:Way of the Ninja: Chapter 28a

Chapter 28

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!!"

The open field crackled with tension as all vision was obscured behind the thick smoke that accompanied all Summoning techniques.  It cleared quickly, aided by the dry wind drifting across the open plain, revealing a large two-headed snake that towered several stories into the air, its serpentine eyes glowing with murderous intent.  Atop each head stood Orochimaru and Kabuto, the elder of the two grinning as if his victory was already assured.

Jiraiya fought back a grimace as the expression brought back old memories.  'Cocky bastard...' Turning his attention back to the smoky cloud in front of him, he awaited the arrival of his own summon, his eyes widening almost comically at what stood before him.

Feeling his eyes on it, the chubby little frog turned its head, peering up at him with beady little eyes.  A grin slowly spread across its amphibious little face and it raised a webbed hand in greeting.  "Hallo, everybody!"

Shizune gawked, her dark eyes wide in a mixture of shock and utter embarrassment.

The Frog Sage jumped back, his face pale in disbelief.  He'd known attempting a Summoning in his condition was risky, but this was just too much?! "Gyyyyaaaaahhhh!  Gamatatsu?!  Where the hell is your father?!"

The small frog, who happened to be the Frog Boss's youngest - and least brightest - son, seemed oblivious to his incredulous exclamation as he gazed about the field in wonder.  It wasn't often that he was Summoned to the human world... why was that anyway?  "Wow... there sure are a lot of people here!" he commented, unaware of the twitching Sannin behind him.  "Is there a party going on?  Ooh - is it somebody's birthday?"

Jiraiya let out a mortified groan.

Orochimaru studied their antics in the distance, his yellow eyes near twinkling in sadistic glee.  While Jiraiya had always been an abysmal failure, this little act was pathetic even for him!  "I see now..." he exclaimed to himself.  "His chakra has been diminished somehow..."  He paused, a smirk slowly spreading across his face as it dawned on him.  "It looks as though Tsunade hasn't completely lost her touch."

Atop the other serpentine head, Kabuto turned to him in curiosity.  "She drugged him?" he queried.  "Why?"

The Hebi-Sannin grinned.  "You haven't forgotten the original terms of our agreement, have you?" he asked.  "Perhaps she meant to use the fool as one of her sacrifices."  At the young medic ninja's wide eyed expression, Orochimaru turned his attention back to his old teammate with a dark, mocking chuckle.  "Poor Jiraiya," he intoned.  "You're even more of a bumbler than you were back then."

Catching the knowing look in the other Sannin's eye, Jiraiya tensed with an angry scowl.  'Damn it... he's figured it out...'

"Jiraiya-sama..." Shizune called worriedly.

He shook his head, smirking ruefully.  "There's nothing we can do about it..." he interrupted.  "I'll just hafta stall long enough--"

There was a sudden movement at his side as Naruto suddenly slammed her palm to the ground, letting out a short cry of "KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" before vanishing behind a cloud of smoke.

The smirk dropped from Orochimaru's face, replaced by stunned surprise at the sight of the blonde haired urchin performing the complex jutsu.  'The child has learned to Summon...?!!'  His yellow eyes suddenly narrowed in displeasure.  'She's far more skilled than I gave her credit...'

Jiraiya stared at the spot his apprentice stood, still obscured by smoke, surprise evident on his tattooed features.  "Naruto..." he began, only to jerk in surprise once more at the sight of the jutsu's result.  "Ehhh??"

A little red frog smirked up at them, raising a hand in greeting.  "Yo!"

"Gamakichi-kun!" Naruto greeted.

Beady eyes landing on her, the little frog grinned mischievously.  "Neechan!  You keep callin' me like this and your boyfriends'll get jealous!"

The young kunoichi jerked, flushing briefly in embarrassment.  "Ack!  Don't you start that crap, too!" she exclaimed.  Shifting slightly, she jabbed a finger at Gamatatsu, who waved once more.  She was rapidly beginning to understand why Jiraiya had seemed to horrified at his sudden appearance - he didn't seem like he was the sharpest kunai in the holster... "I need you to keep that guy out of trouble!

Gamakichi followed her finger, gawking at the sight of his younger brother.  His beady eyes widened in shock and horror.  "Gamatatsu?" he gaped, incredulous.  "Who in Kami's name let you out?"

His chubby younger sibling let out a happy giggle.  "I'm here for the party, Aniki!" he explained, as if the answer should have been obvious.  "Do you know if there's gonna be food?  I'm really hungry!"

"Food?  Are you kidding me?"

Jiraiya regarded the two amphibians for several brief moments before letting out a sigh followed by a heavy groan.  He fixed the blonde - who was still watching the two frogs with a bemused expression - with a slightly annoyed grimace.  "You should've summoned the Boss, kid."

Naruto paused, shooting him a slight glare.  "But you said for me to stay out of it," she muttered.  He didn't need to know that she was a little wary of using the Kyuubi's chakra right now - especially with him being so uncooperative.

Unaware of her concerns, the Frog Sannin's grimace soured even further.  "Hey! Don't be a smartass, runt!"

"What did you call me, you dirty old pervert?"

Shizune moved herself between the pair, hoping to diffuse the situation before it got too out of hand - that is, if it hadn't already... "Ji-Jiraiya-sama... Naruto..."

Orochimaru watched the pair, his amused chuckling rousing them out of their petty squabble.  "Well, well, perhaps I was mistaken..." he mused, studying the young genin once more.  "The brat's his apprentice after all... Another witless fool!"

As if by some unbidden command, the summoned snake surged forward like a whip, snaking across the grass at top speed.  Twin jaws unhinged, gleaming fangs glinting in the sunlight as they prepared to sink in for the kill.

"MOVE!" Jiraiya commanded, jumping upwards as one of the snake's head rammed into the ground where he had stood, sending dirt and rock everywhere.

Both kunoichi followed, darting in opposite directions.

As he was pulled to safety by his older brother, with Tonton in tow, Gamatatsu regarded the unfolding events in confusion.  "What's happening, Aniki?  Isn't there a party?  Why are we leaving?"

"So we don't get killed, that's why!" Gamakichi exclaimed, diving behind a rock several hundred yards from the battle quickly unfolding - frogs could be pretty quick when the situation called for it.  He gazed at the dust cloud now obscuring all but the menacing silhouette of Orochimaru's monstrosity.  'You guys better be careful... Humans aren't as tough as us frogs, after all!'

Beside him, Tonton let out a quiet oink of distress.

"Me, too, Pinky... me, too..."

--

'Damn it!' Shizune clutched the catatonic Sannin closer to her side, her eyes stinging against grit and dust in the air.  Large hunks of dirt and rock still fell from the sky, bringing visibility down to a minimum.  As she leapt from stone to stone searching for a secure place to deposit her mistress, she clenched a kunai tightly in her hand.  'This is dangerous... there's no telling where--'

A surge of chakra flickered behind her and she turned, catching thick glass frames glinting in her peripheral vision.  "Looking for me?"

The older kunoichi tried turning mid-air but the added weight of the limp woman threw off her balance.  Kabuto didn't hesitate to take advantage of her limited mobility - raising his leg, he delived a heavy kick to her back that sent both her and Tsunade hurtling towards the ground.

Touching down at another falling rock a few meters away, Naruto stared with wide, horrified eyes as the two kunoichi hit the unrelenting ground with a heavy thud.  "SHIZUNE!" she called, only to reel back as a large snake head emerged out of the haze to her left, its gaping maw open wide.  

--

Jiraiya could only watch with wide eyes as serpentine jaws clamped down on the little blonde he'd taken under his wing.  He'd felt something stiffen, harden, and then shatter deep in his chest, even as he let out a loud cry of, "NARUTO!!"  To his great relief, the blonde quickly re-emerged - having forced the creature's mouth open, all the while yelling obscenities.  Unfortunately, the snake seemed even more displeased - what summon wants to be overpowered by a 12 year old girl - and with a powerful shake of its head, flung the girl away slamming her into the rocks below.  For the briefest of moments his mind seemed to shut down, but then he was moving again, his hands rapidly forming handsigns, frantically gathering up chakra as if his - their - lives depended on it.

"Doton: YOMI NUMA!!"

Orochimaru grunted in surprise as the snake beneath him jerked, coming to a stop.  Curious as to the cause, he gazed to the ground, his face twisting in anger at the soft, murky swamp that had suddenly appeared.  Without solid ground to support it, the snake slowly began to sink into its depths - and though the swamp wasn't deep enough to submerge it completely - it certainly would prove to be an inconvenience.

'Damn that Jiraiya...'

The Frog Sannin touched down on solid ground - or rather, the neck of one of the snakes - surveying his handiwork with a grimace of displeasure.  'Damn it... the swamp's too small...' He gaze sought out Orochimaru and his eyes hardened in angry resolve.  'Chakra or no chakra... I've gotta put an end to this fight fast...'

--

Shizune fired another volley of senbon from the small apparatus at her wrist at the traitorous nin across from her, scowling when he deflected them all with a stylized kunai.  How was it that someone that gifted would willingly work for such an awful man?  She just didn't understand!

'No matter...' she thought to herself, drawing chakra together for another jutsu.  'He won't be allowed to get away with what he's done.'  Waiting for him to get into range, she took a deep inhalation of breath, expelling it quickly in the form of a dark, purple mist.

Kabuto skidded to a stop, his eyes widening in alarm at the thick fog lurching towards him.  'Dokugiri...poisonous mist...' Though the purple cloud lurched harmlessly and slowly across the ground, there was no doubting its effectiveness.  'If I breathe in even a little of that stuff, I'm done for...!' His body tensing as the noxious fumes closed in around him, he wracked his mind for some sort of escape.

Outside the jutsu's range, Shizune watched with anxious eyes for any sign that her attack was successful.  A bead of sweat rolled down her face, and she felt a slim sliver of hope that perhaps she had been victorious... only to drop harshly to her knees, crying out at the sharp pain stabbing through her ankles.  Eyes wide in horror and surprise, she stared at the glowing gloved hands jutting out of the earth beneath her feet.

'Impossible!' She stared as Kabuto rose out of the ground, that same knowing smirk still prevelant on his face.  She barely had any time to react before he was in her face, his fist pulled back to deliver another crushing blow.

--

Tsunade watched her assistant hit the unyielding ground before her, her body trembling even more harshly at the blood on the younger woman's chin.  She was hurt, as was Jiraiya's little apprentince - she had watched as she too hit the ground after escaping the snake's clutches, though she had yet to get up. They both needed her help, she knew this, but she couldn't bring herself to move.  They were right there in front of her, well within her power to reach, but all she could see were the ghosts of loved ones past.  Nawaki... Dan... they had both laid there helpless, too...

"No... no... no..." Her limbs shaking even harder, she clutched her arms tightly around her body, freezing in terror when she sensed another presence behind her.  Reacting on primal instinct alone, she spun around and slapped his hand away with a loud, hysterical shriek.  "Stay away from me!"

Kabuto stared down at her, his expression a mixture of surprise and mild disgust.  "Are you finished yet?" The older blonde didn't answer, slowly crawling backwards away from him like a cornered animal.  His lip curled into a sneer at the sight.  "How pathetic can you get?  One of the Densetsu no Sannin reduced to such a state..."  Closing his eyes, he let out a resigned sigh.  Opening them again, he clenched his hand into a fist once more.  "I suppose then its up to me to put you out of your misery!"

"Leave her alone."

The gray haired medic ninja started in surprise, turning to face the smaller blonde holding his wrist in a tight grip.  Meeting her steel blue eyes, he fixed his expression into a pleased grin.  "Still alive, huh?  Impressive."

Naruto's expression didn't waiver.  "I'm not about to let you hurt the old lady," she hissed.  "So back off and fight me instead!"

Deep within the recesses of her mind, the Kyuubi hissed his displeasure at her sudden decision.  ~ WHY DEFEND HER? ~ it scowled.  ~ SHE SOUGHT TO AIDE OUR ENEMY! ~

'Shut up, Fox,' she thought back with a snarl.  'Nobody asked you.'

Whether it was annoyed or taken aback at her vehemence, the demon quickly fell silent once more.

Oblivous to her brief inner debate, Kabuto studied the little Leaf Genin, carefully taking in everything about her - her stance, her appearance, her grip on his wrist, everything.  Had not she been so insistent on keeping him away from Tsunade, Naruto would have yanked her hand away faster than you can say 'Kuchiyose'.  It was just downright creepy!  Just what was it he found so fascinating about her anyway?  

Finally his knowing smirk melted away, replaced by a dangerous scowl.  "I told you before to stay out of it..." he warned in a low tone.  Naruto didn't flinch.  "A little kid like you should know better than to meddle in the affairs of adults."

That did it.  "Shut the hell up!" Naruto tensed her body, pulling her free hand back into a fist, preparing to ram it into his face.  

Anticipating the move, Kabuto pulled his own captured wrist forward, throwing off the blonde's balance.  As she stumbled by him, he swept one of her legs out from under her, tapping her thigh with a chakra charged hand.  When she hit the ground, letting out a short hiss of pain, Kabuto shook his head, clicking his tongue in mock sympathy.  "You poor thing... having a bit of a hard time, aren't you?"

The kunoichi scowled back him, biting back a curse when she was unable to rise to her feet.  

"I noticed you favoring your right leg while you were standing in front of me just now," Kabuto explained.  "You must've injured your left in that fall with the snake... possibly a minor fracture?"  He paused, the annoying smirk returning to his face once more.  "It wouldn't have become an issue if not for the fact that I severed the muscle connecting to that particular bone in your leg."

It was possible to do that with chakra?  Refusing to be intimidated, Naruto fixed an angry scowl to her face.  "Think whatever you want, asshole," she spat.  "I'm not done with you, you traitor!  Not by a long shot!"

The older ninja merely laughed.  "You think that face is supposed to scare me?  How juvenile..." His expression turned cocky once more.  "Only little kids like you rely on ridculous notions like hope."

Behind them, Tsunade's body twitched involuntarily.

"'I don't give up,'" he continued in a mocking tone.  "'I don't run away'... It's petty idealisms like that that'll get you killed in the real world!"

Tsunade listened to his words, her mind inevitably shifting back to moments in her past shared with her little brother.  After all, how many times had she lectured him about the dangers of war and the necessity of acting responsibly?  

~ "If there's a fight, Nawaki, you better run away as fast as you can." ~

~ "What?!" ~ Brown eyes would always glare right back at her, and her Nawaki would loudly exclaim, ~ "No way!  I'm a ninja of the Leaf!  I'm never gonna run away!" ~

It was all still too fresh, too familiar in her heart and mind.  Seeing the little blonde in front of her now reminded her so much of Nawaki... and it hurt far more than she could have possibly imagined.

Oblivious to her turmoil, Kabuto continued his mocking tirade.  The whole while, the smaller blonde's eyes followed him, putting Tsunade in mind of a wild, cornered dog.

'Or a fox...' her feverish mind supplied.  The Slug Mistress found the manic attempt at humor made her feel ill.

"Hopes and dreams are a waste of time!" Kabuto spat, as if merely speaking of the concepts were distasteful to him.  "You keep pining away over silly things like that and you'll never become a real ninja!"

In a blur of movement, Kabuto took a swipe at Naruto with his kunai, causing a sharp stab of worry to slip through Tsunade's chest.  "NARUTO!!!"

The blonde shifted her gaze briefly, her eyes registering confusion at the sudden show of concern before turning her attention back to her opponent just in time to block his kunai with the use of her Chakra shield.  Pushing back against him, she summoned all her willpower, ignoring the sharp stabbing pain in her leg as she rose to her feet once more.  "I don't know where you get your information from, Four Eyes," she grunted.  "But I AM a real ninja!  And I'm gonna be Hokage someday!" She pulled her free  hand back, willing her chakra from her reserves to pool together in the palm of her hand.  She knew she was taking a risk, but at the moment there was no other choice.  'Rasengan... here we go!'

Tsunade's amber eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the bright, blue chakra coelescing in the young girl's palm.  'No way...' she awed, remembering a similar sight during their brief fight outside of the bar.  'Is it actually possible....?'

Naruto surged forward, aiming the wildly spinning orb directly towards the Sound ninja with an angry yell of, "RASENGAN!!"

Quick to act, Kabuto jumped back and narrowly avoided the blow, his keen eyes warily studying the chakra slowly dissipating into nothingness.  'What was that...?' He frowned, recalling nothing like that in the dossier of information he'd collected on her.  'Is it possible that she's learned a new attack...?'

Frustrated that her attack had failed - once again she hadn't been able to maintain her chakra long enough to score a hit - Naruto spun around with a kunai in hand, prepared to deliver another strike.

The older ninja stayed where he was, regarding her with an amused expression.  "What was that?" he asked with a chuckle.  "How do you expect to beat me with such a useless technique?  You can't even hold it together long enough to hit me with it!"

Scowling quietly at the truth in his words, Naruto stared down at her empty hand with a grimace.  'Damn it, he's right...' she told herself, loathe as she was to admit it.  'So I can't pull off a one-handed Rasengan like the old perv...' Glancing back up once more, she fixed her narrowed gaze on him, weighing her options.  'He's stronger than I am... and he's got that weird glowing chakra trick...' Remembering the number he had done on her injured leg, Naruto was glad the Kyuubi was still healing her wounds despite his pissy attitude.  If they made it out of this mess in one piece, the pair of them were waaay past due for a long talk.  'If he manages to take out even one of my arms...'

As if he could read her thoughts, the older ninja shifted his weight, his lips curled back in a cruel smirk.  Refusing to back down but wary of any sudden attacks, Naruto moved as well, placing herself between him and the still shell-shocked Sannin.

"Why are you wasting your time trying to protect her?" he asked her, chuckling at the ridiculousness of the situation.  What did she really expect to accomplish anyway?  "I hope you're not expecting her to heal you once I'm through with you-- that is..." He paused, a dark look passing over his features that had an involuntary chill running up the Leaf genin's spine.  "If I don't just kill you first."

"You're not killing anybody!" she snapped back, tightening her grip on her kunai.  "I'll make sure of that!"

He wasn't phased in the least.  "Why bother?  What's the point?"

Tsunade stared at the orange clad back before her, the same questions echoing loudly in her mind.  The blonde really had nothing to gain by helping her, but so much to lose!  The harsh words she had spoken to her back at the bar bubbled to the surface, leaving a sick feeling in her stomach.

~ "Hell, why stick your nck out at all?  It's not worth it!" ~

Every bitter word she'd spoken that day had been designed to wound her sharper than any kunai.  Looking back now Tsunade realized she had wanted to break her, she had wanted to crush that bright, shining spirit that had been burning so brightly in front of her.  Naruto had to have been aware of this; the anger that had radiated her tiny form had been obvious for everyone to see.  Hell, she'd had no reseverations of letting her know exactly what she thought about her.  So then why?  Why would she put her life at risk for someone she obviously thought so little of?

Unaware of her inner turmoil, Naruto straightened her spine, gazing back at Kabuto with cool blue eyes of steel.  "The point?" she murmured, her voice sharp despite its low tone.  "The point is I'm a ninja of Konohagakure no Sato... and it's my duty to protect the Hokage!"

Tsunade let out a sharp gasp.

Kabuto snorted.  "Hokage... her?  Konoha's as good as finished!"

"Like hell is is!" Naruto snapped back.  "I'll make sure she keeps it in line!  After all, she'll be keeping my spot warm for me!"

The Slug Sannin watched with an awestruck expression as the two young ninja rushed towards each other once more, carrying on their battle with equal fervor to the other two Sannin some distance.  

'Shizune... Jiraiya... Naruto...' All three were doing everything in their power to protect her, the bitter drunk gambler that couldn't even stomach the sight of blood.  And they wanted to make *her* Hokage?!  'I don't understand... Why put yourself at risk for me...?'  She watched with terrified eyes as the young blonde was knocked back a kick from the elder ninja, skidding in the dirt before regaining her bearings once more.  "Why?"

Kunai raised, Naruto kept her gaze on Kabuto, her breath coming out in ragged gasps.  The older boy merely gazed back at her like a large cat waiting for its prey to give up the chase.  Naruto inwardly scowled at the thought - she wasn't about to give up!  That was her nindo! "Someone once told me..." she murmured, feeling Tsunade's amber eyes boring into her back.  "People discover true strength when they're fighting to protect someone else..."

Noble sentiments... especially from one so young.  "But you could die..." she breathed out.

Naruto's eyes darkened slightly.  "He died... protecting his precious person... and I blamed myself until I realized I was dishonoring his sacrifice."

"Sacrifice...?"

The blonde word's from the bar replayed in her ears once more.  ~ "Hokage-jiji fought and died to protect the people in the village - people he care for!  Like family!" ~

~ "I made a vow to him and myself... That one day I'd become the Greatest Hokage, and protect everyone!  That is my dream!" ~

'Dreams...' Tsunade was suddenly roused out of her thoughts by a yell from Kabuto.  Amber eyes shot up as the Oto-nin charged towards the blonde, both his hand and kunai charged with lethal, glowing chakra.  "Naruto!"  The blonde ignored her, meeting him head on with her Chakra Spade.  "Stop it!  You don't have to do this!"

Naruto let out a snort, pushing against Kabuto's weight despite her small stature.  "You better get that necklace ready, Baachan..." she grunted.  "'Cuz I'm about to win that bet!"

Fed up with her incredulously optimistic outlook on the outcome of their battle, Kabuto let out an uncharacteristic snarl of rage, pulling back his one of his hands.  Reaching into his own weapons pouch, he pulled out another kunai, preparing to go for her unprtected side.  "DIE!!"

Tsunade's eyes widened in terror.  "Nooo!!!"

Unperturbed by the danger, Naruto met the older boy head on.  Knocking the kunai out of his right hand with her Chakra Spade - who knew it could be used offensively? - she grasped his clasped hand wither her other free one, not even flinching as the blade bit into the flesh between her fingers.  At his stunned expression, she let out a victorious smirk, refusing to loosen her grip.

"What?!"

Eyes gleaming fiercely, Naruto let out a snort.  "Talk, talk, talk... don't you have anything better to do?" she asked mockingly.  "The Fox an' I are tired of listening to your crap!"

The medic ninja tensed, struggling to release his hand from the young girl's vice like grip.  "Let go of my hand!" he snarled.

"Why should I?" she shot back.  "You're not afraid of a little kid like me, are you?"  As if that were its cue, a Kage Bunshin emerged from the dirt to the left of Naruto, gazing back at him with an identical smirk.  "How 'bout two of us?"

'A shadow clone?!' Kabuto stared at the two blonde's, a thunderstruck expression on his face.  'When did she have time to--?' He paused, remembering the first time she had charged him with five clones.  He thought he had destroyed them all... 'She managed to keep one hidden after all this time...?!'  "What are you--?"

Naruto ignored him, giving a nod to her clone.  Wasting no time, the clone began channeling chakra into the original's upturned palm, compressing it, moulding it until once again took on the shape of a spinning blue orb.  "All right, Kabuto," Blue eyes focused on him, narrowing in a way that promised nothing but pain.  "I'm gonna show you what a genin like me can do!"

Staring at the swirling orb in her hands, Kabuto once again began struggling to free his hand.  'That same attack...?' A bead of sweat ran down his face as he studied it more closely.  The orb was brighter, the chakra spinning round and round more quickly... 'No... it's different this time...'

'Oh my God...' Tsunade watched with wide eyes, barely able to believe what she was seeing.  'It really is--!'

The blonde's hand shot forward in a blur, her upturned palm slamming into the spy's chest with a force of a hurricane.  "RASENGAN!!!"

Kabuto's world exploded in a flash of energy, his screams echoing loudly across the field.  The force of the blonde's jutsu knocked him backwards, his body spinning wildly until he collided harshly with a large boulder.

--

At the sudden surge of chakra, both Jiraiya and Orochimaru ceased their assults, staring in mute shock as Kabuto was flung several hundred yards away.

'She did it...' Jiraiya thought to himself, warring between feelings of shock and pride.  'She actually did it...!'

Orochimaru's yellow eyes were wide in disbelief.  Could that scrawny little urchin have actually...  "Impossible!"

His old teammate turned back to him, a knowing smirk slowly spreading across his face.  "What did I tell you?" he chuckled, ignoring the Snake Sannin's angry scowl.  "It takes guts to be a good ninja... and that kid's got it in spades!"

~ End Chapter 28a