Naruto Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A Strange New World ❯ Invasion and Destruction ( Chapter 10 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Hiei Jaganshi Urameshi 
The invasion and destruction of Konoha
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 10.19.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 494 | Status: Work In Progress
The invasion and destruction of Konoha
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 10.19.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 494 | Status: Work In Progress
Invasion and Destruction
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
SPOILERS
RECAP
KAKASHI, IRUKA AND ALL THE OTHER CHUUNIN AND JOUNIN THAT HAD TURNED OUT ALL CRIED ONE NAME: OROCHIMARU
The pale-skinned man looked down at his old sensei. "You have become too complacent, Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru said as he leaped from the balcony onto the roof, dragging the Hokage with him. Four people following his movements, covering the four corners, they created a double barrier, one between them and the outside, and the other between them and the pair on the inside. The barrier was there to prevent the ANBU members from getting in to aid the Hokage, and the inner barrier to stop the Hokage from escaping their 'master'. When the Hokage commented on the barrier, Orochimaru just gave a slight smile. "We both know that you fight better without outside interference."
Inside the arena, one of the 'ANBU members' had cast a Genjutsu over the entire arena, sending most people to sleep, except those who noticed the strange white feathers, symbolising that it was a Genjutsu. A moment later and Temari, along with Kankuro, grabbed Gaara and fled the scene. Sasuke was torn into following them straingt off, and going to ask Kakashi what to do. The latter thought won, and Sasuke ran over to his Jounin instructoy, who had dispelled the effects from Yusuke, and was helping Hiei to his feet, after he had become conscious after his body started healing itself. "Get Naruto, Sakura, Iruka, Kurama, Hayate and Genma." Kakashi said. "You remember the two Jounin instructors. Bring them here at once." Sasuke and Yusuke nodded as they did what Kakashi wanted them to.
A moment later and they had returned. Kakashi first turned his gaze to Iruka. "Iruka, I want you to go to the Academy and evacuate the students, Genma and Hayate will accompany you." He glared at Iruka when he tried to argue back. "You will be on very little use here, plus the instructors know you better than two strange Jounin." Iruka found that he couldn't argue with Kakashi's reasoning. "Hayate, Genma, I trust that you will take great caution. I don't know what Orochimaru is doing here, but it isn't likely to be good for Konoha. Stick closely together, I don't want any of you to end up dead." The two Jounin smiled at each other. They knew that Kakashi meant that he didn't want Iruka dead, but if the aforementioned Jounin thought that, then he would fight tooth and nail. "The students need to be kept safe, they are out future, get them out of Konoha." Kakashi said as Genma and Hayate dragged Iruka from the Arena.
His gaze then turned to Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura. "You three are going on a mission. This is an A-ranked mission, like the one we went on in the Land of the Waves." Kakashi said. "I want you three to hunt down those Sand ninjas and to bring them back to Konoha, dead or alive." The three nodded. "Sasuke is the leader in the mission. Now go." The three nodded and left. He then turned his attention to Iruka's team. "You are going to help me in this." He said simply. "You know what to do, and how to do it." He looked meaningfully at Kurama, who nodded before he looked at the others. "Remember what our goal is, it's to protect the Hokage any way we can." The four split up, Kakashi going one way and the three Genin going another as they all had their own missions to accomplish.
Iruka, Hayate and Genma hurried through the streets towards the Academy. Although Kakashi wasn't of a more senior level than any of them, he still held seniority amongst them in their minds. When an ANBU member gave you a mission, you did it. Even if it was an ex-ANBU member like Kakashi was. Iruka knew that there was probably some other reason that Kakashi had sent him to the Academy, but he couldn't dwell on that now. As Kakashi said, the students there were the future of Konoha.
Rounding the corner, he saw a group of Sand ninjas. "Get going, Iruka." Hayate said as he pulled the katana free from his back. Like Kakashi it was a reminder of his days in ANBU before he had started coughing so badly. "We shall handle them." He faced them. "Don't argue, get your ass into gear and get to the Academy!" Hearing the commanding tone, Iruka did as he was told and ran past the Sand ninjas towards his goal. The two Konoha Jounin looked at each other and threw themselves into the fight.
Iruka turned the last corner and entered the Academy, making his way to the head's office, and knocked on the door. The elderly Chuunin answered. "Please call all the Instructors to the Staff Room immediately." Iruka said. "I shall explain all once everyone is there. The old Chuunin nodded and sent the message through the Academy.
Once everyone was in the Staff Room, Iruka looked at his old colleagues. "Orochimaru is back in Konoha." He said. "He has taken the Hokage captive. I was ordered by Hatake Kakashi to make sure that the students were evacuated safely." A murmur spread through the instructors. "We need to get them out of Konoha as soon as we can. Orochimaru won't sit and wait for them to become fully fledged ninjas." Suddenly the door burst open, revealing Iruka's Jounin 'caretakers'. Wary of transformed enemies, Iruka put all his weight into his punches. If they were impostors then they would change. They didn't. "Sorry Genma-san, Hayate-san." Iruka said as Genma almost swallowed the senbon in his mouth. "I am sure that you understand." He turned back to the instructors. "Sand and Sound are working together on this, so we cannot trust our old allies in this situation. We should take them out by the old sewer system, as a few of its exits leads outside the village walls." Iruka thought for a moment. "Lets tell the children, for the moment anyway, that it is a drill. We need them to be calm about this."
Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura raced through the trees after the Sand trio. "Follow me as fast as you can." Sasuke said. "We are close to them, but someone needs to get in front of them to stop their advancement. I'm faster than either of you, so I am relying on you to stop them from going in different directions." With that said, Sasuke ran off. He would stop them single-handed if need be.
Gaara's group thought that they had made the perfect escape, until a fireball stopped them in their tracks. That was when they first noticed Sasuke. "You are not escaping." He said as Naruto and Sakura caught up with him. "We won't let you." As he expected, the sand in the gourd that Gaara carried on his back started to flow out, surrounding the most powerful of the Sand Genin. It built up until there was a figure in front of the three Leaf Genin.
'So he is the new host for the Ichibi no Shukaku.' Naruto heard the Kyubi say. 'You'll need help to take him down. He won't listen to me in my current form.' While Naruto listened to Seiryoku, Sakura attacked Gaara's 'new' form and was pinned to a tree, the Shukaku's other 'hand' swept Sasuke away like he was a flea when he tried to free her. 'Saske!' The Kyubi snarled, its chakra flooding Naruto's body, just as the hand that swatted Sasuke back dropped onto Naruto. However a moment later and it was thrown back by Gamabunta, the Lord of the Toads.
"It has been a while, youngster." Gamabunta said grumpily as they both observed their enemies. "So this is my next tailed opponent, the one-tailed beast." He could see that Gaara was sleeping, or at least pretending to. "You need to waken that boy up. However to get you close enough I shall need a form with claws and teeth." It took a moment for Naruto to decide to use the form of the Kyubi trapped inside him, but when he did, he used Henge no Jutsu to transform Gamabunta into a Kyubi no Kitsune. with his new form, Gamabunta lunged at the Shukaku, and the moment that he was close enough, Naruto leaped at Gaara, striking him with his fists until Gaara woke up.
Once Gaara had been forcefully woken by Naruto, the Shukaku started to lose its grip and the sand retreated back to the gourd. Sasuke then ran over to Sakura, making sure that she was okay before he grabbed Temari. "When did your village start taking orders from Orochimaru?" He demanded, and Temari's eyes went wide.
"We do not take orders from Orochimaru, we take orders from the Kazekage." She said eventually. "We do not take orders from any missing-nins." Her eyes then narrowed. "Why would you think that?"
"Orochimaru was dressedas your Kazekage to assassinate the Hokage." Sasuke snarled. "Quit playing dumb." He then felt Naruto's hand on his shoulder, taking some comfort from the fact that his boyfriend and Sakura were both okay.
"Maybe they didn'y know. They are only Genins after all." Naruto said. "Maybe this was just kept to the Kazakage himself. Iruka told me a little about Orochimaru when I asked him before. He is a master of disguise, and he wouldn't be afraid to do anything to reach his goals." He pushed Gaara in front of him. "We have completed the mission that Kakashi-sensei had sent us, or rather we would have once we have brought them back to Konoha, or what will be left of it." The three Sand ninjas glared at the three Leaf ninjas as they were accompanied back towards Konoha.
"I came here for Sasuke-kun, but it looks like I can't have everything my way." Orochimaru said, almost sounding sad, however he didn't look it. "However, Sarutobi-sensei, my main goal for coming back to Konoha was you, or rather your death." It was then that the battle between the Third Hokage and his errant student began. Using Kawara Shuriken (Roof tile shuriken), the Hokage sent the tiles flying at Orochimaru, who dodged them with ease. "You are getting sloppy in your old age." Orochimaru said, as he used Hidden Snake Hands jutso to change his tongue to a snake, which then attacked the Hokage, however it revealed the Hokage to be a mud clone, the real Hokage used Doton: Doryuu Taiga (Earth Element: Moving Land river) to make a mud slide on the roof, and once he had Orochimaru caught in the tide he then used Doton: Doryuudan (Earth Element: Earth Dragon Missile) before combining it with a fire seal, forming Karyuudan (Fire Dragon Missile).
From the ground, Kurama could see the battle between the powerful ninjas clearly. He then forced his attention back on the ninjs he was facing. He avoided their attacks with ease, effectively defeating them. He looked over at Kakashi, who had teamed up with Maito Gai and the recovering Neji and gave a slight smile when the three went up against a group of enemies dressed as Konohagure ANBU. Kurama looked at Yusuke and Hiei, with a frown. Sometimes being around them was narrowing on the nerves.
Iruka, Hayate and Genma forced the students into the disused sewer, they all complained, until Iruka snapped at them to shut up. Hewas worried about Kakashi, Naruto and the others, and soon his worries spread to the students, who fell silent. They knew that something wasn't right, especially as their instructors left them alone with the three Jounins. Hayate and Genma ran ahead to check out the tunnels and to see if any of the enemy ninjas had found their way into the tunnels ahead. Iruka could hear muffled sobs eventually start amongst the younger students. He was torn between staying and going back to check the entrance to see if they were being followed or not, then he had remembered that Kakashi had ordered him to keep the students safe. That meant taking some risks, like this one. He saw Kuwabara and smiled, how could he miss the six-foot giant amongst the, much smaller, students. "Kazuma-san, look after the kids." He said. "I need to trace our steps to make sure that we aren't being followed. Tell Hayate and Genma if they return before I do." Seeing Kuwabara nod, Iruka headed back, but before too long, he heard raised voices. 'Shit!' Iruka thought as he hurried back to the students the same moment as Genma and Hayate did. "We have hostiles behind us." Iruka said quietly.
"There are a number of hostiles in a few of the tunnels ahead, not to mention the main tunnel." Genma said "We need to find a place to hide out." Quickly Iruka split the students into three groups.
"We can't afford to stay in one large group now." Iruka said. "Genma, Hayate please take a group each. We all know where the other exits of the sewers are, so we just need to take different routes. Lets meet up at the source of the river when we can." With that Iruka guided his group towards one of the side tunnels. He knew that this one exited close to the heads of the Hokage. "Go as fast as you can, as quietly as you can." Iruka said to the students. "We really don't need to get anybody's attention, do we?"
The students did as Iruka told them, eventually emerging at the exit. That exit had been created after the sewer had become disused, so that it did allow for an escape route in a time such as this. Iruka looked over the area as 'his' students followed him. The sight of the village upset Iruka, however he never had enough time to mull over the sight as he still had to get the kids out of Konoha safely.
With great caution and care, he led those who were in his group to the exit, and then into the forest towards the source of the river. It wasn't long until he felt a hand on his shoulder, and Iruka turned around sharply, gripping the wrist tightly. When he looked he saw that it was Naruto. "Sorry, Naruto, it's best that you don't sneak up on me just now." Iruka said, hugging Naruto as though he hadn't seen the boy in years. "The village is crawling with Sand and Sound ninja, so it is best that you remain here, temporarily." Naruto nodded before Sasuke spoke.
"That sounds good. We don't want to be ambushed by enemies when we enter the village with the Sand Genin team that we were sent after." Sasuke said as he pushed Kankuro forward. Only then did Iruka realise that they had, somehow, captured Gaara's group. "Where is Hayate-sensei and Genma-sensei? I thought that they were with you."
"We had to split up when we were escaping." Iruka said as he continued walking in the direction of the meeting place. "We didn't have much choice. "The side tunnels in the sewer are too small for large groups to travel through easily. We agreed to meet up at the source of the river." They travelled a bit further before Iruka's curiosity got the better of him. "How did you manage to get them to come with you without any fuss?"
"We told them about orochimaru." Sasuke said "Once Naruto knocked some sense into Gaara that is." Naruto laughed nervously. "He saved our lives with that toad he summoned," Iruka pulled Naruto back into his arms again, ignoring the embarassed 'Iruka, get off!' from the boy he threatened to suffocate.
"Why do you care so much for him, instead of fearing him?" Gaara asked, watching Iruka with curiosity. "He is no different than I am. He is just as forced into this position as I was. What is so different between us?" Iruka looked over the tortured youth.
"Gaara-san, was it? People react differently when faced with the same situation." Iruka tried to explain. "He reminds me of myself. When Konohagure was attacked by the Kyubi no Kitsune, I lost both of my parents, so did Narutp. We were both treated badly, and we were ignored when we did good things. We reacted the same way, we hid our lonliness under playing pranks and fake smiles. It is true that he has a... different reason to he dislikes, but he was also a young boy." Iruka kissed Naruto on his head. "I love him as though he was my own son, and through association, Uchiha Sasuke is part of my family." Gaara couldn't help but close his eyes and cover his ears, prompting Iruka's mothering nature into action, and he left Naruto, who was gasping for air, and walked over to Gaara, whoes siblings had retreated from him. He gently set a hand on his shoulder, feeling the grainy touch of sand against his skin. He wanted to try and comfort the cold-hearted killer. 'I should hve realised that this would have been the reaction.' Iruka could feel Gaara tense under his touch, as the sand in the gourd moved, reacting to Gaara's emotions. "Nobody, be they a normal child or a container for one of the tailed demons, should be alone." Iruka then left Gaara and returned to the children of Konoha.
Shortly after that, Hatate and Genma caught up with the group. "Thank the gods that you're safe." Iruka said. "Can I ask you to do me a huge favour? I'm really worried about Kakashi, and I need to make sure that he is okay. Could you plese look after the students until I know what has happened?" The two Jounins nodded, as Iruk motioned that Naruto and the others were to accompany him back to Konohagure.
When the group entered the village, it was eerily quiet, the streets were littered with the bodies of the dead, mostly Sound and Sand ninjas, although there was a large number of Konoha's Chuunin and Jounin number too. Iruka motioned 'up' and they took to the roofs, heading towards the arena. Iruka could still hear the metalic sound of weapon hitting weapon in the arena. The moment that his feet touched the ground, he ran into the arena to help.
Kakashi could feel familiar chakra at the enterance of the arena, and it was quickly approaching him. 'It is good to know that Iruka is okay.' Kakashi thought as he looked at Gai. 'It seems like Sasuke and the others are okay too.' Iruka ran over to Kakashi. "How is the Academy students?" He sked as he summoned his pack of nindogs. "Where are they?"
"They are fine, I left them in the care of Genma and Hayate at the source of the river." Iruka said as he removed some of his weapons to help out the exhausted Jounin as Kakashi sent his nindigs to find and help the other Jounins. "I got worried about you." He pressed his back against Kakashi's. "Between you and our teams, I am sure that I'll be grey by the time that I am thirty." He heard Kakashi chuckle.
"But that is why you love us all, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi said as he blocked a kunai. "We keep you amused, while you mother us and keep us in line." Iruka laughed. "Come on, let's show Gai how it's supposed to be done. He felt Iruka nod.
Kurama spared a glance upwards, and could see that the battle between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage was still at a stand still. With another quick glance he looked around the arena, and groaned quietly. Naruto and the others had returned. 'Never mind, they cannot stop me.' Kurama told himself as he stared at Yusuke and Hiei's backs, his hand going into his equipment pouch and removed two senbons. With a quick flick of his wrist he threw them at their targets, before leaping onto the roofs before the senbon attack took its effect.
Iruka could see Kurama leaping onto the roof, and thought that the three Genin had decided to join the ANBU unit in front of the prison tht Orochimaru's followers had constructed, however that thought was shattered when he saw Hiei and Yusuke collapse to the ground, followed by the ANBU unit fleeing from the kitsune's attacks. "No, no, no!" Iruka shouted, earing the worst. "Oh, Gods, please, no!" Kakashi forced Iruka to look at him.
"Get a grip, Iruka, we can't worry about this now, not while we have enemies that wants our lives." Kakashi said, feeling tempted to slap Iruka to make him see sense. "We don't know if Yusuke and Hiei were attacked by him or not, and there is always a chance that the ANBU unit had an enemy ninja in it. We will ask him about it later." Kakashi used two shuriken to deflect incoming ones. "For now, keep your mind on staying alive." Iruka only nodded.
Orochimaru had a clear view of Kurama's trechery, and he knew that the Hokage had seen it too, by the look on his old face. A moment later and Kurama, having driven away the ANBU unit, stood before Orochimaru's barrier. "What do you want?" Orochimaru asked as he blocked the Hokage's attack. "I don't want to be gawped at by the likes of you."
Kurama was taken aback by Orochimaru's blunt attitude. He started to wonder if his plan was worth all the aggrivation. Then again, maybe what he saw now was just the product of the battle between the pair. "I humbly request that yo train me, Orochimaru-sama." The name and title felt wrong said together. "I will do anything to get stronger. Being here curbs my progress." Orochimaru looked thoughtful as he blocked another attack.
"Very well." He said. "However I only train those that shows potential." He was wary of the boy. He remembered him vividly from the Forest of Death, and knew that he was a powerful fighter, more powerful than he should be to ask for help. "Drop the outer barrier." He said to the four ninjas. "Let him enter the first barrier." He saw Kurama enter through the first barrier, and then it was raised again. "You will fight the Hokage. If you kill him, then I will consider training you." Kurama's eyes opened wide. If he killed the Hokage then that meant that he would never be able to return to Konohagure. Orochimaru watched him out the corner of his eye. 'Will he or won't he?' He thought before he saw Kurama nod. 'Well, well, he must be partly serious about this at least.' He motioned to the four to release the inner barrier, and they did so, allowing Kurama into the arena, while Orochimaru stelled back to the safety of the barrier to watch the battle.
Kurama looked the Hokage over. The old man seemed almost exhausted. If he had been any later at getting up then he would have lost the chance to attatch himself to Orochimaru. He could sense that the Hokage's chakra was almost at an end, he was surprised that Orochimaru was letting him take over this fight, and hadn't ordered him to kill someone like Kakashi. The Hokage seemed surprised too, and he hesitantly attacked the young man. Kurama, likewise, attacked the Hokage.
Before too long, Kurama was forced to act seriously, when he felt Orochimaru glare at his back. Did the snakey bastard know what he was thinking? His hand moved into his hair, and pulled out a seed, and using some of his enerfy, he made it grow into a whip, however instead of it having thorns, it had a plain surface, making it more of a vine whip than a rose whip, and rather than attack the Hokage, he made sure that the cracks missed him, hitting in the tiles at either side instead. 'Hokage-sama, I beg your forgiveness.' Kurama thought as sent his youki out onto the roof, the seeds that had been scattered there reacting, sending out vine tendrils towards the Hokage, they wrapped around the Hokage's arms and legs, preventing all movement.
Orochimaru moved so he could get a better view of the scene before him. He didn't want to miss a moment of the mighty Hokage losing to a slyph of a child. Kurama approached the bound man with a slight smile on his face, his hand disappearing into his weapons pouch, removing a senbon. "You heard what Orochimaru-sama said, didn't you?" He asked with a small smile. "He told me to kill you, and I intend on doing so."
Orochimaru motioned for the inner barrier to be dropped and then he approached Kurama. "You have him at your mercy, now finish him off." Kurama looked at Orochimaru. "Why do you hesitate, Shuichi-kun?" Orochimaru's attention was then drawn to a single man standing outside the barrier, and smiled as he saw silver hair, glasses and the Otogakure hitai-ate. "Kill him and seal your future with the Village Hidden in the Sound. Kill him and be welcomed with open arms." Kurama looked over at the new arrival and he blushed when he realised who it was, blushing under the glare. "I see you know Kabuto-kun." Orochimaru said, grinning.
"I... I... well I stole his Heaven Scroll during the Second Exam." Kurama said. "I never knew that he was working for you, Orochimaru-sama, or I would never have touched it." He heard Orochimaru laugh, before he explained that even if he had left the scroll where it was, that Kabuto still wouldn't have taken part in the finals, as he was ordered not to by Orochimaru himself. He then turned his attention back to the Hokage. "With your permission, Orochimaru-sama, I shall finish what I started." With Orochimaru's nod and cruel smile encouraging him on, Kurama approached the Hokage with the senbon. "If your life is the price I have to pay for Orochimaru-sama's training, then you are the price he will receive." With that Kurama picked his spot, not that carefully, and pushed the senbon into the skin. Immediately the Hokage reacted, screaming and tensing in the vines. Orochimaru looked on amused at the reaction.
"What are you doing?" Orochimaru asked as he turned his attention to the writhing man.
"I am sorry, Orochimaru-sama." Kurama said as he turned hs attention back to Sannin. "Sometimes I want to try out a new poison that I have thought about." He said. "I have been wanting to try that one out for quite some time. You just gave me the perfect excuse." He pulled out a small notebook and pen and started taking notes. "I lost my old notes, so I have to start from scratch, such a pity."
'He sounds so cold and uncaring... my type of person.' Orochimaru thought as he approached the kitsune. He watched as, eventually, the Hokage went still, and he checked the vital signs. There was none. "He is dead." He announced. "This day, at least, has come to a satisfying conclusion." He motioned to Kurama. "Follow me, and I will take you to your new home." With that Orochimaru leaped across the rooftops, with his followers and Kurama in tow.
Iruka, seeing the barrier disappear, quickly went to the roof, needing to check on the Hokage. What he witnessed made the Jounin cry out in horror. Kakashi quickly made his way to the roof, in time to hold Iruka in his arms. He could clearly see the reason why, and it upset him too. Then others arrived, but the most surprising moment was when Hyuuga Hiashi and Hyuuga Neji arrived on the roof. Neji who still had the Byakugan active saw something that surprised him. "Uncle, please use the Byakugan and check out Hokage-sama's body." Neji asked. "If I am right, then the Hokage isn't dead, but is still alive, even if it is barely." That prognosis was confirmed by Hiashi when he, too, examined the Hokage.
Author's note: Thank you all for reviews that have been left, please continue to do so.
Poll: I am in two thoughts about a particular notion that I have, and it is as follows:
Should I have Orochimaru/Kurama as a pairing in future chapters? Please let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
SPOILERS
RECAP
KAKASHI, IRUKA AND ALL THE OTHER CHUUNIN AND JOUNIN THAT HAD TURNED OUT ALL CRIED ONE NAME: OROCHIMARU
The pale-skinned man looked down at his old sensei. "You have become too complacent, Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru said as he leaped from the balcony onto the roof, dragging the Hokage with him. Four people following his movements, covering the four corners, they created a double barrier, one between them and the outside, and the other between them and the pair on the inside. The barrier was there to prevent the ANBU members from getting in to aid the Hokage, and the inner barrier to stop the Hokage from escaping their 'master'. When the Hokage commented on the barrier, Orochimaru just gave a slight smile. "We both know that you fight better without outside interference."
Inside the arena, one of the 'ANBU members' had cast a Genjutsu over the entire arena, sending most people to sleep, except those who noticed the strange white feathers, symbolising that it was a Genjutsu. A moment later and Temari, along with Kankuro, grabbed Gaara and fled the scene. Sasuke was torn into following them straingt off, and going to ask Kakashi what to do. The latter thought won, and Sasuke ran over to his Jounin instructoy, who had dispelled the effects from Yusuke, and was helping Hiei to his feet, after he had become conscious after his body started healing itself. "Get Naruto, Sakura, Iruka, Kurama, Hayate and Genma." Kakashi said. "You remember the two Jounin instructors. Bring them here at once." Sasuke and Yusuke nodded as they did what Kakashi wanted them to.
A moment later and they had returned. Kakashi first turned his gaze to Iruka. "Iruka, I want you to go to the Academy and evacuate the students, Genma and Hayate will accompany you." He glared at Iruka when he tried to argue back. "You will be on very little use here, plus the instructors know you better than two strange Jounin." Iruka found that he couldn't argue with Kakashi's reasoning. "Hayate, Genma, I trust that you will take great caution. I don't know what Orochimaru is doing here, but it isn't likely to be good for Konoha. Stick closely together, I don't want any of you to end up dead." The two Jounin smiled at each other. They knew that Kakashi meant that he didn't want Iruka dead, but if the aforementioned Jounin thought that, then he would fight tooth and nail. "The students need to be kept safe, they are out future, get them out of Konoha." Kakashi said as Genma and Hayate dragged Iruka from the Arena.
His gaze then turned to Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura. "You three are going on a mission. This is an A-ranked mission, like the one we went on in the Land of the Waves." Kakashi said. "I want you three to hunt down those Sand ninjas and to bring them back to Konoha, dead or alive." The three nodded. "Sasuke is the leader in the mission. Now go." The three nodded and left. He then turned his attention to Iruka's team. "You are going to help me in this." He said simply. "You know what to do, and how to do it." He looked meaningfully at Kurama, who nodded before he looked at the others. "Remember what our goal is, it's to protect the Hokage any way we can." The four split up, Kakashi going one way and the three Genin going another as they all had their own missions to accomplish.
Iruka, Hayate and Genma hurried through the streets towards the Academy. Although Kakashi wasn't of a more senior level than any of them, he still held seniority amongst them in their minds. When an ANBU member gave you a mission, you did it. Even if it was an ex-ANBU member like Kakashi was. Iruka knew that there was probably some other reason that Kakashi had sent him to the Academy, but he couldn't dwell on that now. As Kakashi said, the students there were the future of Konoha.
Rounding the corner, he saw a group of Sand ninjas. "Get going, Iruka." Hayate said as he pulled the katana free from his back. Like Kakashi it was a reminder of his days in ANBU before he had started coughing so badly. "We shall handle them." He faced them. "Don't argue, get your ass into gear and get to the Academy!" Hearing the commanding tone, Iruka did as he was told and ran past the Sand ninjas towards his goal. The two Konoha Jounin looked at each other and threw themselves into the fight.
Iruka turned the last corner and entered the Academy, making his way to the head's office, and knocked on the door. The elderly Chuunin answered. "Please call all the Instructors to the Staff Room immediately." Iruka said. "I shall explain all once everyone is there. The old Chuunin nodded and sent the message through the Academy.
Once everyone was in the Staff Room, Iruka looked at his old colleagues. "Orochimaru is back in Konoha." He said. "He has taken the Hokage captive. I was ordered by Hatake Kakashi to make sure that the students were evacuated safely." A murmur spread through the instructors. "We need to get them out of Konoha as soon as we can. Orochimaru won't sit and wait for them to become fully fledged ninjas." Suddenly the door burst open, revealing Iruka's Jounin 'caretakers'. Wary of transformed enemies, Iruka put all his weight into his punches. If they were impostors then they would change. They didn't. "Sorry Genma-san, Hayate-san." Iruka said as Genma almost swallowed the senbon in his mouth. "I am sure that you understand." He turned back to the instructors. "Sand and Sound are working together on this, so we cannot trust our old allies in this situation. We should take them out by the old sewer system, as a few of its exits leads outside the village walls." Iruka thought for a moment. "Lets tell the children, for the moment anyway, that it is a drill. We need them to be calm about this."
Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura raced through the trees after the Sand trio. "Follow me as fast as you can." Sasuke said. "We are close to them, but someone needs to get in front of them to stop their advancement. I'm faster than either of you, so I am relying on you to stop them from going in different directions." With that said, Sasuke ran off. He would stop them single-handed if need be.
Gaara's group thought that they had made the perfect escape, until a fireball stopped them in their tracks. That was when they first noticed Sasuke. "You are not escaping." He said as Naruto and Sakura caught up with him. "We won't let you." As he expected, the sand in the gourd that Gaara carried on his back started to flow out, surrounding the most powerful of the Sand Genin. It built up until there was a figure in front of the three Leaf Genin.
'So he is the new host for the Ichibi no Shukaku.' Naruto heard the Kyubi say. 'You'll need help to take him down. He won't listen to me in my current form.' While Naruto listened to Seiryoku, Sakura attacked Gaara's 'new' form and was pinned to a tree, the Shukaku's other 'hand' swept Sasuke away like he was a flea when he tried to free her. 'Saske!' The Kyubi snarled, its chakra flooding Naruto's body, just as the hand that swatted Sasuke back dropped onto Naruto. However a moment later and it was thrown back by Gamabunta, the Lord of the Toads.
"It has been a while, youngster." Gamabunta said grumpily as they both observed their enemies. "So this is my next tailed opponent, the one-tailed beast." He could see that Gaara was sleeping, or at least pretending to. "You need to waken that boy up. However to get you close enough I shall need a form with claws and teeth." It took a moment for Naruto to decide to use the form of the Kyubi trapped inside him, but when he did, he used Henge no Jutsu to transform Gamabunta into a Kyubi no Kitsune. with his new form, Gamabunta lunged at the Shukaku, and the moment that he was close enough, Naruto leaped at Gaara, striking him with his fists until Gaara woke up.
Once Gaara had been forcefully woken by Naruto, the Shukaku started to lose its grip and the sand retreated back to the gourd. Sasuke then ran over to Sakura, making sure that she was okay before he grabbed Temari. "When did your village start taking orders from Orochimaru?" He demanded, and Temari's eyes went wide.
"We do not take orders from Orochimaru, we take orders from the Kazekage." She said eventually. "We do not take orders from any missing-nins." Her eyes then narrowed. "Why would you think that?"
"Orochimaru was dressedas your Kazekage to assassinate the Hokage." Sasuke snarled. "Quit playing dumb." He then felt Naruto's hand on his shoulder, taking some comfort from the fact that his boyfriend and Sakura were both okay.
"Maybe they didn'y know. They are only Genins after all." Naruto said. "Maybe this was just kept to the Kazakage himself. Iruka told me a little about Orochimaru when I asked him before. He is a master of disguise, and he wouldn't be afraid to do anything to reach his goals." He pushed Gaara in front of him. "We have completed the mission that Kakashi-sensei had sent us, or rather we would have once we have brought them back to Konoha, or what will be left of it." The three Sand ninjas glared at the three Leaf ninjas as they were accompanied back towards Konoha.
"I came here for Sasuke-kun, but it looks like I can't have everything my way." Orochimaru said, almost sounding sad, however he didn't look it. "However, Sarutobi-sensei, my main goal for coming back to Konoha was you, or rather your death." It was then that the battle between the Third Hokage and his errant student began. Using Kawara Shuriken (Roof tile shuriken), the Hokage sent the tiles flying at Orochimaru, who dodged them with ease. "You are getting sloppy in your old age." Orochimaru said, as he used Hidden Snake Hands jutso to change his tongue to a snake, which then attacked the Hokage, however it revealed the Hokage to be a mud clone, the real Hokage used Doton: Doryuu Taiga (Earth Element: Moving Land river) to make a mud slide on the roof, and once he had Orochimaru caught in the tide he then used Doton: Doryuudan (Earth Element: Earth Dragon Missile) before combining it with a fire seal, forming Karyuudan (Fire Dragon Missile).
From the ground, Kurama could see the battle between the powerful ninjas clearly. He then forced his attention back on the ninjs he was facing. He avoided their attacks with ease, effectively defeating them. He looked over at Kakashi, who had teamed up with Maito Gai and the recovering Neji and gave a slight smile when the three went up against a group of enemies dressed as Konohagure ANBU. Kurama looked at Yusuke and Hiei, with a frown. Sometimes being around them was narrowing on the nerves.
Iruka, Hayate and Genma forced the students into the disused sewer, they all complained, until Iruka snapped at them to shut up. Hewas worried about Kakashi, Naruto and the others, and soon his worries spread to the students, who fell silent. They knew that something wasn't right, especially as their instructors left them alone with the three Jounins. Hayate and Genma ran ahead to check out the tunnels and to see if any of the enemy ninjas had found their way into the tunnels ahead. Iruka could hear muffled sobs eventually start amongst the younger students. He was torn between staying and going back to check the entrance to see if they were being followed or not, then he had remembered that Kakashi had ordered him to keep the students safe. That meant taking some risks, like this one. He saw Kuwabara and smiled, how could he miss the six-foot giant amongst the, much smaller, students. "Kazuma-san, look after the kids." He said. "I need to trace our steps to make sure that we aren't being followed. Tell Hayate and Genma if they return before I do." Seeing Kuwabara nod, Iruka headed back, but before too long, he heard raised voices. 'Shit!' Iruka thought as he hurried back to the students the same moment as Genma and Hayate did. "We have hostiles behind us." Iruka said quietly.
"There are a number of hostiles in a few of the tunnels ahead, not to mention the main tunnel." Genma said "We need to find a place to hide out." Quickly Iruka split the students into three groups.
"We can't afford to stay in one large group now." Iruka said. "Genma, Hayate please take a group each. We all know where the other exits of the sewers are, so we just need to take different routes. Lets meet up at the source of the river when we can." With that Iruka guided his group towards one of the side tunnels. He knew that this one exited close to the heads of the Hokage. "Go as fast as you can, as quietly as you can." Iruka said to the students. "We really don't need to get anybody's attention, do we?"
The students did as Iruka told them, eventually emerging at the exit. That exit had been created after the sewer had become disused, so that it did allow for an escape route in a time such as this. Iruka looked over the area as 'his' students followed him. The sight of the village upset Iruka, however he never had enough time to mull over the sight as he still had to get the kids out of Konoha safely.
With great caution and care, he led those who were in his group to the exit, and then into the forest towards the source of the river. It wasn't long until he felt a hand on his shoulder, and Iruka turned around sharply, gripping the wrist tightly. When he looked he saw that it was Naruto. "Sorry, Naruto, it's best that you don't sneak up on me just now." Iruka said, hugging Naruto as though he hadn't seen the boy in years. "The village is crawling with Sand and Sound ninja, so it is best that you remain here, temporarily." Naruto nodded before Sasuke spoke.
"That sounds good. We don't want to be ambushed by enemies when we enter the village with the Sand Genin team that we were sent after." Sasuke said as he pushed Kankuro forward. Only then did Iruka realise that they had, somehow, captured Gaara's group. "Where is Hayate-sensei and Genma-sensei? I thought that they were with you."
"We had to split up when we were escaping." Iruka said as he continued walking in the direction of the meeting place. "We didn't have much choice. "The side tunnels in the sewer are too small for large groups to travel through easily. We agreed to meet up at the source of the river." They travelled a bit further before Iruka's curiosity got the better of him. "How did you manage to get them to come with you without any fuss?"
"We told them about orochimaru." Sasuke said "Once Naruto knocked some sense into Gaara that is." Naruto laughed nervously. "He saved our lives with that toad he summoned," Iruka pulled Naruto back into his arms again, ignoring the embarassed 'Iruka, get off!' from the boy he threatened to suffocate.
"Why do you care so much for him, instead of fearing him?" Gaara asked, watching Iruka with curiosity. "He is no different than I am. He is just as forced into this position as I was. What is so different between us?" Iruka looked over the tortured youth.
"Gaara-san, was it? People react differently when faced with the same situation." Iruka tried to explain. "He reminds me of myself. When Konohagure was attacked by the Kyubi no Kitsune, I lost both of my parents, so did Narutp. We were both treated badly, and we were ignored when we did good things. We reacted the same way, we hid our lonliness under playing pranks and fake smiles. It is true that he has a... different reason to he dislikes, but he was also a young boy." Iruka kissed Naruto on his head. "I love him as though he was my own son, and through association, Uchiha Sasuke is part of my family." Gaara couldn't help but close his eyes and cover his ears, prompting Iruka's mothering nature into action, and he left Naruto, who was gasping for air, and walked over to Gaara, whoes siblings had retreated from him. He gently set a hand on his shoulder, feeling the grainy touch of sand against his skin. He wanted to try and comfort the cold-hearted killer. 'I should hve realised that this would have been the reaction.' Iruka could feel Gaara tense under his touch, as the sand in the gourd moved, reacting to Gaara's emotions. "Nobody, be they a normal child or a container for one of the tailed demons, should be alone." Iruka then left Gaara and returned to the children of Konoha.
Shortly after that, Hatate and Genma caught up with the group. "Thank the gods that you're safe." Iruka said. "Can I ask you to do me a huge favour? I'm really worried about Kakashi, and I need to make sure that he is okay. Could you plese look after the students until I know what has happened?" The two Jounins nodded, as Iruk motioned that Naruto and the others were to accompany him back to Konohagure.
When the group entered the village, it was eerily quiet, the streets were littered with the bodies of the dead, mostly Sound and Sand ninjas, although there was a large number of Konoha's Chuunin and Jounin number too. Iruka motioned 'up' and they took to the roofs, heading towards the arena. Iruka could still hear the metalic sound of weapon hitting weapon in the arena. The moment that his feet touched the ground, he ran into the arena to help.
Kakashi could feel familiar chakra at the enterance of the arena, and it was quickly approaching him. 'It is good to know that Iruka is okay.' Kakashi thought as he looked at Gai. 'It seems like Sasuke and the others are okay too.' Iruka ran over to Kakashi. "How is the Academy students?" He sked as he summoned his pack of nindogs. "Where are they?"
"They are fine, I left them in the care of Genma and Hayate at the source of the river." Iruka said as he removed some of his weapons to help out the exhausted Jounin as Kakashi sent his nindigs to find and help the other Jounins. "I got worried about you." He pressed his back against Kakashi's. "Between you and our teams, I am sure that I'll be grey by the time that I am thirty." He heard Kakashi chuckle.
"But that is why you love us all, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi said as he blocked a kunai. "We keep you amused, while you mother us and keep us in line." Iruka laughed. "Come on, let's show Gai how it's supposed to be done. He felt Iruka nod.
Kurama spared a glance upwards, and could see that the battle between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage was still at a stand still. With another quick glance he looked around the arena, and groaned quietly. Naruto and the others had returned. 'Never mind, they cannot stop me.' Kurama told himself as he stared at Yusuke and Hiei's backs, his hand going into his equipment pouch and removed two senbons. With a quick flick of his wrist he threw them at their targets, before leaping onto the roofs before the senbon attack took its effect.
Iruka could see Kurama leaping onto the roof, and thought that the three Genin had decided to join the ANBU unit in front of the prison tht Orochimaru's followers had constructed, however that thought was shattered when he saw Hiei and Yusuke collapse to the ground, followed by the ANBU unit fleeing from the kitsune's attacks. "No, no, no!" Iruka shouted, earing the worst. "Oh, Gods, please, no!" Kakashi forced Iruka to look at him.
"Get a grip, Iruka, we can't worry about this now, not while we have enemies that wants our lives." Kakashi said, feeling tempted to slap Iruka to make him see sense. "We don't know if Yusuke and Hiei were attacked by him or not, and there is always a chance that the ANBU unit had an enemy ninja in it. We will ask him about it later." Kakashi used two shuriken to deflect incoming ones. "For now, keep your mind on staying alive." Iruka only nodded.
Orochimaru had a clear view of Kurama's trechery, and he knew that the Hokage had seen it too, by the look on his old face. A moment later and Kurama, having driven away the ANBU unit, stood before Orochimaru's barrier. "What do you want?" Orochimaru asked as he blocked the Hokage's attack. "I don't want to be gawped at by the likes of you."
Kurama was taken aback by Orochimaru's blunt attitude. He started to wonder if his plan was worth all the aggrivation. Then again, maybe what he saw now was just the product of the battle between the pair. "I humbly request that yo train me, Orochimaru-sama." The name and title felt wrong said together. "I will do anything to get stronger. Being here curbs my progress." Orochimaru looked thoughtful as he blocked another attack.
"Very well." He said. "However I only train those that shows potential." He was wary of the boy. He remembered him vividly from the Forest of Death, and knew that he was a powerful fighter, more powerful than he should be to ask for help. "Drop the outer barrier." He said to the four ninjas. "Let him enter the first barrier." He saw Kurama enter through the first barrier, and then it was raised again. "You will fight the Hokage. If you kill him, then I will consider training you." Kurama's eyes opened wide. If he killed the Hokage then that meant that he would never be able to return to Konohagure. Orochimaru watched him out the corner of his eye. 'Will he or won't he?' He thought before he saw Kurama nod. 'Well, well, he must be partly serious about this at least.' He motioned to the four to release the inner barrier, and they did so, allowing Kurama into the arena, while Orochimaru stelled back to the safety of the barrier to watch the battle.
Kurama looked the Hokage over. The old man seemed almost exhausted. If he had been any later at getting up then he would have lost the chance to attatch himself to Orochimaru. He could sense that the Hokage's chakra was almost at an end, he was surprised that Orochimaru was letting him take over this fight, and hadn't ordered him to kill someone like Kakashi. The Hokage seemed surprised too, and he hesitantly attacked the young man. Kurama, likewise, attacked the Hokage.
Before too long, Kurama was forced to act seriously, when he felt Orochimaru glare at his back. Did the snakey bastard know what he was thinking? His hand moved into his hair, and pulled out a seed, and using some of his enerfy, he made it grow into a whip, however instead of it having thorns, it had a plain surface, making it more of a vine whip than a rose whip, and rather than attack the Hokage, he made sure that the cracks missed him, hitting in the tiles at either side instead. 'Hokage-sama, I beg your forgiveness.' Kurama thought as sent his youki out onto the roof, the seeds that had been scattered there reacting, sending out vine tendrils towards the Hokage, they wrapped around the Hokage's arms and legs, preventing all movement.
Orochimaru moved so he could get a better view of the scene before him. He didn't want to miss a moment of the mighty Hokage losing to a slyph of a child. Kurama approached the bound man with a slight smile on his face, his hand disappearing into his weapons pouch, removing a senbon. "You heard what Orochimaru-sama said, didn't you?" He asked with a small smile. "He told me to kill you, and I intend on doing so."
Orochimaru motioned for the inner barrier to be dropped and then he approached Kurama. "You have him at your mercy, now finish him off." Kurama looked at Orochimaru. "Why do you hesitate, Shuichi-kun?" Orochimaru's attention was then drawn to a single man standing outside the barrier, and smiled as he saw silver hair, glasses and the Otogakure hitai-ate. "Kill him and seal your future with the Village Hidden in the Sound. Kill him and be welcomed with open arms." Kurama looked over at the new arrival and he blushed when he realised who it was, blushing under the glare. "I see you know Kabuto-kun." Orochimaru said, grinning.
"I... I... well I stole his Heaven Scroll during the Second Exam." Kurama said. "I never knew that he was working for you, Orochimaru-sama, or I would never have touched it." He heard Orochimaru laugh, before he explained that even if he had left the scroll where it was, that Kabuto still wouldn't have taken part in the finals, as he was ordered not to by Orochimaru himself. He then turned his attention back to the Hokage. "With your permission, Orochimaru-sama, I shall finish what I started." With Orochimaru's nod and cruel smile encouraging him on, Kurama approached the Hokage with the senbon. "If your life is the price I have to pay for Orochimaru-sama's training, then you are the price he will receive." With that Kurama picked his spot, not that carefully, and pushed the senbon into the skin. Immediately the Hokage reacted, screaming and tensing in the vines. Orochimaru looked on amused at the reaction.
"What are you doing?" Orochimaru asked as he turned his attention to the writhing man.
"I am sorry, Orochimaru-sama." Kurama said as he turned hs attention back to Sannin. "Sometimes I want to try out a new poison that I have thought about." He said. "I have been wanting to try that one out for quite some time. You just gave me the perfect excuse." He pulled out a small notebook and pen and started taking notes. "I lost my old notes, so I have to start from scratch, such a pity."
'He sounds so cold and uncaring... my type of person.' Orochimaru thought as he approached the kitsune. He watched as, eventually, the Hokage went still, and he checked the vital signs. There was none. "He is dead." He announced. "This day, at least, has come to a satisfying conclusion." He motioned to Kurama. "Follow me, and I will take you to your new home." With that Orochimaru leaped across the rooftops, with his followers and Kurama in tow.
Iruka, seeing the barrier disappear, quickly went to the roof, needing to check on the Hokage. What he witnessed made the Jounin cry out in horror. Kakashi quickly made his way to the roof, in time to hold Iruka in his arms. He could clearly see the reason why, and it upset him too. Then others arrived, but the most surprising moment was when Hyuuga Hiashi and Hyuuga Neji arrived on the roof. Neji who still had the Byakugan active saw something that surprised him. "Uncle, please use the Byakugan and check out Hokage-sama's body." Neji asked. "If I am right, then the Hokage isn't dead, but is still alive, even if it is barely." That prognosis was confirmed by Hiashi when he, too, examined the Hokage.
Author's note: Thank you all for reviews that have been left, please continue to do so.
Poll: I am in two thoughts about a particular notion that I have, and it is as follows:
Should I have Orochimaru/Kurama as a pairing in future chapters? Please let me know what you think.