Interlude: Other Fights in the Oto Base II

Lee had started the fight with the first three gates already open, immediately going on the attack the second his opponent made himself visible to him. Lee hit the pale-skinned, impassive, Oto Shinobi with the Omote Renge (Primary Lotus) at the first opportunity. Unfortunately, though the attack had cratered the stone floor and thrown up a pillar of rock dust, it seemed to have no effect beyond the superficial.

The reason why became clear as the dust cleared and the Oto Shinobi pointed his fingers at Lee. Suddenly, Lee had to kick off the ceiling of the underground cavern to give him a speed boost and avoid being riddled with tiny projectiles. To his slowed perspective thanks to the first gate being opened, the projectiles appeared to be made of bones. As Lee landed on the cavern floor unscathed, he nodded at his opponent.

"Yosh! I have heard of such jutsu! You must be of the Kaguya Clan!" He called out to his opponent.

"My former clan is immaterial except for how my Kekkei Genkai may be used to advance Orochimaru-sama's plans. For Orochimaru-sama, I would abandon them to be slaughtered all over again." Intoned the Oto Shinobi.

"It is a shame. You serve a false master, otherwise you would know that true strength comes from the burning fires of youth within yourself!" Insisted Lee.

"Typical Konoha propaganda. Shall I show you the truth? It is only by using your strength to aid a larger cause than yourself that you can become truly strong." Shot Back the Oto Shinobi.

"Perhaps we should trade pointers and see whose worldview is truly correct?" Questioned Lee.

"Unfortunately, I have little time to give you an exhibition match. Orochimaru-sama's orders are to annihilate the attackers. I shall have to come at you with everything I have." Refused the Oto Shinobi.

"Then you leave me with no alternative but to do the same." Nodded Lee.

With that, the Curse Seal began to spread across the Oto Shinobi's Body, toughening his form even further than the subdermal, bone, armor he had previously been using allowed for. His skin darkened to a brownish gray as bones sprouted from his back like spikes. A serrated tail of razor-sharp bone grew behind him, lengthening into a whip that appeared like some sort of spinal column. The Oto Shinobi hadn't lied, he really was planning to go all out immediately after their initial exchange of techniques.

It would be a pity for Lee not to reciprocate, even though Gai-Sensei had warned him off using the following abilities unless he had absolutely no other choice. Concentrating, Lee began to open the next two gates. The Gate of Pain and the Gate of Limit would begin to tear at his muscles and fracture his bones once he started attacking, but it was the only thing he could think of that would be capable of punching through his opponent's now curse-seal-toughened body.

"Prepare yourself for the Tessenka no Mai: Tsuru (Dance of the Clematis: Vine)!" Called out the Oto Shinobi.

"Yosh! I shall give as good as I receive!" Responded Lee.

Then the pair charged each other, both moving so fast that they wouldn't register as anything more than vague motion blurs to lesser shinobi. Lee moved in fast, ducking under a lash of the Oto Shinobi's razor tail and lashing out with a spinning leg sweep to attempt to take his opponent's legs out from under him. This was, unfortunately, dodged, as his opponent flipped onto his hands and brought the razor tail back around, forcing Lee to jump over the appendage and break off his combo.

Then the Oto Shinobi was in the air in front of Lee, fists growing bony ridges as he punched out at him. Lee parried the punches at the wrists, only to be forced to kick his opponent away from him as the Oto Shinobi's wrists grew razored spines that would have impaled Lee's hand on the next attempt to parry. The Oto Shinobi was sent crashing through one of the stone walls, smashing into the floor of the suddenly opened-to-the-cavern storage room next door. The stone floor cratered around the Oto Shinobi and threw up dust and debris as Lee landed on the ground.

Lee knew that wouldn't be enough to finish his opponent, and kept alert. It saved him as the razored tail came striking out of the cloud of dust, using the rock dust as cover for the strike. Lee just barely avoided the hit skewering him through the chest. Instead, the razored edge of the spine-like tail grazed the top of his shoulder, cutting through the jumpsuit that Gai Sensei had given him and drawing blood before Lee managed to flatten himself against the stone floor.

The Oto Shinobi emerged from the dust cloud, sporting a broken arm from Lee's kick that the Curse Seal was swiftly healing. Somehow, his opponent looked vaguely disappointed, not that Lee was an expert on facial expressions. Lee skipped up to his feet and suppressed a wince as his legs protested from the strain he was putting them through by fighting with so many gates opened at once.

"I thought I had you there for a moment." Huffed the Oto Shinobi.

"It was a valiant effort." Offered Lee.

"The same to you and your usage of the Celestial Gates. Unlike the others, I can at least acknowledge a worthy opponent when I face one. Unfortunately, Orochimaru-sama has decreed your death, and so I shall carry out my duty. I would have your name, however." Nodded the Oto Shinobi.

"I am Rock Lee, Student of Maito Gai." Answered Lee.

"And I am Kimimaro." Returned the Oto Shinobi.

As he did that, his right arm began to turn hard and bony and Kimimaro began to form a drill-like, bone, blade over it. It seemed the next exchange would wind up being the decisive one. Lee refused to allow his Flames of Youth to gutter out here against Kimimaro, no matter how worthy of an opponent he was being. He resolved to use the Ura Renge (Reverse Lotus), but only as a setup. He had been working on something special based on his interactions and sparring with Choji. Something that would hopefully be enough to punch straight through Kimimaro's defenses. Five Gates should be enough to make it work.

"Here I come, Rock Lee! Tessenka no Mai: Hana (Dance of the Clematis: Flower)!" Exclaimed Kimimaro as he rushed forth, charging with his drilling spike of a bone weapon.

"Yosh! Try this! Ura Renge!" Roared Lee in response.

Both blurred forward at speeds that were unapproachable for many others, however Kimimaro was weighed down by the massive bone drill on his army. Lee smashed him into the air with a series of kicks and punches, taking advantage of his slight speed advantage to dodge the bone drill which punched right through another of the cavern walls to reveal a hidden vault filled with chests of Ryo with which to pay for the Oto Base's garrison and Upkeep. Lee wasn't worried about that at the moment, though as he blasted Kimimaro further and further into the air.

No, Lee was worried about getting the technique he would use at the apex of their climb correct. This would be the first time he had used it in actual combat. There was nothing for it, though, he would have to bull on through no matter what. It was the only way to win this. One last kick sent Kimimaro reeling into the air as Lee flipped off him in mid-air, reversing their positions. An axe kick sent Kimimaro crashing down to the floor as Lee let out a shout and dove down after him with a diving punch, fuelled with all the power of five gates behind it.

"Tessensasu Renge (Iron-Piercing Lotus)!" Roared Lee as he landed his final punch.

Lee's fist, empowered with five gates worth of striking power, along with the added bonus of gravity, on top of his normal chakra flow, punched right through Kimimaro's chest. His punch cored through bone plates and cartilage padding, smashing through Curse-Seal-Hardened muscles and smashing into Kimimaro's heart before boring out of Kimimaro's back. In essence, the attack literally punched out Kimimaro's heart, killing him on the spot.

However, to do so, Lee had torn multiple muscles in his arms and legs and had broken every bone in his right arm, while fracturing several more. As soon as Lee withdrew his hand from Kimimaro's chest, he immediately flopped to the ground, gates shutting off as he began to writhe in pain. Truly, the Eight Gates were a double-edged sword. Gai-Sensei had been right to make them a last-resort option.

Lee stayed on the floor like that, groaning in pain next to his fallen opponent for a few, long, agonizing, minutes. Then the others arrived and Ino began healing him while Lord Jiraiya began lecturing him about opening gates that he wasn't ready to open. Lee got the feeling that Gai-Sensei would be having a conversation with the Sannin in the near future. However, it seemed like he would survive doing so thanks to Ino. Truly, Tsunade's teachings were formidable for her to be able to heal Lee so quickly.

With that done, Lee slapped some of his post-gate recovery seals onto himself and followed Choji and Shikamaru as they went to look for Naruto while Ino, Kiba, Neji, and Lord Jiraiya stayed to continue looting the Oto Forward Operating Base. Apparently, the vault with Ryo in it was just one of a number of storage rooms, and the loot from all of them would contribute to mission pay.

Lee was more worried about their last missing Comrade. After all, leaving a Comrade behind was extremely unyouthful. They would find Naruto a few minutes later, waking up after having been knocked out chasing Uchiha Sasuke outside the base.

There was no sign of the Uchiha anywhere, however. . .

XXXX

Twenty minutes earlier, Naruto had chased a fleeing Sasuke down a tunnel after having spotted his former teammate trying to escape shortly after he'd landed on the bottom level of the Oto Base. Sasuke had led him on a chase through a winding tunnel and out into a valley under the open sky. Now the pair were staring each other down.

"Damnit Sasuke, why?" Demanded Naruto.

"You dare ask that question? You of all people should know my only goal in this life is to kill my bastard of a brother! I need to be strong to do that!" Snapped Sasuke.

"You can be strong in Konoha! I don't understand!" Shot back Naruto.

"No, you can be strong in Konoha! Choji can be strong in Konoha! Shikamaru can be strong in Konoha! Hell, even Ino of all people can be strong in Konoha! Me? I get refused permission to learn Jutsu that would help me finally kill that Bastard! I get passed over for promotions that I am owed as the last of the Uchiha! I get to watch as every member of our graduating class makes gigantic strides in their own power, while I struggle to move the needle an inch!" Snarled Sasuke.

"So what? You just go and throw in with Orochimaru? You can't trust a guy like that, Dattebayo! He's a literal snake!" Retorted Naruto.

"Perhaps, but he has power and is willing to teach me. That is more than could be said for Konoha." Intoned Sasuke.

"So this is really it then? You're really going to turn traitor?" Queried Naruto.

"I didn't betray the village, the village betrayed me." Insisted Sasuke.

"Then come back with me, Sasuke! Tell Tsunade-Baa-Chan about all this! I'm sure she'll see the mitigating circumstances!" Tried Naruto.

"You think so? And what exactly are your orders regarding me?" Asked Sasuke. Naruto tried to suppress the wince, but he wasn't successful enough to fool Sasuke's Sharingan Eyes by a damn sight.

"That's what I thought." Smirked Sasuke.

"Screw the orders Sasuke! I'm your friend, come back with me and I can help you out! Jiichan still has pull with the Hokage and the Council and I have pull with him! We can help you, Dattebayo!" Offered Naruto.

"Then as a friend, you should let me go to seek strength where I can." Refuted Sasuke.

Naruto blew out a sigh at that and said, "I can't do that, Sasuke. I promised Sakura I'd bring you back."

"Then I think we've said all that needs to be said." Remarked Sasuke.

"I guess so. I'm just gonna have to knock some sense into you, then I guess!" Huffed Naruto.

"Walk away, Naruto. I'm only going to warn you once. I won't hold back if we do this." Cautioned Sasuke.

"I can't do that, Sasuke, I told you already!" Growled Naruto.

And with that, Sasuke's body erupted in tainted chakra, his skin darkening to a stony gray and his hair lengthening to mid-back. Speaking of his back, two, gray, leathery, wing-like appendages sprouted from his back with a sickening noise as Sasuke's Body reshaped itself. The whites of Sasuke's eyes darkened to an inky black, making the red of his Sharingan stand out even more than it already did. As he did this, the electricity of one of Kakashi-Sensei's Chidori (Thousand Birds) gathered in Sasuke's Palm and the valley was filled with the sound of a thousand chirping birds.

To deal with this, Naruto immediately made a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) and began manipulating Chakra using shape manipulation. As his clone aided in the shaping with touches of his fingers and pulses of chakra, Naruto's palm filled with a dense, spherical, mass of pure, swirling, Chakra. The Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere) of the Fourth Hokage taking shape in Naruto's hand in the hopes that his copy of the technique could match Sasuke's copy of Kakashi-Sensei's Chidori.

Then, with a shout, Naruto jumped up and used his shadow clone as a platform to launch himself off of via a Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion). The force of the explosion propelled him toward Sasuke, who had taken flight on his newly grown wings. As Naruto surged upward via the force of an explosion, Rasengan outstretched and ready to smash into Sasuke, Sasuke dove down at Naruto, arcing lightning of the Chidori wreathing his own outstretched arm.

The pair collided in mid-air and each tried to shove their Jutsu into each other at the same time, only to result in jutsu clashing against jutsu. For a few moments, the Rasengan seemed to be powerful enough that the Chidori couldn't pierce through it, grinding against the chirping lightning slowly but surely. Then both Jutsu suddenly destabilized filling the valley with a massive explosion that scorched the earth and uprooted bushes. Naruto found himself suddenly knocked unconscious from the explosive backlash of two massive Jutsu like that.

As the explosion hit him, Naruto suddenly found himself falling down into darkness. . .

XXXX

He found himself once again in the sewer that had been built around the cage keeping the damned fox chained up within the seal. As he looked up, he saw a giant, razored, grin spread out from behind those bars as two, crimson, eyes glared out at him with barely contained amusement.

"Heh! Knocked out again, huh brat?" Huffed the Kyubi in amusement.

"Shut up damnit! Sasuke shouldn't be in any better shape, Dattebayo!" Grumbled Naruto.

"You'd think that wouldn't you? But no, that kid's carrying the sort of Tainted Chakra that tends to only come with exposure to Jigoku. He'll be long gone by the time you wake up. Face it, Brat, you failed!" Chuffed the Kyubi, Vulpine Grin growing wider.

"I don't believe you! You lied to me before, after all!" Accused Naruto.

"I didn't lie to you at all, you shitty Brat! You handed your body over to me so you could survive and you're still here, aren't you? You know, you could have avoided all this by just agreeing to my terms for long-term possession. You'd have been unstoppable, the Uchiha wouldn't have so much as scratched you." Chided the Kyubi.

"Yeah, all at the cost of letting you run around in my body for an extended period of time. No thanks, Dattebayo! I can do just fine without that shit deal!" Shot Back Naruto.

"We'll see. Sooner or later, you will need my help. No human can make it on their own against what's coming in the future. When that time comes, I want you to remember how you kept denying me. The look on your face as you do will make you caving to my terms all the sweeter!" Laughed the Kyubi.

Then Naruto was being thrust up and out of the Sewer that the Kyubi was imprisoned in. . .

XXXX

When Naruto came to, it was to find that Choji, Shikamaru, and Lee had arrived to check on him. Choji had broken a tablet of smelling salts under Naruto's nose and that had swiftly jolted him out of his conversation with the Fox. Looking around, he saw the valley that he and Sasuke had fought in had been completely wrecked. Parts of the mountainside near the clash had caved in and lots of vegetation had been uprooted and tossed around like a storm had passed through.

"What happened here?" Questioned Choji.

"Sasuke-teme and I tried hitting each other with our strongest Jutsu at the same time. It didn't work so well for either of us." Admitted Naruto, sheepishly.

"And where is Sasuke?" Queried Shikamaru.

Naruto looked around and saw that there was no sign of his Uchiha Teammate. Ex-teammate now, he supposed. Naruto bit out a muffled curse as he figured out that the damned Kyubi had been right about Sasuke being long gone by the time Naruto woke up. Stupid Fuzzball Demons and their stupid predictions. Well just cause the Kyubi'd been right about this didn't mean it was right about everything. Naruto refused to cave into its demands for long-term possession.

"Sasuke's gone. The Teme must have gone running to Orochimaru while I was knocked out." Groused Naruto.

"Which means this mission was only partially successful. What do you guys think? Can a curse seal heal the kind of damage that would wreck a valley like this?" Asked Choji.

"Definitely. Anything short of instant death can be healed with enough time." Nodded Shikamaru.

"Still, do not beat yourself up over it, Naruto-kun. We will meet Sasuke again shortly." Remarked Lee, trying to console Naruto.

"What's that supposed to mean, Dattebayo? He's gone and could be anywhere!" Demanded Naruto.

"It means that we now know where Otogakure is. This fight is far from finished, Naruto." Came the Voice of Ero-Sennin. Naruto looked over to spot the Toad Sage emerging from the escape tunnel out of the Otogakure Forward Operating Base that Naruto had chased Sasuke through.

"Ero-Sennin?" Questioned Naruto.

"This is just the first strike in a larger war Naruto. For now, though, you all should take five. You'll never know when you'll get the next chance at downtime." Grinned Ero-Sennin.

With that, the mission was over. They had obtained intelligence on a number of Otogakure Bases in Rice Country including the location of Otogakure itself. They had also eliminated a number of high-ranking Otogakure Shinobi in the process, each of which had bounties totaling no less than five million Ryo. Finally, they had obtained a key base in Rice Country from which to strike. Unfortunately, they'd failed to capture Uchiha Sasuke. Maybe that was why the mood wasn't celebratory. It didn't feel like a mission accomplished, it felt like a mission failure. At least that's how Naruto felt about it.

As the strike force was relieved by a group of Genin and Chunin who would take over the base as its new, Konoha, Garrison, Naruto made himself a vow. Come hell or high water, when he faced off against Sasuke again, he would pound some sense into the Teme and drag him back to Konoha by force if necessary! He'd made Sakura a promise, after all, and Uzumaki Naruto kept his word, Dattebayo! He also made himself one other vow to go along with that one. Uzumaki Naruto would bring Sasuke back to the village without caving into the Kyubi's demands. After all, the world couldn't handle a major demon being unleashed. Not with a war on, and war would be on.

Tsunade-Baa-Chan proved it by declaring war on Otogakure as soon as they all returned to Konoha. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we see Lee and Naruto's fights, along with the end of the Alternate Sasuke Retrieval Mission. Sasuke still gets away, but every single other objective gets fulfilled with bells on. Orochimaru has just lost a major base near the border with Fire Country, several of his more powerful minions, and the anonymity of Otogakure itself.

And that was just in Konoha's opening strike. Looking at the situation, Oro might just decide that Otogakure has outlived its usefulness as a front and skip town for Greener Pastures. It's not as if Otogakure is the only scheme he has running right now, after all.

At any rate, next chapter we'll be back with Choji.

Stay tuned. . .