Naruto:A New Path

Captured

Naruto walked through the desert, his pace a lot slower than usual. With the information Red Death's sensei had given him, he felt like he understood the intentions behind the attacks. Understanding Red Death didn't mean that he was alright with what the ninja was doing, in fact he still planned on taking his target down. Though he planned on stopping Red Death he still wanted to speak with the ninja, he wanted to hear his side since he had only listened to the old man's.
He gritted his teeth. There was no way for him to speak to Red Death without trouble, it was certain that they would have to fight. He planned on taking the ninja hostage and talking about what had happened between the villages but that was a rather dumb plan. For some reason he wanted to know what had happened, he was intrigued. The idea of Konoha turning its back on an ally seemed foreign to him but things worked different back then, the world was at crisis.
Naruto looked at the sand around him, not bothering to use his invisibility jutsu. He needed to speak to Red Death, he had to know what happened to Whirlpool. Fighting Red Death was his only option, he just hoped that his friends wouldn't get involved. Hopefully the shadow clone he had sent earlier had already informed them of his plans.
Sand began to swirl around the Chunin, picking up speed each second. Pouring chakra onto the seal on his right glove, his blade appeared before he infused it with wind chakra. The sand swirled violently, blocking his view, the silhouette of a person behind it. A flash of red filled Naruto's vision, the Chunin immediately ducked as Red Death's scythe pierced the air above him.
Naruto jumped away, eyes focused on the area around him. It was hard to see but the red scythe gave Red Death away, he would need to keep a constant look on the enemy ninja and avoid staying still for even a second. He ran through hand signs, eyes following the red glow emitting from the scythe.
"Wind Style: Wind Wave!" A slicing wind shot at the silhouette. The wind passed through the shadow, impacting the earth and kicking up more sand. Naruto cursed and focused his eyes, gritting his teeth when he saw no sign of his opponent.
"Wind Style: Devastation!" Wind shot out of Naruto's mouth, pushing away the sand swirling around him. Almost instantly, Red Death appeared before him with the scythe ready to strike.
Naruto parried the attack with his own blade, leaving Red Death open. Wind gathered around the Chunin's hand, creating a large orb of compressed wind, "Wind Style: Spiraling Wind Ball!" The attack struck the ninja's stomach with a loud cracking noise, Red Death was blown away before bursting in a cloud of smoke, "A clone?"
"Correct," Red Death's voice answered from behind him. The Chunin quickly spun, swiping at the ninja with his blade. "Foolish," the ninja sighed out. The wind chakra-infused blade was blocked by the scythe.
"W-what?" Naruto's eyes widened as the scythe sucked the wind chakra out of his blade. Red Death's eyes lit with amusement before delivering a hard kick to the Chunin's chest.
Naruto felt something crack from the kick and fell on the ground, clutching his chest in pain. A cough escaped his mouth as he tried to regain his breath but was forced to roll away when he noticed the scythe coming down on him. The Chunin quickly stood up and jumped away from his opponent, panting from the blow to his chest.
"It surprised me to see you back here," Red Death said with a hint of amusement. Taking the scythe from the ground, the ninja approached the Chunin, "I see some promise on your skill, it's a shame that it will go to waste."
Naruto managed to grin through his pained expression. Red Death looked puzzled before a pair of hands emerged out of the sand and gripped his two feet. The Chunin ran at the ninja as he went through hand signs.
Red Death growled and swung his scythe at the bothersome brat. Naruto frowned and pointed his left hand at the scythe. "Wind Style: Gale Palm," he muttered as a powerful stream of air emerged from his hand, knocking the scythe out of his opponent's hands. Using his right hand Naruto gathered chakra, molding it into a blue orb.
"Rasengan!" Naruto roared as his attack made contact with Red Death's stomach. The Chunin frowned when he didn't feel his attack dig into his opponent, in fact he was rarely feeling the chakra on his hand. Looking down his eye's widened, seeing a seal on Red Death's stomach, absorbing every last bit of the chakra on his jutsu.
The ninja's eyes narrowed as he pointed his hand at Naruto's chest. A blast of yellow chakra struck the blond on the chest with such ferocity that he spat out a large amount of blood before falling on the ground with a thud. Red Death approached the fallen blond, his right hand sporting a seal.
Naruto gritted his teeth in pain, his chest throbbing in almost agonizing pain and his throat burning from the strain, there was no doubt that there was internal damage. The top of his shirt had been burnt off by the blast, showing the gash on his chest. He sat up, looking at the approaching ninja with a glare. He didn't understand just how Red Death was able to counter everything he had, he now knew that Red Death was way beyond Chunin level, things didn't look good.
"It's kind of pathetic," Red Death muttered, his eyes burning into Naruto's. "I was able to take you down without using the smallest amount of my chakra. All it took was a few seals."
The Chunin narrowed his eyes on the seals. There was one on his now exposed stomach and another on his right hand. By what he had experienced he guessed that the seal on the stomach absorbed chakra while the one on his right hand released it. He didn't know if he had more seals but it was safe to assume he did, he would need to go all out if he was to beat the ninja.
"I'm still not finished…" Naruto growled as he began to stand, Red Death's eyes widening in surprise. The blond's gaze was on the ground, hair covering his eyes from view.
"What is this?" Red Death wondered as Naruto's wounds began to heal, the gash on his chest healing in a matter of seconds.
"I won't lose!" Naruto exclaimed, his blue slit eyes glaring at Red Death. Malevolent red and blue chakra flared around him, his hair growing spikier. His whiskers darkened and two fangs peeked out of his lips.
Red Death's eyes held a look of wonder. The blond was a strange one, he had been able to stand after being struck by such an attack and was now ready to fight once more, nevertheless he was still too weak. "Let's see what you've got," Red Death muttered, picking up his scythe and spinning it on his right hand.
Shikamaru and his team of shinobi ran through the desert. They could see a battle up ahead and wanted to get there before it was too late, he knew for a fact that Naruto wouldn't stand a chance against Red Death. Seeing someone approaching he raised a brow, the person looked exactly like Naruto. The Chunin frowned, thinking the worst, if Naruto was fighting then this had to be someone henged like him.
"Hey guys!" Naruto called, waving his arm madly.
The group stopped, looking at Naruto suspiciously. "You're not Naruto," Gaara accused, sand coming out of his gourd. The rest of the shinobi followed his lead and shifted into a ready stance, wanting to take out the imposter.
"Calm down guys!" Naruto exclaimed in alarm, waving his hands in front of him, "I'm just a clone! Honest!"
Shikamaru sighed, knowing of the blond's tendency to send clones for almost anything. "Why did he send you?" he asked, his eyes shifting to the battle in the distance, "Make it quick."
"The boss told me to tell you that he doesn't want you involved on the fight," the clone informed.
"What?" Shikamaru asked in slight alarm.
Sasuke growled, his fists clenching. "That idiot just wants to take all the credit again," he turned back to the fight, "I won't allow it." The Uchiha ran ahead, not caring about his teammates. He wouldn't be left out of a fight that would surely test his skills and make him stronger.
"I'm going on ahead as well," Gaara announced as he ran after Sasuke.
"W-wait," the clone tried to stop them but could only watch them leave, it looked like he had failed.
"We won't leave a friend to fend for himself," Shikamaru told the clone, a light smirk on his face, "As troublesome as it is, we won't let him face this alone."
The clone's eyes widened as Shikamaru left. It could only smile, they were real friends. The kind of friends that were irreplaceable and the ones he had wished for when he was a kid. Back then it was nothing but a fantasy, he never thought he would be able to get friends that would look out for him. "Sorry boss," the clone muttered with its arms crossed, the smile still lingering on its face, "I tried."
Blue and red chakra flared around Naruto as he ran at Red Death, his eyes glaring into the enemy. The ninja swung his scythe, creating a powerful stream of water that shot at the Chunin. The blond growled and swung his arm, blue chakra shooting off of it before clashing against the water with a large splash. The water was dispersed as Naruto continued to run at the enemy ninja, unfazed by Red Death's jutsu.
Red Death swung his scythe once more, only this time kicking up a gust of wind. The jinchuuriki frowned and stopped his run, the gust creating a small vortex that headed straight at him. He ran through hand signs and stuck his hands out, "Wind Style: Gale Palm!"
Two powerful gusts of air shot off Naruto's hands, blowing away sand before crashing into Red Death's jutsu. The attacks collided in a flurry of wind before the jinchuuriki's two gusts broke through and headed for the wide-eyed Red Death.
Red Death jumped away from the attack and swung his scythe once more. The sand under Naruto's feet turned to mud. With a gasp the blond began to sink, trashing madly against the hold. "Farewell Konoha shinobi," he muttered as he swung his scythe, shooting a bolt of lightning at the paralyzed shinobi.
Naruto cried in pain, the electricity coursing through his body, before he broke into a smirk. Red Death's eyes widened when the 'Naruto' dispersed in a cloud of smoke. Catching movement to his left he quickly dropped to the ground, effectively dodging a swipe of his larger chakra infused blade. He rolled to his side before standing up, gritting his teeth in fury. Red Death grew tired of the fight, he would need to end it before it got out of hand. He jumped away from the Leaf ninja, putting distance between them, before he began to channel chakra on his scythe.
' What's he doing?' Naruto wondered as the man poured chakra onto his scythe,
'Whatever it is, I can't let him finish it.'
The jinchuuriki charged at the man but was suddenly hit by a wave of pain, his stomach feeling as if it was on fire. He doubled over, holding his stomach in pain, 'Dammit! I've used this form for too long, I have to end this before it's completely gone.'
"This is it," Red Death announced, his eyes glimmering with amusement at Naruto's pained expression. He held up his scythe, the blade now a crimson red with small purple sparks chirping around it, "I'll show you one of my original attacks."
Naruto gritted his teeth as he gathered his chakra, ignoring the agonizing pain on his stomach. Extending his right hand he started to make a Rasengan with all of his remaining chakra. The usual spinning blue ball appeared on his hand before being enveloped by the Kyuubi's red chakra, making it larger and giving it a deep purple color. The Rasengan shook violently on his hand, power radiating from it with a light whistling sound.
The two glared at each other before breaking into a run, their attacks coursing with power. Naruto's hand wavered under the strain but refused to back down, his eyes locked on Red Death, this was his target and he would win. The blade of Red Death's scythe cracked under the power flowing through it but he couldn't care less, he would start his revenge with this Konoha shinobi.
"Rasengan!"
"Gouraiken!"
The two attacks met in a powerful collision. Sand was violently blown away by the collision, powerful winds filled the area and a small cater was formed from the two forces pushing against each other.
Shikamaru and his team arrived to this scene. The Chunin of the team looked at the attacks in shock, he didn't know that Naruto knew a jutsu that powerful. Looking at the shinobi next to him he knew that none of them had seen the jutsu either.
Sasuke growled, the power behind Naruto's jutsu, he needed that power to kill his brother. A jutsu with such power should belong to him, he was the one that trained day and night to, one day, kill his brother. The dead last didn't deserve such power.
Gaara watched the collision with a small frown on his face. From what he saw, Naruto's jutsu wasn't doing much damage to Red Death's blade. He had an eye for such things but had been proven wrong on rare occasions, he hoped this was such occasion.
Kankuro and Temari watched the collision in awe. Kankuro hadn't known that Naruto was that strong. By the level of power behind the jutsu he knew that he wouldn't be able to counter such attacks. He would need to train harder from now own, though that meant that he would spend less time cleaning his puppets.
Temari found herself worried about the blond Chunin. Like Gaara, she could tell that Naruto's attack was inferior, not due to power but because the scythe appeared to be absorbing the jutsu's chakra. From the looks of things he wouldn't hold off much longer.
Naruto snarled, feeling chakra leaving his Rasengan. He was pouring every last bit of chakra onto his attack but the scythe was still absorbing all of it, he didn't remember seeing a seal on it before but it was now completely visible. Another wave of pain suddenly struck the jinchuuriki, this time making him spit out blood. His Rasengan became smaller and Red Death's scythe began to break through it.
Red Death chuckled, it looked like the Konoha ninja was finished. He had to admit that he had skill for a kid but the world was a cruel place. Many ninja with skill died daily because of events like this and, to be honest, he didn't mind killing him at all. He put more chakra onto his attack, pushing back the Rasengan.
Temari's eyes widened. Naruto was about to be overwhelmed by Red Death's jutsu, there was no way he was going to come out alive. "We have to help him," she announced. The group of ninja already a step ahead of her, running towards the two, "Hang on Uzumaki!"
Red Death's eyes widened, a gasp escaping his lips. He watched the blond in shock, he had seemed a little familiar when he first saw him but he dismissed it as coincidence. The ninja watched as blood came out of the jinchuuriki's mouth, his attack about to break through and end his life, the life of one of the last Uzumaki.
Shadows attached to Red Death's own before his arms started to move involuntarily. "Shadow Possession success," Shikamaru smirked as he stretched his arms to the side, in turn making Red Death do the same.
The collision of the attacks stopped, leaving only Naruto's Rasengan. The jinchuuriki's attack approached the ninja, Red Death's eyes widening in alarm. Only a handful of chakra could enter his seals and they were at their limit, he would need to release the chakra but he didn't have the time to do so. The Rasengan came closer and closer before it suddenly dispersed completely. All eyes turned to the form of Naruto, eyes rolling to the back of his head and falling unconscious.
Sand instantly wrapped around Naruto before moving him safely behind Gaara. His sand creating a wall in front of the blond, protecting him from any sort of impending attack as his cold gaze fell on Red Death, a quiet fury on his eyes. His two siblings landed on his side, Temari with her fan and Kankuro with his puppets.
Red Death growled, he really didn't have time to put up with little kids. A red light filled his vision, turning to his right he snarled when he noticed a large fireball heading towards him. He began to struggle against the hold, making Shikamaru wince at the level of strength. After much struggling he finally managed to move enough to raise his right hand, pointing it at the fireball.
Sasuke smirked from his spot on the desert, watching his attack grow closer to Red Death. If the attack didn't finish off the ninja then nothing would. He turned to see the fallen Naruto protected by a wall of sand. His smirk grew, the blond had been too weak to finish off Red Death which meant that he was still stronger than the blond.
As the fireball grew closer to Red Death he suddenly chuckled. Chakra gathered around his right hand before it fired off in a powerful yellow blast that easily broke through the fireball, heading towards Sasuke at an incredible speed. The Uchiha gasped as the attack grew closer, taken completely off-guard.
A shot of sand hit Sasuke on the side, pushing him out of the blast's way. The attack exploded against the sand, creating a huge cloud of dust that covered everyone's vision. Shikamaru was taken back by the explosion, dropping his hold for a second before he felt his jutsu give out. He quickly tried to look for Red Death but there was too much sand to even see his own hand.
The sand cleared after a few minutes, taking with it any sign of Red Death and Naruto.
Naruto groaned, feeling the strain his body had gone through. His chest ached horribly, his head throbbed in pain and his stomach still hurt terribly. The Chunin opened his eyes slowly, groaning at the light on his eyes. He had no idea where he was, he only remembered fighting Red Death and then his mind went blank.
"I see you're awake," Red Death's voiced echoed around him.
Naruto's eyes snapped open, ignoring the sting on his eyes, in front of him sat Red Death with his arms crossed. The Chunin instantly took in his surroundings, he was in a light brown room with many windows with clear views of the desert, the room was mostly empty with only a kind of throne near a wall. From his angle, Naruto couldn't see anything else but guessed that there would be a hallway or door behind him.
"We have much to talk about…" Red Death began with a hint of amusement on his voice, "You're ally called you Uzumaki, correct?"
Naruto glared at Red Death. "Where am I?" he snapped with a hardened glare. He tried to move his hands but found that they were tied together behind the chair where he sat. It wasn't until now that he realized his lack of shirt and a series of small seals running from his shoulders to his stomach.
"Answer my question," Red Death said with a hint of desperation.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," his eyes narrowed on the ninja, "Now tell me where I am."
Red Death chuckled, his eyes showing a bit of excitement to Naruto's confusion. "I suppose it's fair," the ninja sighed out, "You're at my hideout. I took you here after you fell unconscious. Some of your wounds have been treated since I didn't know if I could trust you yet."
"Trust me?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"Of course," Red Said in an easy-going voice, reaching for his gas mask. The ninja took it off before doing the same with the hood of his cloak, revealing crimson red hair and a cocky smile, "We're family after all."
Shikamaru punched the sand with a yell of anger, just how had Naruto been taken? He was a Chunin and he couldn't even stop an enemy ninja from taking his comrade. He had known that he wasn't really ready to be a Chunin since day one but still gave it a try, looking back he knew that it was a childish thought.
"I'll search for him," Gaara muttered as he began to walk away from the group.
"Wait Gaara," Temari called in alarm, "We can't just separate, it's too dangerous to split up."
Gaara continued to walk, his arms crossed and his gaze on the path ahead. "I won't let him die," he stated, "I'll find him soon."
Temari frowned, "But you can't d-"
"Sounds like a plan," Shikamaru interrupted, going into his strategist mode, "I've got a plan. Gaara, you go with Sasuke and Kankuro to look for any sign of Naruto while Temari and I set up a trap."
"What kind of trap?" Kankuro wondered out loud.
Shikamaru eyes held a silent determination, he wasn't going to let anyone die. "The don't-worry-about-a-thing kind of trap," he nodded at his team, a little shame on his eyes, "I know that I haven't been the best leader but I'll make up for it now. We'll get Naruto back and finish Red Death once and for all."
Ino sat against a tree with a weary expression, a book held on her hands. It was a few hours past noon and her whole body ached from her earlier training. Tsunade hadn't been kidding when saying that the training would be tough, she had never pushed herself so much before. After using most of her chakra against Tsunade, she had been shown some taijutsu stances. Only given a few minutes to get the basics down before the legendary medic began her spar with the younger kunoichi.
A yawn escaped her lips, it had been a long day and it wasn't even over yet. Tsunade had left a few minutes prior but not before giving her a book on the basics of medical jutsu. The first few chapters held information about the human body and how it worked. She hadn't gotten really far so the rest of the book remained a mystery to her but she still found it a little interesting.
Tsunade had said that she would be back a little later, much to Ino's misfortune, with more training plans. So far they had focused on chakra control and capacity, taijutsu and now the basics of medical jutsu. Next on the list was close range jutsu. The legendary medic was known for specializing in close combat, meaning that her students would do the same.
Part of Ino focused on her training while the other couldn't help but wonder if Naruto was safe. She hadn't heard any details about his mission, only that he would be going to Suna. She trusted him and knew that he could take care of himself but she was still worried. He had gone to a foreign village that wasn't too trustworthy, if they decided to attack then he wouldn't have a chance against them.
' No, bad thoughts!' she berated herself as she shook her head, it wouldn't do any good to think negative thoughts. She turned back to her book, trying to keep from having such thoughts. She knew that Naruto would be okay, he always was, and worrying about him wouldn't do any good.
' Then why am I still so worried?' she wondered with worry on her eyes. She focused on her book but found that it wasn't as interesting as before.
"Family?" Naruto gasped out. His eyes were wide in shock and complete disbelief flooded his mind, he knew for a fact that he had no family, if he did then he would've met them long ago or at least heard of them.
Red Death smiled, pulling off the cloak to reveal a set of seals over a simple long-sleeved brown shirt and black shinobi pants. "I take it they kept your heritage from you?" the ninja asked with a small frown, "It's to be expected if you were really raised in Konoha. They probably wanted to keep you from reaching your true potential. I brought you here in order to tell you what they did to our clan, no, our village and family."
Naruto gritted his teeth. "They would never do anything like that!" he argued, "You're an idiot it you think that I'll listen to anything you have to say against my village!"
"My words only hold truth," Red Death sighed out with a hint of disappointment.
Naruto scoffed with a smirk. "There's no reason for me to trust you, is there?" he flared his chakra in an attempt to break free but the seal running across his upper body absorbed it easily.
"Very well, I'll give you a reason to trust me Naruto," Red Death stood in front of Naruto, putting a hand to one of the seals on the brown shirt. Pouring chakra onto it, the ninja's body became enveloped in a cloud of smoke that kept the blond Chunin from seeing anything. The smoke began to clear revealing that the ninja's height had decreased.
"W-what?" Naruto gasped out, a blush creeping into his cheeks. In front of him no longer stood an intimidating man, in his place was a woman with long crimson hair that reached her mid-back, light skin and calm blue eyes. The most prominent change was the clothes, or lack thereof.
"My name is Mayu Uzumaki," the ninja introduced with a small smile, her hands on her hips, "I was under a powerful seal that henged my whole body. This seal makes it so that my real identity remains a total mystery and there's no risk of someone breaking the henge since they would need to take off the seal. I did this to show that I have nothing to hid."
Naruto closed his eyes shot, his face burning in embarrassment. "Fine! Fine! I'll listen to what you have to say!" he exclaimed, trying to forget what he had just seen, "Just please put some clothes on!"
"Fine," she sighed in annoyance, she had forgotten how kids his age were, ninja or not. She put a hand on her left wrist, pouring chakra onto it to reveal a seal. With a small cloud of smoke clothes covered her body. Mayu wore a black long-sleeved shirt and black baggy shinobi pants, a Whirlpool forehead protector worn proudly on her forehead, "There, I'm dressed now."
Naruto took a quick glance, only to sigh in relief. "Good," he muttered before putting on his serious face, knowing that he had already agreed to listen to the ninja, "What did you want to tell me?"
Mayu's face grew serious, anger and sadness on her eyes, "I'm going to tell you about the destruction of our village."