Blood-Stained Invasion
Blue eyes immediately started scanning the surroundings even as the world erupted into action, the Suna nin already jumping down into the arena as the stands broke into violence.
Odds are this is the initial preemptive strike, most of the high-level Jounin and skilled Chunin are located in the arena, cripple the counteroffensive personnel and open up the way for the general invasion, which means-
His eyes closed as the extended his senses, working to prioritize the senses to scan for foreign chakra signatures behind the wall where-
Eyes snapped open in response.
Suna and unknown chakra signatures, count at least two hundred, summoning underway to support compromising of the walls. Not good.
It was perfect, with the Hokage incapacitated, command and control collapsed, the ensuing chaos would cause Konoha have issues in a coordinated offense until Nara Shikaku could rally a defense.
But there were too few chakra signatures for an invasion. Which didn't make sense unless they weren't invading, it was more of a party for, his breath hitched, darting down to Gaara who was now surrounded by his peers and jounin-sensei.
Smash and burn.
Shit shit SHIT, he cursed, withdrawing his kunai and tossing it directly at Gaara, hand already retrieving a chakra disruption seal as he reached out and tagged the Hiraishin, feeling himself undergo the spaghettification necessary to enter into the Hiraishin before instantly recompiling with his hand outstretched towards the jinchuriki of the Ichibi, only to meet air as the sand trio had darted up into the air, the seal tag fizzling uselessly into the ground.
The Suna jounin that had been with them whirled around to engage him, only for Genma to interfere, allowing him time to swing back.
"Naruto, Sasuke, go and track down Gaara, this is the real thing."
He then pushed the cowled jounin away as they both darted out of the arena, leaving Naruto and Sasuke.
"Sasuke," Naruto started, only for the Uchiha survivor to take off, causing him to sigh. It was typical he would take off without a plan and without recognizing he could help. Not that he was intending to pursue Sasuke and assist with Gaara at first.
Instead, he loosened the tie to retrieve the scroll from his back, setting it vertically upon the ground, reaching up with his right thumb to his mouth and biting hard enough into it to draw blood.
After the encounter with Orochimaru, he had suspected that there was more reason to the Snake Sannin's presence other than shopping for a Sharingan. Why do it in the heart of Konoha when he could have waited until such a point to when Sasuke was vulnerable outside of the walls. Unless Orochimaru was merely doing the pragmatic thing and combining multiple objectives together. He had expected a raid of some kind to draw off attention from Sasuke, not a full-blown invasion though.
Still, he had taken that into consideration luckily when he had gone to work over the month on creating a way to where the fight with Orochimaru would not end the way it had previously. While he could not increase his chakra to sannin levels, in warfare, it wasn't the strongest fighter that won all the time, it was merely the luckiest one who landed that one strike. With that in mind, he had created something better.
Unfurling the scroll as he ran his bloody thumb over the middle of it, he then brought it down to the ground as he began going through the necessary handsigns in order to bring forth one of the few remaining trump cards he had.
000
"It seems we underestimated the situation," Kakashi stated with feigned indifference, looking down on the Sound-nin that were arrayed before Guy and himself. Asuma and Kurenai had run off to assist their own charges as soon as the genjutsu had dropped.
He should have suspected that Orochimaru would have tried something like this. It never made any sense why he would risk so much over something so trivial. But ow that there was an invasion going on.
Suddenly a pair of the Sound-nin leaped towards Sakura, intent on striking her down, he found his own body moving to intercept them. However, before he reached them two of the civilians in the crowd moved, suddenly producing balls of pure chakra and driving them into the two shinobi.
His eyes widened predictably as he recognized the very same jutsu his sensei had used time and again. But for civilians, an impossibility for them, to use it, it only meant one thing.
"Oi, Sakura, you shouldn't be standing still in the middle of a battle," one of the civilians stated, looking back at her, before phasing into the all-too-familiar look of his erstwhile student.
"Naruto," the pinkette cried, "but, where-"
He ignored them three more kage bunshin suddenly joining up with the one that had talked as they moved in to engage the surprised Sound shinobi. Guy and Kakashi were flabberghasted for a moment before Guy quickly jumped into the fight while Kakashi looked on.
"Kakashi, Sasuke went chasing after Gaara without support," one of them declared as it came up beside him.
The silver-haired jounin could only nod, figuring that was what Sasuke would do, but it didn't explain why Naruto was standing in the middle of the field with a scroll laid out before him and these Kage Bunshin were in the stands.
"Sakura, Naruto, I'm assigning you an A-ranked mission, track down Sasuke and prevent him from engaging Gaara."
"But Kakashi-sensei, how are we going to track him," Sakura asked.
Instead of answering he merely went through handsigns before bringing them down on the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)," he declared , smoking billowing out from the summon before revealing a dog with a Konoha headband secured on its head.
"Pakkun will track him for you. Go now, don't let Sasuke fight Gaara."
Sakura nodded letting the nin-dog lead her away, but the clone of Naruto hadn't moved.
"Boss is going to save the Hokage, but he will be sending someone to help," the clone declared, before dispelling in a puff of smoke.
Kakashi resisted the urge to blink , before his head snapped back to where Naruto was, his chakra suddenly flaring.
000
First stage of handsigns complete, he would need to refine the process in the near future, he felt his chakra spike, the initial procedure done.
He then shifted into the second stage of hand signs.
That was one of the problems for what he was trying to do. For an intricately complex jutsu such as this required the exact handsigns and a precise chakra mold in order to bypass and unlock the seals to the scroll. The second series of handsigns were designed for the recompilation of what he had stored inside the scroll.
Finished, he then went through the last set of handsigns necessary to finish the summon.
I. Inu. Tori. Saru. Hitsuji. (Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram.)
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," he declared, slamming his hand down on the parchment.
Immediately he was rewarded with an audible pop and smoke. The air quickly clearing to reveal thirteen clones of himself dressed in flak vests and wearing the iconic cloak of the Yondaime. They looked exactly like miniature versions of the Yondaime.
This was his masterpiece, the Kuchiyose: Ichi no Guntai (Summoning: Army of One). By combining every facet of his fuinjutsu knowledge, techniques, and seals, he could create thirteen clones of himself that had the same durability, strength, and skills he had minus the Kyuubi's chakra. They would be his gamechanger as he grew older and stronger.
Why thirteen? Well because for some reason he could only create thirteen of these special clones. It had everything to do with the seal capacity that was being pushed by the chakra constructs he had created by using kage bunshin.
"Split into teams of three as planned," he commanded, "Inu team, deal with the summon. Tora team, assist in the evacuation, use the safehouses as necesssary, you'll have Kage Bunshin to support you, exigent circumstances are authorized for them. Tatsu team, I want a full sweep to the breach in the wall. Mi team, secure the Academy and then go and assist Tatsu. If they are Suna attempt to disable if possible, kill on sight any Sound."
"Right boss," they chorused before disappearing into yellow flashes , leaving the thirteenth and final member standing there.
"Thirteen, you are to pursue Sasuke and attempt to prevent him from engaging Sabaku no Gaara. Failing to do so, attempt to disable. If he starts entering his jinchuriki form immediately pulse me and harass with kage bunshin. Under no circumstances are Sakura and Sasuke to be harmed. Follow Sakura, she'll lead you there."
"Understood," the clone replied before leaping off in pursuit of where it could sense the third member of Team 7 and nin-dog.
Taking a deep cleansing breath he then focused up to the towering barrier that dominated the skyline from his perspective. The barrier that he knew contained the Hokage.
He then ran forward, channelling chakra onto his feet as he scaled the wall before goinf into a leap to land onto the roof behind the ANBU squad he recognized as one of the protective details for the Hokage.
"Genin," the muddled white robed ANBU with the Neko mask started.
"My apologies ANBU-san but we don't have time to discuss why I'm here. If you give me a few minutes I can most likely bring down the barrier so you may assist the Hokage.
Whatever else Neko was going to say died on his lips as he stared impassively for a few moments before nodding.
"Do it."
Iruka Umino grimaced as he felt a kunai dig into his shoulder. His body wanted so hard to give in as he panted, his kunai locked with an attacking Sound-nin even as three more were just finishing up the rest of the Academy instructors. There were six corpses of other Sound shinobi strewn out on the field.
"Iruka-sensei," screamed one of his students, reminding him of why he was putting up such a staunch resistance. As soon as he realized that Konoha was under attack, he had moved his students to the shelter in order to protect them. Unfortunately, their attackers knew about the shelter and it exposed enough for his students to see him try to protect them.
"I'm not going to let you harm my students," he snarled, willing his body to give him everything he had. He may not be able to survive this, but he would be damned if he didn't hold out until reinforcements arrived.
The strength took the Sound nin by surprise, allowing him to push up the kunai and open the man up for his other kunai, driving it right into his throat and leaving the foreign ninja gurgling his own blood as he fell back.
"Sensei, look out."
He had just looked up from his victim to see a flurry of kunais coming towards him, too many for him to counter and evading was out of the question.
His eyes closed awaiting the impending kunais to impale him.
Naruto, I'm sorry.
"Doton: Shōheki." (Earth Release: Enclosing Wall)
His eyes snapped open to the new voice and the sound of the ground erupting to find three identical figured before him, suddenly a fourth appearing in a puff of smoke right behind the curved earthen wall.
"Fūton," the three cried after a flurry of handseals, "Daitoppa." (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)
Drawing back a breath in unison and angled to cover all sides of the wall, they then violently exhaled, wind jutsu lashing out as the fourth member exploded.
The resultant explosion and wind jutsu turned the wall into a wall of earth shrapnel that scythed through the Sound nin before they even knew what hit them.
Iruka could only watch in astonishment at the violent remainder of what just happened. Earth shrapnel either cleared or dug into that which could not be cut down. His eyes then traveled down to the backs of the clones quickly noting the kanji for "Yondaime Hokage" his blood chilled at the sight of a ghost before him.
"Y-Y-Yondaime-sama."
One of them turned around while the other two went to the grusly task of finishing off the attackers and collecting tri-pronged kunais laying in the ground.
"Iruka-sensei, let me look at that," the blond stated stepping towards him, hands glowing green as he looked it over.
"Naruto," he asked shocked, "when did you-?"
"It's a long story that will have to wait Iruka-sensei," the blond stated, "the boss sent us to secure you and the Academy students before supporting the counteroffensive."
"You're a clone?"
The blond nodded before his hands stopped glowing, "I stopped the bleeding and restored some functionality to your arm. We'll leave some kage bunshins to protect you until reinforcements arrive."
Upon command six kage bunshins appeared before them, the other two original clones back now.
Before Iruka could say anything more they disappeared in a a flutter of leaves indicative of a Shunshin.
000
Naruto frowned as his clone dispersed before the flames completely consumed it, processing the clone's memories and subsequent pain of slamming into the barrier.
Thought so. It's a weaker variant of the Shisekiyōjin(Four Red Yang Formation).
He hadn't seen the Shisekiyōjin before, it was only theoretical, but it had been in his father's notes as something only Kage level shinobi could do in tandem. The chakra drain to maintain it would be astronomical, but he recognized the sentiment of the design.
Leave it to Orochimaru to come with a solution for lower level nin, he thought with a hint of admiration.
He couldn't use any ninjutsu to break it, he didn't have any S-Class jutsus to break it, and even then that was a tossup.
No, he had to approach it from a more eccentric solution.
A laugh broke his concentration, causing his head to snap to it's source: a redheaded Sound kunoichi.
"Hasn't it got to your thick head, shit-for-brains, this barrier can't be broken. Lord Orochimaru is going to skullfuck your decrepit Hokage."
Taking a closer look at the young woman he noted how she had the distinctive hair of the Uzumaki, though it could be an aberration, he quietly noted it away as he looked to the ANBU Captain.
"ANBU-san, catch," he then tossed his kunai, "I suggest you clear off the roof for a minute."
"Hai," came the response from the ANBU, before he and the rest of his ANBU team jumped off, leaving Naruto on the roof along with the barrier as he walked over to the redhead.
"I tell you what," he declared staring at her levelly through the barrier, "I bet I can take down this barrier. If I can do that, then you can pledge your loyalty to me."
"Tch, as if you can do that limp-dick."
Naruto gave a predatory smile as he leaned forward a bit.
"I'll take that as a yes."
He then stepped back and pulled out a blank seal. Producing from another pocket a brush and a small ink container, he ran it through the ink and proceeded to scrawl upon the it.
"Did you know that the explosive note was an Uzumaki creation," he began conversationally as he kept writing the seal down, "the original designer actually intended for it to be a lot different than what it was. You see, before the establishment of the hidden villages there was an Uzumaki who used to attach explosive notes to prisoners of war and then send them back to their homes, unaware of what they carried. When they got there, she would detonate those notes and take out quite a few people in the process. The only problem with the technique was that this member was the only one that knew it and she refused to share it with the rest of the clan.
He then finished and ran his chakra through the seal, before placing it on three more seals, creating perfect copies of it.
"Yeah, what about it," the redhead shot back.
"Well, before she died she spawned the explosive note that you take for granted. Sadly, no one ever had the opportunity to record and recreate the seal. Unfortunately for you," a quartet of kage bunshins appeared as he separated the seals and handed them to each, "I happened to figure out the seal."
He then disappered in a flash as the redheaded kunoichi could only watch as the four clones seemed to grin even wider as they split up to the other corners, leaving a kage bunshin looking straight at her as he held up the seal and applied it directly to his forehead.
"Try not to die," he declared, before the seal began to glow, and then for the Sound-nin, there was only the explosion, the feeling of her feet giving away, and then nothingness.
000
"Are you enjoying the view, sensei," Orochimaru hissed in the ear of the man who had trained him, a look of delight on his face at the sight of smoke plumes dotting the direction from where he knew his shinobi were coming from. It as a glorious spectacle made all the more delicious by the fact that he had his sensei have front row seats to watch his village burn.
"Not really, Orochimaru," Hiruzen replied drily, keeping his eyes on the snake sannin instead of the kunai placed at his neck. He knew Orochimaru wouldn't use it against him unless forced to, he would prefer to let him watch and then defeat him with whatever jutsu he had.
"Come now, sensei. Isn't this how you imagined it would end when you let me go free? Konoha burning, your Will of Fire being snuffed out like the pitiful candle it always was."
"And that is where you have always been wrong, Orochimaru. The Will of Fire will continue to survive and thrive as long as there are those who embrace it."
"Well then. I'll make sure that after this there won't be anymore reason for anyone to take that stupid belief."
However before the Sandaime could offer a retort as he felt a quarter of chakra spikes around the barrier.
"Wha-," Orochimaru staryed before the world became nothing more than white noise as the very ground that they stood upon trembled and shook. Hiruzen took the moment to extricate himself from Orochimaru, turning to him a safe distance now.
Only before he could do anything more, the trembling gave way at an audible groan as the very ground they stood upon started to give a way. The very beams that had given the building its structural integrity no longer able to support the load they had been designed to carry.
It took everything for the two of them to avoid being crushed as they escaped the destruction.
000
I can see why no one wanted to pursue Miyako's fuinjutsu, Naruto thought with a hint of nervousness as he watched the plume of debris and smoke extend to the heavens above.
That was one of the problems with the field implementation of fuinjutsu on the fly. One mess up you could fizzle the seal, or in this case, mess up the chakra to explosive force ratio in the equation and turn what should have neen a directed demolition charge into an earthshaking explosive.
I warned you, the fox commented, causing the blond to internally scowl at him.
However, any further retort died as the ANBU charged forward, intent on helping their Hokage, he himself joining in them as they navigated the dust and debris that now dominated what had been the roof and top floor.
"Hokage-sama," cried Neko, as they came to the Hokage who was in a crouch, his robes in tatters as he was fixated in the direction would be where Orochimaru was most likely was. He then looked at the gathering a moment, eyebroe arching at his presence.
"Naruto?"
"Sorry, Hokage-sama," he replied formally, knowing protocol around ANBU like this, "I overdid the seal matrix."
"Kukuku, you are surprising Naruto-kun," came the admonishing tone of Orochimaru as the dust finished its clearing revealing the Snake sannin, "such wonderful knowledge and jutsus. I can't wait to pick your brain."
"Sorry, but I'll decline," he responded, hand grasping Hiraishin kunai tighter.
"It wasn't an offer," Orochimaru returned, refocusing on the Sarutobi clan leader, "I think it's time for a reunion sensei."
He then clapped his hands together, his face contorting into pure focus.
Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei. (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation)
A trio of coffins erupted up from the ground at his summoning, each with a number upon them. However, as the third raised up with 'Yon' in kanji on it, it froze, and then slid back into the ground. However, it was enough to cause both Hiruzen and Naruto's eyes to widen as they both recognized the jutsu, but it didn't get any better as what were in the coffins as the lids with 'Sho' and 'Ni' on them and fell down to reveal two very familiar forms.
He couldn't help himself stepping back as the two stepped forward from the coffins, it was only a natural reaction for two of the strongest shinobi in history that he knew would soon be under Orochimaru's control. But there was another reason, as he ground his teeth, because he knew now exactly what that third coffin had contained, which meant that Orochimaru had desecrated his father's corpse. Cooling it because he knew running without a clear head would get him killed, he instead focused on other details.
The question is which controlling seal he's going to use, he thought even as he started retraining his trepidation. He would honestly prefer to be fighting Gaara right now instead of facing what was to come.
Thankfully though, when they came to a stop they focused on Sarutobi, allowing him more time to prepare.
"Long time no see, Saru," the Shodaime started, his undead eyes narrowed, "you've grown old."
"That's what happens, brother," the Nidaime retorted, taking a look around for a moment, "Edo Tensei, to think my own jutsu would be used on me. It seems the youth these days have no sense of decency."
"I wish we has met again under more pleasant circumstances," the Hokage responded sorrowfully.
"It seems we are here to fight you," Hashirama started, before stopping, his head snapping towards him, eyes widening slightly, "you're a jinchuriki."
He bit his lip but nodded, this was not good, he thought even as he heard the Kyuubi growl. Mokuton was the antithesis of his tenant's chakra, the natural life energy working to mitigate and then negate his demonic chakra.
"Kyuubi, right?"
"That's enough pleasantries," Orochimaru interrupted, not that Naruto was going to respond with that information anyways. The history of Hashirama and Kyuubi were infamous.
Here it comes, Naruto thought silently as he summoned up a kage bunshin in a position to view Orochimaru's actions, and more specifically, the tag he would be using.
He watched as Orochimaru stepped forward, a tagged kunai in each hand as he slipped his hand into the back of their heads . Almost immediately, the two Hokage's reacted, life flooding back into their features, however their expressions became vacant.
Nothing else was said as the two charged forward, profile already leveled as Tobirama honed in on Sarutobi.
Hashirama, on the other hand, targeted him. Immediately he stepped back to avoid the sweep of an open palm like a sword, immediately ducking under a roundhouse, only to be rewarded with an open palm strike that sent him flying back. He used the energy of the motion to flip back and land on his feet.
He didn't even have time to wipe away the blood that bubbled past his lips as the Shodaime's right arm turned into wood as it shot towards him. Only a quick kage bunshin off to the right saved him by allowing him to Kawarimi (Body Replacement) to safety by replacing himself with it.
Another kage bunshin created the opening of his own counterstrike as they both went through necessary handseals to activate their jutsus.
Fuuton: Daitoppa
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu
Flame and air combined to enhance another another, turning the flames white-hot as they engulfed the Shodaime.
Naruto.
Stopping the jutsu, he took the moment to wipe the now dried blood away from his mouth, a clone appearing with his kunai that he dropped during the initial strike by the Shodaime. The clone then dispersed to allow him access to the events so far.
He used a complete control tag, Naruto thought even as he reviewed that ANBU were supporting Jiji against the Nidaime in spite of orders to support him. The battle wasn't exactly going well for them either. The Nidaime's skill in water jutsu and space-time jutsus easily pushing Hiruzen and the ANBU on the defensive.
The control tag on the other hand was troublesome and ruled out killing Orochimaru, even if that were possible. It would place the Edo Tensei constructs in terminal mode on the last orders they had. That meant they had to at least disrupt the control of the caster.
Naruto!
What Kyuubi?!
However he cut that thought as he realized that the Shodaime they had attacked was finished recomposing himself from detritus, hands going through the tiger and ram seals before clasping together.
The ground rumbling was the only warning he got, but it provided enough for him as he had three clones appear around him, transforming into kunai dug into the ground before he slapped his hands together and then slammed them down on the ground.
"Kekkai: San-ten Shōheki (Three Point Barrier)," he commanded, yellow energy snapping into the form of a pyramid around him, just in time as massive tree roots erupted from the roof and began surging upwards into the sky. All around him, the roots and trees tightened around the barrier as it raised up to the ground, the energy the only thing between him and ensnarement. For a moment, he felt faint as the chakra drain nearly exhausted him before his storage seals kicked in, pouring much needed chakra into his network. But it was a close call.
And then it stopped, allowing Naruto to release the barrier, falling towards the ground and impacting upon one of the trees before rolling to a flat surface. He laid there for a moment, soaked in sweat and gasping for breath, before slowly forcing himself to his feet.
Naruto, you need to use my chakra. That jutsu alone expended almost all of your reserve seals.
I know. But using your chakra now in our situation will only leave us vulnerable.
Then flee.
He growled in response, No. I refuse to leave Jiji! I didn't take down that barrier just for him to die now! If I flee now, I doom everything I have done so far. I can win this, I just need time to think.
Well then, it's too late for that.
Knowing exactly what the fox was referring to, he spotted the Shodaime phase out of a tree in front of him, standing there for a few moments allowing him the opportunity to take stock.
He was completely outclassed. There was no doubt about it. Even with the Hiraishin, especially the Hiraishin, he just couldn't match up against the Shodaime.
But maybe worse was the fact that the Hiraishin was incomplete. He couldn't use jutsu in conjunction with the Hiraishin without a small delay between them, he couldn't teleport anyone, and he couldn't place a seal down on the target. Even worse, he could not use the tajuu kage bunshin in combination with it, for some reason saturating the area with his chakra served to jam his recognition of the seal. All he had was just a flashy point-to-point teleportation jutsu that offered taijutsu and kenjutsu opportunities, the only problem was his kenjutsu was nonexistent because he hadn't PLANNED on having to work on it for another few months.
There has to be a way around this, he railed, think Naruto.
Use my power.
But in this forest-
You'll get a few moments and there is no one to witness it, nor feel it. The Mokuton will act as a buffer to the chakra leakage. Edo Tensei subjects are merely souls recompiled into a material construct with chakra pathways, correct?
Yeah.
Then use my chakra to disrupt it. I doubt it will kill that Snake bastard, but it will buy you enough time to seal the jutsu.
He was going to offer an argument to the chakra being stuck in his stomach, but he paused as he considered the implications of what the great Kyuubi no Kitsune was suggesting and smiled.
Perfect idea, fox.
Hmph. Just don't get yourself snared. I don't want to be stuck again by that accursed Shodaime.
No promises, he responded, reaching into one of his pockets to receive a pair of chakra storage tags and slapped them to either side of his neck, feeling the dry sting as they tried to introduce chakra that wasn't in them into his network.
I need you to fill those two tags with your chakra.
What are you planning?
You'll see it when it happens. Now, one tail?
One tail.
This was the part he hated as he could feel his body silently groan as chakra flooded through his already abused pathways. Musculature that hadn't been there suddenly increased in mass as he lowered himself into a four-pount stance, canines growing and whisker birthmarks growing more defined. Foul chakra providing the discomfiture of antipodal flaming hot and ice cold sensation flooding his body and yanking at his mind as pain receptors flared at the agony his body underwent as it continued to change before dulling as that all-too-familiar illogic brought on by the distilled rage demanded he give into his base instincts to destroy.
And then the Shodaime was upon him, mokuton created sword in hand, only the chakra enhanced reaction speed preventing him for losing his head, chakra tail acting as weapon to bat it away as he swiped his claw at Hashirama's face, ripping it off to reveal that it was a wood clone.
Shit.
He immediately rolled to the side as a wooden spear erupted from the ground where he had been, senses seeking the void in emotion he was positive Edo Tensei left. Eyes darting towards where he detected where the Shodaime was, he took a deep breath, before exhaling a stream of fire, getting rewarded by the Shodai 's move. But it was exactly where he wanted, as he whipped his arm, kunai leading ahead of the black haired man.
Entering into the Hiraishin, he appeared in front of Hashirama, hand whipping up and ripping off a seal tag and slamming it down into the undead Hokage 's chest and then followed him down into the ground, dust shooting up from their impact.
Naruto looked down on the Shodai as his body was spasming mow, flecks of red chakra pouring out of him like embers from a fire. Foreign chakra now ravaging pathways in a self-feeding fire.
He only had a few moments, he thought as he had a clone appear behind him, hands running through the necessary handseals for his next trick.
Saru. Tatsu. Ushi. Hitsuji. Ne. Tori. Mi. Tora. U. Inu. (Monkey. Dragon. Ox. Ram. Rat. Bird. Snake. Dog.)
The clone then slammed his hands on his back and agony lanced through his body as he screamed, cuts appearing on his arms and blood being drawn out before dispersing into the chakra. Previously red chakra suddenly turned into ink black seal chains that shot down and pierced into the Shodaime, before they began wrapping around him
Before the target could do anything else the seal ink solidified into a shell.
Gasping for breath, he rolled off the shell and onto the ground, chest rising and falling as he felt the cuts slowly heal themselves up.
"Disperse," he commanded the clone, "someone needs to alert Jiraiya that he needs to get here immediately to help finish the seal."
The clone merely nodded before dispersing, Naruto looking listlessly at the trees above.
Ketsueki Inkushīru no Jutsu (Blood Ink Seal), he thought as he slowly got himself back to his knees, only his willpower preventing himself from mewling like a newborn kitten at the agony wracking his body, had never left him like this. But then again, this had only been the third time he had ever used it.
It has to be the Mokuton, he thought, ever since he used that jutsu, my chakra was being drained away.
"Kukuku, you really are a surprise Naruto-kun," came the slimy voice of Orochimaru as Naruto wearily looked at the snake summoner as he emtered his field of view, "such knowledge and such skill."
Naruto, that's your last two seals, Kyuubi warned as Naruto felt chakra flow back into his body, all of his reserves were now gone.
I know.
"I'm glad you're impressed," he retorted as he forced himself to his feet, hand running down his neck and to his side.
"You truly are just like your father. It's unfortunate for you this is where it all ends."
I only have one chance.
He then threw a kunai at Orochimaru, the Sannin smiling at the weak throw and the fact that it wasn't a tri-pronged kunai, he merely sidestepped the bladed ninja tool as Naruto took a staggering step back, fear etched on his face. It was all Orochimaru needed to cause him to lick his lips.
A sharp hit to the back suddenly caused his eyes to widen as he felt something slip into his body.
"Kai," Naruto whispered, and Orochimaru's body erupted into blinding pain that robbed him of breath, dropping him to his knees.
Liquid fire was burning through his veins, chakra flaring erratically in response to whatever it was the blond had hit him with, and all he felt was like his body was burning up.
"What-What did you do," he snarled, flopping himself on the ground as his body spasmed.
"You wanted me, well, I gave you a taste of it. That's the Kyuubi's chakra running through your body, burning your chakra pathways to ash. I think it's only fair I pay you back for the Forest of Death," the blond replied as he shuffled forward, hand running over a rest seal to produce a tri- pronged kunai.
A hiss escaped from the Sannin's lips, as he forced himself to his feet. He needed his chakra and he needed it now if he was going to escape this blond spawn of that man. Again he was being denied!
"Kai," he snarled after making the necessary handseals, losing his trump cards in order to buy him enough chakra that was being wasted on control to use a shunshin to escape.
He will be back, Kyuubi's voice echoed in his mind, earning a silent nod.
The man is like a cockroach. But at least we know he will more than likely come for us for what we did once he repairs the damage. If he can repair the damage.
Hmph. A wounded and cornered animal is a much larger threat than one that is left alone Naruto.
Then we'll have to figure out a way to put him down before he gets to us.
Before the Kyuubi could answer, the familiar sensation of a sudden information dump hit him like a two-by-four to the head, causing his eyes to widen.
Naruto!
Oh Kami!
Summonjng up a kage bunshin he quickly gave it orders to check on the Hokage and provide medical support if necessary before disappearing in a yellow flash, praying he wasn't too late.
000
Earlier...
Engaging Gaara was probably the dumbest thing he could gave done, Sasuke Uchiha thought errantly befkre quashing it as viciously as a bug, it was unbecoming of an Uchiha to think they were outmatched.
Still, he thought as he leveraged himself to his feet, indentation from where he had been slammed into the tree behind him, he had vastly underestimated the sand shinobi.
The very same nin that was now barrelling towarfs him, monstrous appendages at the bear to crush him.
Hand flexing even as his body groaned in protest at abusing his chakra pathways to create another Chidori.
Only his body was not allowing him the chakra, he realized in a flash of horror as he crossed his arms to defend himself.
"Rasengan!"
The in-flight monster suddenly being hit from the side as a familiar form plowed a blue orb of chakra into it, sending Gaara flying through the forest.
"Sasuke-kun," came a shriek as Sakura landed on the tree beside him, only to be ignored as he stared at the cloaked form of his blond rival.
Said blond then turned and jumped up onto the branch, taking a moment to look him over, before reaching into his pocket and retrieving a tag and holding it out.
"Take it and apply it to your neck, it'll replenish your chakra, just watch out-"
"Ack," Sasuke cried as his body jolted from the sudden rush of chakra pouring into his body.
"For the kick."
"NARUTO UZUMAKI!"
The blood-curdling howl caused the three genin to look into the direction of where Gaara had been shot off.
"We need to work together Sasuke. You still have the chakra disruption tags, right?"
"Hn."
"Give Sakura and myself one. If you get a chance apply it to him. It may be our only chance."
"Why should we follow your orders, Dobe?"
Naruto's teeth clenched as Gaara howled again, whirling around to give Sasuke and Sakura a massive dose of killing intent that caused them both to flinch.
"Because if you had done your damn job in the Exams and applied that tag to Gaara, then the Invasion would have been stopped in its tracks. Now, you want a chance to survive fighting a jinchuriki, then we need to work together NOW. Hopefully Boss will get my chakra pulses before it's too late."
"Before what's too late," Sakura asked.
"Before we have a repeat of the Kyuubi Incident from thirteen years ago," the clone replied, head turning back and eyes narrowing, "the seal on Gaara is weak, if it fails and he fully transforms, then we will have a bijuu right outside Konoha, and we don't have the Yondaime to seal it a newborn and my fuinjutsu is not advanced enough to replicate it. Even if I wanted to, I'm in no mood to sacrifice my life like my father did."
The clone could practically hear the grinding of the teeth from the Uchiha before he finally sighed, "Fine, dobe. What's the plan?"
"One of us needs to place a chakra disruption seal on Gaara, it will cut the links between the bijuu and himself and allow me to place a seal that will restrain the beast within him. If that is not possible, then we try and kill the host. Sakura, you have any kunai or shuriken on you?"
"Yes."
"Good, keep at range and just pummel him if you see an opening. You won't last long against Gaara at any range, but especially close. Just provide a distraction for him. Sasuke, how many of that lightning jutsu can you manage?"
"Three, safely," the Uchiha found himself surprisingly answering back with ease, taking a quick moment to take stock at that development.
"Alright. You're the tip of the spear then, Sasuke. Get that tag on him as soon as you compromise that sand armor with your jutsu."
The loud crash as Gaara returned denied any further discussion as the sand jinchuriki stood there, foaming spittle slathering out of his jowls. Sand was now proceeding to fullly encase him as the transformation neared full completion.
"Yes. YES!" NOW MOTHER CAN HAVE YOUR BLOOD AS WELL! SHE WILL BE SO HAPPY WITH ME!
"Tch," the clone murmured, clenching his teeth tightly, this was likely not going to end well with boss not answering his pulses, "remember the plan."
"Suna shuriken."
Clone appeared by the Naruto clone's side, hands already whirling through handsigns before they both -drew breath at the same time.
Fuuton: Daitoppa
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu.
The sand spawned shurikens did not stand a chance as flame scorched through them, quickly rendering them into dust before colliding with the arm of the sub-bijuu, a howl being ripped from its lips as the sand on the arm was rendered into glass because it burned so hot.
Sakura had positioned herself by launching her own attack, shuriken flying through the air as they hit into the now exposed jinchuriki. While normally ineffective, they proved devastating as they shattered the sand-turned-glass, a howl sounding from the beast.
"Sasuke," Naruto commanded.
Sasuke blinked at the voice lashing at him, momentarily stunned by what Naruto had just done, but it was all enough hesitation, as all three were suddenly forced to evade as spikes of sand flew at their position, the clone Naruto had being speared by one, and Sakura barely avoiding herself.
"Dammit Sasuke, get your head in the game," Naruto snarled, hand forming the 'ram' seal, before creating dozens of Kage Bunshins that quickly charged towards Gaara, fists already flying as Sakura kept throwing shurikens towards the scrum that had erupted between the clones and the jinchuriki. It was a vicious fight, as the clones kept pummeling the miniature tanuki, only for minimal damage to be done, in each instance the armor hardening to every single strike. Even with his chakra enhanced strikes they were only denting the sand that had hardened to steel.
A swipe of the tail wiped away, causing a couple of them to reflexively back off, giving Gaara enough time to launch his own counter-attack. Clones disappeared in puffs of smoke, as spikes dug into them and sand formed to crush them, unable to use the HIraishin because of the very limitations that cursed him.
Naruto surged forward now, intent on driving a Rasengan into the core of the form, only for the other claw to intercept it, concentrated chakra digging into the claw to no effect. He could only look into the eyes of the mad jinchuriki as it looked at him wiith a wide grin, as the tail came whipping down like an executioner's axe.
Bringing his left arm, he prevented himself from being cleaved in half, but the cost was heavy as the arm was bissected at the elbow joint, causing the clone to grunt loudly, but did not dispel.
"NARUTO," Sakura's voice rang in its ears, only to be drowned out by the sounds of birds chirping, causing him to grimace as he realized Sasuke was finally getting his head out of his ass and getting involved.
A lightning encased fist sliced through the hand that was now holding onto Naruto and directly into the head of the beast. Naruto watched Sasuke's actions, watching as the sand started to fall off the beast, but to his shock, the sand didn't reveal the form of Gaara as he had expected, instead simply becoming nothing but sand.
A SUNA BUNSHIN! (Sand Clone)
His head snapped around, searching the surroundings now looking for Gaara, realizing that the entire time that his senses were saying something was off, it had been the fact that they had been fighting a sand clone the entire time. He had to be somewhere manipulating the sand to look and act like him.
"Where is he," Sasuke demanded, looking as well.
So focused on finding them, neither had noticed the sand sifting behind them until it was too late, a sand spike being driven through the clone, eyes and mouth open in silent surprise, only to be worsened by the sound of Sakura's scream.
The clone slowly craned his neck, fighting the automatic urge to disperse as he took in the sight of Sakura pinned against the wall, her legs crushed against it as tears trailed down them her eyes mouth open like a fish out of water, then she was falling as Gaara's monstrous arm released her from where she was pinned, her body falling through several branches before being caught by a clone and dropped on the ground, dispersing suddenly as the a kunai lands beside her, the throwing clone also dispersing.
But for Sasuke everything happened in slow motion, Naruto's impalement and Sakura, the Sharingan providing him every moment in perfect haunting clarity. Flesh and bone giving way to intense pressure, crackling and squelching echoing in his ears.
And then Sakura was on the ground, green eyes wide and lost as she stared directly at him, her hand outstretched to him, as she her lips moved but no word came from them. But he didn't need to hear the voice, he could read his name on her lips, even as he could see the blood pumping out of the shattered mess that were her legs.
And then the struggle as she tried to cry his name died, her outstretched hand falling limply to the ground as those emerald green eyes looked at him so plaintively, silently asking him why, before they fell dim and Sakura Haruno stilled.
Blood-Stained Invasion
Blue eyes immediately started scanning the surroundings even as the world erupted into action, the Suna nin already jumping down into the arena as the stands broke into violence.
Odds are this is the initial preemptive strike, most of the high-level Jounin and skilled Chunin are located in the arena, cripple the counteroffensive personnel and open up the way for the general invasion, which means-
His eyes closed as the extended his senses, working to prioritize the senses to scan for foreign chakra signatures behind the wall where-
Eyes snapped open in response.
Suna and unknown chakra signatures, count at least two hundred, summoning underway to support compromising of the walls. Not good.
It was perfect, with the Hokage incapacitated, command and control collapsed, the ensuing chaos would cause Konoha have issues in a coordinated offense until Nara Shikaku could rally a defense.
But there were too few chakra signatures for an invasion. Which didn't make sense unless they weren't invading, it was more of a party for, his breath hitched, darting down to Gaara who was now surrounded by his peers and jounin-sensei.
Smash and burn.
Shit shit SHIT, he cursed, withdrawing his kunai and tossing it directly at Gaara, hand already retrieving a chakra disruption seal as he reached out and tagged the Hiraishin, feeling himself undergo the spaghettification necessary to enter into the Hiraishin before instantly recompiling with his hand outstretched towards the jinchuriki of the Ichibi, only to meet air as the sand trio had darted up into the air, the seal tag fizzling uselessly into the ground.
The Suna jounin that had been with them whirled around to engage him, only for Genma to interfere, allowing him time to swing back.
"Naruto, Sasuke, go and track down Gaara, this is the real thing."
He then pushed the cowled jounin away as they both darted out of the arena, leaving Naruto and Sasuke.
"Sasuke," Naruto started, only for the Uchiha survivor to take off, causing him to sigh. It was typical he would take off without a plan and without recognizing he could help. Not that he was intending to pursue Sasuke and assist with Gaara at first.
Instead, he loosened the tie to retrieve the scroll from his back, setting it vertically upon the ground, reaching up with his right thumb to his mouth and biting hard enough into it to draw blood.
After the encounter with Orochimaru, he had suspected that there was more reason to the Snake Sannin's presence other than shopping for a Sharingan. Why do it in the heart of Konoha when he could have waited until such a point to when Sasuke was vulnerable outside of the walls. Unless Orochimaru was merely doing the pragmatic thing and combining multiple objectives together. He had expected a raid of some kind to draw off attention from Sasuke, not a full-blown invasion though.
Still, he had taken that into consideration luckily when he had gone to work over the month on creating a way to where the fight with Orochimaru would not end the way it had previously. While he could not increase his chakra to sannin levels, in warfare, it wasn't the strongest fighter that won all the time, it was merely the luckiest one who landed that one strike. With that in mind, he had created something better.
Unfurling the scroll as he ran his bloody thumb over the middle of it, he then brought it down to the ground as he began going through the necessary handsigns in order to bring forth one of the few remaining trump cards he had.
000
"It seems we underestimated the situation," Kakashi stated with feigned indifference, looking down on the Sound-nin that were arrayed before Guy and himself. Asuma and Kurenai had run off to assist their own charges as soon as the genjutsu had dropped.
He should have suspected that Orochimaru would have tried something like this. It never made any sense why he would risk so much over something so trivial. But ow that there was an invasion going on.
Suddenly a pair of the Sound-nin leaped towards Sakura, intent on striking her down, he found his own body moving to intercept them. However, before he reached them two of the civilians in the crowd moved, suddenly producing balls of pure chakra and driving them into the two shinobi.
His eyes widened predictably as he recognized the very same jutsu his sensei had used time and again. But for civilians, an impossibility for them, to use it, it only meant one thing.
"Oi, Sakura, you shouldn't be standing still in the middle of a battle," one of the civilians stated, looking back at her, before phasing into the all-too-familiar look of his erstwhile student.
"Naruto," the pinkette cried, "but, where-"
He ignored them three more kage bunshin suddenly joining up with the one that had talked as they moved in to engage the surprised Sound shinobi. Guy and Kakashi were flabberghasted for a moment before Guy quickly jumped into the fight while Kakashi looked on.
"Kakashi, Sasuke went chasing after Gaara without support," one of them declared as it came up beside him.
The silver-haired jounin could only nod, figuring that was what Sasuke would do, but it didn't explain why Naruto was standing in the middle of the field with a scroll laid out before him and these Kage Bunshin were in the stands.
"Sakura, Naruto, I'm assigning you an A-ranked mission, track down Sasuke and prevent him from engaging Gaara."
"But Kakashi-sensei, how are we going to track him," Sakura asked.
Instead of answering he merely went through handsigns before bringing them down on the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)," he declared , smoking billowing out from the summon before revealing a dog with a Konoha headband secured on its head.
"Pakkun will track him for you. Go now, don't let Sasuke fight Gaara."
Sakura nodded letting the nin-dog lead her away, but the clone of Naruto hadn't moved.
"Boss is going to save the Hokage, but he will be sending someone to help," the clone declared, before dispelling in a puff of smoke.
Kakashi resisted the urge to blink , before his head snapped back to where Naruto was, his chakra suddenly flaring.
000
First stage of handsigns complete, he would need to refine the process in the near future, he felt his chakra spike, the initial procedure done.
He then shifted into the second stage of hand signs.
That was one of the problems for what he was trying to do. For an intricately complex jutsu such as this required the exact handsigns and a precise chakra mold in order to bypass and unlock the seals to the scroll. The second series of handsigns were designed for the recompilation of what he had stored inside the scroll.
Finished, he then went through the last set of handsigns necessary to finish the summon.
I. Inu. Tori. Saru. Hitsuji. (Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram.)
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," he declared, slamming his hand down on the parchment.
Immediately he was rewarded with an audible pop and smoke. The air quickly clearing to reveal thirteen clones of himself dressed in flak vests and wearing the iconic cloak of the Yondaime. They looked exactly like miniature versions of the Yondaime.
This was his masterpiece, the Kuchiyose: Ichi no Guntai (Summoning: Army of One). By combining every facet of his fuinjutsu knowledge, techniques, and seals, he could create thirteen clones of himself that had the same durability, strength, and skills he had minus the Kyuubi's chakra. They would be his gamechanger as he grew older and stronger.
Why thirteen? Well because for some reason he could only create thirteen of these special clones. It had everything to do with the seal capacity that was being pushed by the chakra constructs he had created by using kage bunshin.
"Split into teams of three as planned," he commanded, "Inu team, deal with the summon. Tora team, assist in the evacuation, use the safehouses as necesssary, you'll have Kage Bunshin to support you, exigent circumstances are authorized for them. Tatsu team, I want a full sweep to the breach in the wall. Mi team, secure the Academy and then go and assist Tatsu. If they are Suna attempt to disable if possible, kill on sight any Sound."
"Right boss," they chorused before disappearing into yellow flashes , leaving the thirteenth and final member standing there.
"Thirteen, you are to pursue Sasuke and attempt to prevent him from engaging Sabaku no Gaara. Failing to do so, attempt to disable. If he starts entering his jinchuriki form immediately pulse me and harass with kage bunshin. Under no circumstances are Sakura and Sasuke to be harmed. Follow Sakura, she'll lead you there."
"Understood," the clone replied before leaping off in pursuit of where it could sense the third member of Team 7 and nin-dog.
Taking a deep cleansing breath he then focused up to the towering barrier that dominated the skyline from his perspective. The barrier that he knew contained the Hokage.
He then ran forward, channelling chakra onto his feet as he scaled the wall before goinf into a leap to land onto the roof behind the ANBU squad he recognized as one of the protective details for the Hokage.
"Genin," the muddled white robed ANBU with the Neko mask started.
"My apologies ANBU-san but we don't have time to discuss why I'm here. If you give me a few minutes I can most likely bring down the barrier so you may assist the Hokage.
Whatever else Neko was going to say died on his lips as he stared impassively for a few moments before nodding.
"Do it."
Iruka Umino grimaced as he felt a kunai dig into his shoulder. His body wanted so hard to give in as he panted, his kunai locked with an attacking Sound-nin even as three more were just finishing up the rest of the Academy instructors. There were six corpses of other Sound shinobi strewn out on the field.
"Iruka-sensei," screamed one of his students, reminding him of why he was putting up such a staunch resistance. As soon as he realized that Konoha was under attack, he had moved his students to the shelter in order to protect them. Unfortunately, their attackers knew about the shelter and it exposed enough for his students to see him try to protect them.
"I'm not going to let you harm my students," he snarled, willing his body to give him everything he had. He may not be able to survive this, but he would be damned if he didn't hold out until reinforcements arrived.
The strength took the Sound nin by surprise, allowing him to push up the kunai and open the man up for his other kunai, driving it right into his throat and leaving the foreign ninja gurgling his own blood as he fell back.
"Sensei, look out."
He had just looked up from his victim to see a flurry of kunais coming towards him, too many for him to counter and evading was out of the question.
His eyes closed awaiting the impending kunais to impale him.
Naruto, I'm sorry.
"Doton: Shōheki." (Earth Release: Enclosing Wall)
His eyes snapped open to the new voice and the sound of the ground erupting to find three identical figured before him, suddenly a fourth appearing in a puff of smoke right behind the curved earthen wall.
"Fūton," the three cried after a flurry of handseals, "Daitoppa." (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)
Drawing back a breath in unison and angled to cover all sides of the wall, they then violently exhaled, wind jutsu lashing out as the fourth member exploded.
The resultant explosion and wind jutsu turned the wall into a wall of earth shrapnel that scythed through the Sound nin before they even knew what hit them.
Iruka could only watch in astonishment at the violent remainder of what just happened. Earth shrapnel either cleared or dug into that which could not be cut down. His eyes then traveled down to the backs of the clones quickly noting the kanji for "Yondaime Hokage" his blood chilled at the sight of a ghost before him.
"Y-Y-Yondaime-sama."
One of them turned around while the other two went to the grusly task of finishing off the attackers and collecting tri-pronged kunais laying in the ground.
"Iruka-sensei, let me look at that," the blond stated stepping towards him, hands glowing green as he looked it over.
"Naruto," he asked shocked, "when did you-?"
"It's a long story that will have to wait Iruka-sensei," the blond stated, "the boss sent us to secure you and the Academy students before supporting the counteroffensive."
"You're a clone?"
The blond nodded before his hands stopped glowing, "I stopped the bleeding and restored some functionality to your arm. We'll leave some kage bunshins to protect you until reinforcements arrive."
Upon command six kage bunshins appeared before them, the other two original clones back now.
Before Iruka could say anything more they disappeared in a a flutter of leaves indicative of a Shunshin.
000
Naruto frowned as his clone dispersed before the flames completely consumed it, processing the clone's memories and subsequent pain of slamming into the barrier.
Thought so. It's a weaker variant of the Shisekiyōjin(Four Red Yang Formation).
He hadn't seen the Shisekiyōjin before, it was only theoretical, but it had been in his father's notes as something only Kage level shinobi could do in tandem. The chakra drain to maintain it would be astronomical, but he recognized the sentiment of the design.
Leave it to Orochimaru to come with a solution for lower level nin, he thought with a hint of admiration.
He couldn't use any ninjutsu to break it, he didn't have any S-Class jutsus to break it, and even then that was a tossup.
No, he had to approach it from a more eccentric solution.
A laugh broke his concentration, causing his head to snap to it's source: a redheaded Sound kunoichi.
"Hasn't it got to your thick head, shit-for-brains, this barrier can't be broken. Lord Orochimaru is going to skullfuck your decrepit Hokage."
Taking a closer look at the young woman he noted how she had the distinctive hair of the Uzumaki, though it could be an aberration, he quietly noted it away as he looked to the ANBU Captain.
"ANBU-san, catch," he then tossed his kunai, "I suggest you clear off the roof for a minute."
"Hai," came the response from the ANBU, before he and the rest of his ANBU team jumped off, leaving Naruto on the roof along with the barrier as he walked over to the redhead.
"I tell you what," he declared staring at her levelly through the barrier, "I bet I can take down this barrier. If I can do that, then you can pledge your loyalty to me."
"Tch, as if you can do that limp-dick."
Naruto gave a predatory smile as he leaned forward a bit.
"I'll take that as a yes."
He then stepped back and pulled out a blank seal. Producing from another pocket a brush and a small ink container, he ran it through the ink and proceeded to scrawl upon the it.
"Did you know that the explosive note was an Uzumaki creation," he began conversationally as he kept writing the seal down, "the original designer actually intended for it to be a lot different than what it was. You see, before the establishment of the hidden villages there was an Uzumaki who used to attach explosive notes to prisoners of war and then send them back to their homes, unaware of what they carried. When they got there, she would detonate those notes and take out quite a few people in the process. The only problem with the technique was that this member was the only one that knew it and she refused to share it with the rest of the clan.
He then finished and ran his chakra through the seal, before placing it on three more seals, creating perfect copies of it.
"Yeah, what about it," the redhead shot back.
"Well, before she died she spawned the explosive note that you take for granted. Sadly, no one ever had the opportunity to record and recreate the seal. Unfortunately for you," a quartet of kage bunshins appeared as he separated the seals and handed them to each, "I happened to figure out the seal."
He then disappered in a flash as the redheaded kunoichi could only watch as the four clones seemed to grin even wider as they split up to the other corners, leaving a kage bunshin looking straight at her as he held up the seal and applied it directly to his forehead.
"Try not to die," he declared, before the seal began to glow, and then for the Sound-nin, there was only the explosion, the feeling of her feet giving away, and then nothingness.
000
"Are you enjoying the view, sensei," Orochimaru hissed in the ear of the man who had trained him, a look of delight on his face at the sight of smoke plumes dotting the direction from where he knew his shinobi were coming from. It as a glorious spectacle made all the more delicious by the fact that he had his sensei have front row seats to watch his village burn.
"Not really, Orochimaru," Hiruzen replied drily, keeping his eyes on the snake sannin instead of the kunai placed at his neck. He knew Orochimaru wouldn't use it against him unless forced to, he would prefer to let him watch and then defeat him with whatever jutsu he had.
"Come now, sensei. Isn't this how you imagined it would end when you let me go free? Konoha burning, your Will of Fire being snuffed out like the pitiful candle it always was."
"And that is where you have always been wrong, Orochimaru. The Will of Fire will continue to survive and thrive as long as there are those who embrace it."
"Well then. I'll make sure that after this there won't be anymore reason for anyone to take that stupid belief."
However before the Sandaime could offer a retort as he felt a quarter of chakra spikes around the barrier.
"Wha-," Orochimaru staryed before the world became nothing more than white noise as the very ground that they stood upon trembled and shook. Hiruzen took the moment to extricate himself from Orochimaru, turning to him a safe distance now.
Only before he could do anything more, the trembling gave way at an audible groan as the very ground they stood upon started to give a way. The very beams that had given the building its structural integrity no longer able to support the load they had been designed to carry.
It took everything for the two of them to avoid being crushed as they escaped the destruction.
000
I can see why no one wanted to pursue Miyako's fuinjutsu, Naruto thought with a hint of nervousness as he watched the plume of debris and smoke extend to the heavens above.
That was one of the problems with the field implementation of fuinjutsu on the fly. One mess up you could fizzle the seal, or in this case, mess up the chakra to explosive force ratio in the equation and turn what should have neen a directed demolition charge into an earthshaking explosive.
I warned you, the fox commented, causing the blond to internally scowl at him.
However, any further retort died as the ANBU charged forward, intent on helping their Hokage, he himself joining in them as they navigated the dust and debris that now dominated what had been the roof and top floor.
"Hokage-sama," cried Neko, as they came to the Hokage who was in a crouch, his robes in tatters as he was fixated in the direction would be where Orochimaru was most likely was. He then looked at the gathering a moment, eyebroe arching at his presence.
"Naruto?"
"Sorry, Hokage-sama," he replied formally, knowing protocol around ANBU like this, "I overdid the seal matrix."
"Kukuku, you are surprising Naruto-kun," came the admonishing tone of Orochimaru as the dust finished its clearing revealing the Snake sannin, "such wonderful knowledge and jutsus. I can't wait to pick your brain."
"Sorry, but I'll decline," he responded, hand grasping Hiraishin kunai tighter.
"It wasn't an offer," Orochimaru returned, refocusing on the Sarutobi clan leader, "I think it's time for a reunion sensei."
He then clapped his hands together, his face contorting into pure focus.
Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei. (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation)
A trio of coffins erupted up from the ground at his summoning, each with a number upon them. However, as the third raised up with 'Yon' in kanji on it, it froze, and then slid back into the ground. However, it was enough to cause both Hiruzen and Naruto's eyes to widen as they both recognized the jutsu, but it didn't get any better as what were in the coffins as the lids with 'Sho' and 'Ni' on them and fell down to reveal two very familiar forms.
He couldn't help himself stepping back as the two stepped forward from the coffins, it was only a natural reaction for two of the strongest shinobi in history that he knew would soon be under Orochimaru's control. But there was another reason, as he ground his teeth, because he knew now exactly what that third coffin had contained, which meant that Orochimaru had desecrated his father's corpse. Cooling it because he knew running without a clear head would get him killed, he instead focused on other details.
The question is which controlling seal he's going to use, he thought even as he started retraining his trepidation. He would honestly prefer to be fighting Gaara right now instead of facing what was to come.
Thankfully though, when they came to a stop they focused on Sarutobi, allowing him more time to prepare.
"Long time no see, Saru," the Shodaime started, his undead eyes narrowed, "you've grown old."
"That's what happens, brother," the Nidaime retorted, taking a look around for a moment, "Edo Tensei, to think my own jutsu would be used on me. It seems the youth these days have no sense of decency."
"I wish we has met again under more pleasant circumstances," the Hokage responded sorrowfully.
"It seems we are here to fight you," Hashirama started, before stopping, his head snapping towards him, eyes widening slightly, "you're a jinchuriki."
He bit his lip but nodded, this was not good, he thought even as he heard the Kyuubi growl. Mokuton was the antithesis of his tenant's chakra, the natural life energy working to mitigate and then negate his demonic chakra.
"Kyuubi, right?"
"That's enough pleasantries," Orochimaru interrupted, not that Naruto was going to respond with that information anyways. The history of Hashirama and Kyuubi were infamous.
Here it comes, Naruto thought silently as he summoned up a kage bunshin in a position to view Orochimaru's actions, and more specifically, the tag he would be using.
He watched as Orochimaru stepped forward, a tagged kunai in each hand as he slipped his hand into the back of their heads . Almost immediately, the two Hokage's reacted, life flooding back into their features, however their expressions became vacant.
Nothing else was said as the two charged forward, profile already leveled as Tobirama honed in on Sarutobi.
Hashirama, on the other hand, targeted him. Immediately he stepped back to avoid the sweep of an open palm like a sword, immediately ducking under a roundhouse, only to be rewarded with an open palm strike that sent him flying back. He used the energy of the motion to flip back and land on his feet.
He didn't even have time to wipe away the blood that bubbled past his lips as the Shodaime's right arm turned into wood as it shot towards him. Only a quick kage bunshin off to the right saved him by allowing him to Kawarimi (Body Replacement) to safety by replacing himself with it.
Another kage bunshin created the opening of his own counterstrike as they both went through necessary handseals to activate their jutsus.
Fuuton: Daitoppa
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu
Flame and air combined to enhance another another, turning the flames white-hot as they engulfed the Shodaime.
Naruto.
Stopping the jutsu, he took the moment to wipe the now dried blood away from his mouth, a clone appearing with his kunai that he dropped during the initial strike by the Shodaime. The clone then dispersed to allow him access to the events so far.
He used a complete control tag, Naruto thought even as he reviewed that ANBU were supporting Jiji against the Nidaime in spite of orders to support him. The battle wasn't exactly going well for them either. The Nidaime's skill in water jutsu and space-time jutsus easily pushing Hiruzen and the ANBU on the defensive.
The control tag on the other hand was troublesome and ruled out killing Orochimaru, even if that were possible. It would place the Edo Tensei constructs in terminal mode on the last orders they had. That meant they had to at least disrupt the control of the caster.
Naruto!
What Kyuubi?!
However he cut that thought as he realized that the Shodaime they had attacked was finished recomposing himself from detritus, hands going through the tiger and ram seals before clasping together.
The ground rumbling was the only warning he got, but it provided enough for him as he had three clones appear around him, transforming into kunai dug into the ground before he slapped his hands together and then slammed them down on the ground.
"Kekkai: San-ten Shōheki (Three Point Barrier)," he commanded, yellow energy snapping into the form of a pyramid around him, just in time as massive tree roots erupted from the roof and began surging upwards into the sky. All around him, the roots and trees tightened around the barrier as it raised up to the ground, the energy the only thing between him and ensnarement. For a moment, he felt faint as the chakra drain nearly exhausted him before his storage seals kicked in, pouring much needed chakra into his network. But it was a close call.
And then it stopped, allowing Naruto to release the barrier, falling towards the ground and impacting upon one of the trees before rolling to a flat surface. He laid there for a moment, soaked in sweat and gasping for breath, before slowly forcing himself to his feet.
Naruto, you need to use my chakra. That jutsu alone expended almost all of your reserve seals.
I know. But using your chakra now in our situation will only leave us vulnerable.
Then flee.
He growled in response, No. I refuse to leave Jiji! I didn't take down that barrier just for him to die now! If I flee now, I doom everything I have done so far. I can win this, I just need time to think.
Well then, it's too late for that.
Knowing exactly what the fox was referring to, he spotted the Shodaime phase out of a tree in front of him, standing there for a few moments allowing him the opportunity to take stock.
He was completely outclassed. There was no doubt about it. Even with the Hiraishin, especially the Hiraishin, he just couldn't match up against the Shodaime.
But maybe worse was the fact that the Hiraishin was incomplete. He couldn't use jutsu in conjunction with the Hiraishin without a small delay between them, he couldn't teleport anyone, and he couldn't place a seal down on the target. Even worse, he could not use the tajuu kage bunshin in combination with it, for some reason saturating the area with his chakra served to jam his recognition of the seal. All he had was just a flashy point-to-point teleportation jutsu that offered taijutsu and kenjutsu opportunities, the only problem was his kenjutsu was nonexistent because he hadn't PLANNED on having to work on it for another few months.
There has to be a way around this, he railed, think Naruto.
Use my power.
But in this forest-
You'll get a few moments and there is no one to witness it, nor feel it. The Mokuton will act as a buffer to the chakra leakage. Edo Tensei subjects are merely souls recompiled into a material construct with chakra pathways, correct?
Yeah.
Then use my chakra to disrupt it. I doubt it will kill that Snake bastard, but it will buy you enough time to seal the jutsu.
He was going to offer an argument to the chakra being stuck in his stomach, but he paused as he considered the implications of what the great Kyuubi no Kitsune was suggesting and smiled.
Perfect idea, fox.
Hmph. Just don't get yourself snared. I don't want to be stuck again by that accursed Shodaime.
No promises, he responded, reaching into one of his pockets to receive a pair of chakra storage tags and slapped them to either side of his neck, feeling the dry sting as they tried to introduce chakra that wasn't in them into his network.
I need you to fill those two tags with your chakra.
What are you planning?
You'll see it when it happens. Now, one tail?
One tail.
This was the part he hated as he could feel his body silently groan as chakra flooded through his already abused pathways. Musculature that hadn't been there suddenly increased in mass as he lowered himself into a four-pount stance, canines growing and whisker birthmarks growing more defined. Foul chakra providing the discomfiture of antipodal flaming hot and ice cold sensation flooding his body and yanking at his mind as pain receptors flared at the agony his body underwent as it continued to change before dulling as that all-too-familiar illogic brought on by the distilled rage demanded he give into his base instincts to destroy.
And then the Shodaime was upon him, mokuton created sword in hand, only the chakra enhanced reaction speed preventing him for losing his head, chakra tail acting as weapon to bat it away as he swiped his claw at Hashirama's face, ripping it off to reveal that it was a wood clone.
Shit.
He immediately rolled to the side as a wooden spear erupted from the ground where he had been, senses seeking the void in emotion he was positive Edo Tensei left. Eyes darting towards where he detected where the Shodaime was, he took a deep breath, before exhaling a stream of fire, getting rewarded by the Shodai 's move. But it was exactly where he wanted, as he whipped his arm, kunai leading ahead of the black haired man.
Entering into the Hiraishin, he appeared in front of Hashirama, hand whipping up and ripping off a seal tag and slamming it down into the undead Hokage 's chest and then followed him down into the ground, dust shooting up from their impact.
Naruto looked down on the Shodai as his body was spasming mow, flecks of red chakra pouring out of him like embers from a fire. Foreign chakra now ravaging pathways in a self-feeding fire.
He only had a few moments, he thought as he had a clone appear behind him, hands running through the necessary handseals for his next trick.
Saru. Tatsu. Ushi. Hitsuji. Ne. Tori. Mi. Tora. U. Inu. (Monkey. Dragon. Ox. Ram. Rat. Bird. Snake. Dog.)
The clone then slammed his hands on his back and agony lanced through his body as he screamed, cuts appearing on his arms and blood being drawn out before dispersing into the chakra. Previously red chakra suddenly turned into ink black seal chains that shot down and pierced into the Shodaime, before they began wrapping around him
Before the target could do anything else the seal ink solidified into a shell.
Gasping for breath, he rolled off the shell and onto the ground, chest rising and falling as he felt the cuts slowly heal themselves up.
"Disperse," he commanded the clone, "someone needs to alert Jiraiya that he needs to get here immediately to help finish the seal."
The clone merely nodded before dispersing, Naruto looking listlessly at the trees above.
Ketsueki Inkushīru no Jutsu (Blood Ink Seal), he thought as he slowly got himself back to his knees, only his willpower preventing himself from mewling like a newborn kitten at the agony wracking his body, had never left him like this. But then again, this had only been the third time he had ever used it.
It has to be the Mokuton, he thought, ever since he used that jutsu, my chakra was being drained away.
"Kukuku, you really are a surprise Naruto-kun," came the slimy voice of Orochimaru as Naruto wearily looked at the snake summoner as he emtered his field of view, "such knowledge and such skill."
Naruto, that's your last two seals, Kyuubi warned as Naruto felt chakra flow back into his body, all of his reserves were now gone.
I know.
"I'm glad you're impressed," he retorted as he forced himself to his feet, hand running down his neck and to his side.
"You truly are just like your father. It's unfortunate for you this is where it all ends."
I only have one chance.
He then threw a kunai at Orochimaru, the Sannin smiling at the weak throw and the fact that it wasn't a tri-pronged kunai, he merely sidestepped the bladed ninja tool as Naruto took a staggering step back, fear etched on his face. It was all Orochimaru needed to cause him to lick his lips.
A sharp hit to the back suddenly caused his eyes to widen as he felt something slip into his body.
"Kai," Naruto whispered, and Orochimaru's body erupted into blinding pain that robbed him of breath, dropping him to his knees.
Liquid fire was burning through his veins, chakra flaring erratically in response to whatever it was the blond had hit him with, and all he felt was like his body was burning up.
"What-What did you do," he snarled, flopping himself on the ground as his body spasmed.
"You wanted me, well, I gave you a taste of it. That's the Kyuubi's chakra running through your body, burning your chakra pathways to ash. I think it's only fair I pay you back for the Forest of Death," the blond replied as he shuffled forward, hand running over a rest seal to produce a tri- pronged kunai.
A hiss escaped from the Sannin's lips, as he forced himself to his feet. He needed his chakra and he needed it now if he was going to escape this blond spawn of that man. Again he was being denied!
"Kai," he snarled after making the necessary handseals, losing his trump cards in order to buy him enough chakra that was being wasted on control to use a shunshin to escape.
He will be back, Kyuubi's voice echoed in his mind, earning a silent nod.
The man is like a cockroach. But at least we know he will more than likely come for us for what we did once he repairs the damage. If he can repair the damage.
Hmph. A wounded and cornered animal is a much larger threat than one that is left alone Naruto.
Then we'll have to figure out a way to put him down before he gets to us.
Before the Kyuubi could answer, the familiar sensation of a sudden information dump hit him like a two-by-four to the head, causing his eyes to widen.
Naruto!
Oh Kami!
Summonjng up a kage bunshin he quickly gave it orders to check on the Hokage and provide medical support if necessary before disappearing in a yellow flash, praying he wasn't too late.
000
Earlier...
Engaging Gaara was probably the dumbest thing he could gave done, Sasuke Uchiha thought errantly befkre quashing it as viciously as a bug, it was unbecoming of an Uchiha to think they were outmatched.
Still, he thought as he leveraged himself to his feet, indentation from where he had been slammed into the tree behind him, he had vastly underestimated the sand shinobi.
The very same nin that was now barrelling towarfs him, monstrous appendages at the bear to crush him.
Hand flexing even as his body groaned in protest at abusing his chakra pathways to create another Chidori.
Only his body was not allowing him the chakra, he realized in a flash of horror as he crossed his arms to defend himself.
"Rasengan!"
The in-flight monster suddenly being hit from the side as a familiar form plowed a blue orb of chakra into it, sending Gaara flying through the forest.
"Sasuke-kun," came a shriek as Sakura landed on the tree beside him, only to be ignored as he stared at the cloaked form of his blond rival.
Said blond then turned and jumped up onto the branch, taking a moment to look him over, before reaching into his pocket and retrieving a tag and holding it out.
"Take it and apply it to your neck, it'll replenish your chakra, just watch out-"
"Ack," Sasuke cried as his body jolted from the sudden rush of chakra pouring into his body.
"For the kick."
"NARUTO UZUMAKI!"
The blood-curdling howl caused the three genin to look into the direction of where Gaara had been shot off.
"We need to work together Sasuke. You still have the chakra disruption tags, right?"
"Hn."
"Give Sakura and myself one. If you get a chance apply it to him. It may be our only chance."
"Why should we follow your orders, Dobe?"
Naruto's teeth clenched as Gaara howled again, whirling around to give Sasuke and Sakura a massive dose of killing intent that caused them both to flinch.
"Because if you had done your damn job in the Exams and applied that tag to Gaara, then the Invasion would have been stopped in its tracks. Now, you want a chance to survive fighting a jinchuriki, then we need to work together NOW. Hopefully Boss will get my chakra pulses before it's too late."
"Before what's too late," Sakura asked.
"Before we have a repeat of the Kyuubi Incident from thirteen years ago," the clone replied, head turning back and eyes narrowing, "the seal on Gaara is weak, if it fails and he fully transforms, then we will have a bijuu right outside Konoha, and we don't have the Yondaime to seal it a newborn and my fuinjutsu is not advanced enough to replicate it. Even if I wanted to, I'm in no mood to sacrifice my life like my father did."
The clone could practically hear the grinding of the teeth from the Uchiha before he finally sighed, "Fine, dobe. What's the plan?"
"One of us needs to place a chakra disruption seal on Gaara, it will cut the links between the bijuu and himself and allow me to place a seal that will restrain the beast within him. If that is not possible, then we try and kill the host. Sakura, you have any kunai or shuriken on you?"
"Yes."
"Good, keep at range and just pummel him if you see an opening. You won't last long against Gaara at any range, but especially close. Just provide a distraction for him. Sasuke, how many of that lightning jutsu can you manage?"
"Three, safely," the Uchiha found himself surprisingly answering back with ease, taking a quick moment to take stock at that development.
"Alright. You're the tip of the spear then, Sasuke. Get that tag on him as soon as you compromise that sand armor with your jutsu."
The loud crash as Gaara returned denied any further discussion as the sand jinchuriki stood there, foaming spittle slathering out of his jowls. Sand was now proceeding to fullly encase him as the transformation neared full completion.
"Yes. YES!" NOW MOTHER CAN HAVE YOUR BLOOD AS WELL! SHE WILL BE SO HAPPY WITH ME!
"Tch," the clone murmured, clenching his teeth tightly, this was likely not going to end well with boss not answering his pulses, "remember the plan."
"Suna shuriken."
Clone appeared by the Naruto clone's side, hands already whirling through handsigns before they both -drew breath at the same time.
Fuuton: Daitoppa
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu.
The sand spawned shurikens did not stand a chance as flame scorched through them, quickly rendering them into dust before colliding with the arm of the sub-bijuu, a howl being ripped from its lips as the sand on the arm was rendered into glass because it burned so hot.
Sakura had positioned herself by launching her own attack, shuriken flying through the air as they hit into the now exposed jinchuriki. While normally ineffective, they proved devastating as they shattered the sand-turned-glass, a howl sounding from the beast.
"Sasuke," Naruto commanded.
Sasuke blinked at the voice lashing at him, momentarily stunned by what Naruto had just done, but it was all enough hesitation, as all three were suddenly forced to evade as spikes of sand flew at their position, the clone Naruto had being speared by one, and Sakura barely avoiding herself.
"Dammit Sasuke, get your head in the game," Naruto snarled, hand forming the 'ram' seal, before creating dozens of Kage Bunshins that quickly charged towards Gaara, fists already flying as Sakura kept throwing shurikens towards the scrum that had erupted between the clones and the jinchuriki. It was a vicious fight, as the clones kept pummeling the miniature tanuki, only for minimal damage to be done, in each instance the armor hardening to every single strike. Even with his chakra enhanced strikes they were only denting the sand that had hardened to steel.
A swipe of the tail wiped away, causing a couple of them to reflexively back off, giving Gaara enough time to launch his own counter-attack. Clones disappeared in puffs of smoke, as spikes dug into them and sand formed to crush them, unable to use the HIraishin because of the very limitations that cursed him.
Naruto surged forward now, intent on driving a Rasengan into the core of the form, only for the other claw to intercept it, concentrated chakra digging into the claw to no effect. He could only look into the eyes of the mad jinchuriki as it looked at him wiith a wide grin, as the tail came whipping down like an executioner's axe.
Bringing his left arm, he prevented himself from being cleaved in half, but the cost was heavy as the arm was bissected at the elbow joint, causing the clone to grunt loudly, but did not dispel.
"NARUTO," Sakura's voice rang in its ears, only to be drowned out by the sounds of birds chirping, causing him to grimace as he realized Sasuke was finally getting his head out of his ass and getting involved.
A lightning encased fist sliced through the hand that was now holding onto Naruto and directly into the head of the beast. Naruto watched Sasuke's actions, watching as the sand started to fall off the beast, but to his shock, the sand didn't reveal the form of Gaara as he had expected, instead simply becoming nothing but sand.
A SUNA BUNSHIN! (Sand Clone)
His head snapped around, searching the surroundings now looking for Gaara, realizing that the entire time that his senses were saying something was off, it had been the fact that they had been fighting a sand clone the entire time. He had to be somewhere manipulating the sand to look and act like him.
"Where is he," Sasuke demanded, looking as well.
So focused on finding them, neither had noticed the sand sifting behind them until it was too late, a sand spike being driven through the clone, eyes and mouth open in silent surprise, only to be worsened by the sound of Sakura's scream.
The clone slowly craned his neck, fighting the automatic urge to disperse as he took in the sight of Sakura pinned against the wall, her legs crushed against it as tears trailed down them her eyes mouth open like a fish out of water, then she was falling as Gaara's monstrous arm released her from where she was pinned, her body falling through several branches before being caught by a clone and dropped on the ground, dispersing suddenly as the a kunai lands beside her, the throwing clone also dispersing.
But for Sasuke everything happened in slow motion, Naruto's impalement and Sakura, the Sharingan providing him every moment in perfect haunting clarity. Flesh and bone giving way to intense pressure, crackling and squelching echoing in his ears.
And then Sakura was on the ground, green eyes wide and lost as she stared directly at him, her hand outstretched to him, as she her lips moved but no word came from them. But he didn't need to hear the voice, he could read his name on her lips, even as he could see the blood pumping out of the shattered mess that were her legs.
And then the struggle as she tried to cry his name died, her outstretched hand falling limply to the ground as those emerald green eyes looked at him so plaintively, silently asking him why, before they fell dim and Sakura Haruno stilled.