Chapter Four
Koyaiba sighed and pulled a pair of binoculars out of his bag. "Here's the deal guys. Our mission is to observe the compound and make sure nobody is using it. I doubt it's in use, but the book calls for some ranged reconnaissance before we go anywhere near the place."
"Why didn't you just destroy the base the last time you were here? Naruto asked, peering through his binoculars at the small stone block.
"Konoha was planning to use it as an outpost," Koyaiba said, laying down on his back, "they just haven't really gotten around to it. The place is bigger than it looks, it extends underground a good bit." He waved his hand nonchalantly. "Look, I'ma take a nap. Wake me up in a few hours, or if you see anything move."
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Naruto frowned. "This sucks."
"Hn."
"I mean, we've been out here for two hours and nothings even moved. How long did he say he was going to sleep?" He looked over at Koyaiba, who was sprawled out on the ground behind them.
"Hn."
"And when will Sakura be back with firewood? I'm hungry."
Sasuke didn't even bother with a grunt. He just shrugged and peered through his binoculars again.
"Hey Sasuke wanna-"
"No."
"But you don't even-"
"No."
"But why?"
"Hn."
"This sucks."
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Sakura smiled slightly when she returned to Naruto and Sasuke bickering. There was a time where she would've smacked Naruto for daring to annoy Sasuke-kun, but since their mission in the land of waves she had softened a bit towards the orange clad ninja. Besides, the constant chatter seemed to be drawing Sasuke out of his shell, at least somewhat.
She lay the firewood in a pile and glanced towards Koyaiba. The chunin was sound asleep, his mouth twitching ever few seconds as if he wanted to say something. Sakura shrugged to herself. At least he was on time.
"Hey Sakura-chan," Naruto said, grinning.
Sakura barely nodded in response. She hadn't softened that much. "Hi Sasuke-kun."
"Hn."
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Sasuke eyed the small stone block of an entrance through his binoculars. Nothing had changed in the last 3 hours. Why was he even doing this mission?
Their chunin leader was asleep, and all he had done the entire day was stare at a rock.
Well, technically he had also been forced to put up with his teammates. He had even had to speak to them a little, just to relieve the boredom. This would definitely not help him kill Itachi. He was only a few minutes away from setting Koyaiba on fire in order to get the mission over with, but Naruto cracked first.
The orange clad genin threw his binoculars down in disgust and stalked over to Koyaiba. Grabbing the sleeping boy by his jacket, he shook him violently. Sakura gasped as Koyaiba's head slammed against the ground.
Sasuke almost chuckled. Almost. He did, however, allow himself a small smile. After he made sure neither of his teammates were watching of course.
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Koyaiba awoke to someone banging his head against the ground. It was, he decided after a moment, extremely uncomfortable. He was going to ignore it, and hope it went away.
No such luck. Now it felt like someone was banging the side of his head repeatedly. He sighed. 3...2...1...
Koyaiba's eyes opened to a very angry Naruto standing above him. Immediately his hands snapped together, forming several quick seals, and Naruto's eyes widened.
"Wind Style: Air Burst Jutsu!"
A burst of air hit Naruto in the stomach, sending him flying into the trees. Koyaiba heard Sakura let out a mortified squeak. Then the sound of Sasuke chuckling. Koyaiba shook his head and turned to get his yari, muttering to himself.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Koyaiba's brow furrowed. That couldn't be Naruto. That was a jutsu most Jounin were afraid to use, surely the genin-
That particular line of thought stopped when something crashed into the back of his neck, and another grabbed his legs.
Letting out a startled yelp, Koyaiba fell to the ground. He kicked out instinctively, grabbing his yari and slamming the butt of the staff into whatever had hit him high. There was a puff of smoke, and Koyaiba's mouth dropped open.
How in hell...
Koyaiba then made the mistake of looking up.
Several dozen Naruto's crouched in the branches above him, all smiling wickedly.
This has got to be a dream.
With a raw throated yell, 50 Narutos dropped onto their startled chunin leader.
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"Alright...are we all ready?"
"Of course! Believe it!"
"Yes Koyaiba-san."
"Hn."
"We haven't seen any movement all day-"
"You mean we haven't seen any movement all day."
Koyaiba sighed, sending Naruto and annoyed glance. Sakura lightly smacked her blond teammate upside the head. Koyaiba gave her an approving nod.
"Anyway, the bad guys probably aren't there. But, of course, we still have to be careful when we go in there. There might be traps." He looked at the assembled genin and grinned. "Which is why Naruto's going in first."
Sakura frowned. Sasuke smirked. Naruto grinned and put his hands together in a familiar hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Immediately 20 Naruto's filled the small clearing the ninja team stood in. Naruto let out a sharp whistle and pointed towards the stone entrance. "CHARGE!"
A half moment later, there was an enormous puff of smoke.
Koyaiba felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. "Naruto. Sakura. Sasuke. Behind me," He said. Sakura was the only one who obeyed.
As the smoke cleared, Koyaiba was able to pick out three people standing in front of them.
The first one wielded an oversized sword. While not as large as he was, the thing was still huge, and jingled every time the man moved it. Tiny bells hung from the hilt, the source of the noise.
But that wasn't the only source. Strips of cloth were tied around his wrists and ankles. Attached to the cloth were more bells. He wore dark clothing, and a his forehead protector was tied over his eyes. His hair was white, clipped awkwardly short.
The second person was a girl, her short black and white hair sticking straight up. She was freakishly skinny, and her arms seemed almost too long for her body. What little clothing she wore was dirty and tattered, but the forehead protector she had wrapped tightly around her throat was in pristine condition.
The third man was impressive not for his physical appearance, but for the weapon he wielded. It was a long chain, with what looked like a windmill shuriken attached at either end. He was the smallest of the three, his long black hair reaching to his shoulders.
"Oh..." Koyaiba muttered, recognizing the symbols on their forehead protectors. "Shit."
The symbols were little musical notes.
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Sakura really wasn't surprised when the three enemy ninja appeared.
Why should she be? Their last mission had been a C-rank too, and look how that had turned out. They had been attacked by an A-rank missing ninja from the "Bloody Mist". Why should this mission be any different.
Out of the four of them, Koyaiba seemed to be the only one who was nervous about this. Naruto looked surprised but excited, and Sasuke...was Sasuke. No emotion whatsoever.
The girl of the group, or "the freak" as Sakura had already dubbed her, let out a raspy laugh. "Heeheehee, these ones look fun," she said, smiling and showing several rotten teeth. "I want the girlie."
"Yeah, no thanks," Koyaiba said, grabbing his Yari and pointing it towards the freak. "Step back, bitch."
The freak narrowed her eyes and moved forward, but the one with the big sword moved forward. The bells around his wrists and ankles jingled, and he stood completely still for a moment before speaking. "Kira. Take the two boys on the left." The Freak grinned, inching closer towards Koyaiba and Sasuke. "Taiyo, you have the girl. I have this one," He said, pointing at Naruto. "He's the most dangerous."
"Aw, yeah! Believe it!"
"Like hell," Sasuke growled. He disappeared in a puff of smoke. So did Kira. Koyaiba ground his teeth together and vanished as well.
When they reappeared, Koyaiba was blocking Kira's kunai with the staff section of his yari. Sasuke lay on the ground behind the chunin, dark eyes wide. "Sasuke, help Naruto. I'll take care of her," Koyaiba said. Sasuke nodded, closing his eyes briefly. Sakura caught a flash of crimson before he vanished again.
Naruto's voice broke the tense silence. "Sakura! Behind you!"
Sakura turned at the shouted warning, eyes widening as she saw Taiyo bearing down on her. He twirled his bizarre weapon with terrifying ease, and Sakura gulped, her hands forming quick seals. "Substitution Justu!"
There was a puff of smoke, and the end of Taiyo's chain sunk into a log. Taiyo snarled, but Sakura was already forming more seals from the tree behind him. "Let's go!"