Chapter 77

As I rushed the enemy Fuuma Clansman, he must have seen me coming amidst the chaos because he turned to parry the lunging right cross I sent his way with his forearm in a Karate-style Shuto-Uke, the knife hand block batting my fist away on the back of his forearm. Then the seals scribed on his right-hand gauntlet flashed white and suddenly, I couldn't move my arm from his block. The Fuuma Clansman sneered at me before slamming a punch into my ribs with his left hand. The seals on his left-hand gauntlet flashed blue for a moment, and suddenly I felt an immense pressure blowing me backward. I crashed into and through the wall of a nearby leather goods shop that sold Kunai holsters, leather armor, and shinobi sandals. As I did, I felt an ache in my ribs even through the techniques I was using to enhance my body.

As I landed, hard, I was forced to roll to the side as the Fuuma Clansman leaped through the broken wall to attempt to stomp on me while I was down. I just managed to avoid the stomp but his follow-on kick to my ribs sent me sprawling away. I kipped to my feet in time to see my opponent straighten up and take a stance, a scowl on his face. He looked over at me and glared at me with enough venom that I was sure that this guy had a massive hateboner for me, even though I'd never met him before in my life. When he spoke up next, I would know the reason he had for such spite.

"You were the one who slew Kwai Han. I was hoping to face you here." Intoned the Fuuma Clansman.

"Kwai Han? You mean the Wushi from Fort Cobra?" I questioned.

"Yes, you killed him, stole his armor, blade, and helm, and he's gone unavenged. I was fond of Kwai Han." Nodded the Fuuma Clansman.

"Well, maybe don't follow an insane megalomaniac into war with a stronger power, then." I scoffed.

"Enough of this talk. I am Fuuma Yukimura, known as the Repelling Fist of the Fuuma. I will avenge Kwai Han today!" Snarled the Fuuma Clansman, Yukimura.

As he proclaimed that, I immediately began going through hand seals. If I was facing a Jonin that clearly was a Taijutsu Effort, I'd want to try mixing in some Ninjutsu. As I fired off a Katon: Endan (Fire Release: Flame Bullet) at him, however, he set up for a Karate-style Straight Punch with his left hand. As he did so, the seals on his left-hand gauntlet flashed with blue light again and as his fist struck the approaching flame bullet, it literally blew the bullet away, sending wisps of flame scattering away from the impact, the flame bullet fading into nothing, snuffed out by the force of his punch. That wasn't great, but in the time it took him to do that, I'd started going through the hand seals for the Shiyoken (Four Witches). He charged forward and I just barely managed to get the extra arms to sprout by the time he punched out.

I crossed all four of my arms in front of me in a block, and this time, when his Gauntlets' seals flashed blue, I was more braced for the impact. I still wound up being punched through the other wall of the small shop and the bones in my arms still ached, but it wasn't as bad. I recovered in time to sidestep a thrown Kunai from within the shop and toss a Kunai of my own back at Yukimura. Another blue flash of his gauntlet blew the Kunai away, while I drew the Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami from a storage seal and charged, cutting out in a Raiken: Michishio (Lightning Blade: High Tide) only for a second blue flash to blow away the wave of lightning, discorporating it into sparks. My mundane slash, however, was drawn off course by a white flash of his right-hand gauntlet, the blade sticking to the seal-scribed metal of it like a magnet.

"Heh! This is why they call me the Repelling Fist of the Fuuma Clan, Boy! The Subarashī Jishaku Kote (Superb Magnetic Gauntlets) are the ultimate aide for Fuuma-Ryu Karate (Fuuma Style Karate)! They're weapons of my own design, a shield and sword for the Taijutsu Specialist! You can't win, especially with that form!" Taunted Fuuma Yukimura. Before I could do more than grit my teeth in response, however, he lashed out with another punch, another flash of blue light and I was sent flying backward once again.

This time, when I crashed, I did so into what looked like a Police Station, similar to the Military Police Stations we had in Konoha. The garrison of this station wasn't present, they'd all gone out to fight, thankfully. As I stood, I realized I was in the station's storage facility. There was a bunch of older equipment in here and looking around, I spotted something that might actually help me out against my opponent. All the weapons I had on me were metal, but in here were all kinds of wooden accouterments, some seemed made of high-quality materials even, they were made of Chakra Ironwood with seals for sturdiness, ease of maintenance, and the like scribed into Bo Staff, Kanabo, and Tonfa alike. Briefly, I wondered if this was a contingency in case Rasa had turned on Oto.

I grabbed the lot of them, putting the Tonfa and Kanabo in my Storage Scroll l, along with the Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami, and hefting the Bo Staff. Then I made my way back out onto the street and leveled the Bo Staff in a Sarutobi-Ryu Bojutsu (Sarutobi Style Staff-Fighting) stance. Yukimura frowned at me and took up a stance of his own, far more cautiously, this time. Unfortunately, my body was still living steel, but I needed the power the Kōton: Kōtetsu no Tai (Steel Release: Body of Steel) gave me to be able to keep up with Yukimura, clearly a Jonin if I was any real judge if possibly a weak one. Whether he would have been a full Jonin in a major village or not I couldn't say, but I was likely about to find out.

"All right, you've had your fun kicking me around. Now it's time for round two!" I shouted.

"You think that will help you? I wouldn't be in this position if all I had were my gauntlets! Come! Allow me to demonstrate!" Challenged Yukimura.

Then I surged forward, round two beginning in earnest. . .

XXXX

Jiraya of the Sannin was in a pickle. One second, he'd been clearing out a platoon of Missing-Nin that'd made the, quite frankly idiotic, decision to try and assault him while he'd been directing the battle, then the next minute, there were snakes everywhere. Jiraiya had been forced to resort to wide-scale Katon Ninjutsu to clear them all out, though thankfully, he could douse the flames easy enough with Suiton Jutsu. Of course, where there were snakes, his Good-For-Nothing Traitor of an Ex-Teammate wouldn't be far behind. True to form, Oro just couldn't help himself, revealing himself like the villain in some play or something. The man was such a drama queen, that at least hadn't changed.

"Ku, Ku, Ku! It's good to see you care so much about not burning down my property, Jiraiya-Kun!" Laughed Orochimaru, appearing on a nearby rooftop where he'd until recently been hiding with the Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding With Camouflage Technique).

"Oro, you just couldn't resist the dramatic reveal, could you? You could've tried sniping me while you were hidden, you know." Queried Jiraiya.

"I've tried that before, remember?" Asked Orochimaru.

"Right, at Tanzaku Gai and Degarashi Port. You know what they say, though. Third times the charm." Shrugged Jiraiya, projecting an air of unflappability.

"They also say the definition of insanity is attempting the same thing over and over again to the same results." Huffed Orochimaru.

"Well, then you ought to fit in just fine with that." Retorted Jiraiya.

"Bah, the line between genius and madness is often blurred, though I should have expected you wouldn't care about my experiments! Through them, I've perfected a method for conquering death!" Growled Orochimaru.

"No, you didn't. I've seen your notes, Oro. You just made the poor bastard whose body you hijacked pay the Shinigami for you!" Accused Jiraiya.

"A semantic argument, but then, I don't know why I should expect more from you. If only Tsunade-Hime were here instead, I might have a rational discussion. She's not though, is she? Instead, she's in Konoha being the Hokage. Tell me Jiraiya, has she gotten over her Hemophobia yet? She must have, I can't imagine even Sensei being so blind as to entrust the village to a Hokage who can't even take the field without passing out. Perhaps I'll pay her a visit when I'm finished with you to find out? The Last Sannin has a certain ring to it, does it not?" Sneered Orochimaru.

"As much fun as this little reunion has been, I'm gonna have to cut it short. You won't get to Tsunade because you die, here, today!" Exclaimed Jiraiya.

"Very well, if we're getting to that part of the Reunion, I suppose we should get on with it." Nodded Orochimaru.

Then both Sannin began forming hand seals. Jiraya went for a Wind Jutsu while Orochimaru went for a Fire Jutsu. Orochimaru cast Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique) while Jiraiya Cast the Futon: Daifūryūdan no Jutsu (Wind Release: Great Wind Dragon Bullet). Both were A-Rank versions of B-Rank Techniques. They formed dragons of the elements from sheer chakra, a roaring dragon of flame sparked up in the street as a snarling dragon of whirling currents of wind coalesced opposite it. Both Shinobi cast at the same time, both were forced to leap away as the twin dragons charged each other, merging into a vortex of fire and wind that destroyed the entire street. As the flash subsided, where once there had been a bustling street with twin rows of homes for shinobi families and a small tavern, now there was only scorched rubble.

Both men appeared in a flash in the center of the destroyed street Jiraiya punching out at Orochimaru and Orochimaru parrying the punch away. A front thrust kick from Orochimaru was parried by a roundhouse from Jiraiya kicking it away and the pair spun about launching other attacks. Jiraiya ducked a kick from Orochimaru who leaped over a roundhouse sweep from Jiraiya. The two traded bows fairly evenly, parrying, dodging, and blocking each of each other's attacks before in the last exchange, they both landed solid punches to each others' faces. Orochimaru had his Nan no Kaizō (Soft Physique Modification) to help him tank the blow, but that only helped so much at this level. Accordingly, both men were sent reeling. Both got back up, neither were willing to call the fight a draw just yet.

"Damn you, Jiraiya! You always manage to bring me down to your level, you giant oaf!" Spat Orochimaru.

"I'm not the one who deserted after his illegal human experiments got found out! If anything, I brought you up to my level!" Returned Jiraiya.

Instead of continuing to argue, however, Orochimaru opened his jaw wide like a python, unhinging it and reaching inside. Jiraya knew that Orochimaru had somehow managed to figure out how to use bio-seals inside the body. Normally it was a tattooing process with special inks, but that couldn't be done inside the body. Oro liked to use it to create unaware suicide bombers, though ever since Oto became a thing he'd laid off on that. This was another trick of his using interior bio-seals. A storage seal in the back of his throat to make him seem more snakelike. Indeed, as Orochimaru pulled his hand out of his throat, it brought with it a blade.

The double-sided Tsurugi-style blade and golden hilt, inlaid with intricate seals and forged of seven different Chakra Metals alloyed together was Orochimaru's attempt to mimic the legendary blade of the Jade Emperor. He thought it was impressive, Jiraiya could have made something similar, but he refused to merely create a copy of other, legendary, works. Privately, though he'd never admit it out loud to anyone, Jiraiya thought his Ex-Teammate's invention of Interior Bio-Sealing was the more impressive accomplishment in terms of Fuuinjutsu. It was pretty disgusting to look at, though.

"Ew, are you still doing that? You know it's only an attractive quality to be able to swallow long, hard, objects if you're a woman, right?" Frowned Jiraiya, taunting his Ex-Teammate.

"Die!" Hissed Orochimaru, charging at Jiraiya with his blade.

And the banter was over, now was time for the two Sannin to try and kill each other seriously. Jiraiya channeled Chakra to the palm of his hand and a whirling sphere of violent, grinding, blue energy appeared in his palm. The Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere), a technique he had helped his best and most famous student to develop, though the Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) had been all Minato. Regardless, Jiraiya hefted his Rasengan and counter-charged Orochimaru. As they met in the middle, of the blasted, wrecked, street, blade met ball of energy and for a long moment, both struggled against the other. The Rasengan wasn't able to destroy the Kusanagi, but the Kusanagi wasn't able to split the Rasengan. It looked like it would be another stalemate.

Neither expected what came next. . .

XXXX

They'd just finished wiping out the Armory they'd been sent to deal with when Naruto had spotted the massive explosion closer to the center of the Village. Naruto had successfully argued that they oughta check out what was going on over there. Shikamaru seemed annoyed, of course, but then, Shika was annoyed by everything involved in this whole war. Kiba had backed Naruto's play to the hilt, just like Naruto knew he would. After all, nobody who liked animals as much as Kiba did could be that much of an asshole! Mind you, it took them a while to get over there, though not from lack of trying. They'd picked the shortest route to get there, after all, a straight line. Unfortunately, that straight line had cut right through a group of Oto-nin who were prepping an ambush on a bunch of Hyuga who'd been moved up from the reserves for the attack on Oto, including Hinata.

Fortunately, they'd ruined the Oro-Stinkers' ambush. Unfortunately, that meant they'd effectively drawn the heat that'd been waiting for the Hyuga, sometimes even literally. Naruto'd had to dodge a point-blank Katon: Bakuhatsudan (Fire Release: Exploding Bullet) that forced him to dive off the rooftop for the alley below to avoid the attack. Shika somehow materialized in the alley via the Shadows, dodging a Futon: Reppūshō (Wind Release: Gale Palm) that would have blown him into the path of a Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Bullet Technique), but Kiba and Akamaru had been targeted with a Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder) and Doton: Iwa Dangan (Earth Release: Rock Bullet) respectively and taken glancing blows before they landed in the alley.

On the other hand, not only was the Oto-Stinkers' ambush ruined, but the Hyuga were alerted to their positions. Hinata must've leaped up to the rooftop and hit 'em all with pinpoint Jyuken (Gene Fist) strikes, cause by the time Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru got back up to the rooftops, all five of the Oto-Stinkers were lying on the ground, unable to move, barely able to breathe. Hinata'd disabled them all in short order with her fancy Taijutsu. Naruto couldn't help it, he gushed over the coolness of it all. Somehow, though, Hinata's face went bright crimson at his praise. Almost like she had a fever.

"Oi, Hinata! Those assholes didn't tag you with a poisoned Senbon or something, right? You're looking a little flushed!" Worried Naruto.

"Worry not, Uzumaki-san, though Hinata-sama is quite adept with the Jyuken, enough to use the Hakke Hyaku Nijūhasshō (Eight Trigrams: One-Hundred-Twenty-Eight Palms) to disable these ruffians, she is quite unused to such. . .effusive praise." Informed one of the other Hyuga, with the friggin seal on his head that said he was a Branch Clan Member.

"Oh. That sucks. The more I hear about your Clan the less it sounds like one of those Oni's Bargain things from the old stories. Get cool Dojutsu and Kickass Taijutsu, but live in a clan of folks with a stick up their asses!" Groused Naruto.

"Hah! See, even Naruto gets it! And he's dense! I've been telling you guys your Clan's wound too tight for years now, right Akamaru?" Questioned Kiba getting an affirmative yip in response.

"Your unsolicited critique is noted." Intoned the other Hyuga who wasn't the Branch Member or Hinata. This one seemed to be a Main Family Member and clearly was one of the Stuffy Hyuga.

"It's not wrong, though. The Hyuga have largely isolated themselves from the bulk of the village. I wouldn't want the Hyuga to make the same mistakes the Uchiha did before being wiped out." Offered Shikamaru.

"The Hyuga are not the Uchiha. Your concern is noted as well." Intoned the Main Family Member. Just then, Hinata woke from whatever spell she was having. Looked at Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru, then looked at her two minders and frowned. It looked like they were in the middle of an argument. Best to forestall that from continuing, she thought. They were all on the same side here, after all.

"A-Ano. Perhaps now is not the time for an argument. Thank you for alerting us to the Ambush, Naruto-Kun. I don't know who started the argument, but I can guess." Spoke up Hinata.

"Hinata-sama, this literal bastard dared to question the workings of our esteemed and noble Clan. Furthermore, his companions backed him on it! Should we let such remarks pass without comment? Lord Hizashi would not approve of such a course of action!" Demanded the Main House Member.

"S-so you wish to what, Haruto? Fight a trio of duels in the middle of a battlefield? I don't think now is the time or place, do you?" Queried Hinata.

"No. I suppose it isn't. However, when this battle is won, I will be demanding Satisfaction." Mused the Main House Member, Haruto.

"I don't know what that is." Admitted Naruto.

"It means he wants to duel us after the fighting is over." Informed Shikamaru.

"Yeah. I'm down." Nodded Kiba, a bark from Akamaru agreeing.

"Why didn't you just say that, Dattebayo? You don't gotta make everything sound fancy just 'cause you're a Hyuga, you know!" Exclaimed Naruto.

"With that business dealt with. We were heading toward that big explosion to check it out. Feel like joining us? We could use your Jyuken." Invited Shikamaru.

"Sorry, we've got orders to deal with an armory in the area. Some sort of supplemental facility. We got told a team that was sent to take it out wasn't on schedule plus there were reports of a Jonin operating in the area. Intelligence figured the team that got sent was killed by the Jonin." Refused the Branch Member.

"Oh, that was us. We handled the Jonin and the Armory, no sweat!" Boasted Kiba, Akamaru nodded his head to confirm.

"What? How?" Asked Haruto.

"'Cause we're awesome, Dattebayo!" Answered Naruto.

"Makes you want to think twice about those duels, huh? I know I wouldn't take them in your position. Too troublesome, maybe enough to cost me my life." Added Shikamaru.

"Yes, well. . ." Mumbled Haruto.

"A-ano, if the Armory is taken care of, then surely there is no harm in going with, yes?" Asked Hinata.

"Agreed. Safety in numbers is something the Branch House learns young." Nodded the Branch Member.

"I don't see a need to object. Hinata-sama wishes to join you, that is enough for me, even without Hiroaki adding his vote to hers. I just hope we do not regret joining with such. . .people." Sniffed Hotaru.

And like that, the six Shinobi plus one Ninken, made their way toward the site of the explosion, leaving the disabled and wounded Oto Ambush Team on the rooftop for dead. When they arrived, they would find the site of a Kage-level battle. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were in the middle of a wrecked street, throwing techniques and attacks at each other. They were so evenly matched, and so focused on each other, that any little thing might tip the balance of the fight in favor of one or the other. Naruto frowned as Shika whispered that assessment. Then he hit on a solution. After all, if any little thing could tip the balance, why not be the little thing and tip the balance in Jiraiya's favor? Shikamaru thought that was crazy. For Naruto, though? It might be just crazy enough to work. The group huddled together, coming up with a plan of attack while the fight raged on in the distance.

Hopefully, this would work. If it did, it could very well be the end of Orochimaru as a serious threat. None of them were stupid enough to think the slippery asshole would die today, but if they could strike a blow here, he'd be down for the count for a good long while. It was a huge gamble, but it had to be done. The plan was simple, strike from stealth with massive firepower with ranged ninjutsu, then move in with Naruto's Clones using Moguragakure no Jutsu (Hiding Like a Mole Technique) for cover, and the Hyuga closing under covering fire for Taijutsu. Hopefully, that'd give Jiraiya the opening he needed to finish this. The plan was set.

Now it was time to roll the dice and see if it worked. . .

XXXX

AN: All right. Here's the next part of the Battle of Otogakure. You'll note that Hiashi has committed some of the Hyuga he's been keeping in reserve. Essentially, he's allowed his Hyuga to fight in the climactic battle to gain glory and promotions for them while the hard fighting of Operation: Grass-Cutter was done by others. The problem is, nobody is going to be able to deny the Hyuga their glory and promotions after this because their Heiress was part of the team that fought Orochimaru personally.

At the same time, yes that is Fuuma Yukimura, the former commander of Fort Cobra that Choji is fighting. Consider it unfinished business from Operation: Grass-Cutter. I did mention Yukimura as a specialist in Taijutsu and Fuuinjutsu and here we see why. Those gauntlets are badass. Expect Choji to claim them as spoils of war if he wins. Also if he wins, he's gonna move to help out Kibagami and Saisu while Gai handles the Fuuma Clan Head.

You may be asking yourselves, wait, what happened with Kakashi and Kabuto, weren't they supposed to fight too? Worry not, that will be a part of the next chapter, along with the second part of the Choji-Yukimura Fight and the attempt by Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, et al to force an opening for Jiraiya to exploit in the Orochimaru Fight.

Stay tuned. . .