Authors note: There was was a story I worked on with another author name lordofthelandoffire. I won't go into the details on the nature of our collaboration but I can't emphasize enough what a great job he did bringing my idea to life and putting it to words. While I am a writer myself this was a story I didn't want to write myself but read from another's hand and he did a great job writing it. Unfortunately for a variety of reasons, none of them antagonistic, our collaboration came to an end. I didn't want the story to end however so I found a new author on DeviantArt named Yumiko12345 to continue it. Here is the first chapter of the rest of the story. It will begin where the original story left off so if your curious what happened before go find a story name "The Long Night" written by the author Lordof thelandoffire. He can be found on this site we are on right now fanfic dot net.
This is a fanfiction and I am making no profit by it. Naruto is the propriety of Masashi Kishimoto.
Long Night
Tenten and her teammates finally returned to the village, leaving Team Kakashi a few miles behind. It didn't take long for them to notice the makeshift refugee camps that surrounded the village gates. Both civilians and ninja huddled around campfires, passing around whatever scraps of food and medicine they had.
"What on earth is going on here?" questioned the brunette. "Why are all the villagers out here?"
"Have we been attacked by Akatsuki members?" added Rock Lee. "Or maybe Orochimaru?"
In an instant, Jiraiya appeared before Team Guy. Tsunade followed behind. "Much worse than either choices," answered the white-haired Sannin. "It appears that Konoha is under siege by some strange and dangerous epidemic. Those who are infected turn into grotesque beasts and pass the disease to whoever they bite."
Silence fell amongst the members of Team Guy. Kakashi, who still lay in Guy's arms, bit his lip from underneath his mask. "I can sense an ominous presence from behind the gates." He turned his gaze to the agitated Tsunade. "Do you have an idea of how it started to spread?"
With a small nod, Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "I learned about its whereabouts from an infected Asuma. He gave me as much information as he could before he took his own life—"
"Asuma…took his own life?"
"No way!"
The Hokage nodded once more. "It appears that Mitarashi Anko caused the infection to spread. She's been recruiting as many people to her side, and now the whole damn village is in disarray!" She bit her thumb. "I've been thinking of some kind of cure, but I've had no luck."
"As you can see," added Jiraiya, "we've quarantined those who have been infected within the village gates and saved as much as possible. My prediction is that those inside will be infected by tomorrow."
Kakashi's jaw dropped, as well as the others. "Tomorrow? That's not enough time!" He had Guy set him on his feet again. "What about the ANBU? Have you contacted Danzo or any members of Root?"
"I tried," Tsunade answered, frustrated, "but I can't seem to reach Danzo or any other ANBU members. Ibiki said he would find Anko, but I haven't heard from him either. That sly, old bastard's probably planning something." She clenched her fists until they bled. "Damn it! Why does this have to happen now?!"
Jiraiya placed a hand on Tsunade's shoulder. "Well, it's not like you could expect Danzo to be open about his intentions. We just have to leave him be for now until we get this disease under control."
Reddish-pink lips twisted into a frown. "Damn it…" Random thoughts swirled confusedly through her mind. She knew Danzo would hatch some callous plot to save the village, while undermine her, and she knew she had to deal with Anko as soon as possible. And not to mention the poor villagers and ninja who were trapped inside… She couldn't let herself live it down.
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi finally broke the silence. "Please allow me to go inside and save as many of the uninfected as possible. Perhaps my Sharingan could help me uncover some clues and even take down Anko."
"If Kakashi goes, I will go as well!" Guy piped up. "With the both of use, we could—"
"Absolutely not!" Tsunade yelled. "I will not have you two risking your lives in there, especially you, Kakashi!" She bit her lip for the third time. "You're injured; it would be suicide for you to go in there. You two will stay here amongst the villagers and protect them."
"Then let me go!" Tenten stepped forward. "I'm a long-distance fighter, so my weapons should be able to take down anyone who attacks me."
Her determined face shook Tsunade's resolve. She didn't want to lose any more ninja who could be assets in the battle against these pseudo-monsters. But she trusted Tenten's skill. After all, she was a member of Team Guy.
"All right. Tenten, I trust you to rescue as many civilians as possible. Take down as many of these monsters as possible, and if you can, find out more about them.
The brunette smirked confidently and clenched one fist. "I understand! I won't let you down, Tsunade-sama!" She could see the anxious expressions on her teammates' faces and smiled. "Don't worry. Just stay here and help Tsunade-sama. I'll come back safely. I promise."
She jumped over the gates and into the devastated streets of Konoha. She observed the trashed, ragged buildings and debris littering any and every corner she passed. Tenten gritted her teeth, her heart breaking at seeing the state of her beloved village.
A few frightened villagers poked their heads out of their hiding place and whispered desperately, "Help us…! Help us please, Miss!"
Tenten could sense they were amongst the uninfected and hurried over to them. "Don't worry," she said with a kind smile. "I'm not one of those weird monsters. I'll lead you to the exit." She managed to lure out more as she walked through the streets, leading them down the quickest path to safety.
Unfortunately, she also attracted attention from the Yajū that had been lurking in the shadows. Among them was Hinata and Hanabi, along with other members of the Hyūga clan. They cornered her against one of the fences, moving closer to her with each passing second.
"Tenten-san, it's good to see you again!" Hinata said cheerfully, though Tenten could tell she was off from her personality alone. "I was hoping you would join our little club~"
"Hinata…" Tenten's face blanched with fear, clenching her scroll that was partly open. "So they got you, too… What on earth have you done?"
"Done?" Hinata giggled. "I've only gotten stronger. I've rid myself of my cowardice and gave in to this newfound power. You should join us, Tenten-san. I know you'll love it." She lunged at the brunette who quickly jumped into the air.
"Sorry," answered Tenten. "I'm not interested." Opening her scroll, she summoned a barrage of weapons that rained down on the Yajū. Hinata smirked and easily dodged the rain of attacks. Her speed had increased since her infection, and it grew as she fought. But Tenten continued with her offense and sent more of her weapons…only to prove useless.
What?! How could this have happened? Her brown eyes widened in horror at realizing her failure. She screamed when she felt a searing pain in her shoulder, for Hanabi had snuck up from behind and sank her fangs into her.
Hinata smiled evilly. "Don't worry, Tenten. I know you'll enjoy your new self. The transformation will only be a moment."
Tenten tumbled and crashed to the ground as her vision began to grow blurry. "I'm sorry, everyone. It looks like I won't be able to keep my promise..."
~ ღ ~
A small shiver ran down Tsunade's spine. I have a bad feeling… Even worse than the one I had before. She turned to Kakashi. "By the way, Kakashi, where is your team?"
"They're a few miles behind us. Guy ran ahead, so I assume they didn't have time to catch up."
"Then this might work in our favor." Jiraiya bit his thumb and summoned one of his toads. Then he wrote down a small note and placed it down the toad's throat. "Send this to Naruto at once. Don't let anyone see you." He watched the amphibian hop off into the darkness.
Tsunade nodded in approval. "Good thinking. It would be bad if Naruto got involved. I'm pretty sure Anko and her minions would target him in an instant. If he were infected, we'd lose all hope of saving the village." She sensed Tenten's presence from behind, oblivious to the ominous aura around her. "Oh, Tenten. I didn't expect you to—" The brunette lunged at top speed and sunk her newly-sharpened fangs into Tsunade's arm.
Everyone gasped in shock as Tsunade's skin turned from light peach to gray in an instant. Her body collapsed to the ground as the transformation ran its course. "Damn… They got me, too! Jiraiya, hurry and do something!"
Tenten smirked. "Good. Got another. Master will be pleased to see that Tsunade-sama's gone to our side." Her evil gaze shifted to Rock Lee and Neji. "Master will be pleased to see both of you join us!"
Just as she bore her fangs and charged forward, Jiraiya directed a hard jump kick to her side and sent her flying into the nearest tree. "Kakashi, now!"
Dashing in front of Tenten and the newly-transformed Tsunade, Kakashi wove a few hand signs, revealing the Sharingan from underneath his headband. "Kamui!" A strong vortex caught both women and pulled them into a concentrated point created by the Sharingan. They screeched as they were sucked into the vortex and vanished into thin air. Kakashi collapsed just seconds later. "Just in time…though I'm not sure if I'll be able to use Kamui again."
"Don't worry about it, Kakashi," Jiraiya said with a friendly smile. "At least they've been transported to another location. Two less to infect any innocent villagers."
Rock Lee and Neji sighed, falling to their knees. "I can't believe we just stood there," Neji muttered angrily. "I felt so useless when I should've fought."
"It's because we were too hesitant," answered Rock Lee. "We couldn't possibly bring ourselves to fight against our own comrade even if she was in such a state."
"You'll get another chance," Jiraiya told the two Chūnin. "Besides," His smile widened, and all four men knew he was planning something, "we'll be getting back-up pretty soon."
"Back-up?" Neji repeated. "Do you mean Naruto and the rest of Team Kakashi?" Jiraiya's silent nod of confidence confirmed his guess.
"But why would you bring them?" asked Rock Lee. "Didn't you send a note telling Naruto-kun not to come?"
"That's what it appeared to be, huh?" Jiraiya answered. "Tsunade should know more than anything that Naruto wouldn't sit still and watch the village crumble; her mind was focused on other things. Also, she forgot that Sakura and Sai are with him. They could prove to be valuable assets in this battle. In addition to those, I had a feeling that Tsunade would be the next one attacked, so I had to prepare for the worst."
Kakashi sighed. "Good thing you acted fast. Now, let's hope that Naruto and the others return to the village before anything more surprises come our way."
"Haha, well said, eternal rival of mine!" Guy bellowed. "But let's not let a little infection get us down! The power of our youth will burst forth and save the village!"
A light sigh left Kakashi as his eyes gazed upward at the nighttime sky. I hope you're right. Naruto…hurry and come as fast as you can!
~ ღ ~
About a half an hour past sunset, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai reached the outskirts of Konoha. They could see the village gates just a few miles away; it wouldn't belong before they returned from their week-long mission.
Sakura stretched her arms and let out a deep sigh. "Good, we're almost there! I can't wait to take a nice, hot bath and have some sushi!"
Naruto followed behind his teammates but stopped walking when Jiraiya's toad suddenly appeared before him in a puff of white smoke. Its mouth opened and revealed the paper inside. Curiously, Naruto took it and began to read the text, his blue eyes widening in horror.
"No way… You've gotta be kidding me!"
"Naruto?" Sakura called. "You're gonna be left behind if you just…" She could see his expression as well as the note in his hands and approached him, Sai following behind. "What is it, Naruto? A message from Jiraiya-sama?"
"The village…" Naruto whispered, "has fallen. It's being taken over by a group of monsters. They've infected thousands of people, even Tsunade-obaachan."
Sakura and Sai stared at him in shock. "What? Tsunade-sama, too?"
"What about Kakashi-sensei and the others?" asked Sai.
"They're fine," said Naruto as he rolled the scroll back up. "But we still have to hurry and help the others. Ero-Sennin is taking charge by himself since Kakashi-sensei's still injured." He clenched his fists and turned to his teammates. "Let's hurry back to the village before anyone else gets infected."
"Right!"