After listening to Orochimaru's suggestion, Naruto decided that he wanted the five puppets to be combined into one puppet, as individual puppets will require more concentration when using various jutsus.
"You're quite lucky, of these five puppets, there are one wind, two fire, a lightning, and an earth nature, to have such a wide variety in one puppet, it will be quite the fun one to make" Orochimaru chuckled
"If these can be combined, why has Sasori not done so?" Naruto asked
Orochimaru shook his head
"Because he does not need it, the reason to combine is so less concentration is required, but Sasori, he is able to control dozens without losing concentration" He replied
"Now I'm even more curious about him" Naruto muttered, wanting to find out how he can do this, so he can have Ino learn as well
As he was thinking, another throught came to mind
"Can you craft these human puppets?" He asked
"Making them? I'm not very proficient in creating puppets as Sasori is, so I have no guarantee it will have the same effect as his" He replied
"Hm, I have Raiga's body, so I was thinking of turning him into a puppet" Naruto said
But since Orochimaru isn't confident, he decided to think of another way to make use of Raiga's corpse.
"How about you reanimate him for me? Give me the method to control him, and I'll have a decently strong slave to work with" Naruto asked
Orochimaru chuckled
"Naruto, you should just give up in being a normal Shinobi, being a missing nin seems to suit you much better" He said
"Can you do it or not" Naruto grumbled
In response, Orochimaru handed him a scroll
"This is the reanimation jutsu, as well as the control method, and as a gift, I included the method of my curse mark" He grinned
Naruto's eyes lit up instantly, Orochimaru's curse mark is something he has been eyeing for some time now. It isn't just a simple power up, it draws in nature energy, acting as a sudo sage mode.
The key point is, the energy that the curse mark uses is Orochimaru's own chakra, which is why people who uses it can access a partial sage mode effect. But what if it was Naruto who supplies the chakra?
The thought that the person may become a sudo jinchuriki, pairing with his current experiment on Tayuya and Kimimaro, it may speed up the process dramatically!
"Then I won't be polite" Naruto snagged the scroll excitedly and opened it up
The content made his eyes brighten, and the more he read, the more he began contemplating the jutsu. First was the reanimation jutsu, which brings a soul back from the pure lands and seals it within a body to reanimate.
Depending on the quality of the body used, the more of the original power the soul can use from their peak. Of course, Naruto was going to bring Raiga back with his own body, which would allow for him to make use of nearly one hundred percent of his original strength.
He memorised the jutsu slowly, and took out Raiga's body. He formed a seal with his hand towards Raiga's body, which caused a hurricane of talisman like objects to cover the body entirely.
Soon after, the talisman combined with the body, as if trapping something within, and the body was no longer like before. The original face became slightly cracked, as if it could be peeled, and the eyes opened, revealing a hollow darkness with the pupil in the centre.
Confusion filled his eyes as Raiga slowly sat up. He quickly touched his neck, where he expected an injury to be, yet there was none. His gaze darted around the room, trying to make sense of what is going on, and his eyes slowly stopped on Naruto.
"Say, how do I remove his personality" Naruto asked
"Hm, just seal his ego away" Orochimaru replied
Raiga opened his mouth, he was about to ask what was happening when Naruto grabbed his head with one hand, and a seal was implanted onto him. Immediately, the pupils became dull and lifeless.
"There we go, now I have a rather skilled swordsman that I can have go on suicide missions" Naruto smiled as he nodded with a satisfied look.
"Not bad, the quality of this one is quite good" Orochimaru nodded
He could tell that Raiga was incredibly skilled before his death, so much that perhaps even his own sound four cannot fight him individually.
"I can have him be Ino's bodyguard, just need to dress him up, cover his face, and there we go" Naruto pulled out a black robe and mask to cover up Raiga.
He thought about it, and gave him one of the Kiba blade, keeping the other for himself.
"Now, how do I explain this to sis" Naruto muttered
"Sis? You have a sister?"Orochimaru asked
"Tsunade" Naruto replied
"...."
Orochimaru's lips twitched. Tsunade his from his generation, and he is already old enough to be Naruto's grandfather, yet he calls Tsunade sis!?!?!
Where has the seniority gone!? Where does he even get the galls to call someone so old his sis!?
"R-Right...." He decided not to ask about it, less he gets a headache from thinking about this matter.
"Should I just say I learnt it from the forbidden scroll? On that note, I should check out the rest of the forbidden scroll, Tobirama's so called forbidden jutsus has all been quite useful" Naruto muttered, knowing that he had now learnt three of Tobirama's original jutsus.
He shook his head
"Hah, sis will definitely buy that excuse, I'll keep him inside a scroll for now I guess" Naruto muttered
Despite the reanimation jutsu, the body is still considered dead, which allowed him to store it inside a scroll. He tucked the scroll away and shifted his attention back to Orochimaru.
"Give me a notice when the puppet is complete" He said
"You really treat this place like your back yard, huh?" Orochimaru lifted a brow and asked
"We're close enough to not be bothered about such things now, no? Hahaha, see you another day" Naruto winked and teleported away
-Back at Konoha-
Naruto came across Ino with Shikamaru and Choji, who were all out on a group shopping trip, well, mostly for Choji.
"What's the celebration?" Naruto asked
"It's been half a year since we graduated, so we decided to spend a little to celebrate" Ino grinned
"Oh~, just you three?" Naruto asked
"Of course I asked my bestie to come as well, sadly, she's busy with her training with Hokage-sama" Ino sighed
Naruto nodded
"And I wasn't invited because...."
"We couldn't even find you" Shikamaru rolled his eyes and said
"Ah, and here I thought I was forgotten" Naruto laughed
The group of four went around to buy various food and snacks before settling down at the park to enjoy. It's been some time since they gathered and just chatted casually, which was why Shikamaru was willing to join.
"How have your team been fairing lately?" Naruto asked
"Nothing much, just basic missions, urgh, being a genin is so boring, we almost never have missions that lets us leave the village" Ino grumbled
"I quite like our current missions" Choji interjected
"That's because you can finish early and go eat right after" Ino sighed
"Food is important" Choji replied
"I mean, Ino, if you want more outside missions, you can always just request my aid on a B rank or higher mission, I'm a Jonin, so having me join as a temp will allow you to select higher ranking missions" Naruto said
"Ah! I almost forgot you were a Jonin, tomorrow, I'll ask Asuma sensei right away" Ino said with glistening eyes
"So you did forget that I was a Jonin, huh?"Naruto's lips twitched as he asked
"Uh....hahaha, thanks Na-kun" Ino winked
"....well, don't get too excited yet, it's not a guarantee they will allow it, and there's also the chance that there aren't high level missions right now"
"Right....at least there's a chance, ever since that last escort mission where you joined us with a clone, I've never had a mission as exciting" Ino huffed
Naruto chuckled as he realised that Ino had more of an adventurous heart than he had expected.
"Naruto, I heard your brother got injured the other day, is he alright?" Ino asked
"Nii-san? He's doing great, he's going on the offence with Hinata" He said with a grin
"Eh? I did hear that the two spars a lot, could he be more aggressive than he looks?" Ino asked
Shikamaru coughed
"He doesn't mean it literally" He said
Ino tilted her head in confusion
"Not literally? Then what other meaning could it be?" She asked
"The type of offence I directed at you a while back" Naruto winked
".....ah" Ino's face turned slightly pinkish as she slapped Naruto's back
"Just say he's making a move on Hinata, why make it sound as if it was a battle" She huffed in embarrassment
"Don't you know? Love is war" Naruto replied
"Pfft, fine"
"But this is good for you two" Shikamaru said
"Yeah" Naruto nodded
"Really?" Ino asked
Naruto and Shikamaru stared at her, then whispered to each other
"Is she dense?" Naruto asked
"More dense than I thought" He replied
"Man, she used to catch on such things quickly, what happened?" Naruto added
"You happened, she feels zero threat so she's letting her guard down towards other females" Shikamaru replied
"Damn, is that a complement to me then?"
"Somewhat I guess" Shikamaru shrugged
"What are you two whispering about" Ino puffed her cheeks up and asked
"You" The both of them replied
"Eh?"
-In the hospital-
Tsunade checked on Haku one last time, making sure he was completely alright before heading back to her office. Haku leaned back and looked out the window.
His mind was still on Hinata's sudden departure yesterday, and he couldn't help but wonder if he said something wrong. As perceptive as he is, he's just as dense....
*Swoosh*
The door to his ward opened, and when he turned his head, he was surprised to see Hinata, who he expected to not see him for some time. In her hand was another basket, filled with similar snacks from yesterday.
"Hey" She said
"H-Hey" Haku waved back, a little confused
Hinata walked over and sat down next to his bed
"Um, are you feeling better?" She asked
"Y-Yeah, much better, I'll be discharged soon" Haku replied
Once he answered, the mood became awkward as silence enveloped them both. It was hard for them to think of something to say, and both of them were feeling awkward for two different reasons.
'I-Is she still angry? Did I do something wrong? If only Naruto was here, he'd surely have an answer' Haku grumbled in his heart
'He didn't see me blush yesterday, did he? Ah, that was so embarrassing!' Hinata thought
"Um" Both of them looked up and tried to break the silence, but spoke at the same time, making the mood even more weird
"You first" They both spoke once more
Haku raised on hand to her
"Uh, you go first" He said
"Y-Yeah, about yesterday...."
"Sorry!" Both of them suddenly bowed their heads to each other, and was left stupefied when they looked back up.
They could see the shock in one another's eyes.
"W-Wait, why are you apologising" Haku asked
"I should be asking you that" Hinata responded
"W-Well, you ran off yesterday, so I thought I must have said something that bothered you" Haku said with a helpless smile
"Wh-What, no! That was on me entirely! I got distracted by something and-...um, pretend you didn't see it" Hinata muttered
Haku's pupils shrunk, but then his gaze softened as a sense of relief entered his heart. As long as it wasn't what he initially thought, he didn't mind what Hinata was thinking about.
Hinata sighed
'How did I make such a mistake, to think he reminded me of Naruto-kun when he smiled' She thought to herself
As time went on with her pursuing Naruto, she felt the distance between them grow. Though Naruto never tells her to outright get away from her, he is very direct about having her keep a distance from him.
And the longer this went for, the bigger that distance became, which made her slowly feel disheartened. Now, she rarely even sees Naruto anymore, and so the time she began spending with others began to increase.
"Hinata, I've been thinking of your unique use of rotation, in regards to the usability, I find it rather similar to Naruto's rasengan, no?" Haku said
"H-Huh?" Haku suddenly changed the subject, so Hinata was caught off guard
"How so?" She asked
"Both relies on fast motion rotation to take form, though Naruto's jutsu relies in the rapid rotation of chakra in all direction, in comparison to yours which is in a single direction" Haku said
"Right"
"If this is the case, if you are able to condense the rotation force and have it spin fast enough, would it not be able to be thrown, and expand upon impact?" Haku asked
This came directly from Naruto's notes that he gave Haku. Naruto analysed the rotation force of the Hyuga clan, and came up with this theory.
"That's possible?" Hinata gasped
"Just a theory" Haku replied
"This...."
Hinata closed her eyes and dispersed chakra on her palm before controlling the dispersed chakra to start spinning in a rapid motion.
At first, it started off in the shape of a whirlpool, slowly condensing a form. However, slowly, the shape of a sphere was formed, spinning perfectly in Hinata's hand. It was under the same mechanic of the chakra needles she created with rotation, but rather than condensing it to be as sharp as possible, she expanded it slowly, and formed the shape of a sphere.
But this didn't last for long as the moment she lost focus, the sphere crumbled and the chakra dispersed. Compared to forming a needle that only requires her to stretch the chakra thin and sharpen it, the sphere was a much more complicated shape to maintain.
"It's too difficult to concentrate, the precision required mid combat won't allow for it" Hinata sighed
"It's fine, it's just a theory anyway, the fact that you gave it a go and almost formed it was already very impressive" Haku complemented
"mn...." Hinata smiled faintly
"About the theory...." Hinata began diving deeper into the concept of the jutsu with Haku, who was more than happy to converse with Hinata.
His admiration for her grew as he watched her learn so intently, her desire to improve, to his knowledge, is something no one else can compare.
From then on, even after he was discharged from the hospital, he could constantly spar with Hinata, while also explaining the theory for her rotation in their spare time. To Hinata, it only seemed natural at that point to find Haku every day, giving even Neji a good amount of breathing room.
-1 month later-
*Bang*
Hinata activated rotation around herself as Tayuya blew her flute, creating sound waves that struck at her. After the first wave, Haku appeared behind Hinata, and created a wall of ice in front of them to block Tayuya's vision.
Tayuya simply chuckled as she activated her curse mark's first stage, as the patterns started to cover her skin once more. At this point, it's a normal occurrence for her to activate it during a spar against the both of them.
She then blew the flute once more, with the sound wave's power increasing several folds, destroying the wall of ice.
When the wall broke, Hinata was nowhere to be seen, and Haku smiled as he leapt backwards, into an ice mirror.
"Tch, slippery b*stards" Tayuya cursed as she searched for Hinata.
*Whoosh*
Suddenly, a spherical object came crashing down towards her from above. She jumped back, and when the object collided with the ground, it expanded drastically, turning from the size of a fist, into a small field that could contain a person.
Tayuya could see that it was chakra that was rapidly spinning, and a drop of sweat ran down her face.
"The f**k is this!?" She gasped
But in her shock, another came down, landing behind her. It created a similar field like the first, with the chakra still spinning. The first one didn't last long, only about five seconds, but it blocked Tayuya's paths long enough for Haku to appear in an ice mirror behind Tayuya.
*Fwee*
Tayuya played a different tune, and Haku, along with Hinata, who was on the rooftop, fell into a genjutsu for a split moment. Just long enough for Tayuya to escape, and send a sound wave flying at them.
*Bang*
Both were struck, and fell to the ground with a thud.
Tayuya stood there with her brows furrowed....
'That was too close, what was that strange jutsu'
"Tayuya's still too strong, huh?" Haku sighed
"Yeah" Hinata sat up and grumbled
"But it worked" Haku glanced over to Hinata, who was having a hard time controlling a smile that rose on her face.
"Yeah....soon, I'll be able to beat her, and I'll...." Hinata muttered with a smile that Haku wasn't very familiar with.
It was a little cold, but also a strange sense of malice? It was truly odd, but if Naruto was here, he'd know that smile. It was that creepy smile she showed when she tortured the enemy shinobi during their mission together....
An absolute S....
Tayuya felt a shiver run down her spine at that instant
'Why do I feel like something bad is gonna happen....'
"Never mind your small chat, what was up with that jutsu?" Tayuya asked
Hinata's smile returned to normal as she raised a palm
*Whoosh*
A small fist sized sphere of rotating chakra appeared on her palm.
"Is this the thing Naruto use?" Tayuya asked, finding it to be quite similar to the rasengan
"Close, but this is a single directional rotation, think of it as a compact whirlpool of chakra in the shape of a sphere, once it is impacted, it explodes in size, and causes whatever it hits to follow the flow of the chakra" Hinata said as she threw it at a rock nearby.
The field was created in an instant, and the rock inside began spinning. Not at a high speed, but if thrown at a person, it can definitely cause some issues in their movement.
"Damn" Tayuya gasped
"It's difficult to maintain and use in combat though, I needed Haku to distract you for me to concentrate and create them, otherwise, they're not very practical"
"Plus, it drains my chakra very fast" She added
Tayuya nodded, but still found the jutsu to be very interesting. At the same time, she felt the gap between them slowly close, which made her more uneasy.
'Kill them' That thought suddenly flashed by her mind, and after it came to her mind, she froze...
'Why-Why would I think of that? No, I usually kill people, that's normal, but this time....'
She turned around
"Naruto" She called out
"Yeah?" Naruto(clone) appeared next to her
"It's about the experiment" She said
Naruto lifted a brow
"We'll talk inside" He said
He glanced at the other two
"I'll be borrowing her" He said to them before bringing Tayuya indoors
Haku and Hinata found Tayuya's expression to be rather off, but soon returned to training.
Inside, Tayuya followed Naruto into his room, where he set up a seal that blocked out all sound so no one else could hear them.
"What is it?" He asked
"That....the chakra that's entering our body, I think I'm feeling it affect my emotions" She said
"Ah, I got it"
Naruto sat down
"You must be feeling pressured that those two are catching up, right? And in the mix of worry, your negative emotions were amplified, this is very normal for Kurama's chakra, since he is the beast that contains the greatest anger" Naruto said calmly
He grabbed her wrist after saying that
"Kurama's chakra isn't easy to control, but you don't have much of it at the moment, from now on, stop sparing with them, and focus on feeling the beast chakra in your body, try to take control of it before the amount in your body gets too much to control" Naruto said
"And you're only telling me to start doing this now...because?" Tayuya lifted a brow and asked
"Previously, the amount was so negligible that you couldn't even feel it, now that there's a more substantial amount, you should be able to start making use of it" Naruto replied
"Oh....but that sounds so boring" She grumbled
Naruto rolled his eyes
"Your choice, go along with the experiment, or I send you back to Orochimaru" Naruto said in a low voice
"Huh? What? I love training my chakra, hahaha" Tayuya laughed awkwardly when she was met with Naruto's dead serious expression.
"That's for the best, at the same time, if you can gain access to it, the gap between you and the other two will widen" Naruto said
"Huh? Really?"
"Tayuya, it seems you still don't understand the premise of this experiment, I am turning you and Kimimaro into sudo jinchurikis, once you master it, you will be able to use the nine tail's power at will, and increase your powers by another level" Naruto said
Tayuya fell silent. She knew what this experiment meant, but over time, she gradually forgot that she was working towards becoming an experimental jinchuriki. Now, she was reminded of it once more, and became slightly excited.
"If that is all, you can go back now, call me if you think the emotions are too hard to control" Naruto said
"Okay" Tayuya nodded as she left, feeling a little better compared to before.
After she left, Naruto smiled
"The main body will be pleased to hear that the experiment is coming along well" He muttered
As for where Naruto's main body currently is...
-Orochimaru's lair-
Naruto received a notice from Orochimaru that the puppet was finally complete, so he headed over review the goods.
Naturally, he was disguised, in case Sasuke saw him.
"So, where's the puppet" Naruto asked excitedly
Orochimaru had a rather proud expression on his face as he led Naruto deeper into the lair, arriving at a rather large open space, where his more dangerous experiments usually take place.
"I am quite pleased with it" He chuckled
"Oh? You're pleased with it? Then it must be quite the masterpiece" Naruto became excited when he heard Orochimaru's appreciation for his new creation.
Orochimaru took out a scroll and opened it up
*Poof*
The puppet was summoned, and Naruto looked upwards as a towering shadow loomed over him completely.
"Orochimaru....the f**k man!"
"Fufufufu, isn't it great?" Orochimaru smiled
Before them both....is a massive white snake puppet! It was over twice the size of the first puppet Ino got, and that was it coiled up! If it was unwrapped, it's length will equal to maybe four of the first puppet Ino has!
"I turned the five puppets into cores within this puppet, and the jutsu it can use will shoot out from the mouth, of course, if the cores are destroyed, it won't be able to use the jutsus anymore" Orochimaru said
"Sounds great, but....why a snake?" Naruto asked as his lips twitched
"I believe I gave it the most elegant design" Orochimaru replied
"....damn, I didn't know you were such a narcissist" Naruto gasped
"Learned it from you" Orochimaru replied
"Wow....and I can't even deny it" Naruto muttered
"[Glad you're aware]" Both Kurama and Orochimaru's voice sounded...
"...."
'They were in perfect sync...when Orochimaru can't even hear him....'
"Ahem, uh, how sturdy is the exterior?" Naruto asked
"Give it a shot" Orochimaru replied
Naruto created a rasengan, and threw it at the puppet
*Whoosh*
The rasengan struck the puppet, yet it didn't even leave a mark! He walked over and placed his hand on the puppet, feeling the exterior.
"This...is this skin?" Naruto asked
"Yes, it's my skin" Orochimaru replied
"....urgh, I think I'm gonna puke" Naruto covered his mouth and said
Orochimaru rolled his eyes
"To call it my skin isn't fully correct, it is the molted skin of the white snake sage, imbued with my chakra, the durability should be more than enough for most situations, unless it is faced with someone on my level" Orochimaru explained
"Oh! Still sounds disgusting, but better than before, what else?" Naruto asked
Orochimaru's lips twitched, but he continued
"The five cores are on different parts of the puppet, and I did my best to make sure it won't get damaged" He said
"The element jutsus that it can use is based on which core the chakra thread is connected to, just switch the chakra thread during combat if you want to use a different elemental jutsu"
"Any other restrictions?" Naruto asked
"Of course, each puppet only can use one jutsu that is linked to them, earth puppet can only use earth wall, the water puppet can only use water bullets, the two fire one can use fireball jutsu, and interestingly enough, the fire serpent, while the lightning one can use lightning senbon" Orochimaru explained
"To be expected, otherwise, even Sasori will have trouble making use of their full capability during combat" Naruto nodded
Orochimaru continued
"Each puppet core has a similar main core that we have for the other puppets to collect chakra from its surrounding so using the jutsus won't be an issue, and lastly, if the cores get destroyed, I won't be able to repair them"
Naruto smiled
"This is more than enough" He said
'I hope Ino likes this'