Disclaimer: One day I'm going to own Naruto I swear… But for now it is not mine and I admit it! I am also not selling this story for money. Therefore I cannot be sued for stealing characters and copyrighted material! I hope…
Back!! You guys thought I forgot about this story again didn't you?! XD. Yes it is partly true but it's mostly because I am a huge procrastinator. I think it's mainly because of the battle scenes. I hate writing battle scenes. But I feel without battle scenes its not really Naruto! So bear with me when it's about time for a fight hahah. The one shot I wrote took me three days and I think it came out great. I am also kinda disappointed in peoples reaction to this story. I made a huge mistake following the manga for the first few chapters so I scared away a lot of readers. But I refuse to let this story die simply because of my mistakes! SO ONWARD I GO! Remember reviews are much appreciated. Good or bad it at least tells me I am not writing this for nothing. And please if you get a chance check out my Naruto/Temari One shot! It only got seven reviews and not that many hits! So please go check it out! Review it up! The people who read it seemed to like it )
P.S. PLEASE READ! I got a new email address if for some reason you wanted to reach me its now . I also sorta gave up on the drawing a picture for every chapter idea. It took me forever to get this chapter out alone. So unless people really want them, I probably wont do them. Even if I want too .. Email me if you want the picture I drew so far… one .
The Ties that Bind
Chapter Six: The Man with Piercing red eyes.
"Doing useless things again Naruto?" Naruto turned around, eyes wide with a mixture of anger, fear, and surprise etched on his face. The red aura of chakra around his body began to fade away. There stood a man with piercing red eyes.
"S-Sasuke…?" Naruto had to do a double take to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But there he was, standing right in front of him. His hair was slightly longer which emphasized the fact that he was still missing his Konoha forehead protector. He now wore a loose open shirt, with a rope belt holding up his dark blue pants. A long katana was slipped under the rope belt. His face had aged slightly becoming shaper and more defined. But his piercing red eyes were the same as Naruto remembered them from their last fight. Only now they were distant and cold, he couldn't help but shiver feeling Sasuke was looking right through him.
"You presence is no longer required here. This is my fight. If you stand in my way I will kill you." Sasuke spoke with a cold hiss. Naruto couldn't think of anything to say. Finding and saving Sasuke has been his goal for over three years. Yet hearing him now, made him question as to whether Sasuke could be saved.
" If you have… No problem with the idea…. Of killing me…" Naruto looked down at his feet fighting back the tears of anger and intense emotions. "Then why didn't you kill me back then!" He finished with a hoarse yell.
"Despite what you may think I have no intention of killing anyone other then Uchiha Itachi. I do not WANT to kill you, but if you get in the way of this objective it does not matter who you are. I will strike down anyone that blocks my path. So I ask you again. Move aside, or die."
"I would be a disgrace as a ninja and your friend if I moved aside now. So it looks like I chose to die Sasuke!" Naruto growled. Sasuke calmly drew his sword and it sparked with electricity. With one swift motion his sword slashed at Narutos chest. With a poof Narutos shadow clone disappeared. 'Geez….I have to watch out. If I get hit by that sword the electricity will mostly likely paralyze my movement.' Sasuke meanwhile, looked around the crater then to the trees behind him. 'Found him' with a flick of his finger a stream of pure electrical energy shot towards Narutos hiding spot. Naruto barley had time to doge. He jumped down out of the tree to face Sasuke once more.
"You were foolish to let the power of that demon chakra leave you. You couldn't beat me last time even with that power." Naruto growled in response.
"I don't need to rely on that power to beat you! I'll win…" Naruto looked down at his shaking hands. "With my OWN hands! Rasengan!"
"Chidori!" The two ran at each other attacks raised. Each couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu. The two collide with a blast of light. The force of the impact was intense. Suddenly the light vanished and Sasuke was sent flying backwards into the crater. Naruto fell forward with nothing to stop his forward momentum. Where Sasuke once stood was Uchiha Itachi.
"You will not interfere. I am here for the Jinchuuriki. Not worthless trash like you." Naruto jumped to his feet undaunted by his change in target. He formed another Rasengan in his hand but made a fatal mistake when he looked up to find his mark. His world went black.
--
Sasuke wiped the trail of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. 'Why won't he just accept that I've left! My only feeling is hatred! My only purpose is revenge!' He jumped back up to the craters edge only to see Naruto frozen in place feet from Itachi with a look of terror on his face. Itachi was slowly advancing on him. A feeling long considered extinguished shot through Sasukes chest. He would never admit it, even to himself, but he did not want Itachi to hurt Naruto. Acting more out of instinct and feeling Sasuke jumped over Itachi landing a kick to the side of his head as he passed. He landed on the ground and punched Naruto in the stomach.
--
Naruto knew he was in Itachi's Genjutsu but that didn't make the pain any less real. If he wasn't being tortured for hours at a time, he was reliving every horrible moment of his childhood. The spiteful looks on the town peoples face, the young kids always ignoring him or beating him up. The feeling of being alone with no family. Naruto just wanted to die. Death would be better then this torture. He thought his prayers had been answered when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. But his eyes slowly focused and he was back in the real world. He looked around carefully to reevaluate his situation. Sasuke was now standing a few feet in front of him while Itachi was a few feet behind that brining himself to his feet.
"This battle… I've been waiting for it since that day." Sasuke turned back to Naruto with a strange expression on his face. "Don't you get it?! This is why I left! I left to ready myself for this fight. This is my destiny! Please Naruto... Do NOT interfere!"
"S-a-s-u-k-e….." Naruto rasped bring himself into a sitting position. Sasuke turned back to Itachi. "Don't worry Itachi. If you can kill me then you can finish your objective. But that will never happen" Itachi sighed.
"If you are so quick to rush to death I will not stop you." Sasuke ran at Itachi sword drawn. Sword met kunai with a loud clang.
--
Temari was starting to get worried. 'Where did they go! If I don't find them quick…. Naruto could…' She really didn't want to think about it. Then a bright flash caught her eye. "They must be over there!" With that she raced after the bright light. She was surprised to see the scene before her. Sasuke was actually standing between Itachi and Naruto.
She heard Naruto say something unintelligible to Sasuke who simply turned back to Itachi. "Don't worry Itachi. If you can kill me then you can finish your objectives. But that will never happen" Itachi sighed.
"If you are so quick to rush to death I will not stop you." Sasuke ran at Itachi sword drawn. Sword met kunai with a loud clang. Temari circled around to try and get to Naruto without being spotted by the two Uchiha. Once she was relatively sure she was out of their field of vision she ran to help Naruto.
--
Naruto slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. His vision was still a little blurry. He looked down at his feet with a blank stare on his face. 'Is this really… All I have? My body feels so numb. Like I've been fighting for days.. One attack… I won't let myself be beaten by ONE GENJUTSU!' With his last bit of will power he brought himself to his feet. A little bit of blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. He heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind him and turned to see Temari running to him. "Naruto!! Naruto are you oka…… Your bleeding!" she gasped finally noticing the blood dripping from his chin. He flashed her his trademark grin
"Don't worry about me. It will take more then this to take me down. But you should have stayed with Sakura and Kakashi it's not safe for you here! You were after all their first target until we came."
"Here I was risking my life and worrying about you and all you can say is you shouldn't have come? I am a ninja too you know, and a damn good one. You have a real way with words Naruto." Temari huffed in response.
"Uh.. sorry? I didn't mean it that way." Naruto rubbed the top of his head sheepishly. Just then he heard a scream come from behind him. Both Naruto and Temari turned around quickly see pitch black flames burning on the ground consuming everything around it. It was a haunting sight. Laying on the ground near the flames was Uchiha Sasuke. "Sasuke!!"
"Wait!" Temari screamed as Naruto ran over to Sasuke. Sasuke looked up at Naruto confusion etched on his pained face. "Am I still not strong enough to beat Itachi? The Mangekyou Sharingan is so..… Did… I make the wrong choice? Has this all been for nothing?" Naruto reached down to help Sasuke up but was stopped when he felt a pain in his stomach. More blood began to trickle out of the corner of his mouth. His vision once again began to blur. He looked down and noticed a burned hole in his shirt where the Kyubi's seal was. On the seal were six new red marks. He tried to stay conscious but everything sounded far away. He could hear Temari yelling but it sounded muffled. He saw Sasuke looking at him with wide eyes trying to bring himself back to his feet. He fell to his knees and looked forward to see Itachi bringing his hand back to his side. Then he fell forward and everything went black for a second time.
It was to late she could do nothing but watch as Naruto fell once again at the hands of Itachi. "NARUTO?! NARUTO!!" She screamed, as Itachi walked towards Naruto. "Stop yelling girl. He can't respond. I've effectively shut off the flow of chakra in his body. This seal blocks chakra over a period of time. Depending on the strength of the chakra the length of time before the chakra fully stops will differ. His chakra is strong but still much weaker then the Kyubi's so it will stop in maybe an hour. The Kyubi's chakra however will take days maybe even a month to fully stop. Once the Jinchuuriki's chakra has stopped flowing he will die but continue to 'live' with the chakra from the Kyubi. Leaving him nothing but a literal container for the Kyubi. It will be so easy to extract that way." He said menacingly. Temari filled with rage grabbed her fan and swung it at Itachi a few times. He jumped back a few feet to avoid the razor sharp wind.
"You do nothing but waste your own chakra and endanger your own life." Itachi stated. Looking coldly at Temari.
"Itachi." A strange voice said seemingly coming from nowhere. All the sudden a man surrounded by what seemed to be a venus fly trap raised up from the ground.
"What is it Zetsu? Can you not see I am busy with the Kyubi? He is my target after all."
"Yes I do apologize. But Kisame is dead, I have already disposed of his corpse. I was about to dispose of the two passed out leaf ninja but there is a problem. Pain has order an emergency meeting. We must go immediately."
Itachi Sighed. "I will be back soon for the Jinchuuriki. Or what's left of him." With that Itachi grabbed onto Zetsu's shoulder and the two seemed to melt into the ground.
"DAMN YOU!" Temari yelled, running to where the two disappeared into the ground, but she was to late. She whirled around back to where Naruto was laying face down on the ground. She ran over to him and turned him over on his back. She saw the burned hole in his shirt and the strange seal on his stomach.
"I've seen a seal similar to that one." Sasuke said from next to Naruto. She jumped in surprise. She had almost forgotten he was here. "Orochimaru used a seal similar to this on Naruto during the Chuunin exams… Luckily Orochimaru taught me how to use both the seal and the unseal. But they differ slightly if I use the Gogyou Kaiin (Five Element Unseal) on a six element seal it might work but I may also weaken the original seal as well…" Sasuke said quietly.
"Who cares right now! If we don't do anything Naruto's chakra will stop and he'll…." Temari trailed off.
"Your right." Sasuke closed his eyes in concentration. "Its funny though…" Sasuke mussed placing his fingers over the Kyubi's seal. "I left the leaf village and vowed to leave all my bonds behind." His fingers began to glow a brilliant blue color. "But here I am. Unable to watch my old friend die. I guess this is what makes me different than my brother. I can't shed my weakness fully…. Gogyou Kaiin!" With that his hands flashed and the new marks disappeared. But the original seal seemed to fade a little in color. Sasuke closed his eyes as if meditating. He felt a sudden surge of chakra he wasn't expecting.
"I don't know why you call bonds a weakness! You would be a weak monster to try and leave your bonds, your HUMANITY behind. Haven't you seen how hard Naruto fights to get you back? Is that proof enough?" When Sasuke opened his eyes Temari noticed that they looked slightly different. Sasuke seemed shocked himself.
"What…? But how? This can't be! But… Itachi said the only way to get them was to kill your best friend. Is there more then one way to achieve… Mangekyou Sharingan?! What if you.. saved your best friend… " He ran to a nearby puddle and looked at his reflection. "There is no denying… That's the Mangekyou Sharingan!"
Naruto slowly opened his eyes letting them readjust to the light.
"Naruto? Naruto! Thank god you're coming to!" Temari said thankfully, kneeling down next to him. Naruto brought himself slowly into a sitting position. He grabbed his stomach in pain.
"Be careful not move to quickly! I'm not sure if you remember but Itachi used a sealing Jutsu on your… " She paused for a moment not really wanting to say out loud what she now knew. "That was a strong Jutsu. But right after, another Akatsuki member called him away. We though you were going to die… The only reason your still alive is because Sasuke-"
"Sasuke?!" Naruto interrupted jumping to his feet, only to fall back into a sitting position from the pain.
"I told you not to move quickly you idiot! Here take this." Temari placed a small pill in Naruto's hand. Naruto sheepishly took the food pill and ate it. "Yes, Sasuke did save you. But after he saved you… Something weird happened and his eyes changed. Then he ran off, I am guessing after Itachi. He told me to… Thank you, and that he'll be back as soon as he could." Naruto was having a hard time processing this information. 'Sasuke wanted to… thank me?? What the hell is going on here…' He just sat there quite for a few moments.
"Thank you… for watching over me, and for coming after me when I ran off to face Itachi alone. Are you holding up okay?" Naruto said breaking the silence. Temari blushed. She was a bit surprised at the ninjas thanks and concern.
"Y-yeah. Although I am a bit tired. It took me a while to find Sakura and Kakashi." Naruto was instantly on edge again.
"Where are they are they okay?!" Naruto looked around and saw them lying under a nearby tree, apparently unconscious. He was a bit embarrassed he didn't think of their safety earlier.
"They've both sustained serious injuries, but luckily Sakura was able to heal herself and Kakashi relatively well. But I can only guess that she did this with very little chakra and an unclear mind because some of the wounds weren't healed correctly. I was able to bandage them up but as soon as you're ready to go we should really carry them to my village for proper medical care." Naruto smirked, he couldn't help but be impressed.
"What's so funny!" Temari huffed.
"I'm just really impressed. You just seem to have thought of everything… What would we have done without you!" Naruto said.
"You don't even want to think about it." Temari joked back. Naruto jumped up onto his feet finally feeling the effects of the food pill. His stomach still hurt a bit but he could deal with the pain.
"I guess we should head out. We are on a mission after all."
"Yeah I guess we should…" Temari was a bit saddened. Since the beginning of the fight up until now she had really forgotten about all of her problems other then what lay directly in head of her. They still had to save her brother.
"The sand is probably a days travel from here. We still have a ways to go." Temari said gathering her things.
"Then lets get started!" Naruto yelled excitedly, pointing to the horizon.
"The uh… Other way Naruto." Temari laughed.
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Well that's the end of this chapter! Sorrrrrryyy its so long over due . and not even that much really happened. But the next chapter should be up in a week or so and its FULLL of Temari/Naruto goodness since the fights for now are finally over. ) soo look forward to that and LEAVE ME REVIEWS! I love em I do I do I dooooo ohhhh.
P.S. Im going to Otakon im so excited! )