!" Three compact domes of solid earth rose up around the three boys, deflecting the tiny steel needles away. One of the domes exploded with lightning, Sasuke shooting out faster than the eye could see. Aoi blocked his initial strike with his Sword of the Thunder God, sending a bolt of lightning crashing to the ground. He parried a few more slashes, each sparking another bolt of lightning, before Sasuke broke through his guard and kicked him to the ground.


"Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!" Aoi crashed into the giant mud pit, cursing as he felt himself slowly being devoured by the technique. Sasuke landed next to him, his lightning charged sword pointed at Aoi's neck.


"Any last words?" Sasuke asked humbly.


"I guess it's time to get serious." Sasuke's eyes widened as a surge of electricity exploded from Aoi, freeing him from Naruto's technique, and the Uchiha only barely flickered away before he was roasted. Aoi stood, yellow electricity surging around his body, giving him a golden glow.


"That's the Raikage's Lightning Armor!" Shikamaru exclaimed. Aoi laughed.


"So it is. But you see, mine's a lot stronger, thanks to my sword here." Aoi stated with a cocky grin. "Anyway, my patience is wearing thin. So I think it's time we parted ways." He snapped his fingers, and four groups of ninja, all with traditional rebreathers strapped around their faces, appeared around Team 7.


"What the diddly!" Naruto shouted in surprise, jumping backwards to regroup with his teammates. "How does a missing ninja have this many men under his command?" Aoi's laughter echoed through the air.


"You sure ask a lot of questions. C'mon, look underneath the underneath. Isn't that what your Sensei says? Idealistic fool that he is." Naruto growled. "Easy boy, wouldn't wanna let the cat outta the bag would we? Or rather...fox? Your father must have had high hopes for you to seal it in you. Or...was it something else?" Naruto's eyes widened. That was a bit of information no one was supposed to know!


"How..." Aoi dismissed his astonished question with a wave.


"Wouldn't you like to know? Too bad you won't live long enough to find out. Hail Squad, take em out." Aoi and half of his lackeys disappeared, while the rest, about eight of them, armed themselves with their various weapons. Two of them jumped into the air and unfurled giant scrolls, unleashing a storm of kunai and shuriken upon the geniuses. A burst of wind exploded from Naruto, knocking the projectiles away easily.


"Why do they always think the underlings will cut it?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "Well, he got away, so let's clean up here and start tracking him. Shadow Clone Technique!" Thirty Narutos, all sporting identical grins, appeared, shocking Aoi's men.


"So many...were we just pawns Aoi?" The missing ninja's last words put a sick feeling in the pit of Naruto's stomach. In the end that's exactly what they were, and so Naruto's hand was forced to deal them their last card. The eight enemies were no match for the thirty clones, and soon Team 7 was surround by nothing but bodies, rain, and grayness.


"He knew about my father's..."Naruto mumbled, looking in the direction Aoi took off in. Sasuke approached him.


"Then let's go after him." Naruto turned to Sasuke with a frown, and shook his head after a moment.


"We need to go back home and tell Kakashi. Information like that shouldn't be known by anyone." Shikamaru and Sasuke's eyes bugged out of their heads.


"Did you just tell us..." Sasuke started.


"...to abort a mission?" Shikamaru finished, baffled by Naruto's decision.


"Look...there's obviously something going on here. We need to figure out what it is before it destroys us." Naruto explained, looking up at the sky, his fist clenched.


"How are you so sure there's something even going on?" Sasuke asked skeptically.


"It's just a feeling I have." Shikamaru sighed at his simple answer.


"Looks like we're heading home. We can make it home by lunch tomorrow if we only stop for a few hours tonight." Shikamaru estimated. Naruto nodded and took off, his teammates right behind him.


XxX

"Naruto, look out!" Naruto dove to the side, avoiding a massive Fire Style technique that would have cooked the meat off of his bones. Three Rain ninja, one with orange hair, one with red hair, and one with blue hair, jumped down in front of Team 7, barring their passage.


"Who gave you permission to traipse around in our lands Leaf scum?" The orange haired one snarled, eliciting an angry shout from Naruto.


"That's it! I'm sick of getting ambushed in this country! Take this! Rasengan Barrage!" Two Shadow Clones appeared behind Naruto, without the use of seals, and they reached out to his outstretched palms, generating two Rasengans in a second. In the blink of an eye he was in front of the orange haired one, a moment away from demolishing his face.


"Fast..." There was a flash of light, and Naruto felt the chakra in his hand disappear, stopping his attack. The red haired ninja stood in front of him, hand outstretch and nary a mark on him.


"How...?" The orange haired ninja rushed past his teammate and confronted Naruto.


"How do you know that technique?" He asked, a hint of shock in his eyes.


"The Rasengan?" He asked slowly, not dropping his guard. He got a nod. "My Sensei taught it to me. It's my father's technique." He looked down at the ground.


"What does the name Jiraiya mean to you?" Naruto's head snapped up to the red haired man.


"What? How do you know him?" He asked adamantly.


"He was our sensei." Naruto's eyes widened, as did those of his teammates. Sasuke and Shikamaru were entranced by the scene. What were the odds?


"How is that possible? Uncle Jiraiya was in the village until he died...who are you?" Naruto asked curiously.


"Jiraiya was your uncle?" The blue haired one, a girl, asked.


"Well, more like a father; he was really my Godfather. He cared for me until assassins came one day..." The red haired one's eyes widened, and the orange haired one sighed sadly.


"I see...well, I could never refuse the godson of Sensei...please come with us back to the village." He was met with stunned expressions and sharp inhales. "Please...do not be so surprised. I assume Jiraiya trained you as a boy?" Naruto nodded. "Then we are brother and sister disciples. We share a bond not many others can understand. Jiraiya was a great man...he saved us." Naruto smiled at that. Jiraiya was ever the noble one. "I am Yahiko. This is Nagato, and that is Konan. If you would please follow us." Naruto, Shikamaru and Sasuke shared a look of utter...something before following quickly.


XxX

Naruto, Shikamaru and Sasuke admired the architecture of the foreign village as they were lead through it. The tall, sleek, silver skyscrapers were quite a sight, especially the way the lightning reflected off of them. Civilians, all dressed in rain cloaks, leisurely moseyed down the streets, the rain nothing more than a fleeting thought to them. They were lead to the tallest skyscraper, and after what felt like an hour of climbing it, they found themselves in a rain-scented office, with stone furniture and a nice chill.


"So, you're hunting Aoi Rokusho?" Yahiko asked, appraising the three boys. "What a coincidence, so are we." Shikamaru's brow shot up.


"Really? Care to tell us why?" Yahiko turned to Nagato, who nodded subtly.


"You know, I think we were fated to meet here today. We are in a bit of a tight situation right now, and allies are what we need. I'd be willing to tell you everything, but only an ally would be granted such information." Yahiko explained.
Naruto could tell he was bargaining, but he was fine with that. The blonde sucked in a deep breath before nodding slowly and exhaling.


"Okay. You got a deal." Sasuke and Shikamaru balked at him.


"Are you crazy Naruto? I know you want to be Hokage, but you can't just go around forming alliances for the village!" Shikamaru reprimanded.


"Kakashi will kill you." Sasuke stated bluntly. Naruto shook his head.


"I know, but I trust them. They trained under Uncle Jiraiya...they have to be genuine people. He wouldn't train anyone else." His teammates eyed him warily. "And I know Kakashi will agree once a share a certain piece of information with him...that is, if your friend's eyes are what I think they are." Nagato's eyes widened a fraction, and Yahiko chuckled.

"Very impressive Naruto. Not many people would recognize the Rinnegan when they see it. But I'd expect nothing less." Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Rinnegan...impossible..." Yahiko turned his head to the Uchiha.


"It is the real thing, I can assure you. The legacy of the Sage of the Six Paths lives on in Nagato." Sasuke shook slightly due to the overwhelming discovery.


"I can't believe it 's real... " He activated his own Mangekyo Sharingan and stared into Nagato's eyes. "There's no doubt..." His Sharingan receded, and he just shook his head. "They give off more power than the Mangekyo..." Yahiko nodded.


"Indeed. So do you accept our terms?" Naruto nodded firmly.


"Yes. From today on, Rain and Leaf are allies. The Hokage will surely understand and agree." Yahiko smiled.


"Very good. Then, on to Aoi. To understand our current situation, you must first understand our history. We are the leaders of a group called Akatsuki. Years ago, after being trained by Sensei, we decided that we would somehow put a stop to the war. It seems like such a foolish dream...and yet we've come so far. So we created Akatsuki, and soon, we made a name for ourselves. One day, Hanzo the Salamander, the previous leader of the Hidden Rain, approached us and offered us a truce. We were skeptical, but we went along with it, except we had the entire Akatsuki organization lying in wait in case they tried something. When he broke the deal, it quickly turned into a bloodbath. By the end, Hanzo had escaped, and the Rain Village was ours. We became the leaders of Rain after that, leading up until a few weeks ago." He took a breath. "Aoi Rokusho was a double agent, and he was forced to flee when we discovered his secret. Unfortunately, he's extremely crafty, and he slipped through our fingers." Shikamaru whistled.


"To escape the Rinnegan...this guy's no joke is he?" Yahiko shook his head.


"He was one of the strongest ninja on our roster before he defected. It seemed to come out of no where...but one day, he exhibited amazing skill in combat. After that, his reputation grew." Naruto nodded at the information.


"So, who is he a double agent for?" The blonde asked, tapping his chin.


"Well, we have no proof, but all signs point to Hanzo the Salamander. It seems he's finally come out of hiding, and revenge is the first thing on his list." Yahiko speculated. "Either way, it seems that he's not joking around. He's already amassed a force of unknown size, but we fear it is enough for a revolution." Naruto's eyes widened.


"Revolution...you do realize what this means right?" Yahiko sighed in resignation.


"Unfortunately yes. As soon as Hanzo hears we have allied ourselves with the Leaf, he will seek allies as well. It can only lead to the Fourth Shinobi World War." Sasuke's fists clenched.


"Why would you try to ally yourselves with us if it will start a war?" He asked angrily. "We're not scapegoats." Yahiko looked embarrassed.


"We are simply too weak to fight a civil war. Our village has been suffering lately, as all of our resources have started going towards preparations. It is inevitable that my village will do battle; all I seek is a fighting chance." Naruto nodded.


"Well you have it. The Leaf will be behind you. You have my word." Yahiko seemed genuinely surprised.


"Thank you...Naruto. I promise that the Rain is behind the Leaf as well." Naruto nodded and turned to his teammates.


"We should get going. Kakashi will need to hear this." Sasuke and Shikamaru nodded, and with a simple wave from Naruto, the three were gone from the office.


XxX

"You did what?" Shikamaru and Sasuke stifled their chuckles as Kakashi gave Naruto the fiercest glare his one eye could muster, plus a healthy dose of killing intent.


"Wait wait wait!" Naruto shouted, waving his hands in front of himself, begging for his life. "Just listen! I swear you'll be interested!" He glanced at Shikamaru and Sasuke, who were dead silent, looking straight ahead, and grunted.


"You have one minute before I demote you back to The Academy." Sheer horror crossed Naruto's face, and he quickly started.


"The guy, Nagato, one of the leaders of the Hidden Rain, has the Rinnegan, no diddlying shit." Kakashi nearly lunged forward, but he tensed at the last moment.


"The Rinnegan..." he looked up at his other two protégé's, "...is it true?" Sasuke sighed.


"Yes. I could tell, with my Mangekyo Sharingan, that it was the real thing. Such...magnificent power." Kakashi slouched back in his chair and let out a loud breath.


"Okay...give me a moment." He readjusted himself in his seat, clasped his hands, and rested his chin on his fingers. "I want to hear the whole story." Naruto told the bulk of the story, throwing crazy sound effects and rambunctious hand motions. It was a good thing Kakashi had locked the door and activated the privacy seals, because this would have been embarrassing to walk in on. But they were used to it, because that was just Naruto. His childishness was what kept him so strong. So...sane.


Shikamaru and Sasuke would butt in occasionally to give a different perspective, although they weren't nearly as excited as their blonde teammate.


At the end of the tale, Kakashi was leaning on his one arm, staring at Naruto in sarcastic awe.


"Only you Naruto...only you would make a discovery so monumental it could change the world, but at the same time put our village in a big pile of shit, that shit being a war." Naruto looked slightly offended.


"You know it was the right thing to do. Would you rather have the Rinnegan as an ally, or an enemy? I think that no matter what, if Hanzo really does have a force large enough to retake Hidden Rain, then Akatsuki is going to get other allies. Their country and their ideals are on the line here. They'll do everything to defend that." Kakashi sighed.


"And you believe this why?" He asked lazily.


"Because Jiraiya taught them Ninjutsu. And you and I both know how good a teacher he is." Kakashi conceded that; if these kids were anything like Minato or Naruto, then they were destined for greatness.


"It's okay Naruto. I overreacted a little. It was a smart move. It's just another war so soon...I had wished not to see one as Hokage. I guess that's impossible." A determined look spread across his face, and he regained his composure. "Very well. We'll begin to start stockpiling weapons and clothing and store them in the old Root warehouses. It's about damn time we found a use for them." The members of Team 7 grinned at each other. They would be fine. Kakashi was a damn good leader. "Hey, starting next week, we double training sessions. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Oh, and I'll be bringing a few friends." They shuddered at that. Hopefully it wasn't Anko. "Anko will be delighted to see you Shikamaru." The Nara boy groaned. Anko liked to take advantage of Shikamaru's passive nature, and she was usually all over him, leaving his clothes ripped and bloody, and his body full of bite marks. It was disturbing, but Shikamaru just chalked it up as another troublesome thing in life.


"I can't wait Sensei."


XxX

Extra Content: The New Summoner


"Wait...you mean I can summon Toads if I sign that?" A fourteen year old Naruto asked, staring in awe at Jiraiya's scroll.


"That's right. It's only right that you do, considering both your father and Jiraiya fought alongside the Toads. Jiraiya would have had you sign it sooner or later anyway, so I say it's a great idea." Kakashi stated, earning s vigorous nod from Naruto.


"I definitely wanna sign it. I'll carry it around like Uncle Jiraiya did too. To show people exactly who I am." Kakashi chuckled and shook his head. He loved being a target.


"Okay, here's what you do:" Kakashi started, unraveling the scroll, "first sign your name in blood, then stamp your fingers at the bottom." Naruto nodded and looked down at the scroll, smiling at the last name.


Minato Namikaze


He took a kunai out and sliced his finger, quickly signing the scroll in neat calligraphy, and stamping his hand with pride.


"Congratulations Naruto, you're the newest Toad Summoner. Go try it out-not here! I'll be damned if you summon Gamabunta on my head." Naruto shrugged and flickered away, quickly appearing at his training ground, scroll in hand. He memorized the seals written on the scroll, and when he got them down he was ready to try. He bit his thumb before flashing through hand seals and slamming his hands on the ground.


"Summoning Technique!" A large plume of smoke erupted around him, clouding his vision. When it finally dispersed, a three foot tall orange and blue toad was sitting on the grass.


"Yo! Who the hell are you?" Naruto cocked his head.


"I'm Naruto, ninja of the Leaf Village. Who are you?" The toad grinned.


"I'm Gamakichi bro! I come from Mount Myoboku!" Naruto smiled as he shook his hand with Gamakichi's flipper.


"Nice to meet you. So, what kind of techniques do you know?" Naruto asked eagerly. Gamakichi flexed his muscles.


"Yo, I'm good as hell at Frog Kumite, and my Ninjutsu ain't that bad. Pops is gonna teach me how to wield a weapon soon, but I haven't decided what kind yet." Naruto nodded thoughtfully.


"Awesome! We have to spar one time!" Gamakichi nodded back.


"Yea! Hey, I should bring you back to Mount Myoboku, to meet the Boss and the elders. They need to meet the new Summoner after all." Naruto shrugged.


"Okay, how do we get there?" Gamakichi took his arm.


"You don't want me to explain." Naruto gulped, and then suddenly it felt like he was torn in half, stitched together, and torn in half again, before his equilibrium balanced, and he was on his hands and knees, breathing heavily. "You okay bro?" Gamakichi asked sounding slightly concerned.


"I feel like I just died." He panted out.


"Yea, that'll happen the first time. Next time, it'll only feel like all your bones are broken." Naruto winced and slowly pushed himself up.


"Right, well let's get this over with." Gamakichi lead Naruto to his giant home, where Shima, Fukasaku and Gamabunta were lounging about, drinking sake. Gamabunta exhaled a large amount of smoke from his cigar as he spotted his son and the new summoner.


"Gamakichi, that's an interesting thing you've got there." Naruto looked up at the giant toad and waved.


"Hi, I'm Naruto Namikaze! Nice to meet you Gamabunta!" Gamabunta's eyes widened, and he scrutinized the boy.


"Namikaze eh...it's been awhile boy. " Naruto cocked his head. "I held you the day you were born." Naruto smiled.


"That would make sense...nice to see you again too." Gamabunta laughed.


"I like you boy! Come share a cup of sake with me! We shall finalize the bond between Toad and Summoner." Naruto took the cup offered and downed its contents in one go, grimacing at the taste.


"Gamabunta! How can you force a child to drink?" Shima scolded loudly.


"Old enough to kill, old enough to drink. This is Minato's son, so I bet he's a damn fine ninja. Let him relax." Shima sighed, and Fukasaku chuckled.


"Do not worry dear, he'll be fine." Fukasaku, hopped over to Naruto. "So you're the boy Jiraiya wouldn't shut up about..." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm Fukasaku, and this is my wife Shima. We were there when..." Naruto's eyes widened in recognition, and he nodded. Fukasaku studied the boy for a moment, before smiling. "You've got your father's eyes, and Jiraiya's determination; I can't wait to train you." Naruto stared at him in confusion.


"Train me? What do you mean?"


"I could train you in the art of Senjutsu, just like I did with Jiraiya. You could be the next Toad Sage. Hell, maybe you'll master it where Jiraiya could not." Naruto gazed at Fukasaku with determination.


"I want to do it. If Uncle did it, I can too." Fukasaku grinned.


"Are you sure? You would have to come live here for a year, so I could adequately train you. Leaving your village could be scary. Not only that, but this training is brutal and vigorous, and there's a slight chance you may never come back." Naruto flinched at the warning, but steeled his resolve.


"I won't give up. I'll surpass Jiraiya, just watch." Fukasaku clapped his hands together.


"Excellent. I shall visit the Leaf Village to make arrangements with the Hokage. Get ready Naruto, because when I'm through with you, you'll be one of the most dangerous people on the continent."
 

noheartx

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Chapter 24: Dark Horizons

"Congratulations, you three are the newest Jonin of the Hidden Leaf." Naruto's eyes widened.


"What? But we failed our Exam." Kakashi rolled his eye.


"And instead you uncovered a ticking time bomb waiting to explode on the continent. Not to mention a man with a power not seen in centuries. Plus with conflict around the corner, putting you three in a position to, say, lead a division of Leaf ninja is something I know will benefit us." The three new Jonin looked at Kakashi with gratitude in their eyes.


"Thank you Sensei...we won't let you down."


XxX

Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru were gathered together at the head of the council room, all eyes focused on them. Kakashi had brought them in to explain the new developments to the council, and hopefully garner some kind of support.


"Very well. Jonins Naruto Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha, and Shikamaru Nara, you may begin." Shikaku ordered from his seat next to the Hokage. Shikamaru stepped forward.


"On a recent mission to capture the rouge ninja Aoi Rokusho, we discovered some troublesome things." He looked around to see that he had everyone's full attention. "It all comes down to this: conflict is brewing in Rain, and we agree, we being Lord Hokage and my teammates, that the Fourth Shinobi World War looms on the horizon." Shikamaru could almost feel the surprise emanating from everyone in the room.


"I'm sorry, but what?" Hiashi Hyuuga asked boldly. "That's a very sensitive declaration." Shikamaru nodded.

"I'm aware of that Lord Hyuuga. However, this is not to be taken lightly. We've been enlightened to many...intriguing things lately." The Nara stated.

"Such as?" Guy asked, surprisingly serious for once.


"Hanzo the Salamander is alive." A few eyebrows shot up at that. "And he could potentially have a small army at his hands." Choza grunted.


"A formidable man indeed." Inoichi nodded at his long-time friend. "Tsunade Senju may very well be the last person alive to survive an encounter with him, besides Mifune of the Land of Iron." He stated forewarningly.


"Not quite." Shikamaru corrected him. "The three current leaders of Hidden Rain, are the ones who forced him into hiding. Has anyone ever heard of Akatsuki?" At Shikamaru's question, Ibiki coughed.


"Whispers of their name, nothing more. They're extremely elusive, and they're so secretive that you'd have to be a village leader to even have a shot at contacting them. You say they now control Hidden Rain?" Shikamaru nodded.


"Yes. The three leaders of Akatsuki make up Hidden Rain's triumvirate." It was silent as the council members absorbed the info.


"They must be powerful if they forced Hanzo into hiding." Shikaku conjectured, earning a shaky sigh from Shikamaru.


"Very powerful. I'm afraid that they're stronger than the Sannin were during their prime." He was met with a chorus of gasps.


"Stronger than the Sannin? They may be scattered to the winds now, but during the war...their strength was unmatched." Homura, bring one of the only people alive during the Second War, retorted disbelievingly. Shikamaru sighed.


"I'll let Naruto explain." Naruto nodded at his teammate.


"Do either of you," Naruto started to ask, looking at Koharu and Homura, "remember when Jiraiya disappeared during the war?" The two ex-elders seemed surprised by his knowledge, and nodded slowly.


"Yes, but it was never clear why." Koharu stated.


"Well, long story short, he trained three orphans in the art of Ninjutsu. And by some sick twist of fate, or act of god, or whatever you want to call it, those orphans are the current leaders of Akatsuki and the Village Hidden in the Rain." It was a startling revelation, and piled on top of everything else, it seemed preposterous.


"So Jiraiya trained them. And they have surpassed him?" Shibi asked, even his facade of no emotion slightly cracked.


"I have never seen their full strength...but they were students of Jiraiya. They wouldn't give up until they were the best." He stated faithfully. "But...I still haven't told you the part you should freak out about yet." A loud groan came from Tsume.


"Are you kidding kid? Not even a nuclear bomb could drop harder than what you just told us." Naruto cracked a smile and a snort escaped him. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath.


"Okay, most of you aren't going to believe me when I tell you this, because quite frankly it's a little ridiculous. But it is the truth. And it's what convinced me agree to the alliance." It was dead silent, as everyone was on the edge of their seats. "One of the leaders, Nagato, possesses the Doujutsu of the Sage of the Six Paths, the Rinnegan." Everyone had some sort of expression of shock on their face from that revelation, and Naruto just nodded. Silence reigned for ten minutes, until finally Hiashi spoke up.


"The Rinnegan...I would not want that as an enemy." Naruto's face brightened.


"That's what I said!" Naruto exclaimed, losing his composure. Kakashi sighed and rolled his eyes. He cleared his throat, garnering everyone's attention.

"So, now that you know everything, I'd like to hear from each of you on what you want to do. This is obviously a volatile situation, and we're lucky we have the privilege of planning our strategy. I'll start." He cleared his throat.

"My students and I discussed the issue, and we believe that whether or not we agreed to the alliance, this conflict will spread anyway. Hanzo is a dangerous man. I think it falls in the Leaf's best interest to ally with Rain." He looked to his right. "Guy?" The eccentric Jonin cleared his throat.


"This is all so unyouthful." Kakashi grinned. Typical. "But I agree as well. We must prepare to have an edge." Kakashi nodded and looked at Choza.


"I'm ready to pick up my staff and defend my home. Just say the word Lord Hokage." Next was Inoichi.


"Well, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio never deserts each other. I'll stand by my comrade." Choza smiled at his friend. Kakashi looked at Homura.


"I will not fight in this war, so my opinion means little. But I will give a piece of advice: think not only of yourselves, but of the village as a whole." He leaned back after that, and his old teammate gestured to her right, having the same sentiments as him. Tenzo cleared his throat.


"ANBU is ready for war. We go where you command Lord Hokage." He replied loyally. Kakashi motioned for the next speaker to give their input.


"The Rinnegan..." Hiashi started wearily, "...a troubling sign indeed. As I said before, I would not want it as my enemy. If in order to do that we must ally ourselves with it, then so be it." Kakashi nodded and looked at Tsume on Hiashi's right.


"We have close to no information on our enemies, and they've issued no threat to us directly. We're basically charging in deaf and blind." She stated negatively. But then she smirked. "You'll need my nose if you wanna get anywhere." Shibi sat next to her.


"The logical thing to do would be to do more reconnaissance in our enemy before we come to a decision. However, that would be a waste of time, seeing as our enemies have already eluded us for decades. Any information to be gained on them would be through Akatsuki." Shibi gestured to Ibiki to go next.


"T&I is gonna be busy soon huh? I love it when you can hear the echoes of the prisoners..." There was a slight pause, considering how fucked up that was, until finally it came full circle, and Shikaku was the last to speak.


"I have a lot of faith in my son's team. If they believe we need this alliance, I support them. Also, as my teammate said, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio never deserts each other. " Kakashi nodded with finality.


"Very well, it looks like we're going to war. Not that we really had a choice." He leveled Naruto with the glare, and the blonde looked away abashedly. "I've already started to stockpile supplies, so the next thing to do is to train our forces.
Do not mention the war yet, but see if you can't inspire some of your friends and family to train harder. As for you three," He said, pointing at his students, "you have a long-term mission." They let out a collective groan.


"But we just got back." Naruto retorted. Kakashi shrugged.


"Your fault for bringing back information like that. Take the rest of the day off, and meet me in my office in the morning."


"Temari is going to kill me..." Naruto looked at Shikamaru with pity, and Sasuke's eyes expanded to the size of golf balls.

"Oh shit..." His teammates looked at him, their expressions voicing their question. "I forgot to tell Kairi we were on a mission." At that, everyone's eyes, even those of the clan heads and such, widened.

"Oh dude you're so dead."


XxX

"She actually cut him!" Naruto shouted as he fell on the ground in a fit of laughter. Shikamaru was just staring at the scene with hopelessness on his face.


"I can see Temari doin something like that…" He mumbled. Meanwhile, Sasuke was staring down at his chest in shock, for a bloody gash stretched from his left shoulder to his right ribcage.


"You actually cut me!" He shouted traumatically.


"I told you if you got any closer I would!" Kairi shouted angrily, her katana still gripped tightly in her hand.


"I didn't think you would actually do it!" He shouted back. "At least heal me?" He asked after a moment. She looked at him, sighed, and sheathed her katana. She approached him and her hands flared up with green chakra. It took her about 5 minutes to heal the wound completely, but a scar was definitely going to be visible. She sighed and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry. It's just...that's how it feels..." His eyes widened and he pulled her into a hug. They stayed like the for a moment, reveling it the comfort, before Sasuke realized what he was going to do.

"I'm sorry too. But I have to tell you something." He pushed her off him and she looked at him curiously. "I have another long-term mission tomorrow." Her eyes widened.


"Are you fucking-" She stomped off suddenly, leaving Sasuke confused.


"Where are you going?"


"To kill the Hokage!" Sasuke's eyes widened, and he immediately surveyed his surroundings, hoping to whatever god there was that no ANBU were around.


"Don't say that out loud!" Meanwhile, Naruto was still laughing but he had somewhat gathered his composure.


"This is entertainment right here Shikamaru. She's fuckin aggressive and crazy. How does he handle her?" Shikamaru glared at him.


"Shut up. I don't wanna think about that. Let's just get out of here; I think Sasuke is going to try and calm her down by seducing her." Naruto looked at him curiously.


"Why do you say that?"


"Because his shirts already off." Naruto looked at his friend, and sure enough, Kairi was on top of a shirtless Uchiha.


"Well damn. Ichiraku's?" Shikamaru nodded, and both of them flickered away as fast as they could.


XxX

Naruto took a long drag of a joint and let out a relaxed sigh. He loved sitting on his father's head and admiring the village, especially at night. Shikamaru had left him hours ago, saying that he had to spend time with Temari before he left. So it had been a lonely dinner, and then a lonely walk around the village before he had decided to talk to his dad.


"Things are getting real." He said quietly, taking another drag. "I never really thought about war before...sure we've had battles, but those were failed invasions. They were only a day long. But the idea of fighting constantly...never seeing home...watching comrades die...what if I can't handle it? If I'm in charge of people's lives...what am I supposed to do when one dies?" He sighed and shook his head. "It makes me feel good that Sensei thinks I'm ready for it...but I'm not sure I agree." He finished the joint and flicked it away, accidentally hitting Minato's nose. "Whoops, sorry dad. If I could reach, I would have flicked it in Kakashi's hair."


"That seems unnecessary." Naruto jumped up and turned around, frowning as he faced Kakashi.


"I hate that I still can't sense you unless I'm in Sage Mode." Kakashi smiled cheekily.


"Remember who taught you Ninjutsu Naruto." The blonde rolled his eyes but grinned.


"So how much did you hear?"


"From 'what am I supposed to do when one dies'." The Hokage sighed and approached Naruto, putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort the boy. "War is never easy Naruto, and it's unforgiving. As much as I hate to say it, you must steel your heart. You cannot stop everyone from dying, this isn't a mission. You can only try to kill them as fast as you can." Naruto looked up at Kakashi.


"I see. Then could I ask a favor?"


"What kind of favor?" Kakashi asked skeptically.

"Can you postpone our mission for a week?" Kakashi motioned for him to elaborate. "If I need to kill them faster...then I need the Flying Thunder God Technique." Kakashi's eye widened.

"You can't learn the Flying Thunder God Technique in one week! I don't care how many Shadow Clones you use!" Naruto smirked.


"Watch me."


XxX

And so he did. And right now he was going to prove it to Kakashi. Naruto stood on the roof of a building across from the Hokage's office window. Kakashi was completely unaware, and Naruto was itching to show off. He knew the ANBU in the office would probably attack him, but with his new technique it was no problem.


Kakashi's pulled his headband up as his window shattered open, a single, familiar looking kunai embedding itself in his desk. It had three prongs, and an orange seal tag wrapped around the handle.


"For fuck's sake-"he couldn't finish, because suddenly Naruto appeared in an orange flash, kneeling on Kakashi's desk.

"I-"he teleported away as one ANBU dove at him, and he reappeared as he passed"-did-"once again he disappeared and teleported back as an ANBU helplessly charged into nothing"-it!" Kakashi sighed.

"ANBU! Disengage!" The operatives disappeared in flash, leaving the Hokage and his student alone. "Dammit Naruto, what the hell!" Naruto smiled.


"What do you mean? I did it." Kakashi glared at him.


"You do realize that my ANBU could have killed you right?" Naruto shook his head.


"No they couldn't. Since when can anyone keep up with my father's technique? You don't have to worry anymore Kakashi. I can win." Kakashi's eye widened. He finally understood. Naruto simply wanted to shoulder the burden alone, and save everyone else the trouble. With the Flying Thunder God Technique, and a thousand Shadow Clones...the boy would be unstoppable.


"Naruto...you don't-"


"I'm a Jinchuriki. My life is a sacrifice. If I can save people...I'm okay with it." Kakashi felt a twinge of sadness stab at him. His student was so noble…and yet one day it would prove to be his downfall.


"Very well. I'll send for Shikamaru and Sasuke. Your mission starts now."


XxX

Aoi grinned as he stepped foot into a small, remote village in the middle of Rain Country. It was an average sized village, with average people that were averagely wealthy. To an outsider at least. The village was really a cover for the secret hideout of Hanzo the Salamander and his followers. Each 'villager' was really a rebel Rain ninja under Hanzo's command.

The hideout was based under, literally under, the village, in a system of stairways, tunnels and pipes. Everything that they needed was down there, from food to clothing to training grounds, and if they needed anything, a 'merchant' was sent to another village to procure wares.

Steal it in essence.


Everything about it was perfect, and soon their hard work would pay off. Hanzo had said they were almost ready.

Aoi finally reached his master's chambers, and found him admiring a glass tank with a purple salamander in it.

"Lord Hanzo." The ex-Rain leader waved the formality away.


"Report Aoi."


"Akatsuki found me out, and I was forced to flee the village. A minor setback. However, I met a few hostiles that could potentially be dangerous." Hanzo's eyebrow rose.


"Go on."


"The son of the Fourth Hokage." Hanzo stiffened. "As well as the last Uchiha, and the heir to the Nara clan. You've read my reports about them in the past?" Hanzo nodded.


"Yes, they could possibly throw a wrench in our plans. Especially considering the piece of information one of your spies brought me." Aoi scowled.


"What information?"


"The Hidden Rain and Hidden Leaf have come to some sort of agreement...thanks to the Namikaze boy." Aoi's eyes
widened.


"So soon..." Suddenly a devious smirk crossed his face. "If I may sir, I think I have a solution to our problem." Hanzo nodded. "I've come to possess certain knowledge about an international secret dealing with Fort Tsunanka..."


XxX
Extra Content: Sasuke's New Blades

"So why are you leading us to an armory again?" Naruto asked as he and Shikamaru trailed behind Sasuke.


"I told you, I want swords to use with my Chikari." Sasuke repeated. "Hurry up, we're almost there." They finally reached the armory, and Naruto's eyes widened in awe as they entered.


"Woah...so many weapons." Sasuke walked back to the swords immediately, leaving the other two to explore. "Hey Shikamaru, check this out." Naruto grabbed a battle axe off of the wall and hefted it onto his shoulder, slightly wincing at the weight.


"You know...somehow that's perfect for you in every way." The Nara stated, shaking his head. "Would you actually use that?" Naruto shrugged.


"Possibly. I'd have to get used to the weight, and I'd have to learn how to be really quiet while lugging this thing around.
It would be so much fun though..." He sighed and put it back on the wall. "I don't really need a weapon. I like to use my hands." Shikamaru looked up from a set of kunai.


"You can never have too many tools Naruto. Take these kunai for example." Naruto walked over and stared curiously at the kunai. Instead of a dull black, they were matte green, and they shimmered if you looked closely. "These aren't normal kunai, they're chakra conducting kunai. Not only that, but they're camouflage as well. These are perfect for me, because now I can catch people in my shadow techniques without getting near them." He picked up two bags of the kunai. "I'm actually gonna buy these. Shoulda been a goddamn salesman..." He grumbled as he walked up to the register with his purchase. Naruto spotted Sasuke holding two similar Wakizashi swords, so the blonde went to get a better look. The blades were pure silver, and wider than usual with square teeth cut into one side. There was no guard, and the hilt was black and shorter than a usual hilt.


"These are perfect. They're made of the same stuff Sensei's blade is made out of." The Uchiha explained.


"Interesting. So will that be hard to adjust to?" Naruto asked, sliding his finger across the blade.


"They're practically weightless, and they give me better range. If anything it'll be easier." He surmised with a smirk.

Naruto was the only one to walk out without a new purchase, much to the dismay of the shop owner. His first suggestion as soon as they left was to go test them out, so that's exactly what they did.

Sasuke had found out that if he really wanted to, he could probably cut canyons into the earth. Of course it would take an extreme amount of chakra to pull that off, but the destructive power of the swords was nothing to scoff at.


Shikamaru was just relieved that he wouldn't have to move around as much thanks to his new weapons.


After Naruto was done being the target for the new weapons, the three boys dispersed and trudged home to await another day.
 

noheartx

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Chapter 25: Uzumaki

Shikamaru and Sasuke walked into the Hokage's office, gaping at the damage to the room.


"What..." The words died in his throat, as Shikamaru felt hopelessly speechless.


"Naruto did it. And he's paying for it." The orange cloaked boy shrugged at Kakashi's statement.


"It's not like I don't have too much money already." Kakashi shook his head.


"The things that you say..." The Hokage sighed. "Let's get down to business. I have a long-term, S-Rank assignment for you three. Do you accept?" They nodded astutely. "As always. Your assignment is to act as a liaison between us and Hidden Rain. Your primary mission is to gather information about our enemy, as well as Akatsuki. Your secondary mission is to assist them in any way you can when it comes to information gathering." He paused. "Try not to pick any fights."


"Trouble always find us Sensei." Naruto stated with a deadpan glare.


"Yes I'm quite aware." He cleared his throat. "You leave immediately. Naruto, I want weekly updates through Toad summons. I'll get a few bags of candy for them." Naruto nodded. "Good luck boys. Hopefully I'll see you soon."


XxX

"No foreign ninja allowed." Naruto growled at the gate guard, who repeatedly refused them entrance to the Hidden Rain Village.


"We're allies! I was just here a week ago with your leaders! Call them down here so that we can stop wasting time!" The impatient blonde shouted.


"That won't be necessary. Let them pass." The gate guard whipped around and immediately bowed.


"As you wish Lord Nagato." The gate guard stepped aside dutifully, letting Team 7 enter the village. Naruto walked up to Nagato and smiled.


"Thanks for that. How did you know to come get us?" Nagato returned his friendly smile.


"I sensed your chakra signatures. I figured you would have trouble getting into the village. We're not very open to the outside world, for reasons I'm sure you understand." The three Leaf ninja nodded. "Come stand by me, Yahiko and Konan are waiting." The three boys looked at each other before standing around Nagato. The red-head put his hand into a single hand seal, and after a bright, white flash, they found themselves in the office of the Akatsuki leaders.


"Ah, Nagato, you have returned. Then we can get this meeting started." Yahiko greeted amicably. "Tell me, how did your Hokage take the news Naruto?" The blonde shrugged.


"It went okay. I mean I got some shit for it, but once I mentioned the Rinnegan, everyone was on my side." Yahiko laughed at the blondes blunt explanation.


"Well, that is what we had hoped would happen. So then that brings us to the question of why you are here." Yahiko said.


"We're here as liaisons between our villages, and to help gather information on our enemies." Naruto explained easily.
"Basically were under your command now. And were ready to work." Yahiko smiled at the boy's aggressiveness.


"Is that so? Well then, I think I can arrange for that to happen. I'll only need one of you though, and I'll need the strongest of the three of you in stealth and infiltration." The orange haired man stated. Naruto stepped forward.


"That would be me." Yahiko's brow rose.


"Following in Jiraiya's footsteps?" Naruto smirked.


"Something like that." The Akatsuki leader chuckled.


"Very well. Nagato, you already know what to do." The red head nodded. "Take Naruto and explain on the way. I'm afraid we've let this drag out long enough." Nagato nodded.


"Of course. We'll get it done." He whipped around, his cloak sweeping up around him as he did, and motioned for Naruto to follow. The blonde quickly shot confused glances at his teammates before rushing out after Nagato. Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at Yahiko with questioning eyes, who cleared his throat to ease their confusion.


"Naruto and Nagato are heading to the supposed location of the rebel hideout. They are going to infiltrate the base and gather information on our enemy." He explained quickly. It seemed to appease the Leaf ninja, and they nodded. "Since your teammate is gone, would you like a tour of the village? Konan would be glad to show you around." The two raven haired boys shrugged.


"Sure, why not. I guess I have to wear my hood huh? Troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled, pulling his hood over his head and walking out of the room. Konan followed with a slight grin on her face, and Sasuke followed her out after a quick nod to Yahiko. He just shook his head. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have stumbled upon Naruto. Now things would definitely have a happy ending.


XxX

"So we're breaking into the base? Alright sounds good. I can do that." Naruto stated confidently as he and Nagato ran across the rain soaked plains of Rain Country.


"Yes, but it's not so easy. You see, the base, is a village. Well, that's the cover for it anyway. It's quite clever, but just the kinda thing I'd expect from Hanzo." Nagato replied, suddenly coming to a stop. "We rest here." Naruto shrugged at the man and plopped onto the ground, causing Nagato to chuckle.


"That looks uncomfortable. Stand up, and give me a moment." Naruto obeyed, and gasped when he saw a white barrier expand from Nagato that covered the surrounding area. Naruto was shocked to feel that the rain had stopped.


"What..." Nagato smirked and shook his head.


"These eyes..." All of the water soaked into Naruto's clothes suddenly evaporated, leaving them soft and dry, "...give me the power to do anything. It's a blessing." Naruto just shook his head.


"Such power...the Sharingan and Byakugan are dwarfed by the Rinnegan's power." He jumped a little when a flame suddenly burst up between them, illuminating the quarantined area. "Dammit..."


They cooked some raw pork til it was golden brown over the fire, and Naruto was extremely pleased with the result. He thanked Nagato multiple times for the delicious meat, but Nagato had waved him off.


Naruto noticed Nagato staring at the back of his cloak, where a red spiral was emblazoned. The aura he gave off was one of sadness, and Naruto felt compelled to ask what was wrong.


"Are you okay Nagato?" Nagato looked up at him, but quickly averted his gaze.


"That crest...why do you wear it?" Naruto smiled.


"Well, it's on almost everyone's uniform in the Leaf Village. But this crest is the crest of my mother's clan, so I wear it for her." Nagato's eyes widened.


"Your mother...was an Uzumaki?" Naruto stared at him in shock.


"How did you..." He couldn't finish his thought, and so silence hung in the air.


"I'm an Uzumaki." Nagato replied after a minute. "I can't believe there are other survivors." Naruto just shook his head.


"So we're related. I wonder how closely?" Nagato shrugged.


"No idea. What was your mother's name. I was very young when we left, but I remember a few people. Like my friends and family."


"Her name was Kushina Uzumaki." Nagato's face contorted with shock.


"Kushina made it out alive?" Naruto's brow rose.


"So you knew her?" Nagato nodded.


"Yes. She was a childhood friend of mine. It is...nice to know she made it out okay. Hehe...and she bagged the Fourth Hokage. Only Kushina..." The red head shook his head and smiled at Naruto. "And you're her son. I'm gonna call you little brother." Naruto cocked his head.


"What the hell? I'm not little." Nagato chuckled.


"Oh, but you are. In so many ways. But don't worry little brother, I'll guide you down the right path." Nagato watched Naruto with great amusement as the blonde boy glared at him bizarrely.


"Do I have to call you big brother now?" Nagato waved him off.


"I'm just kidding. It's just nice to know another Uzumaki is out there. We are family after all." Naruto looked up at the sky with a sad smile.


"I never had a family...Jiraiya looked after me but after he was gone...I was lonely. Of course I had friends...but I didn't have anyone I could truly consider family." The sadness melted away, and he beamed at Nagato. "But now I found you! So I won't be lonely anymore." The blonde boy closed his eyes and grinned widely. "And neither will you, big brother."


XxX

"There, that's the village." Nagato stated, pointing off in the distance. "Now we need a way in." Naruto nodded.


"I got it." He flew through a few hand signs and slammed his hand on the ground, causing a small gray and blue toad to appear. The toad's mouth unhinged unnaturally wide, and Nagato watched with interest. "Hop in." Nagato's eyes widened.


"In the-" He couldn't finish his sentence, for he had been shoved into the toad's mouth by Naruto, who followed him in. The Rinnegan wielder was surprised to find himself standing in what looked like a small cavern.


"This is by far the oddest thing I've ever experienced." Naruto shrugged.


"I figured you wouldn't believe me if I explained. Better to just show you."


"Fair enough. So explain to me what happens from here." Nagato said curiously.


"Well, right now my toad is heading to the village. He'll look for anything that looks like it could be a secret base or hideout and infiltrate it easily. Once in, we'll get out and do some exploring." Nagato nodded.


"So now we wait?"


And wait they did. The little toad easily found the secret entrance to the hideout when they got to the village; there had been so many out-of-place scents leading right up to it. Nagato was relieved to finally be in the outside world again, even though they were in hostile territory. Naruto activated his cloaking technique, while Nagato activated one of his own, and they started to scour the base. They took note of the various supplies and rations as they maneuvered through the base, avoiding any rebels with practiced ease. The base was quite large, so it was a tedious process, but they stayed vigilant and on-guard, in case anything went wrong. Finally, they had searched almost every part of the base, when they came to a large, glass hallway. They started to walk through it, and Nagato looked down, halting in his tracks.


"That's impossible..." Naruto looked down immediately and let out a gasp.


"So many...it's an entire army." Below the glass hallway was a room of gigantic proportions that was currently housing what looked like an entire Hidden Village of ninja. They were going through various training exercises and drills, honing their skills for when Hanzo struck. "Hanzo's been busy." Nagato could only nod. "I think this is when we report back." The red head whole-heartedly agreed, and they zipped through the base as fast as they could, urgency pushing them harder. As they exited, they happened to see Aoi leaving the village, and Nagato made a split second decision.


"Naruto, can your toads act as messengers as well?" He asked, earning a nod. "Good. Have one relay our intel to your teammates. We're going to follow Aoi. There had to be a reason he's leaving the village, and I wanna know what it is." Naruto summoned a small toad and handed it an encrypted message he had written moments ago. They dashed off as soon as the toad left, hot on the trail of the traitor.


XxX

"Sasuke, please have a seat." The raven-haired boy sat down in front of Yahiko, his muscles slightly tense. He had no idea why the Akatsuki leader had wanted to talk to him alone, but he wasn't dropping his guard.


"What do you want?" Yahiko stared at the boy before a chuckle escaped his lips.


"I suppose I should be used to the no bullshit act." The Uchiha quirked a brow and he sighed. "Sasuke, certain things have come to my attention that will probably shock you. You probably don't know much about Akatsuki, so I'll fill you in. Akatsuki fights for the greater good. Our cause is one that leads to peace, even if the ways we go about it are not. But, as you know, we keep a very low profile, and so only the best can be in our organization. So we're mostly made up of S-Class missing ninja from around the Elemental Nations, since we hold loyalties to no village officially." There was a pregnant silence, and Yahiko sighed quietly. "He asked that he be allowed to see you, and I didn't have the heart to refuse." Sasuke's eyes widened as a man stepped out of the shadows, his eyes blazing red with the Mangekyo Sharingan.


"Hello...little brother."


XxX

Extra Content: One With Nature


Peace was a consistent pleasure on Mount Myoboku, and so it felt like paradise to Naruto. The beautiful golden-brown oil falls, the luscious, colorful and lively vegetation, the bright and cheery, picture-perfect sky; Naruto couldn't have described heaven any better.


"Pretty cool huh bro?" Naruto glanced over at Gamakichi, who was admiring the oilfall. "Mount Myoboku is a sacred place, and Nature Energy flows abundantly and easily through here. It's why the landscape is so different." Naruto nodded.


"It's amazing..." He heard the banging of a cane against the ground behind him, and the blonde turned to see Fukasaku staring at him.


"You'll have time to admire later. Your training will begin now." Naruto shrugged and nodded.


"Alright. I'm ready." Fukasaku grinned.


"Boy, this will be the hardest training you will ever endure, but when I'm done with you, even the Five Kage will think twice about messing with you." Naruto's eyes widened.


"That's ridiculous. Can you really make me that strong?" Fukasaku shook his head and jumped up, poking Naruto in the chest.


"That is up to you. You have more potential than anyone I've ever seen, and you have the drive to push yourself beyond your limits. As long as you give it your best, then I have no doubt you will succeed." Naruto smirked.


"Well I'll never give up. If my uncle could do it, I can too." Fukasaku nodded.


"Let's hope you're right. The first exercise is to help you feel Nature Chakra. Go sit under that oilfall and meditate until you feel the Nature Energy flow through you. You'll know when you feel it." Naruto obeyed and started his meditation. A few minutes in, a smile crossed his face.


"Whoa...this feels incredible. Is this Nature Energy?" Fukasaku nodded.


"It is. I can feel it radiating off of your body like a star...Naruto this is incredible." Fukasaku stated, admiring the boy in awe. Naruto continued to meditate, letting the comforting feeling spread through his body. "This is the strongest you will ever feel Natural Energy. The oil here on Mount Myoboku is a sort of conductor for Nature Energy. Right now, the oil is seeping into your skin and working cells in ways they have never worked before. Your chakra coils are strengthening in preparation of molding Nature Chakra. You'll have to memorize this feeling, because you will need to emulate it. As of now, you are One with Nature." Naruto's eyes flashed open, and for a second the marks of the Toad Sage appeared before fading away. Fukasaku's eyes widened.


'That was...the mark of the sage. This boy is truly a prodigy.'
The old toad grunted to clear his surprise away, and he glared at Naruto challengingly.


"Now comes step two. I'd like you to know Naruto that no one has ever advanced to step two so quickly. It took Jiraiya a few days before he felt Nature Energy." Naruto grinned.


"I can take whatever you throw at me." Fukasaku pulled out a paddle from his cloak.


"Then you'll love this. Try to channel Nature Energy." Naruto eyed the paddle but obeyed nonetheless. After a few moments, he felt the familiar energy start to flow through him, and started to smile when he felt something whack him across the face.


"Ah! Dammit that hurt!" Fukasaku chuckled. "What the hell was that for?"


"You were starting to transform. I stopped it." Naruto cocked his head.


"Transform?" The old toad nodded.


"Yes. You see, without the aid of the oil, it's up to your body alone to channel the energy. You do not have the control yet to channel it alone. If the Nature Energy were to take over your body, you would be turned into a toad." Naruto's jaw dropped. "So while we practice that, I will beat you with this paddle when you start to fail." Naruto's eyes widened.

"
Really? There's no easier way?" Fukasaku shrugged.


"There might be, but you learn faster like this. No one wants to keep getting smacked by a paddle." Naruto rolled his eyes.


"Fine. What do I need to do to channel it right?" Fukasaku tapped his cane on the ground and smiled.


"You must become One with Nature. In order to do that, you must still your body of any movements. You must become part of Nature." Naruto nodded.


"Alright. Can't be that hard." He started to meditate again, and the thwack of paddle on skin echoed through the paradise. And so it did for many hours after that.
 

noheartx

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Chapter 26: Rising Tension

"Itachi..." Sasuke was utterly stunned. His body had gone limp in his chair, and he could do nothing but stare in disbelief. He was really standing there in front of him...


"I shall give you time alone Itachi. Please tell me when you are finished." Itachi nodded at Yahiko, who quietly exited the room. The older Uchiha circled around the desk to his brother and sighed lightly.


"You have grown so much...almost taller than me." He chuckled and shook his head. "Stronger as well. I can feel it." Sasuke stood slowly and blinked a few times, as if to clear a hazy daydream away. But this was no dream.


"You're really here..." The younger brother stated softly.


"Of course. These eyes could never lie." Sasuke's own eyes widened before he shut them, and then he revealed his own Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi, now the surprised one, took a step back.


"How do you..." Itachi shook his head. "Dammit. Our family is cursed." He whispered with regret. "When did you get them?"


"Four years ago...at Fort Tsunankan." Itachi nodded. So he had been the same age...his eyes widened suddenly.


"Fort Tsunankan? You don't mean..." Sasuke only nodded. "I had considered the possibility but...to know it really was you...makes more sense than Madara Uchiha." Sasuke snorted.


"The Tsuchikage sounds stupid. He didn't even mention either of the two surviving Uchiha."


"Then again, he is the only man alive today to ever have crossed swords with Madara. I'm sure he's seen the black flames of Amaterasu before, and he automatically connected it to Madara." Sasuke just shook his head.


"It doesn't matter. What does is that you're okay. Itachi...how did you survive?" Itachi looked away.


"The thought of ending it all plagued my mind for awhile," Sasuke's eyes widened, "but I knew I couldn't. It was then that Nagato found me. He gave me a purpose, so that was what I lived for." Itachi explained softly. "And now I get to see you again. So for that, I am grateful." Itachi let out another chuckle, a feat that was very rare for the stoic elite.

"To think we would cross paths like this...you do realize that you cannot tell anyone about this right?" Sasuke rolled his eyes.


"No shit...but it doesn't matter anyway. Kakashi is Hokage and Danzo is dead. As is Root." Itachi's brow raised.


"How do you know so much?" He took a breath and paused, deciding whether or not to keep asking questions. His curiosity got the better of him. "What happened to the Third, and Danzo?"


"The Third sacrificed his life to seal the souls of Jiraiya and Sakumo, which had been resurrected by Orochimaru's dastardly technique, with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Kakashi killed Orochimaru, and was Hiruzen's chosen successor." He paused and sighed. "I killed Danzo." That caused Itachi's eyes to twitch.


"You can't be serious..." Sasuke looked down.


"I was in Root Itachi...it was an inside job. After too many months Danzo staged a coup. So we betrayed him and killed him." Itachi's eyes were wide now.


"You were in Root? What was your cell specialty?"


"B to S-Rank Assassination and Annihilation. We didn't let anyone go..." The younger one looked into space for a moment and sighed. "But you still had worse...somehow Danzo got you in Root anyway." Itachi's eyebrows dipped in annoyance.


"It angers me to hear you put it that way. Please do not say that ever again." Sasuke smirked.


"Relax. One day...you'll be back. When Naruto is Hokage." Itachi smiled sadly.
'If only...'


XxX

"God fucking dammit...he's goin to Hidden Rock." Nagato looked at Naruto curiously.

"Why do you say that?"


"Well they're the guys you go to when you wanna pick a fight with the Hidden Leaf. They're the second strongest village...and their army outnumbers ours three-to-one. And they fucking hate us because of my father. And now my team by association...plus all of the uhh...shenanigans...that have been taking place." The blonde explained.


"Shenanigans?" Nagato asked with a slight grin.


"Yea you know...like the destruction of Fort Tsunanka...and the ambush they sprung on Sasuke during an ANBU mission..." Nagato's eyes widened.


"You were behind Fort Tsunanka? We had been searching for the attacker, thinking he was a rouge ninja we could recruit." Naruto shook his head.


"It was actually just Sasuke. But yea, if he even mentions the Leaf going to war, the Tsuchikage will absolutely sign on the dotted line, if you get what I mean." Nagato chuckled.

"You're extremely odd. But I guess you get that from your mother." Nagato smiled and looked out over the horizon from the lofty cliff edge he was standing on. He could see Earth Country ahead of him it was so high. "Are you sure that's what he's doing?" Naruto nodded.

"It's gotta be. It's the only thing that makes sense." Nagato turned and nodded.


"Ok we go back to Hidden Rain and inform our teammates of these developments. You must tell your Hokage, as well as enlist in Hidden Sand's aid. It seems it is time to start hunting for allies. We'll have a discussion when we get back." Nagato took off towards home, and Naruto followed closely with a grunt. What a waste of a trip.


XxX

Aoi was glad Hidden Rock was so easy to get into. The Village Hidden in the Rocks was much different than any other ninja village. It was the capital of Earth Country, and both the Daimyo and the Kage lived in the village. One would think that is illogical, but the city is so large, that any invasion would have to number over almost a million men to succeed. They had the rock hard defense, and no one could breach it.


Which is why security was so lax. The irony brought a chuckle to the missing ninja's lips as he wandered through the streets, making no rush to see the Tsuchikage. Sneaking up on that old geezer was gonna be a bitch...


He finally saw the capital building, where both the Earth Throne and Kage Office were located. They each had separate housing in the nicest district of the capital of course.


Aoi decided the best way to meet with the old Kage was to be direct. He didn't need to get himself killed because he was mistaken for an assassin after all. He just hoped that the Tsuchikage was in his office right now. He'd be damned if his infiltration succeeded and the old coot wasn't there!


He melted into the wall with a technique taught to him by Hanzo, and in seconds he was in front of the Tsuchikage, a grin on his face.


"Lord Tsuchikage, a pleasure to meet you." The old Kage disappeared and reappeared behind Aoi, with a tiny light springing to life in his palm.


"Move and I'll obliterate you." Aoi's eyes widened. Already with the Particle Style...


"I have not come here to kill you. I'm not that stupid." The Tsuchikage didn't deactivate his technique.


"You're still an intruder. Tell me why I shouldn't send you to the afterlife." Aoi smirked at that.


"Because I know who decimated your force at Fort Tsunankan." Oonoki's eyes widened, and his technique flickered out.


"Talk."


XxX

"So Hanzo has made his move...very well. Then it seems that the Fourth Shinobi World War has unofficially started." Yahiko stated heavily. It was a truth they had all acknowledged, even if it didn't hit them yet. "We must begin preparations. Supplies and rations will need to be stockpiled. We'll create a war council with our allies of the Leaf, and we'll need to look for new allies as well."


"Hidden Sand is our ally. With their help we should have no problems." Shikamaru stated lazily. Konan raised an eyebrow.


"You have a lot of confidence." The Nara shrugged.


"It's just the truth. We've never lost a war before. And the village is in great shape right now. I believe it would take at least three of the Five Great Villages to take us down. Rock may outnumber us...but numbers mean nothing to a Leaf ninja. That means that both the Hidden Mist and Hidden Cloud will have to be pulled into this war if they want a shot. We just have to stop that from happening." Yahiko looked at Shikamaru with great interest.


"Please, elaborate. You seem to have some sort of plan." Naruto and Sasuke grinned. When didn't he?


"Well, our biggest worry is Hidden Mist. We can't fight a war on three fronts, we'd be spread too thin. Hidden Mist has the far less desirable front, seeing as they have an ocean to royally fuck us with. Especially with Wave Country in between as a foothold. First priority is to send someone there and negotiate their aid or neutrality." That earned a few questioning looks.


"Back in the Chuunin Exams, the Mizukage helped the Third against Orochimaru. I think we could work something out with him." Sasuke stated.


"Alright, Itachi and Sasuke will take that one." Yahiko ordered, surprising both brothers. "Wow Itachi, this is the first time I've ever seen your expression change." The older Uchiha rolled his eyes.


"This has been a relaxing few days." Yahiko smiled and then nodded at Shikamaru.


"Please continue."


"Hmm...well Hidden Cloud matches Hidden Rock in strength, so with those two it's a fair fight. As for-"


"I'm sorry, but how can you be so confident that you can take on two ninja villages and call that a fair fight." Konan asked, interrupting Shikamaru. Shikamaru just smirked.


"Well, I'd say we're outnumbered four-to-one by both. Hidden Rock's strength lies in their numbers. While there are some devastatingly powerful ninja from Hidden Rock, they're Jonin are not all on Jonin level, if you get what I mean."


"Because of the large population." Itachi stated, earning a nod from Shikamaru.


"Exactly. With such a large ninja force, in order to appear strong, their Jonin numbers have to be proportionate with the other villages. So of course there are Chuunin-level-Jonin. You see the training methods over there are very outdated thanks to the old guy wearing the hat. It seems stupid but they're just not trained as well. Our spy network confirms it." Nagato's eyebrow rose.


"Spy network? Do you mean Jiraiya's spy network?" Naruto chuckled and scratched his head.


"Actually it's my spy network." That earned him a few surprised stares.


"Really? You have taken over his network?" Itachi asked with great interest.


'I see. Then I will be needing to speak with you Naruto.'


"Yea kinda. I mean I've only really scratched the surface. I met with a few of his contacts, and they promised to spread the word. So I'll have to get in contact with each of them as I travel, but with the war..." he shrugged, his message clear. Shikamaru cleared his throat.


"Hidden Cloud is about the size of the Hidden Leaf, and our forces reflect that. In fact we're almost equal on even grounds. But no one's fighting on even grounds here, and that's why we have an advantage. We have no reason to invade Hidden Rock, and we won't need to. They'll make the first strike, and once they're in the great forests of the Land of Fire, we'll do what we do best. Slaughter the enemy. And the rest will follow. No one can fight in those forests like a Leaf ninja can." Shikamaru looked completely confident and relaxed, which helped convince the Akatsuki members even more about his plan.


"Very well. If you're that confident, continue your plan." Yahiko requested.


"Right. Next we need to find more allies. I assume you have a few ideas?" Shikamaru questioned Yahiko.


"We have actually sent a message to Hidden Grass already, but we are waiting for a reply. Hidden Waterfall is another important part to our defense. If we can recruit them as well, then our line of defense will be impenetrable." Shikamaru nodded.


"I agree. Send word to them as well, and we'll await a reply. I'll head back to the Leaf Village and inform Kakashi of everything. Quite frankly this is above a toad's pay grade. If one of you would like to come with me so my superiors don't think we made all of this shit up, it would be much appreciated." Yahiko turned to Konan.


"I leave that to you Konan." The blue haired woman nodded.


"Of course. I'm the only one with manners anyway..." Nagato giggled at that, earning a glare from Konan.


"Very well. Naruto, I suggest you stay here, in case any messages from either Waterfall or Grass come." Shikamaru told the blonde. "Plus you can send any new developments with your toads." Naruto frowned.


"I thought you said this was above a toads pay grade."


"It can't be helped."


"Tell that to Gamakichi. He was tellin me he needed a new pair of shoes..." Shikamaru eyed him warily.


"Are you suggesting I would be those shoes?" Naruto nodded.


"Yep. He could skin you alive and tan your hide with his new weapon." Shikamaru sighed in frustration.


"Whatever. I need to get out of here. You mind if we leave now?" Konan shook her head, and the two were out the door in seconds.


"Dickhead."


"Well, I guess we'll be off as well." Itachi and Sasuke walked out of the room at a normal pace and closed the door behind them, leaving Naruto, Nagato and Yahiko alone to continue with the plans.


XxX

Extra Content: The Orange Flash


"Do you really think you can pull this off?" Sasuke questioned as Naruto wrapped the last orange seal tag around the handle of the kunai that made his father famous.


"Seriously Naruto a week isn't enough." Naruto looked at him blankly.


"It has to be. We need this." He bagged the last kunai and slung the sac over his shoulder. "Let's go." They went to the training ground and Naruto's first act was to create 1000 Shadow Clones. Shikamaru and Sasuke paled.


"He's gonna kill himself..." Each of the clones had a sack of kunai just like the real one, and Sasuke and Shikamaru could only imagine the mayhem...


"Ok here's the deal!" Naruto shouted to his clones, catching their attention. "We have one weak to master this technique. If we don't, then the coming months will be a lot harder. Not to mention how many more will die. So we will learn this technique. The first 500 of you I would like to read the notes my father took when he created his technique. The second 500 of you are going to experiment with the technique and figure it out by experience. Find an appropriate place to practice and begin immediately." 500 of his clones scattered, while the other 500 sat down and pulled out identical scrolls with the mechanics of the Flying Thunder God Technique printed on them. Naruto himself sat down and began to meditate, analyzing the technique as best as he could. Hours passed as clones continuously tried to master the technique and soon day became night, and night became day once more. Sasuke and Shikamaru had stuck around the entire time, occasionally discussing something with Naruto about the technique when he needed it.


Finally, a bright smile crossed Naruto's face. One of his clones had dispelled.


"I got it." He stood up and pulled out a kunai. Excitement danced across his face as he got ready to try out his father's technique. This would be a huge step in his goal to surpass his father.


He flicked the kunai away and held his hand up in the Ram seal, and before a second could pass he was on the other side of the clearing with a brilliant orange flash. The summoning hadn't hurt at all, considering he was used to it from his times going to Mount Myoboku. A grin stretched across his face.


"Easier than I thought. Now I gotta master it." He dispelled his clones, too excited to care about the mind numbing pain that came with dispelling that many clones. But he wasn't worried about becoming a psychopath. If anything he already was one.


"He did it." Shikamaru said in disbelief. "He does it every time." He stood abruptly. "I'm going home. I feel like death." Naruto watched as his teammate left the training ground, probably to sleep the day away. Sasuke sighed and stood.


"I'm leaving too. Good luck." The Uchiha disappeared and Naruto was left to train alone.


"Now to work on the speed."


XxX

Two days had passed since Naruto first figured the technique out, and by now it was safe to say he was quite proficient with it. He could now zip between targets without hesitation, and his coordination had finally caught up to him. He was proud to say he was a master of his father's technique.


"So you did it in four days. What now?" Shikamaru asked lazily, choosing to ignore the impossible feat.


"I wanna work on the technique and improve it. I have a few ideas...but it'll take a lot of reading. I could have clones do it but...I wanna do this on my own." The world started to spin for a second, and when the vertigo stopped he found himself in Sasuke's grasp. "Right after I sleep that is."


And so he spent the next few days at the library, reading and memorizing the most complicated Fuinjutsu scrolls he could find. The possibilities for the technique were limitless really, and Naruto was anxious to get started with it.
 

noheartx

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Chapter 27: Jailbait, the Legal Way(Title Pending)

"A reply has come from Hidden Grass. They're willing to help, but there's a catch." Naruto rolled his eyes. There was always a catch. "They would like assistance with a high-priority situation, as they called it." Naruto nodded at Yahiko's briefing.


"So you want me to be this aid? Not a problem. But alone though?" Yahiko sighed.


"They asked for a solo ninja. It may sound odd, but I don't believe they will betray you. And if they do, I wholly expect you to slaughter every last one of them and return, brother disciple." Naruto grinned


"Of course. What else would you expect?" Naruto gave a quick salute to Yahiko and exited the room. Itachi was standing against the wall, seemingly waiting for him.


"The frog in the lake see's all." Naruto's eyes widened.


"But the veil can never be broken. Well I'll be damned. You're part of the network?" Itachi grinned slightly.


"Indeed. It will be a pleasure to work with you, Master Naruto." Naruto seemed surprised by the honorific, but took it with a smile. "Good luck on your mission." The stoic Uchiha walked away at that point, and Naruto stood there for a moment before heading the other way. He had an alliance to secure.


XxX

"Are you the contact from Hidden Rain?" Naruto whirled around at the sound of the voice, completely taken by surprise. He hadn't sensed her approach...


...and speaking of her, holy shit. In the pale moonlight, only half of her face was illuminated, but Naruto was speechless. Her tan skin almost glowed in the lowlight, and the way the moon reflected off of her silver hair was enrapturing. They locked eyes, and Naruto almost lost himself in their cloudy blue haze. She was gorgeous.


"Hidden Leaf actually..."he responded after a moment"...but we're all allies." She nodded, dismissing it as a miniscule detail.


"I'm Ryuuzetsu, ANBU Black Ops Commander of Hidden Grass." Naruto whistled.


"Commander huh? You must be strong then." Naruto said with a grin. She merely turned around.


"You'll have to find out for yourself." He scoffed. "We don't have time to waste. I'll escort you back to the Hidden Grass." He frowned at her professionalism, but followed her nonetheless.


They traveled through the trees under the cover of the night, arriving in the Village Hidden in the Grass by dawn. People were just starting to vacate their homes to open their shops and do their jobs. Ryuuzetsu brought Naruto to a building with a large, green rotunda atop it. They entered through the third floor balcony, directly into a small, organized room.

"This is my office. You can grab some rest on that couch;"she pointed at a couch against the wall," it pulls out into a bed. After you rest, you will be briefed, and then the mission will begin." She explained this quickly, and as soon as she was done she turned her attention to a stack of folders on her desk. "Just pretend I'm not here." Naruto's brow raised at this, but he felt quite tired, so he decided not to question the her, and collapsed onto the couch, not bothering to pull it out.

XxX

Naruto jolted as he felt something prod at his side.


"You must not be a very good ninja if I could get that close to you." He looked into the stoic, cloudy eyes of Ryuuzetsu and groaned.


"Isn't this supposed to be an extension of alliance?"


"Nothing is ever as it seems. Surely you must know that deceit is a ninja's greatest weapon." Naruto looked down.


"I felt safe around you. I had no reason to distrust you." Her eyes widened, but she scoffed.


"You trust too easily. Get up, the briefing is in five minutes." She walked away and exited the room, leaving him to get himself up. He pushed himself up and sat there for a moment, staring at the door, before sighing and following his new partner. She awaited him patiently on the other side, and started walking as soon as he was out. She led him down a hallway, to two tall wooden double doors, and knocked twice before entering. The room was dimly lit by torches surrounding it, and a large, ornate table sat in the middle. Surrounding the table were three young-looking men, each dressed in full ANBU gear.


"Ah, Uzi, so glad you could join us." One of the men, a red haired one greeted.


"I have brought the ally from the Leaf with me. And use my name please, I don't have my mask on, sir." She stepped aside and resented Naruto, who cleared his throat nervously.


"Uh...hey there." The three men quirked their brows but shrugged his informality off. They were no Kage; they needed no formalities. "I'm Naruto Namikaze."


"Namikaze? Well I'll be damned...pleasure to meet you boy. I'm Gentou," the red haired one stated, "this is Yato and that's Shintojo." He stated, pointing at the blonde and black haired men respectively. "We make up the Hidden Grass Triumvirate, so we are the leaders of this village. As we stated before, an alliance is agreeable, but we need your help first." He gestured to Yato.


"There is a tale of ancient lore in our village about a mystical box with the power to grant any wish. The Box of Extreme Bliss. With it, literally anything could happen." He looked at Shintojo.


"It is said that the Hidden Grass once conquered the world with this box, in the era of the Sage of the Six Paths. But then, one day, the village mysteriously vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a barren wasteland, and The Box of Extreme Bliss." Gentou cleared his throat, gaining back the attention.


"Quite a dangerous object, as you can see. Now, we have received reports that someone is after the box...and they cannot be allowed to take it. The box is hidden underneath Hozukijo, a prison meant for distrusted ninja. You will be sent there, along with Ryuuzetsu, and oust the intruder before anything happens. Any questions?" Naruto looked between the three village leaders and Ryuuzetsu, sighing. As Shikamaru would say, this sounded extremely troublesome, and he was seriously wondering if this had been a good idea. Still, he was here, and backing out would just be absurd.


XxX

Stone walls loomed forebodingly in the distance as Naruto and Ryuuzetsu were lead by a few Grass ninja to the prison. They were shackled together by thick chains wrapped around each of their extremities, and the guards were being extremely rough with them; Naruto thought they were enjoying it. They were led up the stairs that ascended to the marvelous stone structure, with walls so steep it would take one of the toad summons to destroy it. The massive iron gates rose slowly, almost ominously, as if to taunt them. They were lead into the camp and forced into a lineup of new prisoners. The warden, a man named Mui, gave them a speech meant to strip them of any hope of escape, as well as a burning seal that stopped all chakra flow, called the Tenrou before they were lead to the barracks. Ryuuzetsu and Naruto were thrown into a cell together, and the guard had slipped a key in Ryuuzetsu's pocket. When they were finally alone, Ryuuzetsu, who looked like a young man now with the way her bandanna was tied, started to go over the plan.

"For now, we act like real prisoners. Our first objective is to create a list of possible suspects, and then we'll go from there." After her explanation, she laid down and rested her head on the cold stone surface, not seeming even slightly uncomfortable. "Get some sleep. You'll need it to survive here." Naruto watched his new partner as she drifted into a state of lulled awareness. He could tell she wasn't really asleep, which disappointed him a little. She didn't trust him, but that was fine. He'd show her how trustworthy he was. So he too laid down and succumbed to sleep, not bothering to stay alert.

XxX
A sharp jab in the side woke Naruto up, and he groaned.

"Can I expect to be woken up like that every day?" Ryuuzetsu 'hmphed'.


"You can expect to be dead if I keep getting that close to you." Naruto rolled his eyes. He needed to break this whole professional act. It was starting to grate his nerves.


"I told you I feel comfortable around you. You give off a gentle aura...I trust you." Her eyes widened for a second before she scoffed and turned around.


"No wonder they call Leaf ninja tree huggers. You're too soft." Before she knew it, she was pinned against the wall of the cell, Naruto's feral face inches from her own.


"I am the farthest thing from soft...and don't insult my village. You have no idea of the things I've done for my village." The sound of guards making their morning rounds echoed through the barracks. Naruto let go of Ryuuzetsu and sat down on the other side of the cell, going into a meditative state. Ryuuzetsu stared at him in shock, recalling the fury that had shown on his face.


'Those fangs...those blood red eyes...and that murderous intent...who is this boy?'


"Hey! Breakfast! Get your asses to the mess hall!" One guard ordered as he unlocked their cell, startling Ryuuzetsu from her thoughts. Naruto stood and walked out silently and Ryuuzetsu followed with a half-contemplative half-worried expression. Things definitely just got more interesting.


XxX

The mess hall was quite crowded. Some of the men loudly and proudly told stories of their days as ninja, while other ate silently, immersing themselves in thought. Naruto and Ryuuzetsu split up as soon as they walked in to make it look like they were barely acquaintances, which was true, but it kept their hidden agenda under wraps. Naruto walked in line to get food, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.


"You're in my spot." He turned around to see a large man with at least a head on him arms the size of tree trunks glaring down at him. He sighed wearily; this was so cliché. Next someone was gonna try and make him their bitch...


"Well now it's mine." Usually Naruto would have answered with a less volatile response, but Ryuuzetsu had pissed him off this morning. His fingers were itching for some action.


"Wrong answer." The man swung his bowling ball sized fist at Naruto, who easily deflected the blow kicked the man in the chest, sending him clear across the hall. It became silent as the guards poured in on Naruto, who simply let them apprehend him. He was dragged out of the mess hall, and after a few moments normalcy resumed.


Ryuuzetsu was baffled that Naruto would do something so stupid, and she hoped he wouldn't compromise the mission. In the back of her head she knew he wouldn't, but she couldn't help but feel a little worried.


As soon as breakfast was over, she sped out of the mess hall and back to her cell, where Naruto was meditating, scorch marks all over his body. She entered the cell, causing him to open one eye.


"Welcome back. How was your breakfast?" She eyed him skeptically. Where was all that anger?


"Fine. Are you...okay?" She asked hesitantly, gesturing at the burn marks. "What happened?" He shrugged.


"They only burn a little. They'll be gone by tomorrow. As for what happened, either that guy Mui really likes me or really hates me." Her eyes widened. That would be impossible with burns as bad as that. He'd need a Bloodline Limit or something akin to one to heal that quickly.


"Bloodline?" She asked curiously, earning a head shake.


"Not quite. Jinchuriki." That broke her stoic exterior. She had been working with a Tailed Beast container this whole time. That would explain the eyes and fangs then. And it wasn't hard for her to figure out which one it was.


"To think you'd be the container of the Nine-Tails..." He chuckled.


"Yea, don't worry though. I don't bite." She hid her slight grin with a cough.


"Right. Well, we have more work to do. Go 'socialize' and see what kind of info you can't dig up. I'll do the same." Naruto nodded and exited without another word. Ryuuzetsu watched him go and her fist clenched tightly.


"Mui you bastard..."


XxX

Naruto idly walked around the courtyard, observing the various activities the prisoners were participating in. Some were having Taijutsu spars, a few of the older prisoners had card tables out, a few even had notebooks with pages of writing material in them. It wasn't quite what Naruto expected out of a prison, but he couldn't complain. Then again, all of the ruthless missing ninja were too good to be thrown in a place like this. Only a few bad eggs, like the guy whose ribs were now shattered thanks to Naruto, populated the place. Everyone else had just...accepted it.


"You look lost. Can I help you?" Naruto turned his head to see a young guy with a jovial smile on his face. "You're the new guy aren't you. Names Maroi." He held his hand out. "Lots of gossip spreadin around, and you seem to be at the center of it my friend." Naruto chuckled and scratched his head.


"Yea well I wasn't in the best mood yesterday, and that guy was asking for it." Maroi chuckled heartily.


"Yea well now you're like a legend around here you know? No one ever starts trouble here." Naruto squinted and nodded.


"I noticed that. Everyone just seems to have...accepted their fate. It's kinda pitiful." Maroi sighed.


"Yea, that's how it's always been, least since I got here. No one has ever escaped; Mui is simply too good. I heard that a long time ago, when he took over, there were a lot of riots, but he silenced them completely. Since then, he's got an iron grip on this place." Maroi shrugged. "It's a little pathetic, but they don't have a choice." Naruto smirked and shook his head.


"They always have a choice. I think I might have to show them that." Maroi's eyebrow raised.


"What do you mean?" Naruto stretched his neck and cracked his fingers.


"This Mui guy rubs me the wrong way. I think I need to take him down a notch." He answered cockily. Maroi looked at him skeptically.


"Dunno how you plan to do that. That Tenrou will burn your body faster than a furnace."


"A little fire never stopped me before." With that he was gone, his cloak billowing out wide, for the Toad Summoning scroll was absent from his back. Maroi watched him intently as he left, wondering if he was stupid...or something else was going on.


XxX

Ripples of clear blue water rose across the surface of the ocean as Itachi and Sasuke dashed across it. The islands of the Land of Water were clearly visible now to the brothers, and it was a reliving sight to see. A few days running on the ocean would tire even Naruto, so it would be nice to get their land legs again.


Sasuke had suggested that they enter the city immediately, but Itachi ruled against him, instead choosing to camp on one of the tiny islets around the main island for the night. They still had to come up with a plan after all, and they were quite exhausted, even if neither would admit it.


"What kind of plan do we need? Can't we just go talk to the Mizukage as foreign dignitaries?" Itachi shook his head.


"That could work if you didn't mind your enemies finding out about it." Sasuke rolled eyes but nodded. "Also, I cannot just talk to anyone. With Itachi Uchiha, it's kill first talk later." That was also very true. Sasuke doubted that the Mizukage would be thrilled to see arguably the most dangerous missing ninja to come from the Leaf Village, who was exiled for killing his entire family.


"It would make even less sense if you were seen with me."


"Or we could both be branded traitors." Sasuke's eyes widened. That was in the realm of possibility after all...

"Right. So I do the talking. What are you going to do?" Itachi looked towards the Hidden Village, which could be seen from the islet.

"Information gathering. Who knows if Hanzo has already been here? Naruto would love a full report from his contacts wouldn't he?" Sasuke's brow shot up.


"How could you know Naruto's contacts?"


"I'm one of them." Sasuke's choked on his own spit.


"How is that possible?" He asked after his fit subsided.


"Well, even though Jiraiya was dead when I was exiled, the network was still around. The Third had ways of contacting various contacts, and I turned into one of them. A secondary objective of my final mission if you will." Sasuke nodded at his brother's explanation.


"I see. So you never met Jiraiya?" Itachi shook his head in disagreement.


"No, I met him once. I was very young, but I was a Chuunin by then. It was during the time I was being scouted for
ANBU. He gave me great advice that has stuck with me ever since. If there was one man that I wish I could have fought, it would be him."


"What was his advice?" Itachi smirked and chuckled.


"He said 'You know the best thing about breasts Itachi? There are two of em! When one gets all old and saggy, you'll always have another to play with.' Of course as a young boy I just thought he was an idiot, but now I can see the true meaning in his message." Sasuke laughed loudly.


"I don't mean to burst your bubble Itachi, but I think he may have been serious." Itachi shook his head.


"I'm sure he was, after all everyone has heard of Jiraiya's famous description of Tsunade's…assets. But he would have no reason to tell that to a nine year old. It was back when father started to really push me, and I started to have less and less of a choice in what I wanted to do. I think his message was to always find the silver lining. And in the end, that's what saved me." Sasuke cocked his head.


"Saved you?" Itachi smiled at him warmly, causing Sasuke to be taken aback.


"It taught me to look past the bad things. Our family may have died by my hand, but the village is safe, and you are alive. For that, I would gladly pay any price." Sasuke looked at the ground quickly, hoping that his brother wouldn't see the lone tear that had slid down his cheek.


"Itachi..." The older Uchiha turned away then and walked into the tent they had set up, saving his brother the embarrassment of being seen crying.


"Get some rest. We depart at dawn."


XxX

Extra Content: A Training Session with the Hokage


"C'mon boys, I know you're better than this!" Kakashi shouted with a hidden grin.


"Will someone shut him up!" Naruto shouted as we weaved through the ninjatos of two ANBU. Today Team 7 found themselves on the ANBU training grounds, thanks to Kakashi. They had been 'invited' to the ANBU training session, which had turned out to be a war game. A very one sided war game, with Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru against a few of the best ANBU teams under Kakashi's command. And so for the past hour or two they had been literally fighting for their lives while listening to Kakashi's incessant taunting.


"You shut him up! We're busy!" Sasuke shouted back as he and Shikamaru were attempting to hold off at least two teams of ANBU. Scorch marks decorated the ground from the constant Fire Style Techniques Sasuke was shooting off like fireworks. It was all he could do to put distance between him and the ANBU. Shikamaru had meanwhile melted into his shadow and was harassing the ANBU at close range. His control of the shadows had only advanced over the years, and now he was able to create all-black doppelgangers that wielded various types of weapons. Not only that, but every shadow was an extension of himself, so the masked ninja were surprised to see giant shadow swords weaving around the battlefield. It was an eerie sight to say in the least.


"Fine! But I need a little time!" And he knew just how to get it. "Shadow Clone Technique!" A few hundred clones appeared and engaged the ANBU operatives, while Naruto escaped to a temporarily safe place. He immediately sat down and began to channel Nature Chakra, needing as much as he could very quickly. He could feel his clones dispel one by one, but he stayed calm and focused, until the last one dispelled, and his eyes flashed open, showing the Mark of the Sage. He sped back to the battlefield in time to block a massive combination attack from the ANBU with a powerful Earth Style barrier. The lava hot rockslide crashed into the barrier, and both of the blonde's teammates sighed in relief.


"Finally...I'm out of chakra." Sasuke panted, sporting multiple slashes and bruises on his body. Shikamaru was hardly in a better condition.



"I got it from here. I know Shikamaru is dying to go watch the clouds." He felt his two teammates disappear and he lowered the Earth Style barricade. Kakashi stood at the head of his ANBU, twelve Naruto counted total.


"Ah the Honored Sage Mode. I've always wondered how powerful it really is." Kakashi taunted, his hands crackling with electricity. "Don't disappoint me." Two Rasengans swirled to life in Naruto's palms, and he dashed at Kakashi, kicking up a trail of dirt behind him.


"Rasengan Barrage!" The two Rasengans clashed with the two Raikiri and bolts of lightning shot in every direction. The ANBU had to jump back to avoid the destructive arcs of lightning that tore through the ground. Three beams of wood shot up around Naruto and aimed to crush him, but the blonde flickered away in time. Kakashi jumped away as Naruto fell upon him, the blonde's fist creating a crater where the Hokage had stood. A couple ANBU rose up from the ground around Naruto and flew through hand seals.


"Earth Style: Earth Trap Smash!" Two square blocks of earth rose from the ground and shot towards each other, splattering Naruto in between them. To the ANBU's dismay, the two blocks of earth fell to pieces, easily cut up by a wind chakra charged kunai. The blond quickly flew through a string of hand signs and jumped into the air.


"Sage Art: Pressure Crush!" Some of the ANBU struggled to breathe as the pressure in the area around Naruto increased dramatically, and they were knocked unconscious before Naruto released the technique. He then charged at Kakashi, gathering another Rasengan in his hand, except this one was gigantic. "Sage Art: Massive Rasengan!" The rest of the ANBU team only barely erected a barrier in front of their leader, a solid combination of wood and earthen walls. Naruto slowly chipped away at the barricade until it shattered apart, the ANBU unable to hold it any longer. Kakashi had already escaped however, and Naruto barely avoided the hand that shot out of the ground at his ankles. "That's not gonna work Sensei. I can sense you." Kakashi popped out of the ground and grunted.


"I figured you wouldn't fall for it...you're not a cute little Genin anymore. But let's see if you can handle this. Lion!" The ANBU with the Lion masked appeared next to Kakashi and they both flashed through hand seals. Kakashi's signature technique crackled to life in his hand and he dashed forward, while the other man unleashed three Water Style: Water Dragon Missiles. Kakashi jumped into the air and behind him the water dragons twisted together like a hydra before diving down and engulfing Kakashi. Lightning crackled across the water dragon's skin and he turned into a streak of lightning.

Naruto knew he didn't have any defensive techniques nearly strong enough to defend him from that. So he decided to hit it with an equally destructive attack.

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" He jumped up at Kakashi and thrust the screeching attack at him, and a brilliant explosion occurred. The ANBU watched as sparks of electricity of all colors exploded outwards, sending two bodies flying in opposite directions. The ANBU raced over to the Hokage, while Sasuke and Shikamaru ran to Naruto.


"I think you went overboard...again..." Shikamaru said with a weary sigh.


"Me! Did you see what he threw at me?" Naruto half-shouted in defense. "Dammit, just get the medic over here. I definitely broke my arm.". The medic appeared as if out of thin air, and Naruto blinked. "That was fast."


"Standard procedure. Lord Hokage also ordered me to check on you first." Naruto rolled his eyes.


"Cocky bastard..."


XxX

"So you two created that combination back in ANBU together?" Naruto asked Kakashi and Genma as they sat around a fire.


"Yea, we were a fearsome duo if I do say so myself." Genma stated with a smirk, which could be seen now that his Lion mask was removed. "But I stayed under the radar. Everyone and their sister knew Kakashi the Copy Ninja, but that's probably because he fucked everyone's sister." The brown haired man said as he ribbed Kakashi.


"That's not true. I had a few moms too." Naruto cackled as Genma passed him a joint. Apparently everyone in ANBU indulged in the pleasure daily, because it was a great way to stay grounded with jobs like theirs. The dirtiest jobs were like D-Ranks to them after all.


"Are you sure you're not related to Jiraiya?" Naruto asked after his fit of laughter.


"That would have been an honor, but alas, the Great Jiraiya has no heirs of his own." An inquisitive look appeared on the Hokage's masked face. "Actually, I think he's the reason I'm a pervert."


"How do you figure that?" Genma asked, taking the senbon out of his mouth to hit the joint, only to replace it right after.


"His books are works of art." He explained fondly.


"I miss him." Naruto stated. Kakashi smiled.


"You're a lot like him. More so than your father." Naruto's brow rose.


"Really?"


"Yes. Sensei was always extremely kind and gentle, but he had a switch. If you flicked that switch, well no one survived
long enough to see. On the other hand, Jiraiya is carefree and playful, and always in a similar mood. He's no different in a fight or on the street. Not to say he doesn't take it seriously, but you know what I mean." Kakashi explained.


"I do. He was always in control of himself, but he gave the appearance of a fool. Had you ever seen him do the Kabuki poses?" Naruto asked, causing Kakashi to smile.


"In his defense, those are fucking hilarious." Naruto conceded that easily; that had always made him laugh as a child.


"That they were. That they were."
 

noheartx

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Chapter 28: Scars

The Leaf Village was a grand sight to see for Shikamaru. He had been a little home sick, or rather he missed the clouds. He couldn't watch them in Hidden Rain...


Konan cleared her throat.


"How will you get me into your village?" She asked bluntly. He shrugged.


"I'm a Jonin...and the Hokage's student. No one's going to deny my guest entry." She looked at him strangely.


"Your security is so lax." Shikamaru smirked.


"But our response is ruthless. You're in an organization with knowledge about most of the ninja world, you heard about the Sound Invasion. And the civil war that ended with Danzo's life. You're welcome by the way." Her eyes widened at that. Danzo had aided Hanzo back when they were ambushed...


"I see. Thank you." He nodded.


"Sure thing. Now, to the Hokage's office."


XxX

Ryuuzetsu could not believe the sight she saw when she walked into the courtyard. Naruto was on one knee, the Tenrou seal burning him harshly as he tried to fight it. Mui stood in front of him with a blank expression on his face.

"Would you like a repeat session of last night? I have many more tricks boy..." Mui said threateningly. Naruto just grinned.


"Anything you do to me, I can throw back at you tenfold. Give me your worst you fucker!" Mui's face contorted angrily at Naruto's taunt and he lunged at the blonde.


"Fire Style: Searing Execution!" His fingertips lit if with fire and he slashed them at Naruto, only for Naruto to catch his arm before he could hit him.


"Too slow. My turn." Naruto tightened his grip and grabbed Mui's arm and flipped him over his head, sending him flying. As soon as he let go, the seal started to burn more, and he collapsed onto his hands and knees. "Shit...I can't keep this up." He grunted and pushed himself up as Mui appeared behind him and kicked him back down.


"How's your schedule for the week? I think you and I will be seeing each other for a while, if that's alright with you of course." Mui asked sarcastically, his composure regained.


"Can't wait warden. I think we'll be real good friends." Mui laughed at that and released the Tenrou.


"You are entertaining my friend, and so I will give you respite. Go sleep, for you won't be getting any tonight. I wan't you to be fully aware of yourself for this."


"How considerate. Then get the hell out of here." Mui laughed again as he walked away, not sparing a second glance at the boy. Ryuuzetsu ran over to him and kneeled down next to him.


"What the hell are you doing! You're going to get yourself killed! What…" She sighed and regained her composure. "Sorry. Cell." She stood and left, leaving Naruto to rest and collect his thoughts. He thought it was cute that she let her exterior crack, and her emotional side peeked through.


He entered the cell and saw her standing against the wall. She was looking at the wall beside him, so he walked over next to her.


"You were saying?" He asked hesitantly. She turned and faced him.


"I've just never seen someone with so much disregard for his own life. Why were you doing that?" She asked with a curious look on her face. He sighed.


"Look at this place. It's dead. It's pathetic. These all used to be shinobi, but now they're has beens." She stared at him incredulously.


"That...that has nothing to do with the mission!" He shrugged.


"It will help us, trust me. Plus I already have a plan. And it involves me getting close to Mui. I can take the punishment. Listen, at night, I need you to escape the cell and look for any prisoners missing from their cells. Someone who wasn't Mui kidnapped me last night." Her eyes widened, but she nodded.


"Do you have any ideas who?" He shook his head.


"No, but I'll figure it out. I just need to make a few clones. They'll have to transform into something...I'll deal with that later." He sighed. "This seal is a bitch." She stared at him with a faint smirk


"You do realize that Mui is going to do so much worse right?" He shrugged.


"I know. And it's gonna hurt a lot too. But it's for the mission. I'm sure if I goad him enough I can get him to tell me what's going on. Any pieces of information are helpful." She shook her head.


"He's more disciplined than that." Ryuuzetsu rebutted. "He won't sell out." Naruto's eyebrow rose.


"He already has sold out. He's working with a planted agent to obtain The Box of Extreme Bliss. Who else would the other guy be? Mui has no use for a bitch boy in this pathetic place. He's already got all of them." She shook her head.


"Your logic...is so flawed...but you're right. It's the only explanation. Very well, then we'll both do our jobs. Just...don't die." He smirked.


"I can't die yet, I have way too much to accomplish before that." His cockiness was bold, but she believed him. After all, he'd impressed her so far.


XxX

Shikamaru realized he had been in the council chambers far too frequently recently. And this time he had a notorious missing ninja/village leader with him, and he knew that everyone was staring at him like an asshole. The only thought going through their minds was 'Why isn't the one with the Rinnegan here?' He was regretting not going to Hidden Mist now.

"So you are one of the leaders of Hidden Rain?" Shikaku asked as the meeting got underway. Konan nodded.


"Yes, my name is Konan. It's a pleasure to meet you." Her respect was not unnoticed, and Shikamaru was wondering where that had come from.


"And you as well." Kakashi responded. "It is nice to see that Naruto is not full of shit." Shikamaru shot a pointed look at Konan, who suppressed a smirk. "So, please, would you explain exactly why you and Hanzo are going to war?" She nodded.


"Yes. Many years ago, when Akatsuki was still relatively small, Hanzo approached us with the prospect of alliance. We had started to make a name for ourselves as the result of a few battles, and he said he could use a band of good men." She rolled her eyes. "We agreed to meet at another place to finalize the details, but we didn't trust him. So we had the entire Akatsuki back us up in case of an ambush. And that's what happened. It was shocking, but we won in the end, and Hanzo was forced into hiding. After that, we assumed leadership of Hidden Rain. It hasn't been until recently that we've had any contact with Hanzo, but he's back. And he's ready for war." Kakashi nodded at the explanation.


"Then you have our support. But then we need to act now. Shall the Leaf Village be the Base of Operations? Strategically, it has the best position for what we could possibly encounter." Konan nodded.


"Yes, that will do fine. However, my team and I will be on the frontlines. Of course we'll have a representative here, but our place is with our soldiers." Kakashi nodded admirably.


"I can see that you are good leaders. I will have to get things running on my end, but I can assure you I'll see you out there." Konan grinned.


"I look forward to it." Kakashi clapped his hands together and smiled.


"Well, then we're done here. Send for the Kazekage's children. I will need to tell them the news. And after one round trip to Hidden Sand for them, the Kazekage will be caught up on the situation. I just hope that we can get Mist on our side.
It would be decided then." Konan shook her head.


"Do not underestimate Hanzo. Who knows what kind of tricks he's learned over the years?" Kakashi sighed.


"You're right. Very well, you are all dismissed. ANBU, get me the Kazekage's children."


XxX

The room was dark except for the flickering fire light in the middle. The sound of a whip cracking echoed as the boy taking the punishment tried to stay silent. Mui was lashing Naruto's back with a fire whip, and his back was entirely scorched black.


"Where did those burns I gave you last night go?" Mui asked as he slowly circled around front of Naruto, who was chained from the ceiling. The blonde chuckled weakly.


"Those pussy ass burns?" He croaked with a grin. "Those are nothin for me." Mui's eyes flashed with anger and he suddenly whipped Naruto across the chest, eliciting the cry of pain he had been waiting for.


"Let's see how you deal with these then. And if you heal them, well, torture won't be the only thing we're doing down here."


"You gonna make me your bitch?" He croaked, giggling deliriously as he did. Mui rolled his eyes.


"Not quite. I'll harness whatever power you have and kill you with it." Naruto kept his face calm, but inside he was alarmed. He was suspicious of him...not good.


"Try me dickhead." Mui turned to the shadows with a sigh.


"Take him back. He's getting on my nerves." Naruto was joyful to hear he was going back, but he was in oh so much pain right now. That last one across the chest had really fucking hurt!


He felt Mui's partner pick him up and start to carry him back. He always wore a black ski mask over his face, so Naruto could never tell who he was. But tonight he would find out. The clone back at the cell dispersed at that instant, and power surged through his body, but he immediately contained and suppressed it. Now, he would be able to memorize his captors exact chakra signature and pick it out even in a crowd.


The man dumped him back in his cell, and as soon as the sound of his footsteps disappeared, Ryuuzetsu rushed over to Naruto.


"How bad is it?" Oh she knew it was bad. She knew because she had smelled the burnt flesh from the other side of the room. And it was strong. Naruto simply turned over and she gasped at the sight of his charred back. There were cuts and slashes everywhere. He would die if someone didn't heal him. She immediately started using the Healing Palm technique, and green chakra coated her palms as she soothed the pain in his back. "You are so lucky I know Medical Ninjutsu." She felt her Tenrou flare, but she ignored it. She winced slightly, and Naruto tried to roll over.


"You shouldn't-" She grabbed his back and yanked him back, causing a burning surge of pain to shoot through his body. He was able to stay silent for the most part, but a tiny whimper escaped at the end.


"Don't do that. I could have killed you if I hadn't reacted in time. And I can take the pain." This was much more important. And this technique barely used any chakra, so the pain wasn't so great.


After about an hour of healing, with a few breaks at Naruto's behest, Naruto's back was much better than before, and he told her the Nine-Tails would handle the rest. She stopped and stared at him, concern and worry etched on her face.


"Is it really worth it? Do you really need to put yourself in this much pain?" He chuckled weakly.


"Right now? No...but I'm not dead right? So everything is okay. And I got the chakra signature of Mui's partner, thanks to that Shadow Clone I left with you." She shook her head.


"That's not what I mean. Why are you even doing this? This pain is unneccessary." She said softly.


"I'm a Jinchuriki. I am the Power of the Sacrifice, and I never lose sight of who I am." Ryuuzetsu's eyes widened, and he looked down. "I know during this war I'll be used as a weapon. I'll be killing hundreds...but for the village I'll become a weapon, because I just want to protect my village and let them live peacefully." Ryuuzetsu was staring at him in pure awe, and a tear rolled down her cheek. His eyes widened and he slowly pushed himself up. "Why are you-"She turned her head away and wiped the tear away.


"It's nothing." He was now sitting, and she looked at him out of the corner of his eye. He looked concerned.


"Uh...that was the most emotion I've seen you display. What is it?" She sighed and looked down.


"It's just...you sounded a lot like my childhood friend Muku." He cocked his head.


"Do you not keep in touch anymore?"


"He's dead." Naruto's eyes widened.


"I'm sorry." She smiled.


"Before he died, he said the same thing. That he would never lose sight of himself. And then..." Naruto shook his head.


"It's okay."


"No it's not. It was that bastard Mui. He did it to his own son!" Naruto's eyes widened and anger flowed through him.


"His own son...we'll kill him. Soon. I have a plan, but we'll need a few days. Did you see anyone missing from their cell?" She nodded.


"Yea, one guy. Maroi I think." Naruto's brow rose before he chuckled.


"No kidding? Cheeky bastard..." She looked at him oddly. "I have a plan, but I'm too tired to tell it to you." She deadpanned.


"Seriously?"


"Yea seriously. Mui loves to party. With fire." She winced.


"Sorry." He chuckled.


"I'm kidding. But seriously I'm going to bed. I'm about to pass out." He lied on his side and shivered, his shirtless torso touching cold rock. He was extremely surprised when he felt slender arms wrap around him and Ryuuzetsu pressed herself against his back. He turned his head around and looked at her.


"What...?" She looked down.


"You looked cold...and uncomfortable. You said you trust me right?" He chuckled and closed his eyes.


"Yea. I do." He couldn't help but feel a little grateful. This was nice, just a beautiful girl and some peace and quiet.
Maybe when they got out of here...


XxX

Sasuke was sure that one of the Mist ninja eyeing him up was going to attack him any second now. Foreign ninja were always a suspicious sight, and the fact that his headband was on display for all to see didn't help. He decided to approach the closest Jonin to end the suspicion.


"Excuse me, but I'd like an audience with your Kage." He said politely, earning a cold look.


"Why should I grant you that outsider?" Sasuke held back his frustration, that wouldn't help him at the moment.


"I am no threat. I come with proposition of alliance. Please let me talk to your Kage." The Jonin's eyebrow rose. As a seasoned veteran, he knew that an alliance meant one thing...


"Very well. Follow me." The Jonin led Sasuke through the village and to the Mizukage's office quickly, and before he knew it he was standing in front of Yagura.


"You…I recognize you. You're the teammate of the boy who holds the Nine-Tails." Sasuke was a little surprised to hear that the Mizukage knew him.


"Yes, Naruto is my teammate." Yagura nodded.


"Then welcome to the Hidden Mist. I could never refuse the friend of a Jinchuriki." He stated genuinely. "What do I owe the pleasure?" Sasuke was surprised by and satisfied with the fact that this was going so well.


"Well, I do not want to waste your time, so I will get to the point. The Fourth Shinobi World War is coming, and we would like to negotiate with you." Yagura was taken aback by the bold declaration.


"I…see. If I may ask, how do you know this?"


"I was on a mission in Rain Country when we came across the leaders of the Hidden Rain. By some odd coincidence, they had been trained by Naruto's Uncle, and so they took us to their village. There, they told us that Hanzo the Salamander is alive and he plans on starting a rebellion. As of now, we are allies with them, but Hidden Rock has joined Hanzo. I've come to you in hopes that you will aid us, or at least stay neutral in this conflict." Yagura eyed the Uchiha in contemplation for a few moments before nodding.


"I see. Well, as you might suspect, I am not too keen on bringing my nation into a war that doesn't involve us." Sasuke's expression dropped. "However, I would rather see the Leaf come out on top than anyone else. So here is what I will do: officially, the Hidden Mist shall be neutral. But, who's to say we can't cut you a discount on supplies, or send over some foreign exchange ninja." Sasuke grinned.


"Thank you Lord Mizukage. Your assistance is greatly appreciated." Yagura smiled back.


"Of course. But next time we meet, do send Naruto. I would like to have a chance to speak with him." Sasuke nodded, and then his eyebrow quirked.


"May I ask you a question?" Yagura nodded and extended his hands in affirmation. "Why are you so interested in Naruto?"


"Well, he is a fellow Jinchuriki. I have only met one other Jinchuriki, but he is a quiet, boring man. He does not speak much." Yagura looked out of the window on the side of the room. "Everyone handles their problems differently; Jinchuriki are no different. Some become twisted, insane murderers while others become great heroes. Naruto seems like a hero." Sasuke chuckled at that.


"He's more than a hero." Yagura nodded.


"Good. Then I cannot wait to meet him. Until then, I wish you fortune and health, and I await to hear from you again. Travel safely.


XxX

Naruto stood in the center of the prison courtyard and looked around, spotting Maroi talking to a bald man with a goatee. Maroi was laughing and joking as always, but the other man had a serious expression on his face. Ryuuzetsu stood next to him, waiting for him to confirm their suspicions. He felt his clone dispel, and once again he entered Sage Mode, immediately recognizing Maroi's chakra signature.


"It's him. No doubt about it."


"What do we do then?" Ryuuzetsu asked. Naruto bent down to whisper in her ear.


"It will take a few days, buy I need a few clones to channel nature chakra for me. The Tenrou doesn't affect me when I use Nature Chakra. I'll start a fight with Mui, and unless his partner steps in I'll kill him. And then I'll kill them both." Ryuuzetsu shook her head.


"That is so...reckless."


"But it always works." He replied with a grin. "Just trust me. Okay?" She nodded slowly.


"Okay, I will." He grabbed her wrist and started to pull her away back to the barracks.


"C'mon, I have to find a place my Shadow Clones can meditate safely." Ryuuzetsu let herself be dragged, a tiny smile bubbling up to the surface.


XxX

"War you say? Then I will be needed on the front lines." Gaara said monotonously. Kakashi nodded.


"Yes your aid would be a considerable boon. But first you must talk to the Kazekage." Temari stepped forward and nodded.


"We'll deliver the news. But Lord Sasori will be behind you one hundred percent. He's committed to this alliance." She explained firmly.


"Very well. Then your trip should be short. Since the Hidden Leaf will be the Base of Operations, he can either come here or appoint someone else to command his forces strategically." The Hokage stated. "You are dismissed. Leave by nightfall." The three Sand siblings nodded and exited the office to prepare for their trip home.


XxX

Sasuke waited as the crunch of soft footsteps padded up the trail behind him. He recognized them immediately.


"Anything good?" The younger Uchiha asked. Itachi shook his head.


"We have much traveling to do. We shall speak on the way." Sasuke nodded, and then they disappeared without a trace, racing towards Hidden Rain.


XxX

Extra Content: Stillness of the Sage


The peaks of the mountains at Mount Myoboku were perfect for training to be a sage. Balancing on the tip was no easy feat, and one had to be be completely still in order to do so. Naruto had progressed far in his training, but at the moment he was stuck simply because he could not force himself to be completely still. And every minute or so he would lose his focus, which caused him to fall constantly and almost get impaled by a peak before Fukasaku saved him.


"You are so close Naruto, and yet you fail every time." Fukasaku scolded. "You must let go of your body and feel your mind. Forget the outside world."


"I'm trying. I just can't stay that way." Fukasaku sighed.


"You must or else this training will be for naught. We've been at this for a week now. Was I wrong in thinking you had more potential than Jiraiya?" Naruto knew he was baiting him, but he bit anyway.


"No, I'll get it." Naruto assumed a meditative position on the slab of stone once again. Fukasaku admired him secretly.


'He's very focused. It won't be long now...' And so it wouldn't be. Three hours or so later, and Naruto was balancing himself on the slab just as he had promised.


"Very good Naruto. Your drive is what helps you succeed. It is most impressive." The old toad smiled. "Now it is time for you to enter Sage Mode." Naruto opened his eyes and nodded. He jumped off of the stone slab without disturbing it, making Fukasaku raise an eyebrow. The old sage followed him to the ground and landed on the boy's shoulder. "This is where the real training starts. You will have to break through any barriers you've come across before in your training, but on the other side you shall find a power that will give you the strength to accomplish all of your goals." Naruto nodded seriously.


"I'm ready." Fukasaku's eyes narrowed and he grinned.


"Then we'll start right away."


XxX

"All of this Nature Energy you have been feeling is only the tip of the iceberg. When you go into Sage Mode, you can convert Nature Energy into Sage Chakra, which gives you the ability to create powerful technique. For example, take your technique the Rasengan. How big can you make yours?" Naruto held out a palm sized Rasengan. "That's it? I've seen Jiraiya create ones almost as big as Gamabunta with Sage Chakra." Naruto's eyes bulged.


"As big as Gamabunta? That's insane!" Fukasaku chuckled.


"Such is the power of the Sage." The toad cleared his throat. "Now, I want you to start to meditate." Naruto nodded and sat in a relaxing position. "Good. Let the Nature Energy flow through you; become a sort of beacon in the darkness for it. A sanctuary. Let your mind attain peace, let your body attain tranquility, and let your chakra mold the Nature Energy, and make it one with yourself." Naruto listened intently as he gathered the potent energy. He could literally feel the chakra flowing through each and every one of his chakra pathways as he deepened his focus. It felt incredible. His body was bristling with power now, and the world exploded into view around him, even though his eyes were shut tight.

"I can see everything...by god its breathtaking." Naruto breathed out, causing Fukasaku to smile.

"Yes it is a great power indeed. And it will only grow stronger as you master it." Fukasaku sat next to Naruto and assumed a meditative position like his pupil. "Today is the last easy day. For the rest of the day you will memorize this feeling so that it will never be a problem to call upon it. Immerse yourself in it, make it instinct alone." The rest of the day was the picture perfect example of serenity for Naruto, the feeling of the Nature Chakra filling him with relaxation. He let his thoughts wander throughout the day, as he was totally at peace, and all of his focus was in his mind. He was able to think clearly and really delve into his thoughts, and so reflection was the word of the day. And although he was young, Naruto was proud of himself, and he had no regrets to this point.


When night rolled around Fukasaku nudged Naruto out of his trance.


"How do you feel boy?" Naruto smiled.


"Great. I feel like I just slept for a week too." He commented, stretching his arms. Fukasaku jumped up and away from Naruto, crouching into a battle stance.


"Then you'll have no problem putting up a fight. It's time to train your body now." Naruto grinned.


"Alright, but I won't hold back." Deep yellow eyes, not unlike that of a toad, stared into Fukasaku's own eyes. The old sage chuckled.


"Of course. I'd kill you if you did." And then he was gone. Naruto threw up his arms to block a powerful kick from his left, and shockwaves rolled through the earth from the force of the impact. Fukasaku fell down and jumped up again as he threw a punch at Naruto's face, who dodged it just in time. Or so he thought, until he was skidding across the ground like a rock on a lake. When he finally came to a stop he groaned painfully, and Fukasaku landed beside him.


"The first technique I'll be teaching you is called Frog Kumite, and it is the Taijutsu style of the Toad Sage. As you can see, merely dodging it is not an option." Naruto nodded as he finally stopped seeing stars.


"No kidding..." Fukasaku smirked.


"The secret to Frog Kumite is the control of your Sage Chakra to strengthen your physical prowess. In order to get extreme power behind your blows, you must charge your chakra until the point of impact, and then release it at the point of impact all at once. It's the same with blocking, which might I add, is the only way to effectively stop a Frog Kumite strike without disengaging. You must release your chakra at the point of impact to nullify the incoming blow." The old toad explained. "Try practicing on the ground with aerial attacks, and once you get it down, we will spar again."
Naruto cocked his head.


"Why have me start off with such a complicated maneuver?" He asked curiously.


"I'm glad you ask. For the same reason I started your training at night. By learning how to do something in unfavorable conditions, it will be second nature in favorable ones." Fukasaku explained wisely. "It is how I was taught, it is how I taught Jiraiya, and now it is how I will teach you as well. There are many things about Sage Mode that you don't know yet, buy you will have to master each aspect. The control of Sage Chakra is just one." Naruto stood up and nodded.


"I understand. I'll just have to work harder." He shrugged and grinned. "Nothing I can't handle."
 

noheartx

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Chapter 29: Like Liquid

Shikamaru sighed as he stared out the window of the Hidden Rain tower. Once again he found himself longing for big blue skies and puffy white clouds, but there were more important things to deal with.


"So Naruto is in Hidden Grass?" Sasuke asked, earning a nod from Yahiko. The blonde was now the only one absent.


"Yes. I do not know the details unfortunately. We haven't heard from him." Yahiko explained, causing Shikamaru to sigh.


"Troublesome." He scratched his chin and shrugged. "I think he'll be fine. If he needed help we would have heard from him."


"Or he could be dead." Sasuke gave Konan a dry look.


"It would take more than a few Hidden Grass ninja to kill Naruto." Yahiko smiled.


"I agree. Let us put our faith in Naruto that he will secure the alliance." Konan nodded. "Now, onto your missions. Itachi, you first."


"When we arrived in Hidden Mist Sasuke and I split up. Sasuke went to talk to the Mizukage as an emissary while I gathered info in the outskirts of the village. From what Sasuke told me, it seems that we succeeded in gaining an ally." Itachi explained. Yahiko nodded.


"Very good. And you Konan?"


"We met with the council and discussed some minor details. I could tell they were disappointed I wasn't Nagato." She smirked. "We established that Headquarters will be based in the Hidden Leaf." Yahiko nodded.


"Very well. Then we will need to appoint someone to assume tactical command of our own forces." Yahiko turned to Itachi. "I'd like it if it were you in there." Itachi's eyes widened.


"Sir-" Yahiko held his hand up.


"I know. Sasuke, can you somehow get Itachi into the Command Center? I know the circumstances behind his...'defection'." Sasuke gaped. "Surely your Kage could pardon him..."


"We can do it." Everyone turned to Shikamaru. "Kakashi will see reason. As for everyone else, well they what they don't know won't hurt them." The Nara devised with a smirk.


"I'm sorry, but how do you expect to hide me?" Itachi questioned. "Next to Orochimaru I'm the most notorious missing ninja in Hidden Leaf history."


"Cocky are we?"


"Just skeptical." Shikamaru laughed.


"Well after this you won't be. Sasuke, please arrange meeting with Kakashi. Here's my plan."


XxX

"The roof? Really?" Ryuuzetsu looked at Naruto like he was an idiot.

"Yea! C'mon it's perfect. No guard is gonna look on the roof because it's too obvious. And plus, this is the only angle you can see them from. Last time I checked, guards don't patrol on top of the wall." He winced suddenly and one of his legs slipped. "Woah. Okay let's get out of here before this Tenrou kills me." A few puffs of smoke later, three clones of Naruto appeared on the roof in meditative positions. "Alright let's go. Maroi should be coming soon for my evening play date." He flashed her a devilish grin and jumped off the wall, leaving her to stare with a melancholy gaze.


XxX

"Ow, okay not there" Ryuuzetsu sighed and took her hands off Naruto.


"If you stopped moving I could heal you faster."


"Yea well my body is on fire right now. Just...just let it heal on its own." She looked at him desperately.


"Why do you let him do this? Why won't you stop him?" He smiled.


"We will stop him. Tomorrow. If there's one thing I learned from my uncle, it's patience. There's always a time to strike. We'll take it when it comes." She stared at him a moment before sighing.


"I just hate seeing you like this." Naruto's eyes softened.


"Why all of a sudden?" He shifted into a sitting position and leaned his bare back against the cool rock. "Oh that feels good. Before this mission you only cared about completing the mission. What changed?" He asked. She looked down.


"You changed. I was driven by revenge before. All I wanted was to avenge Muku. So I dedicated myself to being a ninja so I could do that." Her head snapped up. "But you changed that! I realized that I had lost sight of myself...I broke the very mantra I had swore my revenge on." She ripped the bandana off of her head and clutched it tightly. "I see him in you...but you're so much more. You have this...aura of positivity. You bring peace to those around you. At least...that's how I feel." Naruto leaned forward and kissed her then, and immediately his pain went away. Her very touch was soothing. They parted after a few seconds, and Ryuuzetsu leaned closer.


"They say in the shinobi world you should never put things off, for you may never have the chance to do them again." She whispered with closed eyes. "No regrets." And there would be none. Trapped in that cell together would their love flourish...and die.

XxX

Naruto awoke to the chirping of a bird, which was an odd sound for such a droll place. But today was a day of victory. Not only did he bag the girl of his dreams, but he would complete his mission and secure the alliance as well.

He glanced over at Ryuuzetsu, and he couldn't help but laugh. He was happy. Happier than he had ever been. She was so beautiful...


"Do you need to laugh so loud so early?" She asked groggily as she sat up.


"I'm just happy." She rolled her eyes.


"More like insane."


"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination." She sighed.


"Just focus on the mission today. We only have one shot." Naruto grinned.


"We won't fail. Trust me."


XxX

"Riot in the courtyard! There's a riot in the courtyard!" Mui's head snapped up at the frantic shouting of his guard. He stood up and flickered out of his office into the courtyard. Instantly he was surrounded by pandemonium and chaos.

"This ends here Mui." The prison warden turned around to see Naruto in Sage Mode, staring at him defiantly. "You and your 'client' can give it up. I'm killing both of you today and putting an end to your treachery." Mui's eyes widened at Naruto's threat.


"So that's what this is about...very well. Maroi!" The warden's sidekick appeared.


"What's up?" Mui narrowed his eyes.


"Our friend Naruto here is a mole. I think it's time we gave a demonstration of our weapon. With the help of our friend of course." Mui grinned and flew through hand seals. "Summoning Technique: Box of Extreme Bliss!" A large seal array spread across the ground and with a great puff of smoke the box appeared. Four masks, each with an odd expression, adorned each side, and Mui and Maroi stood on top. "It ends here for you Naruto. Or should I say, Nine-Tails." Naruto's eyes widened. "What, you thought we didn't know? Your energy will be the energy used to open the box, and there's nothing you can do about it. Fire Technique: Tenrou Syphon!" Mui slammed his hand on the box and a stream of fire whipped out at Naruto, grabbing him and wrapping around him. His Tenrou started to flare up as his chakra was drained into the box, and Mui was laughing maniacally. "Yes! More power! Prepare to see the wrath of the Hidden Grass!" The box started to spout steam, and the front started to open. The mouth of the mask opened up and a path extended to the ground. Naruto watched from his knees as a boy around his age walked out with a blank expression on his face.


"Muku!" Ryuuzetsu ran forward and stared disbelievingly at the brought back to life boy. Mui stared at his son in awe.


"Muku..." He took a step forward, and in an instant, Muku was in front of him.


"Hello...father." Mui gasped as his son's hand pierced his heart. "Now we're even." Naruto stood up as Ryuuzetsu stared in shock.


"Muku no...what are you doing!" Muku pulled his hand out of his father, who crumpled like a ragdoll to the ground, and turned to face his childhood friend.


"Muku does not exist anymore...all that exists is...HATRED!" Muku's skin ripped apart, and a giant black feathered creature emerged like a butterfly from a cocoon. He had claw like hands and feet, and great black wings on his back. His extremities were bone thin, and his torso was only his spine. Four curved fangs protruded downward from his mouth, and he had no eyes at all.


"What the fuck...are you kidding me!" The prisoners started to flee in fear of the beast, leaving Maroi, Naruto and Ryuuzetsu alone.


"Shit this is bad..." Maroi said to himself. "I need extra backup. Lightning Style: Signal Fire!" He raised his hand and shot five bolts of lightning into the air, then jumped away before the monster could crush him. Naruto and Ryuuzetsu stared at the beast in horror.


"Muku...oh Muku..." Naruto's head snapped to her.


"I know it hurts. But please, snap out of it. Now." He grabbed her shoulder and she stared at him for a moment and nodded. "Good. Go get Mui and heal him up. We'll need him to seal this bastard. I'll take care of this." Ryuuzetsu's eyes widened.


"What? You can't beat him alone!"


"I won't be alone. Just trust me. Trust me." She stared at him.


"Damn you. Fine. Don't you dare die." She jumped away then, not bothering to hear his response. Naruto watched her grab Mui and move him to safety before tensing up and jumping away from a hammer strike. The creature had started it's attack, and Naruto was surprised by its speed. It was just as fast as he was. Then he would have to use his father's technique. "Alright, here we go. Summoning Technique!"


XxX

"Lord Raikage, urgent news from Hozukijo." The Raikage stood.

"Go."


"Maroi has launched five signal flares. It's a code black signal. We're dispatching BOLT teams Ark and Ion-"


"Don't bother. I'll be going myself. Maroi doesn't want BOLT. Ready your Transportation Technique Mabui." The woman's eyes widened.


"But sir-"


"Do as I ask Mabui." Mabui sighed.


"Yes Lord Raikage. It will be ready in ten minutes."


XxX

"Yo Naruto! It's been awhile!"


"Not now Gamakichi! We're in a bad situation right now!" Gamakichi looked around and gaped at the enemy monster.


"Holy shit. What the fuck did you do to release Satori?" The toad asked, drawing his battle axe.


"You know him?" Naruto asked as he jumped on Gamakichi, who was almost the size of Gamabunta now. He blocked Satori's claw with his axe and flung him back against a building.


"Yea, he's the guy from the box. He brings destruction and fear wherever he goes. Can't blame em though; if I were trapped in a box I'd wanna fuckin slaughter everyone too."


"Nice to know you sympathize with him. Now oil!" They both sucked in large breaths and spat out streams of fire and oil. The result was a burning hot laser that zoomed towards Satori, who jumped away just in time to avoid it. Gamakichi jumped at him with his axe reared back and started slashing at him like the axe was a wooden sword. Satori easily weaved through the strikes, making any Sharingan user look like an amateur.


"Hahahaha! No one can touch me! Die!" The winged beast countered Gamakichi's relentless attack and switched onto the offensive. The giant toad waved his axe around expertly and parried his strikes until one got through, sending him crashing to the ground. Naruto burst from the cloud of smoke, a giant Rasengan swirling in his hand aimed right for Satori. At the last second, the beast maneuvered around the attack and batted Naruto away. The blonde coughed as he pushed himself up and patted Gamakichi.


"C'mon man get up. We're not done yet." The toad sighed and obeyed.


"You owe me so much Saki..."


XxX

"How curious. There's a toad on the window." Yahiko stated. Sasuke looked at the window and rushed over, letting the creature in.

"Gamamoto, you have word from Naruto?" The small toad nodded.


"Yep. Lord Naruto sent me last night in case he needed backup. He's at Hozukijo in Hidden Grass." Sasuke nodded and pulled a sack of candy from his weapons pouch, which the toad gleefully accepted. "Good work." The little toad saluted and disappeared with a satisfied grin. "Shikamaru, we leave now." Shikamaru hopped off of the desk he was sitting on.


"Alright. We'll have to postpone that meeting with Kakashi." Yahiko nodded.


"It's fine. Do what you must." Sasuke nodded and they started to leave.


"I'm going with you." Shikamaru turned to see Nagato standing next to him.


"The more the merrier. You know where to go Sasuke?" He nodded. "Then let's go."


XxX

"He's dodging all of our attacks. I can't hit him." Gamakichi complained.


"I know. I need to use the Flying Thunder God Technique. But I don't have my kunai with me! And I can't touch him either!" Gamakichi nodded.


"Alright, I got an idea. Put the seal on my axe." Naruto's eyes widened before he grinned.


"Try not to change the landscape." With that, the blonde jumped up and slapped his hand on the blade of the giant axe, applying his seal to the surface.


"Get ready!" Gamakichi charged in and began another relentless assault with his weapon, forcing Satori to focus on dodging. The toad suddenly leapt up and threw the axe at Satori with speed that rivaled a cannon. Satori sidestepped the weapon, but Gamakichi smirked.


"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto appeared next to Satori in an orange flash and thrust his attack at the beast, only to strike air. He fell to the ground in disbelief.


"How..." He heard the shifting of air and jumped away as Satori's claw came crashing down on him. The winged monster kept the barrage of attacks up, making Naruto zip around like a bullet. He jumped over one stab and launched off a wall at Satori, and flew through hand seals.


"Wind Style: Air Cutter!" A blade of wind formed in Naruto's hand and he slashed it at Satori multiple times, sending invisible blades of wind at the monster. Satori jumped and weaved through them all and once again sent Naruto crashing to the ground. "This isn't working...I just can't hit him..." He heard a loud crash, and he couldn't help but gape like a fish. Standing in the middle of the prison, was none other than the Raikage, his Lightning Armor crackling loudly.


"Who the hell let this thing out? Shoulda brought Bee..oh well. Time to die freak!" The Raikage flashed around like a lightning bolt, pummeling Satori with powerful electrically charged strikes, although none of them hit. In the meanwhile, Naruto rushed over to Ryuuzetsu.


"How is he?" He asked quickly. She didn't look up, for she was too focused on her healing.


"I can't keep him alive much longer. You have to stop him now!" Naruto nodded with determination.


"Okay. Damn I wish Shikamaru were here." He groaned. "Okay, the Raikage can buy me some time. I need to think of a plan. I just can't figure out why I can't hit him!" He looked up to see Satori's claw descending on them. "Shit!" He grabbed Mui and Ryuuzetsu and flashed away to the axe, which was still in the ground. "Dammit! I need more time!" He jumped up and charged at Satori and started to attack him furiously, not caring about the fact that he was missing. Satori jumped into the air and shot hundreds of feathers at Naruto, who countered with a wind style attack, blowing them away. Not all of them were blocked however, and one slashed across his arm, leaving a streak of red. He stared at the creature with frustration and anger in his eyes. Not. One. Scratch.


"Naruto!" Naruto's eyes widened as the familiar voice echoed through the air. He turned his head and almost yelled jubilantly.


"Sasuke! Shikamaru! Naga-"


"Naruto!"


"Naruto look out!" The blonde's eyes widened as he felt his entire torso being pierced, and an excruciating pain erupted in him. Surely he would be dead in...


"You...dropped your guard..." Naruto's eyes widened. He lifted his head up and saw Ryuuzetsu standing in front of him, blood dripping from her mouth.


"Oh...f-fuck no. Why...why did you-" She leaned forward and kissed him and he kissed back as hard as he could. They broke apart and he rested his forehead on hers.


"You can't be afraid...to die for what you love." He gaped at her and they both groaned as Satori pulled his claw out of them, but not before Naruto slapped his seal on it. They collapsed in each other's arms and Naruto stared into her eyes.


"I love you." It was a faint whisper, but Naruto heard it like she shouted it in his ear.


"I love you too." He sat up and forced hinself to stand, ignoring the gaping hole in his body. "Now wait. I'll be back for you." He disappeared and she smiled sadly.


"No you won't..."


XxX

"He's gonna die if we just sit here!" Sasuke shouted before dashing into battle. Shikamaru looked at Nagato.

"Do you know Medical Ninjutsu?" The Rinnegan wielder nodded. "See if she can be healed. I need to join my team." Shikamaru ran over to the battle to see Naruto pounding the monster around like a pinball. He turned to Sasuke. "What happened?"


"He yelled something about having no fear and somehow the monster can't do anything. I think it's over though." They watched as Satori was sent flying into the Box of Extreme Bliss, groaning painfully as his spine cracked against it. Naruto jumped into the air and started to charge up a Rasengan, except this one turned brown. Mud started to form around it into the shape of a drill, and little rocks orbited it like satellites.


"Earth Style: Rasenwaremiyari!" The point of the drill crashed into the monster's face and annihilated it instantly. The drill continued to pulverize the box and the ground beneath it, causing a massive sink hole to form. Nagato barely got away with Ryuuzetsu as Sasuke, Shikamaru and the Raikage escaped easily. Naruto landed in front of his work of destruction and promptly collapsed to his knees, his energy leaving him. Sasuke and Shikamaru rushed over to him and tried to shake him awake, but they had no success.


"Bring...bring me to...him..." Nagato looked down at the girl in his arms. She was staring at him pleadingly, so he nodded and picked her up. He rushed over and set her next to Naruto. She pushed herself up and stroked his face, ignoring the pain, knowing she wouldn't live much longer.


"Thank you...for everything. Never lose sight of your way. You're the light that guides everyone else, so you can't falter. I'll be there along the way..." A tear dropped from her face onto his cheek."...in here." She slowly went through hand seals and put her hand on his heart. "I love you. Dragon Life Reincarnation." She leaned down and kissed Naruto, and a green light enveloped his body. She slumped over as the light faded, and Naruto awoke to see her head lying in the crook of his neck.


"Ryuuzetsu...what happened." She didn't move. "Ryuuzetsu. Wake up." He felt her cheek. Cold. "No..." He looked at her stomach. The blood was dried now. "Why...?" He sat up and cradled her body. He noticed Nagato, Sasuke and Shikamaru staring at him with sad expressions.


"She sacrificed her life...to save yours." Nagato stated solemnly. The blonde looked down.


"I..." He was speechless. To think she was ripped away so fast. She was just a dream to him. A scattered memory.


"You can bury her later." Sasuke stated. "We need to leave. The Raikage is still here, and I don't fancy taking him on." Naruto's head snapped up, and his face contorted with anger.


"I do. It's his fault she's dead...this stupid mission was to stop his weasel." He gently moved Ryuuzetsu's body and stood up. Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder.


"Stop. Your being stupid. It's the Raikage." Naruto turned to him and his eyes flashed red.


"Don't." Sasuke seemed stunned, but he backed away and let Naruto confront the Raikage.


"Is he stupid?" Nagato asked, watching dumbly as Naruto went to confront the leader of Hidden Cloud.


"Quite so. But he won't die. He's too focused. I've never seen him like this. I'm a little scared for the Raikage." Shikamaru stated, earning odd looks.


Naruto walked up to the Raikage and glared at him.


"You lose. Your agent is probably dead. Now you'll lose your life." Ei glared at him.


"Who are you acting so cocky boy?" Naruto grinned.


"Surely you remember my father." Ei's eyes widened.


"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Damn it all, I really should have brought Bee!" He grinned. "Well then, let's see if you live up to your father's name." Both of them blurred out of existence, and the only evidence of their clashes were the sparks of lightning that erupted with each strike. They were moving around so fast that it appeared to be a shower of fireworks, mesmerizing in a deadly way. They stopped after a minute, neither showing signs of fatigue. "You are indeed his son. No one has speed like that. Today is not the day we do battle Namikaze, but we will meet again soon. Of that you can be sure." In a flash of lightning he was gone. Naruto stared at the empty expanse of rubble for a few moments before walking back and picking up Ryuuzetsu's body.


"Let's go." Everyone followed silently, not wanting to break the silence. Nothing they could say would help anyway.


XxX

Naruto gazed down at her body, resting peacefully in her earthen tomb. His fingers were bloodied from digging it, but the fox would fix it. He was numb now anyway.

Her bandanna was wrapped around his arm; her blood stained into the cloth.


He smelled the rain before he felt it, but it was comforting. It was cooling, much like her touch. The way she had made him relax...


The rain was a good veil for his tears, but he only shed a few. Just enough to let her know he loved her too. And he would never forget her.


The dirt had turned to mud now, and Naruto had no choice but to use an Earth Technique to finish her burial. When she was covered he placed a single white stone on her grave, one that would probably blow away in the next storm.


But he would never forget this spot; it was ingrained into his mind. A remote location in the Land of Fire that only he knew about. His sanctuary.


When he finally left the rain was pouring hard. But he didn't care. He was heading to Hidden Rain anyway. Gray never seemed so welcoming.
 

noheartx

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Joined
Oct 9, 2009
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770
Location
Trapped in my Mind
Chapter 30: History's Pen

"I don't like him like this."


"C'mon, I've seen Naruto beat his knuckles red on a training post plenty of times. He's fine." A loud crack resounding through the air. "...He's broken plenty too." Sasuke turned to his teammate and deadpanned.


"He's not fine." Sasuke stated with finality. "What the hell do we do?" Shikamaru just shook his head.


"There's nothing we can do. Unless you can bring her back, he's gonna hate the world for awhile." The Nara said sadly. "I hate to see him like this too. But we have no idea what he's going through. Temari and Kairi are still alive." Sasuke looked back at Naruto, who now stood still in the rain, staring blankly at the stump of the training post.


"Did he fall in love with her that fast?" The Uchiha asked quietly.


"It seems so. You know how Naruto is. He loves with everything he has. There is no middle ground." Shikamaru explained. "He's gonna be hurting for awhile."


"This can't happen now. We're about to go to war. He's gonna get himself killed." That statement hung in the air for awhile. It was certainly true. A guy like Naruto, who would surely be on the front lines for most of the war, had to be focused. War was too chaotic to lose your focus, because the next thing you would lose was your head.


Naruto snapped out of his daze and turned to his teammates.


"Which one of you wants to spar with me?" Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at each other, and Sasuke sighed.

"Fine. I could use a good fight." He jumped down to the muddy training field and as soon as he touched down Naruto was on him. Shikamaru watched as they exchanged blows, and he grinned as Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life. Screw sky-watching, this would be great afternoon entertainment.

XxX

The Sand Siblings walked into the Hokage's office, led by Gaara. Kakashi put down the report he was not really reading and smiled under his mask.

"Ah, so good to see you back safely. Tell me, what are Sasori's plans?" Gaara stepped forward.


"My sensei will be on the front lines with our men. I...I am to assume tactical control of Hidden Sand's army. Temari and Kankuro will be the field commanders under our sensei." Kakashi blinked.


"Wow. Every other village leader is making me look like a huge pussy right now. Damn that Sasori, he did it on purpose." He sighed. "Well, I look forward to working with you. Although now it will only be for a short time." Gaara grinned slightly.
"What, you guys don't think I'm a pussy, do you?" Kankuro coughed.


"Well you are the only Kage staying behind..." He said quietly.


"I have things I need to take care of. You do realize that since all of the other leaders are so brave that I'm the one stuck dealing with the administrative shit." He stated indignantly. They shrugged. "I hate you all."


"Very well. Good day Lord Hokage." Gaara walked out of the room, leaving his siblings and a confused Kakashi behind.


"He did know I was kidding right?" Temari chuckled.


"You never know with Gaara." They walked out after that, and Kakashi sat down with a huff.


"Genma!" Genma appeared fully clad in his ANBU uniform. "I have an S-Class mission for you."


"Must you use my real name?" The Hokage hit him with a one eyed glare, which in Genma's opinion was worse than a regular one. "How can I serve you Lord Hokage?"


"First, take a break." Genma rolled his eyes. "Then go pack my bowl. To the top, Genma."


"You know, the old man smoked, but he never ordered us to do it for him."


"I didn't say you couldn't get in. That's why I told you to take a break. Now go before Tenzo finds out and gets mad." Genma was gone in an instant, and Kakashi smiled. It was good to be king. For now anyway.


XxX

"Well, we'll be off then." Shikamaru stepped forward and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want to come?" The blonde shook his head.


"I'll be fine. Tell Sensei I said hi." Shikamaru nodded and turned to Itachi and Sasuke. He made a motion with his head, and they took off, tearing a path through the rain. It was clear Shikamaru was excited to get out of Rain Country.


It would only take about a day to reach the meeting place, which was a safe house hidden in the depths of the Land of Fire. Kakashi would most likely already be there by the time they arrived.


When the rain stopped falling Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief. He gazed up at the sky and smiled when his puffy white friends came into view.


"Home sweet home."


Itachi, who was disguised as a Hidden Rain ANBU, had similar thoughts, except they were much more powerful. This was the first time he would actually be meeting someone from home after all these years...and Kakashi no less. He had planned on finding Sasuke again...but not so soon. That had been shocking in itself but this...this would make long buried memories bubble up to the surface like boiling water.


They reached the safe house by morning, and Shikamaru muttered a few seals and pushed his hand on a tree, activating a sealing array. The tree slid open, and the three black haired ninja walked through. They descended down a swirling stairwell, until they hit the bottom, where Kakashi was reading one of Jiraiya's books. He shut the book, and beckoned his students over.


"It's been awhile. Where's Naruto?" He asked, noting the missing blonde.


"He's in Hidden Rain. He's...not in the best place right now." Sasuke explained. Kakashi cocked his head.


"We don't know the details," Shikamaru continued, "but he went on a mission to secure the alliance with Hidden Grass. He fell in love with the Grass ANBU he partnered up with, and she died on the mission." The Nara explained sadly. The Hokage's eye widened.


"That is...unfortunate. I assume there's nothing I can do to help?" Kakashi asked with concern.


"Not likely. He needs to work this out himself." Sasuke stated.


"I see. And the alliance with Hidden Grass?" Shikamaru snorted.


"Oh they're on our side. You should have seen Naruto. He barged into their council chambers during a meeting, holding her dead body and said 'The mission is done. Are you with us or not?' Apparently there had been traitors in the Hidden Grass, so he was skeptical of everyone. They must have figured out what had happened, either from the dead look in Naruto's eyes or whatever, so the leader just nodded, and Naruto walked out. I don't even think that one will come back to bite him in the ass." Shikamaru summarized, adding his two cents at the end.


"He's always been good at that kind of thing. But enough of this. I'm curious as to why you called me out here for such a discreet meeting." Kakashi stated, moving to the subject at hand.


"Well this...guy here is the appointed commander of Hidden Rain's forces." Shikamaru said awkwardly.


"And this guy is?" Kakashi asked.


"You have to promise you won't do anything drastic." Sasuke stated. "I'm serious."


"Why are you so worried. It's not like it's your brother." Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at each other nervously. "Fucking christ it is Itachi. I was kidding. Why are all of my jokes falling flat?"


"You never were that funny Kakashi." Itachi said as he removed his mask.


"You have a kill on sight order, and you're mocking me?" Kakashi stated with disbelief. He turned to Sasuke. "Is this an elaborate prank? Is Naruto laughing at my expense somewhere?"


"No. It's all real. But there are things that you don't know." Sasuke said, earning a curious glare.


"What information could you possess that I don't?" The Hokage asked.


"The truth about the Uchiha Massacre." Itachi stated. "You wouldn't know because it was never recorded as a mission. How could it be? Such an atrocious act could not be condoned by the village."


"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Kakashi questioned seriously.


"That I was ordered to kill my entire clan? Yes." Silence hung in the air as Kakashi digested this. It was bitter to say in the least.


"So for the past ten years you've been living a lie?" Kakashi sighed. "Dammit Itachi you should have said something. I would have-"



"You wouldn't have done anything. I cannot go back to the village as Itachi Uchiha. My name is disgraced forever." Itachi sighed. "I have a new home now. It has not been so bad. But I am not here to discuss this. I am here as the commander of Hidden Rain's army." Kakashi stared at him for a moment before nodding.


"Alright. But this does pose the problem of getting you into the village." Itachi placed his porcelain mask back over his face.


"Not as Leviathan." Kakashi's eyebrow rose.


"Leviathan?"


"Hidden Rain ANBU codename. I must admit they are...cooler than animals." Sasuke eyed Itachi oddly.


"You just said something was cool."


"Let us forget I said anything. Kakashi, if you could escort me back to the village, I can assume my duties as commander." Kakashi shrugged.


"Fine with me. I just hope this little stunt pays off. For your sake."


XxX

Team 7 was back together in Rain again after Itachi's drop off, and both Shikamaru and Sasuke noticed a slight improvement in Naruto's demeanor. But just a slight one.


Information on Hanzo's army was scarce of late, and it put a bad feeling in the pit of their stomachs.


So naturally when the Hidden Rain Jonin scrambled into the office and shouted something about an attack, none of them could say they weren't ready.


"Lord Yahiko! Intruders! In every part of the city!" Yahiko stood quickly.


"Push them back! Don't let them get the upper hand!" He commanded. "And send the fastest hawk to the Hidden Leaf!"


"Yes sir!" The Jonin disappeared from the room as fast as lightning, ready to carry out his orders.


"And so it begins. C'mon, we got a job to do." Naruto stated apathetically. He opened the window and jumped out, hopping off of various pipes as he descended to the ground. Sasuke and Shikamaru followed after a moment, and Nagato right after. Yahiko turned to Konan.


"Let's not let them have all the fun." They finished the exit, and six figures descended swiftly and gracefully from the tower, landing in the middle of chaos.


"Oh it's Hanzo alright." Nagato stated angrily. Each of the attackers had on the old Hidden Rain gas masks; the signature mark of Hanzo's rebels.


"We'll split up here. We must not lose the city!" Yahiko shouted enthusiastically.


"Don't worry, we won't." Naruto was off after that comment, and both of his teammates followed with worry in their eyes. But now wasn't the time. War had begun, and with it a new era of destruction.


XxX

"What? Hidden Rain is under attack?" The Chief of the Cipher Corps nodded.

"Yes. Apparently it happened at midday. The battle would be over by now." He conjectured. Kakashi cursed.


"Alright, no more time to fuck around then. Tenzo!" The ANBU Captain appeared.


"Yes Lord Hokage?"


"Hidden Rain has been attacked." He sighed. "Put together a battalion of Chuunin through ANBU class units and attach three medic teams to it. No, make it four. I want them in Hidden Rain yesterday. When they get there, whoever's in charge will defer command to Shikamaru Nara." Tenzo nodded.


"Anything else?"


"Send a few of your men out to gather a war council. Just the commanders, I don't care about the council. It's lucky that the Hidden Grass commander arrived today." He listed, his mind firing on all pistons. "Send messages to all of the Clan Heads and have them prepare their clans. I also want Shikaku Nara and Guy Maito here ASAP." He paused. "That's it."


"It will be done." Tenzo slowly split into four copies of himself, the clones growing off of his body like blooming flowers. They each disappeared at once, and Kakashi stood up and pushed his table into the middle of the room.


"That will do for now." He pulled the most current maps of Rain Country, the Land of Fire, and the entire continent and laid them on the desk. He pulled out his ninja roster and tossed it next to the maps. He would be busy all night creating his army, and tomorrow ANBU would be busy ordering everyone what to do. it was bound to get chaotic, but the storm always rages when it breaks. They would just have to weather it.


XxX

Naruto found that the buildings of Hidden Rain were excellent props to fight with. He leapt from one to the other like a frog, slaughtering any unsuspecting ninja in the street in between. Sasuke and Shikamaru trailed him in the street, finishing any stragglers their teammate left behind.

On the other side of the city, Yahiko, Nagato and Konan were face to face with Aoi.


"So the traitor returns." Aoi scoffed at Yahiko's comment.


"You are the real traitors here. Hanzo is the true leader of Hidden Rain. And your ambition will end here today!" Aoi shouted fanatically. Yahiko shook his head.


"No. All you've succeeded in doing is starting a conflict that will kill thousands. This war will not end in your favor." He stated firmly.


"Don't act so high and mighty. The Rinnegan means nothing to us. Don't think you're the only one with a trick up their sleeve!" Aoi said with a smirk. He took hold of his weapon, and the Second Hokage's sword flashed to life. "But enough talk. I'd rather just kill you now anyway."


XxX

"I'm sure you can all guess why you've been called here." Kakashi paused, earning a group nod. "Hidden Rain was attacked earlier today by a group of unidentified shinobi. Presumably, Hanzo and his rebels. I've sent reinforcements to Hidden Rain, but they will surely miss the fight. As of now, the Fourth Shinobi World War has begun." The Hokage stated.

"Then we shall beat them back. My Hidden Rain comrades will not fall so easily." Leviathan said confidently.


"We must mobilize our other forces as well." Gaara said slowly, as if pondering something. "My Sensei will lead our army to our borders to prepare for invasion. Hidden Rock must go first." The young commander decided.


"Agreed. They hold the most potential to turn the tides of this war." Kakashi agreed as he rolled out the map of the Elemental Nations. "The Land of Stone we can assume sides with the enemy. The Hidden Village there is small, but it's roots lie in Hidden Rock, and so does their loyalty. That front will be the worst by far." He pointed at Hidden Waterfall next. "Waterfall is a wildcard. We don't know what they plan on doing, but it's possible they could stay neutral." His next target was Hidden Cloud. "From what my students reported, it seems Hidden Cloud is our enemy as well. The Land of Hot Water and Frost Country will become the battlefields for this front, as well as the islands of Old Whirlpool Country." He finished his assessment with a clap of his hands. "We must coordinate an offensive."


"I suggest a pincer attack on Stone Country. Hidden Rain and Sand could wipe them out easily, even if Rock does send reinforcements." Gaara suggested. "An early, easy victory."


"I agree. Once I have the logistics of the outcome of this battle, I will issue my orders to the army." Leviathan stated with a nod.


"It would be best to send word to Hidden Grass too. They will be able to bring aid to Rain faster." Shintojo added.

"We shall send word now. Write out your orders, and our fastest messenger hawks will bring them to your villages. Have them carry out these orders as soon as they get them. Meanwhile, I shall move a bulk of my forces northeast to prepare for Cloud Invasion. An offensiev strategy will work well there." All of their heads turned to the door as it slammed open. Kotetsu, the ever petulant gate guard, burst into the office with a scroll in his hand.

"Lord Hokage! An outpost to the northeast has fallen to Hidden Cloud!" He quickly informed them. Kakashi cursed.

"So soon...Tenzo!" Once again the ever faithful captain appeared.

"Yes Lord Hokage?"


"I want you to lead ANBU teams Alpha, Gamma, Epsilon, Theta and Zeta to...what outpost Kotetsu?"


"Outpost 37."


"To Outpost 37. Hold the enemy off until I send reinforcements tomorrow." Tenzo nodded at his Hokage's orders.

"It will be done. Shall I defer control to the Vice-Captain?" Tenzo asked, as per protocol.

"No, just come back alive. That's an order." Tenzo nodded and disappeared to defend his country. Kakashi sighed heavily.


"And so they strike again." He snapped his finger twice, and two regular ANBU appeared. "Take these orders to the Communication Corps and have them send on our fastest hawks. Give the hawks a soldier pill each to halve their travel times." The ANBU nodded wordlessly and collected the orders before flickering away to the Communication Corps. "Now all we can do is wait. Guy, Shikaku, I would like your help in dividing up our forces." The two advisors, who had been silent for the meeting, nodded. "The rest of you are free to either stay or go. However if you want updates I suggest you stay." None of them moved. "Very well. My secretary shall bring us tea every few hours. It's gonna be a long night."


XxX

Extra Content: Of White Clouds and Busty Women

When Jiraiya had gotten to heaven, he had expected the cliché golden gates, white clouds and cherubic angels. What he hadn't been expecting was that heaven turned out to be exactly how he had dreamed it: a whorehouse on a cloud.

He was the luckiest fuckin guy.


It was perfect too. Beautiful women, all with Tsunade like busts, catered to his every whim. Hell, there was even a Tsunade Clone, a guilty pleasure he couldn't resist.


The best thing about the whorehouse though, much to Jiraiya's surprise, was the bar. Forget the fact that all the alcohol was free, and it was impossible to die from alcohol poisoning. God was his bartender. Fucking God. And so whenever he needed to chat with someone other than a beautiful woman, he would saunter over to the bar, knock back a few glasses of whatever the fuck he wanted, and shoot the shit with the man upstairs. It was truly glorious.


"So why do you suppose I was this lucky?" Jiraiya asked as he swirled around his import ale.


"It has nothing to do with luck Jiraiya. Every action you take is brought into account, and at the end of your life, you are judged. Throughout your life, you've done many great things Jiraiya. Do not be surprised to see yourself here. Life is the trial. This is the reward." God explained as he dried off a glass. "We overlooked your perverted faults. After all, there's really nothing wrong with loving the ladies." Jiraiya stared at him curiously.


"Are you just saying that because this is my heaven?" God chuckled.


"Who knows? But I do know this. That Tsunade is eyeing you up." Jiraiya deadpanned.


"They're all eyeing me up." His deadpanned turned into a shit-eating grin. "And I love it!"


"Well go get what you deserve. I gotta close up early tonight. The wife has been complaining." God said as he pulled his jacket on.


"You have a wife?" Jiraiya asked in surprise. God stopped in the doorway.


"Of course I do. You didn't really think Mary was a virgin, did you?" Jiraiya's laughter bellowed through the bar as God closed the door and locked it behind him. Jiraiya went back to his ladies, when suddenly a sharp pain pierced his chest. After that everything was black, until the slab of wood in front of him opened up, and he stared into the eyes of the Third Hokage.


XxX

"Purgatory? I'm stuck in fucking purgatory!" Jiraiya shouted angrily as he blocked Hiruzen's kick. "You should have seen heaven! All the alcohol and sex I wanted! It's not fair!" Hiruzen chuckled at his student's tirade.

"Sounds perfect for you Jiraiya." The white haired man grunted.


"It was. So perfect. Oh Tsunade..." Hiruzen jumped back to avoid the arcing slash from Sakumo's blade.


"Thinking about it only makes it worse Jiraiya. Now you get to spend eternity with us." Sakumo said to calm Jiraiya down. The Sannin's eye twitched.


"I'm in hell aren't I?"
 
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