Okay! Finally, we're getting started on Naruto of the Sand II! This will take us to the end of Naruto (to the time skip, I mean, not the whole thing!). Since I'm doing a sequel, I've decided that I will have 1 or 2 more after this, going into the shippuden era and tying off with the end of Naruto. At least, what I'm assuming now will be the end. Hopefully Kishi doesn't drag things out like certain other manga's have been known to do. After all, since early Naruto we've been lead to believe that Akatsuki is the big threat, so it would be kinda annoying if they came up with something after that, you know? Sometimes I wonder if the creators of some manga don't realize that it's OKAY to end something, you know?
Anyway, this is picking up right where we left off, incase you didn't notice from the pro/epilogue on the original Naruto of the Sand. We're starting off with the search for Tsunade. Now that Sasuke doesn't have the curse mark, and Naruto's relationship with the Sand Sibs (her siblings), and many others, what will change? Read and find out!
disclaimer- holds true for the whole story. I-don't-own-Naruto! (cries)
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STOP! READ THE FIRST STORY FIRST! THIS IS A SEQUEL! It will make a LOT more sense if you read the sequel first, so please...DO!
"Hey come on, we're supposed to meet Sakura and Sensei for Ramen," Naruto cried out, tugging at Sasuke's arm. "I don't want to be late!" Sasuke hid his smile as his girlfriend dragged him through the village to her other love, ramen. He didn't mind. He'd discovered she was quite cute when she let the flavor sit in her mouth. The look of enjoyment on her face was worth the soreness in his arm afterwards. He was just glad it hadn't hit his pocket yet. Sensei usually ended up paying for that.
"So, want to spar later," he asked.
"Well duh! We still need to decide who's stronger, don't we? After all, we never got to fight in the exams."
"No," he mused, "I suppose we didn't. I just wanted to keep you in your place."
"Baka," she said, pausing long enough to tap him on the back of his head before continuing like nothing happened. "Besides, my place in right next to Jii-san up there on the mountain, so you're just gonna have to accept it!"
"I suppose," Sasuke chuckled. "I suppose."
How different, he thought, things are now than just a few months ago. Mom, Dad, are you happy with how things are going? I haven't been so happy since before you died as I am with Naruto. I hope you don't mind, but she takes precedent over Itachi, now. She showed me another way, and I believe I am better for it.
"Hellooo, Sasuke! You're spacing out. You okay? Teuchi-san was asking what flavor you want."
"I'll take the vegetable ramen, please," he said, reaching out to hold his girlfriend's hand. Yeah…she showed me a better way. Life is too good to just focus on Itachi.
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"Alright, ready to go, Naruto?"
"Yes sir, pervy sage, sir."
"Gaaaah, stop calling me that!"
"Never," Naruto replied, large grin on her face as she adjusted the pack on her back.
"Hmph, fine, have it your way. I just hope you managed to say your good-byes. Remember, we don't know how long this trip is going to last. Tsunade likes to move around."
"Don't worry, I know. I said bye to Sasuke-kun last night, and Konohamaru and Rin-san this morning. Sensei even dropped by before I left the house." She gagged slightly. "He reaaallly likes Rin-san," she said, shuddering as she recalled their amorous greeting.
"Heh, that's good. He's been needing a good woman, and Rin is…" He paused as Naruto began glaring at him. "Yeah, let's get going," he said. "We're wasting daylight, and we have a lot of ground to cover."
"Uh, riiight. More like you're just looking forward to a village that doesn't know there's a super perv on the loose."
"Hey, I'll have you know-"
"They are a strange pair, aren't they," said one of the temporary gate guards.
"Yeah, no kidding," his partner said. "I would never dare to talk to one of the sannin like that!"
"Not to mention his other genius," the first guard said, chuckling as a small blush covered his face.
"Oooh, yea…that one…." The two continued to chuckle for a moment before two small orange books made their way up onto the check-out/check-in desk. It was no wonder they didn't notice a number of visitors coming into the village.
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Sakura sighed. She'd been waiting at the bridge for hours now, but no one else from the team had arrived. She was starting to get worried. It wasn't like even sensei to be this late, and where were Naruto and Sasuke? They might be dating, but they were devoted to being ninja, too. They wouldn't slack off just to spend time together as boyfriend and girlfriend. Looking up from the water she noticed Sasuke walking near the bridge.
"Sasuke-kun! Wait up!" The Uchiha looked over, raising an eyebrow in surprise as his teammate ran over.
"Sakura? What are you doing?"
"I've been waiting for all of you for hours," she said. "Why isn't anyone coming to our team meeting today?"
"…Sakura, sensei canceled today's team meeting. You were supposed to be with team 8 today." Sakura's jaw dropped.
"Whaaat? When did he say that?" Sasuke shrugged.
"Well, you know how sensei has a girlfriend now, right?"
"Yeah. That was weird. She's…Naruto's god-mother, isn't she?"
"Mmhmm. I was dropping her off yesterday when sensei told me the plans for today."
"Then how was I supposed to know?"
"Sensei said he would drop off a note this morning," Sasuke shrugged. "I guess he messed up. I'm meeting with him now for some extra training, actually, if you want to ask him what happened."
"Nooo, I'll just deal with it," she sighed. "I hope Kurenai-sensei won't be mad with how late I am. I'll go to the mission center and see if they can tell me where the team is."
"Alright. I'll talk to sensei about the note."
"Thanks." Sakura started to jog away, not wanting to be any later than she was before pulling to a stop. "Hey, Sasuke…"
"Yeah?"
"Where's Naruto at?"
"Oh, she's on a trip with the guy that was training her for the Chuunin exams. She thinks she'll have a nice surprise for you when she gets back."
"What? When did she leave? Why didn't she tell me anything?"
"She wants to surprise you," he shrugged. "That, and she was really excited about the trip. She didn't think she could keep her mouth shut if you asked her what the trip was for."
"Hmmmmm," Sakura pouted. "That's not fair. Oh well, I guess I need to get going. I'll see you later."
"Hn, later." He shook his head. "Should have made sure that note got delivered. Sensei needs to be on time for something other than seeing Rin-san.."
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A few blocks away Kakashi walked up to the tea shop he was going to meet Sasuke at. Rin had told him to make sure he was there on time. It was disappointing, having to leave her, but he did have an obligation to teach Sasuke. Speaking of which, the whole team was doing pretty well, though Sakura still needed work. With her two teammates already becoming specialized, however, it was becoming difficult to work with all three at the same time. They had a firm grasp on the basics, but after that their styles were widely divergent. Naruto at least had Jiriaya to help her now. They were pretty similar anyway, and Sasuke him were also good match for continuing training at his new level. Sakura…now she was going to be a hard one to find a specific teacher for. He wasn't sure what her focus would be yet, but she needed to find it soon…speaking of Sakura…
Kakashi face palmed. He'd forgotten to tell her about the team situation this morning. And he had been hoping Kurenai could see if the academy was right about her having potential for genjutsu work. Great. Now he would have to make up an excuse that didn't involve Rin…or maybe he should use her. For Sakura, that is. Rin had been a medic nin. Maybe if he got the two to interact he could see if that would be something good for the girl.
Kakashi chuckled. Well, I guess thinking of my significant other would be interesting. Now we have another couple. When did this happen? He waved to Kurenai and Asuma as they walked down the road near him, hoping she didn't bring up Sakura's absence. Or maybe he got lucky.
"Hey you two. How are you doing?"
"Oh our teams finished early today. Not much to do when half of two six-man teams are recovering from the Chuunin exams. Even Chouji ended up over eating again. Shikimaru's match really had him going."
"Yes, and on top that, Hinata was almost kidnapping attempt during the invasion as well. Thank-goodness Naruto beat some sense into that cousin of hers. It may have saved her life, since it was him that was sent after the kidnappers. I don't think Neji would have been as committed to the task if it hadn't been for Naruto."
"Hmm, yes, I heard about that. I don't think Naruto's ready to hear that her best friend almost got kidnapped, though. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her until she's recovered from her loss."
"Yeah, that's right. The Hokage adopted her, didn't he," Kurenai commented.
"Yep. She's got good supports, though, so by the time she gets back with Jiriaya-sama I think she'll be fine, but we'll wait and judge that after she gets back."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Dad wouldn't want her to have too much to deal with all at once like that."
"Sooo…you two on a date?" The two jounin tensed up, blushing as they stammered to deny it. Ahah, thought so. Hmm? What's this? Kakashi turned his head, catching the movement of two long, black cloaks with red clouds. How come I didn't notice those two before?
"Hey sensei. What were you planning on today?" Kakashi's eye narrowed as it flicked to Asuma and Kurenai, motioning towards the just departed tea-customers. They nodded, catching his intent.
"Sensei? Are we training or not?"
"Ah yes, Sasuke, about that…"
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Hmmm, he doesn't have the aura I thought he'd have, Itachi thought. What happened? He was obviously intending to train with Kakashi, which makes sense, but he wasn't nearly as focused as I'd expected. Is he not training hard enough to beat me? He shook his head. If he doesn't work hard enough he won't stand a chance when that man comes for him.
"Leaving our village so soon?"
"Heh, looks like we might have some fun after all, eh partner," Kisame said quietly.
"Hmm, perhaps," Itachi replied, turning to face the two jounin. "Asuma. Kurenai. It's been a while."
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"That was…unpleasant," came Kakashi's strangled voice as Asuma, Kurenai and an oddly somber Gai watched over him.
"Stop that, Kakashi. You need to rest," his rival said, covering him with a blanket.
"Yeah…I suppose…Still…"
"Don't worry. They haven't found Naruto yet, and as long as they're expecting her to be here, they will continue to not find her."
"What? Why is that," asked Kurenai.
"She's with Jiriaya-sama," Kakashi moaned. "Left this morning."
"Hmmm….Still, Itachi will know her face. Once he leaves they'll still be able to-" Asuma was cut off as Sasuke and Rin walked in, having heard that Kakashi was in the hospital.
"Kakashi…!" Rin ran over and began checking for injuries while berating him for everything from not enough sleep to sparring with an onbba.
"Sensei…why are all these other jounin here," he asked, looking suspicious. Yes, friends checking in on you was one thing, but this many elite jounin? Gai nervously tried to cover it up but his lie was blown when Aoba came rushing into the room.
"Is it true? Itachi came back and he's after Naruto?" The special jounin stopped dead in his tracks as the occupants all gave him glares of annoyance. His heart stopped when he saw that Sasuke was in the room. Ah….crap. The Uchiha stood stock still for a moment as he took in what had been said, analyzing it.
Itachi…had returned to the village. It appeared he fought with Kakashi, and he was after…Naruto! No longer able to stand still he rushed from the room with blinding speed.
"Sasuke! Where are you going," Rin called out.
"Isn't it obvious," asked Kurenai. "Itachi is the one who murdered the Uchiha clan. Where do you think Sasuke's going?" Rin gasped.
"But, but he's not-"
"We know, and we're going to stop him. Gai, get moving."
"Yosh! I will do it, Asuma san, and if I do not stop Sasuke in time, I will do 100 laps around the village on my hands! And if I fail in that I will do 1000 pinky push-ups! And if I cannot do that, I will-"
"I…forgot he was like this. He just doesn't chance," Rin commented, turning back to Kakashi. She could see he was now working hard to go the sleep, trying to block out Gai's voice. "And you don't change much, either," she chuckled, kissing his forehead before straightening up again. Naruto…please be alright…
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"Pervy sage, you better not be-"
"Heheheh, here's the room key, brat, I'll be there in a little while," Jiriaya said, dashing off after the dark haired beauty that was looking their way.
"Hey there gorgeous! Have you ever heard of me? Allow me to introduce myself!" The blonde rolled her eyes and stalked off to their room. In truth, she was bored. The trip had been uneventful so far. It hadn't even taken that long to get to this resort town. She suspected the only reason they left so early was so her god-father could peep at the ladies here. She's noticed a significant number of signs for spas, saunas, and hot spring baths.
Still, he'd been talking about teaching her the rasengan, one of her father's signature moves. That had her excited. Now, though, he'd just told her to work on chakra control exercises until he got back. She hated those.
"Stupid pervy sage. By the time you get back I'm gonna have such good chakra control I'm gonna make Boss Toad look like a tadpole!" Sitting down in the room she gathered her chakra and made a dozen clones, each one doing the same exercise, except when they moaned together about how stupid their god-father was. After a while she heard a knock on the door.
"Eh? Pervy sage get rejected already? I didn't think I'd locked that door, though," she said to herself as she got up. "You guys keep training. Besides, if he's drunk I'll need helping putting him to bed." Her clones nodded, turning to focus again.
"Alright ya big perv, how many times did she…she…" Naruto looked up to see, not a pair of dark grey eyes and white hair, but the deep red of sharingan eyes and Uchiha black hair. The young man that stood before her reminded her of…
"You're…not Sasuke," she said, voice trembling slightly, thinking of who it could be, taking in the lines on his face and comparing them to anything she could think of.
"…no, but it would be good if you came with us."
"You're…Itachi," she yelled out, pointing at him, face turning from wariness to anger. "You're the one who killed his family and made Sasuke-kun all emo-ish! How dare you do that to him! You're his brother, aren't you? Then, then why did you do that?" Itachi blinked as his partner chuckled.
"Heheheh, seems like this gal wants words with you, Itachi. Should I cut out her tongue? Maybe a leg, too. Make it easier to travel, you know?" Itachi held up a hand, making the giant man behind him stall as he reached for his sword.
"And what are you to my foolish little brother, hm? What makes you care so much?"
"Well duh, I'm his girlfriend," she said, hand on her hip. "And him and I are gonna beat the crap outta you until you answer for what you did, and tell us what really happened!" The Uchiha sighed. So, this was why his brother was lacking focus. He wasn't working on getting stronger like he should be. Itachi wanted the leaf to survive, but would it, perhaps, be in his best interest to actually take Naruto after all?
"Like I told Sasuke, he has potential, and there is nothing more exciting to shinobi than a challenging battle. My little brother will one day become a great shinobi, and then I want to fight him, measuring my strength against his. That the tailed beast inside you is my organization's goal will only help me to fuel his rage, making him more powerful even faster than before." Naruto gripped her fists tightly, grinding her teeth.
"How can you stand it," she asked in quiet rage, filing away the comment about the Kyuubi for later.
"Hm?"
"How can you stand lying like that?" She turned her face up. "I can hear it when you say 'little brother.' It's the same way I say it for Konohamaru. You're proud of him, and I'm going to make you tell us why you lied."
"…no, you're wrong," he said simply. "And Sasuke here can remind you of that, isn't that right, little brother." Still, she is right. I need to measure my voice better. I can't let Sasuke know the truth. He needs to be able to protect Konoha. Perhaps this fight here will give me the chance to eliminate him, and perhaps put a delay in the Akatsuki's plans for the tailed beasts. If Naruto dies, Sasuke will never stop until not only I, but the Akatsuki are all dead. He turned his head to look over his shoulder as he finished his thoughts, fully acknowledging the presence down the hall.
"Hello again, Sasuke." For his part, Sasuke was out of breath, a light sheen of sweat covering his body.
"What, what do you want with Naruto," he demanded, sharingan active.
"…nothing that concerns you, little brother." He looked him up and down. "Why are you here? You are still not ready to face me."
"You threw that logic out the window when you decided to come after Naruto," Sasuke said, drawing his arm out before from, gripping it with his other hand. "I don't care if I die facing you, but I won't let you lay a finger on Naruto!"
"Sasuke, what are you doing? I told you, you're not-"
"Just get out of here, " he yelled back at her. "He's after you and that's all that matters. I told you, didn't I? Protecting you comes before killing him, and since he's after you I have no choice! I have to attack him until you get away!"
"Sasuke you idiot! I told you I-" But Sasuke didn't listen. He knew she was strong. Stronger than he was, but this was Itachi, and he was stronger still. And he was after the one person Sasuke cared about more than anything. He could not…would not, let him get her.
Interesting. Is he actually in love with her? And she seems very determined herself to help him, if the way those clones back in the room are moving is any indication. I wonder if… His thoughts were drawn off sharply as Sasuke charged. Neither adult moved an inch, Kisame waiting gleefully to see how his partner would handle this. He had to admit, though. He'd heard of the chidori. It was a high level technique, and this mere boy was using it. Heh, maybe Itachi really does want to fight him. I know the idea of fighting him when he's older makes my blood boil!
At the last second Itachi dodged, grabbing both gennin by their hands as they moved to attack him. Naruto had grabbed a kunai when she thought he wasn't looking and was trying to flank him, along with her clones. Sasuke's attack was diverted to the wall, destroying the clones on the other side that were waiting to attack, destroying Naruto's plan. He moved to bring Sasuke's chidori in line with the real Naruto, too. If Sasuke killed her himself, through Itachi's actions, his hate and drive would be the greatest, allowing him to overcome all obstacles in his path.
However, in his mind's eye, he blinked, and even as Sasuke saw the path his arm was on, desperately trying to cancel his chakra in time, Itachi moved his own hand. He cracked the bones in Sasuke's arm, turning off the chidori even as he threw the boy into the very girl he has just been trying to kill.
"Darn it, Sasuke, I told you, I'm not letting you fight him alone! Were you even listening to me just now? Or those other times? We're a team, aren't we? Stupid teme," she ranted, keeping an eye on their adversaries and on Sasuke at the same time. She had noted the snapping sound and could now see his broken wrist. "Idiot," she muttered as he stood in front of her. "Can't even protect your girlfriend properly."
"As long as I have a girlfriend to protect, I don't care," he said, keeping his eyes on Itachi and the other shinobi, waiting for them to move.
Why…did I do that, Itachi wondered, looking at them. Why did I spare her? I need to Sasuke to hate me, don't I? Then he realized something. My sharingan…it caught the look in his eye, the pure terror and self-hate he had for what I almost made him do. He shook his head, watching as Naruto and Sasuke caught themselves and rolled to a standing position.
Sasuke stood his ground in front of her, despite her whining... I care too much about Sasuke…but I always knew that. Still…was I wrong? He seems very focused right now, at least. Is it better, after all? Like this?
Seeing his partner's hesitation, Kisame pulled out his sword.
"This is taking too long. You want to fight your brother some time, fine. I'll just…suck off some chakra, then that pretty girls leg, and we can get out of here," he stated, bringing his sword down. "Time to feast, Samehada! Time to feast!"
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And that takes care of the first chapter. Yay! Remember, if you haven't read the first installment...then why did you read this chapter? Go read the first story people!
Anyway, I wanted to pull this out a little further, but I didn't finish it up last night and didn't have the time this morning to do the next couple of scenes, but this is just fine for an ending spot. My Hime is going to be heading to a place with no internet today, so I need to get this up for her NOW! I'll have a longer chapter next week to make up for it.
Tell me what you think of the start of this story. I love reviews! Take care everyone!