What If
By: DisasterMaster445
I have a great need to write a Naruto fic. I love Naruto, and I had one on before, but it was horrible. I had just started writing for the site then. I deleted it from the site and from my computer, because I couldn't stand looking at it. So, now that I'm more accomplished as a writer, I've decided to write a better one. The title is What If, and that What If is, "What if Sasuke never left the Leaf Village?" I know this has been done before, but hopefully not in the way I plan to do it. So, this will be AU, and probably a little OOC.
Chapter One: What If?
Naruto walked into Sasuke's room at the hospital. Tsunade had said that he should be waking up soon, and the orange-clad ninja wanted to be there when he did. Sakura was already there, and it seemed like there was a problem. Sasuke was standing with his Sharingan spinning wildly. He caught sight of his blond friend.
"Fight me!" He said. Naruto was reasonably shocked. "You just woke up Sasuke. You probably shouldn't do any fighting yet." Sasuke wouldn't take no for an answer. So with Sakura's pleas falling on deaf ears, Sasuke and Naruto made their way to the roof.
Kakashi had just left after giving his story to his wayward pupil, leaving Sasuke tied to the tree. He thought carefully about what he should do next, but he was drawing a blank. It was then that he noticed the four dark chakra signatures keeping watch over him. Kakashi had left him a kunai for when he was ready to get out of his bonds. He sliced the wires away, and went to the only place he could think of. Naruto's house.
He could feel his pursuers close on his trail, but he sensed he wasn't in danger yet. He landed on the orange ninja's roof, and swung in through an open window. The blond boy was asleep.
"Naruto. Wake up." Sasuke shook him on the shoulder. He mumbled something about protecting him from Sakura. Sasuke shook him again, rousing him this time. He stared blearily at his best friend.
"Sasuke? What's up?" Naruto asked. Sasuke muttered a quick apology, and then stated the problem in hushed tones.
"You're being followed?" Naruto asked, for once feeling the need for subtlety. Sasuke nodded. "What did you come here for? Why not go to Kakashi-Sensei, or Granny Tsunade?"
"Think for a minute. If I'd gone to them, the enemy would've attacked. Here, we can fight them. If we draw enough attention, we'll draw help." Sasuke explained. Naruto rubbed his chin.
"What should we do?" He asked. "Let's start a fight." Sasuke suggested. His Sharingan was spinning again.
Sakon stood on top of the building Sasuke had went into. He was getting restless. He turned to his teammates.
"That's enough waiting. Let's go." He was about to jump down to the balcony, when five Naruto's leapt up, taking him by surprise. He was knocked back.
"You're not getting near Sasuke!" They yelled in unison. They paired off till one was by itself. The ones that were paired off formed the Rasengan, and the two that helped form them got together and made another one. The last Naruto made a few seals and his left arm erupted in lightning.
"Let's go!" The Naruto's cried. They each picked a target and jumped in. The Naruto that was really Sasuke charged Sakon with the Chidori. Sakon moved just out of the way, but was unprepared for the kick that sent him into the air. Sasuke appeared behind him. The Leaf-nin began his attack, ending with the last kick and a call of: "Lion's Barrage!"
A hand shot out of Sakon's chest, catching his foot at the last second. The hand threw Sasuke over into one of the Naruto's making it disappear in a cloud of smoke. Each Naruto clone, seeing how the Rasengan wouldn't do a whole lot right now, had used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and there were about a hundred Naruto's running around the roof.
A group of five Naruto's charged one of Tayuya's zombie/familiar/ogre things. One knocked it back, and three of them kicked it into the air. "Na!" "Ru!" "To!" The last one came from the sky. "Uzumaki Barrage!" The ogre hit the ground and disappeared.
"That was pretty good for a moron like you." The redhead somewhat complimented. She played a melody on her flute, and the Naruto clones all exploded. The noise drew people from their homes, and several Jonin leapt to the roof to discover the fighting.
"Damn! It's the Leaf Ninja! Retreat!" Sakon cried. The other three vanished from the roof. "This isn't over." Sakon promised.
Naruto and Sasuke were in the Hokage's office. She was dispatching them to go after the Sound Four, and either bring them back or eliminate them. They were told to get whatever Genin they could find and begin the pursuit. When they protested, Tsunade told them the Chunin and Jonin were all taking in large missions to receive money for the village.
At the village gates five Genin lined up. First was Naruto and Sasuke. Then Shino Aburame, Neji Hyuga, and a recently healed Rock Lee. The spandex-wearing ninja was as 'youthful' as ever, even if he moved with the slightest of limps.
"This will be a wonderful test of the limits of my surgery!" Lee exclaimed. His teammate shook his head.
"Lee. You must take it easy. You've just healed, and Guy-Sensei wouldn't want you to overdo it." Neji pointed out. Lee nodded, a little crestfallen. Shino looked on silently.
"All right, let's go!" Naruto cried. The five of them raced out of the gates and into the forest.
"That was bull-shit!" Tayuya cried. The four Sound-nin were leaping from tree to tree at top speed. Jirobo stared at her.
"That's not very ladylike. You should watch your language." He scolded. "Shut up fatass!" The redhead returned.
"Both of you shut up!" Sakon yelled. "Now, prepare to make camp. Set up the traps." The others looked at him incredulously.
"Are you sure Sakon? Those Leaf-nin could be on our trail." Kidomaru noted. "Doesn't matter. We're more than powerful enough to get rid of them anyway. Lord Orochimaru said their Jonin would be too busy rebuilding and taking missions."
"I told you Sakon." Kidomaru said. The Leaf ninja had caught up. "Shut up Kidomaru. Jirobo, what are you waiting for?"
Jirobo slammed his palms against the ground with a cry of "Earth Style Barrier: Earth Dome Prison!" The ground shattered under the impact and crashed over the team from Konoha. It left them in a dome of earth, and they could already feel the drain on their powers.
"Damn it!" Naruto cried. He made his familiar cross seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The clone poofed into existence and worked up his chakra. The real Naruto ran toward the wall in the front, where Jirobo stood.
"Rasengan!" The spiraling sphere made a gigantic dent in the wall that closed up almost instantly. "What?" Naruto asked incredulously.
"Wait a minute," Neji began. "Byakugan!" Veins leapt out around his eyes, and he gained laser focus. He glared around at the wall.
"This entire barrier is laced with the enemy's chakra. However, the chakra flows in a circle. Behind us is the weakest point in the wall. We must hit it there."
"I might have enough chakra to use another Rasengan." Naruto said. Shino shook his head. His Kikai bugs swarmed from his jacket sleeves. They burrowed into the wall behind them at the point Neji indicated. After a minute the bugs returned to their home inside the bug-user's body. Shino knocked on the rock like a door, and the back wall crumbled away.
"They got through your dome Fatass!" Tayuya cursed. Jirobo glared at her. "You three keep going ahead. I'll hold them off and catch up when I'm done eating."
"Then we may as well tell Lord Orochimaru you've decided to stay in the fuckin' Leaf Village!" Tayuya yelled as the three other Sound ninja took to the trees. Jirobo turned back to them.
"Now then-" He was thrown off his feet by a bandage covered fist. Lee looked back at his teammates.
"You must keep following the Sound ninja! I will defeat this one!" The bushy-brow promised with a salute.
"Are you sure?" Shino asked quietly. "YOSH!" Lee exclaimed. The other four Leaf ninja leapt forward into the trees.
"You shouldn't have done that you piece of trash." Jirobo told Lee. "I'm Jirobo of the South Gate. Strongest member of the Sound Four!"
"I am Rock Lee. The Handsome Devil of the Leaf Village!" Lee called back. He ran forward to punch Jirobo again. The large Sound-nin stomped the ground and rocks flew up, covering his body like armor. Lee leapt back.
"That is a most useful skill. I will have to see if I can get through it!" Lee ran forward and ducked down. "Leaf Whirlwind!" He spun quickly, throwing a leg out. Jirobo was thrown into the air and crash landed in a small crater in the ground. When Jirobo got back to his feet he had lost his rocky covering.
"That was unexpected. But try surprising me now!" Lee moved in again but Jirobo was ready. He slid to the side, quicker than his size belied.
"Crushing Palm!" He yelled, thrusting a palm into Lee's midsection. Lee was thrown across the clearing. The Leaf-nin stood up shakily. "Your Taijutsu is powerful. You are a very worthy opponent." Lee declared.
"What's your problem anyway you piece of trash? I'd swear you were gay." Jirobo taunted. "You are wrong sir. I like the females. I model myself after Guy-Sensei!" Lee saluted like his sensei stood beside him.
"Did you say 'Guy-Sensei' or 'Gay-Sensei'?" Jirobo laughed. He didn't laugh long. Before he could open his eyes he was knocked into the forest, coming to a stop only after a tree or two fell on top of him. He stood back up. The large Sound-nin couldn't see his opponent, only multiple craters. He moved back into the clearing carefully. In the craters were what looked like training weights.
"You do not insult Guy-Sensei!" Lee yelled. He dropped from the sky and brought both legs down in a kick. However, in his overzealousness he misjudged the distance and flew right past him, into one of his own craters. Jirobo laughed at his good fortune.
"Pressure Palm!" He slammed his palm into Lee's chest as he laid in the crater. He was pushed down further by the incredible force, making the crater deeper. He was out of the crater in an instant.
"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee kicked high, giving Jirobo the opportunity to duck, only for the second kick to catch him in the face, knocking him clear out of sight. When he reappeared, marks spread across his body, turning it red. His hair thickened and spread.
"Thrusting Shoulder!" Jirobo launched himself across the clearing and jammed his shoulder into Lee's ribcage. Lee flew backward and hit a tree. He got up, feeling the strain on his body.
"Excuse me. I have recently had surgery. I must take my medicine." Lee said pulling a bottle from his weapons pack. What he didn't notice was the kanji on the bottle that said 'Sake.' Jirobo tried to take advantage of the momentary distraction and tried to close the gap between the two of them, but Lee had already taken his first sip.
Lee brought up his arm and blocked Jirobo's attack, seemingly at random. Jirobo moved back a little, on guard. Lee just kept swaying a little. Jirobo figured it was safe to attack again.
"Crushing Palm!" Lee brought the other arm up and blocked again. He stared blearily at the Sound-nin. "What are you doing?" He slurred. "You should not try to fight me Red-Man. I am-" He slumped to the ground asleep.
"Pressure Palm!" Jirobo tried slamming his palm down, but Lee few to his feet out of the way. "-The Handsome Devil of the Leaf Village! Hic!" The green ninja finished with a flourish. He began swaying again, and disappeared from view. Before Jirobo could look for his opponent he was struck several times in the chest by the 'Handsome Devil.' Then Lee flipped onto his hands and did seven of eight super-fast kicks to Jirobo's head. Luckily he was able to guard with his arms.
"That's enough!" Jirobo growled. "Earth Style: Sphere of Graves!" He jammed his hands into the ground and pulled up a giant boulder. He launched it in Lee's general direction. It's unknown to this author whether Jirobo thought he could hit Lee or not, but he didn't. However when the boulder hit, it broke into hundreds of pieces. More than one piece hit Lee scratching him up a little, and one breaking his nose. At the sight of his blood, Lee sobered up quickly.
"Huh? What is going on?" "Crushing Palm!" Jirobo grabbed Lee by the face with his palm and slammed him into the ground. Next he tossed him into the air. "Upwards Attacking Palm!" The attack sent Lee flying into the air. When he came back down, Jirobo was ready with his next attack. "Rising Knee!" Lee could swear he felt a few ribs break.
"You're just another piece of trash. Can't you use Ninjutsu? If you can't, you'll never beat me." The Sound-nin taunted. "I will be a splendid ninja by using only my Taijutsu. That is my dream." Lee groaned. "Your Taijutsu is weak. Your dream is worthless. Just like you." Jirobo laughed.
"I will not allow you to insult my Ninja Way!" Lee yelled. He crossed his arms over his chest. "The First Gate: Gate of Opening! Open!" Dirt swirled around him. He flashed under Jirobo and kicked him in the jaw, sending him skyward. Lee used the Dancing Leaf Shadow technique to appear behind the large Sound-nin. His bandages wrapped around Jirobo and Lee began to spin.
"Primary Lotus!" Lee drilled Jirobo into the ground and landed nearby, panting heavily. Jirobo stood back up shakily. "I told you. You'll have to better than that. Did your precious 'Gay-Sensei' teach you that?" He taunted.
"Jirobo of the South Gate! Mocking my Way of the Ninja is bad enough, but insulting Guy-Sensei is crossing the line!" He crossed his arms again. "The Second Gate: The Gate of Rest! Open!" Lee stiffened as he felt his power return to full. "The Third Gate: The Gate of Life! Open!" The dust swirling around him whipped like a hurricane as his skin turned a raw red. A perfect cylinder of green energy appeared around him, shooting his hair up to stand on end. His pupils disappeared. "The Fourth Gate: The Gate of Pain! Open!" His muscles rippled and Lee staggered. But he continued. "The Fifth Gate: The Gate of Closing! Open!"
"Now it is over!" Lee declared. "Hidden Lotus!" He knocked Jirobo into the air again. He followed, hitting the Sound-nin in every direction. He moved like a blur, and hit Jirobo toward the ground. His bandages whirled around the large ninja. Lee pulled back hard, drawing Jirobo back toward him at high speed. Lee hit him with a solid strike with his right arm and his left leg. Jirobo hit the ground at a speed that would've killed him if not for his Curse Mark. Luckily, for good measure, Lee dropped into another attack.
"Dynamic Entry!" The powered up Leaf-nin crashed into Jirobo with both feet. His ribcage fell in on itself, crushing his heart. The red receded from both ninja. Jirobo's faded into his Level One Seal, and then retracted into his seal. Lee's red disappeared, his pupils returned, and his muscles quivered. He hit the ground.
"Lee has defeated that Sound ninja." Neji told the others. "How do you know?" Sasuke asked. "I know his chakra better than anyone except Guy-Sensei. He was forced to use his Hidden Lotus." The others, except Sasuke of course, were shocked. "You mean the attack he used on Gaara in the Chunin Exams?" Neji nodded. "Now, we must be careful. We've caught up to the other Sound ninja."
"So, your friends escaped. Lucky them. I'll make quick work of you Aburame-brat." Kidomaru promised. Shino stood silently. Kidomaru bristled. "I'm tired of hearing about the Aburame clan, and their uppity natures. You're going down you little bastard."
"We shall see." Shino said. Kidomaru made a hand seal. "Ninja Art: Spider Web Flower!" He shot several nets of webbing out of his mouth at Shino. The bug-user stood still, getting trapped by all of them. He was attached to the tree behind him.
"I did this to prove a point Sound-nin." Shino said quietly. His skin rippled, turning into a mountain of bugs. These bugs ate all the chakra in the webs, and then ate the webs.
"A Bug Clone!" Kidomaru thought. The real Shino leapt down from the tree his clone was trapped against.
"I can see you just might be fun to toy with. I'm not just any Sound-nin. I'm Kidomaru of the East Gate!" The spider-nin declared. "Very well Kidomaru of the East Gate. I am Shino Aburame of Konoha." Shino returned confidently.
"Be smug with me, huh you bastard? Ninja Art: Spiral Spider Web!" Kidomaru formed a ball of webbing in his mouth. He grabbed hold with all six arms and threw the web, making it spread out wide. As close as they were, Shino could make no move. He was captured.
"You from the Sound don't learn do you?" Shino's bugs crawled out of his jacket, and ate away at the webs. "I think I'll finish this up quickly." He added. His bugs swarmed away from him, swirling around Kidomaru.
"Hidden Jutsu: Beetle Sphere!" The dome of insects suddenly contracted, forming a body-tight layer of bugs that would eat at Kidomaru's chakra till he perished. When the bugs lifted off him to drop Kidomaru's body, Kidomaru drooped to the ground unscathed, covered in some kind of gold armor.
"This is my Sticky Spider Thread Armor. I excrete it from my sweat glands, and it hardens with contact to oxygen. That was a decent attempt, but you'll find I'm harder to get rid of than your average garden-variety spider." Kidomaru promised. "However, I won't be able to defeat you in this state either. Your Kikai will eat the chakra out of any attack I use."
Curly marks spread over his body, leaving his skin a dark red-almost gray color. Two horns jutted from his head causing his headband to fall off. A third eye opened on his forehead. Spikes shot from all six shoulders and forearms. His hair grew out and turned white. He also gained a spider's spinnerets, enabling him to spin webs without using chakra.
"You have no chance now." Kidomaru vowed. He leapt up into the trees, and spat out more of his special Spider Sticky Thread. It took the shape of a large bow. The string and the arrow came from his mouth. He shot regular webs from all three right arms and one left arm, suspending him in midair. Holding the bow in his first left arm, and pulling back more on the string with his second, he used his feet to bush the bow further away from the string, increasing the power exponentially.
"This is my Spider Bow. Oh, I forgot. You can't see me. But I can see you!" He cried. He released the bow-string from his mouth and the arrow streaked through the trees, on target. It flew from the cover of the forest flying straight at Shino. It shot through him and hit the ground behind. It made a decent sized crater.
"Damn! Another Bug Clone!" Kidomaru cursed as he watched Shino disassemble into thousands of small bugs. The real Shino didn't reappear.
"Where is that Leaf bastard?" The spider-nin asked. Shino's voice rang out. "You'd never believe me if I told you how gullible you are." Kidomaru still couldn't find him, but he had webs attached to his fingers spread out. If Shino touched one, Kidomaru would feel it an be on top of him before he could release his precious bugs. Se didn't notice one of said bugs crawling around on his tunic. All of a sudden he was surrounded by bugs again.
"Hidden Jutsu: Beetle Sphere!" Shino called from the leaves above Kidomaru. The bugs closed in again. It didn't work. Kidomaru emerged from the bug suit wearing more of his gold armor.
"Did you think just because there's more to cover that I wouldn't be able to use my Sticky Spider Thread Armor?" The spider-nin asked as the armor chipped off. "Now I've got a lock on you!" He announced, making another arrow. This one had a drilled end. He shot new strings onto his bow and got back in position. He fired. It was connected by a thick string to Kidomaru's mouth, and he guided it. As it flew into the trees he whipped the string a few times, and it moved following Shino's chakra signature. After a decent chase he felt the arrow hit home.
Shino had almost gotten out of the way in time, but the arrow struck him. He was hit in the middle of the back, barely missing the spine and just passing between the lungs and punched through his chest. He grabbed the arrow as he fell to the ground. In the middle of his pain, he examined the arrow. He wasn't shocked to discover that it was reasonably hollow. The string went all the way through the arrow and stopped just behind the tip. It gave him an idea.
Kidomaru felt the string keep moving around for a little while before it finally stopped moving. He was feeling pretty good, until he felt a drain on his body. He felt a piercing pain in his organs and intestines. He felt something crawling on his tongue, and he saw a bug crawl from his mouth out onto the bowstring. It was followed by another, and another, until hundreds of bugs were crawling from his body. The pain hadn't let up. He fell from the branch. He returned to his normal form. Shino staggered into view clutching his chest. The arrow was gone.
"You Leaf bastard." Kidomaru gasped. Bugs still crawled from his mouth and the pain began to lessen. But not enough. "How the hell did you…manage to…get your bugs…through my web?" He continued.
"Your arrow was…hollow. It was simple to see…that you had…that string going through it. My…Kikai burrowed…into your chakra laced string and followed it to you. You should have…cut the string. Your insides were the only thing you couldn't protect." Shino breathed. There was a trickle of blood coming from his mouth that was becoming steadily thicker. Kidomaru's three eyes rolled back into his head and he stopped breathing. Shino fell backward into a sitting position. The rest of the bugs flew from Kidomaru's mouth and all the insects went back to Shino. He laid back while the bugs began the long process of healing him using the spider-nin's chakra. He blacked out.
I've decided to end my first chapter here. I wanted to finish off the 'Sound Ninja Four Elimination' Arc right off the bat, but that's not gonna happen. I'm already on the tenth Microsoft Word page. The rest would make twenty to twenty-five pages easy. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing, and I'll have the rest of the battles done for next time. Along with a special surprise. Ja Nae!