Naruto:Making Of A Hokage

Clash! Leaf vs Cloud!

"Still no sign of it…" Omoi muttered to himself as he steered the ship.
It had been roughly about an hour since he and Karui had made it near the island. The place was covered in whirlpools and seemed to be deserted, at least from what he could see. There was still no sign of the creature, much to his displeasure and he was growing a bit impatient.
' Maybe I was wrong about this place being a key factor,' he glanced around the ocean but found no signs of movement.
On the deck, Karui glanced around with a scowl on her face. She was tired of looking for that thing and was starting to think that finding it would take hours if not days. The weather only added to her irritation, the sun was burning her skin and she had to constantly shield her eyes from it since Omoi moved the ship around without saying anything.
Her frowned deepened as she glanced over her shoulder at her teammate, "I'm tired of looking for this thing. Let's just leave."
Omoi continued to look around, not having paid attention to his teammate. He really didn't need to since he knew her too well by now. She was probably tired of looking around and wanted to leave, that much was obvious to him but he still didn't think they should leave so suddenly.
"Hey listen to me!"
His shoulders dropped slightly at the sound of Karui's scream. If he didn't do anything then she would only drive him insane.
"Listen Karui we can't just lea-" Omoi begun but stopped abruptly, his eyes hardening and darting around the area.
Karui furrowed her brows at her teammate's odd behavior, "What the hell are you doing?"
His eyes widened in shock before snapping his head towards Karui, "Get out of the boat quick!"
Hearing the alarm in his voice, Karui jumped out of the boat with Omoi following behind her. The two landed on top of the ocean as the water erupted before them, splashing and getting their clothes wet. Waves formed, rocking their boat back and forth as a large figure emerged from the ocean.
"What the hell is that?" Karui let out as she gaped at the creature. Its head was in the shape of a dragon while the body resembled that of a snake. It had dark blue fins on parts of its back and light blue whiskers.
Omoi narrowed his eyes on the beast before taking out a long white katana strapped to his back. He twirled it on his right hand before putting it to his side.
"Be careful with your lightning attacks. We're on the ocean and I don't want to get caught in one of your attacks," Omoi told Karui as he bent his knees slightly, ready to jump at the beast.
Taking out her own katana from its red sheath, Karui scoffed, "As if I'd do something so stupid. Just leave this thing to me, I have to get rid of this pent up energy."
Before Omoi could do anything, Karui was already charging at the creature.
'Damn, that idiot probably forgot we have to capture this thing.'
Omoi followed after Karui just as the beast raised its large tails before swinging it at them. The two easily jumped over it and continued their charge while the beast pointed its face at them, gathering water on its mouth before shooting it at them.
The two Cloud ninja twirled in opposite directions, dodging the incoming torrent of water without missing a beat. Omoi leapt at the beast head on while Karui moved to its back.
The beast sneered before biting at the incoming Omoi who struck his katana in front of him defensibly as lightning danced around the blade. Large fangs met with the blade before the beast screeched in pain due to the electricity. It recoiled back as the electricity left its body and didn't notice the ninja running up the length of its body.
Karui made her way to the beast's body, raising her blade once she made it to its head before slashing at it without hesitation. Blood splattered out of the wound as the beast let out another screech of pain, throwing its head back before retreating back into the water.
The Cloud kunoichi jumped off the beast and landed safely on the water, watching as it dove into the ocean.
"We have to capture it so don't inflict any fatal wounds," Omoi reminded. He kept his eyes on the water since he knew that the beast would attack once again. Both eyes narrowed when noticing movement and, in a show of agility, he jumped back in a backward somersault just as the water beneath his feet shot up.
The beast emerged once more, its black eyes glaring into them before letting out a loud roar. Whirlpools formed around it as it brought its focus to the two ninja while raising its tail to attack.
"Body Expansion Jutsu!"
Before anybody could move, Choji fell down from the sky with his right arm increasing drastically in size before it met the beast's head with a loud impact. It's mouth snapped shut before it was sent underwater from the force of the attack.
Water shot on all sides as Choji flipped in the air before landing safely before the two Cloud ninja, both of them looking at him in surprise.
Omoi studied the newly arrived person and took quick notice of the headband he wore, "A Konoha shinobi, huh?" No sooner than he said that Ino and Hinata fell from the sky as well, landing behind Choji, "Hmm? So everybody's here already."
"What are Cloud ninja doing here?" Ino spoke up with a serious look on her face.
Karui smirked before dropping into a fighting stance, "Two different groups of ninja meet for similar missions… What do you think happens now? Even if we tell you why we're here there's no point, you won't be leaving this place alive."
Ino gritted her teeth. She knew that the Cloud ninja wouldn't make things easy but she didn't expect them to fight while the beast was still around. No matter the village, that was just a stupid thing to do.
"What are we doing then?" Choji asked the two kunoichi, not wanting to rush things. "Do we fight them?"
"There's no choice," Ino responded before turning to Hinata, "Back us up and have your byakuugan active so that you can warn us of the beast coming back."
Hinata nodded in understanding, "I got it."
Ino moved next to Choji, taking out a kunai. Behind her, Hinata had her byakuugan active as she scanned the area for the beast.
Karui clicked her tongue before charging at Ino with her blade held back. She watched as Choji ran at her once close enough but he was blocked by Omoi who held a look of seriousness as he pointed his blade at the ninja, silently telling him not to move.
Seeing as Karui continued her charge, Ino was not one to stay still. She pulled out another kunai and, with deadly accuracy, flung them at the incoming ninja's legs. They neared the Cloud ninja before she stopped dead on her tracks and swung her blade down, effectively knocking the kunai aside.
' That was too close,' Karui frowned to herself as she turned back to the Leaf kunoichi, watching as she ran through hand signs before taking aim.
"Water Style: Raging Waves!"
A torrent of water shot out of the kunoichi's mouth but Karui didn't have great reflexes for nothing. She quickly twirled to her right as the torrent of water shot past her while making a mental note to wash out for the kunoichi's aim. It was too precise for her liking.
Ino found herself smirking as Karui charged at her once more, she was too predictable. She quickly ran through the necessary hand signs as the water in front of her began to stir. She held the hand seal in place, waiting for Karui to get closer before finally using her jutsu.
"Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!"
Small swirls of water appeared around Karui before spinning and shooting at her. Her eyes widened in alarm as she ducked under the incoming attacks but took one on the back, making her stumble a few feet forward before regaining herself.
Her back ached but she didn't have time to linger on it since more of those swirls were appearing around her. "Dammit…" she cursed before running through hand signs only to stop before she could be done. No, her lightning attacks would be too dangerous to use.
Instead she jumped high in the air before raising her blade and taking aim.
Ino was one step ahead and leapt at Karui, her kunai clashing against her blade before the two moved away from each other.
Karui gritted her teeth as she gripped her katana tighter. She was at a disadvantage. Most of the jutsu she knew were lightning based and using them in the ocean would only get her and Omoi hurt as well. She had only her kenjutsu and taijutsu to rely on but the Leaf kunoichi was always able to keep the appropriate distance from her.
' Damn,' she shifted her stance as she wondered on how to fight this one.
Choji saw himself in a disadvantage as Omoi moved towards him once again. The Cloud ninja was fast and him having a sword meant that Choji could only dodge.
He frowned deeply as Omoi swung at him but, before he could get close enough, Choji had already moved away from the attack, putting a fair distance between them.
"I'm going to catch you sooner or later," Omoi began with his expression still being thoughtful, "Why not just leave? I'm not like my teammate, I'll let you go if you don't wish to fight. It'll be too much trouble to fight you guys."
Choji couldn't help but chuckle, earning him a confused look from Omoi. "Sorry but you just remind me of a friend of mine," he chuckled before getting into his taijutsu stance, "And there's no way we're leaving. I'm sure none of us want to do that."
Omoi let out a sigh, 'Well, I tried.'
He prepared to attack but stopped when the Hyuuga suddenly ran closer to her teammates.
"It's coming up again!" Hinata informed with a look of panic on her face.
The gathered group of ninja looked around in wonder before the water shot up around them. Whirlpools formed on the area, forcing the group of ninja to move away as the beast resurfaced once more. It bared its large teeth at them as it studied the gathered ninja.
Ino clenched her fists before turning to Choji. Out of the three of them, only he could manage to hold off the creature due to his physical strength.
"Choji, keep that thing away from us. Hinata and I will fight these two ninja," Ino decided as the beast let out a growl.
The Akimichi moved towards the creature, Ino taking his place against Omoi while Hinata moved to stand before Karui.
"A Hyuuga," Karui muttered with a bit of eagerness on her voice. This kind of enemy would be fun to say the least. Clutching her katana tightly, she rushed at the Hyuuga.
Meanwhile Omoi kept his gaze on Ino with a frown on his face. All of this fighting seemed pointless to him. Now there was a single ninja taking on the beast which would undoubtedly end up with him dead. But then gain, he knew better than to linger on it. If it was a fight they wanted then there was nothing he could do.
He had to finish his mission after all.
There were a lot of people, Gaara observed.
He and an escort team consisting of two jonin and three chunin, were getting ready to leave the village. The Chunin Exams would start in a few days and he wanted to get there a bit early in order to have the chance to have a word with the ninja representing his village.
A crowd had gathered around them and, to his surprise, they were there to see them off. Having grown up as a jinchuuriki, alone and hated, he hadn't expected so many people to see him off.
Much less yelling encouraging words.
"We'll miss you Lord Kazekage!"
"Be careful out there!"
"Good luck."
Were among the things they yelled. He felt a bit of happiness but still held his monotone expression, giving the crowd an awkward wave.
"You're ready to go Lord Kazekage," Baki, old sensei-turned-councilor, spoke to the Kazekage.
Gaara glanced at Baki before giving him a nod, "Very well."
The escorts formed around him, blocking him from all sides. He thought it was a bit much but didn't voice it. Being Kazekage meant having to put up with people worrying about him traveling and this had been the only time he had gotten away with not traveling on a kind of carriage the ninja would carry, quite pointless on his opinion. Being a Kage didn't mean that he couldn't walk.
"Let us go then," Gaara announced to the group of ninja.
They began to move out of the village while the crowd wished the Kazekage luck in the form of cheers.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Omoi's eyes widened in alarm as he skidded to a stop before jumping away from the area just as a dragon made of water shot past him. He landed on the ocean but froze when he saw the dragon changing direction and moving towards him once again.
' What is this?' He frowned inwardly before kicking off the water and moving up the air. Lightning danced around his blade as the water dragon followed after him.
He brought his blade down on the incoming attack. With his affinity being the stronger one, he dispersed the water dragon without much trouble. Once the dragon was one he stopped the flow of chakra going into his blade as he fell towards the water once more and landing safely.
Ino's eyes narrowed on the enemy once taking in the latest information. He was a lightning user which meant that his attacks would be useless unless he was airborne. It would actually be a big advantage but he had a teammate to think about which meant that he had to be careful with his jutsu.
If that was the case then all she needed to do was keep her distance so that his blade or taijutsu couldn't reach her.
She smirked, finding the task to be a lot easier than she once thought.
Running through hand signs once more, she watched as Omoi moved towards her. She unleashed a torrent of water on the incoming ninja but gasped when he cut through it easily, making her attack look like nothing.
Omoi closed in on Ino before swinging his blade just as Ino ducked under the deadly attack. The katana whizzed past her head as she took out a kunai to retaliate but was stopped by a hard kick to her left side.
With pain written all over her face, Ino bit her lower lip before stabbing at Omoi who easily maneuvered away from her. He stood there with the same calm look on his face, not even breathing hard. It looked like the fight wouldn't be as easy as she once thought.
"I got careless," Ino scolded herself as she placed her right hand on her left side, green chakra emitting from it and soothing the wound. Though not fully healing it, she would be able to get rid of the pain long enough to finish the fight.
Omoi watched in mild fascination as Ino worked on her wound. Her body was slightly hunched as she worked on it before she straightened up and stopped the flow of chakra, turning back to her with a look of anger.
He had never fought a medic before but knew that this one would pose a threat if he didn't finish her quickly enough. He cast a look at his teammate, wondering how she was faring against her opponent.
So far Karui had yet to cause any real damage on the Hyuuga. In fact, they hadn't really exchanged too many blows. The Leaf kunoichi was simply too defensive and it was close to impossible to get through her defenses.
The byakuugan was interesting. It was no wonder that her village had pursued it in the past.
"Don't get too full of yourself," Karui pointed her katana at Hinata with a deep frown on her face, "It's just because of that annoying bloodline that you're managing to live longer than you should."
Hinata said nothing, choosing to focus on the fight instead. It was usual for ninja to try and taunt the other into making a mistake but she knew better than to fall for it.
She suddenly let out a gasp, her byakuugan catching Choji being knocked aside by the beast's giant tail.
He sailed through the air before twisting his body and managing to land safely on the ocean. His breathing was heavy as he looked at the beast in front of him. It was way too difficult for him to fight it alone.
Not only did the beast have size but it was pretty agile as well. Be it slithering under his attacks or just diving into the ocean to avoid being hit, the beast was simply too difficult for him alone. But, glancing at his teammate, he knew that it would be impossible to ask for their help. They were having trouble themselves so he had to find a way to deal with the beast.
"What do I do?" Choji muttered to himself as the beast let out a roar before shooting at him. He gritted his teeth, standing his ground as his right first grew in size. The beast continued to get closer before he finally punched at it, "Take this!"
His fist met the beast head on, creating a small shockwave, as it let out a screech of pain but didn't let up. It continued to push against Choji's giant fist until it finally managed to push it back, much to the Akimichi's shock.
Choji grunted as he tried to push the beast away but to no avail. It continued to push his arm back before it got way too close for comfort. The beast let out a growl as it finally pushed his fist aside and left him completely helpless.
The world slowed down for Choji as the beast got closer and closer, showing its large teeth and getting ready to deal the fatal blow.
His eyes were wide in alarm before noticing someone suddenly intercepting the beast, delivering two open palm strikes and knocking if off course.
The beast disappeared into the water while Hinata landed in front of Choji with a bit of worry on her face, "Are you okay?"
Choji nodded before turning back to the beast, watching as it rose once again with its size towering above them.
"You're not escaping again Hyuuga."
The two Leaf ninja turned to see Karui charging at her. Choji's right arm grew in size and, before Karui could get too close to Hinata, he punched at the incoming ninja, making contact with her upper body before sending her flying through the air.
"Thanks," Hinata said in appreciation to Choji who nodded with a smile.
Karui feel into the ocean before using chakra to push herself out and managing a crouching stance. Her katana was gripped tightly on her right hand as she glared at the two ninja.
Choji and Hinata faced different directions, having to deal with very different enemies.
Ino watched over her teammates with a worried frown on her face. They had gotten a little break but they wouldn't be able to catch them off guard again. She needed to get to them before it was too late.
"Don't lose your focus," Omoi deadpanned as he swung his blade at Ino, who's eyes widened before ducking under the blow. He easily predicted this and kicked at her, making contact with her stomach before swinging his blade down on her once again.
The kunoichi dropped the chakra on her feet as a kunai fell down her right sleeve and she struck it upwards, making contact with the incoming blade before she went underwater from the impact.
Omoi kept a calm look on his face as he glanced around the water for any sign of the kunoichi. He had to admit that that last move had been good but he didn't have time to waste anymore. The Konoha ninja were probably looking for the beast as well which meant that they would either kill it or capture it.
He wasn't sure of what they would do which meant that he had to stop them before the situation escalated further. He couldn't risk the beast being killed.
"Don't lose your focus," Ino smirked once she resurfaced behind Omoi and slashed at him with her kunai.
The Cloud ninja frowned before leaning forward so that the sheath of his blade blocked the incoming slash. Ino's hand recoiled back once the kunai met the hard sheath and jumped away from the enemy when seeing the way his feet were positioned.
Like she had predicted, Omoi turned around while swinging at the air. "Not bad," he admitted as he held the katana to his side, "For someone with no weapon you're holding your own quite well."
Ino frowned as she slipped into her fighting stance once more, flicking her left wrist as another kunai dropped from her sleeve. "I don't need your praise," she glared as she flung both kunai with deadly accuracy.
Omoi easily knocked them aside with his katana before catching movement from the corner of his right eye. He almost froze when he saw a horde of kunai coming his way.
"What the hell?"
He jumped away from where he stood only to receive a powerful torrent of water to his chest, sending him flying through the air and towards an incoming dragon made of wind.
"Dammit," Omoi growled as he braced himself for the incoming attack, letting out a scream of pain as the dragon swallowed him whole.
The attack went on for a few moments before finally stopping to reveal Omoi with several cuts throughout his body. The Cloud ninja scowled as he turned to the newly arrived ninja responsible for the attack.
"Who are you?" He couldn't help but ask the smirking blond ninja that stood near the Konoha kunoichi.
Naruto's smirk only grew as he unsheathed his new katana, wind flowing through it and increasing its length and sharpness, "Does it really matter?"
Omoi narrowed his eyes on him before the blond ninja disappeared in a cloud of smoke, "What the-?"
Naruto appeared behind Omoi, quickly leaping at his exposed back with his blade on hand. He swung down on the Cloud ninja, aiming at his exposed neck before he turned on his heel with a blade of his own. The two blades met with a loud 'clang' as the two ninja stared each other down.
"Wrong one again," Naruto grinned as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Omoi had no time to think as two hands gripped his heels before dragging him into the water. His eyes closed as he was dragged under water before they opened to see hundreds of clones waiting for him to there.
The clones smirked as they ran through hand signs.
'Shit.'
"That was good Naruto," Ino smiled in relief, already feeling more at ease now that Naruto had arrived. He simply had that air around him, something that told her that everything would be okay and he wouldn't let anything hurt her.
Naruto grinned at her before noticing the rest of his team still in the midst of battle, "That probably took care of him. Let's go help the others."
She nodded in agreement as the two began to move towards the rest of the team only to stop when the water behind them shot up. The two turned around to see Omoi standing before them looking a lot worse than before.
He was breathing heavily but still seemed to be able to keep going.
"You used a lightning jutsu to take them all out... not bad. But you still want to keep going don't you?" Naruto questioned with his eyes narrowed.
"Does it really matter?" Omoi repeated Naruto's earlier words with the same calm look on his face.
Naruto chuckled as he readjusted the grip on his katana. "Ino, go help Choji and Hinata. I'll take care of this guy," he muttered to her.
Ino's initial thought was to disagree but dismissed it. They had been able to hurt Omoi pretty badly and it didn't look like he could do much anymore. Sure it was a surprise attack but it didn't mean that Naruto couldn't hold his own against him. He had trained with a legendary ninja for three years after all.
"Alright, just be careful."
"Right," Naruto agreed as he watched her rushing towards their teammates. He turned back to Omoi as wind enhanced his blade once more, "Let's get this over with Cloud ninja."
Omoi frowned in response, eyes glaring into the blond, "Then let's."