Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Colors of Life and Death ❯ Seven Shades ( Chapter 28 )

Colors of Life and Death- by Songbird21
Chapter 28

((Comes out of reader proof room))Well, this chapter isn't the end, but it does tie a lot of things together. Let's just hope I made my knots tight. Lol.

Chapter warnings: A rather gruesome death for 2 bad guys and the death of a very minor character.

Wanna see what Naruto's new battle eyes look like? Want to see the few doujin panels that actually got finished? Check out the "COLAD Art" section on my site. It's under the fanfic section.

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Jiraiya and Lee waited impatiently a few hundred yards from Orochimaru’s hideout. “Where are they?” he mumbled as he scanned the direction they had come from.

“I’m sure they’re moving as fast as they can, Jiraiya-sama,” Lee replied.

Jiraiya frowned. “Hm.”

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Hinata had her Byakugan pushed to the limit as she ran with Sasuke at the front of the team. “Please let us be close,” she thought.

Sasuke noticed another clipped leaf to his right. “This way,” he commanded as he changed course.

After a few moments Hinata’s eyes widened. “There they are!” she said, pointing straight ahead. This time, no amount of yelling from Sasuke would hold her back from using her full speed.

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Tsunade cocked an eyebrow as she noticed Sasuke’s ‘trail’ had gotten noticeably less obvious. “Hmm. I wonder what calmed him down.”

“Tsunade-sama?” Tomoyo said.

“Hai?”

“How would you feel...if after this is over...I came back to Konoha?”

“That’s really up to you. The Uzumaki complex is still there, but it would need a lot of work to be livable. May I ask why you want to come back?”

Tomoyo was quiet for a moment. “I was thinking...of adopting Naruto.”

This news instantly made Tsunade feel very defensive. “That...would prove difficult.”

Tomoyo frowned. “Why?”

“Because he already has a mother,” Tsunade said quietly.

Tomoyo’s heart sank. “Who?”

“Me.”
Tomoyo’s eyes widened, and then flattened into the narrow slits of an upset frown. “I see....” The two women were quiet for a moment.

“I won’t give him up,” Tsunade commented suddenly.

“I see....” Tomoyo repeated. She swallowed down the lump in her throat. “Then, after I know Naruto is safe, I’ll go back to Ganshou.”

“You know...just because you can’t adopt him, doesn’t mean Naruto wouldn’t want you around. Family is very important to him,” Tsunade offered.

Tomoyo sighed heavily. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Tsunade said with a smile. She turned to the rest of the team. “We just crossed the Sound village border! Keep an eye out for them!”

“HAI!” yelled the entire team.

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Naruto watched in confusion as Kabuto brought in one small cage after another. Each one seemed to have a small animal inside and was placed next to one of the five different colored scrolls. “What are those for?” Naruto asked as Kabuto walked over to Orochimaru and stood next to him.

“These are all summon animals,” Kabuto replied with a horrible smile.

“Summon animals?”

“The scrolls are linked to them by a special jutsu I created. This jutsu contains their chakra within the scrolls. I am going to give that chakra...to you.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. “What’ll happen to the summons?!” he demanded.

“They’ll die, of course,” Orochimaru answered simply.

Naruto gritted his teeth. “You bastard!” Naruto turned his head as he looked at each of the cages. Snake. Dog. Ferret. Slug and...... “Gama Kichi???” He looked back at Orochimaru. “Damn you! Let him go!”

Orochimaru smirked. “I don’t think so.” He cracked his neck. “Kabuto, are you ready?”

Kabuto took a few steps toward Naruto. “Hai, Orochimaru-sama.”

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Jiraiya, Hinata, Sasuke, TenTen, Lee and Sakura were huddled near the entrance to Orochimaru’s base. “Are you sure you can mask all our chakras?” Sakura asked.

Jiraiya grinned. “No problem at all for the famous Jiraiya-sama!”

Sakura’s eye twitched. “Doesn’t he ever get tired of talking about himself?”

“Why are there only two guards?” Hinata asked.

Jiraiya folded his arms and smiled ruefully. “Orochimaru has always thought he was invincible. He’s never used a lot of guards.”

“How should we proceed, Jiraiya-sama?” Lee asked with a salute.

Jiraiya put a closed fist to his chin in thought. “Well, first we have to get rid of the ‘alarm system’,” he said, glancing backward to indicate the guards. “Hmmm. Lee.”

“Hai!”

“If you remove your weights, how fast are you?”

“He was the first person who’s ever been fast enough to hit Sabaku no Gaara!” Sakura said in a way that reminded Sasuke of the way she used to talk about his exploits.

“Sakura...you....?”

Sakura realized how over exuberant she must have sounded and blushed.

Jiraiya cleared his throat. “Alright then. Lee will take care of the guards.”

“Hai!” Lee agreed, saluting again.

“And Lee, nothing fancy. Knock them out and come right back,” Jiraiya warned.

Lee nodded and pulled off his weights. “Stand back. I’ll need to open the first gate.”

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows. “A fifteen year old child can open the gates?” He frowned. “Gai has been reckless.”

“Initial gate: Open!” For a moment, Lee’s hair looked like it was being ruffled by a mysterious wind - then he shot away so fast that even Sasuke had trouble seeing him.

A green blur flew past the guards, and they both fell to the ground unconscious. Lee rejoined the group. “Mission successful!” he said.

“Good,” Jiraiya said with a nod. “Alright everyone, follow me.”

The group of Konoha ninja stood and walked quietly into the snake’s lair.

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Kabuto put his hands on one side of the circle, and half of it began to glow. Orochimaru chose a spot on the circle opposite Kabuto and did the same thing.

As the circle became fully lit, Naruto felt a burning sensation throughout his body. He struggled against his bonds but nothing came of it. “Dammit! I can’t let this happen!” he thought angrily.

Suddenly the summon animals all screamed and lines of chakra in their color streamed from the scrolls into Naruto. “AHHHHHHHHH!” he screamed as pain ripped through his body. His muscles grew tired from the effort of trying to resist the process. The chakra lines disappeared and so did the screams of the animals. He knew they were dead. Chakra swirled all around his body and then all at once seemed to dive into him. He let out one last blood curdling scream and fell unconscious.

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The scream that pierced the blackness of the tunnel she was in made Hinata's blood run cold. "Naruto-kun!" She started to run but Jiraiya held her back.

"We can move faster, but we still need to use caution," he warned.

Hinata nodded in understanding. "Hai. Byakugan."

"Alright, let's go," Jiraiya commanded.

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Sweat soaked both Orochimaru and Kabuto as they slowly got to their feet. Itachi walked over to them. “Did it work?” he asked, eyeing Naruto's unconscious form.

“I will know if he wakes up,” Orochimaru answered.

Itachi sighed. “I must stay here longer then. My leader wants a report on this.”

Orochimaru glared in suspicion. “I thought your business was finished?”

“Oh come now, Orochimaru. You know very well that my leader would want to know the fate of the power you intend to create. We must make sure it will not be a threat to the organization.”

“Hmm....” Orochimaru answered, still suspicious, but accepting the explanation for the time being.

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Hinata was staring through the walls as Orochimaru and Itachi finished speaking. The look on her face told Jiraiya all he needed to know, but he let her say it anyway.

“We’re... too late,” she said in a barely audible voice as tears welled up in her eyes.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. “Is he alive?”

Hinata wiped away some of the tears that were running down her face. “I...I think so...but...”

“But what did they do to him?” Sakura finished.

“Jiraiya!” came Orochimaru’s voice into the hallway. Everyone froze. “I thought you understood that it’s rude to lurk in doorways?”

“No sense hiding now,” Jiraiya said with an angry sigh. He stood, and walked into the room. The others followed him.

Orochimaru was sitting in an armchair just a few feet away from Naruto. “Really, Jiraiya; I’m insulted you didn’t want to say hi,” he said with a very insincere smile.

Jiraiya folded his arms and gave a fake smile in retort. “Tsunade and a rescue team will be here momentarily. You won’t win this one.” Sasuke began to move forward, but Jiraiya put out an arm. “I’ll handle this. You kids take care of Kabuto.”

Sasuke frowned. “Hai.”

Jiraiya produced a Rasengan and ran towards Orochimaru. He managed to get about three meters before his attack hit an invisible barrier, which sparked and threw him backwards. “What the hell?” he asked as his team helped him up.

“You didn’t honestly think that I wouldn’t have been prepared for a rescue attempt?” Orochimaru said.

For the first time, Jiraiya noticed the two sound nins crouched next to the walls between he and Orochimaru, and cursed himself for not seeing them sooner.

Naruto groaned and Orochimaru smiled. “Well, it would seem he hasn’t been killed at least.”

“What did you do to....?” Jiraiya trailed off as his gaze fell on the circle under Naruto. His eyes widened. “This is....!”

“What is it, Jiraiya-sama?” TenTen asked. Jiraiya ignored her.

“Orochimaru, you’re insane! You know it’s impossible!” Jiraiya yelled.

“Only for a simpleton like you,” Orochimaru answered coolly.

“What is he trying to do?” Sakura asked.

Jiraiya let out a puff of air through his nose. “He’s attempting to give Naruto...niji (A/N-rainbow) chakra.”

“WHAT??” Sakura shrieked. The other gennin stared at her.

“What the hell is niji chakra??” Sasuke asked, irritated that Jiraiya and Sakura seemed to share a secret he was not aware of.

Jiraiya considered his answer for a moment. “Ever since the discovery of the summon animals, ninjas have tried to find a way to give themselves their power. Each classification of summon animals has its own chakra color–Canine-orange, amphibian-green, invertebrate-violet, reptile-indigo and weasel-yellow. Five colors total. Humans-blue and the great youkai-red, finish the color set. Ninjas have long theorized that transferring the other six colors to a human body would give them incredible power...but no one’s ever figured out how.”

Orochimaru smiled. “Until now.”

Coughing brought everyone’s attention back to Naruto. He gingerly pushed himself to a sitting position, every movement making him wince. His eyes widened a little. “Hinata-chan? Everyone?” Then he noticed Jiraiya and his eyes narrowed. After a moment he closed his eyes and sighed. “No...This isn’t the time for that.” He straightened himself a bit. “Why are you guys just standing there?” he asked, breathing heavily.

“There’s a barrier, Naruto,” Jiraiya answered, nodding his head in the direction of one of the sound nins holding said barrier in place.

Naruto was about to say something else when he doubled over in pain and a clear shockwave blasted outwards from his body. “GHYAAAAAAAAA!”

If the merging of Naruto’s and Kyuubi’s chakra could have been described as a strong wind, then this could easily be called a small hurricane. Everyone was forced to the ground, struggling to stay where they were. Itachi saw this as his chance. He activated his mangekyou and locked eyes with Orochimaru, forcing the snake-like sannin into a nightmare world where he was killed over and over again in the most horrible ways imaginable.

Kabuto noticed the vacant look on his master’s face. “Orochimaru-sama!!” he screamed as he slowly crawled towards him. Once he had reached his destination he felt Orochimaru’s pulse. “It’s erratic, but he’s alive,” he thought in relief.

The pulses from Naruto continued for several minutes. The instant they ended, Itachi leapt toward Orochimaru, kunai in hand. Kabuto jumped up and attempted to block him, but Itachi’s hand caught his arm and snapped it backwards at the elbow. Kabuto screamed and fell to the floor. Itachi tensed his eyes and the mangekyou began to spin.

Jiraiya had a feeling he knew what was coming. “EVERYONE get back!!” he called out as he herded his team toward the far wall.

Black fire burst into life around Orochimaru and Kabuto. The flames seemed to have a life of their own as they curled around and around their victims; crawling up their arms and legs and licking at their flesh with searing heat. Orochimaru managed to open his eyes, but it was too late. He and Kabuto screamed as their skin simply melted away. Blood oozed everywhere as both men slowly turned into charred skeletons.

Sakura could not hold back her horrified scream. She had heard of Itachi’s strength, but she had never imagined he could do something so frightening. “No. I can’t lose myself to fear.” She swallowed and noticed that the two men who had been creating the barrier had lost their concentration when their master screamed. “Jiraiya-sama, the barrier’s gone!”

It was at that moment that Tsunade and her team arrived. “I thought you were going to wait to engage the enemy,” she asked Jiraiya as she stopped next to him.

“Sorry. Things got...complicated,” Jiraiya replied.

“So I see.” She nodded toward the pile of ashes still feeding the now smaller black flames. “What’s that?”

“Our once teammate and his subordinate....”

“What?!” Tsunade clenched her teeth and looked at Itachi. “I’d better be careful if he managed to kill Orochimaru.”

Itachi looked at the rather large group that was ready to stand against him, which included two of the sannin. “This may be a bit much for me in my current state. I will need a distraction though....” he looked around before his eyes settled on Sasuke. “He’ll do.” He thought before turning toward his younger brother. “Sasuke.”

The instant Sasuke turned his head toward the one who had called his name he knew he had made a serious mistake. He suddenly found himself at his parent’s house, walking toward that familiar doorway. “Oh please...please not this again. How many times will he make me see this?” he thought as he stepped inside the room.

It was horribly quiet. The only thing to occasionally break the silence was the lightning as it shrieked across the blackened sky. “Nii-san! Tou-san, Kaa-san! They’re...!” he trailed off when he realized that the person hidden in the shadows in front of him was a bit short to be his brother. “Wh...who are you?”

“You’re weak, Sasuke,” spoke a voice that seemed very familiar, yet terribly cold.

“Y...you’re not Nii-san! Why! Why did you kill them?!” Sasuke cried.

“To test my abilities,” said the figure as he stepped out of the shadows.

Sasuke’s eyes went wider than humanly possible. “N...Naruto?!!!”

Naruto was dressed in Itachi’s anbu uniform. A cruel smile played across his lips, and the mangekyou sharingan, which contrasted sharply with the cerulean blue, stared out from his eyes. “You honestly think making a new brother is going to make things better? The only thing that will bring you strength is hate.” He took a step toward Sasuke. “Now....” he said, the smile transforming into a sick grin. “Hate me!”

Sasuke’s hands flew up and clutched the sides of his head as he dropped to the floor. “NOOOOOOOOO!”

Sakura was on her knees next to Sasuke, attempting to heal his mind from Itachi’s attack. “Damn that bastard! What did he make him see?”

Itachi looked at Naruto and clenched his jaw in irritation. He hadn’t expected so much opposition and now he would have to delay his capture of him. “You’ve only postponed the inevitable.” Dog, Ox, Ram, Dragon.

“Those seals!” Tsunade thought. “RUN!” she screamed at everyone. As she dove for safety she grabbed Naruto, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid being incinerated. By the time she looked up, Itachi was gone. She sighed and got to her feet, slinging Naruto over her back as she did so.

“Should I follow him?” Jiraiya asked Tsunade.

“No. Naruto is safe. That’s all that matters right now,” Tsunade answered with a relieved smile.

“Tsunade-sama?” Sakura said. Tsunade walked over to her.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I...need help. I still can’t do this one right,” Sakura admitted with a frown.

Tsunade smiled. “It’s okay. You’ll get it.” She knelt down and placed her hand over Sasuke’s forehead. In a matter of seconds his eyelids were fluttering.

“Arigato, Tsunade-sama,” Sakura said.

Tsunade only smiled in reply and patted the girl’s shoulder. “Alright...let’s get out of here.”

“Wait a moment,” Jiraiya said before heading for one of the summon cages. He gently lifted Gama Kichi’s body and cradled him in one arm, sighing sadly as he closed the small frog’s eyes. “We should take them with us...Give them back to their families.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and gathered all the cages. “Now, we can go,” Jiraiya said.

“Hai,” Tsunade replied. She shifted Naruto to a more comfortable holding position and the team headed for home.

.........TO BE CONTINUED

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((Sits in a lawn chair near RPR)) Don't think I need it for this chap, but I'm stayin’ near the door just in case. Lol.