The Clone That Got Away: Part 1, Chapter 3

The Clone That Got Away: Part 1, Chapter 2

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE CLOSED?" bellowed Jiraiya more as a protest than as a question, earning himself glares from the pair of onna-bugeisha whom were standing guard at Jonokyo's city gates. If looks could killed, the onna-bugeisha would have just saved Pain a lot of trouble.

"It's just as I have told you..." begun one of the onna-bugeisha in an irritated tone-of-voice that would have made it apparent to just about anyone that this was NOT her first time saying this to Jiraiya. "...many of the village's most capable foragers have voiced their suspicion that a large number of people have been assembling within the confines of Jonokyonomori (Kanji: 女の京の森; English: Forest of the Woman's Capital). With the suspicion of our master foragers in mind, Jinguu-sama decreed the start of an official investigation into the matter and then decreed that the village be placed on a complete lock-down for the duration of the investigation. Thus, in accordance with Jinguu-sama's decree, the gates have been closed to all outsiders. Jinguu-sama offers her utmost apologies for the inconvenience,"

"This is terrible! Absolutely terrible!" panicked Jiraiya who was horrified beyond any semblance of belief. "We don't have the time to just stick around here and wait for things to be settle down, but this might just be my last chance to visit JONOKYO of all places! Gak! This is a travesty! A tragedy! A tribulation!"

"Is it really that big of a deal?" murmured Dachi and Naruto in unison with one another, neither of them being bothered by their simultaneity this time around.

"OF COURSE IT IS A BIG DEAL!" literally thundered Jiraiya, his voice echoing throughout the region with little to no trouble as a result of the sheer volume at which he was speaking. "ARE THE TWO OF YOU IMPOTENT OR SOMETHING?"

"Could you please stop yelling?" groaned one of the onna-bugeisha while she rubbed at her head. "You're starting to give me a migraine,"

"While you're at it, could you also stop beating around the bush?" added Dachi. As Dachi did so, he managed to pique the curiosity of Jiraiya and Naruto due to the fact that neither of the two had any idea what he was talking about. "I mean; we all KNOW that, sooner or later, we're going round up taking matters into our own hands. So why don't we just cut to the chase? Let's head into Jonokyonomori, find the guys participating in the assemblies, and then reenact the Uchiha Massacre with us as Itachi and them as the Uchiha Clan!"

"Dachi!" exclaimed an appalled Naruto, greatly confusing Dachi as he did so. "What the hell man? What the actual hell?"

"What? Was that too soon?"

"EITHER WAY..." interjected Jiraiya while he struggled to not draw further attention to Dachi's comment by face-palming in response to it. "...I take it that you wouldn't mind if we decide to take a look into the matter ourselves?"

"Not at all, but do note that the gates will not be reopened until Jinguu-sama decrees for them to be so. So any effort on your part will be pointless without cooperation with Jinguu-sama's field operatives. Keep a look out for samurai-like women. For those women would be onna-bugeisha under the command of Jinguu-sama herself," answered one of the onna-bugeisha with an elegant throw of her hair.

"That's absolutely fantastic! We'll be back with splendid news in no time! Come on boys! We've got work to do!" cheered Jiraiya as he performed an about-faced and begun the march towards Jonokyonomori.

"Eh?" uttered a bewildered Naruto. "B-b-but we haven't eaten since-"

"WE'VE GOT WORK TO DO!"

"Y-y-yes sir!" squeaked Naruto right before he fell into march behind Jiraiya in acquiescence to Jiraiya's demands. "Can't believe I've gotta go hungry for this..."

"I'll be back," said Dachi to the onna-bugeisha in his Arnold Schwarzenegger voice right before he fell into march behind Naruto.

"You know that this is all YOUR fault, right?" asked Naruto out of the blue while he and Dachi were on their way to Kokurin, due to the fact that crossing Kokurin was the quickest way to Jonokyonomori. "If you hadn't opened that big mouth of yours, we'd probably be camping out and having some dinner instead of going on some wild-goose chase!"

"Stop your bitching," was Dachi's only reply to Naruto's complaint as he turned his attention towards the swamp ahead. Even though Naruto and him were still some ways from Kokurin, the ground beneath their feet was already beginning to grow soggy.

"That's easy for you to say! As a clone, you probably don't even NEED to eat!" grumbled Naruto right before his stomach commenced to growl at the volume of a lion's roar. "Oooh. I'm so hungry,"

"As am I, but Jiraiya trusted us to not take any detours while we we're catching up to him so-"

"Yomi no Hyouketsu, Oni Kyoudai no Shikeisenkoku! (Kanji: 黄泉の評決, 鬼兄弟の死刑宣告; English: Underworld's Verdict, Demon Brothers' Death Sentence!)" suddenly heard Naruto and Dachi an instant before a chain composed of linked shuriken erupted from the drenched earth like magma from a volcano. Only a few seconds after the chain's eruption from the earth, it was already wrapping itself around Dachi and Naruto.

"What in the world?" grunted Naruto as he managed to withdraw a kunai from his person in time to stave off the portion of the chain that was on his side.

"This seems eerily familiar," grunted Dachi as he streamed chakra out of the palms of his hands in order to enshroud his hands within a repulsive barrier. Said barrier allowed Dachi to inconsequentially use his hands to stave off the portion of the chain that was on his side. In other words, Dachi was protecting his hands from damage by using the Walk-on-Water Technique with his hands rather than his feet. "Very eerily familiar,"

"Your boyfriend isn't here to save you this time," heard Dachi and Naruto as a dark chuckle only. A few moments later, a pair of familiar individuals arose from the ground like a pool float from water. The Demon Brothers themselves. Gouzu and Meizu. As to be expected, the chain that Dachi and Naruto was currently staving off was attached to the both of their metal gauntlets. "Finally, we'll take the life that should have been ours so long ago!"

"I see that the two of you are still up to no good!" grunted Dachi an instant before he repositioned himself so that he was back-to-back with Naruto. Dachi would then slightly jump, let go of his portion of the chain, and then catch the chain with his feet in a manner that caused him to be pressed against Naruto's back. "It's a real shame though. The two of you could have been the only survivors, but now you're going to die as well!"

"D-D-Dachi! W-w-what do you think you're doing?" asked Naruto through grunts as he struggled to maintain his balance while Dachi was being firmly pressed into his back. "And just who the hell are these guys?"

"Y-y-you don't remember us?" asked a shocked Gouzu, having expected Naruto to be utterly horrified by his and Meizu's not-so-glorious return. "How could you not remember us? We almost killed you!"

"You trying to mock us kid? Not a smart idea considering the position we've got you in!" growled Meizu right before he and Gouzu redoubled their efforts to slice Dachi and Naruto to pieces.

"D-D-Dachi! Stop screwing around and help me do something about this chain!" grunted Naruto as the chain started to cut into the kunai he was using to hold it back.

"I'm not screwing around. I'm saving our lives," calmly stated Dachi. Afterward, Dachi withdrew a kunai from his person with his recently freed hands, slightly cut along his right arm, and then dropped the kunai as he begun to perform hand seals. "Bear, dog, bird, monkey, and then ram! Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Kanji: 口寄せの術; English: Summoning Technique!)"

"Summoning?" was all Gouzu managed to say before white smoke powerfully exploded from Dachi's person, completely ripping apart the Demon Brothers' chain as it did so. Gouzu and Meizu leaped away from the smoke and then regrouped with the claws of their metal gauntlets at the ready. "The brat can summon now? Are you kidding me?"

"Good thinking, Dachi!" heard the Demon Brothers from within the white smoke, which had just started to rise into the sky rather than spread throughout the area. Before long, the white smoke receded to the point where Dachi and Naruto were visible. Well; Dachi, Naruto, and a sizable toad with a mustard-colored complexion.

"It must be a year or two after Jiraiya and Naruto took their leave for you to have already grown this large Gamatatsu," murmured Dachi as he took a knee on Gamatatsu's head while Naruto hopped back onto the ground.

"Can I have a snack?"

"No,"

"Dachi. I'll take it from here," stated Naruto with a smirk on his face. Dachi wasn't exactly sure if Naruto was rightly confident in his abilities or being arrogant as hell. He didn't exactly have a good concept of how far Naruto had grown as a shinobi yet, but he did know that this was a good chance for him to find out. So he nodded in agreement with Naruto. "Besides, there is an idea that you gave that I want to try out!"

"Why is he conversing with his clone like that?" asked Gouzu of Meizu with a droplet of sweat trickling down the side of his head. "Do you think he was rendered crazy by the poison we afflicted him with back then?"

"Possibly," snickered Meizu as he used his uncovered hand to take hold of Gouzu's uncovered hand. As soon as Meizu did so, Gouzu and him begun to exhale mist from each of their noses. Before long, the mist being exhaled by Gouzu and Meizu thickened into a fog around the two of them. While said fog may not have been thick enough to obscure Dachi and Naruto's view of Gouzu and Meizu, it was thick enough to serve as a bountiful source of water. "Either way, he is underestimating us if he thinks he can win all by himself. Let's make this quick, Gouzu!"

"Let's, Meizu!" shouted an exhilarated Gouzu as Meizu and him let go of one another's uncovered hand, immediately resulting in the fog around them undergoing a quick condensation into an aquatic serpent which protectively coiled around them. "Suiton:.. (Kanji: 水遁; English: Water Release:..)"

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" enthusiastically called Naruto as he utilized the shadow clone seal to conjure a pair of shadow clones next to him. Without delay, the shadow clones begun to form a Rasengan on Naruto's palm. As the shadow clones did so, Naruto looked over his shoulder and directly at Gamatatsu. "Hey you! Make yourself useful by giving the Rasengan some oil!"

"Sure, but can I have a snack afterwards?" asked Gamatatsu right before he spewed a dense jet of oil onto Naruto's Rasengan. Naruto couldn't help but to smirk a bit as the oil begun to whirl around the Rasengan exactly like the water of Dachi and his Uzushio Rasengan. As soon as Gamatatsu ceased to spew oil, Naruto withdrew an incendiary tag from his person. Naruto ignited the incendiary tag with his chakra and then utilized the incendiary tag to ignite his oil-covered Rasengan.

"Kyokujitsu Rasengan! (Kanji: 旭日螺旋丸, English: Rising Sun Spiraling Sphere)" giddily exclaimed Naruto as he raised his fiery Rasengan over his head; blinding Dachi, Gouzu, and Meizu with the incandescence of the Rasengan as he did so. The sheer radiance of Naruto's Rasengan was enough to make it seem as if Naruto was holding up a miniature sun rather than a mere ball of ignited oil and rotating chakra. "I should add random stuff to my Rasengan more often!"

"S-s-so what?" fearfully stammered Meizu as Gouzu and him willed their aquatic serpent into a lunge towards Naruto. "Water beats fire! So ha! Now take this, Suiton: Orochitaisen (Kanji: 大蛇大川; English: Water Release: Big Snake Big River)!"

"Did they just chuck water at an oil fire?" rhetorically questioned Dachi as Naruto burst into a sprint towards the incoming serpent with his Kyokujitsu Rasengan-bearing arm outstretched. The very instant the serpent came into physical contact with the Kyokujitsu Rasengan, the serpent exploded into a fire which was very quick to coalesce into the Kyokujitsu Rasengan in a manner which made the Kyokujitsu Rasengan even bigger and brighter.

"This is going to su-" was all Gouzu and Meizu managed to ay before Naruto slammed the Kyokujitsu Rasengan into the both of them, completely enveloping the missing-nin within the spherical inferno as a result of having done so. Neither Gouzu no Meizu got the chance to so much as begin to scream before the entirety of their bodies were incinerated into a heap of ash. With a grunt, Naruto emitted a chakra pulse from his Kyokujitsu Rasengan-bearing hand in a manner which sent the Kyokujitsu Rasengan rolling as a fireball. The Kyokujitsu Rasengan burned its way along the soggy ground for a long enough time for it to go out of sight. Some time after, the sight and sound of an explosion informed Dachi and Naruto of the Kyokujitsu Rasengan's long-awaited cessation.

"Awesome, awesome, awesome!" cheered Naruto as he energetically bounced about the place in celebration of his victory over Gouzu and Meizu. While Naruto busied himself with celebration, Dachi dismissed Gamatatsu and then made his way to Gouzu and Meizu's ashes. Upon scrutinizing the ashes, Dachi was not surprised to see bits of uncharred flesh which were emblazoned with glowing markings...

"A snake technique with orochi in its name AND strange markings on the skin? No way this is a mere coincidence," thought Dachi to himself. Dachi then looked towards the distant Kokurin with worry in his eyes. "Were these guys here to defeat us, or were they here to delay us?"

"Dachi! Dachi! Did you see that? Did you see that new Rasengan?" excitedly asked Naruto of Dachi. Dachi covered his mouth with a hand in order to hide a pair of blushing cheeks and then gave Naruto a serious look. "Huh? What? Something the matter?"

"I think Jiraiya might be-" started Dachi before he was silenced by a frightening sight. Naruto inquisitively raised an eyebrow as Dachi's pupils dilated from naught but pure fear. Naruto followed Dachi's line of sight and then fearfully gawked himself. Right before Dachi and Naruto's eyes, Gouzu and Meizu's ashes were perfectly assembling themselves into Gouzu and Meizu. It wasn't long before Gouzu and Meizu were standing before Dachi and Naruto, perfectly unharmed. "Edo Tensei!"

"It would appear that you are no longer a child," grumbled Meizu as Gouzu and him took turns cracking the other's uncovered fist.

"Indeed. You are no longer unworthy of our true capabilities," agreed Gouzu as cursed seals begun to spread across Meizu and his resurrected bodies. "It's time we avenged our deaths at the hands of the authorities you handed us to,"

"This is going to suck," sighed Dachi as he prepared himself for his very first life or death battle...

The Clone That Got Away: Part 1, Chapter 4