Chapter 30: Tenchi Bridge

Chapter 30

Swish!

Whir!

Fwooosh!

"Eh? This wind? Is there a storm coming?" Silent Mist asked aloud. I furrowed my brow. "No. This chakra...I thought we could arrive earlier than the scheduled meeting time but it seems that Yamato-sensei, Sakura, Naruto, and Sai have already met with Sasori's spy. And I'm willing to bet that Orochimaru was there as well. This wind is caused by a massive build up of chakra. Do you both remember learning about the Tailed Beasts during our Anbu training? Konoha has one called the Nine-Tails and it was sealed into Naruto by Lord Fourth. I'm afraid the Nine-Tails is exerting its influence on Naruto and attempting to break out of the seal. When that happens, Naruto can gain a massive amount of chakra from the Nine-Tails, but the longer this continues the greater the chance the Nine-Tails has at breaking free. Naruto must have met with Orochimaru and got angry when he saw him since he was reminded of Sasuke. Let's hurry!" I said as we sped up even more.

BOOM!

"What?!" Reaper and Silent Mist exclaimed as we saw and felt a powerful blast of wind caused by the aftershock of some attack. We all quickly jumped towards the ground to help stabilize our bodies better as the surrounding trees, branches, and dirt blew around and past us. "Seems the battle has begun." I said as I sensed a powerful mass of chakra, undoubtedly Naruto cloaked in the Nine-Tails chakra, engaged in battle with another person who also had a powerful source of chakra. It was definitely Orochimaru.

Fwish Fwish Fwish!

"Eh?" Yamato exclaimed as he noticed three figures arrive behind him and Sakura. "AH? You guys are…" Yamato immediately recognized who we were, after all he was the one to complete our induction as Anbu.

"Anbu from the Hidden Leaf?" Sakura exclaimed surprised as well.

"We have come on orders from Lord Third to assist incase of an emergency situation. It appears this can count." I said as I took a look at the destruction around us.

BOOM!

The battle raged on in the forest a few miles ahead of us. "It seems the Nine-Tails has gone on a rampage." I commented.

"...Yeah...I'm afraid Naruto has lost his sense of rationality when he saw Orochimaru." Yamato said.

"Where's the spy you were supposed to meet with?" Silent Mist asked.

"It was Yakushi Kabuto. He was blown away by the blast earlier. Who knows if he's still alive." Yamato said.

"He's alive alright. Something like this isn't enough to kill him." I responded with indifference.

"I need to suppress the Nine-Tails inside of Naruto before the situation gets any worse." Yamato said.

"I'll help you. Silent Mist, you stay here with Sakura. Reaper, you come with us just incase we need backup." I replied and ordered.

"Mn." Silent Mist and Reaper nodded in agreement.

"I'll be counting on you then." Yamato said as he, Reaper, and I ran off to the battlefield. "Reaper, keep an eye on Orochimaru and don't let him approach Yamato and I. Yamato, I will restrain Naruto while you suppress the Nine-Tails!" I said quickly as we arrived.

"Mn." They both assented.

"Oh? Anbu of Konoha?" Orochimaru commented as he noticed our presence. Just as Naruto was about to rush out and strike again I formed the Snake hand sign and said, "Wood Style Silent Strangle Jutsu!" Thick branches of wood tendrils appeared beneath Naruto and continued to wrap around each of his limbs and four tailed chakra cloaks effectively restraining him. When one started to break I created more wood tendrils to take its place. Yamato formed the signs of Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram, Monkey, Tiger and said, "Hokage Style Elder Jutsu!" A large encirclement of wood in a set formation surrounded Naruto as Yamato placed his hands on Naruto's chest forming a blue chakra line that slowly suppressed the Nine-Tails.

"EH? So this Anbu is that Izaya kid huh? Hehehe, this could be my chance!" Orochimaru said as he watched while licking his lips and rushed over to us, however, before he could get near Reaper jumped out in front forming the hand signs of Ox, Boar, Ram, placed his hand on the ground and said, "Skeletal Wall Frame Jutsu!" A giant wall made out of thick sturdy bones arose out of the ground with a giant skull at the center effectively cutting off Orochimaru from Yamato and Ghost.

"Ah?!" Orochimaru stopped dead in his tracks as he observed what this was. "Bone manipulation? You, are you a remnant of the Kaguya Clan?" Orochimaru said with great interest. Reaper stood in front of the bone wall as he said with confidence, "You will not take one step closer or you will face the consequences."

Orochimaru just glared with anticipation and wanting. While everything was happening Sai stood at the forest edge watching everything unfold. He was given orders from Danzo to deliver a message to Orochimaru, but it seems his chances of making contact were starting to look extremely slim.

"Hehehe, so many interesting kids have suddenly appeared in Konoha. First that Izaya-kun who can use the Flying Thunder God of the Fourth Hokage and even the Wood Style of the First Hokage. Now I meet another interesting kid from Konoha who happens to be a surviving member of the Kaguya Clan and can even utilize their powerful Kekkei Genkai. I wonder how many more secrets Sarutobi-sensei is keeping from me." Orochimaru said aloud as he licked his lips once more. "Oh? Perhaps you and I have a grudge? I can feel a powerful killing intent from you no less dense than Naruto." He narrowed his eyes in careful consideration.

Reaper stood unmoving in front of the skeletal wall as a thick aura of killing intent rolled off his body. "You've caused someone I care about to suffer greatly. While I wish to kill you right here and right now, I will hold myself back for today. The moment I rush to strike you, you'll most likely create an opening to let you slip past my wall's defense. I know you only need a moment to disrupt the process of suppressing the Nine-Tails. If that happens, we'll be forced to divide our attention. I hear you are quite crafty. You'll use that chance to pull some sort of trick. I suggest you leave before I change my mind. I am curious however, why have you not yet possessed Uchiha Sasuke's body?" Reaper said with a hint of anger and caution.

"Hehehe...Now I'm truly curious who this special person is that can cause you such anger. As for possessing Sasuke's body. I can only use my reincarnation Jutsu once every three years. I was indeed preparing to take over Sasuke's body, however my plans were foiled by that child Izaya-kun. After Sarutobi-sensei escaped the barrier made to kill him he chased me with many Jonin and Anbu of the Leaf. As powerful as I am not even I can escape unscathed from their collective might. My host's body was greatly damaged which forced my hand into reincarnating in order to survive. Hence I have yet to possess Sasuke's body. It is only a matter of time however." Orochimaru licked his lips.

"I see." Reaper simply replied. Orochimaru sensed the change in the Nine-Tails chakra weakening behind the wall knowing that his chance to do anything was dwindling. He gave Reaper one last glance before saying, "Unfortunately, my battle with Naruto cloaked in Nine-Tails chakra has greatly weakened me. Another time." Orochimaru then dashed off. Sai widened his eyes as he finally found his chance and gave pursuit of Orochimaru while a Wood Clone of Yamato's followed in pursuit of Sai. Reaper released his bone wall technique and turned to see that Yamato successfully suppressed the Nine-Tails. Haku and Sakura also ran over as Sakura began healing Naruto.

"What was that? What happened to Naruto? Why did he end up like this?" Sakura asked quickly as she treated Naruto's injured body. Yamato wanted to answer but didn't know if he should, however I spoke up at that moment. "I'm sure you've heard about the Tailed-Beasts. You did go on a mission not too long ago to save the Kazekage didn't you?"

"Mn." Sakura nodded as she listened.

"Oi. There's no need to trouble Sakura over this." Yamato spoke up.

"No. Sakura is Naruto's teammate. She deserves to know. If you keep her in the dark about this she'll just constantly worry by herself and if the time comes, she won't know how to help. Instead she might end up doing something more dangerous for not know the situation." I replied. Yamato remained quiet after that as he had no argument for that logic.

"Naruto has one of the Tailed-Beasts sealed inside of him. It is known as the Nine-Tails. I'm sure you can guess why. It is pure chakra that has consciousness and life. Due to the large amounts of chakra these beasts possess many nations in the past utilized them as weapons of mass destruction. In order to contain a beast it is sealed in a host body such as Naruto. When the host lowers their guard or is affected by powerful emotions it can allow the beast inside them to influence their state of mind. The more the host is influenced by the beasts will the higher chance the beast has of freeing themselves from the body of the host. Naruto must of had an extreme emotional reaction when he saw Orochimaru allowing the Nine-Tails to increase its influence on Naruto's mind. This caused Naruto to lose control of his rationality. That is why he ended up like this. You don't have to worry too much. From what I know, the beast won't actually do anything to endanger Naruto's life since its fate is connected to the hosts. Until it can actually free itself from the host it needs the host to remain alive. Even though Naruto is heavily injured his life is not threatened. If this happens too often his lifespan may shorten, but it really isn't known by how much. My guess is that the shortening of his lifespan is negligible. I can't really say for other people, but for Naruto who has the Uzumaki bloodline in him it shouldn't take too much of a toll on his lifespan."

"I see. Thank you for explaining." Sakura responded. She was inwardly surprised as she didn't expect any Anbu to be so accommodating. Yamato just sighed but didn't say anything. This was, after all, his student. Naruto soon woke up as he was quickly told of the situation.

"What will you three do now? Will you join us to go after Sai?" Yamato asked as he looked at Ghost, Reaper, and Silent Mist.

"No. Our mission is over. We will return to the Leaf as per orders." I replied.

"I see…That's unfortunate. We could use all of your skills." Yamato said. I stared at Yamato for a moment before walking over to him and handed him one of my special kunais. "In case we receive word that you need backup, hold onto it." I said as Silent Mist, Reaper, and I disappeared.

"Hum? What was that all about Yamato-sensei?" Naruto asked. Yamato just smiled and said, "Heh, nothing."

They've grown up huh? Yamato thought to himself.

"Let's go after Sai." He said.

"Mn." Naruto and Sakura nodded.

Fwish! Fwish! Fwish!

Three figures clad in Anbu armor knelt before Lord Third. Puff. A plume of white smoke left Hiruzen's pipe as he sat in his cushioned chair. "You've all returned." He said in that same aged old voice.

"Yes. Reporting. The organization Akatsuki have attempted on multiple occasions to kill Orochimaru but have failed. Orochimaru has continued to move his base of operations and his whereabouts are inconsistent over these past years. We have discovered that he has been collecting various DNA samples of dead shinobi. We believe he is attempting to perfect the Reanimation Jutsu. The other villages have been increasing their military might and security after gaining more information on the motives of the Akatsuki. The Hidden Mist Village has become much more stable over these last few years. We have investigated the five great ancient Tengu's that have a bounty on their heads per your instructions. Four of the five have been dead for at least a few years now. When we looked into the details it appears they were all killed by the same perpetrator. Our guess is that the one who killed them is the remaining great Tengu of the northern mountains, Sojobo, who has the largest bounty. It has hidden itself well and seems to have moved it's home to somewhere else. Over the last two and a half years we have successfully disposed of 7 A-rank missing ninja from the bingo book and discovered the location of 3 others. We have also successfully infiltrated and recovered valuable information on several large criminal organizations throughout the different nations. The details are written in these scrolls." I said as I placed several sealed scrolls in front of Hiruzen.

I then continued, "We also encountered Danzo awhile back as you are aware. He was after my Wood Style abilities and attempted to control my mind with Genjutsu. After I successfully escaped, Danzo has sent his hidden Root members to assassinate me twice with both times ending in failure. Just recently we arrived at Tenchi Bridge as ordered and observed the situation. Orochimaru happened to appear as well as the so called spy. The spy was Yakushi Kabuto who ended up being Orochimaru's spy in the Akatsuki organization all along. Naruto lost control of the Nine-Tails after seeing Orochimaru but Yamato and I successfully suppressed the Nine-Tails. Orochimaru escaped with Kabuto, and Sai left with them. After Sakura healed Naruto, they, along with Yamato left in pursuit of Sai. We returned after our mission was completed. That is all." I said as I finished my report.

Puff. Another plume of white smoke filled the air as Hiruzen nodded his head and said, "Mn. Excellent work. I shall carefully read over your report. I apologize for not having a better way to deal with Danzo. I am looking into where he has hidden his Root members but for now I have come up empty. I cannot convict him openly until I have gained sufficient evidence. I hope you can forgive me for the slow process. Although members of Root are still technically Leaf shinobi, if any should come after your life I permit you to kill without hesitation. I'm afraid Danzo is becoming more bold. It is too much to ask you to not kill them when they are making attempts on your life. For now I think you all deserve a break from your Anbu duties. I am very pleased with the results Ghost, Silent Mist, Reaper. You are dismissed." Hiruzen said.

"Yes!" The three of us saluted before disappearing from the room.

Sigh. "Those three kids have grown up so fast." Hiruzen said as he recalled the memory of them being three little seven year old kids who once stood in front of him asking for shelter. "I wonder how old they are now. Two years huh? I believe with the passing of time they should be about Naruto's age. 15 eh? And the Nine-Tails...Lord Fourth, what should I do about this. There must be a reason why you sealed it inside your own son." Hiruzen contemplated.