Chapter 20: Losses

"These failures cannot keep happening. You are making us look pathetic!" Zoronmaru shouted at his swordsmen. "How many times have we been pushed out of Wave now? Twice? That is unacceptable! Explain to me why you have failed Kukkyana." Kukkyana took a step forward.

"The Leaf ninja are not to be underestimated Zoronmaru-Sama. Those brats that everyone keeps calling the 'second coming of the Sannin' are extremely powerful. It would be impossible to defeat them alone. And the other man, Asuma Sarutobi, is the son of the Third Hokage. His skill is legendary as well." Kukkyana explained. Zoronmaru grunted.

"Well then, we'll just have to even the playing field won't we?"

XxX

There's at least two contingents of Rock ninja camped out just ahead of us." Naruto and Sakura looked up at Sasuke, who had just returned to the camp. He had been out scouting the enemy on the order of Kankuro, whose division was settled not too far away. "About 600 of them, give or take." Naruto stood up and nodded.

"So what's the plan?"

"Well, we're going to raid their camp and cause as much destruction as we can, while Kankuro and his division attack during the diversion. We should only have to hold out for about fifteen minutes." Sakura explained.

"There is one slight problem." Sasuke announced.

"What is that?" asked Naruto.

"The Tsuchikage is currently at the same encampment." Naruto and Sakura's heads snapped towards Sasuke.

"What?" Sasuke nodded.

"I saw his tent. It was three times the size of all the other tents, and it had the symbol for Earth emblazoned on the front. I can't think of anyone else it could be." Naruto created a Shadow Clone and sent it off to warn Kankuro immediately.

"So now we have to fight a Kage? Fucking fantastic." Naruto muttered. "Come to think of it, who is the Tsuchikage?"

"After the previous Tsuchikage, Oonoki of the Scaled, died of illness, one of his students was given the title. I believe his name is Deidara." Sakura explained.

"Do you know anything else about him?" Sasuke asked, but Sakura shook her head.

"Unfortunately no. He hasn't been a Kage long enough to have been in any serious battles. But he has to be powerful if he was a student of the last Kage. He may have even inherited the previous Tsuchikage's Dust Style." Naruto cracked his neck and sighed.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Naruto was about to jump away when Sasuke grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait idiot. Do you really want to take on a Kage?" Naruto shrugged.

"We don't really have a choice. And if anyone should take him on it's us." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Plus, this is a golden opportunity. What if we beat the Tsuchikage? We could turn the tide of this war like that." Naruto remarked excitedly.

"It won't be that easy Naruto." Sakura chided.

"I know that! But we have to do this! The Tsuchikage is literally sitting on his ass right in front of us. We'll only have to hold out for fifteen minutes before Kankuro comes in behind us to clean up." Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other and sighed.

"Fine, but if we need to retreat, you retreat too. Got it?" Naruto nodded. "Good. Then let's go." Team 7 jumped into the trees and made their way to the Rock encampment. They hid in a thicket some distance away from the camp and observed. Various campfires flickered brightly across the camp, but most of them were abandoned. The only movement came from the few sentries posted around the camp, and the Tsuchikage's personal guard right outside his tent.

"So what do we do?" Naruto whispered.

"The two guards in front of the Tsuchikage's tent are definitely Jonin. It will be much harder to sneak up on them."

"I can do it." Sasuke answered quietly." Sakura nodded and continued.

"The rest look like regular Chuunin, so they shouldn't be a problem." Naruto nodded.

"Ok, then let's take them out now. Sasuke, you get the Jonin. After that we'll begin."

XxX

"Ah, Tsuchikage-Dono, it is so nice of you to let me stay in your luxurious tent." Deidara waved his hand as he sipped his cup of tea.

"Not a problem Orochimaru. And please, just call me Deidara. I am not a fan of formalities." Orochimaru grinned.

"As you wish Deidara. So tell me, why are you here in the first place? It seems a little early for one such as yourself to join the battlefield." Deidara laughed and set his cup down.

"Yes, my advisors have said the same. But my advisors are bags of bones, and even their ideals are frail. They do not realize that the battlefield is the only place for a Kage. I can't sit in my office all day while my men get to have all the fun." Orochimaru chuckled.

"I knew I was right to seek your help. You and I are very much alike Deidara."

"Well great minds do think alike." Deidara said with a smirk.

"Yes indeed they do. So enough small talk. Tell me of your plans." Deidara stood up and turned around.

"I'm so glad you asked. My plan is really a beautiful piece of art. There is a division of Sand ninja camped out just beyond the mountain pass. Tomorrow at dawn, I and a group of my strongest Jonin, will fly over and assault the camp, while the rest of my troops come in behind us as reinforcements. They won't know what hit them. Or rather, what blew them up." Orochimaru grinned.

"Very well thought out. Yes, that will work just fine. And when they try to retreat into Fire Country, my Sound ninja will be waiting." Deidara laughed.

"Brilliant! Art is a bang yea?" A grin spread across Orochimaru's face.

"Very well, then I will take my leave of-"Orochimaru's head snapped towards the opening to Deidara's tent and his eyes narrowed. Deidara mimicked his actions.

"It seems we have company." The Tsuchikage stated. "Will you stay and fight?"

"Yes. It seems a former…investment of mine in here. Be on guard, these brats are not to be taken lightly."

XxX

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shot a powerful fireball at the Tsuchikage's tent, setting it ablaze. The guards had already been taken care of, and now it was time to set the plan in motion. Sasuke kept up his Jutsu , aiming it at every tent he could see. As he was torching the camp, an odd but familiar sensation started to run through his body. He kept his Jutsu going until he recognized the sensation, causing him much worry. He jumped over to Naruto and Sakura, who were causing destruction in their own ways. "Naruto! Sakura! We have a problem!" His teammates stopped what they were doing and flocked to Sasuke.

"What is it?" Naruto asked. But before Sasuke could warn them, he was sent flying by a kick to the head.

"Kukuku, it's been awhile Sasuke-Kun." A chill ran down each of Team 7's spines when they heard the sick laugh.

"Orochimaru…what are you doing here?" Naruto shouted in astonishment. A man with long blonde hair appeared next to the Sannin, and Naruto's eyes went wide when he saw the Kage hat on his head. "This is bad." He mumbled to himself. Sasuke and Sakura stood next to Naruto, Sasuke now recovered from the kick.

"And what might you be doing in my camp hmm?" Naruto ignored Deidara and pointed at Orochimaru.

"Why are you here?" Orochimaru chuckled.

"Come now Naruto-Kun, is that any way to greet me after destroying one of my bases? You should be apologizing."

"Fuck you!" Orochimaru frowned.

"Words are useless with this one." He explained to Deidara. "But don't let his stupidity fool you; that boy is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails." Deidara's eyes widened.

"That's the Leaf's Jinchuriki? Well this just got a lot more interesting. Let's see if he appreciates art." Deidara dug his hands into the weapon pouches on his waist and pulled out what looked like white clay. He molded it for a few seconds, then held his hands out, displaying a bunch of tiny clay spiders. He threw them at team 7, and held one of his hands up in a sign. Sasuke dashed forward, sword drawn, with the intention of eradicating the tiny arachnids. "Haha, you can't beat my art! Katsu!" Before Sasuke could reach them, the clay creations exploded on Deidara's command, sending Sasuke flying backwards. By now the entire camp was alert, but they stayed back in respect to the Tsuchikage. Naruto and Sakura ran over to Sasuke, who had a few burns on him but was otherwise okay. Deidara on the other hand was cackling with glee. "Yes, beautiful! Art is a bang!" Naruto hoisted Sasuke up and sighed.

"Great, he's a psychopathic terrorist. As if Orochimaru wasn't bad enough." Sasuke dusted himself off and Sakura looked at her teammates with worry on her face.

"Naruto…this is too much. We have to retreat." Naruto shook his head.

"It's not going to be that easy. Do you really think that Orochimaru is going to let us retreat safely?" Sakura looked at the ground. "We're in for a fight. Whether we like it or not." Naruto closed his eyes and began channeling Nature chakra, until the marks of the Sage appeared around each eye. "We need to end this as fast as possible. We can't let Kankuro's division get here while Orochimaru is still here. They'll be annhiliated." Sasuke and Sakura nodded and prepared themselves. Orochimaru took notice of Naruto's eyes, and his anger spiked.

"Jiriaya…"he muttered under his breath. "I see the old pervert has taught you a few tricks Naruto-Kun." Naruto grinned.

"That's right. And since you were Ero-Sennin's teammate, you should know how dangerous this form is." Naruto boasted, bluffing a little. He could only stay in Sage Mode for about ten minutes now, but Orochimaru didn't need to know that. He also turned his Gravity Seal off, knowing he would need all the speed he could get. Tired of the banter, Orochimaru shot towards Team 7, with Deidara close behind him.

"You two take the Tsuchikage! I'll take Orochimaru!" Naruto shouted, dashing towards the Snake Sannin.

"What? Are you insane Naruto? You can't take on Orochimaru by yourself!" Sasuke shouted angrily. He drew his sword and was about to dash after his teammate when Deidara appeared in front of him.

"Where do you think you're-" Sasuke slashed his sword through Deidara's torso, separating it from his legs. Deidara gasped, before turning into clay and exploding, catching Sasuke in the center of the blast. He flew rocketed across the battlefield, and was barely saved by Sakura, who had used her strength to catch him. After she set him upright, they both charged at Deidara. Meanwhile, Naruto and Orochimaru clashed, each with one hand extended in a fist, the other holding the fist of the enemy.

"So you think just because you're a Sage now you can fight at my level?" Orochimaru questioned with a sneer. "Jiraiya was a fool to take you as his apprentice. You're just a pathetic boy with a Tailed Beast to protect you."

"Shut up traitor!" Naruto used his boosted strength to throw Orochimaru over his head. Orochimaru reacted quickly and shot his tongue towards Naruto, wrapping it around his wrist and pulling the blond along with him. They both flew through the air for a few seconds before landing on their feet. Naruto immediately charged at the Sannin and engaged him in Taijutsu, but even with his heightened strength and speed, and his Frog Kumite, Orochimaru was able to hang with him blow for blow.

"Your Sage Mode is nothing against me! I've sparred with Jiraiya enough times to know how to counter it!" The Sannin bent unnaturally around a punch and delivered a vicious haymaker to the back of Naruto's head, sending him face first into the ground. The Jinchuriki jumped back up immediately and started flying through hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Orochimaru quickly countered.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" The similar attack collided, and a gust of wind was sent out in every direction. Naruto charged through the wind with a large Rasengan swirling in his palm.

"Great Ball Rasengan!" He drove the Jutsu into Orochimaru, pulverizing his body until it was just a puddle of mud on the ground. Cursing at the substitution he turned around and quickly ducked under a slash from Orochimaru's Kusanagi. Orochimaru was easily able to change the angle of the sword since he was holding it with his tongue, and now he was intent on slicing Naruto down the middle. As the blade neared him, Naruto was able to clap his hands around the blade, stopping it inches from his body. He ripped the sword out of the tongue and sliced the tongue off in one swift motion.

"Ahh!" Orochimaru staggered backwards and yelled in pain. He narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

"Youw pah foh dhat!" Naruto cracked a smile.

"What was that? I couldn't understand. Fox got your tongue?" He asked chucking the half-a-tongue away. Orochimaru roared in anger and charged at Naruto. Naruto readied himself for one pissed off Sannin.

XxX

"Asuma! General Asuma!" Asuma looked up to see Kiba and Akamaru sprinting towards him.

"What is it Kiba?" Kiba took a second to catch his breath.

"Akamaru and I smell iron on the air. It looks like they're coming back." Asuma nodded.

"Right, good work Kiba. We're going to alert status red. Go and alert as many people as you can." Kiba nodded and hopped on Akamaru, who sped away while Kiba shouted his message. Asuma immediately gathered his supplies together and prepared for another harsh battle.

His last battle with Kukkyana Howaitonaito had left him in pretty bad shape, even though he had successfully beaten back the Mist nin. He wasn't sure what they outcome of a second confrontation would be. And what, or who, would he return with? Asuma was only sure of one thing: this would be the toughest battle yet.

"Ships on the horizon!" Asuma's head perked up when Kiba's shouts pierced the air. He saw Kiba on the back of Akamaru dashing through the street, bellowing his warning to all who would hear him. Asuma instantly took to the rooftops, swiftly making his way to the beach. When he arrived, Leaf ninja were already anxiously awaiting the arrival of their foes. The importance of the upcoming battle loomed over them like a monstrous tidal wave, with the capability to wipe all of them away in one fell swoop.

Groups of mist nin poured out of the ships and glided across the water towards the awaiting defenders. Asuma stood at the head of his division, chakra blades helf out in front of him. Beams of chakra sprouted from the tips of the blades, extending their range and boosting their destructive power. He raised his fist over his head and roared into the sky, starting the charge and the battle. Within seconds, sparks were flying, Jutsu were flying, and chaos was erupting over the ocean. Asuma slashed through the torso of one man, separating his legs from his body, and then jumped forward, slamming his knee into a Mist nin's chest, caving it in. Purely out of instinct, he jumped to his left, avoiding the slash of a giant axe.

"So we meet again Asuma Sarutobi." Asuma turned to his opponent and narrowed his eyes. Standing in front of him were Kukkyana Howaitonaito and two other sword-wielding ninja.

"Couldn't handle me all by yourself could you?" Asuma asked nonchalantly, bluffing his composure.

"Shut up!" Kukkyana snapped angrily. "You're lucky I let you live before. It was a mistake; one I intend to correct now." Kukkyana pulled his large axe off his back and pointed it straight at Asuma. The swordsmen at his sides drew their weapons as well. The one on the left, a short, blonde boy with spiky hair, drew two odd looking swords. One was white while the other was black, and neither of them seemed to have a definite shape. The weapons seemed to be shrouded in a white and black chakra cloud respectively. The other swordsman, a tall, broad man with long brown hair, wielded a double-bladed sword that seemed to glow silver.

Asuma sized his opponents up, and determined that he would need to pull off and incredible feat, plus have a shit ton of luck, to defeat these three. Still, he raised his hands up and beckoned them to attack. He would show them how strong the Will of Fire burned!

XxX

Naruto backflipped over a slash from Orochimaru's Kusanagi that was a little too close for his liking. The Sannin had really started going after Naruto after the blonde had taken his tongue. His anger and ferocity brought out the true strength of the Sannin, and Naruto couldn't gain an edge. He had been on the run for about a minute now, and he could feel his time in Sage Mode running short. If he didn't find a way to end this, they would be in a really bad situation. He knew he only had one attack in his arsenal that could get the job done, but he only had one shot.

It had to be perfect.

Quickly devising a plan in his head, Naruto jumped onto the tip of Kusanagi and kicked Orochimaru in the face, lifting him off the ground. He then jumped backwards and summoned a Shadow Clone, having it assist him in making his Jutsu. Orochimaru regained his senses and flipped backwards, landing easily on the ground. But when he picked his head up, a giant, white mass of energy was zooming towards him. With is momentum still going down, he had no way to dodge the attack, and it crashed into him, cutting him with thousands of tiny microscopic wind blades. When Orochimaru's body hit the ground, Naruto's eyes reverted back to normal. He sighed as he realized that he had just made it, and a grin made its way to his face.

Of course, it was wiped off when Orochimaru's body twitched.

"What…?" Naruto whispered in astonishment. The body of the Sannin twitched again, before flopping over. The jaw of the body opened extremely wide, and a slimy, pale hand reached into the sky. Orochimaru climbed out of his own body, discarding the old skin like a worn piece of clothing. He watched the entire act fold out with wide eyes, and when it was complete he didn't know what to do.

"That's some Jutsu Naruto-Kun. When I take Sasuke's Sharingan I'll be sure to steal it from you." Naruto clenched his fists in anger. He turned his head when a very beat up Sasuke and Sakura appeared beside him, and then a second later a slightly less beat up Deidara appeared next to Orochimaru.

"It seems I will have to retreat for now Deidara. Naruto has forced me to use far more chakra than I anticipated." He said spitefully, glaring at the Jinchuriki, but then he grinned. "But I will leave a parting gift." He blurred through hand signs, and Naruto sped off to intervene when he heard a shout behind him.

"We're here Naruto!" Kankuro's voice echoed through the air. Naruto's vision was obscured in a second however when a giant puff of smoke covered the battlefield.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed loudly. When the smoke cleared, Naruto's fears were confirmed when he saw a giant, purple snake, with Orochimaru on its head.

"Orochimaru!" The snake's voice boomed over the battlefield. "Why have you summoned me?"

"To destroy our enemies Manda. Don't worry, I will prepare plenty of sacrifices for you for the next time we meet." Manda seemed to accept the proposal, and he bared his fangs.

"Very well, it will be done." Orochimaru started to cackle as he burned away, disappearing completely from Manda's head. Naruto turned around and shouted a warning to Kankuro.

"Retreat!"

"Too late!" Manda smashed his tail down on the bulk of the Sand ninja, causing the Earth to quake. Screams of Sand ninja reverberated through the air as Manda continually smashed his tail into the Earth. The puppets of the Sand ninja on the other hand and almost no effect on the snake. Puppets were being destroyed like they were toothpicks, and the humans controlling them met similar fates. Naruto's only thought at this point was to kill Manda to stop the destruction.

"Sasuke! Sakura!" He shouted over the commotion. They sprung into action, Sasuke summoning Shoukan and taking to the skies. Naruto jumped in the air and created hundred of Shadow Cloned, sending each of them flying at Manda.

"Clone Explosion!" All of the clones exploded at once, causing Manda to hiss in pain. Then two air bullets from the sky smashed into the snake's head, sending him to the ground. Sasuke jumped off of Shoukan straight at Manda, his hands flying through hand seals.

"Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!" He exhaled an enormous flame, shaped like the head of a dragon, straight at Manda. With no way to escape, Manda took the brunt of the attack, burning his entire body. And then finally, Sakura came flying in, her fist cocked back, and smashed it down on Manda's head, created a small crater. The summon groaned in pain before going back to his realm. Naruto fell to his knees and sighed as the battle finally ended. He looked around and realized two things: one, the Tsuchikage was gone and, two, the casualties were high. He could see the corpses of dead Rock and Sand ninja all over the place. Manda had really done a number to the sand ninja. At least half of them were dead. Probably more. Luckily, Naruto was able to spot Kankuro, who was sitting against some rubble, the remains of his puppets strewn about him. Naruto ran over to him and crouched beside him.

"Kankuro…"

"Damn him." Kankuro smashed his fist into the head of Crow beside him, shattering it. "Damn him!" Naruto put his hand on Kankuro's shoulder.

"We will stop him." Kankuro nodded.

"I know you will. Make him pay for this."

XxX

"Hokage-Sama! Kazekage-Sama! Urgent news!" Gaara and Tsunade, the de facto leaders of the army, turned to a Sand ninja who was slightly pale.

"What is it?" Gaara asked. The ninja gulped and took a deep breath.

"Asuma Sarutobi is dead. Wave Country belongs to the Hidden Mist now."

XxX

Well holy shit I updated. Uh sorry bout that, but I haven't had any ideas about this at all, and well…yea. I'm just not going to make excuses. I think I've found my inspiration again though, so maybe I'll update soon? Who knows. Anyway let's talk about the chapter. So this was meant to be a pretty negative chapter for the Leaf. Obviously, I mean Naruto runs into two Kage-level ninja and loses a big part of their forces, the Hidden Mist have finally succeeded in capturing Wave Country, not to mention Asuma is dead. So the Leaf ninja are in a bad place right now. Next chapter expect to see more on the Kabuto/Kakashi confrontation, as well as some Jiraiya, because I haven't put him in here in forever, and he's my favorite character. I don't really have any idea what's going to happen, but I should be able to get it done. Until next chapter, peace.