Naruto:A New Path

Stand Tall Choji!

"You'll pay for letting them get away," Jirobo glared at the Leaf ninja.
Choji's stance stiffened, his legs bent slightly in case he needed to move away from the area. The Sound ninja made no sings of moving, instead, he continued to glare at him with a frown on his face.
"I should have guessed that Konoha shinobi would leave their comrades behind," Jirobo growled as he ran through hand signs. "But it doesn't matter. All I have to do is kill you and then go after your 'comrades!'" the Sound ninja slammed his hand on the ground. The ground began to shake before suddenly erupting, creating a large dust cloud that shielded the Sound ninja from view.
The sound of footsteps was the only warning Choji had as Jirobo suddenly emerged from the dust cloud, charging at him with his right fist held back. Choji, trusting his own strength, tried to catch the fist but was overwhelmed by the cheer power behind it. The Genin let out a gasp of pain, unknowingly dropping his guard. Jirobo smirked as he struck Choji on the stomach with his knee.
The Leaf ninja choked back a cry before being knocked away by a hard punch to his face. Choji sailed through the air before painfully crashing on the ground. He grit his teeth in pain as he managed to stand back up, his left hand aching from his attempt to stop Jirobo's fist.
"What's wrong fatass?" Jirobo taunted with a smirk, noticing the slight clench on the Leaf ninja's fists, "Now that those trash shinobi abandoned you, nobody can help you. I'll make sure to enjoy your chakra once you're taken down."
Choji glared at the Sound ninja, "Don't you ever… talk about my friends like that!" The Genin began to spin in place, kicking up clouds of dust as he grew in size, "Human Boulder!"
Choji rolled towards Jirobo, the ground beneath the two of them shaking. The Sound ninja planted his feet on the ground, smirking at the attempt of an attack. He let out a grunt as his hands slammed against the rolling ninja, stopping him dead on his tracks.
"Pathetic," the Sound ninja smirked as he brought his foot back. "You call this an attack?" he brought his foot forward in a powerful kick that sent the young Genin hurling through the air. Choji's size returned to normal as he crashed against the ground, a gasp of pain leaving his mouth.
' I have to use it,' Choji gritted his teeth in pain as he managed to sit up. There was no way that he could go against someone like Jirobo without using his secret weapon. He reached into his jacket's pocket and took out a glass case containing three different colored pills.
Jirobo watched as the Genin stood up and, not wanting to give him a chance to move, he charged at him almost immediately. He raised his right fist, prepared to deliver another blow since he couldn't be stopped once he began moving.
As the Sound ninja grew closer to Choji, the latter began to move towards his enemy. Jirobo almost smirked before his eyes widened in shock, a tremendous amount of pain shooting through his stomach. Lowering his head he saw Choji's fist implanted to his gut, 'H-how?'
Choji took hold his enemy's arm, easily slinging him over his shoulder and hurling him through the air. "Human Boulder!" he exclaimed once more as he regained the shape of a large spinning boulder. Not giving Jirobo a chance to land, he shot at him, the ground beneath him breaking apart.
While on the air, Jirobo managed to see the incoming attack. He ran through hand signs as he twisted in the air. As soon as his feet touched the ground he slapped his hands on it, a wall of earth raising from the ground and covering him from view.
Choji slammed against the wall of earth, immediately coming to a stop. He dropped his jutsu just as the wall came down. Jirobo was in front of him immediately, throwing another punch. Choji raised his right hand quickly, catching the incoming punch without much trouble. Using his other hand he threw a punch at the enemy ninja, managing to hit him on the chest.
Jirobo let out a grunt on pain before glaring and elbowing the Akimichi in the face. Choji staggered backwards before receiving a hard open-palm to his chest. The Genin jumped away from his enemy, wanting to put a bit of a distance between them.
' I can't believe I have to use this while fighting him,' Jirobo frowned as black marks spread through his face, familiar strength going through his system. He charged at the Leaf ninja once more, only this time with his Lord's power surging through him.
Choji gritted his teeth as he ran at the Sound ninja, noticing the slight boost on speed. He threw a punch as soon as he was close enough. Jirobo smirked as he raised his knee to block the blow before throwing a punch at the Akimichi's face. Choji's face snapped to the side as he fell on the ground, not knowing where the sudden boost in power had come from. He tried to stand but was stopped by a foot slamming on his chest.
The Leaf ninja let out a cry of pain as Jirobo put pressure on his chest. "Did you think I'd let you get away with hurting me?" Jirobo growled as he raised his foot before bringing it down on Choji's chest once more. He smirked in amusement at the pain written all over the Genin's face, "I'm going to enjoy this."
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!" Choji exclaimed as his right arm grew in size and struck at Jirobo's torso. The Sound ninja let out a cry of pain as he was hurled away from the Leaf ninja. Jirobo managed to land on the ground without much trouble, watching as his opponent rose to his feet.
The young Genin panted as he brought a hand to his jacket once more, this time taking out a yellow pill. 'I can't let them down,' he told himself as he swallowed the pill. Almost immediately he felt his strength return. The wounds on his body didn't bother him any more. He could feel the power surging through his body, he could do this.
Jirobo kept his distance, he had seen the Leaf ninja consume one of those pills earlier and gain strength out of nowhere. This time he knew better, he would keep out of his reach in order to study him. He didn't want to be caught by surprise again.
Choji ran at the Sound ninja, noticing that he had yet to move. "Partial Expansion Jutsu!" he threw a punch just as his arm extended, making contact with a shocked Jirobo.
The Sound ninja sailed through the air, eyes widening in shock as an enlarged foot came down on him. He was crushed against the ground, letting out a cry of pain, his eyes burning in rage. More black marks stretched around his face as the feet retracted back to its owner.
"So far so good…" Choji muttered to himself, watching as Jirobo began to stand. Even from this distance he could see that he had done a number on him. The Sound ninja's clothes were stained with a bit of blood and covered in dirt and pebbles.
"I won't let you live, you damned piece of trash!" Jirobo exclaimed in rage. Purple chakra swirled around him as he prepated for his next attack, "The real fight starts now."
Orochimaru sat on his throne-like chair with an amused smile on his face. A kneeling messenger brought news of Sasuke's defection. Everything was going according to plan, in only a few hours the young Uchiha would be his. It was too bad that he had to wait before taking over another body, but patience was something he didn't lack. After all, he had waited for this single chance for years now.
"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto made his presence known as he entered the room with a chart on hand, "Forgive my disturbance."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Not to worry Kabuto," he eased his underling, "I am in a very good mood right now."
"I came here because the last of the messengers has arrived," he informed in a serious tone, "Are you sure that calling them back here was a good idea?"
"Oh?" Orochimaru smirked, "Are you questioning my orders?"
Kabuto flinched, bowing his head quickly, "That wasn't my intention."
"Not to worry," the snake summoner assured, "I entrusted the Sound Four with bringing him to me. I am sure that they will get it done, they are useful tools after all."
Kabuto nodded before leaving the room. Orochimaru watched him go, wondering how long it would be until his new body arrived.
Shino dodged another string of web as he sent more bugs towards his opponent. The Konoha ninja looked around the area, wondering where the Sound ninja had gone. They had ended up fighting in an area filled with trees and since the sun was just rising, it was quite dark due to the shadows that engulfed the area.
So far, his fight had been a long-range one. The Sound ninja had taken to hiding around the woods while he had been force to dodge each attack that came his say. The problem did not lay with the fact that the enemy was hiding somewhere in the area, he was familiar with this woods after all. No, the problem lay with the constant projectiles being sent his way. They seemed to come from all directions and dodging was becoming a little harder as time passed.
"I've had enough of this cat and mouse game," Kidomaru complained as he landed on a branch in front of Shino. The enemy ninja smirked, "Let's get this over with so that I can take care of the other idiots."
Shino frowned as he gathered bugs around his sleeves. The Sound ninja shot a web at the ninja, who easily jumped over the attack and unleashed a cloud of bugs. Kidomaru frowned and trapped the bugs with a large web before a dark brown substance came out of his mouth.
The bug-user was forced to dodge as kunai made of the odd substance were sent his way. Shino moved away from the area, wondering just how he could take this enemy down. He was broken out of his thoughts by another wave of projectiles heading straight for him.
The bug-user managed to replace himself with a log, giving him a bit more thinking time. Shino landed on the ground to see another wave or projectiles heading his way. He quickly ran through hand signs before slamming his hands on the ground.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall," he muttered as the ground in front of him rose, defending him against the incoming projectiles.
Shino nodded to himself before jumping to the nearest tree branch. He had come up with something he hoped would work, though it would be risky. Using the bugs he had placed around the area, he was able to find Kidomaru's location without much trouble. He reached into his kunai pouch and took out two kunai. With a flick of his wrist, the projectiles were hurled through the air.
Kidomaru jumped away from where he had been standing, dodging the incoming weapons without much trouble. He turned to his enemy to see him airborne. Not wasting any time he used his webs to catch the Aburame. He smirked, seeing his webs wrap around the ninja before his bound body fell on a tree branch.
The bug-user cursed under his breath and struggled against the webs. He let out a gasp when Kidomaru appeared in front of him with a smirk on his face.
"Look what I caught," the Sound ninja chuckled. He kicked the Aburame from the tree branch, only for him to get caught in a large web. "I made that while you were running around. I knew it would get you," he jumped to the other end of the web and ran through hand signs, "Now you die, Leaf trash."
The Sound ninja slammed his hands on the web, creating a large cloud of smoke. Shino kept his usual expression as a giant spider was summoned, its eyes glaring at him from the end of the web. The giant arachnid began to move only for the webs to suddenly break. Almost immediately Shino tore the webs keeping him in place and leapt at the Sound ninja. Another cloud of bugs left his sleeves as bugs came out of the trees around the Sound ninja.
Kidomaru let out a surprised gasp just as thousands of bugs came from all sides. The Sound ninja tried to jump away but couldn't stop the bugs from latching onto his body. With a cry of pain, he fell on a tree branch, struggling against the bugs on his body.
"What the fuck is this? How did you break my webs?" Kidomaru screamed as he tried to tear the bugs off, "Where did these bugs come from?"
"Your webs were reinforced with chakra," Shino stated as he dug his hands into his pockets. "When you caught my bugs in them, they simply sucked the chakra out before breaking out. They did the same with the web that caught me," the bug-user turned his gaze to the spider on the ground, "Normal webs could not support the weight of the spider which is why it fell. During my chase I set various bugs around the area for a chance like this. With you thinking that you had beaten me, it was easy for my bugs to attack."
"Y-you bastard!" Kidomaru yelled before being kicked off the tree branch by Shino. The Sound ninja fell on the ground, now completely covered in bugs, letting out muffled cries.
Shino stared at the fallen Sound shinobi before turning his gaze to the spider that had begun to climb up the trees, "Now to take care of that thing."
Choji took out two strings with several kunai tied to them. He put them over his body as he prepared his next jutsu. The Akimichi began to grow in size as he rolled in place.
"Spiky Human Boulder!" Choji let out as he rolled towards his enemy.
Jirobo ran through hand signs before slamming the ground with a single hand. "Earth Style: Earth Shaking Palm!" the ground in front of him let out with chunks of rocks and pebbles shooting out of it.
Choji was taken aback by the attack, almost going off course, but didn't let up. Instead he pushed through it, heading straight for the Sound ninja with no sign of stopping.
Jirobo gritted his teeth as he jumped away from the Genin, watching as he kept on going and cut a tree in half. Choji slowly turned back to the enemy ninja before shooting towards him once more. Jirobo ran through hand signs and slammed both hands on the ground, a wall of earth rising from the ground to protect him.
The Akimichi crashed against the wall but didn't stop, instead he continued to push. It wasn't long until the wall began to crumble, much to Jirobo's shock, before finally breaking into millions of tiny pieces. Jirobo let out a cry of pain as he was struck by the attack, the many kunai digging into his skin. The Sound ninja tried to push against Choji but was overwhelmed and flattened by the Leaf ninja.
As soon as he felt the Sound ninja go down, Choji dropped his jutsu. "Expansion Jutsu!" his body grew until he towered over the trees. He then threw himself at the Sound ninja, expecting to crush him and end the fight. Instead he felt a pair of hands on his stomach and no impact. His flailed his body as he was pushed up, his eyes wide in shock.
Beneath him an enraged Jirobo lifted the giant Choji. Purple chakra flared around him, his body features covered by darkness. He let out a yell as he threw the Akimichi off of him, breaking several trees in the process.
Choji's body returned to its normal size as he began to stand. 'What happened?'
he wondered as he watched Jirobo's new appearance. His skin was now red with his hair growing into a kind of mane that went down his back, 'He's completely different than before.'
"To have such a ninja make me go into level two," he growled, "I'll make sure to kill you this time."
Choji simply stood on his usual taijutsu stance. He panted, the pill's effects were wearing off and he was beginning to feel dizzy, "This just got bad."
Shino watched as his bugs engulfed the giant spider. He reached into his kunai pouch, taking out a kunai with an explosive tag wrapped around it. He recalled his bugs just as he sent the kunai flying, exploding as soon as it made contact with the giant spider screeched before bursting in a cloud of smoke.
"Looks like I'm done here," Shino muttered to himself, turning to leave. "I'll have to be quick and help the others," he began to move before his bugs trembled in alarm. He turned back to where the fallen ninja was to see a purple chakra erupt from the ninja.
' This is like that other time,' he cursed, his bugs weren't very helpful when it came to this kind of chakra. They couldn't drain it and would die as soon as they came in contact with it.
Kidomaru chuckled as he rose to his feet, his appearance greatly changed. He now had dark red skin, two horns sticking out of his long white hair and most of his body. A third eye opened on his forehead as he stared at the bug-user.
"We're not done yet," the Sound ninja smirked as more purple chakra swirled around him, "This fight's just begun."
Shino cursed as he slipped into his taijutsu stance. His bugs would be close to useless now, it seemed like he would need to rely on his new abilities. He trusted his abilities but, looking at his opponent, things were far from good.
Kakashi entered the Leaf village, instantly feeling the weight of his last mission come off his shoulders. He reached into his vest and took out a familiar book, he couldn't wait to get home and do some reading. The last mission had been abrupt and had forced him to drop the book in a classic cliffhanger. He smiled underneath his mask, now he could find out how the hero would get his next 'victim.'
The Jonin let out a perverted giggle as he walked through the streets, some civilians giving him odd looks. A flash of pink caught his eye, ignoring the odd looks from the civilians, he turned to the source to see Sakura sitting on a bench with her gaze on the ground.
A frown formed underneath his mask, his student needed some self-esteem lessons. The lightest insult could get her down from time to time. He slapped his book shut and walked over to his student, now knowing that whoever her knew mentor was needed to be overly confident.
"What are you lazing around here for?" he asked in a light tone.
Sakura's head snapped towards her teacher, her eye brows almost touching her hair. "K-Kakashi-sensei?" she let out in complete shock.
The Jonin chuckled, "Why so surprised Sakura?"
"Sasuke left the village!" Sakura exclaimed in desperation, taking Kakashi by surprise, "Naruto was sent to go after him. They've been gone for a few hours!"
"Wait here!" Kakashi ordered as he sped out of the village. "Dammit," he growled, cursing himself for not predicting this. Sasuke had been acting really strange for the past couple of weeks, he could have made sure to have someone of trust watch over him.
He quickly ran through hand signs, "Summoning Jutsu."
Pakkun appeared next to Kakashi, already running next to him, "What's the problem this time?"
"I want you to find Sasuke's or Naruto's scent," the two were now jumping along the trees that surrounded Konoha.
"No problem," Pakkun assured. He was already familiar with their scent, having spent a lot of time around them during the invasion. He smelled the air and turned to Kakashi, "Their scent is strong, though Sasuke's is a little bit more faint."
"Lead the way," Kakashi muttered as he followed after his summon.