from Academy to Anbu by theriku260

chapter 24

With Hikaru and Deidara…

The most dysfunctional duo of ANBU cursed as a pink barrier blocked their way. They had arrived moments before, only to be blocked by the rising dome.

"Who put this monstrosity up, un!" Deidara gripped as yet another clay bomb blew up harmlessly against the crystal barrier. Hikaru, Byakugan straining under his mask, was unusually serious.

"I would guess it's the woman currently fighting Mouse. Her kekkei genkai seems to let her manipulate crystals and harden them beyond their natural state. Not even my 'Vacuum Palm' makes a dent on the surface."

Deidara glanced at his partner in a bit of shock, not knowing how to react to a Hikaru that displayed his in all actuality genius intellect.

"…Well, what now, un?" Deidara managed after a moment. Deactivating his Byakugan, Hikaru grunts.

"…We can't use your higher level explosives, else they backfire shards of crystal shrapnel across the woods. What we need is something blunt to hit the barrier, causing a ripple effect, forcing it to fall down instead of out."

"Never fear, the valiant Jiraiya is here!" A booming and egotistical voice shouts, drawing the pair's attention. There, on the ground below, sat the toad sage atop a mountainous toad with a shield in all his glory.

With Naruto and Guren…

Another crystal dragon flung the youngest ANBU up into the sky. Naruto grunted as instead of sky, he collided with a crystalline barrier. Falling back down he made a hand sign, and two Biju augmented chains snaked around the dragon.

"Water style: hidden mist jutsu" Naruto said, creating a thick fog to cover the area.

"If only I hadn't followed Hikaru's plan," Naruto muttered while he made his way to the ground through the mist. "I could still be with my team, but nooooo, instead I'm fighting a psycho who has a fascination with razor sharp jutsu created crystals and can aim better than Hikaru! I don't even know when she had time to make this enclosure."

Shut your whining mouth and finish this. And the female mortal created our prison while you were charging that rasangan!

Naruto sweat dropped at the implied reprimand for not noticing and turned his attention back at Guren. Drawing another kunai, Naruto let a fourth tail of chakra erupt from his back side. By this point his muscles were burning and his stamina was running low.

'Kurama, any idea how to end this now?"

Her chakra is running low as well and that shoulder is festering. One more hit will end her but we have five minutes until my chakra tears your muscles apart.

Naruto nodded mentally and used his augmented limbs to jump high in the air, away from a mirror that appeared, just in time to avoid their attacks.

However, in the air another mirror materialized above the blonde, the real Guren appearing.

"Die, you brat" Guren breathed. "Crystal Style: Shuriken Wild Dance!" needles of crystals gathered around her and rocketed out at high speeds.

Naruto spun, dodging the majority, but one flew in his blind spot and embedded itself into his abdomen.

"Gyah!" Naruto screamed as pain engulfed him and Kurama's chakra receded, one of the seal's many safety measures kicking in. It was designed to give someone a means to subdue him if he lost control; too bad Orochimaru's henchwoman stumbled upon this advantage.

Falling, Naruto forced himself to stay conscience through the pain and yanked the shard out, his healing factor already beginning to heal the hole. He needed medical attention though, and soon. Managing to land upright behind a tree several meters from the real Guren, Naruto wrapped a bandage around his middle the way he learned, grateful for the field medic lessons he took.