Manda's massive body slithered between the waves, the hardened scales on his body tearing a path through the fleet of ships, uncaring if they belonged to Konoha or Kumo. Naruto and Akina were narrowly avoiding the shrapnel and debris of the sinking ships as the snake summon made his way past them.
Finally he rose up fully, allowing the two siblings a reprieve from the rushing water. Naruto spared no time as he attacked Akina again.
Akina watched as he rushed from Manda's tail, up the curving side towards her, closing the distance before she even had any real time to plan anything other than her imminent defense.
The holes in her stance were glaring right at him, he could see her breathing heavy, the minor twitches of her arms and legs as wounds and weariness took their toll. She was tired and weak and he exploited it...gladly.
She struggled with every strike, the blocks and parries loosing their strength and form with every clang the weapons released with each brutal impact of his blade against her defense.
Using some effort she parried his next attack, making him stumble for a brief moment which allowed her to leap away, off of Manda and onto the sinking frame of a broken ship.
Naruto followed her, landing a bit further below her. The ship was tilted so that the front was skyward, the mast of the ship cracked like a tooth pick in the area between the stem and the crows nest. She ran up to the highest point at the front of the ship, weapon in hand, chest heaving as she took in gulps of air "Naruto." She breathed as he began making his way closer. Vaguely they both recognized that to be the first time she had ever called him by name. "This doesn't have to be this way. I know that you're not to blame for Temari if you call off your attack we can end this war right now!"
"This war will end." He nodded slowly. "Once I destroy you and all the members of your pathetic coalition." He stated before attacking her once again.
She blocked the attack, backing away before leaping to the side, then up and down, landing on what remained of the mast of the ship, which was now almost flat as the ship had now reached a near ninety degree angle. "Why?" She questioned incredulously, almost accusatory. She backed away as he fell onto the mast as well. The wood groaning beneath their combined weight as he made his way closer, forcing her further and further back, feeling the waves already nipping at her ankles.
"Why would you want this to continue? Your nation has said that you're fighting to bring peace to our land? Was that all just a lie? Was that really just propaganda?"
Naruto said nothing as he continued making his way forward, now reaching the more narrow part of the stretch of wood.
Akina wobbled on the unsteady length, the high winds and rough sea making it very difficult to keep her balance even with chakra. Growling with anger at his silence. Was it all just a lie in the end? Was it really just another form of manipulation from the man who had been raised for the sole purpose of...
Her eyes went wide before she slowly brought her eyes to meet the shadowy veil beneath his hood. "You-you're scared aren't you?"
Naruto, for the first time, paused in his stride, staring at her. "What?"
"You're scared." She stated more firmly this time. "You want to end it here, like this, with this battle because you know some will escape and you know that when they do some may surrender, but many will continue the fight against you. You don't want the fighting to end...you want it to go on, because you're absolutely terrified of the notion of a world without war. A world where you would have no purpose!"
There was silence, broken only by the screams of the battle and the crashing of the waves. Akina watched her siblings still form, the droplets of the nearby water passing between them before he finally reacted.
The slow shaking of his shoulders was followed only by the cruel, taunting sound that she could only recognize as laughter. Slow at first, the volume escalated becoming loud barks of amusement that sent chills down her spine.
"Hahahahaha! Even if you were right fool girl, what would your 'discovery' accomplish?" He questioned before he cut the mast of the ship in half, letting it fall into the ocean. She gasped before leaping off of the falling piece of wood towards the deck of the ship again
Before she managed to get onto the surface shefelt his claw latch onto her throat, spinning her around before slamming her into the upright deck. She was about to retaliate with her weapon when a sharp bolt of pain raced down her arm, eliciting a silent scream as his claw cut off her air supply. Her eyes snapped open to meet his as he leaned down towards her.
She realized that the pain in her arm was his sword, which he had stabbed straight through her forearm. She could feel the edge digging into the bone. As he leaned in closer his eyes slowly filled with the burning red essence of the nine tails. His metal facemask mere centimeters from her face. "What would it change? What can you change?" He questioned, his voice becoming a guttural growl towards the end of his sentence as he stared down at her.
She stared into his eyes, his words echoing in her mind.
'What can you change?'
'What can you change?'
Her lungs burned with molten agony. Her fingers and toes tingling as numbness rose up her limbs.
Naruto watched as she struggled to push him away, her eyes closing in pain as he continued to choke her. He could snap her neck with just a twitch of his wrist. But he didn't want too. It was too quick...too painless. No...He wanted to see the light leave her eyes...he wanted to watch as the essence was extracted from her body, as her very soul left her.
He didn't know why. All kills he made he did so cleanly...efficiently. But her...her he wanted to savor. The sight of this child, this foolish, worthless child, one whom had not seen, done, or persevered even a fraction of what he had in his life not only had the audacity to stand before him as if she belonged there.
It was insulting, and it made his blood boil in a way that he could not comprehend. And worst of all now she apparently wanted to "save" him. To redeem him.
As if he could have redemption...as if he needed redemption.
Akina's palm glowed pale blue with lightning chakra, Naruto watched as it began to crackle and flare to life. He brought the Kyuubi chakra to the surface, ready to nullify her attack wherever she chose to hit.
To his utter astonishment though Akina's arm passed right between them, towards the wooden planks that his sword was embedded against, pinning her other arm and her weapon to the upright deck of the ship. The planks shattered, sending splinters and shrapnel everywhere, now that his weapon was free from its restraint, Akina violently twisted her arm, twisting his own blade inside of her in the process. He felt metal scraping bone, a sickening sound that would have made men's stomachs churn in disgust. This was followed by the even more nauseating sound of one of her arm bones snapping under the strain. The young woman screamed, but did not relent, continuing the motion before electricity ran through the tip of her weapon a mere second before she plunged it into his collar bone.
Naruto growled low in his throat, tossing her aside and into the water before he reached over and yanked the weapon out of him, crushing it until it became little more than twisted metal in his grasp before turning back to Akina who was gasping for air as she held onto the mast of the ship with her good arm, hair wet and matted down to her forehead as her other arm hung limply by her side.
Naruto leapt down, again onto the mast of the sinking ship growling low as he stepped towards her when he realized something now that he was standing...again...on the mast.
The ship wasn't sinking anymore.
He saw her vanish beneath the wave's seconds before thousands of tendrils of sand tore the ship apart giving him only a brief few moments to escape their reach as he leapt up.
Manda's purple body rushed in front of him; close enough to allow him to latch onto the reptile's side, securing him with chakra as Manda dove beneath the waves for a second before rising above them again. Naruto climbed back to the top of the great snakes head turning to face the Shukaku once more.
Akina's world was one of complete blackness for several moments, the burning in her lungs returned as air was denied to her. She struggled as best she could against whatever surrounded her, only for her head to finally rise above her restraints.
Sand. She sputtered, gasping for air as she coughed the dry arid grains from her mouth with disgust.
"Akina!" Yugito's voice pierced through the haze as the Nibi grabbed onto her shoulder, pulling her up.
Akina screamed bloody murder as the rough sand scraped against the bone and torn flesh of her arm.
"Wha-shit! What happened?" The older woman questioned as she knelt down grabbing Akina's arm as she used her other arm to try and pull her waist up out of the sand that still clung to her.
"Stabbed my-urgh!" Akina began but groaned mid sentence as Yugito used the opportunity to harshly, almost savagely shove the bone back into place.
The Nibi Jinchuriki watched as the Kyuubi chakra began to take effect, but even with this creature's near regenerative abilities it would take several minutes for the bone to be anywhere near strong enough to take an impact from a normal person, let alone an impact from Naruto. And that was several minutes that they did not have.
She turned her eyes onto Manda as the great snake swam opposite them, glaring at the Shukaku with those serpentine eyes.
They had to stop him but how. Even with Shukaku distracting Manda and both her and Akina tag teaming him as best they could he was just a juggernaut that refused to go down. No matter what they threw at him he just seemed to bounce back not the least bit depleted, weakened, tired or injured.
And now one of Akina's arms was useless for the moment and Naruto was still as resilient as ever. What could they-
Wait...Yugito's eyes traveled over to the snake Naruto currently stood on Manda's head was reared back, a nasty bleeding gash along the beast's left side along the middle of his body as well as another along the underside, going from right to left along his upper body, higher than the other injury. One of his four horns also seemed to have been badly torn up by a bite from the sand demon.
"That's it... we may not be able to bring him down...but we can bring down his summon."
Akina breathed heavily, cradling her injured arm as she turned her gaze to Yugito. "What?"
Yugito spun around kneeling in front of Akina as she prepared to explain her plan. "Look, we don't have a lot of time and I know that your arm is messed up but I have an idea and the only way it'll work is if you keep that monster off of me for a few seconds can you do that?"
Akina hissed as she pulled herself up to her feet, still cradling her throbbing arm, which was already bruising horribly along the damaged area, the, now sealed wound looking an angry, irritated red.
She turned her eyes to Naruto once again as he stood atop Manda's head. Wondering if she...may have actually been right.
"Akina!" Yugito's sharp bark snapped her out of her thoughts. "This isn't the time to be day dreaming."
The younger blond nodded quickly. "Y-yea... She said before her eyes narrowed with determination. "Go do what you gotta do...I'll hold him off."
Yugito nodded slowly, almost hesitatingly before she leapt away, closer to Shukaku's front "shoulder blades" hands flashing through seals before the ghostlike flames formed over her body.
Lee rushed forward sliding under Tsunade's spin kick and pushing off the wooden deck with his hands, finishing with a split kick that hit both Sakura and Ino.
Sakura growled as she stumbled throwing her kunai at the Taijutsu master, drawing a scroll from her back pouch as he dodged the knife.
Lee spun around as he dodged the blade, catching Sakura unrolling her scroll from the corner of his eye before he leapt up, twisting in mid air and avoiding Ino's swing as she attacked with her wind blade. Ino spun around, but as she did a fist smashed into her face, followed by an elbow to her chest, knocking the wind out of her. A kick to her knee was followed by a brutal kick to her hip, side and the other side of her face.
Tsunade moved to attack the Taijutsu master when she sensed the approach of kunai behind her. Turning she caught two of the blades, blocking the third before she used both kunai to block Toushiro's axe swings.
She shoved the younger man down, making him stumble forward before she raised her leg to knee him in the stomach.
The son of the green dragon saw the attack, awkwardly pushing himself to the side to avoid the impact. He fell on his arm, the appendage twisting rather painfully as the wooden shaft of the axe slid easily against the deck of the ship, making him fall on his side rather than on his arm.
Tsunade raised her arms in front of her face as Tenten appeared in front of her, with three kicks slamming into the raised appendages with enough force to even make the legendary slug sannin take a step back.
Two kunai were in Tenten's hands in a second as she slashed and swiped at Tsunade. Every attack though was being blocked or dodged fluidly by the slug sannin before she pivoted on her heel slashing at Tenten with an upward swing, forcing the weapon mistress to stop her attack as she backpedaled to avoid certain dismemberment. Sporting a wide cut to her Chinese shirt however as a demonstration to her efforts.
Tsunade didn't stop there, turning her previously upward motion into a downward one she spun around, with both arms spread out to either side of her, the kunai in her hands getting closer and closer to Tenten as the younger Kunoichi was forced to back away as quickly as possible from said strikes.
Problem was Tsunade was faster.
Just as the blade descended on the juncture of her neck and shoulder the weapon mistress vanished in a cloud of smoke, forcing Tsunade's kunai into a block of wood.
Tsunade heard the clinking of chains behind her before she turned again, raising her hand to block the object she sensed approaching her, only to feel a chain wrap around her wrist, a spiked weight on its end. Her eyes watched as Tenten held the other end of the chain, having put the length through a part of the ships railing to use as an axis point to hold back her considerable strength. Though her monstrous strength was based almost solely on gathering all the chakra onto the point of impact in one of her punches that did not mean her own physical strength was anything short of inhuman to boot.
She caught sight of Toushiro rushing from her side, Yanking back she managed to gain enough slack from her chain to block his axe swing before Tenten yanked again, leaving her back wide open for Toushiro's follow up swing which he exploited, the metal, heavy end of the ax digging deep into her lower back. Tsunade bit down a scream before she twisted herself with the same motion Tenten had pulled her in, twisting her arm behind her back as she brought her leg clear upwards slamming her thigh into Toushiro's shoulder, the awkward angle of her attack not allowing her to exploit the full power that was normally present in one of her blows though it still sent Toushiro sprawling on his back.
Twisting back around her pulled the axe out of her side with a hiss of pain before she threw the weapon at its owner. Aimed for his skull as he began to sit up.
The chink of a kunai hitting the metal head was all that was needed to elicit a curse from Tsunade as she healed her injured side. Passing her eyes to Tenten she glared at the younger girl before she quickly unwrapped the chain from her wrist, grabbing onto it with both hands before she yanked. With the length of metal no longer fulfilling its original purpose Tenten released the weapon without a fight, allowing Tsunade to take it. Taking out a long spear and short sword from a scroll as Toushiro got to his feet, getting his discarded axe from the ground.
She expected Tsunade to throw the chain away but to her surprise, and worry the woman took the chain fixing it into a ready position as she began to slowly swing it round and round over her head.
Tsunade had been ready to throw the chain away, until, mainly by accident, she discovered the chain had chakra channeling capabilities. Trust Tenten to have all her weapons be top of the line
Swinging the metal over her head Tsunade released a battle cry as she swung the chain high, before bringing it straight down between the two.
Her chakra passed through the metal links, gathering at the points of impact before she released them as they hit the deck of the ship, tearing up the entire wooden surface as the two leapt to the side to avoid the attack.
The two landed at the stern of the ship, behind the helm, a slightly elevated position from the slug sannin. "Great job Ten-san why didn't you just hand her a Bijuu to sick on us!" Toushiro hissed as he watched the already formidable kunoichi pull back her new favorite toy.
"Shut up!" She snapped back.
Meanwhile with Lee the Taijutsu master was fighting Ino and Sakura's two feline like puppets Sakura was no master of pupetry like Kankuro or Chiyo, so she could not even hope to control her puppets while fighting the opponent directly like they did at times. But her skills were adequate enough to evade Lee while keeping control of the wooden dolls.
Lee leapt away as the white tigress reached him, lashing out with the claws on its legs, tail and back as it tried to slice Lee apart. But Lee's speed was second only to Gai and Naruto in Konoha; he would not be caught so easily by an inanimate object.
Dodging one of the creature's strikes he lashed out with a powerful kick, sending the white puppet flying across the deck.
The Taijutsu master sensed Ino behind him, wind blade in hand as she swung across. Lee rolled forward avoiding the blade before he spun around, continuing this little dance of theirs for a few moments before Ino attempted a shunshin behind him, only for him to appear behind her, in mid air, slamming the back of his heel to the side of her face. Knocking her away as well.
Sakura's white tiger returned then, slashing at the Taijutsu master from above as she leapt over him. Lee tilted his head to the side, avoiding the creatures claws before delivering a kick straight upwards, smashing it into the underside of the machines chassis sending it skyward before he appeared above it, smashing an elbow into its lower back. Puppets were renowned for being able to take a massive beating but Sakura had to wonder just how much more her close range, light weight puppet could take, especially with blows like that.
As Lee landed he was forced to dodge a hail of kunai to his right. Turning to face the source he found Sakura's black tiger puppet, approaching him, though slower than the white one this one seemed heavier and its weapons held some more mid range capabilities than the white one.
As the creature came in close its mouth opened and a chainlike whip suddenly emerged, Lee could see along the underside of its mouth a small seal of sorts, possibly for electric chakra. So taking no chances he wasted little time in kicking the whip away, so fast the lightning chakra didn't even have a chance to touch him.
This move left him open however as the white tiger leapt up, smashing into his side and off balance, not to mention tearing a horrible gash along his side.
Lee ignored the pain, regaining his balance as the black tiger attempted to take advantage of the situation, launching volleys of Senbon from hidden compartments in its chassis.
Lee dodged the projectiles with sheer speed and reflexes, a few of them nearly managing to cut him. He'd heard the stories of legendary puppeteers. One scratch and you lost the battle.
The white puppet rushed him for behind only for Lee to spin around and place the beast between himself and the projectiles, giving him enough time to escape the black tigers range.
Ino's wind blade tore up the deck of the ship as she attempted to cut him in two, stopping his run. He turned his eyes towards her as she approached; leaping clear over the wind blade and landing behind her he fell onto his back after he grabbed Ino by the back of her shoulders placing his legs on the small of her back before shoving her upwards with his considerable leg strength.
Ino rose high into the air before Lee appeared directly above her doing a single front flip the Taijutsu master brought his leg down in a bone crushing drop kick. The air left Ino in an instant as she released the hold on her weapon, falling onto the deck of the ship with a massive crash.
"INO!" Sakura yelled rushing to her friends' side and helping her sit up. "You all right?" The medic questioned as she passed her green chakra covered hand over Ino's already bruising stomach.
"Yea...just peachy." Ino groaned as she got to her feet, cradling her stomach.
As Lee landed on the railing of the ship, holding a loose Taijutsu stance both women once again prepared for the fight.
"Vessels approaching from the front."
The cry of the man on the crows nest did a wonderful job of alerting the crew but Jiraiya didn't need to be warned, he'd seen these ships approaching the moment their sailors turned the helm. Two ships, and with the wind speed and direction Jiraiya knew that they'd enter Shunshin range long after they were out of shunshin range themselves from the tower.
God damnit he needed to get closer, fast! Already he could feel the chakra rising in the air like a noxious gas. Whatever was going on up there it was big and Jiraiya knew he wouldn't like it.
As the two ships approached the flagship of the leaf Armada sent forth its hail of ballistae bolts and fire based projectiles, smashing clean through the hulls of Kumo's two vessels. But the ships continued on, undeterred, they'd probably be able to release one more volley of ranged attacks before the ninja were in shunshin range of each other.
That was Kumo's advantage over their ships. Their speed. They had forsaken long range capabilities, knowing that the more experienced mercenaries and pirates in the leaf's fleet would be able to out gun them as if they were child's play. Sacrificing offensive capabilities for speed, so they could reach the opposing ships faster.
Jiraiya had currently a dozen Anbu hidden on this ship, ready to ambush the Kumo ninja once they boarded, but he couldn't wait for that. Zhuge Liang's attack could go off at any second, he needed to get to that tower and the quickest way was by demolishing these two ships.
"Release!" The cry of the captain reached his ears as the boulder from the trebuchet was launched towards one of the ships.
Jiraiya vanished in a cloud of smoke, reappearing a moment later on the high flying piece of stone. He stood there for a moment waiting until the stone was falling over the ship before he leapt up, high into the sky before he formed his hand seals "Kuchiyose-no Jutsu!"
The massive slab of stone smashed right through the rear area of the ship, demolishing the helm and captains quarters before the whole ship was smashed to bits as a gigantic toad crushed it. The toad landed in the water, feeling the sting of saltwater on its leathery skin before it dispelled. Summoned toads, with only a few exceptions couldn't stand saltwater, even Gamabunta detested the ocean, it stung their eyes as they swam and burned their skin, which was why he'd refrained from summoning any of the creatures for this battle. And those who could stand Salt water were more for espionage missions than combat. He was sure Gamatukiu would forgive him once he explained the situation at a later time.
Having leapt off the toad before the creature dispelled the toad sannin landed on the adjacent ship the eyes of the Kumo jounin and chuunin landing on him as he did. It didn't take them long to recognize him, and it didn't take them long to attack either.
The chuunin was first, they always were, and lashing out with a kick to Jiraiya's legs as the toad sannin stood on the railings of the ship.
Jiraiya lowered his cane, intercepting the attack by slamming the wooden shaft against the boys shin before smacking him across the face with the unconventional weapon, sending him sprawling across the deck towards the rest of his comrades.
One of the Kumo ninja, a jounin this time attacked with a mid range wind attack, only for Jiraiya to do a perfect one-handed cartwheel on the ships railing as the wind attack sent splinters into the air as they cut through the railing.
Catching sight of a particularly large, pointy looking piece of wood Jiraiya used his cane, smacking the wooden object, turning it into a projectile that struck another chuunin in the eye, digging several inches into his skull, either killing him, or knocking him unconscious. Jiraiya didn't know nor did he care, bounding over the surprised ninja before he landed on deck.
Cutting his thumb mid air, he drew a quick kanji on the floor with the bleeding digit before slamming his palm on the wooden surface before any of the ninja could react.
Seven puffs of smoke later seven toads stood on the deck of the ship. Six were clad in battle armor, wielding halberds, sabers, axes, morning stars and other assorted melee weapons. The seventh wore no armor, about the size of a horse his legs were long, lean and powerful and Jiraiya wasted no time getting on the creatures back before the amphibian leapt off of the ship, leaving the toad summons to distract the ninja as the leaf flagship resumed its volley against the Kumo ship.
The toad had to have jumped at least 100 yards, very likely more than that before he began to descend towards the ocean. Jiraiya leapt off the beast then, gaining an additional dozen or so yards before he too began to descend towards the Kumo ships that had begun approaching the area since they caught sight of his first toad summon, no doubt they knew he was the only one who could do that in Konoha.
Kunai suddenly whizzed passed his head as the Kumo ninja caught sight of him falling towards them.
Jiraiya used his cane to block and deflect the projectiles. When they finally abated somewhat he formed more hand seals with the opening the lull granted him.
Forming yet another Kuchiyose the sannin summoned ten toads this time, though these were not as powerful as his earlier summons the additional three should help even it out a little.
The toads he summoned used their weapons and armor to withstand the volley, adjusting their fall to land on the ship.
The 11 servants of the leaf smashed onto the deck, with three of the toads going clean through and crashing into the lower decks. Jiraiya did not feel them dispel so paid them no mind as the Kumo ninja attacked them.
Jiraiya quickly scanned the group, he counted 17, with who knows how many below decks.
His eyes shifted as he sensed a shunshin behind him. Spinning around he grabbed the...jounin's arm by the wrist. A kunai was in his hand, twisting it harshly behind the mans back he spun both himself and the jounin around using him as a human meat shield to block a chuunin's sword thrust, with the blade poking through the now dead jounin's vest.
Throwing the ninja aside Jiraiya slammed the padded end of his cane into the chuunin's throat, feeling the flesh shift harshly beneath his blow, indicating he'd crushed his wind pipe.
Spinning the cane around so that the handle was now facing outwards he used it to clothesline another jounin that tried to rush behind one of his toads.
Then, using that same hooked end, he spun around, slamming it into another Jounin's stomach as the man attempted a swing with a sword. Slapping the man's hand with the cane a second later he forced him to release the blade. The weapon fell, clattering noisily against the deck of the ship before Jiraiya pulled it up with the handle of the cane. Spinning it around on the cane a few times, using the weapons own weight and circular momentum before he threw hit back to the jounin, piercing him through the shoulder.
As the Jounin screamed Jiraiya lashed out with a kick, smashing it right into the younger mans face which sent him clear overboard.
Paying the youngster no more attention Jiraiya was ready to call another of his "leapfrogs" when he sensed all three summons bellow deck vanish in just a scant few seconds.
The ground below the sannin exploded suddenly, tearing up the whole upper echelon of the Kumo vessel sending dust, debris and shrapnel everywhere.
The thudding footsteps were the only prelude to what was now emerging from the lower decks, the destroyed upper deck creating something akin to a ramp between the top and lower flors.
As the dust settled a large wooden golem stepped out, a compartment in its arm closing a moment later. If one was quick enough they would have been able to catch the small glimpse of Kunai with explosive tags before the compartment went back into its hiding place.
When one could finally see the ruined area of the upper deck it was to be greeted by the sight of Jiraiya balancing himself on the handle of his cane with one leg, the lower part of which was buried halfway under the rubble. That would have been Jiraiya's waist if not for his quick thinking.
"Wow." Jiraiya said after a moment of silence which was quickly followed by a flat, deadpan- "Your aim sucks."
Kankuro's face twisted into a sour expression beneath the visor of his suit but more or less decided to shrug off the insult as he offered one of his own. "You're the great Jiraiya? A crippled old man?"
Jiraiya rolled his eyes at the jibe. As if he hadn't heard that before. "Whatever, I don't have time to waste with you." He said as he moved to summon the jumper toad again when he caught sight of something approaching him from above.
Vanishing from sight with his cane he appeared a few moments later on a more stable part of the deck, ignoring the toads and ninja that still fought on the ship.
Turning his eyes to the spot where he used to be he found a brown haired woman, a hook spear stabbed into the rubble as Kankuro began to walk up the impromptu ramp.
"Like I said, I don't have time to waste with you." Jiraiya said as he finished his previous hand seals, ready to summon the toad when Knkuro extended his massive hand and hundreds of tiny little spike balls, almost the size of marbles were suddenly strewn about the deck, affecting both the toads and Kumo ninja as well.
But Jiraiya was the worst, his hands which had been lowering so he could summon the toad slammed right over several of the spike balls. The toad sannin jumped back and screamed as some kind of pulse emanated from the spikes. He glared at the two Kumo ninja.
"The Tenketsu in your hands have been sealed. No more summons for you "Toad hermit" Kankuro said, the title being pulled from his lips in a scalding tone.
Jiraiya frowned, lips curling back into a sneer. The Tenketsu were indeed sealed, he'd sparred with enough Hyuuga in his day, including Hinata herself to recognize the feeling. He could also recognize when they'd open again.
At this rate...ten minutes. Thank goodness these little things, whatever they were weren't nearly as powerful as the Hyuuga's Taijutsu, which would last for, at the very least an hour if the oponent was being nice. Maybe he could beat them and recover the use of his Tenketsu in time to stop Zhuge Liang. There was still time.
Brushing off the spike balls, he ignored the pain as they were pulled free of his skin as he reached down and grabbed his cane again. "All right. Guess I'll just need to get rid of the two of you.
Manda's massive body coiled around Shukaku, impeding the great sand beast's movements as his fangs injected another lethal dose of poison into the sand apparition. This would have been enough to kill several dozen other boss summons the size of Gamabunta, but being an apparition of sand, with no veins, arteries, organs, or nerve the poison, Manda's greatest strength was reduced to barely even 1/5th of its normal potential to do damage. With no claws, and Fangs too brittle to rip and tear flesh Manda was in for a battle of attrition. The only sign that his poison was taking effect was the fact that every now and then clumps of sand would fall off of Shukaku's main body. Though those empty spots were quickly filled with more sand it indicated that his control was slipping and that hopefully, soon, the poison would begin to affect the host itself not just the sand he was controlling.
Naruto felt the chilling bite of death against his skin as Manda came closer to Yugito, the Nibi's dark fire sending goose bumps over his arms and shoulders.
As he was able to look down from Manda's head that was now biting into Shukaku's shoulder he saw the hellfire Neko gathering chakra, and a great deal of it.
She stood in the middle of Gaara's massive back, meaning that he'd have to actually cross the proverbial minefield in order to get to her.
With the sick feeling of the Nibi's chakra building in the air he gave no further thought and leapt off Manda's head, rushing towards Yugito.
Before he reached very far he was intercepted by hundreds of spikes, spears and tendrils of sand.
Naruto growled head leaning to the side as he avoided one of the tendrils, using his considerable speed a second later to run in a different direction. As more sand spikes rose in front of him he lunged through the narrow openings.
Rolling as he hit the ground Naruto slammed his palm against the sand at his feet releasing a shockwave around his immediate area which released thousands of tiny wind blades within it, slicing up the sand spikes as they reached for him again, filling the air with the brown haze of sand.
A familiar, yet alien sound filled his ears and Naruto turned as Akina exploded from the sand, the familiar bright, pale blue ball shining in her hand as she approached him.
The rasengan spun to life in his grip, the mass of chakra held in his claw before he thrust it forward, smashing the two attacks against each other.
The heat of her attack came an instant later, the shockwave of the impact alone enough to knock his hood back as he held his ground against her. He looked to her face as it twisted in pain, then to her arm as the skin of her palm and fingertips burned away, revealing the raw flesh beneath.
The sound of the two attacks became nearly deafening to their ears before they exploded, blanketing the area in a cloud of sand.
Naruto grunted as the shockwave knocked him back a bit. Before the dust could settle or he could continue in the direction he knew Yugito to be in he felt something pierce his shoulder then something else pierce his thigh. He didn't need to think who could be doing this. Even he couldn't see through the thick cloud of sand that blanketed the air around him at this point, because Gaara didn't need to see. The sand was lathered with his chakra. He didn't need to see Naruto because he could sense him; even the individual grains on his clothing were probably giving the Kazekage sensory information on his position.
Naruto tried to pull free but the two sand spikes held him down firmly and the sound of shifting sands was the only warning he had.
Hinata pulled herself over the railing of the ship, staring down towards the medical ninja still on the small rowboat which was being pulled up by the crew of one of the ships that was part of the third attack wave.
The two medics that had left with her were also on the ship, their green healing chakra practically pouring itself into the wounded Suna Kunoichi as they struggled to keep her stable in the lurching ship.
Turning away from her charge she approached the captain of the ship, a rather large man almost of Jiraiya's height. "Captain." She called out bringing his attention to her.
"Ahh Hyuuga, what can I do you for lady?"
"The third attack wave will start soon but this ship will not join, Sabaku Temari is too important and we cannot have her fall into Suna's hands.
The captain's eyes traveled up to his forehead as if in thought before he replied. "I still expect my payment in full, lady Hyuuga."
Hinata's eyes narrowed as she grit her teeth. Bloody, greedy pirates. "Yes. You will still have your promised gold."
"Then there's no problem." The captain smiled before a horn sounded off in the distance. Indicating the third attack wave was beginning its advance.
Blood rose like bile in her chest, heaving as she tried to hold herself up before she collapsed onto her side, exhausted. The blood flowed from the side of her mouth onto the sand beneath her. Her entire arm, from wrist to shoulder was covered in horrible burns, her fingers twitching every few seconds as she struggled to retain consciousness from the mind numbing pain.
Her remaining arm shakily reached for the pouch on her belt, their contents, which included, kunai, shuriken and several types of pills all fell out of the open vessel.
Her vision was blurred and darkened but she recognized the pills, grabbing two she brought them to her mouth, swallowing them in a second. One was a soldier pill, the other a strong pain killer. She knew she would regret taking the soldier pill later though. Her healing and chakra regeneration required a very high metabolic rate and soldier pills forced the body's metabolism to speed up in order to produce more chakra. They did not grant chakra so much as force you to make more, faster which is why people were not recommended to take more than one soldier pill, otherwise their entire metabolism could be thrown off balance, or worse yet, their metabolism would move so fast that it'd actually do more harm than good in a fight seeing as how they'd run out of energy faster as well.
She tried to pull herself up, but her body was still so weak, already beginning to give up resisting the strain she'd put herself through to get this far in the battle.
She craned her neck, the only part of her body she felt like she could still move, searching out the other, her other...who stood on the surface of the Shukaku.
And when she found him she could only release a startled gasp at the sight.
He still remained standing, body pierced through and through by dozens of sand spikes. Blood dripping from his claws, robe and blade freely, only to be absorbed by the sand beneath him.
An unholy screech was pried from Yugito's lips before Manda's massive body, which she could see just at the edge of her peripheral vision, was swallowed by blackened ghostlike flames.
The great snake summon roared, thrashing wildly in pain as the flames seared through his armor like scales and softer underbelly. Trying to shed his skin to escape the hellfire proved for nothing and soon the snake's link to this world was cut and he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
Akina struggled to stand, pulling herself up onto her hands and knees after several moments of struggling. She heard Shukaku roar in triumph as the sand demon, now free of its opponent began to search around for a new one. Its diamond like eyes falling onto the fleet of ships.
It paused, as if trying to make the distinction between its allies and enemies before it roared again in frustration, uncaring in its crazed state, it attacked all that stood before it. The sand demon crushed them with his sand, smashed the ships together, tore them apart, it didn't matter, the results were the same.
Naruto could hear his own heartbeat, the pulse loud in his ears as he watched Manda vanish in a cloud of smoke, followed by the sight of Gaara tearing apart the second assault wave.
Sand began to creep up his ankles, rising over his waist, stomach and chest.
Naruto fought the resistance of the sand spikes/tendrils that still pierced his arms slowly bringing his arms up, fighting off the pain as the sand tendrils pulled down on his injuries. He could see Yugito, now untransformed, exhausted from her last attack as she stumbled towards Akina's still kneeling form. They thought him to be dead...fools.
Finally, his thumbs were close enough, and passed over the golden bracers on his wrists.
"First seal...Kai!"
The chakra of the nine tailed fox exploded from within, turning every grain of sand around and inside him to silver glass, the shockwave enough to knock Yugito and Akina over.
He could feel the shards of rough glass as they were forcefully expelled from his body, the wounds and internal damage sealing up with the steaming heat.
From beyond the glass perimeter around him he saw more tendrils of sand rise before they rushed him from all directions.
Naruto plunged his blade into the glass at his feet ignoring the cracked surface before he cupped both hands together. A red, flaming Rasengan flaring to life in his hands.
Heated air flared out from him followed by fire swirling around him. As the tendrils of sand got closer the heat only increased, turning them to glass before they could even get within five feet of him. cracking and falling away as the pressure of the chakra shattered them into tiny shards.
Red mist flowed from his eyes as the Rasengan swirled and pulsed in his hands, the metallic gauntlets glowing red hot as the mass of chakra increased its power.
He saw Akina and Yugito rise to a kneeling position, shock, amazement and dread rising from their stomachs and filling their expressions as they laid eyes on him.
Naruto raised the attack over his head before slamming it straight down into the sand manifestation known as Shukaku.
"Katon: Jigoku-hi Rasengan!"
The battle below came to a pause as the great sand demon simply ceased moving, a bright, angry red glow emerging from the area above him blinding in its intensity before Shukaku's sand body began to harden, becoming clear and translucent. It spread over the sand like a disease making its movements slow and lumbering before it froze entirely.
The near 100 foot tall glass statue held its position only for a few moments before massive cracks tore through its surface and deafened those who were nearest to the creature.
Finally, it shattered, the shifting shards glittering as they fell, some as tiny as a pebble, others larger than even the ships below them.
As Naruto fell, colors peeled back, the rushing wind making it difficult to breathe as he descended, faster and faster, the water rushing up to greet him before his world was consumed by blackness.
When he became aware of himself again, Naruto was greeted to the sensation of choking on saltwater as he tried to breathe. The water around him was stained red with blood, his blood, he realized as his left arm awoke an entire new dimension of pain in his mind. Bringing his attention to the appendage he noticed everything from the wrist up was covered in vicious lacerations, which were partially cauterised by the heat of the flames. He could feel several bone fragments grinding against each other in his arm and his hand itself, which had been in the red hot metal gauntlet was also in searing pain. He could only imagine the damage the warped steel had caused his hand.
He could feel his body floating up towards the surface, eyes scanning the glassy veil as he saw the bottom of ships above him.
He rose slowly, maneuvering his body to rise along the side of one of the ships.
As he broke the surface he gasped for air, digging his single claw onto the side of the ship before pulling himself upwards, planting his feet against the wet wood before he made his way up the side of the ship. Pulling himself over the railing before collapsing on the deck, which was littered with broken glass, his arm throbbing painfully.
From what he could see, and most certainly feel the Scapula, Humerus, Radius, Carpus, Humeral Trochlea, and Scapular Coracoid were broken. Or perhaps a more fitting term would be shattered. The pain was very near overwhelming even for him. If it wasn't for his many years enduring pain and developing methods to resist it he would have gone into shock no doubt.
Reaching into his pouch with his free hand he pulled out some ninja wire and roughly began tying his shattered left arm to his body.
He grunted with every rough jerk of the wire on his arm, hissing with pain. He hoped the limbs immobility would speed up the recovery even further. From what he could feel it would probably take an hour to heal the injury with the current amount of the nine tails chakra he was pulling out. He could pull more, but even his body was feeling the strain of battle and to further push its limits may prove a danger to his chakra coils something he would rather hope to avoid.
A groan to his left caught his attention bringing his eyes up to the elevated portion of the ships deck, where the helm was mounted, where he saw none other than Gaara pulling himself up, clearly dazed and disoriented.
Naruto then caught sight of his sword plunged into the wooden railing of the stairway that lead to the helm. Naruto silently pulled himself up to his feet, biting back grunt of pain by sheer willpower alone as he made his way up towards the Kazekage.
Zhuge Liang's body glowed with chakra, his skin almost translucent, the blue veins visible beneath the deathly pale visage as the seals glowed bright blue, crackling with lightning over his body.
His raven hair hovered in the air, robes fluttering as electricity danced off him.
His hands suddenly rushed through seals at blinding speed.
'Tori, O-ushi, Uma, Tori, Tora, Inu, Tora, Hebi'
His eyes began to shine a bright white color.
'Ryu, O-ushi, Uma, O-hitsuji, Tora, Hebi, Nezumi, Saru, Usagi'
Lightning trailed down his spine, arms and fingertips, jumping from the seal beneath him onto his body and vice versa.
'O-ushi, Saru, Usagi, Nezumi, O-hitsuji'
Along the four corners of the tower the lightning jumped from the seal onto them, spreading outwards and increasing in intensity.
Liang's hands ceased moving.
'Ryu!'
Gaara's vision swirled, coming in and out of focus as he blinked slowly, clutching his throbbing head in pain. The last thing he remembered clearly...Temari...where was Temari?
Something slammed into the Kage's side, too fast for his sand to react, rolling him onto his back Gaara saw the red robed Uzumaki as he brought his blade straight down on his chest. This time, with his attention on the Uzumaki the sand moved faster, though just barely, intercepting the razor sharp blade inches from the Kage's chest. Gaara forced his chakra through the sand, strengthening it as he tried to hold the blade away from himself.
Naruto's blade glowed with wind elemental chakra, grinding away at the Kazekage's defense as it slowly began to break through the red head's ultimate defense.
Gaara grit his teeth, realizing that it would only be a matter of time before the blade pierced his flesh. He shoved it to the side feeling the razor sharp weapon run straight through his shoulder, piercing the clavicle bone with ease.
Gaara screamed, unused to receiving physical injury. It didn't help when Naruto sliced the blade upwards, ripping it out of Gaara's arm instead of pulling it out.
Naruto brought the blade down again only to be met by Gaara's sand once more. Before his wind blade could cut through the sand defense another extension of sand materialized to Gaara's side, slamming right into Naruto's injured arm. The Kage of Konoha roared before he kicked Gaara in the face, sending him smashing through the railing of the raised platform and onto the deck.
He moved to look over the broken railing to Gaara's struggling form below, catching sight of Akina as the younger woman pulled herself up and over the railing of the ship, stumbling and weak. She had apparently reached her limit as well.
Naruto suddenly stepped back as Yugito dropped down on the area he stood previously, kunai aimed to slice his jugular. Lashing out with a kick he caught the older Jinchuriki in the face, sending her tumbling over the edge and skidding to a stop near Gaara's feet.
Before Naruto could continue his attack he saw Gaara once again summon sand to his person, using a clump of it to seal off the profusely bleeding injury and using another large portion of it to grab a broken chunk of the ship and hurl it at the Konoha Kage.
Naruto felt the Kyuubi's chakra burn through his coils again, rising beneath his skin, encasing his body in its searing embrace before he willed it forward, intercepting the piece of the ships hull with the mass of chakra before throwing it aside.
As he threw the weight away dark fire smashed through the floorboards a little in front of him. Yugito had used the distraction to get in close. Naruto was launched back, landing on his side he felt, more than heard Akina land beside him.
Standing up he turned to face the girl that had not chosen to attack while he was down.
Her eyes pleaded with him, lips opening and closing for a moment before she found her voice again. "Please-"
Naruto cut her off, swinging with his wind empowered blade he cut through her kunai easily, slicing open her arm. He swung again only for the young woman to dodge the attack.
Placing his foot between hers he tripped her up, causing her to stumble and fall, leaving her open for the next attack.
Naruto's wrist was caught before it could descend, held in place by a claw of sand.
Akina shot past him, quickly cutting the tendons along the back of his knee, crippling him before Gaara threw him clear across the ship, slamming him into the railing at the bow of the ship.
Naruto growled as he slowly picked himself up, kneeling due to his injured legs, watching as Gaara collapsed onto one knee as well. Apparently summoning the sand from the ocean floor was beginning to catch up to him. The Kage watched as the three haggard jinchurriki drew closer.
There was no remedy for it. He would have to release the second seal.
He slowly began to reach for the golden bracers at his wrists when the sky above darkened, thunder rumbling loud enough to shake his chest. He looked skyward, as did the other three on the ship, bright flashes of lightning piercing the now blackened sky.
"What in the world?"
Hinata, from her place along the rear lines could only stare, along with the rest of the crew as the clouds blackened unnaturally fast.
"This...this is a Jutsu." Hinata realized before rushing back to the captain who stood along the elevated platform of the ship. "Captain, we must send a message to the third wave, tell them to pull back!"
"They're already engaging the remains of the Kumo fleet." The captain replied. "If you order their retreat the Kumo ninja will more than happily swarm over them as they try to pull away."
Hinata cursed as she heard the sky rumble and flash with lightning.
"Raise Anchor!"
The order startled Hinata bringing her eyes back to the captain. "What are you doing?"
"Well ya see miss the way I figure with this attack going on our side is about to loose. So unless you want our little old ship captured by those Kumo ninja, and the precious little thing below deck taken as well then I would suggest we all get out of here.
Not waiting for Hinata to say anything he turned to his men and continued to bark out orders.
Jiraiya's eyes widened as he looked to the sky. 'No...' He thought as he snapped his gaze to the Kumo tower. 'I was too late!'
Tsunade's eyes trailed upwards to the black sky, eyes narrowing before she swung the chain over her head, forcing Tenten and Toushiro back once again before she released the weapon, rushing over towards where Ino and Sakura still held their ground against a seemingly unstoppable Lee.
Grabbing hold of both girls the Slug sannin vanished in a cloud of smoke leaving three confused leaf ninja behind on the ship.
A silence descended over the battlefield, no one seemed to move, or even breathe for several moments.
Naruto glanced around, feeling several rapid, individual fluctuations of chakra. It took him a moment, but he soon recognized the techniques that were being used.
'Shunshin'
To be using Shunshin on such a large scale that meant they all knew where to go. And if they all knew where to go then that means they had been expecting this.
Zhuge Liang.
The name barely passed through his mind before a lightning bolt descended from the sky, hitting the mast of a ship in the distance, tearing it in two. Before the wooden beam even fell another lightning bolt struck another ship, followed by another striking the ocean, then another, and another. Naruto noticed that the lightning bolts, which were now falling like rain, were not descending over a few areas in the fleets. If he had to guess, A few ships of Liang have had protection against this attack. Which would protect his ninja, while leaving the rest of the fleet- his fleet- to bear the full brunt of the assault.
His eyes then traveled to Gaara, Yugito and Akina, watching as the Nibi pulled out a scroll, no doubt to summon herself, Gaara and Akina to one of their safe zones.
Passing his blood over the second seal Naruto shot forward as more of the nine tails chakra was released from his body, the tendon in his leg reforming in seconds, the bones shifting in his arm painfully as his healing rate increased exponentially.
Yugito couldn't react before Naruto's blade pierced her stomach, pushing her all the way back until he had her nailed against the stairs that led to the upper portion of the ship.
"You're not going anywhere!" He growled, as she gasped, blood rising in her mouth as she gripped the blade.
Turning around he lashed out with a kick, his foot slamming into Akina as she tried to attack from behind, sending the younger of the siblings flying back. Only to be caught by Gaara's sand, the mass of shifting earth pushing him back, as the Shukaku Jinchuriki gathered chakra once again, creating half a dozen massive pillars of sand over him. Akina leapt onto one of the pillars, standing on the newly erected vantage point. But he could pay no attention to her as the other five sand pillars attacked. Naruto dodged and weaved, avoiding the attacks, listening as they smashed through the wooden floorboards of the ship.
Naruto and the attacks came to a sudden stop as a lightning bolt struck the ship, rocking the vessel violently as fire spread over the area of impact.
The reprieve was short lived as another sand pillar rushed him. Naruto leapt up, avoiding the attack, but Gaara had been expecting that, and Naruto was unable to avoid the rest of the sand that surrounded him a second later, encasing him from head to toe
"Sabaku-Kyuu" Gaara growled as he tightened his fist.
The sand coffin exploded in a shower of red chakra, releasing the Demon King.
Naruto fell onto one knee, using his remaining arm to hold himself up. Another lightning bolt smashed through the front of the ship, destroying the very front most portion of the vessel, followed by another that destroyed the starboard railing.
Naruto's eyes shot upwards, finding none other than Akina descending over him. His hand rose, the Kyuubi's chakra bubbling forth in a mass of boiling red, encasing the girl in its burning embrace. Naruto heard her scream before her own chakra came to her defense, shielding her as Naruto slammed her into the deck of the ship, smashing the floorboards before smashing her against the railing. He was about to throw her again when the chakra she controlled from the nine tails pushed his off of her.
Naruto called back the nine tails chakra from Akina, extending it towards Gaara as the Kazekage attempted to use his sand to attack him again.
Akina's hands flashed through seals, ignoring as another lightning bolt hit the ship, punching a hole straight through the entire ship, and as another ship exploded in the distance, most likely due to the fact that the lightning bolt may have hit an oil cask.
Lightning passed over her palms, cupping them together as she formed another Sutatikku no Kyuutai
Naruto saw her as she built her attack, extending another tendril of the Kyuubi's chakra he grabbed the blade still plunged inside of Yugito, yanking it out, bringing yet another scream of pain from the girl as she clutched her bleeding injury.
Catching the weapon Naruto filled it with wind chakra before he swung towards Akina, releasing the crescent like wind blade to intercept her attack.
Akina grit her teeth before she launched the lightning blast.
As the two attacks approached one another a single lightning bolt snaked its way down the sky, its pace was almost slow, if any lightning bolt could even be described as such. And before either of them could react the bolt of lightning pierced her Raiton attack.
Naruto and the other occupants of the ship did not even have time to blink before their world went white.
Jiraiya blocked Yugito's spear thrust with one of his kunai cursing as he had to leap away from several dozen kunai from Kankuro. Channeling Chakra to his hands he realized that the Tenketsu were still partially closed not nearly enough to be able to use a proper Summoning, he'd more than likely botch it up, and waste Chakra.
Landing on the railing of the ship he felt as the last of his summons were dispelled. He glanced around as the remaining Kumo jounin, Chuunin and his previous two opponents circled in on him.
Jutsu that were available to him flashed through his minds eye as he tried to think of any way he could get out of this without resorting to jumping into the ocean.
Fortunately he didn't have to as every ninja suddenly backed up as several Molotov fire bottles sailed through the air, shattering on the deck and spreading fire throughout the ship.
Jiraiya turned around, only to find the flagship he'd left behind in his haste pulling up next to the ship.
"Jiraiya-sama!" One of the Anbu called.
The toad hermit wasted little time before he leapt from the Kumo ship onto the leaf ship, landing on the deck the Anbu wasted little time rushing up to him. "Jiraiya-sama the fleet is in shambles, Kumo's ships that had been guarding the flagship are approaching now for a counter attack sir."
Jiraiya looked undecided for a moment before he growled, not unlike Naruto himself. "Pull the ship back; we'll save everyone we can as we retreat."
The captain of the ship walked up to the legendary ninja. His tone heated and angry "We did not sign up for this, this is a massacre not a battle anymo-"
Before he could finish his sentence Jiraiya's kunai sliced open his jugular killing the man in seconds as he choked on his own blood.
"Consider this a hostile take over." Jiraiya said, watching as all the pirates turned their shocked eyes to him. "Any objections?" He questioned rhetorically.
When he received no answer he wasted no time to bark out his next orders. "Pull the ship back, now! We're not to engage any Kumo ninja unless we have too. All men are to remain in battle positions."
As the men scrambled to carry out their orders Jiraiya couldn't help but look back at the tower whose pale blue glow was only now beginning to diminish. "Goddamn you Zhuge Liang."
Naruto felt as if his entire body was floating, the pain in his arm and leg gone, replaced by a feeling of absolute numbness.
As he opened his eyes all he could see was a blinding white light, but it held no glare, no harshness to it.
He saw someone coming closer her features blurred and unrecognizable except for her long black hair.
Naruto tried to move, to defend himself from a possible attack from this woman but his limbs refused to obey his commands, leaving him still.
As the woman came in close Naruto felt her hand against his face, the familiar presence returning to him, her face becoming clear, those soft sea blue eyes staring at him.
'Yoshino.'
In an instant the image vanished, leaving only black, lightning scarred sky. Naruto shielded his face with his unbound limb, trying to stave off the pelting rain drops that now fell over his heated skin. Naruto's head fell limply to the side, catching sight of his metal facemask, touching his face; he realized that indeed the metallic piece of armor was no longer in its proper place.
He moved to reach for it when pain shot through his entire body and blood rose up from his throat, coughing out the coppery liquid Naruto wondered only for a second where this was from.
Then he realized his seals were still unlocked, the nine tails chakra had been pouring into his system the entire time he'd been unconscious.
Naruto moved his arm then, realizing it held only a phantom pain, it was completely healed. Just how long had he been unconscious?
Naruto groaned as he reached for his mask, placing it back on his face with his single arm before he stood up. Reforging the seals as he did. He glanced around, finding himself to be standing on the front of the ship he'd been on, the rest of it having been blasted to pieces by the lightning bolt that had hit Akina's attack.
Where those three were at this point did not matter to him, though he could see that many of the ships of his fleet were already sinking, there were several more that were still intact enough to continue the fight, he had to end this now, and he knew just who to find to do it.
'Zhuge Liang'
As Naruto glanced around again, he saw a single Ninjato lying, discarded on the ship. His scimitar had been lost in the blast so this would have to do.
Reaching for the weapon he used it to quickly cut the ninja wire holding his arm, stretching the limb as thunder rumbled directly above him, the white streak of electricity shooting down from heavens heading straight for him, as if the very hand of god sought to strike him down.
Naruto glanced up towards the approaching danger, uncaring of it as he raised his now healed arm.
The lightning struck down with a great, deafening sound, the cracking of wood all but drowned out by it as the world flashed white for a split second. Debris and smoke rising from the point of impact hiding Naruto from view.
For a moment, nothing moved on the ship, but then, unbelievably Naruto rushed out of the smoke. Rushing towards the edge of the ship and his intended target.
The Kumo flagship.
He leapt over the edge, the water rushing up to meet him as he fell. A cloud of smoke appeared at his feet, revealing a snake the size of a tree. Naruto's feet landed on it as the reptile rushed through the water.
Yugito awoke to a burning sensation in her stomach, groaning in pain as her hand flew to the injury, she was surprised to find another hand push off her own and an unfamiliar voice drift down to her ears.
"Hold still or you'll just hurt yourself again."
Yugito opened her eyes; finding a pink haired woman hovering over her, green eyes complemented by the chakra that covered her hands.
The Nibi Jinchuriki's eyes were brought towards her side where she saw Gaara and Akina, both unconscious and both being attended to by blond Kunoichi, though only one was familiar to the young woman.
She noticed the sannin, even though she was attending Gaara, had her concentration clearly focused on Akina, disbelief easily garnered through her features as her eyes darted to the younger woman every now and again.
Of the other two Jinchuriki Gaara was the first to wake, the Kazekage rubbed his head as his consciousness returned, seeking to sit up before Tsunade pushed him back down. "Easy there, wait till you've got your bearings.
Before Gaara could say anything Akina's own groan belied her return to the conscious realm. As the younger blond sat up rubbing her head the first words out of her mouth were simple. "Naruto...where is Naruto?"
The question immediately put Gaara and Yugito on alert as they scanned the immediate area, searching for the Devil King.
"He's not here I can tell you that." Tsunade answered. "The ship we found you on was completely destroyed, and we didn't see him. If he was as knocked out as the three of you for all we know he drowned.
Akina picked herself up, stumbling for a moment before Ino held her steady. "He's alive. He has to be."
"Because you know that to be the truth or because you want that to be the truth." Tsunade couldn't help but ask, watching as the blond young woman glared at her. Though seeing her alive was a great relief and brought joy in itself to the slug sannin she couldn't ignore the fact that Akina now knew just how she was related to Naruto and that knowledge may have changed her motives and her perspective drastically.
Before anything else could be said, Gaara spoke up next, pulling himself to his feet as well. "If he is alive then where is he? I don't sense him."
"Sensei." Yugito suddenly said, catching everyone's attention. "He'll head for sensei."
"You're sure?" Akina questioned.
"Of course I'm not sure but other than us three that's the only other person he'd actively seek out." She reasoned.
Tsunade stood up from her previous kneeling position. "Get to him, there are still many of our ninja who weren't able to escape the attack in time and they need medical attention."
Gaara nodded before sand gathered at their feet, forming a solid platform beneath them which Akina and Yugito mounted while Tsunade Ino and Sakura leapt away, towards another adjacent ship.
Zhuge Liang groaned as he pulled himself up to one knee gasping for breath as he felt all the strength formerly in his body drain out of him, as if sapped by the seal at his feet. His breathing was quick and harsh, as if he was trying to swallow the air in front of him, his normally impeccable raven black hair was disheveled, a few stray strands falling across his face and shielding his eyes from view as he knelt there.
He took a moment to look at the results of his technique, watching in something akin to satisfaction as he saw hundreds of ships, sinking and burning as the rain of lightning began to abate. Though he imagined that some of his own men may have been hit the sacrifice well worth it to destroy nearly 2/3'ds of the opposing fleet. The sleeping dragon moved to stand, but just as he got to his feet something exploded from the deck behind him, tearing the wood apart into splinters as a single black and red form rose high above him.
The sleeping dragon spun on his heel, eyes growing wide as he stared upon the visage of the Devil King himself; The formerly shadowed veil revealing the glowing red eyes of the Kitsune.
The Yondaime of Kumo wasted no time, gathering what little energy he had left and launching it in the form of lightning bolts at the conqueror from Konoha. But to his horror, his attack was caught in the metallic gauntlet of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, the lightning crackling, and lashing out as it was held in its invisible restraints.
Naruto growled, his eyes smoldering like fire as he held onto the attack. "Foolish Dragon!" He roared as he threw the attack back, the shockwave knocking Liang onto his ass as the lightning ball obliterated the area he had been standing on, destroying the seal he had created in the process.
Naruto finally landed on one of the remaining planks of wood, the thin slab groaning and creaking unsteadily with his weight, the wind picked up then, catching his robe in it as he stepped towards the downed Kage.
Picking himself up Liang turned to face the Jinchuriki, limping as he took a step back for every step Naruto took forward. "You can't prevail here Naruto." He spoke between pants as he struggled to catch his breath, his eyes gaining a harsh edge to them as he looked upon the Konoha Jinchuriki. "Even if I die here today by your hands things are now in motion...things that even you cannot undo."
Naruto seemed to pause, glaring into the defiant eyes of the Raikage before he spoke.
"Fool..." He hissed "It is you who do not know what you have set in motion. So blind you do not even know defeat when you look on it. You may win on this battlefield...but you will return to your home only to find it in ashes. " The Jinchuriki turned his eyes then to look about the ships in the distance, fire, dust, ash and blood is what met his enhanced senses off in the distance, the destruction and cries of the dead and dying reaching his ears. The red chakra bubbled up from within his being and exploded in a magnificent and terrifying display of power, towering over everything around them as Liang was once again thrown back by the force his eyes, for the first time that Naruto could see, had gained a true glint of fear...no...Not fear. Terror. It was terror he saw in the sleeping dragon's eyes, a light of horror as he beheld the only power, to which the world of the Shinobi, might bow. "Let me show you then foolish dragon."
The fear held for just a moment but just as quickly that fear was gone stamped down as the Raikage pulled himself to his feet, his legs shaking as he struggled to hold himself up with the pressure of the demonic chakra bearing down on him. This power was the power that the world of the Shinobi may bow to. But it was not the power the world of men would remain bound to.
Bringing his eyes up he forced himself to meet Naruto's gaze with his own, conveying through his eyes all the determination he held within his being, dedicated solely in defying him.
Naruto lifted his head a bit, staring down at the sleeping dragon as his chakra output spiked, the groaning of the straining wood increased before Naruto tensed his body visibly shaking for a moment as the red chakra formed a harsh, gleaming outline around him. "Do you think I would care for the loss of these, worthless men? These ships!? That you've won? No Zuge Liang. This is not your victory. Its mine...This...This is my hour!"
The last of his sentence was drowned out only by the cracking and shattering of wood as the red chakra of the Kyuubi seemed to explode from whatever restraints had held it back, Liang tried to hold his ground against the storm, but before he could react, the wood beneath his feet crumbled and collapsed from the force of the raw chakra that was expelled by the Uzumaki and the Raikage soon found himself plummeting to the deck below him, somehow hearing Naruto's deathly whisper resonating in his ears as he fell.
"You have failed Zhuge Liang! This world will be mine, or it will burn!"
A few dozen yards off of the ship three Jinchuriki could see the red chakra of the Kyuubi visible as a giant red cloud at the top of the tower, the weight of the killing intent apparent even at this distance.
Gaara wasted no time, shifting the sand beneath Akina and Yugito before catapulting them off onto the cracking beams that held up the tower.
Akina and Yugito leapt from one support beam to another while Gaara, with the decreased weight was able to pick up speed, all three rushing to the top of the now broken tower.
Before the three were halfway up, the tower gave way, the support beams cracking like toothpicks as the top of the tower toppled over, bringing their attention upwards. Catching sight of the plummeting form of Liang and Naruto, it was Yugito who went to her sensei's aid, rushing off towards him, and catching his arm as he shot past her. Gasping in pain and fear as both her arm and the wooden support beam under her feet strained against the weight. She quickly grasped onto another of the wooden supports as she tried to steady herself and pull her now unconscious sensei up.
Gaara however, went straight for Naruto as sand accumulated around his form, turning him into the smaller form of Shukaku once again. "Uzumaki!!" He roared as he rose above him with the sand platform. Naruto's gaze snapped back up to him, burning red meeting molten amber as Gaara launched his attack.
Naruto raised both arms to block as Gaara's two fists of sand smashed into him with enough force to send him rocketing down to the deck of the ship, crashing straight through it, the floor beneath it and finally stopping at the very bottom of the ship, the wood groaning with the strain as a few cracks allowed water to leak in.
Above, Akina went to leap down where she saw Naruto hit. Something akin to concern rising in her chest, though if it was for Gaara or Naruto himself she couldn't be sure.
But before she could rush down Yugito's voice reached her ears. "AKINA!" The young kunoichi's eyes snapped over to that of her fellow Jinchuriki's, finding her struggling to hold Liang's unconscious form as the structure around her threatened to give way, ropes snapping, wood shifting and structures breaking under the strain on their weakening integrity.
The girl was momentarily torn between helping one sibling, or the other, but her indecision did not last long, as the wood beneath Yugito's feet cracked, making the girl nearly fall herself. She rushed over to one of the support beams slightly above her and threw down some ninja wire, bringing Yugito's eyes back up to her as she nodded her thanks before grabbing the wire.
Below them, Naruto barely had time to regain his bearings before he was forced to roll to the side as Gaara's significantly heavier body smashed down where he had previously lain.
He got to his feet quickly, slicing off a tendril of sand that approached him, with his stolen ninjato before he was viciously tackled by the Ichibi Jinchuriki, both their forms smashing against the hull of the ship, audible cracks echoing throughout the enclosed space as water leaked in from the new openings. Naruto snarled as his blade fell from his grip, before delivering a brutal and harsh kick to the Kazekage, launching him across the length of the ship and into the adjacent wall. Naruto's hands burned with red chakra as he rushed forward, a fist smashing against the sand that made up Gaara's 'face', the sheer force of the blow sending the Kazekage skidding along the wall before he smashed against one of the ships ribs, which made up the 'skeleton' of the hull, the strong oak wood cracking under his weight and the force his body impacted with.
Naruto gave the Jinchuriki little time to recover as he grabbed Gaara by what could only be described as the scruff of his neck and threw/slammed him against the wood ceiling above their heads, before throwing him back down onto the floor. Finally, to end it he delivered a single powerful kick to the Kazekage's exposed ribs bodily throwing him across the room again.
Gaara righted himself in mid air, skidding to a halt as his feet touched the wood. He growled and launched a pillar of sand at the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, who quickly, in his defense breathed out a pillar of fire. The attacks clashing between them as each struggled for dominance.
Yugito and Akina set Liang down at the bottom of the tower, hiding him amidst the debris, several seconds ago both the chakra signatures of Gaara and Naruto spiked dramatically before they both suddenly vanished and the two were quite worried for the Kazekage. And at least in Akina's case, Naruto as well.
"Will he be all right here?" Yugito questioned as she stood, throwing a hesitant glance Akina's way. The second of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki looked away, not bothering to answer, she had helped, Yugito, not Liang. And though she understood her friends concern for her former master she had not been betrayed by him.
"I'll be fine." Liang's voice startled both women bringing their attention back to him as he fought to get back to his feet. "Go, this is our only chance to defeat him, I'll signal one of the allied ships to come and pick me up Go!"
Akina did not need to be told twice before she rushed to the hole Naruto had made in the ground, Yugito throwing one last glance Liang's way before she followed.
The two landed with soft splashes, seeing as how the hull was now slowly filling up with water due to the various small cracks that now decorated it, a few feet away was Gaara, laying face down in the water that was not high enough to drown him yet, his breathing labored as he struggled to stay awake. In front of him, walls of crystallized sand, shining dimly like some unpolished jewel in the faint light.
Akina approached the fallen Kage. "Gaara!" She said gently as she rolled him over watching as his eyes flickered with awareness before dimming again. "Where's Naruto Gaara? Do you remember? Can you tell me?"
Yugito however walked past them, on guard as she examined the glass wall, you couldn't see through it very well but she did not notice Naruto behind it.
Akina however, then noticed her hand, it was red, it took her a moment to realize that it was blood, blood that came from the Kazekage.
She snapped her eyes back up to Yugito, who had begun to turn around, her eyes widening in horror as she saw the crude glass behind her shimmer and dissipate; the genjutsu falling away to reveal Naruto, the ninjato in one hand a kunai in the other, poised to strike at her surrogate sister
"BEHIND YOU!" The younger of the siblings yelled as she stood up, her warning only coming a split second early as Yugito reacted on sheer instinct, ducking low as the razor sharp blade nicked off a few of her neck hairs. Pivoting on her heel she only managed to catch a brief glimpse of those burning red eyes before Naruto delivered a sharp, and brutal kick to her stomach, the air leaving her in a single breath as blood and saliva escaped her mouth pain exploding from her midsection as the impact sent her flying across the room and smashing against the stern of the ship.
Akina, acted quickly, grabbing a now conscious but wounded Gaara and dragging him back towards the downed Yugito.
Naruto slowly lowered his extended foot standing straight as he looked down at them with his burning red eyes, his footsteps sloshing as they disrupted the water at their feet.
"Too...strong." Yugito groaned as she gripped her stomach, coughing up copious amounts of blood as she struggled to get the air back to her lungs. If she had to guess, her stomach had perforated! Doing something like that, with just the force of a kick...it was unbelievable.
Akina looked at her two downed comrades and back at the approaching Naruto. "Gaara, can you make a shell of sand to protect us?"
The Kazekage nodded as he struggled to his feet. "Yes..."
Akina nodded, "Good." Before she turned, and approached her brother, her weapon in hand.
Naruto's eyes met her own, challenging her with their stare as he gripped his blades tightly.
Akina was the first to attack as he got in range, using two kunai only for the strike to quickly be batted aside and a counter to be launched as Naruto, attacked with a single downward strike.
She side stepped, watching as the blade tore straight through the ships hull, splinters of wood exploding everywhere as water rushed in from the opening.
Regaining her footing she lashed out with a kick, only for her foot to be blocked and cleanly sliced open with one of Naruto's blades at the shin. She screamed and fell to one knee, hissing in pain for only a moment before she had to roll to the side and slightly forward to avoid his follow up swing, which again tore open another part of the ships hull, allowing more water to get in.
Now slightly behind her older brother she stood and faced his exposed back, only for Naruto to attack with a kick, forcing her again move to the side in order to avoid the hit. His foot smashed against the hull, crunching a hole right through it.
But this time Naruto was expecting her dodge, and smoothly continued with his momentum, and with ruthless precision lunged at the place he knew she would be.
When she felt the blade pierce the lower right side of her chest all she could do was gasp. Her grip on her own weapon loosing its strength before it vanished altogether as both hands clutched at the weapon now piercing her chest. Blood rose from her throat and escaped her lips, dribbling down her chin and staining the water at their feet. Her legs lost all strength in them and she had to cling to Naruto in order to remain upright.
Naruto's grip on the weapon remained firm as he stared down at her, the cries of Yugito barely registering in his ears as he could feel Gaara restraining her, his eyes remained fixed on Akina as her eyes found his when she looked up, sky blue meeting blood red. "You knew you could not win." He spoke with a factual tone, not angry or condescending, but a simple calm drawl.
Akina coughed as she held tighter onto his cloak. "I..." She gasped. "I wasn't looking for victory..." She stared up to the ceiling above them, which she could hear now was groaning weakly. "Just a few seconds."
And at once he realized her purpose, but he had no time to act before the entire ship came crashing down around them, hundreds of tons of water smashing over them and washing them away in the tide, the crushing waves drowning out Yugito's anguished call for her sister as Gaara's sand formed around them in a bubble shield.