Chapter 8: Battle the Akatsuki

Team guy showed up a few hours after they arrived. The team looked a little worse for wear. Jack wasn't in the mood to play fair at all with the Akatsuki. After keeping them waiting outside with nothing to do, Jack's mood was growing sour. This was why he needed things to do. If he didn't have cultivation, combat, hobbies, or fucking then he grew bored quickly.

"Wow, that armor looks amazing where did you get it." A bright-eyed girl with adorable buns in her hair said.

"Hey Tenten this is our teammate Jack. I don't think you can get armor like that anywhere." Sakura said.

"Is the smith dead." A pale eyed boy who looked similar to the two sisters, he visited said.

"Yes, actually he's been dead for nearly a century. This armor has been repaired and so many parts have been replaced or upgraded that it doesn't resemble the original set anymore." Tenten slowly nodded.

"I get it. You can't buy a set like that because it's completely unique. My dad's a blacksmith. I couldn't tell there were repairs before. Now that I'm looking, there isn't an original part left of it." Tenten said.

"Is it a family heirloom?" Jack blinked at the Hyuga. "My apologies Neji Hyuga." Neji said.

"Jack A. Caliburn, no not officially." Jack said. He turned his head towards the Akatsuki hideout.

"Are you certain they're in there? It could be a decoy." Tenten said.

"Byakugan, they are in there. I've found the location of the seals. If we remove them the barrier should crumble." Neji said.

"Good work Neji, team we're going to handle the barrier while team Kakashi infiltrates the base. Well hang back as back up and in case any of them flee." Guy said. The green spandex wearing man grinned and raised a thumb up.

Jack nodded and positioned himself with team seven. "What do you think of Neji and Tenten?" Sakura asked.

"They seem like nice people. Tenten looks tight, but there is only one way to find out." Team seven froze and looked at him.

"Pervy," Naruto said.

"There is literally no such thing where I'm from." Jack said.

"What about monogamy?" Sakura asked.

"I've heard of the occasional couple who choose to remain with each other for a decade or two. They are rare but not unheard of." Jack said.

"Then what is the natural order of your land?" Kakashi asked.

"I didn't have time for a devoted harem, so I often chose a few of the young woman from the villages we defended. If they ended up bearing children or not wasn't my concern. There was always another village that needed defending, pacifying, or conquering." Jack said.

"You just chose woman from villages." Naruto said.

"Sometimes, I'd give their families extra rations, have our engineers make repairs, or give them to a captain. Most nights, I was too busy for them." Jack said.

"What if it was a girl you liked, and she wanted you to only be with her?" Sakura asked.

"I'd have to question why her desire for all my attention had anything to do with my actions. If I want a harem, then I'm making a harem." Jack said.

"Well what about equal rights?" Sakura growled.

"Sakura there are no rights. They are privileges invented by society to appease citizens. They are the exchange for the power of government. Until a government becomes strong enough to deny those rights without losing power, then they cease to exist once more." Jack said.

"Oh, so I can kill you right now." Sakura muttered.

"Sakura chan stop we have to focus on saving Garra. He isn't worth it." Naruto said.

"Shutup Naruto baka, this isn't about you." Sakura yelled.

"We have to focus on the mission. Focus Chunin Sakura." Kakashi said.

"What if I asked you to only be with me?" She whispered. He could see the desperation, fear, and insecurity on her face.

"I'd say no." Jack replied. He like Sakura more than a little but he wouldn't be bound by this society.

Team guy removed the seals and they entered the cave. They rushed through to see the two Akatsuki members standing still while chakra was sucked out of Garra. It entered a large statue. The shear depth of the statues natural energy was beyond immense. It made Jack's mouth water at the sight of it.

Even now he could feel the massive statue pulling in a small amounts of the world's natural energy. It was constant. He could sense a sleeping consciousness of immense power within it. The thought of simply taking the statue and making a pill out of it came to mind. A pill made from this statue would be powerful indeed. But he could sense several formations forced upon it streamlining the giant's creation into a certain type of pill. That wouldn't do.

He flew across the room and hovered in front of the statue. A flying insect made of clay exploded against his barrier and he paid it no mind. Instead, he devoted all of his attention to investigating the statue.

Jack raised his hand. From his aura he gathered a true technique. Before he'd always held back, or halfheartedly attacked. This statue was too interesting to allow an interruption. This time he wouldn't attack halfheartedly.

"10,000 hungry saplings grasping for heaven, children of the Forest God." Ten thousand seedlings blasted through the cave at supersonic speed and began rapid growth. What they did to the Akatsuki didn't matter. He ordered them to leave his teammates and Garra alone.

Tens of thousands of vast root systems surrounded the cave in moments. Large branches took hold of the rock roof and lifted. Sunlight soon poured in. Then the hungry saplings truly turned their attention to the Akatsuki members bound in their limbs.

"It seems that we have underestimated the leaf. Tobi collect Garra while I withdraw the statue." The statue started to vanish before his eyes before it vanished completely, he sliced with a blade of aura and cut off a tiny piece of the statue and stored it in his ring. Then he focused back on the mission at hand.

An orange masked man simply phased through all of the roots with ease. He gave the order and the saplings took hold of Garra before the masked could get to him. Kakashi charged across the root system and struck with a lightning blade. It phased through the masked man along with several roots. Jack began pouring his aura into the area around them.

He could sense what this orange masked wearing man was doing. All he needed to do was create a territory and then he could shut the ability down.

"Tobi sees you're really skilled. So, he won't go for the soulless one anymore." The masked man vanished in a swirl. Jack's eyes widened. Was Tobi aware of the territory? Then something touched at the back of his senses. He turned his head to see a white and black plant monster grab ahold of Garra. In an instant, he sucked the remaining Ichibi out.

He felt Garra's heart stop and knew he failed. Jack glared down at the multicolored creature while his territory snapped into place. He stared down at the creature like it had just shit on the carpet.

The roots moved faster than they ever had before and skewered the creature. Chakra and natural energy poured from the creature while Jack prepared to truly obliterate it. Lightning crackled between his fingertips. The creature attempted to flee but its chakra couldn't convince the roots to let it pass through. The ground no longer allowed it entry. The rules of the world had suddenly become much less passive.

"Well, I was hoping to save this for another time. But this is as good a time as any." Deidara said. The blond haired Akatsuki member had been skewered by numerous roots and his body had already shriveled up. Suddenly, Jack sensed the building energy of an explosion.

"Do you think I can't sense how much time you have before you blow? I have plenty of time." He dragged Deidara across the hideout to the plant abomination. He could sense pieces of the statue's sleeping consciousness within the black half. He cut off the black one's arm and tossed it in his ring. Using some roots to stall the explosion, he wrapped Deidara up with the monster and opened the cave ceiling more. He gripped them hard with telekinesis.

"Don't worry everyone will be able to see your explosion. The world will know just how feeble the Akatsuki was." Jack flung the two like a football. They spiraled in the air flung up by his telekinesis. Jack watched them go for half a second before exploding.

"That chakra will still go to where the majority is collected. You haven't stopped them from stealing Shukaku." Chiyo said.

Pieces of a puppet lay destroyed leaving only a lump of flesh held in roots. If left unchecked these saplings would grow and develop dryads. They'd confound and gather humans into their flesh hungry heartwood. Even now they threatened to break from his control. Flames suddenly lit up within the hungry saplings. The entire cave system soon filled with flames. He gently picked up Garra's body and they made their way outside.

"Was that the same technique you used against me earlier?" Kakashi asked.

"That was the true form of the technique. In a forest it is devastating." Jack said.

"We can't go without our Kazekage can we?" Chiyo said. "Before I bring Garra back. Can you tell me one thing?" She asked.

"If its reasonable." Jack said.

"Are you an experiment of the leaf. You have wood release like Hashirama and control over water like Tobirama senju." She asked.

"No, what you saw wasn't wood release. It was the furthest thing from divine wood chakra as can be found. Pulling water from the air is easy. I didn't think that was a bloodline." Jack said.

The old lady gave her life soon after that. Jack laid against a tree while they celebrated Garra's return. He pulled out the shard of the statue he managed to grab.

…

A stream of consciousness entered the shard of the statue. He followed the consciousness in the shard to a never-ending nightmare. A woman wept in a graveyard. Her long beautiful white hair hid her face as she wept. Upon massive wooden spikes the emaciated corpses of two boys were left. A massive stump stood in contrast with the ruined earth. Everything was destroyed.

He flew down behind her. She continued to weep either not caring about his presence or believing him an illusion. "What happened?" He asked her. She turned to face him slowly.

Her face was beyond beautiful and her eyes were pale and shown like moonlight. A look of fury came over her beautiful features.

"They killed them and took their chakra. My sons, because of their chakra my clan wouldn't leave them alone. They took everything and left their bodies here. I'm all alone. If only I were stronger. I need more chakra." Jack shook his head.

"That isn't the answer." She froze at his words. If they are all as strong as you are and do nothing but reap planets for their natural energy, then reaping a single planet won't be enough." Jack waved his hand and the moon above turned green with life and began pouring down natural energy.

Planets full of life blossomed in the distance and the shear natural energy in the universe increased. Ships appeared in the sky. They were massive at an incomprehensible scale. A grand ring appeared around the sun while nuclear power plants covered the planet. Towers rose capable of delivering people into space. Monuments to her sons appeared and people came to pay their respects.

"Why don't you live here instead. Don't worry if anyone tries to invade, we'll send them packing." Jack said.

"So, my choices are to live in an ideal world or despair." She said.

"There is a third option. You could always leave the dream and come with me." She raised an immaculate eyebrow.

"To leave this place, I need the return of all of my chakra." She said.

"My name is Jack and I'm not from this world. Why do you have to go back to your original body? I can make you a new one with all the characteristics of your original. You might need to spend a few centuries training to regain your former strength but its possible." Jack said.

"I need some time to think about it." She muttered.

"What's your name?" Jack asked.

"Ototsuki," she whispered, and he returned to the real world.