Chapter Text
Moonlight pierced through the trees and shined bright on the young kage as he traversed through a forest, discussing his voyage with the Two Great Sage Toads. Naruto was heading North toward a location called the Mountains' Graveyard, which, according to the map, lay between Takigakure and Otogakure.
"So, Naruto~boy, what do you plan to do now that you're traveling by yourself?"
"To be honest f*ckasaku~san, I'm not sure myself. It's just that I've got a month and the entire world to travel."
"Why not summon Bunta to speed things up?"
"Even though that would speed things up, I'd rather have chief toad fight with all his might rather be exhausted from the travels."
"Very well said."
"Shima~san, f*ckasaku~san, it's getting late. Shall we continue tomorrow?"
"Agreed. Come on ma, let's let the boy rest."
"Hai."
The two toads were reverse summoned to Mount Myoboku as Naruto slowed his pace down before stopping and crouching down on a tree branch. The yellow-haired ninja grabbed a branch above him and leaped up as he climbed up the tree to scout the area. Letting out a tired sigh, the blond kage pulled out a map from his back pocket and went to check his location.
"Alright, so according to the map, I'm at the east of the Tenchi bridge, perpendicular to the Valley of the End. I think I'd pass through Otogakure to see if that damn snake has left anything behind."
Naruto let out a whistle as the cold night winds breezed through his hair. The air blew around the blond kage's body as he memorized the route from the top of the forest to the village hidden by sound. Naruto closed his eyes and focused as he sensed two familiar chakra signatures. 'Wait. This chakra... it's of Anko Mitarashi and... Kabuto!' The next moment passed as the Rokudaime leaped from the top of one tree to another. Naruto cursed to himself as he applied more chakra on his feet to speed up his journey.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique"
On reflex, Naruto created a shadow clone in front of him as he jumped back, hearing the water dragon technique come toward him. The shadow clone was hit with the jutsu as the blond kage threw multiple 3 pronged kunai around the area. The kunai landed in a circle around a man wearing a black robe with a red lining.
"Kabuto Yakushi..."
"The Rokudaime Hokage. I wonder if you have grown as a shinobi."
Half mad by the snake pupil's appearance, Naruto teleported to a kunai behind Kabuto as he charged an Odama Rasengan with his right hand, throwing a kunai with his left.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Kabuto turned around as he summoned snakes from his right hand toward the kage, deflecting the kunai to his right. Naruto smirked as he teleported to the deflected kunai. Kabuto turned as he recognized the seal on the kunai and was hit with the Odama Rasengan. The collision seemed to be enough for Kabuto to step back and try to retreat. 'Why is he here?! I can't afford to summon any reanimation this early!'
His thoughts were interrupted as Naruto dashed straight at his face as he prepared to block a punch from the blond kage. At the last second, Naruto switched to the Frog Kata and leg swept Kabuto before drop-kicking the now shocked Kabuto, placing a seal on him. The snake summoner decided to substitute with a snake clone as he struck the ground. 'Can't let him take her.' Naruto created a shadow clone which dashed toward Anko as he went to fight Kabuto.
Seeing the blond kage's clone, Kabuto went through several hand seals as Naruto charged a Rasengan on his right hand. The young ninja dashed toward Kabuto who gathered chakra in his mouth.
"Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!"
Kabuto smirked as he saw the blond kage head on face-first into his jutsu. 'Sage Mode: Frog Kumite! With this, I can sense danger over a wider range, and it's faster! So I'll be able to counter at the last second!' Meanwhile, Naruto's shadow clone grabbed Anko and teleported to Konoha to ensure that no secrets got out.
'After my jutsu hits him, I'll take the Kyuubi's power for myself!' Kabuto mentally celebrated his victory as Naruto faced the jutsu. A millisecond before the jutsu could hit him, Naruto teleported behind Kabuto and hit him with the Rasengan on his left hand. Kabuto went flying as Naruto threw several hiraishin kunai toward him and appeared right in front of the rogue ninja and followed it up with a kick with the Frog Kata, sending Kabuto flying with the Hirashin Kunai.
He created a shadow clone that teleported to the kunai, meanwhile Naruto charged a Rasengan Bomb. The shadow clone teleported to all the kunai, one by one, and slashed Kabuto every time it teleported. Naruto held a hiraishin kunai on his face and spoke.
"It's called-"
Before continuing, Naruto's shadow clone teleported right in front of him holding the snake sanin's pupil as Naruto slammed the Rasengan Bomb.
"Hiraishin: Jikū Shippū Senkō Ren no Dan: Zero Shiki!"
Kabuto, somehow managing to not lose consciousness, flew backward with the Rasengan bomb due to the momentum built up by the Hiraishin. As he went a few meters away, the Rasengan bomb exploded. Naruto smiled, showing no signs of exhaustion.
"Nothing really."
Kabuto, on the other hand, gasped for air in pain, thinking to himself. 'This jutsu is a new one. I knew about the Rashenshuriken but this!?' Naruto unsealed a shadow clone in his scroll and dispersed it, absorbing the Senjutsu Chakra it had collected. Naruto appeared right behind Kabuto in a yellow flash and hit him with an Odama Rasengan. Kabuto went crashing as Naruto teleported right next to him and drop-kicked him into the air.
The blond kage created five thousand shadow clones, which, took the form similar to that of the Fang Passing Fang, and struck Kabuto from both sides. Finally, using their Senjutsu chakra, Naruto, alongside his shadow clones, focused the chakra into their one hand, and, with it, they struck the rogue ninja together. Moments before the last few hits, Kabuto switched with a snake clone as he faced the young ninja once again.
Kabuto's body was extremely damaged as he struggled to stand straight up. 'Body Fluid Shedding Technique.' Naruto dashed toward Kabuto as he separated portions of himself in a manner reminiscent of a snake shedding its skin. Teleporting toward his cloak, Naruto charged another Rasengan before Kabuto slid outside the forest.
The blond kage followed the snake-like body as he regained memories of his shadow clone safely delivering Anko to Konohagakure. With a sigh of relief, Naruto kept up his pace to follow Kabuto to his den. Where could Kabuto be leading Naruto? Could Naruto defeat Kabuto before the war even started? Only time could tell as with this, A New Journey Begins.
