Chapter 2
(Memories on Bells)
"Alright…start," Kakashi declared as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke and Sakura readied themselves immediately for an attack. They looked all around for their sensei but couldn't find him anywhere.
"Hiding is he?" Sasuke muttered to himself. Sakura stood just a few paces ahead of him. She remained silent as she looked around for their sensei. Right? She wondered as she looked to her right. Above? She looked now up to the sky. Left? She turned her head slightly to face left. Behind? She turned around to face the empty training ground. The sun was setting now, beginning to cast shadows. Meanwhile Sasuke came up behind her.
"He's probably below," he stated remembering all too well how the last time he'd fallen prey to the head hunter jutsu that had literally grounded him during their first test. Sakura nodded.
"Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines," she agreed. She clenched her hands into fists. "Sasuke, I'd stand back now if I were you." Sasuke gave her a questioning look as he stepped back some. Sakura then brought her fist down upon the Earth with a yell escaping her as her fist connected with the ground. Upon contact the entire ground split open and began to shake as some dirt and rocks flew up. Being so close, Sasuke lost his balance, a look of total utter shock on his face as he beheld his comrade's monstrous strength.
Is this…the same Sakura as before? He thought worriedly as some perspiration rolled down his forehead. He just couldn't believe it. Meanwhile Kakashi who'd been underground as predicted also wore a shocked face.
What ridiculous strength! He thought shakily. So it looks like the fifth hokage's been teaching her more than just medical ninjutsu. Sakura's grin widened. She called out to her sensei.
"Kakashi sensei," she called. Kakashi was pulled from his thoughts as he faced the rosette in front of him. "Found you didn't I?" she teased. Meanwhile Sasuke stood up to admire his teammate's handy work.
Maybe I should start listening to the old toadstool and start paying attention to what girls like and don't like because if I slip up with her…I'm pretty sure she could kill me! He thought to himself warily. Meanwhile Jiraiya was watching from his position in one of the nearby trees.
"The same quick temper and monster strength," he spoke to himself. "Tsunade's turned Sakura into a mirror image of herself."
Kakashi had now leapt up onto the top of the shattered ground. He quickly came to the conclusion that Sakura could very well become even more powerful than the fifth hokage. While he was thinking this, he sensed someone suddenly behind him and turned in time to see that Sasuke had appeared at his back, ready to throw some shuriken. Kakashi had barely enough time to leap away but Sasuke was faster and he let fly his shuriken which found their marks all over Kakashi's body despite him shielding himself. Sasuke grinned.
"Wasn't it you who said to never let your opponent get behind you?" he asked smugly. However, before he had time to celebrate for long, there was puff of smoke which revealed a log full of shuriken in Kakashi's place. Damn it, not again! Sasuke mentally berated himself and he leapt away just as quickly as he'd appeared behind Kakashi as an onslaught of shuriken and kunai were launched in his direction. He turned and fended them all off immediately with his own kunai knife and landed back beside Sakura. They held him in their sights trying to think up what to do next.
Sakura's grown stronger, Kakashi thought to himself. And Sasuke…he's faster. They've definitely got the potential to surpass their masters. But let's see just how far they can go. You both had your turn but now it's my turn! Kakashi threw some more smoke bombs, creating a screen for himself and then disappeared into the trees.
"He's escaping into the forest," Sasuke yelled out to Sakura. Sakura coughed away the smoke while covering her nose.
"I know, I saw him," she replied. The two then took off into the woods to find their sensei. A few minutes later Kakashi was still running away from them, thinking of a counter strategy. He wound up hiding behind a bush and observing the surrounding area with his sharingan. He was able to pinpoint Sasuke's location first. The teen genin was concealed behind a wide tree trunk in the distance. Then Kakashi did a head swivel and pinpointed Sakura's location. She too hid behind a tree but in the opposite direction. They pretty much had him surrounded.
Good, he thought. The first thing a shinobi must learn is how to conceal his presence and remain hidden. This is completely different from that time before. Kakashi remembered back to when Naruto was still with them at the first test.
"Ninja must know how to conceal their movements and hide effectively," Kakashi explained to the empty clearing. Meanwhile the rosette Sakura and the Uchiha, Sasuke had both hidden their presences as they'd already known what to do. Kakashi looked around scratching the back of his head.
"Well they understand that much, they've hidden well." he then muttered to himself. Then he felt a presence right in front of him. He looked up confused until he saw Naruto Uzumaki standing right in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes full of determination.
"You and me right now fair and square! Let's go!" declared the young blonde whiskered boy. Kakashi cocked an unamused eyebrow.
"You know, compared to the others you're a bit…weird," he stated.
It wasn't too long after those memories that Kakashi had to jump out of the way of some on coming kunai knives coming from Sasuke's direction. Once he was in midair the raven haired boy attacked quickly and Kakashi had to pick up his own speed just so he wouldn't get skewered. He was able to only just avoid it. Once Sasuke had passed, Kakashi had whirled around to throw some of his own kunai but Sasuke was out of the way in the blink of an eye and the kunai became lodged in a tree branch. Kakashi landed on the other side of the clearing as he saw Sakura come out of hiding to stand beside a now visible Sasuke. Kakashi stood up straight then got into an offensive stance.
"Time for today's lesson," he stated sternly. "This is shinobi battle skills rule number one. Taijutsu!" he declared. Then he raced forward, this time ready to match or at least attempt to match Sasuke's new found speed. He attacked with a right hook first and then the Uchiha's and the sensei's speed became so great that Sakura couldn't quite keep up but was still able to dodge when Kakashi sent a surprise blow her way before turning back to Sasuke. Sasuke eventually leapt up off the ground and found his footing on a high up tree branch.
Kakashi's eyes followed the Uchiha but now it was Sakura's turn. She charged forth gaining her own speed and raised her gloved fist.
"Gotchya!" she yelled as she threw her first punch then continued with her onslaught of lethal punches as Kakashi backpedaled, dodging every one for dear life. "Just need one shot!" she told herself as her punches grew faster and more focused. Kakashi became ever wary of her picking up speed.
"It won't do any good if you can't hit me," he stated. He suddenly backed into a tree and just barely managed to escape Sakura's next blow which splintered the poor tree and took it right off of its trunk. The tree then fell towards the forest ground and Sakura turned to face her sensei again. Next Sasuke made his own move.
Using Sakura's attack as a distraction, Sasuke had wasted no time in setting up a trap for their sensei. Sasuke came at him now, with a roundhouse first which was easily blocked, then another from the other leg which was also blocked then as Kakashi let go, Sasuke spun in midair so that he could bring down a high kick upon his sensei's head who expertly leapt backwards…into the trap.
Sasuke grinned as wires sprang up catching a surprised Kakashi off guard. Meanwhile, Sasuke held the other ends of the wires within his mouth. Then he quickly performed some hand signs and called out his techniques as he went to execute it. "Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!"
A jet of flames was shot out of the Uchiha's mouth and along the wires where they were to meet their mark. Sakura stood there and fist pumped the air.
"Nice!" she complimented her teammate as the fireball jutsu made contact with…
"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!" they heard the jonin exclaim. The two shinobi came to attention as they witnessed not only Kakashi breaking his arms free from the wires but him performing hand signs at lightning speed too. As his hands hit the ground, an immediate wall burst up, blocking Kakashi from the fireball's aim. The fireball hit it and dispersed as soon as it ran out of fuel.
"Damn it!" Sasuke grumbled. Before he had time to plan his next move though, he felt something grab his ankle from below. "What!" he exclaimed as Kakashi spoke up from underground.
"Hey, remember this one," he teased as he started pulling his student underground with him. "Headhunter jutsu!" Sasuke soon found himself buried with his head sticking up out of the ground just like the time before. Kakashi approached him as he struggled.
"I must commend you on setting yet another elaborate trap Sasuke," he stated. "But it seems it also proved to be your downfall as well." Sasuke suddenly grinned.
"Oh really?" he taunted. "Have you forgotten who you're dealing with sensei?" Suddenly there was a screeching sound coming from behind him and Kakashi looked up to see another Sasuke racing down the side of a tree and leaping off near the bottom right at his sensei. Meanwhile the Sasuke who'd been towed underground poofed into thin air leaving Kakashi wide open for an attack.
"Chidori!" Sasuke roared as he brought his wildly sparking hand up to hit Kakashi's midsection but Kakashi dodged just in time and the attack was ultimately grounded, quite literally. Kakashi was keeping his eyes on the Uchiha now as he stood and almost had his head taken off by a well-aimed kick from Sakura on high.
"Cha!" she shouted as she drew closer. Kakashi dodged again and Sakura's attack hit another tree, completely splintering it and sending it crashing down into the rest of the forest. She stood up again as Sasuke came up beside her readying for their next attack while Kakashi watched them carefully whilst breathing heavier.
I remember when this used to be a lot easier, he sighed internally to himself. Another memory of when his students used to be younger came to his mind.
"I'm going to crush you!" Naruto bellowed as he ran forth and threw a punch to Kakashi's temple with all of his might. However Kakashi just stood there reading his book and easily blocked all of the blows the blonde preteen could throw his way.
"Grrr, now you're mine," declared the blonde as another punch flew but this time Kakashi vanished completely from his sights leaving him befuddled and confused. Suddenly Kakashi's voice spoke up from behind him.
"Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time," the Jonin told him. He'd already prepared his technique. Naruto quickly turned his head in time to see Kakashi executing his next move. "Leaf village secret finger jutsu!" the Jonin called out as he planted his folded together hand's index and middle fingers hard into the blonde's rear. "A thousand years of death!" And he sent him flying.
Afterwards he'd found his pink haired student rushing through the trees trying to escape him. All the while she was thinking of her beloved Sasuke and praying that Kakashi hadn't gotten him too like he'd done with Naruto. She suddenly stopped, catching a glimpse of her sensei reading his book and backpedaled behind a bush thinking with relief that it was good he hadn't heard her. However, the Jonin was already right behind her.
"Pst! Sakura," he whispered, "Behind you." Sakura turned to come face to face with her sensei and let out a scream of surprise. Then after he'd dealt with her, he'd gone off to deal with the Uchiha boy.
"I'm not like Sakura and Naruto," the Uchiha stated dryly to his sensei who now stood propped up against a tree behind him still reading his novel.
"Say that after you get one of these bells," his sensei countered. Sasuke turned around to face his sensei, a dead serious look upon his face. Then he reached behind and threw a few kunai and shuriken at Kakashi which he expertly dodged.
"There's no point using normal attacks," Kakashi taunted. The Uchiha grinned then threw another kunai into the trees to cut the rope holding the rest of them back.
"A trap!" Kakashi realized and dodged the many kunai that were thrown at him allowing them to hit the tree trunk. Sasuke then used his speed to appear beside his sensei and threw a kick at him which his sensei then blocked with his forearms in the horse stance. Kakashi then grabbed a hold of his foot.
Sasuke didn't give up though as he immediately twisted his body to throw a punch towards Kakashi's face but once again Kakashi blocked his attack. Sasuke's other leg came up now to try and kick Kakashi's crown and Kakashi, still holding onto the boy's ankle and arm brought his forearm up to block the third attempt. Then Sasuke was in the ideal position as he grinned and reached for one of the bells.
Kakashi immediately saw what he was doing and let go, pushing himself off of the ground and leaping away from the Uchiha. This kid, Kakashi thought. He's fierce. Humph, I won't be able to read Make Out Paradise now.
"Well, you are different from the other two, I'll grant you that," Kakashi stated. Suddenly Sasuke took up a stance and began weaving hand signs. Kakashi's eyes widened.
"Horse! Tiger! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he called out.
"What?!" Kakashi exclaimed. "Genin can't do fire jutsu. It takes too much chakra. There's no way!" Suddenly Kakashi was dodging a massive fireball as it came his way. He frantically tunneled underground and out of sight. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized the sensei was gone.
Where'd he go?Sasuke wondered frantically. Behind me? Above?
"Where?" a mocking voice said from under his feet. Suddenly a gloved hand shot forth from under the ground, grabbing Sasuke's ankle in the process and catching the raven haired preteen by surprise. "I'm where you least expect me!" And with that, Kakashi pulled the unsuspecting genin under the dirt up to his neck, leaving his head sticking out of the ground like a nail. Kakashi then stood over his student mockingly.
"Right under your feet. Earth Style: headhunter jutsu." he explained. Sasuke tried to struggle free. "Can't move huh? That was ninjutsu, the third shinobi battle skill. You have talent and you were right, you are…different from the others but…different isn't always better. They say the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down." And with that Kakashi pulled his book out again and started reading.
Even though they've been apart for two years, their teamwork is still pretty good, Kakashi thought to himself. He suddenly thought of his new book just sitting in wait for him in his back pouch. Although I was hoping to find out how this next volume ends. He straightened up some as he saw Sasuke shift into a new position, a sly grin on his face and one upon Sakura's features as well.
"Alright then," he started. "I'm not sure how many I can produce but I'll give it a shot with just a few but I'll also activate my eyes." Kakashi's eyes widened as Sasuke's own sharingan now fully matured activated and Sasuke made the hand sign for a familiar technique.
"No way!" Kakashi exclaimed, realizing what Sasuke was about to do.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Sasuke called out. At least a dozen clones appeared, surrounding Kakashi and as he looked around he realized that they were all solid clones with the sharingan in their possession. Kakashi began to perspire as he realized that he might be in trouble. All of the Sasuke's grinned. Kakashi sighed, getting his own sharingan more prepared for battle.
"Alright, come on then!" he said, taking up a defensive stance. All at once, the many Sasuke's yelled out as they attacked and converged on their sensei, sharingan's ablaze. Kakashi was barely able to keep up with them. Despite there being much less than Naruto's usual amount, Kakashi still knew it'd be a pain since they were incredibly fast. As soon as Kakashi had a moment he brought his hands up to make his own hand signs.
"Well, if that's all you've got Sasuke, I hate to break it to you but two can play that game. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Kakashi said and just like that, a dozen or so Kakashi's popped up out of the woodworks to compensate for the dozen or so speedy Sasuke's barreling down on him. A few on each side began to go poof as some took heavier attacks than others. Then Sasuke shouted out.
"Now Sakura!" Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized he'd lost sight of the rosette yet again and then from out of nowhere, the girl's fist crashed into the ground and made it shatter and quake, making several more Kakashi's and Sasuke's disperse. The real Kakashi leapt out of the way and looked about. There weren't many of either's clones left and the real one could've already gotten away.
"What a pain," he sighed, still looking about and staying on his guard. "Looks like I won't have time for reading." Meanwhile Tsunade, Shizune and Jiraiya remained watching from the peanut gallery. They enjoyed watching their favourite students go up against Kakashi and they could tell that things were just getting started.
A little while later, after the clones had dispersed and Sasuke and Sakura had determined Kakashi had slipped away, they were walking through the forest of the training grounds, the sun having already set well beyond the horizon. The stars sparkled up above but they couldn't stop to admire them. They only had until sunrise.
"The last time I heard the bells, they came from this direction," Sasuke stated. Sakura nodded.
"Yeah but he might've let us hear them on purpose to draw us in so we have to be careful." Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"Right, we can't forget that we're dealing with Kakashi," he replied as they continued on through the woods. Suddenly they felt something strange and saw something coming into shape in the distance by a tree. They stopped to see what it was and their eyes widened as a familiar blonde haired kid came into view. It was Naruto and he was hurt badly with kunai and everything sticking out of his body.
The boy looked up weakly, barely able to stand. He breathed shallowly and his body was covered with blood and bruises. There were some tears in his eyes as he leaned against the trunk of a tree for support.
"Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed, taking in the sight. He clenched his fists
"He looks…really hurt," Sakura stated sadly.
"Sakura, Sasuke," he said as he came forward gritting through the pain. "You've gotta help me. I thought I'd be happier outside of the leaf but Orochimaru hates me more than the village. He…tried to kill me. Please…you're my teammates…save me." A silent tear fell from Sakura's eyes as Sasuke grit his teeth.
"Too bad he's not real," Sakura said sadly. She closed her eyes and looked away. "I'd give almost anything to be able to talk to the real Naruto; to hear his boisterous laughter and see his big goofy grin again. He always made me laugh when I was feeling down." Sasuke looked down at his feet.
"Yeah," he agreed solemnly. Sakura breathed in and out then brought her hands up to form a sign.
"Release!" she commanded and the genjutsu disappeared. She opened her eyes more determined. "I don't wanna play with your illusions!" Sasuke grinned and struck out, streaking across the field a surprising jutsu taking form in his hand. He struck out at the tree he knew Kakashi was behind thanks to his sharingan and the tree exploded.
"Rasengan!" he yelled. Both Kakashi's and Sakura's eyes widened as the Uchiha executed Naruto's signature jutsu. Meanwhile, in the peanut gallery, Tsunade turned a skeptical glare at Jiraiya as he grinned widely and chuckled. He glanced down and shrugged.
"What," he asked innocently. "He asked." Tsunade turned her gaze back to the battle field. Kakashi had avoided being hit by the lethal attack.
"Where'd you learn that?" he asked in surprise. Sasuke grinned.
"Where do you think? Truth be told, mine's not as strong as Naruto's but it can sure pack a wallop." Sakura who'd come out of her daze, came up beside him.
"Wow, that's amazing Sasuke," she stated. Then she turned to Kakashi, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Well Kakashi sensei? Is there something you wanted to say? I'm not exactly sure I heard you clearly before." Kakashi sighed feeling older than he really was.
"Shinobi battle techniques part two," he said, his voice cracking some. "Genjutsu!" Again he remembered a time when his job was a lot easier.
Kakashi made a hand sign and all of a sudden many leaves flew up in the air. Sakura stood there as if in a trance for a while. Then she shook herself out of it and looked around for her sensei who'd disappeared.
"Oh my," she said in a panic, looking about frantically. "Is someone there? I think I felt something, what was it? What's going on?" There was a rustling of leaves and a familiar voice could be heard behind her.
"Sakura," it said slightly in pain. Sakura's features lit up. She turned around excited to see her crush was all right.
"Sasuke!" she shouted in glee but as she saw him, she was horrified to see him on the ground on his hands and knees while covered with kunai protruding from his back and blood. He groaned in pain.
"Agh! S-Sakura," he spoke. "H-help me, please help me," he pleaded. Sakura took in the sight, immediate shock and horror taking her over until finally she let out a very high pitched scream and then fainted.
As Kakashi tiredly looked at her now he thought to himself, it was so much easier to fool her back then. Meanwhile Sakura just grinned.
"You'll have to come up with something better than that," she stated. "If you think we're going to fall for that old trick again, you're crazy!" Sasuke came up beside her, his own grin back.
"Heh yeah! Got anything new? I'm getting bored already!" he said mockingly. Kakashi grinned as well refusing to let them see him as an old man.
"I'd be careful what you wish for," he warned. "You never know what an opponent might do next." Something gleamed from the ground, catching the moonlight. The two ninjas glanced down seeing both the bells on the ground and shimmering tauntingly in the evening. However, both of them remembered when Naruto had fallen for the same trap back on their first test. Sasuke checked them out with his sharingan and could tell that they were the real deal as was the rope waiting to catch someone's unsuspecting foot its loop. Sasuke looked up again.
"You don't think we'd fall for something as simple as that do you?" he scoffed. He took up a stance and pulled out a kunai, readying himself for his next move.
"Who knows," replied Kakashi also taking up his own stance and drawing one of his own kunai. "It might. You can see for yourself Sasuke that those are indeed the real bells." After a few moments of pause, Sasuke acted, throwing his kunai straight at the trap and pulling out another one. He charged forth as his first kunai set off the trap and Kakashi came forward too to retrieve the bells. Sasuke was faster though and was almost upon them
However, Kakashi had thought one step ahead of him and he stopped running entirely, grinning under his mask as he tugged on the wire he'd attached to the strings connecting the bells, pulling them right out from under Sasuke at the last minute. Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized he'd been had and his momentum already carrying him forward, brought him crashing down to the ground. Kakashi then reclaimed the bells then turned to leave only looking back over his shoulder for a second.
"Well Sasuke…was it new enough for you?" he asked mockingly with a chuckle and with that, he was gone. Sasuke slammed his fist into the ground in frustration.
"Damn it!" he cursed. Sakura meanwhile just sighed and shook her head as she thought of the more trouble they'd have to go through to get the bells. Then she walked up beside her comrade.
"Hey, don't get too frustrated okay? It'll only work to his advantage," she stated placing a gentle hand upon his shoulder. Sasuke took a deep breath, nodding in agreement. He stood back up.
"Alright then, let's go get him," he said. She nodded in reply and they ran off into the forest. A bit later as Sasuke and Sakura searched for their sensei, some kunai came flying at Sasuke from out of nowhere. Sasuke dodged them all and then leapt now knowing where Kakashi was and sent a round of shuriken in his direction causing the sensei to change position.
Sasuke charged in and tried to take him by surprise but it didn't work as Kakashi knocked him out by whacking him in the back of the head. However this Sasuke went poof. Kakashi's eyes widened. A distraction! He concluded as Sakura came flying out of the trees, her fist emanating with chakra as she came down upon him from above. If that even touches me, I'm done for. Kakashi thought to himself giving himself enough time to leap out of the way. Sakura's fist met the ground and tore it up like the time before.
Kakashi ran but he couldn't shake his pursuers. Sasuke and Sakura caught up with him in no time. When they did, they'd made it back to the river where Kakashi stopped then turned to face them as they stopped a little ways away, readying for another attack. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he came to a decision.
"Alright then," he said. "Shinobi battle skill rule number three…ninjutsu!" he suddenly shouted. Then Kakashi leapt back and began weaving hand signs at the speed of light. The two ninjas before him gaped in astonishment. Even Sasuke wasn't that fast.
The speed of his hand signs! Sakura thought to herself in awe. Meanwhile Sasuke wore a similar expression.
No way, my sharingan can't even keep up with him, Sasuke thought astounded. Finally Kakashi finished and brought one hand up to his mouth. Sasuke's eyes widened even more as he realized which jutsu Kakashi was about to execute.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Exclaimed Kakashi and giant fireball was formed immediately and was sent in the direction of the teen ninjas across from him. They leapt out of the way just in time as the giant ball of flame roared past. They skidded to a halt on their respective sides. When they looked back at the spot they'd leapt from, there was a huge trench in its place and Kakashi was gone. Sasuke looked about trying to find their sensei with his sharingan.
Damn it, he cursed himself internally. "Where the hell did he go?" he mumbled to himself. Suddenly a hand shot up from underneath him and grabbed his ankle. Kakashi pulled him down while calling out,
"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" and just like that, Sasuke was buried once again. Kakashi leapt up to see the teen wasn't even struggling. Suddenly there was a poof and once the dust cleared, Kakashi saw that he'd been fooled by a substitution jutsu.
"Over this way Sakura!" he heard the young Uchiha call out as he and the rosette converged on Kakashi's location. Kakashi narrowed his eyes once more and leapt back onto the surface of the water. Once again he weaved hand signs at a ridiculous speed.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Kakashi yelled out as Sasuke and Sakura came into view. The teen ninjas didn't have time to dodge it this time and they were hit and pushed back by the sudden onslaught of water. Sasuke however, was able to reach the surface quickly and leapt out, enabling himself to use his chakra to hold himself on top of it. He heard a gasp for air nearby and turned to see Sakura struggling against the heavy torrent.
"Sakura!" he exclaimed as he leapt to her aid. Sasuke pulled his pink haired companion out of the water and remained standing on its surface, deciding it best for the two to retreat for a while until they could come up with a strategy. Meanwhile, Kakashi remained in the clearing panting heavily, clearly having used up a considerable amount of chakra in the process of executing the two massive jutsus.
A little later, Sakura was back on her feet, leaping from branch to branch alongside Sasuke who suddenly let out an exasperated yell.
"Gah! Fire style, earth style and water style. Kakashi sensei sure is proving to be a pain," he grumbled. Sakura had to agree with her teammate. Their sensei was proving to be much more difficult than when they'd all been starting out as genin.
"Well, they don't call him the copy ninja for nothing," she stated. "He's definitely letting us see his true colours by giving us a lesson to show us how good he really is."
"Yeah," Sasuke agreed still annoyed. They continued their trek through the trees until they came to a spot for some rest and quick recuperation. To be extra safe, they hid themselves behind a rather wide tree's trunk. Sakura sat down, back against the tree, panting from the exertion. Sasuke meanwhile did a quick sweep of the area with his sharingan to ensure they were truly alone. They remained silent for a while longer. Sakura set her head back against the trunk and looked up at the stars.
"I shouldn't be surprised but…" she started. "He definitely knows how to use that sharingan of his doesn't he?" Sasuke nodded.
"Yeah, and his hand signs are so fast that my own sharingan is having some difficulty keeping up. But then again, I've had it activated for a while now so…" he calmly deactivated his sharingan and sighed in relief. Over using it could sometimes give him a headache. Sakura was confused.
"Sasuke, why'd you turn off your own sharingan?" she wondered. "Wouldn't it be wiser to keep it going until he's defeated?" Sasuke chuckled.
"It definitely would make things easier wouldn't it?" he replied. "However, I don't want to become so dependent on my sharingan that I need it in every battle. The old Toadstool told me I should practice some restraint and use some of my natural power as well instead of relying on the sharingan because truth be told…it can put a huge strain on my other senses and my chakra if activated for too long and I have yet to fully understand the full extent of the sharingan's capabilities." Sakura took what he'd said into consideration and remembered Lady Tsunade telling her something similar during their training together.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she sighed. "But still, unless we can slow down those hands of his, we won't stand a chance of getting those bells." Sasuke nodded.
"Yeah, I can agree with you on that. Like you said before, it's no surprise seeing how he's smarter than Shikamaru; has a sense of smell sharper than Kiba Inuzuka's: his sharingan is stronger and more mature than my own; his taijutsu is better than Rock Lee's and on top of all that…he's had much more experience then all of the rookie nine combined, I mean… he did live through the third great shinobi war and survived." Sakura nodded and turned her gaze skyward again, her brow furrowed in thought.
"Yeah, fair enough but he's still a human being like the rest of us and every ninja no matter how strong has their flaws so the question remains…"
"What's his weakness?" Sasuke finished Sakura's sentence after she paused and sat back against the trunk of the tree, sighing heavily. "You know, I bet if Naruto were here he'd be able to think of something," he stated nonchalantly.
"Yeah, maybe if we had one of his crazy ideas we could use it to our advantage," Sakura sighed. They both closed their eyes simultaneously and sighed, letting the night wind breeze ruffle their hair.
Come on Sasuke, Sasuke thought to himself. If nothing else is going to work then it's time to start thinking like a hyper active knucklehead and come up with some grand scheme or something. Meanwhile Sakura was thinking along the same lines.
Come on think, what would Naruto have come up with? There just has to be something, there just has to. They remained like this thinking for some time.
Think; come on think! Sasuke mentally encouraged himself. His mind wandered to the events of a day where Naruto had come to him bragging that he'd found himself an awesome teacher.
"Hey, Sasuke, Sasuke!" a familiar blonde headed kid's voice called out. Sasuke having recently been discharged from the hospital was walking about the village brooding over what had happened during the recent chunin exams. He couldn't help but send an annoyed glare the blonde's way.
"What do you want loser? I'm trying to enjoy myself today so don't ruin it," he said placidly. Naruto meanwhile just paused a moment before grinning widely.
"Oh nothing much just to say that I've found myself only the greatest teacher ever! He might be an old pervert but boy is he ever strong. In fact it's thanks to him that I defeated Neji in the final rounds. Heh, heh, heh!" Sasuke remained impassive.
"So?" he stated dryly. This got the blonde really hyper.
"So," he repeated laughing some. "So? So he's one of the legendary saw ning or something and he's really powerful and that means that I'm finally going to become stronger than you!" Sasuke simply scoffed and turned, walking away.
"As if! If he's a pervert like you just said…I don't think I have anything to worry about from a week minded buffoon like that." The blonde then became riled up growling then yelling after the raven haired preteen.
"Hey Sasuke, you get back here!" he shouted.
Sasuke smirked at the memory then found himself thinking immediately of the events from early the day before.
"Hey Sasuke," Konohamaru called out. There was puff of smoke and in Konohamaru's place, was a young and naked girl holding her butt and winking as she said, "Sexy jutsu!" Sasuke stared with an unamused look.
Then he remembered his time spent with the old Toadstool, Jiraiya.
Sasuke sat on one side of the hot springs while his sensei stood at the other near the wall dividing the men's and women's bath. Sasuke had his eyes closed and wasn't paying attention until the old man started giggling. When Sasuke opened his eyes to glance at his sensei he was a mixture of shock, surprise, disgust and embarrassment as he saw the old fart peeping through a small hole in the wall.
"What the hell do you think you're doing geezer!?" he'd raised his voice alarmed. Jiraiya just chuckled and waved his student's worry aside.
"Hush now; don't spoil this for me," he replied. "I need to get a good view…I mean I'm just doing some research for my latest novel is all. There's no need to get so serious." The old man wore a huge goofy grin on his features and Sasuke started to realize why Naruto had gone about calling him Pervy Sage while he was still in the village.
"Research for a novel," Sasuke asked turning redder at the thought of being found out. He let himself sink lower beneath the hot waters until just his head was slightly above them.
"Heh, heh, that's right," the old pervert replied.
Next came a memory of a day the Toadstool had woken him early, really excited.
"Huh, what is it, what's going on," Sasuke yawned sitting up in his bed at the hotel. Jiraiya was practically dancing back and forth from foot to foot.
"Oh just the best thing ever!" the old sage replied. "I just finished the first manuscript of my latest novel and you just have to read it. I need someone to go over it with me." Sasuke rubbed his eyes annoyed and glanced outside.
"Are you kidding you old coot, it's like three A.M. in the morning!"
"Which is a perfect time for reading!" proclaimed the sage taking up a pose. Sasuke didn't look too pleased and was even more unamused as the manuscript was shoved into his hands.
"Huh?" Sasuke mused as he read the title. Make Out Tactics, it read.
Then finally, the memory of Sasuke handing the very same finished book over to his sensei.
"The old toadstool gave that to me for some light reading but I couldn't really get into a story like that so I thought you might like it instead." Kakashi was barely listening to his student as he beheld the title of the book in awe.
"No way," he exclaimed. "Isn't this…this is…" his hand shook with excitement as he held the book.
"The latest installment of the make out series in three years," Sasuke replied. He watched as his sensei held his present with the utmost glee.
Sasuke's eyes snapped open. "That's it!" he declared. Sakura opened her eyes and turned towards her partner.
"What is it Sasuke?" she pondered. Sasuke began to laugh lightly.
"Why didn't I see it before, that's just the thing that he would've come up with; Kakashi's weakness." Sakura's eyes brightened and she sat up excited.
"What, what's Kakashi's weakness? Come on Sasuke tell me," she begged, a smile on her face. Sasuke finished his light laughter and turned to her.
"Come on Sakura, you know him as well as I do," Sasuke chuckled. "I'm sure you could figure it out. Just in case though I'll give you a hint. I gave it to him yesterday as a present when I returned." Sakura sat back and thought a while then she gasped as realization hit.
"Of course, it's so simple, it's simply brilliant!" she proclaimed. "I mean, it's definitely something Naruto would've come up with if he were here, I just know it. Good work Sasuke!" Sasuke grinned.
"Thanks! Now let's think of a way to turn it against him," he stated simply. Sakura nodded and they both started planning.
Meanwhile on the other end of the training grounds, Kakashi was hiding behind his own tree, breathing heavily and checking out the surrounding area in case his two students might try and jump him. He leaned back against the trunk for more support.
"I never thought they'd give my sharingan such a workout," Kakashi admitted to himself. "But I should be able to hold them off until sunrise." He reached down and opened his side pouch feeling around inside.
"I've still got plenty of shuriken," he noted. "And Kunai…and Make Out Tactics!" he shook his head. "No, I'd better not. It's not like the old days when I could read a book and fight them off at the same time." Kakashi eyed his pouch where the book was sitting and felt his hand itch towards it.
"But I'm dying to know what happens. It's obvious the main character has some sort of dark secret that's about to be revealed. Man this is killing me! I don't know if I can wait!" he exclaimed aloud to the clearing. He sighed as he continued going through his thoughts and looked around the area again.
I was so impressed with how much those two have improved that I let myself get carried away. Kakashi thought to himself. From now on I'm going to wait and let them make the first move. He nodded finalizing his decision. He waited for another while longer then suddenly, he caught a whiff of their scent.
"They're here!" he declared as he stood. Nearby an owl swooped down from out of nowhere and seized its prey, a little field mouse and took off again. Suddenly, Sasuke and Sakura burst forth with a burst of speed towards their sensei from behind some bushes.
"A frontal attack huh?" he queried. "Getting a little over confident aren't you?" Sakura smirked then spoke to her teammate.
"Now Sasuke!" she declared. The Uchiha didn't need to be told twice. He smirked and spoke up, loud enough so that Kakashi could hear him.
"Hey Kakashi," he started calling the Jonin's attention. "About that book I gave you earlier. Allow me to save you from the disappointment awaiting you. The final plot twist of Make Out Tactics goes like this…it turns out the hero's dark secret is…" Kakashi's eyes widened in horror as Sasuke went to try and spoil the ending of his new book.
"No, shut-up!" he shouted desperately. "I don't wanna hear it!" Kakashi covered his ears but then a new realization hit him as he saw Sasuke's lips were still moving. Oh no, he panicked. Because of the sharingan, I can still read his lips! No! he thought as he quickly shut his eyes to block out the boy's moving mouth. After a while, he seemed to believe it was over and he couldn't have been more right. As he lifted his hands slightly from his ears, he heard a familiar jingle nearby. Quickly he opened his eyes.
"Huh?" he questioned dumbfounded to see his students standing in front of him nonchalantly. Sasuke scoffed as he held up one of the bells in one of his hands making it jingle. Meanwhile Sakura held up the other one with a slight giggle causing hers to jingle too. Kakashi quickly reached for where the bells used to be hoping it was only a dream but the bells weren't there, they were in his student's hands and before sunrise too.
"Doh!" Kakashi groaned embarrassed as he realized he'd been defeated. Sasuke chuckled as he threw his bell up and caught it in midair.
"Heh, a ninja must see through deception," he quoted the Jonin from the first test.
"Isn't that right sensei?" Sakura beamed. Kakashi gave a sheepish smile.
"I deserved that," he stated causing both of his students and himself to laugh.
Meanwhile;
Above Sunagakure
"Well this certainly isn't good," declared the blonde ponytailed man. His name was Deidara and he was a member of the infamous group known as the Akatsuki. He along with his puppet master partner Sasori had arrived not too long ago in the Hidden Sand village in order to obtain the jinchuuriki of the one tailed Shukaku, Gaara of the desert. He wore a black cloak emblazoned with red clouds and was right in the middle of doing battle with his so called target Gaara, the Kazekage of the village.
Meanwhile a giant dome of sand was being forged around him as Gaara went on the offensive. He tried to escape but instead of getting free, he wound up flying his clay bird right into a newly formed sand wall. With that, the dome was completed and Deidara of the Akatsuki was trapped.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Gaara's allies, including his older brother stood watching from the roof of the Kazekage tower what they thought to be the conclusion of the epic battle.
"It's all over," Kankuro breathed, not taking his eyes off of the two sand domes floating in the sky, one of which held his younger brother the Kazekage and the other, the intruder. Meanwhile, cheers came from his colleagues behind him as they stared up in awe at the Kazekage's work.
"Leave to the Kazekage," one of them stated with admiration.
"Yeah, as long as we have lord Kazekage, the sand village will be fine," complimented another.
Back up in the sky, within his own sand dome, Gaara sat waiting to see if the enemy would try anything and as his hunch had predicted…he did. From his sand dome, Deidara made a hand sign and sent his chakra into his attack. As he did, the clay bird he'd been flying on exploded underneath him creating an opening which he freely fell through in the sand. As he fell, Gaara refused to let him get away and he sent his sand after him. Deidara was caught by the ankle, brought back up and then thrown back towards the sand dome he'd just escaped, the sand opening to accept him back into its prison. Before it could though, he threw a new clay bird he'd made then made a hand sign. The bird became a larger version of itself and caught him, taking off just as the sand dome reclosed itself.
Once again though, the sand chased after him through the sky. Deidara looked over his shoulder and grumbled to himself.
"That sand's a real pain isn't it?" he muttered to himself. He scoffed at it as he had his new bird fly him higher into the sky, the sand chasing close behind. Back on the ground Kankuro just grinned as he watched the spectacle.
"Humph, there isn't a man alive who can escape Gaara's sand," he said prideful of his younger brother. They continued watching as the intruder continued dodging Gaara's sand attack that just kept following him through the sky. Suddenly, Kankuro heard his name being called.
"Kankuro!" barked a familiar voice as he landed with his group on the roof of the building.
"Yeah, what is it?" Kankuro questioned as he turned around to face his and his sibling's old sensei.
"Where is lord Gaara?" he demanded to know. "Is he still in battle?" Kankuro nodded then lifted a finger to the scene to point.
"Yes…he's up there," he replied. The newcomers stared up at the dome in awe and watched as Gaara's sand chased the intruder of the village around the night skies. Their silhouettes illuminated by the full moon in the sky. Their old teacher also had his eyes on the sky, praying that his student would make it through.
"C'mon Gaara," he muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, the chase continued in the sky, Gaara watching through his sand eye he'd made outside of his dome and Deidara trying to avoid being caught. However, when he let his guard down for a fraction of a second to glance over his shoulder, he realized his mistake as his arm was caught and encased in sand. His eyes widened but he didn't lose his cool. Gaara allowed his sand to crawl up further on the man's arm.
Deidara decided to try breaking free and created a clay centipede with his other hand, sending it down and around his encased arm, not caring if he destroyed it. He made his hand sign and the centipede exploded but the sand held firm. Gaara meanwhile, slit his eyes and closed his hand as he muttered,
"Sand coffin," under his breath. Gaara's sand then compressed until it completely destroyed Deidara's arm. Deidara himself ignored the pain and just wore a look of pure surprise and interest. Gaara then heard cheers coming from the ground as his people were gathering to watch their brave leader fight. However, Gaara couldn't allow himself to be distracted otherwise, the man might harm them. He refused to let that happen.
Deidara had his bird swoop down near the buildings trying to get rid of the sand around his now completely crushed arm. He was finally able to shake it as he allowed his arm to be pulled off completely.
"Darn he got away," said the old teacher.
"He just got lucky, it won't happen again," Kankuro assured him. Back in the air Deidara admired his missing arm, the sleeve to his cloak still intact somehow with some blood dripping down it.
"He's good alright, oh yeah." he muttered to himself. Then his gaze fixated upon the sand that remained where it'd lost its grip on him. I get it, he thought to himself. The sand he used to crush my arm is faster and more powerful than ordinary sand from the dessert. He glanced up again to see Gaara sitting in his dome still, keeping an eye on him through a small hole where his face could peek out.
According to our information…he always carries around a fixed amount of it with him. So it stands to reason that sand is different…infused with a large amount of chakra probably. That's his go to for quick defense and the source of all his lightning fast attacks. What did they call it again? As Deidara pondered this he almost didn't see the sand that had begun to chase him again and just barely dodged it as he suddenly remembered what the name was and decided to speak his discovery out loud.
"Now I remember," he said, keeping an eye on the moving sands, "The ultimate defense!" he grinned. "So that's the sand village's ultimate defense." He scoffed at it as it paused in the air before changing direction.
In other words…he glanced back to the sand dome where Gaara was seated. The portion missing from that hole…is what crushed my arm. He grinned then and shoved his remaining hand into one of his side pouch's so the little mouth on his palms could eat the clay and mold chakra into it. He chuckled to himself as he glanced over his shoulder playfully at his target. I've only got a little clay left. Some more sand attacked and he dodged. I underestimated him…I should've been better prepared.
"Heh, I guess Sasori was right on the money," he mumbled. "I hate that." He remembered back to when he and Sasori had been on their way to the sand village in the first place and Sasori had skeptically eyed his pouch's asking if he was sure he had enough. Not liking his nagging attitude, Deidara had scoffed and brushed it off saying he'd be able to use what he had. However, now Sasori's nagging seemed to be proving no so pointless.
Returning to the present, Deidara had finished molding his next creation. He held it now in his one hand while grinning up at Gaara still inside of his sand dome. I may have enough for one last homing type, he thought to himself. And my specialty…of course.
Meanwhile, the entire village had all but gathered to witness the outcome of the battel, every citizen and ninja praying their Kazekage would come out on top. They all knew he was strong but they also knew that he was still a kid, just a teenager so naturally everyone had their slight doubts. Baki seemed wary of his though.
"Kankuro," he said while he watched. Kankuro turned to face him.
"What is it?"
"Gaara's resorted to his ultimate defense up there. I think it's safe to assume this enemy he's facing is a serious threat." H paused slightly before he went on aware of what his student's reaction might be. "We can't rule out the possibility of Gaara losing control. The Shukaku could be unleashed and our people will be in danger." There was slight pause. But then Kankuro just grinned.
"Humph," he retorted. "You don't have to worry about that." Kankuro turned to watch his brother still grinning and feeling a pride for his younger sibling he'd never felt before in their previous way of living. He also remembered that day.
"I know Gaara would never harm the people of this village. Not ever!" Kankuro then flashbacked to a day he would never forget.
"Gaara…let it go!" Kankuro tried to persuade his younger brother. Gaara had made a decision previously that would change their lives forever but Kankuro who was for once acting like an older brother, didn't want to see Gaara get hurt.
"I don't wanna say this but…you know how they see you. You're a weapon of terror." Kankuro waited to see if his brother would react at all and when all he did was stay silent, Kankuro continued. "Seriously…leaving us and joining the regular troops is not going to be an easy thing. They're full of Jonin who think pretty poorly of you. And most of the villagers…they're as terrified of you as they've always been." Kankuro looked down at his sandals wishing things were different so he didn't have to stand here crushing his brother's hopes and dreams like a heartless bastard.
"I know that," Gaara responded, catching his elder sibling off guard. "I've always known…but…doing nothing at all will most certainly bring even greater pain. I know what I must do. I must clear my own path…and perhaps then…that day will come…the day will come…where I can be like him." Kankuro was shocked. Even though they were sand shinobi even he'd heard about Naruto Uzumaki's defection from the leaf village. He'd seen his picture in the bingo book with him as a missing ninja of Konoha and a rogue. Perhaps, Gaara had been in denial but…it just didn't make sense to him.
"I want to be part of this village…so I'm aiming for the title of Kazekage as a shinobi of the sand…"
"But Gaara," Kankuro interrupted suddenly. He had to tell him. "You know don't you? You know that Naruto Uzumaki went rogue not too long after the Chunin exams. It's hard to say why really but do you really want to be like him? I mean…all of that stuff before that…was obviously an act. We still know nothing about him." There was silence as the wind blew. Then Gaara sighed.
"Perhaps…you're right on that note," he admitted causing Kankuro to sigh with relief. "However…I believe I might understand and know where he's coming from."
"Huh…what do you mean?" Kankuro asked warily.
"You remember how I was before. I was a mindless killing machine. But then…I was defeated by Naruto Uzumaki. He opened my eyes that day…showed me that there's more to life than one's self and that if you try…you can become something to be admired. True…it might've been an act the whole time but even if it was a mere painting against real life, then I'd still be drawn in to its beauty.
"I also believe that Naruto too saw that painting and was drawn to its beauty but that an unknown force is tampering with the way he sees it. It's sometimes difficult for the artist to appreciate his own work and be proud of it when all he did was paint what he desired but couldn't achieve. But maybe…just maybe if I or someone can call him out and give him what his heart truly desires then I have no doubt that when he looks back at that painting he made he'll see just how beautiful a piece it truly is.
"That's one of the reasons why I want to become Kazekage Kankuro. I will work hard to connect to the people of this village. Seeing Naruto Uzumaki's painting has brought me a sense of clarity. Until I met him…my ties to others…brought only pain and sorrow. But he showed me his painting and that beautiful portrait pushed me to redefine those ties." Kankuro was amazed at his brother's words. Naruto's painting? It was clearly an ingenious metaphor.
"I think I finally understand…the suffering and sadness of life…and joy. These are feelings that can be shared with those around me. I can make that painting a reality." As Kankuro finally understood what his brother was talking about, he became inspired. He smiled for his brother though his brother's back was facing him and his brother was looking out into the sunset.
"It was Uzumaki…he's the artist…the whole reason my eyes have opened. When we fought we connected. He's known the same pain I have and he taught me that I can change the path my life will follow. One day Kankuro…I would like to become something precious to others too, not just to be viewed as some hideous weapon…" Gaara paused before turning to face his elder brother with a smile on his face. "But as the sand's next Kazekage…and…if I can…I want to show Naruto Uzumaki his painting again and turn it into his reality. I wish to save him from the darkness that he saved me from and…I want to show him my own painting…that I'm going to make into a reality. Maybe then he will relook at his own painting and realize, he's more than just an artist…that he's a dreamer."
As the memory faded from Kankuro's mind, he continued to watch his brother defend their village with pride. Your people do you need you, he turned his thoughts towards his brother as if he could hear them. You are the Kazekage of the sand and as far as I'm concerned…that painting you painted a long time ago has indeed been made into reality. I just know…there's got to be some hope for Naruto Uzumaki yet. After voicing his thoughts aloud in his own head, Kankuro could hear the ever growing crowd of civilian spectators yelling out Gaara's name and cheering him on from their spots on the ground while in the sky, Gaara's battle with the ever elusive Deidara continued.
