21)Foxy Adventures: Ch.21

The trees of the forest were naught but green blurs flashing by in the eyes of Naruto Uzumaki as he leapt from branch to branch, feeling nearly as panicked as his original did when they remembered about Sasuke.

Man, the original was so focused on the fact that he needed to survive Itachi and Kisame attacking him and the others that he completely forgot about the second fight that took place between the Uchiha brothers.

'Would he…? If it's canon Itachi, then he most definitely would find a reason to not do it…but what if this isn't canon Itachi? If that's the case, then I need to make sure he makes it away even if something does happen.'

“Damnit! Now I wish he gave me another clone or two as help.” The clone grumbled as it landed on the outskirts of the city, which had giant craters in the shape of amphibian feet in the ground.

A quarter of it had been levelled entirely as the buildings were nothing but piles of rubble on the ground and as he leapt onto a rooftop and made his way into town, the clone frowned as he saw a few bodies being covered.

'Some of those have burn wounds. Hah, I guess not everyone was saved from my explosi-There!' The clone quickly forgot about the damage as he caught sight of a familiar boy his age lying helplessly wearing all-black.

“Sasuke!” Naruto shouted as he landed besides the boy, looking at his eyes only to frown as he saw the dead look in Sasuke's eyes, slapping him a few times to see if that didn't snap the Uchiha out of the genjutsu.

Unfortunately, it didn't and the Uzumaki clone frowned as he lifted his teammate onto his back before quickly leaping up towards a rooftop and making his way back to Konoha.

“Naruto!” However, as he left the town, he felt relieved at the sight of Gai, Asuma and almost two dozen ANBU shinobi leaping in his direction, landing on the ground right as they all did the same.

“Hey, Gai-sensei. I'm a clone sent back by Naruto to make sure Itachi and Kisame left.” Naruto explained as he placed Sasuke down on the ground, the ANBU looking a bit wary as Asuma nodded while Gai smiled and walked forward to pick him up.

“I se-Wait, you know of Kisame and Itachi?” He asked and the clone nodded as he stood up.

“Yeah, the original and his cousin got attacked by them. Luckily, Pervy Sage was there and we managed to escape on one of his toads.”

“…Who is Pervy Sage?” Asuma asked with a raised eyebrow and the clone blinked before smirking as he spoke.

“Oh, that's Jiraiya. Yeah, I call him Pervy Sage.”

“Huh…that's quite fitting!” Gai spoke with a grin and the clone grinned with a thumbs-up before speaking.

“Anyway, Itachi said that he fought against Kakashi. Is he okay?”

“Hah, my rival is still alive and well physically if that is what you're concerned for. Psychologically, though, he has some deep scars that even our best experts can't heal.”

“Genjutsu?” The clone asked to be sure and sighed as Asuma nodded while taking a puff from his cigarette.

“Yep. What about you guys? You all good?”

“Yeah, we got out before the fight could get too harsh. That reminds me. The original would want to know of what happened so I'm going to dispel now.

“Wait, wh-!” Gai was cut off by the clone popping with a puff of smoke and dispersing into thin air, blinking a few times before turning to Asuma as he sighed.

“Yeah, as abrupt as always.”

“Indeed! Let us get Sasuke here to the medical shinobi post haste with the power of yo-!”

“Guy, let's just…run at a normal pace. Not everyone has the Power of Youth like you do.” Asuma spoke and both he and the ANBU let out subtle sighs of relief as the green bodysuit-wearing Jounin hummed and nodded.

“That is true. Very well! I shall rush back to the village post haste with the Power of Youth!” Before he could stop him, Asuma could only watch as Guy went standing on the ground in front of him to being crouched in a tree nearly a couple dozen meters away.

“…Let's just rush before he decides to see if he can't lap us.”

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“Naruto, pacing won't help you keeping calm.” I looked at Jiraiya with a frown before sighing as I sat down under the shade of a tree and nodded.

“Yeah…you're right. Hah, it's just…I can't help it, okay?”

“Actually, how did you know that your teammate would be there when we've been so far gone?”

“Kurama helped. Like I told Karin, he lets me sense the negative emotions of everyone around me and right before he deactivated it, I sensed a great rage heading into town.”

“Even so, you could not have seen him.” Jiraiya continued and I sighed before responding.

“Because I've been around him long enough with Kurama's ability to know what his rage feels like.”

“Don't like you using me as the subject of a lie…even if what you're saying is true.”

'Sorry about that, buddy, but don't worry. I won't use you too much for an excuse.'

“Again, not your buddy. You need to prepare yourself for when we inevitably fight.”

'Speaking of that, do we really need to? I mean, you've formed some kind of attachment to me no matter how small it is and I've formed a small attachment to you. Wouldn't it be better if we could work together? That and with the Akatsuki having attacked Orochimaru while he was running away, I need all the help and support that I can get.'

“I'm already helping you learn how to control one tail's worth of chakra. That's more than what my original counterpart has done. Also, when are we going to start that training?'

'As soon as the clone dispe-!' I stopped talking as I felt an influx of memories flashing in my sight, letting out a sigh of relief and drawing Jiraiya's attention right as Karin walked towards us whilst carrying a small bag.

“Something happen?” She asked and I smiled at the concern in her eyes before nodding.

“Yeah, Gai-sensei and Asuma-sensei along with a group of ANBU managed to come along and save Sasuke, though he seems to be showing some symptoms of being under a genjutsu of some kind.” If Sasuke had encountered Itachi, then that was most definitely what had happened.

“Don't worry, though. It doesn't seem to be a painful one so he just needs some healing and he should be fine.”

“No, if it's Itachi, then his Sharingan is strong enough to place a nigh-infinite sleep genjutsu on even jounin to put them into a lifelong coma unless we get an expert on it. Hah, I guess now we have even more reason to get Tsunade.”

“That sounds like a good plan. In the meantime…you got anything I need to do?” I asked as I looked at Jiraiya, who frowned slightly as he crossed his arms before speaking.

“Rasengan?” He asked and I raised both hands up to chest level with the palms a ruler's length away from each other, gathering chakra within mere seconds before Jiraiya nodded as a sphere of chaotic whirling chakra formed in between my hands.

“Still struggling to do it one-handed since my chakra is still growing, but making one two-handed is getting easier.”

“Good to hear. What about your elemental training?” He asked and I frowned slightly as I weaved a few hand signs before spitting out a small water bullet that pierced the tree besides me along with shattering the bark of the one behind it.

Not done, I took a deep breath before spitting at one of the trees on the other side, a wind bullet flying from my lips and stabbing right through it along with three more trees behind it before dispersing on the fifth one.

“Wind Style is going perfectly. Water Style on the other hand is slightly behind.” I said and he hummed before pointing at the ground.

In response, I quickly made five hand signs before slapping both hands palm first onto the ground, but instead of a large kanji circle appearing below me, I rose an eyebrow at two smaller circles appearing under my hands before I felt my hands being lifted up.

“Heyo~!!/ Oi! Who the hell summoned us?” A nasally high-pitched voice and an irritated voice spoke respectively, my eyes widening while Karin looked confused and Jiraiya groaned at the sight of a small yellow toad and a small dark-orange toad looking around at us.

“Of course it's you two.”

“Hey, it's the old guy that can't become a sage~” Gamakichi spoke with a grin and I had to stifle my smile whilst ignoring Kurama's barking laughter as Jiraiya glared at him.

“And like always, Gamatatsu is still my favourite, Gamakichi.”

“Aw~ Thank you.” Gamatatsu spoke before he blinked as I picked him up and put him on my left shoulder, Gamakichi looking just as surprised as I placed him on my right shoulder.

“Huh? Who da hell is this?”

“The name's Naruto, the Toad Clan's new summoner and the student of Pervy Sage over there.”

“Ha! Pervy Sage! You're my new favourite human!” Gamakichi spoke whilst laughing his ass off, Jiraiya glaring at me as I grinned smugly whilst Gamatatsu croaked happily when I softly rubbed the top of his head.

“I swear, it's like you come in and you just…steal my thunder.”

“Eh, you never had any anyway. Anyway, that's summoning. Anything else?” I asked and the man's glare faded away as he hummed before shrugging with a grunt.

“Unless you either want to learn a new element or some fuinjutsu, I got nothing.”

“Ooh~ What if you teach me the Rasengan?” Karin proposed and I frowned slightly before my eyes widened as I grinned.

“Hey, Pervy Sage?”

“Why do I feel like I won't like what you're about to suggest?” The man spoke with a frown and shook his head as I looked at him with the same grin.

“How good are you with sealing away the Nine Tails in case its chakra takes over?”

“Fairly good. Why?” He asked with a raised eyebrow and all I did was raise my hands into familiar cross hand sign.

“Because now I need you to be on sealing duty for the day. Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!” I exclaimed with a grin as a giant cloud of smoke obscured us all from view, but as it faded, I cackled madly along with a hundred clones as Jiraiya just looked exasperated.

“Alright, everybody! You know the drill! I need twenty five on mastering Wind Style and Water Style, twenty five on making sure we can do a Rasengan with one hand, twenty five on learning a new element from Pervy Sage and the last twenty five on fuinjutsu! You all got that?!”

“You got it, boss!” They all chorused before one half of the group split off into two while the other half sat in equal amounts on both sides of Jiraiya.

“…Really?” He asked and I smirked whilst nodding.

“Yep! While you are busy there, though, Karin~” I began as I looked to my cousin, who gave me a confused look back before her eyes widened with excitement as I grinned.

“How would you like to learn the Rasengan?”

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“Hah…hah…” Raspy breathing echoed in a dim room as a pale white man was hunched over on his chair, his usual silky black hair now matted with sweat as thin trails of blood flowed from the numerous rotting cuts on his back.

However, the worst injury of them all was the rotting stump he had for a right arm, a black sludge dripping from it and hissing as it hit the floor while a pair of slitted yellow eyes glared at the air in front of him.

“Lord Orochimaru, there is a guest for you.” Kabuto spoke as he opened the door to the room and felt his heart skipping a beat out of fear as the man turned his glare towards him.

“I…do not want…to see anyone…”

“Well, that's not nice, Orochi. You were the one who called me here.” The sound of a teenager's voice spoke as Kabuto opened the door wide and let their guest in, Orochimaru recognizing the guest as he gave an eerie smile.

“Well, well…If it isn't…my fellow traitor~” The youthful boy with white hair simply smirked as he walked into the room, most of his body covered up in bandages to where one could only see the upper half of his face and his hair while red eyes looked just as amused to see the Snake Sage.

“Indeed. However, I see that I am doing far better than you. Is this why you called me?” The teen asked as he walked in, Orochimaru frowning subtly at the boy coming to a standstill in front of him before smirking.

“No…I called you…for this…” The man grunted as he gestured to his right arm and the teen looked at the wound before raising an eyebrow at the sight of it.

“Huh, I have not seen something like this at all. What kind of Kekkei Genkai could be capable of that?”

“The…Sharingan…He made some kind…of effigy that cut off my arm…I lost two…of my guards…” The snake shinobi spoke and the teen raised a hand before rolling his eyes at the glowing hand held a few centimeters from his neck.

“What do you think you are doing?”

“Kabuto…calm down…” Orochimaru spoke and Kabuto frowned as the chakra scalpel around his hand faded away before he took a step back whilst lowering his hand.

“Apologies, my lord. He had raised a hand to you and my body reacted instinctively.”

“You are quick to protect your lord so I must commend that. However, next time…” The teen trailed off as he looked back and Kabuto froze at the bloodthirsty gaze he gave him.

“Be careful of who you threaten with your paltry tricks.”

“Now, now, Hiruko…it is but the act of a servant protecting their master…” Orochimaru rasped and Hiruko's gaze was focused on the still Kabuto for a few moments before the tense atmosphere faded as he smiled.

“But of course. Anywho, do you still need me to take a look at it or not?”

“If…you can…”

“Are you saying I can't?” Hiruko asked as he raised his right hand once more, Orochimaru not even flinching as the teen firmly grasped his stump of an arm before feeling his chakra being drained away for a brief moment.

“…That is not a normal injury.”

“You don't say?” Orochimaru spoke sarcastically and Hiruko rolled his eyes as he let go of the stomp while standing up.

“What I mean is that it's not just a flesh-and-blood injury. Every part of your body constantly has chakra flowing through it in order to ensure that your body is as strong as it can be. However, with that wound as well as the few on your back…your body thinks that it's always been like this. As far as I can tell, your body believes that it's okay.”

“…So, he damaged my chakra pathways…?” Orochimaru asked and gritted his teeth as Hiruko nodded whilst wrapping bandages around his hand once again.

“Yes and not just damaged them. He's permanently removed them. From now on, the entirety of your lower right arm has been sealed away. I do not know where…but it is gone.”

'It's a good thing I've kept some fresh bodies elsewhere.' Orochimaru thought with a frown as he stood up, Kabuto quickly walking forward with the top of his robe and helping the snake shinobi dress himself as Hiruko crossed his arms.

“…Hiruko, are you still using that…Chimera kinjutsu of yours?” Orochimaru asked as he looked at the teen, who rose an eyebrow before raising the bandaged hand he used to scan the snake shinobi.

“Evidently.” The man spoke before smirking as Orochimaru gave him an ominous smile.

“Then how would you like to possess the First Hokage's Kekkei Genkai?”

“No one has it. Well, other than that runaway experiment of yours that Danzo stole from you before losing it to that wretched old monkey.” Hiruko spoke with a roll of his eyes and Orochimaru gave a chuckle as he nodded.

“Indeed he did. Then how about the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku?” He asked, catching the other shinobi's attention as he looked at the smirking snake shinobi before matching his ominous smile with one of his own.

“I'm listening.”

A/N: Dun-dun-dun~!! A new enemy has entered the field~!!

Yes, I said that I'm going to turn some things around and I meant that I'm going to turn some things around.

Firstly, if you have watched the movie Hiruko is in, I just want to say that he doesn't have Ichi, Ni or San and that he only has two Kekkei Genkai currently, one of which is the Dark Style.

The other one…you'll have to wait and find out.

Anyway, Orochimaru and Hiruko are scheming in the background while Naruto finally decided to start taking his training seriously. 

How will this affect the arc? Guess we'll have to find out.

Also, I'm moving that extra chapter of Devilish Gaming to Sunday since I don't believe I'd be able to write that along with the Nagato chapter today.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!