章 1325: 30
Kisame: …
Itachi: What? No mocking comment this time?
Kisame: I can act professional if I wanted to.
Itachi: That's news to me.
Lee: Itachi-san, can I do the intro?
Itachi: Sure, Lee, go ahead.
Lee: Yosh! Please enjoy PHD's chapter 30!
Kisame: Hey! How come I never get to do the intro!
Itachi: And professionalism goes out the window…
Rising Storm
The gray haired man took a couple of steps back as he was unable to shake off his astonishment. Right in front of him, the spectral ribcage started to widened and take a more humanoid look as bones for the shoulders and the beginning of the neck started to manifest.
Realization of what was going on dawned on the blond and all of the sudden the young man felt his energy returning, making him feel elated and strong. "This is…" He started as he looked down at his right hand.
As if reacting to blonde's actions, more bones started to appear on the construct's right side, forming its gigantic right arm and hand.
Naruto glared at Kabuto with a look full of determination, closing his fist as the manifestation over him copied his action. "Susanoo!" The Sharingan users exclaimed as he punched forward, willing the monstrous apparition to do the same.
The medic nin was still stunned as the colossal fist came crashing down on him.
The sickening impact echoed throughout the valley as Kabuto's was thrown back to the wall at the edge like a ragdoll. "Gyaargh…!" The gray haired man screamed in pain. At least a couple of bones on his right arm were broken, but, to their credit, the genetically-spliced Kaguya bones on his left side managed to hold on as the Sound nin pushed himself to stand back up.
"This is the third techniques granted by the Mangekyou Sharingan." Naruto started to explain as he took a couple of steps forward, the specter form over him following along. "The God of Storms, Susanoo!" The blond exclaimed, his voice filled with newfound energy and confidence. The moment Susanoo activated, the genin immediately felt a sudden rush of chakra back into his system. "Now, Kabuto… For betraying the Leaf, for hurting Sasuke… I'm going to kill you!" The young man shouted before charging off.
Kabuto only had a second to widen his eyes before he was forced to jump away as a large, blue spectral fist came crashing down on where he had been standing.
Naruto willed Susanno to swing its gigantic arm before the Yakushi was out of range.
All that the gray haired nin could do to defend himself was to produce another large bone from his left arm and bring it up to absorb some of the incoming attack. The bone club only managed to hold off the avatar's hand for a couple of seconds before it snapped in two and Kabuto was send flying high into the air by another devastating blow.
Hitting the ground awkwardly, Kabuto spat out blood as he pushed his body off the ground. "Ok… I thought that Orochimaru-sama only wanted… A Sharingan to copy jutsus… But… But I can see how those things… Could come in handy…" The young man struggled to say as he got back on his feet and fixed his glasses.
"Make all the jokes you want… I'm not one to judge how people prefer to spent their last moments." Naruto commented as he turned to face his opponent, all the while flexing his right hand as Susanoo mimicked his actions.
Sending chakra to his hands, Kabuto snapped back into place some of his bones that had gotten dislocated during the last attack. "I came here expecting to clean up a mess and end up caught right in the thick of it." The medic nin said as he dusted his already torn clothes. "You never cease to amaze me… Naruto-kun!" He added before suddenly slamming his left hand into the ground.
Immediately, a torrent of large bones sprouted all around the blond.
Naruto swung his right arm across his shoulder, willing the chakra manifestation over him into a defensive stance. The flurry of bones either snapped or bounced off the protective construct around the Jinchuuriki, and then the headless avatar swung its colossal arm again, clearing away the rest of the bones.
Taking advantage of the spiky haired boy's distraction, Kabuto shorten the distance between himself and the younger shinobi. As his opponent looked up, the gray haired man hurled a pair of kunai.
The blades simply bounced off Susanoo's bones without any visible harm. Shrugging the attack off, the Sharingan user willed his construct to reach out to grab the medic nin.
Immediately, the Sound ninja started to jump back out of the avatar's reach, throwing a couple of kunai more at the incoming limb as he did so.
"Are you out of ideas already?" Naruto mocked as he charged forward, readying another powerful strike to finally put an end to the battle.
Despite the large mass of chakra that was about to fall over him, Kabuto stood his ground, focusing most of his attention in try to hid the smirk that was fighting to form in his face. Once the young genin was within range, the medic threw three kunai at him. Just like the other blades, the metal tools simply bounce off Susanoo's ribcage as if they were nothing.
Unaware, Naruto willed the spectral hand forward. "Gaaargh!" The Jinchuuriki let out a powerful roar as the giant closed in on the traitor.
Suddenly, less than a foot short of Kabuto, Susanoo's fist came to an abrupt halt.
The Leaf nin's eyes widened in shock. "What…?!" He exclaimed as he tried to will the charka construct to move. Susanoo seemed to respond to Sharingan user's commands, or at least it tried to, but there was something that was obstructing it, blocking all of its moves.
"This is something I've been developing since my medical student days." The Oto nin suddenly commented as he reached for something to the side of the giant chakra arm. "Honnui Fuin." He added before seemingly flicking the empty air.
Instantly, hundreds of threads became visible around the blond and his chakra avatar as they vibrated from the flick. The fine strands originated from the kunai that the he medic nin had been throwing and encased Susanoo, preventing the spiky haired boy from willing it to move. "What the hell is going on…?" Naruto growled through grinning teeth. The boy had just seen Susanoo's strength, so he could not begin to comprehend how a couple of threads could stop it.
As if sensing what was on the blonde's mind, Kabuto smiled. "You can pull against them all you want, Naruto-kun, but I doubt that even your little guardian here will be able to break this threads." He informed. "I have spent years preparing them for an… Extreme event. Not only did the kunai attach themselves to the ground where they land with a special seal, the threads themselves have been reinforced to be as tough as steel, and prepare so that they attach themselves to any chakra source." Careful not to touch the cables and be caught in his own trap, the gray haired nin put his hand on Susanoo's still outstretched fist. "And you have to admit that this is a pretty big target."
Naruto continue to grit his teeth. He briefly considered canceling Susanoo, but thought better of it since not only would the threads simply incase him directly instead, but he also had no clue if he could call forth the dojutsu again. The blond was left with no option but to try to push against Kabuto's trap and try to break free.
A small chuckle escaped the Yakushi as he watched his opponent's helpless attempts to free himself. "It's useless, Naruto-kun." He commented while directing his transformed arm at the young genin, a sharp bone poke out of his palm. "You lost." Kabuto said. Looking at the Leaf nin right in the eye, the young man prepared to shoot a bone stake and finally put an end to his spiky haired headache.
However, before the projectile could be launched, Naruto let out a primal roar and the chakra around Susanoo suddenly spiked. Outside of the trap and free from the threads, Susanoo's left arm materialized.
Kabuto did not even have time to reposition his modified arm in defense before the newly created colossal fist was swung in his direction.
With a deafening crash, Susanoo's fist made impact with its target, raising a large cloud of dust and sending Kabuto flying back as if he were a rag doll. The force of the punch was so strong that medic nin's body skipped on the ground several times before finally hitting the far-off edge of the valley.
Quickly, Naruto willed his avatar's free arm to remove the threads that bound him, disarming the trap. Looking up, the spiky haired boy saw that his opponent was only now getting back to his feet, the latest attack having visibly weakened him. "Kabuto!" The blond roared before dashing towards his opponent.
Before the Sound shinobi could fully recover, the Leaf genin and his chakra construct were already upon him.
"This is for my friends!" Naruto shouted before delivering a massive right hook with Susanoo's fist. "For my teammate!" He added as Susanoo threw a powerful uppercut with its left fist. "And for all the sick stuff you and Orochimaru had planned for the future!" Susanoo swiped the barely conscious gray haired man with its right hand, throwing him viciously to the side. Willing the avatar's fist to close, the Jinchuuriki lunge himself after his enemy. "Die, Kabuto!" He exclaimed as he readied his final blow.
Suddenly, Naruto saw as if the entire world in front of him started to shake and, the next second, everything went dark. When his sight returned, Naruto found himself on the ground just a couple of feet away from Kabuto.
"Wha… What is going on…?" The genin struggled to say from the ground as he found it impossible to stand back up. Susanoo and the rest of his chakra had suddenly disappeared, leaving the blonde's body feeling as if it weighted as much as an entire mountain. "What… Happened…?" Everything felt numb and heavy for the young man once again as he struggled to remain conscious. Whatever chakra high Susanoo's awakening caused had now run out, leaving the boy even weaker than before.
Kabuto forced his body up and glanced as the struggling genin in front of him. With great effort, the medic limped towards his opponent. "Finally run out of energy, you bastard…" The older shinobi bitterly pointed out as he stood before the fallen blond.
All humor had long since left Kabuto's voice, leaving behind a mixture of exhaustion and anger. There was no longer any victory possible for the gray haired man, what he had suffered in the Valley of the End had been nothing short than humiliation. This was no longer part of the plan, the plan had been thrown out, stomp on, set on fire, and scattered by the wind the moment the strange chakra construct appeared over the spiky haired boy. Only by sheer luck did the Sound nin managed not to pummeled by Susanoo.
Another large, sharp bone was produced by the medic's left palm and the rest of his body protested because of it. Kabuto did not even know how he was going to take Sasuke back to Orochimaru's lair with him since most of his bones have been either broken or completely shattered. The only reason why he was even standing was thanks to all the experimental drugs he had introduced into his body. However, none of that matter at present time, because the only thing Kabuto cared about at the moment was finally put an end to Uzumaki Naruto's pathetic, miserable, and incredibly frustrating existence. "Just die already…" The missing nin said as he used the last remnants of his strength to drive the large bone stake towards the helpless genin.
The sound of blood splattering on the ground echoed eerily through the valley.
It took a couple of second for the pain to finally register. "Gyaaargh!" Kabuto screamed in pain as his right hand shot towards his left arm, only to find nothing there beyond his elbow. Looking down at himself, the gray haired man saw his feet standing on a pool of his own blood and his genetically modify left arm lying a couple of feet away from him still holding the stake. "Wha… What…?!" The young man tried to comprehend what had just happened.
All that the medic had seen when he was driving the stake towards the blond was gray blur passing so quickly in front of him that he barely registered at the time.
Looking to the side where the blur had gone to, Kabuto's eyes widened as he saw a new arrival straitening up from a crouch position with his back to the Sound and Leaf ninjas. "Who… Who are you?!" He asked in a mixture of surprise and anger as he clutched what remained of his left arm.
The newcomer looked back over his shoulder. He looked about a year or two younger than Kabuto, with gray, almost pale blue, hair that reached just pass his shoulders, equally pale eyes, and almost sickly white skin clad on a tattered white shirt and dark pants. The Yakushi could not help but think he reminded him of someone else.
"Yakushi Kabuto, your mission is over, and you have failed." The pale teenager said with a surprisingly grave voice. "I am Masamune Shirogane, and I was sent here to make sure that Orochimaru's plans do not come into fruition today." He declared as he finally turned around, revealing a Hidden Rock headband with the village insignia scratched with an X hanging around his neck.
The Sound nin's eye widened. "Masamune from Iwagakure…?" He questioned before something clicked in his mind. "That was the clan formed by those who branched off the Kaguya during the warring state era…" The former Leaf nin pointed out. "It was supposed to have been wiped out during the Third Shinobi War." He added.
For an answer to the Oto ninja's words, Shirogane simply brought his right hand up to the side.
Kabuto's eye widened once again as something emerged out of the pale teen's palm. Unlike the bones Kimimaro, and Kabuto himself, could sprout, Shirogane's was smooth, thin, sharp, and metallic. "So… It was true…" Kabuto said, more to himself than to anyone else. "During their travels after branching off, the Kaguya's bloodline limit mutated…." The young man realized.
"Kyokakotsumyaku." Shirogane stated as he directed his newly formed blade at the medic, as if daring him to make a move.
Even through the intense pain he was currently in, a bout of laughter at the way things had turned out almost escaped the Sound ninja. On the same day that the world loses its last Kaguya, Kabuto ends up meeting, what most likely was, the last member of the Masamune Clan, and to top everything up, it was very possible that he was about to be killed by him. In risk of sounding cynical, the medic did not see how his situation could get any worse.
As if on cue, a soft thud alerted the two ninjas of yet another arrival.
Just on the side of the waterfall, Kakashi straitened up. His single visible eye scanned the valley, taking note of the traitor Kabuto and the other shinobi. The moment the jounin's eye fell on his two wounded students, a powerful killer intent immediately permeated the valley.
"Huh… It figures…" Kabuto murmured to himself as his body took a step back out of reflex in response to the dangerous aura emanated by the older shinobi. Taking advantage that even the Masamune seemed distracted at the new intrusion, the Yakushi took out a pair of black marbles and throw them on the ground. The moment the pellets touch the ground, they exploded into a large, thick cloud of smoke.
"Kabuto!" Kakashi shouted, but the former Leaf nin had already fled the scene before anyone could properly react. As the smoke dissipated, the Copy Ninja turned to look at the only other remaining shinobi standing. "Tell me, what happened to my students?" The older man asked in a low a menacing voice.
Shirogane remained quiet for a brief second. "I can assure you Hatake Kakashi, that I did not harm Uzumaki Naruto or Uchiha Sasuke." He firmly stated, narrowing his eyes as if to challenge the jounin to contradict him. "In fact, without my intervention Yakushi Kabuto would have managed to kill Uzumaki and capture the Uchiha." The long haired man added.
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. He remember having seen his face once in passing on a Bingo Book from Iwagakure, he had been ranked in the lowest priority because there was no records of any crimes committed after defecting the village, so the Hatake never spared it a second thought. "I don't want to sound ungrateful, but why did you intervene?" Kakashi asked cautiously, something about the younger ninja's demeanor seemed somewhat aggressive.
Once again, the former Iwa nin stood in silence. "It was my mission…" He finally answered dryly. "I was to ensure that Uchiha Sasuke was not captured by Sound forces and that Uzumaki Naruto returned safely to the Hidden Leaf." The Masamune added.
Alarms went off in the Leaf ninja's head. He did not like how specific the young man's answer had been. "Well, I am here now and there is a team of jounin right behind me, so your mission is pretty much accomplished." The silver haired man stated.
Without saying anything or acknowledging the Hatake's words in any way, Shirogane simply started walking, silently passing the Copy Ninja. "Though it is a shame…" He suddenly said. "Passing up a chance to take down a legend."
Kakashi never saw the younger man reach for a weapon, but out of instinct, the jounin ducked right before a sharp blade swung right through where his neck had been. In one fluid motion, the crouched Konoha ninja delivered a kick to the younger man's mid section and, though the pale teen managed to put up an arm to absorb most of the impact, the kick was strong enough to sent him back and put some distance between the two.
With a grip-less sword in hand, the former Iwa nin charged forward the moment his feet touched the ground.
"I don't have time to waste on this!" Kakashi exclaimed as he quickly formed hand seals. "Raikiri!" He roared as he lunged forward and his right hand was covered in electricity.
As Shirogane's blade was swung down, Kakashi swiftly stretched his arm to grab the younger ninja's wrist, stopping the sword and leaving the Rock nin defenseless as the Hatake thrust his Raiton jutsu forward.
The jounin's eye widened when the pale boy simply caught the Raikiri in his free hand, the electricity harmlessly flowing into the Iwa ninja's body and running all the way down to his feet and then into the ground. "I am sorry…" He said with the barest hint of condescension. "But I cannot be harmed by Lighting release."
Before he could react to the new development, Kakashi felt something stab him in the hand that the Iwa nin had caught. Wrenching his hand free, the jounin was just in time to prevent it from being priced through by the large blade that came out of the younger ninja's palm.
Immediately, the Hatake jumped back, buying himself just enough time to bring out a pair of kunai to parry his opponent's attack.
"Shirogane, stop!" A new voice suddenly boomed throughout the valley as the two ninjas locked blades. "This deviates too far from the scope of the mission, disengage and back off now!" It added.
The voice seemed to be that of a young woman, but Kakashi could not tell from which direction it originated since it appeared as if it was coming from every side.
Shirogane made a disgruntled noise. "Tch… Stay out of this, Hibiki." He muttered.
"Nothing good can come out of you fighting Hatake Kakashi." The Copy Ninja was surprise that whoever the voice belonged to had managed to hear what the pale teenager had said. "There are only two possible outcomes. Either he kills you and we lost a valuable member, or you somehow manage to kill him and we end up with the full force of the Hidden Leaf coming after us." The voice stated point-blank.
A short, dry laugh escaped the young man. "Very well… Have it your way." He said before suddenly jumping back, away from the jounin.
Kakashi kept his guard up, ready to uncover his Sharingan, even as the two blades retracted back into the former Iwa nin's palms.
"My names is Masamune Shirogane…" The younger shinobi stated calmly. "Make sure that you and your village do a better job of keeping Uzumaki and the Uchiha safe." He added before jumping away, quickly exiting the valley and disappearing, leaving the Leaf ninjas behind.
The first thought that went through his head was to wonder at what point he had lost consciousness.
Slowly opening his eyes, Naruto saw trees quickly passing him by. His body was still so numb that the blond had not realized that he was being moved.
"Are you ok… Naruto…?" Kakashi's voice suddenly reached the genin.
The spiky haired boy did not have enough strength to be turn his head and look at the man that was carrying him on his back. "Sensei…" He muttered. "Sa… Sasuke…?" The boy struggled to ask.
Jumping from branch to branch, the silver haired ninja moved towards Konoha as fast as he could without further injuring his student. "Don't worry; Gai is taking him to the village." The Copy Ninja revealed. "He is a lot faster than me, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're already there." He added.
They continue along the tree branches in silence for a few moments. "And… And the others…?" Naruto managed to ask.
"Gaara took them back to the village." The jounin answered. "They are critical, but the medics would have gotten to them on time."
The younger nin let out a sigh of relief at hearing that his friend were getting help. Now that the weight on his mine was somewhat alleviated, the genin felt unconsciousness trying to overwhelm him again.
"Naruto…" Kakashi voice snapped the boy out of his stupor. "I know that a lot of time has passed… That I have left pass… Since the… The incident." The man started to say. "I know that I am solely to blame for what happened to you… And that instead of owning up to it and try to make things right, I ran away like a coward."
The spiky haired boy remained quiet, but his eyes were wide open with no hint of fatigue in them.
"As I am right now, I could not even face my teacher, my teammates, and much less you…" The Copy Ninja added. "I let all of you down and nothing I can ever do could make up for all the pain that I cause you… But I'm still going to try." He firmly stated. "For their memory and for you, I will try to make things right again… So let me start by saying… I am sorry, Naruto."
Silence overtook the two Leaf ninjas once again. For a couple of minutes the only sounds heard were the jounin's foot as he jumped off the braches and the rustle of leaves that it caused.
Sapphire eyes, quietly watched the leaves pass by in a green blur. Slowly, Naruto lifted his head off his teacher's shoulder. "You're late…" The boy simply said before settling his head back down and letting unconsciousness slowly seep in once more.
Kakashi's visible eye widened at the blonde's words. For a moment dread almost overtook the jounin at the idea that he could not gain his student's forgiveness, but then, something about the spiky haired boy's tone make him rethink the meaning behind it.
A short laugh almost escaped the silver haired man. As soon as Tsunade had inform him about the situation, the jounin immediately set off after his students, not even bothering to wait for anyone else that the Hokage would have sent to accompany him. He had traveled as fast as he could and then pushed his body even further in hope to reach the kids on time. For the first time since Obito's death, Hatake Kakashi had a valid reason for his tardiness.
"I'm sorry… I don't have an excuse for being late this time." Naruto managed to hear his teacher's words before sleep finally took him.
Honnui Fuin – Stitching Seal (Made up)
Kyokakotsumyaku – Reinforced Bone Pulse (Made up)
Kisame: Blah…! I don't like original characters.
Itachi: Still can't find that supposed professionalism from the beginning, can you?
Lee: I am happy that everyone is ok and that they managed to bring Sasuke back.
Kisame: I'm just saying, with awesome characters like me around, why does Phoenixsun have to make up new ones?
Itachi: Well, no one cares what you think… That's kind of the themes for these skits.
Lee: Can I take this one too?
Itachi: Certainly.
Kisame: Hey!
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