3,203Author Note
Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Nidaime no Sairin.
I won't comment right now, so let's get started.
Please enjoy!
Nidaime no Sairin - Naruto Shippuden
Chapter 39 – Asuma
Beta: Scheffinator
Very early in the morning, the Village Hidden in the Leaves became alive right after Shikaku and Shibi had devised the scouting teams of four.
For now, their main concern was to scout the two Akatsuki, learn as much as possible about their path, identity and skillset if at all possible. Not only members of the Aburame clan, but also Inuzuka and Hyuuga clans were dispatched along the teams. Each of Konoha's major clans had an ability that could aid the Jonin Commander run the scenario and devise final plans. Each of the teams had members with radio communicators that would report back to one main station inside the Administration Building.
The Nara leader had a giant board behind him containing all Fire Country's main areas and each team was sent to these areas in particular, to report back about their findings.
For now, figuring out the Akatsuki's path was paramount. If they are heading towards Konoha, then Naruto is their target. If not, then their mission parameters would shift towards engagement. Letting them roam free throughout the Elemental Nations just wouldn't sit right with the Hokage. Because of this, the teams were divided amongst scouts, sensors and even heavy hitters just in case one team happened to find the enemies ahead of time.
"Shikaku-sama, I am receiving the first batch of information from the teams." Shikaku looked back at Shizune, before she started talking. "So far, none of the scouting teams had found any trace of Akatsuki." Shizune had a couple of Chuunin to help her set the information up. The board thus began to receive loads of information, while Shikaku's mind began to work its magic.
"Hmmm, considering that they are highly experienced shinobi, it would be highly suspicious if their position became known this early." Shizune nodded.
"True, however the way you positioned the teams, Shikaku-sama, we are covering close to 150 kilometers of the Land of Fire. We shall find them in no time."
The leader of the Nara clan only hummed at that.
"I wouldn't be so sure…indeed the Kikaichu bugs from the Aburame clan are specialized in finding traces of chakra in the air, but the enemy won't be using chakra needlessly. The Inuzuka clan's dogs are also highly attuned, but they needed a smell to work with. The Byakugan can cover large distances, but they are not able to cover wide ranges. One thing for sure is that there aren't many routes towards Konoha coming from Kumo…I can already state with some degree of certainty that their objective is not here."
"I see…" Shikaku at this point became introspective, so Shizune was only there for the show.
"Come to think about it, such an organization wouldn't divulge their entire energy on capturing Jinchuuriki alone. There is logistics, counter-intelligence, finance and many other aspects to be considered here. Their operations rely mainly on counter-intelligence and finance, hence how they were able to slip inside the other villages undetected. As such, there are possibly members inside the organization that are responsible for other tasks aside from simply hunting the Jinchuuriki."
"What are your orders for the time being, then?" Shikaku turned to the Hokage's Second in Command.
"I will know for sure when the rest of the squads report back. However, I believe It's safe to say that right now we can focus our efforts on anticipating their possible path and engage. Please get Asuma's team on standby."
"Asuma's team, but…" Shikaku understood her concern, but from the squads dispatched, his one was the most battle oriented, aside from Shikamaru and Hinata.
"Don't worry Shizune, I know Naruto's on Asuma's squad…he's not only the village's Jinchuuriki but also one of our top Jonin." Shikaku didn't voice out loud, but he firmly believes that Naruto may be the first all-around shinobi in Konoha with no weaknesses to exploit. The Nara genius had only seen such potential in a couple of shinobi in his lifetime, aside from the Sannin and the Hokage himself. Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui for example…Kakashi would as well, but Shikaku ventured that Naruto's skill set vastly outnumbered Sakumo's son.
Flipping his thoughts at the board once more, Shikaku's mind went back to the task at hand.
===With the Hokage===
Meanwhile, the Hokage was busy taking care of the other aspects of the village, while Shikaku was busy. She had confidence that they would be found in no time, though her experience made it certain that the Akatsuki wouldn't be found before they managed to do precisely what they came to Fire Country for. She just hoped that her headache afterward will be reduced with the information that whoever this duo is, they won't be leaving Fire Country alive. The Fire Lord and his advisors won't let her live it down, otherwise.
Whatever her musings were, it stopped as soon as one of the chunnins in the building announced that a shinobi priest from the Fire Temple had arrived with troubling news.
Shikaku was called right away as the priest kneeled in order to report what happened to the Temple as well as with the place's strongest shinobi, Chiriku.
"Indeed, I was correct in my musings, then." Tsunade turned to see the Nara Leader.
"What is it?"
"The Akatsuki's much more than an organization bent on hunting Jinchuuriki. They also run on counter-intelligence and finance in their activities. Like the other villages, they also have extensive knowledge in our country and hidden routes, probably supplied by local lords and nobles from Fire Country. Hence how they were able to slip in our country and cause such havoc in the Fire Temple, without anyone being the wiser. Our search efforts need to be put on hold for the time being, as we ascertain the damage done in the Fire Temple and go from there." Tsunade nodded with a troubled visage at the ramifications of Shikaku's words.
"We need to send a team to the Fire Temple, then." Shikaku nodded, before turning to Shizune.
===With Naruto===
Already advised that he would be called in soon, Naruto was seen inside his apartment, more precisely under the sheets with his hidden girlfriend.
Usually, he would be at her house, but today she accepted his invitation to stay in his house for the night.
Of course, not before he had set everything up with his new invention, tag seals placed in key locations around his apartment that would cast a disorienting Genjutsu.
He placed them on both sides of his building complex, as well as the stairs to his floor and one last one in front of his door. He needed to activate them, of course, beforehand. But anyone who stepped on them would instantly feel the need to change directions and walk away. His apartment door also had Hiraishin tags hidden, as well as in many places throughout Konoha. When Kurenai casually walked towards his apartment and stepped on the seals, her mind was instantly invaded with different pathways and buildings that did not belong to the actual area.
She truly needed to ask him if he could supply her with some of those seals. It will be quite handy in her missions.
She navigated through the seals quickly and got inside his apartment to stay in the night. Once she entered, Naruto deactivated the seals placed around his property.
A quick and uneventful dinner afterward and the two got inside the sheets for some, let's say, cozy activities.
After waking up the next day, Naruto had awakened his girlfriend with a gentle caress on her cheek.
As soon as she opened her eyes slowly and smiled at him, he leaned in for a long kiss, which she reciprocated gladly.
"I forgot to ask yesterday, Naruto-kun, but you had placed the silencing seals in here as well, right?"
The memories of yesterday's activities came to both of their brains when she asked.
"I did…yes. Before placing in your house, I placed here first. As a matter of fact, my house has turned into some sort of laboratory for my seals."
Kurenai's interest became evident.
"Oh…tell me…" Naruto smiled.
"Of course, aside from the silencing seals in the walls, the drapes that you forgot to focus on…usually, people could see from the outside in, right? But as you can see, the sunlight breaks in, but if anyone were to look inside, they would only see an empty room instead." Kurenai eyed the drapes for a long while, not seeing anything, aside from a clear transparent drape. Naruto smiled, noticing her intent. With a quick use of his chakra and a single hand seal, the seemingly transparent drape became alive with an unending kanji formula appearing.
"Huh, let me guess, disorienting Genjutsu?" Naruto nodded.
"Quite right, the technique comes into effect as soon as the snooper looks at the window."
"Impressive, what else?" Naruto then used his chakra elsewhere and Kurenai noticed plenty of smaller kanji seals appearing in different segments of the apartment.
"All of those you can see are storage seals that resonate to my chakra. My research, notes and plenty of other materials I keep hidden inside a pocket dimension seal that is inscribed on my wrist."
Naruto knew he was doing it all to impress his girlfriend and she was playing coy, while both were naked inside his bed sheets.
"You know, that was far too trusting on your part, Naruto-kun. Imagine If I were to betray you…you are telling me quite a lot."
Naruto smirked as she was using the tip of her finger to play with his lips.
"Oh, you'd deserve quite the punishment if you do such a thing, Nai-chan…"
The Genjutsu specialist smirked at the response, as she became face to face with him, while squeezing her chests close to his.
"I might be quite tempted to do so…if you promise." The two then began a heated kiss for a couple of seconds, when Naruto stopped it and looked towards the door.
"What is it?" She could feel his sigh.
"…huh, perfect timing…there's someone knocking on the door." Kurenai was also privy to Naruto being on standby.
"So, it's time, then?" Naruto nodded as he got up and summoned his Jonin clothes. Kurenai saw him getting dressed in less than a second as she used his sheets to cover herself.
"Let me answer the door quickly." She nodded as she could feel the inside sealing hum to live, before Naruto opened his door to see an ANBU there with short brown hair with a message for him to get to the Hokage's Office.
She laid down on his bed with both hands behind her head, while looking at the ceiling, before her boyfriend appeared once more.
"Sorry Nai-chan…I have to go." She smiled and got out of bed to hold him tight before giving him a kiss.
"No matter what happens, you come back to me, alright!" He gave her a kiss as well.
"Always." He was about to leave, before reaching for his kunai holster and removed a seal tag with a peculiar kanji written on it.
"What is this?" Naruto smirked, revealing one last seal.
"Think of this as the key to my apartment…just activate the sealing tag and you will go straight to your house and back here."
Kurenai looked dumbfounded at the paper tag that she now held. "See you when I get back…"
She blinked twice and then he was gone. She was familiar with the shunshin technique, but it felt different.
Looking at the sealing tag in her hand, she quickly got dressed and grabbed her things, before activating out of pure curiosity.
Doing as instructed, she felt the pull of the seal and didn't even have time to scream in surprise, before she was indeed inside her own living room.
Her surprise at what just happened was then replaced with the scene of Anko screaming like a little girl as she was searching for something inside Kurenai's fridge.
===With Naruto===
In no time, Asuma, Naruto, Shikamaru and Hinata all stood in front of the Hokage and Nara Shikaku.
"Okay, as you are aware, we had come into valid intel that two Akatsuki members are inside Fire Country, right after the capture of the Nibi Jinchuuriki of Kumo." The members of the team stood silent as Tsunade began with the mission briefing. Though, the fox's growl inside Naruto's head became quite deafening. They managed to stop the Ichibi from being captured, but unfortunately, Naruto just couldn't be in multiple places at once, nor could he know when those bastards would make a move.
"We had dispatched scouting teams throughout Fire Country, but none of them managed to find a suitable trace for us to follow and engage. That ended, unfortunately, when news came that they had attacked the Fire Temple." Asuma looked on in surprise at the mention, as Tsunade continued. "The priest who told us the news came immediately here, reporting that they had destroyed the place almost completely, killing hundreds of the local residents in the process." Asuma lifted his hand, wondering about his former comrade.
"Tsunade-sama, what about Chiriku? He was one of the Former Twelve Guardians. He was there as well." The Hokage looked at the former Hokage's son, knowing that she needed to bring the news to the man.
"Unfortunately, he was also one of the victims." Asuma looked incredulous at the news, as memories of their time together as Guardians for the Fire Lord resurfaced.
His former Genin students looked at their sensei with concern. Tsunade had allowed the elder Jonin to take in the news, before the man himself eyed the Hokage once more.
"So, what are our mission parameters, then?" Tsunade understood that look better than most…Asuma would have more time to cope with the news, but right now, it was mission mode.
"Right…your team is to head towards the Fire Temple and find evidence about their next movements. The scouting teams are still out there, but I trust that the Fire Temple will provide us with the necessary information."
"And if we find them, Hokage-sama…do we engage?" The Hokage turned to Naruto and nodded.
"Reinforcement will be on the stand by, following you all, just in case. Kakashi and Yuugao are returning from a mission in a couple of hours and shall leave right afterward."
Shikaku then supplied the team with his suspicions.
"Asuma, aside from capturing the Jinchuuriki, it's my understanding that they must conduct side missions as well, like gathering capital for their operations. So far, it's only musing on my part, but take this into consideration when searching for clues there at the Fire Temple." Asuma nodded, before turning to his team.
"Okay let's leave at once…Hinata, you take point with Naruto. Shikamaru and I shall be at the rear."
The team nodded, before leaving via shunshin.
Naruto and Hinata sure took point with the other two in the back. They were jumping through trees as time was of the essence.
As per the usual requisite, Hinata was using her Byakugan on timed intervals, in hopes of finding the enemy.
Naruto was also placed up front, because of his sensory capabilities, however, so far he wasn't having much luck as well.
"Naruto, did you know about Chiriku and Asuma-sensei?" Naruto negated as his eyes looked back to Asuma as sensei and student locked eyes for a while. Asuma, however, wasn't giving him any signal. He could feel the man's chakra in complete disarray, as it was expected. Throughout his growth, Naruto had been privy to how grief was felt by those close to him. Asuma-sensei wasn't any different from Kurenai's, Yuugao's, Kakashi's, Anko's and many others he had already worked with.
"I didn't…but Asuma-sensei mentioned that this Chiriku was also the Fire Lord's Guardian alongside Sensei. They must have been close, then if his chakra is anything to go by."
Hinata looked at her teammate in sorrow, before her Byakugan allowed her to look at Asuma, without needing to turn.
"Do you think he will be alright? If we are to face the Akatsuki, then…" Naruto smiled at the Hyuuga's concern.
"Don't worry…he is our sensei, Hinata. How far are we from the Fire Temple?" The Hyuuga turned forwards and reported.
"Well, we are approaching the Fire Temple in twenty minutes." Naruto nodded as he had heard Asuma answering Shikamaru's question about the former Ninja Priest.
===At the Fire Temple===
The Fire Temple soon appeared in their sight, or rather what remained of the place.
The Elder Head Priest was there to receive the team from Konoha.
The level of destruction was huge and dozens of coffins were lined up. Hinata couldn't help but place her hand in front of her face in surprise at what happened. Asuma and Shikamaru were busy taking in what happened, while Naruto began to feel for the chakra residue in this place. The feeling of earth based chakra was quite evident, without him even needing to place both fingers on the ground. What was surprising – or not so much - was the huge stench of blood in his nostrils. While he was no Inuzuka, his skills lay elsewhere. It wasn't the smell per se, but rather the presence of chakra mixed with the blood. This feeling was a first for the not so experienced shinobi.
Manipulating blood for ninjutsu was unheard of. Naruto then saw that Hinata was also using her Byakugan to find clues, so he urged her to return close to Asuma and
Shikamaru as the leader addressed the Head Priest.
"Excuse me, but in which one of these coffins is Chiriku? I wish to pay my respects." The Head Priest and the other Priest who was next to him, both looked down at that.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to find Lord Chiriku's remains." Asuma narrowed his eyes at the specific piece of news.
"Could it be…!?" Asuma turned to Shikamaru as he pondered aloud. The leader urged him to speak his mind. "Tou-san said that their goal may be directed towards finance in this matter. They must have taken the body then to collect his bounty. Considering his overall achievements, I would place his bounty as quite high, Asuma-sensei." The bearded leader began to think about it. It was within reason that Shikamaru's theory had merit, as it was expected of him.
"Thirty million ryo…" The other members of the team turned to Naruto as he had opened a scroll with the information.
"How did you know that?" Naruto turned to Shikamaru.
"Anko gave me the bounty list a couple of months ago. In an assignment, we had to hunt a missing-nin from Kiri who happened to be in possession of important Konoha intel."
"Hmmm, do you also happen to know the Bounty Offices' locations? They must be carrying Chiriku's body to collect the money."
Naruto went back to the scroll and found the five different offices' locations. Hinata, afterward, relayed the new intel and sent them to the nearby teams, as well as back to the Hokage's Office. Also, she had informed precisely which Collection Office they were heading to. Asuma had simply turned his back to everyone in full mission mode and merely urged them to head towards the nearest bounty office.
"A moment, Lord Asuma Sarutobi…" The bearded Jonin turned to see the elder priest address him. "Allow me to say a prayer for all of you who are about to fight."
The others looked at the old man with skepticism, but the old man insisted and Asuma merely opened up a smile in reply.
"Okay…" As such, the head priest placed his hands together, while the other closed his eyes. When the prayer stopped, the old priest looked at the Jonin leader in concern.
"Please be safe and don't push things too far. You must have a bounty as well, just like Chiriku's." Asuma smiled once more and replied.
"Don't worry about it…and yes, the bounty on my head is five million ryo more than Chiriku's." The man said so in humor and both Naruto and Shikamaru chuckled.
"Sensei, please don't say it like that…the enemy may target you as well." Asuma turned to Hinata's worry and dismissed it, though acknowledging the concern.
"Worry not, Hinata…now, let's head up to the nearest bounty office. Who knows, we may be lucky and find them first. At least, we can bring back Chiriku's remains."
===At the Hokage's Office===
Tsunade was busy going through some paperwork while the mission was a go, when Shizune announced that the backup had arrived from a previous mission.
As such, Kakashi and Yuugao were in front of the Hokage, getting caught up to speed with the events. Their mission, while not dangerous, took quite a couple of days to accomplish, so both of them were out of the village when the information about how this new mysterious Akatsuki duo captured the Nibi Jinchuuriki and came to Fire Country afterward. Anyhow, the gist of the assignment for these two were quite simple as most of the work was already taken care of by the others.
"That's about it…Team Asuma had just brought up the message that the two men from the Akatsuki are heading into one of the five Collection Offices in Fire Country. You two are to head straight to the one that their team is going to."
Yuugao merely nodded, while Kakashi was busy sighing and scratching his head.
"Hmmm and here I thought that I would be taking it easy after this mission, you know, getting updated on my reading." Since they were the only females in the room, Kakashi could feel three sets of eyes glaring bloody murder at him for what he considered reading. Of course, even though he was feeling alright, the scarecrow Jonin had taken it up a notch with his next comment. "As nice of a partner as Yuugao is, which takes us back to the ANBU days, she kept nagging me the entire time when I pulled out my book." The former ANBU clearly had a snarl on her face at the comment.
"Seriously Kakashi-senpai, must you do it here of all times and one last time, that book is quite disgraceful." Kakashi, for his turn, merely smiled in complete innocence.
"Right…I will get to it when we come back from this one…let's go."
Kakashi gave Tsuande and Shizune the farewell signal, before leaving and Yuugao did so as well, but not before releasing a sigh and bowing to the Hokage.
The scenery was quite humorous as it reminded Tsunade somewhat of her days with her sensei.
===With Naruto===
It has taken some time for the team to reach the nearest Collection Office from the Fire Temple.
The area they were in was heavily foliaged, but the area in front of them hinted more towards a deserted area. There were a few buildings and even some reminiscences of electric cables to the right, but aside from that, the area appeared to be quite empty. If this weren't a high level chase, they would believe that they were in the wrong place. Hinata had given the signal that the two Akatsuki were indeed here. She had even reported a third presence inside, most likely the one responsible for the Collection Office.
"We have to wait to see what happens, first. Hinata, keep on observing them." Asuma whispered to her, while Naruto and Shikamaru kept hidden a few trees behind.
"Hai, sensei…one of them appears to be walking away and coming outside." Naruto's keen sense sure picked up the presence. "He is taking a seat on the stairs. So far, it doesn't seem like he has caught on to us."
"Okay, let's move…" Asuma said, before giving the signal.
===With Hidan===
As soon as he left the hidden bathroom door and outside, the Akatsuki member stomped out, mad at his partner.
"Stupid money-driven mongrel…as if getting that much money means anything…"
Hidan then smelled his robe and once again complained.
"Yep, it stinks, yet again! Every time I get inside one of those morgues, it's the same thing. Tsk, bothering to keep bodies inside closed up spaces…what a waste. Once Lord Jashin gets his sacrifice, the vultures could get their fill."
The noise of a step behind him caught his attention.
"Huh, took you long enough counting the money, huh Kakuzu…" When he looked back, Hidan was surprised to see a Konoha shinobi preparing to throw a bunch of shuriken at him.
As soon as the projectiles flew, Hidan had already jumped from the ground and used his scythe and metal rope to block the projectiles.
The shuriken were either ricocheted or sent straight back to Asuma, together with the three-blade scythe that threatened to slice him in half. The Akatsuki member became surprised when a shadow entrapped him as he looked up the ceiling to see another Konoha shinobi holding a Ninjutsu seal. He attempted to move, but he couldn't. Within seconds, a long-haired kunoichi appeared from his right with her hands glowing and began to slam into his body in multiple pressure points, closing up his Tenketsu. He felt the last slam on his chest as Hidan was sent flying. The Akatsuki member then saw one last attacker holding a sword, before piercing his heart.
"That hurts, you know…what's with you jerks?" Naruto and the others looked surprised, before Naruto removed the sword and kept up the distance.
"Are you immortal!?" Hidan snorted at the blondie's question.
"Of course, I am imbecile…now who…" Hidan stopped talking once he saw the familiar mark on Asuma's outfit and took a sigh in dismay. "Oh that mark again huh, don't tell me we will have to go back to the Collection Office!"
Asuma snarled at the mention of his dead friend, however now was not the time to focus elsewhere…if this guy was immortal, then Asuma was in way over his head right now.
"The Akatsuki operates in pairs, so where is the other one?" Hidan only smirked, not saying anything.
"Shikamaru, move right away." The Nara heir was taken by surprise when Hinata warned him, seconds before feeling the presence of someone behind him, ready to attack.
He jumped seconds before the building was torn to pieces as everyone saw only smoke gathering, before Shikamaru erupted from it. The Nara heir saw, however, that the enemy was still on his tail.
Fuuton: Senpuken (Wind Release: Whirlwind Fist)
The enemy Akatsuki member chasing Shikamaru was caught off guard by the sudden Ninjutsu coming after him, so he used Doton Ninjutsu to harden his arms and block it.
Still, the Fuuton Ninjutsu was strong enough to tear his sleeves off slightly. When the Akatsuki member observed closely, he could see who attacked him and eyed Naruto.
"Oh, so the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki has come to us instead, huh? Good, saves us the hassle of having to invade Konoha instead." He then eyed the mark on Asuma's clothing and smirked.
"Sarutobi Asuma, huh…" Kakuzu then eyed Hidan with interest. "This is a first Hidan, you being interested in money. This is our lucky day…sixty five million ryo in one day's work, not so bad…" Hidan wasn't having any, though.
"Leave yourself out of this, Kakuzu…they are going to be my sacrifice for Lord Jashin." Kakuzu only snorted at the notion, however.
"I don't think so…for some reason, I don't feel like merely watching…besides, our mission right now is to capture the Jinchuuriki."
"Huh fine, whatever…I shall have my sacrifice, though." The team from Konoha watched as the gray haired one named Hidan drew a strange looking symbol on the ground with the blood from Naruto's earlier strike.
Asuma began to sweat in contemplation. These were two S-ranked criminals they were facing.
Such odds weren't in his favor at all, but he also couldn't leave…these two would chase them down and kill them fast. Asuma just hoped that Kakashi and Yuugao would get here faster.
The team stood back to back as they observed the two enemies. Right now, he needs to divide his team.
"Naruto, you can face the second one…Hinata, you back Naruto with the Jyuuken from a long distance. I shall face the one with the scythe, while Shikamaru covers me with the shadow bind." The Nara heir looked at his sensei.
"That's too risky, sensei. This isn't like you." Shikamaru looked at Asuma's serious visage and got more worried by the second.
"Right now, our only shot is to split us up and deal with them. Now, go!" Asuma took away his trench knives and advanced straight at Hidan, while Shikamaru kneeled on the ground to focus on his shadow binding.
The two met halfway within a shower of sparks, taking the fight to close range. Not only the scythe, but Asuma had to deal with the metal rope connecting the weapon. With it, the enemy could strike from many different positions and Asuma had to have eyes at the back of his neck sometimes. Still, using shuriken and his trench knives, Hidan wasn't having a lot of space for maneuvering, while at the same time having to dodge Shikamaru's shadow sewing technique. The field became evenly played as Hidan and Asuma would exchange metal blows with one another, neither managing to score a hit.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata stood observing the other enemy.
"Hinata…" The Hyuuga observed Naruto and the enemy at the same time. "We don't know anything about him, yet…so, keep attacking from a distance, alright…don't shorten the distance."
"But…"
"Trust me on this for now." Hinata nodded as Naruto got into position with his sword, while Hinata focused on her vacuum palm technique.
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes as he observed the Jinchuuriki advance just as the Hyuuga sent him her long range attack. In mere seconds, Naruto got close enough and began the battle of Kenjutsu against Kakuzu. His eyes narrowed as soon as the dark gray tendrils erupted from this guy's arms as Kakuzu took up a medium distance. His hands got detached from his arms and moved fast towards both the Jinchuuriki and the Hyuuga. Still, Kakuzu was surprised to see the Jinchuuriki slice his way through the tendrils with such speed that didn't belong to a mere kid. What impressed him even more was that the other arm tendrils were sliced clean as well, the one that would attack the Hyuuga.
"I see, so you're wind oriented. Interesting. Think you can keep this up, Jinchuuriki?" Naruto smirked, before falling into a Kenjutsu position, while holding up the ram seal.
"There is only one way to find out…" Kakuzu's eyes widened as Naruto doubled up his movement and attacked the Akatsuki member. Before, he was focusing on both opponents, but right now, Kakuzu became hard pressed to dodge the Hyuuga's techniques, as well as the Jinchuuriki's. Plus, Kakuzu was feeling his chakra system being invaded constantly. He was surprised to see that a few of the sword strikes were drawing blood. So much so that he began to take it seriously by hardening his arms and attacking Naruto with his Doton techniques.
Back to Asuma and Shikamaru, both were fairing rather well against Hidan.
"That shadow of yours is quite bothersome, heretic." Asuma smirked in pride at his student, while focusing on the attack.
Using Ninjutsu right now wasn't the right move…since the guy is immortal, nothing short of taking his head off would do the trick. However, another thing worried Asuma upon seeing Shikamaru. The Nara's chakra capacity wasn't fairing very well and this fight was prolonging far longer than it should. This was a battle of attrition, more heavily focused on Taijutsu and Kenjutsu. As they danced in sparks, Asuma just hoped that he would be able to break the enemy's defense, before Shikamaru ran out of chakra.
His fear became realized once he saw Shikamaru stumble slightly.
The enemy capitalized on it and threw the scythe straight at Shikamaru. Asuma cursed the situation and increased his speed to protect his student.
Hidan smirked at the plan and slammed his scythe on the ground to lift dust and hide his position.
Asuma wasn't going to be fooled so easily, though and went through hand seals.
Fuuton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)
The strong wind blew away the heavy dust gathered by the scythe and saw only Shikamaru in front of him, apparently unharmed. The scythe, however, came charging at him from the left. Asuma managed to use a quick substitution technique with the splinters from the rooftop. However, Hidan was now frantic and charging Asuma. The bearded Jonin managed to capitalize on the enemy's lack of self-awareness and landed a few strikes, drawing blood. However, like it happened with Naruto's sword, the enemy was unfazed with his vital spots being hit over and over again.
The scythe was being controlled by the metal rope, though, and managed to get behind Asuma and would have skewered him, if it weren't for Shikamaru's shadow sewing technique, holding the weapon in mid-air at the cost of his last drop of energy.
"Nice one, Shikamaru!"
Hidan was truly gunning for the Nara this time. The Nara genius was panting for breath, but he was smiling as he was able to save his sensei.
"It's futile, though." Hidan grabbed a stick inside his robe and attacked Asuma once more, while the shadow tried holding for as long as it could.
…which wasn't long and Asuma soon found himself having to deal with both weapons by himself.
Soon, the stick managed to injure Asuma and draw blood from the bearded Jonin, before Hidan landed a fierce kick on Asuma's chest that sent him flying.
Hidan wasted no time and while Asuma was flying, he ran straight towards the blood red symbol on the ground and drank Asuma's blood.
Shikamaru observed in complete surprise as the man's skin turned black with white lines.
"Now, how about we get to play a bit, before the ultimate sacrifice shall we!?" Hidan screamed in laughter, before slamming the stick in his own thigh…
The end result, which surprised Shikamaru, was not the man's grunt of pain, but rather Asuma's, as he was holding his bleeding thigh.
"Okay, now how about the other one?!" Hidan yanked the stick from his right thigh and pierced his left one.
Shikamaru's eyes trembled in shock. His mind worked quickly in understanding the connection the enemy made with his sensei. The weapon he used, the ritual inscribed on the ground…it all made sense. However, his mind also conjured the next events that will now happen and he didn't have much strength left in him. Hinata saw their sensei drop on the ground and moved to help him, while Naruto was pairing well against this opponent in the meantime so…
Asuma lay on the floor holding his bleeding thigh and seeing the enemy about to deliver the killing blow through himself.
The time now passed in slow motion, as Shikamaru and Hinata were by his side, while Naruto was busy fending off against the other enemy. The memories all passed in his head…the never-ending attempts of trying to bond with his father, the times he passed with the Guardians and even the time he had with Kurenai. The memories with his Genin team…everything was passing in front of his eyes. The enemy was a maniac in his glee that soon Asuma would be just another one of his sacrifices. He attempted to move, but the Jonin knew it was futile…attacking Hidan would be just like attacking himself.
"Asuma-sensei…!" Hinata and Shikamaru's frantic cry for his sake had only made matters worse.
Asuma's eyes then ventured towards Naruto's back, going toe to toe with the other Akatsuki.
The Jonin, even in his brief moments of life, couldn't help but be amazed at his student. His movements, his skills with the sword, just like Yuugao taught him, added by the Genjutsu skills of Kurenai…come to think about it, Naruto wasn't focusing very much on Asuma's well-being, not like the other two were. Asuma only chuckled, however, wondering if he had ever made such a difference in Naruto's life. His growth was nothing short of astounding to the likes that Asuma often found it suspicious.
"Now, let us proceed with the grand finale. You are going to die now!"
Hidan's manic scream had awakened Asuma's pondering to see his final swing of the axe that would pierce his own heart thus pierced Asuma's.
The noise of metal piercing blood echoed in the clearing as Hidan felt the glee of taking yet another life…of offering the sacrifice to Lord Jashin. He could feel everything in his life making sense when this happened. Hinata, Shikamaru and Asuma, though, looked confused as the scythe did not pierce his chest, but the ground instead. However, the enemy was behaving as if he had finished the deed.
"Let's go…we have to take him away to safety!" Naruto had appeared out of thin air, surprising Hinata, Asuma and Shikamaru.
The Nara genius turned to his former teammate in complete wonder and then at a new seal happened to be lodged at Hidan's chest.
"What the…what did you do?" Asuma was focused on Hidan's behavior…until it became clear to him precisely why his prodigy student wasn't focusing on protecting him or even being frantic about his upcoming death.
"Kurenai did teach you a lot, didn't she? To believe you managed to mix Fuuinjutsu and Genjutsu like that and so subtle. I am almost jealous to see that others had such an impact on you, while I did nothing." Shikamaru looked at Naruto for confirmation, but Naruto was instead focused on Kakuzu, who was approaching his position, no doubt having dealt with the Kage Bunshin that he left behind.
Asuma's comment, however, irked him.
"If you weren't bleeding profusely and incapacitated, Asuma-sensei, I would pound you into the ground for that comment alone!" Asuma looked at the fire in his prodigy's eyes and saw that indeed his comment wasn't true at all. "Be ready to move everyone…" Naruto whispered, taking up the lead as he went through a long series of hand seals, before joining hands in a praying mode, manipulating the water molecules in the atmosphere.
Suiton: Suishouha (Water Release: Water Shockwave)
Kakuzu's eyes widened, first at the speed of the technique and at the level of expertise, as the giant typhoon of water gathered around the group from Konoha, before it dragged him away like a strong current. Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru didn't even wait to see the end result of Naruto's technique, before the three former Genin helped Asuma get up and leave the premises.
"Naruto, where are we going? They aren't going to let us escape this easily." Shikamaru asked as he saw Naruto's eyes looking towards a specific direction in mind.
"Now is not the time to waste by talking…just follow me." They soon reached the heavy foliage that they came from the Fire Temple and travelled for no more than five minutes when the presence Naruto had felt became stronger.
"They are here!"
Shikamaru and Hinata looked at their teammate, first wondering that the enemy was once more upon us, when another familiar voice approached.
"Naruto!" Asuma's team saw Kakashi and Yuugao arrive, while Hinata and Shikamaru placed the injured Asuma to rest on the ground with his back against a tree.
"I felt their presence approaching and made the arrangements. Sorry I didn't have the time to tell you guys."
Naruto said so with a smile on his face, quite relieved to see that it worked.
Asuma was being tended to by Yuugao and Hinata, while Shikamaru, Naruto and Kakashi were standing guard.
The bearded Jonin, though, remembered what he had said to his strongest student and looked down.
"Naruto…I apologize for what I said to you, back then…" Naruto looked down at his injured sensei, who was smiling at him, but it wasn't out of joy or happiness…it was one filled with regret. "However, when I look at you…look at you fight…I don't see much of me in there. Kurenai taught you Genjutsu, Jiraiya taught you Fuuinjutsu, Yuugao taught you Kenjutsu…your Taijutsu had always been impressive…but your Ninjutsu…I have never seen such proficiency and from someone so young…certainly it wasn't from me."
Sometimes, Naruto really wanted to come clean about what happened in his life…to tell exactly who was responsible for bringing him up to this current level. Others may think along the same lines, that they had honed only aspects of him, but not him as a whole. However, that didn't mean that Asuma was correct in his statement. Naruto, thus, removed his sword and showed it to his sensei.
Focusing the wind element through the sword just like Asuma's knives…
"My wind element is as strong as it is because of your tutelage, Asuma-sensei…Yuugao-sensei have taught me Kenjutsu, but without the use of wind chakra, it wouldn't be the same." Asuma saw the element grinding through Naruto's sword with the same speed as his own and smiled, this time, acknowledging where his student was coming from. It took some time for Asuma's injury to be taken care of by Hinata and Yuugao, before Asuma got up again. He was still out of commission, but at least today is not the day he died.
Kakashi, being the seasoned shinobi from the group, then brought everyone together.
"Okay, Naruto, I take it the enemy is still nearby?" Naruto nodded, before Kakashi turned to Asuma and the others.
"Shikamaru and Hinata, you two shall take Asuma back to the village. Naruto, Yuugao and I shall engage them."
Author Note
Ok, that's it for now.
Scared you all, didn't I?
Of course, I thought about finishing everything in this chapter, but new ideas were coming, one better than the other. I have done this fight in my other stories, so I wanted to make a new one.
Furthermore, to place two high level fights, one after the other, would be too much for one chapter alone.
So, the next chapter shall be the last fight as well as the bridge for the next arc.
Lastly, I have recently created a P-atreon account for those who wish to follow my stories more personally, sending suggestions and occasional polls to help me.
Also for those who wish to make a pledge there, it will be highly appreciated.
P-atreon Account: Anime-Enthusiast
Next update: Avalon Bond