Chapter 73 Call of the Wild

Impossible. Bai had never experienced such a severe test.

He has fought against ninjas many times stronger than he is, yet always found a way to victory.

But this time, the chakra emanating from the boy standing before him was completely different - it was vast and unheard of.

The paralyzing poison Shiro had applied to the needle should have been enough to knock the boy unconscious for at least a day, but he still stood, as if the poison had no effect on him, as if the poison couldn't even stop a stampeding elephant.

Where does this relentless energy come from?

An amber chakra cape shimmered over the teen's shoulders, swirling like a cape and winding down his limbs in spirals.

It was clearly visible, incredibly clear, gleaming like blood in molten metal. It exuded a violent and oppressive feeling, oppressing the air and making it difficult for Bai to breathe.

Deep fear and primal panic churned inside him, and only years of training kept him from giving in to the urge to freeze or flee.

Shiro wasn't stupid. He'd seen the black-haired boy summon such power from seemingly nowhere, and now he saw the same unyielding dark determination in the blond's eyes.

He knew this kind of strength, the strength you dig out from your deepest, darkest places to protect what you hold dear.

The two boys cherished each other, something that was now painfully apparent, and something Shiro hadn't expected—he hadn't expected how far they would go to protect each other, or the depth of their hidden powers.

He hadn't anticipated the monsters they would unleash to protect those they held dear.

Faced with such overwhelming force, and facing this strange young man, whose eyes were now rubies set in gold; Shiro knew his chances were slim.

The texture of the chakra in the air told him that.

But they're not the only ones with things to protect.

If he fell here, Zaizhan would be crushed, and he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let his master die.

He reached into the bag at his waist and pulled out the last few pills.

He almost didn't bring them with him because he never thought he would need them in a battle against the Genin, but it was now clear that these Konoha ninjas were much more than Genin, and without them, Haku would have lost this battle.

He swallowed four military-grade chakra pills in one go, forcing himself to swallow them.

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Naruto hadn't used this much pure, untainted Nine-Tails chakra since before the Uchiha's mad charge.

Since then, Naruto's interactions with the Nine-Tails have mostly consisted of him channeling his chakra into the Nine-Tails to help it recover from the massive deficit left by its corruption.

But his friends weren’t stupid – any more and he’d give himself away.

This wasn't like how he remembered it.

Before, it had been a burning rush through chakra pathways in midair, ancient and wild chakra tearing through his system like a familiar torrent.

Now, instead of burning his chakra channels, it seeped into every cell of his body, the burning sensation spreading through him until it became a powerful force - raw and feral energy that twisted in sync with his own chakra.

Instead of drawing from the Kyuubi's power like pulling the plunger of a syringe, he felt the Kyuubi surge up through him, using his body as a medium to bring its chakra to the surface. Its rage was his rage; their rage and power were one.

"We need to hurry, brat." The Kyuubi warned, its consciousness so close to Naruto's that the Kyuubi's voice was barely distinguishable from his own thoughts. "That little Uchiha's heart is still beating, but considering the potency of the poison, it won't hold out for much longer."

"Sakura. She has the antidote in her bag. He won't die. No way."

Naruto felt the Kyuubi's bestial grin, all fangs and no humor at all.

“Then don’t keep it.”

The entire exchange took place in less than a second, the flow of thoughts so fast that it was over between his breaths.

He looked into the mirror, into the depths of the countless reflections of the White Form. Only one was real, and that was the one he needed to rip apart if he wanted to break the jutsu.

Here, his eyes would only get in the way, so he closed them and allowed himself to indulge in the weird sixth sense the Kyuubi's energy had given him, and feel.

Chakra pulsed around him, interweaving, unifying; the mirrors were copies of each other, identical.

Naruto rolled his muscles from shoulders to fingertips, letting the animal instincts overtake the human, and waited.

It's no surprise that Bai strikes first - he hears the whistle of needles flying from four different directions and raises his arms.

Without needing to form hand seals, Naruto waved a clawed hand through the air, chakra following in its wake, forming a whirlwind along its path strong enough to make the mirror groan.

The needles were scattered, their momentum reversed, falling awkwardly to the ground or embedding themselves in the mirror's ice.

With one impulse, one charge, one flash of presence, Haku was fast, but Naruto was faster, propelled by the searing heat of the Nine-Tails' chakra, and as Naruto spun, hands open, claws extended, he struck his target.

Naruto's attack hit Haku's lower chest, just below the sternum, the claws even penetrating through several layers of cloth and body armor, gouging five bloody spots into the flesh.

The Kirigakure ninja fell backwards towards his mirror, knocked back by the force of the blow, but Naruto caught up with him almost as soon as he finished the blow, leaping up and chasing him before the missing ninja had a chance to catch his breath.

To his credit, Shiro quickly regained his balance.

But not fast enough.

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