Pushing Through the Limit Chapter 45: Here and There (Patreon)

I sat with my arms across my chest and my eyes narrowed in concentration as my attention was spread out across in nine different directions. Taking a slow deep breath, I reached forward and grabbed a cup of tea that had been placed in front of me.

“Don’t you think you’re going a little too far?” Samui asked simply. “Even this might be a little too much for you.”

“I’ve…” I began, but was interrupted by several loud thumps that shook the ground.

My concentration had faltered. Turning back, I found the ground dented under the combined weight of several of Bee’s ultra dense weights. Glancing towards the other golden Chakra arms, I was happy to see that despite my brief lapse in concentration, they hadn’t been affected.

“It seems that nine is your limit for multiple complex tasks,” Yugito pitched in from across the outdoors table. “Once you began moving your own limbs and attempted to hold a conversation, you lost focus for a moment. Regardless of that, what you’ve managed to accomplish is certainly an impressive feat.”

“Thanks,” I hummed, retracting the Chakra arms after snuffing out the various elements and techniques that each one had been using. “So where were we?”

“Lunch,” Samui deadpanned.

“You requested to speak with me while Fu works to complete the first stage of her training,” Yugito replied. “If it’s concerning your use of the Kyuubi’s Chakra, I don’t believe I’ll be much help.”

“No, it wasn’t that,” I waved her off. “Seeing as we have some time, I wanted to talk to you about the Akatsuki.”

Originally, Yugito’s overconfidence would have led her to being captured by Hidan and Kakuzu. Seeing as I’d killed Hidan, I had no idea who would be assigned to her capture now. For now, a little extra caution and paranoia would go a long way to ensuring that as few Jinchuriki were captured by the Akatsuki as possible.

“Raikage-sama has already informed me about their intentions and the known members,” Yugito noted.

“He has,” I nodded. “But he’s only working with his one encounter with them in the Land of Iron, I’ve fought them several times.”

We didn’t have that much time before the Akatsuki began to move again. It would be around 2 years before, possibly less due to my interference. Everyone needed to be ready to fight them at a moment’s notice.

“I know as much already. Your Hokage has seen fit to share all relevant information with Raikage-sama and he has shared that with those that are most effected… Bee and myself. I understand that they are dangerous,” Yugito replied. “But I don’t see what more you could tell me about them.”

If that was true, then there really wasn’t much I could tell her. She already seemed well informed. The only information I had left were things I shouldn’t know and there was no way I was going to let anyone else in on that secret.

“You’re worried that she’ll end up attempting to fight the Akatsuki on her own again,” Kurama hummed.

‘Pretty much. Yugito is pretty strong, especially with Matatabi’s help, but the Akatsuki are all exceptionally powerful and have abilities tailored to taking Jinchuriki down,’ I thought back. ‘I’m growing stronger… much stronger, but I can’t protect everyone.’

“It doesn’t seem like there’s much for you to do. At the end of the day, people will make their own choices and there’s nothing you’ll be able to do about it… unless you want to end up like Obito and Madara… making those choices for their own good.”

‘Madara…’

“Hm, I see. That should work to abate your worries.”

“Around fourteen years ago, when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, it wasn’t due to a faulty or failing seal,” I began. “He was ripped out of the current Jinchuriki of that time and forced to attack Konoha.”

The simple threat that Madara might still be around would be enough to shake the five great nations. Obito had used Madara’s name in order to fool Konan and Nagato however he wasn’t the only one that could use the name to their advantage.

“Someone ripped the Kyuubi out of its Jinchuriki?” Yugito asked, her eyes widening.

Samui looked up, her eyes widening as she came to her conclusion. “The person that did that is a part of the Akatsuki.”

“More than that, they’re the true leader,” I nodded. “And he called himself Uchiha Madara. Regardless of if that’s true or not, he still had enough power to control the Kyuubi and fight the Yondaime Hokage.”

“This is bad, Raikage-sama…” Samui began.

“Already knows, so does my Hokage, Jiraiya of the Sannin, Bee and a few others,” I said. “The reason why I’m telling you this isn’t to scare either of you.”

“Liar,” Kurama snorted.

‘Hey, I’m just warning her so she doesn’t grow overconfident.’

“I just want you to understand the threat of what’s out there. Konoha and Kumo are allies in this… more than that… Jinchuriki are allies in this. The threat of Madara and the Akatsuki pose is a threat to the world… luckily, they can only truly accomplish their goals by abducting all of the Jinchuriki and Biju,” I explained. “Our lives carry a lot of weight to them, Yugito. If we lose, the world will suffer for it.”

“That’s why Raikage-sama allied with Konoha and agreed to assist in training Jinchuriki,” Yugito realized. “The threat of Konoha having capable, perfect Jinchuriki is great, but the threat of Madara being alive or someone of a similar ideology and power is much worse.”

“That and the Akatsuki have been infiltrating hidden villages in an attempt to destabilize the world and start the next big Shinobi war so that they can work in the shadows again,” I added with a shrug. “It just so happens that I’m capable of finding their most common infiltrator… that’s why I’ve been staying in Kumo after all.”

“You’ve given me a lot to think about,” Yugito hummed. “You seem to know a lot about this Madara impersonator. Is there anything else that you can tell me about him?”

“Sure, but first… would you like a Kunai?” I asked, holding one out to her.

…PTL…

One and a half years later.

I stood, waiting outside of the Raikage’s office with Samui by my side while he was busy addressing some of his Shinobi. A memory from a clone flashed through my mind and I had to suppress a snort of laughter.

One of my clones had just returned with Bee, having retrieved him from one of the numerous villages in the Land of Lightning that frequented. He’d been teleported back to his training ground mid song.

The doors to the Raikage’s office opened and a trio of Shinobi were led out by Mabui who stopped by the door.

“Raikage-sama will see you now, Naruto-sama,” Mabui announced, directing Samui and myself into the office.

“Hm, Naruto. It’s about time that you arrived,” Ay grunted in his usual gruff voice. “I was expecting you earlier.”

“Sorry about that,” I smiled, rubbing the back of my head. “I had a few things to take care of before I returned to Konoha.”

“No doubt fetching my brother from one of his idiotic rap concerts. I’ve known for a while now,” Ay said. “In fact, I think I owe you a little something for all the times you’ve helped my brother sneak out of Kumo.”

I watched a little cautiously as Ay reached under his table, only to relax when he lightly tossed one of his weights my way. Reaching up, I deftly snatched it out of the air, only for my instincts to suddenly scream at me.

Slipping a Kunai out of its holster, I flicked it forward and looked up to see Ay’s lightning covered fist heading directly towards my head.

In a flash I was gone, appearing back in my apartment in Kumo briefly, before flashing back to the Kunai I’d just thrown.

Catching the Kunai midair, I streamed Wind Style Chakra through it, before bringing it towards Ay’s body, stopping in front of his chest as his hand stopped at my neck.

“Good reflexes. Your use of the Hiraishin is just a little slower than your fathers,” Ay complimented while letting his lightning cloak fade.

“You’re pretty fast,” I hummed, retracting my Kunai. Feeling that something was throwing off my balance, I lifted Ay’s weight in my off hand and handed it back to him.

“R… Raikage-sama? Naruto-sama? What was that?” Mabui asked while Samui stood by her side with a nervous look on her face.

“Just a test,” Ay replied.

“A… test?” Mabui said softly. “Perhaps it would have been better if you had this test out in one of the training grounds instead of in your office.”

“Hm, maybe next time,” Ay grunted.

Ay’s test had been abrupt, but I could see why he’d done it in such a fashion. A real fight was different from a spar. There was no telling when you might be attacked and the ability to act while surprised was often the difference between life and death.

Ay’s surprise attack had taken me off guard, but my reaction and counter attack had proven to be more than adequate.

“You doing alright?” I asked Samui.

“Yes, I just… wasn’t expecting that,” Samui said, looking a little pale.

I nodded in understanding. Samui had a lot riding on this alliance. It had been around a year and a half since it began, so things had mostly settled down between the two villages. Seeing her Raikage randomly attack me must have been more than a little nerve wracking, especially when she wasn’t able to see the speeds we’d been moving at.

“Once more, you’re going back to Konoha,” Ay began. Sitting back down behind his desk, Ay pulled a scroll out from one of the draws and placed it down on the table. “I have a proposal that I’m sure your Hokage will be interested in.”

“You want me to take the scroll with me?” I asked. It wasn’t an uncommon event for me to act as a sort of messenger between the two villages. The only question was… why Ay was making a big deal of it now.

“I do. The contents of this scroll is certain to change things… if the Hokage agrees, that is,” Ay replied. “I’m certain that you would also agree with my proposal.”

“And what is your proposal?” I asked, stepping forward.

“I will let the Hokage explain that to you,” Ay smirked.

Well, now I was curious as to what was written in the scroll. From the look on Ay’s face, he was amused by my eagerness to know.

“I’ll be sure to let you know her response as soon as she gives one,” I said.

“Be sure that you do,” Ay grunted, flicking the scroll my way.

…PTL…

Palming the scroll that the Raikage had given me, my surroundings instantly changed to a small office with Shizune standing to the side, waiting for my arrival.

“Ah, Naruto… welcome back,” Shizune said kindly.

“It’s good to be back,” I nodded my own greeting.

Glancing at the scroll, Shizune gestured for me to follow her. “Come along. I’m sure that Tsunade-sama will be happy to see you again.”

Following after Shizune, I glanced around the hallway as we made our way to Tsunade’s office. A few things had changed since Tsunade first became Hokage. She still used clones in order to help manage her duties, but nowhere near as many.

In place of the numerous clones was regular Shinobi handling their duties. Back then things had been so busy due to the failed Suna invasion and the Akatsuki’s involvement that I’d forgotten that Tsunade was fixing the numerous little mistakes Hiruzen had let slip by during his extended reign as Hokage.

Now that the problems had been solved, it freed Tsunade up, giving her some room to relax.

Stopping in front of the door to Tsunade’s office, I paused when I felt something odd. The air felt different around her office… not bad or poisoned, only different. Something familiar yet different.

Shrugging, I pushed the doors open and stepped in to find the familiar office with several desk with only a few of them occupied by Tsunade’s clones.

“Hmmm,” Tsunade hummed as she glanced over a document, before looking up with a soft smile on her face. “Finally back, I see. It’s good to see you face to face for once.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I apologized, stopping in front of her desk. “Ay had back to back meetings with various councils for the past two months and needed to make sure that Zetsu hadn’t infiltrated.”

“No doubt, he was discussing classified information,” Tsunade theorized.

“Something like that,” I nodded. “Mostly statistics, there were a few other things, but that’s actually worth mentioning.”

“It sounds like you’ve had a boring few months,” Tsunade snorted. “Although I can’t say that things were much more interesting here. It’s been quiet here in Konoha.”

It had been boring for the most part, but there was an upside to it. The meetings hadn’t lasted all day and I had the chance to see how Ay runs his village.

“He also asked me to give you this,” I said, placing the scroll Ay had given me on Tsunade’s desk.

Unfurling the scroll, Tsunade poured over its contents. “Hm, I see. That’s certainly good news,” she hummed thoughtfully. “It seems that you’re going to be staying in Konoha from now on, Naruto.”

“Wait, what? I thought that I was supposed to keep jumping between villages until the Akatsuki began moving again.”

“That’s just the thing. Instead of waiting, Ay wants to force the Akatsuki into action by laying a trap,” Tsunade explained. “Although, I’m not sure how well that will go. His plan proposes that we work with Suna during their Chunin exams, the problem is… relations haven’t exactly been the best.”

Well that had my attention.

“Relations are bad with Suna? Isn’t Gaara the Kazekage now?” I asked.

“He is,” She nodded. “But that doesn’t change much. Things were tense with Suna ever since their failed invasion, it only got worse when we allied with another hidden village, so they…”

“Think that we’re going to invade them in turn,” I realized.

Relations with Suna should have been better now, but weren’t due to the alliance with Kumo and possibly due to a change I had made.

Orochimaru was dead and Sasuke never defected meaning that Suna never had the chance to help pay back their debt by assisting in his retrieval and saving the children from several of Konoha’s clans.

Regardless of the Akatsuki’s attack in the Land of Iron, Konoha’s sudden alliance with Kumo and retrieval of Fu, the Nanabi Jinchuriki, looked incredibly suspicious. From Suna’s point of view, Konoha and Kumo were preparing for the next Shinobi World War.

The only question was if this was the Akatsuki’s doing or if it was simply paranoia.

“Damnit,” I cursed. “I was so focused on the Jinchuriki training and insuring that Kumo and Konoha got along that I completely forgot that Sasori had an agent on Suna’s council. Do you think that he could be behind the tension?”

“Sasori’s sleeper agent, Yura?” Tsunade asked. “I considered his involvement, but it’s impossible to tell if the seal in his brain was release or if it’s still influencing his actions at all. Sadly we can’t do anything to him … at least not without evidence.”

Right. Yura was trusted enough to be on Suna’s council. His death would only cause further tension. If he was behind this, he would first need to be exposed as a traitor before being dealt with.

I let out a tired sigh. Why were things always so complicated. I had enough power to level an entire mountain range, but I couldn’t use it without the Akatsuki to act as a target.

“Cheer up, the world hasn’t ended… yet,” Tsunade smirked.

I chuckled lightly at that. “No it hasn’t. So you’ve got a plan?”

“Not so much as a plan as a general direction to head towards,” Tsunade explained. “I’m going to go ahead with Ay’s plan, but I am going to need some help from you in the meantime.”

“You want me to help talk to Gaara?” I guessed.

“Hah, not. I have no doubt that you’ve grown since the alliance with Kumo, but I think this might require a more delicate touch,” Tsunade explained. “No, what I’ve got in mind for you is helping test the teams and Jonin Sensei’s that will be attending this Chunin exams. Currently, I believe there’s only one team that would survive a surprise attack from the Akatsuki.”

“Kakashi’s,” I guessed.

“That’s the one,” She nodded. “Gai’s team has a fighting chance, but I can’t see the other two teams surviving even a single Akatsuki member and that’s if they all worked together.”

“…You want me to train them?” I asked. I had taken to helping Bee train his students, but I wasn’t exactly excited about helping teach my old classmates.

“I want you to show them what an Akatsuki member is capable of,” Tsunade corrected. “After all, you have encountered them the most.”

That didn’t sound that bad.

“I guess I could do that.”

“Hm,” Tsunade hummed in amusement, before glancing down at the opened scroll on her table. “I’m going to have to consider how best to approach Suna with this. Why don’t you go take a walk around Konoha, it’s been a while since you’ve last been here. Maybe find that annoying teammate of yours, she’s been bugging me about when you were going to return.”

That didn’t exactly narrow it down. “Which one?” I asked.

“The one that frequents the Dango shop,” Tsunade deadpanned.

I let out a snort of laughter. “Alright, I’ll go see what Anko wants,” I replied, moving to leave before pausing. “Before I go, there’s something that I’m curious about. The air in this room… it feels different.

“Hoh, you really have grown stronger if you can sense that,” Tsunade remarked, looking a little impressed. “Let’s just say that I’ve completed one of my longstanding projects.”

Projects?

“Wait, you’ve…”

I froze when Tsunade’s Henge dispelled, leaving a younger version of herself standing in front of me. That however wasn’t the reason for my pause.

Golden eyes with blue markings around them stared into my own.

“Sage Mode,” I muttered under my breath. That’s why the air felt different and familiar all at the same time. Tsunade had become a Sage.

“I completed my research and managed to repair the damage done to my body from using my Creation Rebirth. There were, however some… side effects.”

“Nothing too bad I hope?” I asked, slightly concerned.

“No,” Tsunade shook her head with an amused smile. “Jugo’s ability is somewhat overpowering. My grandfathers cells on top of that has left me almost stuck in Sage Mode. As it stands, it takes me all my focus if I want to return to normal. I’ve taken to hiding these markings under my Henge.”

“That’s… incredible,” I muttered. “You did it!”

“I did,” Tsunade smiled.

…PTL…

Anko let out a groan. Several empty plates once full of dango sat in front of her on her table with only a single stick left. “That was a mistake,” she moaned miserably. “I’m completely stuffed.”

“Then I suppose you won’t mind if I take it?”

Grabbing the offending hand that dared to try and steal her last dango, Anko turned with a glare.

“Listen here you… you… why do you look so familiar?”

“Really Anko,” I deadpanned. “It’s only been a few months.”

“Wait… Naruto?” Anko realized. “Damn, I didn’t even recognize you. Puberty hit you with a brick.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” I chuckled, trying to pull my hand back. “You mind letting go?”

“Once you drop the dango, sure,” Anko replied in a cheerful tone.

“I thought you said you were done.”

“No, I said that I was stuffed and that I already made a mistake,” Anko pointed out. “And now I’m going to finish off that last dango and make another. You could either let go or I could bite your hand.”

I rolled my eyes and let go of the stick. I had almost forgotten how possessive Anko could be over her food. I slid into the seat across from her. “So, I heard that you were checking in to see when I would be back in Konoha.”

“Yeah,” Anko hummed, audibly swallowing as she finished off the last dango. “I thought it was about time to call in that favor you owe me.”

“I… don’t owe you a favor,” I replied.

“Yeah you do. Back during our first mission together you agreed to a spar with me,” Anko pointed out. “I’m finally cashing in.”

You know what, with everything that had already been going on today, a friendly spar between two friends might be just the thing needed to unwind.

“Sure. When do you want to do this thing?”

…PTL…

Training ground 44, the forest of death. The last time I had been in that forest was during the Chunin exams, when everything started.

“Are you sure that you want to have a spar in there?” I asked. “There’s a lot of things that could get in the way. Giant animals… trees… leeches.”

“Hell yeah,” Anko replied. “This is the perfect place for a spar. Close to the village, but just far enough away that we won’t disturb anyone during our fight.”

That was a fair point. It seemed that Anko had really done her research.

“So what are the rules for this spar?” I asked. “If I go all out, there’s not going to be a forest left.”

“Simple,” Anko said. “No Jutsu above A rank and no Kyuubi Chakra, hear that big guy?” She tapped by forehead. “Don’t go giving Naruto any of your Chakra. I want this to be a fight solely between me and him.”

“Hm, I’d forgotten how cocky your teammate was,” Kurama commented. “You can tell her that I’ll stay out of this spar.”

“We’ve got it,” I deadpanned, swatting her hand away. “We probably shouldn’t use any summons in this spar either.”

“Yeah, sure. That sounds alright,” Anko shrugged nonchalantly. “The spar ends when one side is either incapacitated or surrenders.”

Hopping over the fence, we made our way into the forest. The trees grew thicker until all we were left with was a dim light filtering in from the tree tops.

“How do you want to start this fight?” I asked, stopping to turn around. “Should we have a countdown? Should I flick a pebble…”

“How about go,” Anko suggested before darted forward.

Reacting, I rushed forward to meet her. Our fists collided, but instead of trying to push me back, her arm snaked around mine, wrapping around it. Attempting to move my arm, I found that it had been completely immobilized by Anko while she stood in a much better position, having access to the entire left side of my body.

“Not a bad trick,” I noted, “but you do realize that this leaves you unable to move your arm as well, right?”

“Maybe,” Anko smirked. “Or maybe I have you right where I want you.”

Slipping her free hand into her trench coat pocket, Anko pulled out a sword that should not have fit without the use of a sealing scroll and stabbed it towards my.

The skin on my hand darkened with Earth Style Chakra. Contorting my body, I managed to catch the blade.

“Is that what I think it is?” I asked, feeling the blade cutting into my armored hand with ease.

“Sure is,” Anko grinned as the blade began to extend. “I like to think that if Orochimaru was still alive, he would hate the fact that I’m using his blade, especially since I’m better at using it than him.”

The Kusanagi blade began to extend, digging deeper into my palm.

“Not bad. This would probably work on most Jonin,” I hummed. Anko had limited my movement, created a weak point and exploited it ruthlessly all within her first strike. I was impressed.

Lightning sparked to life around my left arm, forcing Anko to release her hold on me. Pulling the Kusanagi toward myself as it retracted, I launched myself in Anko’s direction, burying my foot into her gut.

Anko tumbled backwards with the retracted Kusanagi blade still in her grasp.

Pushing my advantage, I rushed towards her only to end up blocking a swipe of Anko’s blade with one of my Kunai.

We remained locked in place for a moment, before the blade suddenly extended, narrowly missing my head. Forcing the blade up, I stepped to the side as the blade retracted just enough to slip out of my guard, before suddenly extending again.

Jumping back, I leveled my Kunai, ready to defend against Anko’s next attack, only to find that the Kusanagi had cut through a good portion of my blade in our previous exchange.

“I’ll admit, you’re pretty good with using that blade’s abilities,” I said. “I don’t see many Jonin being able to beat you as you are now.”

“But not you?” Anko hummed, casually leaning on her blade.

“Nope,” I smirked. “Without using any of the Kyuubi’s Chakra, I’m still able to fight a Kage. While using it… it’s only a matter of how quickly I would win.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not allowed to use that Chakra right now.”

“That still leaves you with someone that can fight Kage,” I pointed out.

“Then I guess I’ll have to become stronger than a Kage,” Anko announced confidently.

Lifting her blade, it shot towards me at an incredible speed, but I was ready for it this time. Lightning sparked to life around my Kunai as I shifted the Kusanagi’s trajectory, pushing it just far enough away that it missed my body, piercing the tree behind me.

While holding the hilt, Anko managed to form several seals before exhaling a massive stream of fire down the blades length, towards my position.

Rearing back, I spat a water bullet which overwhelmed Anko’s flames. Unfortunately, the steam that formed ended up obscuring what little vision we had.

“Don’t you think that it’s about time to stop holding back? If you had actually been trying, this fight would be over already.”

‘Not yet, I want to see how much Anko has improved.’

“Well don’t take too long. For me, this fight is bo…” Kurama paused only to let out a deep chuckle. “Never mind. This fight just got interesting, it seems that your friend might actually force you to go all out.”

That was ominous.

The Kusanagi blade began to tremble, before it started pushing towards me, forcing me to stream Lightning Style Chakra through my Kunai once more in order to prevent it from cutting through my blade.

“What the hell,” I muttered to myself as I found the force pushing against me to be much higher than Anko had initially been exerting.

In an instant, all the pressure disappeared as the blade suddenly swung in the opposite direction, cutting through the base of the massive trees surrounding us in a circular motion.

The trees began to groan and shift all at once. Several snaps sounded as the upper branches broke and were ripped from each other.

Daylight began to filter into the clearing and I got my first unobscured view of Anko since we had started the fight.

“Okay, what the actual fuck did I miss in the last few months?” I asked aloud.

“Nothing much,” Anko shrugged. “Hokage-sama just managed to alter this seal that Orochimaru gave me. After that, she recommended that I ask for training from my Snake Summons, that’s all.”

I let out a little laugh at the absurdity of the situation. In the time that I had been gone, Konoha had gained two new fully realized sages.

“The real fight starts now,” Anko announced. “You better not lose too fast.”

Anko launched herself at me far faster than before with her fist reared back. Blocking her punch, I felt the bones in my arm rattle.

“Yeah, you might want to avoid my punches, they’re far stronger than they were before,” Anko grinned.

Throwing one of my marked Kunai in an attempt to gain some distance, I was surprised to see the Kusanagi blade dart towards it, slicing straight through the handle.

I needed to get that blade away from Anko if I wanted to keep fighting at my current level. Grabbing onto the hilt of the blade, I brought my leg up and launched myself off of her body, managing to leverage the blade away from her.

Landing on one of the felled trees, I gripped the hilt of Anko’s sword and prepared to defend myself only to find that Anko hadn’t moved from her spot… in fact, she seemed amused by my efforts.

“Now…” I began, only to pause when I felt pressure around my wrist. Looking down, I found a snake manifesting itself out of the Kusanagi blade, its body wrapped around my hand with its fangs buried deep into my arm.

“You really shouldn’t try and take someone’s weapon for yourself. Who knows what little tricks they have to prevent you from using it,” Anko smirked.

Pulling the snakes head off my arm, I unwrapped its body, before using the Hiraishin to send it to my room here in Konoha. There was a feeling of numbness in my arm, but that began to fade as my body began to break the venom down.

“Seeing as that snake is a part of your weapon, I won’t count it as one of your summons,” I said good-humouredly. “Now, where were we?”

Clapping my hands together, I exhaled a massive stream of fire only to its heat being pushed back towards me, no doubt from one of Anko’s Fire Style Jutsu being enhanced by Sage Mode.

Flicking a Kunai into the air, I fought back in order to buy myself just a little more time. Slipping another Kunai into my hand, I flashed through several seals, before I stopped pushing back against Anko’s Jutsu.

A massive wall of white hot fire rushed towards me, but instead of dodging it, I held my Kunai towards it, absorbing the flames through an invisible barrier before teleporting it to the Kunai I had thrown earlier.

An explosion rocked the forest. The fire quickly died down, giving me a clear sight of the scorched ground and burnt trees.

Dropping down, I slowly made my way towards Anko who laid face down on the ground. A good chunk of her trench coat was missing with various parts of it smoldering. There were bits of exploded stone around her with my Kunai imbedded into a tree trunk several meters behind her.

Crouching down in front of her, I grabbed her shoulder and began gently turning her over, only for a hand to suddenly burst forth from the ground, aimed directly at my neck.

In a flash, I was gone, instantly appearing on the tree trunk that my Kunai was buried in.

“Nice try, but you’re going to have to do better than that,” I laughed.

Pulling herself out of the ground, Anko’s clone dispelled.

“I guess you’re just not that easy to trick,” Anko smirked. “Or maybe you are.”

Dozens of sharp spires made from stone shot out of the ground, locking my legs in place, preventing me from being able to flee. I made no attempt to move as several dozen more grew out of the ground, pulling my arms to the side and pressing up against my body in a way that severely limited my ability to move.

Attempting to force my way out of the trap, I strained against the stone only to find that it held fast. If it was ordinary stone or even one enhanced by an Earth Style Jutsu I would have been able to at the very least damage it, but not this one. The earth had been reinforced with natural energy.

“How’s that for better?” Anko asked. Tapping one of the stone spires, she grinned. “There’s no way you’re going to be able to break out of that with sheer strength. You may as well surrender or do I have to knock you out?”

“I’m impressed, Anko. You forced me to spring your trap, limited my ability to use Jutsu by separating my hands and ensuring that they weren’t touching the stone,” I said. “I never thought I’d be sparring with a Sage this soon… and one capable of using the Inorganic Reincarnation at that.”

Anko blinked. “… Wait, how did you know that’s what it was called?”

“I heard about it from Ma and Pa… the strongest Sages of the Toad summoning contract,” I replied. Technically it wasn’t a lie, I had asked them about it a while ago, when I was… Invited… for lunch.

Taking a slow, deep breath, I closed my eyes and tensed my body. There was a loud crack as I took a strained step forward, breaking the stone spires. After another step forward, I managed to free myself from Anko’s trap.

Darting forward, Anko cocked her arm back and brought it down on me with blinding speed. Without looking up, I caught her arm, stopping her dead in her tracks.

“What the hell?” Anko muttered, struggling to pull her hand free.

“There are three places one may become a Sage,” I began, tightening my grip. “The Ryuchi Cave, the Shikkotsu Forest and Mount Myoboku.”

Throwing a punch, I watched as Anko managed to avoid my fist, only to be hit by the invisible blow, sending her flying backwards.

Twisting her body in midair, Anko landed on her feet. Coiling her body, she crouched down and, like a spring, shot off towards me with twice the force.

Grinning, I kicked off the ground, rushing towards her.

There was a deafening crack as our fists collided. A shockwave shook the forest as the ground cratered underneath us. Meeting Anko’s gaze, I noticed there was an excited gleam in her eyes with a small amount of blood leaking from her mouth.

“That’s more like it,” Anko grinned.

Jumping back, Anko clapped her hands together and exhaled a massive stream of fire that dwarfed her earlier one.

Earlier, Anko had managed to overpower my Water Style Jutsu through the sheer power of her technique, but now we were on even footing.

Exhaling a stream of water, I quickly cut through the center of the fire, allowing it to split harmlessly around me.

Pushing forward, the fire suddenly died down and I felt Anko’s Chakra signature slip beneath the earth. A massive amount of Natural Energy began to pool around her, obscuring her exact location.

Feeling the Natural Energy begin to move, I stepped to the side, avoiding one of Anko’s stone spires. Staying light on my feet, I jumped from side to side as numerous stone spears shot out of the ground.

It was clear that Anko was leading me towards something. Instead of following her carefully laid out path, I took the one with more pointy objects.

“You’re not going to get me with the same trick twice,” I called out, jumping between the stone spears.

Landing on one of the larger stone spires, I reacted on instinct and jumped high in the sky just as a gout of flame burst from it. The stone quickly crumbled away, revealing Anko’s form hidden within.

Seeing one of Anko’s fireballs slowly begin to gain on me, I brought my hands together and spat a massive ball of oil that collided with it. There was a loud bang as the ball of oil exploded on impact with the fireball, raining burning oil down below.

For a moment, all I could see was a cloud of smoke and fire, before it was suddenly disturbed as Anko darted straight through it.

Grabbing onto my ankle, Anko pulled herself up and buried her fist into my gut while I managed to score a solid hit against her shoulder. The air whistled by us as we both fought to land blow after blow on one another, uncaring of our descent towards the ground.

There was a loud crash as we collided with a concrete wall, shattering it, we tumbled through several more. Breaking through a metal handrail, we finally came to a stop after crashing into the ground below, shattering it.

Taking stock of my environment, I began to laugh. Somehow we had managed to end up crashing through the tower in the Forest of Death. Landing directly in the arena where the preliminary rounds were held.

“Did you plan for us to end up here?” I asked, turning to Anko who was imbedded in the ground next to me.

“Eh, not exactly,” Anko replied, sitting up. “I did notice the tower, but I wasn’t exactly aiming for it. This is just a happy accident.”

Pulling myself out of the ground, I dusted the rubble off my clothes while Anko got to her feet.

“So are we going to continue?”

“Nah, I got what I wanted,” Anko hummed, pointing to my face. “What’d you think?”

Reaching up, I touched my upper lip feeling a wet sensation. It seemed that Anko had managed to give me a nose bleed. Our fight had been brutal, destructive and severely damaging. If it had been any other Jonin, they likely would be long dead by now, but between two Sages, this would count as a warm up.

If we had both taken this seriously and truly gone all out, there wouldn’t be much of the Forest of Death left.

“You’ve grown a lot stronger,” I replied. “If I hadn’t learnt Senjutsu from the toads, I would have had to fight with the intention of killing you if I wanted to keep up.”

“Aw, that’s sweet of you to say, Naruto,” Anko hummed. “And the Akatsuki? How would I measure up against them?”

So that’s what this was all about. I understood. Being taken out by Hidan so easily had been weighing on her mind… I would be the same.

“As you are now, you would be able to toy with the two Akatsuki members that I fought in Taki.”

“Good,” Anko muttered. “I swore that next time I faced those bastards that I would be ready. It looks like I’ll actually be of some use this time.”

“Anko…”

“If the next words that come out of your mouth are some sappy crap about relying on others or something similar, forget it.”

“Actually… I was going to say that we should probably put the fires out before it burns down the forest,” I said, gesturing towards the dark plumbs of smoke that could be seen through the hole we made in the tower. “Oh, and we’re probably going to have to pay for the damages to this tower… that or repair it ourselves.”

As if to prove my point, a large chunk of the concrete wall toppled over, crushing what was left of the railing.

Looking at the destruction our landing had caused, only one word came to Anko’s mind.

“Fuck!”