Liberating a Village, Facing Shishio and Continuing the Journey

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Rurouni Kenshin.

After the man asked told them his request he had passed onto the other world. Naruto shut his lifeless eyes. "I promise you that we will save your village." Naruto said.

He then stood back up. "We must save them master. If it is under the control of Shishio then it gives us an even better reason to save them." Naruto said.

Kenshin nodded. "Lets go."

Naruto turned to Misao. "Would you like to help us?"

"Hell yeah. I haven't seen any action for a while." Misao said excited. They then heard a groan. They looked over at the body of the man and saw that the little boy was waking up.

Naruto helped the boy until he could stand up. "Are you okay?"

The kid shook his head to help him get it straight. His eyes then opened wide, "My brother. Where is he? Is he okay?"

Naruto shook his head. The kid turned around to see his dead brother's body. His eyes widened and he walked towards his brother's body. He fell to his knees and screamed loudly in despair.

"Come on, we'll go bury him." Kenshin said.

They dug a hole in the earth and put his body in it. They then covered his body with the rest of the dirt and stuck the sword he was carrying in it.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Naruto said.

The kid's eyes widened. "My parents are still in the village. They're in trouble, we have to save them." He was about to run down to the village when he was stopped by Naruto.

"You'll only get yourself killed. Let me and master take care of it. We'll find your parents. If you insist on coming than hang back from a distance. Misao, would you please watch after him?" Naruto asked.

Misao reluctantly agreed. "Fine, but you owe me."

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Okay, what's your name kid?"

"Eiji." He answered.

Naruto nodded. "Okay Eiji stay back here with Misao and don't get to close." Naruto and Kenshin then went down to the village.

When they got down there they discovered that it was as quiet as a ghost town. They walked along for a bit before they found two bloody bodies being hung. Their eyes widened.

They were then surrounded by an army of men. "By order of Lord Shishio all intruders must die." They gave a battle cry and charged at them.

Naruto pulled his sword out. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style: Sennen Hyorou." Ice formed all around them in a box formation and then they compressed around them.

They were all frozen now. Naruto then readied his sword again. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style: Hyoryuusen." He moved with very fast and all of a sudden the men inside the ice fell apart and their blood stained the ice.

"It's the wrong season, but I rather like seeing ice this time of year." Naruto said.

Kenshin chuckled, "Is there any technique that you can't invent?"

"I don't know." Naruto said.

They were about to go and cut down the bodies when they were stopped by the villagers. "Don't cut down those bodies." Said an old man.

"Why not?" Naruto asked.

"By order of the leader of this village, Senkkaku, we are not to cut these bodies down unless he tells us to. So you will leave this village and never come back." He said.

Naruto and Kenshin look at each other and nod. "We've got a better idea. How about you…"

The villagers listened in.

"BLOW IT OUT YOUR ASS OLD MAN." Naruto bellowed. They both pulled out their swords and slashed the support beams causing the bodies to fall.

"No you fools. Now you've doomed us." The elder bellowed. They soon left muttering about damn intruders.

Misao and Eiji came out from the bushes. Misao was muttering about cowardly villagers. Eiji was staring at the bodies in horror.

"MOM, DAD." Eiji yelled in horror. Naruto. Kenshin and Misao's eyes widened. Those mangled bodies were his parents. Then another masked person came up from behind Misao.

"ALL INTRUDERS MUST DIE." He yelled alerting the others. He was just about to stab her when he was stabbed through the head. He fell to the ground like a rock revealing Saito Hajime.

"What are those fools wasting time here for? They should be half way to Kyoto by now." Saito said.

"Saito, what are you doing here?" Kenshin asked surprised.

"I got a report from one of my men saying that Shishio was in this town. Can you tell if you've seen a man named Mishima?" Saito asked.

Naruto heard a gasp and he looked over to Eiji. His head shot up and his eyes widened. "I take it that Mishima was your brother?" Naruto said.

Eiji nodded. Saito snorted, "That fool should have waited until I got here."

"Hey," Misao shouted. "One of your own men just died. Don't you feel anything for him?"

"Who is this girl Himura?" Saito asked. He then had a thought pass through his head. Megumi looked like a fox. Kaoru looked like a panda and Misao looked like a weasel.

"She looks like a weasel." Saito said.

Misao suddenly developed a huge tick mark on her forehead. "That's it. I'll kill you." She pulled out her kunai and were about to throw them, but was restrained by Naruto.

"Now calm down Misao. If you let him get to you it will only get worse." Naruto said. She soon calmed down and Naruto let her go.

They then picked up the bodies of Eiji's parents and wheeled them away to be buried with his brother. On the way Misao asked Saito why this village was abandoned. He answered that the government thought that losing one or two villages was no big deal.

"What kind of bull shit reason is that?" Naruto asked angrily.

"The politicians are afraid to act against Shishio because they don't want to end up like Lord Okubo." Saito said. "We can't send in the army since the Seinan war just ended and our military suffered a bad blow so it would show our obvious handicap."

Soon they buried his parents next to his brother. Eiji kept staring at the graves with emotionless eyes.

"Misao," Naruto said getting her attention. "We are going to head for the mansion where Shishio is. Will you please watch Eiji for us?"

"Alright I guess." Misao said.

"Thank you. Let's go." Naruto said. They all took off towards the mansion. Eiji then pulled the sword out of his brother's grave and started walking in the direction the others went.

"Hey where are you going?" Misao called out.

"I'm going to kill Senkkaku." Eiji said emotionlessly. "I'm all alone in this world. I have no fear for my life."

Misao looked at him sadly. She then smiled. "Dumb brat. You're not going to be able to get in by yourself. I'll help you get in."

"Just don't slow me down." Eiji said. Misao kicked him in the back of the head for that comment.

Inside the mansion one of the guards was apologizing for some mistake he did. He was apologizing to some boy with a smile on his face. "What do you think Lord Shishio?" he asked.

A voice sounded from behind the door. "It's fine he is forgiven. I have taken my first medicinal bath in a month so I'm in a good mood."

"Thank you Lord Shishio." The man said bowing lower.

"But next time you fail I will kill you myself." The boy said and with that the man ran off.

Another man then came in. He whispered something into the boy's ear. "Oh that is interesting, Lord Shishio." He called.

"What is it now?" Shishio said annoyed.

"A man with red hair and a cross shape scar on his left cheek, a boy with blond hair, and three whisker marks on each cheek and a policeman carrying a katana are heading towards the mansion." He said.

There was silence for the next minute. "I guess it's time to meet them. The red haired one is obviously Battosai, but the other two I have no idea who they are. Have Senkkaku prepared for battle." Shishio said.

Now they were close to the door. When they got close enough they saw the same boy there with that innocent smile on his face. "Well if it isn't Himura Bottosai and Saito Hajime. Although I have no idea who the blond haired one is, but he must be strong to be coming with you."

"Don't take your eyes off this one. He is the one who killed Okubo." Kenshin said.

"Whoa calm down. I don't have any weapons on me. I just came here to escort you to Lord Shishio." He said waving his arms around for emphasis.

They didn't have a choice so they followed him. Soon they were in the main room. In the center they saw a man wrapped in bandages from head to toe with some hairs coming out of the bandages on the top of his head.

"I take it you are Makoto Shishio?" Naruto said.

"That is correct. I recognize the other two, but I have no idea who you are. Would you please introduce yourself?" Shishio asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said.

Shishio's nodded. "Well let's see exactly how strong you are." He fired a strong blast of K.I at Naruto

Naruto didn't even blink. He stayed calm all throughout the blast. Saito was highly impressed. "Now that's a swordsman. Not reacting to a blast like that unlike that weasel girl." He said.

Outside close to the mansion Misao sneezed and most of it hit Eiji in the back of the head. Misao blushed in embarrassment and Eiji had a tick mark on his head.

Back in the mansion, "Well I see that you are unaffected. Let's see exactly how strong you are." Shishio then snapped his fingers and a big man broke through the ground

"I Senkkaku will destroy you." He said pulling out two giant battle-axes. Little did they know that Misao and Eiji had gotten in the mansion and were just outside the door.

"Is that him Eiji?" Misao asked.

"Yes. "Eiji answered darkly. "I could never forget that ugly face." He was about to go in there when Misao stopped him. "Let me go."

"You'll get yourself killed. Let Naruto handle him." Misao said.

Back in the room Naruto just stared at him. "Are you he one who killed Eiji's brother and parents?"

"Probably, if they don't die from old age then their death was caused by me. I have killed 99 people so far and you will be my 100th." Senkkaku said preparing to charge him.

Naruto closed his eyes. "I don't have time to waste with scum like you." He then opened his eyes to reveal, not bright blue, but crimson red eyes that caused a nasty shudder to go up everyone's spine. "So I'll kill you now."

"Try it" Senkkaku yelled. Before he could charge Naruto appeared right in front of him. 'Impossible no one could move that fast.' He couldn't think anymore because Naruto spoke again.

"Ninpou: Akahitsugi." He pointed two fingers at him and all of a sudden he was surrounded by nothing, but red. It covered his whole body and then it looked like it compressed around him and when it cleared they saw him standing there. Then his body started spewing blood and he fell to the ground.

The people who had never seen him perform his ninja abilities couldn't believe their eyes. Saito looked at Kenshin and saw him smirking slightly. "Who exactly is this boy Himura?"

"Well for one thing he is my apprentice. The reason he was able to do that is because he comes from the one place that no one in these areas dares to travel to." Kenshin said cryptically.

Saito's eyes widened. "You mean to tell me that he comes from the elemental countries?"

Kenshin nodded. Shishio still couldn't believe what he saw. A mere boy could do this. He looked back at Senkkaku and saw that he was trying to get back up.

"Whoa." Misao said amazed. "I've got to learn how to do that." Eiji also thought it was amazing, but then he booked back at Senkkaku and saw him about to slash Naruto with his axe.

"Look out." Eiji yelled.

Naruto turned around to see Senkkaku about to slash him. He was impressed that he was still alive, granted he used only about a fraction of the original power, but it was still impressive.

"At this range you won't dodge my attack." Senkkaku yelled.

Naruto jumped in the air and pulled out a tri-pronged kunai. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Nishiki:" he swung the kunai in a circle around him. "Kuroihikou." A bunch of kunai appeared out of thin air all around him. He gave a swing with his arm and all the kunai went at Senkkaku really fast leaving a streak of yellow behind them.

All of the kunai buried themselves in every inch of his body. Senkkaku was dead before he hit the ground. Naruto landed on the ground without making a sound and put his kunai away.

"If this is all you have to offer us Shishio then I can kill you in less then a minute." Naruto said monotonously.

Shishio was highly impressed with the boy's skill. He was definitely stronger than Battosai. Shishio stood up and tossed a sword. Naruto moved his head to the side and the boy who escorted them in caught it.

"Have fun with them Sojiro. As a reward for seeing that Kuroihikou, show them your Tenken." Shishio said leaving the mansion.

"Thank you Lord Shishio." Sojiro said.

Naruto walked back until he was standing next to Kenshin. "If Shishio is only going to send his men at us then they're not worth fighting. One of you two can take care of him." Naruto said.

No one moved for a second. "Alright I'll go." Kenshin said stepping up and pulling his sword out.

"I get to face the Battosai. This should be fun." Sojiro said.

"I apologize for this, but I must end this quickly." Kenshin said slipping into the Battojutsu stance.

"Battojutsu eh, then I shall too." Sojiro said slipping into his own Battojutsu stance.

Then in the blink of an eye they ran at each other. They both drew their swords and appeared on the other side of each other. Then the upper half of Kenshin's sword broke off and imbedded itself in the ground.

"It seems as though I win." Sojiro said.

"Not, quite." Saito said. "It's a draw."

Sojiro looked at his sword and saw that it was all broken up along the blade. "Wow, it's broken beyond repair. Oh well its Shishio's anyway." He sheathed the sword and left the mansion.

Kenshin stared at his broken blade before he sheathed it. "Oh well, I can try getting it fixed later. The important thing is that we got Shishio out of the village."

Naruto nodded and they stood there for a second until Naruto got impatient. "Will you two stop hiding the battles already over." He wrenched the door open and Misao and Eiji fell out.

"How long have they been there?" Kenshin asked with a sweat drop rolling down his head.

"Ever since the kid started fighting Senkkaku." Saito said.

Misao rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and Eiji got up and looked at Senkkaku. "Don't bother Eiji." Naruto said. "He's long dead, besides revenge isn't a path that someone should walk down. Besides even if you do get your revenge then all you'll have left is emptiness and loneliness. I've seen it happen before."

He suddenly had a flashback of when he fought Sasuke at the Valley of the End and when Kakashi stabbed him with Chidori. He shook his head to clear the thoughts.

"Come on, we're already behind schedule." Saito said. They left the mansion and were now on a Cliffside watching the villagers celebrate by burning Senkkaku's body.

"Wow, first they hate us for interfering and now they're happy that he's gone. People are weird." Naruto said.

Misao nodded. "Yeah anyway what do we do about Eiji?"

"Don't worry about him. I'll send him to Toki and she'll help him out." Saito said.

"Who's Toki?" Kenshin asked.

"My wife." Saito said.

It felt like an explosion took place because Misao and Kenshin were blown away. "Your w-w-w-wife." Misao stuttered.

"When did you marry?" Kenshin asked.

Saito ignored their reactions. "Anyway Toki will be able to take care of him. She is a good woman."

"She has to be good to be able to stand him." Naruto whispered to them.

"Probably as sane as a Buddha." Kenshin whispered back. A picture of Saito sitting on a statue of the Buddha came in his mind.

"Anyway, we need to get going." Saito said. "I'll take Eiji to Toki and meet you two in Kyoto. Don't get side tracked this time." They both walked away.

"Well, let's get going." Naruto said. "We were suppose to be in a village about 8 miles from Kyoto right now."

"Well we'll just have to make up for lost time." Kenshin said.

Naruto turned to Misao. "If you want to keep up with us then you'll have to ride for the rest of the way there." Naruto said.

Misao turned a little red. "Fine, but don't get used to it." She got up on his back.

Naruto chuckled, "Wouldn't dream of it. Let's go."

They took of at fast speeds. Kenshin was running on the ground and Naruto was hopping across the ground and occasionally went through trees. Misao was enjoying the ride on his back, but she would never say that out loud.

When she looked at Naruto and saw him smiling and enjoying himself she felt butterflies in her stomach and her heart pounding. 'What is this feeling?' She wondered. 'I usually only feel this way around Lord Aoshi.'

Around five hours later it was getting dark. They decided to stop and camp out for the rest of the night. Misao had already fallen asleep on Naruto's back. Naruto chuckled and leaned her against a tree.

When she woke up they had already prepared some fish. It was a rather nice dinner. Misao kept asking Naruto about his abilities and also asked him if he could teach her.

He answered the questions truthfully and said he would teach her some techniques. She practically squealed in excitement and hugged him tight.

When she realized what she did she squeaked and jumped away causing Kenshin to laugh, Misao to blush and Naruto to bop Kenshin over the head, but he also had a blush on his face.

The next morning they set off again. With in two hours they made it there. The city of Kyoto. The place where most of the Bakumatsu took place.

"Good old Kyoto." Misao said. "I feel much more at home here."

Kenshin had different thoughts. 'Six long years since I last set foot here. In those six years I never thought I'd step foot here again. In this city there was not a single night in which blood was shed.'

He could see the Shinsengumi through the darkness of the streets. 'And I am the one who caused most of this blood shed.' He unconsciously put a hand on what was left of his sword.

"Master?" Naruto called breaking him out of his thoughts. "Come on, Misao told us to follow her to her home." Kenshin nodded and the resumed their walking.

Soon they were at a nice looking hotel/restaurant called Aoi-Ya. "Hey gramps I'm home." Misao called.

An elderly man came out of the place. He had a weird moustache, a braided beard and a brown robe on. "Misao, wonderful to see you again." He said pulling her into a hug.

Then you could here the sounds of bones creaking as he practically crushed her. "That's for leaving so suddenly young lady." He said sternly.

"I'm fine, or at least I was." She mumbled rubbing her aching back. "Besides these two helped me home."

Now he first noticed Naruto and Kenshin. His eyes widened slightly, but only Naruto and Kenshin noticed. He then smiled brightly.

"Well why don't you two come inside for some tea. A reward for returning our little Misao home." He said.

"Oh no we couldn't intrude." Kenshin said.

"Please I insist Himura Battosai and Yellow Flash." He said once Misao was out of earshot.

Their eyes narrowed. Naruto searched his eyes for any intentions, but he found none. "It's okay Master. He has no intentions." Naruto said. Kenshin nodded and they followed him in the house.

They went inside and it was definitely a nice place. "I'm going to go take a bath. See you later." Misao said walking off.

Now the rest of them were sitting in a room sipping some tea. "I don't believe I've introduced myself. My name is Okina." He said.

"Kenshin Himura."

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Pleasure to meet you. I would like to thank you two for bringing Misao home safely." Okina said.

"It's no trouble really." Kenshin said.

"She seems to be skilled as a Kunoichi." Naruto commented. "I also noticed the style she uses is the same style as members of the Oniwabanshu use."

Okina's eyes widened slightly. "How do you know about the Oniwabanshu?"

"We faced off against them a few months ago. Good fighters they were, too bad they're dead." Naruto said.

"Dead?" Okina gasped. "How did that happen?"

"Stop joking around old man." Naruto growled. "I could tell by your build that you're some kind of ninja. So spill it."

Okina sighed, "Okay, I was a member of the Oniwabanshu about 15 years ago. I was a spy and gathered information and that's when I opened Aoi-Ya as Head quarters for them. I was also the one who made Aoshi Shinomori the Okashira of the Oniwabanshu. Now please tell me what happened."

They sighed and told him the story of how they had died. When they finished Okina was looking much older than he was supposed to and looked down sad.

"So Han-Ya and the others are dead and Lord Aoshi is no where to be found." Okina said gravely. "This is most troubling."

"I think it would be wise not to let Miss. Misao know about this yet." Kenshin said.

"I agree, but she will find out in time. For now is there anything I can help you with?" Okina asked.

"Yes can you help me find two people. Their names are Arai Shakku and Hiko Seijuro." Kenshin said.

Okina nodded, "I'll do all I can. For now feel free to stay here for a bit."

"Sure why not." Naruto said getting up and walking out.

Okina watched him go out. "You sure have found one hell of an apprentice Himura."

Kenshin chuckled, "I know and he has techniques that I will never be able to do."

Right now Naruto was sitting on the grass in the back watching the clouds. He then heard a rustle of bushes and branches. "Ow," He heard from behind him, although it was barely audible.

Naruto sighed, "3…2…1." He then ducked as Misao came flying over him and lied with her back on the ground.

She chuckled awkwardly, "You could here me, huh?"

Naruto chuckled, "Only a lot." He helped her back on her feet. He noticed that her outfit had changed. "nice change of clothes."

"Thanks." She said. "These are my normal clothes. I can't go walking through town in my ninja outfit."

"So, do you need something, since you tried to tackle me to the ground?" Naruto asked.

"Actually there was something." She said putting her hands behind her back and looking nervous. "Can you show me some more of your techniques, please?" she put on her best puppy dog look.

Now Naruto was no stranger to the puppy dog look. It had been used on him plenty of times and all of those times he had fallen pray to it. this time was no different.

"Okay, but only a few since there isn't such a big space." Naruto said.

"Oh, id space is the problem then I can take you to a place that is bigger and that is completely deserted." Misao said.

Naruto nodded, "Alright." Naruto walked back to the door. "Master, I'm going out to train for a bit."

"Okay don't be out too late." Kenshin said.

"Gramps, I'm going to go train to." Misao said.

"Don't cut yourself this time." Okina said.

Misao blushed angrily, "I accidentally cut my hand open one time when I was five and you just can't let it go." She then stormed off angrily oblivious to the laughs behind the door.

Misao led him to an open field by a river. It was indeed big and deserted. "wow, nice lace." Naruto said.

"I know." Misao exclaimed. "I use to come here al the time to train when I was younger."

"Alright, most of my techniques are very destructive, so I must ask you to stand back to a safe distance." Naruto said seriously.

"Are they really that dangerous?" she asked incredulously.

"Let's just say that I can destroy an entire city with only half of my power." Naruto said shocking her.

"Wow," She muttered.

"Okay to do my techniques I have to use what we call hand seals. Observe." Naruto said doing a few hand seals. "Raiton: Rairyuudan no jutsu."

A giant dragon made of lightning came out o nowhere. It gave a mighty roar and slammed right into some trees. They were reduced to nothing, but ash.

"That has to be the most amazing thing I've ever seen." Misao muttered amazed.

"That was nothing. That was only a minor Lightning technique. Those kind of techniques are called Elemental techniques. They each use different elements like Fire, or Earth along with Wind and Water." Naruto explained.

"We can also sometimes combine them to make Sub-Elemental Techniques. Water and Wind make Ice. "Water and Earth make Wood. Fire and Earth make Magma. Fire, Earth and Lightning make Metal. Earth and Wind make Sand and Water, Wind and Lightning make Storm." Naruto finished.

"That's a lot of information to take in, in 30 seconds." Misao said.

Naruto chuckled, "But there are more that just Elemental techniques. Like this one." He made a cross shape seal. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu." A clone popped up next to him.

"Whoa, there are two of you." Misao said looking from one to another.

"And watch what we can do." They said at the same time. The real Naruto held his hand out and the clone started pumping his hand out around it. Soon a swirling ball of chakra was in his hand.

He ran towards a tree. "Rasengan," Naruto shouted slamming it into the tree and the tree was shredded apart.

"That is my favorite Technique, Rasengan." Naruto said.

"That was awesome." She shouted looking at the remains of the tree. "Oh man, what I'd give to be able to do that."

"Actually you can learn it." Naruto said.

She turned around so fast that even Naruto barely saw it. "Are you serious?"

"Of course." Naruto said. "Anybody can learn that stuff with a little training."

"Are you saying that you'll train me?" she asked hopefully.

"If you want me to, I will." Naruto said.

"Thank you." She said walking up and kissing him on the cheek. She blushed heavily and smiled.

Naruto touched his cheek and also blushed and smiled. They then heard a growling and looked behind them to see a pack of mountain lions.

"Oh man, not good." Naruto said nonchalantly.

"Can't you just kill them?" She asked quietly.

"They're just animals following their instincts." Naruto said calmly. "I can't just kill something in cold blood."

"Then what do we do?" Misao asked a little nervous.

"We run of course." Naruto said grabbing her by the arm and running. The mountain lions roared and ran after them.

Soon the rounded a corner and the mountain lions followed and ran down a hill. In a rock next to the top of the hill Naruto and Misao were hiding inside a rock.

As soon as the lions passed them they started laughing. "Man, what a rush." Misao said.

"Yeah," Naruto said. He tried to get out, but found out he was stuck. Misao tried to get out, but she was stuck too.

"Oh man." Misao said. They both tried to get out, but they were still stuck. They turned their heads to try again, but their lips met in a small kiss.

They gasped and pulled their heads back. Naruto chuckled nervously and Misao blushed redder than ever. Soon Naruto managed t crawl out. Misao tried to get up, but her leg gave a searing pain.

She grimaced and saw a cut on her leg. She must have gotten it when they were in the rock.

Naruto saw the problem and picked her up bridal style. She squeaked in surprise. "What are you doing? I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own."

"Not with an injured leg, you aren't. it's getting dark and we have to get back." Naruto said walking off with Misao in his arms.

It was dark by the time they got back to Aoi-Ya. Misao had fallen asleep and was snuggling up in Naruto's arms. When Naruto got back he found a room that looked like Misao's.

He put her in her bed and tucked her in. he was about to leave when her hand grabbed his hand. "Don't go." She mumbled in her sleep.

Naruto smiled and decided to sit down and lean against the wall. Since her bed was right against the wall it was so much easier.

She smiled in her sleep and pulled his arm closer to her like a child does with a teddy bear. Naruto decided to hop in the bed to and soon he fell asleep.

Little did they know that Kenshin and Okina were watching the whole thing from outside. They smiled at the.

"I'm glad that he has at least made friends with someone since he has never had a real friend in his entire life." Kenshin said.

"The same with Misao. She is already falling for him and growing out of Aoshi." Okina sniffled a bit. "My little Misao is growing up."

Kenshin laughed quietly and left them and went to bed them selves. Boy would they be surprised when they woke up.

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