Twilight of the Thunder God part two

Part two here. Be prepared for action.

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The bum rush training I'd done with the lightning enhancement was the reason I had been able to avoid Orochimaru for the longest of time.

He was hardly more than a flicker of a shadow in my sensing view, the man's skill not lacking at all.

My feet lightly skimmed against the branch of a tree, my right foot launching me to the next tree seamlessly.

'There.' Another flicker from a distance, my clone popping to alert me of his presence on the one end of the forest.

I made another several dozen clones, raising the number even further. Already, the number of active clones was over 200, with the rest of my chakra being kept to sustain my constant Shunshins and lightning chakra as I raced through the trees.

But eventually, I knew he would corner me. Whatever I did, it piqued his interest enough to talk with me before targeting Sasuke.

And I was terrified.

I was out of my depth. I should've risked and overtly told somebody Orochimaru was going to be here. He would not take kindly to me depriving him of Sasuke.

I was scared of dying.

'Focus.' I stopped my movement, standing on a branch.

'Hey, fox.' I asked respectfully, feeling his chakra flicker slightly in acknowledgement.

"Nice of you to say hello." Kurama grumbled, having been left in the dark by both me and Rin.

'You know how difficult it is to keep the connection open without conscious effort.' I pointed out.

Neither of us could keep the connection open without effort, something that wasn't feasible in combat.

"Why do you stink of fear? Your emotions seldom stain our talks." Kurama said seriously, not in a joking mood.

'If I'm correct in my observation,' I said quietly, 'I have a Kage level Shinobi preparing to engage me.'

I explained the details of Orochimaru being the one that tried to get me killed years ago, Kurama sighing at the end.

"You're not wanting me to say anything to the vixen, are you?" He said simply, not voicing it as a question he needed answered.

'I'm not putting her at risk.' I'm not losing her. Anko will have ANBU ready to fight him if he stays longer than a day. They were in the clear to get away.

So long as I delayed him, maybe even hurt him badly enough to kill most other Shinobi that couldn't spit out a new body.

"You are without a doubt one of the most willful humans I've ever met." He said with a wistful tone, sounding like he was remembering an old memory.

'If I'm to die, I'm taking this son of a bitch with me.' I said fiercely. 'The question is, will you lend me your chakra when the time comes?'

Kurama was silent for several seconds, not answering. Eventually, he exhaled.

"Turn the meatbag into pulp. I won't impede you pulling on my chakra. Just remember this stupid seal is tight." He answered, setting my mind at ease.

I cut the connection and made my way to a small clearing, deciding the time had come to make my stand.

My clones that were running disruptions were told to attack Orochimaru if I pinged my chakra in a certain pattern for them to sense.

Which is what I did.

No lightning jutsu was to be used, only water. I needed to keep it secret until I was in a position to land a kill shot and force him to burn chakra in spitting out a new body.

I made several dozen more clones with some chakra I pulled from Kurama, hissing at the slight itch in my tenketsu, which faded a second later.

The clones were ordered to grab as many of the un-tripped explosives in the area and be prepared to unleash them on the bastard when he got here.

Where I was out now was where I'd fight.

"Here I stand, and shall give way no more."

I growled as I started getting feedback from my clones that were now facing off against Orochimaru, the returning chakra that wasn't used was welcome though.

The snake Sannin was a whirlwind of death and destruction, fighting through the ambush I set up for the explicit purpose of trying to kill him. The picture that my clones painted was how he was taking them on even with dozens working in tandem to try and tear him apart with water jutsu and explosives getting thrown at him or when he was herded into an area where explosives and traps were laid.

After several minutes of the distant sound of combat trailing away and the last of my clones getting killed, I cracked my fingers one by one and felt Orochimaru's chakra close in.

A faint shiver crept up my spine as I settled myself into ready state of mind, giving a silent prayer for strength.

The first thing I saw through the trees was that his disguise was useless from how scorched his clothes were, blood staining it, and the skin on his face was half gone, revealing what was underneath.

Long black hair, pale white skin, with a golden yellow eye alight with an emotion I couldn't decipher, combined with what looked to be a purple birthmark around his eye.

"Kukuku," Orochimaru chuckled, looking at me up and down, "My, you are impressive, Naruto-kun." His partially visible face was raised in a truly sinister smile.

The way he said my name made my blood run cold, but I looked at him closely. The state of him meant the traps did a number on him, but it wasn't enough.

"I'm sorry," I said slowly, my entire body tensed for a fight, "But you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, so is it not polite to give your own?"

Orochimaru's visible eye lit up further, his right hand raising up and peeling his disguise off.

"How rude of me," His voice had a distinct hiss to it, a smile still on his face, "You stand before Orochimaru of the Sannin, Naruto-kun."

I gave a slight bow, not taking my eyes off him for a moment.

"It is a great honour to make your acquaintance, Orochimaru-sama." I said as respectfully as possible, seeing his expression remain a deceptively happy one.

"Truly?"He tilted his head as if I were a rather dimwitted dog that pulled off a trick, "Were you not taught to tell the truth, Naruto-kun?"

"An S-rank that fought in 2 Shinobi wars and is feared across all the Elemental nations for his prowess." I stated, looking to try and see a reaction from him, "Only the best live long enough to become legends."

Orochimaru had a rather disturbing look of pride on his face.

"But what do you think of my methods?" He tilted his head amusingly, still looking relaxed like it were just a casual talk with a friend.

"The experiments, I assume are what you are referencing to," I crossed my arms, leaning on my left leg, "Criminals and prisoners are one thing, but why Konoha citizens and Shinobi?" I asked, hoping he'd monologue and buy more time for my chakra to try and replenish, "What were your motives? I'd rather hear it from you instead of speculation from talking heads that seldom saw you, let alone knew you."

Orochimaru chuckled again with his unique display of amusement.

"That is a fair number of questions," He laughed, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, "But I see you are a very inquisitive boy, much like I was so long ago. I'll answer your questions if you answer one for me afterwards."

"Depends on the question." I replied, gesturing for him to continue.

Orochimaru smirked still, but began answering the questions.

"The choice of using civilians was purely because of the absence of war. The records say that the only experiments I did during the wars were on murderers, rapists, and other such entities that are deemed filth by most of society," He scoffed as if it were something that was an irritant, "The word 'experiment' was to be scrubbed from the records. Experimenting on prisoners would have civilians and Shinobi alike clamouring to complain about it, but giving a new treatment to 'wounded' prisoners to help with their healing, to be used on our own Shinobi when perfected, was acceptable."

I saw through what he was trying to do. He wanted to chip at my supposed adoration for Hiruzen to hopefully drive me towards him. Trying to say he was following orders, but I knew this creature for what it was.

"As for my motives," Orochimaru smiled, "I wish to understand the world. I have always been a scientist at heart, and learning all of the Jutsu and secrets of the world will help me to better understand it." The passion in his words were not faked. He was being completely honest in his goals and motives behind learning all Jutsus.

'You are ink on a page. You were named after a folk tale and your teammates were the heroes. Jiraiya truly is The Gallant.' I thought.

"And how do your goals end in you talking to a 13 year old kid in the middle of the woods?" I asked, still on guard.

"Now, Naruto-kun," He scolded me, the way he kept saying my name disgusting me, "You were supposed to answer a question of mine before I answer another."

"If it is within reason." I reminded him.

"Yes, yes, within reason," He chuckled again, "My question, and I truly hope I have not overstepped," He lied through his teeth, "Is whether you know of your parentage. Do you know of your father and mother?"

Orochimaru knew what he was doing when wanting to manipulate someone. If I wasn't the way I was and was unaware of my parents, I'd be desperate to know them.

"Yes, I do."

"And what of your mother's clan? Her ancestors?"

Why was he interested in that? Interest in Minato and possible parallels between the two of us would make sense, not the Uzumaki clan.

"That's more than one question." I pointed out, noticing his face twitch minutely.

"I will tell you why I have blessed you with my presence if you answer." He offered.

I acted like I was weighing the pros and cons of it for several seconds, trying to drag out more time for my clones to get things set up.

"If you mean my ancestor that is a Kage killer, then yes. I know about the Uzukage." I answered, seeing his face light up.

"So you know how beautifully dangerous he was?" Orochimaru asked amusedly, "Even at such an advanced age, he caused such destruction."

The way Orochimaru was talking about him had me unsettled. It was like he knew him.

"The purpose for why I'm here, Naruto-kun," He smiled, an edge to it visible, "Is that I see such talent and it would be a tragedy if it were wasted. A masterpiece, a work of art, could be sculpted by a skilled hand, and my reputation stands on its own merit."

"A good offer, but I'll pass." I answered, the statement confirming beyond all doubt that Orochimaru was interested in recruiting me.

"Hmnn," Orochimaru tilted his head in curiosity, "Perhaps a demonstration to show what I can truly offer if you join me?" I felt his chakra suppression disappear and the full force of his Killing Intent struck me.

I clenched my teeth and fought off the images of me choking on my own blood that started dancing in my head.

Orochimaru laughed at me fighting against his Intent.

"Impressive, you're still standing." His chakra then sharpened, "Now, show me how well you can fight."

He charged at me with a blinding speed.

I didn't even have time to draw my sword. I blocked his first punch, the kick he sent towards my ribs glanced off my armour as I pivoted to the side.

A flurry of punches and kicks were keeping me on the defensive, but his style was thankfully one that wasn't foreign to me from me seeing it with my clones.

I let a kick slip through my guard and I pulsed a small chakra blade through my two fingers and stabbed it into his calf as his foot struck and drove me back several yards. I saw his face register he'd been injured as I flew back. I managed to land on my feet, albeit with a slight stagger and cough.

Orochimaru glanced towards my hand, seeing no kunai, then to his leg.

"I didn't even see that." He chuckled, his hands up in a come hither gesture.

I used the lightning enhancement and Shunshined towards him, a kunai now in my hand.

I stabbed towards his face, his hand pushing my arm aside. I drove a kick into his chest and let his forearm stop it, using his arm to springboard off and do a back flip, flinging a kunai with an exploding tag at him in midair.

He switched with a log that got destroyed from the tag exploding.

Orochimaru didn't speak and simply rushed back towards me, our taijutsu exchange starting up again.

His strength was almost like Gai's and the flexibility of his attacks screamed who Anko learned it from.

He managed to slip a jab through my guard, hitting my chin, and drove his other fist into my face, my ears ringing from the hit.

I ducked under a follow-up kick and half formed a Rasengan to smash into his hand before he realized what it could have been aside from malformed chakra. He retracted his hand with slight surprise, the sleeve and his palm torn up.

I took advantage and began my own offensive. Several punches had him focusing on stopping them with a seriousness I could see etched on his face.

I flipped over him and swung my leg around to strike the back of his head. He managed to get his hand between his face and my foot, but I still heard him hiss at his face being hit.

I backed away to see what I'd done. Orochimaru had a bit of blood on his lip, which he spat out with a grin.

"Shall we continue?" Orochimaru asked amusedly, no longer looking relaxed like he was at the beginning.

Everything was going in slow motion for me, the little details of his posture and other things clued me into what he was potentially thinking.

His fingers were curled in like Anko when her arms were aching from several hits to them. His eyes didn't have the same jovial light in them.

'So he realizes I'm not just an above average genin in taijutsu.' I surmised, still confident in delaying him with taijutsu. But he'll lose interest after the next exchange, so I'll need to shift to another form, probably Kenjutsu.

I pounded my fists together and Shunshined towards him again, determined to keep delaying.

I aimed a kick at his head, being caught. I pivoted as he grabbed my leg and drove the other leg into his arm, hearing a small crack at the impact. Orochimaru let go of my leg and I somersaulted backwards as I fell to the ground, two kunai from the storage seals in my sleeve now in my hands.

Orochimaru charged at me and was moving faster than earlier. His movements would have been a blur if I hadn't trained with freaks like Maito Gai and had my brain running at several times faster than normal.

Orochimaru began to look irritated when he couldn't break my guard with straight up taijutsu as I kept avoiding his hits and almost cutting him with a counter from my kunai. He finally finally made an intentional overstep, because no way was this accidental.

His whole body leaned forward and he drove both fists into my chest, giving me an opening to slash one arm with a kunai while the other ended up hilt deep in his ribs.

The force of his punch sent me flying back into a tree, the air getting knocked from my lungs on impact.

I jumped up, coughing, but ready to still fight. Orochimaru glanced at his arm with the slash wound, then the kunai in his chest.

He pulled out the kunai lazily and lifted it up, flinging it back towards me.

I was surprised that he gave it back, almost not catching it without cutting myself.

"Thanks." I said awkwardly, putting it back up.

"You're taijutsu is impressive." Orochimaru congratulated me, "Strong, decisive, and fast enough to keep up with me and to make me pay attention. You should be proud, you have a Sannin's attention."

I sensed a 'but' coming.

"But taijutsu alone does not make a legendary Shinobi." He looked up and his jaw unhinged, a snake climbing up his throat, a sword hilt visible.

The rather nauseating display wasn't enough to make me look away. The sword of Kusanagi was a gorgeous sword, something that I'd come to appreciate ever since I got the chakra conductive sword that was strapped to my back.

Orochimaru grabbed the hilt and pulled the sword out, holding it in an unfamiliar guard.

"I have not crossed blades with an Uzumaki, whether it be a friendly duel or to the death, since I sparred with Ashina decades ago." Orochimaru chuckled, his eyes almost shining with happiness.

So Orochimaru did know Uzumaki Ashina by more than just his name. He'd met him.

"Will you do me the honour?" He asked, tilting his head to look at my sheathed blade.

I slowly reached up and grabbed the hilt, pulling out the blade.

I adopted the opening stance of my clan, left arm stretched out and my sword horizontal over my head and pointed at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru laughed with a disturbing amount of enjoyment.

"I never thought I'd see that again." He kept a smirk on his face, "Red hair, the stance, that fire in your eyes. Do not disappoint, Naruto-kun." He raised his sword and shot towards me.

I tensed and readied myself for the impact.

Our blades clashed and I was immediately on the defensive. I noticed that his attacks were moving left to right, trying to trap me in a pattern of blocking to hopefully guess instead of reacting.

Several slashes were flowing at me like water, a serpent trying to find a weakness in my defense. But I blocked, dodged, and twisted away any lethal hits, a few glancing ones getting through.

A diagonal slash to my left was caught on my hilt and redirected as I twisted my whole body as I backed up. Our blades clashed again when he stabbed at my chest, my blade again pushing up and over my head. Both of us did the exact same thing with our chests open to an attack when our swords were locked above our heads.

Both of us kicked each other with as much force as we could muster. I had the edge because my leg was shorter and I could pull it closer to my chest and I had noticeably above average strength from being an Uzumaki, training with Gai, and having a Bijuu drip feed chakra into my body since birth, stimulating my growth.

I felt his ribs crack under my foot as his kick drove me into the air, my own ribs screaming their protest.

Orochimaru stayed back until I landed on my feet unsteadily.

"Well done," He congratulated me, coughing up some blood, "That actually hurt me."

"I aim to please." I gritted out, my ribs definitely being severally bruised.

"I think I can offer some more incentive." Orochimaru charged at me again, a faint glow coming from his blade.

The sword of Kusanagi could extend at will, something that was effective if someone didn't know that.

But I did.

His attacks were stressing my defense, more than one only being stopped by my already damaged chest piece.

Another storm of slashes were barely diverted away and I felt the sword extend to try and stab through my shoulder.

Orochimaru's eyes widened when I shifted away from it and got our swords in a blade lock, my left leg lashing out in a vicious kick towards his right knee.

The wet pop of his knee dislocating was drowned out by his growl of pain and the headbutt he drove into my forehead sent me reeling.

I staggered back and didn't avoid the next extended stab from the Kusanagi, the edge opening up a massive slash in my left arm.

I swung blindly and backed away, seeing Orochimaru not move.

He wiggled his leg and I heard the crackling of bones readjusting in his knee.

The look on his face was akin to surprise as he looked at me and his sword.

"How did you predict what my blade could do?" Orochimaru asked, his eyes narrowed from thinking.

I didn't respond, biting back a groan from the cut trying to seal shut.

"How would you know of it?" Orochimaru stressed again, a curious lilt in his voice.

'I never want to hear that tone in his voice again.' I thought, smiling at the snake Sannin.

"Your Sensei loves to tell stories of the past," I explained, my face twitching at the cut still trying to heal shut, "The one where you got cratered by Senju Tsunade when you were twelve was hilarious to listen to."

Orochimaru didn't react outside of a slight narrowing of his eyes.

"My former teammate always was impulsive." Orochimaru said with a nod of acknowledgement.

So, it's possible I can unsettle Orochimaru enough to get him to overreach. How much you want to bet I can work him up by saying I had a look at the forbidden scroll with Hiruzen's permission while he's hovering over my shoulder?

"The old man told me about the little trick with the Kusanagi when he was in a nostalgic mood," I clarified with a smile, "I think I remind him of his Sensei."

Orochimaru chuckled at that proclamation.

"You have a long way to go before you can reach the level of Senju Tobirama."

"That long?" I asked in challenge, sword back up, "His notes' legibility will be the only thing that delays me!" I shouted, knowing this was going to anger him, but I needed him focused on me.

Orochimaru's body stilled, his eyes widening.

He obviously had seen the notes by the Nidaime and knew how they weren't the most organized timewise.

"How do you know that?" He snapped, all pretenses of friendliness absent. His chakra was like a sheet of ice, some Leviathan shifting under the surface in anticipation to be unleashed.

This was the S-rank criminal named Orochimaru. The fight, as of now, had been an appetizer. This was now going to be a destructive one.

"The Sandaime gave me his notes," I grinned viciously, "And I've seen the forbidden scroll."

Orochimaru's grip on his blade tightened, the beast lurking closer to the ice.

"He had his hand on my shoulder and said how proud he was of me when I refused to listen to your servant, Mizuki, in giving him the scroll," I smiled, matching the tightening of my grip on my blade, pinging my chakra to signal the clones that were now all here, "I saw all the Jutsu I could ever need. Hiraishin, Shiki fujin, Edo Tensei." I kept grinning.

"He trusts me, a 13 year old, more than he trusted his own student. I don't know if he distrusted you yourself, or had so little faith in his own teaching ability, that he thought he couldn't trust you."

Orochimaru's expression was one that very few could probably boast having seen and living to tell the tale.

I angered him, no, enraged him.

"I will have you as my student, Naruto," He dropped the kun suffix, "And pain is the greatest teacher." He blurred through hand seals and his chest expanded beyond all biological laws of the human anatomy.

Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Great Fireball Technique).

Orochimaru and most of my front vision was drowned out by the massive ball of fire he expelled from his mouth.

I Shunshined to the right and out of the way of it, but still felt my clothes get scorched from the heat.

I didn't stop my Shunshin and dashed towards Orochimaru, sliding under his horizontal swing and pulsed a chakra blade into my off hand to push his blade up and swung my actual sword at my eye level, taking his arm off at the elbow.

He roared in fury and pain, kicking me away.

I spun with the momentum in the air, made a hand seal, and dumped a massive amount of chakra into my gut.

Suiton: Teppodama.

The blast of water wasn't avoided by him fast enough and it cratered the spot he was in.

"Now, clones!" I shouted in English, racing away from the obviously pissed Sannin the moment my feet touched the ground. I wasn't hedging my bet on him being killed by that Jutsu.

Orochimaru, soaking wet and still missing his arm, climbed out of the crater and tried to charge at me, but my clones came to the rescue, close to a dozen of them using a hit and run Shunshin tactic that I thought of when fighting Kakashi.

Kakashi could predict and counter the trajectory of me or a Kage bunshin attacking him while moving fast, such as when a Shunshin was used.

But he struggled with me or Rin using several clones in sync doing it.

Orochimaru had better reflexes, but he didn't have his dominant arm or his sword, the blade still in the grip of his severed arm several meters away.

My clones took casualties, but Orochimaru was getting cut up and bruised pretty badly from it.

I didn't sit by and watch, though. I broke open the storage seals with water, letting it all come out and blurred through over a dozen hand seals, the standing water being needed by me.

Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Dragon Bullet Technique).

A massive water dragon formed from the water and shot towards Orochimaru, several trees getting ripped apart from the backlash.

My clones let themselves stay in the line of fire to hold up Orochimaru from trying to escape it as it careened towards them.

I saw Orochimaru drive his fist into one of the clones and his eyes widened when he saw what was coming at him.

He disappeared into the mouth of the dragon, the Jutsu exploding in a blast of water raining down across the area.

I made another 2 clones and had them cover my back.

"Keep position around us!" I barked to the other clones still circling the area in the trees.

I could count only about 25 or 30 of them. I needed all the chakra I could spare to keep the lightning enhancement constantly active and enough to open a Gate if I needed to. I didn't want to test what happens if I force open a Gate with Kurama's chakra.

"I know you're alive, fucker!" I shouted, seeing the water dragon had disappeared, leaving the area drenched in standing water.

The shredded carcass that was Orochimaru spasmed and a new, unblemished one crawled out, standing up and staring at me with hatred.

"You are not a genin." He hissed, his eyes almost glowing with anger, "This many bunshin, the seamless transition in attacks, the Jutsu. I know of only one personally that was better."

I knew who he was referencing.

"But not even Uchiha Itachi has as much chakra as you to use such reckless amounts of Kage bunshin." He hissed, stretching his hand out.

I saw his sword, with the arm still having a death grip on it, fly though the air and back towards him. He caught the arm and pried his sword from his grip, not taking his eyes off me.

"You have a rare Bloodline ability, Uzumaki." He purred my name affectionately, the bite in his voice still there.

No way did he miss how I took his arm clean off.

"I truly wish Ashina could see me break his descendant, just as his village was shattered."

I couldn't understand why that infuriated me, but it did.

Ashina, everytime I thought of how and why he died, reminded me of Hiruzen, the images of him dying and sealing his soul dancing in my head.

"I killed you once," I pointed my sword at the empty husk that he crawled out of, "And I will do it again and again, until your just as dead my clan's village." I spat, Kurama's chakra having already healed all my bruises in seconds.

"Kukuku, such fire." Orochimaru chuckled, biting his thumb and pressed his hand into the earth, several symbols appearing on the ground.

Shit.

With a puff of smoke, a massive snake appeared, hissing in challenge.

"Fuck me." I muttered, needing to rework a new plan because of this.

Orochimaru and the snake were about 50 meters away, not alot of room for what I wanted.

"You control the mist," I whispered to the clone to my left in English, "And you make the Mizu bunshin." I whispered to the other clone.

The two clones Shunshined into the trees, Orochimaru chuckling at that.

"How do expect to fight a summon, Naruto-kun?" He chuckled, commanding the snake to attack.

As the snake got closer, I made a decision.

"Ragnarok!" I shouted as a signal, knowing I'd need to use the surprise I'd planned on getting another kill shot on Orochimaru with.

The clones designated for that task listened to the command and an absolute swarm of water Jutsu, mainly thin blades to cleave through flesh, came screaming out of the trees and were used as a conductor for multiple lightning Jutsu feeding into them.

The snake, not even looking at what was crashing towards it, screeched in pain as the lightning infused water smashed into it and tore chunks of flesh away in a spray of blood and water.

The snake was thrashing around as the near 50 foot monstrosity flailed involuntarily as it spasmed from the electricity.

I pushed chakra into my legs and leaped over the summon, a swift making of 3 hand seals had a Raikiri forming in my right hand with Orochimaru's heart as the target.

This was the first time I used it in combat, my hand already itching from the lightning trying to break loose, but I needed it.

Orochimaru blinked at his snake being neutralized that quickly, but he fired a lightning Jutsu at me that I didn't avoid.

My Lightning Cutter cleaved through it like nothing, my eyes on Orochimaru

He raised his blade and made to intercept and avoid my assassination jutsu.

Everything went so impossibly slow as we charged at one another, the lightning enhancing my nervous system giving me the time to realize I had timed it perfectly.

The two chosen clones made hand seals and mist began to form around us.

Orochimaru paid it no mind and kept his eyes on me, the mist not being able to hide me because he already knew where I was.

When we were just a few yards away from one another, A Mizu bunshin materialized behind him and I dove forward, flipping my back towards him.

As I was upside down, I made a hand seal with my left hand and switched with the Mizu bunshin, my momentum still moving when I switched.

It didn't work as well as it did with Zabuza, Orochimaru being much faster. He managed to spin 180 with his swing that beheaded the bunshin and struck my forearm, diverting the lightning into his ribs.

The blade cut through my bracer and I felt it cut down to the bone.

I ended up staggering from the shock of the pain, preventing me from capitalizing on Orochimaru getting a couple ribs torn off.

He grabbed at his scorched side and didn't waste a moment retreating from the now thickened mist.

"Damnit." I snarled, forcing Kurama's chakra into the tenketsu of my arm to regrow the chunk of bone that got destroyed.

I wasn't able to move my fingers properly to make hand seals, probably a tendon getting severed.

I didn't expect another fireball with even more intensity to come at me from the treeline that Orochimaru had retreated to.

I barely managed to blast enough water from my mouth using my less dominant hand to make a half seal.

It was enough to stop me from being incinerated, but not enough to take out the entire fireball.

My vision was overcome by flames and I felt my clothes ignite.

I started screaming in terror, temporarily losing myself in fear. My skin started to burn and I started hitting myself to put it out.

'No. No. No.' I kept hitting myself, finally getting it under control.

I then felt Orochimaru race towards me in a blur and drive a fist into my face, his sword slamming into my chest.

I was sent across the forest, bouncing off the ground more than once, finally stopping when I struck a tree, breaking it in half from the impact.

I coughed up blood and looked down to see that the sword was still in my chest and went through my left lung hilt deep. I tried to breathe, but it came out in a choked and wet wheeze.

I could feel my clones trying to hold off Orochimaru to protect me, but he was tearing them to shreds and was pursuing them through the trees.

I pulled the sword out and was actually crying from the pain. My jaw was broken, I had several burns on the front of my body, my legs were tingling like I had spinal damage from hitting the tree, and I was struggling to breath as my lung tried to heal from the damage caused by the sword, the broken ribs from the impact not helping either.

I reached around for my sword, and started panicking when I couldn't find it.

'No. No.' I thought frantically. 'Not yet. I'm not ready.'

My sword was gone. I needed it.

I got the memories of one of my clones, realizing only a handful were left to delay Orochimaru.

I grabbed ahold of a sizable amount of Kurama's chakra and circulated it to the tenketsu of the areas that were the most heavily damaged.

I gritted my teeth as I felt the burns itch as they healed and my broken bones started healing.

I didn't have enough time to do any more as I got the feedback of the clones being killed violently.

I grabbed an exploding tag and slapped it onto the Kusanagi right as it started to float a couple inches off the ground, backing away from the tree as I felt Orochimaru's presence come towards me.

I tried to sense for any explosives or other traps in the area, my own chakra would be leaking slightly from them.

There were some, but I wasn't sure I could get them to work enough to make a decisive difference.

The Kusanagi went towards Orochimaru, looking untouched by my clones.

I made a hand seal to trigger the tag right as he caught the blade, an explosion engulfing him.

It turned out to be a mud clone, chunks of earth flying all over the place from the blast.

The real Orochimaru charged through the smoke a second later and summoned the sword back to him after it got flung away from the force.

I noticed he had my sword tucked into his belt.

I used my Bloodline ability and made a two handed chakra blade, stopping the over head swing from Orochimaru as he crashed into me.

He looked like he hadn't shed again, but he definitely needed to.

One eye had a slash through it and was oozing unnaturally dark red blood, his clothes were in tatters, and a chunk of his chest was scorched black from the near hit from my Chidori.

I was still breathing heavily and could still taste blood, my injuries not healed enough.

"How are you healing so quickly?" He asked, gritting his teeth as he forced me closer to the ground by exerting more force with his blade.

I twisted to the side some and let his blade slash down my side, my stomach being protected by the armour, but my leg got a deep cut in it.

My leg shook as I put weight on it to back away, my breathing erratic as I tried to get away.

Is this how prey feel?

Orochimaru pressed forward and kept slashing at me, his blade sneaking through my defenses several times.

There was a trap I set up behind me, I just needed to hold out a couple more seconds.

His patience evidently wore thin and he shattered my chakra blade with a powerful slash, lashing out with a punch aimed at my throat.

It struck me and my trachea seized up, my legs almost giving out as I started choking.

Another slash that would've taken my arm off was barely stopped by the kunai I almost fumbled for, my eyes fixed on Orochimaru.

"There is no escape." He said coldly, grinding his blade against the steel.

I did what I often did during a blade lock and tilted my arms to push the blades downward some. I did that, my wrists and elbows hurting from exerting a lot of force to pushed the sword aside some and twisted my fingers to form a half seal once Orochimaru's blade was slightly to the side and his face was open.

Suiton: Tenky-.

His right fist shot forward and I felt my teeth break, the hilt of his sword swinging up and hitting me in the mouth as a follow up even harder.

My feet nearly slipped as my vision went black for a second and I felt his leg strike me in the face, my nose and front teeth breaking.

It hurt so much that my vision blurred, blood filling up in my mouth and coming out of my broken nose as I let out a gasp of pain.

I fell to the ground and tried to crawl away, blood and broken tooth fragments being spit out as I started shaking.

"Predictable." Orochimaru said simply, stalking towards me as I tried to crawl away from him. "I have seen that used before, Uzumaki."

'My sword,' My vision was so blurry I didn't even know where I was, 'My sword.'

'Not yet. Not yet.'

My home would not be my tomb. I couldn't give up, not now. I had to survive, escape, live.

Orochimaru thought otherwise and drove a sword in my leg to hold me still.

I let out a scream as I felt the steel go completely through my thigh, my breaths coming in ragged gasps.

The snake Sannin dragged me by the sword, tears coming down my face from the pain.

We were right next to the trap. I could sense a clone nearby.

"I gave you the chance of aiding me willingly," He hoisted me up by my throat, my leg having barely any feeling in it as he pulled his sword out, "but you have elected the way of pain." His sole remaining eye was looking straight into my own, the faint stench of his blood making me shiver.

I started choking, my hands going to his unnaturally cold ones to try and pry his vice grip off my throat.

With a shaky resolve, I let go and made a hand signal to my clone, bracing for impact.

The clone triggered the trap.

A storage seal exploded, sending a net of ninja wire all over us, followed by a storage seal full of lightning chakra being triggered by the first one going off.

Both Orochimaru and I were electrocuted, tearing a scream from me and a hiss from Orochimaru.

He let go of me and I managed to roll away, my own lightning chakra affecting me less. It still fucked me up, badly, but I was able to stand up and limp away, forcing more of Kurama's chakra into my tenketsu to heal my injuries.

I growled as my mouth itched from new teeth growing back and I regained feeling in my leg, the other injuries disappearing.

The couple second reprieve disappeared when Orochimaru threw the net off, his hair smoldering and electrical burns across his face.

"Ingenious to bait me," He hissed, a fanged grin displayed, "But how did you heal?" He then charged without warning, my reaction too slow.

His fist struck my chest and I felt the steel of my chest plate bend some under the force, the air being driven from my lungs as I got sent back and struck a thick tree.

I blinked several times to clear my thoughts, my eyes widening as I saw Orochimaru add wind chakra to his blade and flung it at me, the spinning blade screeching through the air.

My head barely ducked in time to avoid it tearing clean through my skull, the steel sinking hilt deep into the wood.

Orochimaru's arm was still outstretched as he walked quickly towards me, his hand clenching and jerking to the right.

The sword moved with the motion and I rolled to avoid it slicing through my neck, the sword flying back towards him.

"No." I whimpered, trying to stand up quickly enough.

My clone, the one that set off the trap, charged straight at Orochimaru, chakra blade in hand.

Orochimaru didn't even take his eyes off me, his blade reaching his hand and he flourished almost lazily, taking my clone's head off.

I barely got to my feet and formed a blade to protect myself, a downward swing hitting me like a mountain was dropped on me.

"Your injuries have healed," He said, gazing at me hungrily as I was losing the battle of strength, "I've never witnessed unassisted healing like this."

My left knee bent towards the ground, touching the grass.

I couldn't match his strength. I needed help that wasn't here.

"Unless you have a new ability that evolved from the Uzumakis' already excellent healing." Orochimaru's forked tongue shot out and he licked his lips as if he'd made an amazing discovery.

"But I think our little game is coming to an end." Orochimaru chuckled, pressing down harder, "A child of 13, and yet you have managed to nearly kill me not once, but twice."

I'm not letting him run from me to get Sasuke. I'll fight him till I drop if I have to prevent Rin and Hinata from getting caught in the crossfire. They'd try and protect Sasuke, just like I would protect them.

"Hiruzen should have killed you as you wept at their graves." I snarled, spitting a glob of blood and spit in his one good eye.

Orochimaru flinched back for a moment from the spit and what I said, roaring in fury.

I focused my chakra on the first Gate and opened it, my speed going up to another notch.

I dodged his retaliatory stab, leaned in, and drove my fist into his face before he could get his sword up to ward me off. I felt the bones of his face cave in under my fist.

It was his turn to get sent flying from a hit and he skidded to a halt several meters away with blood flowing freely from his nose, his blood coating my hand.

The way his jaw dangled from being crushed, with his tongue hanging down without support, was an extremely disturbing sight.

"You want me," I shouted, pulsing chakra into my legs in preparation for a Shunshin, "Come and catch me, teme." I disappeared into a swirl of leaves, not hiding my chakra or tracks at all.

//////////////////

Nothing was going according to plan at all. Young Naruto was supposed to be outclassed by him and be defeated, not escape him multiple times with several jutsu that were above his weight bracket.

Orochimaru had been trying to pursue the boy for the last several minutes since Naruto had done something to his body that caused him to temporarily overpower him in brute strength and send him flying back.

The constant evasion and quick clashes they had, most often between him and clones, was exhilarating.

He'd summoned another two snakes, neither as large as the first, and the three of them were constantly hounding the boy, Orochimaru specifically hitting him with jutsu and Genjutsu multiple times.

The feral look Naruto had when he shattered the illusions, sometimes even stabbing himself, was a curiosity, but the amount of nonstop Ninjutsu he was using to stay ahead of the curve was impressive.

S-rank reserves...at 13.

Orochimaru felt one of the snakes vanish after sustaining injuries and he came across several trees completely sliced through, others scorched and exploded from lightning.

'You lied to me, Danzo.' He thought to himself, sprinting forward again to continue keeping the boy on alert. Prey mustn't be complacent.

Mizuki and Danzo had fed him information about the boy ever since he had supposedly been told about who Konoha's Jinchuriki was. Orochimaru hadn't been certain on which one was the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, but he was now certain that Uzumaki Rin was. Naruto would have been using its chakra by now if he was the Jinchuriki. Desperation would have had him using it, just like every other one of them.

Of course, Mizuki had been a biased fool and had kept saying that both of them somehow had the Kyuubi sealed in them, which was the supposedly 'accurate' information Danzo let slip to Konoha's population.

Orochimaru was now completely convinced of what he had believed ever since he hired the one Shinobi to attack the boy and received the message back that the alleged Jinchuriki didn't react as a Jinchuriki should.

Danzo had lied to him about Naruto being a Jinchuriki to get him to overreach and have the boy be hostile to him.

It was a stroke of genius to cause a prodigious Shinobi that hated the village for what was done to him and his twin sister to be even more hostile to an S-rank missing nin offering to train him.

A masterclass move by the Shadow of Konoha, his age not dulling his cruel and manipulative intellect.

The only thing Orochimaru could think of now to entice the boy, even more so after this fight, was to warn him of the Akatsuki having plans for his sister.

'Yes.' He thought, catching a flash of movement. 'That will work.'

Orochimaru knew beyond all doubt that he could take on most of the Akatsuki individually, but them working in teams caused many negative variables.

But a Jinchuriki, or the prodigious brother of one, would be a boon to work with against them.

Speaking of the girl, his second target was on her team with a Hyuga as well.

'Hatake was the obvious choice because of his Sharingan being able to keep a Jinchuriki in line and because of Sasuke-kun needing to train his beautiful eyes.' He thought of how that confirmed even more so that the girl was the Jinchuriki.

Orochimaru decided, as he was leaping from tree to tree, trying to pursue Naruto, that he could bait Naruto by changing course and intercepting Sasuke's team.

He stopped chasing Naruto's trail and changed his path, going towards the general direction of his other target.

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Part three up next.