Faster than He Had Ever Been

"You're fast, Naruto, but I severed your Achilles tendons. You can't even move now. Without your speed, you're nothing," Kabuto sneered. "Well, time to end this. I can't let you interfere with our plans any longer." As he spoke, he moved to pierce the blond boy's heart with his Chakra Scalpel.

Just then, several senbon shot toward Kabuto, forcing him to leap back.

Shizune left Tsunade's side and rushed over to save Naruto. Unfortunately, she was no combat specialist. Kabuto knocked her unconscious with a single, simple palm strike to the chest.

Naruto had only just managed to stand, his injured ankles still not fully healed, when he saw Shizune go down so easily. Kabuto turned and attacked him again, but just then, a furious shout rang out behind him.

"Fire Release: Fire Whip Technique!"

A thin stream of fire shot straight toward Kabuto, carving a long wound across his back before retracting and coiling around its caster's arm.

"Yugi-chan... not that I'm unhappy to see you, but what are you doing here?" Naruto asked breathlessly, looking at the girl who had saved him yet again, his heart filled with relief.

"What? You promised me a second date. Were you going to stand me up just because you got into a fight with some lunatic in glasses?" Yugito asked with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. "How about this? We take this guy down together, and then you treat me to sushi as thanks for saving your life."

As she finished speaking, Kabuto got back to his feet and glared viciously at the unexpected intruder.

"No problem, Yugi-chan! But first, I need to take Shizune over to the old lady so she can heal her. Can you hold him off for a bit? Oh, and be careful. He heals incredibly fast. The wounds I gave him earlier healed in just a few seconds. It's ridiculous!" Naruto called out, scooping up the unconscious Shizune and running to Tsunade's side.

"Old lady, I know you're scared, but you can't let fear trap you for the rest of your life. Shizune needs you. You have to save her. You can't just stand by and watch someone you cherish get hurt because you're afraid. I'm going to help Yugi-chan. Think carefully about what you can do." Naruto spoke gently but firmly, then turned and rushed back to help Yugito.

Yugito was barely keeping Kabuto at bay with her fire whip, but he was steadily closing in on her.

"Yugi-chan, I have an idea! Use the Great Fireball Technique!" Naruto shouted.

Yugito immediately understood and rapidly formed hand seals. Naruto formed his own at the same time, and they finished almost simultaneously.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Wind Release: Air Bullet Technique!"

They shouted together. The wind instantly merged with the great fireball, and the flames surged, turning a dazzling white as their speed and power multiplied several times over. The blazing mass hurtled straight toward Kabuto.

The flames exploded with a deafening roar, instantly reducing the grass and rocks to ash. Yugito stared at the scene in shock. "Did we hit him?"

"I hope so," Naruto replied, never letting his guard down.

Meanwhile, where Jiraiya and Orochimaru were fighting

"That damned brat, and that girl who came out of nowhere! They only just met, and yet they can pull off a combination ninjutsu with such perfect coordination," Orochimaru said through gritted teeth.

"That's Yugito Nii from Kumogakure. Naruto met her less than a week ago. Their techniques probably just happened to work well together," Jiraiya said, though he was thinking, No, that's not right. A combination ninjutsu can't succeed unless its casters are completely in sync. Even pulling one off with a Summoning Technique beast is difficult enough. These two youngsters really are a match made in heaven. Heh heh heh.

Back with Naruto and Yugito

The smoke gradually cleared, revealing nothing but a charred log.

"Substitution Technique... damn it!" the blond boy and girl cursed in unison. "Damn it, where did he go?"

Naruto whipped his head around and saw Kabuto charging toward the immobilized Tsunade. "Damn it!" he muttered, then burst forward faster than he had ever moved in his life.