Work Text:
Uzumaki Narumi takes great pride in her ninja skills. She always has. It's what helped her stay on top and earn all the few privileges that come with being a chūnin and a Jinchūriki. Becoming a kunoichi was never at the top of her list, not even when she was forced to graduate because of her idiot brother and adored sensei. Her plan was always to escape.
And then it was ruined, because of Iruka-sensei's kind heart. And now she had to change everything, which wasn't a problem. She also prides herself on being adaptable. You have to be when you live the life she has.
It's been nine months since Sasuke left to pursue power, and a year since Idate-kun had to flee the village, so Tamaki-chan went back to her family's temple, and everyone from Dainanahan and Daishihan had to separate and look for different things. Occupy their minds, improve their skills, fulfill some promises. Narumi has none of those things, except to evolve. Preparing for the day she can finally leave Konohagakure and Hi no Kuni behind. And for that, she needs to continue being the best of her generation.
She hates being a kunoichi, but she loves the title. Not even Neji earned the title of best of their generation. Only that of genius. And she was planning to dethrone him soon, before leaving.
After Naruto left with Jiraiya for his training, Narumi busied herself with her missions. She envies her twin brother, of course, but it's good to finally have some time to herself, without her shadow following her, asking questions, and disrupting her plans. As soon as Naruto stepped outside the gates of Konohagakure, she began to work hard. Taking on every high-ranking mission she could, learning jutsus, practicing her writing and sealing techniques, absorbing any and all ninja knowledge she could find, and slowly becoming involved with Tonbo-sensei and the Torture and Interrogation Squad.
And she's a good soldier. Everyone says so, even Ibiki-sensei. The elders are pleased with her existence as long she continues to obey the path they made for her without much more than a snark. Narumi is a great ninja, so much so that she reminds Kakashi-sensei of himself in his time. She finishes her missions with good excellent results, never hesitates in the face of the most cruel orders, keeps her head held high, and earns her merit. And at night, she hides in that cabin she found outside the village and writes. Seals, techniques, plans, jutsus. Because, as Tonbo-sensei said, strength isn't everything if you don't also have knowledge.
One day, she will thank her sensei for the advice. She can't wait for when she finally leave this village.
She just didn't expect it to happen so, so fast.
The mission they received came at the worst possible time. Late in December, snow covers the entire Land of Fire, making Captain Yamashiro's team's passage a bit more complicated. There's only white everywhere, the wind blows strongly, the branches of the tall trees become weaker, hindering camouflage and information exchange.
It's not a great problem; all the Chūnin and Jōnin in the group are used to these conditions, including Narumi. Among all of her former classmates, she's the one who receives missions of rank B and above the most often. This mission isn't so different from the others. Enter the Land of Frost, recover some stolen scrolls, kill everyone involved, and return to Konoha.
They were successful in the first three parts. Shimogakure doesn't come close to Konoha in terms of security, despite its natural protection from the ice mountains. At this point, Narumi can be considered a genius in using her Yōton. They entered so quickly and left in record time; she would be sure to put that in her report.
"You did a good job, Narumi," Tonbo-sensei had told her, in one of his rare moments of real emotion. Narumi knew why, and couldn't explain how she felt.
They had to leave Katsuki-sensei behind. Narumi was careless and underestimated the Shimo ninjas. Katsuki was the one who was most injured by the frost jutsu, and in the cold that gripped the Land of Fire, he wouldn't survive long. And everyone knows that no shinobi is left behind alive, nor can their body be abandoned.
"You seem a little shaken, Narumi-chan," Kotetsu-senpai said when they stopped moving. Half a day's journey from home, they had found a cave atop a mountain close to the border with the Land of Bamboo, too close to a ancient shrine without a name. The entrance was hidden behind rocks that had collapsed after being struck by lightning. Climbing wasn't a challenge, and everyone noticed that the burn marks adorning the entrance weren't natural.
"Stay alert. We'll rest for two hours and then continue our trek," Yamashiro-senpai ordered, sending Izumo towards the entrance.
Kotetsu sat beside her, and she allowed it. Among the six remaining shinobi, counting her sensei, he was the one she tolerated the most. She just didn't like the way he looked at her hands, her palms and fingertips still stained red. She hadn't had time to clean them. And she didn't mind, not as much as she should.
"Here, you'd better clean that up." Kotetsu pushed a half-empty water bottle toward her. "They might have tracking ninjas."
"It'll be hard to sniff anything out in this weather." A loud thunderclap rumbles above them as she finishes speaking. Blood slides down her skin along with the water, falling to the earthen floor. She drinks the rest and thanks her superior. He smiles back.
"Uzumaki-shōjo, come here." Yamashiro calls to her. She's in front of him in a second. There are some pieces of dry wood on the ground, gathered by Izumo before they entered. "Can you use your fire release to make a campfire? If you have enough chakra."
Narumi nods, crouching down. She can feel their chakra wavering, so low it could be shaming. "I always have chakra left, senpai." The captain smiles, tired.
It doesn't take more than a minute for the cave to light up with an orange glow, and the six other shinobi sit nearby, still alert. Tonbo-sensei kept facing the entrance, where they could still see Izumo, and Narumi returned to Kotetsu, chewing on one of her rations. Their dinner was quick and sad; the protein in the rations would keep them strong, but it didn't taste good. Even Tonbo-sensei grimaced as he forced his tongue to push it all down.
Narumi doesn't tire easily; her wounds heal faster than usual. However, tonight even she feels exhausted, covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. Her chakra reserves have dropped too close to the line she drew to to awake the monster in her soul, meaning that any jutsu she performs now will be with the reserve Kyūbi maintains to keep her and Naruto from dying.
The rain begins to fall heavily, the sky brightens every few sharp seconds, and the air grows colder. The muddy snow below must serve as extra protection. She's grateful for her ninja tactical vest, even though she hates it, as it keeps her warmer than her orange jacket could.
There's no conversation among the team tonight, which is strange, Narumi knows, since Kotetsu and Izumo are present, and those two are quite capable ninjas, though still much more childish than the rest. Narumi is aware that it's her fault. Her presence always brings a strange aura to any room, even before she knew she was a Jinchūriki. Five months since becoming a Chūnin and joining Tonbo-sensei on his reports, she's learned more about her superiors, and they've slowly begun to relax at the sight of her.
Tonight, she knows their thoughts are divided between her, the Fox, and Katsuki. She didn't like him; he was one of her many senseis that the Sandaime had chosen to take care of her before Iruak, and like the others, he didn't last long. He hated her and Naruto's pranks. The fact that she was the one who finished him off, at Katsuki's own request, must have worsened her reputation.
It irritates her more than anything. All the work she's done to prove herself to the Analysis Team would be destroyed. And she wouldn't be to blame. She's just following orders, for the sake of the mission.
An hour passes, and when she finally tires of Ranka-senpai staring at her (as if she couldn't notice), Narumi slowly stands up, patting her legs and chest to check her equipment. The crackling of the fire is interrupted by Tonbo-sensei's stern voice.
"Where are you going, Narumi?" He won't move his head to her direction.
Everyone looks up. Narumi is still standing beside Kotetsu, her face unmoved and her hands clean.
"Sensei, did you notice there's a passage back there?" She points beyond Yamashiro, and everyone follows her finger. Where the campfire doesn't illuminate, a wall juts out, revealing a tunnel she can see perfectly.
Tonbo-sensei also noticed. He lowers his chin, his blind eyes hidden by bandages, and grumbles. "Yes. It's rather deep. I don't feel anything there."
"I'll explore." Narumi says without warning, passing Ranka and Oyone, almost bumping their heads with the large scroll strapped to her back. As Yamashiro doesn't interrupt or reprimand her, she continues walking.
It seems Oyne has been struggling to speak to her, hurrying to call out to her before she can disappear behind the stone wall. "Ah... hm... Uzumaki-san." Narumi glances over her shoulder. A ninja from the Analysis Team shouldn't be so scared just by her eyes. "The scrolls. Please."
She'd already forgotten. Katsuki handed her the scrolls when he asked her to finish him, and she left in such a hurry that she didn't seal or swallow them; they were taking up space on her belt.
Narumi pulls them out and throws them to the older kunoichi, disappearing down the unexplored path. A few steps ahead, she realizes that nothing in this place is natural. The walls, once uneven, become smoother, darker, indicating that someone had dug them, perhaps with an earth jutsu, and then she finds a wooden pillar. Old and not too worn, her hand caresses it and feels no seals, so no traps.
It's safe to continue. She descends deeper, not caring about the darkness. That pressure behind her ear rises, growing like the chant of the Shinobi Guardians of the Fire Temple, thick and secure. She touches her stomach over her vest, feeling her skin heat up. Kyūbi is quiet in a way a predator becomes when it senses its territory is threatened. It took her five minutes to reach the end of the tunnel, and she knows that what she found must be older and far more sinister than all the Elemental Nations.
A cave opens before her, too spacious, the walls smooth, the floor perfectly flat. An ancient torch is fixed to the wall, and Narumi lights it with a weak breath, illuminating the inscriptions and drawings that surround her.
They are not like those she has seen in the temples of her country; not like the colorful drawings that adorn the gates of the Bijū's temples scattered around the nation, nor the doors that separate the Jinchūrikis in their inner temple. Those are more colorful just as colorful as the drawings in Kyūbi's door, with different lines, she knows how to distinguish them. Foreign forms, somewhat faded. Boats, rippling water, the sun shines brightly in the center of the high ceiling, surrounded by dancing figures.
And at the center of it all, what captivates her, is a single rock.
A cube, in fact, as large as the Bijū's gate, perfectly sculpted, completely dark. She takes a step forward, the light hits the inscriptions on the smooth surface.
The Fox growls a little louder. Narumi takes a step back, already accustomed to heeding its warnings.
"What is this?" She asks the monster that haunts her. Kyūbi doesn't answer; it must be curling up in its tails and retreating to the back of its cell. The distant sound of the other Jinchūrikis' conversation distracts her. Bee-sama is making another song for Yugito-senpai. They all fade back to simple hummings.
Without a response, she musters the courage to get close to the stone and touch it. None of the symbols are familiar; it doesn't resemble kanji or any other language she's seen in the Elemental Nations. Each letter is a combination of perfectly straight lines, each forming a square, the edges are perfect, like the margins of a sheet of writing paper that rookies use at the Ninja Academy.
It's not a sealing, of course; the strange feeling in her chest alerts her, she already knows this sensation. Knowledge that isn't hers flows through her veins, tinging them red, filled with an ancient rage and a wisdom beyond her existence.
Her blue eyes wander over each line, from top to bottom, from left to right, and any other direction she can imagine. And then, it clicks in her mind.
"It's a letter." She tells no one but the monster. How does she know that? It's one of the strange things that being a Jinchūriki brings. Which isn't a good sign. People who know more than they should are a threat.
Five more minutes to return to the first cave. Everyone stares at her again. Izumo had already switched shifts with Kotetsu, and Oyone was reviewing the scrolls they recovered, without opening them.
"Did you find anything, Narumi-chan?" Izumo asks good-naturedly, dark circles under his visible eye.
Narumi nods, which worries everyone. "There's something strange back there, but I can't say what."
Ranka-senpai, the most skilled in decoding, Yamashiro-senpai, the team captain, and Tonbo-sensei, her supervisor, follow her through the tunnel with careful steps, apprehension vibrating in their hands. When they return to the cube, their jaws drop.
"I've never seen anything like this before," Ranka says, carefully circling the cube. Unable to recognize the symbols, he turns to the drawings on the walls. "It looks like some kind of temple." He passes a hand over the drawing of a strange boat with angry figures.
"I thought this cave was strange." Narumi places the torch against the wall and walks around more freely. "The entrance seemed to have been sealed with Earth Release, and then opened with Lightning Release."
"Yes, I noticed." Aoba grumbles, reprimanding himself for his carelessness. "I believe this must be ancient. But what could have carved this?" He touches the smooth stone. "Tonbo, do you feel anything?"
Narumi's sensei shakes his head, circling the cube with his hands bound in a seal. "No. It's just a rock, I fear. Completely solid."
"It's a letter." Narumi says. And she's strange, she has always has been. Her superiors almost jump, staring at her as they do when she reminds them of that fact. She is not intimidated and points to the foreign words. "It's a farewell letter, and a thank you. And also an apology."
"How do you know?" Ranka asks, standing beside her for the first time since the start of the mission. He looks jealous that she can understand this mystery. "Can you translate the symbols?"
"No. I just feel them." A hand falls to her stomach, where the Seal of the Five Elements rests. Ranka swallows hard, but doesn't move away.
Yamashiro, ever stoic, isn't intimidated. He stands behind her, looking at her with a calmness that makes her feel more normal. "Can you understand anything else?"
"Not exactly." She shakes her head. "It seems like... the person who wrote this is apologizing for something bad that happened, or was happening, and thanking her for her help. Then they say goodbye and leave a message at the end." She bends down, pointing to the final lines. "I only understand this last part. It says: 'to meet when the shadow is gone,' and there's no signature."
"It seems like the person who wrote it is a friend of the recipient." Ranka rubs his chin, his interest in challenges growing. He looks at the younger Chūnin with a hint of envy. "But who would be the intended recipient?"
Narumi stood up, looking at him lightly. "The Elemental Nations."
The distant thunder shook the cave, haunting her words. The familiar fear returned to Ranka's face; he looked away, fixing his gaze on the words he didn't understand. Narumi didn't either. She couldn't read what was on the stone, she only felt the meaning in her bones: an ancestral guilt, a broken friendship, and the fear of a shadow looming over their heads.
Tonbo-sensei approaches them, always ready to interrupt when the fox's presence is mentioned. "I don't sense any imperfections in this stone. No chakra or sealing jutsu. However," he turns his head towards what he can't see with his eyes, his shoulders tense. "There is something inside."
"Then we shouldn't mess with it." Yamashiro states, his voice becoming more serious. The thunder returns, distant. "We have to get back to Konoha as soon as possible. Maybe we can come back here another time and check."
"If this is a weapon, we shouldn't just leave it here. Someone must already be aware of its existence." Ranka speaks urgently.
Yamashiro looks at Narumi from behind his glasses, thoughtfully. "Let's go back and prepare, we'll decide with the others." He turns his back and climbs the tunnel. Ranka doesn't take long to follow him.
Tonbo-sensei, never sentimental or much more than the perfect soldier, cautiously approaches Narumi, speaking a little lower than usual. A tone that no one besides Ibiki-sensei and his former students had ever heard.
"Narumi, do you feel something more?"
"More than you, sensei?" She smirks weakly and shakes her head, passing him to circle the rock. "No. It's strange. But..." She stops on the empty side of the cube; there's still room to walk behind it.
"But?" Tonbo tilts his head, still patient.
Narumi isn't afraid to talk about her monster with him. Her sensei doesn't mind, and won't shy away from the elephant in the room like so many other shinobi do.
"The Kyūbi is growling. As if he knows what this is. He just won't tell me."
Tonbo nods and continues staring into nothingness, thoughtful. Narumi doesn't like these silences with her sensei. It had been a long time since she fell under his tutelage, and she had grown accustomed to his quiet demeanor, which suited her own, different from Tamaki and Idate, and she no longer distrusted him as much. However, she knew that Tonbo wasn't her friend. He didn't like her. Not like Kakashi, Asuma, or Kurenai liked their students.
Above all, Tonbo-sensei was a Leaf Shinobi, Narumi was its most precious weapon. And she still hated him, just as she hated everyone else in the village.
He didn't have eyes to judge her, but she sensed how he would finish her off if necessary.
"Let's go back." He left, without waiting for her. He knew she would obey, like the great kunoichi she had fought to become.
Unfortunately, Narumi was still a little rebellious. She lingered before leaving. Looking at the drawings on the wall with envy, the seas, the ships, the smiling figures that must be so, so free, traveling to places so far from the Elemental Nations. If this rock is indeed foreign, it must have come from a very different place than she knows.
Perhaps the distant places beyond the seas surrounding the Elemental Nations, far beyond Sora no Kuni, places no one mentions or knows about. Perhaps the same place where Temujin-san and his people came from, where there are no ninjas, no rules.
And one day, she knows, she promised herself, the only promise she ever made, she will see them.
She knows it, it's vibrating in her chest. The knowledge that it's possible, a secret she shares with no one but the corners of her mind and the demon sealed within her soul.
Kyūbi laughs, deep and low. Narumi narrows her eyes and walks around the cube, running her hands over the smooth, forged stone edges, not a trace of dust clinging to her skin.
"What are you laughing at?" She whispers, turning to face the back of the mysterious cube. The fox doesn't answer, obviously, becoming more smug, shrugging its shoulders. Her eyes are drawn downward, and Narumi notices something that must have miraculously escaped Tonbo-sensei's internal sensor.
She bends down, barely seeing what's written near the ground, as if it were the last line of the letter. The faint light of the torch doesn't reach far enough and doesn't illuminate this side. Narumi doesn't need to read, only feel.
The first part isn't a word like the others, it's a symbol. Like a paw with five toes, perfectly round. Unrecognizable, the rest is a simple phrase that comes to her in broken pieces.
"'For when you're ready'" She says and touches the paw, feeling that this last message wasn't included with the first letter. It's a little deeper and more casual, less formal.
And then Narumi realizes she shouldn't be so hasty. She's acting like Naruto, messing with things she doesn't understand without thinking. And she regretted it as soon as the paw print began to glow.
A white light with a rainbow-like appearance grows and illuminates the room, much like Kazahana-sama's final message to Princess Koyuki. Worse, she can't pull her hand away from the stone; her palm is stuck there as if glued. She pulls with all her might, trying to free her skin and flesh pressed against the stone, which, to her horror, continues to glow and grow.
Before her eyes, a transparent shape appears, in the same form as the paw print. A soap bubble like Utakata-san's. Her hand is sucked inside, completely swallowed.
The Kyūbi begins to laugh a little louder now. "You got what you wanted, kit."
She doesn't understand what this means. Her head is filled with panicked thoughts: the punishment she will receive if she accesses something she shouldn't, whether this is something dangerous she can't undo, whether her team might hear her and come to her aid.
For just a second, she hears Tonbo-sensei's voice calling her. Before she can respond, the strange, transparent mass grows large enough to engulf her beyond her fist, up to her elbow, then her shoulder and head, encircling her like the Water Prison Jutsu, but she can still breathe, only she can't hear what's outside. The thunder is gone, the scent and comforting presence of her sensei are cut off. Her entire body falls into this silent, cold space.
Then she is moving. Fast. Faster than she believes possible, the bubble traversing her crosses the cave and the mountain and cuts through the gray skies that weep around her, and she can't hear anything, nor react to this utterly bizarre situation for which she has no training. There is nowhere to hold on but herself, her heart pounding so hard in her ears it sounds like a drum.
The fox still laughs, and the temple falls silent. There are no flowing rhymes from Bee-sama, no murmuring from Han-senpai as he prepares tea, or the carefree, annoying voice of Fū-nee. Even the presence of Naruto, who has followed her since they were born, disappears, and she feels more alone than before.
With nothing else to do, Narumi looks down between her legs, watching the bubble carry her beyond the borders of the Land of Fire, through trees covered in white, violent waves, and buildings she doesn't recognize, only seen in the memories of other Jinchūrikis. The Land of Waves is gone, Kirigakure passes in a blink, she crosses another mountain, mist covers the bubble, and then she's in the ocean.
It's not that that scares her. It's the pain that suddenly surges. In her chest, right in the center of her being, it's quick and harsh, like something she's never felt before. Not even the connection with Gaara made her feel this way. She feels she's lost something, an immense longing for her home hits her, and she leans forward, resting her forehead on the surface of the bubble that never stops traveling.
And there's the ocean. Something she's never seen before, not even when she traveled beyond its borders with Team 4, or when Rōshi-san let her see through his eyes during his trips. Not even the saddest memories of Isobu-sama. It's dark, vast, ancient like a cruel God that could swallow the world. There is no moon or stars. Dark, dark blue stretches beyond the horizon, reaching as far as she can see, with nothing to cut through it. No trees or mountains. Narumi knows she is no longer in the Elemental Nations, and this fills her with dread and... freedom.
She got what she wanted, Kyūbi had said, she just didn't expect it to be now. She had already planned everything, left all her plans and seals behind, and now she was traveling beyond her home, to some place she doesn't know.
Red lies beneath her feet for longer than she expected, and yet it passes by so quickly. And the ocean spreads across her vision again.
The bubble doesn't stop, doesn't slow down, doesn't rise in the air, it maintains a single rhythm. And that's not how things have to be. Narum is aware of the dangers lurking beyond the borders of her continent, and she is alone, still recovering her chakra, with the smell of blood on her fingers, and without any help.
If she goes any further, she will be completely alone. Only the Jinchūriki's connection will keep her bound to her home.
Then the time comes to act, she decides, because she is still a rebel and hates not being in control of things.
The Kyūbi laughs within her soul. Narumi places her feet on the surface of the bubble and searches for any sign that this thing will stop. Islands, large and small, flash before her eyes, as fast as Kakashi-sensei can perform hand seals. So the bubble must not have reached the place it plans to go. No matter where it is, Narumi doesn't want to go there. The letter in that cube seemed to have been from a friend, but any friend of the Elemental Nations is not a friend of the Bijū, nor of her.
The surface of the bubble is dangerously resistant to her kunai. She abandons that after the second attempt to puncture the bubble, and resorts to something a little more desperate, which should only be used in more serious situations.
"Lend me some of that fire, Kurama-sama." She barks at the large red and gold gate that keeps her separated from the demon, the space between them empty. The crimson eye stares at her with hatred, disgusted by her audacity. But he grants her request because he knows that if something happens to his vessels, he will also be hurt.
Heat envelops her hand; unlike her Magma Release, it's softer and sharper. Narumi smiles at the orange covering her skin, causing the tips of her nails to grow into dangerous blades, and she doesn't hesitate to pierce the bubble. It works, as she expected. Whatever jutsu is used on this thing, it would never be a match for a Bijū, and it dissipates as soon as Narumi moves her arm back to open a hole.
What she didn't consider is what she will land on once she's free. The bubble disappears with a snap, Narumi immediately loses altitude, being pulled by gravity towards the ground in a slight arc, but at high speed.
No panic, she told herself, this is just another thing she was trained for.
"Thinking fast is the obligation of a good shinobi; it's what keeps them alive."
Narumi spins in the air, trying to figure out where she is, whether she'll fall into the ocean or onto something more solid. Water or land, it will hurt quite a bit the way she's moving downwards. The scroll on her back makes it difficult to move. The wind makes her eyes burn, her hair blows in her face, and the weight of her shinobi armor is a problem, but she's grateful she didn't take any off when she decided to explore the cave.
Everything moves too fast; she can identify the ground and thousands of colorful dots that she knows are people. Some dots are as big as Gamabunta-sama, moving at the same speed as him. It's an island, quite busy, with white buildings, and there's a strange amount of white surrounding it.
The ground draws closer, solid and glistening. A frozen lake, perhaps. There are many solid objects around, large enough for her to hold onto. Narumi reacts in a matter of seconds. She pulls her shurikens from the pouches on her belt, tied with metal wires, and aims at the nearest thing, a huge metal cable (which she would later discover to be a giant's weapon), throwing it into the air. The shurikens wrap around and trap her. As soon as the wire pulls her back, Narumi holds on and follows the new gravity, spinning in the air and rising once more, now landing more gently.
This time she isn't afraid of the fall. She's used to these kinds of landings. Sending chakra to her legs, she prepares her muscles for the impact against the ground.
She is finally on solid ground, and whole, her legs bent and her hands on her thighs, the scroll hits her back. Adrenaline still coursing through her body, and her soldier senses are tingling. Danger is everywhere; her fingers tremble, the hairs on her arm stand on end. Kyūbi growls a warning.
They are not alone.
The sound of screams, explosions, and metal clashing against metal doesn't disappear, only diminishes as the surprise of their arrival overwhelms the thousands of soldiers around them.
Narumi raises her head, shoulders pulled back, and stretches her legs. Like any good shinobi, she spends three seconds examining her surroundings.
There are thousands of eyes on her. Thousands of people surrounding her, each one reeking of death. She is on a battlefield, and her presence has interrupted the ongoing conflict. There is still the clang of metal against metal. She senses chakra levels varying, some very low, others just enough to keep a shinobi moving after a battle, most as mild as that of the civilians of Konohagakure. No one there seems to have developed their reserves. Eight-year-old Konohamaru has more presence than they do.
Her arrival is unexpected; those closest to her stare in surprise, forgetting the fighting and their exhaustion.
Three seconds. Narumi looks around. There are two groups, she realizes, the one behind her dressed in colorful or worn clothes, so different from each other, coming from the sea. Ice surrounds her, a gigantic and massive sheet of ice, rising above the battlefield like a tsunami. The group ahead of her is dressed in white, different uniforms that match, the same unknown symbol emblazoned somewhere on their bodies.
Wait a second. She raises her head; a huge man stands before her. Taller than anyone she's ever seen, even Han-senpai. Also covered in a white robe, his stern, aged face is illuminated by a shimmering mass of magma. Oh, she likes this. She'll learn this technique as soon as she finds a way home.
At the last second, she realizes she's between him and two teenagers on the ground. Her instincts scream louder. She looks at the two on the ground, slightly older than Temari-san, disheveled and covered in dirt and blood. The taller one can't look at her, as he's dying, an ugly hole in his back. And the younger one hugs him tightly, his eyes full of terror fixed on her.
The smell of burnt flesh invades her nose and she understands.
She immediately turns to the large man, Kurama's hatred burning in her gaze, her body instinctively falling into an intimidating form. Her chakra reserves are lower, but if she is to win this fight, she can delve into the deepest part of her seal.
Her movement seems to have roused this man from his stupor, showing that she wasn't on his side, therefore, a threat. His eyebrows fall, a dangerous scowl forming, and he begins to advance, his arm covered in bubbling magma. The rest of his people, those dressed in white, either shake their heads and return to attack, or retreat even further. Behind her, the other group never stops fighting, drawing closer.
Narumi shouldn't be here, reacting to an enemy that isn't hers. She's not a hero, nor is she kind enough to meddle in the affairs of strangers like her twin brother does. Naruto is the generous one; she's the one who follows the rules, stays in line so as not to harm herself.
But she's a rebel too. And, for some reason, the smell of that kid's flesh burning while the other one hugs him makes her writhe with rage.
She needs to act as fast as possible. Forgetting the exhaustion from the previous mission, Narumi summons all her remaining willpower and chakra into her fists. First, the enemy in front of her.
He approaches quickly, pulling his magma arm back to attack her, opening a hole in her face. Earth Release is much more useful in this situation. Narumi joins her hands and makes the already memorized seals at high speed, murmuring the jutsu in her mind.
"Earth Style: Matrix Rock Coffin Jutsu."
The ground beneath her feet trembles and cracks, rising unnaturally into the air. Narumi smiles at the way the magma man's eyes widen slightly. Her earthen wall grows large enough to block his vision, then she pushes forward with all her might, taking him and sweeping away any other allies of his.
The man screams as he is carried away, the others in white calling out to him with equal terror, then turning to Narumi in surprise. She wastes no time in pulling out two shadow clones, the maximum she can summon. Without wasting any more time, she throws her large scroll behind her and advances, smiling, her adrenaline pumping.
The magma man destroys her barrier and looks at her with such hatred that she savors it before clasping her hands for the next jutsu.