468Original Chapter Title: A Mother's Tears
I thought of this story the first time I saw the Sannin showdown, but never got around to writing it. I don't own anything from Naruto.
But enough talk! Action starts now!
- (Outskirts of Tanazuka Gai) -
Naruto never thought he could hate someone as much as he did right now. Anger filled his blue eyes as he gazed at that traitorous bastard. He had actually helped them during the Chunin exam, showing them the way to the tower and then helping Team 7 fight the Ame ninjas.
The warning bells had gone off in his head when they first met, but Naruto had paid them no heed. Instead he had let him get close, gather crucial information on his fighting skills and personality. And now it was revealed that he was in league with the snake bastard, Orochimaru, who had led the attack on Konoha and killed the Sandaime.
Kabuto Yakushi. Oh how he hated the son of a bitch.
Now the two stood apart from each other in the middle of a field outside of Tanazuka Gai. The slug Sannin Tsunade was on her knees next to Naruto, paralyzed with fear from the blood that covered her body. Naruto's scowl deepened when Kabuto opened his mouth again and began trashing his dream of becoming Hokage.
"It's totally laughable, Naruto-kun, that a pathetic ninja like you could ever dream of becoming the most powerful and respected ninja in the Leaf village. All that the villagers will ever see you as is the nine-tailed fox that took their beloved Yondaime away from them."
Naruto's nails dug into his palm as he felt a tiny spark of red chakra trying to overcome him. Shaking his head slightly, he calmed himself down enough to regain his focus. He had a special surprise for Kabuto that didn't involve beating him to a bloody pulp with the Kyuubi's chakra, no matter how good it would feel.
Kabuto decided to throw more gas on the fire. "Tell you what; I'll make you a deal. Walk away right now, forget all about Lady Tsunade, and I won't kill your dream by killing you. What do you say, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto just lowered his head and spoke in a soft voice that carried over to the silver haired medic. "I'm not going to run away. I never go back on my word! That's my nindo!" he declared looking up, fire burning in his eyes. Tsunade looked up at the Genin in shock, his words reminding her of loved ones she lost so long ago.
Kabuto had given him a chance to survive, a chance to live. But the blonde had shot it down and had really pissed him off. He pulled out a kunai and charged. "You're throwing it all away! Dreams don't come true when you're dead!"
Tsunade regained enough of her senses to try and save this courageous boy. "Get out of the way, Naruto! Look out!" she yelled in desperation.
Naruto stood his ground and said, "Get ready to lose the bet, Baa-chan. That cursed necklace of yours is about to be mine!"
The sound of metal slicing flesh was the next thing Tsunade heard, and she was positive the boy was dead. But low-and-behold, Naruto wasn't dead! He had stopped Kabuto's knife with his left hand and held him in place, and with the right he formed half the required sign for a shadow clone. With a puff of smoke, a perfect imitation of the blonde was born.
"Let's see ya doge me this time!" Naruto yelled, holding his right hand out and began focusing his jutsu. The clone aided and kept the spinning chakra in check.
Kabuto looked on in fear as a miniature maelstrom of blue chakra was created. He had heard stories of this attack from Lord Orochimaru, about how it acted like a drill/blender to cause maximum damage to internal organs. If he didn't do something quick, he was going to be killed!
He focused every bit of chakra he had to his stomach as the blonde yelled "RASENGAN!" The attack connected and Kabuto screamed in pure agony as he felt skin and tissue tearing apart. I'm not going to die yet! he thought as he hit Naruto in the chest with a chakra scalpel and felt it cut the aorta artery above the heart.
The next thing that happened amazed all three Sannins watching. Kabuto wasn't thrown, pushed, or lifted up by the attack. No, he flew fifty feet backwards, surrounded by blue chakra. He came to a stop only when he hit a heavy rock and left a deep circular impression both on the rock and his stomach.
Naruto stood there, panting heavily at having used way too much chakra in the Rasengan. He was also having trouble breathing because the left side of his chest hurt quite a bit.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru paused in their fight to see the damage caused by the demon container. The toad hermit had a giant smile on his face. Amazing! That knucklehead actually pulled it off. He's becoming just like you Minato.
But Orochimaru's thoughts were far from complimentary. A child mastering an A-rank jutsu like that? It's unheard of! This kid is becoming quite the thorn in my side.
"He did it," Tsunade whispered. "He really did it." Slowly, she got up and removed her necklace. Walking behind the panting Naruto, she slipped the gem over his messy blonde hair. "Congratulations, kid. You really deserve this."
Naruto looked at his prize and smiled, but his happiness turned to disbelief when he saw Kabuto standing up.
Both ninjas' chests were struggling to bring oxygen into their bodies. But then Naruto's vision became blurry. What's wrong with me? Why am I getting dizzy? His thoughts turned from confusion to panic as he started to cough up blood.
Tsunade's eyes widened in fear when Naruto fainted and fell backwards. "Naruto!" she screamed and caught him before he hit the ground. "Naruto! What's wrong!?"
Kabuto started chuckling, drawing Tsunade's attention. "How the hell did you survive that Rasengan?" she asked as the silver haired ninja took two slow steps toward them.
"Simple," Kabuto replied as his stomach started healing. "I focused my chakra to the point of impact before he hit. I was already creating new cells to replace the soon to be damaged ones. This is why Orochimaru-sama values me so much. I'm nigh invincible if I'm not instantly kil-guh!" He was cut off as he too spat up blood.
Impossible! Did the brat really damage me that much? He thought as he sank to his knees and clutched his stomach in pain. "No matter. It'll just take a bit longer to heal myself. But the boy is going to die anyway. I severed the aorta. Not even the Kyuubi can save him in ti-" He was cut off a second time as Tsunade appeared before him and delivered a vicious uppercut to his chin. Kabuto flew up 20 feet and landed with a sickening crack on the rock, breaking his neck and killing him for good.
With one problem out of the way, the slug Sannin returned to Naruto's side and immediately began working to save his life. "You can't die kid, you just can't!" Tsunade ordered disparately, tears streaming down her face with the prospect of losing another precious person.
- (Inside the Seal) -
Deep within the darkest recesses of Naruto's mind, the great Kyuubi no Yoko was becoming worried. The light that was always on to signal the brat's well-being was growing dimmer and dimmer by the second.
"It can't end like this. Not here. Not now," the giant rumbled slowly, his life also slipping away.
Kyuubi knew that he was out of options. Since the boy wasn't already accessing his chakra when the blow was struck, there was nothing he could do to repair the heart.
As the fox closed his eyes to resign to his fate, he heard something.
Drip.
Drip.
With a start, the kitsune opened his eyes to see small droplets of water splashing down into the puddle outside his cage. Then a green glow made itself known, growing brighter and brighter.
"Impossible," the demon rumbled, a small portion of strength returning to it. "It can't be…the catalyst?"
An idea struck the Kyuubi. A wild, crazy, insane idea. If he could pull this off, then not only would he keep his container alive (thus saving himself), but it might actually weaken the seal!
But if something went wrong and they were there, the consequences could be astronomical. But it was a risk he would have to take.
"You better hang on, kid. This is going to be a wild ride."
Tsunade kept the chakra flowing to Naruto, no matter what happened to her. "Please…you have to survive," she begged the young Uzumaki.
A single tear fell from her face onto the crystal she had given Naruto, and something completely unexpected happened.
The boy was suddenly surrounded by red-orange chakra, while the crystal was emitting a powerful green glow, so bright that Tsunade had to shield her arms.
When two colors diminished, Naruto was gone.
Tsunade blinked in disbelief and then screamed like she never had before.
- (Outskirts of Konoha) -
Naruto slept, blissfully unaware of the three sets of eyes that looked him over.
"Whaddaya thinks wrong with him, Jir-kun"? said one voice, sounding to be male and just about 12 years old.
"How the hell should I know, Oro-teme? Do I look like a freakin medic to you? What do you think Tsu-hime"? said another boy about the same age.
"I just started learning techniques, baka! So I can't really say. Let's bring him back to Sarutobi-sensei and then to the hospital. I'm sure that Ojiisan and Oooji will know what to do."
Well boys and girls, here we go with my own try at a time-travel. Reviews, questions, comments, and even criticisms are welcome.
Ojiisan-Grandfather
Oooji-Granduncle