73. Invading the Impenetrable Village

"Ahhh…" Naruto yawned as he pulled himself away from Hinata and out of the bed. "Bathroom…"

"Hmm…" Hinata groaned as she turned in bed, feeling the lack of presence.

Despite still being in a sleepy state of place, Naruto chuckled in amusement at his girlfriend. He proceeded to walk out of the room and the down the corner to the bathroom.

Upon leaving the bathroom five minutes later, he started to walk back towards the room, but he saw a light in the corner of his eye. Now more awake, he walked over towards the living room and noticed Fū awake, writing in a notebook. Almost immediately after he entered, Fū turned her attention towards him. A confused look developed on her face.

"What are you still up for?" She asked.

"Bathroom." Naruto replied with a shrug. "What are YOU still doing up?"

"I'm working on a poem." Fū admitted. "Sorta struggling to come up with anything good right now."

"You're… writing a poem? Right now?" The blonde asked. "It's super late though."

"Yeah, well, I always have problems sleeping." She said with a sigh, putting her notebook down. "I was always told that my insomnia was caused by Chōmei but I have my doubts. He is actually the one who seems to help me the most with falling asleep, staying awake with me until I actually do pass out."

"… I see." Naruto frowned in response. "It's good he can help you, but I'm sorry about that."

"Nah, don't be. It's not like I am tired or something during the day. I think my body is used to it. Then again, perhaps that's not normal. Maybe it's just some side-effect of being a jinchūriki." Fū said. Her eyebrow then rose slightly. "Do you ever have trouble sleeping?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, thinking about his answer, before speaking: "I used to a bit, but it's gotten easier after a while, around the time I became a genin."

"Hmm. Gotcha." Fū sighed. "Well, it's no concern to me. Again, I function just fine as is."

"Fū…" Naruto's frown deepened slightly. "I-"

The sound of a loud explosion in the distance sounded through the area. Naruto's words died on his lips as both he and Fū quickly rushed out of her house and looked around.

In the distance, they could see smoke coming from buildings in the center of Takigakure. They could hear various sounds – weapons colliding with each other and people shouting and screaming.

"What?" Naruto mumbled in shock.

Fū's eyes were wide in disbelief as she tried to process what was happening.

"What the hell was that?"

Anko, Hinata, and Shikamaru all joined Naruto and Fū outside her house. All three saw the smoke and could hear the sounds of battle in the distance. Everyone took everything in with wide eyes.

"Byakugan!" Hinata activated her dōjutsu and took in what was happening. Her eyes proceeded to widen further. "Taki… is under attack."

"That's… unheard of." Fū mumbled to herself. "Taki is impenetrable. No one has ever invaded the village before; not even during the shinobi world wars!"

Before anyone could say anything else, something started to rocket forward through the air, landing in the water around Fū's island. The shinobi quickly rushed over to the crashed object only to discover it was a body of a Takigakure shinobi. Blood was dripping from its mouth and from a large, open wound in his stomach.

"… I …" Fū felt a sense of nausea develop in her stomach. Her disbelief was turning to horror and disgust. She had never cared for any of the shinobi or civilians of the village, but she had never wished death on anyone. "I… This is…"

"I guess either this is an internal attack, or this is history happening before our very eyes and Taki is getting invaded." Anko said, her eyes steeling themselves as she quickly turned back to Fū's house. "Get ready. Get all equipment you need. We're going to get into some big fights, it seems."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. They all rushed into Fū's house, getting dressed and grabbing all weapons that they would need. They then rushed back out of the house.

"We need a plan of action." Shikamaru said. "How do we-"

Another large explosion sounded out throughout the area. The five shinobi turned their heads toward the smoke. Fū's eyes widened as she realized where the smoke was coming from.

"That's Shibuki's place…" Fū's eyes narrowed. "He's being attacked! I need to check on him!"

Before anyone could say anything, Fū bolted off, heading towards the smoke.

"Fū!" Naruto shouted her name, but his fellow jinchūriki continued to rush forward, ignoring him. He shook his head. "Dammit!"

"Naruto, go after her." Anko ordered. "This is not the time or place to be by yourself at all! Go!"

Naruto nodded his head in understanding before he rushed off, heading behind Fū towards Shibuki's mansion. Anko then turned her attention to Hinata and Shikamaru.

"By the same logic, we need to stick together. Let's go into the center of Taki and try and help. There's probably a lot of civilians in danger that are going to need some help. We need to help the Taki shinobi fend off whatever group is attacking!"

Both Shikamaru and Hinata nodded in agreement. With those words, the three rushed to the center of the village.

Anko, Shikamaru, and Hinata rushed through Taki's streets. As they moved through the village, they saw more-and-more buildings with broken windows and damage. Some buildings were on fire. There were also various shuriken and kunai scattered on the ground, some of which colored in blood.

As they moved towards the center of town, they saw various civilians running away towards the edge of the village, screaming and shouting. Some were being followed by Takigakure shinobi, who were making sure they were getting out safely.

When they neared the center of the village, they caught sight of shinobi fighting. Various Taki shinobi were fighting other shinobi that were donning either the Takigakure forehead protector with a cross marked through it or the Amegakure forehead protector.

"Ame?" Shikamaru scowled. "So Ame is working with Takigakure missing ninja to invade the village?"

Anko shook her head: "I doubt that. Ame just got finished with a civil war, if I recall. I doubt they have the resources for an invasion. They're probably Ame missing ninja-"

"NO STOP!"

The three Konoha shinobi turned their attention towards a civilian – an elderly man with blood dripping from a wound on his shoulder – who was edging away from a masked shinobi with an Amegakure forehead protector. The mysterious shinobi was holding a kunai and was gesturing to throw it at the man.

Before he could throw the kunai, however, Hinata quickly reached for her bow and fired an arrow. The arrow shot the shinobi in his throat, piercing it completely and causing him to fall to the ground dead. The Konoha shinobi then rushed over to the man, whose face was starting to turn white.

"Are you okay sir?" Hinata questioned.

"I… I…" The man was nearly close to tears. "I was j-just about to go t-to sleep when I heard a loud explosion. I w-went outside and then that p-person tried to kill me."

"Try and stay calm. You're going to be safe now, sir." Shikamaru told him with a smile. "We're going to keep you safe."

"AH!"

The group immediately turned their attention as they saw more civilians running away from their homes, screaming. A frown developed on Anko's face as she quickly turned her attention to her two former students.

"Alright, new plan for now. Shikamaru, Hinata; I want you both to help get all civilians to safety. Take them to some type of safe place." She told them. "I'm going to try and stay here and do something about any of the assailants I can find."

"Anko-sensei, we literally just talked about not separating and being by ourselves." Hinata informed her with a frown.

"Yeah, and I'm not going to fully be by myself, cause you all should be coming back here multiple times to rescue more civilians." Anko replied. "Just get them out of here safely! That's the biggest priority right now!"

"I… got it." Shikamaru said with a nod of determination before turning his attention to the elderly man they had just saved. "Like we said. We're getting you to safety."

"Th-Thank you…" He mumbled in response.

Shikamaru quickly grabbed onto the man and rushed off, carrying him through the streets on his back. Hinata rushed over to two of the fleeing Takigakure civilians – a mother and her daughter – and followed behind.

Anko remained behind. She stayed still, looking around the fire and damage around her as she assessed what to do first. Her eyes then widened as she felt a strong rush of killing intent aimed at her. She then jumped up in the air, avoiding three separate barrages of water bullets aimed for her. She effortlessly landed back on the ground as three separate Ame shinobi walked up towards her.

"Konoha shinobi, you'll regret getting involved in this." One of the shinobi – a man with a black mask over his mouth and messy brown hair – said with a laugh. "You should have just left this village while you can. Now you're gonna die, along with the rest of this dumb as fuck village!"

"And I should just accept the words of some no-name missing ninja?" Anko said with an eyeroll. Her grip on the Shibuki blast-sword tightened. "You're the one who is going to die. You're all going to die."

"No name? Who the fuck do you think you're talking to bitch?" The masked shinobi snarled. "We're the elite, hand-chosen shinobi to Suien, the one who is going to destroy this village!"

"Kirisame, calm yourself." One of the other shinobi – a muscular man with spiky grey hair. "I recognize her. Don't underestimate this woman."

"… Hmph. Whatever you say Murasame." The shinobi grumbled under his breath.

'Suien?' Anko repeated the name in her head. She recognized it barely; she knew he was a missing ninja from Takigakure who left after being exposed as someone who wanted to take over the village. 'So he's leading this invasion? Makes sense; it fits with how this invasion is going.' Her eyes then moved over to three Ame shinobi in front of her and a smug grin developed on her face. 'His cronies, though, leave much to be desired. Just a little nudge and I can probably drive at least one of them over the edge.'

"Suien? Who the hell is that?" Anko said with a snort. "Sorry, I don't recognize shinobi names unless they're on the 'kill on sight' section of the bingo book."

"Don't talk down to Suien-sama like you're anything special!" The third Ame shinobi – a young woman with unkempt brown hair – retorted.

"Hisame, what did I just tell Kirisame?" Murasame hissed in response. "This is Mitarashi Anko of the Blast-Sword, the only non-Kiri shinobi to be admitted into the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure!"

"Damn right I am!" Anko replied. She crouched slightly, preparing to charge. "So with that in mind, get out of my way. Leave Taki behind and take your other filthy allies with you. And maybe a few of you will make it out of here alive!"

"No can do. This mission is something Suien-sama has been planning for years. We aren't going to give it up for anything." Murasame replied as he started making hand signs: hand signs that Kirisame and Hisame replicated.

"So be it." Anko proceeded to charge forward at the three shinobi, the blast-sword starting to unravel. "Then for the sake of the people of this village, die!"

"Urk!" Shibuki groaned in pain as he was knocked back through the walls of his mansion, landing firmly on the ground.

The young Takigakure leader struggled to stand-up. As he managed to pull himself up from the ground, his assailant jumped out of the newly formed hole in the mansion to face him. Shibuki grit his teeth as he locked eyes with Takigakure's Jōnin Commander.

"Zagi, why are you doing this?" Shibuki questioned. "You've been a loyal shinobi for longer than I've been alive! You love this village; why are you doing this?"

"… Some things go deeper than love or loyalty, Shibuki-sama." Zagi responded solemnly, shaking his head. "But I'll take my shame to the grave. Do your best to stop me!"

Shibuki shook his head before he extended both of his hands: "Water Slicing Blade!"

Immediately, a torrent of water developed in Shibuki's hands, changing into the shape of blade of water. As the blade finished forming, Zagi reached for the scythe attached to his back and gripped it tightly in his hands. He swung the scythe at the village leader, who blocked the blade with the sword in his left hand. He then swung at Zagi with the blade in his right hand, but the Jōnin Commander jumped back, avoiding the strike. He then charged forward again at Shibuki.

"Cyclone Shot!"

Zagi leaped into the air, flying headfirst towards Shibuki. As he flew through the air, he began to spin his body and his scythe, creating a vortex around him that resembled a cyclone. Shibuki, unable to get away in time, brought his swords forward and blocked the attack, causing wind to blow all around his body after the impact. Despite the initial block, however, Zagi's body continued to spin, maintaining the cyclone. Shibuki bit his lips as he tried to maintain his stance and block the attack, but finally released his stance. Zagi proceeded to fly freely towards into Shibuki, causing him to get both knocked backwards and cut deeply on his stomach.

As Shibuki was sent flying backwards, into the forest around his mansion, Zagi continued in his spiraling cyclone. He angled himself upward until he was directly above Shibuki, who was trying to get up as quickly as he could. Upon getting directly above him, Zagi dropped the cyclone, repositioned his scythe so that it faced downward, and proceeded to descend.

"Net-Shaped Prison!"

Before he finished his descent and sliced through Shibuki, a series of thick, green streams of chakra resembling spider webs appeared. The webbing caught the scythe, preventing it from cutting through it. The web then started to turn upward as it began to form a net around his body.

The Jōnin Commander cursed under his breath as he jumped upwards, pulling his scythe with him, and managed to move before he was surrounded by the webbing. He landed safely on the ground in time to look at the origin of the web – Fū.

"Shibuki, are you alright?" She questioned with a frown.

"I'm fine…" Shibuki replied, fully up again and able to move around. A small smile developed on his lips. "I'm in your debt, Fū. Thank you."

As Zagi assessed Fū's presence, he felt another presence arriving. Before anyone could say or do anything, Naruto appeared on the scene, standing by her side.

"You're the guy who let us into the village!" Naruto shouted, recognizing him. His eyes narrowed in anger. "What the hell are you doing? Why are you attacking your home village?"

"I have no reason to say anything, Naruto-san." Zagi replied.

"Zagi…" Fū shook her head. "I… what kind of joke is this? You can't actually be doing this, can you? Was this invasion your idea?"

"Does my answer really matter?" He questioned.

"Yes, it does! Why are you turning against your own people?" Fū hissed.

Zagi said nothing. He gripped his scythe tighter in his hand, which caused both Naruto and Fū to tense-up and prepare to fight.

"He's not going to elaborate more than that." Shibuki said with a sigh. "Naruto-san, Fū; if you're here to help, please don't kill him. When this violence settles down, I need him interrogated. I need to understand what's going on and why he's doing this."

"Even if I lose, you'll not get what you want from me. Don't waste your time. Try and kill me or all three of you will die!" Zagi replied as he clapped his hands together. "Wind Style: Burning Currents!"

A massive gust of wind rushed forward from Zagi's body towards Shibuki and the jinchūriki. All three jumped out of the way, causing the wind to make contact with trees in the forest behind them. Upon coming into contact with the wind, the trees were cut in half and the limbs immediately caught on fire. The winds stayed in the area, causing the fire to grow.

Fū jumped towards the Takigakure Jōnin Commander, tightening her fists. Blue-like chakra started to form around her fists before they hardened into cocoons. She attempted to punch at Zagi, who parried with the blade of his scythe. The collision caused both shinobi to get knocked back.

Naruto jumped forward at the man, extending his hand outward. Immediately, a large ball of chakra developed in his right hand as he extended his hand outward.

"Ōdama Rasengan!"

Zagi jumped into the air, avoiding Naruto's attack, causing it to hit the ground and create a massive crater. The Takigakure jōnin commander proceeded to fall onto the ground directly behind Naruto's body, who quickly turned around in time to see Zagi attempting to cut into him with his scythe. Naruto quickly moved back once again before clapping his hands together, a motion that Zagi quickly mimicked.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Both the Kyūbi jinchūriki and the Taki Jōnin Commander released massive gusts of wind from their mouths simultaneously. Both blasts collided with each other, causing hurricane-force winds to rush in all directions, blowing both Naruto and Zagi backwards. Both shinobi were sent flying backwards into trees, both wincing upon impact.

As Zagi pulled himself away from the tree, he noticed green streams of chakra, shaped like a web, approaching him. He jumped just in time before the chakra webs reached the tree, forming a literal web against.

"Zagi, seriously; you are outnumbered. You could maybe take on one of us, but you can't handle both of us." Fū stated sharply as she jumped in front of the man.

Naruto jumped right next to her side, illustrating her point.

"Zagi, please." Shibuki added, standing next to the two jinchūriki. "Surrender. I don't know what you are intending with this attack, but it will not stand. Surrender now or else you are going to die!"

"I've been dead for a long time. It just finally caught up to me." Zagi replied, shaking his head. "I can't speak of why and I won't. Kill me if you can. But that's assuming you all can!" The red-haired jōnin proceeded to run through hand signs. "I have a few aces up my sleeves. I'm not going down without a fight!"

"… Then die fighting." Fū shook her head as she closed her eyes. Immediately, red chakra began to surround her body, forming what resembled five wing-like tails on her body.

'I intend to.' Zagi mentally noted with a sigh.

"Isn't this the Nanabi jinchūriki's place? Where the fuck is she?" Hidan questioned as he and Kakuzu finished exploring her home.

"Strange. I knew I sensed her chakra in this area when the invasion began. She seems to have moved." Kakuzu noted.

"Well, where'd she go? It's not like she's actually helping this shithole with the invasion, is she?" Hidan nearly shouted. "Or do you think she turned tail and ran like a bitch? Cause that's gonna make her real annoying to follow!"

Before Kakuzu could even answer his question, the two Akatsuki members sensed a rush of chakra nearby. They turned their heads towards Shibuki's Mansion in the distance, which was on fire.

"You feel that rush of demonic chakra, Kakuzu?" Hidan asked with a smirk. "Jashin-sama has heard our confusion and pointed us in the right direction!"

"Hmph. More like our little bug got caught in a fight." Kakuzu noted. "Let's go, Kakuzu! Prepare for a fight!"

"Heh. I cannot wait to gut that bitch!" Hidan's smirk widened as the two Akatsuki members rushed off from Fū's island.

"Water Style: Water Whip!"

Kirisame, Hisame, and Murasame held out their hands as whips made from water formed. Anko charged forward at Ame missing ninja, gripping the Shibuki blast-sword tightly. She swung the blade at the three shinobi, but they managed to jump away in time. The sword made contact with the ground, creating a massive explosion that knocked up bricks from the road into the air.

Both Kirisame and Hisame jumped to the side of Anko and swung their whips at the Konoha jōnin. She jumped into the air, avoiding both attacks. Murasame then jumped in the air as well, directly above her, and swung his own whip. She proceeded to move her body, avoiding the whip, before quickly turning to face the man as she made hand signs.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Anko breathed out a massive dragon of fire from her mouth directly at Murasame. The Ame missing ninja swung his water whip downward at the flame, putting it out instantly and creating a massive amount of steam in the air.

As Anko continued to fall to the ground, Kirisame and Hisame tossed kunai at the woman. The knives stuck straight into Anko's head and her eyes opened wide, until her body began to fade, turning into a pile of mud. The real Anko appeared directly behind Hisame and was about to cut into the woman with her blast-sword, but was stopped as a water whip grabbed onto her right hand. She turned her head in time to see Murasame gripping onto it tightly.

"Quickly; restrain her!" He shouted.

Both Hisame and Kirisame quickly jumped backwards, swinging their whips at Anko's body. Her left arm and her waist were completely constrained by the water whips. She struggled to pull herself away, but was unable to do so.

"Heh. Thought you were so much better than us, didn't you?" Hisame noted with a grin as she tightened her grip on her whip.

"Looks like you're the one that's going to end up dead here!" Kirisame added.

"No, it's still you dumbasses that are going to die." Anko hissed under her breath as she closed her eyes: "Ninja Art: Flare Aura!"

Visible chakra began to develop around Anko's body that resembled red flames. Within seconds, the chakra solidified into real flames. The flames came into contact with the water whips that were latched onto Anko, causing the water to evaporate, and freeing her in the process.

"Shit!" Murasame shook his head as he started to jump backwards. "Careful with her now!"

Hisame followed her leader's suggestion, jumping away immediately. Anko charged forward towards Kirisame before he could get away, however, and was punched in the face by a fist covered in the fire. The man was knocked backwards in pain slightly, screaming as the fire had spread to his face. He was unable to focus on anything other than those flames, causing him not to notice Anko rush up to him and raise the Shibuki blast-sword, the scroll starting to unravel.

"Exploding Blade Style: Eruption!"

Anko struck downwards with her sword into Kirisame's body, cutting him lightly down his chest, causing him to scream even louder in pain. The exploding tags proceeded to stick directly onto his body, applied directly onto the newly formed cut, and started to light up. Anko jumped away in time just as the tags detonated, creating a massive explosion directly on the missing ninja's body. Kirisame's body was blasted in half, with both halves ablaze in flames as they flew the sky until they hit the ground.

"Kirisame!" Hisame nearly screamed before turning to face Anko. "You fucking bitch!"

"You guys can't call me for the bitch here when you all invaded Taki and were taking pleasure in killing the people here!" Anko shot back as she raised her blast-sword one more time, pointing it at Hisame. "If anything, take that as a warning. Leave now or I will fucking burn you to shreds!"

Hisame shook her head, growling under her breath, before she charged forward at Anko, running through hand signs: "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!"

"DAMMIT HISAME, WHAT DID I TELL YOU?" Murasame shouted at her.

"WATER STYLE: ARCHERFISH!"

"Fire Style: Widespread Ruin!"

A large, jet of water materialized in front of Hisame's body and launched itself directly at Anko. Anko, in response, brought her hands together, causing the flames that were on Kirisame's remains to come rushing forward towards the water and collide with each other. The two jutsus kept colliding against each other, trying to overpour the other.

Slowly, the water began to extinguish the fires and started to come across victorious. In response, Anko ran through another series of hand signs

"Fire Style: Flame Hurricane!"

Large flames from Anko's body separated from her flare aura and began to rotate rapidly in a spiral pattern, as if being moved by the wind. She then brought her hands together, causing the flames to rush forward in a massive orb towards the jutsu. Just as Hisame's water jet had overpowered Anko's initial attack, the new flame orb rushed forward, hitting the water.

The two jutsu stalemated for a moment. The water, however, began to quickly evaporate as the giant fire orb began to overpower it.

"What?" Hisame's eyes widened as she stared at the flames. 'That's impossible! How can one person's fire be so strong to completely overpower my attack! Th-That's unheard-'

Her thought process died as Anko's fire orb completely overpowered her attack, dissipating all the water, and continued to fly forward towards Hisame. The Ame missing ninja attempted to jump away, but as she started to move, the orb began to expand to its original form – a spiral of rotating flames – and quickly made contact with Hisame, burning her skin immediately.

"AH!" She screamed loudly as she tried to move backwards.

The winds of the fire, however, proved too strong, and the missing ninja was unable to jump away in time. The wind sucked her into the center of the flames, causing her to scream even louder as her body caught more-and-more on fire. Once she was at the center, the fire reshaped itself back into the orb, centralizing its flames in the center. Hisame tried to scream, but her voice was muffled within the flames. The fire of the jutsu continued to ravage her body until her screaming stopped and her body burned to ash.

"… Idiot. Both of them were idiots." Murasame scowled, shaking his head. "Underestimating arguably the best non-Uchiha fire user Konoha has ever produced… Bah."

With the other two missing ninja dead, Anko quickly turned her head towards the third. Her eyebrow raised as she lifted the Shibuki blast-sword up meaningfully towards the man.

"I'll give you the warning one last time. Leave. Or you'll end up like your compatriots." She stated sharply.

"Negative. I already have a contract with Suien-sama. He'd kill me if I left now." Murasame stated, shaking his head. "Besides. They're idiots, but you did kill my partners. I need to avenge them."

"Heh. Go ahead and try!" Anko proceeded to tighten her grip on the blast-sword as she charged forward at Murasame.

The final Ame missing ninja brought his hands together, making a singular hand sign: "Heart Acceleration Jutsu!"

The man's eyes shot open wide for a brief second before he brought his hands together. He then quickly clapped his hands together one more time before separating them: "Water Style: Water Whip!"

Immediately, two whips made of water formed in his air. The man proceeded to jump into the air in time to avoid Anko charging at him. He then swung his whips from above her body, causing her to dodge. She then brought her hands together as fire began to channel between her hands.

"Fire Style: Circles of Inferno!"

Anko proceeded to form red-and-yellow fireballs in her hands that she proceeded to toss in Murasame's direction. The man, however, avoided the flames with ease, causing the fire to fall to the ground and create small patches of flames on the ground.

Murasame quickly struck at Anko with his water whips, but she avoided both attacks. He then quickly opened his mouth, releasing a large blast of water from his mouth directly at the Konoha jōnin. She side-stepped just in time.

'He's moving very quick. He's either much stronger than his partners, or-' Anko's thoughts stopped as realization dawned on her, recalling Murasame's initial jutsu.

"I know that stupid heart jutsu trick you're doing! You think a temporary buff on your speed and ability to spam jutsu is going to help you?" Anko taunted as she gripped onto Shibuki. "You do know that has long-term problems for you if this fight lasts long?"

"It'll help me now, yes. And unfortunately, you're the kind of person I need to kill fast, otherwise you'd overpower me eventually. Consider it a compliment." Murasame noted, gesturing backwards to swing his whips.

"I do. And don't worry, this will be quick!" She stated sharply. "I won't even let your jutsu's shortcomings be an issue. I'll kill you before that can even happen!"

"AH!" A Takigakure civilian, a young man around twenty years old, screamed as an Ame missing ninja picked up, clutching a kunai in his hand. "Wh-Why are you doing this? Why are y-you people invading our village?"

"Your village spat out Suien-sama and refused his skills as a leader. We are just following his will and getting rid of the disloyal village and the scum that live in it!" The missing ninja said with a chuckle. "Now. DIE!"

The young man closed his eyes, waiting for death to come for him.

Roughly ten seconds passed before he finally opened his eyes cautiously. He was immediately dropped to the ground and his eyes widened.

The Ame missing ninja was completely paralyzed. He was unable to move his body and was stuck in the same position. The only thing different about him was that his shadow was extensively longer.

"Fire Style: Shadow Ignite Jutsu!"

Fire spontaneously arose from the shadow, completely encasing the missing ninja inside. The man started to scream, but was unable to move away from the flames. He was rooted inside and could do nothing but yell as his body began to burn away.

The civilian quickly turned around in time to see Hinata and Shikamaru. Shikamaru was locked in a position and a hand sign, keeping the fire alive that surrounded the missing ninja. He gestured to Hinata, who walked forward and grabbed the civilian's hand.

"Follow us. We'll get you to safety." She told him comfortingly. "It'll be okay, okay? Just try and calm down."

"Th-thank you. THANK YOU!" The Taki civilian nearly cried as Hinata grabbed onto him and started to hurry off.

Once the flame subsided and the Ame missing ninja's body was reduced to ash, Shikamaru quickly turned around and followed.

At the edge of Takigakure, in the middle of the lake, was another patch of dark blue water. Takigakure shinobi led civilians and wounded shinobi to the water and brought them under, entering a large cave. Many active shinobi were standing guard by the cave entrance and inside the cave, keeping the civilians protected.

Hinata and Shikamaru continued to rush back-and-forth from the civilian areas and the cave, escorting every civilian they could to safety.

'We're doing our part, guys. I hope everything's going alright for you all.' Shikamaru mentally prayed.

"Wind Style: Reaper's Cross!"

Zagi lunged forward at Naruto, Fū, and Shibuki, swinging his scythe downward in an arc pattern. The three shinobi jumped out of the way in time, which caused blades of wind to escape from the blade of Zagi's scythe, racing outwards towards them. Fū managed to fly up into the air to avoid the oncoming wind attacks, but both Naruto and Shibuki did not jump away in time. Naruto was knocked back slightly as cuts started to form in his arms, causing blood to leak. Shibuki, in contrast, was sent flying backwards into a nearby tree hard, coughing up blood as a cut went down his stomach.

"Time to say goodbye." Zagi shouted as he jumped forward directly in front of Naruto's body: "Wind Style: Caress of Death!"

Zagi quickly flipped his scythe, causing the non-bladed end to point towards Naruto's body, revealing a small hole. The small started to glow a white color. The Uzumaki's eyes widened as he jumped into the air, just in time to avoid a barrage of air-like bullets that rocketed from the scythe's end. The bullets continued to fly through the air towards trees in the background. The first few create clean, perfect holes that pierced the trees while the last set of wind bullets caused the trees to explode, scattering bark on the battlefield.

'Wh-What the hell? What kind of jutsu is that?' Naruto questioned.

"Naruto, use my chakra for this guy. Whatever attack that was looked lethal." Kurama warned.

The Uzumaki nodded his head in agreement as he started to channel the Kyūbi's chakra. Red chakra began to surround his body, creating three tails of chakra. He breathed in, taking in the chakra, as his appearance began to grow more feral.

Both Naruto and Fū charged forward at Zagi. The man quickly jumped into the air, barely avoiding both of their punches. Fū then flew into the air, directly at him, attempting to punch him again. Zagi swung his scythe downward at her, parrying her fist with his blade; the force of the collision pushed him further into the air. He then quickly faced downward as his body began to spin.

"Cyclone Shot!"

The Takigakure Jōnin Commander rushed downwards, his body and scythe spinning rapidly and forming a vortex around himself. His body rushed directly into Fū's, sending her flying straight into the ground. Zagi's cyclone continued to move forward into her body in the ground, causing cuts to appear on her skin and the ground around her to start getting torn apart. Gritting her teeth, Fū pushed back with all her might, flapping her wing-like tails forward. The movement forced Zagi backwards, disrupting his jutsu and sending him flying again.

Now airborne, Zagi quickly flipped his scythe backwards again and channeled his chakra through it. Shibuki quickly rushed over to Fū's side, running through hand signs.

"Water Wall Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Caress of Death!"

Shibuki quickly formed a large, durable wall of water between Zagi and himself and Fū. Simultaneously, Zagi released another barrage of air bullets from the end of his scythe. The bullets rushed towards at the wall and instantaneously pierced it, causing all of the water to pierce it.

"Shit!" Shibuki cursed as he and Fū attempted to jump away.

The two were unable to get away from all bullets fast enough; one bullet managed to hit Fū's left leg while one hit Shibuki's right shoulder. Both bullets completely pierced the skin, creating an open hole on both of them. Each shinobi screamed in pain.

Zagi proceeded to swing his scythe around, bringing the blade forward, as he started to rush downward in the air towards Shibuki's body.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

Before the Taki Jōnin Commander could make contact with the village leader, his body was caught by a series of chains that quickly surrounded his arms and legs. He turned his head and saw Naruto, holding onto him with chains that had appeared from his leg hand, gritting his teeth.

Naruto then tugged on his left hand, causing Zagi's body to start flying directly at him. With his right hand, he started to create another massive orb of chakra. The Taki Jōnin Commander immediately closed his eyes, channeling chakra into his mouth.

"Wind Style: Wind Release Stream!"

"ŌDAMA RASENGAN!"

Zagi released a controlled stream of wind from his mouth directly in front of him, which came into contact with Naruto's large orb of chakra. The Rasengan absorbed the wind chakra, overpowering it, but decreasing it in size as Naruto connected it with the man's body. The Rasengan grinded into Zagi's body, causing him to close his eyes from pain as a large scar began forming and growing larger on his body. The force of the jutsu continued to grow until it finally overpowered Naruto's chains, breaking them and sending Zagi flying backwards. The man was knocked backwards into a nearby tree, crashing straight through it and hitting the one behind it before falling to the ground.

'Dammit, I need to get better with the chains. If I could have had him pinned in that for longer, that would have beaten him for sure… then again, I suppose it's better this way. That would have killed him and Shibuki wouldn't be able to interrogate him.' Naruto shook his head. 'Still, that was quick timing of him with that wind release stream, weakening my Rasengan. He might still be able to fight cause of that…'

As if on cue with his thoughts, Naruto watched the man pull himself up from the ground, breathing heavily as he began to walk forward. A frown developed on the blonde's lips: 'Well, I can see why they made him the Jōnin Commander for the village.'

"Zagi, you can't seriously be able to fight after that. Please! Surrender!" Shibuki pleaded. He tried to walk forward, but in the process, moved his shoulder slightly and winced in pain. "P-Please!"

"Shibuki-sama… I can't." Zagi spoke, grinding his teeth – from both pain and his own frustration. "I… I have a debt I have to pay. Even if it costs me my morals. Even if it costs me my life. There's a debt I need to repay, no matter what."

'What debt? What could possibly justify this?' Naruto wondered.

'… I don't have much fight left. I gotta give it one more shot to finish this.' Zagi realized as he closed his eyes, channeling all of his chakra. 'One single jutsu.'

"Many Shadow Snake Hands!"

Anko extended her right hand at Murasame, summoning hundreds of snakes from the sleeve of her coat that rushed forward. The Ame missing ninja jumped away, avoiding the attack, but the snakes continued to change direction and rush towards him.

Ten of the snakes proceeded to open their mouths before releasing fireballs from their mouth. Murasame proceeded to side-step, avoiding the flames, before swinging his whips forward at the necks of the snakes. He lashed at them, swiping off their heads from their bodies in rapid succession.

The Konoha jōnin rushed forward at Murasame, gripping Shibuki tightly as the sword's scroll began to unravel. As she approached him, he proceeded to bend downward, preparing to jump.

Just as Anko reached him, Murasame finally jumped, making a singular hand sign on his way up: "Water Style: Geyser Shot!"

As Murasame jumped away in time, a large tower of water rocketed forward from the ground. Anko, anticipating the attack, attempted to jump away. The water, however, rushed forward faster than she could react. The jōnin was smacked hard by the force of the large geyser, which sent her flying into the air.

Now directly above her, Murasame quickly lashed downward with his whips, striking at Anko's body and forcing backwards into the geyser. Upon making contact with the water, Murasame's whips started to glow white as electricity began to channel through the whips. The electricity traveled towards the geyser before the entire tower of water was covered in lightning, shocking Anko.

The Konoha jōnin closed her eyes in pain, resisting the urge to scream. Instead, she quickly made a hand sign, causing the Shibuki blast-sword's scroll to unravel and form a circule around her.

'Explosive Blade Style: Explosion Barrier!'

Instantly, the scrolls detonated, creating an explosive ring around her. The force of the explosion pushed the water and its electricity away from her and evaporating it. A few seconds passed by before the explosion cleared and Anko stood plainly on the ground, breathing heavily. The fire from her flame aura was still completely surrounding her body.

Murasame landed back on the ground, looking at the jōnin in amazement: 'That combo… with the added effects of my heart acceleration jutsu… I should have killed her. I have never seen that jutsu fail.'

"Ugh…" Anko hissed in pain as she shook her head, She took in a deep breath before she started to walk forward, gripping the blast-sword. "That was a pretty ruthless combo. Gotta admit that."

"… I am amazed you're still fighting." Murasame admitted. A small chuckle escaped the man's lips as he shook his head. "You are easily the strongest opponent I have faced. Win or lose, it is an honor to have battled you, Mitarashi Anko."

Murasame proceeded to crouch downward, gripping his water whips tightly, about to charge at her. Anko stood still, watching him carefully, preparing for his next attack.

"Water Gun Jutsu!"

Both Anko and Murasame turned their heads at the sound of two objects racing through the air. Anko jumped away in time, avoiding a small droplet of water that continued to rush forward into a nearby house, causing it to collapse instantly.

The second droplet of water rushed through the air towards Murasame. The Ame missing ninja stood still, seemingly unaware that the bullet was heading directly for him. Realization dawned on him, however, but it was too late; just as he was starting to move away, the bullet connected with his neck, blowing right through it.

"Urk…" Murasame gasped as blood started to pour out of the hole. He fell to his knees and began choking on blood as well. He started to look around him. "S-S-Suien…"

"Ah, so that's how the technique worked." A new voice spoke. Anko turned her head to see Suien approaching the two. The man was starting intently at his right index finger, which appeared to be covered in water. "You know, Murasame, that technique is supposedly a unique technique of the Hōzuki Clan. Allegedly their Hydration kekkei genkai was the only known way to create the appropriate, compressed liquid needed for the jutsu. However, I've always been interested in the jutsu after hearing stories of the Nidaime Mizukage, and after drinking the Hero's Water, I wanted to see if it would be possible with the amount of chakra it gives."

"Wh-Wh-Why-" Murasame attempted to speak to Suien, but only choked up more blood.

After a few seconds of trying, he finally fell flat on his chest, dead.

"What…" Anko shook her head before turning to face Suien with a scowl. "He was your subordinate! Why did you kill him like that?"

"I have been watching you fight those three for a while. It was disappointing watching you kill Hisame and Kirisame so fast. Murasame, while faring better, was also a disappointment. But the more I watched, the more intrigued I got with you." Suien noted with a grin. "You'll be the perfect way to test out the extent of my new skills! I'll get to see how much energy it'll take me for me to kill you!"

"Sick bastard." Anko growled as she gripped the Shibuki blast-sword tightly.

"Don't act like you cared about Murasame's life." Suien snorted. "Didn't you spend the entire time taunting him? Didn't you plan on killing him just like his other partners?"

"Yes, but I'm also not working with him. His goals were against mine. His goals were YOUR goals. You had no reason to kill him other than sadism!" The Konoha jōnin snarled as she got into position to strike. "You're nothing but scum and I intend on drowning you in so much fire you'll welcome the flames of hell as an alternative. Your invasion dies with you!"

"I've been planning this invasion for years, now. It's already working!" The Taki Missing Ninja laughed loudly as he held out his right hand. Immediately, a sword of water formed in his hand and he gripped it tightly. "Taki dies tonight. All villagers here die tonight. And you die now!"

With nothing left to say, both shinobi jumped forward at each other.

"This ends now. This is over!" Zagi shouted as he flipped his scythe backwards again, pointing the hole at the end of it towards the sky. "You three will never walk this earth again!"

The Takigakure Jōnin Commander proceeded to toss his scythe into the air and clapped his hands together, running through five hand signs: "Welcome to the Hornet's Nest! Wind Style: Raining Chakra Cataclysm!"

The scythe proceeded to glow a light-blue color before cracks began to form throughout it. Within seconds, the scythe broke apart, releasing a large amount of chakra that merged together, forming a centralized large ball.

"Shikamaru-kun, look!" Hinata gasped.

Both Hinata and Shikamaru stood at the entrance to a cave in the corner of Takigakure; a cave that was being used as a shelter for Taki civilians and injured shinobi. The two were about to rush back into the village streets when they noticed a large orb of chakra in the sky.

"That's…" Shikamaru frowned, looking over at Hinata. "Naruto is over there, isn't he?"

"I… I can see him there." Hinata said, frowning as well. "I can see both he and Fū-san are using their bijū's chakra too. And-"

The Hyūga stopped speaking for a second as she noticed two new, large chakra presences in that direction. Both presences were exponentially high and were rushing towards the battlefield. Her frown vanished and a determined look developed on her face.

"Shikamaru-kun, they're going to need back-up! I can see some more chakra sources going that way!" Hinata stated.

"Got it!" Shikamaru nodded his head before quickly rushing over that way.

The two Konoha jōnin rushed over, towards the giant orb of chakra in the sky.

The two new chakra sources were at the edge of Hinata's vision – enough that she could make out their general appearances. She noticed the red clouds of the Akatsuki robes, which caused her eyes to harden.

"Shikamaru-kun… it's Akatsuki." She noted.

"Shit." The Nara shook his head, scowling. "We need to get there fast!"

'Naruto-kun, Fū-san… be ready for this.' The Hyūga mentally prayed as her eyes narrowed further. 'Akatsuki… prepare to die tonight!'

The two shinobi increased their pace as they moved faster towards the battlefield.

"What is that?" Naruto questioned, his eyes narrowing on it. "Is that thing-"

"NARUTO, FŪ, MOVE!" Shibuki shouted.

On cue with Shibuki's warning, small beams of chakra began to escape the large chakra orb in the sky, rocketing downwards towards the sky. Naruto, Fū, and Shibuki quickly jumped out of the way, avoiding the first blasts. The beams collided with the ground, creating more explosions, scattering dust.

The scattered debris from the explosion caused Shibuki to lose his footing, forcing him to the ground. He winced in pain from the impact as he tried to pull himself off the ground. The hole in his shoulder, however, made it hard for him to stand up fully.

More beams continued to rush from the orb, aiming for the three shinobi. Fū quickly shook her head as she rushed over to Shibuki's body, picking up the Takigakure village leader and jumping away in time before he got struck.

Naruto continued to remain in the central battlefield, avoiding the beams of chakra. He then proceeded to rush forward Zagi's body as he began to channel chakra in his right hand, creating another large orb of chakra of his own.

"You think getting close to me is the right idea?" Zagi asked as he made the 'tiger' hand sign.

Instantly, the beams from the chakra orb proceeded to concentrate on Naruto's position and rushed down all in unison. Just as Naruto was about to make contact with Zagi, he was struck by one of the blasts, forcing him downward.

"AH!"

The chakra beam was overwhelming; it pushed Naruto's body downward into the ground, completely destroying the ground underneath and shoving him down underground. It continued to shove him down more-and-more in the ground, ignoring all debris and rock in the way. The beam itself was made entirely of wind chakra that was cutting into his skin, creating multiple cuts all over his body.

"Naruto, channel of my chakra! This jutsu could kill you!" Kurama shouted.

'G-Got it!' Naruto bit his lip as he channeled more-and-more chakra.

Four more tails of red chakra developed on Naruto's body, bringing his total to seven. His features became momentarily more feral before his body began to be surrounded by a dark red chakra that covered his entire body. A determined scowl developed on his lips as he tried his hardest to push back against the beam of chakra.

"It's the first time in a while you've entered version two in a long time. Are you okay? Are you still in control, Naruto, or am I going to have to fight him?" The Kyūbi asked.

'No, I'm in control still.' Naruto thought back.

He growled as he crossed his arms against his body. This gesture blocked the blast from the oncoming wind chakra, stopping Naruto from going deeper into the ground. He then bent his legs as he prepared to jump and began channeling chakra once again in his right hand.

'I'm still in control, Kurama, and this guy won't last even a second against me like this!'

On the surface, Zagi noticed that his chakra beams were no longer shoving Naruto further into the ground. He shook his head as he jumped backwards and made another hand sign. The giant orb of chakra proceeded to come down itself, racing forward towards the hole.

As the giant chakra orb began to near the surface of the ground, dust started to pick up from its pressure and force. Before it made contact with the ground, however, Naruto jumped out from the ground, holding out his right hand. Another massive orb of chakra developed in his hand and collided with Zagi's attack.

"OODAMA RASENGAN!"

The massive orbs collided with each other, creating a massive explosion. The shockwave of the attack knocked more nearby trees down, completely clearing out the area around the battle. The two orbs remained in stalemate as they tried overpower each other.

Naruto remained strong during the battle. The combined force of the two attacks was seemingly having no effect on him; he continued to shove his Rasengan forward, trying to overpower Zagi's jutsu.

'I… I can't believe this…' Zagi's eyes widened as the force of the two jutsus knocked him back. 'This power… I knew a jinchūriki would be strong, but this…'

After a few more seconds, Naruto finally shoved his Rasengan through Zagi's larger orb of chakra. The act caused the chakra to completely dissipate, turning into gusts of wind that scattered the area.

'Unbelievable…' Zagi shook his head.

A chill went down the Taki Jōnin Commander's spine as he felt a new presence. He turned his head in time to see Fū and Shibuki standing next to him. He had no time, nor ability, to react; he was exhausted – by physically and chakra-wise – and was unable to block Fū's fist. She punched him hard, downward, into the ground, knocking unconscious immediately upon impact.

"Stay down!" She hissed. "Dirty traitor!"

Naruto quickly rushed over to their side. His eyes wandered to the whole in Fū's leg to the one in Shibuki's shoulder. A frown developed on his lips: "Are you both okay?"

"Yes… I'm sorry for getting in your way." Shibuki apologized. "I think skill wise I am roughly a chūnin at best. I was grossly overpowered and was just a hindrance to you both, especially you Fū…"

"Don't apologize. It's fine." Fū shook her head. She picked up Zagi's body and brought his chest up to her ear. A smirk developed on her lips. "Well, he's still alive. You'll be able to interrogate him when this shit show is over."

"Thankfully… I'll need the answers." Shibuki sighed in relief. A smile developed on his lips. "I would be dead, if not for you two. Thank you both so much."

"No need to thank us-" Naruto began speaking before his eyes widened. 'Kurama, what am I sensing approaching us?'

"Another threat!" The Kyūbi replied with a growl. "Don't ease up yet! You're borrowing more of my powers, so you must have my ability to sense negative emotions. Company is approaching!"

"Naruto?" Shibuki tilted his head, his smile fading. "What's going on-"

"Ah!" Fū's eyes widened. Realization was dawning on her face as well. "This fight isn't over!"

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

Naruto, Fū, and Shibuki quickly looked behind in time to see a massive spear of lightning rushing towards them. Naruto grabbed onto Shibuki and jumped away while Fū, still holding onto Zagi's unconscious body, flew away, all barely avoiding the attack in time.

As the three resettled on the ground a few feet away, two new figures appeared in the now treeless battlefield. Naruto's eyes widened, recognizing both figures.

"A-Akatsuki…" He mumbled.

"What?" Fū's eyes widened. "These guys are the ones you were telling us about?"

Shibuki's eyes widened as well, but his eyes focused on one particular person in the group. A cold spell rushed through his body as his breathing became harder.

"Kakuzu…" He mumbled.

Kakuzu and Hidan both stood proudly in front of the two. Kakuzu had a large black masked figure standing to his side while Hidan was gripping his own scythe tightly in his hands.

"Hope you all aren't doing fighting just yet!" Hidan smirked. "We got to see the end of that shitshow you just had with the red-haired bastard and now we want in!"

Quick Notes

1: Okay, so to all of you that have seen the Takigakure OVA, I am certain you are aware of Suien and his accomplices, Hisame, Kirisame, and Murasame. I am vastly aware that I have already presented Hisame/Kirisame/Murasame them as being much stronger than they actually are in the OVA, cause their 'canon' counterparts should not have lasted nearly as long as they did against Anko. That is sorta me fixing continuity, in my opinion. Honestly, for Suien and them to accomplish their goal of an internal invasion of Takigakure, they SHOULD have been stronger than they actually were. But of course, they had to be written at the level they were presented to be a 'fair challenge' for Team Seven at the time. So... I fixed that for those three. And I obviously will be for Suien as well!

2: ... In contrast, Shibuki himself is not particularly stronger than he was presented in the OVA. Reason for that? I feel his canon sorta makes sense. Taki's leader was a direct descendant from their previous leader before Shibuki was even at a proper age and level of training to be a leader. It feels like for a minor village, their leader is a figurehead rather than a fighter. So I didn't feel the need to 'buff' Shibuki. It honestly made it make more sense - and was more interesting, in my opinion - to keep him at a chūnin level that was locked into a battle with jōnin level shinobi.

3: Zagi. In contrast to Shibuki's title being a figurehead, Zagi's position as Jōnin Commander would require him to have a skill level. So. I designed to him to be a highly competent shinobi. I'll save a few comments about him later, cause his story obviously isn't full out yet, but I really had fun writing him and his fight! I hope he didn't come across as overpowered for an OC to stand on a level with two jinchūriki. Let me know if he came across appropriately strong for someone of his rank!