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Naruto's POV (Ruins of The Den - Western River Plains)
Evening
"Not a true one!" Muri chimed in confidently. "Even the Crawling Demons avoided the anchor before the golems had formed. Nighttime should be no real threat, assuming we get there timely."
Naruto nodded, more pleased with the plan. "Are we sure we shouldn't rest, though? I can keep going for a while, but that last fight was costly. Surely, resting for the night would make us better prepared. The rest of you can't go nearly as long as me after all."
"We've rested long enough; if we intend to save our friends and get home in time to not cause a stir, we must not waste time." Sasuke countered. "The sooner we confirm the security of the Chakra Anchor, the sooner we can take our leave. Besides, with the Master not being here, we can be all the more certain he's there."
The group nodded as they prepared to leap out of the camp's remnants. However, their take was stopped when Yuno and Sasuke cried out in sync suddenly.
"Dodge!"
"Dodge!"
Naruto blinked as Sasuke teleported forward and kicked off Kiba and Choji's heads, dropping them to the ground and kicking himself up high into the air. Naruto himself was bodily tackled by Yuno, the two collapsing into a heap.
Their cry and sudden action proved fortuitous as a sharp whistle sounded throughout the clearing. The group awkwardly climbed to their feet and raised their guards as the trees and large stones surrounding the cove suddenly cracked, splitting cleanly in two and leveling the elevation of the cove. Naruto blinked as he felt a massive disturbance in the air. Drawing Riptide with a curse and channeling chakra into it, he raced forward, leaping into the air as Riptide began to glow with chakra. Naruto frowned as he faced the disturbance and slashed out with a cry.
"Draw of the Maelstrom: Slicing Wave!" Naruto cried as he condensed his wind nature chakra into the blade before releasing a shooting line of slicing chakra forward. Suddenly, from deep within, the trees cut massive gleaming lines of thread; the wind blade and threads collided with an ungodly screeching before both canceled out with an explosion. "Seems like the Master has shown himself." Naruto explained calmly as the severed threads and dust settled around him the blond spearheading the group as they waited for the attacker to show themself.
"I'm out of shape if you sensed my sneak attack and matched my follow-up." A man joked as he exited the forest with a woman beside him. Despite having just tried and failed to kill them, he seemed relaxed and calm. As if visiting old friends as opposed to facing new threats. "Surviving not one but two attacks from a being like me is no small feat. My name is Blechumi, and my student here is Tamaki. We were the leaders of the Runic Wolves that you just destroyed, and yes, by proxy, this Master you've heard so much of…" Blechumi explained. He glanced at Fenrir with disdain. "I admit these fools represented me poorly. Their strength was better than my first clan, but their lack of grace was shameful. Truly, by destroying them, you've done me a favor. One I'll repay by offering the quickest deaths I can. But first…" Blechumi lazily began to wave his hand at Fenrir's corpse. Within seconds, the duplicate threads that had nearly cut the group in two formed and wrapped around the giant wolf. With a violent wave of his hand the wire began to contract into the beast. With each stroke, they cut the beast into pieces. Before tearing through cleanly, leaving the wolf shredded into small pieces. The woman flinched at the grizzly actions of her Master, but Naruto was much more active in response. Shooting air from his feet, he burst forward, appearing as a blur. Riptide struck out for Blechumi's neck, who raised an arm to block the blow. Naruto was shocked that Riptide did not cut through it, but his strength made the blow worthy. Sending Blechumi careening through several trees with pure power.
"Forcing someone to fight for you then disrespecting their corpse?" Naruto asked angrily. "There's no way in hell you're the Blechumi of the same name as that clan!" Sasuke appeared next to Naruto Besmirched Flambe, the deadly technique was active and ready.
"Nice strike, but he managed to block it. You saw that, right?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah," Naruto admitted. "Bastard was cutting up a giant easier than either of us could. And just tanked a sword to the arm without losing it. No doubt he's strong."
Naruto and Sasuke both turned, but a whip cracked and nearly smacked Naruto's face. Yuno appeared before it could however, stabbing the whip into the ground with a kunai shocking speed. She smiled at the sneak attacking Tamaki who had crept behind them. Yuno pounced forward, but Tamaki merely smiled back at her as the whip moved on its own, growing longer and raising its tip before snapping out. It wrapped around Yuno's throat tightly within an instant, stopping her charge.
"You dare attack the Master?!" Tamaki asked, incensed. "I will teach you humility!"
"Maybe the master should've taught you better defenses against Genjutsu," Sasuke replied calmly.
"Seriously, even I would've seen that one." Naruto agreed. The two watched as the stunned Tamaki stared at them before Yuno's double faded. Realizing she had been duped, Tamaki flinched, allowing the real Yuno to land a flying kick to her ribs, sending her careening into the river.
"This one's mine, boys," Yuno concluded as she marched forward. Stomping on top of the surface of the water with a purpose.
"My my my, you both can sense my power. Incredible, isn't it? It makes even the two of you seem weak and unremarkable." Blechumi replied conversationally as he stalked toward Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, and Choji.
"There's no doubt about it," Kiba growled angrily, dropping to all fours and readying a food pill. "This is that master bastard I was telling you about."
"We gotta be careful!" Choji cried out as he nervously prepared himself. "This guy was strong enough to easily keep me in check!"
"We don't have time for this." Naruto interrupted. "The rest of you get going, I'll take care of this bastard."
"That won't work. You may not be the most intelligent, but surely even you can feel what I feel," Sasuke interjected. "From his displays and his chakra potency, this guy is a real threat. He feels like he could quite possibly be on the same level as my sensei." Sasuke explained, glaring openly at Blechumi.
"I noticed, but if he's here and the barrier is still up, someone else is responsible for it." Naruto mused. "Isn't my staying back and taking him out the best plan?"
"We can't afford to risk it. You are arguably our strongest asset. Instead, you and I will take him on in tandem. This will assure our victory and allow us to keep an eye on Yuno as well," Sasuke countered.
"I'll stay as well." Muri decided grimly. "For one, this man is an enemy of the Okama; two, if he is as dangerous as you think, Naruto may need me."
"I get the idea. You all will handle these two while Choji and I investigate the Chakra Anchor. Since we know there's two separate parties here, it's more likely the others are either pursuing or being pursued by that party." Kiba caught on with a nod to Choji. "I'm gonna prioritize finding the others, by the way. The Chakra Anchor can wait."
"He's right. I want to make sure Shino and them are okay! Plus, I have to apologize to Hinata." Choji agreed.
"Sounds perfect, I wouldn't want it any other way." Naruto agreed with an easy smile. "We'll be counting on you to keep 'em safe till we arrive."
"As if we'd need either of you to protect our friends." Kiba snarked back before leaping off in pursuit of their allies. Sasuke blurred forward as Kiba turned his back, managing to sever a string aimed to pierce the Inuzuka from behind. Choji leaped off after Kiba once had sworn to give it his best. Offering a nervous nod to Naruto.
"This should be fine then." Sasuke decided as he eyed Blechumi intensely. Naruto skipped the staring fest, stretching lightly before the mayhem began. "Muri, keep an eye on Yuno for us as we battle. If things turn into her own fight, we'll need you to split off to aid her. That'll be your job."
"Shouldn't I stay with Naruto?" Muri asked. "When working together with Personal Atmosphere, we're nearly unbeatable."
"It'll be fine, Sasuke, and we will watch each other's backs," Naruto assured. "Besides, I could never lose to someone who'd turn their back on their own family."