Training against one Angel was always tough and three was nigh imposible. It had gotten to the point where if it wasn't for Kurama being an extra set of eyes inside him he would have gotten a whole lot more lumps and bruises over his years of training.
Personally, while difficult, he liked it when he trained against all of them since not only did it make him stronger but it also helped his teamwork with Kurama. They had gotten in sync well enough to where they had a shorthand call out system to alert him if he needed to dodge or block and where the attack was coming from.
And if it was too fast to call out Kurama would occasionally take control to help keep him safe.
But it wasn't perfect since both of them weren't nearly anywhere close to the speed of his three Angels so they stuck to reacting and dodging to what they could and hoping they could tank whatever was too fast for them while learning to react faster.
"Wow….you really weren't kidding, those three are intense" Temari said in slight surprise as she and a few others relaxed and watched Naruto train from inside the Uzumaki compound. It had been a few days since Caulifla and the others showed up and so far everyone had been getting used to and enjoying them.
"The Angels are the strongest beings in any given universe, originally I only had Marcarita as my Angel so having a total of three in this universe is rare" Naruto told them, being a clone he created to spend some time with everyone while the Angels did his mandatory training that he had set up with them.
"So that means this universe is really protected right?" Hinata asked with a soft blush as Naruto looked over to her only to have him shake his head with a 'sorta' hand gesture.
"Protected cause they are making me stronger but Angels are forbidden from actually fighting, they can only train. If I were to struggle all they can do is watch and protect those I ask them to with their barriers or rewind time if shit goes south" he told her as at first he thought the same thing before Marcarita 'burst his bubble' so to speak.
"So wait, if they can train does that mean they could train us if we asked them to?" Neji asked as he and Tenten sat nearby, him being there due to also wanting to spend time with Naruto alongside keeping Hinata from potentially being felt up by now two girls - Ino and Caulifla - with Tenten tagging along with him.
"Yeah but don't expect them to go easy on you, they'll push you to your limits and strive for you to get stronger even if it means having to heal you from a broken state at the end of it….Caulifla gets a kick out of it" Naruto said with a bit of an eye roll since Caulifla was an eager student of his Angels.
"Sounds troublesome and it's your move" Shikamaru said, getting Naruto's attention back to the shogi match they were having as with him back in Konoha Shikamaru wanted to see how Naruto had progressed mentally over the years.
"Who knows, they are surprisingly adept at helping with chakra a bit as well after they spent a day learning about it. Angels are fast learners especially when they can view the entire history of a planet in a matter of minutes" Naruto told him, shuddering a bit with a chuckle as he had seen them do that a few times and it always surprised and stunned him. "I'm certain they could give you some trouble with your strategy" he teased, making his move and somewhat enjoying how he was making Shikamaru work for his win since he hadn't just trained in brawn but also his brain as - in Marcarita's words - a dumb God was a dead God.
"By the way, where is Dyspo?" Tenten asked while Naruto gave her a 'do you need to ask' look which made her sigh. "I really wish Lee and Gai-sensei would stop bothering him all the time for races" she said with a groan which only got Cocotte to chuckle at.
"I think Dyspo enjoys it, he likes pushing those two to grow faster and stronger. I personally think he's trying to recruit them to the Pride Troopers as a new chapter" she told them as she walked back into the room with a tray of cups for tea that she had started for their visitors.
"One jumpsuit for another, can't say I'd miss the green" Tenten droned out, Neji finding himself nodding along with her while Shikamaru rose an eyebrow a bit.
"Wait, can people from this planet learn to awaken Ki?" he asked, getting several eyes on Naruto since he was the one who'd know.
"I asked the Angels about this in the past and they told me that anyone and everyone in the universe has the capability to awaken Ki but our planet is a bit tricky due to chakra. They hypothesized that if someone really pushed themselves and trained to awaken Ki then they could but it won't be easy" Naruto explained to them before a loud explosion rang out, getting them to turn to see his real self get sent crashing down into the ground hard enough to make the ground shake a bit.
"Ouch….will you be okay?" Sakura asked with a wince before Naruto held up a finger, telling her to wait a second before his real self flew out of the crater he had formed and back towards the Angels.
"I was durable before all this and I'm even more durable now. Even with the Angels it'll take more than that to make me stay down" Naruto assured them while Kale softly nodded from her seat beside him.
"Naruto also has trained against other Gods of Destruction so he's really grown to be able to take a lot of damage and keep going" Kale said, wanting to reassure them as well since even she and Caulifla had been worried about him in the past when he trained against some Gods like Beerus and Liquiir.
"This is still so insane….I miss the days when things were simple" Kiba groaned out, still not adjusting well to the space aspect of things even after almost a week having passed since Naruto returned.
"I believe this will be for the best. Having all this around will strive to make us stronger in the long run" Shino said as he nodded thankful to Cocotte for making some sugar water for his bugs.
"Yeah well it still freaks me out" Kiba grumbled with even Akamaru rolling his eyes at him.
"Man up already dog boy!" Caulifla roared out as she kicked his back, sending him flying out of the living room a bit as she crossed her arms and glared down at him. "Stop whining about shit and just get used to it or else you'll be left in the dust" she yelled out while Kiba huffed but had the smarts not to complain or talk back.
"Think of it as the introduction of all this as a 'jump start' to help you all evolve and grow stronger, akin to what Shino said" Naruto said while Caulifla grumpily plopped down on the other side of him and he - along with Kale - rubbed her back a bit to help calm her down.
"Ah, thought I heard some rumbling and explosions" a new voice chuckled out, getting them to turn and see Tsunade and Shizune walking in with smiles on both of their faces.
"L-Lady Tsunade, why are you here?" Sakura asked, hoping this wasn't one of Tsunade's ways to slip out on paperwork but then quickly realized that if it was then Shizune wouldn't be there with her.
"I finished up on a batch of paperwork and I felt like checking on Konoha's god" Tsunade teasingly told them, her smirk growing larger as she heard both Naruto's groan at her comment.
"Please stop calling me that!" the real Naruto yelled out only to barely avoid a blast that nearly hit him in the face.
"Please pay attention Naruto or else we'll have to heal up more than we usually have to" Cus said with a sweet and calm smile that had a scary aura to it that made him quickly nod and get back to the training, leaving it to his clone to do the talking.
"Yeah, as my real self said, please stop calling me that" the clone said with a flat look before Tsunade waved him off like it was nothing.
"Come on, have a little humor" she teased as she sat down at an empty spot at the table with Shizune joining her. "But in all honesty I also came by to tell you that thing you set up has begun, they were swapped out" she added, quickly getting the real him and the Angels to pause.
"Really? That was faster than I expected" Naruto said as he dusted himself off, the Angels healing him up to show that the training was done for now.
"What is she talking about?" Sakura asked, confused what the two of them were talking about.
"Just a little something Naruto set up to catch an annoyance. It's nothing serious" Vados told them as Sakura nodded, having no reason to question one of the Angels since when they told them something - to everyone - it felt like an unspoken rule of that being how it was.
After all they didn't seem the kind to mess around too much - at least not Vados and Marcarita given Cus sometimes teased them.
"It'll be fine, trust me" Naruto reassured her before he perked up with a raised eyebrow. "Wait, did someone invite someone else here?" he asked, sensing someone else having walked in through the front door.
"Oh yeah I kind of did….sorry. It's just after you left Tsunade had to assign someone else to Team 7 to keep it an active cell. He's been busy recently and just got back into the village and I figured with you returning it might be nice to introduce you to him" Sakura said with a bit of a frown, worried she might have overstepped by inviting him here only for Naruto to smile and wave off her worry.
"It's all good, just wondering if it was someone I might have to kick out but then again if it was someone trying to sneak in they really wouldn't have come in through the front door" Naruto said with a chuckle as the person grew closer.
"Nice to see the person who fled from the village for six years isn't an idiot like I heard he was" the man said as he walked into the living room.
The man had short black hair and dark eyes, both being a sharp contrast to his incredibly pale skin. He wore a short black and grey jacket that showed off his entire midriff and a pair of black pants, black sandals, and a pair of black gloves that left his index fingers and thumbs exposed.
"I'm Sai, nice to meet you dickless" Sai said with a clearly false and transparent 'cheerful' smile as he held out his hand to shake.
"Well thats a first I'll give you that. I'd be careful who you say that to as there are some people I might bring around that would erase you for saying something brash like that" Naruto said as he shook Sai's hand.
"Yeah he nearly called Choji a fatso" Shikamaru whispered to Naruto's clone before it dispelled, getting a shiver from Naruto since he knew how dangerous that was.
"Sure, I'll keep that in mind dickless, or should I say idiot?" Sai asked Naruto merely shrugging with a look that showed he really didn't care.
"Whatever floats your boat, have a seat. It's nice to meet a fellow Team 7 member" Naruto said while Sai tilted his head to the side.
"You are still on Team 7? I thought you were a missing-nin after being gone for so long" Sai asked, making several people send some sharp looks towards him.
"Ah well I was gone for a good reason you see, I had to train to become a God" Naruto said with a straight face, summoning an orb of Destruction Energy before Sai could respond and blasting it at a nearby tree and instantly erasing it. "You see if I didn't control my power as a God of Destruction that orb could have been charged with so much Destruction Energy that it would have carried on and started to erase this entire planet. Your welcome" Naruto said, figuring bluntness would work best to silence someone like this.
No one could say this planet didn't have its fair share of characters after all.
"And these blue women are…?" Sai asked as he looked at the three Angels before leaning down a bit towards Cus. "I didn't know you abducted children, that's pretty gross of you mister 'God'" Sai said with the same fake smile on his face before Cus gave him a calm and seemingly sweet smile.
"Call me a child again and your very soul will be crippled beyond repair" Cus said in a cheerful tone, the pressure she exerted - even if not directed towards them - being enough to make it impossible for some people to breathe and for Sai, who it was directed at, to pass out near instantly.
"And that is why you don't piss off an angel. Especially Cus" Naruto told everyone, as if this was a lesson, with everyone nodding before Sakura dragged the unconscious Sai away from Cus who was still smiling down at the man.
He quickly pet Cus's head, hoping to calm her down before she looked up at him, her dangerous smile being quickly replaced with a genuine one to show him she was okay.
She might be an Angel but that didn't mean she liked being called or treated like a child. Especially since due to Naruto's influence she, and the other Angels, started to showcase emotions and see themselves as women and no woman ever liked their age or appearance being teased.
And while she might have threatened him with violence that didn't mean she'd enforce said violence. She had Naruto for that after all.
"Hopefully he learns that lesson as well…" Sakura muttered as the worst Sai had done in the past is fall her 'ugly' but with all of this she hoped he learned not to do that to just anyone. She could take it and brush it off but others might kill him….or worse, if he did it to them.
"Moving on from that….I'm sorry to leave you guys with another clone but I have something I have to do, something kind of important" Naruto apologized, getting nods and looks that showed they understood.
"Your a busy man now Naruto, we understand but do try and make some time for us, more importantly, me in the future" Ino teased with a wink, getting Naruto to chuckle and nod as he winked back at her.
"You know it" he played along, getting a giggle from Ino before Temari rolled her eyes at Ino and her flirting while wishing that Naruto didn't encourage or play along with it as much as he did.
"Tonight I was thinking of having a little party since I have to return to Suna in the morning, will you be able to make it?" Temari asked before Naruto smiled at her.
"Of course Temari, this isn't going to take me that long and I doubt I'll be that busy today since this is the only thing I see popping up" Naruto told her, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze which made her smile at.
"I'll be back in a bit, don't let me stepping out like this make you guys feel like you all have to leave. What's the use of a big house if not for having friends over after all" he made clear to everyone that they were more than welcomed here before he and Marcarita warped away.
-Root Base - A bit before Naruto left-
"So these are the Dragon Balls?" Danzo asked as he looked over the set of seven orbs, they definitely giving off an 'other worldly' feel to them.
"Yes, we were able to finally sneak them out when Tsunade was out of the office and all the ANBU watching over her office ended up being from Root thanks to your subtle shifting of the ANBU on duty over the last few days" the Root ANBU said while Danzo looked back at him.
"Return to your post, you need to keep her from noticing they are gone" he quickly ordered, the ANBU leaving immediately as they knew not to make him speak twice.
"Are you sure about this Lord Danzo? They could be trapped and that man might be tracking them" Fū said as he and Torune appeared behind Danzo.
"Yes I am sure and if anything I am betting on the fact that he appears. Little is known about how to summon this dragon other than all of the Dragon Balls are needed in one place so if he shows up then I can question him" Danzo told them as he slid his right arm out, revealing it and the three large gold braces were clamped around it. "When he arrives you and Torune keep him occupied to give me time to get ready" he added before a chuckle sounded out.
"Oh so I'm expected? That makes me feel a bit better about crashing in here, makes me less of an unwanted guest" Naruto said with a smile, getting them to the two men to quickly turn around with their weapons drawn while Danzo calmly looked over his shoulder.
"The ability to travel anywhere instantaneously, truly more dangerous than even the Hiraishin" Danzo said, keeping his eye locked with Naruto's as the boy merely shrugged.
"Yeah I know my dad's signature technique was pretty deadly and while I don't necessarily need it I'm starting to learn it" Naruto told them, revealing not only his heritage but also that he had the notes on the Hiraishin.
"Tsunade gave you the seal to your parent's house. I've tried for the longest time to get that but your father was an overly cautious man, leaving the way to get it only to three people: Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Tsunade - all of who are foolish with their choices" he rebutted which only got an eye roll from Naruto.
"Enough with the back and forth as you buy time to get those off of your arm, isn't this where your men attack me?" Naruto asked with a flat look before the men disappeared in a flicker of speed.
"Mind Body Switch!" Fū spoke out from behind Naruto as the technique connected with him.
"Got him" Fū said from within Naruto's body only to instantly pause, his eyes going wide as he was pulled into his mind.
"And who exactly do you 'got' there?" a loud booming voice spoke out, getting Fū to turn around to see not only the Kyuubi but the other Bijuu glaring down at him.
'H-How? I-I thought the best was under a seal' Fū thought as he knew it was dangerous using his technique on a jinchuriki but had assumed the Bijuu wouldn't be able to interfere due to the seal it was locked in.
"Well you thought wrong!" Kurama roared, swinging its hand down at the 'invader' to squash him only for him to quickly cancel the technique.
As Naruto regained control he quickly had to lean back to avoid a punch from the other man who had seemingly taken off his gloves to reveal his oddly purple skin.
"What went wrong Fū?" Torune asked as he leapt back away from Naruto, looking over at his partner only to see him rubbing his head, seemingly in pain a bit.
"He has his Bijuu out of its cage and the other Bijuu were there. Not full but as if their chakra was in him" Fū said getting Naruto to nod with a smile.
"Me and my Bijuu are friends, hell I've befriended the other ones as well given one of the wishes I made was to free all of the Bijuu except mine. Mind you not cause I was greedy but merely cause mine wanted to stay with me" Naruto explained to them before quickly swatting away a few kunai Torune threw at him.
"Fine, fine, I get it. No talking, geez" Naruto said with an eye roll before summing some Ki to blast and break Fū's sword as the orange haired man quickly recovered and dove at him. Though, Fū seemed to be a decoy as Torune appeared quickly behind to launch a punch at his back.
Naruto didn't really dodge as the fist made contact, wanting to see what was up with his purple skin and even more curious as both Torune and Fū leapt away.
"I've infected him, it shouldn't be much longer" Torune said, getting a nod from Fū as Naruto smirked and rose up his shirt a bit and turned around to show them.
"Infected me with what exactly cause I doubt anything you have can eat away at Destruction Energy" Naruto said as he showed how the area Torune had hit him was coated in a dark purple energy.
"You see, Destruction Energy is pretty self explanatory. It destroys anything that it touches or touches it so I figured, if you leapt away like that, then you must have done something to make you think one hit would be enough" Naruto explained to them before he coated his entire body in a cloak of Destruction Energy.
"I don't know what you tried but lets see if any of you have the guts to try again. I'll warn you, it'll take a lot to actually hit me not" he warned before he appeared behind Fū and gave him a hard chop to the back of the neck with a hand that he removed the Destruction Energy off of temporarily.
"So how about it, just the two of us since this guy can't seem to do much against me" Naruto said before Torune leapt back again to create some space between them.
"Poison Cloud!" Torune yelled out as he sprayed out a massive dark cloud that moved in the air as if it was alive. He was glad Naruto had moved away from Fu well enough for him to use this technique without endangering his partner.
'Hmmm, the goggles make me think Aburame so then these must be bugs' Naruto thought as he rubbed his chin in thought before the cloud descended on him.
"My bugs eat away at anything and everything they touch whether its chakra or flesh so they have a chance to eat away at your Destruction Energy or whatever you call it" Torune said, unsure if Naruto was alive inside the cloud of his bugs.
"When I called it Destruction Energy it wasn't done to make it sound intimidating, it literally destroys everything it touches and nothing can absorb it. I mean I've heard stories of people resisting it but you need an insane amount of power, both in strength and will, to do so" Naruto's voice spoke out, his tone a bit annoyed before he walked through the cloud like it was nothing before he launched another sphere of it back into the cloud, it expanding a bit to finish erasing the last bit of the bugs.
"So I'm sorry to do this but on the other hand it's simpler this way than to draw it out" Naruto told Torune before he appeared right in front of Torune and hit him with a strong uppercut, the Destruction Energy coating his fist being just enough to protect him from the bugs without affecting Torune.
"That give you enough time Danzo?" Naruto asked, canceling out the cloak he had around him to turn and see Danzo standing and waiting, all the braces off his arm and the bandages removed to reveal an pure white arm with ten Sharingan implanted in it that also seemingly had a face sticking out on his shoulder.
"More than enough" Danzo said as he weaved three hand signs before rushing off towards Naruto with a wind chakra coated kunai.
He was a bit surprised as Naruto blocked it with his arm, only this time it was coated in orange-ish gold energy as if his arm was a sword and now capable of stopping his kunai. "You know Danzo, I watched through the history of this world to learn more about it and you are involved in a lot of evil" Naruto said, glaring at the man before Danzo leapt back.
"Dealing with Hanzo, working with Orochimaru on shady dealings, going after Shisui Uchiha, and pushing for the execution of the Uchiha clan. There is a whole lot more you've done but I'm merely naming the big events" Naruto revealed, inwardly surprising the man as he took a quick look towards Marcarita who peacefully stood nearby.
"I've gotten reports stating you mentioned space and other universes. At first I took them as idiotic prattle but it seems there is merit to them, especially when considering your new powers and the people surrounding you" Danzo said while he narrowed his eye at Naruto. "You say you know my past, does that mean you know everything?" he asked with Naruto nodding.
"You say you do everything for the safety of the village when you helped create the most of its problems. Trust me when I say I've done my research" Naruto told him as he nodded towards Danzo's arm, getting the man to tense up and throw his kunai only for Naruto to swat it away with his energy sword and extend it until it pierced through Danzo's chest.
"One down, nine to go unless I stop you before you do the hand signs" Naruto said, looking around to find out where Danzo would materialize as he came out of Izanagi. It was rather easy to react to Danzo and grab another kunai of the war hawk's with his free hand that was now coated in Destruction Energy as the man tried to stab him from behind.
"Isn't this rather predictable for Shinobi?" Naruto asked, grabbing Danzo's head and firing a strong Ki blast through it. 'Two….if I want to keep Shisui's eye safe I need to either run down the clock and erase that suicide seal or stop him before he can cast Izanagi again and then destroy that seal on him….Either way it comes down to taking out that seal' Naruto thought to himself as Danzo once again disappeared.
"Also don't think about trying to escape! Marcarita created a barrier around this entire room" Naruto yelled out to the room before he rose a hand to blast a wind infused shuriken out of the air and dodged two others easily enough.
"Running away would be cowardly and a waste of a chance to get you under control. I have the Sharingan and Mokuton! As a jinchuriki I have two of your three weaknesses!" Danzo declared only for Naruto to smirk.
"Oh yeah? Then use them instead of sticking to your one trick pony technique to keep yourself alive cause trust me, I can out last any number of these 'redos' you attempt" Naruto told the man, staring him in the eye as he flared his ki, smirking as he saw Danzo nearly falter down to a knee.
This only lasted for a second before Danzo weaved through a different set of hand signs and took a deep breath, showing Izanagi was still active. "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!" Danzo yelled out before firing out several small blasts of wind chakra.
Danzo smirked slightly as the boy didn't make an attempt to move with his technique kicking up dust on impact only to frown as, once the dust settled, a large orange shield made of solid energy in front of him that had seemingly protected him from the attack.(*1)
"Impressive wind techniques but you'll need more than just that, a whole lot more" Naruto told him as the shield started to disappear and he held out a hand with a staff of orange energy starting to materialize and grow before at one end a blade formed.
He tried his best not to give Danzo any time to react, going in to attack instantly but he had to hand it to the old war hawk as even after all these years he was fast for his age. Though, in terms of weapon strength, one made entirely of Ki easily overpowered and sliced through one merely coated in chakra after the second hit.
Not letting up Naruto continued on, speeding up to swing his naginata in a full circle to lob off Danzo's head. 'Lets see how much more he has before it gets repetitive….well, more repetitive since after three times I don't see anything different with him and how he's going about this fight' Naruto thought with a slight frown before Danzo appeared on the other side of the room from him.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Danzo spoke out with a massive cloud of smoke appearing and a loud elephant trumpeting rang out before the dust was blown away and a massive beast that looked like a mix of an elephant, ox, and tiger that resulted in something that reminded him of a tapir.
It quickly started to act, creating a powerful vacuum that tried to draw him in only for Naruto to stab his naginata into the ground and start to fly to help counteract it as it started to swallow up chunks of the room around them. While it was impressive he's personally gone against stronger currents since Jiren had made him train in flight by flying against the pull of a blackhole.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Blast Barrage!" Danzo yelled, once again firing a massive blast of wind at him only to widen his eyes as Naruto merely looked at it and caused it to hit something. It wasn't all he did as instantly after an invisible blast slammed into him and sent him crashing into the wall behind him.
"You can stop that now" Naruto told the summon as he weaved through a set of one handed hand seals - another skill his Angels made him look into incase he was busy - and took a deep breath. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he yelled out before breathing out a massive fireball, the wind around that the summon was sucking in causing the fire to grow massive and explode before it quickly retreated.
"Okay this is enough, lets end this" Naruto said with a sigh as he made his naginata disappear and quickly turned around to grab Danzo by the throat just as the man reformed.
"Yes, lets end this" Danzo choked out with a smirk as he grabbed Naruto's arm only to frown as nothing happened. Fearing the worst he quickly tried to weave through the hand seals for Izanagi only for Naruto to grab the arm of his that had the Sharingan and - rather effortlessly - ripped it off of him as if it was just a shirt sleeve.
"Enough of Izanagi and enough of your seals. I'm done with you and this fight cause you see, I hoped this might be a good stretch after not seriously fighting someone for some time" Naruto said as he looked at Danzo with a somewhat bored look in his eyes. "You see if you just train constantly things get a tiny bit boring so I humored you. I let you fight longer to see if this would be a nice 'stretch' so to speak and honestly….it wasn't" he continued with a disappointing sigh.
"Playing around!? That overconfidence will be your death!" Danzo yelled, ripping open his shirt only for Naruto to put a hand on his chest and his 'last resort' to merely fade away. "W-What did you do!?" Danzo yelled in shock and now fear as he now had nothing, he couldn't even reach up to uncover his last eye due to Naruto keeping ahold of his wrist.
"Simple, I used Destruction Energy to take care of your suicide bomb by mixing it with chakra, creating a weakened Destruction Energy that only destroys things similar to it which is anything chakra based whether they be seals or jutsu. I found this little skill out after I learned I could mix chakra and Ki" Naruto said before he let go of Danzo and used his Spirit Blade to lob off Danzo's other arm and use his foot to keep Danzo in place as he fell down on his back.
"Do stop trying to struggle or crawl away, it's rather sad and will make retrieving what we need more painful for you" Marcarita said, getting Danzo to look up at her as her staff was in front of his face.
Danzo could only scream in a mix of frustration and pain as he felt the eye hidden under his bandages disappear from his head. "You were after Shisui's Sharingan all along!?" Danzo yelled out, his glare beyond furious as Naruto merely shrugged.
"Not really, I just wanted to take you out - hence the trap with the Dragon Balls. I'm surprised you took it so easily or that you seriously believed I'd talk about something like them in the open without worrying about people overhearing" Naruto went on, ignoring how Danzo's glare grew more and more furious.
"If looks could kill" Kurama joked with a chuckle since he had no sorrow for Danzo's suffering.
"So you're going to kill me!? Without me the village will fall apart! You need someone like me to look out for it!" Danzo yelled before Naruto put more pressure down on Danzo to shut him up, breaking a few ribs as he did so.
"Personally I want to kill you as robbing you of going to hell for everything you did in your life feels crappy but no, I'm not going to kill you...I'm going to erase you" Naruto explained to him as he held out his hand down towards Danzo, his hand flat with his palm facing him and thumb over it. "Destruction Energy, as I said before, destroys anything and everything. That includes human souls, meaning in the end, after everything you've done, you aren't deserving of an afterlife either" Naruto explained as he stared down the man as Danzo experienced his last moments of existence.
"Hakai" Naruto solemnly spoke out before Danzo screamed as slowly his body was erased from underneath him until there was nothing left. Not even Danzo's non-Sharingan infused arm was left behind as it was clear the ones with the Sharingan wasn't originally Danzo's hence why it didn't leave with him.
"Take that Sharingan arm as well when you are picking up the Dragon Balls please" Naruto asked, getting a nod from Marcarita before she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay? I know you do not take this lightly, even if it's someone like Danzo" Marcarita asked with a frown since she knew he respected life. Sure he's open to killing but that was because there was something after it, the afterlife, but with Hakai there was nothing.
"I'll be fine….just have to remember what a monster he was….that should help" Naruto said with a sigh before Marcarita nodded and stored the items he asked for in her staff.
"What about these two?" Marcarita wondered, referencing Fū and Torune who both were unconscious on the ground.
"Leave them, hopefully being free of Danzo will make them turn over a new leaf. If not then they are free to try and get revenge, I really don't care right now" Naruto told her with another sigh as she nodded and understood the silent request to get them out of here.
-Later that Day - Barbecue Restaurant-
"So you guys really raced against Dyspo 100 times in a row and Dyspo didn't even break a sweat?" Naruto asked Lee and Gai as both of them looking moderately exhausted which, after 100 races in a row, was incredibly impressive.
"I have to say Naruto, your friend Dyspo is a true embodiment of youth! It was truly a great experience and, if Lee and I had the energy, we'd do 20 more laps around the village on our hands to make up for our failure" Gai said before Naruto patted the taijutsu master on the back.
"Well win or loss you guys did great, been a while since I had someone who can give me a nice jog like that" Dyspo said with an encouraging smile before Naruto noticed Temari subtly calling him over.
"I'm sure you guys will get faster and faster, just keep at it and Dyspo….try not to kill them" Naruto said with a flat look towards the Pride Trooper before heading over to Temari as sat in the little outdoor section attached to the part of the restaurant that they all had rented for this dinner.
"What are you doing out here? This little dinner party thing, whatever you want to call it, is to see you off….though it has been bolstered a bit due to my company….sorry bout that" Naruto said with a bit of a frown, only to get her to wave it off with a smile.
"It's really fine, I more so just wanted a meal with everyone before heading back as everyone is more or less together with you returning" Temari said, wincing a bit as she was afraid she brought up a potentially bad topic.
"Everyone who matters is together as, don't tell anyone else this, but I truly believe Sasuke is too far gone. Sure I'm still going to bring him back but not in a 'you can still be one of us' way but a 'wanted criminal' way" Naruto told her with a sigh before Temari rubbed his back to console him a bit as she knew that had to be tough for him.
"Enough about all that sad somber stuff! Be sure to tell Gaara to invite me over as soon as he can, that way he can't get the snotty old people around him upset at him" Naruto said with a smile, getting Temari to chuckle a bit since she too knew how the elders got at times about little things like that.
"You already know that he has it all set up, he just has to wait for me to get back so he can officially know you are back" Temari said with a smirk as he had told her about how he had talked with Gaara through their Bijuu. "But you see….I called you here cause, now that you're back, I want to talk to you about something" she continued, taking a deep breath as to psych herself up only for a throat to clear.
"I am truly sorry to interrupt this personal conversation but this is dire...the Akatsuki are attacking Sunagakure" Marcarita said, interrupting them and showing a screen of Gaara fighting against someone flying around on a white bird while Tsunade frowned beside her, having also been brought along due to the direness of the situation.
"W-What? I-Is this real?" Temari asked, bursting up from her seat before Naruto calmly put his hand on her shoulder.
"Take a deep breath Temari, it'll be okay. I won't let Gaara die" Naruto assured her, giving her shoulder a squeeze before turning to Tsunade with a serious look on her face that made Tsunade smirk a bit at as she knew what was coming.
"Hokage, I request permission to leave with Caulifla, Kale, Cocotte, and Dyspo to retrieve the Kazekage from the clutches of the Akatsuki" Naruto requested which got a nod and a smile from Tsunade.(*7)
"Granted on the condition you take a skilled medic with you, I personally suggest the one eavesdropping in on us" she said, smirking over her shoulder which got Sakura to step out from around the corner.
"Sorry Lady Tsunade but….the Akatsuki are the people that are after the jinchuriki...and the organization that Sasuke is a part of right?" Sakura asked before Naruto nodded, getting Sakura to gain a look of determination on her face.
"Then I'm definitely in. I might not be at the same level of power as your friends from other universes but I refuse to just stand by as you go about things" Sakura declared, staring him right in the eyes to show she wasn't messing around only to get a smirk from Naruto.
"I never expected you to just stand by Sakura. Get your things ready, we leave in the morning" Naruto told her while getting a confused look from Temari.
"The morning? Why wait until then?" Temari asked before Naruto held up three fingers.
"Three reasons. One - going there instantly might endanger Sunagakure as the Akatsuki would do everything they can to escape, two - we have time since it takes at least three days to extract a Bijuu and even if Gaara only has a portion of Shukaku's chakra it'll still take at least a day and a half, and three - it takes extra time for them all to get together and start. I estimate even if they have everyone ready beforehand we still have more than enough time as the second we arrive we'll be able to track them" Naruto explained before giving her shoulders a squeeze to reassure her it'll be okay.
"I do want you to do something for me, I'll have Vados go with you and stay with you until everything is settled down. I want you to tell everyone to not follow them or go after them, the less people getting hurt trying to stop them the better" he told her as she nodded, that making sense before the taller Angel put a hand on her shoulder.
"My sisters can grab all your stuff in your hotel room and bring it to you in the morning" Vados said, getting Temari to nod showing she was ready to go before the two of them disappeared.
"You better prepare, I plan to leave at the crack of dawn" Naruto told Sakura, patting her on the shoulder as he walked past her and back into the restaurant. "Caulifla, Kale, Cocotte, Dyspo, we have a mission" Naruto alerted his friends, getting Cocotte and Dyspo to get into their serious 'Pride Trooper' mode while Caulifla gained a million watt smile as she gave Kale a one armed hug.
"Some action! You just point me in the direction and I'll let loose" Caulifla roared out excitedly while Naruto rolled his eyes with a smirk.
"Just be ready to leave first thing in the morning" Naruto told her while he noticed Shikamaru seemingly catching on at the lack of Temari anywhere to be seen.
"Do I want to know?" Shikamaru asked Naruto who merely shrugged.
"Depends, afterall I think we both know you have it figured out already" Naruto replied which got a serious look from Shikamaru before Naruto gave him a light smile. "Relax, I'll make sure Gaara gets back safe" he added before he walked off with those he had called out to following after him.
"It's the Akatsuki isn't it?" Cocotte asked, getting a nod from him.
"I knew they were going to react fast so we also have to react just as fast. Marcarita and Cus are going to gather all the info that we will need to know about the two Akatsuki members that have showed up as well as all the others so we are all up to date" Naruto told them as the ability to look into the history of the world and focus on certain parts was insanely helpful when it came to being prepared.
-Next Morning-
"So why exactly did you send an ANBU to call for me right before we planned to leave, if you don't mind me asking?" Naruto asked Tsunade as she knew he planned to leave right away.
"It wasn't exactly my doing, the elders wished to speak with you" Tsunade said, Naruto sensing annoyance hidden under her 'Hokage business tone' before she motioned to the door moments before it opened and two elderly people walked in - one male and the other female.
"These are Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, two of the three elders" Tsunade introduced as Naruto nodded towards them.
"Nice to meet you but couldn't you two wait? The Kazekage has been taken by the Akatsuki and I need to leave right away" Naruto said, a bit impatient as sure he's fully able to instantly get to Sunagakure with the help of either of his angels but it still didn't mean he could - or wanted to - waste time.
"Do be careful how you speak to your superiors child, Tsunade might stand by as you speak your mind but we will not" Koharu warned him before Naruto couldn't resist rolling his eyes.
"Last I checked you two just advise the Hokage, you don't have the position to do stuff on your own as Hokage has the final say on everything. The Hokage gave me this mission and it is urgent so please, get whatever you want to lecture me about out already so I can nod along like I'm taking your words seriously and then leave" Naruto said, a bit sharp towards them both since he knew how they sided with Danzo on everything he suggested back with Hiruzen.
"You do not command us and you will wait until Danzo arrives, we sent a messenger to his place so we hope he shows up soon" Homura said, narrowing his eyes before Naruto sighed and stood up.
"Waiting on a dead man will only waste time so instead can I just go already?" Naruto asked Tsunade, getting wide eyes from both the elders.
"Dead? What do you mean by that!?" Koharu demanded before Naruto looked her in the eyes.
"Dead as in he's dead, I should know given I'm the one who killed him. You would not believe all the shady shit he's done over the ages" Naruto told them both, looking to Marcarita and nodding before she started to play images of the past through her staff.
"Working with Hanzo, attacking Shisui Uchiha, going behind Hiruzen's back to facilitate the Uchiha Clan Downfall, trying to steal Kakashi's Sharingan for himself, trying to have Hiruzen assassinated. I can go on but honestly, neither of us have the time as by the end of it you two will have died of incredibly, incredibly old age" Naruto said in a rather short tone since it wasn't like being a God of Destruction made him feel above everyone but, to have people like them act like they somehow were above him when they were just advisors, pissed him off a good bit.
If he had to put a word on it he didn't like people who felt like they were entitled to have everyone listen to them.
"So please, just let me leave and you can do your little 'you shouldn't leave the village cause your a jinchuriki and you shouldn't have been allowed out in the first place' spiel on a later day even though you'd think being the son of the Fourth Hokage would mean something but naw, being shitty to jinchuiki overrides that" Naruto ranted before taking a deep breath and sighing as he turned to look at Tsunade.
"Sorry about ranting there Tsunade, you'd be surprised how long I've wanted to vent that" he said with a chuckle, getting a laugh from Tsunade as she waved him off.
"Don't worry about it Naruto, I'm personally surprised you didn't do more" she said, referencing what all he could do before he walked over and whispered to Marcarita.
"Trust me, I could have done worse but these two...they're lucky they don't deserve it" Naruto said, walking out with Cus as Marcarita quickly played the last moments of Danzo's life before he was erased for them to see before she quickly rejoined him.
"We ready to go? What did Lady Tsunade need you for?" Sakura asked as he came out of the Hokage building.
"The Elders wanted to be nosy but I don't think they'll be bugging me anymore" he told her before looking around to everyone else. "Everyone ready to go?" he asked, moving the topic away from the annoying Elders as everyone nodded.
"Come on! I want to finally fight some people I can actually finish off!" Caulifla yelled out, clearly excited and wanting to let loose her Saiyan instincts to defeat anyone in front of her while Naruto rolled his eyes with a chuckle.
"You can't be seriously going off to face the Akatsuki with a group of people who have never fought chakra users before" Jiraiaya spoke out before he dropped down from a nearby roof, making Naruto groan again.
"Can't people, oh I don't know, just let me do what I want. I'm not some kid and I have more intel then you do so I'm more than prepared but if you keep wasting my time you make things more difficult" Naruto told Jiraiya, once again annoyed that he was being stopped like this.
"If I may be blunt Jiraiya, no one in this group is new to combat" Cocotte started as she looked over at the man with a serious look in her eyes. "Dyspo and I are part of a group that goes around keeping peace in this entire universe while Caulifla and Kale are part of a race that grows stronger the more they fight. Even Sakura seemingly stood her ground in a fight against Caulifla, even if no Ki was used so to insinuate we are ill prepared is insulting to all of us and Naruto" she listed off with a slight glare as she started to let out more and more pressure until Naruto stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"As you can see Jiraiya, we are fine. I knew what I was getting into when I requested the mission from Tsunade and - since you eavesdropped in on the meeting with the elders - you know I can handle things" Naruto told him, getting silence from Jiraiya before he turned back towards his group.
"Now everyone just try and remember what Marcarita and Cus showed you all about each potential Akatsuki member and their powers" he reminded them, getting an annoyed and impatient nod from Caulifla which just made him sigh before he nodded to his angels to signal they were ready to go.
-Sunagakure-
"See I told you he'd be here" he heard Temari say once he arrived, seemingly in what looked like a council room with Vados standing beside her while she stood in front of a group of old people seated around a large table.
"Sorry, we got a little held up by elders of my village being fussy. What is the situation Vados?" Naruto asked as he rubbed Temari's back to settle her down, seeing she was incredibly nervous. He also made sure to give Kankuro a slight smile and a nod, the look on Kankuro's face showing he got the message about they both would have preferred that they would have met again under a better situation.
"Gaara was taken by Deidara of Iwagakure and Sasori of Sunagakure. Sasori was able to use moles he had in the village to allow him and Deidara to get into the village without any trouble. Gaara fought valiantly to protect the village, taking an arm of Deidara in the process. The duo then left and headed off towards the border of Wind Country but haven't crossed over" Vados recapped, showing him some clips alongside it. "We were also able to identify all those who were sleeper agents for Sasori after some quick scanning through history and looking for a pattern of similar effect on multiple people's brains" she added since she had been asked by Temari to help with it and it had been well within her power to do so.
"Naruto, it's been quite a while and it seems you have grown and matured over the years" Baki, Gaara's old sensei started off before Naruto smiled over to him and held up a hand to politely interrupt him.
"I know what you are going to say but please, just believe and trust that I can get my friend and your Kazekage back safely. I'm certain Temari filled you in a bit about me and everything so I know it's hard to accept, as if Vados wasn't an odd sight to make you believe her words, but trust in her words and in my promise that I will get Gaara back safe" he told the man, filling his voice with sincerity and confidence before the ever stoic man couldn't keep from smirking and shaking his head.
"Okay, I'll have faith...what do you need us to do?" Baki asked getting a sigh from Naruto, not out of annoyance but one that sounded like he was a bit unsure.
"The hardest thing I can ask you and your people to do while their Kazekage has been taken….wait patiently for me to return" Naruto said as he knew everyone was on edge and they all wanted to help in some way.
"That's a tall task Naruto but I think we can do it, as long as you don't mind us impatiently waiting at the entrance to the village when you return" Kankuro replied with a weak smirk before Naruto gave him a thumbs up.
"Hey I don't blame you, it'll make for a nice warm welcome back for Gaara when we return" Naruto told them before Vados rejoined his other angels and they started to walk out of the room, Naruto wanting a bit more intel before they warped out.
"Wait!" Temari yelled out a bit after they left the council room. "Can I talk to you for a second before you leave?" she asked, getting a nod from Naruto as he turned towards the others.
"Of course Temari, you guys start heading towards the village gate and wait for me there" Naruto told the others, them nodding before he was left alone with Temari - well other than the Angels who had to stick close to him but at least gave them some space so it felt more private like Temari was seemingly hoping for.
"Don't get yourself hurt out there as even if it's for Gaara's sake he wouldn't like it and neither would I….just...good luck out there" Temari said before she surprised him with a quick kiss on the cheek, her face turning red as she stepped back and rushed off.
Naruto could only blink in surprise, entirely not expecting to get a kiss from his best friend's sister like that. But then again a 'good luck' kiss when going off to save her brother made sense in his mind a bit.
Though as he walked off with the Angels following he missed the knowing look and smile that the Angel's shared amongst themselves. 'He can be so cute and dense sometimes' they thought in seeming unison.
It didn't take him long to rejoin the others, them ready and waiting at the entrance to the village and trying to not stand on any of the blood that still seemed to be splattered along the walls and ground.
"Can we please go? Standing in blood really isn't appealing if I'm not the one who spilt it" Caulifla groans out while Kale clung to her a bit, her precious protege not liking blood in general.
"What did Temari need you for by the way?" Sakura asked, wondering what the Sand Sibling seemed so nervous about before they had left Naruto behind with her.
"She just wanted to wish me luck, I can only imagine how nervous and scared about her brother's safety so the sooner we get him back the better" Naruto told them before he turned to Marcarita, getting a nod from her as she understood what he wanted, bringing up a map for them with the location of where Gaara was being held lit up with a red dot.
"I doubt they'll be unprotected on the way there so while we can just teleport there doing so might be dangerous as we don't exactly know what is in there with them. We have to be fast as we move and if we get caught up we will have to deal with the roadblocks we meet quickly. Also stick to the ground and stick together as we move" he told them, getting nods from everyone before they quickly set off with the Angels floating as they followed behind them effortlessly.
"Don't worry about me Naruto, I can keep up with you all just fine" Sakura told him as she ran alongside him, impressing him a good deal since while this wasn't full speed it wasn't as if he was holding back completely with her in mind.
"I figured you could, I was mainly talking to Dyspo since he'd leave us all in the dust if I didn't tell him otherwise" Naruto said, giving her a smile before rolling his eyes as he looked over at Dyspo to see him running backwards just to show off.
"What can I say? I'm fast" Dyspo said with a smirk, getting a laugh from Caulifla.
"Don't let any girls hear you say that or they might get an image in their heads" she joked, getting laughs from a few others, turning Dyspo's cheeks red before he started running normally.
"Shut up!" Dyspo yelled out, frustrated and a bit embarrassed as they kept running.
-Akatsuki-
"It seems the Kyuubi jinchuriki is heading our way with a group of people clearly not from this planet. What shall we do?" Zetsu asked as while this jinchuriki seemingly having less Bijuu chakra in them than they expected even he knew that if they were interrupted before it was finished would ruin all their progress, sending all of the chakra back into the host.
"I'll use the Impersonation technique, Kisame and Itachi, you'll be used" Nagato said before he noticed someone staring at him. "Yes? What is it Sasuke?" he asked as he could tell the younger Uchiha wanted to speak out, thankful he at least learned to wait before speaking out after the first few times.
"I'll do it. My relationship with them will be enough to slow them down as they still want to bring me back. It should give use more than enough time to prepare the next step should they get past it" Sasuke suggested as his hologram stood atop the Gedo Mezo's left hand little finger, his retrieval of Orochimaru's ring being one of the main reasons he was allowed in the organization.
Normally, given the boy's intense desire to kill Itachi, he would have barred him from joining but two Uchiha with Mangekyo Sharingan was impossible to pass up…..plus their new benefactor Towa suggested letting him in given his past with the Kyuubi jinchuriki.
He had to have the younger Uchiha swear not to attempt killing Itachi until they were done collecting the Bijuu and - after a brief fight between his Six Paths and the green Uchiha - the boy agreed to his condition.
Plus he had ordered everyone ahead of time to deny Sasuke any and all information on Itachi and what he was up to. He wasn't dumb so he knew if the boy learned of Itachi's location he'd go after him first and then apologize, or flee, after.
"Fine, Zetsu will prepare the body while you set aside 30 percent of your chakra" Nagato said, hoping this would buy them enough time otherwise they'd be in a tight spot.
Then again if it did fail he had a contingency plan that'd be able to make up for it and allow them a possible second chance at taking the Ichibi again and possibly the Kyuubi.
-Naruto and Co.-
"Watch out, someone is waiting ahead of us" Cus alerted them as everyone stopped.
"Yeah, I can sense him and know this signature anywhere" Naruto said with a frown as a massive snake burst up from the ground with a very familiar figure stepping out of its mouth. It might have been several years since either of them last saw him but he and Sakura both could recognize Sasuke instantly, even as he wore an Akatsuki cloak.
"Been a while dobe, you still look ridiculous" Sasuke said with a smirk, his Sharingan already activated while Naruto merely looked him over with a raised eyebrow.
"Coming from the man wearing a jacket that looks like it would be big on Choji that's a bit 'pot calling the kettle black'. Plus I feel my uniform is much cooler than your boring uniform" he said with a smirk before Sakura stepped forward and clenched her fists as she glared at him.
"Sasuke, stand aside and let us pass. We need to save the Kazekage and if you get in the way we'll take you down" Sakura said, showing she wasn't about to get weak just because he was here.
"Take me down? I thought you wanted to save me and bring me home" Sasuke said with a hint of mocking to his tone before he rolled his eyes and looked her over. "Though out of the two of you the years have been the best to you...you could potentially be useful to me after all since I have been looking to remake the Uchiha clan and it won't be too hard to stomach you if you are like this" Sasuke said, smirking at her only to get a disgusted look from Sakura before a massive oppressive force weighed down on him.
"You'll do well to never make a comment like that to her ever again or I promise you won't live long enough to regret it" Naruto growled out, Kurama's voice mixing with his as he flared his Ki around him, a dark aura from his 'God of Destruction' powers flaring out.
"So take this as a warning, if we meet face to face - instead of this fake copy of you - and you make a comment like that I'll do more than this to you" Naruto growled harshly into Sasuke's ear, shocking the Uchiha as well as Sakura by how Naruto was suddenly in front of Sasuke with his arm plunged completely through his chest.
"N-Naruto! W-What did you just do!?" Sakura yelled out, Naruto holding up a finger to tell her to wait before he pulled his arm out of 'Sasuke', the body falling back and changing into someone else.
"It wasn't Sasuke, they used someone to make a fake version of him. Something felt off, I could feel two energies in him, one overlapping the other" Naruto said before Vados pulled up an image with her staff.
"The body belongs to Yura, the man who was a sleeper agent for Sasori and the one who let the Akatsuki into Sunagakure" she explained before Naruto cleaned off his arm with a shudder.
"I know what I'm doing Sakura, I wanted this fake version of himself done with. Especially after those disgusting comments he made. I mean I know you easily could have slugged him with all your strength to defend yourself but just, ugh, I couldn't stand it" Naruto said, still clearly angry at his comments before Sakura patted him on the back with a smile.
"Thanks Naruto, you being angry as well on my part does mean a lot" Sakura said as she cupped his cheek a bit to hopefully cheer him up a bit before Marcarita cleared her throat a bit.
"As sad as I am to interrupt this cute moment between the two of you, we have to continue on" Marcarita said with a calm smile, getting Naruto and Sakura to blush a bit as a few others were smirking at them.
"R-Right! Let's continue on" Naruto said as he coughed into his fist and started to resume heading towards where they kept Gaara.
-Akatsuki-
"Well that utterly failed. What happened to your relationship with them being enough to slow them down?" the voice of a hologram on the Gedo Mazo's left hand index finger yelled out with a laugh.
"He was faster than I expected….I can assure you next time if we fought in person it would have been a lot different" Sasuke said with a glare only to get an eye roll from the same hologram.
"Sure and I'm a nun" the man said before Nagato cleared his throat, getting him to stop laughing and keep Sasuke from replying.
"While it is a disappointment I was prepared for something like this thankfully. Those who know their roles maye leave, everyone else, you are to standby and wait until the Ichibi is recaptured and we restart this process" Nagato said with an incredibly annoyed tone before the holograms on the right index, left middle, left index finger , and left thumb disappeared.
-Naruto and Co.-
"There seems to be a barrier in place here, should be easy with Destruction Energy right?" Sakura asked as she inspected the seal tag on massive boulder blocking the entrance before Naruto nodded.
"Easily" Naruto said with a smirk as he summoned an orb of Destruction Energy before blasting it into the boulder, easily erasing the barrier and the boulder in a matter of seconds.
Caulifla and Kale were quick to react, getting in front of Naruto, Kale blocking a punch as a tanned arm that was seemingly attached to metal threads launched out from the dark cavern with Caulifla snatching a red three bladed scythe that was thrown out at them.
"Seems they were prepared and had more than just Deidara and Sasori here for us. Hidan and Kakuzu are definitely dangerous so be careful, remember what you heard about each of them" Naruto said with a frown before nodding to Caulifla and Kale which signaled to them that they were clear to take those two as opponents.
"Come on Kale, we got some asses to kick!" Caulifla yelled out, her and Kale flaring their aura before taking off and fly back away from the cave, each holding tight to what they had grabbed which in turn dragged the other two Akatsuki out of the cave and quickly away from everyone else.
"There goes our numbers advantage, lets see how many I get to follow me" Deidara said before he quickly took off into the air, Gaara in the mouth of his clay bird and away from the cave.
"Don't worry boss! I'll follow him and start fighting once I'm far enough from you all" Dyspo said before he burst off after Deidara, knowing about the man's explosions and not wanting to get others caught up in it when they fought.
"So that just leaves you two with Sasori" Naruto said to Cocotte and Sakura, getting a confused look from Sakura.
"What about you?" Sakura asked, looking back at him only to widen her eyes as she saw a figure behind them, his appearance screaming that he wasn't from this planet.
"Cause they have back up and I think he's here for me" Naruto told Sakura as the man had suddenly showed up moments after Dyspo and Deidara had left. He knew the man hadn't snuck up behind him and instead was teleported here.
"Cus I want you to go and watch over Kale and Caulifla, Vados you stay here with Cocotte and Sakura, Marcarita you go with Dyspo and the second he gets Gaara put him in your staff and come back to me" Naruto directed his angels, each of them nodding with Cus teleporting over to where the two Saiyans had flown off to and Marcarita teleporting off to Dyspo.
"Can I at least ask your name before we start fighting?" Naruto asked the blue skinned man, his stoic glare making him think he wouldn't get a name out of him only for the man to look him in the eyes.
"Mira" was all he got from the man, Naruto quickly marking him as the 'strong silent type' before he flared his Ki and summoned a blood red aura around him.
Naruto could definitely feel he was strong, even when the man was clearly holding back. 'Let's see how much of the 'strong' in 'strong silent type' applies to your physical strength as well' Naruto thought as he definitely felt Mira would give him more of a fight than Danzo did.
-Caulifla and Kale-
"Now!" Caulifla yelled out as she and Kale both let go of the thing they were dragging and hopped back to give more space between them and their new enemies.
"About fucking time you two stopped dragging us! I've got splinters all over cause of you, you bitch!" Hidan yelled out, pulling out a massive tree branch from his gut as if it was nothing before fixing his combed back grey hair.
"You wouldn't have gotten injured so much if you tried to stay on your feet at all" Kakuzu said with a roll of his eyes as he reeled in his arm, it reattaching like it was nothing before looking over at them.
"You two aren't in any real bingo book but I know a few people who would be interested in your corpses given how you aren't from this planet. I'll try not to damage you too bad as I know all too well that a fully intact body pays more" he added before he leapt back to avoid a blast.
"Enough talk" Caulifla said, proud that Kale had shot him to try and shut him up. "You guys came to fight and so did we!" she yelled as the both of them flared their Ki before dashing at them.
"Remember to be careful with him Caulifla" Kale warned, getting a nod from Caulifla as she appeared in front of Hidan.
"I know Kale, don't worry about me, you focus on your fight as neither are going to be easy" Caulifla told her with a serious look in her eyes before she blasted Hidan's scythe away as he tried to swing it at her. "I know you can't die but this'll still hurt like hell!" she yelled as she put her hand on his chest for a brief second before firing off a powerful Ki blast point blank into it which in turn sent him flying back.
"You fucking bitch! Your sacrifice will make Jashin reward me greatly as its not everyday I get the blood of a non-human to use in a ritual!" Hidan said with a manic grin as he got up, Caulifla's eyes widening a bit as the hole in his chest healed up.(*2)
"That so isn't what we were told by the Angels…" Caulifla said with a frown before Hidan patted his chest with a cocky smirk.
"Lord Jashin was gracious enough to allow someone else to help strengthen his rituals if it ensures he gets more sacrifices" Hidan told her as he gained a faint black and purple aura around him that Caulifla instantly knew was Ki, more specifically, someone else's since Hidan had no Ki.
"I'll have to tell Naruto about it after I take you out," Caulifla said as she summoned a red energy sword, its color based off her Ki color "after all, you just seem like a hard to kill cockroach to me" she added with a smirk before she quickly shot off towards him in a burst of speed.
"Do you seriously think you can handle me? You don't exactly seem the fighting type" Kakuzu said, a smirk evident in his tone despite the majority of his face being covered.
"Don't look down on me, I'm tougher than I look!" Kale yelled out as she burst off towards Kakuzu only to quickly duck and slide on as he launched one of his arms towards her with her blasting through the cords that attached the limb with a Ki blast. 'That isn't going to permanently detach it but it'll help a bit' Kale thought as she used her hands as she continued to slide to quickly push herself up to help deliver a strong knee to Kakuzu's face only for him to block it as a shockwave burst out from the force of her strike.
"Gotcha" Kakuzu said with a smirk only for it to falter as Kale smirked back.
"You sure about that?" Kale asked as a translucent green light burst from her only to condense down towards her knee and turn solid. 'Gigantic Impact!' she thought as her attack exploded and she leapt back, her attack not damaging her at all but as the dust settled she could see frowned as Kakuzu seemed unhurt and his skin a much darker shade.
"Nearly didn't have time to use Earth Spear, I have to remember that Ki is annoying" Kakuzu said while silently keeping the fact that even with Earth Spear that attack had still broken a few bones in his hand, something he could fix compared to a splattered hand. 'This girl might look meek but her power is intense. Might not be enough to fully break through it but I have to be careful' he thought before he clenched his fists and his body started to shift.
"Sorry girl but I'm not going to hold back" Kakuzu said before the back of his jacket burst open and four masks connected by countless wires popped out, as if tails of his that were facing forward.
Wasting no time he wove through the hand seals with his fire mask opening its mouth. "Fire Style: Intelligent Hard Work!" he yelled out before his fire mask shot out a stream of fire, Kale quickly taking to the air to avoid it as it instantly grew in size the second the fire touched the ground.
"Too easy" Kakuzu said with a smirk as he wove through another set of hand signs. "Wind Style: Pressure Damage" he said before his wind mask shot out its powerful and wide blast of wind, instantly causing the fire to explode out with the air, seemingly catching Kale in the blast.
"Kale!" Caulifla yelled out as she could see the massive blast of fire out of the corner of her eye, turning to look for Kale only for Hidan to force her to block his scythe strikes, making it impossible to worry for her.
"Focus on me unless you secretly want to be sacrificed to the great Lord Jashin" Hidan said with a deranged smile as he kept attacking, Caulifla narrowing her eyes as she was beyond annoyed that she couldn't cut through the man's scythe.
'Whoever the hell powered him up strengthened his damn weapon as well' she thought with a frown, wishing she could get rid of it but even when she was cut or blasted off the arm wielding the scythe he merely swapped hands while the arm she dismembered or destroyed regenerated from the stump left behind.
Interestingly enough the arms all disintegrated a bit after being cut off from him.
Caulifla grit her teeth as she fought the urge to look over at Kale's fight, blocking another strike from Hidan before she opened her spare hand and summoned her Ki into it. "I know your head is needed so lets see what happens when it goes splat!" Caulifla yelled out as she moved in closer to him, pointing her hand inches from his head. 'Crush Cannon!' she thought before she fired multiple high powered blasts at him and leapt back to avoid being caught in the blast.
"In the past that would have worked but….even he can't be killed like that anymore….sadly" Kakuzu said as Caulifla widened her eyes in shock as Hidan's head started to slowly grow back from the neck up, giving them both a rather disgusting show.
"That fucking hurt! I'll kill you for Lord Jashin and for myself!" Hidan yelled out utterly enraged as he leapt forward at Caulifla with his eyes full of anger.
"Don't forget about me!" Kale yelled as she appeared behind him with a fist coated in another of her Gigantic Impact before she drove it towards the back of his head. Only this time he couldn't block it with his hand, point his water mask towards her.
"Water Style: Hydro Downpour!(*3)" Kakuzu yelled as the mast shot out a massive beam of solid water only to widen his eyes as Kale's punch went through it like it was nothing and her fist collided with the mask. A second later her attack went off and shattered it as well as the heart inside it, his Earth Spear protecting him from the remainder of the blast as best as it could.
Kakuzu grit his teeth in pain from a heart of his being destroyed like that but also due to the fact that even with Earth Spear her attack had seriously stung.
Her suddenly getting stronger like this didn't make any sense to him until he actually saw her and how she had changed. She was noticeably taller and more muscular, her hair golden with a slight green tint to it and spiked up like crazy as she was coated in a golden aura.
"I'm sorry Caulifla but I had to. I know I can keep in control for a while and I promise to do my best not to lose control" Kale said as she looked over to Caulifla who smiled and nodded at her while she fought Hidan.
"Don't apologize Kale, use your power to kick that guy's ass!" Caulifla cheered on before Kakuzu smirked at her.
'Lose control, that sounds like it could be advantageous for me' Kakuzu thought with a smirk before he made his remaining three masks separate into their seperate creature forms and instantly attack her.
Kale knew she was in for it as the masks seperated and transformed, giving her a four against one battle, but was confident that now as a Super Saiyan she could handle it.
Caulifla though was much more worried for her precious protege, not because she feared Kale couldn't handle Kakuzu but fear that it might call out that legendary power that slumbered with in her.
-Dyspo and Deidara-
"So when are you actually going to start trying to escape?" Dyspo asked as he effortlessly kept up with Deidara, even as the man tried to fly and turn erratically at random moments in an attempt to 'shake him'. "Or is this you trying to escape? Cause if so then it's pretty sad" he said with embarrassment leaking heavily off his tone which only seemed to enrage the man, causing Dyspo to start dodging more explosions as he yawned.
Deidara had also done a lot of this as well, attempts to blow him up with his clay creatures but with his speed, dodging was something he could do with his eyes closed. Hell he had dodged a few with his eyes closed just to piss the man off even more.
He knew he had a finite amount of clay and if he made the man waste more and more it'll leave him with no more bombs to throw.
"Shut the hell up you annoying unartistic swine! All you have done is follow me and dodge! Is that all you can do!?" Deidara yelled, throwing another bomb only for the purple creature to disappear and reappear inches from him with his foot thrown back to launch a kick.
"Nope, I can do this!" Dyspo said with a smirk as he launched a powerful kick too fast for Deidara to even react to, one second the mad bomber being in the sky and the next finding himself crashing down hard into the ground.
Dyspo had to act quick - thankfully that being his speciality - as he coated his arms in Ki to help cut through the clay creature to fish Gaara out of its insides, grabbing him and jumping off the clay bird long before Deidara could detonate it.
"Do be careful fighting Deidara as it seems people from off world are involved with the Akatsuki and are powering them up as well as working alongside them. I'll be waiting nearby while you finish up" Marcarita told Dyspo, having gotten the intel from Cus, before the Pride Trooper nodded to her as she took the unconscious Gaara into her staff and teleported a bit away so she could watch over the fight without being bothered by Deidara.
"Not so fast! I've got a job to do!" Deidara yelled as he had crawled his way out of the trench Dyspo had sent him into and send clay centipede after them only for his two targets to disappear and quickly feel a sharp pain in the side of his face before being sent flying from a kick again.
"I'm your opponent so focus on me" Dyspo said, already a tiny bit impressed that the man was able to withstand his kicks even if they weren't exactly full power.
"Okay fine then! I didn't want to do this as it goes against my artistic integrity but push a man far enough and any explosion will be art! You'll regret kicking me!" Deidara yelled as he held out his one remaining hand towards Dyspo.
"Katsu!" the mad bomber yelled out with no hand seal apparently needed as Dyspo widened his eye as his boot started to glow, putting two and two together and being just fast enough to take it off and jump back before it exploded.
Dyspo didn't have much time to settle as he could see the ground glowing under where he landed, his eyes following the trail of glowing land back to Deidara and his hand.(*4) 'Great….he can detonate other things he touches. If I had to guess it'd probably involve his chakra' Dyspo thought as he dodged the explosion and started to fly in the air.
'I doubt he can make the air explosive since he can't touch it but I better be careful' he thought with a frown, hoping that this won't be too difficult to handle.
-Cocotte and Sakura-
"Do you think Naruto will be okay?" Sakura asked, wanting to look back to check on Naruto but knew better with an Akatsuki member in front of them.
"He'll be fine, he's trained and sparred against several strong Gods so even if this is someone who does have the potential intent to kill I feel he'll be able to handle him" Cocotte, having complete faith in Naruto and his skill
"So I'm stuck with you three it seems….I don't know about that blue skinned woman but with you two once I defeat you both I'll have a solid 300 puppets in my collection. Plus I'll have the first ever alien puppet...two if I go after that blue woman next" Sasori said, a smirk heard in his tone even through his Hiruko puppet as the puppet looked Cocotte over as if imagining how she'd look as a puppet and casting a side-eyed glance towards Vados.
He quickly looked away though once Vados started him dead in the eyes, not Hiruko's eyes but, if either of them had to figure, Sasori's eyes from within Hiruko.
"Sorry but no, it'll take a lot more than poison and some puppets to take either of us out" Cocotte said as she wasted no time before launching a barrage of lavender colored Ki blasts at Sasori.
Sasori tried to block as best he could with Hiruko's tail only for it to shatter after repeated blasts and his cloak to be torn to shreds but in the end the tail helped save the puppet.
"Enough of this!" Sasori yelled as Hiruko's mouth opened and he started his barrage of poison dipped senbon.
"Get behind me Sakura!" Cocotte ordered out, Sakura nodding and falling into line before Cocotte summoned a barrier around the two of them. One look from Cocotte and a nod towards the ground Sakura quickly got her message and started on her part.
Sasori narrowed his eyes as he fired off Hiruko's left arm, it flying through the air before the studs on the arm fired off and launched hundreds of more senbon at the barrier. Sasori might not know how the technique worked but wasting senbon wasn't too much of an actual waste.
"You can't hide in there forever. This isn't much of a fight if you do" Sasori said before Cocotte smirked at him.
"I can keep my barrier up for as long as I want but, if I'm being honest, I'm just buying time for Sakura" Cocotte said, confusing Sasori before he noticed Sakura wasn't in the barrier behind her anymore.
"Too late! Shannaro!" Sakura yelled as she burst up from the ground below Sasori before he could react, Cocotte having directed her to travel underground to attack him with her enhanced strength. Her strength was easily able to shatter the Hiruko puppet, Sakura noticing as a figure leap out before she could hit him, deciding to leap back towards Cocotte.
"So that's the real you Sasori, the living puppet" Sakura said with a frown, hiding her shiver as she had been somewhat disgusted and freaked out by it when she first heard about it from the three Angels.
"So you know about me, seems you are more informed than we expected" Sasori said as he took off the black sheet that was left over from Hiruko, revealing the youthful appearance that becoming a puppet while still moderately young. "Information doesn't mean much if you are too weak to fight and defeat your opponent" Sasori started before he pulled out a scroll, unrolling a part of it to reveal the kanji for 'three' on it.
"Let me show you both my favorite. It was truly the hardest one for me to get and to complete but thats what makes me so fond of him" Sasori said before a cloud of smoke erupted from the scroll.
As the smoke died down both Cocotte and Sakura were finally able to see the puppet of the Third Kazekage appear behind Sasori.
"So you finally bring him out? Must have been rather difficult to make when you had to go through all the trouble of having a mole of yours poison him so you could take his dead body" Vados said with a calm smile, looking over to Sasori who narrowed his eyes ever so slightly but kept his calm look strong.
"What do you mean Vados?" Sakura asked, noticing the effect that the angel's words had on Sasori.
"The Third Kazekage from what I've seen in the history of Suna was the strongest of all the Kazekages, his Iron Sand being the true reason for that. It doesn't make much sense that a puppeteer would be able to take him down when his sand would have ruined any and all puppets upon contact with his sand, of course Sasori knew this so he had one of his sleeper agents poison the man and bring his body to him only to kill the agent so he could truly claim it was he who killed the Third Kazekage. Rather cowardly if you ask me" Vados explained to them only to easily block an attack just as the Kazekage puppet tried to hit her with a hidden buzzsaw, the weapon breaking instantly once it struck her staff.(*5)
"Oh my, did I strike a nerve?" Vados asked, completely unfazed and unaffected as she looked at Sasori with him quickly recalling his puppet and ejecting the damaged weapon.
"I don't care if you found it out, it makes no difference as you three will die and become puppets of mine as well" Sasori said while he tried his best to keep his calm tone despite the clear anger they all could hear barely hidden in it.
"Stay on your toes, that puppet is fast and who knows how many more tools it has. I can protect you if things go south but only if you are within range" Cocotte told Sakura, getting a nod from her fellow pinkette before Sasori wasted no time sending his puppet after them.
It seemed he learned his lesson not to attack Vados as, while she couldn't fight, she could waste time if he attacked her which would give the two of them clear windows to attack.
The puppet was fast, summoning several blades alongside the puppet's right arm as it dove at Sakura, appearing in front of her with it already poised to swing them at her.
Sakura knew something was coming, preparing to leap back, and while she was too slow Cocotte helped 'cover' her as a thin barrier wall appeared in front of her to block the Kazekage's strike (*6). The barrier, while thin, would not budge or show any signs of breaking no matter how much Sasori tried to push against it.
"You're to go first if I'm to get anything done" Sasori said as he commanded his puppet through his chakra strings to open up the forearm and bicep of Kazekage's left arm, revealing several seals lining the insides of it.
Cocotte knew to be on guard as the seals activated and several hundred nearly never-ending puppet arms shot out at her. With Sakura having leapt away from the blades of the Kazekage, and the puppet seemingly not being able to move while it did this, Cocotte flared her Ki in her hands and started to take aim.
"Justice Barrage!" Cocotte yelled as she fired off an even stronger barrage of larger lavender Ki blasts at the arms that raced towards her, quickly noticing how each blast easily shattered an arm on contact. She knew she couldn't let up, her blasts easily keeping the arms at bay before they stopped pushing forward and suddenly shot out a massive cloud of poison at her.
Cocotte tried to leap back to avoid it only for a kunai on a rope wrapped around her and pulled her back towards the cloud of smoke.
"Cocotte!" Sakura yelled out, hoping Cocotte would be fine in the cloud of poison and felt a bit helpless that merely standing there was all that she could do.
"If you can breathe in that barrier then air has to flow through it which means my poison will as well" Sasori said with a smirk, at least hoping his hypothesis was correct since if it was it'd get the the unknown factor out of the way.
But, as the rope reeled in after having been cut and the additional ropes he sent out seemed to be deflected it seemed that the woman was inside one of her barriers.
"Sorry to disappoint but my barriers are a lot more versatile than you think! Air is filtered completely in it and it isn't as immobile as you think! Training with Naruto has assured that!" Cocotte yelled as she, still in her barrier, shot out of the poison cloud and into the air before quickly slamming down and destroying the Kazekage's arms that were spewing poison.
She tried to dash at the puppet only Iron Sand to fly at her and grab her barrier before flinging it at a wall of the cave. Cocotte though quickly dispelled her barrier and dropped down beside Sakura before she hit the wall.
"Iron Sand...like how Gaara can control sand. We need to be careful if he's even halfway as good as Gaara with it" Sakura said given her first hand experience of seeing Gaara fight with his sand she knew the Magnet release was definitely powerful.
"Might I suggest something given how you two are struggling a bit?" Vados asked, surprising the two women as she appeared between them.
"Wait you are able to help us?" Sakura asked which got a 'sort of' gesture from Vados.
"I cannot actively participate in a fight but I can help in any other way I am ordered to which I have ongoing orders to ensure everyone survives. So to ensure that, and fix the struggle of balancing your offense and defense, I am giving you both these" Vados told them before she summoned a pair of purple earrings that Sakura noticed looked the same as the ones she had seen on Caulifla and Kale.
"Are you sure about this Vados? This isn't something we can just force on Sakura" Cocotte said, giving Sakura and unsure look as they each got one earring. The female Pride Trooper though was thankful that Vados' presence seemed to make Sasori stop attacking for the time being, how long that went on though depended on how quickly he grew tired of waiting.
"Force what on me? I know Caulifla and Kale have these earrings so what do they do? Are they power boosters or something?" Sakura asked, unsure exactly what they were or what they could be given she knew absolutely nothing of the wonders of things out in space.
"They are Potara earrings, when two people wear them in opposite ears they temporarily fuse the two people together into one being for an hour. Caulifla and Kale use it for various reasons but they work as they are very close" Cocotte explained, not wanting to 'overstep' things with Sakura given they had just met.
"Have some time to think it over if you want" Vados said as she quickly teleported them back a few feet and set up a barrier for them, her back turned to Sasori which seemed to be enough to set him off.
"Iron Sand Drizzle!" Sasori yelled out as he fired off hundreds of iron sand bullets at Vados, her back still turned to him before his eyes widened as she effortlessly seemed to dodge absolutely every single one of them.
"Oh my, how rude. Attacking before I even turned around like that. So improper" Vados said as she put a hand to her cheek with a disappointed sigh while she continued to dodge.