Chapter THREE
They were ready to head out not too long after. Karin used her sensor abilities to keep an eye on the Konoha team, agreeing that they were tracking them by scent. She then had Jugo scatter Sasuke's scent using birds.
"Shadow clones." Karin suddenly said. "A countless number of them. They're probably trying to chase down all the scents."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. 'Naruto.'
"Hn." He sped up, leading his team along the path plotted out.
They stopped at the edge of a cliff, by the entrance to one of the Akatsuki bases.
"You four wait here and wait for orders." Sasuke ordered. "I'll check it out myself."
The Uchiha darted in without waiting for a reply.
Suigetsu sighed dramatically and plopped down on the ground. "This is so unfair."
Sakura joined him. She tucked her knees to her chest and sighed. "I want a sword too." She eyed Suigetsu's Kubikiribocho.
Suigetsu smirked. "Oh?"
A few minutes in, Karin suddenly straightened. "There's someone else in there."
"What? Really?" Suigetsu sat up too. "You should have said something sooner."
"He wasn't there before!" Karin snapped. "He just appeared!"
"What do we do?" Sakura asked.
Suigetsu shrugged. "Well, truth be told, I'm curious."
Sasuke watched the last of the feathers land on the ground, anger bubbling within him.
"Sasuke!"
The Uchiha looked up towards his team as they darted into the cave.
"I thought I told you to wait outside." Sasuke said.
Suigetsu grinned. "Well, Karin said she sensed someone else in here and we got curious."
"Feathers?" Karin asked.
"Black feathers." Sakura said. "Crows." She narrowed her eyes a little. "Uchiha Itachi."
Sasuke turned around. "We're moving. Follow me."
On their way to their next destination, they ran into a shadow clone.
The cry of "Sasuke!" was cut off when the Uchiha tore through it with a Chidori.
It poofed out of existence and none of them stopped in their steps as they flashed past.
"A shadow clone will send its memories back to the creator after it is destroyed." Sakura said. "He'll be coming after us."
They travelled a while more without bumping into any more clones.
Suddenly, Karin stiffened. "There's an incredible chakra signature heading our way!" She called out.
Someone landed on a light pole a few feet away. Sasuke's sudden stop caused the rest of them to skid to a halt.
Suigetsu's chakra spiked a little. "You..."
"Hoshigaki Kisame." Sakura murmured.
"Sasuke-kun, if you would please go ahead by yourself." The Akatsuki member swung his huge sword onto his shoulder. "Itachi-san wants the rest of us to wait here."
Sasuke didn't even flinch. "No problem. I only formed this team to make sure no one interferes when I finally come to face him." Sasuke stepped forward. "This works out perfectly."
"That's crazy, Sasuke!" Karin cried out. "We should just beat this guy together, then go after your brother-"
"I'm not really in the mood for another fight, but if you insist, I won't have a choice." Kisame smirked.
"Don't think about it, Karin." Sasuke said. "You four wait here. This is my revenge."
Sasuke moved past Kisame, who didn't make any move to stop him.
Once the Uchiha was gone, Suigetsu stepped forward. "Hoshigaki Kisame." A smirk appeared on the Hozuki's face. "And the sword Samehada."
Kisame glanced over at him.
"Do you remember me?" Suigetsu asked. "I'm Hozuki Mangetsu's brother, Hozuki Suigetsu."
"Are you now?" Kisame asked. "I didn't even recognize you! You've really grown."
Suigetsu gestured towards Sakura. "That's our sister, Sakura. I don't think you've ever met her."
"Younger sister, eh? Mangetsu mentioned you a few times." Kisame nodded at Sakura, who gave a small wave.
"Now, since we're stuck here waiting for Sasuke, why don't we kill some time?" Suigetsu reached for his sword.
"I see you haven't lost your mischievous streak." Kisame held out his own. "Fine, I'll gladly shave a few layers off you!"
Sakura's insistent cry of 'I want a sword too!' was drowned out by the clash of the two blades.
The moment Kisame just vanished, all four of them knew that the fight had concluded, one way or another.
Sasuke was nowhere to be seen for the next few days.
However, a week later, Sasuke then appeared before them, followed by a man wearing the Akatsuki cloak, his face hidden behind an orange mask.
Sakura grabbed onto Suigetsu's arm, eyes wide.
"Huh?" Suigetsu turned his head just a little, to keep both Sakura and the masked dude in his vision.
"I've seen him before." Sakura murmured.
Suigetsu simply narrowed his eyes.
"From now on, we will no longer be 'Hebi'." Sasuke suddenly said.
Sakura turned to look at him. His eyes had been blank ever since he had come back from wherever he had been for the past few days.
"We will now call ourselves 'Taka', and our goal will the the total destruction of the Leaf."
Later, Team Taka were led deeper into the forest where they were greeted with something like a temporary meeting room. Kisame was there and he smirked at them as they gathered around the table.
Sasuke sat himself down on one of the two chairs.
The man claiming to be 'Madara' sat on the table and stared down at Sasuke. "So, you want to destroy Konoha, but do you have an actual plan in mind?"
Sasuke linked his hands in front of himself. "We eliminate the top Tier. That's all I've come up with."
"If you go for the top, they'll shield themselves with the bottom. It's not that easy." Kisame smirked. "You kids are too inexperienced."
"Don't underestimate use, Kisame-senpai. We still haven't finished our little game." Suigetsu stepped forward but Sakura stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Don't." Sakura eyed Kisame. "He'll know a lot about it, I think."
Suigetsu blinked in surprise.
She then turned to Madara. "The Fourth Mizukage." Sakura said. "You are the Fourth Mizukage."
The masked man looked up.
Even Kisame wasn't able to hide his surprise.
"What are you saying, Kura?" Suigetsu asked. "The Fourth was Yagura..."
Sakura just shook her head. "Something that just came to mind." She ran her tongue over her sharp teeth, then sat down on the ground.
Madara eyed her for a few more seconds before turning back to Sasuke. "At any rate, Akatsuki is currently lacking in numbers." He said.
"Uh...you're not so hot either." Suigetsu muttered.
The masked man didn't seem to hear him. "We share the same goal. From now on, 'Akatsuki' and 'Taka' will move as one."
"What's in it for us?" Sasuke asked.
"The Biju."
"Biju?"
"Don't you know anything?" Madara asked.
Karin opened her mouth but Sasuke beat her to it. "What are they?" He bit out.
"Monsters made of chakra. The first Hokage once had a few of them under his control. He split them between the five Shinobi nations when he began the peace talks, to balance out the power. You could call them the ultimate chakra weapons." Madara said. "Not a bad trade, right?"
"That's pretty generous of you."
Madara shrugged. "However, betray us and you won't be left alive."
"Heh." Sasuke smirked.
"There are nine Bijuu in our world, and so far, we have seven of them." Kisame said. "Two left."
"The Akatsuki and Taka will each hunt down one of them." Madara said. "That's our current goal."
Sasuke leaned back a little and narrowed his eyes. "So you haven't gotten Naruto yet."
"Akatsuki will take care of Naruto. Taka will get the other target."
While Suigetsu attempted to pull out the location of the Hachibi from a Kumo shinobi, Sakura, under Jugo's quiet suggestion, began searching through the possible locations of the Jinchuriki.
Finally, tired of waiting, Sasuke stepped in, casting a genjutsu and forcing the Kumo shinobi to spill. Sakura confirmed the man's words a second later.
"Hn." Sasuke turned to face the direction Sakura had pointed out. "We're going."
The five of them landed outside the cave just as a tanned dude stepped out of the cave, cursing at the sun. He didn't seem to have noticed them, though all of them highly doubted that.
"You the Hachibi Jinchuuriki?" Sasuke called.
The man turned to look at them. "Don't you mean 'excuse me, are you the Hachibi-sama?' or 'are you Jinchuriki-sama?'" The man asked.
Sasuke placed a hand casually on the handle of his blade. "You're coming with us."
The Hachibi did not look impressed.
"I'll capture him." Sasuke said. "Suigetsu, go right. Jugo, left. Karin, stay behind me. Sakura, support."
"Hmmmm." The man in front of them crossed his arms.
Suigetsu shot out, sword raised over his head.
"Time for some in-battle advice, ya little shit!" The Hachibi called. He didn't move even when Suigetsu approached. The Hozuki swung down his sword and a small crater formed as the two made contact.
"The men form Akatsuki said not to kill the Jinchuuriki, Suigetsu." Jugo called.
"I can still feel his chakra." Karin said. "Don't worry."
When the dust cloud cleared, they all saw that the Hachibi had blocked Suigetsu's blade with his hands. "I'm the only one that's allowed to hit me." He swung his arms. "Get lost, little shit. Eat a fist while you're at it!" The Kubikiribocho flew out of Suigetsu's hands and into the air. The Hozuki let out a grunt as he was pushed off balance.
"Move, Sui-nii!" Sakura appeared in the air. She grabbed the blade handle and swung it, using the momentum to bring her down.
"Whoa!" Suigetsu jumped back just in time as the contact formed another crater. Through the smoke, Sakura felt more than saw the fist swinging towards her. The blow went right through her, the hole in her stomach turning into liquid. Sakura swung the Kubikiribocho back at Suigetsu then collapsed into water to escape the Hachibi's attack. She quickly reformed behind her brother, eyed wide. Suigetsu gripped the blade, one arm in front of him.
"Suigetsu." Jugo called. "Sakura." He stepped forward slowly, eyes narrowed a little. "Step back."
Anyone who was associated with Orochimaru knew to an extent of Jugo's power. Especially Suigetsu, who had fought him, Sakura, who had been held in the same hideout as him and Karin, who sometimes did filings, all knew of his prowess.
So none of them had thought he would lose. Not so easily.
Jugo was lying at the Hachibi's feet. The Jinchuriki had drawn one of his blades and had taken care of Jugo singlehandedly.
"That freak...took out Jugo?" Karin asked. "What the hell..."
Jugo let out a grunt, his cursed mark reseeding back.
Sasuke stepped forward. "I'll handle this." He moved in and the Hachibi stepped away to avoid his attack.
Jugo staggered to his feet and stepped back a little, stumbling.
"You okay, Jugo?" Karin called. The orange head nodded.
"Who are you kids anyways?" The Hachibi asked. "Why're you after me?"
"That's none of your business." Sasuke said dismissively. He ducked a blow and lashed out again.
"Weird looking dude with terrible rhymes." Suigetsu muttered. "This job sucks."
"You agreed to taking it." Sakura pointed out.
"This is the fastest way for us to gain power." Sasuke said. "If you don't like it, leave."
Suigetsu scoffed.
"I want to know if what we were told about the Biju is true or not and I want to know now." Sasuke's blade appeared from his sleeve. "And we are the ones using the Akatsuki." He added, more to his teammates.
"Heh." Suigetsu smirked. "Now shut that guy up! If I have to hear another one of his rhymes, I'll kill myself."
"Don't be so mean." Sakura reprimanded. "I think he's better than you at rhyming."
Suigetsu looked offended.
"I intend to." Sasuke said. He shot forward, his blade drawn. After exchanging a few blows, the Hachibi suddenly stepped back and pulled out a notebook. Muttering under his breath, he began to write something down.
The Hachibi snapped his book shut. "Now I'm all jacked up. Thanks bro, you just gave me a new idea fora read badass rhyme." He reached behind him as he began to rap again. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as the Jinchuuriki grasped the handle of his blades and yanked at them. The swords flew up into the air.
"Watch it, Sasuke!" Suigetsu called out, alarmed. "He's not any random shinobi! He's an incredible swordsman!"
The Hachibi caught all eight of his blades and took a weird stance. In a blink of an eye, he was moving forward in a tornado of metal. With a single harsh blow, he sent Sasuke flying, the Uchiha's blade leaving his hands as he skid across the floor.
"His movement is so unorthodox." Suigetsu murmured.
Sakura nodded. "Can't read his blade."
The Uchiha was back on his feet rather quickly. Lightning chakra ran through his hand and he grasped his blade, running towards the Jinchuuriki again.
"The Chidori." Suigetsu murmured.
However, the Jinchuuriki blocked the lightning attack with his own blade.
Suigetsu stiffened in shock.
"I'm the Hachibi." The man sang. "You can't hit me." He tensed. "I float like a butterfly." He swung his free arm, catching Sasuke's side. "Sting like a bee!"
The Uchiha coughed out blood, the blow sending him into the air.
Okay, this is a little late...but meh...
Darque: In case you don't know, we've put up a handful of fanfics, so if you haven't, please check them out!
Raven: Also, we have more ideas for new fics, so leave an opinion on those too!
NEW:
Red Strings of Fate (Sakura x Multi/Sasori x Sakura x Gaara) :
Kill the Kazekage and leave Suna. That was his plan, until he runs into a girl at the scene, looking curiously at the body of her father. Her exotic pink hair and gem like green eyes. She was perfect. Her inherited Magnet Release and the Ichibi Jinchuriki that tagged along was just a bonus. Little did he know that the extra package would be the best thing that ever happened to him.
A Wish Upon those Eyes of Green (Sakura x Multi) :
Born with a power considered both a blessing and a curse, Uchiha Sakura, younger sister of Madara and Izuna, grew up hidden within the compound. When Izuna is mortally wounded by Tobirama, her gift heals him of his fatal injury. However, one event leads to another and the Uchiha and the Senju agree to a truce, and Sakura is thrust out into the world she had been shielded from.
The Beauty of Life (Shikamaru x Sakura):
Having been born at a Jashin temple, Sakura had been exposed the the Jashinist ways since she was young. A few days after her ritual of choosing and obtaining Immortality, her temple is attacked, where she is the only survivor and is taken in by Konoha. There, Sakura struggles to fit in and understand the value of life and the beauty in living, instead of simply surviving.
IDEAS:
Which one do you guys like more/want to read more?
Sakura x Akatsuki (And other multi pairings)((If published, OUR FIRST completely AU story)):
The Akatsuki are an Elite Police Authority group stationed in a city where the lives people are influenced by the predictions of a Supercomputer. The predictions had never been wrong ever since Version Sakura had been released. However, when the computer shuts down one day for no reason, they come across the horrifying truth and the Akatsuki must confront their twisted government.
Sakura x multi:
The Haruno clan are known for their unique relationship with the dead. To them, hearing whispers, seeing the ghosts of those unable to pass and having their bodies taken over by spirits are common occurrences. However, once in a hundred years, the 'Reaper Child' is born. The chosen of this century, Sakura can walk the land of the dead at will, the limit to her powers unknown.
Read and Review!