Restoration of Faith Chapter 4: Pursuit I, a naruto fanfic

Restoration of Faith

Karrafear

Summary: SEQUAL to Faith in Humanity; Naruto OOC; PG-13. After the Sandaime's death, Naruto made a promise to himself to defy his own destiny and pursue a future that will lead to freedom and happiness. Chapter 4: Pursuit I

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"Demon's talk",/Thoughts/, "Speech", 'Speech emphasis', (FLASHBACK), Titles, (Author's interruptions)

"---" Change of Scene, time passed, change of point of view

Warning: Naruto OOC, PG-13. I'm back! No, I'm not dead; I really am alive. And here is the next chapter, though late, it is FINALLY here. Hope you all enjoy it and DON'T kill me for the incredibly late update because then, no one will be able to finish this story.

As for this chapter, there really isn't anything here that I need to warn you about, only some spoiler warnings for Episode 112 of the Naruto anime. Well, I did try to change as much of the plot as I can while still maintaining the original story. Hope you all like the changes.

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Chapter 4

Sasuke grunted one last time as he threw the photo frame against his bedroom's sidewall, resulting in the shattering of the glass and the breaking of the wooden frame itself, all landing haphazardly onto the polished wooden floor.

Slowly, as if in a trance, the last remaining Uchiha of Konoha stepped towards the item that he had so easily smashed to pieces before. Kneeling on one knee, he delicately brush away the litter of glass fragments with his hand, followed by him picking up the now freed photograph before standing back up straight and gazing impassively at the image presented. In silence, he continued to stare at the frozen image that was no longer protected by its vulnerable frame. The photograph itself was none other than team seven's official photo as registered in the Ninja registries of Konoha.

In it, he recognised himself, standing in a straight, stiff and almost arrogant manner, as if challenging anyone worthy enough to take him on. He was so young then... So young and so naïve. /I use to think nothing could touch me. As if I was invincible. And all I needed to do was try harder, then I'll become strong enough to defeat HIM. And then, everything will be complete... I was such an idiot.../ Sasuke sneered at his younger self, acting all self-important when he had no idea how big the real world is, and how dangerous it could be.

Sasuke shifted his angry gaze to the middle figure in the image - a childish, grinning face met his gaze. Sakura was grinning with all her might, blushing slightly at having accomplished the first step of her dream to get close to the reclusive Uchiha.

Sakura had always been such a burden to the team. She had always been the useless one. Though smart, she wasn't very strong, and as such, often stayed by the sidelines and watched everyone else finish the job that she was also suppose to help with. /But she's not weak anymore, is she?/ Sasuke reminded himself that it was Sakura who successfully fended off the Sound team during the second Chuunin Exam, while Sasuke and Naruto slept through most of the fight. It was Sakura who had shown enough courage to go back and rescue Naruto from the clutches of Orochimaru, while he, himself, was the coward of the group, wanting to flee from the monster under his bed. /She even made it to the final Chuunin exam... and she won her match while I... I didn't even... I didn't even win mine.../ He thought to himself with remorse.

Finally, Sasuke shifted his gaze leftwards, towards the third member of team seven, and was immediately assaulted by flashes of painful memory.

(FLASHBACK)

"NO YOU CAN'T!!! Admit it! Sasuke! You're already at your limit's end! There's no way you can continue fighting. Just get out of here before you become a burden to ME!"

(END FLASHBACK)

Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger as the memory of his fruitless fight against Gaara replayed again at the back of his mind, followed by Naruto's angry refute of his abilities. He admitted that he had become weakened at the time of the fight, but Naruto had no right to accuse him of being such a burden. /He had no RIGHT!/

Many other fragments of memory flashed through his mind, all of them showing times when Naruto had to involuntarily save both himself and Sakura. First, there was the fight against Zabuza when Naruto had so easily broke through the ex-Mist ninja's guard and prevented him from continuing to entrap Kakashi. Next, was the fight against Haku - Sasuke was literary on the blink of death, when Naruto, the Hero of their group, suddenly turns up, wields a weapon of the gods and beats the shit out of all their opponents.

There was so many fragments, pieces of time, slices of memory, all showing Naruto's greatness and silently comparing them to Sasuke's own mistakes and downfalls. Simply put, he was weaker than Naruto, both physically and mentally. He knew that, he admitted it. But he didn't know how to overcome that dilemma. And that was the problem.

After spending a whole month, and some more, training himself non-stop, he still found himself incomparable to Naruto's strength. There was just no comparison at all. What was the point? Why had he tried so hard to begin with? Why bother when all your efforts doesn't seem to make an inch of difference. Depression and anger ate away at Sasuke's soul, continuously asking questions but not finding any answers. He had simply forgotten what his purpose had been, all he had was the goal to defeat Naruto, but for what reason, it had slipped his mind. And then... he met Itachi again...

Accidentally finding Itachi, seeing him beat up Kakashi and the other Jounins so easily as well as how easily Itachi had beaten himself; the entire incident re-sparked Sasuke's memories. It brought back the meaning of his life; it brought back the reason of why he wanted to become strong in the first place. And it shattered his perceptions on reality.

Gripping tightly onto the photograph of lost dreams, he reflected that he had finally awoken to reality. He had lost the illusions of peace, happiness, unity and family; instead, he had woken up to hell. Sasuke silently dropped the slightly crumpled image onto the floor, before turning his back on his room and stepping determinately through the doors of fate and destiny, never turning back.

The doors shut with a resounding resonance of finality.

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Sneaking away from the ninjas guarding the Konoha gates were easy when you know of the single weakness in and among the large wooden walls surrounding the hidden village. And Sasuke was one of the few who did know of this weakness's location. Long ago, while still in the Ninja academy, Sasuke had accidentally discovered the location of a small crack in between two of these huge logs that made up the village walls, it was hidden behind a large bush and so, not many had found out about its existence. He had, at the time, secretly followed a few of the outcast students from his class after they had sneaked out from their academic lessens, intending to go outside of the village walls to play. Since then, Sasuke had often escaped through the gap himself, just to leave behind the hustle and bustle of village life. And now, this would be the last time he would ever sneak away from this village again.

Upon finding himself finally outside of the village walls, Sasuke had to take extra care NOT to be found by the patrolling guards that surrounded the near by forests of Konoha. He had been very lucky to come this far and any single mistake now could cost him more than he could afford.

After almost half an hour's walk in the direction of the Sound, Sasuke suddenly tensed as he felt eyes prying and watching him from several different angles. Tensing his muscles further and cursing himself mentally for being found out so soon, Sasuke readied himself for a fight that would literary decide his fate from now on. "Come out, all of you. I know you're there!" He yelled gruffly, angry with his opponents and himself.

However, to his complete astonishment, the four Shinobis that finally revealed themselves weren't Konoha Shinobis at all. Sasuke stiffened in shock and silent confusion as he glared nervously at the four Sound guards that had protected Orochimaru as he fought against the Hokage. Sasuke had only just recognised the four from their individual appearance, due to the fact that none of them were exactly wearing a 'Sound' head protector. "What do you all want?" Tightening his fist in readiness, Sasuke ground out his question while his eyes darted quickly from one to the other, making sure that none of them made any threatening moves.

The four Sound Shinobis looked among each other first, as if questioning their own luck upon this event, before one of them finally took a non-threatening step forward.

Sakon, the one with the two heads, did a slight bow towards Sasuke before quickly bringing himself upright before stating his question. "Sasuke-sama I presume?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Who are you and how do you know my name?"

"My name is Sakon, leader of the Sound Four. My comrades and I were summoned by Orochimaru-sama himself to come and invite you, Sasuke-sama, to join us in our glory and attain the power you greatly desires." Sakon smirked as he gave the boy a summary of their purpose for coming to Konoha.

Sasuke's eyes continue to stay narrowed in suspicion. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" He grunted in a threatening manner.

"You'll just have to trust us." Sakon continued to give him a sardonic smirk.

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Sasuke was irritated enough to think about going back on his decision. "And if I refuse?"

Sakon's smirk widen into a slightly insane grin. Without actually answering the boy's question with a threat, he continued on with his explanations. "We were sent to give you a message. 'If you stay in this Sh#tty village, you'll always be weak like everyone else. You'll never become powerful... Playing family games with your comrades will only make you rot! Don't forget your purpose. This village will only become shackles that bind you. It's best to just cut those worthless connections. In doing so, you'll be able to obtain much greater power.' That was Orochimaru-sama's message to you."

There was a low rumbling growl emitting from Sasuke as he felt the blow of the words on his ego. He hated being called 'weak', he hated the insinuation that he had only been 'playing' at 'family games', but at the same time, he had to accept that perhaps this was the truth. /I'll never become strong at the rate I'm going. Kakashi isn't as strong as Itachi or Orochimaru, he can't give me what I need.../

"Come with us, Sasuke-sama. If you do, Orochimaru will give you strength." This time it was the red headed girl who spoke up. Her words cemented all of Sasuke's indecisions and destroyed Sasuke's nervousness. The last remaining heir to the Uchiha nodded in acquisition to their requests, after all, it was going exactly as he had planned in the first place.

"We warmly welcome you to become our leader, Sasuke-sama. I am Kidoumaru, guardian of the East Gate." The one with six arms gave a mocking, sweeping bow.

"I am Jiroubou of the South Gate." The big, fat yet pale man gave a small nod in respect.

"Tayuya, North Gate." The red headed female of the group snorted in reply, not even trying to act friendly or respectful.

"And I, as you already know, am Sakon, Guardian of the West Gate. Welcome to Sound, Sasuke-sama." Sakon finished and all five of them firmly set off into the night, leaving behind the quite village of Konoha.

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Sakura was humming to herself as she skipped her way up the stairs towards her team mate's apartment. It was common knowledge that almost every single eligible girl in Konoha knew of Uchiha Sasuke's residence but since the boy was so reclusive and anti-social, he had managed to threaten most of his oblivious fan club that going to visit it at his apartment was more than forbidden and would result in a harsh punishment. However, Sakura being his teammate had special privileges, one being that she could visit him as long as her reasons were not personal and had more to do with Ninja activities. And this time, it really wasn't a personal reason that she had come looking for the solitary Uchiha.

In fact, she had come to him for the explicit reasons of asking him to train with her. With Naruto gone out of the village due to a mission, and Kakashi in a coma, Sakura was getting rather tired of just training with Ino and under the guidance of Lee since Haku had become extra busy after the Chuunin Exams dealing with all the minor injuries and casualties. Now that she had become an unofficial Chuunin, Sakura had realised that she really needed to become stronger fast. And whatever advantage she could gain, she would pursue it, including how to convince her teammate to train with her. She refused to stay as the same old, weak Sakura that most people still sees her as.

However, as she finally reached the front door to the apartment belonging to Sasuke, Sakura suddenly felt very uneasy, as if there was a sixth sense telling her that something was wrong.

The door looked normal enough, but it was just to eerily silent within the room and outside in the hallway. Suppressing a shiver that wanted to run down her spine, Sakura gathered her courage and knocked twice onto the hard wooden surface of the door. Waiting several seconds without hearing a reply, Sakura knocked again, this time harder. No response. Getting slightly irritated after standing at the doorway for close to a minute, Sakura tired again, but much harder and louder this time. Once again, silence was her answer.

/Has he gone out or something? Maybe he's already training by himself and I can meet up with him at the training grounds?/ However, no matter how much Sakura tried to rationalise the silence with her own logical thinking, the unsettling feeling inside her heart remained. Releasing a heavy breath of nervousness, Sakura then decided to take things into her hand. /Right, I'll just unlock the door and take a peak, just to make sure that he really isn't home./

Pulling a hair clip out of her hair, Sakura looked around the hallway to make sure that no one was there to witness her thieving skills and lock pick skills. It wasn't something she was really proud of, but somewhere along the way, Sakura had learnt to pick locks with her hairclips. Of course, she could always punch her way through the door, but that would definitely leave evidence that she had forced her way through. Instead, she decided to use her skills in lock picking the door. If Sasuke was there, then she could say she was just testing his awareness of his surroundings. If he wasn't, then there was nothing to explain.

Upon finally unlocking the door and opening it, the cry of 'Sasuke-kun' on the tips of Sakura's tongue suddenly died before it could be released. When she finally entered the room, Sakura was shocked at the rumpled disarray the room looked. The mattress was off the bed, it's sheets ripped off. On the floor were multiple pieces of broken glass, books, scrolls and other accessories. But what really tore at Sakura's heart was the crumpled piece of paper lying on its own to the side of the room. She recognised it for what it had been, the photograph taken of the newly established team seven.

Suddenly, a flash of panic ceased Sakura's heart as she thought over what could have happened here. And the only logical thought that Sakura could come up with was that he was kidnapped, and she knew exactly who would be interested in the last Uchiha as well. /Orochimaru!/ In an instant, Sakura had retreated from the room, and ran with all her speed towards the Hokage tower. /Everyone needs to know about Sasuke's kidnapping! We need to get him back! No matter what the cost!/ This was the only thought that kept repeating itself in Sakura's mind as she rushed towards the authorities knowing that there was simply no time to waste.

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"I'm sorry. But I just can't spare any Ninjas at the moment. You'll just have to handle it on your own. I'm sure that the boy is just under some sort of tantrum and had personally disrupted his room on purpose." Hyuuga Hiashi firmly argued from his place behind the Hokage's desk, which was piled mightily high with papers to be signed and scrolls to be looked at.

"But you don't understand!" Sakura yelled in reply, completely shocked and aghast at the complete ignorance of this man. "Sasuke has been kidnapped by Orochimaru! I just KNOW IT!!!" Waving her hands around to display her irritation, Sakura tried very hard to calm down but when faced against Hiashi's impassive face, she really couldn't help herself but continue raving. "Orochimaru has expressed an almost obsessive tendency towards Sasuke. He has shown that during the Second Chuunin Exam. And I just know that he has something to do with Sasuke's disappearance. I swear to you, Sasuke really has been kidnapped. There is no way that he's the type to throw a fit and destroy stuff in his bedroom when he still has to come back to sleep in it. It's just NOT LIKE HIM TO DO THAT!" Huffing and puffing in anger and frustration, Sakura tried once again to reign in her temper but to no avail.

"I understand your concern, Haruno-san. But my decision stands, I cannot send any Shinobis after Uchiha Sasuke, simply because there is none that are free at the moment. Everyone is busy with missions or the strengthening of Konoha's borders. There simply aren't any Shinobis that I can spare at the moment. Do you UNDERSTAND!?" Hiashi, himself was also starting to show signs of a hidden temper that was on the edge of being explosive.

"But I can't just sit around and do nothing. I just have a feeling that if we wait any longer, then Sasuke will truly be beyond our reach! Time is running out. We need people to go after him, I just KNOW IT!" Sakura was vehement on her decision to pursue Sasuke.

"FINE!" Standing up from his seat, Hyuuga Hiashi, temporary leader of the Konoha village, glared angrily at the pink haired girl for harassing him so early in the morning about such a small matter. "IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, YOU GO AFTER HIM YOURSELF!" He voice loud and clear, rang through out the office and was even heard from people down the hall.

"FINE!" Sakura yelled back, her green eyes almost sparking with the electricity of untamed anger. "I'LL DO JUST THAT. BUT I CAN'T DO IT ALONE!! THAT'S WHY I ASKED FOR YOUR HELP! IF YOU WOULD JUST BE COOPERATIVE THEN I WOULDN'T EVEN BE YELLING AT YOU RIGHT NOW!!!"

"AND I REPEAT, THERE ARE NO CHUUNIN OR JOUNIN RANKED SHINOBIS I CAN SPARE!!! JUST FORM A GROUP FROM THE AVAILABLE GENINS AND GO PURSUE YOUR PATHETIC UCHIHA!!!" Hiashi yelled back, his face becoming more and more red as time pass.

"FINE! I'LL DO JUST THAT!" With that said, Sakura spun around in total anger, punched her way through the door and slammed it hard behind her. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT!" She growled at all the people standing around just gapping at her, before they all scooted off, avoiding her lethal glare as they went. Sakura huffed one more time before she stomped away, quickly running through her mind all of the available Genins and deciding which were worthy and strong enough to bring along. After a while of scrounging through her head, Sakura decided that she should first visit Shikamaru. /After all, he has proven himself to be Chuunin material, and he is a genius with an IQ higher than my own./

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"How troublesome." These were the first words out of Shikamaru's mouth as Sakura finally finished her explanations. He sighed tiredly as he returned his gaze towards the determined looking girl standing in front of him. And he sighed again. /Why me... Why always me.../ "Alright, I'll help." He finally confirmed.

Sakura's tense shoulders finally dropped slightly at Shikamaru's participation. "But..." The shoulders tensed once more.

"You have to understand. If... and I do mean 'IF' the Sound did send people after Sasuke and therefore he was kidnapped, then we have a whole ball of trouble coming our way. There is a high probability that we will run into many fights along the way even before we reach Sasuke. And to make sure that he doesn't even reach the Sound at all, we have to act quickly." Shikamaru theorised in a matter of minutes. Sakura nodded to every point he made, sure that Shikamaru already had everything figured out. "Okay, now, what we do is this. We each have half an hour to round up all the exceptional Genins or anyone else that you think that could be of help. We must leave by then."

"Right." Standing up straight, Sakura mock saluted Shikamaru as if hinting that he was suddenly given the position as 'leader' of the group. She then winked at him confidently before rushing off to find the people she had already decided to find.

Shikamaru could only sigh once more. "Man, this is gonna be troublesome." Before he too, started running towards his own destinations.

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Half an hour later, a group of eight people stood proudly at the Konoha gates, some of them huffing and puffing as they had been running around for the last half an hour none stop. Shikamaru decided to step forward and take a good look at all the people who had gathered for this sudden crisis and to judge their worth as part of the team. There was, on the left starting with Akimichi Chouji, Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, Hyuuga Neji, Haruno Sakura, Haku, Yamanaka Ino and last but not least, their resident weapons master – Tenten.

/How troublesome.../Shikamaru mentally thought while he outwardly cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone present. "Okay, let's start. First of all, I'd like to say that both myself and Sakura are the squad leaders of this suddenly formed group, as we are both unofficial Chuunins just waiting for the new Hokage's signature. Is everyone okay with that?" With a few minor grumbles from Kiba and Akamaru that was subdued very soon, everyone was happy with the leadership outcome.

Shikamaru nodded at their acceptance. "In that case, I'll take up the position of squad leader, with Sakura as my second." Seeing Sakura nod to this suggestion, he continued. "Firstly, let's talk about what we're about to be doing before we get on with our strategies and plans. We are assuming that Uchiha Sasuke has been kidnapped since his apartment has been trash and he, himself, is missing. In this case, think of us as pursuers on a rescue mission. We are also assuming that the kidnappers are heading towards the Sound village, therefore that is where we're headed, into enemy territory."

"Now, since we're heading towards the enemy, there is a very high chance that the enemy will ambush us and kill us all if we're not careful. So, that's why I want us to form a line of formation that can immediately to any enemy attack. If any of you disregard my orders or act on your own, it may mean the death of all of us, understand?" Seeing the now slightly nervous expression on Kiba's face, as well as the grim determination on Sakura's, Shikamaru decided to continue with his explanations. "We'll move in a single line formation, but each with a particular role to play, and when needed to scatter, we scatter in different directions, okay?" Once again, everyone nodded.

"Firstly, the most important position of forward scout will be Kiba and Akamaru. You know the terrain around Fire Country very well since you always travel around it with Akamaru. Not only that but you've also got a very strong sense of smell, so it'll be easier to track down Sasuke. You are also able to detect any booby traps from the enemy's scents. The single line formation is weak against frontal attacks but you've got Akamaru to compensate for this, so it's more effective to have you up front." Though shocked that he would be taking this position, Kiba and Akamaru seem to warm up to the arrangement quickly and confidently.

"Next is me, the squad leader. Being behind Kiba, I will be able to give orders based on the situation that unfold. Also, I can order the rest of you behind us with hand signals." Lifting his hand to show them the various signals he'll probably be using, Shikamaru then turned his attention to Sakura. "After me is you, Sakura. Since you is my second, you are basically my support. If, under any circumstance, I am incapable of leading, then you will take charge. For now, you will become my second analytical mind to watch over everything. Not to mention, your Genjutsu skills are very helpful as distractions and traps, therefore, it'd be best if you stay somewhere in the middle of the group." Sakura nodded to this as she thought over his decisions.

"After Sakura is Haku." Speaking directly to the only non-Genin/Chuunin in this group, Shikamaru was silently impressed that Sakura had gotten her hands on an actual Medic Nin to come with them. "Due to your fast reactions, speed and fighting experience, you are our senior and our major trump card to be used only as a last resort. Not only that, you are our Medic Nin, so if anything happen to us, it'll be up to you to fix us up again. This also means that you have to store up most of your Chakra as well, and not use any of your really big, Chakra consuming techniques." Haku smiled disarmingly at the pineapple haired boy in acceptance of the terms and conditions of his role.

"Next is Ino." Looking at Ino, Shikamaru slightly scratched his head. "I know you've become pretty good at close hand combat, especially with swords, but for this mission, I'm putting you as mainly a back-up member. This is because, if we needed to infiltrate the enemies group, you'd be the person to do it with your Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch) and therefore, your own body must be easily protected from all harm." Though grumbling at the fact that she'll probably see no action, Ino did finally consent to the order.

"After Ino is Chouji. You don't have much speed but you pack the biggest 'HIT POWER' in our squad. The rest of us will clear the way for you to finish off the enemy after any surprise attack. Meaning you're the final blow." Moving his gaze from his best friend to the last girl in their group, Shikamaru started about her role in the team. "Tenten, you're after Chouji. Since you're the weapons master, you usually don't do any close hand combat. That's why you'll be staying near the back of the group and taking out all the enemies that did get close to us. Sort of like an archer of the group, you'll be in charge of getting rid of all the people that the rest of us have missed, and you'll also be acting as back up for Chouji. If he hadn't hit a person, it'll be your job to hit it for him." The two bun haired girl nodded in a serious manner.

"Finally, the last position is Neji. I'm going to have you handle the most difficult job as the rear lookout. With Byakugan you can make sure that there are no blind spots in the line. And that, completes our line formation." Kneeling on the floor and pulling out a scroll from his pack, Shikamaru out rolled some of the scroll before starting to doddle on them. "Listen up and examine this carefully." He told them as they all gathered around him to look at what he was doing.

"Look at your appointed scouting area depicted in this drawing. Kiba will be looking out front, I will also be looking frontward by at a wider scope. Sakura, like me, will also be looking frontward and the two of us will be double-checking our area together. Haku and Chouji will both look to the left and double-checking the area while Ino and Tenten will look over the right side of our group. That leaves you, Neji to be the single rear lookout. Now, I want to what our current battle strength is." He said as he rolled up his previously used scroll and put it away. "Let me check all of your equipment right now. Then I can keep what you all have in mind while thinking up a strategy next time. Any questions?" Everyone shook his or her heads in answer.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Shikamaru then released it before opening his eyes once again to take in his new comrades in arms. "Now that everyone know what they're doing, let me just tell you all the most important thing." He gave them all a dramatic pause before restarting his train of thought. "Uchiha Sasuke is not a very close friend of mine, nor is he really important to me." Here, Shikamaru shifted his gaze to Sakura, who looked slightly depressed by his words, but he went on anyway. "However! He is a fellow Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village, just like you and me. He is one of US; he is our comrade! This is why we'll risk our lives for him; this is the way of the Leaf. Even someone like me, who thinks everything is so troublesome, can't sit back and do nothing. I am responsible for all your lives, and I promise you all I will do my best to make sure that each and everyone of you return home, safe and sound." Shikamaru declared in a very clear, very determined voice.

With that said, the spirits of each and everyone of all those present seem to lift with determination and admiration. In silence, they all turn as one in the direction of the Sound, and set off on their journey to retrieve the lost Uchiha, not afraid of anything that stands in their way.

Unbeknownst to those who had depart from the village, there were two who were left behind by the rest of their comrades and companions. Rock Lee stood silently, leaning against the wall of surrounding the village of Konoha, mentally berating himself for his current weakness, and his bad luck at missing out on such an opportunity to help his friends.

Several metres away from Lee stood the dejected form of Hyuuga Hinata. She had actually been asked to join their group to pursue the last Uchiha, however, before she could announce her intentions (while still looking shy and nervous) she was beaten to the punch by her own father. He had forbidden her to pursue to boy, berating her for her weakness and her worthlessness in front of Sakura and the others; and most of all, he had forbid her newly formed friends from ever entering the Hyuuga estate, especially Haruno Sakura, whom her father had suddenly grown very irritated at. It was all a very sad existence that she lived in, and one without much hope either.

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After travelling for almost an hour in the direction of the Sound village at top speed, Kiba and Akamaru finally found the scent of Sasuke. But the news wasn't all good news.

"Are you sure?" Shikamaru asked tiredly, frowning despite the good news that they really were on the right track.

"Yeah, we're sure. There were four of them with Sasuke as he went. They performed some kind of Jutsu here; both Akamaru and me can still smell the weird smoke lingering in the air. And it happened recently too, probably only a few hours ago." Kiba nervously stated. (1)

"What do you mean by weird smoke?" Sakura asked as she skimmed through her mind, looking for any reference on 'weird smoke' from anything she had ever read before. "Like a smoke bomb?"

"No, nothing like a smoke bomb." Kiba shook his head vehemently. "I'm not sure exactly what they were doing, but somehow, the very air itself is still rather dense and compact, almost thick like its very heavy or have been sucked and squashed together forcefully. And, as I said, there's this sort of weird smell in it that I've never encountered before." Shaking his head in frustration, Kiba growled out. "I just don't know how to explain it to you guys."

After a moment's pause, Shikamaru looked towards Sakura. "Do you know of any type of jutsu that burns the air and compacts it all at once?"

A moment of thinking later, Sakura came to a decision about the anomaly. "There are some Jutsus out there that does have that type of effect. I mean, some of the Katon Jutsus do, like the Karyuu Endan do, but since none of the surrounding trees are affected, I don't think it was an 'attack' Jutsu that they were using. After my analysis, I come to the conclusion that it's some kind of sealing Jutsu. Only sealing Jutsus can be used to affect a certain subject or object, without actually affecting the rest of the environment." Sakura concluded.

Shikamaru nodded at her assessment. "That probably means that it'll be more difficult for us to rescue Sasuke as he is probably sealed." Releasing another heavy sigh, Shikamaru shrugged again before straightening himself.

"Um... there's one other thing." Kiba nervously pointed out. "Akamaru says that they're all pretty strong."

Shikamaru nodded, keeping this vital piece of information in mind when they do finally catch up to their enemies. "Okay, let's keep going. We have to speed up our pursuit or else we'll never catch up before they reach the Sound. And if that happens, we would have failed our mission and our comrade. But from now on, be extra careful, guys. Keep all your eyes open for traps of any sort." With all in agreement, they set off once again after Sasuke.

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Hours had passed as the group continued on their way, and everything seems to go fine. That is, until Kiba brought the group to a sudden halt. "Stop!" He yelled in abrupt panic, and the others followed, all landing on different trees waiting for his explanations on what's going on.

"What's wrong, Kiba?" All signs of laziness had left Shikamaru's expression a long time ago, all that's left is a seriousness that expressed his true potential as a Chuunin leader.

Kiba sniffed the air around him cautiously. "I can smell them. Their scent is all over the place." He says as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Neji. If you would, please?" Shikamaru requested.

Quickly completing a short list of hand seals, the Hyuuga in their group announced: "Byakugan!" As the veins around his eyes throbbed with the increase of Chakra flowing through them, Neji quickly assessed their surroundings effectively, gaining a general understanding of what the enemy had laid before them before releasing his seal. "Explosive tags." He stated simply. "They've set it up in such a way that it creates a barrier seal." He explained.

"What does that mean?" Chouji asked nervously.

"It's a form of Ninjutsu trap. 'Seal-type' traps are triggered when an enemy enters an area encircled by the trap seals. It's a type of high-class Ninjutsu." Shikamaru explains before sighing dejectedly. "I guess that means that we can't go across the trees anymore. We'll just have to travel on land."

As the eight of them landed on the ground, they all looked up in astonishment. Shikamaru sigh dejectedly again, before standing up to start leading his team through this particular hazardous area. "Damn, the path is full of traps." He mumbled as he and the rest of his comrades carefully stepped over several wires that were laid out all over the place to trap any pursuers from following the enemies. "Luckily at least for us, they seem to be short on time, which is why these traps were easy to spot." He countered to himself.

Suddenly, someone in their group called for a halt of all movements, but this time, it wasn't Shikamaru or Kiba. "Stop! Everyone." Haku shouted out in anxiety, immediately gaining the attention of all participants in this rescue team.

"What's wrong, Haku-sempai?" Sakura, having jumped up in fright at Haku's sudden outburst, mentally tried to calm herself as she asked her tutor what he had spotted.

Haku pointed to one particular wire on the floor. "You see that?" he asked the rest of them.

"Yeah. Of course we do. It's just another one of those wire traps that we've been avoiding ever since we started walking on land!" Kiba retorted, obviously not getting why the feminine boy had stopped their progress suddenly.

"Do you see this one then?" Haku asked as he quickly did a one-handed seal, resulting in a small mirror being formed behind the original wire that everyone could see. The ice mirror was tilted in such a way that the sun's light reflected off it at precise angle, which revealed the hidden 'green' wire that was beneath the original one.

"I see, one of the wires – they made it so that it is very visible under the sun light, while a second wire, camouflaged in green is beneath it and further ahead. Making it so that the opponent underestimate them and step on the second wire when they avoided the first one. A double trap basically. Ingenious." Shikamaru contemplated out loud.

"And this isn't the only wire, either." Haku commented as he completed another one-handed seal. Suddenly, multiple small mirrors were formed in mid-air floating all over the area. The sunlight that was reflected and refracted from each and every small mirror revealed all the multitude of different coloured wires hidden in such a way that the naked eye couldn't possibly see them. There were literary hundreds of wires that surrounded that area alone.

"Well. Shit! What are we gonna do now?" Kiba groaned as he looked around the small clearing and at all the hidden wires. "Are we still gonna cross? Can we even avoid all of them?" He asked dejected.

"It's a very well laden trap, even though it seems to be rushed, as if they were running out of time. Hmm..." Shikamaru rubbed his chin, thinking to himself.

"It means they're resting." Neji concluded. And to prove his point, he activated his eyes again. "Byakugan!" With his enhanced eyesight moving quickly over the distance, Neji was finally able to see their enemies – the four Sound guards and a large barrel resting on a small clearing almost 2 hundred metres ahead of them. "I found them. They're resting currently, about 2 hundred metres ahead of us." He declared as he released his special eye technique.

"Good. We've finally caught up to our enemies then. Now, just let me formulate a plan first and then we'll start our mission and bring Sasuke back." Shikamaru stood strong as he displayed a determined expression on his face.

"Wait, Shikamaru." Haku called out once more, this time, his eyes were narrowed in suspicion even more than before.

"What is it this time, Haku-san? More traps?" Shikamaru asked, though part of him already knew the answer.

"I'm not sure." Haku replied. The first mirror that he had created in order to show the others the green camouflaged wire was tilted once again, this time, highlighting a third line that was impossibly thin, like a spiders web and yet was laid in such a way that it was obviously being coordinated with the other two wires. "It's not a wire, but definitely not normal either." Haku concluded.

"Damn. The two wire traps were set like that on purpose. It's a triple trap." Shikamaru sighed heavily. "So basically, if we take one step further, no matter how careful we are, we're bound to disrupt at least one of these three-layer traps."

"So it would seem." Haku nodded.

"Then how are we going to get across to reach Sasuke in the first place?" Ino asked frustrated. "My Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch) definitely doesn't expand such a long distance."

"I can." Haku declared. "I can create a mirror and walk through it, transporting myself to another mirror I create. Unfortunately, I am unable to take others with me. Only I can walk through mirrors myself." Haku explained, deflating the hope that had arisen in most of the other's hearts with his first statement.

"I can teleport too, and I can take others with me as well." Shikamaru stated quietly, which definitely caught the other's attention. "At least I think I can." This statement deflated the original hope once again, and they looked on towards their leader in exasperation, but Shikamaru only shrugged in reply. "Look, I've never tried to take another person with me before, but theoretically, it should work. There's no reason for it to not work." He prompted.

"However, I'll need to have this particular kunai..." Here, Shikamaru pulled a seemingly ordinary kunai with a strange black paper wrapped around the hilt and showed it to everyone. "...attached to a large patch of shadows before I can even do anything. And that includes the fact that it must be attached to a patch of land that doesn't have all this wires around the place." The lazy Chuunin explained his theory while indicating he was talking about all those troublesome wires traps.

Haku nodded again, this time considering his options. "Neji, are you able to see if you can find a place, any place that is nearer to our enemies hideouts that doesn't have all these wires?" Haku implored the white-eyed boy.

"I'll try." Neji answered, reactivating his Byakugan. It took him considerably longer than before but he did find a place that is half way up a giant tree with many branches and areas of lodgings, and it also doesn't seem to have as much wires sticking to it as possible.

With that verified, Haku performed his own hand seals, creating a human size mirror directly in front of him, seemingly flouting in mid air. The ex-Mist Shinobi easily merged into the mirror without any trouble at all, while the rest of the team waited for him to return. After a few more minutes of waiting, everyone was slightly startled when Haku's head slowly emerged from the motionless mirror again.

"It's done. I've stuck the kunai directly in the middle of a large patch of shadows, hidden under many branches and leaves. I hope that's what you needed to get it done." Haku inquired.

"Yes, it is. Thank you." Shikamaru expressed his gratitude. "Okay, everyone, grab hold of me tightly or else you guys will get lost n the Shadow realm while I teleport us all there." Doing as told, each of the group members in this particular rescue team (Haku not included as he already has his own mirror for travelling purposes) grabbed hold of some part of Shikamaru, ranging from his clothes to his arms.

Once ready, Shikamaru quickly performed his own unique hand seals that confirmed the teleportation. "Kage Ho! (Shadow Walk)" (2) Instantly, him and everyone else around him dropped down seemingly into the darkness of the shadows. It happened so quickly that even the panicked Kiba and Ino didn't have time to voice their fears before they were all sucked into the dark mass below them.

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Hundreds of metres away and half way up a giant tree, seven people suddenly emerged from the side of tree stump. Having emerged from such a weird angle, many fell forward or sideward due to the sudden pull of Gravity. Kiba and Akamaru instantly launched themselves onto a near by branch before they could fall completely on their faces. Tenten had attached a steel chain around another branch so she was contently hanging in mid-air for the moment. Ino and Sakura used their Chakra to keep them attached to the side of the tree, just as Shikamaru and Neji were doing the same. Chouji had rolled down some distances before finding a lower branch to land comfortably on, while Haku had just reappeared from his mirror and simply stood languidly on top on one of the higher branches.

Finding a comfortable place to sit, Shikamaru slowly leaned back against the think tree trunk. Though he had never performed the Kageho (Shadow Walk) with so many people attached... actually, he's never performed the Kageho with anyone attached – he found that it was rather exhausting. The more people he took with him in his teleportation, the more Chakra the technique consumes. So now, he decides to take a little break himself.

"Here Shikamaru." Chouji handled out a small black pill to the Shadow enhancer, whom took it promptly and swallowed.

"Thanks Chouji." Getting back onto his feet, Shikamaru called out: "Okay people. This is what we're gonna do." Finally catching all attention onto himself, Shikamaru starts mapping out their plan of action.

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While resting quieting under the trees, the peace was disrupted when Kidoumaru suddenly felt a pulling sensation on one of his strings. It was followed by another string being tugged upon and a third one being jerked in a different direction. That was when he knew, precisely, that enemies had wandered into their territory. However, before he had time to war4n the others, a kunai suddenly flew into the clearing, tied upon its hilt were three explosion notes, already activated to go off.

Without wasting any time, Sakon immediately launched a kunai of his own, hitting directly onto the enemy kunai, and causing a giant eruption just on the outskirts of their clearing. The giant explosions blew trees and foliages, but were still some distances away, so none of the elite Sound Four were injured at all.

"Come out now, all of you, or else your comrades will DIE!" Kidoumaru yelled as he roughly pulled three of his spider-thin strings, ultimately tangled onto the legs of three Konoha Genins, who came tumbling out of the distance and landing hard onto the ground before the Four Sound guards. It was then that someone – who was still hidden – threw a smoke bomb directly between the Konoha Genins and the Sound Shinobis, creating a massive smoke cloud that covered the entire area, including the Sound Four.

"What the hell are you guys playing at?" Kidoumaru scowled in an aggravated manner, He has not happy about having his entire vision impaired and had become very suspicious of the strange actions taken by the Leaf Ninjas. It was during his inattentiveness that a stray kunai was launched from the middle of the smoke cloud towards them, but at such an angle that it was obviously going to miss them by a mile. Instead, the stray kunai landed somewhere behind them. "Heh! What the hell was that? You missed us by a MILE!" Kidoumaru continued to taunt.

Slowly but surely, the clouds of smoke and dust cleared, revealing seven young Shinobis all wearing the head protector of the Hidden Leaf Village proudly on their foreheads. "Che... They sent Genins after us?! How pathetic!" This time, it was Sakon who sneered at their young rivals. "Let's finish you all off quickly so that we can..." His sentence was cut shortly however, when he realised he couldn't move his hand, in fact, he couldn't move his body at all.

And contrary to the Sound four, the Seven Konoha Shinobis in front of them began smirking firmly. "Great work! Shikamaru. Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation technique) was a success!" Kiba yelled as he punched his arm into the air as a sign of victory.

And true to his word, Shikamaru stood as nonchalantly as possible behind the Four Sound guards, the shadow under his feet firmly attached to those of the Sound Four. As mapped out by Shikamaru's plan – Ino, Kiba and Chouji were meant to walk around, catching their opponent's attention to distract them, while Neji launched the kunai with explosive notes attached in a faint assault against their enemies, further distracting them. Sakura was then responsible for launching the smoke bomb at the perfect moment, to cover what the Leaf teams were about to do as well as creating shadows on the ground around and behind the Sound Shinobis. All Shikamaru had to do was throw one of this special teleportation kunais behind the group, teleport himself there, and then perform the Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) without any of their enemies noticing. It was a complex yet effective plan that had gone smoothly like clockwork.

"Okay, Kiba. Quickly grab that barrel and then we can set off home." Shikamaru commanded in a firm voice, he was so busy in maintaining the Jutsu that he didn't notice the cruel smirk that was on Sakon's face, as the other 'head' on his body had disappeared without anyone's notice. Even before Kiba had taken a single step forward, the Leaf team's attention was suddenly brought towards Shikamaru as he abruptly yelled in pain and released the Kagemane no Jutsu due to his own distraction.

"Shikamaru! Look out! There are more Shurikens heading your way!" Haku yelled, but was too late. Shikamaru was too slow in dodging the rest of the shurikens that had been launched from behind him, and are now currently embedded deeply in his back. Even with the Chuunin vest protecting him, blood could still visibly be seen dribbling down his newly ironed vest.

"SHIKAMARU!" Ino screamed in fright as she watch her teammate stagger slightly forward due to the force of the shurikens embedded in his back. But what made it worse was that now, the Sound Four were completely free and were directly all their hateful gazes their team caption.

"HAAAA!" Jiroubou yelled as he swung his giant right arm around, smashing into Shikamaru's face and launching him further forward towards the direction of his teammates. It all happened so fast that, to many of the silent Konoha Genins watching on, it almost happened in slow motion.

"SHIKAMARU!!!" Chouji yelled in panic as he quickly performed one of his family techniques. "Baika no Jutsu! (Multi-Size Technique)" The chubby boy called out as his body automatically enlarged itself into a giant ball-like structure. He quickly manoeuvred himself in the direction of where Shikamaru was launched towards, stopping just in time to block Shikamaru's fated impact upon a large tree. With his impact absorbed by Chouji's body, Shikamaru slowly slid down to the hard ground, desperately fighting against the unconsciousness that was gripping tighter and tighter over his mind.

"Shikamaru-kun!" Haku yelled as he quickly skidded to a stop down beside the injured boy, before performing some seals and starting to heal the newly formed injuries. "Just hold on, Shikamaru. I'll get up and about as soon as possible!" Haku reassured.

Unfortunately for the Leaf team however, the Sound Four were in no mood to play around, waiting for them to attack. In an instant, Jiroubou had slammed his open palms onto the ground, and yelled in a clear voice: "DOTON! KEKKAI DOROUDOUMU!! (Earth Element: Mud Dome) (3)" As his hands impacted the hard ground, the earth opened itself to his command, splintering and cracking, creating boulders the size of tables and beds in a wide circle that surrounds all of the Konoha Shinobi's present, including Shikamaru, Haku and Chouji. The Genins could only watch in stunned horror as the earth boulders continued to build up from the ground until they completely swallowed all sunlight from reaching the children by creating an absolutely dome over all of them. The silent screams in their mind were met with only darkness, as shadows befall all of them without a hint of mercy.

(To be Continued...)

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(1) I'm not going to blab about what the Sound Four actually did to Sasuke, so here's a hint that Sasuke's already in the 'barrel' thing that was being carried by Jiroubou. This is where he 'officially' dies.

(2) Similar to how Kaga can transport Ruri around whenever she wants, Shikamaru can do the same too. But it takes up way more chakra than if he just transport himself.

(3) Okay, it should sound something like that even though I'm not 100 percent sure about the spelling of it and the actual translation. Inane called it 'Kekkai Doroudoumu' – Clay Prison. NarutoFan called it 'Kekkai Doroutoumu' – Destruction Mud Prison. Anbu/AniemOne called it 'Kekkai Doro Doumu' – Mud Dome. Yeah, so pick one.

Okay... I KNOW this chapter came out later than promised. In fact, I'm still shocked I got it finished at all. But I've been busy fighting off my writer's block for a damn long time, and am only JUST getting back my own inspiration and stuff, so it's been tough for me too.

I'd like to thank EVERYONE for reviewing and continuing to read my story, even though I haven't exactly found time to get back to each and everyone of you. Please know that I DO read EVERY SINGLE REVIEW that was written to me, and I APPRECIEATE ALL THE THOUGHTFUL AND SUPPORTIVE COMMENTS. Sometimes, they really are the only things that continue to drive me to keep writing. So please keep them up. And once again, THANK YOU ALL!!!

P.S. By the way, I might be needing a few more beta-readers / proof-readers to help me edit my chapters from now on, if there are anyone out there who are interested, please email me at: shella (the 'at' symbol) iinet (dot) net (dot) au. THANKS!!