Hello again to you all. It's me, SolitaryWordsmith/TheVandy24/BookMaster3000, and I am back in the fanfiction writing business with what is technically my third Naruto fanfiction. I hope that this time I can find the time to seriously write this story. On a whim I just decided to send out a revamped version of my story as an older, better writer with a more mature mindset and writing style, just to see what it's like again. I hope with this first chapter I can regain the support or the readers that favorited both the earlier version of "Of Foxes and Ninja" and myself as an author. It gave me a lot of confidence in my writing ability.
Before I start I need to get this out. I would like to give a special thanks to another FF user and author: KingKakashi. Even though it was a small deed, and one relatively common, KingKakashi did what many readers do not. He reviewed my story. I know I have gotten a HUGE amount of reviews for what I believed at the time to be a mediocre piece written by a naïve, young boy (which I guess I still am), and I am not saying that they did not mean anything to me. They meant SO MUCH to me. For me, writing a fanfiction is like (not that I actually know what this feels like but I can guess) sending your kid to school for the first time: nerve-wracking, worrying, and suspenseful. I am sending my "work of art" out into the unknown depths of cyberspace with absolutely no idea what I might receive in return. When the reviews come back positive; encouraging; and, the best, eager for more, you can guess how I might have felt. Anyway, what KingKakashi did made me realize that me not continuing "Of Foxes and Ninja" actually disappointed some people. About half an hour ago, I randomly decide to check and see if anybody had reviewed my story over the past three or so months. I had seen his review before, but I reread it anyway (he was wondering if I was going to continue writing OF&N). That gave me a kind of fuzzy feeling inside knowing that another author who I am a fan of and I view as an author eons ahead of me and has an absolutely MASSIVE fanfiction actually read my work and thought it was good. I was just rereading all my reviews and I see that, while I was still writing this, KingKakashi had reviewed my work. I then realized that not only did somebody positively review my story; but, YEARS later, actually went back to it and asked if it was going to continue.
Any way, I that really pumped me up, and I decided to begin rewriting OF&N. As you can see, I am keeping some of the content from the original version of this chapter, generally rewriting and adding content. So, enjoy.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 1: Abandoning an Ally
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-Forest of Death-
"Kukuku. You are definitely his brother. If anything your eyes are even keener than Itachi's. I have not seen a genin with as much potential as yourself in many, many years, Sasuke-kun."
"W-Who the fuck are you? What do you want!" Sasuke yelled, his voice wavering in fear and fatigue.
"Kukuku. My name is Orochimaru. But as to what I want, that will have to wait until we meet again, which won't happen until you finish this test with the best score of all."
The scroll in the pale-faced shinobi's hand began to burn with green flames.
"The scroll!" cried Sakura.
"First you will have to defeat the Hidden Sound ninja that serve me," Orochimaru stated.
"What are you talking about? You have already defeated us! Just take our scroll and leave! "
Orochimaru laughed his cold, spine-tingling laugh again. "I would never make it that easy for you."
The gray ninja formed a seal and his neck elongated, shooting towards Sasuke. Sakura dashed to defend her crush, leveling a kunai at the approaching head.
"Kukuku. Your efforts are futile." He butted her with such force that she was thrown to the side, landing hard and sliding along the length of the branch until slamming into the massive truck. He sank his teeth into Sasuke's neck, and Sasuke screamed in pain.
Sakura screamed, "No! Sasuke!" She tried to stand, but a sharp pain in her side caused her to fall to her knees. She felt it gingerly with both hands, and winced. Shit. That's at least one broken rib.
Orochimaru withdrew his fangs, leaving a trail of blood and his head returned to his shoulders. A marking consisting of three black tomoe appeared on Sasuke's neck.
"Y-you monster! What have you done to Sasuke-kun!"
"The snake man smirked, "I simply gave him a parting gift. Soon Sasuke will seek me out. He desires my power." Orochimaru began to sink into the wood of the tree branch, his voice fading. "I enjoyed the demonstration of your skills. Kukukukuku." The ninja disappeared entirely.
"Aaaaaargh!" Sasuke fell to his knees screamed for the second time.
"Sasuke!" Sakura grimaced and stood up, bracing herself against the tree trunk behind her. She gritted her teeth and ran toward him. "What did he do to you?"
Still screaming in pain, Sasuke fell unconscious and slumped in Sakura's arms.
"Naruto! Sasuke's hurt! Get over here so we can help him!" Sakura called.
Naruto didn't move.
"Naruto!"
Tears of despair glistened in her eyes. "Naruto! Please wake up!"
Naruto still didn't move.
Sakura knew she was in a very bad position. Both of her teammates were injured and unconscious; and with at least a broken rib, she couldn't carry them both to safety. But that snake man had done something very strange to Sasuke, and with what he had said about Sasuke seeking him out, she knew it was important to the last Uchiha, and therefore Konoha. She looked at the blonde boy still stuck to the tree a hundred feet below.
"Damn it. I don't want to leave him here, but Sasuke is a priority." She ran over to Sasuke, scooped him up into her arms, and dashed off into the trees. I'll come back for you soon. Hold on Naruto. Please.
The setting sun began to cast shadows over the fallen boy, veiling him in darkness.
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It was not long before the old, beaten material of Naruto's beloved jumpsuit began to tear, and then completely rip away from its anchor, sending Naruto straight down towards the pitch-blackness of the forest floor. Fortunately, he landed on one of the tree's many massive branches, and with the impact, he awoke.
Recovering from his daze, he quickly surveilled his surroundings. It was almost pitch-black, and a white fog covered everything, especially from below. The only thing he could make out was the outlines of the surrounding trees. He tried to get up as a wave of nausea hit him like a hammer. He clasped his stomach and retched. He waited until the sickness passed enough for him to move without vomiting. Wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his jumpsuit, he wondered where he was. Suddenly, he remembered the Grass-nin.
What happened? The last thing I remember is getting his in the stomach by that woman. Where did Sakura and Sasuke go? He wondered as he started hopping from branch to branch, slowly climbing higher into the canopy of the enclosed forest. Are they hurt? Are they dead? He landed on a branch and stopped.
Did they leave me here?
After another moment's thought, he shook his head. Even though Sasuke was a bastard, and Sakura hated him, even they would never abandon their teammate.
Naruto continued to climb through the trees. After at least ten minutes of jumping, he still could not catch a glimpse of the sky through the trees towering over him. He gasped for breath. Why did such a small workout take so much out of him? It must be because I haven't eaten ramen for days. Trees couldn't be this tall, could they? Wait a minute.
He made a hand sign, and used the technique Kakashi-sensei had taught him to disperse Genjutsus. He carefully built up the chakra in his brain. 'The stronger the genjutsu, the amount of chakra needed is greater. When you release the chakra in your brain, there is a temporary cease in the flow through that area. This disrupts the jutsu. However, there is a dangerous side effect' Kakashi-sensei had told them. Naruto decided that this couldn't be too strong of a jutsu. After building up his chakra to the right amount, he released it all at once with a loud "Kai!"
His yell reverberated through the treetops. He staggered a bit from the dizziness and disorientation it caused him. He knew how dangerous that could be in the heat of battle. That one window of opportunity is what a weaker genjutsu user looked for in a stronger, ninjutsu or taijustu-based opponent. Only those who had intensely trained with all levels of this technique could be unaffected by it.
Maybe, more chakra? He tried again. No such luck. Maybe there really were trees this big.
Well, if going up to the top won't work, which way should I go? He still could not see anything distinguishing which way was which, and he couldn't see the stars or the sun. Damn it. What should I do now?
He quickly decided to choose randomly. He unclipped his weapons pouch, drew out a kunai, and placed it on its side on the bark by his feet. After concentrating for a moment, he gave it a chakra-induced spin. When it finally stopped, it had drilled a small depression in the wood. He scooped it back up, and jumped off in the direction that it pointed.
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Sakura crashed through a small bough of leaves with her precious burden, landing hard on the forest floor. She gasped in pain; her injury had only gotten worse. She had tried to get Sasuke-kun as far away from the battle scene as possible. After fights like that, preying teams would flock to the area looking for the dead, injured, and each other. However, she could not go on any longer. She hadn't stopped running for over an hour. Not even for enough time to wrap her wounds.
Looking around the clearing, she found the perfect spot: one of the surrounding tree's roots had been partially uprooted, revealing an entrance to the nook inside. She carefully placed Sasuke's inert form against the root, and crawled inside to inspect their hideout.
It was pitch black inside the recess. The dirt dipped into a small depression in the very center, with just enough room for two people. She could tell that this was the only entrance to the tiny alcove, and with little effort it could be completely concealed from the outside.
Sakura breathed a small side of relief. Perfect. She crawled back outside for her unconscious teammate. After laying Sasuke by the entrance, she slid inside until only her upper half was exposed, and then dragged him by his armpits into their temporary sanctuary. Crawling once again back out, she hurriedly began disguising the entrance with small branches and leaves.
Before she finished, Sakura suddenly froze. Nothing made a sound but the distant chirps of insects. Then, suddenly:
Snap
She whirled around to face the rest of the clearing with her back to Sasuke's refuge, unsheathing two kunais from her leg holsters and holding one in each hand. Her feet widened in a defensive stance, her kunai at the ready to parry any incoming projectiles.
"Who's there?"
Her voice simply echoed among the leaves.
She tried again in her most confident, commanding voice. "I know you are there. Come out, and nobody will get hurt."
A blood-curdling laugh reached her ears. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she frantically looked around her, searching for the source of the voice.
"It seems we have been found out, my brothers" one voice eerily declared.
Another, higher voice rang out, "Yes, Ani. It seems we have. What a predicament."
A wet, slithering sound could be heard from all around Sakura. She looked around in fear, again for the voices. It was like they were all around her.
"Hahahahaha. How lucky."
All around her, black-clad bodies began to rise up out of the ground, the trees, and the branches around her. They had white bandages wrapped around their shins, thighs, wrists, and biceps, wore thick cloths over their eyes. Their most distinguishing feature was their metal mouthpieces.
Shit! Clones? There are so many of them!
One of the clones closest to her chuckled. "You are one very unfortunate little girl. Like a mouse in a lion's den."
Sakura shook in fear, any vestige of her earlier confidence crumbling. "W-Who are you?"
Her answer was the whistle of a kunai thrown from the shadows. She turned to meet the approaching missile, and efficiently knocked it away with one of the knives in her hand. However, she heard many more being thrown from the other direction. Instead of trying to parry the knives, she made a quick hand sign.
She felt many small thumps as the kunai entered her back, but to no effect. In a puff of smoke, she was gone, a log instead taking her place as the victim of the cold steel.
Another laugh reverberated through the clearing. "A kawarimi. It seems you are not as helpless as we first thought. However, you have made one grave error."
From her vantage point behind one of the trees, Sakura noticed her mistake, and gasped.
Sasuke!
She quickly leapt back down to defend her teammate. Upon her landing, she dashed forward toward the nearest clone, and punched it hard in its defenseless. She could feel the trachea crush beneath her knuckles through her gloves. She rejoiced at her opponent's weakness. However, instead of falling back, the flesh gave way and became a liquidy, black substance. She fell forward and landed hard upon the ground.
Sakura looked back to her adversary. A fist-sized hole had formed in its throat, but the black liquid was quickly filling it back up.
What…What are these guys? Looking around her, Sakura realized that she was completely surrounded by the clones. They converged upon her, and a sea of blackness obscured her vision.
She screamed.
****
Naruto missed his footing on a narrow branch, and tripped, falling to the ground. Luckily, it wasn't to far to the hard, unforgiving ground.
He had been running aimlessly for over three hours now, and was at the peak of his exhaustion. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink for at least a full day now, and he was covered in small cuts from traps he had barely evaded.
Naruto had decided to travel closer to the ground in case he came upon a small creek or cave to rest in. However, he'd had no such luck. Lack of nutrition and water had sapped his energy, leaving him completely exhausted.
Too tired to move anymore, he stumbled to a tree, and collapsed amidst its massive roots. Overcome with weariness, he fell into a deep sleep.
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Sunlight began to filter through the treetops, and a ray of light shone upon the sleeping blonde.
Two figures dropped to the forest floor through the leaves, landing without a sound. They both wore large, dark cloaks and wide bamboo kasa with streamers hanging from the brims.
"It seems our little Naruto-kun has decided to take a nap." Said the shorter of the two. His headband depicted a swirling leaf with a gash traveling through it.
Turning, the taller one spoke. The rising sun shone on his forehead protector revealing him to come from the Village Hidden in the Mist and also had a scratch through it. "Is this the one we have been looking for?"
"Of course," the other one drawled in a bored tone. "Can you not sense his chakra? It is tainted. And not only with the Kyuubi's. I also sense the tampering of a certain snake."
The taller one growled in distaste. "Orochimaru. We should have killed him when we had the chance."
"On the contrary, my partner. Now it will be even easier to subdue and control the demon. Our job has nearly been completed."
"Should we not wait until he is stronger? At this level, processes might destroy him, and we would lose the Kyuubi."
"That is true. However, we will not be extracting the demon any time soon. This is simply the best time to control the container. The others have become a hassle. Who knows, maybe we won't even need to extract it."
He crouched down beside the sleeping boy. Movements within his ample cloak indicated hand signs being formed at lightning-fast speeds. He placed his palm against the blonde child's forehead and released a burst of chakra. He continued sleeping, unaware of the actions occurring around him.
"That will keep him out for long enough."
The larger one hoisted the sleeping child over his broad shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and they both disappeared in a flash.
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There is the first revamped chapter of OF&N. If you have read the original there is a ton of new material. There is a lot less Sakura bashing, as I have more or less gotten over my hatred for her. I also plan on having the plot turn in a different direction than the original.
Vocabulary:
Genin- lowest rank of shinobi
Tomoe- a comma-like mark
Jutsu- ninja technique
Kunai- throwing knife
Kawarimi- replacement ninjutsu
Kai- release