Chapter 169: Chapter 20
Disclaimer: I have never nor do I currently own Naruto.
Chapter 20 – Akatsuki appears
Kushina stood in black garb as she silently prayed for those that fell during the Invasion. Thanks to Naruto's information and preventing several main facets of the attack from happening the death toll wasn't high on the Konoha side. So far the total was 30 recovered bodies and several more known to be dead.
It was a fairly good outcome even if they had known about the attack before hand. Sound suffered the most losses as many SUNA ninja had pulled out of the attack and retreated back to Wind Country.
They still suffered around the same amount of casualties as Konoha. This was mainly due to two factors. The first being it took some time for Team Baki to convince their forces they had been setup and their leader killed. The second was long held hostilities from when Konoha and Suna used to be deadly enemies not to mention the deepening grudge over missions being given to Konoha that were rightfully SUNA's.
But Oto's losses were far worse. If Oto survived the Snake's last folly then it would be a miracle. Of course that was if anyone was strong enough to stop the minor and newly constructed village from splintering into many different and uncontrolled factions.
They lost over one hundred jōnin including most of their already limited number of elite. If that wasn't bad enough thanks to SUNA pulling out and the relatively small number of invaders most of the Konoha forces were focused outside the walls where Orochimaru had over two thousand of his forces and followers.
Konoha, thanks to having home turf and being forewarned of the attack, outnumbered the Oto-nin at a ratio of 5:1. What made it even worse was a number of SUNA ninja's that didn't take well to being duped into a war they were destined to lose regardless of outcome attacking them as they fled. The departing SUNA ninja attacked the Oto contingent fiercely before making a sudden exit leaving a wounded and weary enemy behind them.
Thanks to having high ground and being safely behind the wall Konoha's retaliation was quick and brutal. Jiraiya aided their forces by going in first using his summons and senjutsu to over power the weaker forces left behind the wall. Jiraiya devastated their forces reminding the mostly observing at this point Konoha forces on the wall of his late student the Yondiame.
Jiraiya cut down a couple hundred of the Oto secondary forces before the Konoha nin started pouring from the village savagely tearing into the mainly chūnin and experienced genin invading force. Needless to say it was a slaughter. Not that Orochimaru would have cared if he had survived. They were mostly cannon fodder with few having what it took to rise higher than their current station.
With such a light casualty total the funeral being held was mainly focused on Konoha's biggest loss. The Sandiame Hokage at the ripe old age of sixty-nine lay in his casket in front of seemingly the entire village as everything had shut down to honor the man that had led the village longer than both of his mentors and his predecessor combined.
He was the Hokage and had been for well over three decades. He had been a ninja for more then six decades. He had seen action in all 3 Shinobi World Wars. His teachers were the Shodiame and Nidaime Hokage's, his students the famed Sannin . His father was the much heralded Sarutobi Sasuke a shinobi the equal of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
In his lifetime Sarutobi Hiruzen had seen and done many things. He was more than a ninja of note. Like his father before him Sarutobi Hiruzen was a ninja of legend and could be proud of the legacy he left behind. He had accomplished more than most men would ever be able to claim and he truly felt peace when he died with his student to forever battle with and against each other in the Shinigami's belly. At least that was the official story going around.
Kushina watched as many of the Sandiame's friends, family, even former rivals and enemies came to pay their respects. They each left a little token of their respect and wished the Sandiame Hokage well on his next journey in the after life. No one seemed to mind the rain falling on them.
She just stood in the back and watched. She thought of the memories she had of the man. She thought of the first time she met Sarutobi with Mito-sama when she was first transferred to Konoha. Which, led to her second meeting a day later when she brutalized her new classmates for making fun of her.
He was there when she had the seal placed upon her. He informed her of Uzushio's destruction. He had performed the secret ceremony marrying her and Minato. He had made the arrangements surrounding Naruto's birth. He was a friend, she thought she could count on … until she couldn't.
'You were a true Kage Sarutobi. A man of shadows' Kushina thought.
Kushina had come alone as no one wanted to go with her. After all that happened between the old man and Naruto she couldn't blame him from skipping out on the whole affair. He had no love for the deceased Sarutobi or any of the other shinobi that had been confirmed dead. And as far as he was concerned anything he had to say to the man had been said.
Akari and Miyuki didn't know the man only having met him on a few occasions. Their view of him was also clouded by Naruto's view of the man. Karin also opted out not wanted to be around so many people in such a sad setting.
Kushina wasn't fazed by Karin's refusal. She knew the young sensor in training would have an issue attending a funeral at this point. Her ability as a chakra sensor was so strong that she could even feel people's emotions giving her empathic abilities. They were really just scratching the surface of all the girl could do, but Kushina felt amazed by her niece's abilities at every step of the way.
Katsu and Yūdai were standing with their families. They had come with the Fire Daimyō whom was also paying his respects. The Daimyō had decided against leaving immediately. He wanted to make sure things were in order and certain people kept in check until a new Kage could be found.
He also wanted to pay his respects to an old friend. While he knew Sarutobi had probably manipulated him at times he was still someone he held in high esteem. While his faith had been shaken in recent times, the many decades of service wasn't something that could be pushed aside so easily.
As Kushina stood in the back watching as everyone paid their respects she began to wonder who would be charged with taking the Sandiame's place. She knew there would be a short list with the 2 remaining Sannin heading the list.
Then there was Kakashi and Maito Gai, but in her opinion and many others neither man was right for the job at this point. Gai was probably the strongest shinobi loyal to Konoha, but ever since he took on his disciple Lee he refused to use anything other than taijutsu.
He was still a talented shinobi, one of the elite, but then there were his personality issues to be considered. Frankly if he ever did become Hokage Kushina was sure Konoha would be the fittest village in the Elemental Nations. They would also suffer a record number of defections and many clients would also probably turn away from Konoha if they spent more than a minute with the man.
Kakashi was another issue. He was powerful as well and the most suitable of the pair if neither Sannin decided to take the post. The big issue with Kakashi was mostly about wether he could be trusted to properly do the job. He was just too unstable at the moment and his habitual problem of arriving late to everything was not something a Kage could afford to have.
There were other shinobi that could be considered for their talents, but none of them had enough backing or prestige to their name. Maybe in time one of them would rise to be worthy of the position, but for the time being none of them were ready.
Of course it didn't matter to her. Konoha was losing it's power. It had started at the lower levels with the changes made to the academy. Then the defections started. Konoha had more missing-nin than any other village. Then they started losing key figures to death, suicide, defection, and betrayal.
It would surprise her if the village lasted another decade. There was just too much going against Konoha for it to survive. Unless a miracle happened.
"Excuse me Uzumaki-sama … Uzumaki-sama"
"Yes …"
"Umino Iruka, I am an instructor at the academy. I used to teach Naruto-kun" Iruka cleared up.
"What can I do for you Umino-san?" Kushina asked.
"Please call me Iruka. I'm sorry for bothering you on such a solemn day, but I was wondering if Naruto-kun accompanied you and where he was?" Iruka asked politely.
"Naruto chose to stay at home today" Kushina informed him.
"Is he sick?" Iruka asked worriedly.
"No, he's probably training or doing something with the girls" Kushina answered.
"But, why wouldn't he come to the Sandiame's funeral? Sandiame-sama and he used to be so close when Naruto-kun was a little kid. I remember he used to call him grandpa and not in a mean spirited way, but in a way indicating he thought of Sandiame-sama as family. Surely he would want to pay his last respects to Sarutobi-sama?" Iruka questioned.
"I'm not sure if you heard or not, but Naruto was the last person to speak to the Sandiame moments before his death. Words passed between them and whatever was said seem to have been enough for him" Kushina informs the man.
"Kami, I had no idea. Then perhaps someone should find him so he can relay Sandiame-sama's last words to everyone?" Iruka asked.
"Umino-san, I understand your intentions but whatever words were exchanged between the two in those final moments were private. Naruto had his reasons for not being here. I ask that you respect his wishes" Kushina says seriously.
"H-hai, o-of c-course Uzumaki-sama. I hope it won't be a problem if I were to come by and check up on him myself, just to see how he's doing?" Iruka asked.
"That's fine. We are still staying at the Four Leaf Inn" Kushina informs him.
"Thank you Uzumaki-sama, sorry for interrupting you during your time of mourning" Iruka says with a bow.
"It's fine Umino-san, it was nice meeting you" Kushina says politely.
Iruka nodded and went back to his place in the procession. What Iruka and Kushina failed to notice was another member of the procession that had listened in on their conversation. He would also seek Naruto out soon.
With Naruto
Unknown to Kushina Naruto wasn't at the hotel, but walking around the seemingly deserted in some places Konoha. Akari, Karin, and Miyuki had been with him but they left a while ago to check on something and to do some window shopping. He would have gone with them, but he didn't feel like being dragged around town.
He had already completed his morning training and had a hundred clones still working at his team's training grounds. The building going on at his former residence was also being taken care of by another fifty clones and most of the shops he wanted to go to were closed until the evening after the funeral.
This left Naruto alone to wander the streets or would have if he wasn't being followed.
"Shouldn't you be at the funeral?" Naruto asked to seemingly no one.
"I could ask you the same, Naruto"
"I have nothing more to say that hasn't already been said" Naruto responds.
"Perhaps you would enlighten me as to what was said then"
"You can hear all about it in a few hours. The council has been called and I have been asked for … but you already know that don't you. I would think as Konoha's preeminent spy you would know exactly what is on the agenda today. So why are you here, Jiraiya?" Naruto questioned.
"I advise you to remember how you are supposed to properly address me, genin. The correct term of address is still Jiraiya-sama or Jiraiya the Great no Gallant, yeah Jiraiya the Gallant …" Jiraiya starts.
At this point Naruto turns to face the Sannin.
"And I would advise you to remember that I don't have to address you as anything more than Jiraiya-san, Jiraiya-san. I only once gave your master, the Hokage a title higher than Hokage-dono and no one in this village has rated higher than what I am willing to give you minus a few individuals so perhaps we should move on to why you are here Jiraiya-san" Naruto says.
Naruto could see the grimace on the sannin's face as he had to bite back his normal response.
"Fine, I want to know what your intentions towards Konoha are?" Jiraiya asked.
"My intention is what it's always been, to leave" Naruto responds.
"To leave? That's it?" Jiraiya asked in disbelief.
"You make it sound as though you don't believe me" Naruto says flatly.
"You make it sound like I should" Jiraiya retorted.
"I have no reason to lie. My deal might have been with Konoha, but my promise was to the Daimyō. As long as Konoha abides by the deal I have no problem fulfilling my end of the contract. That includes not harming anyone from Konoha without proper provocation" Naruto responds.
"So you won't kill anyone as long as you get your way. Typical spoiled brat. Why don't you grow up and get over what happened in the past.
You are living the good life in a fancy hotel, you got your own hand picked sensei and team, the citizens of Konoha are bending to your every whim. You have even been allowed to screw around with those two sluts you rescued …"
Jiraiya never to finish his tirade as an oppressive force weighed upon him. However, it had little affect on him.
"I'd watch what I say sannin. I have no problem with killing you. I'm going to take into account that you just lost your sensei and think of this as your grief talking. I know you didn't mean to insinuate that my girlfriends are anything other two innocent girls that were trapped in an unfortunate circumstance. So we're going to pretend as if you never uttered those words.
Now if you don't have any other business with me …" Naruto says.
"I would remind you that I'm a sannin boy. Try pushing that KI on me again and I will show you exactly how I achieved that title" Jiraiya fires back.
"I know exactly how you achieved that title. You lost, to a man stronger than perhaps any of the Kage's but you lost. And you lost a three on one fight at that. There is no honor in that title and we both know it.
So try another threat or tell me why you are here" Naruto responds.
Jiraiya grimaced at being reminded of that fact. He didn't like being reminded of that. It brought him back to when they had arrived home after Hanzo defeated them. No one dared to make fun of the ill tempered Senju princess or Orochimaru the genius. No he was left to endure most of the taunts and blame for their failure.
"I want you to drop this business about leaving Konoha" Jiraiya says.
Naruto just gave a frustrated sigh.
"Not this again. I just got through telling you that my sole intention is to leave this village and here you go saying to forget it. Why in Kami's name would I ever do that?" Naruto asks.
"Because it's what your father wanted" Jiraiya states simply.
"Because … my father … would want it. That it's it? That's your whole gambit. To say it's because my father wanted it. Wow, no wonder the Sandiame had so little faith in you.
Seriously, what gave you the idea I care about what father would want?
Even if he were here, right now, living and breathing the same air I would tell him to fuck off. And now I'm telling you. FUCK OFF!" Naruto shouts.
"Don't be this way gaki. I'm trying to be nice and help you out here. I'm even willing to train you and allow you to sign the Toad Contract. With my help in ten … maybe twenty years you could be the Hokage just like the Sandiame and your old man. Who wouldn't want that?" Jiraiya asks.
"Me, and how many times do I have to tell you that I don't need or want your training or that stupid Toad Contract" Naruto responds.
"Hey! Don't insult the Toads. It's one of the most powerful summon contracts in existence!" Jiraiya shouted.
"It is a powerful contract…" Naruto says calming Jiraiya a bit.
'Finally the brat is starting to come around. If it wasn't for the old man and the Toad elders I wouldn't be going through all this hassle for some punk kid. I could be spying on all the lovely ladies this world has to offer, but instead I'm stuck trying to bargain with an ungrateful little brat' Jiraiya ranted mentally.
Jiraiya was so lost in his own rant he almost missed what Naruto said next.
"… however, they are only powerful because of their ability to use senjutsu and through them allow their summoners to use it as well…" Naruto says before being interrupted.
"H-how do y-you know about senjutsu?" Jiraiya asked shocked.
"Did you forget I have multiple summon contracts, not just one and that one of those summon contracts happen to be with the Tiger clan?" Naruto asks.
From the look he was getting it was an obvious yes.
"The Toads are a solid A rank contract thanks to their use of senjutsu. The full Tiger contract is S rank and while I don't have access to the full contract they still inform me of things. Like the gifts, abilities, and strengths of other summon contracts. It's why I aligned myself with the Condor/Vulture's.
So yes I know about senjutsu and it's powers. I also know about it's drawbacks and that without senjutsu the Toads are at best a B rank contract. Still powerful, but not useful to what I desire in a summons. They can't even handle performing in salt water" Naruto finishes.
"So what if they prefer not to be summoned in or near salt water! It doesn't change that they are still useful every where else and last I checked most ninja battles don't happen on water" Jiraiya retorts.
"It doesn't matter. I'm not interested. You could summon a Toad right now and I'd tell them to their face I have no interest in their contract" Naruto remarks.
"Oh really now, you would tell the Toads that you think their contract is weak" Jiraiya asks with a sly smirk on his face.
"I didn't say they were weak Jiraiya-san. I said they didn't suit my purposes" Naruto reminds the old man.
"Whatever brat, but you would say you don't want to sign the contract?" Jiraiya questioned.
"I would" Naruto responds.
"That's all I wanted to hear" Jiraiya says.
'Now I can kill two birds with one stone. Hopefully this will get those two old Toads off my back about the brat' Jiraiya thought.
Jiraiya shunshines away leaving Naruto alone once again. Natuto just turns around and keeps going, well wherever he was going at the moment.
With Kushina
The funeral ended and like some hokey movie where some hero steps out and say something like 'and Now peace will reign forever' and a rainbow pops out from the clouds with a blindingly bright sun behind it, the rain stopped, the clouds disappeared, and the sun shone brightly over the assembled crowd. She wasn't sure, but she thought she spied a rainbow in the distance as well. It was a touching moment, if you were into that sort of thing.
Of course she couldn't simply walk away. No, for as soon as the sun shone and the funeral was over several groups stood in front of her.
"How are you doing Kushina-chan?" Asked Nara Yoshino.
"I'm fine and you?" Kushina replied politely.
"It was tough seeing the Sandiame's picture like that and realizing he is dead. He was like a grandfather to all of us" she answers.
"He did a lot for the village. He will be missed" Kushina replies.
"That he will" Yoshino concurs.
"Now, why are you all standing in front of me?" Kushina asks.
"Come on Kushi-chan, don't be that way. We're all friends here, can't we just come over to see how a friend is doing and talk?" Yoshino pleaded.
"We are not friends Nara-san, please don't pretend to be so familiar with me" Kushina responds.
The way she said it was so calm and detached. This wasn't the Kushina that they knew. The fiery, passionate, goofy red head was calm, collected, and she looked at them as if they were nobodies.
"How can you say that Kushina! After everything we went through together as kids, at the academy, when we became kunoichi. We fought together and survived the 3rd Shinobi World War and you attended all of our weddings!" Yoshino recounted loudly drawing some attention.
"And yet when I needed help, none of you stood up for me. None of you helped me as they ripped my son from my arms and threw me out of the village. You all turned away as ninja some of whom I helped train attacked me and forced me away from my home and child.
You watched as they tortured my son and abused him, never once helping him in my absence or even acknowledging him. And I know your clans and even some of your very own children joined in abusing and torturing him!
Yet you dare say you are my friend and try to act like none of that happened! Are you crazy or just plain stupid! I'll never forgive any of you or this village.
The only reason this place is still standing today is because my sochi wills it" Kushina says drawing even more attention.
At this point all the mothers sadden at hearing this, as did their husbands and children that were with them. Some of the women namely Yamanaka Isae and Akimichi Fusa, cried as they leaned on their husbands. Tsume was a tough bitch and she wouldn't cry even though the words hurt her the most, but Yoshino was too stubborn and didn't want to give up even if they did hurt, even if they were true.
Before Yoshino could say more her husband Shikaku decided to speak.
"Kushina, you shouldn't be mad at them. Yoshino in particular begged me to help you and Naruto-kun, but I couldn't. We couldn't.
The civilians, Sarutobi, Fugaku, Danzō, Hiashi and the Elders were adamant about what would happen with Naruto. We argued against it as best we could and tried to stall until you were ready to deal with them, but you didn't recover for nearly a month.
Our hands were tied by then. There was just nothing we could do to stop it and after that there was nothing we could do but go along with it all" Shikaku intervenes.
"We apologize that your boy was hurt Uzumaki-chan, but can't you see it from our position. We had our families and clans to think about. The sentiment against your son was just too strong after some rogue elements whispered lies to the populous" said Aburame Shizuka.
"And we are sorry if any members of our families or clans hurt you or your son, but we are here trying to make up for all of that. It hurt us more than you can ever know to do that to your and Minato's son" Akimichi Chōza adds.
"But we still see you as our friend, pack mate, as family. Please forgive us Kushina and let our families join as one and become united" Tsume says.
"How?" Kushina asked.
"Through marriage" says Yoshino.
At this point all of the girls from the Exams even Ino's stand-in cousin stepped out in front of their parents and bowed to Kushina. There was even a dark haired Aburame girl this time.
"Lady Kushina, we humbly request to initiate betrothal contracts with your son" said Inuzuka Hana.
Kushina watched as the seven girls before her all bowed their heads and nervously awaited her answer.
"I refuse" Kushina says firmly.
"What? You can't do that? Can she do that? Say something Shikaku!?" Yelled Yoshino.
"Kushina please be reasonable. Surely the girls can be allowed to ask Naruto himself?" Yamanka Inoichi countered.
Kushina looked at the girls and could see a few had genuine interest in her son, but a few also seemed to be relived that she said no.
Ino wouldn't have minded being engaged to Naruto. She had come to see him as smart, decent, and good looking guy. It was just bad timing as she was now more interested in his teammate.
Tenten was also relieved. She thought Naruto had proven himself to be resourceful, strong, and some what intelligent. Plus, he seemed to like swords and she would privately admit she found him to be attractive. However, she was still hung up on her teammate Neji.
"I'm trying to be reasonable here Yamanaka-san. Naruto has no interest in anyone from Konoha so this way it saves everyone time to just end this here and now" Kushina responds.
"We want to hear him say it" Yoshino retorts.
"You can ask him at the meeting today. I'm sure he'll say the same thing. Your husband already asked him as much after the last council meeting Nara-san" Kushina reminds the woman.
"But he hasn't even met most of the girls yet. If he will just meet with them and us one time at a place of our choosing, then … then I will accept whatever he has to say and leave you alone" Yoshino bargains.
"You'll drop the issue and leave me alone?" Kushina asked skeptically.
"I swear on my clan's name" Yoshino immediately responds.
Several members of the group, especially Shikaku faltered at that. Yoshino was never one to give up on something even if she said she would. A promise of that magnitude couldn't be rescinded or broken without grave consequences.
"Alright then, but we will pick the venue at a time convenient for us" Kushina countered.
"No, we pick the venue … but you can pick the time" Yoshino counter offered.
"Okay" Kushina says.
"Okay" Yoshino affirms.
Kushina shunshined away before any thing else could be said. And Yoshino did the same after grabbing hold of her husband and son.
"Why do I have a feeling this isn't going to end well?" Tsume asks aloud.
"It's going to be the cake incident all over again" Higourashi Takako says with a sigh.
"Yep" all agreed.
Later that Day
Naruto stood before the council as they asked him about what happened with the Sandiame.
"How did you get inside the barrier?" asked Mitokoda Homura.
"I was able to get inside using a jutsu that allows me to sort of teleport anywhere I have been or know of" Naruto answers.
"Can you show us this jutsu?" Nara Shikaku asked.
Naruto didn't sound out the name of the jutsu or use any hand seals. Instead the council saw a bubbling pool of darkness develop at his feet and then cover him before he sank into the ground. Then he appeared behind Shikaku and before the man could do anything about it he was back where he had been.
"What is the name of that jutsu and what are its limitations?" Shikaku asked.
Everyone had been awed by such a skill. He hadn't made a sound and he hadn't been detected even by one of the more experienced sensor's they had in the room. He had moved back and forth all in a matter of seconds.
"The name is Meiton: Kurai Tsuuro – Dark Release: Dark Passage. Its only limitations revolve around the user. If I have no knowledge of the place I want to go or lose focus bad things can happen or it simply won't work. There is also the chakra cost for places further away from my point of origin" Naruto informs them.
"That is a very useful skill Naruto-kun" Shikaku replies.
And indeed it was. The council was already imagining a large group of their warriors with such a skill. They could pop in and out of enemy territory before anyone could do anything about it.
"Can you transport others with you?" questioned Shikaku.
"At the cost of more chakra" Naruto responds.
Now the council imagined being able to infiltrate enemy villages and destroying them from the inside after they were nicely dropped off refreshed and ready to go, because they didn't have to expend any energy trying to get there or trying to overtake the village defenses.
"So you used this skill of yours to get inside the barrier…" Naruto nodded "then what?" questioned Shikaku.
"Then, I waited as the Hokage fought Orochimaru" Naruto informs them.
"Waited?" another nod "The ANBU on the scene have no recollection of you in the area before the barrier dispelled" Inoichi this time interrupts.
"Well, the place had been transformed into a forest by Senju Hashirama so they probably wouldn't have seen me" Naruto says.
"Why didn't you help Hokage-sama?" Tsume asked.
"He didn't want my help. I know that because when I told him of the Invasion plan after Preliminary round of the Exams he said he would handle Orochimaru alone. He even told Jiraiya-san over there to stay out of it that Orochimaru was his and his alone to deal with" Naruto says.
At this point they all turned to look at the Sannin.
"He speaks the truth. You all know how sensei felt about sparing Orochimaru after he found out about his experimentation's all those years ago. He wanted to be the one to stop him and nothing I said would change his mind" Jiraiya says.
At this the council took on a solemn expression. They did know of Sarutobi's shame and his desire to meet his student one last time and make amends for his previous failure. Still, it didn't have to go down that way.
'Old fool' thought the majority of them.
"Okay so at some point you revealed yourself?" Shikaku asks.
"When Orochimaru tried to spear Sarutobi-san through the back with his Kusanagi no Tsurugi. I stopped the sword before it could and then gave the Sandiame enough chakra to finish the sealing of Orochimaru" Naruto informs them.
"He had the Kusanagi no Tsurugi with him?" Yūgao asked.
She and her fiance were fierce sword enthusiasts. They knew practically everything one would ever want to know about most of the famous swords of the world and the Kusanagi was one of the more famous or infamous ones depending on how you looked at it.
She would give her left tit to wield that sword just once in combat. She could just imagine all the things she could do with it.
Naurot's response was a simple nod to his teacher.
"It wasn't found at the battle site" Shikaku says also interested.
"I sealed it away before helping Sarutobi with the final part of the sealing by giving him a portion of my chakra" Naruto says.
"Then where is it now?" Yūgao asked.
"I have it somewhere safe. Didn't want it getting in the wrong hands as it is a powerful weapon" Naruto informs them.
"Then you should hand it over to us. We'll make sure it gets in the appropriate hands" says Hiashi.
"I think I'll hang onto it for now. If I have no use for it I will give it to someone I feel will best use it" Naruto responds.
Some of the council bristled at this. Orochimaru was a Konoha missing-nin it didn't matter if he founded some rag tag village in the middle of nowhere. He was there missing-nin there for anything related to him was theirs to claim.
"I wasn't asking genin, that was an order. Hand over the sword now or …" Hiashi threatens.
"Or what? There is nothing you or anyone on this council can do to me" Naruto states.
"What are you talking about Naruto? We are the council and with the Hokage having passed on we are now the law of the village" Tsume says.
"Perhaps that is true, but the Daimyō is still the owner and ruler of these lands, this village, and its people. The deal I have to stay in the village was with two people, the Daimyō and the Sandiame" Naruto informs them.
"Your point?" Akimichi Chōza asks.
"My point is with the Sandiame dead and no appointed successor my contract allows me to spend the remainder of my time at the capitol if I so choose or stay here and do nothing. And none of you has any power over me even to order me to do a mission. I can simply stay in the village for the next 2 years and 4 months playing civilian and still uphold my end of the agreement or I can leave and be done with this village" Naruto responds.
At that point the council erupted and shouting began. It was reminding Naruto of old times.
"You can't do this!"
"After everything we have done for you, you pull this in our time of need!"
"We won't allow it!"
"SILENCE!" yelled Chōza.
"Thank you Chōza" Shikaku says.
"That wasn't funny Naruto"
"It wasn't a joke, Nara-san"
"Then why are you still here?" the Nara head asked.
This got everyone to settle down. They to wondered why he was still here if he could leave like he's always says he wanted.
"That's a two-fold answer, but I don't feel like telling you. If you are done with the questioning I will take my leave" Naruto says.
No one had anything more they wanted to say after the little bombshell so they watching him leave. After he left they began to talk amongst themselves again before deciding to move to their next agenda.
With Naruto
Naruto was walking back towards the hotel when he was stopped once more by the Toad Sannin.
"Hey gaki" Jiraiya said.
"What do you want Jiraiya?" Naruto asked.
"The elders have asked me to find my former teammate Tsunade so that she can become the next Hokage" Jiraiya tells Naruto.
"And you are telling me this because …" Naruto asks.
"Because I want you to come with me" Jiraiya says.
"No thanks. I have other things I need to do" Naruto says.
"This is important gaki. This is an S-rank mission and you will receive payment for it" Jiraiya tells him.
"S-rank pay?" Naruto asked.
"S-rank pay" Jiraiya confirms.
There are a lot of things Naruto would have liked to tell the Toad Sannin, but S-rank pay was at the minimum 1 million ryo and he wasn't about to turn that down.
"Okay, I'm in but I'm bringing some people with me" Naruto responds.
"That's fine, but their pay is coming out of your end" Jiraiya informs him.
"That's fine as long as we're not splitting a single S-rank payment between us then it doesn't matter" Naruto says.
"Of course we're splitting. The village can't afford to pay us both S-rank scale for one mission" Jiraiya retorts.
"Not my problem. Either my group gets S-rank pay or you can find your teammate on your own" Naruto responds.
"Fine, but I'm not babysitting anyone so they better be able to keep up and do whatever is needed of them" Jiraiya says sternly.
"When do we leave?" Naruto asks.
"Tomorrow at first light" Jiraiya answers.
Next Day
When Naruto showed up Jiraiya saw who he was bringing and paled slightly.
'I hope those two don't get in a big fight. They'll wreck whatever town we find her in' Jiraiya thought.
With Naruto was Team 11 minus their sensei whom had been asked by the council to take part in A-rank mission with Hayate and a couple of former jōnin level members of ANBU. It would take at least a couple of weeks to finish, but she was sure Team 11 would be fine.
Also with him were Kushina and the girls. Kushina obviously being the one he was worried about. It was a little known fact that Tsunade and Kushina didn't like each other.
This stemming mainly from Tsunade's jealousy over Mito spending so much time with Kushina before her death. Tsunade hadn't been able to see her grandmother and she resented Kushina for that.
Like wise Kushina didn't like Tsunade. From her point of view Tsunade made a very tough part of her young life even more difficult. And due to Tsunade being older, more experienced, with more training and skill under her belt when they did get in fights it was terribly one sided.
Tsunade never gave Kushina an inch and by the time Kushina had caught up Tsunade left the village. This left strong feelings of dislike in Kushina, borderline hatred.
"Gaki, I see you brought those other gaki's and your two lovely girlfriends with you, plus your cute cousin" Jiraiya greeted.
He wiggled his eyebrows lecherously at the three girls causing Naruto release a good deal of KI on him, which Jiraiya shrugged off.
"I told you before brat. That won't work on me" Jiraiya says.
He wasn't able to shake off what Kushina produced.
"Jiraiya" he heard.
"Stop harassing my son's girlfriends and Karin-chan or I'll finish what I started a decade ago and leave you without your remaining ball" Kushina threatens.
Jiraiya paled at the treat and quickly backed away hands up in a placating manner.
"Ma,ma Kushina-chan. I was just teasing. You know I meant no harm" Jiraiya tries to placate the woman.
Kushina paid him no mind, but continued to glare at him for another minute before relenting.
"Since we are all here we should get moving" Naruto says.
He wasn't anxious to leave, well actually he was. The less time spent inside of Konoha the better to him.
"Hold up a minute. I know I said you could bring people, but isn't this a little much?" Jiraiya asked.
"This isn't a normal mission so I thought it would be fine. Our sensei is on a mission so Katsu and Yūdai volunteered to come along when they heard about the mission. The girls wanted to come along and since there shouldn't be anything too dangerous I didn't think it would be a problem, plus I didn't want them here alone since I was going to ask Kaa-san to come with us and Karin is a sensor so she can help" Naruto broke it down.
"Fine, whatever but they are your responsibility" Jiraiya reminded him.
Naruto just nodded hoping to get this over with.
"Alright then let's go" Jiraiya said.
As the kids started walking out of the gates Jiraiya hung in the back as he waited for Kushina to join him. It took several minutes of gesturing before she joined him.
"What do you want pervert?" Kushina asked seriously.
"You wound me Kushina. You know I'm not a pervert … I'm a super pervert" Jiraiya said loudly.
"Tell me what you want already" Kushina says.
"Fine, fine I want to know how you will handle meeting Tsunade-hime?" Jiraiya asks.
"I don't know what you are talking about" Kushina says looking away.
"Don't give me that crap. I know both of you dislike the other, but this mission's success is important for Konoha. I want you to promise me that you will not cause any trouble" Jiraiya orders.
"I make no promises" Kushina responds.
"Kushina"
"I won't do anything if she doesn't. That's the best I can do" Kushina says.
"*Sigh* I … guess that's all I can ask, but if something does happen I will intervene if I feel it's going too far" Jiraiya tells her.
"Awww, still crushing on a woman that's done nothing but hurt you Jiraiya-chan. I thought you would have finally moved on after all these years" Kushina teases.
"Like you can talk Kushina, when's the last time you went on a date?" Jiraiya shoots back.
This of course got the response Jiraiya was looking for as Kushina stopped grinning and clamed up.
"You joke about me, but you're the one who should move on. I'm an old man and I have admittedly missed my chance at love and happiness. You are still young and thanks to those damn Uzumaki genes of yours you are likely to go on living for a long time.
I'm sure Minato regrets his decision to use that seal wherever he is, but I know he would not have wanted you to spend the rest of your life alone. Maybe it's time you moved on and found a good guy to spend the rest of your life with" Jiraiya says seriously.
"I know what your trying to do Jiraiya … I am truly happy with my life right now. I don't need a man in my life to make me happy. I have my son, I have experienced true love, and I've accomplished almost every goal I set for myself.
What do you have Jiraiya. At the end of the day what helps you sleep at night chasing away the nightmares of a lifetime of doing what we do. You have no family that I am aware of, your friends are mostly dead and buried or traitors …" she sensed an objection "no the people that work for you aren't your friends, and your one true love fell for someone else so deeply decades later she still isn't over losing him.
I don't say this to be mean. I say this because it's true just like what you said might be true for me if I wasn't happy" Kushina responds.
Jiraiya gave no response and Kushina didn't talk any further. She soon sped up to catch up with her son, the girls, and his friends leaving Jiraiya too his thoughts.
'You're a cruel woman Kushina' Jiraiya lamented.
"Jiraiya-san, stop daydreaming and hurry up. You are the one that is supposed to be leading this mission and we want to make it to the next town before sunset!" Naruto shouts back at the old man.
Jiraiya now realized the others had gotten quite a distance away from him.
'This is going to be a long mission' the Sannin thought.
Underground Hideout
In Rice country Kabuto was going through every bit of research he and his master had collected from all of their research.
He had managed to successfully recover Orochimaru's body before Konoha could destroy it. He was looking for any shred of life left in the body.
Everything he found was dead down to the smallest cells. And the curse seals that held Orochimaru's chakra, soul, and essence had long been destroyed leaving no trace of the man on any of it's former hosts. He had even heard reports that Anko Mitarashi was like wise now free of his masters seal and shouting it to the heavens.
For the first time in a long time Kabuto felt true loneliness. Most of Sound had devolved into different factions warring with each other. It seemed as if Orochimaru's brilliant plan to spread their operations among different lands and not stay true to one single country or village was coming back to bite Oto.
Once the Sound-nin recovered from their curse seals disappearing they figured out Orochimaru was either severely weakened and couldn't maintain them which meant they were free of his control or Orochimaru was dead. And since Orochimaru had many ways of gaining his followers the main ones being through coercion, fear, and trickery most didn't mourn the man.
He sat in a dark isolated room barricaded away from the rest as he read looking for any secrets that could help him revive his master but found none. None of the notes in this base held what he needed. He would need to move out soon, but he also needed a team.
His initial thought when he arrived was that he would be able to take control of Oto until he revives his master. This was thrown off track when he was confronted by a healthy and livid Kimimaro. Then Guren came apparently she had expected him to come back to their 'home' base.
Apparently they both wanted answers as to why their curse seals were gone and Kimimaro about why he feels healthy now that it was removed. The curse seal acts in many ways like a virus and due to the Kaguya's unique body adapted to his clans rare Kekkei Genkai it actually became a virus that spread and became more virulent and deadly with his every use of the seal. Not that Orochimaru informed him of that fact.
Kabuto knew he was in a rough spot. He could deal with Kimimaro as despite his violent tendencies the teen had always been cordial with him because of Orochimaru, but Orochimaru was dead and Kimimaro wanted answers. Guren always hated him for his closeness to Orochimaru and her skill with her Kekkei Genkai was deadly and growing. He imagined in a few years even he wouldn't want to face her.
With the two of them together since they seemed to be on the same page, well he didn't need them getting angry at him. So he told them what happened but made sure to add at the end it was someone's fault, that was alive, and that they could vent their anger on him.
He put all of the blame on one Uzumaki Naruto and told them where they might be able to find him. Kimimaro and Guren were gone before he could blink looking for vengeance against the Leaf and the one he told them caused their beloved masters demise to save his own skin. That made him pause and think.
'Should I feel bad about what I did to Naruto-kun?'
'Those two on their own are more than a match for most elite jonin. I'm not sure Naruto-kun stands a chance of survival against both. Oh well, I guess we'll see how strong you really are Naruto-kun' Kabuto thought.
Kabuto decided it was time to leave and search the other bases for more information. He made sure to pack up every scrap of research in the base before he left leaving the other Sound-nin to fight over it.
Itachi and Kisame
From atop a boulder over looking the traveling group from Konoha entering Shukuba Town, a strange duo waited watching them.
"Ah, to meet him and kill him. This is a good place to fight" Itachi says
"You can fight how and where you want, but I don't know … The time is wrong" Kisame responds.
"We need to move now so they can't increase the number of people they have" Itachi answers.
"It was good we found him at that Hotel, but he's protected by one of the legendary three ninjas and the former Kyūbi Jinchūriki plus all those other gaki's" Kisame says.
"That man alone might be a match for the #1 of the Leaf and one of the Mist's Seven strongest" Kisame continues.
"Ah, but … It's said that every strong man has a weak point …" Itachi trails off.
Konoha
Three jōnin stood around the bed of a fourth silver haired one that still had his mask despite the nurses valiantly trying to remove it from his face. Even unconscious the man seemingly refused to be unmasked.
"That guy still hasn't found Naruto" Maito Gai says quietly.
If this wasn't a serious conversation the others would have freaked out about a serious and quiet Gai.
"But it's not funny that he enters a crowded village. In this village, finding Naruto is pretty simple. Itachi knows Naruto's face" Asuma says.
"Shhh!" Gai admonishes Asuma.
Just then Sasuke opens the door enough from his wheelchair that he can see Kakashi. He enters the room wheeling himself beside Kakashi's bed.
"Kakashi …" "Why is Kakashi sleeping?" "Why are the jōnin all gathered where he is resting?" Sasuke asks.
"Um, no … It's not really that" Gai started trying to diffuse the situation.
"Unfortunately he never got the chance to finish as a soon to be demoted jōnin barged into the room.
"Is that story that Itachi has returned really true?" the man blurted out.
"And that he is chasing Naruto?" he continued obliviously.
"Argh …" Gai moaned slapping his head.
"Idiot" Kurenai says.
"Ahh …" the soon to be chūnin sheepishly responds once he spots Sasuke.
Sasuke's eyes widen as he abruptly jumps up out of his wheelchair and makes for the door. Fortunately Gai grabs him before he can even get close.
"Hold up, where do you think you are going?" Gai asks as Sasuke struggles to break free.
"I must kill him. He's going after Naruto I have to save him!" Sasuke shouts.
"You are not going anywhere genin. You just got out of surgery a few days ago. Moving around like that will only impede your progress and keep you here longer" Kurenai tries to reason.
"You don't understand! None of you understand! I have to kill him!" Sasuke shouts drawing attention to the room.
Gai however has a firm hold and isn't letting go as he knew Kakashi wouldn't want his student to rush off to confront his S-ranked missing-nin brother. And before things could get any more out of hand Gai delivers a swift chop to the back of Sasuke's neck rendering him unconscious.
Gai places him back in his wheelchair and notices his shirt has a growing red stain in the middle. He turns to the idiot that spilled the beans.
"Take him to the nurse's stations. Tell them he has reopened his wound and that he's to be restrained at all times" Asuma orders.
"Hai Sarutobi-san" The jōnin responds before carrying out the order.
"Now what?" Kurenai asks.
"I don't know. The gaki did have a point. Perhaps one of us should hurry and try to catch up with Jiraiya-sama to try to warn them" Asuma suggests.
"I'll go my youthful friends. I am the fastest one here and should be able to reach them in time" Gai says.
"Alright Gai, but stay safe" Kurenai says with concern.
"Yosh!" Gai shouts before leaving.
The two remaining jōnin also decided to leave and let Kakashi rest in peace. Plus, they still had time to finish their date that was nearly ruined.
Naruto
As the group made their way into Shukuba Town they took note of the appearance of the village and it's residents. They concluded it was a pleasure district with the many hotels, inns, restaurants, bars, and brothels they had seen after only traveling a few blocks.
"What a strange town" some of them thought looking around.
"Okay, we are staying here" Jiraiya says suddenly.
The group turned to look at the place the Toad was. It was decent and they were okay with crashing there for the day, but some wondered why the Sannin was stopping here when there was plenty of daylight left to search with. Plus, they were ninja why should it matter what time of day or night they were operating in. Of course others knew exactly why they were stopping.
"Do they have enough free rooms available?" Kushina asked.
"Of course they do. I booked us four rooms. That should be enough for everyone" Jiraiya states.
"I'm not sleeping with you Jiraiya" Kushina says evenly but with an edge in her voice.
Jiraiya instantly dismissed that thought and placated the woman.
"No,no of course not Kushina-chan. I was thinking you and the girls share two of the rooms. Those two share another and then me and the brat will take the last room" Jiraiya says.
"Not happening" Naruto states.
"What why not?" Jiraiya asks.
"Because I don't trust you. They must have another room available. I'll pay for it myself" Naruto says.
"I'm sorry sir, but we only have the four rooms available" the female manager states.
"See no more rooms" Jiraiya grins.
"I'm sure there is a room available somewhere near here. I'll look for one later, but since we are going to be here for awhile I think I'll go find someplace to do a little training" Naruto says.
"Look here gaki we need to …"
Jiraiya would have said more, but he caught sight of local hottie. Her name was Emi with long straight black hair, large dark brown eyes, and wearing a strapless dress showing off a figure that almost made Jiraiya's eyes literally melt.
'I think my pulse has sped up' he thought before tossing Naruto a set of keys.
"Here brat, use them or don't the rest of you get your keys from the lovely manager over there" Jiraiya says before sauntering off.
"Jiraiya where are you going. We shouldn't split up" Kushina says.
"Ma,ma Kushina-chan nothing bad is going to happen. Relax, enjoy the sights, have a nice meal and have some fun. Oh, and don't wait up for me" Jiraiya says as he walks up to the girl that wasn't even half his age.
The group just watched stunned as the girl actually left with the pervert. With nothing left to say Naruto went into the hotel with them to at least put his bags down before he did anything else. And he felt something was defiantly off about this place.
When the group separated to put their stuff in their own rooms Naruto went with Kushina and Karen after telling Akari and Miyuki he would meet up with them later. When the door closed Kushina immediately asked what was wrong.
"Can't you feel it Kaa-san. I'm sure we are being watched and have been for some time" Naruto says.
"I felt it too, but didn't want to give away that I noticed them before" Kushina responds.
"Them?" he questioned.
"How soon you forget son. I am not a sensor like Karin-chan as I was never able to develop that skill set, but when you get to the level I have and been through what I have you develop a sense of awareness that can match even the best sensor shinobi.
I have been sensing two high level shinobi although I can't determin their level of skill exactly. I do sense your teammates and the girls are not ready to confront ones such as them though. They are definitely at least jōnin level, elite jōnin at that" Kushina informs him.
"Karin could you give us a hand?" Naruto asked.
"Sure, itoko-chan" Karin joked before getting serious "Kagura Shingan – Mind's Eye of the Kagura" she intones closing her eyes.
She only took a second before she opened her eyes wide and startled.
"H-h-he's a monster" she muttered.
"Who is Karin-chan?" Kushina asked.
"I sense two large chakra coming down the hallway towards us, but one of them completely dwarfs the other. I-I've never seen so much chakra in one place except for the two of you" Karin informs them.
"And they are in the hall way?" Kushina asks for confirmation.
Karin nodded.
"Karin, I need you to hide and don't worry about anything okay. Kaa-san and I will handle them" Naruto says confidently.
"Sochi?" Kushina asked nervously.
"Don't worry about me Kaa-san. We're out of Konoha and the Toad is off playing with that strange girl. I'll use everything I have to beat whoever it is if I need to" Naruto says resolutely.
Kushina grins and nods smiling at her son. She was so proud of how well he had grown even without her. Karin quickly did as they told her not wanting to get involved.
When a knock was heard at the door Naruto decided to get serious. Sending chakra to his eyes Naruto looked at who was on the other side of the door.
'It seems were destined to meet again after all, Itachi'
When Naruto turned to Kushina she gasped as she had never seen this. Naruto's eyes were glowing a blood red color.
"Naruto-kun, what happened to your eyes?" she asked.
"A gift from Kurama" Naruto says simply.
Kushina gasped, but focused on the situation at hand. She'd question him later.
"Can you see who is at the door?" she asked.
"Itachi and some weird blue skinned guy that resembles a two legged shark" Naruto says.
"Hoshigaki Kisame" Kushina says seriously.
"Who's that?" Naruto asked.
"An S-rank missing-nin and a former member of Kiri's Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū. They were said to be even stronger than the ANBU and the best swordsmen of their land" Kushina answers.
"So they are like the Sanin?" Naruto asked.
"No, not quite …"
The time for talking was over as the knocking grew stronger and louder. Then stopped before the doorknob was jostled a bit and then stopped before the door slowly swung open.
In the doorway stood Itachi and Kisame just as Naruto said.
"We meet again Naruto-kun" Itachi greets.
"Seems so, who is your new friend?" Naruto asked.
"Hoshigaki Kisame at your service Kyūbi" Kisame interjects.
"Itachi … I haven't seen you since … the day you entered the Academy I think. Mikoto was so proud of you then" Kushina reminisces a bit.
"Uzumaki-sama" was Itachi's only reply before turning to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, we would like for you to come with us" Itachi says.
"I see … you can stop trying to influence me with that genjutsu Itachi-san" Naruto calmly states.
"I'll ask again Naruto-kun, come with us. There is no need for anyone else to be harmed" Itachi warns.
'What's happening?' 'Why isn't my genjutsu taking affect?' Itachi wondered.
'It must be his eyes. I can see chakra moving through them. Does Naruto posses a dōjutsu?' He thought.
"Itachi-san … Choro, choro. It's time we get started … we don't need him running around. We should cut off a leg …" Kisame threatened.
Kushina didn't like this situation at all. She could handle fish face, but Itachi would be a problem if they both ganged up on her.
"If you touch one hair on my sochi's head … I'll kill you" Kushina states to Kisame.
"A feisty one huh, and an Uzumaki. It's been a long time since I fought an Uzumaki. I hope you'll be as much fun as they were. They didn't last long, but the fight was entertaining" Kisame taunts.
"Big talk from a little guppy ninja. All you Kiri-nin ever turn out to be is full of hot air and too little brains to know when you should run instead of running you mouths" Kushina retorts.
"A guppy, did you call me a guppy? Come here and say that to my face little tomatoe head" Kisame responds.
"Tomatoe head, you called me tomatoe head … I'm going to fry you up and sauté you with butter, fish head!" Kushina shouts.
"A fish head is better than a tomatoe head, tomatoe head!" Kisame shouts back.
"That's it, let's take this some where less crowded" Kushina says before she uses shunshin no jutsu to leave the building.
"Fine by me" Kisame says preparing to do the same.
"Kisame, don't fool around. Kushina-sama may not seem tough, but she was once said to be a match for the Yondiame Hokage before he developed the Hiraishin no jutsu" Itachi warns.
Kisame didn't even seem to acknowledge the warning before he left leaving Naruto and Itachi alone.
"I suggest we follow their example Itachi-san as I would hate to have our little reunion ruined by a certain eavesdropper" Naruto says.
"Lead the way Naruto-kun" Itachi responds.
Both young men shunshin awayjust as a certain Toad makes his entrance.
"I, Jiraiya, this epitome of manliness will fall for no woman's feminine wiles!"
"When your someone like me, you only have to flash that sexiness to have women fall at your feet!" Jiraiya shouts as he dances around.
When he comes to a stop he notices no one is around. Even Karin had gotten up and left to wait with the girls in their room.
"Where did everyone go?" Jiraiya questioned.
Kisame vs Kushina
Both kenjutsu users stood opposite one another silently observing their opponent.
"How do you want to get this started, fish head?" Kushina asked.
"I was thinking I'd flay you nicely with my Samehada" Kisame says.
Grasping the handle of his sword Kisame brings it forward in front of him with only one hand displaying his tremendous level of strength.
Kushina also brought out Nejibana, which looked like a regular old Katana to Kisame.
"Your really going to fight with that frail looking weapon …" Kushina nodded "fine it's your funeral. This fight won't last thirty seconds" Kisame talks.
"If you fight as well as you talk I might just have to show you, little guppy, exactly why you should fear my Nejibana" Kushina retorts.
"*Snorts* Let's see then shall we" Kisame says.
He wastes no time in dashing across the clearing to clash with Kushina. Both swords met in a frenzy of clashes as their wielders probed for openings and defencies in the others form.
After a few minutes of this Kisame jumped backwards away from Kushina whom didn't look winded one bit.
"How about we take this up a notch" Kisame says.
He starts unraveling the bandages on Samehada revealing a long spiky sword that looked similar to scales going down it's length. It's build was similar to a great sword or daitō with a small skull at the base of the hilt.
"What are you going to do with that? Try to club me to death?" Kushina taunted.
"Not quite" Kisame responds not taking the bait.
"You see my Samehada doesn't cut it slices … it shreds you to ribbons" he finishes.
They both ran at each other at surprising speeds considering Kisame's size, but Kushina proved to be a little faster this time as she slashed at Kisame's wrist cutting him deeply and then stabbing at his exposed abdomen piercing his flesh before jumping back.
Kushina held her guard as she watched her opponent struggle to hold onto his sword for a moment before she saw his wounds start to heal.
"You didn't think this would be over so soon did you Akai Chishio no Habanero or should I call you by that new name I heard for you 'Goddess of the Blood Moon'. Personally I think I should stick with my favorite, little Tomato" Kisame taunts.
He holds his sword strongly in his grip as he's fully healed by his sword.
"Your useless taunts won't work on me Hoshigaki-san. I know about your swords little talent, but I will admit seeing is different from hearing" Kushina states.
"You can't beat me Uzumaki-san. You see I get stronger in direct proportion to how strong my opponent is. I do not tire and I cannot be defeated" Kisame returns.
"Everyone can be beat Kisame-san. You were beaten the moment you chose to fight me. Let us see how much stronger you can get" Kushina says.
Before Kisame could continue the conversation he had to dodge as a golden chakra chain erupted from the ground and nearly skewered him. Before he could settle Kisame had to move again in the opposite direction as another chain tried to pierce through his liver.
This continued until he was encircled by seven different glowing chains. He was forced to use the 'Kawarimi no Jutsu – Body Replacement Technique' when they tried to crush him.
Kisame stood a few feet back from where a sliced up stone that took his place lay in pieces. Kushina seemed unfazed by his escape and instead summoned more chains which billowed behind her like the tails of a Biju.
Knowing he needed to get closer and turn the tides of the battle Kisame decided to go under his opponent.
"Doton: Dochū Senkō – Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage" Kisame intones.
He sinks into the earth seemingly leaving Kushina alone when she spotted something imitating a sharks fin protruding from the ground and coming at her fast from behind on her right side.
If Kisame thought a tactic like that would work on her he was mistaken. Kushina sent four chains into the ground just as the fin shaped object came close. When she pulled them up Kisame came flying up out of the ground with the tips of the four chains impaling each of his limbs.
Kushina wasted no time in sending a fifth chain up to spear him in the gut, but instead of blood water gushed out of the wound revealing it to be a water clone. If Kushina was surprised she didn't show it as the chains dropped and she whirled around to clash against Kisame's sword as both tried to overpower the other.
In a test of strength Kisame was more than winning as he pushed Kushina back. The two swords grinded against each other creating sparks as both seemed unwilling to relent until Kushina lashed out with a chain forcing Kisame to abandon his position.
Both sword wielders grinned at each other finding the fight to be immensely enjoyable.
Naruto vs Itachi
The Uzumaki and Uchiha stared at each other with both of their dōjutsu active. They had been standing so for five minutes as Itachi tried to figure out what was going on.
"Tell me Uchiha-san. Why after so long have you sought me out?" Naruto asked.
"After leaving the Leaf behind I was invited to join an organization that wants to bring peace to these chaotic lands. For us to achieve our goal we need the assistance of those like you Naruto-kun" Itachi replies.
"Those like me … you mean Jinchūriki" Naruto states.
"Indeed. Now that you know our goal will you not stop all resistance and follow me?" Itachi asks.
"I will not. Anyone seeking that type of power can only have bad intentions. This power is good for nothing save destruction" was Naruto's response.
"I'm sorry to hear that Naruto. I had hoped we could avoid this becoming ugly, but before we begin. Can you tell me how my little brother is doing?" Itachi asked.
"I have no idea. I have no interest in you or your brother, but maybe you can clear something up for me that I've been wondering about. Why did you come to my apartment that night and kiss me?" Naruto asked.
"I did not kiss you Naruto-kun" Itachi stated.
Naruto looked at him for a moment before asking again.
"Then what did you do and why did you do it?" Naruto asked.
"It was a simple genjutsu. Anything you felt, saw, or heard was an illusion" Itachi replies.
"So you didn't kiss me?" Naruto asked.
"I did not" Itachi states.
"Why did you use a genjutsu on me?" Naruto asked.
"I wanted you to look after my brother. He needed someone to be there for him and I knew no one else would genenuinly look out for him or his interests" Itachi replies.
"So you attempted to manipulate me?" Naruto asked.
"I guess. You say that like it would be such a bad thing. You were an orphan, with no one that truly cared for you. I assumed you and Sasuke would bond and you would take my place as his brother" Itachi says.
"To what end? To fulfill the requirements of the Mangekyō?" Naruto asked.
"How do you know about such a thing?" Itachi asked geniunly surprised.
"You can thank Kyūbi for that. After all he holds most of the Jūbi's former power and knowledge. The Sage did use the chakra he gained from the Jūbi to gift his second son and ancestor of the Uchiha clan with that particular dōjutsu. So of course the Kyūbi would have intimate knowledge of it" Naruto informs him.
"Then you understand why I need you to bond with Sasuke" Itachi queries.
"I understand you are no different from everyone else in Konoha. You want me to be a sacrifice for whatever sick twisted game you have going with your brother. You'll just have to forgive me for not playing along" Naruto states.
"I'm sorry you feel that way Naruto-kun. If you knew what I know you would see it would be for the best. Sasuke would become a God and it would be all thanks to you. You would have a part in this world's salvation through my brother and the new Uchiha clan he would create" Itachi rants.
"All you Uchiha are seriously fucked in the head. As if your brother would be a savior to this world. After what you did to him all he can think about is revenge, destruction, and murder. He would light this world aflame if it meant getting his revenge" Naruto retorts.
"After he kills me Sasuke will no longer need to harbor such thoughts. He will become a hero and he will lead our clan and Konoha and the world into an unheralded era of peace" Itachi states strongly.
"You know I used to think you were cool. That you were someone I wanted to emulate even after you forced that kiss on me" "I did not kiss u" "You did and we both know you did. There was no one else there!" Naruto shouted.
"Actually there was someone there, a female someone that I used a genjutsu to encourage her to do what she wanted to do" Itachi answers.
"What? Who?" Naruto asked.
"Hyūga Hinata. She was spying on you from outside your apartment. Why she was out that late and why no one noticed her is beyond me, but she was there when I came to suggest you look out for my brother. I thought if you received a kiss it would make sure you would carry out my suggestion because of how desperate you were for any type of affection from anyone.
Of course I wasn't going to kiss a 7 year old boy so I used little Hinata, whom I knew had a big crush on you. She fainted promptly after and thinks it was all a dream as I placed her back in her bed before she came too" Itachi answers.
Naruto thinks on it for a minute before decided to go with it. It was better then thinking his first kiss had been with a guy.
"I guess I should thank you for telling me that, but it doesn't change the fact that your little brother has so much hatred inside of him that even if you let him kill you some time in the future he won't be able to get past it. He'll probably find someone else to blame for his continued suffering and decide to kill them. And that's how he'll continue to live his life as he becomes nothing more than a monster. Killing men, women, and children all because he imagines they had a hand in some devious plot to make him suffer" Naruto states.
"You don't know that" Itachi retorts.
"And neither do you" Naruto responds.
"I think I know my own brother" Itachi throws back.
"You knew your brother, but you don't know your brother. He's not the same innocent kid you have imagined him to be. He's arrogant, cares for nothings save for killing you, and would do anything to gain even an ounce of power. If your mother were still alive he'd probably sell her to a whore house for a couple of C-ranked jutsu" Naruto says.
Both young men try to stare each other down with their respective dōjutsu active. They ignored the sounds of explosions and earth shaking coming from the neighboring battle between Kushina and Kisame.
Instead of talking any longer Naruto quickly flung a shuriken at Itachi. Itachi didn't even bother to deflect the shuriken as he threw ten kunai simultaneously at Naruto with one hand. The kunai went through Naruto showing it to be an illusion as he the kunai disappeared and revealed Naruto coming in fast.
Itachi was surprised so surprised that Naruto was able to land a punch to Itachi's jaw, followed by a stomp to his left foot, and a knee to the gut. Itachi recovered enough to block another punch attempt and jump back creating space.
"How did you cast a genjutsu against me? The sharigan should have detected and seen through it" Itachi questions.
"If you defeat me, I'll tell you" was Naruto's response.
They both charged at each other neither willing to back down. Itachi was a genius with flawless form and ability in tiajutsu not to mention speed and superior reflexes. However, Itachi was finding Naruto's raw speed and reflexes to be better then he ever would have imagined. The strength behind his strikes was also impressive, but he trained with Kisame so it wasn't something he couldn't deal with.
Unfortunately for Itachi Naruto did have a major advantage in his seemingly endless Stamina. He needed to end this sooner than later.
Itachi uses shunshin to create separation and then fires of the Uchiha's favorite jutsu. He went through the hand seals he knew by heart Horse - Tiger - Ram - Monkey - Boar - Horse - Tiger.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu – Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique"
The large fireball quickly moves to engulf Naruto blocking him from view until Itachi hears.
"Meiton : Kyuketsuko – Dark Release : Inhaling Maw"Naruto shouts.
Itachi watches as the ball of fire is seemingly sucked into Naruto's hand with Naruto moving to face to his left and returning the jutsu.
"Meiton : Jajjimento – Dark Release : Wicked Self-Destruction Extraction"
The fireball speeds towards Itachi's new position and engulfs him instead. Naruto watches as the jutsu explodes creating a crater with smoke billowing out of it.
Instead of moving to check it out Naruto unleashes another jutsu after turning to face what was once behind him and to his right. Holding the Tiger hand seal he uses his next jutsu.
"Doton : Doryu Taiga – Earth Release : Earth Flow River"
Itachi is surprised Naruto found him so fast and is sent off balanced by the technique as he finds himself being moved further away by the fast moving river of mud.
Instead of letting Itachi regain his balance Naruto quickly uses another jutsu. Going through the hand seals Dog - Ram - Boar he punches the ground hard.
"Doton: Dosekiryū – Earth Release: Mudslide"
As soon as Naruto's hand hits the Earth a large wave of dirt rises underneath the mud river hitting Itachi again giving Naruto time to pull off one more jutsu. He quickly went through the hand seals Ram - Horse - Dragon.
"Doton: Doryūdan – Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet"
Then holding the Tiger sign transforms it to a devastating fire attack. He spews flames from his mouth to combine with the eart technique creating.
"Katon: Karyūdan – Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet"
The now flaming rocks sprayed the area where the mud and dirt attacks moved Itachi. When the Smoke cleared Itachi wasn't there.
"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu – Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique"
Of course Itachi didn't need to vocalize the attack. Naruto was able to see the attack come from behind with his enhanced vision thank to his dōjutsu. He was also able to determine where the fireballs would hit, but he soon found that when he moved they adjusted in flight forcing him to use another technique.
"Suiton: Teppōdama – Water Release: Gunshot"
Once again holding the Tiger hand seal Naruto focused his chakra and launched numerous waterballs hitting each one of the fireballs. Unfortunately without a nearby water source most of Naruto's chakra went into the creation of the water balls making them only strong enough to douse the flames.
But inside the flames hid shuriken continuing their path towards Naruto undeterred. If he had time Naruto would have cursed Itachi but as is he focused his chakra to perform another technique. Going through the hand seals Tiger - Ox - Dog - Rabbit - Snake he calls the next jutsu.
"Fūton: Daitoppa – Wind Release: Great Breakthrough"
The wind attack managed to sever Itachi's control of the shuriken and throw them away from Naruto. Itachi stood impassively across from Naruto once more.
"I'm impressed Naruto-kun. You have become stronger since I last saw you" Itachi compliments the blond.
"I could say the same for you, but I guess running around with S-rank ninja trying to capture and subdue Jinchūriki will help one keep their skills intact" Naruto responds.
"Did Jiraiya-sama tell you that?" Itachi asked.
"Does it matter? Your group wants Kyūbi and if you get it I die. That about sums up the whole situation right?" Naruto asked.
"Perhaps, but wouldn't it feel good to just end it all" Itachi starts.
Naruto just stands his ground as Itachi continues on.
"Don't you want this all to be over. The pain, the suffering, and all because of something your father did without your consent …" Itachi explained.
He would have gone on further, but Naruto wasn't interested in hearing more.
"I don't listen to puppets. You talk about pain and suffering as if it's something dying can cure. Let me tell you Itachi, the only thing dying cures is your need to breathe"
Naruto didn't waste his breath saying more and instead ran at Itachi full speed.
Hotel
Jiraiya stood in the middle of the room carrying the unconscious Emi, who turned out to be influenced by a genjutsu. Of course it took a little time for him to realize, but he did none the less. As he kept a firm grip on her, mainly by gripping her backside with his left hand, he surveyed the room.
He knew who did this as he had sensed them earlier, but thought they would keep their distance for a while longer. He was sensing the battle going on between the two Uzumaki and the Akatsuki members.
He had to admit he was impressed that the boy hadn't already been defeated. Itachi wasn't someone even he would like to fight. The other fight didn't much intrest him, but he knew Itachi's parter was worthy of his rank and still Kushina didn't seem to be having a hard time of things. He would actually say she might be winning the fight.
That made it easier for him to do what he was going to do. Namely spy on Naruto's fight with Itachi and leave Kushina to fight on her own. However, he was stopped before he could leave.
"Jiraiya-sama!" shouted a new comer.
"Eh … you're the taijutsu expert … Maito Gai, right?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yosh! It is I the Sublime Green Beast of Prety, Maito Gai!" Shouted the eccentric jōnin.
Jiraiya just gave the weird man a withering stare.
'Do I look this ridiculous when I do my introductions?" Jiraiya asked himself.
"Alright, Maito-san why are you here?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yosh! I have come to warn you of the two unyouthful foes that recently infiltrated the village to harm Uzumaki Naruto" Gai informed the Sannin.
"Ahh, so they were in the village as well …" Jiraiya pondered.
Gai meanwhile had been looking around for the enemy or anyone else suspicious when he noticed something.
"Jiraiya-sama, where is Naruto-kun?" Gai asked.
"Ehh … he's fighting Itachi …" Jiraiya answers.
"Yosh! Then we should hurry!" Gai exclaimed.
"Ma, ma Gai. I actually need you to help someone else who is also in trouble while I help Naruto-kun" Jiraiya says.
"There is another youthful person in need?" Gai asked.
"Uhh … yeah it's Kushina. She's good but she's facing that blue monster Hoshigaki Kisame" Jiraiya responds.
"Hmmm … blue … monster … would he happen to carry a very large sword?" Gai asked.
"Yes, do you remember him?" Jiraiya asked hopefully.
"… nope, can't say that I do. I think I would remember meeting someone like that" Gai says confidently.
Jiraiya can only stare at the green spandex wearing idiot.
"Right … well Kushina is about a mile north west of here" Jiraiya relays.
"Yosh! I shall protect Kushina-sama with my life!" Gai shouts and takes off.
"It's a wonder the village is still around with idiots like that as jōnin" Jiraiya comments out loud.
He also leaves, but has already decided against intervening. In his conversations with his sensei before his death he remembered the old man saying how he could never peg how strong Naruto was. He was certain he was at least jōnin pointing out several missions including Wave where he confronted someone of jōnin ability and won those encounters.
Then there was the display during the Invasions. Multiple people saw how Naruto dispatched ten of Orochimaru's forces each of jōnin level at the same time and all with clones.
Which, was another thing bothering him. To not only produce hundreds of Kage Bunshins something that normally even a handful would mean death for an average jonin, but also elemental variants was worrying. It wasn't just that they were elemental, but that they were from all 5 of the base elements.
Earth and lightening had already been done and it was known where he got those. Fire, water, and wind Kage Bunshins as far as he knew had never been done. And wind was supposed to be impossible to even create a basic clone for. Suna had been trying for over a century with even their very best failing at the endeavor with most giving up soon after trying.
This Naruto was far more powerful than he was letting on and he wasn't even really trying to hide it. People just kept underestimating the boy and skipping over evidence that was right in their face because they mostly refused to believe what even their eyes were telling them.
And the really troubling thing was he didn't know what the kid was going to do next. He didn't believe for one second that Naruto would just forget and keep on moving. No, he was planning something and Jiraiya intended to find out.
Itachi & Naruto
"This is getting really boring Uchiha-san. I'm beginning to think your not really here to capture me" Naruto says.
"I ask you again Naruto-kun, stop delaying the enevitable and come with us" Itachi drones out.
"Actually Uchiha-san I think it's time we get serious. I'm tired of playing around. You now have a choice to fight me seriously or die, because the only thing that interests me right now … is the bounty on your head"was Naruto's reply.
The Uchiha would have said more before he began to feel an overwhelming sense of dread. For slowly but surely dark chakra began to bleed from Naruto's body and spread through out the ground.
Itachi tried to move, but he quickly found himself surrounded by a never ending sea of darkness even the air and sky were flooded with darkness seemingly leaving him to stand alone on one untouched circle of Earth before that too was swallowed up forcing him to cover his eyes.
When Itachi opened his eyes all he could see was black. When he looked down at his body all he saw was a faint outline.
He looked over to where he last saw Naruto only to see a pair of red eyes staring back at him and a faint outline of a body.
"Welcome to my world Itachi. This is my new dark chakra enchance version of the 'Kokuangyo no Jutsu – Bringer-of-Darkness Technique'. The technique created by the second Hokage to defeat dōjutsu users only better thanks to my darkness element.
This is no longer just a genjutsu and unlike your eye based technique in this world there is no end to your suffering, because there is no end to the darkness. Now do me a favor and try to stay alive. I wouldn't want this to end too quickly now" were the last words Uchiha Itachi heard.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone